GraceLaced Book Review {you don't have to be blooming to be growing}

There are a still a couple days left to pre-order the book and score some sweet pre-order bonuses! See the deals and register your order at the GraceLaced book homepage by August 31st. Available on Amazon, along with the companion journal.

I've loved reading through my advance copy of the GraceLaced book. It's packed with beautiful artwork, inspiration, and hope. It will meet you in whatever season of life you find yourself in. It encourages you to dive into the word and remember God's promises for your life. And throughout is the beautiful reminder that

you don't have to be blooming to be growing.

I've followed Ruth Chou Simons and GraceLaced on instagram for some time. I've loved both her beautiful artwork (we have a few of her prints hanging around the house), and especially her heart. She is a mom to six boys (which speaks so clearly to this mom of three boys) and writes often about the challenges she faces and the hope she finds through it all.

So I was thrilled to find she was working on a full devotional book! And it did not disappoint. Every chapter was packed with words of hope and memorable tidbits I could carry with me throughout the day. It tackled hard topics like fear, trials, and finding peace (yes please), and left me feeling hopeful every. single. time. In so many ways it was just what I needed, and just at the right time.

Give the Kid a Camera {the best Christmas gift ever}

Christmas will be here before we know it, so today we wanted to give you a little gift-giving tip with the single. best. gift. we've ever given our son. Ever.

Baby ducks by the pier at Lake Michigan.

Two years ago, when m1 was just four years old, we gave him a digital camera (more details on the one we chose in a minute). That's it. It sounds so simple. But I'm here to tell you, we were completely unprepared for both how much he would treasure that gift, and the sweet peek into his little heart it would give us. And an added bonus for us has been all the sweet little moments he's captured that have completely escaped the rest of us. Like his dozens of attempted selfies with his baby brother.

He loved this camera so much, he took it everywhere we went for weeks. Going to the store? Hey, I'll take pictures of everything we pass in case you forget!

He even took it when we went house hunting and captured this first shot of our future pantry.

DIY Library Bag (from a $5 Ikea slipcover!)

Our library trips have become more than our favorite bag can handle. Also... we lost it. So it really was time for a new library bag, whether we liked it or not. And thank goodness for that because now we have a bigger, better bag!

Plenty of room for books!

Plus pockets on the outside for bookmarks and summer reading program cards.

And nice long straps for holding it over my shoulder (while wrangling a certain one-year-old who goes all floppy-fish when he's unhappy).

$17.25 Yard Sale Run

Yard sales with three little boys... don't happen too often. So when I had a chance to go with my MIL a few weeks ago, I jumped at it! I think my favorite find of the day was this little $0.25 pot for my succulent survivors

More Like Home on Instagram

Here's what else I found:
$2 - moon sand
$1 - wooden butterflies
$0 - littlest pet shop (they threw it in with the rest!)
$1 - paper butterflies (brand new from pottery barn!!)
$1 - paint-your-own matrishka doll