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Here's What's New  
Guest post from Katie of Embracing a Simpler Life As it has long been said, some of the best things in life are free. I believe toys are no different. There is an authenticity and richness in simplicity that is unrivaled by all the blinking lights and cheesy, pre-recorded music of the modern toy industry. Whether or not you consider each of these to be "free" or "toys," the greater point is that the essence of childhood is found not in expensive electronics or the latest trendy toy, but in fresh air and imagination. I hope this list will encourage you and your kids to go outside and be kids! 10. Rocks Collect them. Build with them. Hide them. Decorate them. Make them pets. 9. Sticks and dirt Make mud pies. Draw in the dirt. Pretend the sticks are pirate swords, cowboy guns, or kingly scepters. Go on hikes around the yard, using your hiking stick to fend off imaginary lions and tigers. These are some of my favorite childhood memories. I know my kids love it when I play such games with them. 8. Trees Climb them, swing from their branches, or create a clubhouse or hiding place underneath. Stash your rock and stick collection in a hollow place amid the branches. 7. "Junk mail" paper airplanes or origami Here's a use for the paper you're constantly throwing out, and there are so many possibilities. The library has many how-to origami books with great pictures for kids. 6. Fireflies On those warm summer nights when they're out in droves, run among them, catch them, hold them, release them. 5. A homemade tent Use couch cushions, a sheet, and a broom handle perhaps. Introduce flashlights or other household items to make it a real camping-like experience. Bring books to read or tell stories. 4. Puddles. Run through them. Jump in them. Splash around. Go crazy! It's so much fun! This is truly one of the pure joys of childhood. While you're at it, run around in the rain and tromp through mud barefoot. 3. A cardboard box The bigger the better as far as I'm concerned! Decorate it into a castle, a boat, or a race car. Get in it and roll around. Go fishing in the box with sticks and string, while someone else hides inside the box and ties "prizes" on the end of your line. 2. Friends or siblings Play hide-and-go-seek. Go exploring. Create imaginary games, secret handshakes, and fun hide-outs. Good friends are better than any toy. 1. You, the parent Your child wants your attention and engagement. It doesn't cost a thing, and ultimately it means more than any toy you could buy for them. What "toys" would you add to this list? Hi! I'm Katie. I'm a young-ish, stay-at-home mom of two adorably-fun little ones, and I live a life devoted to Jesus. I love to write, and I focus my energy on living simply and well. I’m new to the blogging world, recently launching a blog called Embracing a Simpler Life.
photo source 
Walgreens Shopping Trip Transaction #1 1 Colgate Toothpaste – $3 (Buy 1, Get $2.50 Register Rewards)
Used $0.75/1 coupon from the 6/15 SmartSource insert Total: $2.25, Received $2.50 Register Rewards Transaction #2 2 Dry Idea Deodorant – $3 each
Used $1/2 Walgreens coupon from the June booklet
And used 2 $2/1 coupon from the 6/15 RedPlum insert 4 Mars Candy Bites – $2.50 each
Used $1/2 Walgreens coupon from the June booklet
And used 2 $3/2 printable Used $2.50 Register Rewards from Transaction #1 Total: $0.50 Total for both transactions before coupons, sales and Register Rewards: $33.23 Total for both transactions after coupons, sales and Register Rewards: $2.75 
I worked on my morning routine this week… and well, it still needs some definite work. But I’m encouraged that I AM making some progress. Any progress is progress — and that’s worth celebrating! Read more about how my morning routine is going here. 
We’ve been loving reading The Saturdays and Brother Andrew: Behind Enemy Lines! We also got two new books from PaperBackSwap that we’re looking forward to reading soon! 
I’ve been getting back into running since we’ve moved and I’ve been loving it. I have my sights set on doing another race — hopefully in the not-too-distant future! 
