From Cindy's Heart

Keep Your Focus! Making the Most of Your Holidays! Part One

Keep Your Focus! Making the Most of Your Holidays! Part Two

Just TOO Busy with Cindy Rushton

 

Each week we offer you a free audio Mp3 for you to listen to during your chores or Mommy walk. These audios are FREE. Just download straight from this email or go online to our archives to download.

Just Too Busy!

Choosing the Best and Letting Go of the Rest 

With Cindy Rushton

 

Anybody else battling with the opportunities for your daily schedule? Struggling with all of the great choices? This time of year is not the only time that we battle with being too busy. I really believe that we are constantly bombarded with choices, options, and opportunities.  Join me as we look at what is really important and learn how to choose the best and let go of the rest!

 

Download by Mp3
Part One

Part Two

 

Don't Forget!

Time to Talk-a-Latte!

 We have a super line-up scheduled for our Fall Talk-a-Latte Session! Check out our Fall Online Seminars:

 

Language Arts the Easy Way with Cindy Rushton

Get the Fire with Elisabeth Rushton

MORE Secrets to Victorious Living with Lucia Claborn

Notebooking: Sure to Addict You TOO! with Cindy Rushton

High School! YES! It CAN Be Easy Too with a FULL line-up of great speakers

Quiet Times for the Busy, Stressed, Distracted, Dry Gals with Cindy Rushton

 

Sound great? You will LOVE these studies!!

Learn More Here

We have a SEASON PASS!  You can join ALL of our Fall Talk-a-Latte Seminars for just $99.95! Purchase your Season Pass today!

From MY Kitchen to Yours: EASY Recipes Perfect for This Week!

 

 

Ready for a treat? Every year we have the following meal for our lunch meal at Thanksgiving and Christmas. I make plenty to have left-overs for a week! This is pretty much the same menu that my mother always has for her holiday menu, only I have added in a few Rushton favorites to my menu! Hope you enjoy!

 

Download at... 

http://www.CindyRushton.com/pdfs/HolidayMenu.pdf 

 

 Gearing Up for the Holidays?

 

Check out our resources:

 

Christ-Centered Christmas by Cindy Rushton

http://www.cindyrushton.com/ChristCenteredChristmas.html 

 

Crock-Pot Cooking  compiled by Cindy Rushton

http://www.cindyrushton.com/CrockPotCooking.html

 

Ultimate Mommy Menu Planner

compiled by Cindy Rushton

http://www.cindyrushton.com/UMMPEBOOK.html

 

 

Let's Take the Busy Out of the Holiday Season!

Let's Get Ready for Christmas

 

Let's Get Ready for Christmas

A Talk-a-Latte Chat With Kerry Beck and Cindy Rushton

Join us as we go home with my friend, Kerry Beck. This is one awesome interview! One of my most favorite ever!
 
Kerry shares with us a vision for a Christ-Centered,
family-centered, ministry centered Christmas. You will not come away the same! She shares some of her sweetest memories through the years, some of her favorite family traditions, and some very  practical ideas for making this Christmas season the very best  ever! She gave so many practical ideas that you will find yourself  equipped for the season! You will be fired and inspired! Join us today!
 
Sound great? Join us! AND...tell a friend or two! It is DEFINITELY worth the download!

 

Let's Get Ready for Christmas with Kerry Beck  

  

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SHOW NOTES:  

 

Check Out Kerry's NEWEST Book (BOOKS!)!

See them here! 

 When you order, you can request our Crock-Pot Cooking or Christ-Centered Christmas for FREE. Email with your receipt!

See Kerry's NEW Homeschooling Book
(Well...SET of books!) MUSTS!
Leadership Education

 

Mother's Day Gift Ideas!

Traveling Tips...

Oh! I am pumped about these ideas! These ideas were shared on my blog. They are SUPER! You guys are truly the most incredible bunch of gals in the world--am I partial...of course! These tips are just super! All of you will enjoy them! Ready to travel? Let us help!

