Little eyes learn what they see... Marriage

   One of the most important things we can teach our children is to always seek God.  Teach them about his word, his works, his miracles  and his ways.  I believe that one of the most vital ways of teaching our children is through our relationship with our spouse. A walk with God and how we treat our spouse go hand in hand.  Our children need to see us pray and seek him.  They need to see us living according to his word.  How can I teach my children to give 10% of their earnings if I do not do it myself?  Simple things as this, children learn just from watching us.
Marriage.  Marraige is made up of God, husband and a wife.  We are and should be the number one influence in our childrens life.  Their experience of marriage is learned through us (mom and dad).  I ask myself if my children are learning how to love, be patient, be kind, honor, uplift, and see through the lenses of optimism.     

Here is a list of things that I was taught while growing up and things that I want my children to learn about marriage.

The Don't Do's:
1. Do not give your children a "perfect marriage" view.  I went into my marriage at 18 years old thinking everything was "happily ever after".  I quickly found out that there were differences and opinions and that not everything was what I thought it would be.  Marriage is work and it's ok for a child to see that there is conflict, but with that conflict, they should always see a resolution.

2. Never put each other down in front of others.  Extended family and friends should never be a venting opportunity or an opportunity to make yourself feel better about a situation.  Children see this and they will do it to their siblings and to the parent that is being put down.

3. Never talk bad about your spouse to anyone, especially to your children.  This teaches your children discretion.  Everyone has quirks.  Complaining about those quirks will give your children a free ticket to discuss personal issues and circumstances with others outside of your home. 

4. Never ever let an issue go unresolved.  By resolving issues and diplomatically taking care of business, we are allowing a relief come upon our home.  Holding onto "things" leaves a child with question as to "what's gonna happen".  We are responsible for making our children feel safe and secure.  When a child sees that there are issues and circumstances going on and they can see that we trust God and can show them that everything will be alright, they are that much more secure.

5. Shouting and blaming should never be done in front of children.  It's ok for them to see and feel tension as long it is resolved in a manner that is safe, secure and adult like. Childish behaviour should be left to the children. 

The Do, Do's:
6. Prayer is and should always be number one. I have always heard this saying since I can remember: "A family who prays together, stays together." Children should see us take our petitions to God. They should see that we trust God with all of our hearts in everything that we do and that we can go to him in times of difficulty.

7. Respect each other.  Respect allows a spouse to view the other's point of view and values their thought process and ideas.  With respect comes kind words and consideration.

8. Laugh with your spouse.  Being married and having tons of responsibilities does not mean that you cannot have fun.  Play fair tricks, and pranks, and always laugh.  It involves the children and teaches then that in the midst of responsibility and life, you can still have fun.

9. Compromise.  Work together to get things done and to please each other.  I can't always have what I want when I want it.  I normally have to wait for it to go on sale and sometimes I completely miss out.  This is because we cannot afford most of the stuff that I like. Ha!  It's OK though because he has to compromise a whole lot himself.  We have to work together.  This teaches our kids to share their toys, time, and overall teaches them that life is not about "me", but about getting along and making things work for everyone.

10. Show lots of affection to each other.  Kiss, hug, hold hands, squeeze and call each other pet names.  It's OK to gross out the kids.  One thing I can remember is my parents always showed affection to each other.  Ya, it was gross sometimes, but it always assured me that mom and dad were in love.

Bonus for the ladies:
11.  Be his helpmate!  Boys become men because we help them grow.  My husband was 20 when we were married.  Neither of us knew anything about life, work and responsibilities.  Helping him will keep him together, organized and it makes him look good.  His mama will raise him as a child, but you will raise him to become a man and vise versa.  We help each other bring out the best in our individual selves when we work together.  Our children see this. 

What better life can we give our children than a home that they can come to when they become adults and without asking for advise, all they will have to do is remember.

Let it snow Tutorial

Confession time!  I will have to admit that I enjoy art and craft time with my boys.  I normally quickly give the boys their instructions and let them have at it.  I immediately gather my materials and quickly get to work on my own fun craft.   Here's what I whipped up after Thanksgiving.

 

These snow flakes are Awesome!  I simply made them out of popsicle sticks and oversized popsicle sticks. I used my imagination, I used hot glue, painted the the snow flake, glittered them while the paint was wet and let it dry.  Thats it!   I made some for my neighbor and she hung hers from fish string in her porch in front of her door and they look absolutely glorious!  Mine are throughout the house looking pretty.  I have recieved so many compliments on them, but since I am done decorating for the winter, I have stopped offering to make them for others.  I simply tell them how to make them themselves.. HA!  What do you think?  

 

The adventures with the brown Elf on the Shelf

Our first night with our Elf! He finally showed up today with his book from Amazon.com... He had a book that he brought to the kids. It was quite magical from the start. He sat on our piano with the book before Adam spotted him. Immediately he let out a squeal and his brothers came running to see the fuss. "a little elf" They shouted. Jacob read the book and immediately the magical moment of anticipation began. We immediately rushed out of the door to pick up our Christmas tree. I snuck the elf & now here he is... Sipping on our Italian sodas Torani Lime flavor. Can't wait for the kids to find him in the morning!! Eek!!

Easy Growth Chart to last Forever!

I will make a super long story short, and give short and simple directions so you can make your own. 



Story: Our sweet neighbor needed help rebuilding a small fence. My sweet husband offered to help and well, since he has a truck, he kinda got stuck with all of the scrap wood and it was obvious that he would have to take it to the dump. It was a gold mine for me! I picked out the pieces that I wanted and off to the dump he went. Wait!! before I let him go, I posted the free wood on craigslist.. most of it was gone within 2 days. I posted all of the ideas that I had that people can do with it (make a bench, a star, a growth chart and so on) this may have helped get rid of it. The End!
I was saving this piece for a bench, but decided to use it for my Growth Chart.

here are the simple steps.

1. Steal a ruler from your kids homschool room. You will need a 1 foot ruler.

2. measure 1 foot and mark it with a sharpie. Mark it lightly or it will bleed.

3. Aftner I measured and marked all the feet, I measuredand markd all of the 1/2's.

4. Then I measured 2 inches and marked.

5. I went back with my sharpie and measured from the edge of the board 3 inches to mae the line.

6. the 1/2 foot mark was measured 2 inches,

7 and the 2 inch marks were measured 1 inch.

(These are the lines drawn across). 1 foot 3inches. 1/2 foot 2 inches and 2 inches 1 inch.) I hope this makes sense!!

Then I painted with Eggshell white paint from Lowes. I used a fine tip brush.

After it dried, I stapled my stencils where I wanted them and painted my numbers.

 

Now the hubby will be sealing this to prevent splintering. This is a very old piece of wood and it will definitely splinter.

 After it is sealed, I will use a sharpie on Thanksgiving day and on the left side I will mark the date, kids name and height.

I will Keep this forever!

What do you think??

If you can't get an old piece of wook like I did, you can find a new piece of fence wood at Lowes or Home Depot.  They run between $2.00-$8.00.. Paint it, distress it and make it your very own for your unique family.
 

Painted Hanger

Today I decided to make something for me.. Yep, I said it!! I did something for my stinkin self. Well actually it was for my sunglasses. All I did was steal a wooden suit hanger from my dear husband Andrew ... Sshhh.. He is not supposed to know... Anyway, I painted it white and voila!! My sunglasses have a new home. No more laying around on my desk, no more dark moments inside my purse.. My sunglasses now have their very own place.

Kids and Tithes

“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.

“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’


“In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. Malachi 3:8-10

 

   Sounds a little too much for a child to grasp doesnt it.  It is actually quite simple. but I tell ya, that according to  Psalms111:10, having The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever... This is a very powerful verse.  It clearly states that having the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and of a good understanding so that ALL will do his commandments... This includes children.                                                                            It is my responsibility to teach my children God's principles, this summer we have been working on simple yet life affecting principles: Money Management.  The first thing that God requires is 10% of our earnings.  This is not so we can be blessed, this is not so we can say we give, but this is our reasonable service to God.  My children now understand that God gave them arms, legs, a brain, eyes and every functioning part of their body. They have strength to work because God gave them that strength.  Their earnings were earned because God first provided the means to make those earnings.  God only requires us to give 10%.. thats it!! should I spell it out? that is TEN PERCENT!  So, here goes my elementary plan.  If Jacob Earns $12.00 for sweeping up the drive way, cleaning up leaves and taking out the trash, he will owe God $1.20... Thats it!!!  Does God require more?  Absolutely!!  But that is another sermon for a different day.              We came up with these clever little jars to my boys will visually see what they are giving.  I forgot to include an "Offering" jar in the pictures, but there is definitely and "offering" jar.  That offering jar will bring on the blessings.    So here is how this works:  My kids know that 1: Tithe is first because it is required by God.  Titheing is our reasonable service.  2: Offering:  We give our offering to help support our church building and to help promote means for soul winning.  3: Savings:  Always save some money.  It is important for future planning.  That big water super soaker is not a cheap one, so right now Jacob is saving for that Super Soaker. 4: Spending:  spending money is fun, and every kid should have some money to spend if they have rightfully earned it dontcha think?

This was so much fun for my kids to do, they are now very eager to earn money.  From Jacob, Adam to Drew.  They all want to make sure that they pay their tithes, offerings, and save some money.  They are able to visually see their jars increasing.  Every Sunday they can empty out their tithe and offering jars and give them into the offering plate at church.

 Andrew and I had some struggles when we were younger because this was not a principle that he was taught and he struggled with it and while I had always followed this principle to a "T", it was a very difficult process for him to grasp.  It finally clicked and now he is a fanatic of titheing.  In fact, Andrew likes to tithe on money he hasn't earned, and that is perfectly fine with me because myself and our children will reap the spiritual security from God for giving him our reasonable service. 

So if this is new to you, remember if you pay your Tithe, God will sustain you and you will not be cursed, if you give offerings on top of your tithe, God will bless you, if you save money, you will reap the reward of that savings, and if you spend money and spend it wisely, you will reap a good deal :)

Endless green Onions

Grow your own green onions! I have my own green onion production right in my kitchen.
All ya have to do is buy some green onions, trim them down to the white part, put em in water, watch the roots grow in a few days & your endless onions will keep growing. Trim them often & eat them often so the growth process will continue.. Mmm

Rainy Day S'more Pops.

Yep, I said it! It's a s'more pop. Pops are everywhere these days. I followed the trend & started with the cake pops, got tired of em and did the cinnamon roll pops, and now here we are with the s'more pops.
All you need is your handy dandy pop stick, big marshmallow, graham crackers & any chocolate you like. I did a simple dark Hershey bar. Ya melt the chocolate, dip the marshmallow in the chocolate and sprinkle on some crushed graham crackers... The smiles and happy kids makes the pop trend continue in my home.

Shamrock Cinnamon Roll

Made these too.. I wasn't too impressed with myself.. I wish they would have looked neater.. But the kids loved em and they loved creating.. Just put food coloring in the icing and the green effect takes place.

Green Mini Cupcakes

Yep, we also made green mini cupcakes for our St. Patricks celebrations.

Fruit Loop Rainbow

The boys made Fruit Loop Rainbows for St. Patricks day. Along with other rainbow crafts, this one seemed to be the funnest.

Counting Time

So today the kids and I worked on identifying numbers and counting. The funnest part was playing with the pipe cleaners and pony beads.
This is an easy and fun way for preschoolers to learn their early math skills. I made the number tags, had the kids paste them to the pipe cleaners, then with granny's help they identified the number of beads each pipe cleaner needed and they had fun putting their bead counters together.

Home Made Candy Jar & Cake Stand

All you need is candle holders, thrift store plate's (any size will work) gorilla glue & spray paint. You have to frost your glass with glass frost so the pain will stick. Glue you mason jar or plate on candle stick. Then paint. I made these for Vday and they were a hit.

Easy Avacado, mozzarella & cherry tomato salad

Chop it up, kosher salt & pepper it. A little pinch of cumin, squeeze about half of a lemon in it and voila! It's so fresh & tasty. You can add a kick of canned jalapeño's if ya like it hot. It didn't last in my house... Even the kids gobbled it up.

Chicken Wire Fun

I have found a new appreciation for Chicken Wire & have easily created these adorable chicken wire frames. All you need is spray paint, chicken wire & a frame. I used a big vintage red frame, & painted my chicken wire black. Stapled it to the frame then trimmed the wire with wire cutters and voila!! My boys pin their school projects on their own chicken wire frame.

Cinnamon Roll Pop

So here is an easy pleasing treat for your lovlies. Cinnamon roll pops!! Yeah Baby!!! I simply used the pillsbury premade cinnamon rolls, unrolled them cut them in half, then rolled them again to make them smaller. After they baked I simply added a pop stick and voila. I am going to make heart cinnamon roll pops for Vday... how cute is that!!!

MarshMallow Pop

So the boys and I also made these simple yet adorable and oh so cute marshmallow pops while we made the pepermint suckers. These were simple and so tasty. I am not sure how many calories each one would be, but the taste is amazing.

Peppermint Heart Sucker

So if you happened to catch the after Christmas sales like I did, you might have scored candy canes and 10 cents a box. Yup!! Thats Right!! 10 cents a box!!! I could not pass this up so I had to get a few boxes. Here is a pic of a pepemint heart that was my practive for the big Vday celebration. My boys and I will be making these for the gmas and neighbor gmas. Here is a sneak peak on how they will turn out.

Happy 7th Birthday Jacob!

We were blessed to celebrate my oldest son's 7th birthday this past weekend. Being that his birthday fell on the last weekened of the month and we are on a Military budget, I had to really think this out. He wanted a Lego's theme, and this mama would not, could not, should not dare to let her little boy down. So here is what I did to make it happen...

First, I swiped some bubble wrap from the garage and spray painted some white, some orange and some black... This made for the perfect Lego like feel.

Then I made my little lego men who you see standing around out of card stock.. was very simple. I found my template at: http://zakkalife.blogspot.com/2010/04/lego-kirigami.html.

While the bubble wrap dried, I ventured out to make these funky yet very attractive "to children" hanging fan like thingies. Ya, all my boys were fooled.. they thought they were Lego stuff. All I did was get three sheets of card stock folded them back and forth like we did in gradeschool to make a fan, folded each page in half, stapled them together and added the streamer. Thats it! So simple and so fast and yet so fascinating to the kids.
I free handed and made two lego man heads for xtra decor, and soon, my lego theme was almost complete. All I needed was to make the cupcakes and wake up the birthday boy. I made the cupcakes out of regular white cake mix and used regular creamy frosting. I was going to make some crush soda cupcakes, but by the time I was about to make them two kids were trying to get me to read their library books and I needed the break.