A Big List of Gospel-Centered Spring Resources

Here in Minnesota, we are getting a little taste of spring. And although the weatherman is telling me it will snow soon, I will enjoy all the sunny and 50 degree weather while I can. There is something about the fresh air of spring that perks me up!

As we go into this spring and Easter season, I wanted to share a few favorite shop and other resources that are sweet reminders of spring and the Gospel (which is what we get to celebrate on Easter!). For me, it’s always fun to round up some of these resources for you!

For the little ones:

• Print off these cute (and free) Easter printables and bring out the crayons. A simple activity to do!

• Now that the weather is getting warmer, those nature hikes are easier to do (although maybe a bit more muddy—ha!). Download and print this simple nature hunt and take it along on a nature hike :) Ps. This is free too!

• Looking for some cute Easter basket ideas? These adorable first verses cards from Tiny Theologians or this book (one of my absolute favorites!) would be lovely to include!

• One of my favorite mini-units in the shop is the one taken from Matthew 6—and I think it would be a wonderful one to do during the sunny, spring days :)

• If you get a little antsy (like us!) during these warmer days, the Creation Play Pack is one of my favorite resources for adding a little play and Bible learning together. Win, win!

For the big kids + families:

• Print off this free book list for some of our favorite spring reads for kids and adults too. It’s always fun to have fresh picks at the library :)

• If you aren’t using a Lent reading plan, grabbing one of these would be a simple way to start up a Bible reading plan as family. I think John a solid choice for this time of year.

• Need a good book for an Easter basket for older kids? I love this book for older kiddos—we’ve loved this series!

• We’ve also been enjoying Chatter Studios’ creative work with stop motion and LEGO to tell Bible stories. These are fun to watch with your kiddos, and they do a wonderful job of sharing the Bible narrative with kids.

• Although this isn’t exactly a resource that is directly related to the Bible, I think this puzzle could make such a cozy family activity during the spring. As you do it, you could talk and plant those seeds of the Gospel.

For Moms:

• Although I feel like I have a bounty of Bibles, this Bible is so pretty. I love that it has space for journaling—which can be so useful as you study! Wouldn’t it make a lovely gift for a friend? Or yourself?

• This scripture pack has so many encouraging verses for memory or just for placing around your house. And since you can print many copies—you could also gift some to a friend!

• I’ve been eying these shirts for a while—and will probably grab one before the warmer weather is here to stay. Plus, I love supporting a small business when I can. Her site makes me really wish I knew how to sew more than a simple straight line ;)

• If you have that itch to start spring cleaning, download and print this super simple cleaning loop printable. The discipline of stewarding God’s good gifts to us is also a way we serve the Lord and our families :) And, if you are anything like me, sometimes having a plan helps (ha!)

I hope that this little list gives you few new ideas or resources to use during the coming weeks.

Happy Spring!

—Nicole

* Ps. Some of these links are affiliate links which only means that I receive a very small commission of you purchase anything from them. But, it adds no cost to you :)

Adventure Together: Our Family Trip to Guatemala

Guatemala?

When I told people that we had a trip planned to Guatemala, most didn’t know why we would choose to go there. I get it—it’s not a typical place to jet off to during the winter or full of well-known spots. It was a good question!

I studied abroad in Guatemala during college, so I have been eager to introduce my family to a place I fell in love with all those years ago. This trip was my 4th trip to Guatemala—but I do hope it’s not my last!

If you looking for a first international trip with young kids, I'm not sure I’d chose Guatemala because it may not be as structured or easy to navigate as some other places. However, if you are able to be okay with a little less safety precautions (i.e. less seatbelts and traffic laws) and are able to go with the flow, Guatemala is a beautiful place to visit with your kids.

I would say that we never felt unsafe while there (in terms of someone trying to harm us), but there was a time or two that I might have wished for a seatbelt or hoped the stray dog wasn’t interested in following us ;)

If you are reading this because you a little curious about what we did or perhaps interested in taking a trip with your family there, then I hope you find this post helpful (or just interesting!) to read what we did.

First of all, we used Delta airline points to book our tickets for this trip, so we actually drove from Minnesota to Chicago because it was significantly less miles to fly from Chicago. And why not tack a 6 hour drive to the adventure, right? Honestly, the extra drive wasn’t terrible, and we felt it was worth it :)

We arrived in Guatemala in the early afternoon, and the moment I stepped out of the airport, I thought: Wow! It smells like Guatemala—a mix of diesel, tortillas, and flowers.

We connected with our private shuttle and headed to Lake Atitlan. We chose to use private shuttles because we weren’t comfortable driving there in a rental car (and parking would have been a challenge where we were staying) and the public transportation (aka Chicken Buses) are a bit tricky to navigate and add a lot of travel time. Our first shuttle was organized by the place we stayed, but for the rest of the trip, we used Guatedriver and would totally recommend them!

After a winding drive through the busy (and often chaotic) roads of Guatemala, I was so thankful to make it to San Juan la Laguna that evening (we had been up since the wee hours of the morning). It had been a long day of travel. So, off to bed we went!

The next day, we awoke with the chickens, barking dogs, and sounds of boats zipping across the lake. Warm coffee awaited us at the small hotel’s shared kitchen, and I spent the morning enjoying the beautiful view. It would be our view for the next few days, and I wasn’t mad about it!

We spent a total of three full days in San Juan la Laguna. I had never been there, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. In the end, I was so thankful we had chosen this little town to make as our home base as we relaxed, explored, and experienced the lake.

While there, we stayed in a guest hotel. You can see where we stayed here.

It wasn’t fancy, but it served our needs. I would definitely stay here again as our hosts made it a truly special stay! I especially loved chatting with other guests there and meeting people from different places in the world. It was also close to the docks and walkable to wherever we went. We did a lot of weaving along little dirt paths and “meeting” lots of stray dogs from a distance, but the kids all thought it was part of the adventure ;)

Our highlights from San Juan la Laguna:

• Finding little shops that sold fresh tortillas and eating them (so delicious!)

• Exploring all the streets with colorful art and seeing so much color and life. So much to see!

• Visiting a Mayan stingless bee farm and seeing the tiny bees (and trying honey too)

• Eating some yummy breakfasts and drinking delicious coffee. Our favorites were Las Marias, Cafe San Juan, and Nativo Coffee Shop.

• Learning how to weave bracelets through a class hosted by a delightful Guatemalan grandma and her family. One of our favorites for sure! Our boys loved it. And I also felt so encouraged by this family as we talked about the Lord and His Word. We arranged the class through our hosts—you can see more about www.culturechalk.org.

• We also did a cooking class with local women who taught us how to make tortillas—lots of laughter and joy!

• Riding a boat across the beautiful lake

• Enjoying slower days of lake views and taking in how life works in a different country

• Riding in Tuk Tuks (so fun!). I told the kids it was better than Disney ;)

After several days there, we were off to Antigua. Antigua is actually where I studied abroad, so I was excited to visit and see how it had changed. It was another day of traveling along winding roads, stunning views, and a bit of holding on. We loved chatting with our friendly driver (who only spoke Spanish, so there was a lot of doing our best—ha!).

In Antigua, we checked into our Airbnb and then went to McDonalds. Really, we did. The McDonalds in Antigua is actually really nice and pretty—and the kids never complain about fries and burgers. It was so surreal to go to a place that I had eaten at often when I was only 19—and now I was there with my husband and three cute boys.

In Antigua, we stayed here. To be honest, it was really nice, but I wouldn’t pick it again for us. The grounds were so pretty and the shared kitchen was awesome, but it felt a little too quiet for our family (aka: we felt a little like the kids had to be quiet all the time). And the inside of the room felt a bit dark (even during the day) because the windows were shuttered and only opened to the street and courtyard (so if you wanted privacy, you didn’t want to open them too much).

In Antigua, our favorites were:

• Taking a chocolate making class and learning how chocolate is made (so fun!)

• Exploring the beautiful little city and stopping in tiendas for chips and treats

• Sipping coffee from the many awesome coffee shops there (there are SO many options!)

• Sitting in the Central Park and people watching

• Visiting with friends from my study abroad time

• Eating some yummy meals at Café Condesa and El Viejo Cafe.

• Hiking up to the cross

• Exploring the ruins from a convent that was destroyed during an earthquake in 1773.

We only had two full days there, so we didn’t get a chance to do too much, but it was still enough to get a little taste of the UNESCO city. I was surprised by how much had changed and also how much hadn’t. But just one week after arriving in Guatemala, we zipped back to the airport and flew back to the USA. Although I wish we could have spent more time there, we may have to plan a return trip to get to do the other things we didn’t have time to do—like hike a volcano or visit Tikal.

Like I mentioned before, there is a bit of flexibility and sense of adventure that you’ll need in your back pocket if you want to take your family on a visit. However, the people are warm and welcoming, the food is delicious, and the scenery is stunning! I’d also mention that most people don’t speak English, so a little bit of Spanish or google translate are helpful tools to have too.

Visiting places that are very different than home can sometimes be a bit intimidating or even uncomfortable—but, for us, those are the moments when you get to learn and get curious. Yet, no matter where we are in the world, I’m always in awe of how much people are really so similar (even when they live such different lives!). Our hope is that our kids see the beauty of the world and also that people are all created in the image of God.

Any questions? Feel free to ask away, and I’ll be happy to answer any of them! You can also see the Guatemala highlight on Instagram stories for my videos and photos :)

Adventure Together: Books that Take you Places

It’s the bleak wintery season here in Minnesota—and let’s just say that it’s the time of year when books full of color and warmth seem to pull me in! Not only that, but it’s the time of year that I want to pack my bags and head somewhere warm and colorful.

Feel that too?

I find that although flying someplace is my top choice for actually going somewhere, books are the next best thing to actually being there. So, I’m sharing a few books that to pack along in your library bag when you feel the itch to “go” somewhere :)

Picture books:

This is How we do It by Matt Lamathe

Top of the World by Holly Hobbie

Room for Everyone by Naaz Khan

Pacho Nacho by Silvia Lopez

The Wheels on the Bus by Stella Blackstone

Renato and the Lion by Barbara DiLorenzo

National Parks of the USA by Kate Siber

This is Rome by Miroslav Sasek

The Runaway Wok by Ying Yang Composting

The Wheels on the Tuk Tuk by Kabir Sehgal

The Boy who Grew a Forest by Sophia Gholz

Home by Ellis Carson

The Umbrella by Jan Brett

How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman

Adele and Simon by Barbara McClintock

Have an older kiddo who is interested in Chapter books? My boys have enjoyed the Campground kid series by C.R. Fulton or the The Mystery of the Missing Lion by Alexander McCall Smith. We have yet to read it, but Road Trip Return is on our list (especially since we just went to Guatemala).

Here are books that I’ve enjoyed reading. There are a lot more books on this list, but for the sake of keeping things simple, I’ve only included a few :)

Tea with Elephants by Robin Jones Gunn

A Ladies Guide to Marvels and Misadventures by Angela Bell

Accidentally Wes Anderson by Wally Koval

Want to read:

I’ve Never Been Here Before by Ashley Campbell. After “traveling” along with her family during year of travel on Instagram, I can’t wait to read her book!

I hope that this list gives you a few suggestions for adding to your library list or family library. I know many of these stories have helped us see more of the world in pictures and words :)

What would you add to this list?

A Big List of Favorite Christ-Centered Christmas Resources

Looking for some resources this Christmas season that help you direct your eyes towards the manager and the good news that Jesus came to us?

Even though I’m firmly in the All-things-Christmas-after-Thanksgiving camp, I know many people gleefully leap into the Christmas season after those pumpkins disappear off of porches. So, I thought I’d share a big list of some our favorites from the shop and also some other small businesses. I know that this season can also carry with it a lot of overwhelm as well as itchy fingers to buy all the things. But, this is simply a list of options—not obligations or must-haves.

So, let’s get started:

For the littlest ones:

• Christmas Learning Pack. This has been a favorite of ours to bring out for something fresh and fun to do. Plus, there is a Spanish version! The games are simple and easy to prep :)

• Christmas Countdown Poster and Guide. This was one of the first Christmas activities in the shop, and it’s still one of my favorites. If you want something that is VERY doable during a busy season, this would make a great pick!

• Light of the World Mini-Unit (free!). Simple, sweet, and fun to do together as a family. It’s one of the most downloaded free resources! I love sharing how Jesus is the light of the World with my kids!

• Gingerbread play dough and play mat (free!). Gingerbread play dough is never a bad idea, right? We still enjoy making a batch of this to play with at Christmastime!

• Journey to the Manger puzzle from Tiny Theologians. I love everything they make, and this puzzle would be a great way to usher in the season and conversations about Jesus coming to the world.

For the bigger kids + family:

• Immanuel Advent Guide. I know that sometimes this season just gets so busy and full. It’s easy to start off with great expectations and intentions, but often it’s easy to give up on those Christmas activities if they are just too much. With that in mind, I created the Immanuel Guide. It walks through the whole redemption story leading to Christ with four readings per week—very simple to do during lunch or supper time. And there are some story cards for kids who like to doodle/draw while you read :)

• Advent Scripture Cards. These pretty scripture cards can be used for memory work or even added to gifts or cards. Since you can print off as many copies as you’d like, they can be an affordable way to offer Christmas encouragement to others.

• This year, we are using the Christmas Around the World curriculum from Brighter Day Press. Even though we haven’t done it yet, just looking at the guide is making me excited. We won’t do everything included, but I think it’s a great fit if you want to pivot during the Christmas season and add some fresh curriculum for the month of December.

• We like to add some fresh puzzles to our Christmas season—and this is one that I might grab for us to do (even though I know there were likely more than three wise men!). It’s just so pretty :)

For the moms:

• I love so many of goodies from Dear Mushka and have purchased many lovely items from her shop for years. Isn’t the Thrill of Hope sweatshirt is so cute?

• The Christmas cards from Naomi Paper Co are just so pretty and perfect for sending some special Christmas greetings to others

• In my home, I like to switch up a few prints in the frames in our dining from for the Christmas season. It’s an easy way to add some fresh decor without adding boxes of Christmas storage ;) I love so many prints from Olkening Press. This is one that I’m adding to my cart to print off. It’s just so cute!

• Looking for some book reviews for those Christmas/Cozy reads? I love following along with Naptime Readers for book recs and reviews. I also share some of my favorites over at The Lantern Library :)

Although there are so many more resources I could share, I’ll stick with this simple list. If you make it this far down, be sure to grab 20% any Advent resources in the shop with the code CHRISTMAS20

Happy (almost!) Christmas season!

Adventuring Together: Our Family trip to Bentonville

It seems that my blog is taking a vacation from regular posting—somehow I haven’t posted since last May when I shared about the trip to Spain. Oops.

But summer is often filled with all those summery things—and blogs and writing get replaced with popsicles and lake days.

Still, I wanted to share about our recent trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. I know it’s not generally the vacation spot that most families think about for a family trip. But let me convince you that it should be on your list!

We chose this spot to meet up with our family who lives in Texas (we live in MN)—it was a sweet spot for meeting up and spending a few days together. After we spent time with them, we had a few days to explore a little more with just the five of us.

To be honest, I didn’t know much about the area apart from the fact that the Walmart headquarters are there and there are lots of bike trails.

So, I’ll share a bit about what we did:

The Crystal Bridges Museum was one of our first stops. It was delightful and enjoyable for a short time with the kids. I could have spent a longer time enjoying the beautiful museum full of American art, but my kids kept me hustling ;)

On that same day, we also went to the Amazeum. Super cool place for the kids, and they all enjoyed it! I would say that I felt like the perfect age for it would be between 2-10. Although it was fun, I’m not sure we’d make a repeat trip since my kids are getting older.

We also visited downtown Bentonville a few times (once even biking in). The cute square was always full of people and there were little galleries and shops all around. Since you could grab ice cream for under $2 per person at the Spark Ice Cream truck, we visited almost every day ;)

After a few days in the area, we hit up the bike trails and area parks. Our kids started out with the kids’ bike park—it was especially a hit with our youngest (he’s five). The big boys loved hitting up the mountain biking trails like Slaughter Pen, All-American, Family Flow, Coler, and more. The boys had an absolute blast on the jumps, exciting trails, and challenging rides. Although I stuck with the paved trails (which were also so fun!), my youngest would often take a side path that had small gravel hills that he could easily manage on his little bike.

My favorite was probably riding to Airship Coffee at Coler. I loved that you can only get to this coffee shop by going on the bike path in. The coffee was amazing, and our boys loved the swing and having a yummy snack.

Along with biking, we also enjoyed an afternoon splashing around at Tanyard Creek—it was a super doable walk to get there. The kids enjoyed lots of rock throwing! On our last full day, we took ourselves on a little food tour and enjoyed sharing some meals and treats from several restaurants on our go-to list. There are so many good restaurant options!

So, where did we stay?

During the first part of the week, we stayed at the Hyatt Place Rogers/Bentonville. Since we have a lot of hotel/travel points with this card, it was totally free. In fact, we haven’t paid for a hotel in over two years (crazy!). It was a nice location to main things to see and do. It wasn’t fancy—but a free breakfast was a definite perk! If you want to know how to get a free hotel stay, just ask me and I’ll share some tips :)

For the second part of our trip, we stayed in this airbnb in Bella Vista. It was a nice place, but a little further from town. But after several days in a hotel, it was nice to spread out and have more space. It wasn’t my favorite airbnb we’ve ever stayed in, but it was fine for a few days.

Where did we eat?

Well, a lot of park benches. Ha! Most of our meals when we travel are food we pack along with us. It helps up keep costs down and can help simplify our days (instead of always trying to find a place to eat). But, we did go out a few times and enjoyed a lot of coffee ;)

Our favorites:

• Onyx Coffee Lab in downtown Bentonville. Amazing coffee and cute outdoor space too!

• Crepes Paulette. Delicious crepes—we shared a few different options :)

• Hero’s Coffee. Also, wonderful coffee and the cutest little seating area for kids (or adults!)

• El Jivaro Salvadorian restaurant. This place was definitely a more off-the-beaten path kinda place, but sooo good. If you’ve never had a pupusa, you need to try one!

• Saiwok Vietnamese Street Food. Amazing! We didn’t try a lot, but what we did try was delicious and unique. Even my five year old thought it was so good. He’ll hardly eat a potato at home, but he was gobbling up the dumplings like candy-ha!

• Yeyo’s tacos. Again, we got something to share (since we were having a bit of family food tour), and they did not disappoint. We went to the 8th street market location—which had a lot of yummy restaurants and shopping.

• Sparks Ice Cream truck. We treated ourselves to ice cream a few times because it was so affordable and good! Plus, the truck parks downtown, so it’s a fun place to enjoy the scenery and have a treat!

All in all, we really loved our quick trip to Bentonville. And I’m a firm believer that any new place you explore can be a rich experience. There’s always something you can find to explore and enjoy together—even in your own backyard!

Want to see some other adventure together posts? Check out Italy, Washington DC, South Dakota, and Southern Spain :) Plus, I've got a post sharing our favorite travel stuff over here too.

ps. I promise this isn’t becoming a travel blog—but it’s just fun to share and remember too :)