Each is an affiliate link, that means if you click and decide to purchase, I may earn a small commission for recommending that product! Thanks for reading!
Review: This was the first audiobook I listened to in 2019 and I absolutely LOVED it! Chip and Joanna have a FASCINATING story that they tell in their own words. The book includes the story of how they met, as well as the hilarious story about how their show Fixer Upper almost didn’t happen. This is probably a fun book to read, but the Audiobook is amazing because the story is told by the authors! You can listen for free if you have a library card and use the Hoopla app!
Review: I listened to this one on my Hoopla App and recommend that you do the same. Brene shares stories on Joy, Vulnerability, Courage and Connection throughout the entire book. It was EXCELLENT!
Key Takeaways:
The whole-hearted person cultivates rest and play.
Brene says she has never interviewed a single person who lives with Joy without ACTIVELY practicing Gratitude. The one difference to becoming a JOYFUL person? Practice gratitude. When you look into the faces of your children and experience the shudder of vulnerability – actively express gratitude. (RATHER than catastrophizing). When a fear comes, verbally express gratitude.
Review: I listened to this on my Hoopla App, but would like to read this in printed form so I can highlight and underline. This book is filled with truth and encouragement.
“Jesus wants us to flourish. He wants us whole. He wants to take what the enemy meant for evil against us and turn it for good. He wants us to live life bold and free, courageous and steadfast.”
Susie Larson
Fully Alive is a journey of healing from the inside out through the redemption of Jesus’s eternal love for us. Susie suggests healthy ways to replace destructive thoughts and habits and answers to the anxiety, fear, and worry that weigh us down.
“Picture Jesus Himself holding your face in both of His nail-scarred hands and looking directly into your eyes. Hear Him say to you, “I love you. I see you. I hear your cries. I remember you. I will take on your pain. I will heal you.” Let those words soak into your soul!”
Review: I don’t read a lot of fiction. I’d rather be reading about someone’s life or learning something new. However, my friend gave me her copy of this book and said she loved it. Once I started reading, I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. Delia is a phenomenal writer and I see why this book is a New York Times Best Seller. At the time of this post, this book has received nearly 30,000 5-star reviews on amazon! (I have 1% of that with my book!)
It’s the story of a girl who raises herself. It’s a captivating story about how she survives, who she chooses to trust, and how she provides for herself.
Review: I neglected nearly all household chores for 24 hours to devour this memoir. Tara Westover shares her fascinating story of growing up in a Mormon family, not being allowed to attend school or do anything that her family considered “worldly.” She ends up teaching herself so that she can take, and pass ,the SAT. She then gets into college – and goes on to get her PhD. That is my short and boring version of a fascinating story.
Review: I saw a friend recommend this book and decided to purchase it. When it arrived in the mail, I read the first two pages to get a feel for what the book was about…but then I couldn’t put it down. I stayed up way too late too finish this one. When I read the last page, I wanted to read it again.
This is a book written by a therapist and writer – Lori Gottlieb. She shares stories about some of her clients, as well as what she learns from her own therapy. I appreciated the insights she gives about her patients and her own behavior.
Review: This is an old book that I finally read for the first time this year. It’s a fascinating true story about a missionary who smuggled Bibles into communist countries. The story describes one miracle after the other and leaves you full of hope and joy. It strengthened my faith in the goodness of God. This would be a good family read-aloud!
Review: Janet Benge writes biographies of people who made a positive difference in this world. Each book is about an ordinary person who does something extraordinary with their life. Her books are great for ages 8 and up. I recommend you read to or listen with your children or grandchildren. They are easy-to-read and so engaging! The three I read this year were:
Review: This was written by women, for women. They are Bible studies for each day to help you live a life of joy. Included in this study is access to a short teaching video on Joy by Tommy Newberry.
Review: I’ve always loved to read, but sometime between babies 3 and 4, I took a break from reading. I was just too tired and too busy.
However, after watching “The Blind Side” movie... I wanted to read the story behind the movie. I checked this book out from the library. The book was so interesting that I couldn’t figure out why I ever stopped reading. Michael Lewis is a phenomenal writer. This book was the catalyst to me reading voraciously again.