Developing the practice of writing down a few blessings from the day before is a habit that has transformed my entire outlook on life. And for months I’ve dreamed of the possibility of producing my own Blessing Journal — in order to encourage others to also join me in this life-changing practice. Thanks to some of my wonderful team, my dream is becoming a reality! I got to see the proof of our new Choose Gratitude journals this past week and I can’t wait to share more about them soon! 
We got some decent deals on our grocery purchases this week — not as great as I would like, but I’m so very thankful for the low prices Aldi offers. See what we bought and how much we spent here. 
We had so much fun at the Franklin Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning! The produce prices were all really steep, but the we splurged on some fresh- squeezed lemonade, Kathrynne bought some Kettle Corn to share, and we bought breakfast from a food truck… Something we’ve never done before. It wasn’t exactly a frugal outing, but I’m all about occasional, budgeted splurges! 
And a picture that gives you a peek into my afternoon today: lounging on the couch and reading aloud to my kids, while Kaitlynn (6) tried out different hairstyles on me.  It’s so nice to have a quiet, leisurely afternoon to enjoy read-alouds together.
Other blessings of the week that I didn’t get pictures of: –I found a hair stylist that I love! I had been putting off making a hair appointment since we moved because, in the past, I’ve found that it usually takes a few bad experiences before you find a great stylist. But this time around, I read reviews online, looked at prices, and made some phone calls. I narrowed it down to one place and randomly picked a stylist there… and she ended up being amazing! Such a huge blessing! –We had some great times with friends: - Monday night was our typical Meaty Monday gathering (we LOVE these folks and they are all fast becoming dear friends!).
- Wednesday, we met a friend and her little girl at the park for lunch — which was fun!
- Friday morning, I got to spend a few hours having coffee and catching up with a good friend who lives here. I left feeling so encouraged! Life-giving friends are certainly a gift!
- Friday evening, we hung out for a few hours with two couples in our neighborhood — it’s not often that you can meet people for the very first time and, within 5 minutes, be laughing hysterically and then soon after delving into deep, heartfelt conversations. But that’s what happened Friday evening and it was such a beautiful thing… the level of community and authenticity we are experiencing here as newcomers is pretty mind-blowing!
- Saturday evening, some other friends of ours invited us over spur-of-the-moment for pizza and volleyball with some of their friends and neighbors. Again, we’re just amazed by how folks have welcomed us into their lives here!
I know I’ve said it often, but I can’t help but say it again: we are so very grateful to be here in TN. The move was hard and we miss our friends and family in Kansas, but God has confirmed to us over and over again that this is where we’re supposed to be. We’re soaking it up, seeking to make the most of each day, and learning and growing so much as a family. And we’re humbly grateful for how God orchestrated things for us to be living here. How was YOUR week last week? I’d love to hear! Tell us about it in the comments! 
Amanda from I Am Baker has written an absolutely gorgeous cookbook called Surprise Inside Cakes. I loved looking through it and finding such great ideas and inspiration. If you are a cake baker or just someone who loves cookbooks and/or creative ideas, you’ll want to enter to win this giveaway. Why? Because not only is Amanda giving away 10 copies of her book, Surprise Inside Cakes, but she’s also giving away a KitchenAid Mixer to one grand prize winner on my blog this week! 
Each cake recipe in Surprise Inside Cakes has — you guessed it — a surprise inside. 
It might look like a normal cake from the outside, but when you cut into it, there’s a fun surprise inside! Here’s more from the book’s description: Whether it's a striking, all-white cake with a secret red velvet heart baked inside; a birthday cake, complete with a surprise balloon cake in the middle; or the gorgeous hydrangea cake that took the blogosphere by storm; Amanda's cakes are downright revolutionary—and really fun to prepare. This beautifully designed cookbook contains eye-popping color photos and step-by-step instructions to create incredible surprise-inside cakes in your own kitchen. For Amanda Rettke, every cake is a gift to be shared with family and friends, a special treat that should be lovingly prepared and meticulously designed—from the inside out.
