A few weeks ago an internet friend of mine sent me a request to check out his new book. Because we were messaging in 140 characters or less (aka twitter), I didn’t have a lot of details about the book he was sending. Today I opened up a book that is instantly a treasure. Are you a dad with daughters? Are you married to a man with daughters? If you’ve ever taken my advice, please take it now…you MUST order a copy of this book. It’s small but could be some of the most powerful instruction for you or that man in your life.

Filled with quick life instructions and beautiful photography, “Life Lessons for Dad – Tea Parties, Tutus & All Things Pink” by Michael Mitchell is just brilliant. I honestly can’t say enough how thankful I am to have said “yes” to this review. Please excuse the poor photography from my phone, but here are a few images of from the book.

Again, my iPhone doesn’t do a bit of justice to the beauty of the photography and the attention to detail on each page. Each picture tells a story, but the real key is the instruction below. Page after page of important, thought provoking wisdom. There is even an open page at the front of the book with the instruction to “Add your own photo and caption on this page.” I haven’t made it through the entire book yet, but here are just a few of the lessons to give you some idea of what you’ll find too:

She’s as smart as any boy. Make sure she knows that.

Boys will break her heart. So will mean girls, stray puppies, and devastating athletic losses. Be there to help pick up the pieces.

If you want to be her friend in adulthood, you have to act like her parent today. This rarely works in reverse.

Sing to her. Every day. Even when you don’t feel like it. Do it often enough and the sound of your voice will become a permanent source of steadiness in her life.

“Life Lessons for Dad” officially releases on May 1st. You can pre-order today on Amazon here.

Order yours today and start collecting memories to fill this page for you and your little girls.

Aaron Conrad is a husband, father, follower of Christ, Tar Heel fan, random tweeter and believer that Love Does!

The post Book Review: Life Lessons for Dad appeared first on Club JellyTelly.

I recently did a personality test online … I’ve known for some time that I probably fall into the introvert camp, but I was interested to see what an actual test would conclude. Yes, still introvert. HUGE introvert. I thrive on routine, structure, organization, and time alone to recharge when I’ve had to expend a lot of energy being social and with people.

Basically, the exact opposite of my day as a homeschooling mama.

I know full well, and have recently had it reconfirmed through some thinkerly type moments and conversations that homeschooling is the path for our family and is the place that God wants me spending my time and energy. (Not that I was questioning it, but it’s always comforting to have it confirmed and be refreshed in that goal). However, I need to give a bit more thought as to how I can keep myself from burning out time and time again in this place. Being available for these amazing little people who I get to learn and love alongside of is a such a gift. But the mama that is continually overextended or not making a priority to manage her time and possessions (i.e., keep things picked up!) is no blessing to the family around her.

Just a few thoughts that have been percolating of late. The last few weeks have been some of our best this year as I have narrowed my focus as much as I can to two goals for my day: keeping up with the housework (which entails anything that falls under my homemaker umbrella) and homeschooling the children. Anything that doesn’t clearly fall under those two categories get some serious thinking about before I say yes or add one more thing to the calendar. This line that my husband and I have come up with for me has been such a huge help in pushing back the feeling of being overwhelmed. Maybe it’s too simple, but sometimes simple keeps it just that … simple.

Stephanie is a stay-at-home / homeschooling mama to four wonderful munchkins, Noelle, Natalie, Betsy, and Ethan. She spends her days teaching addition and grammar and counting the minutes until her favorite person in the whole world comes home from work – her husband, Travis, who she has been married to for ten years. She writes on her blog, Simple Things, about daily life in a house of many littles, scrapbooking, and children’s literature (that she is reading to her children and that she is sneaking away and reading on her own because it’s that good). She writes to remind herself that every bit of her life, the happy and the hard, is made up of gifts from a good God and to be thankful for all of it and in the midst of all of it.

The post Keeping Things Simple appeared first on Club JellyTelly.

If you aren’t familiar of the concept of picking a word for your year, you can go here for more information.

