Re-instituting Monday Funday!!!

The weather here in central/north Texas has been just lovely recently.
Today was no exception.
75 warm degrees.
Birds are singing and skipping around.
We've seen red-breasted robins, cardinals, and even some green darling parakeets!!
During the months of January and February we've taken a bit of a hiatus from our traditional "Monday Funday" routine.
We all just feel so sluggish those months and are pretty happy staying in, taking it easy after a busy weekend, and just sipping hot chocolate.
But now that we're into March, we've gotten a little spring fever and are so enjoying the blooms on the trees and the warm temperatures.
It's time to get back outside together!!
I didn't plan in advance for this, so it was a fun, impromptu, spontaneous afternoon at the Dallas Zoo!!
Today we added a twist by using the "complimentary tickets" you receive with your zoo membership for a ride on the monorail.
We've never ridden that before and the children were just delighted!!

Waiting for the ride to begin

 The view from the ride

{Can you see the skyline of downtown Dallas off in the distance?}

Grant was quietly freaked out the entire ride that it was going to fall off the tracks.

We were about half way through the ride when I noticed this......

and yes, he was praying....really.

The minute we walked into the "bird house" exhibit the children were swarmed with cockatiels.

Obviously, they were all delighted....

 ....except for Aryn.

Super fun day together!!

Friday's Fabulous Family Recipe: Fudge Babies!!

These are my new FAVORITE, energy packed, chocolaty bites of deliciousness!!

Fudgey goodness!!

Gluten free, dairy free, and no sugar added.

4 simple ingredients, and voila'!!

My children loved these and begged for more.

I was delighted to let them eat as much as they want.....well, in moderation.

I believe everything is better in moderation!

This recipe is what you would consider a "raw" dessert.

The more I learn about preparing raw foods, the more I love it!

So much easier and quicker and healthier for you.

What's NOT to love?

For the recipe.....click here!

{You CAN} Teach Your Child Thursdays: Makaziville

My children LOVE video games.
I suppose almost all children do.
I am not a huge fan.
There is a style of homeschooling that some folks swear by called "unschooling."
We could not follow that.
If we did, we'd be experts and champions at video games.
I'm always trying to figure out how to reduce the amount of time my children spend in front of the computer
or the Xbox......timers, threats, loss of game time, charts, power outages, library trips, chores, you name it.
But recently, I discovered a wonderful game online that I don't mind if my children spend time playing.
In fact, I encourage it.
It's great for rewards.
"You finished your schoolwork so soon?  30 minutes of.....Makaziville for you!!"

Have you seen this?
It's new.
Makaziville.

I love it.
It's a virtual mission village that your children build by earning coins and objects by playing fun, quick games,
having their "devotions," watching clips of different missionaries at work, and doing things with you as the parent.
My children just LOVE it.
It's not boring at all, and they are so enjoying moving to higher levels and earning more and more interesting things like giraffes and hospitals and churches and different kinds of vehicles.
I also like that every. single. thing your child plays or learns about, you as the parent, receive an email update about with tips on how to further talk with your child about what they are learning.
It's really amazing for warming your child's heart to the idea of Bible translation for "forgotten people."
It's really the most fun for children who are of reading age and up.
My 4 and 5 year olds would enjoy some of the games, but most of them require a working reading ability.

Try it out.
It's free.
Click on the picture below to try it:

Canon of Praise

For months now, our middle children have been preparing and training for regional competition with our church's Master Club group.
We just LOVE Master Clubs.
For years, our church had an AWANA program for elementary age children,
but decided to switch to the Master Club program about 4 or 5 years ago.
I really like it so much better.
It gives them so many, many opportunities to have hands-on training for future ministry.
This last weekend was the regional competition in many categories, and Sunday Evening
the put on a sort of "exhibition" of all the things they competed in.
What a blessing to watch and hear our children lift their voices in song, and Bible storytelling, and Scripture memory, etc.
Here is the trio Ashlyn took part in.  She is smack in the middle right in front singing alto.

And here is the children's ensemble singing "Canon of Praise."

Again, Ashlyn is smack in the middle, right on the front row.

To God be the glory!!!

Won't you watch and pray?

It's going to be a rough and exhausting day for the Cretzman family today.
If you're new to their story, they are a delightful missionary family we know through our church,
who tragically lost their 3-year old daughter in a frightening crash one week ago today.
You can click on the link in the right hand side bar for some updates to how they are doing.
Tonight, they bury her.
The funeral will be streamed live from a local TV channel there in North Carolina where the crash occurred.
Keep them in your prayers?
And consider what you might do to financially help them?
Be the hands of Jesus to them.

Friday's Fabulous Family Recipe: Deep Dish Cookie Pie

Oh. my. GOODness!!
When I first saw a picture of this deliciousness....I knew I had to try it!
It was, and still is....AH. mazing!!
Totally gluten {flour of any kind} free and dairy free.
Now as a disclaimer....it is not sugar free.
But you sort of need the sugar {and chocolate} to cover up the flavor of its main ingredient.
You won't believe what the main ingredient is!
You must try this.....and you'll be ever so glad you did.

I didn't get a lovely picture of this once I cut it.

I didn't have time.

It was inhaled by the other 7 members of my family!!

This picture is from Katie, who's blog I adore, and who invented this amazingness.

To see the recipe and to enjoy with all those you love.....click here!!

{You CAN} Teach Your Child Thursdays: Money management for kids!

One goal that I had for our family this year was to get in place a concrete plan for teaching our children about using money wisely.
You would think that since we've been parents for 14 1/2 years now, this would have been set up long ago.
Not so.
The tsunami of life has been pretty overwhelming lately, and...well....we just hadn't made it a priority.
Not that it wasn't on my to do list.
I just hadn't come upon the best and most affordable way to do this for all 6 children.

Here are some of the ideas I had been looking at:

Click on any of the pictures above to get more information about each one.

What I liked about each of these tools is that there are compartments for the three major areas I want my children to think about when it comes to money management:

1.  Giving {tithing}

2.  Saving

3. Spending

I read this book several years ago, and loved the tips she shared on how to split up the use of your money.

Her suggestion was to use the "10-10-80 plan."

10% tithe

10% save

80% spend

It's such an easy little formula.

Take off 10% for tithe right off the top.

Stash 10% for savings.

Live off the other 80%.

This is particularly great for couples who are fortunate and smart enough to start out in their marriage with no debt.  If you find yourselves drowning in debt and using your credit card regularly to buy the bare essentials, then I really recommend you read this book!!

Dave Ramsey has a really unique and doable plan for getting out of debt.  I won't say it's easy because you have to learn to be committed to a plan and disciplined to stick with it.  I daresay the reason so many of us are in debt is because of a lack of discipline and plain gluttony, so it's hard to learn new habits and face the truth about your finances!!

But it's revolutionary when you follow his recommendations.

This book has taught us HOW we can live within one income without toting debt and credit cards and financial pressures.

It hasn't made us "rich" because we are trying hard to live within our means even when unexpected things happen......i.e. the tsunami of life!

Anyway, these resources have helped shaped my ideas of what and how I wanted to teach my children about learning to earn money, and then what the Bible says about how we should use it.

But then I was back to wondering HOW I was going to do this in a practical, visual, hands-on way that would be fun for our children.

I loved the ideas pictured above, but just couldn't afford 6 of each.

So I thought and thought, and then learned about Pinterest!

I found this idea right away, and remembered when we had made our own set similar to this with paper oatmeal containers, and smaller pringles cans.

Source: busykidshappymom.blogspot.com via Kristen on Pinterest

But I only needed to make 2 back then.

SIX of those puppies sitting around takes up more room than I have.

Source: blog.bitsofeverything.com via Mindi on Pinterest

Source: goodgravydesigns.blogspot.com via Ruth on Pinterest

Again, these are ALL lovely ideas, but that many jars {6 X 3= 18 !!}

sitting around is way too impractical in my tiny house.

So I went back to the drawing board and thought some more about it.....and here's what I came up with!

For my older girls {who are 14 and almost 12}, we made these envelopes to fit in their wallets.

The envelope system is wonderful, and I use these myself as well!!

For the tutorial on how we made these, click here!!

It has been pure JOY watching how excited my youngest ones are when on Sunday morning they get to open their little jar and take their money to church for Jesus!!  They are so careful not to lose it, and are really learning that that money is not meant for them to spend on themselves, but for giving.  This has been one of our best tools yet!!