Well, Hurricane Florence got me motivated to prep my house and hunker down, and as a mom of two little kids, that means more than making sure we have enough water, bread, and batteries. The more I started to think and prep for losing power, the more I began to realize how important it is to have activities for the kiddos. And I realized how easy it is to assemble new, free/cheap, fun activities for little kids with things you probably already have in your house!

This makes hurricane prep, power outages, sick days, or a boring afternoon just a little more fun and exciting. You can pack them away for the car or a trip, or only take them out in times like these to keep them exciting. Who doesn’t love a few cheap (or free) and activities that double as learning and fine- and gross-motor skill development?! Here are the top busy bag activities that I either had the supplies on hand to make already or found easily at the grocery store/pharmacy while I was out and about.

I’ve done a few book posts before (see here and here), but this short one is just going to contain links to some of the other books that I’ve read, have been reading, or have next on my list to read.

I try to focus on parenting my children with the gospel in mind and my eyes on Jesus the whole time, but I fail regularly. Thankfully, I have grace and mercy from God and a helpmate in my husband, and I’m able to try better each time.

One of the things I’ve been focusing on lately is when it comes to extending what’s been extended to me (grace, mercy, love, forgiveness, etc.), I struggle to extend in the same way to my children. It’s like I’ve been given some leeway after acting up, but I expect everyone else to act perfectly all the time around me. That’s hard to admit: I think I’m good at displaying mercy (not getting a punishment you deserve), but I’ve become increasingly aware of my need to extend more grace (getting a gift you don’t deserve).

Who is the boss of your body? The one thing that really brings out the mama bear in me is the thought of someone abusing or molesting my children. On the wings of the #metoo movement, and with all the sexual assault in the news lately, it makes me relive my own experiences as a child and strive to do everything in my power to protect my children from any harm or wrongdoing. This book “God Made ALL of Me” was recommended months ago in a Twitter conversation between a co-author and Beth Moore, and I bought it immediately. I wanted to prepare myself to protect my children long before there was ever a need. I wanted to be proactive, rather than reactionary or defensive. I didn’t want to wish I had read this book after something happened, or worry that it might be “too late.”