Keeper of the Home » Books

Healthy Snacks to Go Ebook: Review and a Giveaway

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Tue, 11 May 2010 10:00:22 +0000

This giveaway has now ended.

One area that is really tough for a lot of mamas is figuring out what kind of simple, fast and nourishing snacks they can feed their kids.

Committed to whole foods myself, there are the odd days when I long to be able to just grab a few packaged fruit roll ups or plastic containers of apple sauce or crackers as we fly out the door. We all crave convenience sometimes. One of the fastest ways to start making unhealthy eating choices is to get hungry when you're away from home. Temptation is bound to get you.

Fortunately, it doesn't have to be that way. Katie has crafted a stellar handbook for moms wanting to keep everyone happy, healthy and NOT hungry. Her snack recipes and ideas are sure to please.

Enter the Healthy Snacks to Go ebook!

Healthy Snacks to Go is the first ebook from Katie Kimball of Kitchen Stewardship. I think that she has really outdone herself and created a useful resource for busy moms, who want something healthier to give their families (and themselves).

A few reasons I loved this ebook:

:: For anyone still learning and transitioning to more real and traditional foods, Katie makes it all so simple and basic. She offers lots of explanations and info, in a completely down-to-earth way.

:: The recipes are very kid friendly. I don't think there is anything in the book that my kids would take issue with, and plenty of yummy things that would thrill them (an in fact, already have!).

:: Beyond some different takes on things that I already make (power bars, granola, baked goods, etc.) I found a few completely new ideas, like Tater Skin Crispies, made out of potato peels (that's right- the part you usually throw away or compost). Brilliant! Just another way to make food out of something we might otherwise waste. Love that!

:: I had been wanting to figure out how to make Larabars recently, and this ebook had impeccable timing. It saved me from having to experiment and figure it out myself, and not only that, gave me 14 scrumptious variations to choose from based on what's available in my pantry! We've tried 3 versions so far, with definite plans to try more. They've all been winners, for sure.

:: Plenty of options for those with allergies and food restrictions (including dairy, gluten and grain free). There are easy-to-spot icons that will tell you at a glance whether a recipe is easy to make, low cost, needs cold storage (or is backpack friendly), includes soaking, or is free of common allergens.

:: There are fantastic bonus tips, like the fact that I could toss potatoes into the oven to bake for dinner while my granola baked (which I thought was s super idea and helped me to make granola AND potato salad with little fuss or wasted energy). Katie has a wonderful focus on stewarding our time and energy well, and she's always looking for ways to make things more efficient and streamlined in the kitchen.

Would you like to win yourself a copy of Healthy Snacks to Go? I have 5 copies to give away!

Leave a comment telling me what your biggest struggle is with serving healthy snacks and to-go foods (or why you want to win Healthy Snacks to Go).
Subscribe to Keeper of the Home.
Follow me on Facebook
Follow me Twitter (@keeperhome)
Subscribe to Kitchen Stewardship
Follow Kitchen Stewardship on facebook
Follow Katie on Twitter (@kitchenstew)

Giveaway will end Friday, May 14th at 4pm (PST). Good luck! Giveaway has now ended- winners to be announced shortly!

Image by anne.oldeorfhirsch

Disclosure: I have received a copy of this book for review, but have not been paid or compensated to write this review. These are my honest opinions about the book. I do receive a small affiliate commission on each sale from my site, but I only recommend products I truly think are worth buying.

Our Sponsors:

Spoonk Rider: The Portable Accupressure Mat
Plan to Eat: Drag & drop meal planner with automated shopping list maker.
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Experience God as Your Provider: Does Your Financial Future Feel Like a Crumbling Sand Castle?
Learn to Cook With Sourdough: "Pay What You Can" Classes in Sourdough and Traditional Cooking
Holy Ambition: If you're thinking, God can't use me, think again! YOU can make a difference.

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Real Food on a Real Budget: Eat Local, Eat Seasonal

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Fri, 07 May 2010 10:00:57 +0000

This is the last of the excerpts from my new book, Real Food on a Real Budget. It was taken from Chapter 7- Eat Local, Eat Seasonal. This month one of the topics here at Keeper of the Home is local and seasonal food, so this seemed a fitting topic to share!

*******

In one of my favorite reads this past year, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, she explains the concept of seasonality through a little creation she calls the "Vegetannual.” This incredible (yet completely imaginary) plant is intended to demonstrate the seasonal cycle of vegetable production over the course of the year.