This year’s word found me a few weeks ago. It’s one that I’m excited to dive into over the next year, but also a little scared about. I have a feeling it’s going to ask much of me. My word is intention(al). (Why the funny little (al) at the end? Because when I read the definitions of both intention and intentional, aspects of both words jumped out at me, so this is my way of including both.)

This past year I felt like I floundered in several areas. I floundered in several parenting areas due to being unprepared and backing down in areas when I should have been gearing up toward the more intense seasons of parenting that are here. Our homeschool floundered because I didn’t do as diligent of a job in planning and preparing. My natural abilities in organization helped us get by, but that’s where it stopped. Just at getting by. These are just a couple examples of areas that I’m going to mention, but overall, it was just my lack of not trying and working as hard as I could. Hard to say, but there it is.

When I looked up these two words in the dictionary (because that’s where I always try to start) I found some eye-opening definitions:

intention:

• a thing intended, an aim or a plan. A determination to act a certain way.
• the healing process of a wound.
• the object for which a prayer, mass or pious act is offered.

intentional:

• done in a way that was planned or intended.
• synonyms that caught my eye: purposeful, conscious, voluntary, deliberate

This year, I’m tightening the reins on myself and putting my nose to the grindstone (to throw in a few very well-known and possibly overused cliches). I want to be very intentional in how I spend my time over the next 12 months and I have some very intentional plans that I want to pursue. What does this look like?

This means…

• I am going to be making plans and then actually break them down into how I am going to accomplish them. As opposed to making pretty plans and lists and then conveniently forgetting about them.
• I’m going to be very specific about what I do plan to do. Pam at Everyday Snapshots had a great post on this in regards to making goals (specifically homeschool ones) that you can accomplish. For example: less “read great books” and more “spend a year reading at least six books by C.S. Lewis.”
• There will be a lot less time wasted. How much time was spent this year endlessly following clicks on different pages or aimlessly checking social media because I didn’t do what needed to be done? An embarrassing amount. I’m done with that nonsense.
• Quality time with Travis and the kids. I spend lots of time with my kids (and Travis), but I’m encouraged and reminded that I still need to be very deliberate about quality time with them, as a group and individually.
• Being intentionally and 100% present in our schooling. And encouraging myself to learn along with the kids.
• There is going to be some healing involved over this year. What does this mean? With some of the choices that I made over the last 12 months to skim in some areas, there will need to be some retraining, correction, and new habits set. Things like this are rarely easy and I’m anticipating it will mean “cleaning out” of the old (wound) so that there is healing and new habits set in. I absolutely loved this word picture.
• Prayer! Without this, and laying my ideas and thoughts before God, I don’t figure that all the planning in the world will produce much fruit.

This is just skimming the surface – I have so many thoughts bubbling in my head and am very, very excited (nervous!) about this year. Besides Scriptures, I have books I want to glean from to encourage me in this walk. I want to be 365 days from now and look back and say that I faced each day wisely and focused on what the Lord wanted me to accomplish in that place.

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 90:12

Stephanie is a stay-at-home / homeschooling mama to four wonderful munchkins, Noelle, Natalie, Betsy, and Ethan. She spends her days teaching addition and grammar and counting the minutes until her favorite person in the whole world comes home from work – her husband, Travis, who she has been married to for ten years. She writes on her blog, Simple Things, about daily life in a house of many littles, scrapbooking, and children’s literature (that she is reading to her children and that she is sneaking away and reading on her own because it’s that good). She writes to remind herself that every bit of her life, the happy and the hard, is made up of gifts from a good God and to be thankful for all of it and in the midst of all of it.

The post The Year of Being Intentional appeared first on JellyTelly V2 Beta.

Download a winter olympics coloring page featuring Agnes and Winnie in the JellyTelly game, Big Air! Play Agnes & Winnie’s BIG AIR today along with many more games and watch hundreds of videos your desktop, mobile device or Roku on JellyTelly! Your first month is free.

The post Winter Olympics Coloring Page appeared first on JellyTelly V2 Beta.

An amazing group of parents and bloggers have agreed to be a part of our JellyTelly Parent Board, and you will be hearing from them regularly on our blog. Today, we’re featuring our parents board in a series called JellyTelly Voices. We’ll ask them all one question and see what they have to say!

We asked our bloggers: Will you be watching the Olympics with your family? What do you enjoy most about the Olympics?

Stephanie Shepherd:

Yes, our family will be watching the Olympics this year … we particularly enjoy the opening ceremonies. The coming together of so many nations and individuals is always a wonderfully creative night. I love learning about the host country and their culture and history through their presentation. With this year’s games in Sochi, Russia, I am hoping to make a few Russian dishes to taste test while we watch. (I am under no illusions that my children are going to gobble cabbage rolls enthusiastically, but you never know). We will take time over the course of the games to read a few of our favorite pictures books set in Russia and learn a little about the culture and country. This is a great time for me to be deliberate about reminding my children of the vast array of nationalities and people that God has created and how one day, when we are all before the Lord when He returns, it may look somewhat similar (though far more awesome) as people of every tribe, every tongue, every nation bow before Him.

Heather Conrad:

The Conrad family will definitely be watching the Olympics! There is something special about the celebration of these games.

As a family, we enjoy adventures of all kinds. Having competed in athletics most of our lives, we have an underlining understanding of working through the “hard” to achieve a long-time focused goal, no matter the doubts and distractions! Our children have found their niche sport (one that brings out their inner passion, inner strength, and inner talents), but we encourage them to learn from activities that don’t come easy to them.

The Olympic games remind us that dedication, sacrifice, and commitment come in many forms. Sometimes we achieve our set goal, sometimes we don’t, but along the way, we grow from character-building lessons. We learn that we have limits; we learn about team efforts, we learn about failures, and we celebrate wins. Through it all, we learn that at the end of ourselves – our physical limits, our mental strength, and our spiritual weakness – there He is. The One who is all Powerful, All Knowing, Ever Present cares more about our character than our comfort, and will lead us to His heart, His Son, the place where we all want to be and struggle with how to get there.

Lisa Strnad:

Our family will definitely be watching the Olympics! Each of us like different events, but we usually all enjoy watching the opening ceremony. My son, who is on the Autism spectrum, really enjoys seeing the different flags representing each country because he knows most of these flags! He also likes the hearing the different national anthems played at the award ceremonies. My oldest son is a hockey fan, so I’m pretty sure he’ll be keeping an eye on those events. My mom and I love watching the ice-skating. For two weeks we pretty much keep the TV tuned into the Olympics, and watch whatever is on each evening! GO USA!

The post JellyTelly Voices: Are You Excited For the Olympics? appeared first on JellyTelly V2 Beta.

It is with excitement that we bring new content to JellyTelly! Beginning last week we began adding new shows, movies, and games to JellyTelly. In the next month, you can find the following new content available on JellyTelly along with the same content and resources you have hopefully grown to love!

Adventures in Booga Booga Land (Show) – Now on JellyTelly
Paws and Tales (Show) - Available now
Bibleman (Show) - Available now
Stevie’s Trek to the Holy Land: Abraham’s Promise (Movie) – Available on JellyTelly now
Stevie’s Trek to the Holy Land: The Miracle of Moses (Movie) - Available now
Bible What’s It? with Chester Whigget (Game) - Available now to play

Watch out for these shows, movies, games AND MORE coming to JellyTelly in the next five months. So you know what days to plan on, remember this pattern:

Monday: Bloom devotionals

Wednesday: New shows and episodes

Friday: New movies or new games

Stay tuned for announcements by following us on Twitter and Facebook and watching for emails from us!

The post New Videos and Games Coming to JellyTelly appeared first on JellyTelly | Faith based videos, games, and resources for kids.

Enjoy JellyTelly videos from the couch by following one of the options below:

1) Roku: You can watch JellyTelly on your TV with a Roku Box, by downloading the JellyTelly channel.

