Charles Spurgeon in his autobiography tells a heart-warming story of his grandmother making treats for him with leftover pastry. A kneading trough was located in the kitchen, and in it was a little shelf. Charles knew if he came into the kitchen, he would likely find a pastry treat waiting for him, shaped into an animal with currants for eyes. 

One of my grandmas got up very early on Thanksgiving mornings to cook and bake. She had extra pie crust dough after her pies were all made so she rolled it out thin, brushed it with melted butter, and topped it with cinnamon and sugar. She cut the dough into rectangles, baked it until golden brown, and served it to her grandchildren. To this day, my family loves pie crust made just like that.

My other grandma welcomed my sister and me for visits by putting our Raggedy Ann dolls on our beds along with a little Tupperware container of her homemade fudge so we each had our own portion, along with a love note. When we arrived at her house, we hugged her and Pampie, and then ran straight to our beds!

My children recall with fondness our read-aloud time. When we started homeschooling, I read a chapter from a book right after lunch. Eventually our read-aloud time moved to late in the afternoon.

They also greatly loved the season when they found an encouraging note under their pillow when they went to bed. Each week, I wrote one of those notes to a child, snuck into their bedroom during the day, and slipped the note under the pillow. I kept track of who had received the last note and worked through the children in age order so each would receive an equal number of notes.

Simple things create life-long memories. They don’t have to be time consuming, burdensome, or expensive. They express love! 

You probably have some of those memories, too, and are building them for your children. Want to share them?

Trusting in Jesus,
Teri

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God;
and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God” (1 John 4:7).

“First, I have noticed that your family is into fitness, and I was wondering when the weather turns cold and snowing/raining, what do you do for cardio? Also, what are some of the things that you might wear in order to stay warm and dry?” A blog reader

This is a great question. We’ve had a lot of snow and ice this winter. It is true that we love to exercise, and just because it’s winter, well, that doesn’t stop us.

While we do most of our cardio workouts in our home gym, we still walk outside, and we girls also try for a weekly run. For walking, we like down coats, especially Eddie Bauer. They have different options of warmth and length available. My personal favorite I wear a ton is the Cirruslite Down Jacket. Jesse loves his North Face down jacket.

Under Armour Base Layer is another blessing. They come in varying levels, but their 3.0 and 4.0s are perfect for winter. Running gear we prefer to layer because down coats are too bulky and hot. Under Armour’s ColdGear turtleneck is one of my favorite options.

If it is icy, YakTraxs are an option to wear over a running or walking shoe. They are a little hassle to put on, though. YakTraxs seriously make it possible to walk in otherwise impossible slippery conditions.

We’ve also found hiking shoes have more traction than normal running shoes, so if it’s slightly icy, but not enough to call for YakTraxs, those are a great option.

That being said, we’ve had so much ice this winter, that Dad and Mom have erred on the side of caution and not done as much walking. Instead, they’ll do a home workout, using the treadmill and the stairs. Then, they’ll finish out with a kettlebell workout.

I hope some of these ideas help you to brave the winter weather!

Love,
Sarah

“For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth;
likewise to the small rain, and to the
great rain of his strength.” Job 37:6

Last week I spent a morning homeschooling some of my grandchildren while Melanie took a child to a doctor’s appointment in Kansas City. You know what? It wasn’t hard because Melanie has a solid homeschool schedule in place. All I needed to do was consult the schedule posted on the refrigerator, and then follow it. The children are used to the schedule, so they know what they are to do as well. They had even figured out how to compensate for the child who was gone for the doctor’s appointment and wouldn’t be there for her 1/2 hour playtime with Andrew and Benjamin!

Each child’s school morning is structured and interesting. The power of a schedule during our homeschooling years was vital for our success, and now it is blessing my grandchildren’s lives with productivity, direction, and peace (although I know it isn’t always peaceful with little children).

Trusting in Jesus,
Teri

“Children’s children are the crown of old men;
and the glory of children are their fathers.” Proverbs 17:6

Mom and Dad gave a very sweet practical gift to Abby, Betsy, and Tina for Christmas: Hobby Lobby gift cards. But it had an extra perk. Included with the gift cards was a shopping trip to spend them with Mom and Anna and Mary plus lunch out. Each girl picked out what they wanted to spend their money on.

Love,
Sarah

“Every man according as he purposeth in his heart,
so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity:
for God loveth a cheerful giver.”
2 Corinthians 9:7