Great Wolf Lodge – Williamsburg

You asked – so here it is!!

If you’re a homeschooling family looking to stay at the Williamsburg Great Wolf Lodge this year – you’re in luck because they are offering ALL the rooms (Yes – even the Themed and Premium suites! Family, Loft, Kidcabin, Kidkamp, Wolf Den, Majestic or Grizzly suites! ) for $145 a night during select weeks.

That means that you can get a room that fits 8 AND passes to the water park for just $145 a night (plus taxes and fees)!!

That’s not just a HUGE discount – it’s a STEAL!

(It’s cheaper than staying in most plain hotels.)

In the past we have paid over  $250 -$350 for 1 night for all 7 of us. Needless to say we’ve never gone for more than one night. (though – you know I found other ways to not really pay that full price!  ie – using my credit card that had travel credits on it!)

Rooms sell out fast so book now!

*Limited number of each room type available

Great Wolf Lodge Homeschool Experience Days 2013 promo code for Williamsburg, Virginia

Promo Code: HOME

Click the link below for more info:

 GWL 2013 Homeschool

To book your room:

Call 1-800-551-WOLF (9653) – ask for HOMESCHOOL EXPERIENCE

or

Book Online at www.greatwolf.com using the above codes

Are you planning on going to GWL this year?  Did you go last year?  What’s your favorite thing about GWL?

The post 2013 Great Wolf Lodge Homeschool Experience Days – $145 w/ Promo Code appeared first on Mothering Matters.

True Beauty: Deny Yourself

Once again, I was blessed to be able to work with David C. Cook to review Lisa Chan’s (wife of best-selling author and pastor Francis Chan) 2nd installment of her 3-part True Beauty Series.  Last fall I reviewed the first in the series called Be Still and was able to bless one of my readers with a copy.  As with last time, I will also be giving away a copy of this new DVD to one lucky reader!

We live in a very self-centered, self-satisfaction and gratifying society, and the message that Lisa brings in this new DVD may challenge many people . . . and it should!  However, there is a blessing in the challenge (and obedience)!

In the second film of her new series, True Beauty: Finding Your Identity in Jesus (David C Cook/Flannel, March 2013), Lisa Chan–co-founder of the mega-church Cornerstone Community Church in Simi Valley—presents another option for women: Deny Yourself. In this impactful teaching, she demonstrates a way of life that is full of contentedness and joy.

True Beauty Deny Yourself TRAILER from Flannel Staff on Vimeo.

Luke 14:27 – And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

Lisa was struck by this verse and command from Jesus, and it really challenged her.  What does it mean to “carry their cross and follow” Christ?  What is it that Christ is asking us to do in our life?  How will it affect our lives?

It’s a message that many Christians don’t think about, want to truly think about, or feel that it would even be productive in their life. It’s not the “norm” for how people live in the world today.

However, Lisa (mother of 5) and her husband Francis have definitely taken this command seriously.  In 2010 they left their comfortable and familiar surroundings to go on a journey that only God could design!  They traveled through Asia, worked with the poor, and landed in San Francisco where they now reside.  This would not have happened if they had not followed God’s leading in their lives.

Deny Yourself weaves Lisa’s teaching with the story of Irene, a wife and mother, who, several years ago, was at her wit’s end in her marriage. Ready to divorce her alcoholic husband, God moved mightily in his heart and she was called to forgive him when he come to her with a repentant spirit. In a marriage that’s now thriving, Irene and her husband have been challenged by the biblical command to deny themselves by living out God’s instruction to “care for the orphans.” Together, they have adopted several children into their family.

As in the last DVD, I enjoyed listening to Lisa and her easy-to-approach way she talks with her listeners.  Her heart for women to experience a real and ever-deepening relationship with God, compels her to brave even challenging and tough-love type topics.  But she does it in a way that you can swallow and are actually drawn in to hear more.

I had to grab my tissues in hearing Irene’s amazing story (and hearing her husband Domingo’s story in the extra snippets on the DVD).  It made me want to build a bigger house and adopt more kids (well . . . I already wanted to do that . . . but we’ve maxed out this house with 5 . . . 4 biological and 1 adopted)!

“When I have laid down my life, God fills me up…who cares if we’ve given up some comfort, some possessions and stuff?” Chan asks, with a peaceful steadiness to her voice. “He fills your heart with joy as nothing else can.”

Lisa Chan is a mother of five and co-founder (with her husband, Francis) of Cornerstone Community Church in Simi Valley, California. An accomplished singer, Lisa has recorded three albums, including Endless Beauty. Lisa lives with her family in San Francisco where they are doing inner-city ministry as a family.

Founded in 1875, David C Cook is a leading nonprofit discipleship resource provider based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. For more than 130 years, David C Cook has served the Global Church with life transforming materials from best-selling books and curriculum, to toys and games and small group resources. With additional offices in Elgin, Illinois, as well as Paris, Ontario, Canada and Eastbourne, UK, David C Cook is a global organization whose resources are published in more than 150 languages, distributed in more than 80 countries, and sold worldwide through retail stores, catalogs, and online. Through David C Cook’s music division, Kingsway, over 30% of the top 500 praise and worship songs written by Kingsway artists are sung in churches around the world. For more information visit David C Cook on the Internet at www.davidccook.com.

Flannel is a non-profit ministry that serves as a catalyst for highly creative people to communicate the way of Jesus to the world. Flannel’s primary products are short, creative films designed to start discussions on relevant issues and to deeply resonate on what matters most today. Headquartered in Western Michigan, Flannel’s films have been seen around the world. www.flannel.org.

 Giveaway!

How can you get your own copy?  Well, I will be giving away a copy to one of my fantastic readers!

If you don’t win – you do have the option of being able to order it HERE.  You can order the DVD (to show to your women’s group or with a friend over coffee), download the video or watch it online.

To try and win a copy – please enter through the Rafflecopter below!

Contest open to US residents only.

Giveaway ends at 12:00am on Friday, April 26, 2013

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post Review & Giveaway: Deny Yourself by Lisa Chan appeared first on Mothering Matters.

The Action Bible

With 5 kids, we’ve tried out our fair share of Bibles, Devotionals and other Bible-related materials.  I am a firm believer in making sure the Bible is understandable and enjoyable, and am not opposed to using Bible “story” books to help make the Bible come alive to my kids at the various ages throughout the years.

I was thrilled when asked to review The Action Bible, as well as the New Testament version, the Devotional book and the Handbook.  What I didn’t realize is how hard it would be for me to actually get and keep my hands on these things in our house!    My kids (ages 8 – 17)  have been devouring this book!  I knew my kids liked the Manga Bible we were given years ago, and I knew they loved reading certain graphic novels – but wasn’t sure if they were into DC or Marvel comic-type books.

Well . . . . they LOVED this book!

The Action Bible has over 700 pages of amazing illustrations created by Sergio Cariello (who previously worked for Marvel and DC Comics) that depict 215 stories, put together in chronological order (with references to where they are found in scripture) spanning Genesis to Revelation.

When I asked my kids what they thought of The Action Bible, here is what some of them said:

It’s AWESOME . . . no . . . it’s AMAZING!   You know how when you read the Bible it can be kind of boring.  Well. . . I was just reading the Action Bible – and there was part of me that thought ‘I already know these stories, so maybe I’ll stop reading them’, but then part of me that said ‘No way!  I just HAVE to keep reading them because it’s so good!’    – 17 y.o. son

Cool!  It’s like the Bible – but more comic-y . . . and with less words! – 10 y.o. son

It really brought the Bible to life and made it easier to visualize and understand.  I LOVE comics and I LOVE this book!  – 12 y.o. daughter

In the beginning of the Devotional book – it says the same thing . . .

The Bible can be intimidating.  It’s okay; you can admit it.  I mean, it’s got all those words in tiny print packed across the pages.  It’s a good thing the Action Bible came along!

The Action Bible is all about the pictures – cool pictures, comic pictures.  And those pictures bring the stories of the Bible to life in whole new colorful ways, without having to use so many words. You can see the action jump off the page.  You can understand the stories much more easily.  And all that helps you bring the power of the Bible to life in your everyday world.

I think the creators of these books did it right . . . and got their point across . . . because my kids got it!

What did I think?

I have never been a graphic novel kind of person.  I can easily get frustrated with the over-stimulation on my eyes in trying to read them – with all the graphics, the unsymmetrical layouts, not knowing which sentence to read next, etc.  So – I was leery that I would enjoy this book like my kids would.

However . . . I have to say . . . I got hooked! 

It was easy to read and understand, and it truly did make the Bible come alive in a new way.  I am very visual – so it’s nice to be able to see the stories instead of just read them.

BUT – what I truly liked about this Bible “story” book . . . is that it doesn’t just cover the common and most well-known stories (Noah, David and Goliath, etc).  It has stories based on Job, Isaiah, Acts, Corinthians, Thessalonians . . . even ends in the book of Revelation.

