September 2020 Book Review

It's the last day of September and that means it's time for my monthly book review! 

With having gone on vacation this month, I thought I'd get through more reading but it just didn't happen. 

Oh, well. This month was a mixed bag of sorts. 

Because I really loved Let Them Be Kids by Jessica Smartt last month, I picked up her other book, 

Memory Making Mom. 

I read this on the plane while we were headed to our vacation so it was perfect. 

Again, I like Jessica because she writes in a very relatable, humble, and approachable way. 

I appreciated not only the countless practical suggestions but more importantly, the reminder of the "why" behind making the memories. 

I'm all about trying to create intentional traditions for my family so this book was right up my alley. 

It's a sweet encouragement for moms who feel like they lack the time or energy to create anything meaningful and lasting for their kids. No guilt or shame here, only inspiration to begin right where you are today. A win!

I've been looking into the Brain Balance Centers for Zach and this book was a natural place to start considering the concept was founded by Dr. Robert Melillo. 

Disconnected Kids echoed much of the information I've already read on neurological disorders.

Maybe if I had read this first, I would have enjoyed it more but I found the information to be somewhat repetitive. I also thought the last part of the book was off-putting since the exercises were written in prose and therefore, difficult to understand (and that was supposed to be the practical part!). Nevertheless, I definitely plan to look into the brain balance method a little further. This book was just OK for me. 

Lastly, I picked up Crash the Chatterbox by Steven Furtick after our trip to NC because we almost attended Elevation Church while we were there. Well, we would've attended except for the fact that churches were still closed for in-person services. Pastor Furtick is the lead the pastor at Elevation and yes, it's the same church where Elevation Worship comes from.

This book is about overpowering the lies of insecurity, fear, condemnation, and discouragement with the promises of God. I don't know about you but sometimes, the dialogue that goes on in my mind will often discourage or paralyze me. With relatable vulnerability, Furtick shares his own struggles with trying to crash the chatterbox.

   

I have to say, I wasn't sure how much I'd like this book because after watching a couple of his sermons online, it just wasn't my preferred style of teaching. HOWEVER, I felt like this book was solid.

I'm glad I read it because it reminded me that we have to tune out the mindless chatter to really hear the voice of God. And we all mess up sometimes but God already knows that about us and yet He still loves us anyway. A simple truth and reminder but one that bears repeating. 

So that's it! 

We have another trip planned next week so hopefully, I'll get to read a little more than I did this month. 

34/50 

Happy Adoption Day, Zach!

We celebrated his special day with a trip to see the Queen Mary. 

Our happy boy was in awe to find out that the Titanic could have fit inside the Queen Mary!

 

He was so inspired that he came home and wanted to make one for himself (with dad's help). 

Hard to believe it's been SIX years since this fragile little boy was released from the NICU. 

Look at that sweet smiling face. I will never forget this day. God is so good! 

We celebrated with chocolate ice cream and cupcakes. 

We love you, son!

God knew exactly what He was doing when He placed you into our family.

 

First Week of School

Even though we pretty much school year round, the big kids take most of August off so when we got back from vacation, we officially started our first week back to school.

Can't believe we have HIGH SCHOOLERS and a first grader, too!  

#barefoothomeschooling

Even though it's still hot (in the 100's around here), on the first day of school, I like to pretend like it's fall. That means we start the day with all things pumpkin.

This year, I treated the girls to a (no-caff) Pumpkin Spice Almond Milk Latte from Starbucks. 

Like me, my kids love all the fall flavors.

     Lol! 

Bring on all the pumpkin spice! 

 Zach completed his First Day of School Questionnaire. 

 The cool thing about this year is that he wrote out all of his answers himself! 

(Except #2, I filled in those numbers after I measured him) My, he's grown! 

I helped him sound out and spell a few words but other than that, he did it all on his own. 

Here's his Kindergarten Questionnaire. 

Such progress considering last year, all he did was write his own name at the top! 

I just love it that the girls are helping me with science and art projects for Zach. 

He especially likes cooking in the kitchen. 

They made a big batch of energy balls. Yum! 

We also made homemade applesauce in the slow cooker and boy, did our house smell spectacular! 

 Probably our favorite fall item at TJ's is this GF Pumpkin Bread. I usually make muffins with these and everyone loves them. I've learned over the years to stock up on these boxes while I can. 

Also, I'm a big fan of roasting veggies. I usually try and roast seasonal veggies and eat them everyday with my lunch. This batch included brussel sprouts, butternut squash, and tri-colored carrots.

Drizzle with coconut oil and salt. Then roast on 425 for 30 minutes. 

  

I try and add more fall-ish items to our weekly meals come September, like this Apple Cider Pork Tenderloin made in the crockpot. It's a super easy recipe the kids love.  

This is a little art project he worked on with Faith. She drew the tree but he "painted" the leaves by using a raw broccoli stem dipped in fall-colored paint. I think it turned out beautiful!  

We don't get much of a fall season here in the desert but we have noticed some cooler mornings and we'll definitely take that. The girls are thrilled to be back to some normalcy. They are back to having their in person tutoring lessons with Ms. Lyndi again as well as their piano teacher, Ms. Lynette. They've also been going to high school youth group at church every Wednesday night. So far, Zach is still doing 2/3 of his therapy sessions on zoom but this week, we were able to go into the clinic for one of those sessions so that was terrific! I know how quickly these little years go by so I'm really enjoying all the time I get to spend with Zach doing school at home. Such a sweet blessing. I wouldn't trade a moment! 

Shopping in Charleston

This was our last day in Charleston and that means I'm FINALLY at the end of posting all our pictures. 

The girls and I had to go check out the City Market, which dates back to the early 1800's. 

Such a strange time in history, right? 

At least it was air-conditioned! 

 Cute little stores. 

 Totally normal to see horse drawn carriage tours on the streets. 

 We decided to take a walk to a coffee shop I had read about. 

 So much history everywhere. 

 We walked about a mile and made it to Kudu Coffee where we enjoyed cooling off with Honey Lavender Lattes. They were yummy!

 The girls matched this building so I had to take a photo. 

And one more stop at Rainbow Row with my girlies. 

We always like to bring back a souvenir from our travels so we picked up this little hand-painted ornament from the City Market. Can't wait to hang it on our Christmas tree this year! 

Charleston was founded in 1670 and known for its beauty, its history, and its romantic appeal.

We certainly experienced all that and more. 

Our trip to the Carolinas was wonderful! The whole mask situation wasn't as big of a deal as we thought it might be. Everything we wanted to do was open so that was great. I still don't get the fact that you have to wear a mask INTO a restaurant but then you can take it off when you're sitting at your table. 😏

The humidity (and bugs) weren't too much of an issue either. Yes, it was hot (in the high 80's) but it didn't stop us from doing things outside. You were just pretty much soaked afterwards but when you come from a blazing 115 degrees (and can't go outside), it's a trade-off. And if we were near the ocean, it was lovely! 

As for bugs, I think Faith and Morgan each got 2-4 mosquito bites the whole trip. That's not too bad. 

So, which state did we like better? North or South? 

It's surprising, even to us, but we liked North Carolina better!

South Carolina was a fun place to visit and we loved the beaches but NC just blew us away with its beauty, nature, small-town communities, friendliness, outdoor lifestyle, and things to do. 

After all these crazy months of COVID, I am so thankful we got to go on vacation and experience this part of the country. We made some beautiful memories as a family!  

USS Yorktown

Morgan took Zach to see the USS Yorktown. 

USS Yorktown (CV-10) was an Essex-class aircraft carrier, nicknamed the "Fighting Lady," and served with the US Navy in both WWII and the Vietnam War.   

 This boy loves his airplanes. 

 Looks all clear from up here. 

 He also found a display of one of his favorite ships, the Titanic. 

One of his favorite books is about the Titanic and when he saw the display, he and dad came back to the hotel to recreate it. Not bad at all considering all we had was paper, markers, and tape. 

  

Love him! 

Morgan said the USS Yorktown was fascinating. 

And since the girls weren't too interested in going, I took them shopping instead.