It begins with crisp greens and asparagus in early spring, moves on to the peas, cabbages and cauliflower of later spring. Early summer finds the beginning of summer squash and cucumbers, which as the summer progresses have given way to glorious, plump tomatoes and mouth-watering melons. Late summer we see the arrival of corn and potatoes, and then as fall begins its triumphal entrance, we find winter squash and root vegetables in abundance, ready to see us through the winter.

“Some minor deviations and a bit of overlap are allowed, but in general, picturing an imaginary vegetannual plant is a pretty reliable guide to what will be in season, wherever you live. If you find yourself eating a watermelon in April, you can count back three months and imagine a place warm enough in January for this plant have launched it’s destiny. Mexico maybe, or southern California. Chile is also a possibility. If you’re inclined to think this way, consider what it took to transport a finicky fruit the size of a human toddler to your door, from that locale.

Our gardening forebears meant watermelon to be the juicy, barefoot taste of a hot summer’s end, just as pumpkin is the trademark fruit of late October. Most of us accept the latter and limit our jack-o-lantern activities to the proper botanical season. Waiting for a watermelon is harder. It’s tempting to reach for melons, red peppers, tomatoes, and other late-summer delights before the summer even arrives. But it’s actually possible to wait, celebrating each season when it comes, not fretting about its being absent at all other times because something else good is at hand.

If many of us would view this style of eating as deprivation, that’s only because we’ve grown accustomed to the botanically outrageous condition of having everything, always.”

Barbara Kingsolver, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, pg. 65.

A few years ago I was ignorant to this cycle of plant life and food production. I did not understand that the supermarket tomatoes in March and the melons in December were just simply not the way that food really grows. Nor did I appreciate the difference to be had between foods that were grown out of season and transported thousands of miles for my convenience, compared to those that were grown in season and picked at their peak of ripeness and perfection.

Image by La Grande Farmer's Market

I have come to not only appreciate, but greatly anticipate the arrival of each new season and the produce that it brings. This spring found me eager to savour fresh asparagus and to make salads out of my own garden greens. By summer I was absolutely longing for delicious berries right off the bush, and scrumptious dinners including zucchini, cherry tomatoes and basil straight from my garden.

We’re now in the midst of corn season as I write this chapter and it’s challenging for me to pass by a roadside stand without purchasing any for dinner that week, or to go for a walk in the park without taking twice as long due to stopping to pick almost every single ripe blackberry I see. I watch my neighbour’s apple tree with great expectation, knowing that later this month those apples will be crisp and sweet and mine for the picking. Three cheers for neighbours who don’t want to harvest their own fruit trees.

So how does this all tie in with the fact that we are after food that is not only whole and nourishing, but frugal as well? It’s fairly obvious that seasonal produce has many perks: it is fresher, tastier, contains higher nutrients (because it hasn’t traveled long distances during which its nutrients were lost), and it is a truly wonderful and beneficial thing to support what is being locally produced each season.

Beyond that, though, buying and eating seasonally has many benefits for your pocketbook as well! Food that has not had to travel long distances and is ripe and in abundance quite often comes at a much cheaper price than foods that are not in season. There is a real cost to food transportation and storage, and we pay that cost with our food dollars when we buy based on what we feel like eating, rather than what’s seasonally available to us.

Want to learn more about knowing what's in season and how to find local/seasonal deals? Purchase the book Real Food on a Real Budget!

How does buying local and seasonal impact the way that you shop and eat?

Image by Kanko*

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Experience God as Your Provider: Does Your Financial Future Feel Like a Crumbling Sand Castle?
Learn to Cook With Sourdough: "Pay What You Can" Classes in Sourdough and Traditional Cooking
Holy Ambition: If you're thinking, God can't use me, think again! YOU can make a difference.

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Real Food on a Real Budget: Finding Sources for Purchasing Real Food

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Thu, 06 May 2010 10:00:09 +0000

Today's post is a brief excerpt taken from Chapter 2 of my new book, Real Food on a Real Budget. The chapter explores how we can examine the options and resources available to us, as we seek to find sources of high-quality AND affordable food wherever we live.

*******

It’s a bit of a game to me. I confess that I love the hunt of finding new resources for getting better and better quality foods on the same budget. I’m always on the lookout for new places to shop, new farmers or local suppliers to get to know, new services or co-ops or bulk suppliers to use.

The beautiful thing is that there are many options out there, if you’re willing to look beyond the doors of your regular grocery store! Here are just a few of the different types of resources there are when it comes to purchasing food:

∞ Direct from the farm

∞ Produce Markets

∞ Small, local shops (meat or deli, specialty grocery, etc.)

∞ Farmer’s Markets

∞ Co-ops or buying clubs

∞ Warehouse Clubs (Sam’s, Costco, etc.)

∞ Conventional grocery stores

∞ Natural/Health food stores

∞ Neighbours or families with small hobby farms

∞ Online stores

∞ CSA’s (community supported agriculture)

I’m sure there are others but these are some of the most common and readily available. You can see that the combinations and the ways that one might source out their food from these different options are endless!

For most of us, not all of these options are available. For instance, I am able to buy directly from a great produce market, but up until this past summer there wasn’t a farmer’s market within less than a 30 minute drive.

I currently live close enough to the US border (and have family who live there as well), which gives me access to a fantastic natural foods co-op. Should I move away from where we live now, that will cease to be an option for me and I will have to look into other options for buying many of my bulk foods, such as a going to a health food store or purchasing online and having my orders shipped to me.

It’s a matter of taking stock of your options, how worthwhile each of those options are, and then determining how you will use those to source out the food that your family needs.

A Few Good Places to Start... (the really practical stuff, but you gotta get the book to read it! :)

Would you like to read more? Purchase Real Food on a Real Budget today, in either a paperback or digital version.

Image by NatalieMaynor

What type of creative options have you found as resources for purchasing real, whole foods? How did you find them?

Our Sponsors:

Spoonk Rider: The Portable Accupressure Mat
Plan to Eat: Drag & drop meal planner with automated shopping list maker.
Fertility Flower: Helps women predict ovulation, increasing chances of conception. Outstanding charting tools.
Experience God as Your Provider: Does Your Financial Future Feel Like a Crumbling Sand Castle?
Learn to Cook With Sourdough: "Pay What You Can" Classes in Sourdough and Traditional Cooking
Holy Ambition: If you're thinking, God can't use me, think again! YOU can make a difference.

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Real Food on a Real Budget: Using Cash

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Tue, 04 May 2010 10:00:16 +0000

This week I will be running some excerpts from my new book, Real Food on a Real Budget: How to Eat Healthy for Less. They will be short selections from a few different chapters, just to give you an idea of some of the contents.

Using Cash

Taken from Chapter 1: Working With a Budget

Once you have determined what your monthly budget ought to be, or how much you have to work with, here is my biggest piece of advice in sticking to that budget: USE CASH!

I know the reasons that people prefer not to use cash. They don’t want to carry that much around in their purse. They prefer to put in on a credit card that earns points and then pay it off. They make all of their expenses on debit and then just keep track of it. It’s more work to set it up, take out the cash at the beginning of the month, and stick to the system. It’s embarrassing to pull out an envelope full of cash when you’re in a busy line-up at the grocery store. It’s _______ (insert your own reason here).

Regardless of your reason for not wanting to use cash, here are the reasons that I find it the best way to stay on track with my own grocery budget:

It is visible and very tangible. I can see exactly how much I have left, and I feel it when I pull those bills out to make a purchase and notice how much smaller the remaining stack is. It keeps me very conscious of what I spend.

It prevents me from making impulse purchases that I really don’t have the money for. Trust me- it is much more embarrassing to not have enough cash for the food you’ve put in your cart than it is to simply count out the correct amount in front of curious onlookers! When I know exactly how much I have to spend, I make sure that I am keeping track of what goes into my cart before I get to the checkout line.

Even if I forget that I’ve spent more than I thought, the cash is no longer there and I cannot accidentally bust my budget. This is something that would often happen to me when we used a debit card for all our purchases. The smaller, quick-run-to-the-store kind of expenses would slip my mind when I was calculating how much money I had left to spend, until it actually came time to add it all up at the end of the month and I would realize that, once again, I had gone over budget. With cash, if it’s spent, it’s spent.

It forces me to really evaluate each purchase as I go to make it. Sure, that packaged spaghetti sauce would be nice and easy, but for the same amount I could purchase tomatoes and tomato paste and some veggies, and make a much larger amount of sauce that would be more nutritious. And do we really need those store-bought muffins or could I easily whip up a batch of my own (but minus the rancid oils, white flour and sugar, preservatives, etc.) and have a fun morning with my 5 year old? Those out-of-season peaches for $3.50 a lb in May might look awfully tempting, but I could buy a whole lot more seasonal rhubarb and strawberries for the same amount of money.

It helps me to set aside money for larger purchases, such as a side of grass-fed beef or buying organic grains in bulk or purchasing berries in the summer. By going through my cash at the beginning of the month and separating it for savings, for my raw milk share, for my co-op order, and then only spending what’s remaining on other groceries and produce, I can ensure that I’m actually using my budget the way that I plan to rather than running on auto-pilot and finding that I’m coming up short at the end of each month.

Do you use cash for your grocery budget? Why or why not?

Post taken from my newest book, Real Food on a Real Budget. Find out more about how you can save money and still eat real, whole, nourishing foods!

Image by francoiskarm

Our Sponsors:

Spoonk Rider: The Portable Accupressure Mat
Plan to Eat: Drag & drop meal planner with automated shopping list maker.
Fertility Flower: Helps women predict ovulation, increasing chances of conception. Outstanding charting tools.
Experience God as Your Provider: Does Your Financial Future Feel Like a Crumbling Sand Castle?
Learn to Cook With Sourdough: "Pay What You Can" Classes in Sourdough and Traditional Cooking
Holy Ambition: If you're thinking, God can't use me, think again! YOU can make a difference.

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Introducing My New Book: Real Food on a Real Budget

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Mon, 03 May 2010 15:28:43 +0000

I am so excited to introduce my newest book to you!

Real Food on a Real Budget has been a bit like having two babies in one year... first, we welcomed Johanna into our family this August. Within a week of her birth, while being told "sit down, rest, stop getting up!" by my loving hubby and midwife, I launched into writing this book.

Just about 9 months later, after much brainstorming, countless hours spent writing (and deleting and then writing again), many late nights and much anticipation, my labor of love is finally finished...

Why I Wrote This Book

As I was brainstorming in those early days, I was trying to think of what would be the most relevant topic I could write on, but it had to be a topic that I knew intimately. In both the USA and Canada, families everywhere have been experiencing the effects of recession and financial struggle. For many families, budget constraints and figuring out how they can save money are of the utmost priority.

I understand this well. 5 years ago, we were living on a minimum wage salary with a new baby. In recent years where we have lived very frugally in order to save up to start our own family business, as our young family continued to grow. This year we are in the process of starting that business, which takes a whole lot of patience and willingness to go without, as you pour every bit of profit back into building up the business.

We have always had a tight grocery budget. We spend 30% less on food than the average family.

And yet, day in and day out, I blog about whole foods, better nutrition, Nourishing Traditions, and tell you that you should be buying higher quality meat, and raw milk, and organics, and so on. How can we afford to eat like this when we're always pinching pennies and watching the budget so closely?

Real Food on a Real Budget is a primer for real families, just like yours, to show you how it is possible to eat real food without spending a fortune.

I am not only passionate about teaching better nutrition and what you should be eating. I wanted to create something that you help enable you to learn how you can actually afford to do this. I believe strongly that healthy living should be accessible and affordable for everyone!

Want to Learn More About the Book?

For a much more detailed explanation of the book, including a brief preview that you can download to take a little peak inside, please visit the promo page:

Learn more about Real Food on a Real Budget

A Few Thank You's

No one ever writes a book alone. If they do, I don't know how they do it!

I am so grateful to the Lord for allowing me to write this book. I am continually amazed and humbled that He has given me the opportunity to run this blog, to know the incredible women who visit here, and to work at something that I love so much, getting to share my beliefs and passions and hopefully encourage women and families. This is all from Him and for Him.

Without my husband, this book would not exist. Literally. You know the phrase, "behind every great man there is an even greater woman"? The opposite is true in our family! He makes sure I get time to write. He encourages me to keep going. He tells me (lovingly) when what I wrote stinks and needs to be re-written, and then beams at me with pride in his eyes when I come back to him with something better. He worked tirelessly to edit and format and prepare this book so that it would be as perfect as possible when you rest your eyes upon it. Thank you, my love!

To my kids, for being gracious when mommy had to work. I love you all like crazy. Abbie, that date with mommy is coming this week, you just wait!

To my incredible designer, Karla Porter of Fruition Designs. I gave her a few vague ideas for this book cover, but I was fairly directionless. The cover you see is the very first draft of what she sent to me. Perfect from the start! I love it, Karla! Thank you!

To my dear friend Jessica, who loves to correct my grammar and tell me I used "it's" the wrong way. :) Thank you for the amazing grasp of the English language that you brought to my book, and for letting me repay in friendship.