The titles of the stories were cracking me up as well!  There were many “punny” titles and several that were the names of TV shows, sayings, books and more.  For example – Wife Swap, Touched by an Angel, Spy v. Spy, The Wonderful Win against Og (say it fast . . . sounds like “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”), Eat your Vegetables (Daniel), When in Rome . . . , Why do Bad things happen to good people?, etc.

Again – just another way it appeals to kids and adults alike.

Other Materials

In addition to The Action Bible which covers the Old and New Testament, there is a New Testament only version, a 52 week Devotional, and a Handbook (a dictionary of people, places, things, and descriptions of the books of the Bible).  All of them my kids and I have enjoyed.

 What is the most exciting superhero comic?

Giveaway!!

Yes – one lucky winner will receive a copy of The Action Bible (retails for $26.99)!  Will it be you?!

Beginning today (March 25th, 2013) – Enter below using the Rafflecopter. Come back and enter again each day.

Contest ends at 12AM on April 7th, 2013.  Winner will be notified within 48 hours.

In order to receive credit for the optional entries (FB, Twitter), you must leave a comment below in the comments section.(answer the question that is listed in the Rafflecopter box).  So – don’t forget! 

Giveaway is open to US residents only at this time.  Thanks.

Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post The Action Bible: Review and Giveaway appeared first on Mothering Matters.

With Easter coming up, I came across this and wanted to share it with you all.

It’s easy to be focused on our own family activities and needs – but there are others that truly have no one, who have less than we do, are separated from their families, etc – and could use a tangible representation of love this Easter (and this year . . . heck – even today!) through a care package (or other ways).

Here is some great information to inspire you to reach out and help others in a new or expanded way this year.

Infographic by DollarTree.com

How can you and your family bless someone else this year?

The post Helping those in need with Care Packages appeared first on Mothering Matters.

Tweens is usually the stage just before children reach their teenage years, although there isn’t any clear definition of the range in years. Usually, experts agree that ages 9 to 14 are considered the tweens.

Tweens go through a strong transitional period, that has a lasting impact on their lives and become a part of the person they are going to be as an adult. Behaviors, manners and etiquette can be best taught during this period. However, this is also the time when tweens discover that they are emotional beings. They also realize that things are more complicated than what they used to be when they were younger. Parents, on the other hand, can only guide them in the right direction and help them to apply their learning in everyday life.

Tweens are prone to sudden bursts of emotions that are usually caused by the multiple changes occurring within their bodies. When parenting a tween, it can get a little tricky and may depend on the child’s overall personality. There are some useful guidelines that can be used to handle tweens.

Top Tips on How to Handle Tweens

·         Maintain space while connecting with your Tween: It is important to keep a constant connection with the child, to know the child’s daily activities and save the child from getting into trouble. However, too much intrusion may cause the child to become indifferent. Maintaining a friendly relationship with the child without being forceful about it can help the child to even seek your advice in situations where they would go to their friends.

·         Talk about values and ethics through general discussions: A lot of problems can be solved if the parents give a calm ear to the child, despite their wrong doings. But it is important to help them realize the thin line between what is good or bad for them by discussing about good values and ethics and how they help with examples. Also, a child is more receptive during good times, than when being scolded at.

·         Take the Initiative to Discipline Your Child: Disciplining a child may not always mean to ground the child for a week or not allow him/her to play their favorite video game. Sometimes letting the child know the implications of their actions and how that has disappointed or hurt you help the child discipline him or herself.

·         Break off heated conversations:  It is best to cool it off, before any party starts saying hurtful or harmful things to each other. It also helps both the parent and the child to understand each other’s perspective.

There are times when a child may get out of control and nothing helps. It is best to seek professional help at such times.

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Smothered in Love and Kisses

May you feel the AMAZING and unconditional love and kisses of your heavenly Father today – just like my friend’s baby!

Whether you have a Valentine today or not – you are loved more than you can ever imagine!  You are passionately pursued, adored, cherished and loved!

May your heart be filled with peace, joy and love today!

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

Do you have any special plans for Valentine’s Day today?

The post Happy Valentine’s Day! appeared first on Mothering Matters.

Preschool Play Time: Our Favourite Toys

Of all the years in the lives of parents and their kids, the preschool days are often the ones filled with the most joy and laughter. These are the years that will shape your children before they go off to face the trials of the classroom and all that lies beyond.

Spending time together and getting to know one another through play is the perfect way for you to bond with and guide your preschool child to the next step on their journey.

The toy market is expanding on an almost daily basis, with modern kids spoiled for choice when they head to the toy store. We have created a rundown of some great preschool toys that will keep your little one (and you!) busy for hours on end.

With the Disney Channel still going strong, Mickey Mouse continues to appeal to the younger generation and there’s plenty of spin-off merchandise for fans to get to grips with. The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Silly Siren Fire Truck is a fantastic audio toy that allows kids the chance to role-play emergency situations with one of their favourite characters. With Mickey sat in the truck he’ll call out phrases, and as your child wheels the truck around the floor the sirens also kick in, making it that little bit more realistic. There’s also an adjustable cherry picker that Mickey can sit in so the kids can re-enact rescue scenes.

The end of last year saw the regeneration of the Furby, everyone’s favourite interactive pet. The new models have a much more advanced capacity to learn from their owners. You can talk to it, feed it, tickle it – anything you like! The Furby is a great way for kids to learn the responsibilities of caring for something other than themselves and it’s a lot less messy than a live pet would be! Overall, it is a great way to share something special with your kids.

Specially for creative kids, the Washable Fingerpaints Range from Crayola is a lovely way to encourage their artistic side, while older kids (4 and upwards) will love the Lego Ultimate Building set. It’s 405 pieces of pure imagination with which they can come up with scenes and settings where their own stories can evolve. If your kids aren’t quite ready for those smaller pieces, Duplo blocks are also available for children aged 18 months and upwards and are a little easier to handle.

These are just a few examples of the kinds of toys that are out there for your preschooler.  However, you know your child better than anyone, and no matter what toy they gravitate towards – enjoy spending time playing with them.

These years will go by much too fast – and one day they’ll be standing before you with a cap and gown on, ready to face the adult world . . . and you’ll realize that you can’t get these moments back!

Enjoy the preschool years – and have fun playing!

What is your favorite preschool toy?  Do you have a favorite from when you were a kid?

Share your favorites in the comments!  I love hearing from you! (Don’t just be a blog stalker! :))

The post Fun Friday: Preschool Play Time & Toys appeared first on Mothering Matters.

I was in tears . . . the good kind. 

I was reading the testimony of a young mom, a military wife who lives most of the year as a “single parent” while her husband is out to sea . . . and it brought me to tears . . . the good kind!

As moms, we have all faced fears and doubts about how to parent our kids . . . how to deal with all the various situations that arise.

• “What do I do if my child bites someone else?”
• “What do I do if they won’t go to sleep at night?”
• “What do I do if they picked up a bad word, and won’t stop saying it all the time?”
• “What do I do with a 2 year old that is throwing a tantrum right in front of me?”

We can all agree that the list could go on for pages . . . actually . . . endless!  I could share a few questions with you that I NEVER thought I’d have to encounter – like “What do I do when I find out my son has been putting bags of poopy kitty litter in the neighbors yard for 6 months?” 

Yep.

It really happened.

I wondered where my parenting survival guide had gone to.

Didn’t they give us one in the hospital?

They should have!

But back to the story that made me cry . . .

I found this post in my MOPS (Mothers of PreSchoolers) Facebook group this past week.  I am a Mentor Mom for this group (which just means I’m old and I’ve made a lot of mistakes as a parent – and have hopefully learned enough to encourage all the young moms that this season of extreme exhaustion and not knowing what to do – that “this too shall pass” . . . without letting them in on the secret that . . . it just gets worse in the next season!    Ok . . . maybe not worse . . . just a different kind of exhaustion . . . mental, emotional, relational and sometime spiritual.).  Anyways . . . I do LOVE being a Mentor Mom, because I know I would not have survived the toddler years without the help, advice and encouragement of my Mentor Moms.  So – I’m passing it on!

Here’s the story:

Moms, can I just open up and write about something on here?  Tonight Blake had his very first ever terrible 2’s temper tantrum. His Daddy has just been deployed, so I am it. It was pretty horrific, snotting, SCREAMING, shouting, trying his hardest to show me that he’s trying to be independent, and the worst part, holding his fists clenched and his teeth clenched and SHAKING REALLY bad. I was like “oh my goodness, he’s acting possessed or something!”  It all stemmed from him being 2.5 and his molars coming in and independence to the extreme. The more I did to try to calm him down, the worse it got. But the reason I am writing this is to say this. I used a technique used by Lori West. After all else failed, I remembered what she said . I gathered his stiff screaming body in my arms and held him and told him that he was all right and that I loved him very much. I held him and rocked him during the fighting and it WORKED! The tantrum gradually came to an end and I wanted to encourage you to do this. There is a time and a place for spankings and this was not it for Blake. That would only make it worse. What he was asking for was love. His daddy is not here and I had to be sensitive to that. I was at the point of tears myself, but held it together. I just wanted to encourage you ladies when this happens to you to LOVE them through it like she encouraged. And it WILL happen to you, I promise. I love that I am not alone in mothering, even though I am physically alone.

