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It's the BIG 25!!!!!
This blog has been hacked! This is Crystal's sister just letting you all know that Crystal is turning 25 years old this coming Sunday, October 1st! In honor of her 25th birthday, I've posted a couple of pictures and some fun stuff about her.
 Crystal's baby photo 25 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Crystal
1. Crystal was born 2 weeks overdue. Interestingly, Crystal's first child, Kathrynne, was also 2 weeks overdue. 2. At birth, Crystal weighed 8 lbs. 3 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long. 3. By age 1 1/2, Crystal felt that she was grown up enough to begin calling her parents by their first names (instead of using "Daddy" and "Mommy"). This was short lived though as Dad and Mom quickly corrected her. 4. Early in her life, Crystal found great joy in getting into things and either eating them or making a mess. One morning, Mom found her eating the diaper pail deodorizer, which Crystal had gotten out of a top dresser drawer and unwrapped. 5. Mom took Crystal to get her picture taken at 2 years. Crystal loved every minute of it and kept saying, "More picture taken!" She didn't want to leave. 6. Often, when Crystal was just a toddler, Mom would discover her in her room kneeling by her bed on her chubby knees pouring her little heart out in prayer. 7. Crystal could peel a hard-boiled egg at the age of two. 8. One of Crystal's favorite foods as a toddler was…you guessed it - cat food! 9. Crystal became a big sister at 3 years old. After gazing at her new little brother for a few seconds, her eyes widened with astonishment as she exclaimed, "He has a little big toe!" 10. One day, Mom took away the play dough Crystal was playing with because she was throwing a temper tantrum. After about a half hour, Crystal came to Mom and said, "I forgive you, Mom...can I play with my play dough now?" 11. Another day, Crystal announced that she had stopped sucking her thumb. Mom threw a party in celebration. Unfortunately, the resolution lasted only slightly longer than the party. 12. Throughout her growing up years, Crystal battled asthma often. When she was 7, her asthma was so bad that she had to be hospitalized. 13. Being the musical girl that she is, Crystal has a great talent for singing. She made her debut at 10, singing a solo on a recording that hundreds of people bought. 14. While having fun with her brother one day, Crystal, who was on roller-skates, was being pulled by a rope behind his bicycle. The end result? A broken wrist. 15. After praying for one for many months, Crystal received her first violin on her 11th birthday. 16. When she was 11 years old, Crystal wrote her first scripture song. The words were taken from Hebrews 11:6. 17. From a young age Crystal has always had a giving heart. On her 13th birthday, she and Mom happened upon a second-hand store that had all their clothes on sale. After making a deal with the owners, Crystal used her birthday money and bought out the entire store. Several days later she had a "Give Away Day" at our house where she gave all the clothes away and many families were blessed. 18. As a school project one day, Mom assigned the older children to run a mile while being timed. Crystal got off to a good start but halfway through the mile, she gave up and laid down FLAT on the dirt road. 19. Crystal's first newsletter was called "The Smisor Scrapbook". It was bi-monthly and went to all her relatives, keeping them updated on the latest happenings in our family. This small newsletter helped to prepare her for her much larger newsletter, "Polished Cornerstones", which she started in 1998. 20. At age 16, Crystal began to learn how to drive a car. After several months, Mom felt brave enough to ride in the car with her. Crystal was excited to show Mom all she had learned. After she started the engine, she began to back out the driveway but instead of going backwards, she went forwards...right towards the house. In the panic of the moment, Crystal forgot which one the brake was and pushed the accelerator instead. To this day, our house still bears the marks of that fateful day. Needless to say, Mom didn't ride with Crystal for a long time afterwards. 21. One summer, when she was looking for ways to serve the family, Crystal decided to take on the task of watering all our trees each day. Never one to waste time, she would have 4-5 hoses going at a time and would run from hose to hose reading a book as she ran. 22. Two of Crystal's favorite verses that she used to always signed under her name were Philippians 3:10 and 2 Corinthians 8:9. 23. As she continued to grow in her musical abilities, many people requested her as a violin teacher. At one point she was teaching 17 lessons a week. 24. Sunday lunch was Crystal's weekly meal that she always fixed. Often, she liked to "experiment" around. Before we ate the meal, it became a practice to ask her, "Okay, Crystal, what did you do THIS time???" 25. Some of Crystal's "nicknames" while growing up were: Cry-still ("Is she still crying?" - as a newborn), Crys, Pistol and Dodo.  Crystal at 22 months
I am so grateful to the Lord for giving me with such a wonderful older sister! Whether she was helping me memorize scripture, picking up after me, teaching me violin lessons, or just listening to me talk, Crystal has always demonstrated a patient spirit. When there are dirty dishes, an unswept floor, or toys lying around, Crystal is always willing to be a servant and do the tasks no one else wants to do. When I am discouraged, Crystal has always been there with a word of encouragement. I appreciate the godly example she has been and continues to be to me.
Crystal- Thank you for all the fun and special memories! May you have a blessed birthday as you reflect on what God has done in your life this past year and look forward to another year of service for Him. I love you! "Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. Favor is deceitful and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised." (Proverbs 31:29-30)
HAPPY 25TH BIRTHDAY, CRYSTAL!!!!!
You can help make this 25th birthday really special and fun for Crystal! Over the next few days, please leave a comment telling either A) how you met Crystal, B) something you appreciate about Crystal, C) a encouraging verse for this next year of her life, or D) all of the above! And don't forget to wish her a "happy birthday"!
Posted by Gretchen ------------------------------------
From Crystal: Okay, so I have to tell you I about flipped when I saw this on my blog. I was gone all day long (Jesse's swearing in was this morning and then we celebrated by going out to lunch, shopping, garage saling, and to our favorite juice stop place) and came home to check my email and started seeing comments on a post I didn't post. What on earth? I can't believe she did this! You see, I guess Gretchen has been conniving with Jesse on posting this all week long. They thought they had kept it a secret from me when she accidentally sent an email to ME about it yesterday which was supposed to go to Jesse's account. Aha! I found them out, I thought and was going to go in and change my password just to make sure no one hacked my blog. But then I realized that there was no way they could figure out how to get into my account since no one knows my username and password - or so I thought. Apparently, they are better slueths than I gave them credit for. :) Thanks Gretchen, you are the best sister (though I don't know that I really wanted everyone to about my bad cooking or my inability to run a mile... !).
And, a special request: I was going to copy Shannon's idea this weekend and ask that you all do me a favor. My sister already got the ball rolling, much to my surprise, but I'll still add on my own request here. This might seem extremely self-serving, but it would mean a lot to me...
If you read my blog (that means you read it daily, or weekly, or monthly, every other month, or this is your first time, etc.!), would you take just a moment to comment and just let me know you are here? I love blogging, but more than anything, I love hearing from you all. I'm glad you're here, whether you comment daily, weekly, once in a blue moon, or have never commented at all. I hear from many of you often, but according to my site stats, there are at least a few thousand people that I've never heard from at all who read here with some consistency. Sometimes it seems weird to be writing for a mostly faceless, nameless audience.
I usually am happy to just let you read but today I'm asking for a really special favor of you. Would you comment and introduce yourself? Tell me how long you've been reading here, or how you found my blog, or where you're from, or something interesting or dull about yourself. You don't even have to leave your real name, if you'd rather not, you don't have to agree with me on everything or even anything, I'd just like to have a little idea of who you are. If it weren't for you, I'd have no reason to blog, after all! If you'd rather not leave a comment, you can send me an email - my address is here.
Thanks so much for being here. I feel so blessed and unworthy to have so many wonderful friends and encouragers here. God is good. I really and truly know that.
Frugal Fridays: Supermarket savings - Part 4
 This is a continuation of my Supermarket savings series. For the beginning posts see: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. One thing I wanted to mention was that it is important that you cook and shop to please your husband. Talk to your husband about how he wants your family to eat and how much he'd like for you to spend on groceries. Make sure he is on board and you are pleasing him with all of this.
When we first made our grocery budget, my husband and I knew it would mean some definite sacrifices in certain areas if we were to stick to $35 or less a week. However, Jesse wanted to do this and was willing to make those sacrifices. It has become an exciting adventure for me to see how well we can eat on how little! Things we've done which have saved us a lot of money: -Send a lunch with your husband to work. If your husband spends $7 on a restaurant meal (and that's pretty cheap!) every weekday, it is over $1700/year. -Limit eating out. For the first two years of our marriage, when things were especially tight, we only ate out every few months and then it was fast food, with coupons, for around $6-7 total. Now, we usually go out or get carryout once every week or two, but we still use coupons most of the time and rarely spend more than $15 for the three of us. Split a meal, get carryout (saves you having to leave a tip!), use coupons, and make tea or lemonade at home. -Don't eat a lot of meat and stretch the meat you do eat as far as you can. We rarely have meat as a main dish unless I get steak or roast on a very good sale. Instead, it is cooked and chopped and in something. When I get a bag of chicken, I usually cook and chop it and freeze it into meal size portions. A bag of chicken (around $6.99) can last us for two weeks this way.
-Drink water. We only drink coffee on special occasions and rarely ever drink pop. I do drink tea (most all of which I get for free either from the store, as gifts, or through bartering). We don’t drink a lot of juice, either, unless I get it on sale. Do you know how much it costs if you drink just one pop (er, soda, for those of you that don't know it's called pop!) per day? It adds up very fast. Learn to like water. It's good for you anyway. :)
-Keep it simple. Just serve a few items with a few ingredients per meal. -Serve a big salad or soup and bread to start dinner. You'll fill up on this and won't have as much room or need as much of the entree. -Be thankful for what you have, not what you don't have. It's not the food on the table, but the people around the table that really matter. That's a start - there's so much more I could say but we have family coming in from out of town for Jesse's swearing in tomorrow (yep, he's just about ready to become a real bonafide lawyer and a good one at that!) and I need to get this posted and finish a few things before they get here. I'd love to hear what you do to save money on groceries. Feel free to add to my list. And don't forget to post something for Frugal Friday on your blog, link to this post, and then post the direct link to your Frugal Friday post below. If you don't have a blog, feel free to leave your frugal tips in the comments section.
Secrets to supermarket savings - Part 3
To those of you wondering if we mostly eat processed stuff, we don't. In fact, we eat very little of it. At least 75-90% of our diet is made up of made-from-scratch foods and fresh fruits and vegetables. Just because you coupon, doesn't mean you have to live on junk. I promise. Our current philosophy is to make everything from scratch that we can and then we save some of the freebies I get with coupons for treats. I also use coupons the most for paper products (I haven't paid for toilet paper in over three years - I always get it for free.), toothpaste (You should see how many tubes of free toothpaste we have stocked up - I never pay more than $0.50 for toothpaste and usually get it free or for pennies.), cleaning supplies, deoderant, etc. I know that there are healthier alternatives for all of those things (I mean, they even have organic dog food nowadays!) but we cannot afford to buy organic everything. We try to do the best we can with the resources we have. To give you an idea of how we eat, here's our menu for the week: Breakfasts: -Waffles (I make these with all whole-wheat flour) and grapefruit.
-Baked Oatmeal (served over homemade yogurt with fresh fruit, yum!).
-Cereal
-Whole-wheat cinnamon raisin biscuits and fruit. I just jot down some breakfast ideas when planning the menu and don't assign certain items to certain days. This gives me a flexible plan to work with depending upon what Jesse is hungry for and what his morning schedule is like. I usually make up waffle or pancake batter once a week and we'll use it for a few breakfasts (and sometimes Saturday brunch or for a quick dinner). To save money and eat less processed foods, we only have cereal 1-2 mornings a week at the most. I never pay more than $1.69 (Aldi price) for a box of cereal and usually shoot to get it for a $1 or less. We try to buy cereals with wholegrains, low in sugar, and with no food coloring. Most of our breakfasts cost about $0.25 to $0.50/person. Lunches: -Peanut butter (we usually splurge and buy the all-natural healthy kind, though this week I didn't because I didn't have extra $ for it. We can usually get coupons for this and get it for about $1 more than the Aldi peanut butter) and honey sandwiches on whole-wheat bread (either homemade or from Aldi) and grapefruit.
-Mixed green salad with a little cheese and hard-boiled eggs and baked potatoes.
-Leftovers.
-Salad and baked squash (I had all the salad ingredients on hand - I bought way too much the week before since things we on sale. Squash was also on sale the week before).
-Healthy Choice frozen meals (I got these free this week - we rarely do frozen dinners but Healthy Choice are pretty good and you can't beat free!). Lunches are similar to breakfasts in that I just make sure I have enough things on hand for a little variety and I jot down the ideas and pick from there. Since Jesse takes a lunch with him to work everyday, he usually has sandwiches a few days, leftovers one day, and a salad one day (He likes me sending a big salad to work with him!). I also will usually send him some tortilla chips (we don’t normally eat potato chips, but he likes tortilla chips) and sometimes salsa. Or muffins, if I have some on hand. Every once in a while, I'll send him some cookies, if I have some made. I also often send cucumber slices, grapefruit (we love grapefruit at our house!), apples, or other fruit/veggies we have on hand. He doesn't have a ton of variety in his lunches and that is completely fine with him. He would be perfectly happy with PB and honey every single day but I do try to give him at least some variety! If we have leftovers from dinners which I can't recycle into another dinner and can't pack in Jesse's lunch, then Kathrynne and I usually eat these for lunch rather than making something else so that we use up the leftovers and don't waste food! Lunches usually cost somewhere around $0.50/person depending upon what we have. Dinners: -Homemade pizza with diced chicken and shredded cheese (Super simple and yummy. We use either salsa, spaghetti sauce, or barbecue sauce for the sauce. You can add veggies but we like ours just plain.) and salad.
-Broccoli, chicken, and cheese quiche and salad.
-Whole-wheat waffles and fruit.
-Homemade cream of broccoli soup, homemade whole-wheat toast, salad.
-Chili chicken casserole (Homemade white sauce with green chilies and chicken layered with noodles and cheese - yummy!), whole-wheat bread, salad.
