Play Eat Grow

Play: Summer Reading List for Preschoolers

2012-05-28T03:00:00.000-04:00

Today is the day when summer is un-officially here. Memorial Day marks the beginning of pool openings, snow cone stands, and summer travel. In case you're working on getting a summer reading list ready, we wanted to share some of our family's favorites.

1. Elephant and Piggie series (Mo Willems)
How we looooooove Gerald (the elephant) and Piggie (the Pig)! Their friendship and funny conversations are entertaining to the parent and child alike. The books are written in a comic-like form and are fantastic for learning about how to read conversation. Willems uses different font sizes and bold and italic in order to emphasize different words.

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By listening and eventually reading the story, kids learn how to read conversation. After reading these books a few times, the kids like to "read along", yelling when one of the characters is yelling in surprise, whispering when the text is really small, and making facial expressions to go along with the mood of the conversation.

2. We Both Read
This series of books are great for beginning readers. The books come in both fiction and non-fiction, and range from a reading level of K through 2. When reading, the left page is one that the parent can read and the right is one that the child can read. This format allows for the parent and child to read together. I really love these books because the story is interesting and allows the plot to be more complex because the parent is able to read more. Some of those beginning books are so boring because they have to be simple enough for the child to read. The authors of these books vary, but a couple of them are written by the person who wrote the Land Before Time and another one wrote Muppets and a lot of PBS programming. Our favorites have been LuLu's Wild Party (K-1), The Frog Prince (1-2) and The Well-Mannered Monster (1).

3. Skippyjon Jones (Judy Schachner)

Skippyjon Jones is a Siamese cat who "looks like a chihuahua", and he is always going on exciting adventures. These books are so entertaining for both parent and child, and it also throws in a little Spanish here and there. There are six regular books (that come with a CD for an audio reading), four board books, and a handful of other sticker books that feature Mr. Jones.

Here's a little snippet of the first book.

4. Monsters of the World (Cari Meister)
Snorp, Moopy, Ora, and Three Claws makes up the team of monsters that live in a world where monsters roam free. Snorp lives in the city and has a really long tongue that is both a blessing and a curse. Moopy is an introverted monster that lives underground and who loves to dance. Ora lives in the sea and LOVES gold. Three Claws is a one-eyed monster that lives on a mountain. The only thing I don't like about this series is that there are only eight books. We read all of them within a couple weeks and were so sad there weren't more!

5. Duck and Goose (Tad Hills)
This sweet set of picture books is about two best friends- Duck and Goose. Titles of the full picture books are Duck and Goose and Duck, Duck, Goose. Tad Hills has also written several board books that feature Duck and Goose, several of them seasonal (Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin, Duck and Goose Time for Christmas, Duck and Goose Here Comes the Easter Bunny). Tad Hills also writes a book that we love as much as Duck and Goose called Rocket Learns to Read.

6. Knuffle bunny (Mo Willems)
Is it okay that we have two series by Willems on this list? Seriously, we are huge fans. We've read almost every single book by him and just are so excited when we see a new one coming out. Anyway, this three part series is about a girl named Trixie, and her beloved Knufflebunny (stuffed bunny). The series follows Trixie and her family from her first words to early elementary. I don't want to ruin the endings for anyone, so that's all I can really say, but PLEASE do yourself a favor and check out these books!

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Also, awhile back we did a Knuffle bunny art project where we went around taking pictures of our favorite places and then I turned them into black and white images, lightened them up some, and printed for the kids to draw other things in, Knuffle bunny style. Here's a shortcut to some of them.

7. Charlie and Lola (Lauren Child)

Charlie and Lola remind me of Asante and Aly, and perhaps why they loved this series. This book series is based on a British cartoon about Charlie (a very responsible boy) and his little sister Lola, who "is small and very funny"(and loves pink milk). This brother and sister love each other very much and are a good example of a brother and sister taking care of each other. They are written in a way that preschoolers and early elementary kids talk and they sometimes just crack me up. After reading all the books, we found the cartoons on DVD at our local library and the kids loved them as well. A few of our favorite books are I am Not Sleepy and I Will Not Go to Bed, I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato, and Snow is My Favorite and My Best. She also has written a few board books that we haven't read yet.

8. My First Graphic Novel
This set is a great way to introduce young readers to the genre of graphic novel. There are graphic novels for the interest areas of sports, transportation, and mysteries. At the beginning of each book, there's instructions about how to read a graphic novel appropriately. For beginning readers, these are easy reading and they love to read the words in the word bubbles. Here's a sample of what an inside page looks like:

9. MathStart (Stuart J. Murphey)
This collection of books focuses on math skills, ranging from Level 1 (ages 3+) to Level 2 (ages 6+) to Level 3 (ages 7+). Especially in the earlier books, the kids don't even know that they are learning mathematical skills. The topics of the book vary and each book is an actual story. On MathStart's website, they also have a bunch of activities that you can do with your child after reading the book. There have a been a few of them that weren't that interesting, but the kids have liked most of them a lot.

10. Grumpy Bird (Jeremy Tankard)
Sometimes we wake up on the wrong side of the bed. When that happens, we like to dust off Grumpy Bird and read it together as a family. Grumpy Bird finds out that friendships and a walk help to cheer him up. Jeremy Tankard also wrote Boo-Hoo Bird and Me Hungry! I'd recommend each of these as well!

Most of these books you can easily find at your local library, so be sure to take advantage of trying these books out for free before you decide to purchase them!

What will you and your preschoolers be reading this summer? What are some books that I didn't list here that you think every preschooler should read?

We're linked up with Many Little Blessings' Top 10 {Tuesday}. Check out other top 10 lists here.

Grow: The Elliots + Friends (May Missionary Series)

2012-05-25T03:00:00.000-04:00

Back in 2005 there was a semi-popular movie (in some circles) called End of the Spear. It was based on a true story of five missionary families going into the Waodoni tribe in Ecuador to share the good news of Jesus with them. Up until this point, the tribe was unreached (meaning no one had ever told them about the gospel). The movie tells of this story, and then expands on what happens after the men of those families were speared to death by some of the tribesmen. It's an incredibly powerful story of redemption and forgiveness.

The Elliots
One of the men was named Jim Elliot, and I think he's typically the most known of all the men because he was a writer. Over the years, it seems like if you wrote journals and books, people remember you better than those who were not writers. Anyway, I also want to include Elisabeth Elliot in this post because I think we too often forget that while the men were heroic and gave their lives in this mission, so did the women and children who were courageous and spent many years of their life working with the Waodoni tribe, sharing about Jesus and offering forgiveness to the men who killed their husbands/fathers. I think they are no less heroic for their actions, yet not a lot of books are written about them.

But, for some primers, here are some resources that you don't want to miss:

For teenagers and adults

The Journals of Jim Elliot (book). Journals often reveal glimpses of the inner workings of a person. I think Jim Elliot was a fascinating person and his journals are very challenging to read because they make the reader reflect on their own life and thoughts. Perhaps I also like it because in it, he struggles through some ideas that I also struggled through when I was his age.

Shadow of the Almighty: The Life and Testament of Jim Elliot (book). Elisabeth Elliot (his wife at the time) wrote this book about Jim's life. It's also very good and gives a great look at him and the experience they went through. It includes pieces of letters written between the two. Some parts of it remind me of Jake and I's love story. :)

For preschoolers and children

The Jim Elliot Story (video + activities). This DVD (Vision Video- which has a great collection of Christian videos) is one of the many in the Torchlighters Heroes of the Faith series . This animated video (30 minutes) is aimed at children between 8 and 12, and it tells the story of the men and the Waodoni tribe with Jim being the main character. Asante (age 4) liked the movie. He had a lot of questions afterwards (and I explained some of the parts as we watched), but he was greatly impacted by it. The DVD also comes with a study guide and some extras (an EXCELLENT interview with Steve Saint, son of the martyred Nate Saint), as well as a couple other things. This movie doesn't sugarcoat the story, which I appreciate.

Glimpses for Kids- online overview of Jim Elliot.

The Saints (Nate and his wife Marj, son Steve, and sister Rachel)
Nate Saint was a missionary pilot who played a pivotal role in finding the Waodoni tribe. His story is another one that has been told almost as much as Jim's. His son, Steve, still works with the tribe today.

Heroes for Young Readers: Nate Saint (book). This book is for kids and tells a little of Nate's life before going to Ecuador and then the story with him being the main character. It's written in poetry (abcb), but it's a story. What I like about this book is that it sheds some more light on why the men were killed- because of some lies told by a couple of the Waodoni young people that made the foreigners look dangerous. This book is published by YWAM. They also put out an activity guide that goes along with three other books. The activity guide (and cd) focuses on character education and includes some great activities (related both to the story and the country in which the story takes place), music, and coloring pictures. I just got this in the mail and I'm really excited to take the kids through some of the activities. I plan on posting more about it later this weekend.

The End of the Spear (movie). It's well-done and does a good job of telling the story in a compelling way. I remember sitting in the theater and crying my eyes out afterwards because I so admired the courage and obedience of these families. They heard God, they went, they gave their lives, and people came to know the Lord because of their willingness to obey, even though things weren't easy and everything didn't work itself out perfectly.

Jungle Pilot (book). Biography of Nate Saint.

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What blows me away is that these families decided to go to Ecuador because God had placed a calling on their lives to go tell people about Jesus who had never heard. They went, not because they loved adventure or needed a thrill, but because they were deeply committed to obeying God no matter what He called them to, and they loved people so much that they would give their own lives in order to tell them about Jesus. These families knew the danger, but had courage to obey. And they did so with joy. There aren't many people today who would risk it all, especially having young children like these families did (mostly under the age of 5, I think). In fact, many of us are nervous to move out of the suburbs with young children in fear of not giving our kids every opportunity we can to help them to be well-rounded individuals.

After the men died, the women didn't catch the next plane home, but several stayed (with their toddlers/preschoolers!) and continued to pursue the Waodoni because that's what God had called them to do in the first place. Just because the men had died didn't mean God was asking the women to abandon the mission. God used those courageous and strong women to bring a tribe of families to the Lord. Can you imagine?

So let's tell our kids about this story.... helping them to see that sharing the gospel isn't always safe. Sometimes God calls us to do dangerous things. A few of us will end up physically giving up our lives. But all of us are called to give up our lives on other levels if we choose to follow Jesus.

He is no fool to give what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot

Thank you to YWAM for their generosity in sending me books and the activity guide about Nate Saint in exchange for a review!
Also, thanks to Vision Video and Christian History Institutefor sending me the movie about Jim Elliot! Who knew that these two great companies had such great resources for young children.

Eat: Bake Sale Tips and Ideas

2012-05-23T03:00:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday, May 20th, we held the Missionary Bake Sale at our church. Remember I passed out these little gems the Sunday before? Well, the advertising worked, because we had an phenomenal turnout.

I only have pictures of the before we sold, but I am happy to report that nearly everything got sold. We were able to raise over $1500! I am so blessed by the generosity of my church. I love you guys!

Some of you might be thinking, why do I need to read about a bake sale? I have no intentions of putting one on. But I'm here to encourage you to at least think about it. I got lots of grateful responses saying they were so glad that I did this (which was the first one our church has had in over 30 years) and they were so glad for the opportunity to get involved with helping the missionary teams in a tangible (and sweet) way. So yes, maybe the idea of a bake sale is not on your radar yet, but, would you pray about it?

And while you're praying, allow me to let you in on some of my "secrets" of the trade. (I act like I know what I'm doing, but really, I don't. This was the very first bake sale I have ever organized, so it was work, but it was satisfying work.)