Traveling Tips
Posted by Lila Catrett

As a mother of three who travels with her husband for work (he's union and we get sent everywhere!) I have found some tips that make those long rides a bit easier on us. We have been traveling for close to 5 years for work and have gone to many different cities and states and those long rides used to be tough. Now that I have taken the time to look over what my children are interested in and what will excite them during a trip we have easier trips that are more exciting. Here are the tips that I would suggest to any family traveling. (My tips might not fit those with older children as I have a 7yr, 4yr, and a 2yr with whom we have traveled with since the birth of the 4yr old).

1. Have the children help you plan your route. Kids like maps and if you allow them to help you plan the route it helps them know where they are going.

2. Give the older children their own (simple) map and help them highlight where you are going. When you stop to use the restroom, take a break, or eat, then help them find it on the maps (yours and thiers) and allow them to put a star where you have stopped. This helps them visualize "how much further" and it gives them a sense of ownership.

3. Play "I spy." Some will get bored with this quick and others will want to be the one who asks the questions. I go further and when they ask me to spot something (ex. something green that is going fast (the answer is supposed to be a truck that is on the highway and I know this) I will say "Oh! It's the grass because we are driving fast, right?" They get a good laugh out of the answers I give and because they have "tricked" me.

4. Bring pencils and a notebook for each child. I like to dull the pencils, even when I resharpen during our ride I dull them by scribbling really rough. Then write a shape, letter, or number and ask them to draw something out of that shape that they would see on a road trip. They'll do the same for you and you will also draw for them.

5. Bring along a silly song tape or cd and sing in the most hilarious sounding voice you can. Change the tempo by singing slow or fast. The kids will love this and begin to be a bit silly themselves. (This one has helped us when the babies have cried, for some reason when you make silly faces and sing extrememly off key it brings a smile to thier face, and what is better than that?)

6. Bring along a bag of books. I know reading in a vehicle makes some sick (it sure does me and my oldest but, we get car sick anyways!) and have most of the books be picture books. Ask them to find something in the book that they have seen on the trip. If they find something and are right they get one point. See how many points they have by the end of the drive.

7. Make up a story about your trip using one sentance at a time. Each person says one sentence to add to the story as I write it down. I will start it out usually with "Today we are taking a trip to....(name of place)." Then my children will go one by one and make up a short sentence to add. At the end we usually have a silly story that makes less than perfect sense (which is the whole fun of it) and I will read it to them for a good laugh.

8. Play "where are you from Mr. Tag?" It's a game where we try to find as many tags (license plates) from different states. Sometimes we'll even make up a list of states and by each state we'll mark it and by the end of the trip we'll get to see how many states were seen the most.

9. Give the kids a camera. A camera in the car? Yes, as long as the flash isn't real bright and it's not in the middle of the night it should be fine (depending on your level of tolerance) and let them take pictures of one another making faces, smiling, or even pictures of what is outside thier window. (Of course, if letting them take pictures of outside their window then teach them to put thier finger over the flash so as not to have the flash in the window for the picture.)

10. Play "If I were a...." (Ex. If I were a construction worker making this road I would have made it with less turns so as to make it safer.) The purpose of this is to find something along your way that you see and then tell everyone what you would do if you were it. I go a bit further with this and ask questions of "what, if, who...etc" to to along with it to help them build on thier story.

Well, that is only ten of my suggestions. I have tons of them but, that is the ten that I can think of here at 5am. Hope that was of some help to someone who will need to travel with little ones. Always, bring a good healthy snack and a few drinks (preferably juice boxes for the lack of mess) and enjoy yourself on the ride...it's not as fun to ride a long distance if you can't be silly!

Enjoy your day and God Bless!

~Lila

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Travel Tips
Posted by Lyn Carradine

To prep for a trip, we thoroughly clean the house. (I can't bear to come home to a mess that's a week or two old, can you?) We sort through the kids' clothing making sure everyone has plenty of socks and other essentials for the trip. (This avoids the smell resulting from a 10yo who hasn't changed socks for 3 days b/c he only brought 1 pair.) We visit the library to get lots of great books on CD or tape for listening on the drive, and then we buy trip food...

Everyone gets to pick their favorite travel food. Trail mix, the chips that come in a can, ginger snaps, chewy fruit candies, and bite-size cheesy crackers are most popular. Bottled water is essential for traveling since it helps protect little tummies from the upset caused by changing water supplies. We also pick up sliced meat and cheese as well as tortillas to make roll-up sandwiches for lunches on the road. Granola bars and juice boxes make great breakfast food if we aren't fortunate enough to get a room in a place that serves a free breakfast. The perishable stuff goes in a small cooler before we hit the road...