This year, I decided to reread The Blind Side. It’s the perfect book for football season because there is so much insight into the sport. I love this book and recommend it to anyone who loves a good, true story! You’ll especially enjoy it if you like football.
What was your favorite book of 2019! Leave me a comment!
Also – is there a book you are looking forward to reading next year? Let me know! Ted’s already set out a stack of books for me to read this year.
As you may know (or can figure out from this post) I love to read! Here are some of the reasons I read:
In this post, I’ve rated and reviewed 47 of the books I’ve read (or listened to) in 2019.
This post includes some REALLY GOOD BOOKS and a couple of REALLY bad ones too! However, this post includes my FAVORITE books of the year.
Click on any book to purchase your own copy. They are affiliate links, which means I make a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you choose to purchase one or more.
Even better, download the Hoopla or Libby app, enter your library card number, and listen for FREE!
Review: Super easy-to-read book filled with 1000 reasons to smile! The whole book is written about things that are AWESOME. SOOO many things that I take for granted and forget to be grateful for ..like:
Free samples,
tripping and realizing NO ONE SAW YOU!
Going to buy something and finding it on sale, ETC.
If you are in a need of a reason to smile … I recommend this book or his blog 1000awesomethings.com
Review: The title sums it up. Another book filled with things to make you smile. Not as good as the first one, but a fun book to read. The author lists and describes so many things that are awesome that we sometimes take for granted!
Review: It’s a very well-written autobiography of Steve Job’s (creator of Apple) daughter, but I don’t recommend it. It’s a sad story without a redemptive ending. For a better autobiography, I’d recommend:
Review: Chip shared some really fun and interesting stories throughout the book. Overall, it was an inspiring book that shows how hard work, integrity, and a good attitude (plus a smart spouse) can still lead to success. The Gaines family has turned the town of Waco, TX from a place you’d just drive through to get to Austin, to a destination city! There was no reason to visit Waco ten years ago – now people come to visit from all over the world.
Review: An extremely touching book and powerful story. A memoir of a brain surgeon who is diagnosed with cancer. I couldn’t put this book down, it was a great story and easy to read. However, the ending ripped my heart out!
Review: A classic book that I highly recommend! This book teaches that each person receives loves differently. If we want to make our spouses feel loved, be sure to speak their “language.” If you don’t know what it is, take this quiz.
Review: I went to two weddings this year and it made me curious as to what Gary Chapman would say to those who are about to get married. EXCELLENT book for newlyweds and those who are considering marriage!
Review: This book was written by a man who grew up with a strong Muslim faith. In college, his best friend was a Christian. The two of them had a mutual respect because of their strong faith in God. As they grew in their friendship, they began to challenge each other’s faith. As the author did research to defend his Muslim faith, he began to realize that he COULD NOT defend his faith. The more he studied, the more he realized that there was no truth behind his Muslim faith. This book challenged me as a mother to teach my kids the WHY behind What we believe. We have a defendable faith. It’s based on a solid foundation of historical truth. This book made me decide to read:
Review: This book took me a while to read because their is a lot to digest. However, I love how each chapter brings up an interesting question like “Do science and faith contradict each other?” and answers each question with facts and evidence.
Review: This book has been on our shelf for years. I finally took time to read it this year. It has such high reviews that I had high expectations. However, my thoughts matched what someone said on Amazon: “Here is this book in a nutshell: what do you want to do? Have discipline and do it. I just saved you ten dollars. You’re welcome.”
This book is a little too doom and gloom for me. However, there were some golden nuggets that I pulled out and here they are for you:
Spend time with your kids. Even when they act like they don’t want to be with you–they really do. Find something they like to do – and do that with them!
Have dinner together
Go camping or find a family getaway where you aren’t connected to work and cell phones
Play games together
Remember YOU ARE THE PARENT, we’ve got 20+ years experience and yet we let our children decide what is best.
Have access to all their social media accounts.
Limit video games
Don’t overschedule
Give your kids chores
Self-control is the leading indicator of overall life satisfaction and we, as parents, can help our kids learn self-control with things like: Not allowing dessert until they eat their veggies; Having them put their own toys and clothes away; Praise working hard over getting the right answer.
Review: I listened to this book on my Hoopla App and I wasn’t super into it. I wouldn’t recommend listening to this one – if the title intrigues you, check out the real book from the library.