For more inspiring ideas, be sure to follow Amanda on Facebook and Twitter. Want to enter to win a copy of Amanda’s new book, Surprise Inside Cakes? I’m giving away ten copies here this week. Plus, one winner will also win a KitchenAid Mixer!! To enter to win, just click on the graphic below and type in your name and email address. Winners will be chosen and posted early next week. This giveaway ends Wednesday, June 18, at 11:59 pm, CST. 
Are you joining us for the 12 Months to a Healthier You Challenge? If so, it’s time for our weekly check-in to post our progress.
June's Challenge: We're focusing on developing the habit of a better morning routine. I encourage you to create a simple and doable morning routine and to stick with it. New to this challenge? Read more details on the plan for this year here. My Morning Routine Challenge for June I created a new morning routine (see it here) and am working on sticking with it. I'm also hoping to keep up with January's habit of exercising at least 4-5 times every week, February's goal of eating a big salad at least six times a week, March's goal of drinking 8 glasses of water a day, April's goal of cutting back on sugar, and May's goal of getting at least 7.5 hours of sleep every night. This Week's Progress: So I still have a long way to go when it comes to my morning routine, but I’m encouraged at the progress I’m making. And I really feel like this one big change I’m making this week will make a massive difference. It’s already made a big difference just today alone! As I confessed on Saturday, I’ve not been doing that great at getting good sleep. In fact, I think I only slept at least 7.5 hours two of the nights last week. But I’m determined to really work on that this week. I hit my water goals five days, exercised five days, ate a salad five of the days, and had dessert twice. How Are YOU Doing? Leave a comment telling us how you did on your exercise goals this past week. If you're blogging about this challenge, leave the direct link to your blog post about the challenge below. Are you on social media? You can also share your progress on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter by using hashtag #12MonthstoaHealthierYou. 
Last Week’s Goals: Marriage/Mothering/Homemaking Goals 1. Finish reading Brother Andrew: Behind Enemy Lines aloud to the kids. Read 4 chapters of The Saturdays to the kids. {I read to the kids almost every day, but we didn’t quite hit either of these goals.} 2. Go to the Farmer’s Market. {I’ll share more about this later today — it was a fun outing!}
3. Write a love note to Jesse.
4. Finish embroidering quilt square for my sister's baby quilt. Personal Goals 5. Work on memorizing & reviewing Romans 1:1-30.
6. Exercise 5 times.
7. Finish reading Breathe, Mom's Night Out, Love Idol, Pursue the Intentional Life, and The Measure of Success. Business Goals 8. Work on writing a new ebook.
9. Work on launch plan for a new product we’re releasing in a few weeks.
10. Shoot one video for my YouTube channel.
This Week’s Goals: Marriage/Mothering/Homemaking Goals 1. Finish reading Brother Andrew: Behind Enemy Lines aloud to the kids. Finish reading The Saturdays to the kids. 2. Go to bed by 11 p.m. every week night. 3. Write a love note to Jesse. 4. Work for 45 minutes on embroidering quilt square for my sister's baby quilt. 5. Take Kaitlynn on a date for her birthday. Personal Goals 6. Work on memorizing & reviewing Romans 1:1-31. 7. Exercise 5 times. 8. Finish reading Breathe, Love Idol, I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn't), Rhinestone Jesus, and The Measure of Success. Business Goals 9. Prep for my filming with Michael Hyatt on Friday (I’m filming a Master Class for Platform University — so honored and excited to be doing this!)
10. Finish writing all the pages/content/emails needed for the launch of a new product we’re releasing in a few weeks. How did you do on last week's goals? What are your goals for this week? I'd love to have you share your progress on last week's goals and your goals for this coming week in the comments. Of, if you've blogged about it, leave your direct link below. Let's cheer each other on to live purposeful and productive lives! You can download a free customizable weekly goal-planning sheet here.
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