Ornaments Are A Christmas Tradition #HollyJollyHoliday

I know I’m not the only one. If you’re a parent you probably get your kids Christmas ornaments. Since the day my kids had their first Christmas, they've gotten a Hallmark ornament. It started off with all of the baby ones. Four kids later and we had lots of numbered ornaments.

As they grew out of the numbered ornaments we moved on to whatever they were interested in at the time. My first daughter moved into Barbie ornaments. I don’t remember how many of those she had. I REALLY wanted to stay with themes, but for my second daughter, the year we were starting a new series for her, they didn't really have anything new to start on. I was so bummed. I can’t even remember what we moved on to for her.

As my boys grew older, I ditched the idea of going with a theme and decided that whatever they were interested in that year was what I tried to find an ornament to associate with. I think one year my oldest got a cell phone ornament. Another time it was something to do with baking. It’s always an event when I go in and purchase the ornaments for my kids. I never know what I’m going to walk away with.

The ONE person who’s easy to shop for with ornaments is my oldest son. He loves ALL things Star Wars. Thank you Buddy for making ornament choosing for one of my four kids easy! lol The one hard part is choosing which one I think he’d like best every year. Seriously, I think he’d be happy with all of them every year. You watch, when he grows up, he’s going to have a room that has one wall Star Wars, one wall Green Bay Packers, one wall DC Comics, and one wall Marvel. That or he’ll have rooms dedicated to each of them.

I know this year I want to continue getting ornaments for Fred and I. I’ve already found our ornament in the Dreambook. I think that’s my favorite catalog to go through for the holidays! Oh, and when Fred reads this post, he’s going to see the ornament I think K-girl would love and he’s going to want to go out immediately and buy it!

This year I’m partnering with Hallmark again to bring you a review of the Sandcrawler! You’ll also have the opportunity to win it starting next week in our Holly Jolly Gift Guide Giveaway!

Yes, it looks cool, but it does more than look cool. It sounds cool! It has 3 different sounds. Be sure to share your moments by entering Hallmark’s #KeepsakeIt Sweepstakes via: http://bit.ly/1sfFwRL. Awesome prizes are up for grabs but the contest is only open through 12/18!

We've got our first @HallmarkCards ornament! My oldest son is going to geek over the newest addition to his #StarWars collection! It's the Sandcrawler and it'll be part of the #HollyJollyHoliday giveaway starting next week! #sp

A video posted by Mimi B (@mimibakermn) on Nov 11, 2014 at 12:03pm PST

Now, starting next week, keep an eye or our Holly Jolly Gift Guide Giveaway because you’ll have the chance to win one!!

What’s your favorite Hallmark ornament?

Faith Filled Christmas Gifts #HollyJollyHoliday

I remember the first Christian bookstore I went to, ever. It was in Seattle. After I became a Christian, I found a store called Family Christian Bookstore. I loved shopping there! I had so many t-shirts, and wall art, and we even got to meet Bob & Larry from Veggie Tales when my girls were little.

Well, then came the move from Washington to Minnesota. I couldn’t find any Family Christian stores. Pretty sad, but the good thing was, I could shop at one when we went to Chicago to visit the in-laws. When we moved to Maryland, it turned out there was one in Annapolis (it’s closed since I moved here). I love having clothing that shows our faith. Last winter I got my boys a couple of sweatshirts. When Fred graduated from college, I got him an Apologetics Bible there. For Father’s Day I got him a tie and a coffee cup from each of his kids, and I gave him a Willow Tree figurine.
I guess you could say it’s one of my favorite places to shop, in-store and online, for faith filled products.

With Christmas coming along next month, I already have 2 gifts for my oldest daughter. She loves cooking and baking. I remember her learning to bake when she was in middle school. I taught both of the girls how to bake for 4H. They both did really well! Then off to college they went.

Oh my goodness, my oldest, she had quite the reputation in her dorm room. Students would come to her room because she was always baking. Unfortunately, baking can sometimes result in…problems. The dorm rooms had small stoves in each of them. I remember seeing updates on Facebook about her leaving a towel or a hot pad on a burner.

She and her roommate have been in apartment for a few years now. Baby has become a much better baker and chef. In fact, she’s really expanded her horizons from when she was a kid. Some of my favorite memories of watching my oldest daughter grow up is seeing her at college in a completely different apron in every shot with food. It was pretty cute. I thought, what 20 yr old WANTS to wear an apron? But her and her friends did.

When we were visiting my parents back in September, we passed a farmer’s family market. They had handmade aprons and I picked her one up. I decided at that point I was going to go with a kitchen theme for Christmas for her. That’s where shopping at Family Christian has come in handy. I like to get seasonal products, but I also like to find things that can be used year round. That’s why I fell in love with a Retro Looking Serving Tray and the matching Vintage Look Kitchen Towel!

I’ve loved working with Family Christian, especially because of our history of shopping with the store. Now they partnered with me to share ideas for Christmas and a couple of the products I received from our partnership!

When we do Christmas, filling the kids stockings can’t be overlooked. She loves watching movies so I figure I could use the 2 for $20 promotion. It lasts until 12/24 so I have time to figure out which movies she has and which ones she wants. I already know we want to add God’s Not Dead to our family’s DVD selection. It’s on sale right now for $17.99/$19.99! We just sang that song for the first time last Sunday at church and it was awesome!

You can bet this set will be put to use a lot at her place! Baby will have two things important to her…her baking and her faith together in one set! I can’t wait for Christmas. Our next task will be her getting it back to Minnesota in one piece!

In a week, you’ll have the opportunity to win a $25 Gift Card to Family Christian with our Holly Jolly Gift Guide Giveaway! Head over there and get some fabulous ideas for Christmas and what you’d like to pick if you win!

My Nails Are Getting A Helping Hand From Jamberry #HollyJollyHoliday

When we went to my mom’s house for her birthday in September, she mentioned how nice it was to see my nails growing out. I was pretty thrilled that she noticed. They had been growing for months. M-O-N-T-H-S! My nails take months to grow out, even just a little bit. Makes me crazy. It’s the same way with my hair. Blah

Well, I kid you not, a week later all of my nails were gone. GONE! They either tore or broke off. I couldn’t believe it! Ok, well, I could, but I was so discouraged. It took all those months for all 10 nails to grow out to finally give me the appearance of feminine fingers. It took 7 days for every single one to disappear. Such sadness. I guess I won’t be using my mom’s gift certificate to get a manicure any time soon.

This is where Jamberry Nail Wraps come in. I’ve used samples before so I’ve had experience with how awesome they are. The nails I’ve used them on have been accent designs because I haven’t taken the leap to put them on all 10. I’m also not very creative to use more than one on a nail or to do fun designs. That being said, they also were a protective covering for the couple of weeks that I wore them. They would always end up being the longest nail by the time the wrap came off.

Have you ever seen Jamberry Nail Wraps? I think one of my favorite parts is that they’re vinyl. There’s nothing that will hurt your nails. My nails have always been come away being healthier after the two samples I’ve worn. When they’ve come off, I haven’t torn that thin layer of nail off with the wrap. They come off and you’re done.

I wish I had a little girl because they have Junior Jamberry Nail Wraps! Can you imagine how adorable it would be to match up your nails with your daughters? I guess I could do it with my older girls, but it wouldn’t be nearly as adorable.

I learned about them for the first time back in May when my company had our yearly conference. One of the attendees had Jamberry wraps that looked like our company logo! She gave me a sample and it was SO fun to wear. Then a friend was hosting a Jamberry party and she sent me a sample. It was really cool! Another friend had a party and I finally ordered my first set!

To top it off, I found a blogger who was doing a giveaway! SCORE! I actually won! I also received the cuticle pusher, nail file, and wipes. I tell you, these nail wraps are so fun to have around. I just can’t get enough of them.
I’m excited to announce two things.

1. Whitney is giving away a $25 gift certificate in our Holly Jolly Gift Guide Giveaway that starts in a week!
2. I’m having a Jamberry party on Facebook! Do I hear a woot woot? You can order any time between now and November 15th. The party will be Nov 14 at 8:00pm to Nov 15 at 10:00pm. We’ll hang out from 8pm – 10pm both nights and hopefully you’ll get inspiration for the holidays and maybe even win something!

While you wait, be sure to visit Jamberry to get some ideas of what you’d like to win or even order as a gift! No time like the present than to get your shopping started. Remember, these would make great stocking stuffers.

*This is not a sponsored post. I didn’t receive anything for sharing this information. =)

Join Our Jesus Calling Twitter Party!

As long as I’ve done social media, I’ve loved being on Twitter and Twitter parties. And then, to add Family Christian in with a Twitter party makes me so thrilled. What’s great is that you’ll be able to see an upcoming review of the Jesus Calling Devotional for adults and for kids. It’s so nice to have a devotional I can do with my kids.

Earlier this spring I asked friends on Facebook what I should use as a devotional and 95% of the people who responded said Jesus Calling! How terrific is that?

Here are the all important deets for the upcoming party:

Where: https://tweetdeck.twitter.com or follow along with
#JesusCalling

When: November 14th 1-2 pm EST

What: Twitter party to discuss the best selling book Jesus Calling

Prizes: For sure! 5 participants will win the deluxe edition of Jesus
Calling and a $50 appreciation certificate.  5 other readers will win a
$50 appreciation certificate.

How: You must follow the host @FamilyChristian

Optional: Follow these amazing co-hosts
@mudpiesandtiara
@Ellenblogs
@ahhmazingrvws
@aliciamarie112
@SimplySherryl
@CptFussybuckets
@annesramblings
@MimiBakerMN
@PeaOfSweetness
@spreadingJOY

Mama’s Got Her Own Headphones #HollyJollyHoliday

You’ve seen them here before and with good reason. SOL REPUBLIC has amazing headphones! My kids have always been the ones to benefit from the headphones I’ve reviewed. Well, this time, mama’s getting her own set! I’ve wanted a pair of in the ear ones for quite some time now. Now, I wanted them even more with getting into an exercise habit and working online.

With my new position at work, I do quite a few hangouts. I don’t always want to leave my work area to do those hangouts when my boys are home, so having the headphones will make a world of difference! It seems that a lot of my job is done via video these days. I actually love it since I’m working from home all of the time.

My second reason for wanting them is because I’m getting active. Yes, me, by choice. I’m doing kickboxing twice a week now, and although I can’t wear headphones for that, I’m planning on trying to do Couch 2 5k. I’ve downloaded the app, but have yet to get started. Before the RELAYS, I didn’t have any way to listen to tunes as I walked and music keeps me moving, keeps me motivated.

As I was out walking, I started thinking about my daughter, Smooch. Man, that girl is active. She’s always off on some grand adventure, whether it’s taking classes in Canada, doing missions work overseas, or hiking with her friends in the Appalachians, she’s always on the go. This past spring she did a half marathon! She’s so stinking inspiring!

With that being said, of course now I’m thinking that she’s even more active than me, she would probably put the headphones to more use than me. Man, I hate when I think of these things. I have a feeling I’ll be waiting for my own headphones after Christmas again. That’s ok, that’s my job as a mom. I think I’m always happier when I can give good things to my kids.

These are “my” first in-ear headphones that are of any quality. Over the past couple of years, the only ones I’ve had personally are ones that were given to me for free from a conference or bought at a drug store. Well, obviously I could tell right away that they were better than any I had used before. They didn’t just go into my ear, but they covered the entire opening, thereby closing off outside noise.




“RELAYS is SOL REPUBLIC’s award-winning sports headphone that keeps up with you.” I loved watching the video on their site because it shows a woman…kickboxing! These headphones were meant to be worn when you’re being active! I also love that they come in 5 different colors. I think my favorite is the Lemon Lime.

Here’s the exciting thing about these headphones…we’ll be giving them away in the Holly Jolly Gift Guide Giveaway so head over to their site and figure out which color is your favorite!

What do you use your headphones for the most?