Review: John is such an amazing teacher and writer. He is funny and vulnerable. I listened to this one and LOVED it! It dives into your relationship with God and others.
Ted read this book on our honeymoon, 18 years ago (just after publication) and I finally listened to it on my Hoopla App this year. The book challenges you to put away the mentality that you need to know what God’s doing before you agree to obey and follow. John Ortberg talks about the positive difference walking in faith can do for your life!
Review: Skip this one. The author gives terrible advice. For instance, ‘buy a really expensive car to motivate yourself to earn more money.’ Don’t waste your time or money on this one. If you want a motivational, self help book – Choose a Zig Ziglar one instead!!
Review: If you use the Hoopla app, open it up, type in the name “Zig Ziglar” and listen to any one of his 30 books. He is so practical, so funny, and so encouraging! His books are full of real life stories that pull you in and teach you something.
Review: Before we moved to Minnesota, the only place I knew about in this state was the Mall of America. This book shares 100 interesting things to do around the Twin Cities and was really fun to read. I can’t wait to start checking them off my bucket list! If you are visiting or live in the Twin Cities, I would recommend this bookto you!
Review: This is a very insightful parenting book. I don’t see myself as a helicopter parent, but I realized I’m doing things for my kids that they should be doing themselves. I often want to show love for my kids by picking up after them, over-helping with things that they are capable of doing alone, preventing them from learning from their own mistakes…all things that keep them from maturing and becoming capable young men. This book had lots of helpful stories and insightful research. I would definitely recommend it to parents who have children 7-17!
Review: This book is an amazing true story about a man who goes to the most dangerous parts of Africa to find orphaned children and provide safety for them.
Review: After LOVING his first book (Another Man’s War), I was excited to read the second one. However, this book was a HUGE disappointment. The author chose to tell the story in his own words and “self-published” the book so he could say everything he wanted to say. This was a huge mistake. Most of the things he chose to write about in this second book were unnecessary and inappropriate. I threw my copy away.
Review: I heard the author of this book speak on a podcast and was intrigued by his story – I wanted to read his book to see how they got through the season when their beliefs collided. I highly recommend this book to anyone married to, or considering marriage with someone who has different a different faith than you.
Review: I listened to this autobiography on my Hoopla App, read by the author, rap artist Lecrae. I’m not a huge “rap” fan but this artist impresses me! The book is well written and easy-to-read. Recommended for ages 18 and up. Some of his life experiences would be considered ‘for mature audiences only.’
What stood out to me about his story was how he spent so much of his life struggling because he didn’t have a positive male role model in his life. This book reminded me how important dad’s are in the lives of their children. Those man-to-man conversations are something our boys crave.
Review: I saw that she would be speaking at a Women’s Conference I was attending, and I’d never heard of her, so I decided to read her book. This is a great book if you are struggling with insecurity. She talks about feeling stupid and not good enough throughout her life, and how she overcome that.
Review: This is my second reading of this book. I knew I could use a refresher in relational intelligence after moving to a new state and needing to make new friends. The book teaches that our relationships have a direct correlation to the quality of our lives. Most of us give less than optimal effort to our relationships. Yet…
Our day to day human interactions will determine the quality of our lives more than the tasks of work we do.
By cultivating relational intelligence, we can enhance our ability to affect the people around us more positively.
Review: I loved the book Bonhoeffer – a book ABOUT Bonhoeffer, but I’d never read a book written BY him. I found one of his books on my Hoopla app and listened to it. It’s a little too deep to listen to. I need to hold this book in my hands and read it slowly to truly appreciate it.
Review: This was the first fiction book I read after “Where the Crawdads Sing” and it just didn’t come close to the character development, storyline and detail of that book.
Stuart Brown started as a Violence researcher and switched to a PLAY researcher. The book starts with the story of an open shooting. When research was done on the history of the shooter – they found that he was never allowed to play as a child. His father was extremely controlling and regimented.
The opposite of play is NOT work. The opposite of play is depression.
The book answers the question:
What is play?
He describes it as time spent without purpose.
Most of us think time without purpose is WASTED time. We want to GET THINGS DONE!