Tips for Running a Bake Sale

1. Decide Your Sale Format

The Silent Auction Table

One of the Buy Outright Tables

My bake sale was split into two parts, one part was for buying things outright, generally smaller items, and then the other part was a silent auction for the larger items. You could do one of the two formats or a mix of the two like I did. To sell outright requires more manpower to handle the demand, but it is more easily accessible to the average joe (or the preschooler with a dollar from his momma). To do a silent auction, you don't need very many people, but it is less accessible to everyday people and less exciting (at least until the last five minutes), but it also has the potential to rake in more money per square inch of treat. We had a cake sell for $100!

2. Decide Your Pricing Scheme

The yellow $3 section and the uncolored $6 section

To make things easier for the selling, we only had four prices in the buy outright section: $1, $2, $3, and $6. This worked out great. I grouped each price together and put it on it's own separate color table cloth with a sign. (i.e., everything on the orange tablecloth is $1, everything on the pink tablecloth is $2, etc.) It was easy to find items for each price point, and the color separation was a good visual for the customers. It was easy to point them to whatever price they were looking for just buy saying a color. In addition to the colors and the signs, we put stickers on every item. (red for $1, blue for $2, etc.) so that if people bought items from different tables, the person checking them out could easily tell what price it was.

3. Get Volunteers

Don't be afraid to ask for help. People are wanting to help but often they don't know that there is an opportunity to help, so you've got to tell them about it. And don't be afraid to approach specific people. They might not respond to the general call to the masses, but they will probably respond to a specific invitation. I set up a google document with a spreadsheet of what everyone was making. This allowed me and my bakers to keep track of who was making what and prevent too many duplications. And don't overlook high schoolers. They were so valuable to me for the running of the sale. I didn't really have to do anything beyond the set up. It was such a nice relief. Plus, their bubbly personality or no nonsense attitude can be great for getting a sale. :)

4. Clearly Mark Items

Index card tents

Beyond making sure that the prices are clearly marked on the tables, make sure that each item is marked so that people can know what they are buying. I made little tents out of cut in half index cards and stuck a pretty label on it that we filled in with the name of each item.

5. Pretty Sells

This cake looked elaborate, but was easy to make, see the tutorial here.

Remember that we eat with our eyes first. So take the time to make it look good. A pretty label or a nicely decorated cake goes a long way.

In the cup and bagged for easy transport.

Unwrapped

Out of the cup and ready to eat!

A great way to package cupcakes without smushing their pretty tops is to put them in clear plastic cups (the short kind). I lined my cups with strips of wax paper so that it would be easy to lift the cupcake out without having to dig your finger in the icing. And then I wrapped a bag around it and tied it with a bow. Pretty and functional.

6. Have a Donation Jar

We put the jar right by the cashier so that people could donate the change we gave them.

This event is for charity. But not everyone is going to want to buy a treat. But that doesn't mean that they don't want to support the cause. So give people a chance to just give. You'll be surprised at what you get.

7. Include Specialty Diet Items

Baking vegan can cover a lot of different allergies, and it can still be delicious!

Different diets are all over these days. Do son't forget to include things for people with gluten allergies, nut allergies, dairy allergies, or those following a vegan diet. The internet is a great resource for recipes if this is not your usual fare. But an easy thing to make is gluten-free Rice Krispie treats. You make them the same as the original except you use the gluten-free Rice Krispies. Easy. Also, have your bakers include an ingredient list that can be referenced for those with allergies. It's a simple thing to do, but it can make all the difference for someone with allergies, the difference between buying something and not.

8. Think Outside the Box

Breakfast in a bag with a cute label!

World cake balls to remember the purpose of the sale.

Things on a stick sell! Put them in a vase for easy display.

Think about the time of day that you are selling. If it's breakfasty time, don't forget to include good breakfast fare, like granola or cappuccino muffins. And if you hit lunch time, think of things people would want to eat right then. One of our best items was a veggie pizza that was sold by the slice. I wasn't sure how people would respond to that, but it was gone in a flash. Other great non-standard fare that we had were jars of lemon curd, peanut butter cake pops, and dark chocolate covered pretzels. Also, anything on a stick has instant appeal to both kids and adults alike. Trust me.

9. Don't Dismiss the Normal Fare

Our best sellers were still good old chocolate chip cookies, brownies, and banana bread. So don't roll your eyes when people sign up for those things. They are an expected, and necessary, component to your sale.

10. Be Prepared for Major Blessing

If you are doing a silent auction, make sure all your pens work because people will be bidding. And if you are selling things outright, provide plastic bags because people will be going home with a haul. Expect great things from God and He will not disappoint.

This was a blessing for my church, it was a blessing for the missionaries we are supporting, and it was a blessing for me. It was so nice to find a niche that I could excel at and make a positive difference.

So please continue to pray about what you can do, and if you are seriously considering doing a bake sale to raise funds for missionaries in your church, I'd be happy to pass along any and all of the things I made up for my event. And I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have about any of it.

What might God be calling you do to do today?

Linked up on Tip Me Tuesdays and Whatever Goes Wednesday and Wow Me Wednesday and Tuesday Talent Show.

Play: Homemade Toys - Milk Jug Toss

2012-05-21T03:00:00.000-04:00

This is the next installment in our Homemade Toys series. So be sure to check out the pattern play blocks, the button spinner, and the cloth marble maze. Making toys can be a fun, cheap alternative to getting some from the store. And if you can get the kids involved, they will likely treasure it more and, thusly, enjoy it more. So win-win-win!

As with most things I do these days, this all began with a pin. And that pin, turned into this!

This milk jug toss toy was a cinch to make. And free. I love free. You can't beat free. Well, maybe you can if someone is willing to pay you to take something. That could be better than free. But anyways, the point is, you can do this one. :)

So to make this, you'll need:

- a clean milk jug (I used a quart-sized buttermilk jug)
- yarn
- exacto knife
- scissors
- scrap of cardboard
- tape
- rubberband (optional)

To start off, I began by making my yarn pom-pom. To make the pom-pom, you wrap yarn around your scrap of cardboard. The more times you go around, the fuller your pom-pom will be. So go around a lot!

Then slip the loops off of the cardboard but keep it's shape.

Then squeezing the middle together, tie it tightly with another piece of yarn.

Insert your scissors into the loops on top and cut through. Do the same for the loops on the bottom.

Then fluff. And ta-da! You've got a yarn pom-pom. (As a side-note: Sebastian has started saying "ta-da!" after he does just about anything. Does that mean I say that a lot? I feel silly.)

Now on to milk jug surgery. Do you remember in the list of supplies I said that you needed a clean milk jug? Well, I really do mean clean. I thought mine was clean. I was wrong. Not a fun surprise. So before you do the next step, take the time to make sure your jug is really clean. Nothing turns the stomach quite like the sour milk smell.

It looks clean, but it soooo wasn't. Yuk.

So now that your jug is spic-and-span clean, you can cut into it. I used a rubberband around the jug as a guide for my knife, but you can just as easily eyeball it or use a marker line as your guide. You'll be keeping the side with the handle.

If you are a good enough cutter, you could potentially leave the edge just as it is, but since I screwed up in a few places, I decorated some masking tape and placed that around the edge. Colored duct tape or washi tape would be great for this. I didn't have either, so I used masking tape. Just use what you've got.

Back to the yarn pom-pom, attach a long piece of yarn to the pom-pom. I tied it perpendicular to the yarn that I had previously tied in the middle. That way, the pom-pom is likely to stay more fluffed.

Then wrap the other end around the spout part of the half of a jug. You can either tie it, or I just wound it and screwed the cap back on. I figured, later, when Sebastian gets really good at this, I can make the yarn longer and thusly make the game harder.

And then you're done! Now you can play!

So the object of the toy/game/whatever is to get the pom-pom in the jug just by using swinging motion while holding on to the handle. It's a one hand game. You can start with your dominant hand, and then for added difficulty, you can switch to your non-dominant hand. It's surprising how much of a difference that can make.

And so there you have it, a milk jug toss toy!

So, do you have an empty milk jug lying around?

Linked up on Made by Little Hands and Show and Tell and Terrific Under Ten.

Grow: Amy Carmichael (May Missionary Series)

2012-05-18T03:00:00.000-04:00

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This week's spotlight is on Amy Carmichael, "mom" to orphans and missionary to India. I first read a biography about her high school, upon recommendation of my aunt. And I couldn't put it down- I read the whole thing in a weekend. I was captured by her courage and perseverance in the face of suffering and discouragement. She was committed to following the Lord's calling in her life, and she fiercely loved the children who did not have parents to care for them.

Amy was a fiesty woman. As a child, she loved adventure and was always finding herself in some sort of trouble. In the Torchlighter's book about Amy, Can brown eyes be made blue? (again, GREAT BOOK), they highlight some of her troubling antics- stealing a boat and getting lost at sea, getting stuck on a roof, and eating things that made her sick, just to see if it would actually make her sick. Amy wasn't one to sit back and let life pass her by. She also wasn't one to allow other people to tell her what to do...well, except God, that is.

When reading this book, I couldn't help but think of one of my daughters, and how her personality and spirit already remind me a lot of Amy's. While parenting a child like this can be trying and worrisome (what in the world is this child going to be like as a teenager?!), it's also exciting to see an example of a wild child who has matured into a woman who lives surrendered and in abandonment to the Lord.

Sex Trafficking
Amy Carmichael was an unmarried woman who gave her life to the Lord, and through her life, He did many different things. One of the things that she is most known for is her work with helping rescue children caught in sexual slavery to the Hindi temples in India. Working with people who are being trafficked has gotten a lot more attention these days (yes!), and teaching our kids about Amy could lead to some natural conversations about what it means for a human to be trafficked, and what kinds of trafficking exist. Of course, these conversations have many layers, depending on how old our children are.

Some questions to ask (older kids):
- Does God care about human trafficking? Why or why not?
- Where in Scripture do we see evidence of his concern or unconcern for this?
- What is our role in helping people who are being trafficked?
- Does human trafficking exist here in America?
- What are some local organizations that we could partner with in helping people who are being, or have been, trafficked?

Orphan Care
While human trafficking is probably a topic for older kids, orphan care is one that naturally flows out of Amy's life, and is something that small children- preschool age- can grasp. We can explain that orphans are kids who have no mom and dad. When introducing this concept for the first time, kids are normally taken aback. When Asante and I first talked about orphans, he was surprised and filled with questions...and not just for a few minutes, but the questions kept coming over a series of days.

- Who takes care of them?

- Who reads them stories?

- How do they get food?

- Where do they sleep?

- Why don't they have a mom and dad?

- Who gives them baths and plays with them?

Asante was quick to suggest that maybe we could invite an orphan into our family. We talked about how much of a sacrifice that would be for everyone- including the kids- because they'd have to share attention, their room, toys, clothes, etc. He was fine with it (in theory) because he felt deeply that it would be something that someone should do- so why not us? While adopting an orphan isn't on our radar right now, I think those conversations are formative to our child's sense of what it means to love God and love people.


Jake, Asante and I back in 2009. Liaram is in the red.

A good first step for any family is to sponsor a child through an organization like Compassion. Although not all kids are orphans (many still have a mother living), they are still in extreme need. Through a relationship with the child (letters, pictures, and maybe someday a visit!), kids can learn about and be friends with another kid somewhere across the world. We sponsor a child named Liaram and was even able to visit him while we lived in Kenya! It was a sweet sweet experience that bonded our hearts together even more. For us, it has become more of a family-to-family relationship where we keep up with each others lives and pray for one another.

Living a Life of Sacrifice
I love this story from Amy's life (as told by christianity.com):

Another time she and her mother stopped to have tea and biscuits in a restaurant. As they ate, Amy saw a dirty little beggar girl with her nose pressed against the window. The poor little girl, with no food, touched Amy so much that she made another promise. She promised that when she grew up she would give her money to the poor.

Amy's encounter with this girl in need- a girl her own age, just like her in so many other ways- did something so significant in her heart that her whole life purpose was changed. It reminds me that if my husband and I are so careful to shelter our kids from "the wrong part of town", we are sometimes sheltering them from a spiritually formative encounter that God desires for them to have so that He can create a compassionate heart in them.

On Mother's Day, we went down to the city for a dinner at my favorite restaurant. While parking, a man sitting outside of a 7-11 called me over, asking me for money to buy a hotdog. I came back to the car to see if Jake had cash on him, and then went back to talk to the man. Asante (age 4) came over, curious as to what was going on. The man engaged Asante in conversation and we all had a good laugh at the exchange (Asante told the guy that he wanted to be a video game maker when he grew up. The guy thought that was hilarious, but agreed that it would probably be a fun job). While I didn't plan that event, I knew in my heart, as it was happening, that the Lord was using this exchange to help form Asante's heart. One thing I've been praying for him is that he would be able to see people as people like him, and not think that "people in need" are a project or a person who is "not like me." But instead, he would be able to see them as someone just like him, made in God's image, and someone that he can interact with in the same way he would interact with someone who didn't have physical deformities or extreme need. Basically, to not be afraid, but to be able to love and lean into relationships with people who may live a different life than him.

Anyway, all that to say- studying the life of this woman could lead to all kinds of conversations and formative moments! Here are some more resources that I've come across. If you know of more, be sure to leave a comment with a link!

Other Resources

Books

Source

Source**

I also highlighted the book last week that they put out about George Muller. This book was equally as good and is well done. They do such a great job of writing at a level that preschoolers can easily grasp.

Source

Articles

http://www.thetravelingteam.org/amycarmichael
http://www.christianity.com/ChurchHistory/11634859/

Movies/Media

Torchlighters has a kid's movie about Amy's life. Here's a snippet I found:

Also from Torchlighters, an Amy Carmichael resource page with puzzles, online painting, coloring pages, etc. When registered, you can also download leader and student guides that are filled with fun activities, crafts and questions.

Be sure to check out the post about George Muller from last week if you haven't already! Next week will be our last week of the May Missionary series. We'll be talking about Jim and Elisabeth Elliot!

** Thank you, Christian Focus Publications, for your generosity in sending me this copy of Can brown eyes be made blue? to review!

Free: Customizable Tote Bag

2012-05-17T23:08:00.001-04:00

I just saw an offer for a great deal that I had to share with you all! You can customize your own bag with pics....a fun gift idea for mom or grandma!

You can get a custom bag from Ink Garden for only the cost of shipping (which is $4.99). Just use the code FREEBAG. Offer expires May 31st.**

**This is an affiliate link**

Eat: Bake Sale Brownies and Blondies

2012-05-16T03:00:00.000-04:00

We're having a bake sale! It's being held at the church that both Tiffany and I attend, and it's going to benefit the teams from there going on short term mission trips to Bosnia and Burkina Faso this summer.

The idea was just one that kinda popped in my head after reading the book Christian Atheist. In one chapter, the author, Craig Groeschel, encourages the reader to be the church for others by reaching out to them. The one way I felt I could reach out is by using my baking and generosity skills to organize a bake sale.

And so that's what I did. With the approval and encouragement from the church staff, I have been working on organizing this bake sale. The sale is set to be held next Sunday, May 20th, in between the church services and afterwards.

But these little goodies were what I handed out this past Sunday.

I thought it would be a good idea to tempt people's tastebuds so that they wouldn't forget about the upcoming sale. The people seemed to think it was a good idea, too.

Tiffany was my partner in crime. She helped me with the announcement during the service, which was a play on the woes of cooking with a toddler. (If you are interested in downloading the file for our script for your own announcement, you can find it here.) And she helped me pass out the goodies.

To make these little squares, I made two 9 x 13 pans, one of brownies and one of blondies. Then, I cut them into small squares, 108 squares each to be exact (9 rows by 12 columns). That seemed to be the perfect sized bite. But I guess not everyone agreed since they kept coming back for seconds or thirds. (Tsk, tsk) :)

I made the flags out of toothpicks and address labels that I got for free (after rebate) at Staples. (If you don't jump on Staples rebate deals, you really should. You can score some awesome office supplies for free, because I always get my check in a timely fashion.) If you are interested in checking out the template, you can get it here.

Now before I get to these two delicious recipes, I realize that a lot of our readers are not going to be able to support this sale due to location, but I don't want you to forget to support the missionaries that are readily accessible to you either through your church or friends. Did you know that missionary families that are based in the US but are living overseas are getting a much smaller discount this year for taxes? This means that they are going to have to pay more than anticipated out of pocket, and with only the limited funds from what we give, this is a big burden on some families. So, would you consider giving a missionary family a little extra this month? It doesn't have to be much to make a big impact. So when you eat one of the delicious brownies or blondies, think about how much you would be willing to pay for that treat. And then send that amount to a missionary overseas. It's that easy!

So here are the recipes so you can get to baking and then get to eating then get to giving!

The Baked Brownie
as seen on Divine Baking

Baked Note: A great brownie is easy to make, but you have to be aware of several factors. 1. Use a dark cocoa powder, like Valrhona. A pale, light-colored cocoa does not have enough depth. 2. Make sure your eggs are room temperature and do not overbeat them into the batter, and 3. Make sure you check your brownies often while baking. Once the brownies have been overbaked slightly, they have reached the point of no return.

1 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons dark cocoa powder

11 ounces quality dark chocolate (60-72%), chopped coarsely

8 ounces butter (2 sticks), cut into 1 inch cubes

1 tsp instant espresso powder (I left it out)

1 ½ cups sugar

½ cup light brown sugar

5 large eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter the sides and bottom of a glass or light colored metal pan 9x13x2 pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, the salt, and cocoa powder.

Configure a large sized double boiler. Place the chocolate, the butter, and the instant espresso powder in the bowl of the double boiler and stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and combined. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water of the double boiler and add both sugars. Whisk the sugars until completely combined and remove the bowl from the pan. Mixture should be room temperature. (I actually did this melting the chocolate and butter in the microwave in 30 second spurts, and then whisking in the sugars, beating it for a full minute by hand to combine.)

Add three eggs to the chocolate/butter mixture and whisk until just combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until just combined. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Do not over beat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey.

Sprinkle the flour/cocoa/salt mix over the chocolate. Using a spatula (DO NOT USE A WHISK) fold the dry into the wet until there is just a trace amount of the flour/cocoa mix visible.

Pour the mixture into the pan and smooth the top with your spatula. Bake the brownies for 30 minutes (rotate the pan half-way through baking) and check to make sure the brownies are completely done by sticking a toothpick into the center of the pan. The brownies are done when the toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.

Cool the brownies completely before cutting and serving.

Caramel Blondie

from The Luna Cafe

vegetable oil spray or unsalted butter, to coat the pan
1 tablespoon all purpose flour, to coat the pan (I used Baker's Joy spray instead of the regular spray and flour)

1 1/2 cup (3 sticks) unsalted butter or unsalted browned butter
3 cups packed dark brown sugar

3 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt

Line an 9 x 13 inch baking pan with two crisscrossing strips of foil (I only used one), shiny side down. Coat the foil lightly with vegetable spray or softened butter and sprinkle on the flour. Tap the pan from side to side to evenly coat with flour and then tap out any excess (or use Baker's Joy).

In a 2-cup glass measuring cup, melt the butter in the microwave. Pour into a large mixing bowl and add the brown sugar.

Cool the mixture until just warm but not hot. Stir in the beaten eggs and vanilla.

Over the top of the batter, sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Combine well.

Spread batter evenly into the prepared baking pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F for about 35 minutes, until the top of the cookies is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist, but not gooey crumbs. With these cookies, it is better to err on the side of under done than over done.

Cool on a wire rack, and then lift the blondies out of the pan using the edges of the foil.

Cut with a knife into squares.

What are you doing to support your missionaries this month?

Linked up on Totally Tasty Tuesdays and Sweet Treats and Swanky Stuff.

Play: Travel Busy Bags

2012-05-14T03:00:00.000-04:00

A bunch of us moms recently got together and did our SECOND busy bag exchange, this one focusing on activities that will be travel friendly. For those of you who haven't heard of these, busy bags are activities that are contained in a bag that can easily be given to a child to do while mom or dad is working on something else. We bring these bags when we go out to eat, wait in a doctor's office, or hang out at a friend's house who doesn't have kids (and hence no toys). Each activity is also designed to help with different developmental skills.

In our exchange, nine of us moms each chose one busy bag (actually, one mom choose to do 3 activities), made nine copies of it, and then we all exchanged our bags so we got to go home with one of each activity. Most of the bags we put together this time are good to do in the car, and a couple of them are more geared for on-site play (because who wants to pack a bunch of toys when going on vacation?).

1. Number Whee l (number recognition, fine motor skills, counting)

2. Lego matching (problem-solving, visual skills)

3. Button snake (fine motor skills)

4. Felt Board + pompom scoop (counting, fine motor skills, number recognition)

5. Road Trip Bingo and States License Plate game (reading skills, visual skills)

6. Brainteaser (problem-solving skills)

7. Magnetic "Wooly Willy" Shape Game

8. Magnetic Discovery Bottle

9. Popsicle Matching Game

10. Scavenger Hunt cards

11. Animal Play Mat

I'm so impressed by the creativity and effort of all the moms who participated!

What are you favorite activities to help kids travel more easily?

Linked up on Made by Little Hands and Tuesday Tots and Show and Tell.

Grow: George Muller (May Missionary Series)

2012-05-11T03:00:00.000-04:00

I am always encouraged when I read biographies of women and men who have lived lives of faithfulness, deep trust, and courage in their walks with God. Their stories inspire me to more faithfully live out the calling that God has placed on me and my family's life. This month we are highlighting a few missionaries who are known for these characteristics. All of the missionaries we are sharing about have lived or are living in counties other than our own. We do this not because we want to lift up the life of an overseas missionary as a higher calling, but because most of the missionaries who have biographies written about them are ones who lived and labored overseas. Hopefully this series can be an encouragement to us as we live faithfully wherever God has planted us in a way that deeply trusts God and extravagantly loves those around us.

George Muller

Sometimes George Muller has been called "the man of faith" because of his deep trust in God to provide for his needs on a daily basis. However, Muller certainly wasn't always like that. He grew up in a Prussian household that was privileged and without God. It wasn't until while he was in divinity school (many people back then went to divinity school to be a clergyman of a state church even if they weren't really Christians) that he realized his need for salvation. It's kind of a fun story- he was invited to a prayer meeting/Bible Study by one of his classmates, he agreed to go, and he it was through this experience that God showed Himself to Muller.

Muller has all kinds of adventures after this, but there are two parts of his life that I think are particularly interesting.

The Infamous Pew Rental System

The first is during his first real pastoring job in England. He was invited to be the pastor at Ebenezer Church in Devon. It was during this time that he also met and married his wife, Mary Groves. During this time, pew rentals were very popular. Basically, people would pay money so they could sit in a certain pew. The pews toward the front were the most expensive, and they got cheaper the farther it got from the pulpit. After being at Ebenezer for awhile, Muller began feeling uneasy about this practice, and eventually demanded that it be done away with because it was unfair to those who were poor, and was in direct violation to James' words in James 2.1-9:

2 My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism. ²Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. ³If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” ⁴have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

This was huge! From what I have read, this practice was pretty much uncontested up until this point. Calling this out and eliminating this practice took great courage and perseverance. The pew rentals were a main source of money for the church, and Muller knew before he said anything that this could mean that he would have no salary. To us this is an obvious problem- why in the world did they let this happen? But I can guarantee there are things going on in our churches today that people years from now will say the same thing about. Sometimes it's difficult to see outside of our environment ("the way things have always been done"), and it takes a ton of courage and perseverance to stand up for the convictions that we have, even if people don't "get it" for awhile.

Source

Care for Orphans and Praying for Daily Needs

Later on, after this pastoring job, Muller and his wife felt called to start an orphanage in Bristol, starting in their own home! They never asked for financial assistance, and never went in debt, but they ended up building five homes, raising and serving over 1,700 orphans at any one time. Instead of asking people, they continually prayed, asking and trusting God to provide for their daily needs. One time, the orphans were all sitting down for breakfast and the table was empty. They didn't have any food in the house, but they decided to sit down to breakfast anyway, and pray and thank God for the food He would provide. As they were finishing their prayer, a baker arrived with a bunch of loaves of bread that God has woke him up to make earlier that morning for the specific purpose of bringing them to the orphanage. Also around the same time, a milk cart broke down outside of the orphanage, so the milkman asked if they wanted it...otherwise the milk would go bad before he could fix his cart. God's provision and the Mullers' trust in his provision not only speaks to us, reading about them today, but I'm sure it affected all those orphans as well- continually seeing that the Lord is faithful to take care of them, something that they both experienced through the orphanages and through seeing the hand of God provide them for their needs. I love that the Mullers were brave to step into this calling, even though they only had about 50 cents (adjusted to dollars) when they said yes to God.

Resources for Teaching our Kids about George Muller

Stories are really good way to teach kids (and ourselves) about the nature of God. I was thinking the other day that I haven't really come across many resources for preschoolers/early elementary students about women and men who have gone before us, a "great cloud of witnesses"- whether that be church leaders, theologians, or missionaries. I wanted to share some that I did find, as well as throw in a few ideas about how we can teach our kids through Muller's life.

1. Books, Websites, Articles
Christianity Today's quick biography sketch: George Muller, Orphanages Built By Prayer
George Muller The Children's Champion (good for later elementary/junior high)
Photos of the orphanages in Bristol
A few free books, from Project Gutenberg
The Autobiography of George Muller

...aaaand, with the help of a fellow blogger, we were able to find this set of children's books from Christian Focus Publications!

George Muller: Does Money Grow on Trees?

I just got this in the mail and it is great! The length of the book and the sentence structure is perfect for preschoolers and early elementary. This story tells of Muller's life- from his stormy childhood to his salvation experience and onto working in orphanages and losing one of their own children. This story draws out the theme of trust in God for everything. The illustrations are colorful and the book is hardbound and quality. Asante and Aly really enjoyed reading it! **

2. Movies

I love Veggietales' rendition of the baker and the milkman providing food for the orphanage. Check it out!

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For teenagers or adults, here's an hour documentary called Robber of the Cruel Streets.

3. Role Playing
I think it'd be fun to role play the story of breakfast at the orphanage with the whole family. Perhaps it could done at breakfast, with the kids sitting around the table, waiting for the parent to serve them breakfast. One adult could be the narrator, the other parent could be the "baker" and "milkman" (have her/him waiting outside with some muffins and milk as the kids come down for breakfast). Have the kids sit around the table, the parent inside explain what they were going to do, and then act out the story.

4. Related topics to talk about in when talking about Muller

Prayer:

Spend time praying for kids who have no mom and dad.
Include your kids in "daily needs" prayers.
Have your kids lead prayer time.
When a kid (no matter how small!) is worried or anxious, lead them to prayer.

Favoritism:

God doesn't want us to treat someone better than another person because of how much money they have, where they live, where they're from, or who they know (or don't know). God wants us to love everyone in a way that shows respect to all people.

Generosity:

Those who were led to help the Mullers with the orphanages practiced generosity. They heard the Spirit speak to them, and then obeyed. A fun question to ask- what would have happened if they hadn't obeyed? When we are blessed with resources, it's always so that we can bless others as well. How can we bless others today with our money and time?

Trust/Dependence:

While God doesn't promise food three times a day or a roof over our heads, He does ask us to trust Him. He is enough, He cares deeply for us, and that He will take care of us. In what ways is it hard for each of us to trust God? Let's remember a time when we practiced trusting God even if we didn't want to or it was hard.

Obedience to Calling:

God primary call for all of us is to become more like Jesus. After this, He calls us to do and work and live in different jobs, places, and people groups. Sometimes we're called to a task or place that is uncomfortable to us, or we feel like we don't have the resources we need to do the job He has asked us to do. But God asks us to take the next step of obedience to that calling, no matter what. It might be fun for the parent to share with the child a time when we have stepped out in a calling, even if it was challenging or scary. How did it turn out? Maybe even share a time when it didn't really work out that well. What did God teach you through that?

5. Other
For older kids, you could have them research and create some sort of lapbook. Mater Magistra had her kids do one back in 2007 and she has some good ideas to get your brain going.

Any guesses on who next Friday's missionary will be? Here's a hint: This person served in India.

** Thank you, Christian Focus Publications, for your generosity in sending me this copy to review!

Eat: Cinnamon Pull-Apart Loaf

2012-05-09T03:00:00.000-04:00

Mother's Day is just around the corner, and some of you might still be in need of a good breakfast in bed (or at a nicely set table) idea. This is the one. That is, if you didn't like my breakfast bouquet idea.

But this, my friends, is a delicious choice for a breakfast or brunch table. And your mother would be so impressed that you tackled a yeast dough item just for her.

You don't have to be afraid of making things with yeast. Here are a few tricks I use when I make a yeast dough:

Yummy yeasty goodness just before baking

I use instant yeast (otherwise known as Rapid Rise yeast or Bread Machine yeast). Instant yeast does not require any proofing, so you don't have to worry about potentially killing your yeast with the warm water.
I don't worry if the dough is sticky during the first kneading. Most of the time, after it has had rest and time to rise, the stickiness takes care of itself. Of course, I use my mixer, so I'm not so keenly aware of just how sticky it is. I do know how frustrating it can be to have dough all over your fingers.
If I plan my time poorly, I let the dough rise as long as I need for the first rising (the one before you shape it). The dough can get as big as it wants now because it's not going to be my final product. I haven't had any trouble with even an overnight rising when it was supposed to be only an hour or two. I also have stuck it in the fridge for a cold rising (which is slow and perfect for overnight, too).
To make the second rising go faster, I preheat my oven to 200 degrees F, let it sit at that temperature for 5-10 minutes and then turn the oven off. I use this warm oven to proof my dough the second time. It's almost always done in 45 minutes or less. But you have to be careful with this not to forget it's in there because it will over-rise.

And now on to this delicious loaf.

I pinned this recipe a while back because I just had to try it. And I am so glad that I did. This is basically the flavors of a cinnamon roll or monkey bread but presented in a different way. The eating of it is exactly as the name suggests. Once the bread is turned out of the pan and righted, you can just pull off a few slices of this yummy, gooey bread. And since there is only two outside edges, most of the loaf is like the inner swirl of the cinnamon roll: ooey, gooey, and delicious.

Cinnamon Pull-Apart Loaf

slightly adapted from Zoom Yummy

{printable recipe}

For the dough:

2 3/4 cups (385 g) plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) instant dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs, room temperature

4 tablespoons (60 g) unsalted butter

1/3 cup milk

1/4 cup water

For the filling:

1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)

4 tablespoons (60 g) unsalted butter

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 2 cups (280 grams) flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Set aside.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and set aside.

3. And melt the butter with milk in the microwave.

4. Add the water and vanilla extract to the milk-butter mixture and stir a little.

5. Now pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix. Add the eggs and stir the mixture until the eggs are incorporated into the batter. Add the remaining 3/4 cup (105 grams) of flour and mix for about 2 minutes. Then, using the dough hook, knead and form a nice ball.

6. Grease a clean bowl a little and place the dough ball inside. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm space and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour. (Or you can do as I did and put in the fridge overnight for a slow rise.)

7. Deflate the risen dough and knead about 1 tablespoon of flour into the dough.

After rising in the fridge

8. Place the dough onto a lightly floured work surface.

9. Roll it out until it’s about 12 inches tall (30 cm) and about 20 inches (50 cm) wide.

10. Melt the butter for the filling (in the microwave oven or in a saucepan).

11. Mix with the sugar with cinnamon. (The original recipe says to spread the melted butter on the dough and then sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. I just realized while making this post that I didn't even follow the directions. So do as you please, it turns out yummy either way.)

12. Use a spoon or your fingers to spread the mixture evenly across the dough.

13. Slice the dough into six equal-sized strips.

14. Stack the strips on top of one another and slice the stack into six equal slices once again. You’ll have six stacks of six squares.

15. Grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch (22x12x8) loaf pan.

16. Layer the dough squares in the loaf pan like a flip-book. Place a kitchen towel over the loaf pan and allow to rest in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes. (Or you can do as I did and put this in the fridge again for a few hours and then when you are ready to bake place it in a warm oven for about 15 minutes in a warm oven. I didn't watch the time, and I over-rose a little here when I put it in the warm oven.)

After rising in the fridge for several hours (I probably could have and should have baked it right then)

After rising in the warm oven

17. Then bake in the preheated oven at 350 °F (175 °C) for about 30 minutes or until the tops are very golden brown. (I would place a cookie sheet underneath the pan because I had a few slices jump ship during the baking process.) The top may be lightly browned, but the center may still be raw. A nice, dark, golden brown will ensure that the center is cooked as well. Also, if you use a heavy, black loaf pan, reduce the oven temperature slightly.

18. Remove from the oven and and allow to rest for 20 to 30 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the bread and invert onto a clean board. Place a cake stand or cake plate on top of the upside down loaf, and carefully invert so it’s right side up.

What special food item are you making for your mom?

Linked up on Mix it up Monday and Making You Crave Monday and Mrs. Fox's Sweet Party and Link it Up Wednesday and Wow Me Wednesday and Trick or Treat.

{Guest Post} Play: DIY Mother's Day Photo Albums

2012-05-07T03:00:00.000-04:00

We are so thankful that our friend, Amy, agreed to share how to make this fun photo book for a Mother's Day gift. She's done this several times over the years, and her mom and grandma have LOVED them! You could take pictures of an event (i.e. hiking trip, playground, etc.), and make the whole photo book around that theme. Another fun idea is to get all the grandkids together and make this a joint gift! Either way, this is a cute idea that's easy to do. Hope you enjoy it. Thanks again, Amy!

Supplies:

12x12 heavy scrapbook paper

Scissors or a paper cutter

Tape

2 pieces of Cardboard, foam board or other heavy stiff material cut to 7x7

3 ½ x 5 photos

Stickers, markers, decorations (optional)

Step 1 – take your 12x12 paper and cut in half to form 2 pieces of 6x12

Step 2 – take your 6x12 paper and fold it in half to form a 6x6 square

Step 3 – Repeat steps 1 and 2 to make as many pages as you want. Always make an odd number of squares (3, 5, 7, etc.). Each square will give you room for at least 2 pictures. So 3 squares=6 pictures, 5 squares=10 pictures, 7 squares=14 pictures.

Step 4 – using tape (I recommend archival safe double sided tape), attach the back of one square’s side to the back of another square’s side, like this:

Step 5—once your pages are all connected, you can tape in your photos. You can either attach the photos directly to the page or you can mount them on a slightly larger piece of coordinating paper (for 3.5x5 photos, use a 4x5.5 piece of paper) and then tape the paper onto the page. It’s best to use archival safe double sided tape. Don’t forget that you can put pictures on the back side too.

Step 6—decorate the pages as desired. Write directly on the page or on a scrap of paper and tape in the scrap. Label the photos with names, dates, descriptions, etc. Use stickers or markers to liven up the pictures. Be careful to use archival safe products and it’s best to use flat objects. Thicker items don’t work well in a paper album.

Step 7—make your cover. Take a 12x12 piece of paper and put the good side face down. Take your first piece of 7x7 cardboard, foam board, whatever and put it on top of the paper. Wrap the cardboard like wrapping a present. Try for neat corners since they will be visible. You can use the full sheet of paper so that you cover as much of the back as you can or you can use a paper 8x8 so you have less bulk. Repeat for the other piece of board.

Step 8— Using tape or glue, attach a ribbon to the underside of the front cover. Repeat for the back cover. This will let you tie the album shut. Any kind of ribbon will work as long as it’s long enough to tie.

Step 9—Using tape, attach the starting side of your chain to the center of the back side of your cover. Once that is secured, attach the ending side of your chain to the center of your other cover.

Step 10—Decorate the cover if desired. Add stickers, text, ribbons, etc to decorate the outside of the cover. Try to leave the backside flat.

Tips:

These books make great gifts (Mother’s Day, Christmas, birthdays, etc.) and can be done with lots of themes (family vacation, pictures of the grandkids, family history).

3.5 x 5 photos fit nicely in a 6x6 album but you can make the album any size you’d like.

Thanks again, Amy, for this fun Mother's Day gift idea. What mom or grandma can get enough pictures?! :)

{This is Christina here: I was so inspired by this tutorial, I tried it myself for a present for my mom, mother in law, and grandmothers in law. I made it smaller and was able to complete it all in one day. I think it turned out great! What do you think?}

Linked up on Polly Want a Crafter and CraftoManiac and Show it Off and Sundae Scoop.

$1.00 off two Greenworks Products:

{Guest Post} Grow: Cleaning Up in the Spirit

2012-05-04T03:00:00.000-04:00

We are beginning what we are calling "Missionary-Minded May". To kick it off, we have a post from my friend, L, who is working in a closed nation right now.

My husband’s and my job requires us to travel often and live overseas. In the last 3 years we have lived in our home country, America, for only 4 months. We also have a 16 month old son. When we first started our travels, a friend shared with us the idea of praying over each new room we would live in. Since then, every hotel room, hostel room, and new apartment has been prayed over. Just this past week, we moved apartments and had a time of worship and prayer with friends in each room to cleanse it and place Jesus as Lord over our home. This recent move is what spawned my interest in sharing this tip with other Christian parents out there.

Often, we as parents will pray over our children, pray for a trip, but maybe we don’t specifically pray over the new hotel room we will live in for one night or weekend. When you think about it, these are places where anything could have happened, and any spirit invited to make a home. As it says in 1 Peter 5:8,9a- “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith.”

Source

Though a hotel room may have new sheets and new hand soap, the things done in that room may have placed a spirit of lust, greed, or even death into it. There have been times when we do not pray over our new hotel room first thing and that night we each have awful dreams or maybe wake up feeling sick. We’ve also had times where are son is unable to sleep or is fussy for no physical reason. We then pray and sleep much better the rest of our time there. The name of Jesus Christ is powerful. Even the demons knew who Jesus was and cried out in Matthew 8:29, “What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?”

I don’t share all this to bring fear, but to bring light and freedom to your family when traveling or moving. We are blessed to be able to rebuke away evil things in Jesus’ name and know fully that they will leave because of His authority. The devil does not have morals, so he will do whatever he can to our children or us to move our focus away from the one true God. We need to be aware and use the power we have as His children.

We have access to power that will stop this prowling lion, go out and use it!

- L

Have you used prayer as an offensive weapon lately?

Eat: Homemade Edible Arrangement

2012-05-02T03:00:00.000-04:00

Have you heard of Edible Arrangements? Probably so, but if not, they basically send you a bunch of cut up fruit that looks like a bouquet of flowers. I have never gotten one, but I've always wanted to. But I'm sure they come at a pretty penny. And therein lies the problem. I don't think I have to remind you of how stingy I've become.

And so, true to form, I decided, "I can make that", and so I did.

I'll admit that my arrangement is far from professional. And it could have stood for a lot more fruit, but I was losing my patience with the project by the end of it, as was Sebastian.

And so I'll call it a minimalist's version of an edible arrangement.

Even though I got fatigued, this really was a simple project. I only used four different food items: watermelon, red grapes, blueberries, and mini marshmallows. (Side note: The mini marshmallows were hard to slide on the skewers, but greasing up the stick with a little Crisco helped immensely!) I had intended to pick up a pineapple and another kind of melon, but Sebastian was having some major meltdowns while I was doing this, so that wasn't going to happen. I also had pulled out some strawberries, but I wasn't inspired with how to incorporate them.

But I think even with that little of variety, it looked pretty good.

To make the flower shapes, I used cookie cutters that I had around the house. I had also pulled out some butterfly cookie cutters, but I didn't end up using them, but I bet they would have been a cute addition.

I thought it would be cute to have a different center in the middle of the flowers, so I cut out the centers and threaded a grape or a blueberry in its place.

To make the arrangement itself, I used a short glass vase that I packed with a block of floral foam. Then I skewered the fruit using wooden skewers and stuck them in the foam. And then since I didn't completely fill out the arrangement, I covered up the visible foam with yellow Easter basket paper.

I finished it with a bit of curling ribbon and a note wishing a "Happy Mother's Day" because wouldn't this be a great idea to give your mom? It's cute on its own, but I was thinking it could be a fun twist on the breakfast in bed thing. You could have the fruit, and then maybe have a few skewers of bacon (cooked of course), a few skewers of hard boiled egg, and a few skewers of toast sticks. Just an idea! (If you try this, you HAVE to tell me. I so want to see how it turns out!)

All in all, this was a fun project, and I definitely want to try again sometime, this time without the cranky, fussy, no fun boy. :)

What kind of flowers are you getting your mom for mother's day?

Linked up with Wow Me Wednesdays and Whatever Goes Wednesdays and Whole Foods Wednesday and Totally Tasty Tuesdays and Trick or Treat Tuesdays.

Play: DIY Mother's Day Gifts Round Up

2012-04-30T03:00:00.000-04:00

We're two weeks out from Mother's Day... how are you going to celebrate your momma (or other mommas!) this year? Here are a few ideas that we love....

1. Personalized Etching
Think of the possibilities! Glasses, casserole dishes, vases... I particularly like the idea of the casserole dish. A sure guarantee for your mom to get all her dishes back after potlucks and holidays.

2. Bath Salts
What mom wouldn't love a good reason (and the chance) to take a bath? Add some homemade bath salts and a freshly scrubbed tub (hint, hint), and you've got one happy momma.

3. Teething Necklace
For a mom with a teething baby, relief from the constant gnawing is a present in and of itself. Make that relief into a stylish necklace, and you've got a twofer!

...and a few ideas that are good for kids to make for, well, their moms (hint hint to all the dads reading!)

4. Handprint Bouquet
This is a cute way to preserve little hands and to give mom flowers.

5. Coupon Book
This free printable is super easy for anyone to make. Add a few personalized touches with specific activities your mom would love, and you've got one nice gift.

6. Tissue Paper Stained Glass
Brighten up mom's day with some cheery decorations for the windows. Moms love pretty things, and this is a simple project even little ones can make.

7. Letter Art
Photographs with simple letters turn into a classy and memorable wall decoration. You can customize the letters to spell whatever you would like. Think "Mom", "We Love You", and more. The possibilities are endless!

8. Mom Gazette
Extra extra, read all about it! Have your kids tell their mom how awesome she is!

9. Monthly Scratch-off Cards
Use this valentine idea to make scratch off cards for mom! It'd be a fun gift that would help celebrate mom year round.

10. Love Rocks
It really does. These fun "rocks" would be a fun way to let mom know how much we love her.

Want to share some that you've found? Let us know in the comments!

Grow Review and Giveaway: Beyond Bathtime

2012-04-27T05:00:00.000-04:00

Beyond Bathtime, written by Erin Davis, is a book that, on the outside, seems like a fairly innocent book. It's pretty short- only 135 pages, and has a cute rubber duck on the front. The subtitle reads: Embracing Motherhood as a Sacred Role.

I must admit, I was surprised by the first few chapters. Erin raises awareness for the segment of the population who has decided to "go childless", meaning they are choosing to abstain from having kids for one reason or another. She is very concerned that people are choosing this out of selfishness, and aren't thinking about the great impact they could have for the kingdom through being a mom.

Ya'll, this is where things can really get heated! There are godly moms (and dads) on both sides of this debate. Some couples choose not to have kids because they haven't had the best experiences with their parents, and deep down don't think they are capable of being a good parent. Others are committed to mentoring and investing in other peoples' kids (in the church, in the neighborhood, in the schools), and feel no desire to reproduce biologically when they can reproduce spiritually. And perhaps there is a third side of all of this- some Christians really don't see the value in being a mom (or dad) and just think it's a waste of time. I don't really know any of these people, but I hear they exist.

Erin does a good job of representing the side that says- listen, being a mom is a sacred role and moms are just as important as missionaries in Africa! She rightfully uncovers the lies that washed up out of the first wave of feminism that women are wasting their lives if they are in the homes. I think Erin could have written more about how feminism has progressed over the years, and how there are different types of feminism, and how each one views the role of mother (I just think it would have made a broader, more rich conversation to not label feminism as the source of evil in this area).

I think the gem of the book is when she poses this idea: "The real question isn't 'Is choosing childlessness biblical?' but, 'Is living for myself biblical? Is ascribing to the world's priorities biblical? Is the choice to remain child-free rooted in the flesh?'" In asking these questions, she gets down to the heart of the matter- are we seeking the Lord on the issue of becoming a parent? She even mentions how some people choose to have kids out of selfish reasons, and that's not good either.

After the first half of the book, she goes on to encourage moms to keep on keeping on, to view themselves as having a meaningful role in this world, and also to try and keep their perspective of our children being a gift from God, even when it feels really hard and burdensome.

Erin Davis has a really fun writing style. Her writing is easy to read, yet intelligent. Even if you don't end up agreeing with her, I think you'll agree that she does a good job of explaining her point of view. You have to have a little thicker skin to read this book. She's not afraid to step on toes and she can be very bold in her statements. If that way of writing is helpful to you, I think you would like this book.

I think the one big downfall of this book is that it doesn't do much to bring women together in the whole conversation of whether or not to have kids. It's more of a book that draws a line in the sand.

If you are a mom who feels worn out by people around you saying that being a mother isn't "kingdom-living" then I think this book would be a great encouragement to you. Annnnnnd, one of you will be receiving a free book! Leave a comment on the post, and submit your info into Rafflecopter for a chance to win! Thanks, Erin, for the free book to review AND for being so generous in giving one to our blogging community too!

Congrats to the winner of Beyond Bathtime- Roxanne!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And be sure to check out our other two giveaways that we are hosting today: 100th post and Mom Connection!

Grow Review and Giveaway: Mom Connection

2012-04-27T04:00:00.000-04:00

Source

Becoming a parent is full of all kinds of surprises.

There's the whole birthing process that is full of surprises no matter how informed you are. Then there's the fun surprise for some of us of finding out the gender, or getting to see if the baby has momma's blue eyes or the red hair that only a few people on your side of the family get.

And there's the grosser stuff- who of us knew about meconium until it was upon us? Were you surprised when your newborn girl starting lactating a little? And who knew that such a little person could change life as we knew it inside out, upside down?

...and there's also the surprise that many of us don't really like to talk about.

I never knew I'd be so lonely.

The good news is that sometimes motherhood isn't very lonely. When all our friends are in the same stage of life and babies are popping out right and left, it's fun to be able to experience that together as a community, sharing our struggles and our victories, visiting one another and praying for each other. The problem is, many of us aren't so blessed to have that. Maybe we're the first of our group of friends to have kids, or maybe we waited longer than the rest of our friends and they are long past the stage of 7 o'clock bedtimes and Gymboree classes. Or maybe we just changed jobs or moved to a new location.

One of the things that Tracey Bianchi talks about in her new book, Mom Connection: creating vibrant relationships in the midst of motherhood, is the art of living an invitational life. Bianchi says, "to live invitationally is to live with an eye toward connecting with others." She goes on to say that, "some of the daily elements we take for granted can profoundly move another mom to a healthier place. To live invitationally is to view our daily routines as a way to create warmth where loneliness reigns."

I think there are two sides to this way of life. For those of us who ARE well-connected in our neighborhood, our local Moms Club chapter, our churches, wherever, we can always be looking out for the new person (whether that person be new to the community or just new to being a parent), inviting them into our lives and circles. Even the simplest connection could provide hope for that mom who just doesn't have the same networks of support- "Have you met my friend Amy? She has same of the same interests as you do- I bet you'd love her. How about you come over next week and I'll introduce you!" I remember when I first moved to Wilmore, KY for seminary-- I didn't know a sole. I'd only been there a week or so, and a mom down the street (Mandi!) invited me to a game night that she was hosting. I met a whole gaggle of kind women who asked me a bunch of questions, artfully included me in on the conversation, and were immediate potential friends. A couple weeks later I met another mom (Lynne!) on the playground and she invited our whole family to dinner as we were leaving (like, "why don't you guys come over in 15 minutes to eat with us?"). Another awesome example of an invitational life. Lynne and her family actually ended up becoming some of our best friends!

And for those of us who ARE the lonely ones, we can live an invitational life too. I think many of us assume that people are already busy (rightly so), and most moms don't want another friend. Bianchi encourages us to show up to places where we can meet new friends (playgrounds, etc) and be social. Smile at another mom; strike up a conversation. You never know what kind of friendship can come out of it. We can also be invitational, being on the lookout for those moms that seem a little lonely themselves.

We were created to live in community with one another, and it is through this authentic, Christ-centered community that the Kingdom of God comes. None of us can live life by ourselves; we're called to love one another, which means we have to know one another! America right now is a very transient place, especially for those of us who are in the child-bearing season. Jobs change. People go to school. Many families aren't as geographically close as they used to be. Many of us choose to have kids later in life. All of this makes relationships difficult to make and keep.

So our homework for this weekend is to make a new friend! Reach out to someone, invite them to "do life" with you- whether that be going to the park, taking a walk, or doing laundry after the kids go to bed. It'll be worth it.

Revell (a division of Baker books) has SO kindly agreed to give away a free copy for one of YOU! To enter, leave a comment on our blog, and then enter your name in the Rafflecopter below. As usual, you get additional chances for liking us on FB and following us on Twitter.

Congrats to Heather for winning a copy of Mom Connection!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And be sure to check out our other two giveaways we are hosting today: 100th post and Beyond Bathtime!

Our 100th Post and a Giveaway!

2012-04-27T03:00:00.001-04:00

One hundred. Wow!

It seems like not too long ago we were just starting this thing. And now we are at 100 posts. My my, how we have grown. But I am personally looking forward to the next 100. Trust me, we've started planning, and you don't want to miss it.

Normally, today would be a grow post, and don't miss out, there will be two today (actually, if you are reading this at some time other than 3:00am EST, then you probably see the other grow posts). So don't worry, we are not deviating from the normal schedule too much.

But we wanted to take the time to celebrate this milestone by looking back at our top ten posts that we have done so far. So, in David Letterman style, we'll start at...

10. Play: Homemade Toys - Pattern Play Blocks
Some simple cubes can spark the imagination and serve as pre-pre-pre-pre-Algebra training.

9. Play: Ice Cream Party Extravaganza!
We all scream for an ice-cream themed party!

8. Play: Wocket Freezer Paper Stenciling
Making your own custom t-shirts is easy with freezer paper.

7. {Guest Post} Eat: The Green Smoothie
Eating your greens never tasted so yummy.

6. Play: Homemade Toys - Button Spinner
A simple toy that can bring such fun.

5. Play: Homemade Toys - Marble Maze
You don't have to lose your marbles over this maze.

4. Eat: Rainbow Bundt
Rainbows are fun to look at, and even more fun to eat!

3. Play: Seed Starter Valentines
Watch your love grow...literally!

2. Play and Grow: Homemade Resurrection Eggs
Teach your kids the true story of Easter with this kid-friendly tool.

1. Eat: Cake Ball Cones
Cake that looks like ice cream? Yes, please!

And since we wanted to celebrate with you, we are offering up a giveaway, with three prizes!

The prizes are inspired by our top three posts, so, one person will win three seed starter valentines, one person will win one set of homemade resurrection eggs, and one person will win one dozen cake ball cones! So yay for those people in advance!

So to enter this giveaway, FIRST you have to leave a comment on this post telling us what your favorite post has been so far OR what kind of post you would like to see from us in the future. THEN, in the rafflecopter widget below tell us that you did indeed leave a comment. Then you can feel free to enter the giveaway with the other options listed, such as liking us on Facebook or following our blog.

The giveaway ends at midnight on Sunday. We will reveal the winners on Monday!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We hope that you enjoyed our first 100 posts, and we hope that you'll stick around to see more!
And be sure to check out the other two giveaways we are hosting today: Mom Connection and Beyond Bathtime!

Eat: Quinoa Pizza Muffins

2012-04-25T03:00:00.000-04:00

I don't know about you, but quinoa (pronounced "keen-waa") is a relatively new ingredient in my cooking at home.

I originally got interested in this "grain" (it's actually a seed, but most people use it like a grain) probably from watching Food Network. I heard people talking about it, but I had no idea that it was spelled the way it is. So I was quite surprised when I encountered it in written form.

But anyway, I heard some great things about it nutritionally, namely that it is high in protein, so I wanted to give a shot. And I did, but I had no idea how to prepare it, and it was mostly a bland failure. That made me step back from quinoa for a while, but then I saw this pin, and I knew I had to give quinoa another chance.

And I'm so glad I did. This is a great way to experience quinoa for the first, or fourth, or fourteenth time.

The original recipe called for making these in mini muffin tins, but as mine was stolen while I was in Libya, I decided that regular-sized muffins would work just fine. And that they did.

I think these muffins are great as a lunch, and two or three muffins seems to be a good adult-sized portion.

They reheat well and can be finger food if you so choose. If you do want to pick them up, you need to let them cool a bit. They fall apart a little if you try to get them out of the tins right out of the oven. So let them cool a little, and then they should pop right out.

You could also try using muffin liners, but I haven't personally tried it, so I don't know how much they would stick to paper.

But you are probably wondering about taste. They really do taste like pizza. And you can customize it to whatever toppings (add-ins in this case) that you like on your pizza. My favorite is black olives, but Jacob hates olives. So I went with my second favorite, pepperoni. And since I had less pepperoni than I thought, I added in some diced mushroom (Jacob doesn't like mushroom either, but I can get away with it if the pieces are small). But add whatever you so desire. I bet this would be good with ham cubes and pineapple for those hawaiian pizza lovers out there.

I mean, who doesn't like pizza? (Actually, I have an answer to that. My own flesh and blood, my son, will not eat one bite of any kind of pizza thing. But aside from him, I think this would be a great hit with kids.)

But for us "normal" people, who like pizza, this is a great way to get the taste of pizza, but without all the carbs and with extra protein. And for those that are sensitive to gluten, these are a great choice since quinoa is gluten-free!

So let's eat some pizza!

Quinoa Pizza Muffins
adapted from So Very Blessed
{printable recipe}

1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 1/2 cups water
2 large eggs
1 small onion, diced
1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped (or I used a few squirts of a basil paste I found in the produce section)
up to 2 cups pizza toppings of choice
1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano or pizza seasoning
(optional) pizza sauce for dipping

Cook the Quinoa
Rinse the quinoa in cold water using a fine mesh strainer. Then place in a pot with the water.

Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce to a simmer.
Let it cook for 10-15 minutes. Then remove from heat and let sit for five minutes.
Fluff with fork.

Make the Muffins
Preheat the oven to 350 degree F. Grease a muffin tin.
Mix all of the rest of the ingredients (aside from the pizza dipping sauce) with the cooked quinoa.

Scoop about a 1/4 cup of filling into each muffin well. Press down gently to compact.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until set.
Let cool and then enjoy with pizza sauce if desired.

Have you tried quinoa? How do you like to eat it?

Linked up on Tasty Tuesday, Making You Crave Monday, Totally Tasty Tuesday, Mix it Up Monday, The Mommy Club, and Foodie Friday.

Play: Number Fun for Preschoolers

2012-04-23T03:00:00.000-04:00

We have a little hobby around here....playing with numbers! Jake and I are both math nerds and have high hopes of instilling a love for all things math in our kids as well. Here are a few of our basic math activities. Each of them are really simple, low on the prep work, and cheap to make.

Number Line
This is a great way to do math while also being active. We created a huge number line by cutting up some cardboard boxes and taping them together with packing tape. Then, we wrote numbers spaced far enough that the kids could easily take a small step from one number to the next.

This is a great one for helping the kids learn the positional nature of numbers (i.e. a linear understanding- one comes before three, ten comes after seven). We first introduced this as a tool to help Asante learn to do simple addition in his head. He could easily do an addition problem like 2 chocolate chips plus 1 chocolate chips equals 3 chocolate chips when he had the chocolate chips in front of him. But it was harder for him to add when he didn't have objects to look at. By playing on the number line and him doing problems on it, I think it helped him to develop the idea of a number line in his head.

So, when doing an addition problem, 7 + 3, we would have Asante start at 7, facing towards the higher numbers, and then walk forward three numbers. What he would be standing on would be the answer.

When subtracting, 7 - 3, Asante would stand on the 7, and then face towards the negative numbers because it was subtracting, then step three spaces. He'd end up being on the number 4, which was his answer.

After lots and lots of adding and subtracting, Asante became interested in the idea of negative numbers. When on the number line, if he were going to do a problem like 3 + -1, he knew he needed to stand on the three to start off with, and because it was an addition problem, he'd stand facing towards the larger numbers. BUT, since it was (-1) he would step backwards one space, getting him to his answer, 2. After a few times of doing the problems this way, he began to kinda get the difference between adding a negative number versus subtracting a number.

For Aly (3), we just practice counting by ones as she walks the line (helps to put a numeral to the word). For both Asante and Aly, we also practice "skip counting" (counting by 2s or 3s or 5s) on it.

The great thing about this kind of number line is that it folds up when not in use and we can just hide it under our couch for storage!

Colored Pennies
For this one, all you need are some pennies painted one side black and one side red, a dry erase board and a dry erase marker. When using coins (or other items), we're helping our kids learn about the idea of object-based numbers, meaning numbers can represent a certain number of things. There are lots of simple ways to do some math fun with these items. Here are a few that we did, but I'm sure you can think of lots more!

1. Set out three coins (black side up). Ask your child to count the coins and write the number underneath. Set out five coins and have them write that number underneath.

Then, have them add them up and write the answer. So easy! But a skill that takes practice in order for them to "get it" in an intuitive way.

2. These coins offer a way to talk about negative numbers as well. The red represents a negative number and the black represents a positive one. When one red and one black come together, they explode (or erase each other or whatever metaphor you like) and they become "zero". We use this concept when adding positive and negative numbers.

-5 + 3


Asante is pairing off the red and black and pushing them to the side.

Two red coins are left after the pairing, so the answer is -2

3. Finally, we used it to talk about zero.


We asked Aly if she knew how to write any numbers, and she said, "yes!" It was zero.

We asked her how many coins she should put down to represent that number. She said, "haha, none!" I then asked Asante if he could come up with another way to represent zero. He thought about it for awhile, and then said, "Yeah, if I put one red and one black together." I asked if there were any other ways.

-4 + 4

Carrots

The last one is the easiest and most laidback and a good beginner math problem. When the kids were eating a carrot snack, Jake asked them if they could line up their carrots from smallest to largest.

Aly working on it

Jake then explained to Aly which carrot was the median (middle), and then he asked Asante which one was the median in his set. Then they got to eat them- yum! Eventually, Jake wants to add more carrots and use snack time to introduce other ideas, like mode, and then maybe use carrots to practice measuring.

------------
Especially because our kids are preschoolers, we try and find fun ways to show them how math intercepts their daily life as well as making more formal math lessons fun and interesting. If the kids start whining or getting frustrated, we normally just say, "hey, I see you're getting frustrated. do you want to do something else?" While we won't let them off this easily later on in elementary school, we feel like it's so important for the kids not to dread math or develop constant feelings of frustration around math learning. They are having fun while laying a foundational understanding of numbers that will serve them well as they are introduced to more formal math concepts later in school.

What's your favorite math activity to do with your kids? Leave a comment below and we can all share ideas!

Linked up with Show and Tell Blog Hop, Learning Laboratory, Tuesday Tots, and Link & Learn.

Grow: Spiritual Mentors Part II

2012-04-20T03:00:00.000-04:00

This is the second part in our posts honoring our spiritual mentors. Be sure to check out how Tiff has been guided in the faith.

"I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you."

2 Timothy 1:5 NLT

Even though she was saved a few years after I was born, I have always known my mother to be a God-fearing, God-following Christian. And the way she conducted herself spoke volumes (and still does) in my life.

On my wedding day

I grew up in a "Timothy" single-parent home. By that I mean, although I had (and still have) the pleasure of having two loving parents that love me and each other, I only had one spiritual counselor in my home, my mother. (Well, Timothy might have had two if his grandmother was alive, and maybe I would have also if my mother's mom was alive as well.)

But my mom never used the excuse that because she was alone in teaching us about God that she could just give up. She tirelessly lived out a life of faith and encouraged us to join her.

Since we are mother and daughter, our relationship didn't always look like a mentoring relationship. In many ways, it was deeper since we are bonded in blood and my lifetime of love. And in other ways, it was less formal for we didn't always have a time to meet together. Most of what I learned from my mom was through simple observation of her life.

Yes, I used to have straight hair!

For as far back as I can remember, I have known that my mother is an early-riser. And I have known exactly what she has been doing while the rest of us are sleeping: she is communing with God. My mom has made it a commitment in her life that she first seeks God, before anything else, even breakfast. Now that might not seem like a big deal to most people, but my mom has been on a special diet for nearly all my life which only allows her to eat three times a day and a strict amount at each meal. So for her to push back her breakfast is a big deal. I am often in awe of her strength and faithfulness, for this is not just a once a week kind of thing. This is an every day commitment for my mom.

Me, my mom, and my younger brother (ever my shadow)

My mom also instilled in me the importance of scripture memorization. This was also something that she taught me without having to say the words "you should do this." She showed me that it was important by making the effort to do it herself. And she would ask me to help her. She would make these scripture memory cards on the backs of my dad's old business cards, and periodically, she would ask me to quiz her. And there was a period of time when, on our drives to school, my mom was listening to a tape of the book of James. And we would listen to it over and over again, until it started to seep into our minds. And I will never forget the one morning when I was in junior high when I came down the stairs, and I heard my mother playing a tune on her recorder. She made up a melody and then proceeded to recite a scripture to that tune. I can still remember it: "1 Thessalonians 4:11 - Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your hands." How is it that I can quote that verse still after so many years? Her devotion to learning that scripture (and her tune) has embedded itself in my mind. I couldn't let it go even if I wanted to.

There he is again!

And my mom taught me the power of praise. My mom is an auditory learner, and I think that I am partly, too, maybe from just growing up with her, I don't know, but songs stick with us. So my mom has always made it a point to listen to uplifting music, music that will direct us back to God. And she always encourages me that when I am feeling down and attacked by the evil one, whom she used to call "Buster", I should sing my praises to God because the devil cannot stand to hear God glorified. And you know what? It always works. If I take the time to sing a Christian song, my mood always lightens, my spirit lifts, and my joy is restored. I can make the devil leave me alone with a few bars of song. But I would never have known that and never have used praise as a weapon if my mother had not taught me to do so. And I am so grateful to have that in my arsenal.

And since songs are so important to my mom and I, and since we regularly reference them when we write (her for her ministry, I when I used to write school papers), I thought it would be fitting to end with a song. This song by Philips, Craig, and Dean really captures what my mom was, and is, for me.

I Want To Be Just Like You

(chorus)

I want to be just like you

'Cause he wants to be just like me

I want to be a holy example

For his innocent eyes to see

Let me be a living Bible, Lord

That my little boy can read

I want to be just like you

'Cause he wants to be like me

Thank you, mom, for being my living Bible. I hope that I can be a worthy legacy to your faith. I love you.

Eat: Mozzarella and Pesto Strata

2012-04-18T03:00:00.000-04:00

One beautiful spring day I came across a recipe for a thing called mozzarella and pesto strata. I had only used pesto one other time in my life (in a pasta dish), and LOVED it. So, why not try it again?

This is not a twice a month recipe in our house (which means we like it a lot). Everyone. Even picky Asante. Well, most of the time he likes it. Bonus: It's a great recipe for kids to help with because there's a lot of pouring, sprinkling, and spreading involved.

Ingredients

1 loaf of wheat french bread, cut into 1-inch slices
1 can of sliced black olives
1/2 jar of pesto (found in the aisle with the spaghetti sauce)
1/2 jar of roasted red tomatoes (or I suppose you could roast your own if you're into that)
8 eggs
1/2 cup of milk
3/4 bag of shredded mozzarella cheese
handful of shredded Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

The Action

1. Cut french bread into 1-inch slices. Spray the bottom of a 9x13 pan and lay all of them out flat, trying to squeeze them in pretty tight.

2. Spread a little pesto on each slice. I normally use 1/2 jar (and save the rest for the next time I make it).

3. Sprinkle black olives, red tomatoes, mozzarella cheese (in that order) on top of the pesto-covered bread.

4. Crack eggs in a large bowl. Add milk and salt and pepper. Mix it up really well, and then add it on top of the dish. It should be on top and fall down to the bottom.

see the yellowy egg stuff sitting on top?

5. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours, but no more than 24 hours. From experience, if you leave it set for the shorter amount of time, everything is crisper, less mixed together after baking. If you are looking for a "where does this ingredient end and the next begin" kind of experience, refrigerate it for the longer time (the bread ends up soaking up more of the egg/milk mixture).

5. When ready, put it in the oven (350 degrees) for 45 minutes. If it's still not all the way done, put it in for another 10 minutes or so. You can even add a handful of shredded Parmesan cheese for the last 5 minutes of baking.

I always like to serve it with some fruit or smoothies for a "breakfast for dinner" type of meal. Of course, it'd be a nice breakfast or brunch too! This is one of three meals that I make for other people (when people have babies/are sick/etc.). It's tasty, easy to reheat, and goes a long way (plus it's full of protein!).

Add some flowers and it would make a great mother's day breakfast in bed (hubbies: hint, hint!)

Play: Homemade Toys - Pattern Play Blocks

2012-04-16T03:00:00.000-04:00

Here's the next installment in the homemade toy series. Did you get to check out the marble maze and the button spinner?

For this project, I was inspired by a few places. I first saw this fabric tangram thing, and I thought that was really neat, but I didn't want to go through the effort to do all that sewing and hand sewing. Then I saw this wooden version of the same kind of thing, and I thought that this could be a way to get the same effect without all of that sewing. And then, true to form, I thought I could take it a step further. I was reminded of my mother-in-law's quilt pattern puzzle. It's basically a square made up of triangles that are colored on both sides. You then arrange the triangles in whatever pattern you wish. And I thought that I could do that; only with a cube, it could be six-sided!

So yes, I got out of sewing for this, but I did not make it any easier on myself. In fact, wait for it, I made it way harder. Let me tell you how.

First, let me preface this with the fact that my hubby is very frugal. Frugal is probably the wrong word because that implies that he buys things cheaply. No, he just doesn't really like to spend money. I'm quite the opposite. In Dave Ramsey speak, he's the saver, and I'm the spender. But, after nearly five years of marriage, I have to say, he's starting to rub off on me a little. So for this project, instead of buying already pre-cut cubes from the craft store which are overpriced in my mind, I opted to buy a piece of wood and cut it down into cubes.

Now this probably would have been a fine idea if it weren't for two things:

We don't really own a saw. The house that we are renting has a few manual saws, but no power tools.
I bought a piece of red oak. (For those of you who are clueless about wood as I apparently am, this is a hardwood <--read, not easy to saw through)

So, needless to say, Jacob and I got a good shoulder workout for this project. So thank you, Jacob, for your help. I couldn't have done it without you. But next time, I'm taking you with me to the store so we buy a reasonable kind of wood. Either that or we are buying you a saw!

Roughly cut blocks...lots of sweat went into these!

But beyond the unnecessary physical making of the cubes, this project is pretty easy. All it requires is the cubes and a little bit of paint. (I also used sandpaper because, well, I didn't think it'd be such a nice gift to give my son splinters. We're playing with patterns here not doctor.)

Sebastian even helped me sand!

Sanded and ready to be painted.

I made nine cubes, but you could make as many as you'd like. I liked the idea of a square puzzle, but a rectangular one would work just as well.

I decided to make each cube the same. I painted one side a solid yellow, one side a solid green, and one side a solid purple. Then on the remaining three sides, I wanted to make the patterns a little more interesting, and a little more reminiscent of my mother-in-law's pattern puzzle. So I made two of the three sides into painted triangles; one with a match of yellow and green, and one with a match of green and purple.

Prepping for the paint

Carefully paint one side

Carefully paint the other

If I was smart, I would have just made the last side a match of yellow and purple triangles. But I didn't.

The six different sides

I decided that since I had nine cubes, this set could be used for not only pattern play but for tic-tac-toe. So I needed some Xs and Os. I decided that the Os could just be one of the solid colors. But I needed something for the Xs. So i made one out of the yellow and purple matched side by drawing an X in pencil and painting opposite sides of the X with the same color.

Once it's dry, you are free to play...

with different patterns...

and with tic-tac-toe!

