Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Learn and Serve as a Family – All Year Long!

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Last week we shared 20 Great Ways to Serve with Your Kids this Summer. Today, I want to share two special big FREEBIES and a discount coupon with you and encourage you to learn and serve as a family – all year long!

To start off, we’re giving everyone our Learn Your Numbers, Learn to Serve Curriculum Kit for FREE!!! ($9.95 value!) Then if you want (and you really should want!) you can use the $10 off coupon we send you to get our Learn Your Letters, Learn to Serve Curriculum Kit. And then!!!! We’ll give you our brand new Learn Your Colors, Learn to Serve Curriculum Kit for FREE! Wowza!

Many of you might remember that I wrote and introduced our popular Learn Your Letters, Learn to Serve early learners curriculum back in 2009:

You can read all the details about this curriculum kit here, but here are some highlights:

Teach your child to serve…one letter at a time! This 183 page downloadable kit includes thorough lesson plans, games, crafts, recipes, memory verses, Bible story suggestions, vocabulary stimulation and discussion, play, books to read and so much more…all while encouraging service to God!

Each letter you study includes suggestions for service, such as “Take a new Bible to B__________” on Bb week, “Make soup for someone who is sick on Ss week, and “Deliver flowers to F_______________” on Ff week. Your child will make gifts or food, offer help and learn to think of others. As a family you can delight in praying together about who you would like to serve and what form of service you would like to offer!

Then in 2015, we created a supplement for our “Learn Your Letters” curriculum – adding a Learn Your Numbers, Learn to Serve kit to the mix!

It contains 148 pages filled with activities, patterns, printables, instructions, crafts, and games – all with the purpose of teaching your child numbers, counting, Bible stories and teachings, and a heart of service – all at the same time. Check out the details of Learn Your Numbers, Learn to Serve here.

Here are the main categories featured in this awesome curriculum kit:

Each lesson will offer a variety of learning activities, plus suggestions, patterns, printables, recipes, or other fun ways to use number knowledge to serve others. For example, when reading about the 5 loaves of bread Jesus served the people – make 5 mini-loaves of your favorite quick bread to deliver to 5 people. What fun, and what a wonderful opportunity for your family to look at ways to serve others!

—-> Don’t have little ones? You may be surprised at how even you and your big kids can run with these ideas! Our family is using the academic portion of this curriculum with our 5-year old this school year. But as a family – teenagers included – we will be working together on the service end. It’s a perfect and fun family project and I can’t wait to see how it all comes together for us as the year unfolds! <—–

Today, we’re offering something we’ve never offered before. Ready for the big reveal?

  1. We’re giving everyone our Learn Your Numbers, Learn to Serve Curriculum Kit for FREE. ($9.95 value, for free!) You can stop there, BUT…
  2. When you sign up to download your free “Numbers” kit – we’ll give you a huge coupon to use on our Learn Your Letters, Learn to Serve Curriculum Kit. ($10.00 off – this is amazing!)
  3. When you use the $10 off coupon to purchase your “Letters” kit, we’ll give you a Bonus Freebie!! Our brand new Learn Your Colors, Learn to Serve Curriculum Kit!

Yep! We’ve been busy around here. This new Learn Your Colors, Learn to Serve curriculum kit is a bright and fun 33-page book full of printable activities, service ideas, recipe cards, and Bible reading suggestions. You and your kids can enjoy learning about God’s colorful creation with rainbows, flowers, animals, and more! And while you’re learning, follow the suggestions and brainstorm for ways to serve others in colorful ways too!

Learn to Serve Curriculum 3-Pack!!

It is so fun to have this entire package of Early Learning curriculum put together now!! For one week, what would have cost $42.85 will only cost you a total of $15.95!!! It’s an incredible deal full of fun, learning, and service opportunities.

 

Sign up for the Learn Your Numbers, Learn to Serve FREEBIE in the form below. Then watch for an email with the free eBook and a coupon code for you to get Learn Your Letters, Learn to Serve at $10 off AND Learn Your Colors, Learn to Serve for FREE! Offer ends June 24, 2019.

OFFER EXPIRED

Enjoy this discounted curriculum package as seen below!

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Enjoy learning and serving with your family!

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Summer Activities with Kids: Find Ways to Serve (20 Ideas!)

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Looking for some fun activities to do with your kids this summer? I’ve enjoyed 22 summers with kids (and counting!), so I certainly have a few ideas to share! Stay tuned during the next few weeks as we provide all kinds of suggestions for making your summer with your kids meaningful. (Subscribe here so you won’t miss out!) Today’s idea: Find Ways to Serve!

Opportunities to love and help others are all around us, no matter where we live, the ages of our kids, or our physical limitations. We all have something to offer someone else! Even babies can serve. Allow me to share a special memory…

Even Babies Can Serve

When our oldest son was a baby, a man we went to church with was killed tragically in a farming accident. Two days after this awful event, Matt, baby Asa, and I went to visit the man’s widow and their kids.