To all those who read and reviewed the initial copy- too many to mention, but all of you real foodies and bloggers know who you are. Your feedback was so valuable for me.

Lastly, to my readers, who gave me grace when the book took 4 months longer than I thought it would and just kept gently asking, "Are you still writing that book?" Last night, my husband and I were praying for you all, that this book would impact you and your families, helping you to better steward both your health and your finances, to bring glory to God. I appreciate you all so much!

An Introductory Special

Because I want to see as many people as possible get this book, I'm running a launch week special on it!

The book will regularly sell for $24.95 (digital copy) or $29.95 plus shipping (paperback copy). As a 280-page book, bursting at the seams with tips and ideas to revolutionize your grocery budget and how you feed your family, it's well worth it.

By implementing just a few of the suggestions from the book, you could easily save the cost of the book in one month, or even one shopping trip. If you really put it's suggestions into practice, you should expect to save literally $100s and possibly much more over the course of a year, or start purchasing all the "expensive" real foods you want to serve your family, without a jump in your budget.

For this week, though, I'm offering it at a 25% discount...

Buy a digital copy $24.97 $18.97

Buy a paperback copy $29.97 plus $3.99 shipping $25.97 with free shipping (by using coupon code: FREESHIP to save the shipping at checkout)

**Note that this code is provided by Lulu.com, not by Keeper of the Home. If you have any troubles with the code, please email and let me know!**

I hope you love it and that it transforms what you eat and how much you spend!

Our Sponsors:

Spoonk Rider: The Portable Accupressure Mat
Plan to Eat: Drag & drop meal planner with automated shopping list maker.
Fertility Flower: Helps women predict ovulation, increasing chances of conception. Outstanding charting tools.
Experience God as Your Provider: Does Your Financial Future Feel Like a Crumbling Sand Castle?
Learn to Cook With Sourdough: "Pay What You Can" Classes in Sourdough and Traditional Cooking
Holy Ambition: If you're thinking, God can't use me, think again! YOU can make a difference.

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Want to Win a Copy of Real Food on a Real Budget?

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Sat, 01 May 2010 17:25:17 +0000

My new ebook, Real Food on a Real Budget- How to Eat Healthy for Less, launches this Monday... are you as excited as I am?

Just to create a little more excitement, I thought I would do something completely random and offer a giveaway, before it's even been made available for purchase!

This weekend, I am running a 2 Day/2 Book Giveaway on my new Facebook fan page. Didn't know I had a Facebook page? Now you do! :)

The Details:

Come visit my Facebook page and "Like" it. Not only is this necessary for the giveaway, but it will allow you to keep up-to-date with every new post here at Keeper of the Home, to receive various links and resources that I pass on weekly, and to connect a bit more personally with myself and my amazing readers.
All weekend, the top post on my Facebook page will be the giveaway. Go there and leave a comment, telling me why you want it!
Share the giveaway with your friends on Facebook, and then leave me a second comment telling me that you did so, to earn yourself a 2nd entry.
Late Sunday night, I will randomly choose 2 winners of the ebook and announce them on my page!
For all who didn't win, you'll be able to come and check out the official launch of Real Food on a Real Budget here at my blog, bright and early Monday morning!

So what are you waiting for? Go get yourself entered, and share it with your friends!

Our Sponsors:

Spoonk Rider: The Portable Accupressure Mat
Plan to Eat: Drag & drop meal planner with automated shopping list maker.
Fertility Flower: Helps women predict ovulation, increasing chances of conception. Outstanding charting tools.
Experience God as Your Provider: Does Your Financial Future Feel Like a Crumbling Sand Castle?
Learn to Cook With Sourdough: "Pay What You Can" Classes in Sourdough and Traditional Cooking
Holy Ambition: If you're thinking, God can't use me, think again! YOU can make a difference.

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Steady Days: Book Review and Giveaway

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:00:04 +0000

"I am not a perfect mother. Often I struggle with impatience; sometimes I lack the enthusiasm I long for. I make many mistakes, just like my children. As they are maturing as children, I am maturing as a mother... We need to equip ourselves with practical tools that allow us to give our personal best to our young children, helping us thrive in our strengths and overcome our weaknesses. We aim for professionalism in every other area of our lives; why should our children get anything less?"

This month I had the extreme pleasure of reviewing the book Steady Days: A Journey Toward Intentional, Professional Motherhood, by Jamie C. Martin. The quote above is from the beginning of the book, setting the stage for an exploration of what it takes to be a professional mother.

