Dec 10
by Shelly Hill
When it comes to spending quality time with your family during the holiday season, there are many things that you can do that are free or low cost. The following ideas are both in-home and out-of-the home ideas.
1. Singing Christmas Carols – You can go out singing Christmas Carols in your community with a community based or church based group.
2. Tree Lighting Service – You will find that most communities have a free tree lighting service that you and your family can attend.
3. Holiday Decorating – Involve your entire family in the holiday decorating task. If you can afford it, order take-out food and decorate your home and yard for the holidays.
4. Attend a holiday play or concert – Its the season to be jolly and almost all communities, churches or schools will put on some type of play or concert event. Gather up the family and attend a few events which are free or low-cost activities that you all can enjoy. Read the rest of this entry »
Nov 24
by O Quinn
Thanksgiving dinner can be a very expensive meal. But you can take steps to reduce the costs this year using a few of these ideas.
One of the easiest and best ideas when trying to save money on Thanksgiving is to make it a potluck. Have all the parties coming to dinner provide a dish. We do this EVERY year and it cuts down on costs considerably. Make a chart listing categories such as main dish, vegetables, starch, dessert, drinks, etc and note who will provide what in each category.
Another idea is to not cook more than everyone will eat. My mother loves to cook many different dishes “just in case” but this “just in case” has often turned into a waste. Do your calculations on serving sizes and don’t over feed your guests.
Shop in advance. Things like butter, canned cranberry sauce, and soup stocks (unless you make your own) tend to go on sale during holiday time. Make sure you get yours before they run out. Pick up these storable items (butter can be frozen) a week or two in advance. Search brand websites and your newspaper for coupons for even larger savings. Read the rest of this entry »
Nov 23
by Shelly Hill
When our daughter was around 8 years old, she invited over a few friends for the day to do some crafting with us. Since it was the beginning of November, we decided to make a Thanksgiving holiday garland.
This project can be done in one afternoon. If you are doing several of them at a time (group project), I suggest precutting all of the fabric strips ahead of time.
1 roll of sisal twine (2 or 3 ply for durability)
scraps of homespun fabrics
all-purpose craft glue (or glue gun with adult supervision)
acorns, twigs, pinecones, dried pods
scissors
Step 1: Measure out the length of sisal twine that you will need to make your garland. We usually do 3 to 4 feet. Cut it from the roll. Tie each end into a loop, this way when you hang it up, you can easily do it via the loops. Read the rest of this entry »
Sep 28
by Jill Hart
I love traveling. There is something about seeing new sights, exploring new cultures and learning about how others live that I can never get enough of. I traveled as often as I could finagle during my college and young adult years. I saw everything from Alaska to Germany to Israel and more.
When I became a wife and mother it became, quite understandably, more difficult to travel. So, I traded in my traveling adventures for books set in London, Paris and other places I hope to see someday.
This past summer my husband and I decided it was time for some summer traveling as a family. We live in the Midwest, so our kids have seen plenty of farmland, cattle and tractors. They hadn’t yet had the chance to see mountains or the ocean. I couldn’t wait to see their faces when they saw mountains for the first time. I remember feeling awestruck at the sight of the mountains coming into view against the horizon.
As it happened, the kids were exhausted, hungry and bored by the time the mountains first appeared. “Look!” I exclaimed, “Mountains!”
“Cool.” was the response I got from my daughter, Kaitlyn. From my son? A snore. Read the rest of this entry »
Aug 20
Last week I shared about one of my biggest fears – that my kids won’t have a solid foundation in faith. We also talked a little about the importance of not only regularly reading God’s Word ourselves, but sharing the stories of the Bible with out children. Here are a few other ways that I believe will help provide the foundation of faith for our kids.
Pray For and With Your Children
My daughter (7 yrs old) says the exact same prayer every night. I have to admit – it drives me a little nuts. I want to launch into a sermon on the subject almost every night. BUT, I’m learning to bite my tongue as much as possible as trying to lead by example. I’m hoping that she’ll hear how others talk to God and it will hit her one day – we’re talking to the God of the Universe! I’ve seen God do amazing things through prayer and I look forward to sharing in prayer with my kids more and more as they grow up. Read the rest of this entry »
Aug 11
By: Nicole Dean
If you’ve been in the toy department lately, you’ll notice that those brilliantly raucous new toys seem to be taking over all other games. These bright and loud toys all seem to squeal and screech, drawing your youngsters near, hypnotizing them until their little eyes glaze over.
Will all this technology interfere with your choice to raise your children with a little curiosity and imagination? Not if you surround your family with old fashioned games and toys! It’s up to you to feed your children a balanced diet of technology and creativity. Here we go with just a few examples of old fashioned fun.
Reading Material – A home full of books is a home full of interesting people. Your home should have bookshelves filled with both fiction and non-fiction reading materials. Kids should have a wide variety of choices so they don’t tire of the same types of stories or information. In homes where there are pre-school age children, we often find a lack of non-fiction books, opting for more storybook-style reading. But, even pre-school age children want to
discover the world they live in. In addition, your children will learn about using non-fiction books as resources when they are in the higher grades in school. Having a nice assortment of fiction books on the shelves provides the child who is not eager to read, an opportunity to become interested in the escape or fantasy of the story long enough to get hooked because they find out reading is fun. Read the rest of this entry »
Jul 21
by Jill Hart
I know firsthand was life as an angry mom is like. I spent almost two years trying to control my temper and failing miserably. It took a confrontation with someone close to me for me to really take a good, hard look in the mirror and realize that the problem was bigger than me. My anger was out of control. I had turned into someone that I didn’t recognize and my family was suffering because of it.
Soon after that confrontation, my kids and I were in the doctor’s office because one of them was sick. After the check-up, as the doctor was getting ready to go I mentioned to him briefly that I’d been struggling with anger. I remember saying, “I’m not sad or depressed. Just really angry…all the time.” Having known us for quite a while (in fact he delivered my son), he gave me a prescription for an anti-depressant and wanted me to try it to see if it helped. I really wanted it to help. I wanted to be a good mom, a loving mom, and at the moment I felt an ogre. Read the rest of this entry »
Jul 17
by Brenda Nixon
We all know that Valentines Day is a reminder to show affection towards those we love. Many parents use this special day to give an extra dose of love to their child. But there’s a multitude of easy, no-cost – yet profound – ways to send this powerful message every day throughout the year.
Why is it critical for your child to feel loved? Because self-esteem is taught, and you are the first and most influential teacher. Children who feel loved and valued by their parents become happier, healthier, and more productive adults.
From tots to teens, here are practical ways to show your love and build your child’s self-esteem. If your child is:
Read the rest of this entry »
Jul 16
Do you ever think back to your childhood? If you do, do you think that children have not a care in the world? It is easy to think that childhood is a lot less stressful than adulthood – after all, children don’t have to worry about going to work, paying bills, or filing tax returns. They don’t have complicated adult relationships to worry about either – but childhood is not all ball games and candy – many children do have to deal with a lot of stress and depression.
The Environment
Children who are brought up in a hostile environment – perhaps because of abuse, or because of problems with the relationship between their parents. Divorce, financial disruption, or even moving house, can be a problem for children. Those who suffer from learning disabilities, or physical disabilities, can often end up feeling stressed or depressed, leading to problems in later life. Read the rest of this entry »
