Christmas is almost literally right around the corner. I say this with joy and excitement because I LOVE this time of year. I love giving gifts, I love shopping for the right gift, and I enjoy the expectant excitement of the preparation of the season.  I love celebrating Jesus’ birth and the season of Advent is even more fun with little children. Their excitement and innocence is yet untainted by the commercialism of our culture.

I have been stumbling unapologetically upon a lot of really awesome resources for teaching my children, lately. I’ve been sharing them with our church’s Mothers Ministry, and blasting them from the rooftops to whoever will listen. I’ve found so many that I finally decided a page to compile things into one consolidated place is best for everyone!

I’m so excited about this guest post from my friend, Leighanna. I’ve known her since 2011; I met her in the first small group we joined after being at our church for nearly two years. Leighanna has 3 little boys (and is due very soon), and she is an example to me in so many ways. While I don’t get to see her in person anymore as much as I’d like, I’m thankful for Instagram and text messaging so that we can keep in touch. 

When she shared her “Thankful Chain” idea the other day, I was super excited to try out this activity with my own kids. But rather than reinvent the wheel, I figured I’d let her tell you all about it herself! She’s inspired by Psalm 106:1, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good” to teach her boys about thankfulness using a paper chain! Read on.

Y’ALL — Amazon is life. Listen, I know I talk about it a lot, and in a dream world my love of Amazon would become your love of Amazon and thus earn me a few pennies every month (full Disclosures page here), but really: Amazon is so convenient. How did I live without it? I have tons of wishlists and shopping lists and gift idea lists, but I recently discovered Amazon Idea Lists! It is now possible for me to share all the wonderful things I want with you without having to share a bunch of links at once. Game. Changing.