Think Before You Speak

I found this on Pinterest.com and thought it was REALLY good:

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I need to print this out and hang it up right in front of my own eyes!

Mama Bear

Trader Joe's Brings us a New Treat

At least it's new to me.

Yep!

They're pretty doggone good!

And they're only 3 points per bar for all of you WW people out there.

YUM!

Mama Bear

Win Your Own Copy of The Jesus Storybook Bible

Our kids LOVE the Jesus Storybook Bible.  Really...all three of them!  We have an 18 year old, an almost 5 year old, and a 2 year old, and they all love looking at the book, and love to hear Mama Bear or Papa Bear read the stories. 

And the great thing about these stories, is that they all point to Christ!

You can buy this book HERE.  (I don't get any compensation for this...we just wanted to share what we love.)

Want to WIN one?  We're going to give one away!  All you have to do is go "Like" the Jesus Storybook Bible page on Facebook, and then leave a comment below, letting me know that you "liked" them, AND in the SAME comment, let me know what you would do with the Jesus Storybook Bible if you win.

Oh, and feel free to say hello to the people over at the Jesus Storybook Bible page on Facebook...show some love on their wall!  :-)  Let them know that you're a new fan!

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This giveaway will end on November 30th.  This would make a wonderful Christmas gift, birthday gift, baby shower gift, or a "just because" gift.

Have a blessed day in Christ!

Mama Bear

Harvest Party Mix

Harvest Party Mix

I had seen this on Pinterest and wanted to try it out, so when I knew I needed to make something for home group last night, I knew this was the perfect thing.  See, home group is over 40 adults and over 40 kids!!!  We didn't have that many there last night, but there were probably at least 50 people.  I took two bowls of it, and most of it got eaten.

Here's what I did:

Melt one stick of butter (NOT margarine!!!!!)...add about 1/3 cup of brown sugar and about a teaspoon of cinnamon and cook on low until the sugar is about half dissolved.  Put about 4 cups of Corn Chex and 3 cups of mini pretzels in a large bowl, pour the butter mixture over the top, and toss well...for about 5 minutes, to make sure the chex and pretzels get well-coated.  Put this mixture on a jelly roll pan and place in a 300 degree oven for about 25-30 minutes.  Take out, and allow to cool completely (you'll want to kind of toss the mix with a spatula/egg turner after it comes out of the oven, just to separate any pieces that might have stuck together because of the sugar.).  You will FALL IN LOVE with the Chex!!!  Oh, my!  I could not stop eating them!!!

In the meantime, pop up 2 pots of popcorn (I got about 8 cups of popped popcorn from this)...pour into a large bowl and lightly salt.  Once the popcorn is cool, add a bag of Harvest Mix Candy Corn and a bag of M&Ms (regular...not peanut or anything else).  (I took out all of the red and blue M&Ms, because I couldn't find a Fall themed bag of M&Ms at Target.)

After the Chex and pretzels are completely cooled, add to the rest of the mix and toss.

Enjoy!

Mama Bear

I Got a New Backdrop

I purchased a backdrop for the first time ever, from Backdrop Baby.  I couldn't WAIT to try it out, and so I decided to do photos of my little ones (AGAIN).  They love each other, as you can see, but they also don't tolerate getting their pictures taken for very long at all!

Mama Bear

Please May I Come In?

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"Please may I come in?"

This is a phrase I hear almost every day.  My little ones want to be wherever we are...wherever I am.  And when I'm trying to get ready for the day (hair, makeup, using the potty, etc.), or when I'm making the bed, I always have someone hanging around outside our bedroom door, asking that question.

Since Papa Bear and I got married, we have had the rule that our children must knock and ask if they can come in to our room.  They are not allowed to just barge in uninvited.  They don't come in during the middle of the night or wee hours of the morning and climb in bed with us.  They do not come in our room and "play" or whatever else they can come up with doing in our bedroom.  It's kind of funny, because it's like our bedroom is this very cool, mysterious place of wonder and excitement, as much as we get asked that question.

But it's not.

It's just our bedroom.

Our sanctuary.

It's not neat and tidy.  It's nothing super ornate.  It's not what you see in the photo above (although I wish it was, because I LOVE the look of that room!!!).  No, it's just OUR room.  It's just about the only place in our house where we can have a little privacy, and it doesn't have kids' toys or clothing strewn everywhere.

One day, our room will be a beautiful, romantic sanctuary, but for now, it's simple and functional.  It's where Papa Bear and I are comfortable and know that we can hang out without the kids coming in.  Not to say they don't knock on the door on a regular basis, or stand outside the closed door begging to come in.  But they know the rule.  They HAVE to ask to come in, and they have to be given permission.

And we love it that way!

Mama Bear

Go To Dinners

What's for dinner?

That is a question I get from my husband pretty much every day.  Sometimes, I say "I haven't really thought about it yet." and sometimes I say "Let's get Subway", but many times I do have something planned.

Do you have "go-to" dinners that you can fix without a recipe?  I do!  I have to.  Sometimes you just need to make dinner on auto-pilot.

Here are my typical go-to dinners:

Pasta (spaghetti or penne pasta with red sauce), salad, bread (filone is our new favorite bread!)

Taco Salad

Enchilada Casserole (NOT made with any cream of something soup), Refried Beans, Spanish Rice

Marinated Baked Chicken, Steamed Broccoli, White Rice

BLT's Chili Beans, and sometimes Chips

Boca Burgers, Chili Beans, Sweet Potato Fries

Tacos, Refried Beans, Spanish Rice

Hamburger Soup and some sort of bread or biscuit

So how about you?  What are your "go-to" dinners that you can fix quickly and typically have most of the ingredients for, already in your pantry?

Mama Bear