LDS Living: Best of Mothers {LDS Living Freebie!}

Have you seen this?  Right now you can download LDS Living Best of Mothers free for your Deseret Bookshelf app!  This eBook is a compilation of the best of the LDS Living articles on Motherhood.  Prepare to be uplifted!  I know I am!

Just in time for Mother's Day - give yourself a treat of inspiring and encouraging stories free!  Download your copy from Deseret Book and have great {Mothers} day!

Moving...

Did I mention that we are moving?  This weekend?  

Well, ever since we sold our house we have been in a flurry of excitement.  I've barely started packing and here it is, Thursday already...

Here is the news so far.  Our house closes on Friday the 10th but needed to move this weekend if we wanted help since this is the last weekend before we close.  In many ways I am going to miss this house.  It has caused us a lot of trials but we have definitely come to call it our "home."  We've put a lot of time, $ and work into it, Maggie has never lived anywhere else.  In many other ways I am excited to move on and start another chapter of our lives although in this chapter the main characters find themselves completely stressed over finding another place to live.

Since we haven't even decided on where to live we ended up renting from PODS.  I've never moved with a POD before but it looks to be very convenient.  We will load up our POD, they will pick it up and replace it with a 2nd POD (hopefully we can cram everything into only 2) and then they will store them both at their storage facility until we find a place to move.  

In the meantime we are at the mercy of several of our wonderful friends.  We will be "house sitting" for the next month or more while we figure out what to do. We've been looking at a LOT of houses.  In fact, I would go so far as to say that we have looked at over 15 houses now.  Home prices are great but we are stuck with settling for something we don't love.  Everything we looked at is either too small, too run-down (ugh, I do not want to buy a workhorse), too expensive, or some other problem.  We are leaning toward too small for the sake of NOT having to put sweat and $ into it right after moving in.  At this point we are looking for a "starter home" that will have good resale value and then consider moving again in 3-5 years.

So, that is where we are today.  I'm not sure where we will be next week!

Hey God, I've Got Some Guy Named Jonah in My Stomach....{Book Review & Giveaway!}

Wow.  You've heard the story of Jonah and the Whale.  You know the one.  The story goes: Jonah gets swallowed by a whale after he tries to run away from God.  You see, he didn't want to go spread the gospel in Nineveh.  After 3 days in the belly of the whale he is spewed out on the beach where he changes his mind & heart and heads to Nineveh!  Well...this is a Jonah story unlike any you have ever heard!

How funny is this? It had me laughing out loud!  

The story of Jonah, as told by the whale, in the book, Hey God, I've Got Some Guy Named Jonah in my Stomach and I Think I'm Going to Throw Up by Troy Schmidt.  Recommended for ages 4 to 8, this hilarious story tells the traditional biblical account from a very interesting and creative perspective.  Illustrated by Cory Jones the pictures are outrageously cute!  This is a short and colorful book that teaches a lesson in the importance of Biblical obedience.  

Bonus features include a Parent Connection section that recommends two memory verses, further reading, thinking questions and a "Do" section that really gets the child into the story.  Perfect companion to the Bible story, bedtime or school time!

We loved this book and can't wait to read the others in the series:  Hey God, I'm Having an Awful Vacation in Egypt Thanks to Moses! and Hey God, Can You Stop the Rain so I Can Get Off of Noah's Smelly Ark?  No really, those are the titles.  LOL!

Learn more about this series by visiting:

Website:  http://www.bhpublishinggroup.com/books/products.asp?p=9781433679643

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/troyschmidt and https://www.facebook.com/bhpublishing?fref=ts

Twitter: @troyeschmidt

Would you like to win a copy?  I have a chance to share one copy with a Swinging On Small Hinges Reader!  Drawing ends May 7th at midnight.  Good luck and thanks for stopping by!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: “Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention iton my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordancewith the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

An Uncommon Life: Years of Preparation by Lee Tom Perry {Deseret Book Review}

A few blog postings ago I mentioned that I haven't read much by way of biographies.  No reason in particular I suppose, I just haven't.  When Deseret Book offered me the opportunity to review two of them I couldn't resist!  I enjoyed the Eliza R. Snow biography a lot and this one about apostle L. Tom Perry is just as good!!

 

Elder L. Tom Perry, a senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is fond of describing himself as being "as common as dirt."  Yet his life is uncommon by any standard. After spending most of his early years in his hometown of Logan, Utah, and additional years on a mission and in the military, young Tom Perry launched a twenty-year professional career that took him from his first job as an internal auditor in Boise, Idaho, to executive positions in retailing on the west and east coasts of the United States. Soon after his fiftieth birthday, he was surprised to be called as an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve. Not long afterward, President Spencer W. Kimball extended to Elder Perry the call to join the Quorum of the Twelve. Elder Perry has now served for forty years as a General Authority.

