My own kids have been helping to do their own laundry since they were 3 and 4 years old.   I just thought I would share this cute video of  Jendi’s children doing laundry.  I think you’ll really enjoy it! (And hopefully be inspired.)

By the way, this is a great summer time “training” project…which should help relieve stress during the busy school year if you have older children.

*You can visit Jendi’s blog, by clicking here.

Note: By the way if you’re interested in doing your own Vlogging (video blogging), Jendi offers some great tips!  Check it out by clicking here.

“Because Mom Makes them Better” was my youngest son’s quote this morning immediately after my middle son said that it was better than Braums.   I don’t know if I could exactly compete with Braums, but the price sure is better. (BIG GRIN)

You may be surprised that I served this for breakfast.  For a quick breakfast, I used to feed them some bananas with peanut butter smoothed over the top with a small glass of milk. Suddenly, I thought, why not make breakfast super special by serving it all mixed in a smoothie! (Great idea, mom!)

Here’s the pic, to entice you a bit…

Note: I found these three glasses at the thrift store for 49 cents each.  I swiped them up to make our smoothies a little more special.   We were praising God for a special find…because the fact is there were just three of them….which made me think immediately of my 3 sons.

Here’s the original recipe:

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

• 1 cup milk

• 1/4 cup P.B.

• 1 ripe banana

• 2 tsp. maple syrup

• 4 ice cubes

Use blender to mix till smooth & creamy.

To make enough for my boys:

I toss in 3 bananas, 3 tsp.maple syrup, 2 or 3 cups milk, 3 large hunks of P.B. with my spatula, and 8 -10 ice cubes.

Tip: About 15 – 30 minutes before making our smoothies, I toss the bananas in the freezer to get them really cold.  You can also use frozen bananas that are getting a little soft and store them up just for banana smoothies.  Just slice into frozen chunks and toss into the blender.

Yes, the peanut butter can be a little fattening, but oh, it adds such a nice thick, rich texture like a Braums treat. Big $avings!

As busy moms, we use all kind of excuses for not praying.  The most common excuse is that “I just don’t have the time to pray!”.  Does that sound familiar to you? Prayer plays a vital role in our relationship with the Heavenly Father.  When we make excuses not to pray we are telling God He is not that important to us.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Pray without ceasing.“  Prayers do not have to be long or eloquent in words, but we can certainly see that prayer should be very frequently…as a continual state or attitude of prayer.

Keep in mind that prayer is not just a time to ask God for something, but more importantly, it’s a time to praise and thank God for the things He has done in our lives.  We should also pray for others who have needs.  We can pray constantly throughout our day.   A prayer can be something as quick and simple as, “Thank you God for allowing me to miss that traffic accident on the highway” while we’re driving,  or a simple prayer while cleaning house,  “Thank you, Heavenly Father, for giving me strength to clean up that mess.”

You don’t have to speak out loud to pray. Remember God knows every thought in our minds.  Nothing is hidden from Him.  It is easy to say a quick prayer while getting ready for the day, before meals, while driving, or even at the grocery store.  Stuck in traffic?  Use your time to pray!

While the quick and simple prayers are great, you still need to make sure to spend some quality time with the Lord in your prayer closet.  A number of Christians do this first thing in the morning (we often do our top priorities first, and this is one of our top priorities so you may need to rise a a few minutes earlier than normal if you have a busy schedule ahead).

Another great time for quality prayer is before going to sleep at night.  Set aside a few minutes of prayer and do nothing but pour your heart out to God.  Praise Him, thank Him, ask Him.  You’ll also want to choose your quality times to bring out your prayer journal to remember others in prayer. (I’ll write soon about keeping a prayer journal.)

By continually praying you will see your personal relationship with the Heavenly Father begin to grow.  Prayer can help take worries away, reduce stress, and give you peace.  The Lord Jesus wants to help carry our burdens. Having a regular prayer life with the Lord will change your life.

I want to challenge you this coming week to spend more time in prayer.  Please feel free to share your comments about your own prayer time or share about your own answered prayers.  Let’s encourage each other!

About my day:

My 3 boys have made me feel very special today with all the hugs and “Mom, I love you” expressions.  I received a couple of flowers, a card, a nice & cold frappuccino and didn’t have to cook breakfast (my hubby bought the boys donuts for this morning.)  I also received a little gift package from my secret sister and she did a terrific job of choosing all the favorite things that I like.