Stuart Brown
I recommend this book to anyone with kids or anyone who has a hard time having FUN and relaxing!
The is a new book about understanding the Enneagram. If you don’t speak “enneagram” – it’s is an ancient personality system that helps you understand how you are wired, both positively and negatively. In The Road Back to YouIan Morgan Cron gives practical ways to use the Enneagram to connect with, and understand, different “personality types.”
Box Car Children Mystery
The book is older than ME!
37. The BoxCar Children and the Mystery Behind the Wall
Rating 6/10
I found this old book and decided to read it to my boys because I LOVED the Boxcar series as a child. The book is older than me, so some of the language is a little outdated. My kids weren’t super engaged in the story, and I didn’t love it as much as I did as a child. However, if you have a child who likes to read mysteries – the Boxcar series are simple chapter books that are fun to read.
Review: An interesting book that provides practical examples of how you can incorporate hospitality into your everyday life.
39. Paul Harvey’s For What It’s Worth
Rating: 8/10
Review: I used to love listening to Paul Harvey with my grandfather. This book is like turning on the radio and hearing his voice again. The book is filled with fun, funny, or inspiring stories sent in by his listeners.
Review: This is a great book for a person who may not be familiar with the true meaning of Christmas. A simple, encouraging, easy-to-read book about Christmas.
The entire reason for Christmas is the love of God. God loves you so much that he came to earth as a human so you could get to know him and learn to trust him and love him back.
Review: I LOVED this book. It’s full of simple ideas to make the world a better place. I used suggestions from this book to celebrate my birthday in a unique way! Read that post by clicking here.
Review: This book review 55 “essentials” every kid should know and use. For instance – always say please and thank you. Make eye contact when someone is speaking to you.
I own the first edition and read it as a teacher 20 years ago and decided to re-read it from a mother’s perspective. Many of the tips apply to the classroom (on a field trip, enter the building quietly) but there were good reminders for parenting too!!
Review: This book started slow and I wasn’t crazy about it, but by chapter four, I fell in love. It’s an amazing book with the sub-title: “Less than Perfect Parents can raise Kind of great kids!” She is funny and vulnerable and I recommend this one to parents with kids ages 2-12!
Review: Whether you make $40,000 a year or $400,000, Dave Ramsey gives you easy, practical ways to make your money go further. He gives a very simple strategy for getting out of debt, and saving money. His information is very useful!
I recommend READING the book versus listening on audio. I felt like Dave was shouting at me in the audiobook – but the actual book is full of useful information, interesting facts and success stories. Our copy has lots of underlines and you can WIN it by sharing this Post!
“We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have in order to impress people we don’t like.”
Review: If you are a fan of Elisabeth, you will really enjoy this book! She shared stories from her time on Survivor, The View, and Fox and friends. She lets us in to her failures and successes. It’s a quick and easy read. My mom bought this book, let me read it and is now allowing me to give it to one of my readers!
I’m giving away FOUR of my books:
Essential 55 by Ron Clark
Sacred Ground, Sticky Floor
Elisabeth Hasselbeck’s My Point of View
The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey!!!
TO WIN:
Share THIS post on Facebook, text or email – 1 entry per share
Share ANY post I’ve written on Facebook between now and the deadline for an extra entry
Let me start by saying that Christmas is NOT about receiving a ton of gifts. I believe it’s about ONE gift – the Gift of Jesus. Giving gifts is just one way we celebrate His birth. Time together is another way to celebrate.
When you buy gifts for your children, take time to enjoy the gifts WITH them! Play with them! You will both benefit from this time together.
What children need more than presents is YOUR PRESENCE!
If you have a kid that likes crafts or building, I recommend a subscription to Kiwi club. We purchased a 6 month subscription to Kiwi Crate for our oldest son, and he loved it. They have different kits for different ages/interests. When you subscribe, you’ll get a box to unwrap every month. Order NOW because the kits are on sale, and your child can UNWRAP the first box on Christmas day! Click here for 60% off your first subscription.
I love to read, and I’ve read LOTS of books. I can’t believe how amazing the Janet Benge books are! Each book is a TRUE story about an inspiring person from history. Kids can read these on their own, but even better – read with them. You will love them as much as your kids will. Everyone will be asking for ONE MORE CHAPTER!