{wiping tears away . . . }

Why did I cry?

It’s not because someone actually listened to me and took my advice (though – that is nice – as you know that having a bunch of kids can make you feel like no one listens or takes your advice very often!).

It’s because this mom got it . . . and her son’s true need was met in that moment of chaos and frustration . . . LOVE.

“All you need is love, love, love is all you need.” – Beatles

Love your kids – Rock the meanness out!

The technique my friend was talking about was one that I came across in a little, easy-to-read book called  It’s Better to Build Boys Than Mend Men by S. Truett Cathy (founder of Chick-Fil-A).

Mr. Cathy has many foster homes, and in all of them he has made sure there is a rocking chair.  Why?  Because one of the foster moms had told him “sometimes I just have to rock the meanness right out of them“!

At the time I accidentally came across this book, my 4th child was quite little.  He would have tantrums – and I decided to experiment.  Would it work . . . just sitting quietly and lovingly rocking him (which sometimes started off with holding him down firmly in my lap as he kicked, screamed and fought me) instead of putting him in a time out or in his room till his attitude changed?

The first few times it took awhile for him to calm down.  I didn’t say anything except occasionally I would sing “You are my sunshine” or quietly whisper “I love you” – but usually I just sat quietly and rocked.  When he would start to settle down, I would then start singing, talking gently and lovingly and then eventually we’d end up being silly and having fun!

Why didn’t I talk at first? . . . because in many of those times – he was still argumentative, and would counteract everything I said.

So – I would just demonstrate love until he was in a place to hear love.

But he soon learned that I was not going to push him away – that I loved him – that I was big enough to handle his tantrum and not react in fear (which is what we do when we get frustrated and start trying to control these little independent beings) – and that it was ok for him to settle down and enjoy the snuggles.

Other Love Testimonies

I have used this technique with my other kids as well, and especially with our youngest daughter who was adopted at 3 1/2.  Holding her close when she was in the midst of a tantrum and just pouring love out into her (and sometimes praying quietly just under my breath – declaring love and acceptance while breaking off abandonment and rejection) – has done so much to bond us, heal her, and teach her that God the Father does the same for us.

But one of my favorite testimonies of “rocking the meanness out” comes from a friend and her little 3 year old boy.  He had picked up a bad (cuss) word, and she and her husband were beside themselves as to how to get him to stop saying it all the time.  Timeouts, spankings, talking and explaining to him, and lots of prayer were used . . . but nothing seemed to be working.  She didn’t know what to do.  I encouraged her to try ignoring the cuss word spoken, and press in and draw him close instead . . . showering this little boy with good attention, redirection, love and snuggles.  I explained that he was most likely just crying out for love and attention – “testing” to see if they would still love him when he was “bad” like my daughter used to do.

A week later she said to me “Lori!  I have to tell you!  I LOVE my little boy!  He is so sweet and amazing!  I did what you suggested . . . and it’s like he’s a different child.  He keeps loving on me, telling me ‘I love you mommy.  I sorry mommy.’  It really does work!”  And the additional benefit . . . he wasn’t shouting out the cuss word anymore!

Again . . . I was holding back tears . . . the good kind!

Love the meanness right out!

You can do it!  . . . Try it.

Respond with love instead of anger, frustration or fear.  Draw your child close.  Try a “Time-in” instead of a “Time-out”.

Show them that you love them . . . no matter what.

This isn’t about letting your child “off the hook” for doing something “wrong” . . . but it’s about letting them know that even in the mess . . . you still love them unconditionally.

It also helps you to realize, like the military wife, that sometimes the tantrums, tears and difficulty we see in our little kids at times – isn’t just because they are wanting to be disobedient or make you mad . . . but they could be tired, hungry, feeling scared, wondering if they are still loved and accepted, and more.  They can’t verbalize and recognize this to be able to tell you – “Sorry mom . . . I’m just having a bad day today because I’m really missing Dad.”  Instead, it comes out as “AHHHHHH!! . . . No! . . . I don’t want to!  . . . AHHHHHH!!!!!”

Do you have any “love the meanness out” stories to share?

I’d love to hear them!

It encourages us all!

The post Love your kids – Rock the meanness out! appeared first on Mothering Matters.

New Printable Coupons

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