Reading Time: 7 minutes We love oatmeal cookies, but I don’t love the idea of all the refined sugar they usually contain. I also don’t like the taste of stevia sweeteners alone in a recipe, so I’ve created this healthier version of an oatmeal cookie that doubles perfectly as a breakfast item on-the-go. I took out 2/3 of the …
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When We Stopped Having BIG Birthday Parties Every Year
Reading Time: 6 minutes I recently asked my now twelve- and eight-year-olds if they remember the big parties we used to give them. Shaking their heads and confused, they gave me a big, fat, “No.” Wow. Really? My oldest remembers an Iron Man slide, but I swear we never had that! Maybe that was someone else’s house? “You don’t …
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OUR FAILED SUCCESS on the Dave Ramsey Show & 3 Years Later!
Reading Time: 8 minutes Three short years ago, our kids were 9, 5, and 2. Wow. I can’t believe I just said that. Three short years ago, we were also standing in the studio at Ramsey Solutions with headsets on, waiting to be broadcasted LIVE to an audience of millions! Aaaaahhhh! We wanted to tell our story to the …
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DEER (Venison) CARNITAS
Reading Time: 2 minutes I’m pretty sure that my new favorite way to eat ground deer is in carnitas! I’ve fallen more in love with tacos recently, and almost every week we celebrate Taco Tuesday at our house :). I put a spin on the typical ground pork carnitas, and I hope you enjoy this as much as we …
PEACE & REST When Mom-Life Knocks You Down
Reading Time: 6 minutes Exhausted, I collapsed onto my bed in tears. It was about 1:00 pm, and I felt like I couldn’t go anymore. I hadn’t gotten much sleep in the last few days, had so much left to do, kids to feed, and a house to clean. My youngest was sick for a few days, the dog …
HOMEMADE ALL-PURPOSE CLEANER
Reading Time: 2 minutes I’ve made a few homemade cleaners before landing upon this one, and I LOVE it! I hope you do too. It’s super-easy and quick to make, and you probably have all the ingredients you need. It’s not messy with baking soda and not smelly with vinegar. It smells so clean and fresh. It’s safe for …
GOLDEN MILK | No-Fuss Golden Milk
Reading Time: 5 minutes Although I’m not the biggest fan of colder weather (summer girl here!), I do love ONE thing about it – warm drinks! Hot soups, gumbo, hot chocolate, and fires. Give me alllll the warm stuff! You may or may not have heard of golden milk, or maybe you’ve already tried to make it with a …
THE PIZZA BOX PROPOSAL & 14 Years Later
Reading Time: 7 minutes It was about a month and a half before I graduated high school, and this tall and thin, spunky, dark-skinned guy with glasses started a conversation with me as soon as church service was over. Smiling from ear to ear, “So, you still have that white car?” “Yep. Sure do.” “I love those…,” he went …
Reflection Art Lesson | Oil Pastel & Watercolor
Reading Time: 4 minutes For this art lesson, we first discussed “reflecting on our own lives.” We talked about true repentance and what it means to turn away from our sins when we ask for forgiveness. It does us no good at all to ask for forgiveness and then go right back and do the same things again. We …
PIZZA DISCS | Healthier Pizza Lunchable
Reading Time: 3 minutes Use these protein-packed, yummy replacements for the lunchables pizzas! And gluten-free! Those lunchables catch their eyes like candy on the shelf, but I haven’t bought those things in years – and I don’t plan on it. I know, it’s easier to just grab them for $1.00 on sale, but what real nutrition do they have? …
WHEN TO SAY “YES” + [New] Printable
Reading Time: 4 minutes Ultimately, our values will guide us. There was a time in my life when I didn’t base all my decisions on my personal values, I really just based most of my decisions on what I was able to do at the time, and what I thought everyone else wanted me to do. Eventually, this method …
HEALTHY PLATE ART LESSON: Hands-On Learning About Nutrition
Reading Time: 4 minutes Can I only teach art, please? Well, I could if I got creative enough, right? Getting creative and doing hands-on, fun activities is an important part of our homeschool experience. We all tend to learn better when we get to use our hands to create things about what we learn. In this art lesson, mixing …
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BAKED BEANS | Sweet Maple & Honey Easy Baked Beans
Reading Time: 4 minutes If you’re like me, you’ve always bought your favorite canned baked beans and called it a day. But, as I’ve learned to cook more and more things from scratch, I’ve also been staying true to my word when it comes to baked beans. I had no idea you could cook baked beans from scratch! I …
Encouraging Creativity Without “Fixing” Their Boredom
Reading Time: 9 minutes Encouraging our kids to bust out some creativity during their boredom can pay off huge dividends. Parents: It’s not our job to fill every minute of our kids’ day with stimulation and entertainment. We are not cruise directors. When our kids complain that they are bored, resist the urge to “fix it.” Remember the pacifier? …
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I DIDN’T THINK I WAS EVER COMING BACK
Reading Time: 5 minutes If you’ve been following this blog or have known me for some time, you may know that I was a graphic designer. Lots of things have happened since my college years and marriage, and then… having children. That last one was the kicker – a beautiful kicker, though.