7 Reasons We’re Using a Video Class for Homeschool Bible

When I posted my list of curriculum choices at the beginning of this school year, I noted that we would be doing a streaming video class from BJU Press Distance Learning for Bible class.

Now I want to give you my reasons for choosing to go this route and how a video curriculum benefits our homeschool.

I have moved all of my homeschooling posts to christianhomeschoolfamily.com. You can go here to read this post at the new site.”

Are Store Brand Diapers Really Worth It?

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Dollar General. All opinions are 100% mine.

I'm a really frugal person.  I always look for the best deal on everything, comparing prices plus quality.

When I was asked if I would try some of Dollar General's baby products and see how I thought they compared to the name brands I was eager to accept the challenge.

I was skeptical to be honest, but certainly willing to give store brand products a fair shot.

A lot of times store brand diapers are not nearly as good quality and are more trouble than they're worth.  I also wanted to see if they were any cheaper than what I would buy in bulk.

I used to be quite the coupon mom, scoring packs of diapers for pennies on the dollar by working the deals.  As we've added more and more children to our household, I've had to come to grips with the fact that the time investment was just not worth it.  I started buying diapers in bulk from Amazon instead since that was the cheapest I could get them per diaper.

So my little foray into Dollar General found me looking at packages of diapers and once again comparing which package would get me the lowest price per diaper.

I selected a package and took it home to try out on my little munchkin.  I was surprised to find that the quality of the diapers seemed not just okay but actually…good.

I let her go longer than usual between changes just to see how it would hold up and I was even more impressed.  The diaper was still comfortable on her (well as comfortable as I'd think a diaper could be) and had no signs of starting to come apart under the weight of its being full.

But here is where my real skepticism came into play.

“Okay, so I know the quality of these diapers is pretty good, and this is what I would grab if I had to make an emergency run to the store because they're definitely the cheapest I could get at Dollar General.  But is this the cheapest I can get quality diapers period?  Or will my buy-it-in-bulk prices still beat them out?”

All I had to do was do a quick check over at Amazon to see which diapers came up the cheapest per diaper.  (Amazon seems to be pretty good at showing the packs with the lowest price per diaper first.)  I unashamedly switch around brands based on whichever is cheapest when I need to order.

The name brand diapers in size 5 came out to right around 19 cents per diaper.  How did the Dollar General brand compare?  Roughly 19 cents per diaper.

So, knowing that the quality of the Dollar General brand diapers was every bit as good if not better than the name brands and that the price was pretty much exactly the same, let me once again ask myself the question, “Are store brand diapers really worth it?”

I would have to say “Yes.  Yes they are.”

• They are the same price as the cheapest name brand diapers on Amazon.
• The name brands definitely vary in quality, and usually the cheapest ones are the lowest quality.
• Therefore I am getting better quality by buying Dollar General brand at the same exact price.
• (Bonus: Dollar General offers digital coupons and sometimes a coupon for their store brand diapers comes up, making the price even less!)

I have never been one to care about brand names.  Who cares what brand it has on it as long as it works?

I honestly have to say that I am surprised.  I really thought that the price would be higher on the store brand diapers.  I was sure I'd be able to get diapers much cheaper by buying them in bulk.  I was wrong. And I can definitely see myself buying Dollar General brand again.

I guess you learn something new every day. 🙂

Interested in trying Dollar General brand diapers (or giving another baby product a try?) Be sure to browse through the digital coupons first! Click to Save on baby essentials with Dollar General!

God’s Love is Like a Circle – Free Printable Valentines for Christian Kids

Every Valentines Day I try to come up with something my kids can give to their friends that doesn't include candy.  

I'm not crazy about my kids having tons of candy, so I figure it would be a little hypocritical to hand it out to everyone else.

This year's idea hit me super early one morning when I should have been sleeping, so I hopped out of bed and put these together.  

I specifically wanted some tags that would fit on a standard Ziploc bag since I always have those on hand.  

(If you don't know the song it's sung to the tune of "Stand up, Stand up for Jesus".)