I usually only plan 5-6 dinners since we usually go out on Thursday nights for our date night. Sunday nights we'll just eat something simple like waffles, cereal, etc. We have a covered dish dinner after church every Sunday and I usually either bring a big pan of dessert or else a big pot of something in the crockpot. This week I'm bringing make-ahead cheesy mashed potatoes. Dinners are usually around $1/person. We often have breakfast foods (pancakes, waffles, French toast) one night, a meatless dinner one night (Cream of broccoli soup this week), and an egg-based something or other another night (Quiche this week). We eat a lot more chicken than beef because I can more readily get good chicken for less expensive. We do have steak every few weeks and roasts sometimes when I can get the good kinds (Sterling silver, etc.) very reduced at the store.
We get the majority of our fresh fruits and vegetables at the store, but try to get organic whenever possible. In the Summer, we like to go to the Farmer's Market to get our fruits and veggies - I can usually get them cheaper than the store there. We are planning to start regularly going to a nearby orchard to get our fruits and are looking into starting to buy raw goat's milk locally, as well as raw honey locally. We are working to take small babysteps in the right direction. Our goal is to eventually be able to grow much of our own food and have chickens and a goat. This way we could produce all of our own vegetables, corn, potatoes, eggs, milk, yogurt, butter, etc. We are hoping to be as self-sufficient as possible and are working towards that end. However, we know we won't get there overnight. So, right now, we are eating as good as we can, while saving as much as we can, so that our vision can be realized sooner, hopefully. We'll see what God has in store.
Pictures!
Just FYI: I uploaded a few pictures from our trip last week to my flickr account (By the way, I try to add a few new photos to it every few weeks so if you like photos, be sure to check it periodically!) which I don't have room to post here right now. Enjoy! Also, for those who hadn't noticed, I finally got the sidebar all up-to-date and all previous articles/posts organized by topic. Just click on the links on the left to check out the various articles and past posts. I'm also working on getting a search feature as I know many of you have been asking for it. I had one, but it was messing up my sidebar, so I'm back to the drawing board.
Secrets to supermarket savings - Part 2
Now that you have a basic idea of how I plan my shopping trips, I thought I'd share what a typical shopping trip is like for me. I'll use Monday's shopping trip as an example since I still have all the receipts! On Monday, I went to three stores instead of my usual two because I'm working on adding in Walgreens and CVS to my shopping routine since I can save a lot there and get many more items for free or almost free that way. As Kathrynne has gotten better at grocery shopping, I'm able to branch out more and do this. I am still learning what works at those stores and am thinking I'll probably rotate going to one or the other most weeks since their deals are usually good for a month.
I always start with going to the nicest grocery store first. It is a little out of the way (about 10 minutes away), but worth going a few extra miles. I then backtrack from there and hit the rest of the stores on the way home. I usually have a few extra errands to run and every place I would need to go to usually is on the way home from this store. So, I try to plan my shopping trips for the best time and fuel efficiency. If you shop at more than one store (which I recommend everyone do if at all possible), you must keep the time and extra gas costs in mind. It does no good to drive across town to save a few dollars. You will have wasted the extra savings in time and fuel costs. I try to get to the store by 10 a.m., if not sooner, so that we can beat the crowd and get all the shopping done by lunchtime. First stop: Nicer grocery store (This is a Kroger in a nice area of town): Caeser Salad Kit - usually $3 - reduced to $1.50
Flour - $0.99
Whole Wheat Flour - $1.65
2 Ivory 3-bar soap package - on sale for $1 - used $0.50 coupons - $0.50
Ball Park Franks - on sale for $1.34 - $1 off coupon - $0.34
3 bars of cheese - on sale for $1 each - $3.00
Gillette razor refills (this blew my savings, but I didn't have a coupon and hadn't found any on sale and Jesse needed them so I had no choice but to pay the full $7.93 for them!)
2 Healthy Choice frozen dinners - on sale for $1/each - used $1/1 coupon - Free
2 Land-O-Lakes Spreadable Butter - on sale for $1 - $1/1 coupons - free
Tylenol Go-Tabs - on sale for $1 - used $1 off coupon - free
2 Listerine Pocket paks - on sale for $1 - used $1/1 coupons - free
Huggies Baby Wipes travel pack - on sale for $1 - used $1 off coupon - free
Colgate toothbrush on sale for $1 - used $1 coupon - free Total before sales and coupons: $48.09
Total after sales and coupons: $18.66
Total saved: $29.43
Second stop: Discount grocer (Aldi)
Bananas - $0.99
Canteloupe - $0.99
Peanut butter - $1.29
Grapefruit - $0.99
Bread - $0.89
Bag of apples - $1.99
Peaches - $1.17
Strawberries - $1.69
Trail mix - $1.99
Total: $12.87
Approx. savings from normal store prices: $15.00
Third Stop: Walgreens
2 Dawn Dish detergent - on sale for $1 - coupon for $0.50 off two - $0.75/each
2 Gillette deoderant - reg $2.79 - special for buy one get one free - used a $0.75 coupon and $1.00 coupon - $0.52/each
3 Kotex pads - $3.79 each - special rebate : buy $10 in Kotex products, get $10 Walgreens gift card - used $1/1 coupons on each - free and made $1.63
Nice and Easy color hair glaze - $8.99 - free with rebate plus 10% back (by having the rebate put onto my Walgreens gift card)
Zone bar - $1.50 - free with rebate plus 10% back Total before sales, coupons, and rebates: $33.55
Total after sales, coupons, and rebates: $2.90
Grand total of all three stores before savings: $109.51
Total after sales, coupons, and rebates: $34.45* Total savings: $75.06
Shopping time: less than two hours *Notice I came in right under budget (our budget is $35/week for groceries). :) Plus, I was able to get quite a few items which we'll add to our supply of extra things to have on hand. By stocking up on the sales, you will save a lot in the long run because you rarely ever will pay full price for anything. For those interested: You can read about another grocery shopping savings experience from a few months ago here. I spent $18 and saved $50 that time. It's usually pretty typical for me to save at least 50-75% off my bill. If I do better than that, I consider it to be a really good outing. Worse than that and I need to try harder and plan better the next week! Questions anyone? Ask away. I'll answer any questions you have and talk about some nuts and bolts of getting started couponing in my next few posts.
Secrets to supermarket savings - Part 1
 By popular demand, I'm going to start a series on couponing. I've put off doing this for so long because I am not good at doing series (you know how highly distractible I am - sticking to one subject for more than a day or two is not easy for me!) and I also kept thinking it would be too much to try and delve into on my blog and thus the reason I am doing an ebook on the subject. However, since I keep stalling on the ebook and have had so many requests for me to share my "coupon secrets" I decided to do a series on my blog which I would then reorganize and expand into the Secrets to Supermarket Savings ebook. However, this series will probably not be done in any sort of progressive manner and probably will not be too organized. But, hopefully it will be helpful to many of you. If you have any questions on couponing at all, now is the time to ask. I'll try and do my best to answer all of them. And, once I'm finished, I'll take everything I've written and organize and expand it into a (hopefully) well-flowing manner for the ebook. --------------------------------- First off, I think it is important for you to realize I have been coupon shopping since a few years before I got married. My mom prepared me very well in that regard by first having me go with her many times while she taught me the ins and outs of coupon shopping. Then she handed the whole kit and kaboodle over to me for some time. By the time I got married, shopping with coupons, knowing where to get the best deals, and what the cheapest price I could usually get items for was, was all "old hat" to me. I know that many of you have not had that same experience, but don't let it deter you. Just don't expect that you'll start out next week with saving 75% off your usual grocery bill. It takes time, practice, and thought. Keep at it and you'll soon master it and be teaching others! We'll talk more about how to get started, but first let me give you an idea of how I plan for shopping. Going to the store all prepared is just about the number one key to successful savings, especially when you are shopping with young children. Late in the week, I sit down for about 20-30 minutes or so and look online at our grocery store sale fliers. After lots of practice, I can very quickly scan the flier and pick out which sales are good. (I mentally know the least expensive prices at all the stores and can compare these with the sales. Most "sales" are not really that good. Just because something is 50% off does not mean it is a good price. Most of the items - especially boxed and prepackaged foods are so pricey these days. Even if they are 50% off and I have a coupon, I can still often make it for less. Be very careful, especially when new to couponing that you don't get caught into this "coupon trap"!) Next, I check these good sales against my coupons. Some of them are only good if I have a coupon for the sale item as well. Some are good enough sales that I'll get it even if I don't have a coupon. I have a master list that I divide into 2-3 lists depending upon which stores I'm planning to go to (and sometimes this will be dependent upon how good the sales are. My rule of thumb is that I must be saving at least $10 to justify going to more than one store, even if the store is right on my way). After I check the sales and my coupons, I will write down on each store grocery list which items are on sale and what the sale price (with coupon - if applicable - is). I put the coupons for each store in separate envelopes that have each store's name on them at the front of my coupon box. Lastly, if I don't have coupons for an item that I think I might be able to find a printable coupon for and get it free or almost free, I'll do a quick search on the internet for it and often find one and print out as many as I can (most printable coupon sites only allow you to print 2 of each coupon per computer. Unless it is a really good deal (free) and an item we really like, I usually don't bother with trying to print from more than one computer.) After I've determined which sales to hit, I then base our menu and the rest of the grocery list upon these sales and off of what we already have on hand. Since I often stock up on good deals, we usually have quite a number of items already in our cupboards. If I can't come up with meals to cook based upon these ingredients off the top of my head, I usually use the Ingredient Search feature on AllRecipes.com to come up with other options. I try to keep our dinners to around $1/person and lunches and breakfasts to around $0.50/person. This comes out to about $5-$6 per day. Since our budget for groceries is $35, this usually works out just about perfectly. And, when we have quite a bit of food stocked from previous good deals, I can often spend closer to $25/week on groceries since I'll just buy fruits and vegetables and the mega sale items (items which are free or pennies each). Any questions so far? I'm sure I left out some details so feel free to ask away! In our next installment, I'll share about my coupon experience on Monday to give you an idea of what my typical purchases and savings often are. By the way, this is what works for me. I definitely am still learning and would love to hear from you as well. If you successfully use coupons or routinely shop on a limited budget, tell us how you plan your grocery shopping. We all can always use help in planning menus, grocery shopping, and saving money! And don't forget, you can still get my brand-new Simply Centsible Breakfasts ebook for only $2.97 or all of our homemaking ebooks for only $11.97!
Fall reading challenge
Like usual, I'm about a week late on joining the Fall reading challenge, but I decided I would jump in anyway. I have many, many books I want to read, hope to read, need to read, and could use the extra motivation! My current goal is to finish one book a week and do a book review of that week's book on Tuesday on my blog. That's the goal and the plan, anyway... we'll see if I can stick to it. I have this terrible habit of starting new books, reading a few chapters, and then starting a new book. It is not a good habit and one I'm working to break. I want to be more than just a good starter with good intentions, I want to be a finisher as well! Here's my list that I'm hoping to finish before the end of the year:  Biblical Womanhood in the Home edited by Nancy Leigh DeMoss - This book looks very good. I can hardly wait to delve into it! Girl Talk by Carolyn Mahaney and Nicole Mahaney Whitacre - The book behind the authors of the Girl Talk blog.Crunchy Cons by Rod Dreher - Well, I couldn't resist. Everyone and her sister was talking about this book in the blogworld so I caved and got a copy. Godless by Ann Coulter - I'm extremely curious to see what I think of this book. I'm not a Coulter fan for various reasons, but I do believe I agree with some of her worldview. So I'm wondering what I'll think of her writing style. Hopefully my biased view won't completely tarnish what might very well be a good book. Seasons of a Mother's Heart by Sally Clarkson - Already a few chapters into this one and though I'm not finding it completely enthralling, it has been encouraging. The Politically Incorrect Guide to Women, Sex, and Feminism by Carrie L.Lukas- Almost finished with this one. It's been a very interesting read, even if I wish that the author would push her points to make more concrete conclusions and not leave me hanging waiting for a punch line after sharing startling statistics. Review coming soon. Queen of the Castle by Lynn Bowen Walker - I rarely read books which seem to be geared toward the modern Christian homemaker/wife. They are usually full of fluff and only seek to promote a wee bit watered down feministic agenda. Something about that just doesn't sit well with me (hmm, wonder why?!) and so I normally avoid this genre of books. However, Queen of the Castle was highly recommended to me by an older woman I truly respect and so I ventured out and got a copy. Wow! I'm glad I did. I've really enjoyed it - especially the first chapter where she makes a very strong case for a woman being a full-time homemaker, wife, and mother. I'm almost halfway through with this one and a more lengthy review will be forthcoming soon! Feminist Fantasies by Phyllis Schlafly - I've been trying to work my way slowly through this book for almost six months now. It's very insightful but also heart-breaking and I can't seem to read but a few pages at a time. Teaching the Trivium by Harvey and Laurie Bluedorn - I'm nearing halfway through this one as well. As soon as I finish it, I think I need to go back and re-read it a few more times to really grasp and internalize all the excellent information. The Man You've Always Wanted is the One You Already Have by Paula Friedrichsen - Multnomah sent me a review galley of this book set to be published in January. I've been getting so many emails from women who are struggling in their marriages and thought maybe this might have some insights. The Elements of Style by Strunk and White - I've been saying I was going to read this for way too long now. Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ by John Piper - This will be my first Piper book to read. I really enjoy his sermons and am anxious to see what I think of him as an author. If you haven't gathered, I try to read rather widely. I try to always be reading some books which are mind-stretching, some which encourage me in my spiritual walk, some more on the subject of current events, and have some reading which is more "relaxing" reading. However, I try to be pretty choosy in my reading material and make sure that I am not wasting my time or putting junk into my mind. I think it is important that we be careful not only what we watch, but also what we read. We need to hold all of our reading material up to the light of Philippians 4:8. What are you reading? Any great book recommendations for me to add to my 2007 reading list? Want to join the Fall reading challenge too?
Three cheers for Vision Forum!
Who doesn't love Vision Forum? I know we're not supposed to covet, but it's really hard come October when the annual much-anticipated Vision Forum catalog arrives in our mailbox. We just can't ever get enough of it and they are always bringing out more great stuff! Well, for a couple of really blessed people (I'd say "lucky," but I don't believe in luck.), you'll need not covet anymore because Vision Forum is sponsoring a contest and, are you ready for this... giving away two prize packages worth over $700.
No, you aren't dreaming. You read that right. Two people will win over $700 worth of Vision Forum goodies. No strings attached.
To enter, head on over to Kim's blog and get all the details.And can I just say, I'm a little jealous that Kim got chosen to have VF sponsor a contest on her blog. I mean, it's not like she's all that well connected to them or anything (her husband just happens to be warehouse manager, but that's it). Hmph, how come little gals like me always get overlooked in these things? I mean, really. Life just isn't fair. Oh well. :)
Ideas needed: Passage into womanhood "party"
 Our third child, Anna, is getting ready to turn 12 years old in December. We have always tried to down play the whole "teenager" philosophy with our older two and, instead, stress "becoming a young adult" and living for the Lord. I had an idea of giving Anna some type of "passage into womanhood" party (ceremony) where we would invite her friends, their moms, and her teachers from church (we homeschool) and other influential women in her life. We also wanted to use this time for her dad and I to present her with a promise ring for purity. Do you know of any resources that would give me ideas on what to incorporate into this ceremony? I want it to be fun but also I want it to be a real milestone in her life that she can always look back on. I'm not worried about the promise ring part but needed some ideas on other things to incorporate for the passing into young womanhood part of the party. -Lisa
Would anyone with older daughters or more experience in this department like to share any thoughts or ideas for Lisa? I'd love to hear from anyone who has done something special to comemorate a daughter entering womanhood.
A case of mommy brain
You'd think that I wouldn't be losing it with only one child, but I think I am. This morning I pulled up to the bank drive-thru teller to deposit some checks. Easy, right? Wrong. First, you must know that I rarely ever go to the bank. My husband runs that jurisdiction of our home quite nicely. I just give him the checks with my name on them and that's that. However, Jesse asked me this morning if I could run to the bank for him today. Being the "good wife" that I am, I promptly said I would oblige. Besides, he had everything filled out for me and said all I had to do was drive up to the window and drop the checks off. I mean, how hard could that be? Surely my mommy brain could handle that, couldn't it? So, I bravely drive up to the bank prepared to drop off the checks and quickly get on with my morning shopping. That's when my case of mommy brain started to act up. Right off the bat, I couldn't figure out how to run the little put-your-money-in-the-container-thingymajig. Don't ask me why I didn't notice the big button that said "Push Here" after putting your money in the container. I guess I just assumed that it would swoosh up the tube if I set the container on the ledge. So, I sit there for the longest time trying to figure out why it's not working when I finally realize that's what the big "Push Here - Send Carrier" button is for. Of course, all the while, the bank teller lady is standing there watching me out the window. After the container finally makes it to her, she asks me if I want a balance on my transaction. Oh yes, at least I know the answer to this question - Jesse always likes me to get a balance. So I confidently say, "Yes, please." Then she completely catches me off-guard and asks me for the last four digits of my social (social security number). Like a complete idiot, my mind goes blank. I sit there speechless my mind racing through every number I can think of. All I can come up with is my cell phone number, my home phone number, my husband's number, no number remotely close to my social security number. I'm sure she is really wondering about my sanity at this point but all I could finally say was, "Um, I'm not sure. I can't remember. Just forget about the balance."Now I feel anything but confident. I start wondering if she is even going to cash my checks. She probably thinks I'm some check-stealing thief. I'm still wracking my brain to try and remember my SSN. It's usually always on the tip of my tongue and it is completely gone at this point. I try to call my husband and then I remember that my cell phone has been refusing to work the last two days. Why does modern technology never work when you really need it? Finally, finally, I think I remember my number and right then the lady comes back over the speaker and asks, "Were you able to remember your number?" Gratefully, it was the right one and I breathe a sigh of relief as Kathrynne and I head out of the parking lot. So much for my "brave feat" of swinging by the bank. I think I'll continue to leave that jurisdiction up to my husband! However, before you think I'm just a dumb housewife (which I'm sure that story sounded like!) after my idiotic experience at the bank, I then proceeded to go grocery shopping and buy over $100 worth of groceries for less than $30. Maybe I can't handle banks, but I do know how to do grocery stores. :)
Input Needed: Dealing with a wayward friend
Let me preface this by saying that I know Biblical Womanhood isn't a "discussion board," but a few subjects have lately brought to mind something that I have been struggling with for a long while now. In the 'Rosie' comments there has been talk of showing God's love to everyone, despite how difficult people can be to reach, and in the 'loneliness' comments, your readers are discussing the importance of deep friendships rooted in Christ. My best friend, in short, used to be a woman of faith. This is no longer true for her and it's extremely difficult and painful for me. Her life choices have left me absolutely reeling and stunned to the point where our friendship is strained and often awkward - not because I myself have stopped trying, but because I think she is deeply ashamed of herself and has "withdrawn" as a result. We are growing apart, because we have become so different. My faith and resolve have only strengthened over the years (I pray that it will always be so; I am in no way saying I am superior to her.) My very loving, supportive, and kind fiance feels badly for her (he has never known the happy, joyful girl I first became friends with eight years ago.) I have discussed this with him extensively; if he told me that he wanted me to "remove her" from our life, I would, but he never has. Instead, he has reminded me that "the Lord prunes and grafts," and suggested that I remain a good friend to her and be an example. But I can't help but feel that it's useless at this point. She has made her choices - she makes them every day. She has seen the way I try to live and while I am by NO means a perfect Christian, I am certainly living proof that if you wait on the Lord, He will help you. Yes, her life has been very hard, but as terrible as this sounds, my sympathy is starting to run dry, because she has - for over two years - refused to do anything to help herself. She has shown no remorse for her actions and no concern for her salvation. She tells me that she is miserable every single day - it's unbearable and I can't even explain to you how it weighs on my heart. But she takes no responsibility for her unhappiness, and this is where I am so completely torn. When I read things in Scripture such as Psalms 101:3-4 - I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; [it] shall not cleave to me - I wonder how I can continue on this way, tolerating her choices, fighting to "matter" in her life. I love her, Crystal, I really do, and I have desperately tried to be there for her in the hopes that she would turn back to the Lord. I know if she does, it will be His doing and not mine. But I no longer can tell where to draw the line. I wonder if you have ever experienced anything like this or if you think it's something that would work for discussion on the site. -Name Witheld
I received the above email last week and asked permission to post it for input from those of you who have experienced something like this or have Godly counsel to share. What would you do in this situation if this were you? Or, have you been on the other side as the friend? Thoughts? Advice? Words of wisdom?
Intolerance
I was home with a sick baby and husband yesterday (much to all of our dismay, we really wanted to make it to church, especially since they were having a special time of fellowship at the park afterwards, oh well!) and so I spent the morning listening to Romans on CD while caring for the needs of the bed-ridden. There's something about listening to a big chunk of that book which just leaves you awe-inspired. You can't run from the depths of the grace of the Lord expressed in this rich book. At the same time, I was struck by the need for intolerance in my life. Yes, I said intolerance. In a world where the praching and practicing of tolerance is extolled, there is such a need for Christians to be intolerant - intolerant of sin in our own lives. I just started attending a Bible study on Monday nights led by an older Godly woman. Most of the women are young moms like me, many of them just beginning their spiritual journey. Just like when you have a young toddler around your home, you see the world through a new light, when you are around new Christians, it is amazing to see things through their eyes. Sadly, it is so easy for those of us who have been walking with the Lord for a number of years to lose some of that first love, to become lax, to no longer have the hunger and thirst for righteouness and holiness that we once had. Last Monday night, one of the ladies read a verse which she had just found that morning and was convicted by. It was a simple verse on the need for us to put off the deeds of the flesh and walk in holiness. I've read and heard that verse many, many times in my life, but when she read it and talked about her desire for holiness and Godliness in her life, I was so challenged. Challenged that as an "older Christian" I have become so tolerant of sin and worldliness in my life. Challenged that I could be content in this intolerance. Challenged that I was sitting at the feet of this "baby Christian" drinking from the well of wisdom she was discovering in God's Word for the first time. "If ye then be risen in Christ, seek those things which are above."
Frugal Fridays: Soap savings
Sorry for the delay in getting this posted - I couldn't log onto the internet last night or this morning. Since it was posted so late, feel free to add your frugal post anytime today or Saturday or Sunday. We'll just make it a "Frugal Weekend." :)
I'll be back to more regular posting early next week. If you are in the mood for a good discussion or want to give some parenting advice or great Fall recipes, be sure to check out some of the questions and discussion on this post. Have a lovely weekend!
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 For us, living frugally has meant cutting expensive items out of our budget and trying to cut costs in everyday necessity items. For us, one of those everyday necessities is liquid hand soap. I've found it is much easier to clean up soap from a dispenser at the sink than to deal with bar soap and the resulting soap scum mess. Most liquid soap is not only much more costly, it disappears much more quickly. However, I didn't let that dissuade me from considering saving us the soap scum goop all over the sink. Instead, I came up with some creative ways to buy liquid soap inexpensively, and to stretch it to last much longer than it's normal "sink life." 1. Buy off-brand dish detergent/liquid soap in full size containers. I rarely buy liquid soap in dispensers. More than likely to do so is to just to pay extra for a fancy dispenser. It's better to just buy dispensers once and then buy soap in bulk and refill them again and again. Every once in awhile, I can get soap dispensers with soap on sale with coupons for about $0.30/each. When I do that, I'll buy them, but usually I've also found it is much less expensive to buy liquid soap in larger containers. I normally buy dish detergent/liquid soap from Aldi for $0.99/each. This can last us for at least a few months or more, if carefully used and stretched in the below ways. 2. Water down the soap. Not only do I buy the liquid soap in larger containers, I always water down the soap before I put it in the containers. I usually do about half water/half soap. This stretches it quite a bit more. 3. Use foaming pumps. This will stretch your soap at least by 50% more. We just got foaming pumps in the last few months and I have been amazed at the difference it makes. While on the subject of soap, I thought I'd throw in that (from my estimation) you will save a lot of money in water costs, energy costs, and soap costs by washing your dishes by hand. I know this is not feasible for everyone, but just comparing the costs of dishwasher detergent and liquid detergent used for washing dishes by hand might surprise you! Speaking of detergent, never use the suggested amount of laundry detergent. You can usually cut it in half and not notice any difference. I know these all might seem like little things, but cutting lots of corners like this will quickly add up to reduce your expenditures. A dollar here and a dollar there really does make a difference. So, when trying to trim down your spending, don’t overlook the little things. I'd love to hear your thoughts or ideas on soap as well. What works for you? If you'd like to join in our Frugal Friday, just post something on frugality, link to this post, and leave your link below. Any questions? Email me or check this post for more information.
AWOL
In case anyone has wondered why I've been extremely quiet around here the last day or so (since I know that is quite an anomaly for me!), I'm currently sitting in a beautiful condo in the Ozark Mountains. Kathrynne and I picked Jesse up from a short business trip late yesterday afternoon and headed to one of our favorite vacationing spots to spend a few days of rest and reprieve and fellowship with dear friends and family. This resort was supposed to have free high speed internet so I assumed checking/answering my email and blogging would be a piece of cake to quickly accomplish in the midst of all the other great activities planned. But, I guess you get what you pay for since the last 24 hours logging onto the internet was virtually impossible (no pun intended!). I was finally able to log on tonight and so wanted to post something really quickly to let you know my whereabouts. If you don't hear from me for a few more days, you'll know I'm enjoying an "unplugged" life of reading, sewing, talking with friends and family, eating great food, enjoying my family, and maybe getting in some kayaking and paddle boating (and, if we can get it worked out, we're hoping to rent jet skis for an hour or two since we've never done that before!). If I can log on in the next few days, I'll try to post some pictures of the great times we've been having. If not, I'll be back and refreshed and ready to hit the ground running with blogging again early next week. Hmm, maybe I should let you talk amonst yourselves? Anyone want to take the floor and open up a great topic for discussion? I can't promise I'll post it, but feel free to take a shot. I've never done an "open comments" thread before, but maybe I'll give it a try. :)
Homemaking ebooks on sale!
Sneak peek pricing!
Thanks to Mrs. Wilt's inspiration, I'm back into the ebook-writing mode. Expect many exciting new ebooks to be surfacing soon. 
I just finished Simply Centsible Breakfasts a few moments ago. I thought I'd have some fun here and offer it at a reduced price of $2.97 for a few days. This ebook is very similar to Simply Centsible Suppers. There are 14 pages of all of our family's favorite frugal breakfast recipes including all my make-ahead batter recipes, bargain banana breakfast recipes, marvelous muffin recipes, and much more. Sprinkled throughout are quick and frugal tips to help you get breakfast on the table in an easy, inexpensive manner.
For the first three years of our marriage, our grocery budget was $20-$30/week. I had a very hard time at first coming up with anything decent to serve for breakfast on such a limited budget. With time, trial and error, and creativity, I've come up with a number of recipes which have become staples for our morning. This ebook is a collection of some of those favorite recipes. They are all inexpensive, most take very basic ingredients which you probably already have on hand, and take a minimal amount of time and effort. $2.97 for a limited time only! Instantly downloadable upon purchase. By the way, let me know if you find any typos or mistakes! Click below to purchase:
In the nurture and admonition of the Lord
 I wanted to see if I could get some help from you. I have a 2-year-old daughter who is a special needs child. Her cognitive ability is between 6 and 8 months of age. I have really felt convicted lately to begin teaching her about God and Jesus. However, I don't know where to begin and what materials to use. Because her cognitive ability is so young, I'm not really sure what methods to use. I know that you homeschool your young daughter, and I wanted to know if you would share with me what kind of teaching you did when she was 6-8 months of age. I know that God wants me to train her up in spite of her disability, but I just don't know how to do that. This is my first child, and I did not grow up in a Christian household, so training children up for God is so unfamiliar to me. -M Hello, M! Your desire to raise your precious daughter in the "nurture and admonition of the Lord" is so wonderful and exciting to me! I'm no expert in this area, but I'm happy to share some things I've done with my daughter which you could easily implement in your home as well. The most important thing you can do to teach your daughter about the Lord is to pour the Word of God into her little heart and life and to model a Godly example before her. Even when children are very young and even when they are a special needs child, they are able to understand so much. Deuteronomy 7:4-9 says: Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. From these verses, here are just some very practical and simple ways to apply these verses: 1. Talk of the Lord to your daughter. Even if she can't understand much of what you are saying, still talk to her. Show God to her in the simple things. When you are walking outside and admiring creation, tell her about the God Who made the trees, the flowers, the birds, etc. The God Who cares enough about us to make the world so beautiful. Keep it really simple. Just in the everyday moments, take a moment to remind her of God. Maybe she doesn't understand right now, but it will eventually sink in! 2. Read a short passage of Scripture to her before she goes to bed. Keep it simple. We want our children to love the Word of God. Be expressive when you read, stop to explain things, keep it short. Consider also letting her fall asleep listening to the Bible being read on CD. This is another great way to easily implant God's Word upon the hearts of young children. 3. Sing hymns to her. My mom has a little book of hymns with one or two for each day of the week. Everyday until my little brother was two or three, she would sing to him the hymn of the day. It was amazing how much he was able to pick up just by the weekly repetition of the hymns. We've sung with Kathrynne ever since she was very little. She now loves to sing. Oftentimes, she will go and get the hymnals off the shelf (we have them down on her level so that she can get them out for us during family worship) and sit on the sofa and sing for quite a long time. It is so precious. Another great way to pass on hymns to your children is to have them playing often in your home. 4. Hang Scripture on your walls. Even when children are very young, they can start understanding that the wall hangings "say" something. Kathrynne discovered this in the last few months and very often when we pass one, she points and asks us to read it to her. What a great way to be reminded of Scripture! 5. Read good books to your daughter. There are a lot of silly little fluffly books out on the market to read to a child, but I highly encourage parents to consider giving their children more wholesome reading material. It's okay to "read above their level" sometimes. Kathrynne and I read through the entire unabridged original reprint of Pilgrim's Progress before she was six months old. We just did it in little snippets everyday. Of course, I got the most out of it, but she listened right in as well. We are now reading through How to Be a Lady. We have "tea time" every afternoon when she wakes up from her nap. We have a cookie and some tea and she sits on my lap and I read a few pages to her. Once she's finished her cookie, I stop reading. The cookie keeps her still and attentive and makes it a really special time that she looks forward to everyday. These are just some really basic ideas, maybe a few will work for you, or maybe they will get your creative wheels turning to come up with other ideas! Ask the Lord for His guidance and wisdom. Also, most importantly, seek to constantly be loving the Lord with all of your heart and engrafting His Word into your heart. As you do this, God's love and God's Truth will readily flow forth to your daughter. For more thoughts on this subject, here's a post I wrote some months ago on discipling young children.Anyone else? I'd love to hear what you are doing to teach your children about God and to train them in the ways of the Lord. Feel free to comment and share with us what you have done or are doing!
Overcoming loneliness
 I wondered if I could ask you a personal question. I know that you made a move when Jesse went to school and were kind of out on your own. I'm really struggling with that right now. We moved almost 2 years ago and I just can't seem to get it together. I am a little lonely for like minded families. We go to a church that is a 30 minute drive, but it isn't close to what we would like. We haven't found anyone near us like minded as well, even with homeschooling groups we have visited with. My brain tells me that I should find my fulfillment in Christ, but I'm afraid I have allowed myself to become full of self pity some days. -Melissa Hi, Melissa! The last 3 years of my life have definitely been a learning and growing experience, to say the least. When Jesse and I moved to this town, we left behind a wonderful church fellowship, lifelong friends, and dear family. I felt as if I was cut off from everything familiar and plunged into a completely unfamiliar, unfriendly environment. For years, we'd had more fellowship opportunities than we knew what to do with and since I'd never moved before, I was naively very excited about the possibility of meeting new people and developing new friendships. However, after a few months of meeting lots of new people but developing almost zero friendships, I began to feel extremely lonely. We tried to reach out, have people over, minister to others, etc. but it seemed that most people were just too busy. We were used to spur-of-the-moment types of fellowship ("Hey, do you all want to come over for icecream and games tonight?" or, "The thrift store is having a sale today, do you want to come with me?" etc.) with our friends back home and regular get-togethers just to fellowship. When we would ever suggest something of this sort to the few families we had gotten to know a little bit, we received lots of odd remarks or looks. It seemed no one got together for getting together's sake. Everyone was too busy with sports, commitments, etc. How we missed those times of fellowship, sharing, discussion, and just plain fun! However, we began to realize that lifelong friendships don't usually bloom over night. The first year was extremely hard for us, me especially. Here we were, newly married, trying to make it through law school, barely squeaking by financially, and living with almost no support system at all. I remember many times seeing someone at the grocery store who looked friendly and just wanting to run up to them and say, "Hi, can I be your friend?" But, inspite of the difficulties, we learned so many wonderful lessons and grew so close to each other during that time. If we had had a huge group of friends, we wouldn't have been forced to rely so much upon the Lord and each other. In addition, going through this made us much more sensitive to others' loneliness. I have such a heart to reach out to those who appear lonely that I never would have developed had I not experienced acute loneliness myself. The Lord also used this time to open my eyes to how special good friends are. I think that up to this point, I'd always taken them for granted. I've never done so since. Anytime we are privileged to spend time with dear friends, I come away so thankful for the opportunity. We still do not have scores of friends here, but as time has gone on, things have gotten much easier. In fact, even though for the past two years many weeks have gone by with very little times of fellowship outside of church on Sunday, I rarely feel lonely anymore. One thing that helped me to get over my loneliness in the first place was to stop feeling sorry for myself. I stopped trying to create "something out of nothing," and started just enjoying my family. Instead of feeling sad when I wished we could have an evening of fellowship with other families and we had no one to invite, we'd have an evening of fun and fellowship as a family. I also realized that friends could never bring the fulfillment that only Christ could. Thirdly, I sought to make the most of every opportunity for fellowship. If someone needed help or if there was anything I could find to volunteer for, I signed up. I think the thing which has helped me the most is learning that "A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly." I realized that I had a selfish view of friendships. I want friends so that I could have fellowship, find encouragement, and so on. Although this is not bad, in and of itself, I realized that I had to stop looking at friendships as "What's in it for me?" and instead seek to reach out and help another person. As I started reaching out and giving, I found much blessing in return. As time has gone on, the Lord has brought friends into my life who I can fellowship with and be encouraged by. And God continues to bring more and more dear friends into my life. In fact, in the last month, I'm getting to the point of having to say "no" sometimes to fellowship opportunies! Hang in there, Melissa! God has a special plan and purpose for where He has you right now. Enjoy today and make the most of it. Pray for opportunities to minister to others, pray that the Lord would fill you up with His fullness, and be excited about what God has in store for you! I'd love to hear from others who have gone through lonely times in their life. What has helped you overcome loneliness? Any thoughts or encouragement for Melissa?
Heartfelt thanks
From an email Susan Godfrey sent to me late last week:
Crystal, Just wanted to let you know that we got the package with the notes in it today. It came at a good time for us to read the touching notes. We've decided to read them all this evening after we get back from the funeral home. The Lord has great timing! Again, thank you so much for doing this! -Susan
Thank you to everyone who participated. I was so excited at the response! It took me the better part of one morning to print and decorate all the notes because there were so many! May the Lord richly bless you all for blessing this dear, needy family!
Saturday sewing show-and-tell
Here's a rundown on my "sewing" projects for this week...  I completed the small babydoll blanket I was working on for Kathrynne. It didn't turn out as evenly as I would like, but since I'm such a beginning knitter, I was satisfied with the end result. The best part was that Kathrynne was thrilled with it and has had fun wrapping up her dollies in it.  I'm really excited about this child's scarf I'm making for Kathrynne (click to enlarge). It's made with Bernat Baby Bubbles yarn. It's extremely fun to work with and I'm thrilled with how it is turning out so far. I'm considering making one for myself, even. It is so soft and cute! This is an extremely easy pattern and I'm hoping to finish this in the next week. I'm still trying to figure out what to start next - so many patterns, so little time! What projects have you been working on? I'd love to hear about it! Comment with the link if you posted about it on your blog.
Radical Islam vs. radical Christianity: What do you think?
Is radical Islam the same as radical Christianity? Are Christians a threat to America? According to Rosie and the TV audience of The View, we are.I guess I am surprised and yet, I'm not. For one, if Christians and their beliefs are readily accepted by the world, something is wrong. For two, there is a major misunderstanding of what "separation of church and state" even means and the context in which it was first stated. However, to have a well-known figure compare radical Christianity to radical Islam on national television seems a little misplaced. After all, throughout the ages "radical" Christians are the ones who have laid down their lives for others. They have sacrificed and risked their lives for others. Quite the opposite of what we see happening through radical Islamic groups - those who willingly lay down their lives to take lives, not to save lives. Shannon has written an excellent letter to Barbara Walters which articulates a lot of what I would write (only Shannon says it much better!). I was thinking about encouraging you to write a letter but then I got to wondering: Is this a battle we should be trying to fight? I don't know. Is it worth it? Two years ago, I would have been up in arms about it and wanting everyone to blast off strong letters and emails to Barbara Walters and ABC asking for an apology. However, that was two years ago. I've changed a lot through blogging and interacting with so many people. I've been wondering how effective a barrage of letters to ABC would be. Sure, it would prove that we are out here and care about what is said about us. But, should we, as Christians, really care what ABC thinks? Could good come from a public apology from ABC? Is there a more effective approach? What do you think? I'd love to hear, if you'd care to share. However, please do not use the comments section to blast ABC or Barbara Walters or Rosie O'donnell. That, for sure, won't do any good.
Frugal Fridays: Frugal shipping
 Welcome to our second Frugal Friday! Last Friday was so much fun - all sorts of great tips and information on saving money was shared and I can hardly wait to read what you all will contribute this week! My frugal tip for today is on frugal shipping. Since for the last two years or so, we've been mailing out dozens of packages each week worldwide, I've picked up a thing or two on how to inexpensively mail items. Now I know that many of you probably don't mail dozens of packages each week, but we all have to mail things at least every once in a while. Here's what I've learned: - Always use USPS whenever possible. Unless you have a business and regularly ship items which weigh ten pounds or more, using any other service besides the U.S. Postal Service is not cost-effective. - Weigh your item before sealing up the package. Use bathroom scales, or better yet, invest in postal scales from eBay (they have many on there for under $20 - you can save that much in just 5-7 packages by having them and it is one of the best investments we've ever made!). Use this calculator to figure out what shipping options you have and make sure the current package you are using is the least expensive. - If your item weighs over one pound, use flat-rate Priority mailers. Unless you are shipping books or media matter with media mail service or books through bound printed matter mail service, (this calculator can tell you how long it will take to get there through each service) try to always use flat rate mailers. USPS offers large cardboard flat rate envelopes which mail - no matter what the weight - for $4.05. I can fit 2-4 books in these and save a few dollars per package. They also offer two different sizes of flat rate boxes which mail for $8.10 each. I am always amazed how much can be fit into these! Plus, you can get these mailers and boxes for free through USPS.com. In addition, if you mail Priority mail, you can print off shipping labels on your home computer and be eligible for home pick-up! It doesn't get much easier than that! Plus, you can save not only on postage, but also on shipping supplies, time, and gas costs! Flat-rate mailers and boxes can usually be picked up at your local post office, or you can order them completely free here and here. Priority mail has by far been the fastest and most reliable way to mail items for me. Plus, if you print shipping labels online, you can get free delivery confirmation - another plus. For foreign shipments, you can use Global Priority mailers which are usually $9 for most international packages and $7 to Canada. For those who do mail a lot of packages per week, I highly recommend getting an account through Stamps.com. I can't tell you how much of a life-saver this has been for us! You can sign up for a free 4-week trial here.This is all really basic and maybe you all already knew this, but I have been amazed at how many people didn't know about much of this and have wasted lots of money needlessly. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. -------------------------- Frugal Friday Fine-Print - Please read before posting:If you missed last week's Frugal Friday post, details and more information are here. Since there were a few misunderstandings, I wanted to clarify a few things: To participate, write up a blog post with a tip for how to be frugal or an idea for saving money or anything that somehow deals with frugality and link to this post in your post. Then, come here and leave the direct link to your "Frugal Friday" post underneath. Please do not link to your blog homepage but link directly to the post you are submitting. Be sure to write a short blurb on what your post is about in parenthesis. Any posts/links which are submitted which do not in some way relate to frugality and link to this post will be deleted. Anyone is welcome to participate. All I ask is that your post and website be family-friendly. Any questions? Just email me (click on the contact me button on the sidebar)! Now, on to your great tips! Leave your Frigal Friday link below! If you don't have a blog, feel free to leave a tip in the comments section.
Review: Fathers and Daughters
 Fathers and Daughters: Raising Polished Cornerstones by David Barrett and Elysse Barrett As you well know, I'm extremely particular when it comes to reading material on the role of young women I will readily endorse. There is so much unBiblical feministic fluff floating around, even in Christendom. Being somewhat unfamiliar with the Barretts before reading this book, I didn't know what to expect when I received a review copy. However, by about the 20th page, I had no doubt in my mind - this book was of an entirely different caliber than the aforementioned fluff. In fact, I didn't find a bit of fluff in it. Instead, father and daughter team David and Elysse shoot it straight. Using Scripture, Biblical examples, and personal testimonies, this book is packed with wise encouragement for fathers and daughters alike to embrace their God-given roles. From submission, to courtship, to jobs outside the home, to the role of an older unmarried daughter, their Biblical wisdom and insight shines through. David and Elysse don't give you the blueprint for "how every Christian daughter should live her life" (if only it were that easy!), instead they point you to Scripture, share their struggles and insights gained from those struggles, and paint a beautiful big picture of God's design for fathers and daughters. I wish that every Christian father, mother, and daughter could read this book. It would be an excellent book to share with your older sons who may someday be fathers of girls, too! From the publisher: As we look across the landscape of Christian families and Christian homes, there is one relationship which has been universally forgotten and forsaken -- that of fathers and their daughters. God designed it to be one of the most beautiful and powerful relationships that we can experience. As we seek to see the Godly family restored, we must not ignore the special bond that God creates between every girl and her daddy. David Barrett, and his twenty-one year-old daughter Elysse want to see Christian families be all that God designed for them to be... and it starts with the restoration of a father's heart toward his daughter and a daughter towards her father! (Malachi 4:6) Laugh and cry with David and his daughter Elysse as they open the door to their home and their relationship. Allow them to share with you their struggles and successes as they have sought to make Jesus Christ Lord of their father-daughter relationship. In more than a dozen topics, David shares about their unique relationship through the eyes of a father, while Elysse looks at their life and dreams through a daughter's heart. This book is written for fathers and daughters of all ages, as David and Elysse reflect on over twenty years of growing, learning, and sharing as Dad and daughter. For more information or to purchase, click here.
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