Before I had kids, I had an idealistic view of the mother I wanted to be for my yet to be born children.  Fast forward almost eleven years and it seems that my shortcomings as a mom become more and more evident every day!  My patience wears thin when the kids are arguing, the house is a mess and I am not able to check everything off of my to-do list.

Reading this book, Gospel Centered Mom, by Brooke McGlothlin, was a breath of fresh air.  The author is so candid and authentic regarding her own perceived shortcomings as a mom.  Her stories about her boys are relate-able and funny (although I am sure they were not funny at the time!)

This is not a book about parenting techniques that will help you to have better behaved children.  Instead, the book explains how parenting is an opportunity for us to live out the Gospel on an everyday basis.  For example, the first chapter, entitled “Why Enough Always Feels Out of Reach”, explains that the failures of our kids and as parents show us our need to rely on God.  Another chapter, “Release the Stress of Believing Everything is Your Responsibility” spoke directly to me, as I often care more about my own image more than His plan.  I also appreciated the practicality of her list of “Daily Disciplines for the Gospel-Centered Mom”.

Gospel Centered Mom is a book full of Biblically-based truths that are helpful to store in your heart when the inevitable parenting challenges arise.  There are also discussion questions at the end of the book that would help facilitate a group discussion between moms.  I would highly recommend this book to any mom who struggles with trying to be perfect!

FTC disclaimer: I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

I received this product for free from Moms Meet (momsmeet.com), May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agree to use this product and post my honest opinion on my blog. The opinions posted are my own

Our son n really loves to learn about animals.  Wild Kratts has been his favorite show for a while now.  When we play Twenty Questions and it is his turn to come up with an answer, we do not even have to ask him whether it is an animal because it inevitably is.  Most of the time, none of us can guess his animal because it is something like the Yeti Crab!

Hey, Baby! is a new National Geographic Kids book described as “A Collection of Pictures, Poems, and Stories From Nature’s Nursery”.  The book is organized in sections: “Mountains and Plains Babies”, “River and Rain Forest Babies”, “Jungle and Savanna Babies”, “Desert and Cost Babies,” “Forest and Stream Babies”, “Tropics and Peaks Babies”, “Ice and Snow Babies”, and “Ocean and Sea Babies”.

The photographs are high quality, just as we have come to expect from National Geographic publications.  And, what is it about baby animals that make them so adorable?  This book really showcases the magnificence of so many of the animals that populate our planet.  It would be a wonderful resource for any animal lover in your life, child or adult!