The 5 Love Languages

The 5 Love Languages

by: Gary Chapman

Description:
New York Times bestselling author Dr. Gary Chapman guides couples in identifying, understanding, and speaking their spouse’s primary love language; quality time, words of affirmation, gifts, acts of service, or physical touch. Chapters are categorized by love language for easy reference, and each one ends with simple steps to express a specific language to your spouse. You can build a lasting, loving marriage together. More than five million sold!

My Review: I think by now almost everyone has heard of the 5 Love Languages, but most of us still need to implement these simple concepts into our own homes and marriages. I had previously read The 5 Love Languages for Children, but had not applied those concepts to understand how to show love to my husband. I could easily tell you what love languages my children have, but it's not as simple with John.

This book is well written. It is easily read in a short amount of time. I appreciated the Personal Profile at the back of the book too, although that is also available online. I believe that this book is essential in keeping our marriage strong. After all marriages do take hard work, men and women are so very different from each other. John and I are so different from each other. If we can better understand how to relate to each other, and how we each show/receive love differently, our marriage will be better because of it. I enjoyed reading about the many true stories of saved marriages because one or both of them decided to make a change before it was too late. This book is definitely worth a read!

***Available now at your favorite bookseller***

Neat Freak

You know you have it good when...

Your oldest daughter wakes up, sees the messy horrors of her little sister's room, and she cleans up the ENTIRE room by herself.

Not her own room.

Her sister's room!

After I recovered from the shock of it, I asked Brie why she decided to clean up Ella's room

"Because it was VERY VERY messy!"

Isn't she absolutely wonderful?

She is obviously a bit of a neat freak (and I mean "freak"...seriously who cleans up their little sibling's room without anyone making them do it?!?), but Ella's room did need a lot of help.

The problem with Ella is her room will always look like a bomb went off in there. You walk next door to Brie's room and it's almost completely spotless.

Where did she come from?

I LOVE that girl!

Come Together Now

What an emotional collaboration of talented artists!

Michael W Smith is actually coming to Saskatoon in May and I already have plans to volunteer at the Compassion booth that will be set up there.

He was recently in Haiti to witness the devastation firsthand, and he is already an advocate for Compassion, along with other wonderful charity organizations. I pray that God will help many more to see the need for child sponsorship through this event.

Compassion was in Haiti before the earthquake. They are still there now. They will continue to be there to help repair and restore broken souls, not just broken buildings.

There are 3 basic but essential points to understand about Compassion:

• Christ Centered
• Child Focused
• Church Based

There is also a great new website called OurCompassion, which is like facebook, in order to connect with other sponsors and to share about your own sponsored children. Check it out!

Mabel's Blogger

Seriously, how cool would THIS be?

Write a post on your blog in response to the following hypothetical situation: Electrical storms are going to wipe out the Internet (perhaps forever). You have one day left to write about your passions: what do you want to say to the blogosphere in 300 words or less?

I will have to give that some serious thought....

Cool Peace

I'm in the middle of studying right now, but taking a short break to share something.

1 hour ago I felt completely overwhelmed by the amount of information I did not know for my exam tonight. I was resigned to failing or getting a barely passable mark.

You see for the last several days I was very sick. Down for an entire day last Wednesday with a horrible migraine.

Then on Thursday, which just so happened to be my birthday, I had a terrible head cold. Did not feel like celebrating at all, or doing anything for that matter.

The cold continued for several days and I could barely keep it together, never mind studying the detailed science of the body: nerves, brain, eyes, etc.

So I could not physically study (and retain that information) until yesterday.

Needless to say I am kinda stressed.

But then in the last hour of studying, my brain is RETAINING more information than I would have expected.

I had just complained at lunch to John that I would never be able to learn the sequence of steps for a particular subject.

And now?

I have it memorized!

I'm not a memorizer, but my brain is remembering it for me anyways.

Definitely a God thing.

Cool, isn't it?

GO Canada Photo Contest

In true Canadian olympic spirit, Please Mum and Mabel's Labels have a great contest going on right now.

If you have pictures of your kids wearing Please Mum clothing, submit them online to be entered.

Prizes are 1 of 2 Please Mum gift certificates worth $150 AND $300 worth of Mabel's Labels for your entire family! (and we all know how much I love Mabel's!)

You have until March 7th to enter, but make sure you only enter each child once!

Patriotic Pride

Never has our country been so filled with pride!

It is amazing to witness the enthusiasm that has been building in anticipation of the 2010 Olympics.

From the Red Mitts, to the Torch Relay (one of the runners I personally know!), we have been showing each other, and the world that Canada is a wonderful country to be a part of.

I love listening to the wild cheering in Vancouver as one of our own competes in their sport. Seeing all the red in the crowds is just fantastic.

Hearing the news broadcasters talking about this new pride we are taking in our country is awesome.

Watching my girls become inspired in these athletes as they wholeheartedly cheer them on from our couch is absolutely priceless!

GO CANADA GO!

Beguiled: a review

Beguiled

Deeanne Gist and J. Mark Bertrand

In the shadows of Charleston, someone is watching her

Rylee Monroe, a dogwalker in Charleston's wealthiest neighborhood, never feared the streets at night. But now a thief is terrorizing the area and worse, someone seems to be targeting her.
Reporter Logan Woods is covering the break-ins with the hope of publishing them as a true-crime book. The more he digs, the more he realizes this beguiling dogwalker seems to be at the center of everything.
As danger draws ever closer, Logan must choose: Chase the girl, the story, or plunge into the shadows after the villain who threatens everything?
Deeanne Gist has a background in education and journalism. Her credits include People, Parents, Parenting, Family Fun, and theHouston Chronicle and she has a degree from Texas A&M. Dee is the author of five previous bestselling novels including A Bride in the Bargain and lives in Houston, Texas. Visit Deeanne's Web site atwww.deeannegist.com

J. Mark Bertrand has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Houston. After one hurricane too many, he left Houston and relocated with his wife Laurie to the plains of South Dakota. For more information, visitwww.jmarkbertrand.com

My Review: This is a great book for a sick day (as I recently experienced) and is easily read in one sitting. The main character is very likable and I was rooting for her throughout the story. It is a suspenseful tale and I certainly enjoyed it!

***Available February 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group***

Love Your Heart: a review

Love Your Heart

By: Tim McGraw

The second book in Tim McGraw’s My Little Girl series is a heartwarming story of a little girl’s selfless act of kindness.

Tim McGraw and songwriter Tom Douglas once again join forces to write another book about the precocious Katie and her dad. Katie has many talents, but she wonders which one will win her school’s talent show. With the help of Dad and her faithful dog Palio, and after several amusing mishaps, Katie finally chooses one talent that includes Palio. But at the talent show, she decides to drop out of the contest to help her friend, showing kindness is the best talent of all. Katie’s proud dad reassures her that she did the best thing and that while he loves many things about her, he loves her heart most of all.

My Review: This book was not my favorite, it felt somewhat disjointed and didn't flow nicely. I honestly expected more from a celebrity. I found the transitions from scene to scene to be rather awkward. The one reference to asking God for help was very slight, so I don't even know that I would consider this to be a christian story. That being said, Ella loved this book. She loves any type of lovey-dovey story and she is not picky. She enjoyed the pictures and the story of a dad's love of his little girl. Since this book is designed for young girls I decided to give this a higher rating than I would have for myself.

***I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.***

Crazy

This may explain why I haven't been a faithful blogger lately!

Those crazy children sure keep me busy!

DanActive review

Even if you’ve never noticed, your body’s natural defenses are strained every day by several factors, such as cold weather and stress (physical and psychological). However, you can strengthen these defenses in order to maintain a healthy, active lifestyle.

Nature has equipped us with a complex system of barriers and natural defence mechanisms so that we can combat harmful bacteria. However, this natural defence system undergoes variations that are influenced by our lifestyle.

Of course, there are several ways in which you can strengthen your natural defenses: exercising regularly, eating a varied, balanced diet and getting adequate rest are all smart choices.

But now, you have a new ally to help you strengthen your natural defenses: a probiotic drink called DanActive^TM.

DanActive^TM, with its thoroughly refreshing taste, is the simple and practical ally for our natural defenses.

70% of our natural defenses are found in the digestive tract

Certain factors like stress or fatigue can sometimes weaken our natural defenses. The body has multiple ways of defending itself: the skin, of course, but also the intestine, where most of our defenses are found.

The intestine is a processing station: so, in addition to food, it also contends with undesirable elements (such as harmful bacteria). Thanks to its membrane, its immune system and its microflora, the intestine serves as a barrier that repels harmful bacteria.

DanActive^TM boosts the body’s resistance and makes it a more formidable defender against, among other factors, harmful bacteria and other micro-organisms. When consumed daily, DanActive^TM helps strengthen the body’s natural defenses.

My Review: DanActive has great flavour. Our family tried out the strawberry flavour and everyone enjoyed it. The kids have always been huge fans of yogurt drinks, and knowing that is a healthy snack they enjoy is encouraging. The size is a little small for our liking, but overall I was pleased with this drink. I can't attest to the long-term benefits of DanActive as we only received a coupon for a 4-pack, and every person in my family wanted their own drink, however I will certainly consider buying this in the future.

***I received a coupon for a FREE 4-pack of DanActive, courtesy of Bzz Agent***

Pain

I somehow managed to pull a large muscle in my back this morning.

It was so bad that I was actually in tears.

Then Brie was in tears when I told her that I couldn't join her class for skating today.

Fortunately John is off today so he was able to go in my place.

I called our local medi-clinic to see the on-call doctor today. It was the one doctor that I've only ever heard negative things about, and have refused to see in the past, but today I was not going to be picky.

They booked me an appt for mid morning to see him, but told me to call first before leaving the house. Good thing, since he was VERY late getting into the office.

Which I'm told happens a lot with this doctor.

But when he did arrive I went to the clinic and he wrote me a prescription for 2 drugs.

One for the pain, and one for a muscle relaxant.

I was told they might make me drowsy. Which I laughed at. Nothing makes me drowsy. I can hardly nap. EVER.

This afternoon I was needing to lie down just to help relieve the pain. John woke me up over 2 hours later.

That was the first nap in a few years. Seriously.

It was awesome!

The pain.....not so awesome.

I'm waiting to take my second dose, but I'm thinking that it may be wise to wait until closer to bedtime.

Since it actually does make me drowsy.

It's never convenient to wreck one's back or deal with the surrounding issues (such as I can't hold my neck up straight right now) but I am very thankful that John is on his first day off in 2 weeks. It is surprisingly good timing.

Not good timing for the plans I had to accomplish schoolwork (weekly notes, discussion, assignents), but that will just have to wait until I can function properly.

STUPID Spammers

Well I made a decision to end all anonymous comments on my blog due to the daily spam that is showing up on here.

So from now on if you would like to leave a comment (and I sure encourage you to do that every once in a while!), you will need to be a registered user. This means you need a gmail account, blogger, wordpress, etc.

It's really frustrating to change the comments this way, because I know that some of you just leave your initials when you comment. But from now on, no more anonymity.

Sorry.

Stupid spammers with their bad grammar.