Teaching our Children
Travel & Vacation: Swimming Pool Fun on Daniel’s Island
We got to try out a few hotel pools this summer with all our travel adventures. The one in the pictures below we visited more then once and the girls love it. The Hampton Inn on Daniel’s Island, SC (actually the only hotel on Daniel’s Island) was one of the girls favorites I think because we went to it several times over the summer and it was really close to everything.
- Brina and Karlie swimming in their “favorite” hotel pool!
The pool usually had some shade any time you were in it plus it was relatively quiet during the day.
- Brina Bee swimming in the pool.
The girls did really well in the pools and ocean this summer. When it was just Mommy and the girls swimming I made sure the girls wore floaties or their life jackets as an extra precaution. When Jake was with us they could go without the floaties or life jackets because each of us could spot one of the girls. You really cannot be too safe when it comes to swimming pools.
- Karlie showing off under water
Love this picture of Karlie and the pool. As you can see from the picture we were literally the only ones in the pool at this time. The girls would swims for hours. We had a blast swimming and playing.
- Brina smiling at me under water
Cute shot of Brina under water. She did great swimming, splashing and playing in the pool. I was thrilled to see her willing to take off her life jacket and floaties for a few minutes too. She loves the water!
- Karlie ready to jump
Karlie would wait to make sure I was looking before jumping. She loved jumping off the side of the pool into the water. The cannon ball was her favorite because it did a big splash.
- Brina playing in the swimming pool!
Brina had a blast swimming and diving under the water. She thought it was funny that she could see under water better than Mommy.
- Karlie in mid air
Karlie’s face in this picture makes me smile. She loved jumping, diving, cannon balling into the pool.
Brina getting ready to jump Love her little tongue sticking out as she contemplates the best way to jump on her unsuspecting noodle. Brina’s favorite way to jump into the pool was to target her noodle and jump in on it.
Karlie holding her breath under water Karlie wears her goggles almost the entire time she is in the pool. She loves being able to see “clearly” under water. One time she even found another kids diving stick for them! The goggles are on a little off center in this picture but the girls did really well putting them on by themselves.
Brina laughing at her noodle. Sometimes it is the simplest things in life that are so funny. Even though we were really busy filling our days with activities it was wonderful to have play time were we could relax, play and just have a blast together.
Karlie in mid jump.....her target is her blue noodle Karlie loves jumping into the pool. I was surprised at how high she was able to get on some of her jumps. Thankful for this time together and seeing my girls growing up.
Pretty Brina Bee holding her breath under water in the pool It takes talent learning how to hold your breath under water. I think over the last several months the girls have become water bugs. They love swimming!
- Karlie having fun at the pool
The girls could play all day at the pool. After several hours of swimming and several layers of sunblock Mommy decided we better head in so Daddy wasn’t waiting on us. The girls loved swimming in the pool and going on adventures. Most of our activities were simple (swimming in the pool, playing in the park, etc…) yet they were enjoyable for everyone. We made a lot of fun memories together this year. Thankful for my camera Jake gave me for Christmas because I can take it with me in the pool, ocean, or rain and not worry about the camera being ruined. The girls loved that I could take the camera into the pool with us!
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Operation Christmas Child Packing Party
One box ready to be opened by a girl and another one for boy! Every year our family and our church participates in the Operation Christmas Child. Our church collects items for Operation Christmas Child throughout the year. Each month they have an item or two that they request donations for and in late October they have a big Operation Christmas Child Packing Party. The girls enjoy donating items throughout the year but they really look forward to packing the actual boxes. We were not able to go to the church’s big packing party (the girls were very disappointed) but we were able to have a packing party at home. We had so much fun doing it I totally forgot to take pictures of the process! I was simply amazed at how many items we were able to get into the boxes. Our kitchen table was full of goodies and we were able to get almost everything into the boxes. The children getting these boxes will be very surprised at all the fun stuff the girls included.
How did we do it?
- We collected items throughout the year to put in our Operation Christmas Child Goody Box (toothpaste, tooth brushes, soap, toys, trinkets, notebooks, books, socks, shirt, sunglasses, crafts, etc…)
- Once our OCC Goody Box was full we donated any extra items to our church’s packing party
- Throughout the year during the girls devotions we talked about helping others, Operation Christmas Child, and prayed for the children who would receive their boxes.
- The girls saved some of their money to purchase a few specific gifts for their child
- We prayed for the kids who would receive their boxes and went to the store to pick out items for them.
- We set all the gifts out on the kitchen table and packed as many gifts and treats that would fit into the boxes (the boxes barely closed with all the items).
- The girls proudly carried their boxes into church so they could be sent to their kids.
- We are continuing to pray for the girl and boy who will receive their boxes in the next few weeks.
Brina picked out items for a little girl and Karlie picked out items for a little boy. This activity provided many great opportunities to show the girls what it is like to give to others, pray for people who we will probably never meet, to share, and many other learning moments. The girls enjoyed donating to the church’s packing party throughout the year and it gave us an chance to discuss giving each time we donated items.
They love putting together their individual child boxes. I am amazed at how much thoughtfulness they put into each item they pick out for their kid. Even though we may never know the full impact their gift has on the recipient it is a true blessing to see them desiring to give generously to others without any expectation of getting anything in return. I pray that Operation Christmas Child will be a blessing to many children this Christmas Season and for many years to come.
Compassion International: “One Meal One Day” Event on November 9, 2011
On Wednesday, November 9, 2011 Compassion International holds an event called One Meal One Day. Skip a Meal and Change Your World. Have you ever gone a full day without any food because you have nothing to eat? There are people all over the world who are go hungry every day and this is a great opportunity for us to help.
What To Do?
- Step 1: Skip 1 meal on November 9, 2011 and donate the money you would typically spend on a meal (or more)
- Step 2: Engage Others – encourage others to participate in the event with you (both before the event day and the day of the event) by going without lunch and donating to help others around the world.
- Step 3: Feed Hungry Children – Compassion International uses your donation to feed children and train parents on the benefits of a healthy nutrition.
Why Should I Do It?
- You get to help others in a tangible way (food for those without any), plus you may have an chance to show the love Jesus with those around you.
- Youth, parents, and people around the nation are experiencing what it feels like to be hungry and sharing the challenge with their churches, passing out empty paper bags at school, and inviting their friends to skip one meal and give $5.
- When friends, family, or co-workers ask you why you are not eating lunch you have the opportunity share about the event and what Compassion International is doing to help starving people around the world.
- Once the donated amount is collected you send it to Compassion International so they can help feed children in poverty countries.
What is Compassion International?
- For over 50 years Compassion International has diligently worked to free children from poverty in the name of Jesus Christ.
- Compassion International works in 26 developing countries and with more than 1.3 million children who are living in poverty.
- While Compassion does help meet the physical needs of children they also minister to them spiritually.
- Compassion sponsored children have more opportunities for education, medical assistance, and physical benefits (such as food and water) while hearing the message of Jesus.
For more information about Compassion International and the One Meal, One Day visit their website. Our church youth group is encouraging everyone in our church to participate. Jake and I decided this is a great way to help others and are participating in this event.
Heart Reflections: I Was Hungry…
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me. – Matthew 25:35
This verse has been on my mind since working on our church’s Alms & Legs Food Pantry a few weeks ago. Recently I was visited another church for a Fall Festival and I noticed the same verse on their Food Pantry informational sheet. Our family has gone through tough times but never have we been completely without food to put on the table, yet there are families in our community that go without meals every day.
I am grateful for this verse’s reminder of the importance of reaching out to other people to help not only with their physical needs but spiritual needs. Actions really do speak louder than words. What actions do I take when I see someone in need? Yes, I maintain the Food Pantry at church but how often do I reach out and give from my own resources to those in need around me?
Do you ever have a moral dilemma when you see a person standing on the side of the road holding a sign saying something along the lines of “Will work for food.”? What do you do? I have a mix of emotions seeing someone standing on the street holding one of those signs. I really never experienced anything like it growing up so the first time I saw someone standing there holding a sign I didn’t know what to do.
- Do you give money…..what if you just feed an addiction?
- Do you give food…..(you have a granola bar or box animal crackers in the car) does that really help them?
- Do you give them water…..(you have an extra water bottle in the car) how does that help them?
- Do you give words of encouragement…….you only have a few seconds or minute if you are at a stoplight?
I have had the opportunity to think about this situation and several other ones similar over the past few years. When you apply the verse from the beginning of the post by giving them food, drink, or a welcomed word of encouragement you are reaching out. You may be meeting their physical need which may in return open the door to meet their spiritual needs. I do not suggest you feed or give water to everyone standing on the street corner especially if it is unsafe. Use your best judgment, but take an opportunity to help others when you can even if it means just sharing a bottle of water or granola bar.
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
Last week was a busy one, about halfway through the week I started wondering if I was going to finish anything on the list, but slowly some got checked off. The personal goals were the hardest for me to do because everything else kept me busy. This upcoming week I hope to do better on my personal goals so I can keep my life / time and resources in balance as I work towards my goals.
Here is the update on last weeks goals:
Family Goals
Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday- Read a book to the girls everyday – Monday was a super busy day with the Holiday
Have the girls read 1 book to me 5 days this week- Do devotions with the girls every night (sometimes it gets late and we rush to get them into bed) – Didn’t get this done every night with the busy evenings, a couple late nights including our couple Date Night on Saturday.
Schedule a Date Night with Jake– Went on our Date Night on 11/5Schedule a Date Night with each child– Date Night Scheduled for 11/11/11
Personal Goals
- Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week – As hard as I tried this didn’t get done, it was busy and a couple unexpected things came up. I hope to do a lot better next week with this one.
- Finish reading The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman – Made it through a couple more chapters, maybe I will get it done next week.
Listen to The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss- Go to bed by 10:30 or earlier on Monday through Thursday – We had a couple late nights with extra projects and activities going on (I think I only made it to bed on time once).
Home Management Goals
Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday– Completed a day early 🙂Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house- Dinner on the table by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday) – Dinner was ready but not on the table on Monday because of the Fall Festival Activities
All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day– Completed all the laundry from striping beds, washing, folding, putting away, and remaking the beds on Monday- Summer clothes pulled out of the main part of the closet and put away (it’s getting chilly and we are not wearing them as much now) – about halfway through this task
Pick the fresh vegetables that are ready and start preparing the garden for the first freeze.– big thanks to my sweet husband and girls for doing this for me and we even were able to share some of the goodies with friends!
Business Goals
Spend 10 minutes cleaning and organizing my desk (somehow everyone stacks stuff on my desk, myself included, and within a day I have a pile sometimes piles)Pay all bills that come in the mail this weekWork on ideas for upcoming blog posts- Research ways to create more residual income – didn’t get to this one
Ministry Goals
Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requestsAlms & Legs Ministry – Email upcoming meeting reminder to members, write and print the meeting agendaMeet a friend for Breakfast or LunchPack our Operation Christmas Child boxes
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4 – I went over budget this week. (thankful for the opportunity to stock up and a budget guideline even though I went over it this week.)
- Pay off remaining debt – working on it and I see light at the end of the tunnel
- Emergency Fund – save 6 months worth of living expenses – work in progress (we had two vehicle repairs recently which set us back a little bit)
Here are my goals for the upcoming week:
Family Goals
- Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
- Read a book to the girls everyday
- Have the girls read 1 book to me 5 days this week
- Do devotions with the girls every night (sometimes it gets late and we rush to get them into bed)
- Start the process of getting the girls passports
- Go on Mother Daughter Date Night
- File the last several weeks of coupons in my File Folder and Binder
Personal Goals
- Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
- Finish reading The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman
- Listen to the next section of Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (I am going through this book with my Community Group)
- Go to bed by 10:30 or earlier on Monday through Thursday
Home Management Goals
- Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
- Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
- Dinner on the table by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday)
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Summer clothes pulled out of the main part of the closet and put away (it’s getting chilly and we are not wearing them as much now)
Business Goals
- Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk
- Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Research ways to create more residual income
- Upcoming events, activities, and posted to my upcoming calendar
Ministry Goals
- Make at least $25 towards my Creative Cash goal this week so I can give more to others.
- Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
- Alms & Legs Ministry – Email Meeting Notes to the Team
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
- Close on our Refinance – Our plan is to go from the 30 year mortgage that we have been paying off to a 10 year mortgage with a lower interest rate.
- Pay off remaining debt
- Emergency Fund – save 6 months worth of living expenses
I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true. When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals. Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick). Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.
Why Share My Goals?
- To keep me accountable
- To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
- To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
- Create healthy habits in my life
- To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn
How did you do this week on your goals? Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.
The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results
Magazine: “Fun for Kidz”
Our girls love getting magazines and goodies in the mail. My parents ordered the Fun for Kidz magazine for the girls a few months ago and they always look forward to getting it in the mail. The magazine has a variety of stories, puzzles, crafts, recipes, science experiments, and fun stuff for the kids to try.
This week we did a couple of the science experiments / activities that were listed in one of the magazines. We made homemade “telephones” for the girls that they were reading about in the magazine. Another fun activity we did was cut a hole in a piece of 8×11 paper that was big enough that we could fit through (even Daddy could fit through the 8×11 piece of paper once it was cut, pretty funny). They thought it was hilarious and once again they had a blast doing some of the activities in the magazine.
The magazine is great for either boys or girls ages 5 to 13 years old. It becomes even more fun as they learn to read and are able to do some of the activities, puzzles, and silly stories or jokes on their own. The magazine is smaller than a regular magazine although it is more like a pamphlet / book with heavier pages. There isn’t a huge amount of colorful pictures but it is packed full of fun information and activities that the kids will enjoy. A subscription would be a great birthday, Holiday or just for fun gift for kids.
The best price I have found for the Fun for Kidz magazine is through Ebates.
- Login or open an account for Ebates
- Search for ValueMags
- Click on the ValueMags discount link (currently offering 51% back on magazine subscriptions)
- Once you are on ValueMags website search for Fun for Kidz
- Order your subscription and you’ll receive your 51% back Ebates check in the mail
Ebates has always been really good about sending our rebate checks. It is like a traditional rebate but you don’t have to send in a form and it is automatically done online through their website when you order. You can get Ebates on many other online retailers. If you are shopping for Holiday, Birthday, or other gifts check to see if you can get extra money back by shopping through Ebates.
Teaching Our Children: How to Roller Blade
A few weeks ago we purchased Roller Blades ($11) for the girls at a store closing sale. They had a handful of roller blades left and actually had the girls sizes. They didn’t get any fancy colors but I was pleased with the two that we found in their size, one blue and one red set. One relaxing family evening we decided to open the roller blade boxes and try them out. It was fun watching them try to learn how to balance and move. We started them on the carpet instead of the tile or sidewalk in case they bit the dust. It would be better to let them get a handle on it before breaking an arm or leg. Here is a few snapshots of them trying out the roller blades:
Daddy getting the roller blade ready for the girls Brina’s waiting for her roller blade to go on…..is it ready yet Daddy? Karlie is busy unpacking and checking out her cool blue roller blades.
Brina figuring out how to roller blade. It was neat seeing the girls get the hang of using the roller blades. Before long I could see lines on the carpet from them going in circles from the kitchen to the hallway to the living and dining room.
Brina and Karlie roller blading in the living room They went slow at first but got more speed as they did it more. Probably one of the hardest things for them to figure out was once they fall down how do you get back up without rolling away, pretty comical to watch.
Karlie concentrating on roller blading Karlie was so focused on roller blading I never got a picture of her actually looking at the camera. I guess it isn’t as easy to turn and face the camera when your wearing “shoes on wheels”!
One observation I had about the roller blades was the girls were a few inches taller. They were investigating stuff on the tops of the cabinets and counter tops that never caught their attention before. Also, I had to make a rule that if Mom or Dad was in the kitchen cooking they could only go on one side of the kitchen with roller blades otherwise I was getting my toes ran over or grabbed as they were passing me in the kitchen while I was making dinner. It was fun to see them try them out and watch them learn how to move. I was thrilled that they enjoyed learning new skills.
Living on a Budget: Creative Cash (October Update)
October is my ninth month tracking my Creative Cash. What is Creative Cash? Creative Cash is finding ways to come up with extra cash to share with others as well as work on our current goal. I am working part time, a stay at home Mom, and wear many other hats from day to day, however, I feel that it is important to save money for our family by using coupons and buying items on sale but to earn a little money to help with the extra expenses and to share with others. The extra amount I bring in on top of the work is what I call “Creative Cash” which means finding ways to make money creatively or with items and talents I have already. I plan to continue this goal for the remaining months of the year. Despite the many financial obstacles that we have faced as a family we have been blessed with so much. My husband and I believe it is important to be accountable with our finances and give to others.Explanation: The creative cash will be made throughout the entire month through various endeavors. As it comes in the money is placed into our savings account and withdrawn at the end of the month so it can be split. It is my goal to make at least $100 extra a month to help with our goals as well as share with others. At the end of the month the money will be split 50 / 50 with half going towards our current goal we are working on (which at the moment is paying down debt) and the other half going to charity.
To be honest October was not as great of a month as I hoped it would be, however, it was better then September. Although life is still busy we are at least home more now giving me the flexibility to focus on this goal as well as other ones. I anticipate November being another busy month with upcoming Holidays and I hope to come closer to meeting this goal. Thankfully I was able to save some extra cash even though I did not reach my my goal of $100. I want to share with you the ways we did it so if you are looking for ways to make a little extra creative cash for your family hopefully we can be an inspiration in getting your creative juices flowing:
- $13.19 – Items sold on Ebay (after fees): The all the items sold were coupons. I encourage you to look around at some of the coupons you get the mail, newspapers, magazines, in your stockpile, or other places and if you will not have the opportunity to use them then consider selling them for a little extra creative cash.
- $6.59 – Recycled Items taken to the scrap metal company
- $28.99 – Other miscellaneous amounts earned (rebates, returns, cash back, extra money, etc…) that was added to my stash for the month.
It was a harder month to set the extra aside because it was very busy and I was not able to participate in as many extra creative cash activities. The good news is despite the crazy schedule I was able to get a few dollars of creative cash and almost met at least half of my goal. October’s “Creative Cash” total was $48.77 which means $24.38 extra that goes towards our current goal (saving for 3 to 6 month Emergency Fund) and $24.39 goes towards charity. Although I didn’t hit my $100 goal this month I am happy that I was able to contribute something this month and every little bit helps us get a little closer to our goals as well as helps others along the way. I have a plan of action on ways to earn creative cash in November so stayed tuned, hopefully, it will be another month where we can get closer to our goal and share with others. Each month I do a variety activities to accomplish this goal, the items above are just the ones I did specifically in October. I look forward to sharing more of the things that work well for our family as I do them in the upcoming months.
I will share with you the challenges, successes, and updates as I go through this journey so you can keep me accountable or even go through it with me by participating and sharing your story. Taking the extra time to find ways to help our family as well as invest in the lives of others is important to us. I hope that we have been able to encourage you to find ways to come up with some creative cash for your household as well. Obviously, each situation and family is unique so decide what works for you and go for it! Do you know of another way to earn creative cash? I would love to hear your ideas!
Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances. Life doesn’t always go as planned. We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given. Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life. A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others. There is so much more to life than having all the stuff. We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.
Photo by StopNLook
Book: “Bob Books Sight Words Collection” by Bobby Lynn Maslen
My parents gave the girls this set of books “Bob Books Sight Words Collection – Kindergarten and First Grade” by Bobby Lynn Maslen when they were just starting to read. What I really enjoyed about these books is that they were “simple” from the words to the pictures. The words were easy for them to sound out as they were beginning to read and the pictures were captivating enough to get their attention but were not so amazing that they couldn’t focus on the words. As the girls were learning to read it was great pulling out the books and having them read because they were so excited to read a big book all by themselves. This set of books are for Kindergarten and First Grade. The first few books are pretty easy and gradually get harder as they go through them. I think our girls have gone through them several times now. If you have a child who is just learning how to read these books are short, easy, and give them a quick reading accomplishment victory.
Recipe: Seasoned Pumpkin Seeds
Fresh pumpkin seeds.
I shared this recipe last year and since it was a big hit I am re-posting it again this year. Jake made some amazing roasted pumpkin seeds during our time carving the pumpkins. Here is a super easy and great recipe for roasting pumpkins seeds:
- 2 c pumpkin seeds
- 2 T butter
- Sprinkle Seasoned Salt (or substitute a 1/2 package ranch package mix)
Rinse the pumpkin seeds. Saute pumpkin seeds in the butter for about 5 minutes (until they start to turn brown). Sprinkle the Seasoned Salt or Ranch Mix on the seeds. Spread seeds into a shallow baking pan and baked at 250 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until crispy. Stirring every 10 minutes.
We made half with the sprinkled Seasoned Salt and half with the Hidden Valley Ranch Dill Seasoning mix this year. Delicious snacks for the whole family!