One trick that helps keep the drive more peaceful is to mix-up the seating arrangements. Since dad does almost all the driving, mom moves around sharing a seat with different children. (Seems like everyone plays nicer and rests better with mommy next to them.) The older kids take turns riding up front and helping dad with the map which is fun for them as well.

Lyn

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Posted by Abiga51

Hi Cindy,

Our family's favorite trips are reunions. My children's favorite memories when they were young were when we would go to a cottage in the woods in Indiana. We would fish, swim, hike, eat, and play games. Since they are grown now and we all don't live near each other we have started having get togethers in an area where we can all meet. The latest one we had was last month at a cabin in Colorado. Half of us drove east and the other half drove west to meet there. Near Colorado Springs there are many attractions open year round for indoor or outdoor adventure. We went to Garden of the Gods, an enclosed ghost town, a waterfall, Focus on the Family Center, drank some of the seven natural springs in Manitou Springs, and just plain mountain sightseeing. When back at the cabin we would gab in the hot tub or work on a puzzle together. By sharing the cabin in off season we saved a lot of money and the weather was warm some days and beautiful other days with falling snow. Now we are making new memories with the grandkids. Even granny 81 years old went on this trip and hiked up a hill with us. In the works are plans for the next six month get together. Blessings!

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Travelling-25 hours

Posted by LoriLynn

When our boys were 4 and 5 we took them on a 25 hour drive from our home in Pennsylvania to my husband's boyhood home in Northern Minnesota. Once there, we would spend a week visiting family and seeing all the sites from Daddy's stories. But getting there...in a four door sedan...with two car seats...in the Summer...across five states...THAT was a different story. Actually, the drive was my favorite part of this trip. Here's why:

1. We broke the trip up into three small trips instead of ONE long trip. We did the first leg of just 6 hours on the first afternoon, ending at a hotel with an indoor pool. The next day was longer, 12 hours, but ended at a great hotel and the promise of touring "The Mall of America" in Southern MN the next day. The third leg was just four hours to the North after two nights at a lovely hotel and a fun time at the Mall.

2. On the long day, we filled it with surprises. Because the boys were so
little, we stopped often, every two hours at least. I stocked up on new little toys and games (many from the Dollar Store or thrift stores). Every time we stopped, the boys got something "new" to play in their back seat. They never complained ONCE about getting back into the car.

3. For meals, we stopped at road side stops and had picnics giving the boys time to run around and burn off some steam. If the weather was inclement, we chose fast food restaurants that had play lands. We took our time for meal stops giving all of us time for a break.

4. We borrowed a portable VCR from friends at church. Now, of course, you would probably borrow a DVD. Along with some of the little surprises mentioned in #2, we added a new video to keep the boys attention.

5. We stuck to their normal schedule. Our boys still napped when we travelled and we kept their nap times. We would turn off the radio or VCR and give them pillows to lean on, then require them to close their eyes. They always fell asleep and although it was not as long as a nap at home, it was enough to refresh them.

I know this is long, but it really worked for us and made for a very pleasant long car trip. I hope it can help someone.

Lori Lynn

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Traveling Tips
by Donna Pheneger

When we used to travel in our rv, space was a precious commodity.

We purchased rectangular plastic basin and fitted them with wooden tops that slid on and off. That way, they could keep their belongings like their atlases and brochures, pencils and logs, in the tub and have a sold base on which to write.

Blessings
Donna Pheneger

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From the Rushtons...
by Cindy Rushton

As many of you know we travel with our businesses almost every week of the year--this year we have had a few extra weeks at home for projects that desperately needed to be completed. Anyway...we have tried to make our trips fun for our children through the years. They have been SO sacificial that we wanted for them to have a great time with each trip. Here are just a small listing of things that we have done to make our trips easy and fun for our children (and us!)....

==> Backpacks... Everyone in our family is allowed a bag of things just for themselves. It can include toys (now the kids are older, so toys are not in their bags )...audios with audio players...journals or notebooks... books...etc. It has always been neat to peek at what they brought along. Usually their backpacks are always filled with something that they are the most excited about. Traveling is a great time to enjoy it uninterrupted!