As we stood in their kitchen, surrounded by others in our church family, I remember feeling that it was so important that I keep Asa quiet and in my arms so as not to disturb anyone! I wrestled with him as long as possible, shushing him and trying to distract him with anything I possibly could while people were coming in and out and hugging the family members.

Finally, I gave up and decided to let Asa get down and crawl around as he had so much been wanting to do. I cringed as he scurried immediately toward the crowd and then directly over to where the widow was sitting. Before I could catch up to him and pull him back, he had made it to her chair. And then it happened.

The widow found a smile. She reached down and picked up my curious baby. She cooed at him and hugged him close and told him what a sweet boy he was.

If we weren’t already all crying, we certainly all were then.

Asa, before the age of one, was already a minister. He brought joy in the midst of grief, just by being him.

I share this to let you know a very important truth about serving others with our kids:

The enemy wants us to use our kids as an excuse NOT to serve. God wants us to serve right alongside our kids!

Obviously, if our kids are older, we can serve with them in ways that we can’t do when our kids are tiny. But oh the ways we can serve, no matter the ages of our kids!

Pray and Listen!

I’m going to share some service ideas with you today, but what is much more important than reading my ideas is that you and your family pray together to become open to what God has for you to do. Open your hearts. Let God open your eyes to see the needs around you. He will show you how to serve. (He’ll also tell you when to say, “no.”) Listen and see!

My husband, kids, and I have been serving side by side for almost 25 years. As I look back, I see how our service has changed and evolved! When the kids were little, our service included having people in our home for meals, taking small gifts of food to people, making and sending cards, and the like.

Now that we have adult-sized kids, our service can include work like helping elderly people move heavy furniture, taking loads of people’s discarded items to the dump, and painting people’s houses.

No act of service is big or small. All areas of service are full of purpose and good! So don’t put limitations on what you and your family have to offer. Don’t feel like you have nothing to offer. Don’t compare yourself with anyone else. Most certainly, don’t feel like you are “too busy” to look beyond your own lives to serve.

Pray, open your eyes, and listen. God will help you see needs and show you what to do!

Here is a small list of ideas for ways you might serve with your kids:

Ways to Serve with Your Kids

  1. Feed people who have a need! Make and deliver a meal, some muffins or quick bread, cookies, or a pie. See our huge list of recipes below for fun ideas!
  2. Visit someone who is lonely or hurting.
  3. Help someone fix something around their home that they are unable to fix on their own.
  4. Babysit for someone will little children so they can have a refreshing break.
  5. Give someone a ride to the store or to run errands if they are unable to drive themselves.
  6. Clean out toys and clothes to give to someone who needs them more than you.
  7. Have a garage sale and give the earnings to a special cause.
  8. Make and send cards to people.
  9. Call people on their birthdays and sing to them.
  10. Plant flowers for someone.
  11. Surprise someone who is out of town with a Sidewalk Chalk message welcoming them home.
  12. Mow someone’s lawn.
  13. Take someone out for ice cream.
  14. Invite someone over for a meal, for dessert, or for a game of cards.
  15. Visit someone in the hospital or nursing home.
  16. Buy and deliver a coloring book and new crayons for a sick child.
  17. Pray for people!
  18. Clean someone’s house.
  19. Ask a tired new mom how you can help her.
  20. Purchase and deliver groceries to help stretch a family’s budget.

What would you add to this list?

The possibilities are endless, especially when you pray together and listen to God’s call for you and your family!

Here is a big list of recipe links that might give you some nice ideas if you are considering making food for someone…

Recipes to Consider Making for Others

Muffins

Cookies

Easy Meals

I’d love to hear ways you and your family serve together!

Here’s to a great summer of fun with our kids! Here are other ideas we’ve shared so far:

Stay tuned for more fun Summer Kid Activity ideas!

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50+ Crock Pot Recipes for Summertime

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Too hot to cook? If it isn’t already, it will be soon. Temps will continue climbing throughout the summertime! Never fear. Here are 50+ Crock Pot Recipes to rescue you from your hot kitchen!

50+ Crock Pot Recipes for SummertimeYum

What I love about the crock pot is that not only does it help us avoid heating up the kitchen, it saves us a lot of time too! Typically making food in the crock pot means that we make our meal early in the day – then at dinnertime, the food is ready and we sit down and eat!

Most of the recipes you see listed below are main dishes. But we’ve got a few sides, drinks, and desserts too! You’ll be pleased to know that most of the recipes listed below take just a few minutes to prepare. I LOVE THIS!!!

I especially love the pasta recipes listed here. It is incredibly easy to dump dry pasta into the pot along with a few other ingredients, then have dinner ready just a few hours later!

Main Dishes in the Crock Pot

  1. Simple Crock Pot Chicken Soup with a Kick
  2. Simple Creamy Chicken Stew in the Crock Pot
  3. Simple Hawaiian Crock Pot Chicken
  4. Simple Crock Pot BBQ Spareribs
  5. Simple Overnight Saucy Crock Pot Chicken
  6. Simple Overnight Melt-in-Your-Mouth Beef Roast
  7. Simple 3-Cheese Crock Pot Pasta
  8. Simple Crock Pot Shredded Ranch Chicken (for salad or tacos)
  9. Simple Crock Pot Pizza Casserole
  10. Simple Barbecue Beef Roast
  11. Simple Crock Pot Taco Pasta
  12. Simple Hawaiian Beef Roast
  13. Simple Hashbrown Casserole
  14. Simple Lasagna Casserole
  15. The Simplest White Chicken Chili
  16. Simple Crock Pot Applesauce BBQ Chicken
  17. Simple Three Cheese Spaghetti
  18. Simple Crock Pot Salsa Shredded Beef
  19. Easiest Beef Roast in the Instant Pot
  20. Simple One-Dish Chicken Florentine
  21. Simple Creamy Layered Enchiladas
  22. Simple Creamy Chicken Soup
  23. Simple Cheesy Salsa Chicken
  24. Simple Cheeseburger Noodle Crock Pot Dinner
  25. Simple Creamy Layered Enchiladas (Crock Pot or Oven)
  26. Simple 5-Minute Shredded Chicken
  27. Simple Crock Pot White Chicken Chili
  28. Simple Chili Mac
  29. Simple Crock Pot Creamy Stew Meat
  30. Simple 5-Minute Cheesy Hamburger and Potatoes
  31. Crock Pot Barbecue Chicken
  32. Breakfast Crock Pot Casserole
  33. Baked Potatoes in the Crock Pot
  34. Crock Pot Chicken Tacos
  35. Crock Pot Beef Stew
  36. Fiesta Chicken
  37. Creamy Crock Pot Chicken and Rice
  38. Italian Cream Cheese Chicken
  39. Turkey Sausage and Red Bean Stew


Even if you don’t like Sauerkraut, I really encourage you to try the Hamburger Sauerkraut Dip recipe listed below. It is so delicious! Make it a meal on a hot summer day!

Snacks and Side Dishes in the Crock Pot

  1. Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip
  2. Calico Beans
  3. Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes
  4. Crock Pot Beans
  5. Hamburger Sauerkraut Dip
  6. Hamburger Cream Cheese Dip
  7. Apple Butter


Sometimes we feel like baking even when it’s too hot to bake!

Desserts in the Crock Pot

  1. Simple Crock Pot Chocolate Peanut Butter Lava Cake
  2. Crock Pot Cheesecake
  3. Crock Pot Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Cake
  4. Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cake

What Crock Pot Should You Get?

I would say that just about any Crock Pot is a good choice. But my personal preference is one that is programmable. I love that I can set it and walk away, knowing it will automatically turn off when it is finished cooking and switch to a “Keep Warm” setting. I have this one and I love it!

What are your favorite foods to make in the Crock Pot?

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Simple Seasoned Potato Wedges

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If these Simple Seasoned Potato Wedges are healthy to eat, they must be free of fat and flavor, right? Otherwise they couldn’t possibly be healthy, right? Wrong. It’s time to pull out the fryer, my friends.

I love that when made with good oils, fried food can be healthy. I mean, fried food tastes sooo good!

(Let’s be real. Don’t tell me you prefer fresh broccoli over fresh French fries. Okay then.)

No doubt, we need balance, and plenty of fresh green veggies too. But how sad to think we have to avoid chicken strips and French fries simply because they are fried.

Obviously, not all fried food is created equally – and many fried foods are unhealthy for our bodies. But the only thing that makes them unhealthy is the oil that they’re fried in. IF you fry your food in Coconut Oil or Palm Shortening/Oil – oils that can withstand high frying temperatures without compromising their health quality – you can enjoy fried food without guilt.

And I do mean enjoy. C’mon now, fresh French fries?? There’s almost nothing better.

If you don’t have a fryer, you can brush these Simple Seasoned Potato Wedges with oil and bake them in the oven, as they are super tasty that way too! I have and use this fryer, given to me by my men for Christmas several years ago. But either cooking method works great!

Make as many or as few as you would like, generally about one potato per person.

Simple Seasoned Potato WedgesYum

Simple Seasoned Potato Wedges
 
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Author:
Ingredients
  • Yukon gold potatoes (any potato variety works, but these taste much better!)
  • Refined coconut oil or palm shortening
  • Seasoned salt
Instructions
  1. Wash and cut potatoes into 8-10 wedges each.
  2. Fry in hot oil for 6-10 minutes or until wedges are as crispy as you prefer.
  3. Remove from oil and sprinkle liberally with seasoned salt.
  4. OVEN METHOD:
  5. Melt coconut oil or palm shortening (about 1 Tablespoon per potato).
  6. Cut potatoes into wedges and spread them out in a single layer on a cookie sheet.
  7. Brush melted oil over each wedge.
  8. Sprinkle liberally with seasoned salt.
  9. Bake in a 425 degree oven for about 25 minutes or until potatoes are golden brown and crispy

Grab our Seasoned Salt recipe here. Otherwise, you can purchase some like this.

Not sure where to find healthy oils to use in frying? Here are some quick links:

Want some tasty recipes to serve alongside your Potato Wedges?

‘Fess up! What are your favorite fried foods?

Some of these links are my affiliate links.

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

Quick Meals I’m Making for My BIG Family This Summer

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Who needs quick meals for summer? I do, and you probably do too! Today, I’m happy to share several of the quick meals I’m making for my big family this summer!

For what may be the last summer ever, ALL of us are under one roof. Asa graduated from college and moved home to earn and save money before moving on. Justus completed his first year of college and moved home to earn and save money before heading back to school in the fall. Elias and Malachi are in and out between work, activities, and summer camps. We’ve got two littles again (one soon-to-be-adopted boy and one foster babe). There are eight of us in all, and seven of them are male. (Fine, one of them is just now starting solids, but still.) :)

We need food. We need a lot of it. And it needs to be quick and easy!

I’ve been amazed at how much food comes and goes in this house! Asa and Justus are our biggest eaters, so having them back in the house has been FUN because they love all the good food they get to enjoy! Just adding the two of them back into the mix has meant that I’m back to doubling and tripling recipes again. Here’s how I’m keeping us all fed – for three meals every day!

Oh, and never fear! All the big boys are playing a huge role in getting these meals on the table. Eating well is a team effort around here!

Quick Meals I’m Making for My BIG Family This Summer

Here are some of the meals that our table sees regularly!

1. Pancakes and Eggs, with fresh fruit and lots of bacon

How to make this meal quick and easy:

2. Grilled Chicken, with mixed greens, veggies, and fresh fruit

How to make this meal quick and easy:

3. Tuna Salad, with fresh fruit, grape tomatoes, and lettuce

How to make this meal quick and easy:

  • I almost always have my kids grab 4-6 cans of tuna and mix it up for the family while I’m doing something else that needs to be done.
  • We serve our Tuna Salad on whatever odds and ends of bread, tortillas, or crackers we have around. (Or if I’m in a hurry, I just grab a fork and eat it as-is!)

4. Baked Potatoes in the Crock Pot or Instant Pot, with whatever toppings we have available

How to make this meal quick and easy:

  • I have each of my kids scrub a few potatoes early in the day so they can cook in the crock pot and be ready for lunch or dinner.
  • We grab leftover ham, taco meat, or roast beef from the fridge and warm it up to serve on our potatoes along with butter, sour cream, and cheese.
  • I almost always steam frozen peas to serve with Baked Potatoes, which takes about 2 minutes.

5. Grilled Hamburgers or Hotdogs

How to make this meal quick and easy:

  • I like to make patties ahead of time, then throw them on the grill for a quick lunch or dinner. Our favorite recipes are Make-Ahead Parmesan Burgers or Cheddar Ranch Burgers.
  • I buy several packages of Nitrite-Free Beef Hotdogs at the store to keep in the freezer so I can grab them out and grill them quickly for summer lunches.
  • I set out fixin’s and everyone builds their burger or dog the way they like!

6. Beanie Weanies

How to make this meal quick and easy:

  • I have a supply of Nitrite-Free Beef Hotdogs in the freezer so I can grab them out and thaw them in hot water when we need a quick meal.
  • I have a supply of Organic Baked Beans in my pantry so that if I don’t have to make Simple Baked Beans from scratch, I can grab a few cans and make a meal!
  • I slice fruit and get out carrot sticks to complete this simple meal.

7. Tacos

How to make this meal quick and easy:

8. Instant Pot Meals

Take a look through all the Instant Pot Recipes we’ve posted so far! I have been amazed at how much time my Instant Pot has saved me. Whatever I make in my Instant Pot, I serve with a quick salad and veggie and food is on the table so quickly! During the summer, I especially love that using my IP keeps from heating up the kitchen!

Our favorite Instant Pot Recipes so far:

9. Special Salads

Salads are great because we get so much nourishment from them, we can use garden fresh veggies, and we avoid heating up the house! But salads are only great as meals if they are hearty and filling.

Here are our favorite Hearty Salad Recipes:

How to make this meal quick and easy:

  • I try to have Homemade Bacon Bits cooked and in the freezer to grab out for easy salads.
  • During all the months of the year that fresh lettuce is not growing in our garden, I keep a package of Organic Mixed Greens in the fridge. Then, when we want to make a salad, we just grab the greens and add whatever we want!

