You're Irreplaceable

Madilyn Paige is a singer-songwriter from Provo, Utah who gained popularity when she competed on the TV show, The Voice.  She has just released an album, Madilyn Paige.

Themes throughout the CD and lyrics are loving yourself, being yourself despite what everybody else is saying, recognizing that there are others around us going through hard things even when they don't show it, and slowing down to enjoy the small things in life.  There are some great messages in her writing!

Daily Routines & A Giveaway

We made a goal at the beginning of the school year, to pray and read scriptures together as a family every morning.  We've been doing pretty well and I'm happy with how well we've been sticking with it.  One of the things I have liked about it is that Katrina has become more and more comfortable with reading from the scriptures.  

I think it's great for children to have the opportunity to read from the scriptures even when they're young and don't understand all of the vocabulary.  It's a great opportunity for us, as parents, to stop and explain what things mean (teaching them about words and about the contents of the scriptures).  It also helps them to become familiar with the language used in the scriptures so that as they grow older, it will not feel foreign to them.

I had the opportunity recently to review Nicole Carpenter's new book, 52 Weeks to Fortify Your Family.  This is a book full of weekly themes that includes an entire year of quick and powerful daily devotionals using scripture from the Bible and the Book of Mormon.

Simple Strawberry Crêpe Valentine Breakfast

When it comes to smaller one-day holidays like Valentine's Day or St. Patrick's Day I think it's fun to do little things to make it fun for your kids. I don't usually do anything too major, and sometimes it's kind of an afterthought (pink heart-shaped pancakes or green milk with brownies.. that sort of thing), but even small touches like that can make the day special for your kids (and for you!).

One of my absolute favourite things to eat for breakfast are crêpes! It's not a dish I make up very often, but I love to eat it when I do! :) This would be a really fun Valentine Breakfast to have with your family this year- and it's a bonus that Valentine's Day falls on a Saturday, so your morning is likely to be less rushed!

This month as Gay Lea Ambassadors, we're using Gay Lea’s Real Whipped Cream products and I went with Gay Lea’s Real Whipped Cream.  When given the choice, I prefer the taste of real whipped cream that I whip myself to whipped cream in a can (which are often not really whipped cream). What I love about Gay Lea's Whipped Cream is that it is actually made with real cream- and it tastes great!

Now, moving on to the recipe, here's what you'll need:

February 2015 Sharing Time - Week 2

Welcome to February's Sharing Time Linky!

Before we get to the party, here's a quick recap of the week:

There is a Giveaway this week, for a Lightscoop Deluxe! <--learn all about why that's cool in the post :)

... and I also shared a photo of the snow we had Monday morning when we had a Snow Day!
(and a funny little Monday Moment).


Here's the link to a Collection of 25 Free Valentine Printables :)



Now, on to the link party- I can't wait to see what you share! :)

Please join the Raising Memories Sharing Time & add a link to your latest and greatest blog posts
about activities to do with your children or fun projects that you have done!

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If you're participating, please share the button on your blog & "hop over" to at least one other blog post that's been linked up- let's support each other!

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An InLinkz Link-up

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How to Get Better Photos with your Pop-Up Flash (& a Giveaway!)

I mentioned in an earlier post that I used an external flash for our Christmas morning photos.  If you haven't researched photography very much, you might wonder why I would feel the need to use an external flash if my camera comes with a pop-up flash.  I'll talk about that in this post. (I have also written a post all about using your flash & when it is good to use it & when it is better not to here.)



There are several ways to do just fine with what your DSLR comes with (in my case, very high ISO capabilities and a pop-up flash).  If you set your ISO high (the D3300 can go up to an impressive 12,800), you can get rid of the blur that can come with low light, but you're likely to end up with a more noisy/grainy photo (which you may or may not like).  Your other option is to use your pop-up flash which solves the noise problem, but is not ideal lighting (you can end up with red eye and harsh shadows when using a pop-up flash).

Monday Moments: What Am I Saying?

This is what we woke up to this morning!  It's a snow day! :)  Most of us are still in pajamas over here and enjoying the day off- there's something magical about a snow day and having no choice but to miss school! :)

In light of the snow day, it seemed like a good day to share the following "Monday Moment":

The other day, Talia was brushing snow off of the car and Katrina was standing at the front door, watching her.  I overheard Katrina say this to her:

"Good eye, Tal!.. I don't know what I'm really saying.. good job I mean!"

haha! So funny when they try to use words or phrases they've heard- sometimes they're right on even when they don't know what they're saying ;)

What kind of weather do you have today?

Do you have a snow day?

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