Happy Halloween & We've Been Vlogging!

Happy Halloween!

I hope you're having lots of fun today on this silly, fun holiday!

The girls got to dress up yesterday for school and had fun with their glow-in-the-dark PJs last night 

(I loved this glow-y picture we got!)

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, then you'll know that we've been playing with video this week! We put up two vlogs and one short little face paint tutorial (if Vlogs aren't your thing, you might think this face paint video is cool ;)

We're going to try vlogging for a little while because we think it could be a really fun way to document what we're up to and get memories recorded.  If you follow along with those on youtube, we'd love for you to leave us a comment there or give us a "thumbs up" so we know that someone's watching! ;)

Here are the videos we put up this week:

Johansen Camera Bags - Granada Bag

It's time for another camera bag review! :) This is not your average camera bag though- not only is it gorgeous, but it can act as a cross body bag, a hip pack, or an insert for a larger bag!  It's one of Johansen Camera Bags' newest bags, called the Granada Bag.

I'm sharing the Granada bag in black, but you can also get it in black and white.  It's made from black nylon and black leather.  I took lots of photos so you can see every detail!

Strengthen A Home to Strengthen A Family

I write this blog about making memories with our families because I think that the time we spend together as a family is extremely important.  Having a strong family is the most important thing to me. There are a lot of ways to build a strong family, but an excellent place to start is in our homes. 

Ways to Build a Strong Home:

- Celebrate Traditions

- Eat Meals Together

- Work Together

- Unplug occasionally

- Prayer & Scripture Study

- Have Family Nights

The ideas listed above are a few of the things that we do to help our home to be a place that our children and family as a whole can grow together and build strong relationships and individuals. 

Pie Face! (Fun Family Game Giveaway from Hasbro)

Every week, we try to have a special family night. We usually start with a religious song and a prayer, and practice reciting a scripture verse that we're memorizing. Then we go over our "Monkey Business" (our plans for the week).  After those things, we usually have a little lesson about something we think is important and then a snack and an activity. 

A couple of weeks ago, we got something really fun in the mail and I knew it would be the perfect family night activity!  Hasbro has come out with a new game called Pie Face! and I had picked up some of GayLea's Real Whipped Cream so that we'd be ready for our hilarious and delicious family night activity!

Part of the fun was really the anticipation. I love the photos I got from this night- Ken's genuine smile and Katrina's face as she watches him!

Chapter Books to Read to Your Kids (Westly: A Spider's Tale)

I had a goal to read to my girls this summer, as much as possible. I was on a hunt to find good chapter books that I could read to them, that would be interesting to both of them (ages 6 and 9). We found several that we really enjoyed (and are continuing to read now that school has started), so I thought I would share some of the books that we've really liked.

It has been a really nice experience to just relax together and read. The books we've been reading all seem to have lessons woven throughout them that apply to our lives. We've been able to discuss these by talking about the things that are happening to the characters and thinking about how we would react or whether we think they could have made a different choice for a better outcome. Reading together is also a good way to expand vocabulary as new words come up.

When It's Hard to See Past What You Can't Do

Yesterday morning on our way to the school bus stop, the girls and I passed a neighbour on the side walk. We said good morning to him and walked past him. I noticed that he was perhaps struggling with a garbage bag that he was carrying on his lap as he controlled the wheels of his wheelchair with his hands. I wasn't sure if he was having trouble or just moving slowly and I didn't want to offer help if he was fine. I waved goodbye to the girls as the bus drove away and then turned to head home.  This neighbour had not moved very far from where we passed him and was slowly wheeling his way up a hill. As I approached him, I smiled and asked if he would like some help with the bag he was carrying. He quickly accepted my help and thanked me as he put the breaks on his wheelchair and unhooked the bag from a climbing hook he had attached it to at his waist. I was able to carry the bag (which contained sticks & wasn't very heavy) to where he needed it to go. As I walked home after he thanked me, I thought of how happy it had made me feel to be able to help him. I thought of how frustrating it could have been for him to struggle to do this task. I think I can relate to those feelings as I've been struggling this week with my physical ability to do things.

A little over a week ago, my fingers started hurting again. It had been quite a while since I last had problems with them.  I would have a few days here & there when they would hurt a bit and I would hope that that wouldn't turn into a full-blown flare-up. Luckily I haven't had a lasting flare-up in a good while (I'm not sure how long it's been, but probably close to a year if not more).

October 2015 Sharing Time

Welcome to October's Link Party!

Link Party News

I will continue to run monthly link parties that you are welcome to add to weekly or whenever you think of it throughout the month. However, I will only be posting them once per month for a while. So, if you show up here on the weekend and Sharing Time is not the post at the top, that doesn't mean there's no link party!  
Just click on the "Visit This Month's Sharing Time Link Party" button near the top of the sidebar! ---->


Some Great October-y Posts to check out: