Friday, April 15, 2016

How Choosing Love Changed My Heart and Our Home and more...



Intentional finance. Intentional family. Intentional business.

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How Choosing Love Changed My Heart and Our Home

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I thought I was a patient person… then I had kids.

I said I'd never yell at my kids… and then I had kids.

I pictured myself as a sweet, loving, always-cheerful mom… then I had kids.

Motherhood has stretched me and humbled me. It's brought out the best in me and the worst in me.

A couple years back, I found myself snapping at my kids more and more frequently, which only served to frustrate me. The more I snapped at my kids, the more frustrated I was at myself. And the more frustrated I was at myself, the more I'd snap at my kids.

It was a vicious cycle and I felt trapped.

One night, I was up late thinking of the kind of mom I'd been and feeling so ashamed of my behavior and the example I was setting before my kids. I started praying and asking God to help me to love my children, to help me have patience with them, and to stop getting so angry with them.

As I was praying, an idea birthed in my head. I decided to make a commitment that every time I was tempted to lash out at a child I would, instead, find a very practical way to love that child.

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It was a BIG commitment, but I told my husband about it and he agreed to keep my accountable to it. I went to bed resolving that, by God's grace, I was going to change the tone in our home.

In the beginning, it was very, very difficult. But I'm a stubborn person and I was determined to stick with my commitment. When I was tempted to lash out at a child, I asked that child to come snuggle next to me. I poured love, love, and more love. To help me remember to choose love instead of lashing out, I started wearing a bracelet as a reminder to choose love.

When I would look down at my arm throughout the day, the bracelet served as a tangible reminder of my commitment to love instead of lash out.

Because this commitment had such a profound impact on our home, we designed the Choose Love Bracelet so that other moms and women could join me in this quest to choose love when our natural tendency would be to lash out in frustration or anger.

This bracelet is a constant visible reminder of our desire to live a life of love. To show love in tangible ways. To think loving thoughts. To respond in love. We can’t always choose our circumstances, but we can always choose our responses.

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In addition to the Choose Love bracelets, our Choose Love Gratitude Journals are designed to encourage moms to go throughout their day looking for the blessings in life. It's so easy to focus on the hard and the discouraging and to miss the amazing blessings all around us.

Each month of the journal has a specific theme — mostly related to Choosing Love in the middle of motherhood. There is a line for each day of the year for you to journal something short and there are encouraging quotes and verses sprinkled through the journal.

These journals can be used like a regular Gratitude Journal — where you write down a line of blessings every day. Or you can use it to record a motherhood moment, memory, or funny story so that you have a record of your motherhood journey to keep and read through in the months and years to come.

It’s simple, easy to keep up with, and just might change your whole outlook on life!

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Get Your Choose Love Bracelet and Journal Combo For Just $19!

Mother’s Day is coming up, so we wanted to offer a special on these two best-selling products from our store. So through April 18, you can get the Choose Love Bracelet and Journal Combo for just $19! No coupon code is required. Just add it to your cart at the sale price.

You can order as many as you'd like at this price. These would make great gifts for yourself or anyone in your life might need some encouragement and inspiration as a mom!

As always, shipping is free with any order over $50 from our store.

Get your Choose Love Bracelet and Journal Combo for just $19 here.

    
 

Why I LOVE HGTV Magazine (+ get a subscription for just $10/year!)

Why I Love HGTV magazine

I have completely surprised myself this year by loving HGTV magazine. Someone gifted me a subscription earlier this year and I didn’t think I would really like it, but I have fallen in love with it.

I adore the beautiful pictures, it motivates me to add more beauty to our lives, and it inspires me to be more creative in decorating our home.

Because I love this magazine so much, I’m SO excited that DiscountMags is offering a very special deal for my readers only! Through this weekend only, you can order a one year subscription to HGTV magazine for only $12.99 or a TWO year subscription to HGTV magazine for $19.99 when you use coupon code MONEYSAVING at checkout.

Watch the above video that I recorded live on Periscope yesterday for more on why I love HGTV magazine. (The video is very informal, I’m still in my workout clothes, and I recorded it in my closet. How’s that for some real-life??!)

I ended up going pretty deep and personal in the video — which might surprise you since I’m just talking about a magazine subscription. But the magazine subscription has some very personal significance to me!

Go grab a two-year subscription here for just $19.99 total when you use coupon code MONEYSAVING. It would make a great gift for yourself — or for a friend!

(Note: The links in this post are affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.)
    
 

Amazon.com: Keurig K250 2.0 Brewing System for just $78.99 shipped!

Get this Keurig K250 2.0 Brewing System for just $78.99 shipped right now!

Amazon has this Keurig K250 2.0 Brewing System marked down to just $78.99 shipped! This is a huge price drop and the lowest it’s ever been on Amazon.

Only the strawberry color is available at this low price.

Sign up for a free trial of Amazon Prime to get free 2-day shipping.

Psst! Don't forget you can sign up for Swagbucks to earn free gift cards to use on deals on Amazon.

Thanks, Kosher On A Budget!

(Note: The links in this post are affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.)
    
 

Ibotta: Sign Up, Get $10 Bonus Cash Back!

Sign up with Ibotta to get a bonus $10 cash back right now!

If you’ve never signed up for Ibotta before, now is a really great time to do so! They are currently offering a $10 cash back bonus when you sign up and verify your first purchase within 30 days.

Ibotta is one of my favorite money-making apps, and it's a great way to save money on groceries and more—without clipping coupons! You can download the Ibotta app to get started.

They just added some great new cash back offers — for Sargento, Minute Maid, Dove, Glade, and more! Check them out here.

What is Ibotta?

Ibotta helps you save money on the brands you love by offering cash back on your purchases. Here's how it works:

::Sign up for iBotta and download the free app.

::Choose any of the products that you plan to buy at the store and click on the earning opportunities and watch the videos, take the quick surveys, or read the information to add the cash to your account.

::Purchase the product at an approved retailer (make sure you're buying it when it's on a great sale and using a coupon, too!)

::Take a picture of your receipt when you get home and your cash will be added to your account.

::You can transfer your cash to your Paypal account whenever you want to cash out.

(Note: The links in this post are affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.)
    
 

Crazy 8: Up to 70% off markdowns + free shipping!

Get up to 70% off markdowns at Crazy 8 right now, plus free shipping on all orders with this new coupon code!

Crazy 8 is offering up to 70% off markdowns and 40% off new arrivals, plus free shipping on all orders with coupon code TAXTREAT at checkout.

You can grab tees for $5 shipped, dresses starting as low as $6.99, shorts starting at $4.99, plus much more!

Valid for a limited time only.

Shop the Crazy 8 Sale here.

(Note: The links in this post are affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.)
    
 

Amazon.com: Pyrex Bakeware 4.8 Quart Baking Dish for just $7.35!

Get a Pyrex Bakeware 4.8 Quart Baking Dish for just $7.35 right now on Amazon!

Amazon has this Pyrex Bakeware 4.8 Quart Baking Dish marked down to just $7.35 right now! This is by far the lowest price ever on record.

Sign up for a free trial of Amazon Prime to get free 2-day shipping.

Psst! Don't forget you can sign up for Swagbucks to earn free gift cards to use on deals on Amazon.

Thanks, SwagGrabber!

(Note: The links in this post are affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.)
    
 

Dollar Tree: Free Excedrin Mild Headache

Get free Excedrin Mild Headache at the Dollar Tree right now!

You can grab free Excedrin at Dollar Tree right now:

Buy 2 Excedrin Mild Headache at $1 each
Use $2.50/2 printable
Free after coupon

Thanks, For The Mommas!

(Note: The links in this post are affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.)
    
 

HUGE List of FREE Homeschool Curriculum & Resources

 

This is the weekly list of Free Homeschool Curriculum and Resources compiled by Jamerrill from FreeHomeschoolDeals.com. If you aren't a homeschooler, but you're a parent, teacher, babysitter, or nanny, you'll probably find at least a few useful freebies in this list. You may also want to go through the Educational Deals and Freebies from earlier this week for more.

This week you will find a variety of fun activities and new printables and worksheets. We found engaging outdoor learning activities that focus on spring learning, most of them with free printables, and lots of great resources for other subjects, too.

Math Freebies

This FREE Math Game Printable will make learning math skills fun!

Use this FREE Mini Golf Money Practice set to practice money skills.

Put a spring in your step with this FREE Spring Counting Pack.

Writing Freebies

This FREE Writing with Picture Books post and printables give great suggestions for teaching writing through reading.

Poetry is fun with these FREE Famous Haiku Cursive Writing Pages.

These FREE Spring Themed Writing Papers will get you in the mood for spring even if you have to be inside to do the writing.

Science Freebies

Study animal cells and what they are made of with these FREE Animal Cell Worksheets and Lesson.

Butterflies are a great spring learning activity! Try these FREE Butterfly Life Cycle Worksheets.

Here is a FREE Rainforest Matching Game.

Focus on the planets with this FREE Planets Mini Book.

All children love animals! Here is a FREE Fox Lapbook.

Do you have chickens? These FREE Chicken Life Cycle Coloring Pages are a great way to learn about the chickens life cycle.

You can study the weather with these FREE Weather Bingo Printables.

Read Lewis and Clark from a new perspective with these FREE Lewis and Clark Botany Mini- Fold Books.

Health Freebies

FREE Healthy Food Groups Worksheets

It’s healthy to learn about food groups. Use these FREE Healthy Food Groups Worksheets.

Here are FREE 3 Part Fruit Cards to learn about fruits. Then study vegetables with this FREE Fruits and Vegetables Unit Study. Finally, put it all together with these FREE Fruit and Vegetable Bingo Cards.

Earth Day Freebies

Earth day is just around the corner! Grab some of these fun Earth Day printables:

Art and Music Freebies

Now you can FREE Learn to Draw Portraits with the lesson and pictures included.

Here is a Free Leonardo DaVinci Lessons & Activity Guide.

Random and Themed Homeschool Freebies

It’s not too soon to think about May planning. Here is a FREE May Printables and Activities Pack.

Have fun with these FREE Sentence Picture Match.

This FREE Printable Spring Bucket List has lots of great ideas for spring fun! Then here is a FREE Spring Learning Pack, too.

Grab these FREE Island of the Blue Dolphins Notebooking Pages.

Preschool and Early Learning Freebies

This FREE SPRING FLOWER COUNTING BOOK brings spring to mind while learning counting.

Here are 23 FREE Montessori Cutting Practice Sheets.

Practice fine motor skills with these FREE Spring Lacing Cards.

History and Geography Freebies

 

FREE HIstory Notebooking Pages

Study the Navajo Indians with this FREE Navajo Indians – History Notebook Pages.

If you are learning world geography, here is a FREE All About Greece Game and a FREE Ancient Egypt Daily Life Unit Study.

Reading Freebies

Memorize sight words with these FREE First Grade Sight Word Packs.

Extra Homeschool Helps

Here are 2 FREE Student Checklist to keep your child organized.

This FREE 2016 Rain Calendar is a great way to keep your days organized or focus your circle time.

Click here thousands of homeschool freebies!

*Don't forget! If you are looking for additional free homeschool resources please check the huge growing list of free homeschool curriculum and resources on MoneySavingMom.com!

Jamerrill is the mother of a large and growing family. You can find her daily helping families afford the homeschool life on FreeHomeschoolDeals.com. Additionally she hopes to inspire homeschool moms from the blessed trenches of real life on The Encouraging Homeschool Mom.

    
 

Free Ebooks: The Frugal Life, Soap Making Made Easy, Colorama Adult Coloring Book, plus more!

NOTE: The price of these ebooks is currently $0.00, but that could change at any time. Be sure to verify before checking out that it is still free.

Unless otherwise noted, these ebooks are specifically for Kindles, but you can go here to download a free application that enables you to read Kindle ebooks on your PC.

Screen Shot 2016-04-15 at 8.34.13 AMDownload a free copy of Thriving in Babylon.

Screen Shot 2016-04-15 at 8.34.39 AMDownload a free copy of Beyond the Brady Bunch.

Screen Shot 2016-04-15 at 1.10.10 PMDownload a free copy of We Worship God.

Screen Shot 2016-04-15 at 1.13.24 PMDownload a free copy of A Beginner’s Guide to Companion Planting.

Screen Shot 2016-04-15 at 1.22.52 PMDownload a free copy of The Top 100 Best Ways to Organize Your Life.

Screen Shot 2016-04-15 at 1.23.42 PMDownload a free copy of Colorama Coloring Book.

Screen Shot 2016-04-15 at 1.24.26 PMDownload a free copy of The Magic of Baking Soda.

Screen Shot 2016-04-15 at 1.25.28 PMDownload a free copy of The Frugal Life.

Screen Shot 2016-04-15 at 1.26.20 PMDownload a free copy of Soap Making Made Easy.

Screen Shot 2016-04-15 at 1.27.04 PMDownload a free copy of Tiny Houses.


Psst! Did you know you don’t need a Kindle device in order to read these free eBooks? Just download the free Kindle Reading App that allows you to read your eBooks on just about any device (including your computer)!

(Note: The links in this post are affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.)
    
 

Office Depot/Max: Free 5 Pounds of Bulk Bin Shredding

Get free 5 pounds of bulk bin shredding at Office Depot/Max right now!

Office Depot/Max is offering free 5 pounds of bulk bin shredding with this coupon.

Limit 1 coupon per customer. Valid through April 23, 2016.

Thanks, Freebies 4 Mom!

    
 

Natural & Organic Coupons & Deals

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Here are the best natural & organic deals with thanks to Andrea from The Greenbacks Gal for compiling them:

Coupons: This week’s hot coupons include $2.00/1 Spectrum Coconut Oil and $1.00/2 Horizon Organic Fruit Snacks. Get the complete list of Natural and Organic Coupons.

Free Sample: Take a quick survey and you can get a free sample of organic valley balance protein shake.

Costco: Costco has released quite a few natural and organic coupons for this month with stock-up worthy prices.

Igloo Island Breeze Cooler:
For a limited time you can save 50% on the Igloo Island Breeze Rolling Cooler. Bring your own healthy food to sporting events, picnics or potlucks.

Amazon Under $5: These Natural and Organic Subscribe and Save items are all under $5! This massive list includes popular items such as Yes To Carrots Fragrance-Free Gentle Cleansing Wipes, Happy Baby Organic Greek Yogis Freeze-Dried Greek Yogurt and Fruit Snacks, and Seventh Generation facial tissues. Use these low ticket items to fill up a Subscribe and Save order. If you have 5 Subscribe and Save items in an order and you’ll save another 15%!

Fox Farm: Oh man! My favorite Fox Farm organic plant fertilizer is only $9.00/bag – that’s a 64% savings! It ships FREE with Amazon Prime.

Eating Purely: Get the eCookbook Eating Purely while it is on sale for only $2.99. It features over 100 natural and organic recipes.

Blendtec:
Save an additional $30 on Blendtec Refurbished blenders.

Andrea Green of The Greenbacks Gal is an organic coupon expert. What if you could find affordable organic and eco-friendly products on a budget? Eco-friendly moms need affordable solutions. Andrea finds the best green deals, helping hundreds of families save on the frugal, green lifestyle. Nothing makes her happier than to help people realize being organic doesn’t have to cost more.

    
 

Send a Free Kind Snack Bar to a Friend

Send a free KIND Snack Bar to a Friend!

Send a free Kind Snack Bar to a friend.

Just click on the “send a Kind snack” button at the bottom of the page, and then follow the instructions.

Thanks, SwagGrabber!

    
 

Brigette’s $39 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan for 6

We have lots of leftovers to use up this week, so I just bought a few staples and then enjoyed Super Doubles at Harris Teeter. I plan to go back on Saturday, as that is usually when they restock. :)

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Aldi

1 24-oz pkg Yellow Squash – $1.79

2 bunches Bananas (4.82lbs @ $0.44/lb) – $2.12

1 pkg Romaine Hearts – $1.99

1 pkg Frozen Strawberries – $2.09

1 3-pk Green Peppers – $1.79

1 pkg Brussel Sprouts – $1.99

2 pkgs Rice Cakes – $2.58

1 24-oz pkg Zucchini – $1.19

1 Cauliflower – $1.99

1 32-oz carton Half & Half – $1.89

1 gallon Milk – $1.99

1 pint Grape Tomatoes – $0.99

2 cartons Egg Whites – $3.99

1 jar Artichokes – $2.69

1 can Black Olives – $1.19

1 jar Green Olives – $1.19

Total: $30.46

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Harris Teeter

(Super Doubles – Wahoo! Of course, they were out of stock of the best deals, but I still came home with some steals. :))

2 bags Eight O-Clock Coffee – $7.00, used 2 $1.50/1 printable (doubled) – $1.00/2 bags after coupons

1 pkg Luvs Diapers – $6.99, used $2/1 printable (doubled) – $2.99 after coupon

1 pkg Bob’s Red Mill Garbanzo Bean Flour – $2.99, used $1/1 printable (doubled) – $0.99 after coupon

3 large cans Furmano’s Crushed Tomatoes – $3.43, used $1/3 printable (doubled) – $1.43/3 cans

1 box Good Thins Sweet Potatoes – $3.50, used $2/1 catalina printout (doubled) – FREE after coupon

3 pkgs Old El Paso Taco Seasoning – used $1/3 Old El Paso Products, exp. 6/11/16 (SS 04/17/16) [Excludes refrigerated and product products] (doubled), plus $1/3 evic – FREE after coupons

2 16-oz Harris Teeter Peanut Butter – $1.94 (used rain check)

2 64-oz cartons Old Orchard Juice – $3.18, used $1/2 printable (doubled) – $1.18/2 after coupons

8 PowerBars – $8.00, used 2 $2/4 printable (doubled – FREE after coupons

1 pkg Spice Hunter Ranch Dip – $1.39, used $1/1 Spice Hunter Product from SS 3/06 (doubled) – FREE after coupon

1 bag Grapefruit, reduced – $1.00

1 8-oz pkg Challenge Butter – $1.50, used $0.75/1 printable (doubled) – FREE after coupons

2 Cover Girl Eye Shadows – $6.06, used 2 $3/1 CoverGirl Lip or Eye Product, exp. 4/30/16 (RP 04/10/16 #2) – $0.06/2 after coupons

2 boxes Post Cocoa Pebbles – $4.00, used 2 $0.50/1 printable (doubled) – $2.00/2 after boxes

used a $2.00 off your next purchase catalina from last week (doubled)

Total: $9.21

Total for the Week: $39.67

Weekly Menu Plan

Breakfasts

Cereal x 2

Oatmeal x 3

Eggs, Fruit, Toast x 2

Lunches

Almond Butter on Rice Cakes, Bananas, Green Peppers x 2

Baked Potatoes with Cheese, Tossed Salad, Oranges

Fried Egg Sandwiches, Roasted Zucchini Fries

Macaroni and Cheese, Carrot Sticks, Apples

Leftovers x 2

Dinners

Grilled Pizza, Tossed Salad

Baked Chicken, Roasted Brussel Sprouts, The Best Biscuits

Chicken Gravy Over Brown Rice, Easy Whole Wheat Bread, Steamed Peas

Hotdogs (3 on my guys will be on a campout, so the rest of us will be spending the night with friends)

Venison Roast in the Crockpot, Mashed Cauliflower, Roasted Carrots, Easy Whole Wheat Bread

Leftovers x 2

    
 

21 Days to a More Disciplined Life

   

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