Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Buy a Blendtec; Blame the Baby (wink, wink)

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If you need an “excuse” to take the plunge to buy a Blendtec, my friend Tasha has one for you! Enjoy her story here!

Buy a Blendtec; Blame the Baby (wink, wink)

By Tasha Hackett

Good morning! At least it’s a good morning for me. It’s true I’ve been awake since 4:30 am but I read some Bible while I nursed the baby, exercised, tossed this easy breakfast casserole in the oven, watched funny YouTube videos while I drank my lemon water, showered, and now it’s 7:00 and none of the children have come down yet! Wow. 

I figured this was the perfect time to share with you how I’ve been getting on with my new Blendtec that I bought for the baby. Wink, wink. And not at all because I wanted one since before I was even pregnant. 


First off, making baby food is (to use some of Laura’s favorite words) so SIMPLE and EASY. 

Here’s a favorite. I like to call it: Carrots.

  1. Wash a few carrots (I used four.)
  2. Cut off the tops
  3. Chop small enough to fit in your pan
  4. Use a steamer or simmer with an inch of water (lid on)
  5. When soft, dump into the Blentec and blend. (I used the 30 second button… but I could have saved 20 seconds, it was most definitely smooth after 10 seconds.) 
  6. Pour into these cool baby food trays (or regular ice cube trays!) to freeze. Once frozen, pop into a freezer bag to save and serve when needed. 
  7. Attempt to keep most of the food in the baby’s mouth and laugh when it ends up everywhere.

With my first kid, I used mostly store-bought baby food. He took to it very well. This was extremely convenient with me working full time. And now he is my best eater! He will eat salad. He will eat fish. He will eat mysterious casserole. One of his favorite things with his Dad is to try new and unique foods together. He will eat something because I tell him to even if he finds it to be unpleasant. 

With my second and third kids, I didn’t feed them any purees and practiced what’s called “baby led weaning” where you nurse longer and offer them soft foods and whole pieces of food as they are ready. It was easy. I was home full time and I mostly nursed and didn’t worry at all about food. They tasted table scraps until they had teeth and could chew their own. That was the idea, but when I was sadly forced to wean the girl at 11 months, the only thing she would eat was costly fruit pouches. But… the middle two (at 3 and 4 years) are now SO picky. Actual tears and crying and holding hands up to their mouth and refusing to even taste mashed potatoes. It’s a whole thing that I won’t get into. 

This attitude could very likely be personality. Their mother (me) “didn’t like” eggnog until she was 31 and finally tasted it last Christmas and found out that it is actually delicious! I now make my own year round. On the slim chance good eating is from the feeding of baby puree, I have high hopes for baby number four. Check out this face! 

The carrots “recipe” can be adapted for any raw vegetables. From what I have researched, by 6 months most foods are totally fine. The experts (which I am NOT) recommend introducing one food at a time to rule out any food sensitivities. I tend to barrel on ahead. Here are some blends I’ve made so far that he’s not opposed to at 7 months: 

  • Green Beans (cooked or can, drained), Banana, Oat flour (be sure the oats have time to soak, dry/raw oats are not so good)
  • Red Bell Pepper (steamed), Baked Chicken (with the skin), Chicken Broth, Basil
  • Sweet Potato (steamed), Yellow Summer Squash, (seeded and steamed), Butter

Don’t make this harder than it has to be! If you’re making dinner, toss some cooked veggies in the blender and then there’s extra to serve the baby for days. I make a new batch of puree maybe once a week and pull a cube from the freezer at each meal. Currently I have five different blends in the freezer that I rotate each meal. Sometimes he only takes a bite or two, but I can toss the extra with no hard feelings. Last night I simply Blendtec-ed (see what I did there? It’s now a verb. I verbed it.) a cup of soup I was serving my family. He loved it! (Cheesy bacon potato)

“But, Tasha, what about fortified cereal?” you ask. “What about the spray on vitamins and iron?” Well… I believe in food. Real food. White rice powder is what I would consider an empty calorie. Not to mention it tastes like the cardboard box it comes in. Iron is good for your baby. But do you know what else has iron in it? Fruits and Vegetables. Peaches, Raspberries, Spinach, Peas, Squash, Coconut, Asparagus… get me? 

I figure as long as my baby makes this face while scarfing down sweet potatoes and spinach, I’m not going to worry about a lack of measurable iron intake. 

What about you? What did/do you feed your baby? Have you noticed a difference what type of eater they are years later? What’s your baby’s favorite puree?

Ready to invest in a Blendtec? Here are Laura’s thoughts on why they are so awesome!

 

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Easy 4-Ingredient Chocolate Crunch Bars

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I’m guessing you already have all or most of the needed ingredients on hand to make these Chocolate Crunch Bars. So what are you waiting for? You NEED to make these pronto!

I could go on and on about how delicious these are. They taste like fudge with a wonderful crunch! I make a double batch for college kids and the plate is empty in no time. :)

The fact that they are super easy to make is a great bonus. And the wonderful crunch in these makes you feel like you’re eating a candy bar!

Watch Brayden (age 5) help me make these super easy Chocolate Crunch Bars —>

I personally like to use Bittersweet Chocolate in this recipe so the sugar content is much lower. But you can use any of your favorite chocolate chips.

So let’s see, you’ll need:

  • chocolate chips
  • coconut oil
  • nut butter
  • rice krispie cereal

You’ll put the first three ingredients into a pan to melt and stir together.

Once the mixture is melted and smooth, you’ll stir in the cereal.

Then you’ll spread it into a dish and put it into the fridge to chill.

See how easy? And yep, they taste as good as they look!

Easy 4-Ingredient Chocolate Crunch BarsYum

5.0 from 1 reviews
Easy 4-Ingredient Chocolate Crunch Bars
 
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Author:
Serves: 16
Ingredients
  • 12-ounces bittersweet or dark chocolate chips (any chocolate chips will work!)
  • 1 cup nut butter (I like almond butter for these)
  • ¼ cup coconut oil (I prefer refined coconut oil in these because it's flavorless)
  • 2 cups crispy rice cereal
Instructions
  1. In a medium-sized saucepan, melt and stir the chocolate chips, nut butter, and coconut oil.
  2. Remove from heat and stir in the rice cereal.
  3. Pour mixture into an 8x8 inch pan.
  4. Chill for at least one hour before cutting and serving the bars.

During this busy time of year, you’ll find that these Easy Chocolate Crunch Bars are perfect for a snack or even to make and take to a holiday party!

Chocolate Hint:

Do yourself a favor and order any of the Cocoa Powders, Chocolate Chips, or Chocolate Chunks from Olive Nation. (And use the code home to get 20% off!) I can’t tell you what a wonderful difference these cocoa powders and chocolate chips have made in my chocolate recipes. The quality is MUCH better, and they do not cost more than I was spending on the lesser varieties.

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

Easiest Chocolate Fudge Pie Recipe

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Your holiday season is about to get so much better! Introducing: Easiest Chocolate Fudge Pie!

The idea for this Chocolate Fudge Pie just came to me. The ingredients involved can’t help but be amazing together.

See, I had a baked pie crust sitting empty on my countertop begging to be filled. There seemed no other option but to fill it with something chocolate. College students would be joining us for lunch that day, and I already had Pumpkin Pies prepared.

Basically, I threw these ingredients together and hoped for the best. Hesitantly (but kind of selfishly, because I wanted some, ha!) I didn’t add extra sugar after I melted the chocolate chips. Would it be sweet enough for college kids to enjoy? We were heading to church soon so there wasn’t much time for me to contemplate.

Melt the chocolate and butter, whip in the cream (with the ease of my beautiful Blendtec), pour it into the shell, slide it into the fridge to chill for lunch.

OH MY CHOCOLATELY GOODNESS.

The college students raved about it! Apparently it was plenty sweet enough for them (even though not only did I not add extra sugar, I also used dark chocolate – who knew?!).

Truly, I don’t think there’s a pie recipe that’s as easy as this one. Certainly not one that turns out something so fudgy and rich. You will LOVE this Chocolate Fudge Pie. I highly recommend adding it to your holiday dessert table!

Easiest Chocolate Fudge Pie RecipeYum

Easiest Chocolate Fudge Pie Recipe
 
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Author:
Serves: 1 pie
Ingredients
  • 10-ounces chocolate chips
  • 4 Tablespoons butter
  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 9-inch pie crust
Instructions
  1. In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate chips and butter together.
  2. Once melted, whip the chocolate mixture and the cream with beaters or in a high power blender (like a Blendtec) until smooth and thick.
  3. Pour mixture into a prepared pie crust.
  4. Chill for at least two hours before serving.