There is one message that rings out strong and clear throughout the entirety of Steady Days and it is this... mothering requires intentionality. To maintain peace and order, we must be purposeful about how we achieve that. To maintain our enthusiasm, we must plan activities and encouragement into our days that inspire us. To capture memories and special moments with our children, we must have a plan for what we will do and how we will remember what we've enjoyed and experienced.

Over and over again, this one thought. To be successful in achieving my goals as a mother, I must be intentional. Purposeful. Prepared. Well-planned. Goal-oriented.

Let's face it. It can be easy to go on auto-pilot as a mom. Sometimes our days are so full and overwhelming that we just go with the flow, without being intentional about how we are spending these precious years with our children.

As a home educating mother, I make more of an effort to be intentional about how I educate my children, what learning resources I expose them to, how many books we read, etc. And yet, throughout the rest of my day I can sometimes get so focused on other aspects of my roles as mother, wife, homemaker and more that I cease to be purposeful about all the other realms of my mothering.

If you can relate to what I'm saying, I think that you would be blessed by Steady Days. Jamie is encouraging and upbeat, and yet consistently challenging us to consider how we are doing things, what our motivations are, what could be changed, how we could grow as mothers.

Jamie reading to her 3 sweet children

A few other practical things I loved:

Short, simple chapters. If bite-sized is what you need to make it through a book and really implement its strategies, then you will just love how Jamie has organized Steady Days into 40 short chapters.
Steady Days Planner. This is Jamie's version of a homemaking binder, and she has so many wonderful suggestions for adding to it. A few that I was particularly inspired by were a Steady Blessings page (for recording our blessings, special moments, thoughts of gratefulness), Special Date Organizer, Shopping Lists, and Children's Goals. Many of the particular pages she discusses and shows throughout the book can actually be found on her website, at http://www.steadydays.com/resources.html.
Room Time. A clever technique for achieving a bit of quiet time for Mom to get some things done, while each child plays/reads productively in their own space (no more sibling squabbles, at least for 20-30 minutes!). Love it!

Final thoughts: I really enjoyed this book and I know that I will reference it again and again. I love Jamie's encouragement to just implement new things or small changes bit by bit. For moms who are feeling overwhelmed and in need of someone to help you get more organized and intentional in your mothering, Steady Days is for you!

To get to know Jamie a little better and find more tips, strategies and thoughts for bringing steadiness and professionalism to your days, you can find her at her blog, Steady Mom.

Would you like to win a signed copy of Steady Days: A Journey Towards Intentional, Professional Motherhood?

Here's how:

(Please leave each entry as a SEPARATE comment, to ensure that they are all counted. Thanks for making my job easier!)

Tell me why you need to read this book, or a goal that you have for your mothering.
Visit Jamie's blog, Steady Mom, and leave a comment.
Subscribe to Steady Mom.
Follow her on twitter, @steadymom.
Subscribe to Keeper of the Home.
Follow me on twitter, @keeperhome.
Post about this giveaway on your own blog, and leave me the url.

Giveaway ends Friday, January 29th at 3:00pm. This giveaway has now finished. :)

Our Sponsors:

Spoonk Rider: The Portable Accupressure Mat
Plan to Eat: Drag & drop meal planner with automated shopping list maker.
Fertility Flower: Helps women predict ovulation, increasing chances of conception. Outstanding charting tools.
Experience God as Your Provider: Does Your Financial Future Feel Like a Crumbling Sand Castle?
Learn to Cook With Sourdough: "Pay What You Can" Classes in Sourdough and Traditional Cooking
Holy Ambition: If you're thinking, God can't use me, think again! YOU can make a difference.

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Yes, You Really Can Buy “Celebrate with Joy”

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 22:12:31 +0000

I need to apologize that the "Buy" buttons for purchasing Celebrate with Joy: Transform your Christmas Season have been down for the last day. It seems that Paypal had made a mistake and frozen my account, so that my buttons stopped directing to the proper page. Oh, the joys of computers.

All is well now, and they are working once again! So sorry for the inconvenience to those who tried to purchase a copy!

Our Sponsors:

Spoonk Rider: The Portable Accupressure Mat
Plan to Eat: Drag & drop meal planner with automated shopping list maker.
Fertility Flower: Helps women predict ovulation, increasing chances of conception. Outstanding charting tools.
Experience God as Your Provider: Does Your Financial Future Feel Like a Crumbling Sand Castle?
Learn to Cook With Sourdough: "Pay What You Can" Classes in Sourdough and Traditional Cooking
Holy Ambition: If you're thinking, God can't use me, think again! YOU can make a difference.

No related posts.

Celebrate with Joy: Epiphany and Reflections on Transforming our Christmas Celebrations

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:00:22 +0000

I found this year to be one of our most meaningful Christmas seasons so far. It has been such a blessing to begin implementing even a few new things into the way that we celebrate the birth of our Savior. Here are some of the things that we did this year:

Daily Advent devotions through the month of December (we learned about the many names of Jesus)
Made a "Names of Jesus" Garland with Abbie and Caden
Made shortbread cookies cut into shapes and symbols that remind of us the significance of Christmas-wreaths (symbols of God's everlasting love), hearts, a little boy (Jesus, who came to earth), stars (like the star over Bethlehem, and also to symbolize Jesus, the bright and morning Star), and the cross (because ultimately that's why He came to earth at all)
Made star ornaments for the tree, because Abbie particularly liked learning about how Jesus was the bright and morning Star.
Supported and watched Daddy take part in a beautiful Christmas performance at our church, focusing on the meaning of Christmas, from the manger to the cross.
Participated in putting together for a Christmas hamper for needy families in the community
Did a nativity version of an Advent calendar- one new fridge magnet each day (a stable, Mary and Joseph, wise men, sheep, etc.) until Jesus arrives on Christmas day!
Watched the movie, The Nativity Story, as a family for the second year in a row on Christmas Eve. Our new tradition.
Gathered on Mommy and Daddy's bed on Christmas morning to pray and thank God for sending Jesus, before opening our stockings together.
Ate a wonderful breakfast and then Daddy read the Christmas story out loud, before we gathered around the tree to open presents (keeping Jesus first, and presents secondary!)
Will be celebrating Epiphany tomorrow, Jan. 6th...

Epiphany and the 12 Nights of Christmas

One thing that I learned this year is that the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" (you know the one... a partridge in a pear tree) is actually referring to the 12 days from the day after Christmas up until January 6th, a holiday known as Epiphany. Epiphany literally means "manifestation" and is a celebration of the fact that God became man and manifested Himself on earth in the form of Jesus, His son.

In the book Celebrate with Joy, Sondra (the author) includes an entire chapter with ideas for celebrating these 12 nights of Christmas. Each night include a Christmas carol to sing, along with activities and a devotion to go along with that carol. She also suggests that this can be an excellent opportunity to complete any Advent activities, special trips or events, gifts to give or ways to serve others, etc. that you had hoped to do before Christmas but were unable to get to.

I felt that this year, I couldn't completely jump in and actually celebrate these 12 nights. Our family really needed some time to just rest, and that meant that Mommy couldn't be working to pull together any more activities, events or devotionals! Instead, I have opted to do something only for the actual day of Epiphany, as a way of starting out small this year. In the book, there is a focus on the wise men during these 12 nights and on their gifts to the Lord. So tomorrow we will take Sondra's suggestions of learning about what each of the gifts (gold, frankincense and myrrh) symbolize, and I will be putting on a treasure hunt for the children, using various decorations, coins, etc. that will look like "treasures" in my little kiddies eyes. After we've found the hidden treasures, we will do a devotional on giving all of our treasure to Jesus!

Some Reflections on Transforming our Family's Celebrations

To be honest, there was more that I had hoped to do. Even what we did still felt a bit minimal over the course of 5 weeks. It's hard to find the time to pull it all together with 3 young children and a busy husband. A few times I felt frustrated that I wasn't doing more or doing all that I had wanted to, but I finally had to rest in what I was able to do and let it be enough.

It takes time and effort to begin to implement these wonderful ideas and traditions in our Christmas celebrations. Though I was keen to do as much as I could, I had to recognize my limitations and accept the season that I am in... a season where each small child needs me so very much, in many different ways, and sometimes Mommy gets stretched too thin because all of the everyday stuff, so that adding in "extras" can be very challenging. I have decided that I need to trust the Lord to help me do what I am reasonably able to do, offering it up to Him as a feeble but hopefully precious gift in His eyes, as we all learn to honor Jesus more and more in our holiday traditions. I pray that He will grant us the ability to continue to build on what has been begun. I trust that He is faithful to reward our acts of obedience, no matter how small, as we learn to transform our celebrations to become more God-glorifying and I believe that over the years we will see the fruit of that obedience!