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Awesome!  I love connecting with others who are passionate about teaching their children the love of Christ! CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE VALENTINES.

I found a huge bag of bouncy balls on Amazon for about 10 bucks.  There were plenty to give each child several balls.  (Note: make sure that parents are aware that you have given these to their child as they could be a choking hazard.)  Here is the bag of balls that I bought:

Bouncy Balls - Colorful Bright Solid Color High Bouncing Balls Bulk - 100pcs 2.7cm

More Valentine's Day goodies you might like:

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Do I Really Love My Family?

"Mom, my legs hurt.  Can you rub them?"

"Ugh," I thought to myself.  "I don't want to! He's gotta be faking anyway.  He just wants to stay up.  I'm sooo tired and I'm already half asleep.  He just needs to go back to bed."

​But I heard a whisper in my soul.  "What is love?"

• Is love serving my family only when I feel like it?​
• Is love taking care of my own desires and fitting in other people when it's convenient?
• Is love doing the things for my kids that make me happy and ignoring the rest?

I knew the answer.

"Come here, bud.  Mommy's legs used to hurt like that sometimes when I was young too.  You must be growing."  And I rubbed and rubbed those little legs until not only was my little boy happy, but I was happy too.

"It truly is more blessed to give than to receive."​

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I don't know why I'm so selfish.  But I am.  It's one thing to say that I love my family.  It's another thing to show it by my actions.

The Bible sure does have a lot to say about what real love is and it has nothing to do with what makes me happy.

I find that to truly love my family I must:

• Serve them  (Galatians 5:13)
• Lay down my life for them (John 15:13)
• Be longsuffering and patient with their mistakes (I Corinthians 13:4)
• Be kind to them (I Corinthians 13:4)
• ​Not allow little things to get under my skin (I Corinthians 13:5)
• Die to my own desires (I Corinthians 13:5)
• Treat them the way I want to be treated myself (Mark 12:31)

We may say "I love my family!" but I think what we often mean by that phrase is this: "My family makes me happy!  They are so precious!  My kids make me smile, and my husband is so good to me!"

How subtle!  Loving our family is often all about us and we don't even realize it.  Look at how many me's and my's are in the statements above!

Loving our family has nothing to do with how they make us feel and everything to do with laying down our lives daily for them.

Click to Tweet

Granted, selfless service generally creates an atmosphere of peace.  Our families will generally reciprocate to some extent and we probably will feel happy.  But what if that doesn't happen?  

We are still called to love - to sacrifice and to die to ourselves.​

So whenever you catch a glimpse of your "I love my family!" bumper sticker, ask yourself,  "Do I really love my family?" 

I guarantee it won't be a one time decision.  It's a day-by-day, moment-by-moment choice to lay aside all that pleases ourselves in order to serve others.

But it's a choice you won't regret.  It truly is more blessed to give than to receive.

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A Modest Skeptic’s First Stitch Fix

After seeing blogger after blogger after blogger raving about Stitch Fix, my curiosity finally got the best of me and I ordered my first box.

I resisted for the longest time because I knew that the prices are definitely a splurge and I am about as cheap as they come.

Also…I really wondered if they would send me modest clothes.  Modest means something a little different to everyone, and I wondered if they'd send me stuff I was comfortable with wearing.

I finally bit the bullet and decided to just see what it would be like.  They were having a special where they waived the stylist fee and I figured I could always just send everything back if I wasn't impressed.

So, without further adieu, here is how it all went down.

You can take a look at the initial unboxing in the (very boring) video below.  I was trying to hurry and be quiet at the same time and it didn't work that well.  But if you're a glutton for punishment, go ahead:

You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel for random tidbits of whatever I feel like videoing. 🙂

So, let me show you a couple pictures of my Stitch Fix and then share the pros and cons that struck me about Stitch Fix.

First was this maternity skirt.  (Yes, I'm pregnant with just a little bump at this point.  I thought they did a great job sending clothes that were the right fit for this stage of pregnancy.)

I didn't bother trying it on, though, because I could tell just from holding it up that it was shorter than what I would wear.  That one was going back for sure.

Next was this black maternity top. I really liked it and it was something different which was nice to get me out of a rut.  Plus, it didn't really look like a maternity shirt and that's something I've been wanting.  But I had to send it back because it is completely sheer and the shell underneath did not provide enough coverage to make me comfortable.

The maxi skirt also came in the box and I really, really liked it.  It fit great and the fabric was very luxurious.  The only reason I sent it back is because I already have a skirt that looks similar and I didn't see a need to keep another one.

Finally I tried on this dolman top.  I do not like dolman tops, but I tried it on anyway just to see.  I think it made me look like I had a chunky belly instead of having a baby bump.  It also sat too wide on my shoulders and you could see my straps.

They also sent a necklace which I didn't need, so I sent that back.

I ended up sending every single thing back; however I still felt like they did a great job for the first time around.  I've heard that it takes them some time to learn your style, and the more feedback you provide the better they will be.

I felt that they were *so close* to getting my style right, and that after the feedback I left the next one will be even better.

Update: Here are the pictures from the second Stitch Fix box I received!

After I was all finished, I sat down and came up with some pros and cons to see if my skepticism really had any grounds or if I'm just cheap.  It appears that I'm just cheap.  Take a look:

Pros:

• Easy to order
• Super easy to return what you don't want
• My stylist did an awesome job trying to understand my needs and likes, especially with the challenge of my being halfway between regular and maternity clothes.
• I liked that they sent pieces that could mix and match so I would get the most bang for my buck.
• No shopping required!  With a houseful of kids it's hard to get out very often!
• It's great for the fashion challenged because you have someone who knows what they're doing picking outfits that will work for you.
• Each Stitch Fix comes with styling guide that shows you what other pieces of clothing you can wear with what they sent you.
• The pieces match common pieces anyone would have so you would most likely have things to match already.
• They have modest clothes!  When you go shopping you have to dig and dig to find things that are modest.  I love being able to say “send me modest” clothes, and boom, there they are!
• Receive as few or as many boxes as you want.  If you are despearate need to build a new wardrobe, you can set it up to send you a new box every month (maybe even every two weeks?)  Or you can set them to com farther apart, or you can just order them only when you specifically want to.
• It helps you try things you wouldn't have thought to try.  It's interesting to try on things that I didn't think I would like and find out I like them.

Cons:

• It is expensive, especially for someone who has always been a thrift store girl!

I set the budget to the lowest priced items, and the prices were still between $40 and $65 per item.

So yes, while there are many more pros than there are cons, money carries a lot of weight for a lot of us.  I never, ever, ever want to encourage any of my readers to spend money they don't have.

Less is more when it comes to clothing, so spending more on a few quality pieces that will mix and match is not really all that expensive in the long run.  But still…please don't spend money you don't have.

So Stitch Fix is for you if:

1. You can set aside some money in the budget for quality clothing.
2. You don't have the time to go digging around in the stores to find something that is both modest and flattering to your body type.
3. You want someone else to do the work of finding outfits for you and you're not afraid to try new things.

Want to give it a try?  Sign up here to get started.

Helpful notes:

When you sign up, be sure to leave detailed comments about what you like to wear and why. I tried my best to define my version of “modest” so my stylist would know what to send.  I also made sure to create a Pinterest board of modest clothing that I like so she could see exactly what types of things I like.

Sign up for Stitch Fix here.

5 Clever Ways to Organize Your Necklaces

I finished up decluttering in my room (I'm working through this book, which is super helpful for people like me who do better when somebody just tells exactly what to do step by step!)

The only thing that is still bugging me in there is that I have several necklaces sitting on top of my dresser because they are too big to fit in my jewelry box.

I figured it was time to start looking for a different solution, so I rounded up some different DIY ideas for organizing necklaces.

If you have the same problem I do, hopefully you'll find something that works for you!

1. Bulletin Board Jewelry Wall

2. Covered Cork Board Necklace Organizer

3. Chicken Wire Necklace Organizer

4. DIY Necklace Organizer

5. Large Necklace Holder

I hope you find one that works for you!