2) Apple TV: If you have an Apple TV and a iPhone, iPad, or Mac computer – login to  JellyTelly.com with a browser (like Safari) on your device or computer and cast your screen via AirPlay.

3) Chromecast: Similarly, if you have a Chromecast device and are using the Chrome browser on an Apple or Android device (or laptop) you can login to JellyTelly.com and cast your device or computer screen to your computer.

4) Direct Connect: You can also connect your computer/laptop to your TV, or a device that is already connected with an internet browser and connection like a Wii and login to JellyTelly via a browser. Connecting your computer and TV often requires an additional cord and adapter, so the best approach is to look at what capabilities your TV has and what connections are required.

Happy couch surfing!

The post Watch JellyTelly on your TV appeared first on JellyTelly | Faith based videos, games, and resources for kids.

It is with excitement that we bring new content to JellyTelly! Beginning last week we began adding new shows, movies, and games to JellyTelly. In the next month, you can find the following new content available on JellyTelly along with the same content and resources you have hopefully grown to love!

Shows
The Adventures of Carlos the Caterpillar – Available to Watch Now
Hoop Dogz - Available to Watch Now
Spunky - Available to Watch Now
Davey & Goliath – Available to Watch Now
Slugs & Bugs - Coming soon
The Lads TV – Coming soon

Movies
Indescribable - Available to Watch Now
Home Run for Rusty - Available to Watch Now
Where the Red Fern Grows - Available to Watch Now
Nikolai - Available to Watch Now
Kingdom Under the Sea - Available to Watch Now
Adventures of Apostle Paul - Coming soon
Healed By Grace - Coming soon
Mandie - Coming soon
Agent Abbey – Coming soon
Redemption Ride – Coming soon

Games
Treasure Hunt with Captain Pete - Available to Play Now

Watch out for these shows, movies, games AND MORE coming to JellyTelly in the coming weeks. Plan ahead for new releases:

Monday: The Bloom family devotionals

Wednesday: New shows and episodes

Friday: New movies or new games

Stay tuned for announcements by following us on Twitter and Facebook and watching for emails from us!

The post Coming to JellyTelly this Fall appeared first on JellyTelly | Faith based videos, games, and resources for kids.

It is with excitement that we bring new content to JellyTelly – each week we are adding new shows, movies, and/or games to JellyTelly! In the next month, you can find the following new content available on JellyTelly along with the same content and resources you have hopefully grown to love!

Shows
Character Builders – Available to Watch Now
Come on Over (Clips) – Available to Watch Now
The Sugar Creek Gang – Available to Watch Now
Torchlighters – Coming Soon
Heroes of the Bible – Coming Soon
Jacob’s Ladder – Coming Soon
Storybook Series – Coming Soon
Storyteller Cafe – Coming Soon
Cherub Wings – Coming Soon
Amazing Bible Stories – Coming Soon

Super Secret Special Shows – More information coming soon

Movies
The Treasure Map – Available to Watch Now
Appalachian Trial – Available to Watch Now
Jesus is Real – Available to Watch Now
Noah’s Ark – Available to Watch Now
Project Dinosaur – Available to Watch Now
Rocket Pack Jack – Available to Watch Now
Second Chances – Coming Soon
A Christmas Journey – Coming Soon
Davey & Goliath Christmas Lost and Found – Coming Soon
Davey & Goliath Snowboard Christmas – Coming Soon
Stars of Christmas – Coming Soon
Davey & Goliath New Year – Coming Soon
The Winning Circle – Coming Soon
What Katy Did – Coming Soon

Watch out for these shows, movies, games AND MORE coming to JellyTelly in the coming weeks. Plan ahead for new releases:

Monday: The Bloom family devotionals

Wednesday: New shows and episodes

Friday: New movies or new games

Stay tuned for announcements by following us on Twitter and Facebook and watching for emails from us!

The post Coming to JellyTelly this Winter! appeared first on JellyTelly | Faith based videos, games, and resources for kids.