Preparing for Next Year

Personally, I didn't begin my Advent and Christmas preparations early enough this year. Not until basically the end of November, which is right when we needed to be beginning. Knowing this now in hindsight, I will be prepared to put some effort into my preparations in early November instead, because having a plan will help to ensure that my list of hope-to-do's actually turns into reality!

I spoke with Sondra about it a little while ago, and she said that she thinks January is actually the perfect time to begin thinking about next year. Perhaps this year didn't go the way that you hoped it would, or you were quite disappointed by the Christmas season and its lack of meaning, its busyness, etc. Or maybe this year was a more special year that drew your family closer to the Lord as you began to focus your celebrations and traditions more on Him, and you've been inspired to add even more meaning to next year's holiday season. Either way, now is the time to begin thinking and preparing for next year, while it's still fresh in our minds and hearts.

This is the last opportunity to purchase Celebrate with Joy from Keeper of the Home. It is available for $24.95 US (including shipping) and you can read more about the contents of the book in this previous post.

As well, Sondra has a number of copies that have become slightly damaged in storage, that she is willing to sell at a discount. The types of damage include small scratches or scuffs to the cover, slightly damaged corners, etc. They are completely readable and usable, just not in perfect selling condition any longer. These books are being sold for $19.95 US including shipping.

(Use this button for discounted copies, and the button above for regular condition copies)

Our Sponsors:

Spoonk Rider: The Portable Accupressure Mat
Plan to Eat: Drag & drop meal planner with automated shopping list maker.
Fertility Flower: Helps women predict ovulation, increasing chances of conception. Outstanding charting tools.
Experience God as Your Provider: Does Your Financial Future Feel Like a Crumbling Sand Castle?
Learn to Cook With Sourdough: "Pay What You Can" Classes in Sourdough and Traditional Cooking
Holy Ambition: If you're thinking, God can't use me, think again! YOU can make a difference.

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Goals for the New Year

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:40:47 +0000

Image by goodcatmum

There's something about the New Year that offers such a fresh start. It always feel to me like a perfect time to make some changes, try something new, or set some goals for myself.

I love that I'm not alone in this. Whether we like to call them "resolutions" or not, most of us choose some areas which we'd like to focus on as we complete one year and move into the next. For some of us, it's to become more organized (and if so, you should definitely stick around here this month!). For others, it's to get up earlier each morning and make exercise and time spent with the Lord a regular part of their day. For many, it's health-related changes, whether that means getting rid of not-so-great foods, improving nutrition with better foods, learning new cooking skills, eliminating toxins in the home, or switching to more organics or natural products.

I definitely have a few goals of my own. The upcoming organization series on my blog is certainly not happening because I'm already an expert in that area! I can use all the help and motivation I can get!

What are your goals for the New Year? Do better nutrition and more natural and sustainable living sound like things you aspire to this coming year?

My book, Healthy Homemaking: One Step at a Time was actually written to take you through a one-year journey towards those very things! Though it can always be used, no matter what time of the year that you choose to start, the new year offers a perfect opportunity to begin taking a series of small, purposeful baby steps towards your goals in these areas.

There are 26 simple and very do-able steps included, with a plan to work through the entire book in one year (2 weeks per step). Steps include everything from finding sources for better quality foods (dairy, meats, eggs, produce), for eliminating processed foods from your diet, for switching over to non-toxic beauty and cleaning products, for learning to cook nutritious foods in even more nourishing ways, for "greening" your home and habits, and much more.

Want to learn a little more about what Health Homemaking: One Step at a Time is all about?

To make it easier for you to get started, and because I know that January is often a crunched-budget month after Christmas, I decided to offer a one-week Happy New Year Sale on the book! From now until this Sunday night, you can purchase Healthy Homemaking in two different ways:

As an ebook. Regular price $8.95 Sale price $6.95

As a paperback book. Regular price $18.95 Sale price $14.95 (plus shipping)

What about you? What are your goals and plans for the New Year?

Our Sponsors:

Spoonk Rider: The Portable Accupressure Mat
Plan to Eat: Drag & drop meal planner with automated shopping list maker.
Fertility Flower: Helps women predict ovulation, increasing chances of conception. Outstanding charting tools.
Experience God as Your Provider: Does Your Financial Future Feel Like a Crumbling Sand Castle?
Learn to Cook With Sourdough: "Pay What You Can" Classes in Sourdough and Traditional Cooking
Holy Ambition: If you're thinking, God can't use me, think again! YOU can make a difference.

You might also enjoy: