Free Printable Menu Planners

Wishing you all a very happy 2013!  We've been busy organizing, cleaning, decluttering... and more organizing.  I put together these fun printable menu planners to help with mealtimes around here, especially to limit trips to the store! :)  Enjoy!!

The weekly menu plan:

The monthly menu plan:

If you have trouble downloading them, just let me know!  Any special requests?  I'm happy to at least try!  Happy Friday all!!
(If you're looking for more planning printables, check out my free daily planner too!)

Joy to the World!

... wonders of His love...

This Christmas we scaled back... a lot.  We are currently undergoing a huge remodel of our kitchen, family room, and mud room/laundry room.  Along with it, we have upgraded our original wiring and insulation, basically taking everything back to the bones and starting fresh.

Which is exciting and awesome, but made for some pretty bleak baking conditions.  Normally I would be whipping up my favorites, along with goodies to bring along to friends and family, but this year I decided instead of focusing on what I couldn't be doing, I would focus on enjoying the season.

And I'm here to confess that despite what I may have believed, I survived the Christmas season without baking a ton, without delivering goodies, and yet keeping my Christmas spirit in tact.  Instead of focusing on the hurrying and worrying, I was able to allow myself to slow down and truly enjoy the gifts of the season, especially the ones that weren't wrapped under the tree. 

I learned a great lesson that will resonate through the new year: less is more.  Simplicity may be a brand new buzz word, but it strikes a cord because so many of us are tired of the busy.  2013 seems like a good year to spread more joy, and less of the busy.

(and psst:  the Redeemed collection is on a huge discount at DaySpring!  Head over to score a super cute apron for only $15!!)

(Disclosure:  I received a complementary Redeemed apron and Christmas devotional in exchange for sharing my story of our Christmas season.  All opinions are my own and honest!)

New Oceanhouse Media iPad apps!

With the holidays right around the corner, I thought I would highlight some of our favorite new Oceanhouse Media apps that are available!

Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now!  ($3.99)

We just LOVE Dr. Seuss in our house, so this classic is a great omBook that my kids really enjoy!  Especially for my 5 year old, the vocabulary and highlighted words really enhance letter and sound learning.  Plus this is just a really silly and fun story!

 The Berenstain Bears go on a Ghost Walk ($3.99)

Again, authors that we just adore, in a format that is easy to use and super interactive!  This omBook was obviously enjoyed this week of Halloween, but it's a cute "scary" story that helps take the creepy out of the Halloween holiday.  This is also available in the Google Play store and the Amazon app store for Android!

 Picture Me Trick or Treat ($1.99)

Such a simple but CUTE app that allows you to either take pictures or use pictures from your photo library to "try on" a variety of costumes!  My girls' favorites are the scarecrow and the puppy!  I love how they can choose which pictures to fill the book, and they have so much fun seeing us all in goofy costumes!  This would be a great app for babies too!  If you love the Halloween themed one, there is also more great Picture Me apps available!!

 What Was I Scared Of? ($1.99)

Another Dr. Seuss favorite of ours!  We love that you can record your own narration (Grandma read this for us and now we can listen to her every night!) and I love that the words zoom and help us practice letter recognition and sounds.  Another super cute omBook!

 The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin ($2.99)

Another app that is available on the Google and Android platforms, we just adore this sweet story that is about loving who you are!  If you haven't read the tale of the square pumpkin, I highly recommend this!  I love the illustrations too!

 We also have downloaded the Dr. Seuss Bookshelf, which is a great way to organize your books in one place, and you can also easily find out about sales and new releases!  There is also a newly released OMBookshelf that does the same thing with your favorite Berenstain Bear apps, Little Critter, and more from Oceanhouse Media!  Both apps are free, too!

What are your favorite new apps?

Disclosure:  In exchange for my honest and personal review of these apps, we received a complementary download from Oceanhouse Media.