Thank You America Quilt Jigsaw Puzzle -- Mommy Time Review

 

Disclosure: I was sent this puzzle in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own. The links shared here are also affiliate links where I will receive a small portion of any purchases made through the links at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share. 

This has been a crazy week. It is hard to believe what is going on in our country. I know I have not been myself since Wednesday. Watching the people storm the capitol was just awful. I felt like our country was truly divided and falling apart. I took a few days off from blogging because I just needed to care for me and my family and come back from all the emotions from the day. I have spent a lot of time praying and reflecting on my own life and what I want for our country as well as some crafts and puzzles. How are you doing?

A Book of Advice from a Zen Buddhist Monk to Help Us Begin This Anxious Year!

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Let's face it 2020 was a hard year. Now we are in 2021 and it is not looking much better. We are living through a worldwide pandemic. Even after the November election our politics do not seem settled or at least completely accepted. Then there is the struggle with masks. Some people wear them and others do not even when we see the numbers of people infected growing so fast and our hospitals are reaching their limits. All of this is enough to make us feel stressed and anxious. The new year usually brings hopes and dreams. We make resolutions on how we are going to change for the better. Yet this year we are all a bit overwhelmed. How do we get past all of this? 

Review of Indonesian Children's Favorite Stories -- Multicultural Monday

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

January is always an exciting month here at Crafty Moms Share. It always represents Multicultural Children's Book Day since it is held the last Friday in January and the books are reviewed throughout the month of January. I am co-hosting once again this year as well as one of the many book reviewers for the event. Tuttle Publishing is always a sponsor of this event and although this book qualifies to be part of it I am not reviewing it today for Multicultural Children's Book Day. It is one I have on my review shelf before I started getting the books for the event. 

Word for 2021--What inspires you?

 

Do you pick a word for each year? I started a few years ago. In 2019 my word was flourish, and Hazel picked believe. I spent the year trying to encourage her to believe in herself. In 2020 my word was connect. I hoped to connect with more people as well as God in more meaningful ways. I feel I did connect but not as I expected to due to Covid. As I reflected on words I thought about gratitude and then picked inspire. Hazel is choosing between strength and confidence. I love that she chose those two on her own! It shows so much growth for her this year. (Her new school is such a blessing!) What will your focus for 2021 be? Need some help? I made this word find with over 60 word of the year choices. What are the first four words you see? Do they have meaning for you?

New Books about Race, Stereotypes and Black Lives!

 

Disclosure: I was sent digital copies of these books in exchange for honest reviews. All opinions are my own.

Have you been enjoying your holidays? I have not been writing since I have been taking time to be with my family. This holiday season has been special for us because we are realizing it is probably the last one with my father being somewhat mentally present. His Alzheimer's is getting bad and we know the end is coming whether he will be alive and not aware or die this year we are beginning to prepare ourselves. This week I am getting ready for Hazel's birthday. We decided to have a small gathering of girls from her school and doing our best to keep them socially distant and with masks. But before the year ends I wanted to review these four books. Two of these books have not been released yet and the other two are new in the past couple of months. It seems fitting to end 2020 with books about race, stereotypes and Black lives.