A Mom Like You

Merry Christmas

2010-12-17T21:16:00.000-08:00

Dear Ladies,

I just wanted to send you a quick note and wish you all a Merry Christmas. I also wanted to share two small thoughts with you. The first is just something to think about during this holiday season. I recently wrote this in an email and thought I would share it with all of you. Here is what I wrote:

Last night we had a women's Christmas party at our church. One of the young moms(Thanks Jill) that I mentor had her baby with her and I had the privilege of holding him for a long time. He snuggled his sweet head on my shoulder and was so peaceful and content. Holding a baby so close to Christmas made me think about how amazing it is that God sent his Son to earth as a baby. To think that Christ humbled Himself to become a helpless infant. The King of the Universe was a baby who needed His every need met. Wow, that is love.

If you are blessed to have a baby during the Christmas season take a moment while you are holding him/her and imagine what it must have been like to have held the Savior as an infant. Ponder for a moment what Jesus did when He stepped down from heaven to become a helpless infant.

the second thought I want to share with you is just a helpful holiday hint. It can be very embarrassing when you child opens a gift from a friend or relative and says "My mom wouldn't let me have this"(yes, my daughter actually said that about a gift her grandmother gave her). Or maybe they toss the gift aside and ask for another. Or maybe they open it and tell everyone they already have one, they don't like, or maybe they say "I had one of these, but my mom got rid of it." In years to come the embarrassing things your children say or do at Christmas will be funny memories, but for the most part we want to avoid too many embarrassing moments.

Here is an idea to try:

Find some of your child's toys, a few they really like and a few they don't like or have out grown. Plus find a few other items around the house like a can of green beans, a spoon, a bar of soap or almost anything that wouldn't be an exciting gift. Wrap all the items you collected in Christmas wrap and call the children in for a practice session.

Explain to your child that there is a correct way to respond to a gift, even a gift they don't like. If they open a gift they like they can respond with "I really like this, thank-you." If they open a gift they don't like, instruct them to just say "Thank you." Let you children know that we don't want to hurt people's feelings by saying we don't like the gift they gave. Once you have instructed your child in the correct responses, it is time to practice. Tell him/her the gifts are just old toys and things from around the house and that they are going to practice opening presents. Give them a gift to open and encourage them to say "thank you" or "I appreciate it" even when it is an item that would not be a fun gift to receive. Have enough items wrapped that you can practice opening one or two presents for several days.

I did this with my daughter and she enjoyed it, plus she learned what to do when she was given an item she already owned, didn't like or her mom didn't want her to have. The time you invest in teaching this lesson will benefit your child their entire life and will help to limit some of the awkward moments.

Have a wonderful Christmas,

Melissa

Great Advent Books

2010-11-01T13:17:00.001-07:00

Ladies,

The Christmas season is fast approaching and I wanted to share with you about a series of books that my family has enjoyed reading during the holiday season. They recently were advertised in the MomSense magazine from MOPS.

The books are designed to be read aloud to your children during the Advent season. The first book is called Jotham's Journey. Each day during Advent you read to your family a chapter about Jotham. As Jotham travels he has a lot of adventures and meets the characters who make up the next two books in the series, Bartholomew and Tabitha. Each book is meant to last the entire advent season, ending on Christmas Day when their adventures bring them to a stable in Bethlehem.

There is no need to buy all three books at once. The series begins with Jotham, next year your family would follow Bartholomew and the third year read about Tabitha during advent. Then you can start all over again with Jotham.

We were introduced to these books about 8 years ago and we still enjoy reading them each holiday season. It is a great way to remember what the season is really about. Each chapter only takes about 10-15 minutes to read, so they work well in the evening.

You can find the books at Christian Book Distributors or a local Christian book store.

Blessings to all,

Melissa

Life Long Friendships

2010-07-17T11:22:00.000-07:00

Dear Ladies,

Summer is now in full swing. The sun is warm, the children are out of school and the pools are open. For us summer means hours at the pool for swim team and a chance to take a family vacation. This year we decided to drive to South Dakota to visit friends, Ci , Jon, Josh and Nat. We have considered this family friends for a long time. Eric and Jon were house mates in their bachelor days and Ci and I taught school together. They were married 3 months after we were married.

We have moved several times since we were married and have made new friends in each area. However, Jon and Ci are some of the only people that we have been able to keep in touch with over the years. They are the kind of friends that no matter how much time has elapsed between calls or visits we are able to jump right in and catch up on the what is new in our lives.

Friends that have known you for a long time are rare and invaluable. These are the friends that have a history with you. They are the ones who have watched you grow in your walk with the Lord, they have seen you go from a mom of babies to a mom of teenagers, they remember the struggles you had with your parents and the insecurity you felt when your mother-in-law came to visit. They have been through the joys and sorrows of life with you.

If you have a friend that has known you for over ten years, you are fortunate. Life long friends are rare and their friendship is priceless. Why not give that friend a call today and catch up for a bit, but mostly just let them know how much their friendship has meant to you. And don’t forget to keep that friendship alive with quick emails, short notes and the occasional card.

If you don’t have a friend that you have known for over ten years, there is still time. She may be someone you are just getting to know or she may be someone you met years ago. Whether this friend is near or far continue to keep in touch with her. Someday you will be able to say she is a lifelong friend and enjoy the beauty of having a friend who has been there through the years.

Blessings to all of you,

Melissa

You Can't Beat These Prices

2010-05-09T17:02:00.000-07:00

Dear Ladies,

I was so excited when a new Aldi Food Market opened in Stafford. Eric first introduced me to Aldi when we were newly weds. There is an Aldi just down the street from his childhood home. At the time you could only find stores in the Midwest, so we would stock up on a few things and take it home. We found the canned fruit to be very cheap and we blended it up for baby food. Now Aldi has expanded and they are much easier to find, but I never thought we would get one in Stafford.

For this letter I just wanted to share a little with you about this unique store. You wouldn't find everything you need at Aldi, but for the staple items their prices are great. Be sure to a have a quarter with you to unlock a grocery cart and bring bags for your groceries. If you need to you can purchase bags for .05 for paper and .10 for nice large plastic bags that can be reused or pick up a box while shopping. The majority of the products are in boxes on pallets, nothing fancy in this store. Most products are the Aldi store brand, but for the most part everything is good quality.

The only product my family doesn't really likes is the cheapest spaghetti sauce, but it has been a long time since we have tried it. Below is a list of a few products and the prices, so you can get an idea of what items cost.

Large box of corn flakes $1.19

A pound of bacon $1.99

A dozen of large eggs $1.25

A bag of tortilla chips $.99

A 16oz of shredded cheddar cheese $2.99

A pound of butter $1.99

A large jug of 100% cranberry juice $2.49

Sometimes I buy my meat at Aldi, but I've found that when meat is on sale at Giant it is a better price and that Wegmans has the best price on ground beef.

Aldi also sells fresh produce, but if you're shopping for organic foods you wouldn't find much.

For those of you who don't live in Stafford, you can check the website for a location near you.http://www.aldifoods.com/index_ENU_HTML.htm

One last thing, you have to pay with a debit card or cash.

Happy shopping ladies. I would love to know what you think.

Melissa

Soup for Dinner

2010-04-19T18:27:00.000-07:00

Dear Ladies,

Soup would be excellent for dinner now while the days are cool, so I was going to send you the recipe for Taco soup. However, I already send that one to you. It is on the blog page for you to use any time. http://amomlikeyou.blogspot.com/2008/04/easy-dinner-idea.html

Another easy dish for a cool night would be White Chicken Chili. All of the ingredients can be put in the crock pot in the morning and will be ready by dinner. Crock pots are great for days when you are going to be out all day. Either you can put it together the night before or in the morning before you leave. This chili isn't very spicy, so everyone should enjoy it.

White Chicken Chili

1 medium onion, chopped

3 Tablespoons oil

1 (4oz) can of chopped green chilies, drained

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 (15.8 oz) cans of great northern beans

1 (14.5 oz) can of chicken broth(I usually just use bouillon)

1 1/2 cups finely chopped cooked chicken

Put all the above ingredients in a crock pot and cook on low all day. Serve with Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese, sour cream, andtortilla chips.

We like corn bread with our soup, so I'm including that recipe for you also.

Corn Bread

1 1/4 cups flour

3/4 cup corn meal

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup milk

1/4 cup oil

1 beaten egg

Mix all ingredients together and bake in a 8x8" pan. I bake mine in an iron skillet.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

The following link has all the recipes that have been sent in past letters. http://amomlikeyou.blogspot.com/search/label/recipes

Enjoy,

Melissa

Overwhelmed?

2010-04-12T19:27:00.000-07:00

Dear Ladies,

Mondays always seem to be busy days. When my kids were little I always felt Mondays were the hardest day of the week. Because I hadn't done much housework over the weekend I had a lot of catching up to do. Now we have Sunday clean up time and everyone has jobs to help to clean up our weekend mess. Sometimes we skip our clean up time, like we did last night. We opted to watch a movie instead.

However, today I felt like there was SO much to do. Of course much of it is still undone. I was able to cross off a few of the items on my to-do list. I never seem to have enough time or energy to complete everything that needs to be done. I'm sure there are times when all of us feel this way. Was today one of those days for you?

I don't have any great tip for you today, but just wanted to give you a bit of encouragement. You are not alone. We all feel like we can't get it all done, we all get overwhelmed and want to quit. We all have jobs left undone when we head to bed at night and most of us probably have dirty dishes in the sink.

When you are completely overwhelmed, step back and decide which jobs are the most important and complete them first. But above all remember that your most important job is loving your family and sometimes that means leaving the laundry unfolded for one more day. Far more important are the bedtime kisses, the afternoon story, the time spent listening to a love one tell about his day or the opportunity take a walk together.

I love to hear from you, please add emailing Melissa to your to-do list. I'll understand, however, if that job never gets crossed off.

Blessings to all,

Melissa

Be Spontaneous-Have an Adventure

2010-04-10T20:07:00.000-07:00

Dear Ladies,

I recently purchased a new laptop.. It is actually a netbook, just the right size to fit in my purse. We bought the one with a larger battery, so I will be able to use the computer anywhere I wanted. The best part is, the computer is a vibrant purple color.

So many days I want to write to you and send a bit of encouragement or a quick thought, but my time and energy is in short supply most days. We recently laid a new ceramic tile floor in our kitchen. It is hard to get much done during the week, so most of our work has to be done on the weekends. Yesterday, we spent some time outside replanting three fruit trees and some moving some plants in our front flower garden. It was a perfect day to be outside, so we put our school work aside and went out. Some days a spontaneous change in plans is a welcome change from the normal.

Are you ever spontaneous? Do ever just change all your plans to do something different? Spring is a great time for some spontaneous adventures. I love to take adventures with my kids. I call them adventures, but that can mean whatever I decide is the event for the day. Sometimes that means packing a picnic and finding a local park with a playground. Other times we may just go to a nearby park and hike or follow a stream. If I’m really feeling adventurous we will take the metro into DC and go to a museum, however, I wasn’t comfortable making the trip until my children were older.

For those of you who live in the North Stafford area, I put together a list of few fun places you might enjoy taking your children. If you don’t live in Stafford, scout your area for parks and recreation areas; make the hunt for these places part of your adventure. Remember to take along a pail for all the treasures the children find.

Happy Adventures,

Melissa

Below is a list of 10 local places that are fun to explore with younger and older children.

1. Clair Brooks Park- The park has a Frisbee golf course that runs through the woods. It is a beautiful path to follow and at one point there is a little waterfall, with a small basin of water at the bottom. This is a fun spot for a picnic and playing in the water. In mid-summer the place is almost dry.

2. Smith Park- There is a nice playground and a path to the creek. We like to find places with water. There are always some fun creatures to find in the water.

3. Alum Springs Park in Fredericksburg-This is a wonderful little park set in the woods. There is a trail to the creek which leads to some rocky overhangs. During the Civil War the citizens of Fredericksburg hid under these rocky overhangs during the battle of Fredericksburg. Historical markers along the trail tell the history of the area.

4. Willowmear Park- This park is mostly sport fields, but there is a playground and a paved path. Children enjoy riding bikes and scooters along the path from one end of the park to the other. The park is located on Mountainview Road.

5. Prince William National Forest- There isn’t a playground that I know of at PWNF, but there are plenty of places to hike. There is a small entrance fee. Check the park’s website for more details and directions. http://www.nps.gov/prwi/index.htm

6. Aquia Landing-In the summer the park is open for swimming in the Potomac. The beach is sandy in places. There is a fee per person to swim. The following link has additional information about the park. http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM6VNX_Aquia_Landing_Stafford_VA

7. Leesylvania State Park- this park is near Dumfries and is along the Potomac River. Swimming is not allowed in the river, but you can explore along the shore looking for pretty rocks and other items that have been washed up.For more information check out the park’s website: http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/lee.shtml

8. Funland/Chuckie Cheese-For a few dollars you and your children can spend a rainy afternoon playing games. The folks at Chuckie Cheese don’t mind if you just play games and don’t purchase a pizza. The children usually end up with a handful of tickets they can redeem for a cheap prize, adding to the afternoon fun.

9. Carl’s Ice Cream –Carl’s has been in Fredericksburg forever. I was introduced to Carl’s years ago, by a native to the area (thanks, Shelley). The line is long on hot days, but the staff is very efficient and the line moves quickly. A regular ice cream cone is very reasonably priced. Carl’s is at 2200 Princess Anne St, are open Sunday-Thursday from 11am -11pm and on Friday-Saturday from 11am-11:30pm.

10. Lunga Lake-This small park is part of Quantico. We enjoy taking walks near the lake and gathering pinecones. The lake would also be a good place for little ones to try their hand at fishing. There is a picnic shelter and a small playground. To get to the park drive out Onville Rd. When you arrive at the guard house, let the guard know you are going to the lake; they can give you directions from there. If you have a vehicle decal for military installations you shouldn’t have any trouble getting through the gate. Otherwise you may have to show your driver’s license and let the guard inspect your car, but I’m not completely sure.

Practical Ways to Love Your Husband

2010-03-31T17:45:00.000-07:00

Dear Ladies,

We all love practical ideas, suggestions that we can put into to practice in our everyday life. We read magazines to find practical ideas to help us organize our home, scan the internet for practical ways to complete projects and read parenting books for practical ideas to help us raise our children.

One area of our lives that need constant attention is our marriages. With some practical ways to express love to our spouse we can enhance and strengthen our marriages. Below are a variety of easy suggestions that will give you a chance to express your love to your husband.

1. Wait until your anger or feelings of irritability have subsided before discussing a sensitive issue. Do not tell your husband how you want him to behave, instead share with him what feelings the issue aroused in you and why.

2. Ask your husband to pray with you.

3. Dream together- talk about what you want to do together in the future. Discuss where you would like to vacation this summer as a family. Talk about home improvement projects you would like to tackle, share personal goals with each other and encourage your husband in his goals.

4. Drop the word “divorce” from any conversation you have with your husband. Avoid using the word divorce as a threat during an argument. Determine that for your marriage, divorce is not an option. My parents are divorced and my grandparents on both sides of the family were divorced. Both my dad and mom’s family had a history of divorce. Often trends like this will continue in families for generations. About 6 years into my marriage I prayed and committed myself to breaking that cycle in my family. My husband and I never use the word divorce in any argument we have, we have both decided it isn’t an option for us, so we will not talk about it or threaten each other with divorce.

5. Avoid name calling-Whether you are speaking to your husband or talking about him in a public situation be careful about the names you use.

6. Avoid withdrawing from your husband physically and emotionally. It is easy to think I will never talk to him about this again, or to pull back when he tries to give you a hug, but these actions only begin to build up a wall between you and your husband.

7. Do something with your husband that he enjoys-Watch football, attend an event your husband enjoys together or take an interest in his hobbies. Eric has really enjoyed it the few times I attend a pigeon racing club (his current hobby is racing pigeons) meeting or attended a work related event with him. Taking time out of your schedule to attend an event your husband enjoys is an excellent way to silently tell your husband you love him and are interested in what he does.

8. Thank your husband for something he does- When he comes home at the end of a long day, thank him for working all day, thank him when he changes a diaper, fills the car with gas or takes out of trash. Even if it is a job that is normally something he does, or is job he should be doing, thanking him will encourage him and build him up.

9. Buy him a surprise gift- The gift doesn’t have to be expensive, maybe buy him a favorite snack or candy bar. The gift lets him know that you were thinking about him during the day.

10. Make his favorite meal for dinner.

11. Put a love note in his lunch or briefcase.

12. Tell him you love him often.

13. Give him an extra long kiss when he comes home at the end of the day- wouldn’t he be surprised and wonder what you are up to if you give him a long sweet kiss when he walks in the door tonight.

14. Plan a date and take your husband out for the evening. The expectation is that the husband will plan the date and the wife will get the sitter, why not try planning the date also. Think of somewhere your husband enjoys, even if it isn’t on your list of favorite places. For Eric’s 50^th birthday I arranged a private tour of a small vineyard. The winemaker showed Eric around and told him about the process of making wine. Winemaking isn’t necessarily something I’m real interested in, but I know Eric finds the process intriguing. We ended the day with a picnic down by the river and for him it was much better than a big party. Eric was delighted with his surprise birthday outing.

15. Be kinder to your husband then you are to strangers or friends. Treating our friends nice can be easy, we don’t live with them every day. Show your husband that he is loved as much or more than your friends.

16. Initiate some romantic time alone-enough said. You know what to do!

17. Do little favors for him that you know he will enjoy, bring him coffee in the morning or a cold drink when he is working, or rub his back.

18. Help him with a project he is working on, even if you are just holding the tools for him.

19. Take a walk together; even if you have to take the kids along it will be time that you are spending together.

20. Say you are sorry. Apologizing can go a long way in restoring a relationship and tearing down the wall between you and your husband.

21. Bake him some cookies and make some extra for him to share at work.

22. When he arrives home from work or from being out, stop what you’re doing to greet him with a kiss. In fact, kiss him as often as you can.

Loving our husbands can be a chore or can be pleasurable; the decision is up to us. Loving a man that isn’t very loveable sometimes, can be difficult and there may be times in your marriage when you feel very little or no love at all for your husband. Feelings change; marriage cannot be based on feelings alone. If we went on feelings alone, our marriages wouldn’t last very long. Love has to be a decision. Each partner has to make a decision to love at all times, not just when it feels good.

Make a decision today to love your husband all the time, use some of the ideas given to show him that love. Whether you feel like it or not try a few of the ideas and keep trying. At first you may not notice any difference, but with continued effort you will see a change in how you feel and will notice a change in your marriage. Give some of the ideas a try and see what happens. Most likely the love in your marriage will increase, as you continue to show your husband how much you love him.

I would love to hear from you any ideas you have and to hear the outcome of your efforts to express your love.

Blessings,

Melissa

Resurrection Cookies

2010-03-24T09:36:00.000-07:00

Dear Ladies,
If you've never done made Resurrection cookies with your children it is a fun Easter activity and a great way to teach them about Easter. The link below has the recipe and walks you through each step.
http://www.annieshomepage.com/resurrectioncookies.html

Another easy activity for Easter:
-Take refrigerated biscuits that come in a can- pop the can open and give each child a biscuit. Have each child wrap the biscuit dough around a large marshmallow- this takes a bit of stretching. Brush melted butter on the biscuits, roll in cinnamon and sugar and bake according to directions on biscuit can.
Explain to the children as they wrap the biscuit around the marshmallow that Jesus is represented by the marshmallow and the biscuit represents the tomb. After the biscuits are done baking, cool a few minutes and give each child one to enjoy. Break the biscuit in half and notice that the marshmallow is gone, our biscuit tomb is empty just like Jesus' tomb was empty on Easter morning. My children loved this activity and I liked it because it was simple and easy to do.

