I Resolve...

I never do New Years resolutions.  They always seem like promises that were meant to be broken before they even hit the page!  This year, however, I may make a slight exception to this rule in my life.  I think that taking an inventory of the areas that I need to improve seems like a rather productive occupation and so I will open myself up and share these thoughts with you.
I hope for a better relationship with God, first and foremost.  I hope to let down at least some of the walls that have been erected over the past few years because of deep hurts in my life.  I hope to experience "the joy of my salvation" more fully every day of this coming year.
Secondly, I hope to prepare my children better spiritually.  To be an example to them and to be proactive in teaching them and encouraging them to learn about God and establish and maintain their own committed friendship with God outside of the family relationship.
I hope I become more disciplined.  Not rigid, but effective.  I know that being consistent can only help my family and myself in every aspect of life.

marveling in a summer sunset

I hope to be more fun.  I hope to play more board games with my kids and take them swimming and for picnics and trips to the park.  I hope to be an enthusiastic member of my family whether we are running around or staying right here at home.
I hope to get healthy... and to view it that way!  Instead of being obsessed with my weight, I hope to change my thinking a little every day about choosing good food, exercise and more water... maybe less beer--maybe. :)
I hope to plan ahead and be smart with my money getting rid of bad debt.
I hope to look for moments that take my breath away and humble me... maybe even shed a tear or two.
I hope to catch up with all the doctor appointments, immunizations, orthodontist, dentist, eye doctor and dermatologist.  They miss me, I'm sure of it!
I hope that by the end of the year I can say that I improved... even if it's just a little.  I hope I can look back and say that I effected someone's life in a positive way and pointed someone toward the Cross.  Tell me your hopes for next year...

Our Christmas Treats: Recipe Five: Dip Everything in Chocolate!

It's getting late in the game and, if you're like me, that's just how we roll.  Don't panic and don't give up.  Don't worry about anything labor intensive like sugar cookies that take three hours to chill or fudge that may or may not set up!  Bake up a box of brownies and cut them out with Christmas cookie cutters and then find what you can and dip it in chocolate!  Everything tastes better dipped in chocolate!  It's fast and easy, too.  I always use almond bark because it's fool proof and that's what I need!  Throw a small spoonful of shortening in with about six squares of almond bark and cook it for two minutes in the microwave.  (use a plastic bowl if you can.  ceramic bowls are PIPING HOT when you try to get them out of the microwave!)  Using a whisk to stir this is fastest and gets any leftover lumps out.  Here is a list of things that we would (and have) dip in chocolate and call it dessert!  Add some of your own ideas!

• Candy orange slices
• Oreo cookies
• Peanut butter crackers (two ritz crackers sandwiched together with peanut butter... these are amazing!!)
• Drizzled on popcorn
• Peanuts
• Pretzels
• Coffee Beans
• Fruit (I would dip these last minute because the juices from the fruit tend to react with the chocolate and things get watery)

Sprinkle any of these with colored sugar to make them sparkle.  Good luck!

Our Christmas Treats: Recipe Four: Homemade Almond Roca

One of my mother-in-law's favorite Christmas treats was Almond Roca.  Whenever Christmas rolls around we are always sure to pick up a traditional pink can of the gold foil wrapped treats and think of our sweet memories of her.  This recipe is so authentic for me that it conjures up those same memories.  Truthfully, it always feels like she's in the room and sharing a moment with me.  If you click on the "mother-in-law" link above, you'll learn more about this amazing woman.
I found this recipe in "Miserly Meals" by Jonni McCoy.  (It's interesting to note that a third cup serving of this is only .32 cents!)  I've only made this recipe once so it's written here almost exactly as it is in the cookbook, but I have made a few adaptations for our own family's tastes.

Fuzzy... can't wait to get a new camera!

Homemade Almond Roca

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
4 oz (1/4 cup) slivered almonds
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips, divided
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Melt the butter over medium heat in a saucepan.  Add the brown sugar and stir bringing the mixture to a boil.  Heat to a hard crack stage (about 310 degrees) then remove from the heat and add the almonds.  Stir to mix and pour the mixture onto the parchment paper and spread it out evenly.  While the candy is still hot, sprinkle 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips over the candy.  The heat from the candy melts the chocolate and makes it easy to spread it over the candy with a knife.  Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the pecans over the melted chocolate and let the candy cool completely.
You can leave it simply like this, or melt the rest of the chocolate in the microwave, turn the cooled candy over and spread the melted chocolate on the opposite side and sprinkle the rest of the pecans on top of that.
Whichever you choose to do, once it is completely cooled, break it up into smaller pieces.

Parenting Pearls

All of my life I have worked with kids.  From babysitting to preschool teacher to being the owner of a child care center.  Most of the time my clients would come to me for parenting advice.  The truth is, I know a lot... on paper!  Putting Parenting Pearls into practice, and into practice consistently, is far harder than giving the advice that's for sure!  As the mom of four kids that have personalities that run the gamut, I've picked up a few things here and there... some on my own, but a lot from some amazing friends and family.  Hope one or two inspire you and I hope you add some of your own!

Mitch building a snowman before school

• You are responsible for your own behavior regardless of anyone else.  Just because your sister is being a snotty pants doesn't make it ok for you to be snotty pants, too.
• My friend Stacie is a mother of six and she says that it is her job to work her way out of a job.  I love that!  It is my job to train my children to eventually not need me to do it all for them anymore.
• Kids will reach as high as you set the bar.  If you don't expect much, you won't get much.
• I'm convinced that every child needs a schedule.  It's that consistency thing.  Every single one of them, regardless of personality does better on a schedule and the more difficult they are, the more they need the schedule.
• I read in a book once that getting up after the children is a form of suicide.  A bit bold but the point is well taken!  My sister gets up early every morning so she can have that time all to herself before her family needs to be up and getting ready for the day.  It's a time for her to read the paper and drink coffee in utter silence!  What bliss!
• I hate folding laundry.  Now that we live in a teeny tiny house, leaving piles of clean laundry isn't an option.  That's a good thing, I know, but I still hate to fold laundry.  Worse than that, I hate putting it away.  Well, I've solved part of that problem and, at the suggestion of a great friend, I'm on the verge of solving the rest of it!  I've decided it's time that my big boys learn to fold their own laundry.  I'm going to get a small laundry basket for each child and put their unfolded laundry in it.  I'll teach my boys how to fold the laundry and then they can take their basket upstairs and put the clothes in the drawers.  My friend Stacie pointed out that since their drawers get ransacked daily, why are we putting in all the effort to fold the clothes just to have them unfolded again??  Indeed!  With this new way of doing things, my boys will learn to fold their own laundry and maybe they'll not ransack their drawers anymore... and if they do, well, then they've wasted their time and not mine.
• School is about learning... not how fast we can get things done and not how much we can get done.  When we start checking things off our list or we're doing things just to get it over with then we know we're not doing it for the right reason.  If we focus on the learning, school becomes more fun and relaxed and we actually LEARN! ... and we realize we have time for family, friends and the fun stuff in life! 
• Families are a team.  My kids can tell you this.  They don't always emulate it, but they know the words!  Everyone pitches in to do their part and some days they pitch in to do someone else's part as well.  For this reason, we don't do allowances for chores in our home.  The work we do at home we do for our family and for ourselves.  It is our gift and our responsibility to care for our home, our things and other family members because that's what families do, not because we're getting paid to do so. 
• I have been so tired of hearing my kids bicker!  Mostly it's the 17yr old and the 9yr old!  When they get going, it makes life a near living hell in this house!  I read on another blog about a mom who makes her kids sit on the floor, hold hands and sing kum ba yah when they choose to bicker with one another so I thought I'd give it a try.  The first time I sat them down they thought it was really strange.  I sang with them like everyone was enjoying a moment with God.  Then, before they got up, I let them know that every time I hear them bicker with one another they would have to do this... and, God forbid we were in a store or other public place when they decided to be nasty with each other!  They got the picture.  Mitch immediately said, "Janie, let's only bicker upstairs where Mom can't hear us!"  Glory be and Hallelujah!  Fine by me!  They have only had to sing kum ba yah one more time since!  They've decided that bickering just isn't worth it.  Best parenting advice I've gleaned in a great deal of time!!
• Say yes more than no and when you feel the urge to say no, ask yourself why.  I tend to say no a lot.  All day long I'm bombarded with questions... "Can we go to the park?" "Do you want to play a board game?" "Can I be done now?"... and the list goes on ...  My immediate answer is either no or we'll see--which is just my way of not committing.  My kids deserve an answer and one that is thought out rather than spewed in a reactionary way.
• When mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.  I know that I need to take time for myself.  To every now and then take a walk or go out to dinner with my husband, sans kids.  I know that naps are an important weekend event for me.  Taking these times makes me a happier mom who is more willing and able to share that joy with my family.