Written to commemorate his 90th birthday, this biography is written by Elder L. Tom Perry's son Lee Tom Perry.  In the book he says, "My father has given me little direction about his biography, but he has made one request - it should have a purpose.  In other words, it ought to teach something to everyone who reads it."  Don't worry Elder Perry, it does! 

Following L. Tom Perry's life from birth to present we are blessed to see how his life experiences have shaped the amazing man that he is today.  Did you know he was in the Marine corps?  How cool is that?  Did you know his first name is Lowell?  And, seriously, his smile is contagious don't you think??  Through all of his life he has maintained a positive attitude and by taking this peek into his life we can learn valuable lessons.  He is such a faith-filled man and he shows you through his example how to draw closer to God and live a better life by giving service to others.

I have enjoyed reading about Elder Perry's life and by far the pictures are my favorite part!  You can read an excerpt or if you would like to purchase a copy of An Uncommon Life by Lee Tom Perry you can find it at DeseretBook.com in hardback for $31.49 or as a Bookshelf eBook for $13.99. 

Don't forget the Deseret Book Bookshelf eBook app is free and when you download you get 8 free LDS eBooks plus the Scriptures!

Disclaimer:  I received An  Uncommon Life free of charge from Deseret Book in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions expressed here are my very own.  Thanks so much DB.com!!

Saving Memories Forever {Mosaic Review}

I have family members who tell the most hilarious stories!  There is nothing worse than sitting down and trying to re-tell that story to someone else and forgetting the details, or worse, the punchline!  Saving Memories Forever is an new app that is designed to help you record your family history and save it to be enjoyed for generations!

From their website:  "Have you ever wished you could remember your parents’ stories about their childhood? Do you have relatives who you only see once in awhile, but whose stories you’d love to capture and keep? Have you planned to write down your family history, but just haven’t had the time? Saving Memories Forever helps families record, save, and share family memories 'one story at a time'". 

Saving Memories Forever was developed by husband and wife team Harvey and Jane Baker.  About 20 years ago they assembled their family tree but soon after realized that there were holes in their history!  They felt like, on paper, they didn't really get to know their relatives.  Their stories were still untold.  They wanted the ability to listen to their family members crack their famous jokes.  From this desire Saving Memories Forever was developed.

Isn't this program such a great idea?  I had a lot of fun playing with it and I'm glad I have an opportunity to share how it works with my readers!

The program is in 2 parts.  You will need a smart phone to use the program and you will need a computer to manage the stories that you record.


I have an iPhone but this product is available for Android devices as well.   So, the first thing to do is go download the free Saving Memories Forever app.  The app is simple to use, it will walk you through the process to record and download stories.

Start by opening the app on your phone:

Click the Get Started button, it will walk you through a simple set up:

Next you add your Storytellers.  In addition to myself, I added both my girls!  Once you type them in, you can add a photo.  

Once you have chosen your storyteller you choose which era of life this story will fall into.  I had my kids record some stories so I chose Childhood.

Next it gives you a list of questions that you can answer, or if you scroll down further there is an option for "other."  

Here I have chosen the question, "What did you want to be when you grew up?"  Hit record when your storyteller is ready to talk and stop when you are done.  It is so easy!  It will give you the option to playback before you submit it as a final recording.  Upon hitting submit it will also give you the option to share it on Facebook.

My kids LOVED hearing themselves and I can't imagine how precious it will be to have their adorable little voices saved forever tell me stories.

Now, once you have submitted your story you will go to the website to manage them, share them, attach documents or transcripts, etc.

It really is a very simple, easy-to-use way to record your favorite memories!  We are loving it and I can't wait until I get a chance to record some other family members!

Interested in getting started?  Visit SavingMemoriesForever.com to watch a great how-to video, download the app, or set up your account!  The Saving Memories Forever app download is free and they offer a limited use free version that you can try out but to get the full benefit of the Saving Memories Forever app you can pay only $3.99 per month or an annual fee of $40.00 to enjoy unlimited storytellers, stories and more.

Thanks for stopping by and hearing about the fun we are having with Saving Memories Forever!  My friends at Mosaic Reviews also reviewed the Saving Memories Forever app.  To see their thoughts on this fun family history tool visit mosaicreviews.com: