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Celebrating Women ~ Friday

May 9, 2008 by Laura Leave a Comment

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As we wrap up this week of honoring women…I have just a couple more emails to share with you!

This letter came from my precious friend Hannah who is one of the sweetest little girls on the face of the earth. It completely made my day…but I wasn’t planning to post it (just treasure it for myself). BUT, Hannah’s mom insisted that I share it…so share it I will… :)

My name is Hannah, and I am almost ten years old. I would like to tell you about a mom I know named Miss Laura. She’s someone I can go to because I feel safe with her. She’s really nice. She is my mama’s really good friend. I am a lot like her when she was young. I’m glad I have Miss Laura.

I can’t read it without choking up. I love that girl. 

Thank you, Hannah, for always being such an encouragement to me and for just being such a delight.

Next, we’ve got a little “right back atcha” letter going on! If you recall on Monday, we surprised Charlene with a letter from her mother-in-law, Faye. 

Well, Faye…here’s one from Charlene that we’ve been waiting to surprise YOU with!!

I want to share with you a little about my mother-in-law, Faye. I’ve mentioned her several times on my various blogs, and I just need to say it all again. She has been a true God-send to me since I moved to Las Vegas almost four years ago. 
 
When Allan and I married, he moved out of his parent’s home for the first time, and I know it was a dramatic change and adjustment for everyone. His parents took it all in stride, and practically from day one, Faye has been available to help me with the kids (well, it was just one kiddo at first – I just kept increasing the workload by having more babies!), with business, and with friendship. 
 
She became instant Granma to Samuel from day one, with no hesitation whatsoever on her part, and for that I’ll always be thankful. Through two difficult pregnancies, she was available to stay with the kids so Allan could go with me to all my appointments, and she was also to come over to help me get through the days when I just wasn’t well enough to mother on my own. (And she still does this!) Our children adore her and their faces light up when she walks through the door. 
 
Besides all the wonderful ways she helps me now, I’m also thankful for her, simply because she is my husband’s mother. Allan has so many fun and happy memories of his childhood, and I love to listen to him talk about the special things she would do for him when he was a little guy. Her favorite line as a grandmother is that she isn’t spoiling our children, but simply “accommodating” them. Well, she’s very good at accommodating them in special ways, and I know from Allan’s stories she did the same for him and his sister growing up. 
 
I told Allan recently that I never could have hoped to have as good a relationship with my in-laws as I have with my own parents. I am so blessed to have TWO moms who love me, and I thank God every day for that!

For all of you who sent me links and stories and letters, be watching your email for information about the promised gifts!

Thanks again to Kristy at Homemakers Cottage…and to Char at DigiScrapChat for their generous gift donations!

And, thank you so much, everyone, for sharing these wonderful women with all of us! It’s been a wonderful week of celebrating women!!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Kids in the Kitchen: Making Cheesecake For Mom!

May 8, 2008 by Laura 7 Comments

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We have two pretty solid Mother’s Day traditions at our house. (Neither of them involves spending much money!) 

One tradition is that we take the pictures of our boys beside the peach tree that we planted a few years ago. Each year, it is super fun to see how much the tree has grown and how much the boys have grown. We then email these pictures to all of the special women in our lives for Mother’s Day. I LOVE looking back at these pictures! 

The second tradition is that I get the day off from cooking. :)

And I get to choose what we’re eating! (okay…I do that EVERY day…)

I absolutely NEVER want to eat out on Mother’s Day. I find the restaurants overflowing and stressful…and that is not a treat for me. 

So Daddy and the boys put on their aprons (not really) and cook for mama. I LOVE it!!

You can read about the Mother’s Day Muffins they’ll be making here. And for lunch…they’ll be making steak on the grill, baked potatoes, veggies and cheesecake.

Here’s the cheesecake they’ll be making for me  (and YES, we’re compromising a bit and by eating processed sugar and graham crackers from a box. I know…you must be absolutely shocked!)  :)

Simple CheesecakeYum

2 pkgs graham crackers
2 sticks butter
¼ cup sugar
2 – 8 oz. pkgs. cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 t. vanilla

In a gallon sized Ziploc bag, crush graham crackers with a rolling pin. Melt butter in a small saucepan. Pour crushed graham crackers, melted butter and sugar into a 9 x 13 inch pan. Stir ingredients together and pat it down to create crust. Set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, stir together cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla. In a large bowl, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Add cream cheese mixture to whipped cream and fold in gently. Smooth mixture over the crust. Chill for at least two hours.

This cheesecake is super simple to make…which means the boys can do it entirely by themselves!

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The boys LOVE crushing up the graham crackers in the baggie. It IS permission to BREAK something after all! (Oh, and don’t you just LOVE Malachi’s outfit in this picture? He chose it himself…)  :)

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Okay, and I always do pour the vanilla myself for them. It’s organic, and it’s pricey, and I’m afraid they’d accidentally pour in the entire bottle. Just the control freak in me coming out while they make MY cheesecake… ;)

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I love this Mother’s Day tradition…and so do Daddy and the boys! They look forward to it as much as I do! 

I’d love to hear about any Mother’s Day traditions you have!! What special things are YOU looking forward to this weekend?!

[tags]Mother’s Day, Kids in the Kitchen, Cheesecake[/tags]

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Celebrating Women ~ Thursday

May 8, 2008 by Laura Leave a Comment

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Hope you’re enjoying these great articles about women! It’s wonderful to have great women around us who challenge us to be better! 

I received this email from Anne. Here’s what she wrote about a young mama named Jenny:

I would like to share with everyone a little something about a young mom I know. Jenny has three small children, and she, in my opinion, is one of the most humble, sweetest mamas I know. Like too many young ladies of our day and age, Jenny grew up with dysfunction that left her emotionally scarred. Rather than turn to the world for her answers, she turned to our Almighty Lord and Savior for guidance and healing. And God has been faithful to her.

What an inspiration she is to me, and countless others. She serves her husband and children selflessly every day, and God has blessed her for it. Whenever she struggles with insecurities that her past has left her with, and the worry of ‘breaking the cycle’ rears its ugly head, I will always point to her children and her wonderful marriage as testimony that she is, indeed, breaking the cycle.

Oh my! If you could see her babies! They are sweet, confident children without a care in the world. They are completely free to be children.

I guess the one word I would use to wrap this up is joy. They have a home full of the joy of the Lord, and I am truly blessed to have this family in my life.

Beautiful!

Be sure to stop back by tomorrow as we continue to celebrate women!

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I Didn’t Plan on Going Broke…

May 8, 2008 by Laura 6 Comments

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Early this week, I REALLY needed to mow our lawn. 

(Yes, I mow our lawn, even though Matt would gladly do it. I think it’s great exercise…and it’s exercise with a productive purpose…and I get good sunshine…and I would rather Matt spend his at-home time doing other things. I’m weird…but I like to mow.)  (I also like it when I’m done mowing.)

So, I needed to mow, but after our long winter and after some really windy spring days, there were a TON of sticks all over the yard that made mowing impossible.

So I came up with this fun plan for the boys. I told them that I would pay them each a penny for each stick that they picked up. I figured it would be way more fun this way and that they would likely be way more motivated to pick up more sticks than they would be otherwise.

It seems that I was right.

I can’t believe how long they spent picking up sticks. They worked SUPER hard! 

Elias ended up picking up 185 sticks….which of course meant that he earned $1.85. Great work for a six year old. (and great ability to count that high and pick up sticks at the same time)

Justus picked up 400 sticks…so he earned $4.00.

And Asa…my first born, oldest child, high achiever…picked up ONE THOUSAND sticks….earning himself a whopping 10 bucks.

So, I hadn’t counted on paying out almost 16 dollars…but I must say…it was SO worth it!! There were NO sticks left for the mower to accidentally chomp up and fling out…none! And I was so proud of them for being such hard workers. And they were quite proud of their accomplishments too!

Oh, and on another note not related to stick picking up….I made the boys a final list of school work that they needed to finish up in order to complete their school year. They finished this week (WOOHOO for ME!). 

But I have to tell you, that when Asa finished his list and came in and anounced to me, “Mom! I finished my fifth grade work! I’m a sixth grader now! I’m in MIDDLE school!” I almost choked on my breakfast. Seriously, I can not possibly have a child this old. 

;)

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Celebrating Women ~ Wednesday

May 7, 2008 by Laura 1 Comment

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Here’s a great piece from Lenetta, who has one sweet baby girl (who is trying to learn to walk!). Lenetta wrote this for…and about her mom.

Sometimes all you can do is love and pray. There frequently isn’t anything you can physically DO to alleviate the physical or emotional pain of someone you care about, but you can pray and you can love and you can walk with the one you love on their journey, for as long as they need you. And you can trail quietly behind when they think they don’t need you, just in case.
 
The birth of a child is meant to be a joyous occasion, and my daughter’s birth was, even though it didn’t happen at all like the natural birth that I’d planned. I ended up emotionally and physically drained, and to compound matters, I had quite a bit of anxiety about becoming a mother. Sure, I’d done my share of babysitting, but it was mostly older children. I’d changed my nieces’ diapers on occasion, but I’d never really been responsible for anything the way I was for this new being that God had entrusted to me.
 
Between my mother and my husband, I had around the clock help for nearly two weeks after my daughter’s birth. The hormone changes were like nothing I had ever experienced, and I found myself unable to sleep or nap even though I desperately needed it. My daughter had a spell most nights where she would fuss for about four hours. One particularly bad night, I knocked on my mom’s bedroom door at 3 AM, and handed her the baby. Of course, the little turkey went right to dreamland for Grandma.
 
My daughter has never been a particularly easy baby, and I’ve spent quite a bit of time on the phone with my mom, crying and wondering rhetorically how I can make things better. The truth is that there really isn’t much I can do beyond what I have done – feed her, keep her clean, safe, and warm. But most importantly, just as my mother has done for me over the past year, I can love her and I can pray. And I do.
 
Mom, thanks for walking with me as I’ve learned this lesson. While I hope my daughter has an easier time with her babies, I’m prepared to walk the same journey with her many years from now, praying and loving all the way.

I am SO enjoying everything you all are writing about the special women in your lives! 

If you haven’t already (or even if you already have!)…be sure to read these great posts about women that people have written about on their own blogs!

~ Read what Char wrote about her sister-in-law Sarah.

~Check out this AMAZING story written by Kristy at Homemaker’s Cottage about her friend Katy.

~And while you’re over at Kristy’s….READ THIS!! She just delivered a baby TUESDAY (yesterday) at her home….and he’s beautiful!

~Here’s what Donna wrote about here “Spiritual Mother”.

~Read this touching poem written by Teresa.

~Here’s a tribute from Ariane to her mother.

Thanks everyone for sharing! There will be more to share tomorrow! And, I’m still up for others in any of the rest of you have anything to share!

WooHoo for Women!!

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Please Pass the Butter (and the Cream)

May 6, 2008 by Laura 32 Comments

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Well, I had my sweet little Mother’s Day post written for today…all ready to fit right into our Celebrating Women series.

Then I noticed that there was a designated a theme for today’s Works for me Wednesday…”What DOESN’T work for me…Wednesday”. (I guess that would be WDWFMW?) 

Oooohh…well, we might all be sorry she asked. But this has been on my mind A LOT…and I’ve been needing a reason to bring it up.

So I will now be doing something I rarely do here. Hopping on my soap-box. 

My BIG FAT SOAPBOX.

Yes…I’m blogging about FAT today. 

Because here’s what DOESN’T work for me:

All the big talk and push to eat a low-fat diet. 

It used to work for me. Because I believed what I was told about fat and that eating it was bad.

But I’ve learned a lot about fat…and I’ve learned that it’s not a four letter word after all. (Depending on the kind of fat, of course…but more on that another time soon.)

Here’s my soap box-iest part of my BIG FAT Soapbox: 

God MADE fat. He made food with fat in it ON PURPOSE. 

He made cows to give whole milk. The cream from their milk makes butter. He made chickens to lay eggs…and he knew what he was putting into them.

I feel very frustrated that we’re being taught that we used to eat butter when we didn’t know better…so now that we know better…we eat chemicals in a bucket (a.k.a. low fat margarine).

I’m QUITE SURE God knew what he was doing. I don’t think that He is “up there” shaking his head at himself in disgust and saying, “What was I thinking when I put cholesterol in those eggs? And all the animal’s fat is saturated? I SO should have thought ahead on that one.”

Why would eating these real foods with fat work for a few thousand years…and then suddenly stop working for people in about 1920? 

And WHEN do you suppose our nation began to have extreme obesity and heart problems and an increase in cancer? Right about the time we started being told that butter and cream and eggs (and other real foods) were bad for us. (And when lifestyles became more sedentary.) 

Yes…at the very same time that we started to change out real food…for processed, fake, freaked out foods…our nation began to get fat and sick.

And yet…we blame all of our health issues today on butter.

Oh, I have so much to say about all of this. (Perhaps you could tell?)

So here’s what I’ve decided.

I’ve been sharing many of my recipes here on my blog and on my website. And if you’ve hung out here much, you’ve noticed that we work hard at our house to eat a healthy diet of real food. 

I think maybe I’ll start talking a bit more about WHY we choose to eat this way…and WHY we feel like it is important to eat real food. And what food I consider to be real…and what food I consider to be fake, freaked out food. And which fats are good for you and which aren’t. And how we afford to eat real food on a limited budget. And where I buy my real food. And why….

Yes, I believe this post is…to be continued…

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Gratituesday: My Mom

May 5, 2008 by Laura 13 Comments

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As we celebrate women this week…I MUST tell you about my own mom.

Her name was Bettye Jo. She would have turned 59 this Friday.

She was diagnosed with ALS in 2002, and finished her fight…and won the race on July 10, 2004. 

She was smart and funny and pretty. She loved to cook, read, cross-stitch, quilt and make cards using rubber stamps. She made the best salsa in the world, hands down. 

She loved my dad and my brother and me like crazy.

She taught me to cook and to be a homemaker and to organize and to plan ahead and to serve others.

(She tried to teach me to quilt…but oh…I just never did learn to enjoy it! At least she taught me to appreciate the work and love that goes into making a quilt!)

My mom thought her grandkids were terrific. She loved playing games with them and reading to them. She made them a new ornament each year for Christmas. They are treasures.

She loved the Lord and served Him well.

My mom really, really loved me.

I was her favorite girl. She was my biggest fan. I always knew it. I miss her.

I’m so thankful that she was my mom.

God is good.

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Now it’s your turn! Share something that you’re grateful for on your blog and come link up with us! Don’t have a blog? Tell us about what you’re grateful for in the comments section! Share what God is doing in your life!
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Mother’s Day Breakfast…Chocolate Swirl Muffins

May 5, 2008 by Laura 18 Comments

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Daddy and the boys always make a great Mother’s Day lunch for me each year. This year, they’ll be making our breakfast too!

These muffins can be made ahead of time, so the kids will make a double batch of these on Saturday so that they’ll be ready to grab on Mother’s Day morning! 

And yes…I chose a Chocolate Swirl Muffin for them to make because it IS Mother’s Day after all…and a mama needs her chocolate…

Chocolate Swirl MuffinsYum

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1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. sea salt
1/2 cup honey
1 egg
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 t. vanilla
2 t. cocoa powder
3-5 drops stevia

Mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in honey, egg, milk, melted butter and vanilla. Scoop out 1/2 cup of batter into a small bowl. To this small amount of batter, add cocoa and stevia.

Fill nine paper lined muffin tins about half full with plain batter. Put about 2 t. of chocolate batter on top of each. 
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 Use a butter knife to cut the chocolate into the muffin. 
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Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

I hope you’ll continue to join us this week for lots more Mother’s Day encouragement! Read about our Celebrating Women series here!

And be sure to check out Tammy’s Recipes for more kitchen tips!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Celebrating Women….Monday

May 5, 2008 by Laura 4 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

I’m so excited to share this first story with you! 

I was thrilled to receive this email last week from Faye in Nevada.

Faye had this to say about her daughter-in-law Charlene…who just happens to also be one of my very wonderful friends…

I would like to mention Charlene. I know she doesn’t think she’s a great mom, but I think she is. Of course, you have known her much longer than I have, so I think you would share my opinion. I realize I am prejudiced because I am her mother-in-law. But from the first time I met her, I was impressed. She had adopted a baby boy after feeling (and being told) that she could not have children. Samuel was so well behaved. At such a young age, he was very polite, with his please, thank you, and your welcome. Then when she became part of our family, what a blessing. Then we all have been blessed with two more children. And I think she is too hard on herself. She is a Christian woman who has a husband, three children, and multiple businesses online. AND she helps others with their online businesses. She reads to the children and sings Bible songs to them; goes outside with them to play; comforts all of them when they get booboos; spends time with them when they are not having a good day, even though she may have multiple emails waiting for her attention. So her house isn’t Better Homes and Garden, spit-polished clean! So what! Her husband and her children, (and her in-laws), love her dearly. What more could one ask for?
 
Thanks for listening to my feelings about your friend.
 
Sincerely, Faye

Well…I just couldn’t help but start with that letter…

Faye, thank you for sharing these beautiful and oh-so-very-true words about Charlene!

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Everyone be sure to stop back by to read more! And…get right to work writing your own!! We want to hear more!

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Celebrating Wonderful Women!

May 2, 2008 by Laura Leave a Comment

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WOW!!

I am SO excited about the upcoming week as we feature all of the women in your life who are WONDERFUL! (your mom, your mother-in-law, your friend, your sister, your daughter, your neighbor, your online friend, your second cousin twice removed…)

If you haven’t read about this celebration…please read about it here!

Then please…email me…telling me a bit about the women you want to honor!

I’ve already heard from some of you…and I have to say…as the emails keep rolling in…I keep getting more and more excited!! It’s so great to hear about these wonderful ladies!

AND…can I just tell you a little about all of the fantastic PRIZES and GIFTS we have for these ladies!!

We’ve got gifts from Kristy over at Homemakers Cottage…and they are AWESOME!!!!

And, we’ve got gifts from Char at Digi Scrap Chat….and they are AWESOME!!!

And of course, there will be gifts from right here at Heavenly Homemakers too!!

Remember:  EVERY LADY MENTIONED receives a gift!! 

Don’t hold back!! Tell me about as many women as you wish! I am SO EXCITED to surprise these ladies! Won’t they LOVE it when they come over and find us talking about how great they are!!  And when they hear that they are receiving awesome gifts!! 

Give this some thought…and then send me an email! (laura @ heavenlyhomemakers.com) 

I’d appreciate hearing from you by Sunday…so that I can organize all the special features for next week!!  SO HURRY!! (If I hear from you after Sunday…I’ll still feature the ladies you mention…it’ll just be easier for me if I hear from you over the weekend!)

Can’t wait to hear from you!

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