Speaking of weekend naps.... my husband is on vacation this week and it sounds like the baby is getting ready for his morning nap!  Mama's happy!

Holiday Crafts for Kids

It's that time of year when everyone is so busy and schedules are all messed up due to holiday events and company coming.  I love crafting with my kids or just handing them a pile of craft supplies and seeing what they make.  Almost nothing is off-limits to them to create with.  We have a stock of felt, construction paper, stamps and ink, scrapbooking paper and stickers, hot glue, glue sticks, glitter, beads, googlie eyes, popsicle sticks, magnets and sheets of foam... among other things... MANY other things!  There's always a mess to clean up afterward, it's true, but the kids have the best time just being able to create!
I thought I would put together a few holiday crafts that your kids could do easily without much mess.  Hope you have as much fun crafting with your kids as I do with mine.

Christmas Tree

Cut a Christmas tree out of green construction paper and let the kids stick foil star stickers on them.  I usually use a cookie cutter to cut the shape of the tree and give each child their own tree.  The foil star stickers are a little tough for younger kids to manipulate, but it's a great fine motor skill activity and there's nearly no mess.  Be creative.  Look in the office supplies as well as the craft section of your store for other stickers like dots that would make great looking Christmas balls.  Make different sized trees.  Tape them all to a string and hang them on the tree or over a window as garland.  Put a magnet on the back and put it on the fridge.  Tape them on the wall to create a forest of Christmas trees.  Take your garland to a nursing home and ask if you can place it on their tree while you visit with the residents there.  (when i had in-home daycare, we planned monthly visits to the nursing home.  we would do a craft there that the residents would help us with and have a snack.  one year, i read the christmas story and the children acted out the parts.  they simply love company!) You can use the free clip art from Carson-Dellosa to print a tree on construction paper if you'd rather.  (this website has lots!  you can save the pics to your computer and use them as coloring pages, too!)  This is a great, low mess, fast craft.

Cinnamon Bear Ornaments

Have the kids help you mix 1/2 cup of cinnamon, 1/3 cup of applesauce and 1 tablespoon of glue together in a bowl.  Dust a cutting board with cinnamon and roll the dough out.  It should be about the consistency of cookie dough.  Have the kids cut out Christmas shapes using cookie cutters.  Use a straw to make a whole in the top so it will be easy to string.  Place the shapes on a cooling rack that you've placed in a large cookie sheet.  Put the ornaments in the oven with a temperature of 200 degrees.  You can also let these air dry but it will take longer.  After they're dry, the kids can decorate them or they can go straight on the tree after you've put a string of ribbon through the hole.

Snowmen

There are so many ways to make a cute snowman!  One of my favorites is with paint.  Don't cringe!  It can still be a clean and easy craft.  Here's what you'll need:

1 sheet of blue construction paper per child
white, orange and black paint
a top hat cut out of black construction paper or felt (don't worry about being fancy if you don't want to... the kids don't care nearly as much as we do about that kind of thing)
2 or 3 sponges cut into circles, one a litter smaller than the other
a pencil with a full eraser
a paint brush

Pour a large amount of the white paint onto a paper plate.  Pour a small amount of the black and the orange paint onto another paper plate.  Dip the largest circle sponge in the white paint (you don't need a lot of paint to do this) and direct the child to stamp it near the bottom of the page... it's their project, so don't direct too much.  Repeat this with the other sponges having the child stack the circles to make a snowman.  Dip the head of the pencil eraser into the black paint and have the kids stamp eyes, mouth and buttons on their snowman.  Using the paint brush, you can paint a skinny triangle for the nose or older children can do it themselves.  Have the children glue the hat onto the snowman's head.
You can also draw a snowman on a piece of construction paper and allow the children to glue cotton balls or marshmallows on the snowman.  Eyes, nose and mouth can be made with construction paper, buttons, popcorn, cheerios or just about anything you can think of.  Use pipe cleaners for arms or popsicle sticks as seen here.