Need some pie crust recipes?

Chocolate Hint:

Do yourself a favor and order any of the Cocoa Powders, Chocolate Chips, or Chocolate Chunks from Olive Nation. (And use the code home to get 20% off!) I can’t tell you what a wonderful difference these cocoa powders and chocolate chips have made in my chocolate recipes. The quality is MUCH better, and they do not cost more than I was spending on the lesser varieties.

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

Dear Mama, You Are Worthy

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Hey Mama, Wife, Friend, Aunt, Sister, Daughter, Dearest Child of God: You are Worthy!

Remember my friend Tasha? She’s the one that wrote Does Family Really Come First at Mealtime? She may become a regular voice around here because she’s got a lot of good words to share with us, plus she cracks me up a lot. She and I are raising babies together – Tasha, because she’s a young mom and me, because I’m an old mom raising babies for the second time. Who knew I’d get to be cool enough to hang out with the young moms again?!

Please enjoy Tasha’s words of humor and wisdom…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Mama, You Are Worthy

(Laura’s alternate title: I’m Not Naming Names but Someone Needs an Amazon Intervention)

By Tasha Hackett

Taking care of my baby, I have been surviving on roughly 3-5 hours of sleep per night for a few months. Total hours. Not even all at once. Pretty sure when God made the moon and sun and then the animals and humans he designed us to work in a rhythm that included the humans sleeping at night. I’ve told my husband, Ben, on more than one occasion, “I feel like I’m slowly dying.” 

During the long and seemingly endless nights, sometimes I read the Bible on my phone, and sometimes I remember that I need to change my Subscribe and Save order because I do NOT need another 25LB bag of rice. And sometimes I order a super cute sundress and when it arrives it turns out to be not nearly as cute on me as it is on the model.

One time I opened a package and found boho style parachute pants with peacock feathers designs on them and I did not have a memory of ordering them. Truly! I tried them on, and they fit. But I wondered who had sent them. Amazon knows. My orders show that I did indeed buy them two nights prior. I thought they looked ridiculous. Ben said, “You will wear them.… and let that be a lesson to you.” And wear them I did. With tennis shoes, obviously. Turns out they are the most comfortable pants EVER. My sleep-deprived subconscious apparently knew what I needed. I wore them all day, and all night, and the next day, etc… shhh. Don’t tell my Grandma.

Note from Laura: You, too, can have a pair of pants like these.
Also, if anyone can pull them off, it’s Tasha. Am I right?

My 3 am Amazon deals haven’t gotten me into too much trouble yet. I pushed the limit last week with the middle of the night purchase of the ever-coveted Blendtec. Yea. That was me. I’m the one in need of an Amazon intervention. I blame Laura. She talks and talks and talks about the Blendtec! Give us a break already! How are we to hold up against such constant nagging persuasion?! Also, it was on sale. Like, SO MUCH on sale. AND. IT’S FOR THE BABY! If I make the baby super yummy and healthy food he will grow strong and healthy and he will thank me someday. And maybe sleep?!?

Here’s Laura, nagging about the Blendtec.
You should get one.
You should so get one.
Get one! Get one now! Hurry up!
Now back to what Tasha was saying about how great it is that she bought a Blendtec…

So. Click. I bought it. Do I love it? Yes. Yes, I do.  In the first three days I made three types of baby food (with all the extra frozen into cubes and bagged for later), ground-up oats and coconut into flour, two smoothies, tomato sauce, ice cream, applesauce, frappuccino, strawberry whipped dessert…

Stevia Sweetened Chocolate Frappe

Buying the blendtec that night was a splurge. I had been considering one for over a year; my defenses were broken down that sleepless night. So, so, sleepless. I know this season of my life is just that. A season. I joke about many things, and I am enjoying parts of life, but I am surviving it one day at a time, one afternoon at a time, one hour… and sometimes the next ten minutes.

This past year of poor sleep has been one of the most difficult of my life. Okay, so I have an Amazon addiction. You want to know a little secret? This is a fairly new addiction. A couple of weeks ago, I decided that I needed help. Like, really needed help.

My physical, emotional, and spiritual red flags were waving. I decided that I would rather pay for that help than save up for a vacation that I had no energy to go on. I now pay someone to come clean my house once a week, I pay a highschooler to come babysit for an hour twice a week, I pay a neighbor to mow my huge lawn, I am meeting weekly with a counselor. …and, I started buying more things for myself. You know why? (I mean, besides the fact that it’s 3 in the morning and I’m scrolling around on Amazon.) It’s because I decided that I am worthy. I am worthy of using my money to buy things for myself. *GASP* 

I am not encouraging you to buy a bunch of stuff you don’t need. Please don’t. But if you are that Mama that scrimps when taking care of herself, is it because deep down you don’t feel like you deserve it? Like somehow you’re not worthy of having nice things? Are you so busy running around that you forgot to eat again? Did you “find time” to shower? 

So it has taken me two weeks to type this out because: motherhood. But tonight I have something amazing to share with you. The baby has begun to sleep. Praising God every morning. Last night was a full 8 hours at once. But with a clearer head, I have something important I wanted to tell you. 

You are so worthy!

I am crying out to you right now, please hear me. Did God send his only Son down here to be born as a tiny, crying, hungry, wet, and bloody baby for us to say, “Oh, I don’t deserve ____.”

Wow, isn’t God amazing?! Jesus came down here to be subject to a mother’s teaching. I guarantee you as a toddler he fell and scraped his knee and cried and Mary took him in her arms and dried his tears. The God of the whole universe came down here to be with us because he wanted you to know, to really really know, how much you are loved. You are his beloved. 

You are worthy of love. You are worthy of being happy. 

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How We Save Year Round So We Can Enjoy a Big Christmas

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Earlier this week, I shared that I go ALL OUT at Christmas time and I don’t feel bad about it. Today I’d like to share some ways we save money all year round so that we can enjoy a big Christmas without guilt or challenge.

We definitely splurge here and there on fun treats throughout the year. But for the most part, most of the time we try to keep the special treats special. Here are some examples…

How We Save Year Round So We Can Enjoy a Big Christmas

1. We don’t frequently buy coffee from a coffee shop.

If we’re traveling or out for a fun event out of town, you bet we’ll enjoy a special drink from a coffee shop. But the hefty receipt reminds us why we don’t splurge on that treat regularly!

At home, we always have a pot of coffee ready to brew. We buy fun add-ins and enjoy delicious coffee in our own mug for a much cheaper price tag.

2. We rarely eat out.

Again, we reserve this for times of travel or for being out of town for an event. When we’re home, we’ll occasionally order pizza when there’s a great deal online or when I’ve had a full day from going to court or meetings for our foster kids. Otherwise, we mostly eat at home, which saves hundreds or thousands of dollars since our family is large.

3. We rarely go to movies.

Once a year or so, there’s a movie that Matt and/or the boys like to see in the theater. Otherwise, we wait for the movie to come out on Redbox. Lots of money saved, but still a lot of fun to be had!

4. We buy ice cream from the store instead of from a restaurant.

Ha, this is a silly one, and also a confession that we now frequently buy ice cream to keep in our freezer. :) What can I say? We have a lot of teenagers in our house. And a dad who likes ice cream.

All sugary confessions aside, here’s how we save money on this treat: We’ve found that we can go to DQ and spend $3.50 per person, or we can go to Walmart and spend $2.98 for our entire family. We don’t even just get the boring kinds. We get cookies and cream, chocolate chip cookie dough, peanut butter cup, chocolate mint, sea salt caramel. (Don’t look at the ingredient list…don’t look at the ingredient list…if you don’t know what’s in it, it can’t hurt you. Heh.)

So we’re getting the same deliciousness as a DQ Blizzard at a fraction of the price.

5. We don’t have cable TV.

We have zero channels, and we have Netflix. That’s it, and yes we miss watching sports sometimes but that’s what friends with cable are for. (We offer to bring food in exchange for watching the World Cup. It’s a win-win.)

I have no idea how much this saves us each year, but thousands I’m guessing. Hundreds at least.

6. I buy Christmas wrapping paper and decorations 50%-90% off after Christmas to prepare for the next year.

I took a friend with me last year to take advantage of the huge discounts. We’re still laughing about how much we got – and high-fiving about how much we saved!! It’s hard to pass up such inexpensive wrapping paper, right?

I always get lights to have on hand next year to replace broken ones, gift bags, tags, ornaments, paper plates and napkins, and whatever else I feel we can use. Oh my, and lots and lots of wrapping paper.

None of this is a judgment against those who regularly enjoy cable, coffeeshop coffee, ice cream outings, etc. This was just me sharing that we choose to enjoy treats at home more often than enjoying treats out.

And then when Christmas rolls around, we have extra money to splurge and enjoy extra special treats and outings. I don’t consider this a sacrifice – like we’re saving all year long so that we can have a big Christmas. This is simply our lifestyle, and it means that at Christmastime we kind of go nuts, because it’s fun and we feel that THIS is the time to go all out!

How about you? How do you save and when do you splurge!?

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Win a Chocolate Baking Package from Olive Nation!

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Who wants to win Chocolate Baking Package from Olive Nation?

Chocolate Hint:

Do yourself a favor and order any of the Cocoa Powders, Chocolate Chips, or Chocolate Chunks from Olive Nation. (And use the code home to get 15% off!) I can’t tell you what a wonderful difference these cocoa powders and chocolate chips have made in my chocolate recipes. The quality is MUCH better, and they do not cost more than I was spending on the lesser varieties.

Why Olive Nation?

I’ve shopped at and worked as an affiliate with for Olive Nation for years and years. They never disappoint when it comes to quality and service.

This holiday season when they emailed me and offered to give you something special, I requested chocolate. You probably aren’t surprised!

I’ve baked with their cocoa powders and chocolate chips and wafers many times. They are all SO GOOD. The past few weeks in my kitchen have been extra chocolatey thanks to a big box of chocolate products they sent me to work with. In the next few days, watch for recipes for these goodies:

Here’s the package I’ve been working with and what you could win if you sign up for our giveaway below…

Win a Chocolate Baking Package from Olive Nation!

1 lb Premium Guittard Dark Chocolate Baking Wafers
1 lb Olive Nation Milk Chocolate Chunks
1 lb White Chocolate Chips by Barry Callebaut
1 lb Natural Cocoa Powder by Blommer
1 lb Teton Cocoa Powder by Blommer

Nothing like receiving 5 pounds of chocolate for Christmas baking!!

Whenever you shop at Olive Nation, always use the coupon code “home” to get 20% off. They are SO GOOD TO US there!!

Enter the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win this great Chocolate Baking Package! I’ll draw a random winner on December 11. Happy baking!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Why I Go ALL OUT For Christmas (and Feel Good About It!)

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With many talking about how to save money at Christmas time, how to have a minimalist Christmas, and how to do less for Christmas, I’d like to share today about why I go ALL OUT for Christmas. And why I don’t feel bad about this.

I’m not normally a stuff buyer or a gift-giver. Every other month of the year I am a cleaner-outer – a girl who feels that less-is-more. But at Christmas time? GIVE ME ALL THE CHRISTMAS!!!! And let there be lots of presents!!!

Allow me to explain…

Why I Go ALL OUT For Christmas (and Feel Good About It!)

Part of me can’t explain my “why” except for the fact that I really, really love Christmas. I look forward to it, make big plans for it, am super creative with it, and do everything I can to give my family the best day ever. This, in turn, makes it the best day ever for me, because I get to watch my favorite people having tons of fun on my favorite day.


Wow, this picture was many years and fewer boys ago.

So because I love Christmas so much, and I love watching my kids (young and old) have fun with this day of celebration, I tend to go ALL OUT making the day fun and festive. Can you believe this…

Last year I made our Christmas morning last from 8am until 2pm.

Yes I did, thank you very much. We sat in the living room (and/or at the breakfast table) Christmasing together for six beautiful hours. Then we cleaned up some of the mess and had a late Christmas dinner together: Lasagna, because it can be made ahead of time and bake while we are Christmasing. It’s become our family’s Christmas dinner tradition!

What does our very long Christmas morning look like? Keep reading if you dare. :)

Well, first I should backtrack and say that instead of drawing names, all of our boys buy a gift for all of their brothers. (With our growing family, this in and of itself turns into a lot of presents under the tree because 5 boys times 1 gift each to all of the others, plus a gift from each for Dad and a gift from each for Mom…I can’t even do the math. And this year there are 7 boys, plus Mom and Dad, so we’ll have to figure out how we’re going to include the babies in this since they’ll obviously care more about ribbon and boxes than anything else.)

Why do all the boys get a gift for all the other boys? Because everyone loves it!

Everyone makes a wish list and it includes things like a new phone case, soccer socks, dress shirts for work, windshield wipers for their car, and all sorts of other fun and practical requests. This is obviously an example of the  “big boy” list. The little boys’ lists are easy, and I make those based on what they need. :)

Once everyone has made a list, the boys take turns shopping with me for their brothers and Dad. It is truly special seeing them pick out gifts for their brothers as they say things like, “Oh, he’ll love that!” (Dad takes the boys shopping for me separately.)

Most of our gifts to each other are practical. This is the main reason we can buy a lot of gifts at Christmastime. When our boys need something – new soccer cleats or shin guards, work clothes, school clothes, something for their car – they put it on their wish list. Some think this is boring, but we think it is fun. IT IS FUN TO OPEN A BIG PILE OF PRESENTS!!!! Or at least we all think so – even if the gifts include socks and tools.

So there are many presents under the tree because everyone buys something for everyone. Phew.

But wait. There’s more.

This is the part where I go crazy and probably sound crazy, but boy do I have fun!

Matt and I do something unique for our gifts to our boys (and by “Matt and I” I really mean I, while Matt smiles shrugs and nods shakes his head and lets me have my crazy fun). Besides all the presents under the tree from one another, this is what the boys wake up to on Christmas morning

Piles.

Many piles of gifts. That must be opened in order. AFTER THEY HAVE SOLVED A RIDDLE TOGETHER to determine what is in each pile.

I know, I’m nuts. Thankfully the boys love it and look forward to it and have now come to expect it. So for instance…

Pile #4 last year was a stack of gifts that included new York College beanie caps. They needed new beanies, everyone got a different one, we get an employee discount at YC, and they are great quality hats. Here’s the riddle the boys had to solve together before opening this pile of gifts:

What, you’re still cold? It’s ok, we are on it
This is much better than a cap or a bonnet
They’re special, don’t lose them, they cost a bit more
Thank goodness Dad gets a discount for doing his chore

They take turns reading the riddles, work together to solve, then take turns opening their gifts to reveal who got what beanie. (Trading is allowed.) For the record, we got Brayden (5) a fun beanie from Walmart that he loved just as much but cost a little less. :)

Another riddle gift we got last year included everything we needed for a Family Movie Night:

Another throwback, you say? Don’t mind if I do
We’ll enjoy this along with something to drink and to chew
You’ll remember the VHS variety, and it’s time to improve
These gifts make for a fun night as the sweeps make their move

Can you guess? It was a Mary Poppins DVD, which was a favorite when our first set of boys was little. Since we’ve got young ones again and Mary Poppins brings back such good memories for all of us, we thought getting the DVD was a perfect family gift. So for this pile of gifts, one person opened the package with the movie, and everyone else opened a present that included a snack item we’d enjoy while watching together.

Other piles from last year included gifts like:

  • Slippers – see how practical? But if we need them anyway…
  • Board Games – last year they included Candy Land and Hi Ho Cherry-O since we had landed back in a place with littles (and ha, little did we know that God would bring us more babies this year!)
  • Socks – with this riddle to go with it:

Nothing special here, but it’s something else to unwrap
They are fancy and fun, not a shirt or a cap
Keep what’s in your sack or feel free to trade
These can replace those in your drawer that are starting to fade

But wait. There’s still more.

I know. It’s crazy. BUT IT’S SO FUN!

After the boys solve the riddles and open the piles, there is one more Riddle Gift they have to work together to solve. This one includes a Day Out that’s become a tradition – so this gift is about an outing we enjoy together on December 26. See how the fun just keeps on keeping on, even after Christmas day??! (Then on the 27th I’m all done and ready to move on into well…summer.) :) :)

For this gift, Matt and I have chosen several fun things to do in Lincoln (45 minutes from our home), then I write riddles for the boys to figure out so they learn what our Day Out will include.

Two years ago, it looked something like this, though of course, the boys had to solve riddles to figure out all that we were doing:

  1. Grab a coffee from Captain Red Beards on our way out of town (our local shop that we love but hardly frequent because we make coffee at home every day instead!).
  2. Head out of town and go to Play It Again Sports where each of us got to choose a used tennis racket (they loved this so much!).
  3. Go to the indoor tennis courts where we rented space for two hours and played 3-on-3 and made fun of ourselves because most of us were…unpracticed.
  4. Go to lunch at Raising Canes, one of our favorites.
  5. Walk the mall, choosing one inexpensive item each (after Christmas sales, whoop!)
  6. Dinner at our friends’ house (extra special because we don’t get to see them often)

After all the riddle gifts – and I should mention that somewhere in there we’ve paused and eaten our Christmas breakfast – the boys open their gifts from each other and Matt and I open gifts from the boys and each other and there are boxes and paper everywhere!

It’s a lot of Christmasing, it costs some money, and it is actually kind of excessive (what with all the piles). But I love it and I feel no regret about this. After all, we are frugal all year long, rarely eat out or buy coffee from shops, almost never to go movies or splurge on anything that we can make or do ourselves at home. But one day each year, for Christmas, we go ALL OUT. It’s an absolute blast! (And yes, we still shop sales and see how we can save on all the gifts and outings!)

Where’s Jesus in all of this?

Oh trust me, He’s there. He’s in every bit of it as our family has spent the entire year striving to look outside of ourselves and serve selflessly. Jesus is in every moment of our days, so you can bet He’s a part of our Christmas, even while we go a little crazy with gifts and silliness.

Jesus is in our laughter and our time around the tree and our mealtimes. He’s in our Christmas Eve extra-long family prayer time while we sit at the tree with all the lights out except for the Christmas lights. He is the reason for the season and without a doubt, He makes our Christmas completely full of joy.

The days leading to Christmas, we help people in our community to be sure their holiday will be extra special too with plenty of food and special gifts. But we’ve decided it is important to hold December 25 as sacred for our family. Christmas day is the one day every year we close our door and focus inward toward our family unit.

This year, there will be 9 of us. Matt, me, our five boys and our two foster babes. I absolutely cannot wait!!

So now you know. Laura goes crazy at Christmas and has no regrets. It is the most fun and the family loves it!

I believe that there’s no one right way to “do Christmas” because Jesus can be in it when you choose to let Jesus be in it. Christmas is joy, God is love, and no matter if you’re big into gift-giving or choose to take a minimalist stance, Jesus can be at the helm.

I’d love to hear what your Christmases are like. Big, small, get up early, sleep in, wear jammies all day, dress up fancy, go all out, keep it simple…

Whatever you do, choose Jesus as your center. He’s in it all if our hearts are focused on His Truth.

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Coming up next: Ways We Save All Year Round So We Can Enjoy a Big Christmas!

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Simple Real Food Recipes – The Heavenly Homemakers Cookbook We All Need!

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Did you hear the news? Our brand new hold-in-your-hands and keep-in-your-kitchen Cookbook is here! Simple Real Food Recipes!

How Simple Real Food Recipes became a cookbook

In short, God did this.

Several years ago, He started helping me think of super easy recipe ideas. Such as: “Pour sauce on some chicken. Bake it.” (Does it get any easier than that? And wow, they’re still so tasty!!)

I started sharing these simple recipes here. The ultimate goal was that we’d all have more time OUT of the kitchen so we could more easily follow God’s greatest commands: Love God; Love your neighbor.

The Simple Recipe ideas kept coming. They kept coming and coming – and they changed my kitchen life. I was still preparing real, delicious food for my family. But I was hardly using any energy or time in the kitchen. These recipes have been wonderful and life-changing!

Many, many Simple Recipes later, we decided we must put them all into a bound cookbook for everyone. So I turned the project over to my incredibly talented designer and tada!!

Simple Real Food Recipes

This beautiful Simple Real Food Recipes Cookbook is filled with 123 pages full of the simplest recipes we’ve developed during the past three years. These recipes are all still made with real food ingredients!! Oh, but they take such little time and effort to prepare!!

You will be amazed at the blessing of having this Simple Real Food Recipes Cookbook in your home! Dive in and learn how to put super simple but still delicious food on your table with just a few minutes of preparation!

My very talented designer hand-drew these illustrations, making the book itself incredibly gorgeous. You can order the book from Amazon and have it shipped right away! I can’t think of a better way to bless you this holiday season. Think of what a great gift this will be to you and to others!

What’s in Simple Real Food Recipes?

Click over to Amazon and utilize the “Look Inside” link to see the full table of contents. SO MANY simple recipes you’ll love!!!

Thank you all for YOUR role in making this cookbook happen. You are the inspiration behind so many of these wonderful ideas and I appreciate you!

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Black Friday Sales: Lilla Rose 2019

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Yay!!! Lilla Rose’s Black Friday sale is going on now through Saturday! That means you have all week to get amazing savings on your favorite hair accessories!


They make wonderful (and very unique) gifts for all the ladies in your life…moms, grandmas, daughters, granddaughters, teachers, and even yourself. ?

EVERYTHING on Paula’s site is up to 50% off with FREE SHIPPING on orders over $75!

And the more you buy, the more you save! Get an extra 10% off orders over $200…get all your shopping done at once!

You can even combine that with the monthly special for a gorgeous FREE Upin!

If you are buying a Flexi clip as a gift, one tip is to get a size small or extra small, as they are the most common sizes that fit in most ladies’ hair in some way. If you are buying for af little girl with baby fine hair, then you’ll want to get a mini (xxs).

Also, there are many products that don’t require sizing, like the no-slip bobby pins, hairbands, Swerve Upins, organic Rose Water, and bamboo hair towels.

The sale ends at midnight, Pacific time on Saturday, November 30, but I wouldn’t wait too long or you might miss your favorites!

If you have any questions whatsoever, please feel free to email Paula and she’ll be happy to help you find the perfect gift!

Have fun shopping!

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32 “Experience Gifts” Ideas For Kids (and their Families)

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Want some great Experience Gifts ideas to give your kids? Here are 32 fantastic options!

What are “Experience Gifts?”

Instead of giving a tangible item as a gift, you can give the gift of an experience. An outing, a special trip, a membership pass, lessons – there are so many options!

Experience gifts are great for your family if you feel your child doesn’t need more “stuff.” Instead, you can give them a special experience!

I think Experience Gifts are especially great for grandparents to give their grandkids. For that matter, it’s a great idea to consider gifting the entire family with gifts such a Family Pass to their favorite local activity centers!

Here’s a great list of Gift Experience ideas my friend Kim helped me come up with:

Experience Gifts

  1. Museum family pass or trip (There are ALL kinds of museums. Dinosaur museums, history museums, train museums, art museums, craft museums, quilt museums, archaeology museums, science museums, air and space museums, military museums, botanical gardens, and more. Like cameras or photography? Look for a museum that specializes in that subject. Like to roller skate? Check out a skating museums. Some museums are free or accept free-will donations.)
  2. Zoo family pass or trip (Sometimes when you have a large family, a family pass is the way to go because even if you only go once or twice it saves you money.)
  3. Trip to Great Wolf Lodge (Make wonderful memories!)
  4. Tickets to a play, musical, or opera (Consider what the recipient would love to see.)
  5. Tickets to a concert (We’ve surprised our boys with this more than once and we still talk about it!)
  6. Pool passes 
  7. Roller skating passes
  8. Bowling passes (What a fun family gift!)
  9. Archery or gun range passes (Unique. I like it.)
  10. Indoor batting cages
  11. Pedicure or manicure date (Would you believe I’ve never done this?)
  12. Massage (YES. PLEASE.)
  13. Hair cut and style or makeover
  14. Movie passes with snack bar money (We did this when Rogue 1 came out.)
  15. Horseback riding lessons
  16. Instrument lessons (guitar, ukulele and piano lessons)
  17. Trampoline park passes
  18. Swim park passes
  19. Gift card to their favorite restaurant, ice cream parlor, bakery or candy shop (And then go with them.)
  20. Coffee date
  21. Trip to the pumpkin patch, orchard or berry farm
  22. Gift card to their favorite bookstore (And then go with them.)
  23. Trip to the Ark Encounter or Creation Museum (Now we’re talking about higher dollar ideas, but if you’re going anyway, you should make it a gift!)
  24. Trip to Legoland, Knotts Berry Farm, or similar play park
  25. Trip to Silver Dollar City, Six Flags, Disney, Universal Studios
  26. Trip to DC to see the icons of American history (Many of them are free admission or outdoors.)
  27. Train tickets to go to a specific destination on a train (We want to do this someday with our train-loving 5-year old.)
  28. Trip to the beach 
  29. Trip to the lake to play in the water, water ski, swim, fish, kayak, etc.
  30. Hot air balloon ride (I suggested this one to my husband on our anniversary trip, but he didn’t like the idea. Something about not liking heights…)
  31. Helicopter ride
  32. Airplane ride over a favorite place (like Yellowstone National Park)

Your turn to share ideas! What Experience Gifts have you given or received?

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