Enjoy,
Melissa

More Snowy Day Ideas

2010-02-10T18:49:00.000-08:00

Dear Ladies,

One mom responded that she was making gingerbread houses from cardboard with her children. You could cut house pieces from cardboard or use graham crackers. The major part of success with gingerbread houses is having the right icing. The icing needs to work like cement. Below is an icing recipe that works well. Here is a quote from the mom who sent the idea, " So we have started a gingerbread house building project. The houses are out of cut up cardboard boxes glued together with a hot glue gun. The frosting is a recipe from online, and we have the extra candy, cereal, pretzels, etc to decorate. They are enjoying the project (and will take some time to complete in phases--just like a real house!)"

This could be a quick one day project or turn it into a big project and create a village.

Here are a few more ideas to try, now that we are on to winter storm number three.
-have a game day and haul out the cards and board games
-look at old photo albums together. Children love to hear stories about when you were young and stories about what they did when they were younger.
-gather together some items from your recycling and since they aren't picking it up we all have extra, together with colored paper, newspaper, glue, crayons etc, create robots.
-create bird feeders. If you have pine cones cover them with peanut butter and roll in bird seed, tie string to the top and hang from a tree branch. A bird feeder can also be made from old milk cartons.
-bundle up and take a walk-don't forget to have everyone use the potty first.
-call some friends and meet at a fast food restaurant with a play area for lunch or just coffee.

I know for some of you the days are getting long and you are ready for a change. When the day is getting you down, take a break. Tell your children, even the older ones need a rest time. Everyone needs a break and your children even need a break from each other. A half hour of reading or a quiet activity separated from everyone else may be just the time everyone needs to feel refreshed.

Blessings to all of you,
Melissa

Icing Recipe
2 Egg whites
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 teaspoons water
Beat together until frothy

Mix in 3 cups of powdered sugar.
Beat until stiff

Snow Day Fun

2010-02-06T19:36:00.000-08:00

Ladies,

It looks like you will have the company of your school age children at home this week. After several days at home everyone may ended up going a little stir crazy and your children may begin to have a lot of pent up energy. Now is the time to start planning something to help you keep your sanity.

School children have every minute of their day planned out for them, when given too many days of unstructured times they don't know what to do with all their free time. Here are a few ideas too help fill some of those free hours. -try searching the internet for some simple crafts to do together,
- enjoy coloring together,
-pull out a pile of sheets and blankets to make a tent in the family room,
-bake cookies together
-if you have a fireplace build a fire, roast marshmallows and pretend you are camping
-make sandwiches for dinner, spread a blanket on the family room floor and have a picni
-begin reading a chapter book together, allow your children to color or build with Legos while you read(this use to be one of our favorite things to do together during the day)
-have a movie day or afternoon-wear your pj's and enjoy popcorn
-help your children prepare a play or program with dance and music for when Dad comes home
-plan and prepare a special meal together
-take a walk in the snow and then enjoy hot chocolate together when you get home

If you have some fun ideas that you enjoy doing with your children please email me. I will put them all together and send them to everyone.

Enjoy the special days ahead with your children home,
Melissa

Teaching Children How to Receive Presents

2009-12-20T13:51:00.000-08:00

Ladies,

Here is something I did with my children that you might want to try. To teach my children how to respond properly to a gift they received we would have practice sessions. I would wrap up items for the child to open, just old toys or something from around the house. I would then let them open the gift and we would practice what to say. We would talk about instead of saying "I already have one of these", they can say "thank you, this is a nice present". I would wrap up a item that would be a terrible present, so they could practice saying thank you even when they didn't like the present. The children enjoyed this game and it did help them when they were given something and didn't know how to respond. It also helped to prevent them from saying something like "my mom doesn't want me to have this"

Enjoy your Christmas,
Melissa

Christmas Reminder

2009-12-20T13:38:00.000-08:00

Dear Ladies,

For those of you not in Va, we are blanketed in snow. Reminds me of my days in Oswego NY way up by Lake Ontario(a few ladies on the list actually live in Oswego). We have about 15-20 inches of snow; we haven't expeienced this amount of snow since 1995. It has been beautiful to see the world covered in a blanket of white.

My boys had plans for a sleep over tonight, so we had to dig the van out. I had planned to drive them myself, but instead took Ethan out for a snow driving lesson. He took it very slow and did a good job. He was born in Oswego, so maybe it is in his blood-it was snowing when we brought him home from the hospital.

Life in the Northern Virginia area is so busy, everyone is always on the go and then it snows. A good snow storm shuts the area down and causes everyone to slow down. One such storm happened during the week and caused most people to have to stay home from work. We went over to the hill to sled and the area was crowded with families enjoying time together. Winter snow storms hve a way of forcing us to slow down and spend down as a family.

Christmas time only adds to our busyness. In addition to our regular schedule we add in shopping for a multitude of gifts, attending parties, baking cookies and traveling. We can lose sight of what is really important during this season. We can easily forget we are celebrating the birth of Christ and we can get so busy preparing for Christmas day that we don't spend time with our children. Christmas is only one day. We spend days and hours getting ready and then it is over so quickly.

I'm sure most of you have a million jobs to do before Christmas morning, but I encourage you to carve out a few minutes each day to spend sometime doing something with your children. Color a picture together, bake cookies, read a Christmas story, wrap gifts, create a memory with your children and enjoy them. We really have very few Christmas' with our children all at home with us.

Blessings to all of you,
Melissa

Mothering Drudgery or Joy

2009-11-30T17:35:00.000-08:00

Dear Ladies,

When my kids were little Monday was always a hard day for me. After a weekend of very little housekeeping there was plenty of catching up to do. Monday always meant cleaning and laundry. After a long holiday weekend with husbands and kids home I'm sure some of you had a busy day today catching up with your cleaning and laundry.

Parts of mothering can be just drudgery. The laundry is never ending, the floor is always needing a good mopping, you rarely get everything done, and many days you feel like you get nothing done. The other part of mothering is why we really enjoy being mothers. Its the baby gazing up at you as she nurses, the toddler fresh out of the bath in his new fuzzy pajamas, the delight on a child's face when you surprise them with a gift they have really been wanting, the sense of pride when your child walks across the stage to accept his diploma and the countless smiles, hugs and kisses that are bestowed on you just because you are the mom.

Don't let your days of mothering young children become just the days of drudgery. Aim each day to find the joy in mothering weather it is just a few minutes to read a child a story, scratched a child's back (I have a 16 year old that wants his back scratched at bedtime), color a coloring page together or listen to a teen relate his day to you. These everyday occurrences are what mothering is really about. These are the days when we have the chance to mold a life, to train our children in the love of the Lord through our actions and to love them unconditionally.

Happy Mothering Ladies. Thank you to all of you who responded to my last email, your responses are very encouraging.

Melissa

It's Me-Finally!!

2009-11-01T18:26:00.000-08:00

Dear Ladies,
I'm sorry it has been so long since you've heard from me. Just a quick note to let you all know that I am thinking of you.

This morning in church I was standing next to my husband during worship. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him worshiping the Lord. I realized that no matter what he does wrong or does that I'm not real excited about that none of that really matters. What really matters is that my husband loves the Lord and is committed to his walk with Him. I need to keep this is mind when I'm frustrated, feeling unappreciated or overwhelmed. In reality few things are really important, but one of the things that is important is the relationship our family members and friends have with the Lord. In the end all we can take to heaven with us is other people.

I'm taking my three youngest kids and heading to So. Carolina to help Eric's sister who has ALS. ALS is a quickly progressing disease and I want to spend time with her while she is still with us. I will try to write to you from there.

I would love to hear from some of you. It inspires me to write when I hear from you and you ask me questions or share something from your day with me.

Blessings to all of you,
Melissa

Toys, Toys and More Toys Part 2

2009-08-30T17:21:00.000-07:00

Dear Ladies,
Now that you have had time to clear the toys from your bedroom room, let’s get started dealing with all the toys that are everywhere else.

One of the best ways to deal with toys is to limit them. So to start you will need a box of trash bags. Before you can organize anything you will need to weed out what you want to keep, what needs to be trashed and which toys can be given away. Anytime you are sorting through toys to get rid of it is best to not have your children around, let them watch a video, nap in your room so you can be in their room or plan a play date. Since this job may take a while you may find it best to accomplish it in short time spans.

Let's get started sorting.
- First we are going to trash any toys that are broken, unsafe, or too worn out to pass on.

-Our second trash bag will be for toys that are still in good condition, but are not played with. Your church nursery maybe interested in them, you can donate them to Goodwill or The Salvation Army for a tax deduction, ask a friend if they are interested in any of the toys for their children or list them on Ebay or Free Cycle. (http://www.freecycle.com/ is a great way to give items away to other local people. Go to the website and select a group in your area, sign up and then all you do is write a short note of what you have you would like to give away. People will email you if they are interested and then pick it up from you. I love free cycle. I will list something and often have multiple people who would like it. I email one of them with my address and leave the item on the front porch. The next thing I know the item is gone. Often the person will email and tell me how glad they are to have the item.)

How do you determine which toys stay and which toys go? Ask yourself when was the last time your child used the toy, if they have not used it in the last six months to a year it is time for the toy to leave your home. Most children have a few toys that they use all the time and even some that they use every day. Toys like blocks, Playmobiles, Legos, dolls, kitchen items, and dress up clothes give children hours of enjoyment, so these are keepers, unless your child shows no interest in them. Our house has tons of Legos; the boys spent countless hours building, rebuilding and imagining with their Legos.
They were well worth the space they occupied. Decide what toys are worth the space in your home.

-Now be sure to make sure the toys in your trash bags leave your house.

You probably still have plenty of toys left in your house. We will talk about some organizing ideas in the next letter, but for now happy sorting. Remember it doesn't have to be done all at once. If you only have 30 minutes to sort through half of the closet that's ok, the job will get done.

Happy Sorting,

Melissa

Toys, Toys and More Toys

2009-08-24T15:43:00.000-07:00

Dear Ladies,

I love hearing from you and hearing what ideas you would like to read about. Recently a reader asked me for ideas on organizing children’s toys, dealing with the abundance of art work our children make and how to effectively store hand-me-downs. I haven’t personally conquered all of the STUFF in my house. It is a constant battle. Since our home isn’t very big and we don’t have the option of throwing everything in the basement, we have had to learn how to deal with all the stuff that six people need, collect and want.

There is a lot in the above topics to talk about and since I like to keep these letters short, I’m going to break this up into several different letters. First we will start with the toys.

TOYS: They are everywhere and seem to multiple like bunnies. If toys aren’t kept under control they will quickly take over your whole house.

First I would suggest you make your bedroom off limit to toys. I have always felt that the children had the whole house to play in they did not need to play or leave their toys in my room. If you are married your room should be a calm, restful place for you and your husband to enjoy time together, if you are a single mom you need one place that is just for you. You are not being selfish by keeping one room as your personal haven and for many that would mean a room with no toys. So take a box, go to your bedroom and put all the toys in the box. Put the box in a child’s room, we will deal with it later. For now you have one place where you can go that is toy free, be sure to let your kids know that your room is now a “toy free zone” and remember to enforce this new rule.

More to come on the subject of toys in the near future.

Melissa

Quick Summer Tip

2009-08-17T19:02:00.000-07:00

Dear Ladies,

We had a chance to go camping last week. We spent the good portion of an afternoon at the pool one day. The water was nice, the sun was hot and I didn't know where the sunscreen was. Needless to say I got a sunburn. We went to the store and I purchased a bottle of lotion that had Aloe Vera plus vitamins and tea tree oil(usually I use just aloe), it did wonders. Not only did it sooth the burn, the burn turned to a tan and didn't peel.

Aloe is also good to have on hand for the occasional burn when cooking.

Have a great week ladies. Stay cool and remember the sunscreen.

Melissa

PS- I bought sunscreen and than found the old stuff, so we were better prepared for the next time we went to the pool

Treasure Boxes

2009-08-07T10:29:00.000-07:00

Ladies,

We found a great deal this week on treasure boxes. We all know how much children love to keep things and they always need somewhere to keep their treasures.

The cigar store next to the Blockbusters in North Stafford will sometimes have empty cigar boxes sitting outside the door for people to take, but they also sell some of the boxes. The boxes they sell are very nice for treasure boxes. We had a great time sorting through the piles of boxes looking for our favorites. Many boxes are made of beautiful stained word, with hinges and latches on the front. They come in a variety of sizes; they have a few that are a little larger then a shoe box, but many are half that size. Currently there is a sign on the door saying cigar boxes are 1/2, the larger boxes are about $2-2.50 and all the smaller ones(just inside the front door are $1).

I thought the boxes would be great to put Christmas gifts in either as is or spray painted. I'm sure many of your children would enjoy picking out a treasure box to fill and once it is filled I would encourage them to sort through and get rid of some of them to make room for new treasures. This can work as a great way to store treasures, but also to limit them because once the box is full they have to discard somethings.

And if you want to get crafty I'm sure there are many ways you could decorate these boxes, but many are already very nice.

I also have a large box of tea sets. My daughter had multiple sets and we sorted through and just kept her favorites. Is anyone interested in a tea set to have tea parties with their kids? If more then one person wants them I will divide the sets up?

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Melissa

Help-I just want to talk on the phone for two minutes!!!

2009-07-31T17:22:00.000-07:00

Dear Ladies,
Doesn’t it seem every time you go to the store you see a child having a tempter tantrum? Doesn’t it seem that shopping can bring out some of the worse behaviors in our kids? My boys thought it was fun to hide in the middle of the clothes racks where I couldn’t see them. I would turn around and they would be gone. I would yell their name and calmly they would appear with a “I’m right here, Mama.”

It isn’t just shopping that can brings out the worse in our kids. There is also phone calls, visitors and the rare moment that they find themselves alone; all great times to find some mischief to get into. As moms we have two choices we can ignore the behavior or change it. Ignoring bad behavior rarely causes a child to change course, so that really only leaves us the option of changing the behavior.
Disciplining children isn’t easy work, it takes time, creativity and consistency. Of these three consistency is key. No matter how you decide to discipline a child, weather through time out, spanking, lose of privilege/treat, it has to be consistent.

Let’s say you have the common problem of your children losing control as soon as you start talking on the phone. What would you do to correct this problem?
Here’s one way.
Have a training session; just like an adult who takes a new job needs training, a child needs training to understand what is expected of him. Role play with your child what you expect of him when the phone rings, maybe he needs to find a book to look at for a few minutes(if so have some books in a place where she can reach them and change them out every week or so to prevent boredom) or maybe you just want him to sit and play quietly for a few minutes. Whatever it is be sure your child understands what he is to do during that time. Keep in mind it should be something your child enjoys or your plan will not work. Let your child know that you will be as quick as you can on the phone and try to stick short chats, so he isn’t tempted to misbehave.
Once your child understands what you expect it is time to have a pretend phone call and practice. Begin by making a ringing noise, say to your child the phone is ringing, get your book and sit quietly for a few minutes. Pretend to answer your phone and chat for a minute. Hang up and praise your child for his good behavior while you were on the phone. Practice this a few times over the course of several days each time making your pretend conversation a little longer. Praise your child after each pretend conversation.
During your training be sure to let your child know what the consequence will be if he doesn’t do what you asked him, maybe he will have to stand in the corner for a few minutes, or lose something she enjoys. Whatever it is be sure when your child misbehaves to follow through. Threats don’t work! If you tell your child no TV in that afternoon, then stick to it. Sticking to what you say is the hardest part.

Now that your child knows what the expected behavior is and what the punishment will be if he doesn’t behave, maintain consistency. Every time the phone rings expect him to do exactly what you have trained him to do and if he doesn’t then end your phone call immediately. Explain to her she didn’t do what you had practiced and so now you have to punish her. Once your child realizes that you are serious and are holding her to a standard she should respond. If she doesn’t then your expectation and punishment will need to be adjusted. Maybe she needs a different activity to keep her busy for a few minutes or a tougher punishment. It might also work to have something special in the cupboard near the phone that you pull out just for him to use while you are on the phone; at the end of the call the toy goes away(rotate these toys occasionally).
Similar kind of training will help you and your child in other situations where their behaviors isn’t what you would like. In upcoming letters we will discuss other training ideas that will help you and your child in different situations. Punishing or spanking a child for every ill deed isn’t necessarily effective. Sometimes a punishment is necessary, but often times we just need to take the extra few moments to teach our children what our expectations are.
If you have had success in training your children to behave while you are on the phone and would like to share what has work with you, we would love to hear it. I will include your idea in a future letter and add it to the website.

Melissa
www.amomlikeyou.com

New Website

2009-07-11T15:18:00.000-07:00

Please take time to visit our new website. All past e-letters are on the site plus you will find all of the recipes together.

Fun Summer Ideas

2009-07-05T18:00:00.001-07:00

Dear Ladies,
I HATE snakes. Thankfully I rarely see one, but today I had an up close encounter. I was working in my flower garden, I pulled up a plant to transplant and as I pulled out came a snake. I jumped and scream. All of the men were in the backyard, heard my scream and quickly came to my rescue. They found the little guy and took care of him. We had encountered a small one about 6 weeks ago and I'm hoping it was the same snake. If so, he had grown, but was still small. Summer is a great season, but I could do without the snake encounters.
Our summer vacation time is almost half over. Before we know it will be time to start school again. Is your summer getting away from you? Have you created any special memories with your children yet? It isn't too late to create some fun family memories together. Put on your thinking cap and begin to think of some fun activities you can do with your family.
Here is a list of inexpensive, fun ideas to try with your children this summer.

Pack a picnic and meet your husband at his work for lunch.
Go fishing. Children don't need a fishing license and only one parent really needs one, plus kids poles are relatively inexpensive. Kids usually love fishing.
Find a place where you can walk in the woods, take along a plastic bucket or bag for the children to collect things. The next day they can glue their findings to a piece of cardboard or display them in a pretty jar or basket. (after a week or the collection can quietly disappear.)
Find a stream. My boys always loved playing in streams and looking under the rocks for Crawdads. Smithlake Park has a pretty stream that is fairly shallow.
Find the nearest state visitors center and pick up brochures of near by places to visit. We have one just north of Fredericksburg on I95.
Have friends over to splash in a baby pool.
Bake cookies together on a rainy day.
Attend a local Vacation Bible School.
Spend the morning/afternoon at the pool. Curtis Park has their baby pool open in the morning and it only cost a few dollars. When my kids were little a group of us would meet at the baby pool and then have lunch afterwards. I have fond memories of visiting with my friends.
Create a mural with chalk on the driveway or sidewalk for Dad to see when he comes home.
Read together when the weather is just too hot to be outside.
Catch bugs. Buy a cheap net at the dollar store and save some old plastic jars. If you want to mount and label them put a cotton ball soaked with nail polish remover in the jar to quickly kill them. Or just let them go when you're done. Fireflies are also fun to catch.
Go camping in your backyard or just have a campfire in the evening. Roasting hot dogs and marshmellows around a campfire is great time for Dad to tell a story or share about something he did as a kid.
These summer days hold so much potential for fun and bonding together as a family, so enjoy. Ladies, I'm always blessed with your feedback and enjoy being able to mentor you as you need. Please don't hesitate to call or email.
Melissa
657-6453
esms4@yahoo.com
www.amomlikeyou.com

A Mom Like You Website

2009-06-07T18:14:00.002-07:00

Our site is ready for visitors. Everything you have loved about this blog page will now be on its very own site. Please visit us at http://www.amomlikeyou.com/

Summer Memories

2009-06-07T18:14:00.001-07:00

Dear Ladies,

A week ago Tuesday we received an early morning call that my Dad had taken his last earthly breath. As you may remember, I mentioned in April that he wasn't doing very well. They inserted a feeding tube as he wasn't getting enough nutrition on a daily bases. He was able to go home and my step-mother cared for him. Ten years ago a tumor was located in his esophagus, because of his heart the decision was made to not operate. It is possible the tumor was cancerous, but we will never know.

The Sunday following his death a small memorial service was held at his home. Family and friends shared memories of my dad and the pastor shared the gospel message of salvation with everyone at the service.

Even though I knew my dad's death was approaching and even though it has been over 20 years since I lived with my dad I am saddened to think that I will never talk to him again or hear him say "I love you, kid." It will take time to get use to the fact that he is gone.

The lost of anyone brings to mind the precious memories you have made with that person. Once that persons is gone all we have is our memories.

Summer is the perfect time to make memories with your children, husband and extended family. We try to make it a point each summer to take a vacation with our children. We haven't always done this, but we realized we had to create those memories with them before they all grew up. One year we packed up and headed out west for three weeks. It was an unforgettable vacation. Not all summer memories have to be long, far away trips. Memories can be made taking short trips or even day trips to near by places. Check out this past blog for some near by trips you might want to try this summer.
http://amomlikeyou.blogspot.com/search/label/summer

I hope you all have a wonderful week. Ladies, I love to communicate with you, so please email me with any thoughts, concerns or questions.
Melissa

Letting Go!!

2009-05-20T08:05:00.000-07:00

Dear Ladies,

My two oldest boys, Jacob and Ethan, took a road trip. They packed up our little white car with over 200,000 miles and drove to Illinois to visit grandparents. The oldest being 18 has a need for adventure, and it worked out for him to be able to have one. Ethan is one step closer to independence.

Before we were married we spent some time with our pastor discussing marriage, family etc. Our pastor told us that it was the husbands job to help his wife let go of the children. What truth there was in that statement.

When our children were little their grandparents wanted to have them visit for several weeks in the summers. I always wanted to say "no", I want them here with me. Eric felt it would be good for the children to spend some time with their grandparents, so off to Grammy's they would go. Of course, Eric was right. It was good for everyone. The grandparents got to spoil the grand kids and a bond was developed between the children and their grandparents. My in-laws are Godly people, so my children were also able to learn from their Godly example.

All the good reasons didn't make it any easier for me to let go. Through out the adventure of mothering there are different times when we need to release our children. As babies we let them go when we move them out of our bedroom and into their own room. (I cried the first night I put my oldest in his room), as toddlers we let go when they are screaming at the church nursery door for mama, but we know they will be fine. As young elementary we let go when we put them on the school bus for the first time, or let them sleep over night at a friend's house, then as teens we let them go when we allow them to be out with friends. Before long we have an adult in our house who is studying and preparing to care for a family of his own.

Parenting is one long season of letting go. As moms it is hard for us to let them grow up, we are torn; we want them to grow up, but we still want them to be our babies. So if the opportunity arises this summer for your child to step out into something new, be ready. It will be hard. Pray about it and discuss it with your husband. How will it benefit your child and his knowledge of God? Will your child be safe? Are you just holding on or would this be a good chance for your child to grow and have fun? Will this opportunity cause emotional or physical harm? Is your child ready?

I have not yet gotten to the point where a child has totally left home, but I believe that having my children spend weeks at their grandparents has given me a little glimpse of what our home will be like with children gone. I know it will be difficult, but I'm looking forward to seeing what direction God takes my children in.

I would love to hear from you ladies, your emails encourage me to write. Please email me any questions or topics that you would like me to write about.

In His Service,
Melissa

Death Comes To Us All

2009-04-19T11:43:00.000-07:00

Dear Ladies,

We have been doing more then our fair share dinner with a movie. When Eric is gone we tend to be more relaxed about dinner. Sometimes I will decide we better start acting normal and eat dinner at the table. BUT we are all enjoying our dinner/movie nights, do we really need to be normal. We have watched most of the PG movies from the Redbox that we wanted to see; that may cause us to have to stop our movie watching or find a different rental source.

My father is 88 years old and isn't doing very well. We are hoping he will hang in there until after May 6th when Eric is due home. I really don't want to deal with the funeral without him to tempter family feelings. My Dad has been married three times and has children from his first two marriages.

My dad was born in 1921, only attender school through the 8th grade when he had to start working to help support the family. He was one of 12 children. He has outlived all but the youngest sister. He was drafted to serve in World War II, was wounded twice and was part of the occupation force in Japan. He saw airplane and automobile travel become the norm. He saw the invention of the tv, phone, computers, washing machines, radios, microwaves, and bubble gum. I was blessed to have a wonderful visit, the best one in a long time, in November. We attended church with him, his wife, my sister and her boys. Afterwards we went out to lunch, then to their new home for a visit. I'm thankful for that visit. I have chosen not to go to NY now, but have talked to him a few minutes on the phone.

Death is a part of life and sometimes is very hard for us to understand. Children handle death so much better then we do. I think sometimes they wonder why we are crying. Isn't going home to be with Jesus what we all want to do? So how do we has moms handle explaining the death of a loved one to our little ones?

1. Explain to your child that they have gone to see Jesus. For some children this is all they will need.

2. Comfort them and allow them to cry, but don't be upset if they don't show any sorrow.

3. If they are beyond the toddler years take them to the visitation or the funeral. Explain to them before hand that they will be viewing the person's body or shell, but their spirit or the part we loved is with Jesus.

4. If you aren't sure the person was saved it is a little bit more difficult. Let your child know their spirit is gone and leave it at that.

5. Talk about the things you loved or did with the person. Enjoy sharing funny stories with them and ask them to share something they remember.

6. Talk about death before it happens. Talk about how grandparents wouldn't always be with us, so we have to enjoy them while we can. Let them know it is a part of life. If you have a pet who dies, even a goldfish, use this as an opportunity to talk about death.

7. Pray and ask for guidance.

We lost two young cousins in a car accident 5 years ago. That was a difficult death for my children and there was no explanation as to why it happened. We knew that both children had made Jesus their savior, so we could rejoice in knowing that they were with Jesus. Sometimes all you can do is cry together and say we don't understand why such an accident could happen. It is ok to be honest with your children, they will have a better understanding of death when we address their questions honestly.

Have a wonderful weekend with your family and rejoice in each new day God gives us to enjoy each other.

Melissa

I'm A Sinner!!

2009-04-13T20:21:00.001-07:00

Dear Ladies,

Just a short note before I head to bed. I was listening to a sermon on line this past week. The speaker discussed the topic of asking God for forgiveness or our need to repent of our sins. I occurred to me that in my quiet times with the Lord I had gotten away from asking God to forgive me. I had forgotten how I need to confront my sins and confess them to God. I seldom hear the topic of repentance talked about, so I guess it had slipped my mind. How foolish of me!! I know Jesus died for my sins, so why is it I was forgetting to ask forgiveness. It isn't because I never sin, I sin everyday. I yell at my kids or say things I shouldn't. I get angry at my husband. I'm judgemental. The list could go on, but you get the picture. Sinless I am not.

We are all sinners and it is only by the grace of God that we are able to have relationship with Him. I'm thankful that God gently reminded me that I need to confess and as I begin naming my sin I have a better understanding of what I need to work on to become like Christ.

I encourage you, dear sisters in the Lord, to take a few minutes this week and reflect on your sins. It isn't fun, but if we don't take the time to think about our short comings we can become caught in the trap of thinking that we are doing everything right. Ask Him to open your eyes to your sins; once we know what sin is harboring in our life then we can begin to work on reflecting Jesus in all we do.

God is merciful and will forgive. He even will forgive us for when we forget to confess our sins.

In His Service,
Melissa

Easy Chicken/turkey Bake

2009-04-12T18:31:00.000-07:00

Ladies,

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter and were able to enjoy some time with your family. For those of you that had turkey today for Easter Dinner, here is an easy recipe to use some of your leftovers.

1 pk. cornbread stuffing mix
1 cup hot water
1 1/2 lb chicken/turkey(cooked)
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/3 cup sour cream
1 bag of frozen mixed veggies-thawed and drained(broccoli or green beans will also work)

Preheat oven 400 degrees. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of dry stuffing evenly on bottom of 13x9" baking dish. Add hot water to remaining stuffing mix, stir until moistened.

Place chicken over dry stffing mix. Mix soup, sour cream and veggies, spoon over chicken. Top with prepared stuffing.

Bake 30 minutes.

The sour cream is really what gives this dish its unique taste; you can make the dish without it, but it is better with the sour cream. This dish works well to put together during the day when you have time and then it is ready to stick into the oven at dinner time.

Enjoy!

Fun and Easy Easter Treat

2009-04-09T08:14:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick and fun treat you can make with your children and share with them what Jesus did for us and the really meaning of Easter.

You will need a tube of refrigerator biscuits. I used the cheap ones that come 4 tubes bundled together. You will also need marshmallows(any kind you have will work), melted butter, cinnamon and sugar.

Have your children stretch out a biscuit as best them can and wrap it around a marshmallow. Brush each biscuit with butter and then sprinkle or roll them in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. Bake your biscuits according to the directions on the tube. Remove from oven and cool a little before eating.

As they work and then enjoy share with them what each part represents.
The marshmallow represents Jesus and the biscuit is the tomb. Just as Jesus was put in the tomb, you put your biscuits in the oven. Have your children bit into there biscuit and notice that the marshmallow is gone, there biscuit /tomb is hollow. As they enjoy there sweet treat share with them the goodness of Jesus' resurrection and the empty tomb.

Enjoy,
Melissa

2009-04-06T18:51:00.000-07:00

Dear Ladies,
I have sat down several times and started a letter only to never finish it. I have not forgotten you nor have I given up writing altogether.

The children and I are on our own for the month. Eric is in Afghanistan, so that means cereal for dinner, movies and pizza. We have been to see the cherry blossoms and have dinner with friends planned, and maybe a road trip to visit the University of Virginia, to help the time past.

On Sunday we had the great blessing of having our first service in our new building. I was very busy with the babies in the nurseries. We had a record number of children with a total near 40 in our second service. I never even got a chance to peek in at the worship service, but my day will come. Until then I will love everyone babies and will be glad for three beautiful rooms to care for them.

Of all the letters I send the recipes are the most popular, so I will add one to this update.
One of our favorite soups is "Brown Jug Cheese Soup"

4 chicken bouillon cubes
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
1 qt water
2 1/2 cups potatoes, raw and cubed
1 (20 oz) pkg. frozen mixed veggies(we like broccoli)
1 lb Velveeta cheese
2 cans cream of chicken soup
Put all but the soup and cheese in a large soup pot and cook until potatoes and veggies are tender. Stir in soup and cheese(cut into large cubes). Stir until cheese is melted.

Add a loaf of bread and dinner is done. This is an easy recipe to put together early in the day and heat up just before dinner. We still have some cool days ahead that make good days to have soup for dinner, so enjoy.

Melissa

Apple Crisp Recipe

2009-03-06T18:45:00.000-08:00

This morning I brought an Apple Crisp to our Mothers Of Preschoolers meeting. It was a big hit and was really easy to make. We picked a lot of apples last fall and I froze some of them. I froze them already peeled and sliced so they were ready to make a quick pie, apple crisp or applesauce. At the time this was alot of work, but i is very handy to have packages of sliced apples in the freezer. The night before MOPS I mixed up the topping, so in the morning all I had to do was put the apples in a dish, sprinkle on the topping and bake.

Apple Crisp

Peel and slice enough apples to fill a glass pie plate or a 12x12" baking dish. In a separate bowl soften 2/3 cup butter, add 1 1/2cup flour, 1 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1-2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Mix all together until you have a crumbly mixture. Try not to melt the butter, if you do and your topping isn't crumbly add a little more flour. Sprinkle the crumb mixture on top of your apples.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 1/2 hour or until the apples are tender.

This topping is from a recipe called "Crumbly Top Apple Pie"

Burned Out

2009-03-04T14:20:00.000-08:00

Burn Out! It is so easy for us as moms to over commit. We already have our hands full with all the jobs of motherhood and being a wife,but on top of those jobs we add many more. Serving in the church nursery, teaching a bible study, helping out at the kids' school, and the list goes on. I have at times been so overwhelmed with items on my to-do list that I wanted to cry, but that would take time and there is no time for that. Over extending ourselves with good things to do can lead to anxiety and worry, plus steal from us the time we need to be spending with the Lord. Once we lose that time with the Lord we face the danger of burning out in His work. God never intended for us to do so much that we don't have time for Him.

This time of year it is easy to feel burnt out with various commitments. Much of the energy we started with is gone and the fresh ideas are stagnant. Our service should not become an unhappy burden.

Romans 12:11-13 says "Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder."

Scripture gives us the key to avoiding burnout. Pray! God is concerned for you and the activities you are involved in. Ask Him for renewed energy, ask Him if there are any areas you can step back in or ask someone to take over or help. Renew yourself in His word, so you can finish the race and finish well.

March can be a long month, but it can also be a good month to reconnect with theLord. Your time with the Lord doesn't have to be in the morning or always at the same time, but try to find a portion of your day that is for God alone.

In His Love,
Melissa

Cookies for Breakfast

2009-03-02T14:56:00.000-08:00

One of the items I like to bake is breakfast cookies. They are easy to grab if you are running out the door and are good for anytime of day. Plus I can tell my guys they can have a cookie whenever they get hungry. I haven't official compared them to Pop Tarts or granola bars, but I'm sure they are healthier. Both of the recipes below can be adapted to your taste. I like to use dried cranberries in my cookies, but you could also add walnuts or pecans, sunflower seeds, any type of dried fruit or nuts. You could also try replacing some of the butter with an equal amount of applesauce. If you use fresh apples, keep in mind they wouldn't keep as long as cookies with only dried fruit. Using the two recipes below you could invent a breakfast cookie that works for your family. Have fun experimenting with your cookies. When I first started making breakfast cookies I did a google search and found a lot of recipes. I would love to hear what ingredients you add and how your cookies turn out.

Jumbo Breakfast Cookies

1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup old-fashion or quick-cooking oatmeal
1 cup raisins
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4 cups cheerios cereal
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Stir together sugar, butter, peanut butter, water vanilla and egg. Stir in remaining ingredients, except cereal. Gently stir in cereal. Drop dough onto ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten dough to about 1 inch thick

Bake 13-15 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before removing from sheet.

Hearty Cookies for Breakfast

3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 apple chopped
1 1/2 cup oatmeal
3/4 cup raisins
Mix all ingredients and bake at 350 degrees. My recipe doesn't say for how long, but my guess would be about 10 minutes.

Self Pity or Transformation

2009-02-28T13:34:00.000-08:00

Dear Ladies,

Eric told me this week that in the next two months he will only be home for a total of two weeks. He needs to make a trip to Iraq and Afghanistan, to check on equipment and parts. It takes a lot of prep for him to make the trip; he has to get updates on his shots, have all his equipment checked, get papers from a doctor and a dentist saying he is in good health, and process paperwork. Plus, he usually has to reassure me he will be fine, but any trip that requires a gas mask, a bullet proof vest, an updated will and gives you danger pay can't be too safe. But nevertheless the trip needs to be made.

When we first moved to Virginia Eric had to take a lot of classes. The classes were two to three weeks long, but he was home for the weekends. One Sunday in church I was very unhappy that he was leaving me again, when God gave me a reality check. I don't remember why people were sharing, but a young mom sitting in front of me went to the front of the congregation. Thorough tears she shared how just a few months before her husband who had cancer had passed away, but God had blessed her with a baby boy to remind her of her husband. My outlook on my situation changed quickly. Who was I to complain? My husband was not even leaving the state and I would see him again in a week. I needed to adjust my thinking.

Most of the times the problems we have in the course of a day are minor. The young mom's testimony quickly reminded me that I really had nothing to complain about. However, most of the time we don't get a direct message like that telling us to quit having a pity party. Sometimes we need a good cry, but we can also get into a rut of complaining. We can even sometimes compete with our friends over whose life is harder. God has good things in store for us every day. We just have to choose to enjoy them. Because God know the tendencies of His children, He encourages us in Scripture to refocus.

"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things." Philippians 4:8 (New King James Version)

So, dear ladies, don't let the little things of life bog you down. Decide what is most important and focus on that. We have the ability to train our minds, so if your mind is not filled with good,wholesome and pure thoughts, stop and begin filling your mind with the words of God. Read scripture or repeat verses you have memorized, turn on christian radio, or spend some time in prayer. Your self pity and hopelessness will be transformed.

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Romans 12:2

Yours in Christ,
Melissa

College of Hard Knocks-Lesson #2

2009-02-24T16:58:00.001-08:00

Here is another lessons I learned the hard way. However this time my mistake hurt my child.

Lesson #2- never let your toddler stand up in the back of the grocery cart. Even if it is a deep cart, they can still get hurt. As you can guess, this happened to me. I didn't think much of letting one of the boys stand in the back of the cart. I was right there, so I guess I figured it was ok, plus the stores didn't have those fancy multiple seat carts and it was a trick to keep track of three boys, the oldest being only four. I had let a boy stand in the cart without any problems in the past, but this day that changed. The youngest boy fell out of the back of the shopping cart and hit his head on the concrete floor of Walmart. Other then some tears he was fine and with a bit of comforting, from the mom whose fault it was, he quit crying. So that is how lesson #2 was learned.

Have a great Wednesday Ladies,
Melissa

College of Hard Knocks-Lesson #1

2009-02-21T08:11:00.000-08:00

Dear Ladies,

My Dad use to say he went to the college of hard knocks. As a kid it took me awhile to understand what he meant; I thought there really was a college called "Hard Knocks".

It is always a good idea to learn from the wisdom of those who have gone before us. We still will learn a lot of lessons the hard way, but we can avoid some of life's difficulties by listening to those who are older. I like to observe friends has they go through phrases of parenting, so I have an idea of what it will be like and what might work or not work when I'm in that phrase.

I thought I would share some lessons I've learned during my years at the "College of Hard Knocks." Lessons are not necessarily in order of importance. Be on the look out for future emails entitled "College of Hard Knocks" lesson #___.

#1-Wear sunscreen on your face in the summer. This summer I had dark areas on my face that made me look like I had not blended my foundation right. I don't like sunscreen and have not been faithful to use it and was not faithful to use my face moisturizer with sunscreen, so I damaged my skin and now that I'm older it is showing. So whip out the sunscreen ladies and preserve your beautiful complexions while you can.

Melissa

Cranberry Orange Scones

2009-02-19T17:21:00.000-08:00

These scones are moist and sweet. Sweeter than some folks might like, especially with the orange-sugar topping, but they're just to my taste. And of course, the flavored butter takes them to the next level, taste-wise. If you're looking for the perfect scone recipe for your afternoon tea party, try this one.

Cranberry Orange Scones
3 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp grated orange peel
3/4 cup chilled unsalted butter
1 cup dried orange-flavored cranberries (if you can't find the flavored kind, regular will do)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup orange juice - high pulp
3 tsp orange cream yogurt

Preheat the oven to 400°. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Mix in orange peel.

Cut the butter into 1/2 inch pieces, and mix into the flour using your fingers. Rub and mix and mash (with your fingertips) until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Add the dried cranberries.

Combine the wet ingredients in a small bowl - orange juice, buttermilk, and yogurt. (Note: the orange cream yogurt was a new item at my grocery store. If you can't find something like it, mix a few drops orange extract into plain yogurt.) Slowly add the liquid to the flour/butter, mixing with a fork until you get moist clumpy dough.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Knead about 4-6 times, just enough to bind the dough together, then roll/shape it for cutting.

Instead of the usual "round", I formed the dough into a large log, about an inch and a half thick. I cut a slice about every 3 inches. Then I cut these pieces diagonally to form the triangular scone shape. It was way easier to cut that way, IMO.

Lay the cut scones, about 2 inches apart, on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 400°.

As you can see, mine were a little close together on the sheet. And they weren't all the same size. I'm not a very precise cook. Both these factors made them cook a little unevenly. I had to remove the littler ones at about 12 minutes, and left the bigger ones in for a bit longer. If you're a sloppy cook like me, just test with a toothpick to make sure the centers are cooked. The tops should be golden brown, and the toothpick should come out dry.

Glaze / Topping
While the scones are cooking, mix together 1/2 cup powdered (confectioners) sugar and 1-2 tbsp orange juice. Drizzle this lightly over the tops of the scones as they cool, when they're fresh out of the oven.

Flavored Butter
This is what puts the Max in the Yummy. Mix together 1/2 cup softened butter and 3 tbsp orange marmalade.

Spoiling Just One

2009-02-18T18:59:00.000-08:00

Dear Ladies,

I'm sitting at the Ford dealership waiting on my van. We're here for schedule maintenance. I have brought along my youngest boy, Caleb to keep me company.

Years ago my husband and I read and article that contained a simple piece of parenting advice. The article said to always take a child with you when you are heading out to shop, run an errand or other small excursions. Since then, we have tried to put this principle into practice. This doesn't mean I never shop alone. I do. Sometimes I need to go alone, sometimes I want to go alone and sometimes no one wants to go with me.

When we first started do this, my husband was making bi-weekly trips to the dump. No one wanted to go with him, so he began using bribery. Just a side note, bribery has it's place in parenting, and can work very well helping you teach or train a child. Eric began taking the child he forced to go with him to the gas station to pick out a bandy bar. Since our children rarely got whole candy bars this was a real treat for them and before long everyone wanted to go to the dump with dad.

Sometimes moms need the time to go shopping alone and if it is one of those times, then by all means go alone. However if you have had your alone time, then take a child along. For me this allows me the chance to have some alone time with each child. Taking just one child out with you is totally different then taking the whole gang. With just one you have the chance to really focus on them and gives you a chance to talk about subjects they might not have brought up if another child was along.

Eric and I love to spoil our children, so another benefit of taking just one child is, it gives us the chance to spoil him or her. If I have all four children along it can cost me a pretty penny to buy each one of them an ice cream cone at Brusters or even a Coke. If I have only one child I can more easily afford to buy them a treat or two. The children know this and at times they have come along just because they know the chances are good that they will get a treat. A few my children have gone through stages when they just enjoyed being alone with one of us and would tag along. One even told me once on an outing he liked being alone with me.

Weather the child goes with you because you forced him, bribed him, or simply because they wanted to, the time alone with you child will strengthen your bond and create memories. So the next time you're heading out the door to run an errand, whisper a bribed in the ear of one of your kids and enjoy the bless of having a child along.

Melissa

Re-Arrange the House

2009-02-16T18:32:00.000-08:00

Dear Ladies,

We have the making of a band in our house. The two youngest are learning how to play chores on the piano, so they will be able to play worship music. The older two are taking guitar lessons. Occassionally I have seen an older one trying to play along while a younger one plays the piano.

We bought our piano about 3 years ago. It is actually an electric keyboard, but it looks and plays like a small piano. Having taken piano for years I began teaching all of the kids the basics of playing. This year we decided to try lessons for the younger one and the older boys wanted to take guitar lessons.

I never imagin that my kids would be so musical. We bought the piano just to see if anyone had a God given talent for playing. It doesn't appear that we have any budding Mozarts, but we have discovered the joy of music and the enjoyment of playing an instrustments.

Here's a parenting secret for you: Children will use things that they see.

If you want you children to use something or play with a certain item, or work on a project you have to leave it out where they can see it.
For example-our piano and a guitar are in the family room and sometimes someone will set down and just start playing. If we were to put the instruments in different room where they wouldn't seen all the time, they wouldn't get used as much. I have a friend who took this principal to heart and had a drum set in her formal living room for years.

You may have to change your furniture around a little, set up a small table or designate a spot for a project, but having the items/instruments available will motivate your children to use them. Your home wouldn't look like the glossy cover of a decorating magazine, but you will be offering your children opportunities to learn.

Legos, books and drawing pads and pencils are also great items to have available for your children to use. Put these types of things where they can get them by themselves.

Have fun re-arranging your home, then sit back and see what the kids do.

Melissa

Hunting for Chocolate

2009-02-14T09:44:00.000-08:00

"You can deprive the body, but the soul needs chocolate."

I didn't really need an excuse to eat chocolate, but this quote almost makes you feel like it is good for you to eat chocolate. We enjoy buying different brands of dark chocolate that we find and taste test them. My children have become chocolate snobs. They prefer the more expensive chocolate, though in a pinch the cheaper chocolate is fine. Being chocolate tasters has given us a family mission. We enjoy picking up chocolate that is different and sampling it. We have found chocolate from different countries, chocolate with various percentages of cacao and chocolates with added fruit or flavors(the oldest boys liked the chocolate with chili pepper).

Our hunt for different varieties of chocolate is like a family mission. It adds an element of fun to our shopping trips. We enjoy the search. We usually only a buy one candy bar to sample, so our mission is fairly inexpensive. Sometimes we will buy multiple bars, each a little different and compare taste. Our mission is a fun way to make memories as a family and any unique activity a family does together makes you and your children feel your family is special and helps create a bond.

A family mission does not have to be chocolate bars, it doesn't even have to be food, it could be anything that you hunt for.

A few ideas might be:
different varieties of apples,
collecting magnets from various places,
collecting smashed pennies(pennies that are smashed a imprinted with the name of a place. We do this also, this is a good vacation collectible)
different kinds of bottled water(Does all water taste the same?)

postcards of places you've visited

varieties of tea
try different varies of ice cream, ice cream places or novelty ice cream at gas stations.

Does your family have anything special they hunt for? If so would you share them with us. I will post all of them on the blog and sent them in a future letter.

Have a wonderful weekend.
Melissa

Chocolate doesn't have

Parenting Book Recommendation

2009-02-11T15:33:00.000-08:00

Our new church building is almost ready for us. If everything stays on schedule we should be having our first services in April. It has been a long process. Our family has been attending Horizons for 8 years, back then we didn't have a band, we had one pastor and only one service. The church has come a long way in 8 years and with a building of our own we will have so many more opportunities. It will be exciting to finally walk through the doors. Tomorrow I'm going to meet the children's pastor at the building to discuss what furnishings we need to purchase.

This letter I wanted to briefly share with you a series of books that I found helpful as a young mom. The books are titled Your(fill in age)Year Old and are written by Louise Bates Ames and Frances L. IIg. The first book is entitled Your One Year Old:The fun loving, fussy 12 to 24 month old. I'm not sure at what age the series ends. As my oldest was closing in on another birthday or soon after his birthday I would pick up the book from the library. I never truly read one of the books from cover to cover, but would skim through them. The part I was most interested in was the descriptions of typical behavior for that age. For instance when my son was three and started being afraid of everything, I knew from my reading that this is very normal behavior for a three year old; as unique as each child is there are still behaviors that for the most part are typical for all children that age. Knowing little bits of information about child behavior was very helpful to me. I would tell my husband "The book said this would happen." I wasn't as bewilder by my first child's behaviors.

The books in paperback cost under $10 on Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/Your-One-Year-Old-Fun-Loving-12-24-Month-Old/dp/0440506727/ref=pd_sim_b_5. The library system in Stafford/Fredericksburg also has them, I believe they are on the parenting shelf in the children's section.

The Mom Like You website is coming. We want to have a large quantity of information for young moms on the site before we starting inviting people to visit. If you have a few minutes I would love to hear from you. We are looking for easy recipes, recommended reading of any interest to young moms, websites or ideas of things you would like us to include on the website.

Blessings to All,

Melissa

www.amomlikeyou.blogspot.com

PS. If you have a topic in future letters you would me to cover, please let me know.

Wills and Life Insurance

2009-02-04T17:07:00.000-08:00

Dear Ladies

One thing no one enjoys thinking about is the sudden death of a love one. However it is something we needed to think and prepare for. If you have not written a will or gotten a life insurance policy, don't wait.

The most important reason to write a will is to provide guardians for your children. A verbal agreement with friends will probably not stand up in court and your children could become wards of the state or end up with a relative that isn't your first choice.

A large life insurance while your children are still young and living at home is very important. the policy will give you the income you need to remain a stay at home mom. In our case we took out a policy that would give me enough to live on until our youngest was in college. At a minimum you would will probably need over a million dollar policy to be able to continue to live as you are accustom. We also took our a policy for me, because we feel strongly about homeschooling our children we wanted Eric to be able to stay home and continue homeschooling.

This isn't any one's favorite topic to talk about, but it is a very real part of life. The hardest part is deciding who you would want to be your children's guardian, but don't let that keep you from writing a will. You can always change that part of your will at a later date.

Until next time, may the Lord bless you with all the wisdom, love and patience you need to mother your children.

Blessings to all of you,
Melissa
ps. We are working on a website entitled "a mom like you" We are in need of links, recipes and any thing of interest to young moms. If you have any suggestions we would love to hear from you.

Quiche Recipe

2009-02-02T16:32:00.000-08:00

I haven't made quiche for my family in a long time, but when I have made it everyone enjoys it. If you use frozen pie crusts, it will only take you a few minutes to put the filling together. It is also easy to make several different types to satisfy everyone. Since most children like eggs and cheese there should be very little complaining. You can be creative with what you add to the egg mixture. A few ideas to try are broccoli, mushroom, bacon,sausage, ham, spinach, green peppers,tomatoes and of course cheese.

Pastry
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon shortening
2to 3 tablespoons cold water
Filling
8 slices bacon, crisply cooked, crumbled (1/2 cup)
1 cup shredded cheese (4 oz)
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
4 large eggs
2 cups milk, whipping cream or half-n-half
1/4teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions for making pie crust:

1.In medium bowl, mix flour and salt. Cut in shortening, using pastry blender or fork, until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost cleans side of bowl (1 to 2 teaspoons more water can be added if necessary).

2.Gather pastry into a ball.

Heat oven to 425°F.

With floured rolling pin, roll pastry into round 2 inches larger than your pie plate. Fold pastry gently and gently place in quiche dish. Unfold and press firmly against bottom and side. Trim overhanging edge of pastry.

Bake crust for 10 minutes. If crust bubbles, gently push bubbles down with back of spoon.

Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.

Sprinkle bacon, cheese and onion( or your similar ingredients of your choice) in pie crust. In medium bowl, beat eggs slightly; add milk, salt and pepper. Pour into quiche dish. (Before pouring filling into crust, put the crust on a cookie sheets. The cookie sheets makes it easier to transfer the quiche to the oven and catches any over flow.

Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Time Saver: Use frozen crust or a ready-to-go refrigerated pie crust.
Prep Time: 25 min

Makes: 6 servings

Enjoy

Melissa

Just Say No!!!

2009-02-01T15:48:00.000-08:00

Dear Ladies,

The kids and I have a busy week ahead of us. Caleb (son #3) is getting braces put on the upper teeth, we are all taking a field trip to the FBI Academy, and Johanna, Caleb and I are taking a field trip to a Equine Rescue Farm. Johanna is working on a horses' unit study this year, so when I saw this field trip offered, I signed up for it. We don't do many group field trips, so this is an unusual week for us. We also have Bible study, robotics and a college class for the oldest, our regular school work and chores, a MOPS meeting for me, drama class for Johanna and guitar lessons for the two oldest boys. I'm sure some of you probably have a schedule that is even fuller, while some of you may enjoy a quieter week.

I'm also sure that most of you have experienced feelings of being overwhelmed at some point. When your long list of things to do, just gets longer. There have been times that I have felt on the verge of tears, because I had so much to accomplish.

We adopted our daughter at the age of 2. Our boys were four, six and eight at the time, I was homeschooling, we had moved into a house that needed lots of work, I was the director of our children's church program and taught Sunday school. I was overwhelmed. Added to all this the transition for our daughter was difficult, she only wanted me or my oldest son, she cried a lot and was angry plus the church wanted the children to perform a Christmas musical and I was the director. I was REALLY overwhelmed. During all this I went to a homeschool support group meeting. I shared with some of the ladies all I was doing. One member of the group was an older mom and she offered me some simple advise. She said "Melissa, you need to learn how to say NO."

Is learning to say "NO" something you need to do? There are many wonderful actitives to fill our time and we have to choose carefully. Opportunities abound for our children, everything from soccer to cooking lessons. These are all great activities and there is a time when it is good to let your children take part. We can, at times, feel pressured to have all of our kids doing some activity all of the time. Before signing your kids up for a class or sport consider how many hours per week will you need to invest, how will the added stress effect your family and how will the time involved effect the children not participating in the activity. If it is a personal project or activity be sure to ask your husband's opinion, talk to a close friend and consider your current schedule(can it handle another event). Be sure to spend some time asking God to direct your steps.

Lastly say No and don't feel guilty. In the weeks ahead you probably will be glad you didn't take on yet another activity or project. Only by saying no to some activities will you have the opportunity to spend quality time as a family, have the time for your children to just be kids and play, and maybe even have the time to read a good book.

Have a wonderful week.

Melissa

PS. I'm looking for e-letter topics, do you have any ideas?

Mothering Through the Sand Dunes of Life

2009-02-01T10:27:00.000-08:00

"…and they will do well from the treasures hidden in the sand on the shore."
Deuteronomy 33:19

Out in the middle of no where, among the Rocky Mountains are acres of sand. Great Sand Dunes National Park is a fascinating place to visit; it is like being at the ocean except the ocean is missing. Leading up to beautiful soft yellow mountains of sand is a vast, expanse of smooth, flat, sandy ground. Some of the flat ground leading up to the dunes is easy to walk through as the sand is compressed; other places the sand is soft making walking more difficult. The National Park Service is unable to create a map of trails, because the sand dunes are constantly shifting.
During our visit to the park, the thought occurred to me that the adventure of motherhood is like exploring sand dunes. Some days mothering is easy, like walking on firm sand. Other days are tough, no major obstacles, just harder and physically exhausting, like walking through soft sand. While other days are like climbing a mountain of sand. Difficult!
We've all had difficult days. You wake up two hours late; the baby slept through her 6am feeding. Even though you enjoyed the extra sleep, you've missed that small window of time you had to take a shower. The day doesn't get better. The toddler and the baby both wake up cranky, with stuffy noses and sore throats. After an hour wait the doctor tells you they have a virus and it will just will need to run its course. Back at home you remember there isn't anything for lunch, because today was supposed to be grocery shopping day. After feeding the kids cereal you begin the process of getting everyone down for a nap. With nap time under way, you quickly clean up the breakfast dishes, begin a load of laundry, take out the trash and pick up the Duplos the toddler scattered all over the living room and kitchen. Feeling exhausted you decide to lay down for a 10 minute power nap; as you head touches the pillow, crying is heard from the bedroom. You feel like you have been climbing a mountain of sand,never gaining more them a few steps forward before sliding back to where you started, and your day is only half over.
In Deuteronomy 33:19 Moses pronounces a blessing over the tribe of Zebulun. He declares that they will feast on "treasures hidden in the sand." Our children are treasures, but on very difficult days we need to remember to bend down and dig. Digging in the sand isn't hard and often we don't have to dig deep before we find an unexpected treasure or uncover a blessing. Maybe you had a few extra minutes of cuddling time with your preschooler, maybe your toddler said something that brought a smile to your face, or maybe
Visitors to Great Sand Dunes National Park are encouraged to enjoy, explore, and learn during their visit. We need to do the same as mothers; we need to enjoy the mundane days for their quietness, learn from the difficult days, and explore on the sunny days. We need to discover anew the treasures of our children. Motherhood is a fascinating journey, one in which we can grow and change like the shifting sand of the national park

Copyright 2008 Melissa Steckmann.

Have Some Fun

2009-01-28T18:29:00.000-08:00

Dear Ladies,

My kids enjoyed some time in the snow the last couple of days. Last year they were disappointed that we didn't have enough snow to try out some snowboards they had gotten at a yard sale. They finally got their chance to use them.

Since we are homeschooling we don't necessarily have snow days. Since a good snow fall is a rare occurrence and the opportunities to sled are few we do take time to fit in some outdoor fun. We adjust our schedule, let some of the work wait until the next day and seize the moment.

With all the jobs we have to do has wives and mothers we can sometimes neglect the chances to have fun. I know you all have heard it before that the house work can wait, but the children wouldn't always be there. We all know the truth to that statement and we all believe it, but we still get caught up in the need to get the work all done. Plus there is no way to get around it, I have yet to have any little elves do my housework while I was sleeping.

So what do we do??

We have to find a balance between work and fun. Schedule into your days time with your children, time where you do something together. It can be as simple as playing a game of memory, reading a book or baking cookies. Try to include your children in some of the every day activities you have to do. Your young children will think it is fun to be mommy's helper. Or give your children an activity to do at the kitchen table while you make dinner, this will give you the opportunity to talk to them. There are many ways in which we can enjoy time with our children, be on the look out for ways to include your children in what you do and ways to have a little fun with them.

Have fun today and enjoy your children.

Blessings,
Melissa
www.amomlikeyou.blogspot.com
Check the blog page for past letters and easy recipes.

Turn Your Eyes

2009-01-26T18:09:00.000-08:00

Dear Ladies,

I just wanted to let you know I'm thinkng of you and hope your week is off to a good start. Mondays were always my hardest day when the kids were little, because I usually had extra work to do that I had neglected over the weekend. Now I try to do a Sunday night clean up time, so we are ready to start a new school week on Monday morning.

Have a great week. Try not to let the little mistakes, mishaps and worries of today cause you to get bogged down. The Lord is bigger then all of our worries and cares. He longs for your focus to be on Him. So the next time you begin to dwell on the worries of today, re-direct your focus. An old hymn says" Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace." Try to make turning your eyes towards Jesus your goal this week.

Please let me know how I can pray for you. Have a God filled week.

Melissa

Easy Chicken Cassarole for Dinner Tonight!!

2009-01-21T17:19:00.000-08:00

I love this chicken casserole. It has a unique flavor and the walnuts add a nice crunch. My family doesn't love it as much as I do, so on Sunday when I made it I made them a different chicken dish. You also could just leave out of half of the dish anything your little ones didn't like.

If you have cooked chicken in the freezer this dish will only take a few minutes to put together. Make the rice in your microwave sometime during the day when you have a free minute also cook the eggs early in the day; at dinner time it will just be a matter of mixing everything together and baking.

Deluxe Chicken Casserole

1 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans
1 can cream of chicken soup,undiluted
2 teaspoons finely chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup water
3 hard-cooked eggs-sliced

Combine first seven ingredients in a large bowl. Combine mayonnaise and water; stir with a wire whisk until smooth. Add mayonnaise mixture to chicken mixture. Gently fold in egg slices. Spoon mixture into a greased 11x17 inch baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until bubbly. Yield: 6 servings

Enjoy!!
Melissa

Can Adults Have Temper Tantrums??

2009-01-19T11:10:00.000-08:00

One of the hobbies that Eric and the children enjoy is raising and racing homing pigeons. They are members of a pigeon racing club that holds monthly meetings. Eric and the children attended the first meeting of the New Year on Saturday. The club has some interesting dynamics and Saturday night was no exception. One gentleman didn’t approve of the way something was being handled, so he stormed out of the meeting. Our youngest son told Eric it was the first time he had seen an adult have a temper tantrum.

I think it would be safe to say that this gentleman probably had temper tantrums as a child. It is also probably safe to say, that his parents neglected to teach him self-control and how to express his emotions correctly. Discipline is the hardest part of parenting. It takes consistency. No matter what form of discipline you choose to use, it has to be done with consistency. A negative consequence for a negative behavior. All behaviors don’t warrant the same consequent and some behaviors need a consequent that will make its point quickly. For example, running into the road is a behavior we can’t let happen again, therefore, the punishment needs to be something the child will remember the next time he is tempted to run into the road.

The point of giving out a punishment for inappropriate behavior is to cause the child to remember the consequent the next time they are tempted. It might be helpful for you to create a list of punishments options, so when your child is disobedient you can look at the list and decide what punishment will be the most effective. Some examples are: loss of computer time, no candy, loss of favorite doll, time out, standing in the corner or early to bed. We use to banish our children; using the word banish made the punishment sound worse then it was. The banished child had to stay in their room (they were banished from the family) and they only got bread and water for dinner (I never wanted to send my children to bed hungry). We didn’t banish kids a lot, but saved it for more serious disobedience. Some people use spanking to discipline their children. Sometimes a spanking, when admistered in love, is the best method of displine. (I will cover spanking in a future letter)

The bottom line is simple. To have well behaved children a parent needs to be watchful, needs to discipline with consistency, needs to communicate clearly to the child why he is being punished and needs to reward good behavior. With consistent discipline, love and prayers our children will grow into the men/women God has designed them to be instead of angry adults who want everything their way.

Thank you for taking the time to read these letters. I’m amazed at how God has taken some simple notes sent to about six ladies and grown it into a group of 30+. Please continue to pass the letters on to other moms you think will enjoy them. As always, I welcome any comments or questions you may have.

Serving Him Alone,
Melissa
www.amomlikeyou.blogspot.com

Let's Party

2009-01-13T16:32:00.000-08:00

My husband is out of town again. Last week he was gone a few days, this trip is all week. Plus he let me know that April may bring a trip to Afghanistan and Iraq. His job has always required him to be away, so we have gotten use to his absence. When the children were little it was harder for them, so in an effort to help with the separation we began saying we were going to party while he was gone. We would change our daily routine, we would think of somewhere that we would like to go for dinner, we would watch more TV and eat our dinner while watching a movie. Just making a few simple changes to our week helped the time to pass faster for all of us.

We all have our daily routines; we sleep, we eat, we do laundry, we take the kids to school, we do more laundry, we make meals, we clean the house and we do more laundry. Sometimes in the middle of dreary winter days(Doesn't it seem to rain a lot in VA during the winter?) it is good to change things around a little. Here is a list of fun ideas for your family to try?

1. Have a picnic. Put a blanket down on the family room floor and have lunch.
2. Have friends over for cookies and hot chocolate.
3. Meet some friends for lunch
4. Rent a stack of movies(the older movies are only $.99 at Blockbusters) and have a movie day.
5. Grab a good book and read aloud to your children while they color or play with Legos(this is my kids favorite rainy day activity)
6. Bake cookies together-make up the recipe together and see how good they turn out.
7. Have a game day
8. Grab a stack of quarters and head to Chuckie Cheese. You don't have to buy pizza, you can just enjoy the games.
9. Go to Toys R Us with the intention of just letting the kids look as long as they like.
10. Pack a lunch and go visit Dad at work during his lunch hour.

Your children will enjoy the change in routine and you will be making memories. The laundry will still be piled high in the laundry room tomorrow and you can work on it then. For now a fun activity will build family bonds, give everyone a chance to smile and give you a chance to focus on your precious little ones.

If you have any other fun ways to change our routines, please let me know. I will be sure to include them in a future letter.

Love,
Melissa
www.amomlikeyou.blogspot.com

2009-01-09T11:10:00.000-08:00

We did it. We got my oldest son registered for his first college class. Yesterday was a long day for him as he waited hours to take placement tests, spoke with counselors and a professor and finally paid for the class. Not too long ago I was sitting with him at the library story program, holding his hand in the parking lot and cleaning his sticky hands. The more the jobs of motherhood change the more they stay the same. Yesterday it was listening to story, today it is listening to college counselors, yesterday it was holding his hand, today it is signing the credit card statement to pay for college classes, yesterday it was cleaning sticky hands, today it is hours of looking at college programs to determine which classes he should take. So even though he is taller then me, can drive himself to class, and has better math skills then me there are still many areas where he needs his mom.

From that first moment when you realize you are having a baby until the day you die, you are a mom. I heard an older mom once make this comment about motherhood, " it doesn't get easier, it just gets different." As a young mom of three boys (4yrs. 20 months, 2months) I needed to hear that. I thought for sure it had to be easier when they were older. It isn't!!

It is hard to explain what I feel at this transition in life. I'm excited to see how my son does in college, what career he pursues, meeting my future daughter-in-law, and being a grandparent. But I'm not looking forward to holidays without him, a house empty of the excitement of children or the lack of their daily companionship. However, I have a choice what I will focus on. If I only focus on what I will miss when my children are older I will miss the enjoyment of the stages of life that lie ahead. For most of you your children's college/adult years are in the distant future, but you also have a choice. You can focus on the mounds of laundry, the smelly diapers, the sleepless nights, and the long days of crying babies. Or you can focus on your baby's sweet smell, your toddlers pudgy little hands, your daughters love for frilly dresses or your son's passion for mud. So the next time you are overwhelmed with mothering, make a choice to find the simple joys that motherhood brings and let your thoughts dwell there.

"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things."Phil. 4:8

Blessings to all of you,
Melissa
www.amomlikeyou.blogspot.com (all past letters are available on the blog site)

PS. Please feel free to ask me questions or call for a bit of encouragement. I would love to hear from you.

Help, I Burned the Soup

2009-01-05T19:22:00.001-08:00

Dear Ladies,

I am an impatient cook. I want things to cook fast, however this often results in burned food on the bottom of the pan. I have found an easy trick to make cleaning the pan easier. Clean the pan the best that you can, fill the pan about 1/4 full with water and add about 1/2 cup of baking soda. Return the pan to the stove and let the water boil for about 10 minutes. The combination of boiling and baking soda helps to pull the burned food from the bottom of the pan. The pan should be much easier to clean now.

So the next time you burn the soup, see how this trick works for you.

Happy Cooking,
Melissa

Capture the Memories

2009-01-03T09:25:00.000-08:00

Dear Ladies,

Just a few more days and it's back to school for us. We have enjoyed some very quite days since we returned from visiting family. I've even gotten a chance to do some reading. We are making the most of this down time, since we know it wouldn't last.

Usually we stay home on New year's Eve, but this year we attended a Contra Dance with our two oldest sons. They looked very handsome, all dressed up in their suits, whirling pretty girls around. I had the privilege of dancing with both of them and several times with Eric. It was a long night but we enjoyed the time out.

I hope you all had a chance to make some memories this holiday season with your families. Try to record events in a journal or with photos, you will be surprised how much you don't remember in years to come. I know scrap booking is a lot of fun for some of you, but it can be hard to find the time to make fancy pages. If you can't get to completing scrapbook pages, try to find a way that works for you to document life's events. It maybe you store photos in a photo box with short notes on note cards for future reference, or maybe keep a journal next to your bed where you jot down short sentences about your day or something one of the children did. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, but something that will jog your memory in years to come when you have a chance to put together a family photo album.

Enjoy your weekend!
Melissa

What's for Dinner?? White Chicken Chili

2008-12-30T16:47:00.000-08:00

White chicken chili is an easy dish that I'm sure many of you will enjoy. The green chilies give the chili a nice flavor, but are not spicy. This meal would also work nicely in your crock pot, by dinner you would have a hot meal ready to serve.

1 medium onion-chopped
1 (4oz) can of green chilies
2 teaspoons cumin
2 (15 oz) cans of great northern beans(I've mixed in other white beans for variety)
1 cup chicken broth(I use bouillon cubes)
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken(finely chopped)

Add all the ingredients to a large stock pot and simmer. Garnish with cheese, sour cream and crushed tortillas chips.(our favorite part)

Enjoy

Melissa

Train Your Mind

2008-12-26T13:34:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Ladies. Now we can all take a deep breathe, relax for a day and then hurry on to work on the next big thing.

We are in No. Carolina visiting at my brother-in-laws house. Eric's family is all here for a total of 19 people, 9 children and 10 adults. Yesterday we worked our way through a mountain of gifts. We like to take turns opening the presents, so everyone can see what the receiver has opened. My children surprised me with a digital camera, so be sure to check the blog page often for new photos.

We head back to Virginia in the morning. I'm looking forward to some quiet, uneventful days between now and New Year's Day. The next big thing in my life will be my oldest son's high school graduation.

Lately we are hearing a lot about the economy, the suffering real estate market, the stock market numbers and the bail out of auto makers. None of which is good news. Some of you may even be feeling a financial pinch and may have had to cut expenses in some areas of your life. My husband and I have had our lean years, years where the majority of income was spent on rent for our apartment. We had to forgo many luxuries during those days, because we couldn't afford any extras. During those years we saw God provide clearly for us and we rejoiced in His provisions for us.

Every event in life gives us an opportunity to response. How we respond ultimately affects our attitude, joy and our families. How will you respond to the events in your life that are difficult?

In the word of God we are given instructions on how to respond to life's events. Phil. 4:8 says "whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things."

We have a choice . We can focus on our difficulties until we are overwhelmed with discouragement and despair or we can focus on the goodness of God and what He has done for us. This is no way means that we never give ourselves a chance to mourn or think about how to solve a problem or that everything will be rosy if we only think rosy thoughts. It does mean that instead of covering our head with our pillow, we can focus on all that the Lord has done for us. Even in the worse of life's situations God is good. His goodness and love for us doesn't change and that is something worth our focus. As you focus on God, replacing thoughts of misery with thoughts of God, you will find joy, a right attitude and your family will follow your lead. (Everyone knows if the mama ain't happy, nobodies happy.)

So as the year comes to an end, begin to train your mind to think on things that are pure, lovely and praiseworthy. When you find yourself worrying or despairing stop yourself. Re-focus. Repeat scripture to yourself, listen to praise music, call an upbeat friend or read your bible.

Ladies, I love your feedback, please let me know how refocusing your thoughts helped you through a difficult time.

Melissa

Happiness Isn't Candy for Dinner Every Night

2008-12-20T18:54:00.000-08:00

Shop, shop and shop some more.

I don't know about you but it takes me forever to get all the Christmas shopping done. I think I'm just a very slow shopper. Even with a list, I'm still a slow shopper. When I think I'm making some head way, I get everything out, divided it into piles for each child and realize there isn't much in the piles. This year I have not come up with one really neat present that I'm extra excited about giving or that I know the children will be extra excited about receiving. However, I'm sure they will enjoy their gifts and my husband I enjoy the chance Christmas gives us to spoil them a bit.

Today I read the following quote by Washington Irving: "It was the policy of the good old gentleman to make his children feel that home was the happiest place in the world; and I value this delicious home-feeling as one of the choicest gifts a parent can bestow."

A happy home that is one of the most important gifts we can give to our children. It is however much easy to go to Walmart and buy a new bike or a Wii system. Obviously there would be some very happy children at my house if they opened up a brand new video game system, but the happiest would be short lived.

Creating your home to be the happiest place in the world is a never ending job. It is something I need to work on all year long. So how can we give the gift of a happy home to our children.
1. Love your husband and let the children know you love their dad.
2. Love your God and share your love of God with the kids
3. Discipline your children. Children that understand right from wrong and understand the standards their parents have set up are happier. Children feel safer and more loved with boundaries for their behavior.
4. Have fun together. Have ice cream for dinner or camp out in the living room or bake cookies together.
5. Teach your children that your home is a safe place. Mean/ teasing behavior is not allowed. Children need to feel they can be themselves in their home without someone pulling them down.

This is just the tip of the ice burg and I by no means have mastered what it takes to make a happy home. Probably the most important thing we can do is PRAY. Pray for today and work on making your home a happy place today, when tomorrow comes pray and work on that day. One day at a time.

This is the best gift you can give each other, so get everyone involved. Ask them how your home can be happier-be prepared for the "ice cream everyday" or "candy only for dinner" answers. In the end we want our children to have fond memories and look forward to coming home for a visit.

Melissa

Easy Breakfast/Dinner Recipe

2008-12-18T18:52:00.000-08:00

Tonight's dinner was easy and delicious. I thought you might all be interested giving this one a try. It is called Sunday Breakfast Casserole, except we had it on Thursday for dinner. I guess that makes it Thursday Dinner Casserole.

We fried up the sausage earlier in the day, when we got home in the evening it was just a few quick steps before it was ready to bake.

1/4 cup onions and green peppers, chopped and browned
2 cups ham, bacon or sausage, cooked
1 cup grated cheese
12 eggs
1 cup milk
2 lbs frozen hash browns(chunks or grated)
1/2 tsp. salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together onion, peppers, meat and cheese. Mix eggs and milk-add hash browns, salt and pepper. Combine meat mixture with egg mixture and pour into a buttered 9x13"pan. Top with 1/4 cup more grated cheese. Bake 30 minutes (ours took closer to an hour) until set. This made a large cassarole and we even had some leftovers.
We added some fruit and bread to complete our meal.

Enjoy!!
Melissa

Marriage Secret

2008-12-09T18:48:00.000-08:00

Dear Ladies,

I have just finished writing a long letter to a friend who is ready to end her marriage. All around me it seems couples are falling apart. Several are couples who have been married for over 20 years. Twenty years is a long time and yet they are willing to walk away and start again. How did this happen? Well I know for sure they didn't start having problems a few years ago, they started having problems on the honeymoon.

Here is a funny story about problems starting on the honeymoon. I got angry at my husband on our honeymoon. It seemed to me he laughed at me quite often and I didn't like it. I said something to him and he laughed at me, but I didn't think it was funny. I went to the bathroom and shut the door. I showed him, I was upset, I wouldn't talk to him that would teach him a lesson. My husband explained to me that he wasn't laughing at me, he was laughing with me; he enjoyed me and what I said and did. Now that's sweet, if your honey tells you he enjoys you. However if my husband hadn't communicated that to me I wouldn't have known. In my mind he was being mean and making funny of me. This may seem to be a small and funny moment, but it could have been the beginning of a wall that I built in my heart.

Those little moments in our marriage in and of themselves aren't what cause couples to divorce, However, 20 years of little problems build on each other and make bigger problems. The problems are not dealt with and they grow and multiply.

A big secret to a successful marriage is communicating. It is ok to let your husband know he has hurt your feelings, or treated you badly. Chances are he meant it differently then it was perceived. When we were first marriage we would say "I heard you say..." or "This is what I meant to say..." By doing this we learned to communicate and see how what we said was received.

"So friends-How is your marriage?' Don't wait until your problems are too big to solve, work on them today. Pray together for protection for your marriage. Marriage is a holy institution, therefore Satan wants to destroy marriages-including yours.

Blessings to all of you,
Melissa

Relaxing

2008-11-28T08:47:00.001-08:00

Dear Ladies,

Just a short word of encouragement for you all this holiday weekend.

RELAX!!!

It is OK to sneak in some "me time" this weekend.
Here are some ideas to get you started:

Do nothing- just sit and stare out the window,

Read a book during the kids nap time instead of cleaning, take a hot bath after everyone is in bed,

Watch a favorite TV show on line(most of the major networks have their shows on line, so you can watch it when you like),

Go shopping all alone or with a friend, go get a cup of coffee and wander your favorite store without worrying about Christ ma shopping.

Whatever you do, enjoy yourself.
It's OK.

Melissa

Easy After Thanksgiving Day Dinner

2008-11-25T18:27:00.000-08:00

This is a great recipe to help you use up some leftovers from your Thanksgiving dinner.

Easy Turkey/Chicken Bake
Prep time 10 minues

1 pkg. cornbread stuffing mix or leftover stuffing
1 cup hot water if using the stuffing mix
1 1/2 lb. leftover turkey/chicken cut into 1" pieces
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/3 cup sour cream
1 bag frozen mixed veggies(or leftovers)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of dry stuffing mix evenly on bottom of 13x9" baking dish or use leftover stuffing. In separate dish add hot water to remaining stuffing mix if using and stir to moisten. Set aside.
Place turkey or chicken over stuffing mix. Mix soup, sour cream and veggies together in a separate bowl. Spoon over turkey. Top with moisten stuffing mix or additional leftover stuffing.
Bake for 30 minutes.

Makes 6 servings

2008-11-22T18:58:00.000-08:00

Dear Ladies,
This week we tried a new recipe. The meal is simple to make and is a basic Mexican chicken and rice dinner that is bound to please most of the hungry people in your house. Below is the recipe. Since I rarely follow a dinner recipe exactly I also included the changes I made.
Enjoy,
Melissa

Foil-Pack Chicken Fajita Dinner
1 1/2 cups instant white rice, uncooked
1 1/2 cups hot water
1 Tbsp. taco seasoning mix
4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb)
1 each green ad red pepper, cut into strips
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup shredded taco or cheddar cheese

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Use four 18x12 inch sheets of foil to make packets. Spray foil with cooking spray. Combine rice, water and taco seasoning; spoon onto centers of foil. Top with chicken, peppers, salsa and cheese. Bring up foil sides and double fold top and ends to seal each packet, leaving room for heat circulation. Place packets on baking sheet. Bake 30-35 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.(165 degrees) Let stand 5 minutes. Cut slits in foil to release steam before opening packets.
Serving suggestion: top each portion with sour cream
Make ahead: prepare foil packets and refrigerate up to 1 day.

Melissa's Variations:

The first thing I did different was to use regular rice. The amount of instant rice I had in the house was not enough to feed my family, so I cooked regular rice.

Quick rice in the microwave technique:
Measure 2 cups of water to every 1 cup of rice and combine in a casserole dish. Leaving the dish uncovered cook the rice for 20 minutes in the microwave. When the time is complete there should not be any water on the surface of the rice, cover the dish and allow the rice to set for about 10 minutes. This allows the rice a chance to steam and absorb the water.

I thought the foil packets would take too much time, so I layered everything in a 9x13"dish. I topped the seasoned rice with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, salsa, green peppers and cheese. I covered the dish with foil and baked for about 1 hour. The chicken was very moist, but the rice needed more seasoning. I used more rice then the recipe called for, but did not increase the taco seasoning amount enough.
This is a very simple recipe and will probably please the majority of the people in your household. The green peppers add a nice flavor and color to the meal, but are easy to leave out or remove later for picky eaters.

Our Growing Girl

Mothering Through the Sand Dunes of Life

2008-11-20T19:33:00.000-08:00

Out in the middle of no where, among the Rocky Mountains are acres of sand. Great Sand Dunes National Park is a fascinating place to visit; it is like being at the ocean except the ocean is missing. Leading up to beautiful soft yellow mountains of sand is a vast, expanse of smooth, sandy ground. Some of the flat ground leading up to the dunes is easy to walk through as the sand is compressed; other places the sand is soft making walking more difficult. The national park service is unable to create a map of trails, because the sand dunes are constantly shifting and if you sit for a spell you can see whiffs of sand blowing passed.

During a visit to the park, the thought occurred to me that the adventure of motherhood is like exploring sand dunes. Some days mothering is easy, like walking on sand that is firm. Other days are tough, no major obstacles, just harder and physically exhausting, like walking through soft sand. But other days are like climbing a mountain of sand. Difficult!

We’ve all had difficult days. You wake up two hours late; the baby slept through her
6am feeding. Even though you enjoyed the extra sleep, you’ve missed the small window of time you had to take a shower. The day doesn’t get better. The toddler and the baby both woke up cranky, with a stuffy nose and sore throat. After an hour’s wait the doctor tells you they have a virus and it just will need to run its course. Back at home you remember there isn’t anything for lunch, because today was supposed to be grocery shopping day. After feeding the kids cereal you begin the process of getting everyone down for a nap. With naptime underway you quick clean up the breakfast dishes, begin a load of laundry, take out the trash and pick up the Duplos the toddler scattered all over the living room and kitchen. Feeling exhausted you decide to lay down for a 10 minute powernap, as you head touches the pillow, crying is heard from the bedroom down the hall. You feel like you have been climbing a mountain of sand and your day is only half over.

Visitors to Great Sand Dunes National Park are encouraged to enjoy, explore, learn and recreate during their visit. We need to do the same as mothers; we need to enjoy the mundane days for their quietness, learn from the difficult days, explore with our children the beauty of each day and recreate together making the most of each day. Just as the sand dunes are a fascinating place to explore, mothering is a fascinating journey.

The above article is copyrighted by Melissa Steckmann.

Helpful Christmas Ideas

2008-11-18T07:20:00.000-08:00

Dear Ladies,

My husband is away again, so we are going shopping. When Eric is home I like to be here when he arrives home after a long day at work. So when he is away the kids and I will use it as a opportunity to be out late. Today we are heading out after lunch to do some birthday and Christmas shopping. I have to finish up some birthday shopping for Caleb and the kids need to do some birthday shopping for dear OLD mom. We have 3 birthday in our household that are close to Christmas, so this season becomes one big party for us.

With four children and a large extended family I have a lot of gift buying to accomplish. I thought for this letter I would share with you a few ideas to help make your shopping season easier.

1. The best thing to do is start shopping right after Christmas and buy on sale or clearance, but I never know what the plan is for the next Christmas or what the kids will be interested in, so I don't buy many gifts for family members. After Christmas sales are a good time to purchase hostess gifts or Christmas decorations for the next year.

2. Make lists. I have each child make a list for me. I purchase some gifts that are on the list and some that I know they will like.

3. My children love books, so they always get a new book at Christmas. I have found it is best to buy them online at sites like www.half.com Online you can find several sites that sell used books and many times I have paid much less for a book then if I went to a local bookstore. The sites are also good for purchasing music CD's or DVD's.

4. Magazines are fun for children; they enjoy receiving something in the mail all year long. Many magazines subscriptions can be found for under $10. One good site is http://www.magazinepricesearch.com/5to10.html

5. Purchase online. I love shopping online. I have been buying online for 10 years and never had a problem with a credit card information being stolen. I have found by shopping online I can find gifts cheaper then in a retail store, I can shop whenever I want while sitting in my pj's, and I can find difficult items, that would might be hard to find locally(this year I looking for fencing swords).

6. Start early and make multiple trips. If I putting together a box to send to someone I focus on that and then another trip I will focus on the kids.

7. Set a budget. I have an ideas in my head how much to spend per child and I try to stick with it. We don't purchase a lot of large dollar amount gifts for our children, but we buy a lot of little items and we wrap everything, so they have a lot to open. I also buy them a practical item that I have been wanting them to have, such as duffel bags for traveling, comforters and sleeping bags. Try not to over spend; no one wants to be still paying for Christmas gifts in July.

8. Look for coupon codes when shopping online. I check www.mycoupons.com for codes to use, sometimes stores offer free shipping codes or a few dollars off your order.

9. Pick a day that you can hire a sitter or have your husband watch the children, so you can spend a day just Christmas shopping.

10. Make a few gifts. Don't over extend in this area; that will only add stress to the season. This year I am making homemade vanilla. I saw the recipe online and it was very easy. I have purchased some fancy bottles that I will put pretty labels on and I bought measuring spoons to give with the vanilla.
Here is the site for the vanilla recipes; it super easy to make. http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/007340how_to_make_vanilla_extract.php

Have a wonderful holiday season and set aside a lot of time to enjoy your children. Try not to let the holiday stress steal the joy of the season from you.
Melissa

A Snuggle With Dad

2008-11-11T16:58:00.000-08:00

Dear Ladies,

We have just returned from my home state of New York. We went up for a few days to visit with my family. We had the opportunity to attend church with my Dad and his wife. I can count on one hand the number of times my Dad has gone to church, but his new wife wants to go and he goes with her. After lunch at a local Chinese buffet, we went back to see my Dad's new place and visited for the afternoon. During our visit I decided to move over and sit next to my Dad. As I listened to the conversation around me I put my head on his shoulder and snuggled up with him. I guess you are never too old to snuggle with your father. It was a very nice visit and even though we sat in silence part of the time, I just enjoyed being with my Father.

Isn't that the way it should be with our Heavenly Father? We should just enjoy being with Him. Our relationship to God needs to be more then a few minutes of reading the Bible and a quick prayer for something we want. Our relationship needs to have some times of snuggling and some times of silence. Our relationship with God needs to be one we enjoy, but it does take time to have this kind of relationship. Just as I had to set aside several days and plan for a visit with my Dad, we have to plan for our visit with God.

Choose a time that works for you. I like to read and pray in the morning, but when my kids were little that was hard to do. I used nap time instead. When I was in college, I preferred right before bed. There is no wrong time.

So grab your Bible and find a few moments where you can snuggle with your Heavenly Father today.

Melissa

Christmas Recipe

2008-11-07T18:20:00.000-08:00

One of our favorite Christmas traditions is to enjoy Gingerbread boys and hot chocolate with real whipped topping and a candy cane stirrer.
Enjoy!!!!

Gingerbread Boys

Cream 1/2 cup each of butter and sugar. Add 3/4 cup molasses and 1 egg and beat well. Stir in 3-1/2 cups flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, 2tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. ground allspice and 1/4 tsp. salt. Dough will be stiff-so use your hands(you can add a little water if needed). cover and chill f0r 1 hour. Roll out dough on lightly floured cutting board to 1/4 inch thickness. (thin boys will be crisp and thicker ones chewy-I like the chewy). Cut dough with cookie cutters. Place on greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Makes 22-24 boys.

Cooking for the Weekend

2008-11-06T06:46:00.000-08:00

Ladies,

I've added two easy dinner recipes to the blog page http://amomlikeyou.blogspot.com/ for you to try. Today if you have time think about a few meal ideas you can use for the weekend and begin to prep them now. Cook the ground beef or chop the onions, purchase sandwich meat and hogie rolls or start the chicken in the crockpot to bone tomorrow.

I don't like to cook on the weekends and I usually don't cook on Sunday, so we try to have something in the freezer we can pull out and fix quickly. It cost alittle more to purchase a ready made meal, but is cheaper then ordering take-out or going out to dinner. Many Sunday nights we have popcorn for dinner; when I was a kid that was Sunday dinner for us; my mom didn't want to cook on the weekend either. A little thinking ahead today will give you extra time with you honey and kids this weekend.

Melissa

Easy Chicken Bake - recipe

2008-11-04T14:13:00.000-08:00

Easy Chicken Bake

Just like the title says, this is an easy casserole. Next time you have chicken, freeze the leftover. Next time you don't have much time for dinner prep(that can be most nights), pull out the frozen chicken and in 10 minutes dinner will be in the oven. I like to buy the large packages of chicken thighs or quarters when they are on sale and put them in the crock pot overnight. The next day after they have cooled I bone all the chicken, put it into several quart size freezer bags and pop the bags in the freezer. This gives me several bags of chicken that are ready for casseroles, chicken salad, enchiladas, etc.

1 pkg. stuffing mix(we like the cornbread stuffing)
1-1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" pieces or your bag of frozen chicken
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/3 cup sour cream
1 16 oz bag of frozen mixed veggies
Preheat oven to 400 degrees, prepare stuffing mix as directed on package;set aside. Mix chicken, soup, sour cream, and veggies in a 13x9" baking dish;top with stuffing. Bake 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. 6 servings

Easy Beef Enchiladas

2008-11-04T10:24:00.000-08:00

This is an easy Mexican dinner and if your meat is already cooked and in the freezer you would be able to prepare this meal quickly.

Easy Enchiladas

1 lb. ground beef(browned)

1 (19 oz0 can of Enchilada sauce

1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese

12 Flour Tortillas

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Stir 3/4 cup sauce and 1 cup cheese into browned ground beef.

Spoon sauce/cheese/meat mixture onto tortillas and roll-up. Place seam-side down in lightly greased 13x9" baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over top, sprinkle with remain cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

I find that if the tortillas aren't covered with sauce they get too crunchy. Chicken could be substituted for the beef.

Election Day

2008-11-04T10:17:00.000-08:00

Dear Ladies,

I walked out the door this morning to go vote knowing I might be awhile. I got in the car and then decided to return to the house for a heavier coat. I knew I might be waiting awhile and I wanted to be warm.

On my way to the polling place it started raining, but when I got their the line wasn’t too bad. I waited about 5 minutes before a poll worker came out and said if your last name fell between Q and Z to follow her. Five minutes later I was done, apparently there aren’t many people with last names in that letter group.

One particular election my husband and I were VERY disappointed in the outcome. When we went to church on Sunday it seemed that everyone else was also disappointed. Our pastor got up and said “God is still in control.” I needed to hear that. I felt relieved. No matter what-God is in control. Today as you listen to the results remember that no matter which man becomes our next president, God will remain King of the universe.

Blessed Because of Him,
Melissa

Help! My Kids aren't Behaving!!

2008-10-24T08:42:00.000-07:00

Dear Ladies,

Yesterday we went apple picking. It is late in the season, but we were still able to get plenty of apples. We enjoyed being outside and over near the mountains it was beautiful. The weather was perfect; I don't like to sweat when I pick apples, part of the experience is having a cool autumn day to enjoy.

Today we are off to a homeschool group harvest party. It is at a bowling alley, so we will get our physical education class in for the week, plus bring home CANDY. My youngest boy has a passion for candy, so he will be happy. Today we will also welcome home Eric who has been gone since Tuesday.

What do you do when your kids have behavior issues that you're not sure how to deal with? Mine have an issue-they can be so unkind to each other and they just bother one another. I'm thinking of a unique way to handle it. Since they enjoy making money and they could all use it for buying Christmas gifts I'm going to use money as the incentive. My thought is to offer them $1 a day if they show kindness and respect for their siblings. I know this could add up to $28 a week, but in the end it should be worth the money. My hope is that after a month or maybe two the old behavior will be replaced with the new behavior. They're siblings, so we will always have some unkindness but I'm hoping this will help cut down on the negetive behavior.

Sometimes when I'm faced with a behavior issue and I don't know how to re-direct my children I will ask the Lord for ideas. My children groan when I tell them the Lord told me what to do. There is no problem in motherhood that God isn't interested in helping you solve. When faced with any issue regarding your children take it to the Lord. If you can pray with your husband, that is even better. Ask God to give you wisdom in re-directing wrong behavior. God longs for us to bring everything to Him in prayer, He wants to help us. Sometimes we get so caught up in our problems that we forget that the One that created us and our children is waiting for us to seek Him. Seek Him today and ask for the wisdom to be best parent you can be.

Blessings to all of you-Have a wonderful weekend with your families.

Melissa

They Will Grow Up!!!

2008-10-20T07:51:00.000-07:00

Dear Ladies,

Dressed in a black tux with a broad smile on his face my baby boy(now 17) drove away in a bright red Camaro to escort a young lady to dinner and the homecoming dance. I had to blink back tears several times as I helped him get ready for his big night. Where have the years gone? Just a short time ago he was catching bugs, playing in the mud and looking for adventure in the trees behind our house. It has been just as exciting to watch him take on all the new adventures of being a teenager and some day I will look back on these years and wonder again how the time could have gone by so fast.

I told him today I have 6 more years before I have to share him with another woman. I have to make the most of those 6 years. Granted I still have three after him with one who is only eleven, but I know when the oldest leaves home it will be the hardest and the others will soon follow.

So how will I make the most of the rest of the time my children live with me? I will kiss them goodnight and rub their backs for as many years as they will let me, I will accept all hugs given, I will enjoy the little memories and make as many new memories as we can. I will remember the years go by fast and I have only a short time to instill in them a love for the Lord. I will do my utmost to be the best mother I can be and not get caught up in guilt when I make a mess of things. My goal will be to make the most of the time I have, so I can look back on these years with no regrets.

When the majority of the people you talk to in the course of a day are under the age of four and your primary thought is "If only I could sleep for five minutes" it is hard to think they will every grow up and leave home. BUT THEY WILL!! Before you know it you will be thinking "I remember Melissa telling me this would happen." Enjoy your children today. If your baby is teething skip the dishes and cuddle her, if your son wants to play Legos join him even if you're not very good at it, if your daughter is having an emotional melt down wrap her in your arms and hug away the tears. Choose something your children would enjoy for dinner and make it just for them, add food coloring to the milk and watch their faces glow with happiness, have ice cream for dinner sometime(I learned that from my mom), wrap up in a blanket and watch a Veggie Tale movie, color together(my 2nd boy use to love to do this with me), read to your children while they color or build with Legos(this is one of our favorite activities), have an indoor picnic for lunch invite the stuffed animals to join you, and accept any and all hugs.

OK your mission is clear - have fun being a mother. God gave you each child because He knew you would the best mother for that child and they are each a unique blessing.

Blessings to all,
Melissa

PS. Tonight we are having Nacho Spuds for dinner. It is an easy and affordable meal. The recipe is posted at http://amomlikeyou.blogspot.com/2008/04/whats-for-dinner.html

All past letters can be found at http://amomlikeyou.blogspot.com/

Soup for Dinner

2008-10-15T07:37:00.001-07:00

Hello Ladies,

Fall is my favorite time of year; one of our favorite dinners in the fall/winter season is soup and bread. I thought you might enjoy a recipe for one of my families favorite soups. For quickness I would add everything, but the cheese to the soup pot and cook until the potatoes were tender, then I would stir in the cheese until it melted. If I was going to be pressed for time in the evening I would prepare everything, put it all in the pot so it was ready to cook that evening and refrigerate.

Brown Jug Cheese Soup

4 chicken bouillon cubes
1 qt. of water
20 oz package of frozen mixed veggies(we like to add just broccoli)
2 1/2 cups potatoes, raw and cubed
1 lb. Velveeta cheese
1 cup celery, finely diced
(dice a whole package of celery, spread it on a cookie sheet and freeze, when it is frozen transfer to a zip lock bag-this way you have diced celery on hand. The grocery store may even sell frozen diced celery)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup onion, finely diced( sometimes I will dice extra onion and freeze it. It is so handy to have onion, green peppers celery etc frozen and ready to use.)

Cook bouillon, celery and onion in water for 20 minutes. Add potatoes and mixed veggies: cook an additional 30 minutes. Add canned soup and cheese-simmer until cheese is melted. Stir frequently at this point-scorches very easily.

In the morning start your bread machine and by evening you will have a wonderful dinner. Enjoy,

Melissa

PS. All past letters are available at http://www.amomlikeyou.blogspot.com/
Please feel free to pass the letters on to friends or have your friends email to be added to the list. Also I am available to women's groups to speak and share on any topics covered.

The Five Second Rule

2008-10-13T18:49:00.000-07:00

Dear Ladies,

Vacations are a treat, but it is always good to come home. Our trip to Colorado was wonderful. We had a few problems with the tires on the camper, but we were able to get that taken care of quickly. We did a lot of driving and saw a lot of beautiful scenery. I enjoyed driving through Glenwood Canyon and our visit to Hidden Lake, a stunning blue/green lake hidden away up near the top of a mountain. It was a difficult hike, but worth the effort.

I found something interesting in a magazine I was reading that I thought would be fun to share with all of you. Moms have always joked about the five second rule; sometimes when our kids drop a cookie, cracker, pacifier or candy we quick pick it up, give it back to the child and tell ourselves that it's OK because it we retrieved it from the ground in 5 seconds or less.

Well as it turns out some microbiology students at Connecticut College tested the theory. They found it took 30 seconds for germs to appear on an apple slice and up to five minutes for dry hard candies to become germy. Ahhh! We moms were right again. However it did say if the floor is dirty or an area where pets walk even a nanosecond can be risky. Ah, well we already knew that to.

Blessings to all,

Melissa

All past letters are posted at www.amomlikeyouu.blogspot.com

PS. I am thinking of hosting an life fellowship time for all of you. What do you think, would anyone be interested in some face time with each other?

From Babies to Adults

2008-09-24T18:47:00.001-07:00

Hello Friends From the Land of Corn(again),

We officially started our family vacation Monday morning. We drove straight through arriving in Illinois at 3:30 Tuesday morning. Driving straight through is hard on the parents, but a shorter trip for the kids as they are sleeping half the time. When everyone was younger we would start around mid-afternoon, make a stop for dinner, then the kids would watch a movie and go to sleep.

My mother-in-law looks remarkably better since we were here three weeks ago. They re-admitted her to the hospital last week and drained the fluid off her lungs and that has helped. Her color looks better, she is talking better, she is moving around better, it really is amazing the difference. It has been a long recovery for her, but the Lord has been faithful.

Six years ago we made our first trip out west. We have been wanting to go back, so this is the year. Our oldest son will be 18 in December and we realize our summers of having all 4 kids available to take a vacation are quickly coming to an end.

At MOPS last week we had to introduce ourselves to someone as if it was 10 years ago and then again as if it was 10 years in the future. It was exciting for me to talk about the future. I imagine I will have a grandchild and children getting married(I'm looking forward to planning a wedding with my daughter) in 10 years.

As hard as it can be to think about having an empty nest and how fast our little ones become adults, it is necessary for us as moms to think of the future. What joy it will be to welcome new daughters or sons into our family through marriage, how interesting it will be to watch our sons start careers and our daughters decorate their own homes, what blessings we will experience as we hold our grandchildren for the first time(I told my kids I expect a minimum of 16 grandchild), and what fun it will be to be friends with our adult children.

One of our MOPS mentor moms said "I love having adult children". Eric and I have enjoyed every stage of our childrens' lives, so I imagine we will enjoy their adult years as well.

Ladies, as your children grow watch with wonder and invest yourself in each age. Enjoy every age for the uniqueness it offers, looking forward to the years ahead and all they will offer you.

Have a blessed day as you mother your little ones and love on your husband.

Melissa

Broken Washing Machine-Oh No

2008-09-19T18:34:00.000-07:00

Hello Ladies,

My washing machine is broken. We are getting ready to head out west for a three week vacation and the washer doesn't work. It is a terrible time to have dirty laundry and no way to wash it. I can wash some, but I have to fill the machine for the rinse cycle with a hose. So I took all the dirty clothes to a laundromat. We used three of the biggest machines and in no time it was done. So even though it's bad that my machine is broken, it was wonderful to get all the laundry done quickly.

Washing machines sure make our lives easier; we tend not to appreciate the value of them until our machine isn't working. What things in your life are you taking for granted? Maybe it is the fact that you husband faithfully gets up every morning to go to his job and provide for his family. Maybe it is your children or a close friend. Maybe it is your house, cars or other material items that make our lives easier. It is so easy to get caught up in every day busyness and forget what really is important.

Make time to appreciate all God has given you. Be sure to let your husband know you think he is a great provider and that you appreciate him going to work every day. Hug your children and tell them you so glad they are your kids. Call a friend or relative to let them know you're thinking of them. Lastly, give God thanks for blessing you so richly.

Thank you for all the positive feedback you have been giving. I love encouragement like that. I am simply amazed at what God is doing with these simple notes. He truly gets all the credit.

Blessed to be your mentor,
Melissa

P.S. I will be checking email on vacation, so if you need something let me know. Don't forget to whisper a little thank you to God for the invention of the washing machine and dishwasher. They make life so much easier.

Trusting God

2008-09-11T17:42:00.000-07:00

Dear Ladies,

We did it. We bought a car. Our car was starting to have too many problems, so we were looking and praying. We needed something REALLY big, since two boys have very long legs. We bought a used conversion van complete with a CD player, 2 cassette playes and a TV, plus plenty of room for long legs.

Before my trip to Illinois we looked at a van, the frame was unusually rusty. Neither one of us felt real comfortable buying it. I had prayed about making the trip and told the Lord I either needed a van or I would have to trust Him to get me there and back. Obviously I ended up trusting Him. The van did fine. Two weeks later, we pulled into the driveway on a Thursday night having had no car problems. Friay morning the tailpipe was dragging. Sunday morning on the way to church a little light informed us there was a problem with the ABS brakes. WOW!! I know it isn't coincidence that the van was fine until the morning after we pulled into our driveway. It is almost like God was revealing to me that indeed He was the one who helped that van make the trip.

God wants to hear your needs and desires. Talk to Him like you would a dotting grandfather. I recently told Him that I didn't know what to do with my kids for history. I don't have a curriuculum for history and wasn't sure how to handle it for this school year. Wiithin days an idea formed in my brain. We are busy making timeline books for major events between the late 1800's and the present. It's working great and everyone is happy. Where did the idea come from, I believe God planted it.

He cares about all the issues that come up in our everyday life. He cares that the cost of groceries is hurting your family, He cares that the baby is teething, He cares a friend hurt your feelings, He cares your husband is out of town again. Share those things with Him. Talk to Him while you work, as you're falling asleep at night or while you're drinking you rmorning cup of coffee. He justs wants to hear from you, He just wants you to ask.
Give it a try and if you like let me know what happens.

Blessings to all of you. Have a wonderful weekend.

Melissa

Serving Others

2008-09-01T12:48:00.000-07:00

Dear Ladies,

Sorry about the blank email. I hit something and off it went.

Taking care of an elderly parent is much the same as caring for little children. First you get them settled and comfy and then you clean the kitchen. Then you walk them around for exercise and then do a load of laundry. But no matter an elderly parent or a child it is a joy to care for someone, to show someone you really love them by laying down your life and serving them.

I'm so glad I decided to make the journey to Illinois to be with my in-laws. It has given my father-in-law a chance to get out and a break from doing everything alone. It has given me a chance to give back to two people who have countless times helped me out. And it has given my children a chance to see love in action.

For some people acts of service is the way they show love(their love language), but for others it doesn't come as easily. But for all of us there can be pure joy in helping a friend. Whether a simple dinner or keeping a family of 5 extra children for a month, the act of service brings blessing to both the giver and receiver. During times of sorrow or pain in your own life the best way to forget you troubles is to serve someone else. Who will you serve today? Start with your husband and do something extra for him. It will be a great way to show him your love.

The kids did some fishing yesterday with their cousin(who visited for the weekend) and the 2 girls learned how to clean a fish. So today we are having a fish fry.

The town we are in has a beautiful park, so we have gone to play twice. They have "the best playground in the world" according to my youngest boy.

Thank you for all the kind responses to my last letter, it was great to hear from you. For those of you in MOPS I look forward to seeing you Friday.

Blessings to all,
Melissa

Your Knight in Shining Armor

2008-08-11T19:08:00.000-07:00

Dear Ladies,
Today is my husband's birthday. He is closing in on 50 very quickly. Doesn't that sound really old(especially to those of you in your 20's)? We didn't do much, but allowed him to enjoy his home. This is what every man really wants-to enjoy coming home. Now the hard question. Did your husband feel like coming home tonight?

A few letters ago I asked you to send me ideas of topics to write about. One idea mentioned was restoring romance to marriage. Here's the number one way. Make your husband feel like your knight in shining armor.
Here are a few ways to do that:

Prepare yourself for his homecoming. For me as a young mom this sometimes meant I had to change my clothes and put on a little makeup. If you know he is going to need some late night cuddling try to rest in the afternoon(I know that can be hard,but a 10 minute rest maybe all you need). Remember all the time and effort that went into getting ready for a date, take a few minutes before he comes home and re-live some of that primping time.

Greet him at the door with a kiss. Ask him how his day was. If he needs a few minutes alone let him have it(that's what my husband likes and he told me to add "give him time to catch his breath").

Steal 5 minutes from dinner prep time to spend with him. Just focus on him.

Most importantly your knight wants your respect. He has had a hard day in the world and wants to come home to a place where he is safe from criticism and nagging(the biggest killer of romance is nagging), can put his feet up and relax.

I believe as you show your husband the love and respect he craves romance will return to your marriage. You will begin to see him in a new light and he will shine. Remember ladies you have the power to make your husband successful at work, with the family and in your love life. But you also have the power to destroy him.

For more ideas on showing love to your husband, re-visit the letter on loving your husband http://amomlikeyou.blogspot.com/2008/05/10-ways-to-love-your-husband.html

After a long day with little ones it takes a focused effort to love your husband, but give it a try and let me know how it goes.

Melissa

Bake the Bacon

2008-08-05T07:58:00.001-07:00

Ladies,

I've tried several times to email to you a letter with some kind of encouragement, but it just isn't coming together very well. Often I try to write something and it isn't quite right. Most of the letters you have received seem to have just happened, I believe those times are when the Lord has taken over the fingers and done the typing.

Since I haven't had God inspired fingers lately I thought I would just sent you a cooking tip that has helped me out. Bake the bacon. I've never done very well getting perfectly cooked bacon in a frying pan. It takes forever to fry and you can't leave it alone very long(I don't like staning at the stove). But baking it is easy. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil(otherwise cleanup is terrible), lay the bacon on the sheet and bake. I bake mine at 350 degrees and after about 15 minutes check it. I think it as been taking about 1/2 hour to bake. We turn the bacon over half way through. We have overlapped the bacon to get it all on the sheet and then gently pulled it apart to put on a serving plate.

So maybe some night this week a breakfast dinner will be on the schedule. We did this last night and no one ever complains. But my family doesn't complain very often 1. because I don't handle it very well 2. because they do most of the dinner cooking now.

Have a wonderful day and if your looking for something to do don't forget to check the day trip letter on the blog http://amomlikeyou.blogspot.com/2008/05/summer-day-trip-ideas.html Also there are some easy cookie recipes if you are wanting to do some quick baking with your little ones. http://amomlikeyou.blogspot.com/2008/06/super-easy-cookie-recipes.html These recipes use a cake mix(you can use almost any cake mix) and a few other ingredient making them easy to accomplish with kids.

Blessings to all,
Melissa

2008-07-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

Dear Ladies,

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. I've just finish cutting Eric's and Jacob's(boy #2) hair. This is a small way we can save money and I was blessed to have my mom(who was a stylist a long time ago) teach me. Later today we are heading to a polo game. My daughter will enjoy watching the horses.

The job of parenting comes with a variety of joys and troubles. One problem we as parents often face is our own sinful nature. Here is an example from my life.

The kid and I were on our way home from So. Carolina. I decided to take the route that took me through Blacksburg. We were traveling the day after the shootings at Virginia Tech and when we got to that area(which was about half way) there were no available hotel rooms. So we stopped for dinner and I decided to drive the rest of the way home. When I called Eric he said to stop if I got too tired. Well as you can guess, that's what happened. We found a hotel and headed to our room. In the room I lost it with my daughter and yelled at her. My oldest son said "she didn't do anything wrong, you're just tired" I accepted the wisdom of my son and apologized to my daughter.

There are two lessons in this story:

Number 1 - sometimes our children can speak truth to us and we need to accept it in humility.

Number 2 - sometimes we have to apologize to our children. If we sin against one of our children we need to be quick to acknowledge what we have done or said. This shows our children that we are sinners, just like them. That we need forgiveness, just like them. That we need to say we're sorry when we've done something wrong, just like them. Your child will forgive you. Your position of authority will not be diminished in the eyes of your child.

Apologizing to a child is a great opportunity for you to share the forgiving power of Jesus and to teach your child how to apologize. As you've heard so often, children learn by example. Teach them how to ask forgiveness for their sins, by apologizing for your sins when you mess up as a parent.

Ladies, I love hearing your feedback, it encourages me greatly. Please let me know any topics you would like me to share about or questions you have about parenting, marriage, etc. I will pray and do my best to answer.
Don't forget to check www.amomlikeyou.blogspot.com for past letters and easy recipes.

For encouragement in your walk with the Lord, check out Shanda's new blog. www.ateachableheart.blogspot.com.

Blessings to all,
Melissa

Super Easy Cookie Recipes

2008-06-22T17:06:00.000-07:00

Dear Ladies,
I thought you might enjoy a few exceptionally easy cookie recipes. Since these are so easy and have so few ingredients they would be good cookies to make with your kids.
Enjoy,
Melissa

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

1 package devil's food cake mix

1 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup water

2 eggs

1 cup peanut butter or chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine all ingredients-except chips. Stir in chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2" apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake 10-15 minutes. Makes 4 dozens

Crisp Little Lemon Cookies

1 package lemon cake mix

1 cup crisp rice cereal

1 stick margarine-melted

1 egg (beaten)

Combine all ingredients-mix well. Shape into one inch balls, place on ungreased cookie sheet 2" apart, press down firmly on each ball.
Bake 350 degrees or 9-12 minutes
Makes 3-4 dozens

Chocolate Cookies

1 package devil's food cake mix

6 ounces chocolate chips
1/2 cup oil(I have used 1/4 cup oil and 1/4 cup water)

2 eggs

Combine cake mix and oil-mix well. Stir in chips. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet 2" apart. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Tips, Good Ideas and a Lion or Two

2008-06-12T16:53:00.000-07:00

Dear Ladies,

Thank you for making these letters such a hugh success. I started writing with about 8 ladies, most of them sat with me at MOPS meetings. The list has grown to about 20 ladies now. Welcome to all the new moms. Please continue to share these letter with anyone who is interested and have them email me if they would like the letters to show up in their mailbox. All the letters are posted at the following blog address (www.amomlikeyou.blogspot.com) if you would like to re-read them. I know it is easier to have them just show up in your in-box. That way you can read the letter quickly and go hunt down the two year old, who is all of a sudden quiet. And we all know what it means if a two year old is quiet-TROUBLE. Once while I was on the phone my two oldest were quiet. I found them in the bathroom. The oldest was brushing his teeth with my toothbrush, after having used my lipstick. The younger one was sitting in a sink of water with messy diaper.

My husband and I had the chance to enjoy two days at the homeschool convention. There are always too many fabulous products to buy and too many informative workshops to attend. Many workshops deal with homeschooling topics, but many would be of interest to non- homeschooling families. For this letter I am just going to bullet for you some of the things I wrote down in my notebook. I hope one or more points will be of encouragement to you today.

Family Life

-Wives respect your husbands. If you wouldn't believe in him, how can he believe in himself.

-Prepare children for all seasons of life. ie. the season of learning or being a disciple, the season of raising a family, the season of being leaders within the church and the season of being leaders of the nation.

-Ask you child, "How ARE you?" "Have I ever hurt your feelings?"

-Remember it's the little things that destroy a marriage-work as a team.

-Children need to trust their parents.

-Teach your children to see a job and do it before being asked.

-When a young child wants to do a job, ie. fold clothes, then it is time to begin teaching him/her that job.

-Lavish praise for jobs children do.

-Some kids don't see the mess, use a check list to help them with cleaning jobs.

-Make a list of everything in the house that needs to be done, enlist the children to help.

-Gear chores towards a child's skill.

-For a forgetful child have them do the same job everyday for a year.

-Reward children for completion of big jobs. ie. a trip to the ice cream shoppe.

-Preform weekly room checks, reward a child for an orderly room.

-Reward a child for good manners.

-Mention things a child does right when you pray for him/her.

-Create an audio tape of dad reading the proverbs.

-Make use of rewards in training for occasional motivation and for learning Bible verses.

-Train girls to run the household and have a heart of service.

-Have young men learn a trade.

-Encourage a servant's spirit, first in the family, then when company is over and by adopting an elderly person.

-Limit electronic entertainment, teach a lifestyle of productivity.

Stretching in Your Grocery Dollars

-Plan a menu

-Put together a price book, so you will be able to check if an item is a deal or not.

-Establish a buy price. ie. I try not to pay more then $2 a pound for meat.

-Try bulk cooking or once a month cooking. This makes for a long Saturday, but is great if you can do it. You can also do smaller jobs like cook up a lot of ground beef at once, cook and bone a bunch of chicken, or chop and freeze onions/green peppers. This isn't bulk cooking, but it does make dinner time easier.

-Make family dinners happen at least four nights a week.

-Stay at the table to play a game, read or have devotions. Mad-lips is a funny dinner game.

Lastly Ladies, remember that God has a BIG purpose for your children, just as He did for Ruth, David, Esther, Joshua and Samuel.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Melissa

PS. What do you think David's mom thought when he came home and said " I killed a fierce lion today". Oh My and we thought our kids worried us.

10 Ways to Love Your Husband

2008-06-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Dear Ladies,

Twenty years. Twenty of the best years of my life. In June of 1988 at the young age of 22, I married my sweetheart. Before we got married we had read books, listened to tapes, attended a marriage conference and consulted with our pastor. We were so ready to try out all our new found wisdom. All the prep work helped, but we had and still have much to learn.

Even though our children require a lot from us, our most important priority (after our relationship with Jesus) is our husband. How do we show our husband he is important to us? What your husband yearns for most from you is respect. Showing respect to a man is showing him love. The definitions of respect are: take notice of; to regard with special attention; to regard as worthy of special consideration, to care for

How to show your husband you love and respect him:

1. Listen to your husband when he talks. Look at him. Show him you're interested in what he is saying.

2. Understand how important his job is to him. He takes very seriously his responsibility to provide for his family.

3. Trust him. Allow him to lead you and your children. When he steps out to lead, follow him.

4. Submit to him. This is a tough one. A good friend once told me, “Melissa, do what your husband says. If he is wrong God will take care of you."

5. Don't nag. Nagging happens, so watch for it and nip it quickly. There is no faster way to pull down your husband then with constant nagging. Even the Bible addresses the issue of a nagging woman. Proverbs 25:24 “It is better to dwell in a corner of a housetop, than in a house shared with a contentious woman." The definition for contentious is “wearisome tendency to quarrels and disputes”.

6. Meet his physical needs. For a man this is one of the primary ways he receives love.

1 Corinthian 7: 5 “Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time…”
1 Corinthians 7:3 “Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband.”

7. Be content. Asking for a new car or larger home when a husband is doing all he can to provide puts undue pressure on him.
“Be content with such things as you have” Hebrews 13:5

8. Don’t take control. Allow your husband to be the head of the house, especially in the areas where he needs to be taking the lead. Don’t take over just because you don’t think he is doing a task right or hasn’t started to take the lead. Pray for him. Allow the Lord to work.

9. Compliment your husband. Let your husband know on regular bases how much all he does for your family means to you. Tell him he is an excellent provider, an outstanding father, a sweet lover and your closest friend. He needs your words of affirmation.

10. Pray for him. Pray that God will give him wisdom. Pray that he will have favor with his co-workers, pray for protection from temptations and give thanks that he is walking the road of life and parenting with you.

Summer Day Trip Ideas

2008-05-28T20:20:00.000-07:00

In a recent post I mentioned taking day trips with your children this summer. A mom replied asking for ideas. With the help of a few friends we came up with some ideas. I've included some links to help you find more information.

Morefield Mine in Amelia, VA

We did this once and it was great fun. Be prepared to get dirty and take a pail to bring your rocks home. Below is some of the basic information.

Address: 13400 Butler’s Rd, Amelia, VA 23002Phone: (804) 561-3399Directions: From Richmond, take U.S. 360 (west) across the Appomattox River into Amelia County. Travel 4.8 miles, turn left onto HWY 628. Travel less than one mile, turn left at the Morefield Gem Mine sign.Hours: Tuesday – Saturday 9:30 am – 4:30 pm Admission: $10.00 adults, $7.00 children

I found this write up about the mine on a website.
The best way to experience the mine is to arrive early. You can check in and out all day long. Picnic tables are on the grounds should you decide to stay for lunch. Vending machines are also available for sodas and snacks. (Please note that no alcoholic beverages are permitted.) Remember to dress appropriately for digging and don’t forget to bring a bucket or bag in which to carry your treasures home.

For those looking for a “hands on” activity, Morefield Mine is a great way to get dirty while having good clean fun. You don’t have to be a knowledgeable rock collector to appreciate the shiny Micah or the blue-green hues of the Amazonite but it helps. At the end of the day, be sure and check back at the shop to see how you fared. The owners are happy to help you identify your treasures. If you are lucky, they will register anything exceptional in the logbook. If not, you may end up like us, with a couple of pretty rocks and some great memories. Sure, we can’t retire on it but we did end up with an experience we will never forget.

Caverns
We have several caverns within a day's drive from us. The link below is for Endless Caverns. A friend recommended this cavern; she said the cavern is a smaller one, but isn't as busy as the larger caverns.

http://www.endlesscavern.com/

Motts Run Reservoir - I've not been here, but you an rent boats here, picnic and fish. I might have to explore this one with my kids. http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/waterbodies/display.asp?id=89

The Potomac Nationals are a minor league baseball team. They have $1 nights and other special nights. We have gone to games with friends which really added to the night. http://potomac.nationals.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=t436

Westmoreland Berry Farm - Berry picking is great fun for kids; they enjoy being outside and eating as many berries as they can.
http://www.westmorelandberryfarm.com/

Maymont is in Richmond and has some wonderful animals. There is a lot of walking at Maymont, so don't forget the stroller. The animals are in natural habitat type areas and there is even a small aquarium. http://www.maymont.org/visit/index.asp

The C and O canal is near DC. I would like to do this some time with my guys, as we've never been there.
http://www.nps.gov/choh/

Richmond Children's Museum http://www.c-mor.org/

Prince William National Park-This is a large area to explore. A great place for a hike. They have camping, but they don't have showers in the restrooms.
http://www.nps.gov/prwi/

Sugar Mt. in Maryland - another great place to hike. This is an easy mountain to hike with young kids and takes about 40 minutes to get to the top. http://mgreeby.home.mindspring.com/sugarloa.htm

The Mount Vernon Trail- The trail is paved and runs along the Potomac River. You can park at Mt. Vernon and bike or walk.
http://www.bikewashington.org/trails/vernon/vernon.htm

Air and Space Museum At Dulles-there are some giant planes that any little kid or adult would enjoy seeing. There is a lot to see here. With little ones, see what you can and leave while everyone is still having fun.
http://www.nasm.si.edu/udvarhazy/

Quantico Marine Museum-This is a great museum. An adult could spend all day here learning the history of the marines, Kids will enjoy skipping all that and seeing the larger exhibits. This place is so close and your kids will like it.

The National Zoo-park at the bottom part of the zoo and work your way up. That way at the end of the day you're walking downhill. Parking is about $12.

Harpers Ferry-A neat old town to visit. Park at the visitors' center and a bus will take you over to the town.

Battlefields-we have tons of these and they are great places to run around.

Free Weekly Movies are offered at the movie theatre. Movies start at 10am and are first come, first serve. Here is the schedule for the theatre in Fredericksburg. I'm sure the Stafford theatre is doing this program, but I don't have the schedule.

3301 Plank Road Route 3WFredericksburg ,VA 22401540-786-7796
06/17/2008-06/ 18/2008 Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (G) Firehouse Dog (PG) 06/24/2008-06/ 25/2008 Pirates Who Don't Do Anything Veggie Tales (G) Evan Almighty(PG) 07/01/2008-07/ 02/2008 Everyone's Hero (G) Bee Movie (PG) 07/08/2008-07/ 09/2008 Arctic Tale (G) Shrek The Third (PG) 07/15/2008-07/ 16/2008 Curious George (G) Hairspray (PG) 07/22/2008-07/ 23/2008 Clifford's Really Big Movie (G) Alvin And The Chipmunks (PG) 07/29/2008-07/ 30/2008 Mr. Bean's Holiday (G) Happy Feet (PG) 08/05/2008-08/ 06/2008 Charlotte's Web (G) Water Horse: Legend Of The Deep (PG) 08/12/2008-08/ 13/2008 Wallace And Gromit (G) Surf's Up (PG)

Baltimore's Inner Harbor-paddleboats are available to rent.

Aquarium in Baltimore- pricey, but fun

Playgrounds- visit different playgrounds in the area. We have pictures of our daughter at different playgrounds in several states. That was her thing when we took a trip out west.

I hope you can find something in this list that will be a fun outing for you and your kids. Start planning now for a summer of memories and don't forget the camera.

Melissa

Planning For Summer

2008-05-27T14:13:00.000-07:00

Ladies,
I've been working on a longer then usual letter to you and I'm almost ready to send it. I actually have sent it to a friend who edits some of my posts. She's the secret ingredient. She's the one that makes them read so smoothly. As soon as she is done I will get it out to you. I think you will enjoy "10 ways to love your husband"

I hope you all had a pleasant Memorial Day weekend. We had 2 BBQs to attend and had a great time visiting at both gatherings. What a great way to start off the summer season.

Speaking of summer, here is a tip. Before summer vacation is here and your school age children are home, make a plan. Decided now and make a list of things you would like to do with the children and as a family. Maybe you want to take some day trips, wade in a few creeks, find some mud for mud pies, pack a picnic lunch or dinner, have friends over for ice cream, or complete a project.

Often summer is over before we know it and we feel like we didn't accomplish anything. Planning out your summer will help keep boredom for the children at bay and allow your family to make some summer time memories.

Blessings until next time,
Melissa

Flooding Memories for Mother's Day

2008-05-18T18:02:00.000-07:00

What storms we have endured lately! My husband took our son and his friend camping last weekend. They survived one night before heading home with a car full of drenched camping gear. A little rain or a river of water sweeping through the tent didn't stop them from having fun and making a lasting memory. The occasion for this adventure was our son's 15th birthday. He will always remember the camping trip that ended with him and his buddy, freezing cold and wet, sleeping in the car.

While they were away my friend's basement flooded. She picked up the phone and called me. We went to help her sop up the water only to have it flood again on Mother's Day. My friend will always have the memory of a very wet Mother's Day. While she didn't enjoy the experience at all it gave me the opportunity to love on her children. I had her toddler all day on Monday and he was sooooo sweet! He was sweet even when he threw a ball into a planter, breaking the pot and sending the dirt flying. His response to the mishap was "Ut ooo." But then again he says "Ut ooo" a hundred times every day!

Sometimes our lives are like the weather. Some days are bright, sunny and enjoyable, but other days are flooded with doubt, problems, hurts and sorrows. How do we respond to these days? It is easy on the sunny days to bless the Lord, but on the set days it can be very difficult. Sometimes we can't even find the words to pray when things in life get really tough. That's when you do as my friend did. You pick up the phone and call someone. All my friend had to say was "we need help." Asking for help can be difficult. We have to humble ourselves and admit we cant do it alone. But in asking for help or prayers you give someone else a chance to be a blessing. My husband and I were blessed that our friends felt they could call us. We really couldn't do much to stop the water from coming in their basement, but sometimes just asking someone to walk through a difficult time with you makes it so much easier to handle. As much as you may dislike asking for help, usually those who are asked, are blessed to be asked and happy to serve.

Why do we think we have to do it all alone? We don't tell our girlfriends what's happening in our lives, we just trudge on and smile. We need to remember that no one will look down on us for asking for help. in fact most people will jump at the chance to help a friend. Ladies, find someone you trust, share the joys and sorrows of your heart with her. Don't be afraid to ask her to pray for you or stand with you when the basement of your life floods. She will be glad to stand with you. She will uphold you in prayer. She will be blessed that you asked her.

Raising the next Generation

2008-04-27T19:40:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share a little conversation I had today in the car with my guys on the way home from church.

One boy mentioned something about a person sounding like they would never have kids, so we started to talk about that. I told them I had been thinking about what is important and that raising Godly children who will be Godly adults is what really matters. My oldest then told me that in the sermon today (I was loving on the babies in nursery) our pastor said our most important responsibility is raising Godly children.

I know you all know this, but it doesn't hurt to be reminded that those little ones that are crying while the dinner is burning are the next generation of adults for the Kingdom. They are the ones that will teach future generations about the Gospel and the love of the Savior. When we start to think of them has the future of God's church the burned dinners,the mounds and mounds and mounds of laundry, the dirty carpets, and the toys everywhere begin to pale in comparison. Next time your ready to pull your hair out because the toddler is sitting in a sink of water with a dirty diaper on using your lipstick(yes, one of my kids really did that) remember he/she is the one you are raising to carrying on your faith. He is the one who will speak truth to his generation, she is the one who will be raising up more little warriors for the Lord and they are the ones who will enjoy all eternity with us.

Thank you for letting me share in your lives. Have a wonderful week with your children.

Melissa

Top 10 Money Saving Tip from Our House to Yours

2008-04-22T18:33:00.000-07:00

Gone are the days of $5 shoes at my house. Gone are the days of $10 shoes. Now we are hoping to find shoes under $50. With 3 boys needing new sneakers and sandals we were talking about an expensive shopping trip. The difficulty is compounded by the fact that 2 of my boys need size 13 shoes (hard to find!). To top it all off, our favorite (cheap!) shoe place has gone out of business.

Our first shopping trip yielded one pair of shoes that my oldest liked. The next shopping trip started at Rack Room Shoes and there we we really hit the jackpot. My husband had said that we'd only buy sandals if they jumped off the rack at us. Four pairs did just that.

We found 3 pairs of Teva sandals for $10 each. The original price was $50 buckaroos. We found a $4 pair of sandals for my youngest. They were marked down from $25 buckaroos. I even found one pair of size 14 sandals which I purchased for my honey. He wasn't with us, but I figured for that price if he didn't like them one of the boys could wear them next summer.

So with the success of the bargain sandals making us all happy we headed to the mall to continue our hunt. Again we were successful and while we didn't hit the jackpot we did succeed in finishing our hunt for shoes. Now my boy's feet are officially set for summer.I get excited when I land a bargain such as these sandals. I know these bargains are God's way of filling a need or a want in our lives. But the big exciting money saving bargains are few and far between. We have to be conscious everyday of where and how our money is being spent.

Here are ten ways we save money in our home.
1. No cable t.v.

2. We drive used vehicles.

3. We limit the number of times we eat out, but we do love $.99 Happy Meal night. We just have to buy the bigger guys several Happy Meals.

4. We shop at a discount grocery store called Aldi. Check them out at http://www.aldi.com/

5. We have a pay as you go cell phone plan.

6. When we leave the house we take water, snacks or even lunch if we will need it. Having to purchase food every time you leave the house can add up quickly.

7. My husband takes a lunch to work.

8. We use very few pre-packaged meals. We have found having a few frozen pizzas, stir-fry veggies, or sandwich meat helps on the weekend and keeps us from ordering in or eating out.

9. We limit the size of meat portions or reduce the amount of meat in dinner entrees.

10. Except for certain items, we have found store brand products to be cheaper and the quality just as good as name brands.

Happy Saving!
Below is a photo of one of the big pairs of feet that needed new shoes. At least with feet that big you get your money's worth in leather.

Easy Dinner Idea

2008-04-16T14:11:00.000-07:00

A friend gave me this simple, but delicious soup recipe. Depending on the size of your family you may have to increase your proportions. We expecially enjoy soup for dinner in the winter, serve this soup with corn bread for a super easy dinner. (Thanks Margot)This soup is super easy and the kids love it with the cheese and chips sprinkled on top. Add some cornbread using the simple Jiffy mixes and dinner is done.

Taco Soup
1 can of corn
1 jar of salsa or stew diced tomatoes
chicken broth or beef broth
cooked chicken slices or hamburger.
Simply combine all ingredigents and heat well. Serve with grated cheese and crushed tortilla chips on top.

A Rabbit in the Dining Room

2008-04-16T13:33:00.001-07:00

Yes that's right Ladies, I have a rabbit that lives in my dining room and a bird too. Let me back up a minute and tell you that my dining room isn't used for a dining room at all. We call it the school room, but we don't do school in there. It should be called the computer/animal room.

Several years ago I read a book published in 1882 by Rev. J.R. Miller called "Homemaker". One part of the book that spoke to me the most was about our home. Rev. Miller wrote about our homes not being show pieces or museums, but being comfortable places for our children. In my home this means the Legos are in the family room and the animals live in the dining room. It means we have an inexpensive rug in the living room, so we can eat in there and watch TV without worries of ruining the rug when something gets spilled. It means piles of magazines and books and shoes in the family room. But it also means that my children are near me, not hiding in their rooms. It means they don't hesitate to work on a project and make a big mess. Sometimes it means that the table gets a burn mark, or hot chocolate is spilled on the carpet, or that you have to step over Legos, but I know the days of not having a full house of children are fast approaching, so for now I'll deal with the mess.

As for the rabbit in the dining room, she really is a cutie.

Blessings to all,
Melissa

Sharing dinner recipes

2008-04-16T07:04:00.000-07:00

Here is a great idea from a reader. If anyone has any recipes to share we would love to see them. Just click on "comment" to share your favorite dinner ideas.
Melissa

What's For Dinner?

2008-04-10T18:10:00.000-07:00

"What's for dinner?" Preparing meals seems to be an endless job for us moms. Sometimes the cooking of the meal isn't the hardest part it is figuring out what to make. In our house if my husband says "Thanks for making this.", that means it's edible, but not something he is really enjoying. If he says " This is good.", it really is GOOD. Tuesday night was one of those nights and I can only take credit for finding the recipe; my 14 year old son and 10 year old daughter did the cooking.
One thing I find helpful is to prepare a menu for a week or two weeks at a time. This can take awhile to do, but is a time saver during the week. You could make several menus and corresponding grocery lists and rotate them. As I make the menu I write down everything I need to purchase to prepare that dish. It is also a good idea to check the grocery store ads and plan your menu using meat that is on sale that week. I might purchase pork chops if they are on sale and freeze them to use in the future as it is a real money saver if you can get your meat items on sale.
We purchase the bulk of our staple items at Aldi- a German based stored that sells mostly their own brand of product, it is a very basic, no frills store, but the prices are the best around. www.aldifoods.com Since there is one in Woodbridge my husband will stop after work and do a major purchase for us about every 2 weeks. I email him our grocery list and he gets everything he can, certain items that are more specialized I have to pick up later or do without. We will also purchase some pre-made items for the weekend, ie pizza, stir fry veggies packs, hot dogs. Even though these items are more expensive they save us from spending money on take-out or going out to dinner.
I hope these ideas help you out with the never ending job of making meals. Lastly here is the recipe for our successful, delicious entree that we had this week.

Nacho Spuds
prep time 15 minutes
4 servings
Slice 2 large potatoes into 1/2" thick rounds(no need to peel), toss these with a little olive oil. Lay the potatoes on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake at 450 until tender, about 20 minutes.
While the potatoes are baking, cook 1/2 lb. ground beef. Mix in a 15oz can of black beans(any beans will do), 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning and 2 tablespoons water. Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. Layer the potatoes in an 9x11 over proof dish, sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese and layer the meat mixture on the potatoes, top with another cup of cheese. Place in the oven and turn the oven off. Let sit in the oven 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Serve with sour cream, lettuce, black olives if you like.

We had to use a lot more potatoes, about 2 per person and a pound of beef and additional cheese in order to have enough to feed everyone. (I have 2 teen boys that are really putting the food away these days).

Have a wonderful week.
Melissa

Jobs for Toddlers

2008-04-02T18:24:00.000-07:00

My kids have been handling the meal preparation in our house for the past month while I recoveryed from surgery. Now they are wondering when I'm going to start fixing the meals again, but I'm enjoying having them handle the majority of the meals. They have been doing a good job. Obviously toddles aren't going to be handling meal prep for a long, long time, but they can learn other ways to help.
Here are some ideas:
1. move the clothes out of the dryer into a laundry basket and slide the basket to the room you need it in.
2. fold simple laundry items like wash clothes, dishtowels and sort socks by colors or dark and lights.
3. put the silverware from the dishwasher on the counter for them and let them stand on a stool or chair to sort and put away for you.
4. remove plastic items from dishwasher. If you have a lower cupboard for the kids dishes they can put their own away and even get them as needed.
5. set the plates on the table
6. pull the blanket up on their bed-top sheets can be difficult, so my kids for the most part didn't use them.
7. pick up toys
8. carry their plate to the sink after meals, depending on the mess left on the plate.

Most jobs given to a small child take a lot of work on the parents part to train them how to do, but once they have the job down they enjoy being able to help. Plus you are teaching them how to serve and be part of the family. Most of the time the end result isn't done very well, but nothing says it has to be perfect, except usually us moms. Once you have a child or two trained in a job they can then be given the responsibility of teaching a younger sibling. I still team my younger two children up with an older sibling. I told the older ones I trained you, now you train them. If they do a good job training the younger sibling it makes the job easier for the older one; this is good incentive to train their younger sibling well.

We don't pay our children an allowance for chores as we feel the chores are part life as a family. They get room and board with out charge. If we have extra jobs we would like done or if they are looking to earn some money we will pay them for those jobs.

It definitely is work to teach our children how to work, but in later you will reap the reward for your effort. So when all the dish clothes are in a "folded" mess and the dinner plate hits the floor for the hundredth time take heart and remember some day it will be worth it.

Having fun with the kiddos

2008-04-02T18:07:00.000-07:00

One year to teach my kids about spring I had a first day of spring party. It had been beautiful weather several weeks before and I imagine us planting seeds out on the deck. We invited our friends to plant seeds and eat dirt cake with us. The first day of spring arrived and with it SNOW!! We ended up planting our seeds inside, but we still had fun.

As my kids seem to be getting old quickly, I realize the time is limited to have fun with them. Before you know it they want a job to pay for clothes, a car or other stuff they desire and then they aren't as free to go have fun with you. So take some time this week and enjoy your kids, have a picnic, color together, have a pillow fight or visit a museum. Whatever you do, don' t over do it, roll with the punches it doesn't have to be a perfect activity just fun and remember to quit while everyone is still having fun.

I Cleaned the Laundry Room

2007-10-07T19:18:00.000-07:00

Well finally in July I managed to clean the laundry room, but it so quickly was messy again. My laundry room is very small, but years ago I painted it a bright yellow. I added some extra shelves and sunflower wall paper border. I figured if I had to be in there, it should be pretty. My laundry room is also near my kitchen, which I love. Plus it has a door, so I can close the door and the mess is gone. At least until I open the door again.

The Laundry Room

2007-03-06T17:41:00.000-08:00

My laundry room is a mess. It needs to be de-junked and re-organized. I've been planning to do this for several days, but it hasn't happened.
Most of my day was filled with completing school work, so it is always hard to do a large project. In the afternoon I began dinner preparation and headed up to the doctor's office for our bi-monthly allergy injections. (the oldest and youngest son). This can take us an hour, by the time we wait for the nurse and then wait 20 minutes afterwards, as a preventive measure if one should have a reaction to the injection. We arrived home just a few seconds before Eric. My middle boy, Jacob, put the casserole in the oven for me while we were gone, so dinner was almost ready. After dinner we check the status of the racers we are watching in the Iditarod and finished watching the movie Ivanhoe(suppliment to our history). Now it is time to kiss everyone goodnight and head to bed.

So needless to say the laundry room is still a mess. Maybe tommorrow.

There is No Super Mom at My House

2007-03-03T19:23:00.000-08:00

I call my blog "Mom Like You", because I'm just an average mom. There is no supermom at our house.

I'm sure some homes have them, but not ours. I guess when they were giving out the talents for supermoms I missed out. I try to make bread, but it doesn't always rise. I sew, but rarely. I clean, but it usually has the lived in look and full laundry baskets are often part of the decor.

I'm just a mom, probably a lot like you. I do a lot of the same things every day. Directing school work, preparing for dinner or cleaning, laundry, settling or stopping disagreements and cuddling my kiddos.

We are late starters in the morning. I try to get up before the children, so I can have some quiet time reading and praying. At 8am I begin waking everyone up. Eric is long gone, leaving most days before the sun is up in order to avoid sitting in traffic during his hour long commute to work.

Waking my slumbering kiddos can take 20 minutes. After their personal quite time, they eat breakfast, do some chores and get started on their school work.

Each child has an assignment sheet of seat work to accomplish. Some days we accomplish it all, but we don't allow the sheets to rule our lives. The assignment sheets give my children the direction they need to get their work done each day and they like being able to check off the work they have accomplished.Sometime between noon and 1pm we have lunch, on a good day I have started dinner preparation and the children have their assignment sheets completed. Our favorite thing to do in the afternoon is read together. I choose a book that either compliments what we our studying in history or a fiction book just for fun. The children work enjoy building with Legos or drawing while they listen. I begin the reading, but when I get tired the children take turns.Most of the times I don't get much done during the day other then some housework and helping the children with school. However I wouldn't change a thing. I like the relaxed approach we now have about school and I love the opportunity to have all my children with me all day. I don't regret not being a supermom, I just want to be the best mom that God created me to be.
Blessings until next time,
Melissa

Welcome

2007-03-03T19:07:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my blog. I hope to share with you about our homeschooling adventure. In our 10+ years of schooling our children we have learned a great deal and we continue to learn each day. We have 3 sons and 1 daughter that we adopted from Haiti(that's a story for another day). The children range in age from 16 down to 9. We started homeschooling when our oldest was only 4 (my first mistake,not homeschooling starting him at 4).
We have lived in Virginia for the past 15 years. Originally I'm from NY and my husband,Eric, is from IL. We have a variety of animals that keep us company including a dog, 7 homing pigeons, a rabbit, a cocktail and some fish.
In future entries I will share with you what our days are like, about our animals, our approach to schooling and what we are learning along the way. We believe strongly that God's has called us to a life style of homeschooling and we depend on His direction as we travel along.
Thanks for visiting and come back soon