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4. A handmade photo gift – Memory Game!
Luke found a matchEvery match is a family member or memoryGeorge is 12 but still likes to play
I made my youngest son a memory game on Shutterfly two years ago and all my boys STILL enjoy playing with it. Each “match” has people they know and love.
This year I’m going to make them a puzzle with one of our family pictures. I love this unique option on Shutterfly!
My grandparents gave one of my sons the gift of piano lessons for Christmas 5 years ago – and he’s still playing.
My in-laws found a used Keyboard and gave it to our boys so that they could begin learning and practicing. Both of those gifts have been really special.
What makes this gift Unique? You are going to Go sledding together! You won’t believe how much fun you’ll have being a kid with them! Follow my instagram stories for the sledding adventures I go on with my boys!
Do something disgusting together – dissect OWL pellets. Owl pellets are the undigested parts of an owl’s food, regurgitated (coughed up through the mouth). You can find them under trees, or just buy them on amazon. (Now you know it’s true – you really can buy everything on amazon!)
I’m not usually into disecting stuff- but these are just SOOOO cool that I’m all in!
I recommend doing this outside or covering an indoor table with newspaper. Then, using gloves or small tools, open up the “pellets.” You’ll find small bones from miscellaneous animals. It’s totally fascinating, and you never know what you will discover!
This saves your hands from FREEZING while making snow balls. It makes the perfect snowball and is fun to use in the winter with your kids! I bought a pack of three so 3 could play at the same time.
Here are a few of my favorite things from Amazon this week. Most of these would be great CHRISTMAS gifts if you are planning ahead! Each item is an affiliate link. That just means that if you make a purchase, I’ll earn a few cents without any additional cost to you!
Winter hat and neck warmer for kids – This hat and neck wrap is so warm and cozy! My son George loves it. The neck wrap is large enough to cover his neck, as well as most of his face too – which is perfect for the really cold days we have in Minnesota. And step #1 for how NOT to HATE winter is to DRESS FOR IT!
Pretty lap top cover – Since breaking my computer, I’ve been borrowing Teds. His one request was that I get a cover for it first, since I’m not as…”careful” as he is :). I love this cover – it’s like a piece of art. It’s pretty, but not TOO feminine.
Reusable food covers – My friend introduced me to these and I am in LOVE! I have one set and use them to cover anything from leftover brownies, to dinner. You can rinse and reuse and use less plastic wrap/aluminum foil. These make a GREAT gift.
One line a day journals are an easy way to capture life. There is space to summarize your day in one paragraph. I love it because I can record funny things my kids said, or places we went, or an accomplishment I want to remember. It will be fun to compare year-to-year because this book will hold FIVE years worth of journal entries!!
Photo Albums – My Grandma June used to have matching photo albums, and I loved going through them and looking at all the people and places. I print my favorite photos and have albums that my kids and I enjoy.
I just got this book in the mail and am so excited about using it over the holiday season. Not only is it a Bible Study, but it’s a full holiday resource as well! It’s a guide for planning and keeping Jesus the center of your holiday!
Thanks for reading and please subscribe!
You may also be interested in the following blog post:
Links below are Affiliate links. If you choose to purchase an item, I will receive a small commotion at no extra cost to you.
Here are some books I’ve been reading lately, and you must read to the end to find out how to win a copy of one the following books see who won!
I’m usually reading two to four books at a time. I have one by my bed, one by the couch, one in the car, and another I’m listening to on my phone with the free Hoopla App. Here are my thoughts on the books I’m currently reading, or recently finished.
The Gift of Failure by Jessica Lahey
I’m not a helicopter parent, but this book did shine light on areas where I could back off to allow my kids grow. It made me realize that some of the strength and confidence I have, comes from being put in really challenging situations as a young adult, and figuring out my way through it (I’ll write about this in a future post). I would recommend this book to parents who have children 7-17. The book has a few really great sections, and other parts were repetitive that I skimmed through. I’d rate it a 4 out of 5.
Capital Gains by Chip Gaines
I mentioned to a friend how much I loved The Magnolia Story, so she recommended I read Capital Gains. It’s basically Chip Gain’s biography and shows how hard work and a good attitude (plus a smart spouse) can lead to incredible success. Their family has turned the town of Waco from a place you’d just drive through to get from Dallas to Austin, to a destination city. I liked The Magnolia Story better, but would still give this a 4 out of 5!
