Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

It’s a Christmas Brunch at Heavenly Homemakers!

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I know the upcoming week will be a busy one for all of us.  Still, I was hoping you could all come over for a Christmas Brunch? You don’t need to bring anything, please just show up any time that is convenient for you…and invite along any friends or family members who might like to join you. We love a big crowd!

On our Christmas Brunch Menu:

  • Vanilla Muffins with Cinnamon Crumb Topping
  • Easy Breakfast Casserole
  • Gingerbread Cookies
  • Holiday Goody Buffet

Plus, there will be crafts and…presents!  You don’t want to miss the presents! I’ve got a wonderful Tropical Traditions Gift all wrapped up and ready to give to one of you…PLUS several Heavenly Homemakers Gift Certificates!! Yep, under our tree you’ll find three $5.00 Heavenly Homemakers Gift Certificates and three $10.00 HeavenlyHomemakers Gift Certificates (good for anything downloadable in our shop).

Please make plans to join us! Each comment you leave on this post or our upcoming posts with the Christmas Brunch Invitation (as seen below) will be entered in the drawing for the presents! (Limit one comment per person per post.)

Stay tuned…the Christmas Brunch posts begin tomorrow! Bring your appetites…and let the prize winning comments begin!

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Real Tree…or Fake? Question #75

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16 years.  The tree lasted for 16 years.

And then, without any warning whatsoever, the base busted and the tree fell over with a smack, spreading it’s hundreds of fake pine needles all over the living room.

Don’t worry, no one was hurt…and in fact some were even excited enough about the Christmas tree floor smacking drama to take a moment to pose behind the busted tree.

I had bought that tree the day after our first Christmas together as a married couple 16 years ago. I was so proud of that purchase…our first Christmas tree. For half price.   So as silly as it is, I was a little bit sad and sentimental about throwing the tree away and thought instead of trying to rig the base up with some duct tape. You give a mama some duct tape and she can fix anything right? I figured though that it would only hold up for a few hours, or until a nerf soccer ball went sailing through the room…whichever came first. (Yeah, it would be the soccer ball.) 

We made do with a smaller fake tree this year and will see what we find for half price after Christmas this year.

But that leads me to the question of the day. Are you a fake tree family…or a real tree family?

We’ve always done fake. It seems easier to me. But it doesn’t smell  nearly as good.

They should start making scented fake trees.

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Making Food Compromises at Christmastime

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Ever feel overwhelmed trying to keep up with normal healthy food preparations during the holidays? Do you feel guilt because you’ve indulged in too many Christmas goodies?

I wrote my thoughts on the matter over at Deal Moon. Head on over and see what you think…

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It Happens in a Blink

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Some of you have asked me to share more about what led us to our decision for Matt to resign from his job to work at home with our family. You’d like to know more about what we’re planning to do and what our “new life” will look like.

I can’t share much yet about what our new life will look like as it hasn’t actually started yet. Incidentally, it will start on Thursday the 16th at precisely 3:01 pm, at which time you WILL hear me shouting and banging on pots and pans in celebration. 

We’re setting goals and making plans and praying. Once we settle into January, I’ll be able to share more with you about what we’re doing with our time and how the new plan is working with our family.

What I can share though is a little more about what led us to this decision. I mentioned previously that Matt didn’t want to have regrets about how he spent the time God’s given him on earth. Our boys are growing quickly…and they need the guidance of their daddy. Our marriage is strong and we’d like to keep it that way. We have ministry ideas that we’d like to explore.  Matt’s current job situation hasn’t allowed us to do for our family what we feel called to do.

Ultimately, we had to ask ourselves the questions:  What are we doing for the Kingdom? Is our life in balance with what God wants us to be doing for Him?

We did some evaluating and knew something needed to give. (Later I’ll share a formula we came up with to evaluate the balance of each important area of our lives.)  We asked God to show us how to create a more balanced life, while still providing for our family.

The following song, Blink, by Revive pretty much sums up our thoughts. I’d really like you to listen and read the words as it plays because it’s quite convicting. 

It happens in a blink…what are you doing with your life?

For the record, we are definitely not advocating that everyone should turn in their two weeks notice tomorrow. That family you love so much does need to eat and have shoes. :)  We are just sharing what we’ve felt called to do for our family. We had a financial plan in place before making this leap and have spent many months praying about this decision. We simply want to encourage each person to examine how they spend their time and feel like we should all ask ourselves:  Am I making the most of every moment God’s given me?

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Gifts for Men

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I’m terrible at figuring out gifts for men, so why I ever said I would post this is beyond me. I am really hoping all of you will leave brilliant comments of gift ideas for men. Because you all have brilliant ideas, right? Oh good, I knew I could count on you.

  • Games

Most men love strategy games. I mentioned a few in my Gifts of Games post like Risk, Settlers of Catan and Manhattan. If you’re looking for a game you can play with your strategy game lovin’ guy, I really think you’ll both like Manhattan. I like it a lot, even more than Settlers of Catan, which I like quite a bit too. Another fun strategy game is what we affectionately call “the bean game”. It’s really called Bohnanza, but you “plant beans” and “trade beans” and it’s quite fun. It’s just cards and it’s not complicated (but it is strategic) and it’s inexpensive. I love uncomplicated games. I know we’re talking about what MEN like, but hey, if you’re wanting to get him a game you’ll like too, Manhattan and Bohnanza score high on my list.

  • Books

Books are great if the man on your list is a reading kind of guy. My husband is usually reading three or four books at once. His latest favorite is 48 Days to the Work You Love by Dan Miller. Together, we’ve been reading Saving Your Marriage Before it Startsby Les and Leslie Parrott. Our marriage started 16 years ago, but we are still enjoying this book. We’ve heard great recommendations for UnCommon:  Finding Your Path to Significance, by Tony Dungy.

  • Clothes

Men usually don’t buy their own clothes, so this is what I usually resort to buying when I can’t think of anything else. Original, I know.

  • Music

Hopefully you know the kind of music the man you’re purchasing for likes. If not, iTunes Gift Cards are great!

  • Coupons

You’re only limited to your imagination on this one. You can give a “Pie of the Month” coupon book, a “Romantic Dinner” coupon book, a “Favorite Meals” coupon book, “Favorite Desserts” coupon book…whatever the man you’re giving the coupon book to would enjoy.

  • Tools

If you’re really lucky, he’ll want/need a tool that actually fits under the tree and costs less than your wedding ring. Unfortunately, he probably already has a hammer.

  • Camping Gear, Sports Gear, Hunting Gear, Fishing Gear

Or whatever gear he’s into. And doesn’t already have.

And that, my friends, is about all my brain could come up with. What are your ideas for gifts for men? Anything. Anything at all. Bring on the ideas!

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Gratituesday: Printing in Progress…

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Guess what?! You asked for it…we’ve been working on it…it’s just about to happen!

Ever since we launched our Learn Your Letters, Learn to Serve downloadable curriculum, many of you have asked if/when the kit could be purchased in a hard copy. It’s been several months in coming, but it’s allllllllmost ready! Actually…a few are sitting ready to ship! (Always a funny term to me. What…like we have a boat?)

We’ve researched the best way to go about printing and binding our curriculum and finally settled on investing in a nice printer to create the books ourselves. The printer has been humming for a good part of the afternoon and we’re very happy with the quality of the pages. These 240+ full color page curriculum kits are placed in a nice 3 ring binder, making it easy for you to pull out pages for your family’s use. 

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I can’t tell you how exciting this is after so many months of working to figure out what would be the best printable deal and option for you. That’s why this news becomes the Gratituesday post for this week. That, and I’ve done little else but play with our printer tonight so that’s sort of the biggest thing on my mind right now. It is SO exciting! I love how the curriculum kit looks in book form!!!

The Learn Your Letters, Learn to Serve Curriculum Kit in Book Form is ready for Pre-Order NOW! As we have four Books completely finished, the first four of you to order should for sure have yours sent within a couple of days, making it possible to have in your hands before Christmas!! Beyond that, all we can say is that we’ll do our best.  January is a great time to begin using this curriculum so we’ll work hard to get the books out in a timely fashion. (Keep in mind that you can buy a downloadable copy and have it immediately in your possession!)

I’m very thankful to all of you for your patience as we figured all of this out. It sure is nice to see our lovely printer, sitting over there in the corner getting a work-out. Woohoo!

What are you thankful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog, then come link up with us here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for!

If you are linking up a blog post for Gratituesday,
please copy and paste the following sentence into your post! Thanks!

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

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Cream Cheese Frosting

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I’ve had several requests for a good frosting to use for decorating sugar cookies. I’ve worked on a “sucanat powdered sugar frosting” and will share the recipe in a few days. Obviously that frosting is going to be a bit on the brown side and is probably not quite what you’re looking for in a Christmas cookie frosting (unless you’re frosting Gingerbread Men).

Today I have two Cream Cheese Frosting recipes to share with you. One uses unbleached organic powdered sugar, which has no nutritional value, but at least it’s not bleached or filled with pesticides. It is very much a compromise food, but we’re talking about Cream Cheese Frosting here. At Christmas time. Don’t go crazy, but if you’re gonna frost some sugar cookies anyway, you’ve gotta make sure you really enjoy the taste of the splurge!

The second recipe I’ll share uses honey or real maple syrup for sweetener. This frosting doesn’t work as well on cookies…it’s fluffier and better on cakes. BUT, since it uses honey or maple syrup, it’s one step healthier than the unbleached organic powdered sugar variety.

Powdered Sugar Cream Cheese FrostingYum

1/2 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 1/2 cups unbleached organic powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whip butter and cream cheese with beaters until fluffy. Add vanilla and powdered sugar and beat until mixed thoroughly.

Fluffy Cream Cheese Frosting

1 cup heavy whipping cream
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4- 1/3 cup honey or real grade B maple syrup (depending on your taste) OR 30 drops liquid stevia
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whip cream with a mixer until soft peaks form. In a separate bowl, mix cream cheese, honey and vanilla until creamy. Fold cream cheese mixture into whipped cream.

You can make your own cream cheese very easily! I do prefer store bought cream cheese in these recipes however as the homemade cream cheese is cultured and therefore a little too sour for my taste in these frosting recipes.

I will admit right  here and now that if something has cream cheese in it, I have a hard time staying out of it. I CAN NOT make either of these frostings very often because I love them too much. Are you a cream cheese lover  like I am?

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Menu Plan for the Week

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Tis the season to be…tired. :)  I’m wishing I had some good freezer foods stashed away, but in my recent busy-ness, I’ve fallen behind and my freezer holds no convenience items. I’ve chosen some fairly simple meals to make this week as we work on our many Christmas preparations. I think I’ll be enlisting the help of my favorite chefs this week too. We’ll just make “cooking with mom” a part of the system!

Sunday, December 12
Oatmeal, pears
Italian pasta bake, tossed salad, corn
Pizza pockets, fruit

Monday, December 13
Whole wheat waffles
Grilled cheese, tomato soup
Shepherds pie, tossed salad

Tuesday, December 14
Omelets, clementines
Veggie soup, soft pretzels
Cheesy Beef and Rice, green beans

Wednesday, December 15
Pancake and sausage muffins, fruit
Corn dog muffins, smoothies
Lamb chops, baked potatoes, peas

Thursday, December 16
Giant breakfast cookies, pomegranate
Chicken noodle soup, carrots
Turkey sausage, hashbrowns, oranges

Friday, December 17 (our little family Christmas celebration day)
Whole wheat cinnamon rolls, scrambled egg casserole
Crackers with ranch cheese ball, meatballs, apple slices, peppernuts
Lasagna, tossed salad, homemade bread and butter

Saturday, December 18
Fried eggs on toast, fruit
Leftovers
Hearty bean casserole, bread and butter

Please click over to download our free Christmas Menu Planners 
to make your holiday time meal planning more fun!!

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Visit Organizing Junkie for more menu planning inspiration.

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Stocking Stuffers for Kids

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I think I love stuffing stockings almost more than any other gift giving at Christmas time!! My mom made our family’s stockings and they are just beautiful! But they’re a little bit small. It seemed that no matter how small I kept the stocking stuffers, half of them still wouldn’t fit through the top! I finally bought the boys new, bigger stockings. My mom’s stockings are still hanging for decoration and will always be among our favorite Christmas decor. You can read more about her hand made stockings here.

christmasdecor0915smI have learned during my last 13 stocking stuffing years that filling stockings with junk is a waste of money and toy box space. There are all kinds of little things on the ends of store aisles that are touted as “Great Stocking Stuffers”, but they’re made of junk. The kids will play with them for a total of two minutes before they get lost under the couch cushions.

I now avoid junkie toys and go with items that are truly usable, educational, or consumable.

This year (don’t tell my kids), they’re getting quite a few consumable items. I got them some treats that we hardly ever buy, which means they’ll be thrilled to find them in their stockings! Here are some consumables they’re either getting this year or have been given in years past:

  • Annie’s Mac and Cheese box
  • Juicy Juice 100% juice
  • Pack of Gum
  • A Can of Black Olives
  • A Favorite Candy
  • Cereal Bars
  • A Small Jar of their Favorite Jelly
  • Sunflower Seeds
  • Beef Jerky
  • Fruit
  • Fruit Leather

I love consumable stocking stuffers because well…they will be quickly consumed. They won’t get lost in a toy box never to be seen again. They’re treats we rarely enjoy, making them a pretty special gift!

Here is a list of items I recommend that are fun, small enough to fit into most stockings and either educational or useful!

  • Veggie Tales DVDs
  • Sewing Kits from The Whole KIT ‘n Kaboodle
  • Card games like Blink, Old Maid, Skip-Bo…
  • Regular decks of cards
  • Mittens or gloves, hats, scarves, ear muffs
  • Socks (okay, bordering on being in the “not fun” category, but my kids are always happy to see socks without holes)
  • Fun bandaids
  • CDs
  • Books
  • Hair clips and such for little girls (although I have no experience in this area!!)
  • School supplies

What items do you put in your kids’ stockings?

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Stocking Stuffers for Moms

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As I’ve mentioned before, my friend Anne and I stuff each other’s stockings each year. It takes the pressure off of our husbands and we have a lot of fun. Several of you have asked for ideas of what we put in each other’s stockings. I’m posting this to answer that question AND so that if you want to, you can print this off and leave it dangling (innocently) in front of your husband if you would prefer that he stuff your stocking instead of having a friend join in the fun.

Anne is very creative and frugal. She’s put some pretty cool and interesting things in my stocking before including fire starters she made from egg cartons, saw dust and melted wax. I loved these for our fireplace! Yes, you are only limited by your imagination when it comes to stuffing a stocking. If you know a person well enough, you know exactly what she needs or loves.

I happen to know that Anne loves Ghiradelli Chocolate Chips, making that perfect for her stocking. I also gave her homemade vanilla last year and a jar of Homemade Ranch and Homemade Italian Dressing Mixes. Oh so practical. And tasty.

Here are more ideas for a lady’s stocking!

  • Pens  – because the stub of a crayon she finds in her purse or by the phone just won’t cut it. She needs pens.
  • Paper Clips – she’ll never think to buy them for herself and she needs them
  • Small (and pretty) note pads – because they’re more fun to make lists on than the back of a school math paper
  • Kitchen Towels – because all of her other ones are stained or torn…or in the hamper
  • Lotion Bars from MadeOn – this stuff works miracles on my dry skin!
  • Wooden Spoons and other Kitchen Utensils – so she can bake you something
  • Warm Fuzzy Slipper Socks – for the same reason she needs Kitchen Towels, plus her feet are cold
  • Flexi-Clip from Lilla Rose – because they’re beautiful and SO easy to use and inexpensive and pretty and…
  • Cake Decorating Supplies – because they’re just fun!

Ladies, fill in the gaps by leaving comments of suggested stocking stuffers you’d have fun finding in YOUR stocking Christmas morning!

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