By Crystal Paine, Contributing Writer Ten years ago, when my husband and I were first married, frugality was a must. If we didn't pinch pennies, we couldn't survive -- or at least not without racking up a serious amount of debt and financial trouble down the road. So we pinched pennies, did without, and prayed that we'd make it until the next paycheck came in. Times were lean, but God was always faithful. As our income increased, there was the temptation to also increase our [...]
Written by Stacy Myers, Contributing Writer When our first daughter was born, we gave great thought to how we would celebrate Christmas. It was our desire to make sure she knew the REASON for the Christmas season. We didn’t want her growing up thinking Christmas was about Dora and Diego toys or stuffing yourself full of candy until you couldn’t zip up your pants. Because of that, we set out to make sure we fill our Christmas with family traditions that make Christ the main focus. We [...]
By Natalie, Klejwa, Contributing Writer Because we live in a sin-wrecked world, not everyone will be able to have as many children as they would like. For various reasons that range from unwilling spouses to physical limitations, our families will all be of varying sizes. One thing we can all say with resounding conviction is that children ARE a blessing. And I know that every one of us is grateful for every blessing that we have been enabled, by God's grace, to birth and raise. [...]
By Courtney Dunkin, Contributing Writer Throughout history, many cultures have held celebrations of thanksgiving to recognize their gratitude for what they have. Most often, traditional thanksgiving celebrations have been held during harvest time in the fall. In the United States of America, our Thanksgiving has evolved into the start of the Christmas shopping season. You've probably heard jokes about how we give thanks for what we have and then race to the stores to buy more things the very next day. There is certainly some [...]
By Crystal Paine, Contributing Writer Looking for some inexpensive and simple Thanksgiving-related activities for your tots, preschoolers, or grade schoolers? I've culled the internet and put together a list of over 31 of my favorite Thanksgiving-themed activity ideas, plus a number of free downloads and printables. Enjoy! Fun & Frugal Activities Make Turkey Footprints or Turkey Spice Handprints. Play Turkey Color Bingo. Image from Frog Prince Paperie Stitch some Thanksgiving Turkey Finger Puppets. Create your own Pilgrim Hat. Sew turkeys from old socks and felt. [...]
Recently I realized that I hadn't been involving my kids in the kitchen as much. I've always been a big advocate of it, but somewhere around the time that I was pregnant #4, I began to want to keep things simpler by just doing it myself most of the time. My goal was to make things more convenient and fast. After all, this is something I've been doing for years. I know the shortcuts, I have the methods down pat, and I can eyeball measurements without needing to dirty extra dishes. [...]
Courtney has bravely taken on this very first post in our Day in the Life series, where each writer, including myself, will be sharing a typical day in our home throughout the month. Our routines and schedules, our goals, our joys, our challenges, our disruptions... real days in all their very real glory. As kids head back to the books (whether at home or at school), September the perfect time to consider our daily and weekly routines and hopefully you'll find encouragement and inspiration [...]
"Wow, you've really got your hands full." "Are they all yours?" "You must be so busy. I don't know how you do it." Since adding a 4th child to our family this past winter, these comments and many others have begun to abound when we set foot outside our home (I know- still such a small family, right?). In fact, they began even earlier, when I first had a toddler and a newborn, and salespeople would shake their heads and cluck sympathetically. Sadly, it’s common [...]
I'm Stephanie. Creator of Keeper of the Home. Lover of Jesus. Wife to Ryan. Mommy to four. Drinker of fair-trade coffee with maple syrup and raw cream. Organic gardener. Barefoot, flip-flop wearer. Creative cook and kitchen messer-upper. [Read More …]
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