For lunch I requested my traditional Mother’s Day meal:  A Braum’s hamburger and a butter pecan malt.   I told my boys the story behind the “butter pecan malts”… After I gave birth to each of my babies, my hubby would bring me a butter pecan malt to the hospital.  It was my first requested “meal” if you can call that a meal? (Whatever the answer is to that, I’m still smiling content here.)

I want to personally wish every mom reader here a “Happy Mother’s Day.”   I hope this day you feel as special as you are!

Attending a birthday party yesterday for a young boy in our church gave me a new awakening.   After our arrival, my two youngest boys immediately headed out to play with the group of kids that were there to enjoy the birthday party at the park.

My oldest, who is turning 14 tomorrow, lingered at the edge of the sidewalk simply gazing at the children who were playing with enthusiasm on the playground.   It struck me hard for the first time that my son really is growing up fast.  I sort of missed seeing him out there playing and running around on the playground.

My oldest son has certainly been a blessing to me.  He loves to help me and still isn’t too big to give me a hug and say, “I love you, Mom”.   If my hubby and I need any “technical” support on the computer, then he is the “go to” man for help.   Above all, if he grows up serving the Lord, then I shall be one happy, content Mother!  (I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. ~ III Jn. 1:4)

We decided to celebrate my son’s 14th birthday early, and so I made a really easy recipe since it was getting late last night.  It’s name is simply, “Chocolate Oil Cake“.  I actually cut the sugar in half, and it was still very enjoyable for us, especially with the delicious chocolate fudge frosting on top.  I’ve shared the simple recipe below with the original ingredients…

Chocolate Oil Cake

1 c. buttermilk (or 1 cup milk with 1 TB of vinegar)

3/4 c. oil

2 eggs

2 c sugar

2 heaping tsp. soda

2 c. flour

1/2 c. cocoa

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

Combine ingredients and beat well.  Add the vanilla last.

Bake 350 degrees about 35 min. in 9X13 pan.

Tips for Moist Cakes

I searched online to find a few suggestions for baking “moist” cakes and I thought I would share them with you.  If you have any additional tips or hints, please share them with the readers here.

- Check your cake a few minutes before time is up to prevent overbaking.

- Store your cake in an airtight container.

- One suggestion I found is to bake your cake in advance, let it cool completely, then cover with plastic wrap, store it in the freezer overnight and then take it out the next day to frost it.

- An additional suggestion I found is that you use “cake flour” if possible. (Add 2 tablespoons more of CAKE FLOUR for each cup of all-purpose flour called for in the recipe.)

As I young child, I remember being taught the value of keeping one’s promises.  “A man’s only as good as his word,” was the saying I often heard…

Don’t you love the fact, that God keeps ALL of His promises!?!  Still yet we see the rainbow which reminds us of the promise He made after Noah’s flood.

God’s Word assures us…

Titus 1:2, “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.”

Matthew 5:18, “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”

A little personal story…

Just for fun, I wanted to share little personal story from my childhood days.

When I was in second and third grade, I often slept with my Raggedy Ann. During thunder storms, I hugged her tightly. Having no brothers or sisters, it was so comforting to be able to talk to her at night.

After having a man come to our home to demonstrate the value and importance of new smoke detectors in case of fires…and being shown terrifying slides of the devastation that fires can do to one’s home…I began to make solemn promises to my Raggedy Ann that if ever a fire were to take place in our home… I would NOT leave her behind…I would escape with HER tightly in my arms.

Today, I still have her…and she resides in my kitchen. I still smile when I see her and am reminded of those nights that I talked with her as a little girl. I imagine she holds some secrets that never another ear has heard…except my Heavenly Father above.

Do you remember how it felt when your close friend shared a secret with you?  Didn’t it make you feel kind of special?  Even privileged and honored that your friend trusted you with her valuable secret?

On a deeper level, I believe it created a closer bond between the two of you…after all, you both shared some secret information that none of the rest the world around you knew.

I love to share secrets with my boys.  I like making them feel like they’re really special to me when I share something that nobody else knows.  For instance, last night I shared a simple secret with my 12-year-old son.  I whispered quietly to him that I have a pumpkin pie hidden in the back of the fridge for Wednesday night after church.  I could tell that he was thrilled.  He promised that he wouldn’t tell anyone…and I know that I can trust him.

Of course, I do this with all of my boys from time to time.  I share silly secrets that really don’t mean anything…but they still seem to make my boys feel special.  On the other hand, I’ve also had a serious discussion with them about when one should keep information to themselves and occasions when one should tell information that they know.

Sharing fun, silly secrets with your children can be so enjoyable.  You’ll even find yourself feeling like a little kid again, too…sharing little giggles, whispers, winks, and those little mischievous grins.

Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands. ~ Proverbs 14:1

I read the above verse to my Sunday school girls this morning. They’re not too young to learn what an awesome opportunity we have as Christian ladies to build our house with our words and our actions.  Sadly, too many married women may make the choice to throw in the towel and wave her hands wearily exclaiming that she’s given up. 

America wails about the trees and the whales…but where are the determined campaigns to save the homes and the broken hearts of the children?

Homes are being torn apart every single day.  According to statistics for America, the divorce rate is constantly climbing.  Statistics show that first time marriages fail at the rate of 41%, second time marriages fail at 60%, and third time marriages fail at 73%.

The price…the broken pieces of these statistics are the children. The article, “18 Shocking Statistics about Children and Divorce” should cause one to realize the worth of the previous statement.

As married women and mothers, we need to dig our heels in the dirt!  We need to determine that Satan will not have our marriage, our children, our home!!!

“A wise woman buildeth her house.“  “Buildeth” is the present simple form of “build”.  It takes constant work.  We need to determine to keep building…plugging away….working at it.  That, of course, means we will have to keep working on our marriage and with determination keep learning what we can do to be a better wife and mother.

Putting God first to become the best Christians that we possibly can be will help us become the best wives and mothers that we can be as well.   Ladies, there’s power in prayer…so keep praying.  Dig in the Word of God…and then dig your heels in the dirt and stay there!

From the time I was a little girl I’ve had a genuine interest in collecting “stuff”.

Could it be hereditary?

My dad was a genuine collector of paper and envelopes.  The best part was that his hobby was absolutely free.  Incoming junk mail provided for his growing collection without a single cent forked out on his part.

I really love my dad!  He’s progressed over the years to collecting computer parts.  He’s a pro when it comes to messing with computers and putting old parts together to create new usable computers.  I’m enthused over his talent, but I think my mother is slightly weary of his ever-growing collection of parts in the garage. (I don’t blame her though; my hubby has quite a few growing collections that I wouldn’t mind disappearing. lol)

During my third grade year, I took up collecting stamps.  My wonderful mother supported my interest by allowing me to confiscate every stamp from incoming mail.  I learned to soak them and safely remove them from the envelopes. For years, I continued watch for new releases of stamps from the post office and watched intently over my growing collection.  I also collected a few other odds and ends such as some coins and pretty rocks.

When I was first married, I gained an interest in collecting Coca-Cola items for my kitchen.  Soon,  my kitchen was swamped with lots of this terrific “stuff”.  My passion has slowly turned to things that take up less space and require less commitment, such as my wooden spoons. (view picture here) And as you can see above, I have a very small collection of praying hands.

I think most human beings find a fascination in collecting “stuff”.  Collecting a variety of like items tends to offer such simple enjoyment…

Of course, it’s collecting something that you have a passion about that makes you a true genuine collector.  I mean, who could find a thrill about collecting worms if you hated them?  I think really it’s the “hunt” for the next item to add to one’s collection that adds to thrill of it all.

I believe collections are valuable (not necessarily in the sense of money value)…they inspire conversation and allow you to connect with others who have the same interest.  They allow you to relax for a moment and just enjoy the simple things in life.

I’m just wondering what sort of collections or fun hobbies that my readers have?  Please share with us here.  I would love to hear from you!

There’s just something so endearing about family traditions!

Family traditions connect your family together and create pleasant memories that last a life time.

Don’t just wait for Christmas time to roll around when it comes to creating family traditions….get creative and create a few that you can enjoy year around!

Traditions can be as simple as doing a puzzle or game together on a certain night.   Long ago I created Fridays as “I Love You Day“.   It’s always been a surprise what that might be…for instance, a piece of chocolate left at their spot on the table.  I created it so that my boys would have something to look forward to and also as a symbol that showed them how much I loved them.

If you have some family traditions, I would love for you to share them here with other moms.  Your ideas can help inspire others.