Sacred Ground, Sticky Floors by Jami Amerine
I heard the author speak in an interview/podcast with Crystal Paine so I purchased this book on Amazon. After reading the first couple of chapters, I didn’t think I was going to like it…but by chapter 4, I was all in. I loved the author’s honestly, vulnerability, and HUMOR. The tag line is: “How less than perfect parents can raise kind of great kids” … and I would recommend it! Rating: 4/5
Educated by Tara Westover
I neglected all household chores for about 24 hours to devour this memoir. I couldn’t put it down. Tara Westover shares her fascinating story of growing up completely sheltered and was not allowed to go to school. Without any formal education or GED, she earned a Doctorate from Harvard! Rating: 5/5
A Cup of Cold Water by Lorie Newman
This is an incredible book with tons of suggestions on how we can make the world a better place. I heard the author speak on a podcast and purchased her book right away. I’ll share more in a future post about what I’m doing with what I learned in this book. I highly recommend it! Rating 5/5
Talking to your Kids about God by Natasha Crain
Once again, I heard this author speak on a podcast and decided to purchase her book. I had just finished reading “Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus” and I was inspired/convicted about how well Muslim parents instruct their children in their faith. I was excited to read this book about how to teach our children about God. Natasha Crain discusses the evidence for the existence of God, how science confirms the God of the Bible, how Christianity is different from other religions, and how all these things apply to us and the world around us. I’m not finished yet, but I’m REALLY loving it. Rating: 5/5
I received this book as a gift from my father-in-law and loved it! It’s an amazing true story about a man who goes to the most dangerous parts of Africa to find orphaned children and then provides a safe place for them. Rating 5/5
I want to give my copy of Another Man’s War to one of you! To win…
Do any of the following between now and May 1, 2019
Comment on this post (use the little text box icon beside the title)
Share this (or any) post on Social Media, through text or email! Let me know you shared it.
Every share and comment will receive you an entry to win the book. The drawing will be on May 2, 2019.
Here are 9 of my favorite books from 2018, if you haven’t read them…add them to your MUST READ list of 2019!
The one book you should read this year!
One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voscamp – An incredibly well-written book that reminds the readers of how gratitude can positively change your life.
2. UnSuperMommy by Maggie Combs – This is a must read for moms with young children.
3. What’s God Really Like? by SJ Hill – Each page made me smile as I was reminded of how GOOD our God really is!
4. Conversations with a Billionaire by Ted W Egly – A truly inspirational book filled with tons of great stories. An easy-to-read book that will leave you feeling encouraged and challenged…get a glimpse into the book by clicking here.
5. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver – An awesome book if you like food and are interested in finding out more about what you eat. This book is also inspiring for gardeners (or wannabe gardeners, like me).
6. Love Does by Bob Goff or his next books which was equally Awesome:
7. Everybody Always – I was nervous to read this book because I didn’t know if it would be as good as his first…but it was amazing!
8. Speak Life by Brady Boyd – Our words shape our life. This book contains great examples on how we can improve our communication and challenges us to speak life-giving words.
One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voscamp was truly a GIFT to me. It was the most beautifully written book I’ve ever read – and so full of truth and light. The book made me cry, laugh, think, and smile.
When I read a book, I underline all my favorite parts. If it’s a book that has stuff I that I don’t want to forget, I enter everything I’ve underlined into my computer. For this book, I had SIX TYPED pages of notes and quotes from the book! Six pages of words from the book that I didn’t want to forget. That’s a record!
This is a book I’ll come back to over and over. I’m also going to read the study guide that goes with this book:
The premise of One Thousand Gifts is about how to find gratitude in the mundane days of life. Finding gratitude leads to a full, joy-filled life.
Here are some quotes from the book:
It’s easy to speak the language of discontentment, self-condemnation, and dissatisfaction…but it’s worth learning how to speak a new language.
Why not let ALL life be penetrated by JOY and gratitude!?
Do yourself a favor and READ THIS BOOK!
Have you read One Thousand Gifts? If so…leave me a comment. Also, if you have a book I MUST read this year, let me know!
