Rufus and Ryan Go to Church! [Book Review & Giveaway]

*UPDATE: The giveaway officially closed yesterday, Saturday, October 5, 2013. Congratulations, Dena! You will be receiving an e-mail. Please contact me within 48 hours so we can get your copy of "Rufus and Ryan Go to Church" headed your way.*

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned in this post for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

When I was contacted about reviewing this book, I immediately opted in. I knew it may be slightly ahead of where Zoë is, but the title itself seemed like a book we could start reading with her now and she would grow in more understanding of as she aged. My hope is by the time we are taking her with us or giving her the option of joining us in the service, she will know what to expect, but have learned it in a fun way.

I am so glad I opted in! This book really is a fun way for a kid to see the church service, though big and possibly scary, is really more like a big class with people of all ages. There are some differences in the way our church works and this book describes how a service goes, but it's on such a child's level that you can easily adapt it so you're child will know more of what to expect when they join you.

Zoë loves to sit and read the story to herself and also frequently comes to find her daddy or me so we can read it with her. It quickly became a favorite for her, finding it's way into the rotation of nap or bed time stories, frequently, I might add. She has even gone to find it first thing in the morning:

Still in her PJs

I also loved how there are already aspects of a relationship with Christ we are incorporating in the home she is learning occur in the service, too: prayer, praising God through worship songs, reading bible stories. We want all of these to be a "norm" in our household and I think they can help bridge the "I'm too little for the service" gap. Thus, reading about a kid who is her age who sees these similarities will hopefully be an encouragement for sitting through a church service. (I do know that there may be some kind of interruption or childhood-energy causing us to leave the service in the middle. I just think discussing what its like before we ever get there will help her enjoy the service a little more, whether or not we have to leave early.)

If you want to look up a bit more about the book, or buy it, feel free to check out the book on the publishers website or their facebook page. (And no, I was not required to put those links on here. I figured I give you easy access if you want to go straight to the publisher for more information.)

Now, on to the giveaway!

Might I suggest, even if you don't have a child in your home who is in the age range for this book (it is recommended for ages 2-5), but you know someone with a child or you have a niece or nephew in this age range, go ahead and enter! You can give it as a gift or a simple "I was thinking about you". My guess is they will love it!

What you need to know:

I have one copy of Rufus and Ryan Go to Church! to give away. This giveaway is open to US residents with a physical address (no P.O. boxes. Sorry!) age 18 and up. The giveaway begins today, September 26th, at 12 am CST and will close on October 6th at 12 am CST. There is only one mandatory entry for this giveaway: blog comment on this post. The winner will be randomly selected using Rafflecopter. The winner will be announced in an addendum note at the top of this post, as well as in the Rafflecopter form, within 48 hours of the close of the giveaway. They will also be contacted via e-mail. (Please make sure you use a valid, working e-mail address to enter using the Rafflecopter form.) The winner will have 48 hours to contact me via the e-mail listed in the announcement post to claim their prize. I will need the winners full name and physical address to forward to the blogger network so they can mail them their copy. For any other information you would like on giveaways hosted on my blog, please visit the official giveaway page.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Thursday to everyone! Be sure to spread the word so your friends don't miss out on a chance to win a great children's book!

Praying for Him: What Can Haunt Us All

I'm a little afraid to even start this post. Truthfully because I believe in being honest, and I didn't really have the greatest start when I first glanced at the title of the chapter this week: "His Past". My immediate thought was, "Yep! I certainly need to pray about his past."

*G.U.L.P.*

Prideful in this area much? (Ouch! That realization hurt.)

Thankfully, that wasn't where my heart stayed. God quickly opened my eyes to the bigger picture: praying over my husband's past is of utmost importance for our relationship. But praying over my own past is just as important. I believe everyone should be praying in their own lives that their past does not hinder but help them move forward. And when the prompting is there, they should be willing to pray for someone else's past as well.

I am very familiar with the past haunting me. I don't think I'm alone in this either, realized or not. And the past doesn't have to be chalk full of abuse, horrible parenting, alcholics and/or druggies, all the situations people typically think "Oh, that poor child is scarred for life." You can come from a great home, but your home is still full of fallen people. As such, there is likely something from your childhood that seems to hang over your head, if you let it.

The reason I say childhood is because I agree with Stormie, though she says it this way: "The events of your husband's past that most affect his life today probably occurred in his childhood." (p. 144) Of course, she's specifically talking about husbands in her book, but I think if we were to ask her, she would say that for everyone. And even if she doesn't, I'm going to go ahead and say that the events of anyone's childhood are the most likely to be what affects their life today.

Staring the past square in the face is scary. It brings up so many different emotions, unwelcomed emotions nonetheless. (Who really wants to stir up anger, fear, lack of trust, sorrow, etc.? I'm pretty sure Donkey wouldn't be yelling "Pick me!" on this one, you guys.) And sometimes, when you do choose to wade through the past to help better your future, you can feel like you're never going to make it out alive.

Yet, if you are a follower of Christ, you have the power of the Holy Spirit residing inside of you, who goes before the throne of God and intercedes for us, even when we have no words! (see Romans 8:26, 27) You guys, the implications of this verse should give us the courage to face our past, no matter how difficult or dark it may be. And if you need courage to face because it seems there is no hope, remember the words of Paul in Philippians 3: 13b, 14: "...forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (I'd recommend reading Philippians 3:12-14.)

May I ask why any of us would allow our fear of facing the past hold us back from reaching towards the ultimate gift: Christ? I even see my cowardly, curled-in-a-corner old self as stinkin' crazy to choose to stay in a place which, honestly, was quite miserable. Living with the past hanging over my head was one of the worst times in my life. I hope to never allow my past control like that again.

So I encourage you, pray over your past. Work through it. Walk alongside someone who is willing to encourage you, be a listening ear, share their past with you so you can do the same for them. And if you don't have anyone now, ask that God would give you the courage to go ahead with working through your past all the while asking for the blessing of such a comrade who will jump right in where you are in your journey. (I can't help but think of Christian and Faithful in The Pilgrim's Progess.)

And since this entire series has been spurned by praying for my husband, if you are married, I dare to ask you: who better to walk through your past with you than the man you have committed the rest of your living days to? Maybe if you're husband isn't willing to go there with you yet, you will open doors by doing so with him first or continuing to do so if you have already begun the journey. Pray that God would allow your husband's past to not hinder him, but to help launch him forward as her learns from it. Ask that God would open your husband's heart to delve into his past with you so you might be an encourager through it all. And ask that your heart would trust your husband to do the same for you.

___________________________________________________________

Here are the rest of my posts from this 30 week series I've done on praying for my husband:

Week 1: Intro     Week 2: Starting with Me     Week 3: His Identity     Week 4: His Treasure

Week 5: His Sexuality   Week 6: His Hugs, Kisses, and "I love you"s  Week 7: His Achilles Heel

Week 8: His Battlefield  Week 9: What Cripples Everyone  Week 10: The Passion Inside

Week 11: A Confession  Week 12: His Choices  Week 13: His Health  Week 14: His Protection

Week 15: His Trials  Week 16: His Integrity  Week 17: His Reputation  Week 18: His Priorities

Week 19: His Relationships  Week 20: His Fatherhood

The Stuffed Animal Basket

So life around here seems quite monotonous. I've been told that is very normal, even if you try to switch a couple days around, have different activities throughout the day, the big picture can many times feel like you do the same. exact. thing. every. single. day. It can make for some long days.

Because I knew life could seem quite dull, I resolved within myself to try and laugh every day with Zoë. I wanted to be able to see the funny, good, happy, sad all together and realize it was beautiful within itself.

So the other day, I'm in the kitchen cooking and had already talked with Zoë about playing with her toys in her room. This generally doesn't take much prompting, and thankfully, she'd felt like I'd spent plenty of time with her that day so she wasn't trying to "watch" me cook or feeling as though she needed me in her room. (If you missed her 18 month post, she asks to "watch" anything that goes on in the kitchen. Sometimes, if it is simple and easy to keep her out of harms way, I actually allow her to be in the kitchen with me while I cook. This day was not one of those days.) She headed to her room and I buckled down to hopefully have dinner on the table in time.

Somewhere in the mayhem of cooking dinner (as organized as I am with almost everything, dinner always seems to feel like I didn't plan or organize enough as I find myself moving from one part of it to the next. It always makes it to the table and I've yet to have a complaint yet, so I'm going to still count it a win.), I hear Zoë whining/crying in her bedroom. At first I think she's frustrated with a toy. Then it continues and grows a little in volume. I begin to wonder what exactly is going on because she will usually come find me when she needs help with something. Somewhere in the whining, I'm starting to hear an occasional "mommy" strung into the complete whiny/crying babble.

After about another minute of the whining/crying, which has intensified, I decide I'm better off hoping dinner doesn't burn while I go to check on her. As I walk into her room I'm a little alarmed she's not in my immediate vision. (Her room is set up where I have visibility of everything except the far right corner, which is completely parallel to the door way and slightly blocked by curtains hung on that same wall.) I turn my head to check that corner, only to find, well, why don't you see for yourself:

She had pulled all her stuffed animals out of their basket so she could climb in. Maybe because she enjoys doing this with empty boxes, which have much larger openings, she thought this would be a good idea. However, she didn't realize that she'd likely take out the lining in the basket nor that the basket is much smaller than boxes she's climbed in.

She was stuck. Completely.

I had to take a photo op before I helped her out, but honestly, she didn't seem to mind:

Saying "cheese"

As soon as I snapped the first pic, she started smiling and saying "cheese" for me. I'm guessing I didn't scar her by taking a couple photos of her basket-fun-gone-wrong since she immediately was all smiles. Plus, she gave me a couple of laughs and some really cute pictures.

I think this one would have been better had I not needed to use my AUTO mode and flash.

Oh this little stinker cracks me up! I'm so thankful for her huge sense of humor and ability to laugh in situations like this. Once she realized mommy was going to help her out of her little mess, she could have cared less she was stuck in that basket.

I am so unbelievably blessed!!

19 Weeks [A Bumpdate]

How Far Along: I am 19 weeks and 5 days. 142 days until I'm 40 weeks.

Baby's Size: The Little Bean is about 6 inches long. (Apparently, the size of an heirloom tomato, though I'm not up on all my tomatoes so I'm just going to have to take their word for it. Ha!) (S)he's now weighing a half pound at about 8.5 oz. 

Baby's Development: The brain is really working on some hefty development this week as the areas designated for smell, taste, touch, hearing, and vision are beginning to form.  Also, motor neurons are continuing to develop allowing for more concious, controlled movement.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: All I know is the 6 pounds since my last visit. Curious to find out at my next visit where I'm at.

Food Aversions (and "no nos"): Bananas are awful. I can't stand the smell of them. Period. I haven't tested being around BBQ since early pregnancy so I'm not 100% sure I still have an aversion, though thinking about it still isn't something I really like. It certainly doesn't make me want it.

Gimme' some of that!: Nope. So far, this aspect of my pregnancy has been the same as with Zoë. Something might sound good, but I don't have a craving I must satisfy. And even avacados haven't made it there yet. (Avacados were the only food I craved when I was pregnant with Zoë.)

How I Feel: Much, much, much better! Nausea hits me at times, not really sure why, but it quickly passes. Nothing that really just makes me want to lie on the floor for hours. However, I am extremely exhausted. Though, this doesn't really surprise me because I never got my "second wind" with Zoë either. There are still days I'm so exhausted I will wake up on Zoë's floor and feel awful her mommy fell asleep while playing with her :/

Maternity Clothes: Yep. And as far as pants go, I have to wear the dreaded full panel (I avoided them completely during my first pregnancy.) or it has to be an ultra-stretchy, not-tight athletic or elastic waist. Anything too tight, including some full panel maternity pants, messes with my circulation and makes my right leg feel like it's going to fall off. I wish I had regular t-shirts that were long enough, but so far, I've carried low and my t-shirts end up sticking WAY off my middle...not so attractive and I'm definitely not comfortable sporting that. Plus, wearing them is a sure-fire way for everyone to see half my cami because they ride up. Horribly. No thank you!

Movement: I'm really starting to feel movement on a consistent basis. I feel little kicks here and there, as though (s)he's trying to find the most comfortable position. I'll usually feel a couple kicks followed by a fluid movement of some part of the body pushed up and moving against me. Always puts a smile on my face.

Sleep: Been waking up 1-2x/night for bathroom breaks. Sometimes I can't go back to sleep, others it's no problem. What I find really strange is I seemingly have been waking somewhere between 4 and 530 on a consistent basis with no ability to fall back asleep after. I'll usually rest in bed for a while before I actually get up, but I'm pretty sure it's part of the culprit in my extreme exhaustion.

What I Miss: Not needing to use the bathroom every 0.0000005 seconds. Ok, not literally, but I sure do feel like I go to the bathroom and before I can wash my hands I'm having to go again. I know it's because I stay on top of drinking all my water, but it's also really annoying to pull up a shirt and cami and then have to pull down the full paneled pants. I feel like I'm practically undressing every time I go. 

What I'm Looking Forward To: Really getting excited about finding out this Little Bean's gender. 

Favorite Moment of the Week: I have a feeling I'm not going to be great at this question. Wanna know why? I can't remember half my week. I kind of know what we did and some events are on the calendar, but the "meat" of each memory made..well, lets just say I hope I recollect it after all my hormonos have started to calm down, which will be a while. HA!

She's how old?! [18 Months]

Waking up on her 18 Month Birthday

A year and a half? 18 months? You mean I've had my little fire-cracker, full of life, loves to laugh, smiles to steal your heart, whines to [attempt] getting her way, sweet Zoë for a whole freakin' year and a half? As in, I'm only 6 months shy of being the mom of a full blown toddler? (Let's face it, as much toddler as she appears to be and acts sometimes, there is still plenty of baby left to go around.)

Cheering on our LSU Tigers :)

18 Month Stats

• You're up a whole pound from your 15 month check, weighing in at 22 pounds 5.5 ounces. This puts you in the 47th percentile. Funny enough, that's up almost 17%, where as I would have thought it meant you were down. Still plenty of baby chub left to love, though I can't look at the above picture long or I'll start crying because you're looking so grown up. Height is also up, now measuring 32 1/4" tall, which is 64th percentile (up from 50%).
• You still can wear your 18 month size bottoms and we had to purchase size 18-24 month pants for your "Fall" clothing. Unless you shoot up quite a bit, they should hopefully last until Summer returns. (We really only have a HOOOT season and a "eh, it's kind of cool" season. Thankfully, it's windy here and that helps in the cooler "Fall" and "Winter" to make it seem a bit more of the season.) As far as tops, you barely fit into your 18-24 month size tops. They're almost too short. And to be honest, I'm not quite sure how long your 2T tops will fit you. However, 2T dresses are really long on you, so we're in 18-24 month or 24 month for those, for the most part :) Oh, and your pajamas are 24 month size.
• You now wear a shoe size 5. The shoes in the pic above are your absolute FAVORITE! Poppa bought them for you on your first birthday and they happen to be perfect for this fall! They light up so we'll find you standing in one place stomping away to make the lights go off.
• You listen when we ask you to hold our hand when walking outside. That's been successful for almost a month now, which is great because up until then, you refused to let anyone, including mommy and daddy, touch your hands for any reason.
• You love your stuffed animals. Frequently you will stop what you're doing, go to your stuffed animal basket, pick one, make it's sound, and then proceed to hug and kiss on the animal.
• You've started patting my belly on your own and waving hi to the baby. However, you don't quite remember that it's on my front and will sometimes pat my bottom and say hi. All I can do is laugh at how cute and innocent you are when you do this. You will bring me your baby dolls at times and ask me to love on them. Then you will take them from me and give them a hug and kiss. You're going to be such a great big sister!
• You still love to read and have favorite books that you go to. Your newest favorite is actually a book that I'm reviewing. I'm not sure if it's because it's new or it's about church or what, but you frequently bring that book or the book about being a big sister to me.
• There are several words daddy and I have to spell so as not to upset you if it doesn't happen or isn't quite time yet: bubbles, outside, eat, food. You're not quite to a point where you understand that just because we say it doesn't mean that we were saying that is what we were going to do.
• You're vocabulary is taking off, so much so that I can't even begin to list all the words you know now. You clearly say "baby", "apple", "outside", "bye bye"...I may be missing some but those are words you use daily and annunciate very well.
• You love to "watch" mommy or daddy from the step stool in the kitchen when we are doing anything in there. Making breakfast? "Watch?!" Cleaning dishes? "Watch?!" Cooking dinner? "Watch?!" I'm convinced if we were having to clean up the nastiest mess you wouldn't care, you want to be with us and you want to learn from what we're doing. You also love to help in whatever way you can. This frequently means you're wiping a cloth on the counter when we're cleaning or you're banging a spoon trying to "stir" whatever we're getting ready to heat for you. I know most toddlers want to watch everything their parents are doing, but I'm convinced part of it is you enjoy helping as well as you just wanting to be with us. Sure, you're curious and want to learn, but I don't think that is the only driving force in you wanting to "WATCH?!" everything we do. And yes, "watch" is in quotations with the question mark and exclamation point because you excitedly ask/say "watch" whenever we ask if you want to do it with us or you've noticed/think we're preparing to do something in the kitchen that you can "Watch?!" :) So sweet!

Clapping your hands because you successfully climbed into the box and sat down.

• You enjoy playing with boxes, empty containers (especially ones with lids that screw off/on), old magazines, etc. Pretty much anything that wasn't ever designed to be a toy :) I have to say that boxes are probably some of your faves. 

Stinkin' Cutie Patootie

• You've recently gained a love for looking out the windows. Sometimes I can't find you because you're so quiet and then I find you with your lovie behind the couch just staring out the window. So cute!
• You can throw a ball like a champ! And you're not too shabby at kicking one either, for that matter. I'm a little surprised by the athleticism you're already showing and I wonder if you'll be more into dance and gynastics or volleyball, softball, soccer, etc. Only time will tell, but I'm not going to force either on you. We'll let you decide what you'd prefer to try. Oh and in the past couple of days, you've even caught the ball without help. It's not consistent but the fact you've even caught it is pretty amazing.

• When you put your mind to something you get it done. You may have a slight melt down if it doesn't go as planned the first time, but with a little encouragement, you will usually keep trying until you get it.
• You're highly resourceful (see above picture). You scooted the box up to the couch and used it as a step stool to help you get up there. You're still not climbing onto the couch on your own, but I think part of that has to do with you wanting to boost yourself up with your leg and they're not quite long enough yet.

Zoë,

I am so glad you made me a mommy first. You bring such light and life to our home. Oh and the laughter! So much laughter. I forgot to mention it in the actual stats, but you have quite the sense of humor and are generally attempting to get everyone around you to join in laughing. I hope that never gets snuffed out. As you grow and become more and more a toddler and lose what's left of the baby in you, I can be nothing but proud. You have such a sweet spirit and seem to genuinely care about others. You have quite the strong will, but I know it will come in handy as long as daddy and I parent you with the wisdom given us by God. (It honestly just makes it harder for me to parent you and teaches me about my short comings :) I am so blessed to have been given the gift of raising you!

I love you, sweet pea!!

Mommy