2012 Book List

In an attempt to "use what I got," I went through the house and collected all of the books I haven't read yet.  There really is no reason for me to step into a bookstore (or in reality, log on to Amazon) for quite some time.  So here is my list of books to get through in 2012.  To be fair, I've started a lot of them, but in the chaos I like to call my life, things happen and for whatever reason, I never get around to finishing. 
In no particular order:

Mitten Strings for God: Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry

Weightless: Making Peace With Your Body

How to Raise Good Catholic Children

Adventures in Orthodoxy

God Is Love: Deus Caritas Est

The Catholic Way: Faith for Living Today

Pardon and Peace: A Sinner's Guide to Confession

The 5 Love Languages of Children

The Life of Mary As Seen by the Mystics

The Temperament God Gave Your Spouse

Clare and Her Sisters: Lovers of the Poor Christ

Large Family Logistics

Beautiful Girlhood: Revised by Karen Andreola

Strengthening Your Family: A Catholic Approach to Holiness at Home

Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids

Organized Simplicity: The Clutter-Free Approach to Intentional Living

The education of Catholic girls

How to Pray Well 

Small Steps for Catholic Moms

Choosing Beauty: A 30-Day Spiritual Makeover for Women

Educating the WholeHearted Child -- Third Edition

Playful Learning: Develop Your Child's Sense of Joy and Wonder

A Mom After God's Own Heart: 10 Ways to Love Your Children

And maybe I'll fit in that last Jane Austen novel.

What will you be reading?

Weightless Virtual Study

I got my copy of  Weightless: Making Peace With Your Body! 

Did you get yours?

Kate Wicker, the book's amazing author, has offered to participate in an online book club session (as life allows, of course). 

Are you interested?

Leave a comment or send me an email letting me know you are interested, and I'll make it happen.  Right now I am thinking a weekly post, chapter by chapter. This would allow you plenty of time in the week to fit in reading.  I hope you'll join me!

Happy Friday!

Just Keeping You on Your Toes

Things have been a little crazy around here and I'm just now getting around to posting today's giveaway.  It's funny, though, because today's giveaway is a clue to what all of our craziness is about.  (I'll definitely fill you in on it all later.)



Real Learning: Education in the Heart of the Home is one of the few books I have read all the way through more than once and I am trying to figure out the best time for me to read it again (wait until you see my booklist for this year).  It is full of so much information and inspiration.  It is labeled as an education, homeschooling, and parenting book, but I would also label it as a guide for living.  Living a faithful and fruitful life.  There are so many treasures to be found in this book that I would love to go on and on, but it's already late and I want to get this posted for you and work on tomorrow's post as well.  I will leave you with a quote from the jacket of the book:

"More than a curriculum guide, it is a look at a lifestyle which aims to nourish the whole child, the whole family - heart, soul, and mind."

And who wouldn't benefit from that?

Leave a comment between now and Jan. 6th, and you'll be entered into a drawing to win a copy of Real Learning: Education in the Heart of the Home.  I'll announce the winners on Jan. 8th!  Good luck!

New Year, New Start

So have you made a resolution to lose weight and/or get healthy in the new year?  Most people do.  I know I have some goals I'd like to reach. 

Kate Wicker has written a book called Weightless:  Making Peace with Your Body. 



Kate occasionally writes about body image issues, amongst other things,  on her blog, and while I love everything she writes, I haven't yet read her book. Never having been a big fan of my own body, I did not want to deal with those demons I might have to face while reading the book. But it's a new year and I think I am ready. I need to be ready, both for myself, and for my house full of daughters.  I want my daughters to be grateful to God for the bodies He gave them and appreciate how they can use their bodies to do His will.  So I'm going to read it and I'd love to read it with you!


From Amazon: 

There's a wave of body dissatisfaction sweeping across society. While bookstore shelves are well-stocked with tomes on how to overcome body image problems, very few take a faith-based, much less Catholic, approach to self-healing. Weightless: Making Peace With Your Body speaks not only to those who may have faced an eating disorder, but also to anyone who wants to live an abundant life, unencumbered by our culture's obsession with thinness, physical beauty, youth, or food.

A review from Elizabeth Foss:

Rare is the family that is untouched by negative body image, whether it's just the longing to lose a few pounds or a full-fledged eating disorder. With honesty and candor, Kate Wicker's book is a valuable tool in reclaiming femininity and authentic beauty for ourselves and our daughters. 

You can read more reviews here.  If you'd like to buy the book directly from Kate, click here.   But don't click too fast, because I'm giving away a copy today.  And, because I am blessed to know Kate, she will sign the book for you and leave a note. 

Like all of the other giveaways, just leave a comment now through Jan.6th and I will announce winners on Jan. 8th. 

1,000 Gifts

I have to make this quick today.  We are headed up to see my grandmother, one of the gifts of moving to this part of the country.

Speaking of gifts, today you have a chance to win a copy of One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp.  While I haven't actually read the book, it's on my list for 2012 (to be posted soon), and it was my favorite thing to give as a birthday gift in 2011 because I had heard such great things about it.
 
And now I'd like to give it to you.  Again, just leave a comment between now and Jan. 6th and I'll let you know the winner on Jan. 8th. 

And you can check out more Ann Voskamp at her blog, A Holy Experience.

Don't forget the other giveaways so far...

It's Giveaway Day

1 Bracelet-1 Child-1Week of Food

One of Those Nights

Pop the Popcorn

It's Giveaway Day!!!

I hope you and your families were blessed with peace, joy, and maybe a few presents yesterday! It was slightly chaotic around here, but fun was had and love was present. But you don't want to hear about that, do you? You heard there's a giveaway!

Yes! 12 Days of Giveaways, actually! I feel so blessed to be able to do this for you and I'm very excited! (Did I mention that Gifts are my love language?) So visit everyday to see what is the prize of the day!

Today's giveaway is a wonderful book by Amy Welborn.

From her website:

The Catholic Woman’s Book of Days is a 365-day devotional for Catholic women. It is loosely tied to the liturgical year, is a very handy size, and features special devotions for several saints. It is not structured to be tied to any particular year. So it’s sort of perennial. And no, I don’t know about the crosses on the cover. People always ask me about them, thinking they’re mine.

What a perfect way to start out the upcoming new year! This is one of the books I keep in my bedside table. What's great about Amy's book is that the devotions are not time-consuming, so even the busiest of women can fit it in.

Sadly, I'm not great at the daily devotional thing. It seems like I'm always in such a rush in the morning that I don't think about it and then at night, I'm so quick to pass out from exhaustion when I got to bed. I know this is a priority issue and I plan on working on it in 2012.

Do you have a daily devotional? Do you use a book or go to a specific place each day to be with God? Leave a comment, now through Jan. 6th, telling me about your daily devotional time, or what you would like it to be, and you'll have a chance to win this book. I'll annouce winners, for this and all of the giveaways, on Jan. 8th, the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord.

Merry Christmas!