Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites

Tori’s favorite Bible story book:

 
The Big Picture Story Bible presents the profound truths of the gospel in language my three-year-old can understand, and weaves in questions to help us talk together about the story. And of course, she loves the pictures.

Friday Favorites

Our new favorite history book...

Friday Favorites

All our kids (and their parents) are lovin' this super-fun new children's cd, Slugs, Bugs & Lullabies. I think this one will always be a favorite.

Friday Favorites

For ten years, my husband's and my favorite way to spend a dollar...

Dear Ann Landers: Last weekend, we celebrated my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. This morning, they left on a long-awaited trip to Hawaii. They were as excited as if it were their honeymoon.

When my parents married, they had only enough money for a three-day trip 50 miles from home. They made a pact that each time they made love, they would put a dollar in a special metal box, and save it for a honeymoon in Hawaii.

Dad was a policeman, and Mom was a schoolteacher. They lived in a modest house and did all their own repairs. Raising five children was a challenge, and sometimes, money was short, but no matter what emergency came up, Dad would not let Mom take any money out of the "Hawaii account." As the account grew, they put it in a savings account, and then, bought CDs.

I can remember Dad coming home and telling Mom, "I have a dollar in my pocket," and she would smile at him and reply, "I know how to spend it."

When each of us children married, Mom and Dad gave us a small, metal box and told us their secret, which we found enchanting. All five of us are now saving for our dream honeymoons. Mom and Dad never told us how much money they had managed to save, but it must have been considerable, because when they cashed in those CDs, they had enough for airfare to Hawaii, plus, hotel accommodations for 10 days, and plenty of spending money.

As they told us goodbye before leaving, Dad winked and said, "Tonight, we are starting an account for Cancun. That should only take 25 years." -- A Loving Daughter in Abilene, Texas

Friday Funnies

For most of our married life, Mike and I have shared one car. It’s a 1996 blue Camry. The driver’s side door is broken so I can often be seen climbing over the passenger seat to get in. (I wonder how that’s going to work at nine months pregnant?) But I’m not complaining. It’s been a very reliable car.
 
Recently Mike has added a special feature to our reliable little car. You see, Mike oversees the annual kids camp here at CLC known as Summer Celebration. And each year he has car magnets made in order to get the word out to the community.
 
Well, this particular year Mike came up with a rather unusual plan for the leftover magnets. Yep, you guessed it, he put them ALL OVER our car. (I’m including pictures so you can see for yourself.)
 
I’ll be driving along and notice people staring at me. Forgetting about the magnets (for a split-second) I try to figure out what they are looking at. Then I remember, and sink a little lower in my seat.
 
Recently, Caly attended a week-long class for which I drove a daily car-pool. I’d park my Summer-Celebration-mobile (Mike’s name for our car) smack in the middle of the row of mini-vans. While leaving class one afternoon, Caly asked me why we had such a funny car. “Cuz you have a funny daddy” was all I could say.
 
The other night we went out for dinner and upon returning to our beloved car found that someone had re-positioned all the magnets to spell the word “hi” over and over all around the car. Hmmm…creative.
 
Then, just a couple of days ago, someone side-swiped the front of SC-mobile and didn’t leave a note. My personal theory? After seeing all the magnets, they were too afraid to get in touch with the owners thinking they might be crazy. I can’t blame them.
 
I think the owners are crazy.
 
Happy Friday!
Janelle for the girltalkers

Friday Favorites

Our favorite of your favorite....

Gifts for Grads:

My favorite gift to give grads is a laundry basket filled with a towel set a thing of laundry soap and a big jar filled with quarters along with the book, Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung. --Jessica

A college emergency kit: Sewing supplies, first aid kit, shoe goo, phone card, etc. --Rebecca

I just graduated college and this year my parents got me a kitchen aid mixer, which I am absolutely thrilled about! It is kind of a large gift but for any bride or grad who loves to bake/cook, then this is the perfect gift. --Paige

Knowing God by J.I. Packer is my favorite grad gift to give because it was in college that I slowly studied this book, digesting it a little at a time and it was the first time I ever understood the place of my faith in my life. It's still my favorite book. --Kerry

Gifts for Brides:

We like to get newlywed couples a gift card to a local restaurant so that they can enjoy a date night even if resources are tight. --Jessica

I loved receiving customized stationary with my new name on it--a great gift for all the thank you notes to come. --Diane

My favorite present I recently got as a bride was a homemade cookbook filled with my best friend and her family's delicious recipes. There was also plenty of spots left for my new family's new favorites! --Lacee

For Bridal showers: Confessions of an Organized Homemaker by Deniece Schofield (or your favorite homemaking book) in a basket with pretty/funky office supplies to set up a little home office. A month of simple menus with thorough recipes and shopping lists. If she'll be in the area tuck in a local grocery store gift card, if not, cash. --Rebecca

I like to give brides a subscription to a cooking magazine (Everyday Food is my personal favorite). --Andrea

A favorite gift for newlyweds you know well is to pay for their wedding night hotel/bed and breakfast. Just contact the place and ask them to charge you instead of the couple. The couple will be so surprised and grateful since it is unexpected and most newlyweds are low on funds. This can get pricey, so you can involve other givers, too. --Kelli

Friday Favorites

One of my favorite stain removal tips...

To get rid of ink stains (which we get a lot of around here!) pre-treat clothes with hairspray, blot with rag until stain disappears or fades considerably, and then wash as usual. Always works for me! (Note: try on inconspicuous area first to make sure hairspray doesn't discolor fabric.)

New on Fridays

Friday is fun day here at girltalk. That’s not going to change (not if Janelle can help it!). But we want to mix things up a little bit. In addition to Friday Funnies (don’t stop sending them!), we’re introducing a new feature: Friday Favorites.
 
What is “Friday Favorites”?
 
Just a few of our favorite things (cue Julie Andrews here)—a book we’re reading, a stain-removal tip, a rainy day idea for kids, a new recipe we’re making a lot, a website we frequent, a song we’ve set on repeat, even some of our husbands’ favorites.
 
The four of us are always swapping tips and solutions, and Friday Favorites is a way to include you in these conversations. We don’t think we have the best ideas (far from it!), and this isn’t a sneaky way to bring advertising to girltalk. We just want to share with you stuff we like, use, and benefit from—our favorites.
 
So here’s the deal: you come on Fridays and we’ll have something fun. Sometimes it will be one of your funnies. Sometimes it will be one of our favorites. Whatever it is, we hope you'll like it!