Good Reads: Part 2

I am very aware that when you give birth to a child, they do not come with an instruction book, titled "All About Me!"  
A couple of weeks ago, Jerod and I went to Barnes and Noble in search of a baby book for some advice.  Instead of getting the book I came for, I left with "The Duggars: 20 and Counting!"  When I showed it to Jerod he said, get it... she's done it 18 times and she's a Christian.  
I finished the book this past Monday night and will say that it was full of great advice.  No, we don't plan on having 18 kids, but I have always been interested in how they do it!  Really, my one child is a nap in a hammock under a shade tree compared to their crew!  
One piece of advice that I thought was really great (and unusual for this day) is that they don't borrow money for anything.  If they want something, they save up the money for it, ensuring that they don't go into debt.  (This principle reminded me of book The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey, but that's a whole nother post!)  The Duggar family sticks to this principle from the verse in the Bible "Owe no man anything, but to love one another."  -Romans 13:8  Great advice if you ask me! 
I was really impressed how the kids are all so helpful to each other and to their parents.  They do everything together, from cleaning the house, schoolwork, fixing meals to even building their 7,000 square foot house (which is paid for!)  
This was a really great book to read since I didn't have to "think" so much! :)  Scattered throughout the book are family recipes, interesting facts and answers to emails they have received.  It was great to learn about a family that loves the Lord and each other!

Also, on Monday morning on the Today show, they announced that the oldest son and his wife are having a baby girl!  I thought this was a creative idea.... cutting a cake and the inside frosting color tells you what you're going to have!  
Later that night, I checked out Gabriel and Carlie's photography blog.  They are a husband and wife team out of southern California.  Check out their exciting video.... IT'S. THE. BEST! :)

Good Reads: Part 1

I have always enjoyed a good book.  When I was younger I used to read under the covers with a flashlight while I was supposed to be sleeping! :)  The past couple years, I haven't read as much as I used to or liked to.  But that's about to change. 
A couple weeks ago, I heard about a book called "Do Hard Things".  It's written by 19 year old twin brothers, Alex and Brett Harris.   I was able to borrow the book and ended up reading it pretty quickly.  What impressed me was the things that these twins and other teens around the world are accomplishing at such a young age. 
The book talks about doing 5 different kinds of hard things.   1.  Hard things that take you outside your comfort zone.
2.  Hard things that go beyond what's expected or required.
3.  Hard things that are too big for you to do alone.
4.  Hard things that don't pay off immediately.
5.  Hard things that go against the crowd. 

Even this book is geared towards teens, I really go a lot out of it.  It really got me thinking about the hard things in my life, things that I want to do, but used to think they were too hard.
Jerod ended up buying the book the other day and now he's reading it.  I think it will be a good gift also for some teens that are graduation from high school.