One more tip to give is if you have lots of kids to craft with, put a Christmas movie on and hand out popcorn.  While they're watching the show, invite one child at a time to the table to complete the craft.  That gives you great one-on-one time with your kids and makes the craft time nearly stress-free.
Make memories with  your kids.  It's this stuff, not a gift that is "bigger and better", that creates the memories that last a lifetime.

Our Christmas Treats: Recipe Three: Coconut Balls

One year at Christmastime we were visiting at Joseph's mom's house and his cousin, Shelly, lived across the street.  We went over there to visit and she had THE BEST treats!!  I never did get the recipe for Coconut Balls from her but she said she got it from her grandmother's cookbook.  I love that.  I love anything that has been passed down from generation to generation.  It always makes me wonder about the people who used the recipes, who ate the food.  What was their life like?  Were they happy or was sorrow touching their life?  It's for this same reason that I love antiques.  I want to ask each piece, where have you been and what have you seen?  So this recipe to me, although I made it up myself, has deep roots in the past which is always comforting to me when I make them.

Coconut Balls

1 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
1 14 ounce package of shredded coconut (5 1/3 cups)

Combine the two ingredients in a bowl (you can add a little almond extract to this if you like it).  Carefully form the mixture into balls.  This is really messy but would probably be made easier with a melon baller.  Place the balls on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper or parchment paper and put them in the freezer for one hour.  Melt almond bark as you do for Chocolate-Peanut Butter Balls.  I always add about a cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips to this and melt it with the almond bark.
Bring the coconut balls out of the freezer and dip them in the melted chocolate.  Put them back on the cookie sheet because they'll probably need a little help setting up because of the addition of the chocolate chips.  I sprinkle some melted white almond bark on top to distinguish them from the Chocolate-Peanut Butter Balls.  Depending on the size of the treats, this recipe will make from 2-3 dozen.

Our Advent Calender

When my niece was little, I purchased an Advent calendar for her.  It was the kind with little pockets and she would move a little felt mouse from pocket to pocket every day counting down til Christmas.  The little pockets had treats in them... one treat for every day.  This is what an advent calendar was to me.  We have never done an advent calendar in our family.  I thought the idea sounded like fun and was eye-ing an advent calendar at the store and thinking I might purchase one for my kids.  In the end, I opted not to.  You see, one day we were riding in the car and the children were talking about what they would like to get for Christmas.  All of a sudden, I realized that I hadn't once heard them say that they were anxious to GIVE anything.  Now, my children really are not ungrateful and they were just being normal kids at Christmas time, I think, but I wanted something more for them.  I wanted them to see Christ in this time of year.  I wanted them to understand the sacrifice He made in coming to earth to serve and to save.
With that in mind and a little inspiration from the friend of a friend, I put together our family's first Advent calendar.  I didn't fill every day with activity but the goal was to put my children in a different frame of mind... to give them a different focus for this holiday season.
I thought I'd list what we are doing in the hope of inspiring your own holiday season.

• Make and send Christmas cards to our Compassion International sponsor children
• We chose to donate cash and a gift basket to our local Shelter from the Storm by offering to work for friends to earn a donation.  We chose Shelter from the Storm to honor the kids' godmother whom they lost to domestic violence.  We composed a letter and emailed it to our local friends asking for their consideration.
• The Angel Tree.  JCPenney and the Salvation Army have teamed up with an online Angel Tree.  The kids chose the gender and age of the child they wanted to purchase for and JCPenney offered many items at a drastically reduced price.  Both of my kids independently felt that they would best serve their "angel" buy buying her pajamas (yup, they both chose girls!).  I thought that was sweet.
• Serving you.  The kids have one day per week that they serve someone else in the family.  Serve Mom day is coming up on Saturday and I really can't wait! :)
• We are preparing to gift a soldier (my cousin Artie) for the holiday reminding my kids that there are people out there fighting to protect their way of life and the right to celebrate.
• Since we have an abundance of books and videos at our house, we will be going through our surplus and donating some of those items to the library.
• My husband works for Union Pacific and it is our plan to descend on their morning meeting with holiday baskets of homemade gifts and treats for them.  These men are so important to us and we love them like family.  We'll also be handing out invitations to a casual Christmas party/open house.  These plans are still a little sketchy to me as I would love for the party to be filled with ways they can serve our guests and gift them as well... any ideas that you have will be great!
• We love to spend our tithe money in creative ways and one of our favorites is to shop Samaritan's Purse online Christmas catalog.  You can purchase blankets, chicks, Bibles, goats... almost anything you can think of that helps families in poor countries learn to be self supportive and ministers to these people body, mind and soul.
• I love this idea:  The kids are going to write a thank-you note to a person who has made a difference in their life.  I can just imagine the look on a person's face who receives that as a Christmas gift this year... the knowledge that they affected someone's life in a positive way for a lifetime.  What better gift is there??
• We plan to offer free babysitting to one (or more) of our friends so they can go Christmas shopping.
• We will go through the kids' toys and donate our many "extras" to the office where foster children have family visits.
• We plan to go to the "Living Nativity" for the first time.  I'm told it's amazing and what a tangible way to teach the Christmas Story!
• We also plan on reading the Christmas Story from the Bible and watching the movie "The Nativity" as well as baking a birthday cake for Jesus.

I'm so excited to see what my kids have learned by the end of this month.  I'm hoping to see a humbleness that is currently lacking and maybe the beginnings of an eye toward serving others.  The real challenge, tho, is to make this an on-going project.  Although it's a great lesson to learn during the holidays, I want the kids to continue this attitude of service throughout the year.  I hope that I can lead by example as well as direct their paths. 

A Lesson To Learn... A Page From My Journal

Tuesday, November 15, 2010

and aren't they worth it?

"I'm sitting here in the quiet of the morning, waiting for the full force of the impending storm to hit.  Planning my day, examining my life.  I read in Isaiah 48 the other day.  The chapter is titled 'God's Stubborn People'.  When I read that, I knew it was about me.  The line that caught my eye was v.2, '...you call yourself the holy city and talk about depending on the God of Israel...'  Do I call myself a Christian and merely talk about depending on God?  Who am I fooling?  Only myself.  I'm short-changing my life and my relationship with God.... the most important and dependable relationship I have!  You know how they say you always treat the people closest to you poorly because you know they'll always be there?  Is that why I treat God in such a 'fair-weather friend' kind of way?  Shouldn't I treat Him and the others around me--those that are closest to me with the greatest love and respect?"

Our Christmas Treats: Recipe Two: Gingerbread Bears

One year in a Christmas basket from my sister and her family, there were a couple of gingerbread men tucked in among the other treats.  I've got to tell you, it was love at first bite!  I had to have the recipe!  I love things that make a memory or remind me of someone and this always reminds me of her. 
A cup of coffee and a gingerbread bear (i don't have any "man" cookie cutters that i really like so i use a bear) can double as a holiday breakfast at my house and has many times!  I suppose I shouldn't recommend that but, what a treat!

"gingy"

Gingerbread Bears


3 1/2 cups of flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. allspice/cloves

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup molasses
1 egg

Mix the dry ingredients together.  In a separate bowl, mix the butter, molasses and egg.  Blend the dry ingredients with the wet to form a stiff ball.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  On a lightly floured board, roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch.  (don't roll it too thin... fat bears are softer and yummier)  Cut out cookies and place them on the cookie sheet (i always bake with parchment paper now but i've never greased the pan either way).  Bake each batch for 10 minutes (i think that all cookies should be baked for only 10 minutes because then they are softer).
You can decorate your bears after they've cooled, but I never do.  It would be a fun thing to do with your kids, tho.

Try them for breakfast with your coffee... I promise, I'll never tell!

Just Had To Share...

I'm so glad that my kids love the "old" cartoons!  The other day when I was walking past the table, I found this piece of paper with Mitchell's handwriting and started to laugh!  Yep, that's about how it usually goes!