Book Review and a Giveaway

 The winner of the Mom Connection Book is…Angela! We will notify you via email.

If you have read our blog for any length of time now, you know that Jenny and I are both big readers and that we both have  a love for MOPS- Mothers of Preschoolers. Jenny and I have both served in leadership roles in our local Mops groups over the years and have been HUGELY blessed by the program. I honestly don’t know what I would have done with myself and my two little babies when I first moved here had it not been for Mops.

When I first found Mops, I literally knew one person in my town and I had a one year old and a one week old! And I had NO idea what I was doing with those precious babies!! And I honestly thought that Mops was for women when your kids STARTED preschool! But no, it is an awesome program from your first pregnancy to when your youngest enters 1st grade. If you want more info, or to find a Mops program in your area, check out www.Mops.org.

I am rambling on and on about Mops because that is where our book comes from. Mops International put out a post on their Facebook page looking for blogging moms to read and review the next Mops theme book, Mom Connection by Tracey Bianchi. I quickly signed up! Because not only do I get to read and review the book but they sent me a copy to give away to you guys too!!! They are pretty cool like that!

And I will be totally honest (since this is just between you and I right?!) I really really really LOVE to read, EXCEPT for when I HAVE to! Then I struggle…I can read fiction until the cows come home! (What does that expression EVEN mean, I don’t have cows!) but when it comes to growth books, books that will actually teach me something, well…like I said I struggle.

BUT I totally  loved this one! And I am not JUST saying that. I would have no problem telling you if I didn’t. Tracey Bianchi does a wonderful job including humor and honesty, enough to make me laugh out loud (and get weird looks from the rest of the family) and then nod my head in total agreement because I TOTALLY struggle with THAT too! But I am getting ahead of myself. Let me tell you what the book is about…

“Parenting young children is an all-consuming task that can make you feel disconnected and, honestly, a bit fragmented. But having kids shouldn’t mean you rarely get to complete a conversation with a friend!  In this witty, encouraging book, Tracey Bianchi shows us how to cultivate deeper friendships that challenge us to grow, create healthy, life- giving rhythms for our families and connect and give back to wider world beyond our doors.”

So I totally LOVED the intro to this book because I connected to it on SO many levels… Here are a couple of my favorite quotes just from page 1~!

“I totally text people while playing hide and seek with my kids. That, or try to sneak a two-minute nap. Lying in the bathtub I hear echoes and shrieks rising through the floor. They are still downstairs. I close my eyes and try to breathe deep while plastic bath toys poke my lower back.”

Bianchi goes on to explain that one of the greatest complaints of our generation is how stressed and busy we are and how we put a lot of that stress on our selves. We are the ones who control the rhythm of our families and as moms we are at the forefront of those controls most of the time. She brings up a lot of good points- how do we want our families and friends to remember us? What legacy are we leaving behind for our kids? She talks about the people we encounter, the relationships we build and how we can “gracefully engage” those around us instead of treating them like items on a checklist. Taking the time to invest in our community, build and foster healthy marriages, and vibrant friendships rather than trudging through motherhood feeling alone and overwhelmed.

Each chapter ends with Five Mom Tested Tips (practical idea, a prayer, an idea to journal about) and then you are presented with 2 questions to reflect on (loved this part too!) and then she lists at least 5 great reference points for you about the info in the previous chapter.  I really appreciated the “extras”, it helped to engage in the book and reflect on key areas.

Here are a few of my other favorites quotes too!

• “Motherhood, rather than calming our fears, launches us into an entirely new arena of competition. One of the mentor moms at my MOPS group (in her 50’s) once said to me, “I feel sorry for you girls these days-not only do you have all the old baggage of keeping up that we once did,  you have to still look hot too!”
• “Back to the graceful, natural mothers….no amount of balance, wisdom, or insight can shape a perfect mother. Everyone struggles. We should find this tremendously freeing because it helps to know we don’t struggle alone.
• “I want to be the mom who drenches her children with time rather than hurry.This is how I want my whole family to be known- a people of rest and grace.”

(Click on the photo to go right to Amazon to order your copy!)

To enter to win your copy of Mom Connection, just comment here below and we will select a winner Friday morning. I am not going to make you like anything on Facebook this time since we have quite a few readers who miss out on our giveaways since they don’t Facebook (I know, I know, it’s hard to believe but there are people out there who DO NOT Facebook- just ask my hubby- he is one of them!)

Hope you are all having a blessed week! And that all you moms had a fantastic Mother’s Day! ( I got showered with some beautiful handmade cards, handmade jewelry and a hanging flower basket and I’ll tell you all about my EARLY BIRTHDAY PRESENT later!!!!!!!!!!!!) (I’m not excited about it or anything!!!!)

~JESS