X wins!

Being able to make and recognize patterns is a really handy tool especially in math. So I like to think that this is Sebastian's pre-pre-pre-pre-pre-Algebra training. :)

What are you doing to teach your little one about math?

Linked up here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Grow: Spiritual Mentors {& Book Giveaway!}

2012-04-13T03:00:00.000-04:00

This is the first part in our spiritual mentors posts. Be sure to check out part two, where Christina shares her experiences.

You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also (2 Timothy 2.1-2).

I first learned about the idea of mentoring my freshmen year of college. I was sitting in a worship gathering in a campus ministry, listening to an older college girl talk about her experiences with life-on-life discipleship and how influential it was on her walk with God. She met with this older woman once a week to talk and study Scripture, she went places with the woman, and hung out with her family. It sounded fantastic.

I didn't grow up in an environment with much spiritual guidance, and when I came to faith in Jesus in junior high, I had a fantastic youth group who taught me a lot of things, but never a person who took me under their wing and invested in me. Or so I thought.

Aunt Geri

It wasn't until after college that I realized how influential my aunt has been in my life in regards to my spiritual formation. My aunt was the only "born-again" Christian in my family that I knew of growing up. Long before I was a Christian, my aunt was sowing seeds of the gospel in my heart. Although we only saw each other a few times per year, she invested her time and energy in keeping in touch with me through letters, gifts, and bi-annual visits. During these visits, she'd have something really fun to do, and she'd always be open with her faith, talking about things she was dealing with and how Jesus was working in and through her.

Signing "I Love You"

Finger painting on my 3rd birthday

When I came to faith in Jesus, she was so excited. I mean, can you imagine, praying for and talking to this little girl for over 10 years about the love of Jesus? Although she wasn't directly involved in my everyday life, she continued to be the pursuer of our relationship- calling, writing, and emailing- even in the midst of an incredibly "full" life. She's a single mom to my cousin, whom she adopted from Romania. She's an interpreter for the deaf. She is always baking and making and cooking for anyone and everyone. She hosts small groups, teaches classes, attends classes. She is a prayer warrior, a reader, a journaler, a crafter. She is the woman who taught me how to thrift shop (yes, that's a verb), to cook for 50, to sign, to eat an artichoke, to better appreciate art, and to pray.

Cooking at a camp with Aunt Geri (she's the one in the white shirt behind me)

Recently, I've been enjoying my Friday phone conversations with her in the car. We talk about a lot of different things- my kids, her kid, our schedules, our plans, our extended family. I always come away from those conversations encouraged, hopeful and loved. She's one of the few people that I go to ask for prayer, knowing that she will be faithfully praying until I say stop.

So, although we don't meet weekly to study Scripture and I don't get to spend very much face time with her, she has been one of the most influential people in my life.

Jen

Jen with two of her sweet daughters at my wedding shower back in 2005

Jen is another woman who loves the Lord fiercely and is a mighty woman of faith. When she asked if she could mentor me during my junior year of college, I was surprised and excited.... I didn't know why she wanted to mentor ME, but whatever, I wasn't going to turn this down!

Looking back, I'm surprised that Jen stuck it out with me...I was an over-committed 20-year-old who got my worth from doing a lot of different things and had trouble balancing it all out. I wasn't as faithful to our meetings together as I wanted to be (and certainly not as faithful as she wanted me to be), and I'm sure she got annoyed by it. She was faithful to me through it all, and through our time together, I learned a lot about the character of God, small groups, discipleship, and prayer.

While she was discipling me, we worked on a big project together. She was in charge of small groups at the campus ministry I was a part of, so she had me work with her to create a small group leader training. We went over material together, read books and discussed what should be put in the training, and created the training manuals. She even let me assist with the actual training, even though I was still a student leader myself. After this project, she asked me if I could do the same thing we just did together, but this time a different subject-- and all on my own. She had me design and teach a one-on-one discipleship training for people in our ministry who either wanted to be discipled or who wanted to learn how to disciple other. While she was there for me when I had questions or concerns, she let me have fun and gave me freedom to do what I best saw fit. Little did she know that I was going to be doing those exact things on staff at the same campus ministry several years later.

After our formal discipleship commitment ended, she continued to be a woman that I would go to for advice, prayer and encouragement. Jen and her family can tell story after story of God's faithfulness in their lives, and God has used their life to encourage Jake and I in our journey. She was there for me during my first years in campus ministry (her being in campus ministry herself), she was there to bless me on my wedding day (her and her husband were the first ones out on the dance floor at our reception when everyone else was too timid!), she gave me the most useful advice about a baby's eating, sleeping, playing routine that I have successfully used with all three kids, she mentored me through some of my seminary classes, and even was the voice of God to me a few months ago when I was struggling to understand and accept my life in this new geographical location. The work of God in her life gives me courage and hope when I feel discouraged and fearful. While we don't talk very often, whenever we do, it's meaningful, encouraging, FUN, prayerful, and deeply healing.

---

I've learned that there's many ways that God puts people in our lives to help us along in our spiritual journeys. Sometimes the relationship is formal and we're very aware of their purpose in our lives. Other times it isn't until much later that we realize we were being mentored by that man or woman who took interest and sowed grace and truth into our lives. I am so. incredibly. thankful. for these two women in particular (and several more men and women that I didn't have room to mention in this post!).

For more on mentoring relationships, here are some helpful resources to check out:

Becoming a Woman of Influence by Carol Kent

Mentor Like Jesus by Regi Campbell

lifeGiving Mentors by Tim Elmore

Connecting Like Jesus by Tony Campolo and Mary Albert Darling

(not a book directly about mentoring, but very useful to a mentoring relationship)

And now for a giveaway! I'll be sending someone the book, Becoming a Woman of Influence, by Carol Kent. Enter below with the rafflecopter widget- the winner will be revealed (and emailed) on Monday. Note: Leave a comment on the blog (and click "I did it" on the widget) to be entered into the giveaway.

Congrats, Tracy, you are the winner!!! Thanks ya'll for entering!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Eat: Cake Ball Cones

2012-04-11T03:00:00.000-04:00

Did you get a chance to check out the ice cream party that Tiff threw for her oldest daughter? Well, if you did, you know that Tiff and I worked together to make these super cute (and super yummy) cake ball cone favors.

If you have never experienced cake balls, you must...right now! They are so delicious and so easy to make. All you need is a box of cake mix, half a jar of icing, and some candy melts.

So first you bake the cake according to the directions in a 9 by 13 pan. While it is still hot, crumble it into a bowl and mix in half of the jar of icing. Then form into balls and coat with the candy melts. Ta-da! Cake balls!

But if you are looking for something more fun (and I actually think these are easier than regular cake balls or cake pops) you've got to try out these cake ball cones. These were inspired by the the cake pop queen herself, Bakerella. You've got to check out all the extraordinary things she does with these things.

So to make these, you start off the same way as normal: bake, crumble, stir. Then to form the balls, we used an old gatorade scoop. This made the perfect amount of cake to make a nice looking ball for the tops of our cones. We were able to get 12 cake ball cones from one box of mix. So we formed the balls and set them aside.

Then we had the rig our dipping and drying station. We used the boxes that the sugar cones came in to make a drying station for the cones. We simply just poked holes in the box. But as a word of caution, don't make the holes too close together (or else you'll have cones touching each other) or make the holes too shallow (and thusly unable to hold up the weight of the ball).

I would suggest testing the cake balls on top of the cones before you dip them just to make sure.

Then we melted our candy melts. We added food coloring (oil-based) so that the birthday girl could get her purple ice cream. And we added a little bit of vegetable oil so that the candy would be liquid enough to make a smooth coat.

Then we dipped the balls halfway in the candy melt and then placed them on the cone. We allowed this to dry before we moved on to the next step. Once they are dry and fulled adhered to the sugar cone, then you can just pick up the cone and use it as a dipping apparatus. Fully coat the cake ball in the melted candy melts. If you want a drip to mimic runny ice cream, then after you dip it, you need to make the motion like you are going to smash the cone into the table cone first but stop short before actually doing this. This force should push the candy down in some nice looking drips.

Ahhh, the drips gonna get me!

Then garnish with some sprinkles and wait for it to dry.

We then had them packaged up, but you can obviously enjoy it right away.

So there you have it: a melt-less ice cream cone that tasty and fun. I mean, with what other cone would you trust a three year old to walk around unassisted?

Have you experienced the joy of the cake ball?

Play: Ice Cream Birthday Extravaganza

2012-04-09T03:00:00.000-04:00

My sweet Alethea turned 3 yesterday! To celebrate, I planned a whole week of ice cream related activities (one each day) and then topped it off with an ice cream themed birthday party on Saturday. Here are some of the highlights.

Monday

We got ice cream from the ice cream man. Up until Monday, all they knew was that some big truck came around blaring music from it, typically right after they got in bed and were trying to fall asleep. Now they know the ~~imitation ice cream~~ goodness that lays inside of it. They chose a Dora ice cream bar to share and they thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Tuesday

We colored paper ice cream cones, cut them out, and used real sprinkles to decorate them. This was EASY and a huge hit. Thanks to All Kids Network for the idea!

Wednesday

I cut out some felt ice cream cones and scoops of ice cream using this pattern from Making Learning Fun. I used the scraps to make sprinkles and some cherries. This was an activity that even Ada (16 months) could participate in!

Thursday

I picked up this game for a dollar or two at a consignment sale. It's kinda like an ice cream version of Hi Ho Cherri-O. They weren't so interested in playing the game, but they loved playing with the stackable ice cream cones.

Friday

We made homemade ice cream without a machine! Here's the recipe we used: Screamin' Ice Cream.

Saturday

The Birthday Girl!

I didn't go too fancy on decorations, but I did a few fun things.

balloon + brown paper= ice cream cone!
inspired by Martha Stewart

free-handed these out of extra large construction paper

The Food

We served some of Aly's favorite foods:

* goldfish

* mini corndogs

* grapes (green and purple)

* caprisuns

* cheese and crackers

And of course, the cake. Christina made an awesome three scoop ice cream cone cake. She even made a real jumbo sugar cone! Before bed I asked Aly what her favorite part of the day was, and she replied, "I got to have a cake shaped like purple ice cream!"

The Activities

First, we made an ice cream magnet craft from Oriental Trading. I forgot to take pictures of it because it ended up being more help-intensive than I expected.

Next, each kid got their own ice cream bowl and then filled it with homemade playdoh ice cream. We made chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and banana. This is the recipe I used for the vanilla, strawberry and banana (substituting different extracts). The chocolate recipe is a little bit different because you use cocoa to get the rich brown color and chocolatey goodness smell.

Each bowl was a double batch of the playdoh recipe I used.

We used some sequins for the "sprinkles" and I painted small wooden balls red for the cherries. I think the kids really liked it!

cherries!

The Playdoh Spread

I think it was fun to use real ice cream scoops,
but the kids also liked using their spoons.

Finished project! We bought the bowls off Oriental Trading as well.

Our last activity was pin the cherry on the ice cream cone. I wasn't sure if the kids would be old enough, but this was a funny and fun game. Aly was a little nervous at first (telling me she didn't want to play it)...but after most of the kids went, she saw how silly it was and decided to participate.

Our results!

The Favors

Christina and I had a fun time making these cute ice cream cone cake balls.

The kids also got to take home their bowl of playdoh as well as an ice cream cone balloon! A few lucky parents even found some extra cake stashed in their take-home bags.

As soon as the last guests left, we closed the door and headed upstairs to our bedroom for some family wrestle and snuggle time. We were all exhausted but happy!