Blogmania: Little One Books Sponsor Spotlight (Extra Entries)

My family are book addicts.  No seriously we are.  We typically have the maximum number of books on loan from the library and our shelves are bulging with almost every kind of book that is imaginable. But lets be honest, how often have you purchased a children's book from the internet or school sale only to be disappointed in the quality? 

When I found Little One Books on the internet, I was so excited.  Little One Books is an online retailer of books, music and videos for children ages birth to five. Each product in the store is hand selected, professionally reviewed and marked by age group.  If you want to know why a particular product was chosen you can check out the "Why We Chose" section on each product.

You never again have to go searching through literally millions of children's products in the mass market online shops. You simply come to Little One Books, click the appropriate age group and see a selection of items suited towards your little one.

Little One Books also has a blog where they share their personal stories related to raising children along with current news.  They also publish discussions with authors, illustrators, musicians and producers.

As I perused the website, I was pleased to see several book selections and authors that I have never heard of along with my absolute favorites. I was particularly impressed with the selection of music. I always get overwhelmed trying to find new music and there were so many fantastic choices. The online shop is easy to navigate and I love the suggested bundles which makes gift shopping so easy.

I am pleased to let you know that Little One Books is a Blogmania sponsor and they will be giving one of our lucky readers $50 gift certificate to their shop. I have no doubt that you will enjoy spending each penny of the gift certificate! I know I would.

Would you like some extra entries into Blogmania?

Here is your chance to earn 4 extra entries into Blogmania which starts next week. 

1) Visit Little One Books and come back here and tell me something you would love to have!

2) Like Little One Books on Facebook.

3) Follow Little One Books on Twitter.

4) Tweet this... #Blogmania11 is coming! Get your extra entries to @SunshinePraises for @LittleOneBooks here http://bit.ly/hH7Ilb #giveaway #win

One comment per entry and please include your email address.  The extra entries will be open until 4/8/11 at 11:59pm EST. I will include each page of the extra entries into the main Blogmania posting and a winner will be chosen using random.org.

I was not financially compensated for this post. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and have not been in any way influenced. For my full disclosure statement click here.*

Eph & The Lions Den

Every week we go to church and every week we ask Eph the same question, "what did you talk about tonight?." And, every week we get the same answer, "I don't know." For Eph that is a pretty honest answer.  Sitting in a class room and having someone tell things to him is not the way he learns.  Eph is a very strong kinesthetic learner.  At school and at home we have incorporated several tactile activities into his learning routine, but at church he doesn't have the same additional support so the "learning" that takes place is often interrupted by every distraction in the room.

That is until last night.  While the church obviously has no idea what a difference there "activities" made, last night when I walked into the room and saw Eph painted like a lion, I knew instantly that he learned something.  It was a BIG step for my sensory sensitive son to allow all of that weird texture to be put on his face.  But like Eph, he had to go ALL OUT. No little tiny bug on one cheek. He had been transformed into a full fledged lion.

On our drive home, Lu was fussing and they were roaring back and forth with one another.  Curious, I said to Eph, "Can you tell sissy about your story tonight?" Instantly he lit up like an actor on stage and began to tell sis all about Daniel and the Lion's Den.

When we got home, I had Eph make a little movie [as he calls them] with his adorable painted face and the classic story of how courageous Daniel was.  Here is his movie...

While Eph is just a painted lion, by allowing the paint, sitting still long enough for them to finish and learning this valuable lesson, I saw a courage of a different type in Eph tonight.  I give thanks to God for letting me love a little lion and look forward to watching him take more courageous steps with God.

How are your kids courageous? 

Product Praise: TSHIRTPRINTING.net

Is there anything better than a comfy t-shirt and a pair of jeans?

How about a personalized T-shirt, hoodie or tank top?

TShirtPrinting.net is an international company with over 20 years of experience creating personalized screen printed products.  Based in the UK they offer a personal, straightforward ordering process for all your custom t-shirt printing needs.

For the product praise, I received their custom promotional Monkey t-shirt.  The t-shirt is exceptionally nice and soft.  The screen printed monkey design is adorable and has remained like-new throughout several washes. I can already see this t-shirt becoming a favorite of mine.

Tshirtprinting.net has a large selection of mens, ladies and kids printed t-shirts, personalised hoodies, promotional items and work wear.  According to their website, they offer a huge selection of garments and colors, high quality silk screen printing, highly competitive pricing, quantities from 12 to 100,000 and fast turnaround times. 

Make sure you check them out for any of your professional screen printing needs! 

I was not financially compensated for this post. I was given a sample product from the company. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and have not been in any way influenced. For my full disclosure statement click here.* This post was made possible through my affiliation with The Product Review Place!

Dreaming Big Dreams

This past weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Revolve Conference at Nationwide Arena. The revolve conference is a 2 day event for teen girls full of dynamic speakers and awesome musicians. The theme for this year's conference was Dream On and even though I am not a teen girl (and I don't have one yet), the speakers were all so inspirational that I cried, laughed and found myself dreaming.

As my friend and I were heading out on a break, we started talking about our dreams and I realized that I had long ago stopped "dreaming" for me and instead find that my dreams are now focused on what I hope my children will become.

Now I don't mean that in a crazy way, like those parents who have unfulfilled dreams and force their kids into hours and hours of [insert activity here] practice, lessons, meetings, etc.  I meant it in a, how do I, as a parent, encourage and support my children during their lives so that they are able to identify and chase their dreams?  How do I, as a parent, determine what is my dream compared to what is their dream so that they are becoming the people that God wants them to be?

So I have been thinking, what are my dreams for my kids?  When I picture them standing at the alter on their wedding days, who do I hope that they will be for the person they are going to spend the rest of their lives with?

For Eph, I dream that he will overcome his ADHD in a miraculous way and learn how to channel his endless energy into great things.  I picture him pounding drums in a worship band and leaping on a fire truck off to save a family from a burning building.  I see him laying hands on a hurting soul and praying for God's healing.  I see him dancing with his wife and holding his beautiful child. I see him becoming a faithful man of God, kind, generous and loving. 

For Lu, I dream that she will one day stand on a stage and give her amazing testimony of how she was born without a voice and God healed her. I feel strongly that God will bless her with a voice like a bird that worships him and shares his glory to the ends of the earth.  I picture her in the spotlight, blue eyes sparkling and singing songs that sound like they come from directly from the angels. I dream that she twirls through life without hurt or brokenness. I see her dancing in her Daddy's arms in her white dress on her wedding day and glowing as she rubs a growing belly. I see her chasing a little blond child across a playground. I see her becoming a woman who loves God, and serves Him with a dedicated unfailing heart.

I know these are only my dreams, but I dare to dream only the good things for my children. I dream that they walk on the stars and become the people that God wants them to become.


Thank you to all the wonderful speakers at the Revolve Conference for teaching this mom to dream big for her kids! If you have a teen daughter, friend or youth group, consider taking them to see Revolve.  This year is almost over, but rest assured they will be back again in 2012 with another exciting conference!

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jer 29:11)

How do you dream for your kids?

Disclosure: I was provided 4 tickets to Revolve as a giveaway on my Macaroni Kid site and attended the event in a paid position as a professional interpreter.  All thoughts, opinions and ideas expressed in this piece are mine and absolutely no way influenced by the company or companies listed above.