==> Travel journals... We began these when I was trying to teach my children about Geography. We began collecting postcards and mementos from our trips. Talk about a great record of our family times!

==> Toys... We have been on the road so much of our children's childhood. One of the sweetest memories we have were around Elisabeth's "babies." She began collecting a doll each year when she was tiny. Her favorite babies of all time were her Lee Middleton Babies. They wore REAL baby clothes and LOOKED real! I remember her "working" for me to earn the money for her very own baby stroller--yep! the REAL kind! She shopped and shopped for a stroller until finally finding one that had a car-seat included. She was THRILLED with the fact that her "investment" could do both--stroll the babies and have place in the truck just for them! We made room in the trailer for Elisabeth's dolls and their "essentials" for years. It made the trip more fun for her, while carrying a part of home with her. The guys will tell you it was DEFINITELY a part of our home! ha!

==> Books... Yes! Trips were the perfect time for read-alouds. The children were captive in more than one way! We have sweet memories of great books. Plus, there is something about reading that just makes the time slip by!

==> Number game... This is actually a new game that we learned from the Claborn children. We had so much fun playing with them that we have continued this one on our own. You begin with 1 and as you find the number in signs/tags/etc that you pass, you go to the next number. The object is to find as many numbers in order as you can. The numbers have to be in sequential order--unless you make up your own rules . We made it to 100 and began again. Talk about a fun hunt!

==> Quiet time goodies There is nothing as nice as a nice, long quiet time in the car! I bought the kids a bag with their goodies each years ago. They both keep their Bibles in their Bible Bag (Matthew's is a cool camoflauge case for his Bible) and carry it everywhere. They have a Bible journal and pens/highlighters in their Bible Bag. They have learned the habit of snatching those moments along the way. A nice long trip gives plenty of time to dig into a study along the way.

==> Laptops... As the kids got older, they became hooked on research and writing. Both love to blog. Elisabeth just recently earned her own laptop after months of hard work. She has already written many songs, several articles, and now her first complete books (well, real books!). Talk about keeping you busy on a long trip. We have always had power inverters (very reasonably priced) for plugging in our laptops and electronics during the long rides. I have written several books during our time on the road. Sure makes the power inverters worth a bunch to me.

==> TV/VCR...I mentioned the power inverters...Well, years ago, the children decided to work extra jobs for our business to earn the money for a TV/VCR unit. It was a great investment for them! On those long, long trips, I have sweet memories (any mom knows what a miracle that is!) of the children preparing their goodies for the trip. I remember one that Elisabeth asked us how long it would be and Matthew piped up, "The way I figure this...it will be 3 John Waynes and 2 Shirley Temples..." (convenient for him! ha!). Still cracks me up! But! Kept them from arguing or getting bored!

==> Food... We learned early on that the best way to keep moving and to save money on our trips was to carry coolers with food along with us. Because many of our trips have been to conventions and conferences, we also learned that if we did not carry healthy food, we would get sick more often. Sooo, for every trip we carry one large cooler with drinks--water, juice, Gatorade, soft-drinks (now, no one in our family drinks soft drinks). We carry another cooler with fresh veges, fruit, sandwich meats and condiments, etc. I cannot tell you how yummy these are in the midst of fast food or long hours working. A must!

==> School in a bag... And...you all probably knew that we could not travel like we do and homeschool without our homeschool resources. So, how do we do it? We made homeschooling easy and very focused. Each of our children keep their resources in one bag. They carry one notebook that holds all of their work and any supplies until we can get home to divide them into their other notebooks. They also carry their books that they are studying and any supplies needed. Travel time early in the morning or even during the day is a great time for studies. Seems like the studies and the trip both go by faster.

==> Cameras! Yep! I cannot end without mentioning that we are addicted to scrapbooking and photo journaling. I think that has been one reason my children love to blog! We take pictures of everything along the way. What a treasure! PLUS! Keeps attitudes in check when they know we can take pictures at any minute!

I could go on and on too...but these have been some of our mainstays!

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Let's Get Fit and Healthy! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/CindyRushton/125678/

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READY FOR A TREAT??? EASTER TRADITIONS!

Talk about a treat! The following ideas come from entries to my blog
(http://www.HomeschoolBlogger.com/CindyRushton) this week. You are going to LOVE them! Talk about ideas that will inspire you to make a sweet memory this weekend! These are the best! So...slow down this weekend and make a memory. These will be the days that your children will remember when they look back on their childhood!


==> Favorite Easter Memory--by the Rabybunch...

It was on an Easter Sunday morning when I received Christ as my Lord and Savior at age 5 in 1970! I will never forget that day! Easter has always been very special to my family. When I was growing up, each year my Mother took my Sister and me shopping for a new Easter dress, shoes, maybe a hat and a purse; it was a time to get very dressed up for church, since it was a celebration of Christ's death and resurrection. No other Sunday was this special. I carry this "tradition" on with my own children!

==> Easter Memories--by Annette in Maine

I havee always enjoyed Sunrise service for Easter. Getting up is not fun-
but the adventure of being together early in the moring and then having
breakast at the church is a special treat. Growing up in Maine also adds
an extra dimension to new Easter clothes- what sweater to wear to with
your new dress and are snow boots part of the outfit? Cindy thanks so much for your ministry- I've been struggling with how I approach homeschooling and I finally feel that there is hope! Have a great Easter, Annette in Maine

(From Cindy...Annette, thanks! This is SO sweet! I have my NEW outfit ready for Sunday. That has also been a BIG tradition for my family from the time I was a little girl! We always counted days until we could wear our new SPRING goodies! Usually Mama made our dresses and made my dress to match sister. She always got us a pretty spring hat or bonnet. Such sweet memories! Sunday is the day for white here! Humm...I may need to get a hat this year!)

==> Favorite Resurrection Day Tradition and Memory--by Gmisch

I grew up with my mom making a lamb cake every year, and we memorized the verse “And John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Behold, the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world!”

After I got married, I HAD to find a lamb cake pan and keep up the tradition! Now that my folks and I go to the same church (they moved back home) my mom and I take turns making it. It has become a tradition in our church, to the point that the other kids in the church have to know if the lamb cake is coming! We use blue m&m’s for the eyes, brown ones for the mouth, red for the nose, and dye coconut green to go around the base of the lamb for grass!

==> Easter Traditions--REInvestor...

We color eggs the week of Easter and then pull out the Ressurection Eggs. We got them from CBD and there are 12 eggs which each have a item related to the story of Christ's death and resurrections. We also watch the Jesus video (the only time I let the kids do this. I don't want them to be so used to the seeing the story that it loses its impact). Some years we also celebrate Passover, which we will do this year as it falls on Thurs with the first even on Wed.

==> Our Easter Traditions--HeatherD76...

Every year we use to get up before dawn for an outdoor sunrise service
and then everyone headed over to my Nana's house for dinner and a huge egg hunt. Now that my Nana has past on, we gather at my home for dinner and have added games as well as the annual egg hunt.

==> First Off--by Jaybird...

...that casket joke is the best thing I've heard in days!! And Easter
memories? My dad would be the candy hider and there were always a few peanut eggs that we wouldn't find until June!!! Now that I am the momma, though....I love teaching my kiddos about the real meaning of Easter. But, I do love the thought of being the one to make Easter brunch and pick out new Easter clothes, too!

(From me...ha! I thought that was a funny too! For those of you who are
wondering, "WHAT JOKE?" Check out my blog. I try to share funnies as I find those that are just too tempting! This was a GREAT joke! OH! And...don't you love those "hidden goodies" that surface MONTHS later? ha! Easter just would not be the same without those stories! )

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AREN'T THESE GREAT?

Thanks for posting your ideas! You guys are THE BEST! Each of you have made this issue super special! Soooo, as a treat for you, please take a look at my Ebook list (see it here: http://www.CindyRushton.com/Ebookinfo.html) and choose which
Ebook you would like the most. Email me (Cindy@CindyRushton.com) with your title and I will send a link as a special THANKS for your Easter ideas! 

How About an Easter Basket? by Cindy Rushton

Ready for Easter? We are on the countdown! Just a couple of days now!

Getting ready? OR still struggling to find some ideas for special goodies for those in your home? How about a quick idea list of goodies for your Easter Baskets? Just take a peek at these ideas. You are sure to find some great ideas for those on your shopping list who are tough to shop for!

==> Candy...Well, YEAH! Not necessarily the goodies that are "pushed" this time of year! My sweetheart and children enjoy some of those goodies, but their favorites are really priced the best. We stock up on all of their favorites at our local dollar store. They have great big packages for only $1 each. We buy a whole bunch of their favorites--not only is it yummy, but it blesses them to know that we pay attention to the things that they love enough to remember.

==> Perfumes and Lotions...Yep! This is always a treat for my daughter, mom, sister. Elisabeth was saying the other day that her favorite treats are those that she can use every day of the year. Think she was hinting to me? ha! Yep! Tonight we snuck by the mall to buy her favorite perfume. (Shhhhh...)  Nothing could be a sweeter treat for her. Got a teen? A young teen? Take the afternoon at the local mall and go for a perfume hunt! Pay attention to what they really like. Then, sneak away to get their favorite treat. They will DEFINITELY love it!

==> Books...This is ALWAYS my pick! Give me a great book and I am content for hours! These make wonderful basket stuffers.

==> Videos...Yep! This has been a tradition from the time that our children were babies. We have always been very, very picky about what they watch on TV/movies. For years, we did not have cable TV or satellite. As they got older, we felt that it would be great to get some of the channels that feature great programs for learning. In those early years, we used the holidays as an "excuse" to buy new videos. Now, we still use them as a special time to invest in videos perfect for the whole family. Hummm...what would a holiday be like if we did not have a
neat family video to cuddle up and watch???

==> Quiet Time Goodies...Oh! YES! Another tradition! We try to keep our children in new Bibles. Both of them "purpose" to use their Bibles--making them their own. By this, I mean that they really do use their Bibles. They read from them every day. They mark verses that are special to them as they read and study. They use their Bibles with the intention of "wearing them out" rather than keeping them as a novelty.  We promise to buy them another JUST AS SOON as they wear out these!  Also, we have tried to keep them stocked up with great quiet time resources--devotional books, Bible Study resources, quote books, biographies of great men and women of God, etc. These make great Easter Basket goodies. Not to mention, add in the tools needed for a great quiet time--pens, pencils, highlighters, "Post-it" notes, new journals, etc. These make super goodies for the Easter Basket!

==> Stationery...Perfect for stuffing the Easter Baskets! Plus, what could be a better way to encourage your children to make time for the lost art of letter writing? Include stationery, pens, stickers, etc. They will love it!

==> Don't forget Dad!! Fishing lures...bullets for target practice...candy...romance goodies...a gift certificate to their favorite store (sporting goods...or computer store???)...homemade cookies/candy...homemade "I owe you ---" or "love-certificates" ...etc.

About Cindy Rushton…

Cindy Rushton is the wife of Harold Rushton and the mother of Matthew (18) and Elisabeth (15) who have always been homeschooled. Matthew graduated in 2005. Cindy lives in the beautiful mountains of North Alabama in her dream cedar cabin. Cindy is the author of 1,000's of articles and over 80 books, Bible studies and homeschool resources. She edits and publishes two magazines, Time for Tea and Homeschooling The Easy Way. She has become a beloved and favored speaker for church retreats and Bible Studies, homeschool conventions and retreats across our country. You may contact her through email: time4tea@hiwaay.net. 

See her online at:

http://www.CindyRushton.com
http://www.CindysDesktop.com
http://www.HomeschoolBlogger.com/CindyRushton
http://www.Mom2MomDiscussion.com
http://www.MomtoMomRadioShow.com
http://www.MomtoMomPodcast.com

Travel Tips Anyone???

Travel Tips Anyone???

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Share YOUR favorite travel tips! 

How do you survive those long, long trips...
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How do you keep the little ones content and happy???
Share your travel recipes???
How do you deal with the "outlaws" when you visit???

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Easter Egg-stravaganza!

Bunnies and Ham and Eggs, Oh My! by Tawra Kellam and Jill Cooper

Golden Morning Sunshine
2 cups white sauce                                     4 eggs, hard  boiled and chopped
Make white sauce. Once the white sauce has thickened, add eggs.   Serve on toast.