Have you read One Thousand Gifts? If so…leave me a comment. Also, if you have a book I MUST read this year, let me know!
Have you read One Thousand Gifts? If so…leave me a comment. Also, if you have a book I MUST read this year, let me know!
If you’d like to read reviews of all 40 books I read last year, click here.
Why does it seem like Christmas comes SO slowly when you are a child and as an adult, it comes WAY to quickly. I wish the Christmas season could last twice as long. I love the lights, the songs, the decorations, celebrations, traditions, extra time with friends and family, …and the anticipation and excitement in our children!
Our day started early … 3 AM early! Paul and Clark woke up, went into George’s room and woke him up and exclaimed: “It’s Christmas! Wake up!” Thankfully, George looked at the clock. He then came in, woke me up to let me know that his brothers were up and ready for Christmas and he thought it was too early.
Me: You are right, it’s too early! Go back to bed!
I went downstairs to bring the bad news to Paul and Clark that Christmas wouldn’t begin for 4 more hours.
CLARK: What will we do for FOUR hours?
ME: SLEEP!
CLARK AND PAUL: We are too excited to sleep!
ME: I’m sorry. (not sorry)
Thankfully, somehow, they did go back to sleep and so did I…and Christmas morning began around 7 AM.
Stop by Mi Casa if you are craving Mexican food! We loved the enchiladas, and the salsa was so good! Super quaint atmosphere inside and nice patio outside!
This place has fantastic sub sandwiches. It’s a hole in the wall, so don’t plan to eat inside. I recommend picking up subs, walking to the Gondola, taking the ride to the very top, and eating on the patio at Peak 8.
This restaurant is right in the middle of all the action with great seating in the front on Main Street or in the back, on the patio. The burgers are great!
Eric’s has good pizza, burgers and wings but I only recommend going if you are willing to drop some ‘dough’ on video games. Half of the place is food/half is a gaming area. My kids like coming here – not necessarily for the food, but because of the games!
We love this place because it’s so darn cute. It’s an old YELLOW house with such history inside. And if you want to know how to get your Starbucks for FREE, read this.
I thought I didn’t like crepes…until I tried one from Crepes a la Cart. This place ALWAYS has a line out the door! Our family devoured the cinnamon roll crepe in 3.5 seconds.
Kenosha is a great place to go with family and friends when the weather is nice. You can sit on the back patio and enjoy the backyard “games” while you wait for your food! My boys like the burgers and wings! I ordered the Bison burger – it was great! My husband enjoyed his Caesar salad. We also shared a plate of nachos with Bison Chili – one order is enough to feed the whole table.
This is a great place to get a hot bowl of soup on a cold day. It’s very small without much seating, though. I recommend ordering Pho to Go. Take it up the Gondola and eat at one of the tables at Peak 8.
Obviously, this isn’t a place you’d go for dinner unless you want a SUGAR RUSH, but it’s gotta go on my list because it’s my kids favorite spot for a treat in Breckenridge. They give you a little bag and you can add as much or as little of the 400+ options. My kids eat something right away and save some for the drive home.
There are so many quaint restaurants along Main Street. Please let me know in the comments where you love to eat in Breck!
For all my favorite FREE things to do in Breckenridge, CLICK HERE!
We are blessed to have a church that puts so much intentionality into what they do! My kids and I had a great week learning and laughing together at New Life Church Kid’s Camp. The theme this year was Supernova – discovering God’s Great Galaxy. The music was incredible, great teaching, fun games, engaging skits, and service projects.
George loves Legos. Occasionally when I find a great deal on a set of a legos, I’ll buy it for him. Clark and George recorded themselves building their Legos, then George edited the video and I uploaded it to their youtube channel: “The Free Range Eglys.” Here is one video George recorded and edited.
Saturday
Ted and I had our first Duel
Book-signing at a local (beautiful) coffee shop, The Roost! It was a great morning where we met some new neighbors, saw some familiar faces, and sold some of our books!
If you’d like a copy of Ted’s amazing book, click here!
Giveaway winners – Mary Kathryn S. ($40 Gift card) and Judy B. ($50 Tillivery)!
That’s a peek into our week! How was YOUR week? Leave me a comment!
