Friday, November 29, 2013

Textbook here, Textbook there!

Remember this post from a while back about the genius creators over at Campus Book Rentals?  Well they have struck again!!
Thanksgiving is over, and it's the perfect time to sign up for Winter classes at college...get in those extra few credits you can because with the rising cost of tuition these days such a large percentage of college students have to sacrifice classes for cash who wouldn't want to graduate a little early?
With the  Campus Book Rentals website the one thing you will not have to sacrafice for your winter semester at college is your time in the bookstore! 
 By visiting this site and taking advantage of their amazing prices and deals it will save you
 time AND money!
Forget those long bookstore lines, or having to leave the comfort and coziness of your apartment-you now have access to a plethora of college text books via this website!
And when the semester is over and you're finished with the textbook take advantage of their
I sure wish someone had thought of this website when I was in college!
With a few clicks of your mouse you can have all of your text books shipped directly to you-for FREE!
Campus Book Rentals offers
  •  HUGE discounts (40-90% off bookstore prices
  • FREE SHIPPING
 and 
  • RETURN shipping labels are included with each order as well!
Plus for those last minute emergencies or forgetfulness they offer an extremely flexible return policy because they know how hectic college life can be!
It cannot get any easier or more convenient for you!!

Below is a little video below explaining the ins and out of their services they offer, and a BONUS about this company is they donate a portion of each text book rented to Operation Smile!
See you're doing well for yourself and for someone else...
now that's what I call a win-win!
Happy Holiday and Happy renting :)


Disclosure:  This post is sponsored, however all opinions are my own.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

My Season

We all have different seasons of life we go through.
Just as there are four seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall
as people our minds and bodies go through different seasons too.
We go through changes, we grow, and we stumble along life's way.
This particular season I have been in and am still going through has been a challenge.
I haven't made time for things that make me genuinely happy.
I haven't blogged, I haven't sewn or crafted.
I've been bitter, and cynical.
I've made poor choices, I've been selfish, and withdrawn from my relationships.
I haven't made an effort to keep up with my in real life relationships.
I've gossiped, I've been emotional, I've been hasty and shown malice toward others.
I haven't been supportive, I've been hot tempered and quick to react.
I 've been judgmental, and I've been overwhelmed.
I haven't put God and my faith first.
I haven't been listening for God's voice and seeing the path He wants me to walk.
I've been making my own rules and walking my own path.
I texted a friend the other day and she set me straight.
I am so thankful for this friend :)
She reminded me that this was completely normal, and that it was just the season I was going through.
My season is: Emotions!
And boy is it a tough one.  I'm wiped out!  I'm exhausted!
Just because we are having a particularly rough season doesn't mean that season has to define us.
It just means we have to pray harder to be shown the lesson of the season we are enduring.
To make it through to the other side.
There's always a lesson, always a greater purpose.
His purpose.
This friend recently told me that, "my relationship with Jesus is personal and that I don't need a particular Pastor or mentor to lead me, only Jesus!"
How true!!
I've been feeling particularly down and out of place since our wonderful Pastor moved back in July.
I do not do well with change-of any kind...but I had to remember...
 My faith is not based on the teachings and lessons of our Pastor, of course hearing those great sermons every week is an added bonus, but they are not what solidify my relationship with Jesus.
I am what solidifies my relationship with Jesus.
These past few months and weeks have been a pretty dark place for me.
A place I'm ready to move away far, far away from.
I am ready to come out of the dark and step into the light.
I need to remind myself that I am a child of God.
I am redeemed, I am fogiven.
Each day is a new day.
Each day his mercies abound.
Each day I am given a new chance, a new oppourtunity to make the most of my life.
To live my life to honor Him and His works.
"Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven" Matthew 5:16
My light has finally been re-lit.
I am ready to move onto the next season of my life :)
BRING.IT.ON


Monday, November 4, 2013

Then there are days like today

Some days I'm pretty good at this whole parenting thing then there are days like today.  Some days I wake up and can hear the birds chirping outside, I'm able to meet the needs of everyone in my house and keep smiles on everyone's faces.  Then there are days like today.  Most days I can get three kids out the door and off to school with pressed clothes, Tied shoes and a little skip in their step.  Then there are days like today.  Let me preface this post by saying yesterday was DST (daylight savings time).  Boy is this a dousy of a day- especially for parents!  DST for parents with small children ( I can't speak for those with older children as our oldest is only 7) is in one word: exhausting.  It means the little boy who normally wakes up at 6:30am is now awake at 5:30. Or worse the little boys who wakes up at 5:30 is awake at 4:30! True story.  On the opposite end the child who is ready to go to bed at 6pm, starts getting fussy at 4 pm and is ready for bed by 5pm but can't go to sleep because it's too early.  So by 7 pm you have three children who have been up since 6 am, and in a downward spiral and ready for bed for atleast 2 hours.  This morning pretty much followed suit.  Everyone was exhausted ( including me)... So everyone was a grouch including our oldest who in a matter of about 30 seconds lost pretty much every privelage known to him! This morning was the pits.  I was thankful that I was able to get everyone on the bus, and myself off to work on time.  If I only knew what this evening had in store for me I would have considered this morning a blessing!

Now you may or may not know my husband and I work opposit shifts.  I work days, he works nights which means there's always one of us home with our kids, it's a great system that has worked for our family since we had our oldest.  It also means that a lot of the nighttime activities fall onto me.  Which most nights I am fine with.  Then there are nights like tonight.  So after working all day and rushing to get home to relieve our babysitter I packed up 3 kids and headed off to soccer practice in 45 degree weather.  I remembered the snacks, I made myself a hot chocolate, and even packed some toys for the kids, and I was only running 5 minutes behind schedule. As soon as we pulled up to the soccer fields I let our middle son out ( the one who plays soccer), gathered my bags and folding chair and headed towards the field.  Not a minute after I unfolded my chair my oldest and youngest began fighting over who was going to sit in my chair!  Our youngest won the battle; However immediately after trying to sit in the chair he fell over on top of the chair and gave himself a nice scrape on his face in the now 40 degree weather!  Not a great combination.  You guessed it tears galore!! For atleast a good 10 minutes too.  Now , normally his would have been fine but because of how absolutely cold it was the other parents around me hadn't brought their other children.  So here I am bundled up feeling like a snowman (barely able to move, snot dripping from my nose) and trying to soothe an overly tired 2 year old!  Not fun!  Eventually he stopped when older brother offered to play with him and the wrestling figures they brought with them! Excellent, I could finally sit in my chair, drink my hot chocolate and watch my middle during his practice! I would actually be able to wave back at him when he looked over at me and waved excitedly.  Boy was I wrong! Things pretty much went downhill from there. There were moments of dirt being thrown, dirt being eaten because someone wanted to taste the rocks, and complete and utter breakdowns...by all of us.  Practice could not end soon enough tonight, and I could not have gotten three kids into the car faster.  In fact, I enforced the "quiet rule" on the ride home.  Sometimes Asa. Mom you've got to do what you've got to do. I was very thankful for our local pizza place tonight who cooked our favorite and had it ready for pickup: a large cheese pizza. 

 Some days are top notch and then there are nights like tonight.  Nights where I'm given the remind: I can't control it all.  Nights I hope I look back on  when our house is empty, clean for more than 15 minutes at a time, and our children are raising their own families, and can laugh about these times that seemed so stressful to me!  I still wouldn't trade any of this life for anything in this world, but tonight was definitely rough.