10. Stir Fry

How to make this meal quick and easy:

  • I make a large batch of this Stick of Butter Rice so we can stir it into our fried veggies. (We often serve our stir-fried veggies with whole wheat spaghetti noodles, but we love rice with them too!)
  • I use whatever veggies we’ve picked from our garden, received from Bountiful Baskets, or purchased at the farmer’s market to make super flavorful, nourishing Stir Fry! And I usually throw in a big handful of fresh spinach too. :)

11. Grilled Salmon

How to make this meal quick and easy:

  • If I haven’t thawed our salmon ahead of time, I dunk the package into hot water and they thaw super quickly!
  • I serve a simple salad and whatever fresh veggies and fruit we have on hand to complete this simple meal.

12. Pizza on the Grill

Cooking pizza outside on the grill keeps the oven off and the house cool!

So we’re eating well and we’re eating a lot! How about you? What are you feeding your family this summer?

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How to Make Real Food Easy

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Are you ready to eat real food, but you’re overwhelmed by all the work that seems to be involved? Allow me to introduce you to my friend…the Chicken. And to my other friends: Apples, Butter, and Cream. Don’t forget the infamous Green Bean. Gather ’round. I want to show you how to make real food EASY!

Sure, there’s no such thing as a free {real food} lunch. What I mean is, real food doesn’t just appear on the table by magic – so I certainly can’t claim that making real food for your family doesn’t take any work at all.

But I can tell you how to make the work much, much easier!!

And if you’re afraid of switching over from processed, boxed, pre-made foods or take-out because you don’t even know where to start – I would be so very happy to guide you along in this transition! I PROMISE it is much easier than you think!!! And it tastes delicious and normal. Who knew?

How to Make Real Food Easy!

I want to walk you through taking some very simple, inexpensive first steps toward transitioning your kitchen away from processed foods and settling into enjoying more real food.

The good news with this? You can start with whatever step you’re ready for! Struggling to give up soda? Don’t despair. Just start with something else. Can’t stand veggies? How about learning some new ways to eat them, or just start with fruit instead. If nothing else, start your journey to a real food kitchen by switching from margarine to real butter. There are so many places to start – and you can begin with whatever is right for you!

You Can Do This!

You may remember this eCourse from many years ago. I’m happy to share that we’ve spent the past few months re-working it so that it is brand new and improved!

It includes 49 pages, 5 lessons, printables, worksheets, videos, tutorials, instruction, tips, and recipes. You can use this to baby step or giant step your way toward a real food kitchen – go at your own pace!

You can read all the specifics of this awesome eCourse here.

Let’s Do This!

Oh look! We updated our Let’s Do This eCourse too! It includes 32 pages, 5 lessons, printables, worksheets, videos, tutorials, instruction, tips, and recipes. This eCourse walks you through managing your real food kitchen so that you can simplify and actually get ahead! Fill the freezer, make tonight’s dinner in the morning, get some healthy snacks stashed away for the week.

It actually is possible to get ahead and simplify your life, and this eCourse shows you how!

You can read the specifics about this eCourse here.

Afraid to take an eCourse?

Don’t worry. The teacher is very nice. ;) Upon completion, everyone gets an A. The only homework involved is yours and yours alone, to be done on your own time and for your family’s benefit. Once you purchase, you can keep the course information forever and reference them as needed. Read them on your computer or print the pages you need in your hands. What else?

Oh, these eCourses only cost $10 each. (“Where else can you take an entire class at such a low cost?!” exclaims the mother of many college students.)

It’s kind of too good to be true, except that we love all that these offer and we want to make them accessible to everyone! So it’s good AND it’s true. And there’s something else:

We put them together into a Real Food Kitchen Package!

We packaged up both of the new-and-improved eCourses, and we threw in our Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks recipe eBook because you really need those incredible recipes along with these eCourses!

Total cost for all three of these would normally be $25. But for one week, you can get this entire package of 3 resources for just $12! Total!

Ready to start working your way toward a healthy, real food, easy kitchen life? This time couldn’t be more perfect!

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Summer Activities with the Kids: Create Blessings for Father’s Day!

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

Looking for some fun activities to do with your kids this summer? I’ve enjoyed 22 summers with kids (and counting!), so I certainly have a few ideas to share! Stay tuned during the next few weeks as we provide all kinds of suggestions for making your summer with your kids meaningful. (Subscribe here so you won’t miss out!) Today’s idea: Create Blessings for Father’s Day!

You may remember that we shared this list of Father’s Day gift ideas a couple of years ago. I’m going to re-share some of those great ideas, plus add some new ones too!

Create Blessings for Father’s Day

You and your kids are likely already thinking about how to bless the dads and grandpas in your lives. But what if you went a bit beyond these special men and talked about ways you can offer something special to those who may be overlooked?

  • Widowers
  • Men in nursing homes
  • Someone who has suffered a difficult year because of illness, loss, unemployment, etc.

OR, how about doing something special for someone who has gone above and beyond for your kids?

  • Coaches
  • Teachers
  • Caretakers
  • Ministers
  • Church Elders

Pray with your kids about this!

Allow God to bring people to mind or to open your eyes to men who would love to be the recipient of your Father’s Day blessing this year. What a wonderful way to serve alongside your children – to teach them to see others and to think beyond themselves!

And while I’m writing this, I have in mind that moms and kids will do this together – but here’s what might be even better!! What if kids and dads spend time on this special “project” as a way to celebrate Father’s Day? Dads serving with their kids is a beautiful thing! Or perhaps you can all do this as an entire family.

Pray, and let the Spirit lead you toward what Father’s Day can look like for you and your family as you look to be a blessing to others.

Cookies for Father’s Day

One of the simplest ways to bless special men in your lives this Father’s Day is to hand them a card and a plate of cookies. Want some great recipe ideas? I can probably come up with one or two. ;)

Wait, you ask. Are these really THE BEST Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies? Yes, I’m afraid it’s true. We’ve tried all the others. These are the best. ;)

Now it’s time to think beyond cookies!

(Mostly) Free Ideas for gifting Dad, Grandpa, or others

Ready to get those kids serving and caring for the men in their lives? But hoping to spend little to no money? How about these ideas!

  1. Write a letter (25 things I like about you, or top 10 favorite memories).
  2. Create a hand-drawn picture of the two of you doing something together.
  3. Put together a photo album of pictures of you and Dad (or the special friend).
  4. Print your favorite picture of the two of you and put it in a frame.
  5. Vacuum and wash his car or truck.
  6. Present coupons to help him organize and clean the garage, his workshop or his office.
  7. Present coupons for cleaning out his car, washing his car, or doing his share of the mowing.
  8. Offer coupons for a batch of his favorite cookies or his favorite meal.

Gifts for Men That Cost $25 or Less

If you have it in your budget, here are some great gift ideas that dad, grandpa, or others might love!

tent

For Camping

  1. Single Hammock
  2. Color-Coded Roasting Sticks
  3. Two Person Tent
  4. Biolite Portable Light  If you need to do things in the dark, the USB will also operate this light. NO batteries, no electricity required.

For Baseball

  1. MLB Team Logo Baseball You choose the team!
  2. Equipment Backpack
  3. Coffee Mug

For Football

  1. Light-Up Football So you can play in the dark!
  2. Parking Sign You choose the team.
  3. 3D Puzzle (like Legos) NFL team characters   You choose the character.

3 for Golf

  1. Golf Scope
  2. Tees
  3. Golf Ball Pick Up Tool

For Fishing and hunting

  1. Portable Fish Scale with Measuring Tape
  2. Cross Body Tackle Bag

For all Sports Fans

  1. Chair with its own shade

Great Tools

  1. 3-in-1 Laser Level, tape measure and bubble level with ruler
  2. Leatherman Multi-Tool
  3. Telescoping Magnet – Great for picking up spilled nails, screws and such!
  4. Nice Work Gloves
  5. Headlamp
  6. Survival Kit

T-shirts

  1. For Dads with a Sense of Humor
  2. For Dads with Gas and a Sense of Humor
  3. Me and Mini-Me Set

Coffee Mugs

  1. For a Star Wars Fan
  2. Awesome Dad
  3. New Dad

Fun Outdoor Games for Dad (and the Entire Family!)

molkky

  1. Kubb
  2. Lawn Bowling
  3. Yard Dice
  4. Ladder Ball 
  5. Molkky
  6. Washer Toss
  7. Ring Toss
  8. Frisbee Golf (Disc Golf) Set
  9. Floating Pong

Make a Meal!

What if you and the kids invite special men in your lives (and/or those who may often eat alone) over to your home for a meal? Get those kids into the kitchen with you! Let them help plan what food to serve, prepare the food, and clean up afterward. There is so much joy in working together to serve others!

Here are some great main dish ideas you might choose from:

Serve these with a salad, a veggie, a fruit, and a special dessert! The men in your life will love it!

What other ideas do you have to work with your kids to create a blessing for someone this Father’s Day?

Here’s to a great summer of fun with our kids! Here are other ideas we’ve shared so far:

Stay tuned for more fun Summer Kid Activity ideas!

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

Free Learning Printables for All Ages

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We’ve got an entire page full of Free Learning Printables for All Ages! Today, we’re introducing a brand new printable pack for you. Plus we just updated our Learning Zone page to include all the latest and greatest printables we’ve created through the years. The best news? It’s all free!

Why do you want Free Learning Printables this summer?

What? Your kids don’t want to do “school work” in the summer? Trust me, this mom isn’t such a huge fan either.

But I am a fan of this:

  • Giving our kids fun, educational quiet activities to do on a hot summer day.
  • Keeping our academic skills fresh so we aren’t back-tracking and starting over once the school year begins again.
  • Taking advantage of extra time to spend in the Word with our kids.

Overall, my kids and I are taking a break from intense schooling this summer. But from time to time, the little one and I are sitting down to work on basic Pre-reading skills he’s already learned so that he doesn’t forget what he knows so far.

Every evening at dinner, we work on Scripture Memorization with these:

Of course we are reading lots of books this summer. (Get our huge recommended book list here.)

Overall, while we let down and have a refreshing summer break, we also try to be intentional with our time so that we’re making the most of our down time.

We just updated our Learning Zone Page!

Are you a member of our Heavenly Homemaker’s Learning Zone? If not, you’re missing out!

We’ve got a huge assortment of free printable packs for you to use with your family. The activities range from Pre-K to Teen, and many will work for your entire family. We just added this one for little ones:

 

This is a pack I put together for our 5-year old Bonus Boy to help him practice his “Following Directions” skills. He’s had a blast with it so far, so I wanted to offer it to you too!

Kids too old for that one?

How about this awesome Family Bible Reading Guide to use with everyone in your home?

We’ve got these and so much more. We’d love for you to take advantage of all that these have to offer!

Join our Heavenly Homemakers Learning Zone here.

You’ll get access to ALL of these free printables, with no catch and no questions asked. They will be YOURS for free, to use with your family as needed.

Enjoy and tell your friends too!

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

Summer Activities With the Kids: Go Berry, Apple, or Peach Picking!

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

Looking for some fun activities to do with your kids this summer? I’ve enjoyed 22 summers with kids (and counting!), so I certainly have a few ideas to share! Stay tuned during the next few weeks as we provide all kinds of suggestions for making your summer with your kids meaningful. (Subscribe here so you won’t miss out!) Today’s idea: Go Berry, Apple, or Peach Picking!

I have the BEST memories of heading to orchards, farms, and friend’s houses in the summertime with my kids so that we could pick berries, apples, or peaches.

We live in small-town Nebraska, so we are blessed to have many neighbors and friends who have berry patches, gardens, and orchards. (Yes, we have a garden in our yard too. But we don’t have the space for planting in huge bulk like many of our country neighbors.)

For years and years when our kids were little, we’d take advantage of every invitation to “come pick!” that we were able to enjoy.

Allow me to take a walk down memory lane…

We had a friend with a huge strawberry patch, where we would all load our buckets! We got to do this for FREE. What a blessing! (They’ve since sold their farm and moved out of state. Happy for them, sad for us!)

We also have friends with a gorgeous apple orchard! In the late summer, we’d head out and get as many apples as we could, all for a tiny price per grocery bag. It seemed too good to be true!

One year, my friend Anne and I borrowed the orchard owner’s cider press. After picking apples at the orchard, we spent the afternoon with all of our kids experiencing the work and joy of making homemade apple cider!

Oh my babies!

One year, we headed to Michigan for a wedding, at the perfect time for fruit picking! As we drove, we noticed sign after sign advertising “You Pick!” farms. Matt and I decided to stop at several locations on the way and enjoy time as a family picking fruit and enjoying the experience. We all still talk about that trip as one of our favorite traveling memories!

Blueberries don’t grow well in Nebraska, so picking them during that trip to Michigan was a very special treat! (Also, as we ate berry after berry while we continued to travel, somehow I ended up sitting on some and staining/ruining my pants. Hahaha! The boys still remember that too! “Mom, remember how you sat in blueberries and ruined your pants?!” Good times.)

Mmmmm, peaches! While peaches do grow well in Nebraska, we still stopped at a Peach Farm during our Michigan trip to enjoy a wagon ride to pick peaches. Of course, we took advantage of their offer to “eat whatever you like!”

Why Go Berry, Apple, or Peach Picking

Truly, the fun and joy that come with picking fruit on a farm with your family is priceless.

Yes, there are bugs. Yes, it is hard work. Yes, it may be hot. So prepare yourselves, give the kids a pep talk, take water bottles, go before the hottest part of the day, and know that while you’d love the experience to be perfect, someone may still have a melt-down.

Through the years and beyond all the less-than-fun parts, our family found these fruit picking experiences to be wonderful because:

  • The kids got to learn more about where our food comes from.
  • The kids got to learn about the hard work it takes to put food on the table.
  • We got to take home loads of delicious, nutritious fruit to eat in a variety of fun ways. (Details below!)
  • It saved all kinds of money as we either had to pay very small prices per pound of fruit, or we were encouraged to take all we wanted for free!

Beyond Berry, Apple, or Peach Picking

Once the fruit is picked, then what? Well, the fun just keeps on keeping on!

Yes, the fun comes in the form or hard work. :)

After working hard to pick the fruit, of course, we eat as much fresh fruit as we can hold. NOTHING is more delicious than sweet fruit that comes directly off the tree or bush!

But next comes the fun and work of preserving what we can’t eat fresh. The hard work pays off for months as we enjoy homemade applesauce, frozen berries in smoothies, and peach cobblers in the middle of winter. We all work together to wash, cut, and process the fruit.

Here are some ways we preserve our fruit to enjoy all winter long:

What to make with Berries, Apples, and Peaches

You’re sure to come up with wonderful ways to use your freshly picked or beautifully preserved berries, apples, and peaches! Here are some of our favorite ways to enjoy the “fruit” of our labor. (Laura is punny.)

Ready to go pick fruit?

Now that our “first batch of kids” is older, if they are able to join us, we can really pick a lot of fruit since they are able to work like adults. And here we are again, starting the process with new babes God has put in our lives. We are excited to take our Bonus Boy on fruit-picking adventures as we know he’ll love it!!

Here’s to a great summer of fun with our kids! Here are other ideas we’ve shared so far:

Stay tuned for more fun Summer Kid Activity ideas!

 

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

Summer Activities for Kids: Make Smoothies, Milkshakes, and Popsicles!

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

Looking for some fun activities to do with your kids this summer? I’ve enjoyed 22 summers with kids (and counting!), so I certainly have a few ideas to share! Stay tuned during the next few weeks as we provide all kinds of suggestions for making your summer with your kids meaningful. (Subscribe here so you won’t miss out!) Today’s idea: Make Smoothies, Milkshakes, and Popsicles!

There are many glorious reasons to make smoothies, milkshakes, and popsicles with your kids. What are these reasons, you ask? Oh, I am more than happy to share:

  1. Smoothies, milkshakes, and popsicles are obviously perfect to enjoy on a hot day because they are so refreshing and cool.
  2. When you make food WITH your kids, they are much more likely to want to eat it.
  3. You can sneak all kinds of nourishing foods into smoothies, milkshakes, and popsicles – so basically, you are making treats that are very healthy!
  4. Making smoothies, milkshakes, and popsicles are a super simple way to get all your kids – from tiny to big – into the kitchen to learn some kitchen skills!

When our 5-year old Bonus Boy first moved in with us, one of the first fun activities we did together was to make “milkshakes.” (They are really considered smoothies, but he “doesn’t like smoothies – he only likes milkshakes.” Call them whatever you want! We load them with fresh greens, frozen strawberries and bananas, farm fresh whole milk, and sometimes even an avocado. He drinks these “milkshakes” right up! And he loves to help us make them, so we aren’t sneaking the healthy stuff in. He puts it all into the blender himself!

Below are 13 of our favorite smoothie, milkshake, and popsicle recipes. Take note that you can make a smoothie and then freeze it into a popsicle – a double good treat! Or look there at #13 – make homemade wholesome pudding, then freeze it into Pudding Pops! Creamsicles anyone? Yep! There’s a recipe for those too!

Make Smoothies, Milkshakes, and Popsicles!

  1. Pineapple Mango Smoothies
  2. Pineapple-Orange Slushies
  3. Creamy Orange Cooler
  4. Strawberry Peach Slushies
  5. Icy Cold Milkshake Treats
  6. Green Machine Milkshakes
  7. Easy Peppermint Milkshakes
  8. Fresh Peach Milkshakes
  9. Strawberry Milkshakes
  10. Strawberry Creamsicles
  11. Mock Frozen Yogurt
  12. Orange Creamsicles
  13. Homemade Pudding Pops

Sky’s the limit on the variety of milkshakes you can make with different fruits and fun combinations. The same is true for smoothies! Use whatever you have in your freezer or fridge. Use up odds and ends of leftover fruit that is starting to go bad. Use milk, cream, kefir, yogurt – whatever you have. There’s hardly a way to go wrong with these ideas!

HINT!

Do you think your kids would enjoy the taste of these milkshakes and smoothies? But they are turned off by the color of these goodies when you add greens to your blender? Yep, I hear ya. We’ve learned to pour the mixture into a solid cup so that it isn’t see-through. We top it with a lid and let the kids choose a fun straw. Ta-da! Problem solved. The kids can’t see the funny-looking mixture – they just know the contents inside their cups are delish!

Looking for the perfect blender?

Any ol’ blender will do. But nothing is amazing as a Blendtec or Vitamix if you want a perfectly smooth smoothie. Your family is much more likely to guzzle down their smoothies and shakes if they are seedless and chunk-less. :) Here are more details on why I love my Blendtec.

Looking for great homemade popsicle makers?

I just invested in the double-set of these. They are fantastic! Why the double-set? Well, because 6 popsicles just isn’t enough. Making 12 popsicles at once is much better, don’t you think!?

By the way, while the above 13 recipes are beyond great and extra full of nourishment, it is worth a mention that I often pour 100% juice into our popsicle molds to make simple fruit juice popsicles. Incredibly easy and a super money saver!

Looking for more help as you pull your kids into the kitchen with you?

And if you really want to go all in and teach your kids to cook this summer, I encourage you to invest in Katie Kimball’s Kids Cook Real Food eCourse. I used this course with Malachi and plan to use it with Brayden too. It is FANTASTIC!!! Get the details here.

Psst! Did you see our other Summer Kid Activity ideas so far?

Stay tuned for more fun Summer Kid Activity ideas!

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