White Sauce
¼ cup dry milk                                    1 cup cold water
2 Tbsp. flour                                        1 Tbsp. margarine
dash salt
In a covered jar, combine dry milk, flour and salt and mix well.  Add  water.  Shake until all the ingredients are dissolved. Melt margarine  in a 1 quart sauce pan. Stir in flour-milk mixture and cook over low  heat until mixture thickens and starts to bubble.  Keep stirring  until thickened completely.

A MEDLEY OF EASTER IDEAS

I was surprised to learn that the word “Easter” originates from a pagan holiday. As a result we have the traditional Easter egg. Several yearsago my sister, Carisa, shared the following idea with me and we have since celebrated the resurrection of Christ in a new and especially meaningful way. If you would like to try these you will need:

• Resurrection Eggs
• crown of thorns 
• large nails or spikes 
• red or purple cloth 
• reed (an imitation of a scepter) 
• piece of old wood 
• hammer or mallet
• spear (this is fun to make!)
• jar of vinegar
• sponge

Wrap each one in aluminum foil and hide them outside. Instead of having a contest to find the most have each child find only one item and then help the other children. After everything has been found, see if they can tell what their item represents. If you do it outside by a fire it adds one
more dimension since you can talk about Peter denying Jesus while he
stood by the fire outside the high priest’s palace.

Have each child who can, look up and read these related Scriptures:

· Crown of thorns: Matthew 27: 29; John 19:2
· Purple cloth: Mark 15:17,20; John 19:2
· Reed: Matthew 27:29
· Spear: John 19:34
· Jar of vinegar: Matthew 27:28
· Sponge: Matthew 27:48; Mark 15:36; John 19:29

This year we are also going to read the arrest, trial, crucifixion,
death, and resurrection of Christ in chronological order. With a
chronological Bible this is easy since it is all laid out for you.

Jelly Bean Nests

If you want a fun project to enjoy those festive colored jellybeans, as
well as some cute decorations for the holiday, try this.

· 2 cups miniature marshmallows (3 oz)
· 1/4 cup butter
· 1 (6-oz) package (4 cups) chow mein noodles
· jelly beans

In a 2-qt saucepan combine marshmallows and butter; cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until melted (6–8 minutes). Stir in noodles until very well coated. With buttered fingers, press mixture on bottom and up the sides of each cup of a buttered 12-cup muffin pan or use paper liners sprayed with Pam. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or until firm. Remove from cups and fill with jelly beans for 12 adorable nests!

Hot Cross Buns are a special and meaningful tradition to have on Easter morning.

The Biblical feasts seem to blur together in my mind. Look at the spring Biblical Feasts like this and you will find them easy to understand and remember.

· Passover Jesus’ death
· Unleavened Bread Jesus’ burial
· First Fruits Jesus’ resurrection
· Pentecost indwelling of the Holy Spirit

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Lorrie Flem and her husband Randy, homeschool their seven children (eight in July!) in Washington, the evergreen and often wet state. She is the publisher of TEACH Magazine, a quarterly publication for Christian moms, convention speaker, and the author of two books, What’s For Dinner, Mom? and Welcome Home, Daddy! She can be reached through TEACHmagazine@integrityol.com or seen on the web at TEACHmagazine.com ~ under construction.

AN EASTER BASKET OF GRASS by Lorrie Flem

Easter is just around the corner and I thought some of you might like to try a fun idea with me. I have always wanted to do this but never gotten around to it. Maybe we can “spur” each other into action. I can’t say that I am going to do it to all of you and NOT do it, and you can’t write and tell me how yours turned out if you don’t follow through.

About six weeks prior to Easter get one basket for each child. I got mine from my mother-in-law’s garage to my father-in-law’s delight! In fact, the box we robbed is labeled “Nancy’s Stupid Baskets.” If you don’t have someone who has basket itch like my Nancy then try the thrift store.

Cut a plastic bag to fit inside each basket. Mix some soil with just a dab of water so that it is damp. Fill the plastic lined basket with soil leaving an edge of plastic all around that you will trim off right before Easter. Sprinkle a layer of grass seed on the top of the dirt. By keeping the baskets in a warm well-lit window while keeping the soil moist with a little water (I think I’ll use a water bottle so I don’t overdo it!) your grass baskets will be green more quickly.

If it grows too long, just trim it with scissors for an adorable bed of grass.