#33. Arms that have hands that shake to say hello
#34. Arms that embrace in the happiest of times and the saddest
#35. Arms that provide comfort in the storm
#36. Tiny arms that request hugs and return them so lovingly and innocently
#37. Hairy arms that provide protection from all those unknowns
#38. Strong arms that give a soft place to fall
#39. Gentle arms that find us at our weakest moments and are attached to shoulders to rest our weary heads
#40. Arms placed around our shoulders to give us confidence when we lack it on our own
#41. God’s arms – always open to receive His children
#42. A mama’s arms that allow her to embrace her little ones

#22. the yummy fragrances they emit

#23. the warm fellowship that falls easily under their ceilings

#24. the fullness they bring to the dinner table

#25. the blessing of nourishment they give to the family

#26. the central heart of the home they supply to all who enter in

#27. the happiness and memories that are produced there

#28. the learning and stretching of abilities of hands young and old they see

#29. the heat they make in the winter on cool days and cold nights

#30.  the heat they make in the summer that makes you long for a tall glass of lemonade

#31.  the space they provide for harvesting, canning, storing and munching

p.s. Don’t forget to keep your marker in an upper cabinet so no little hands give you a new coat of paint!

How do you keep your refrigerator organized?

#14.  small, sticky fingers that intertwine with yours

#15.  fingers that sign “I love you”

#16.  elegant fingers that bring musical melodies to your ears via instruments you can only dream of playing

#17.  walking fingers that play pretend on a table top

#18.  loving fingers that display committed relationships through a symbolic ring

#19.  old fingers that teach new fingers to crochet

#20.  tired fingers that scrub at stubborn stains

#21.  kind fingers that sew your favorite dress – even into the late night hours

Not only does your fridge keep your food cold, but it also helps you stay organized for meal planning as well.  Tried and true, here are some hints that will help your refrigerator staying fresh, organized and a blessing to your family.

Buy a box of baking soda.  A single box of baking soda used for eliminating odors will last you for about three months.  Be sure to write in marker the day you open and put the soda in your fridge for two reasons:  1.)  So you will know when to replace it, and 2.) so you won’t use it in your baking accidentally.  Simply leaving the box open in your refrigerator can help kill odors and you’ll find that by making a paste of baking soda and water, you can scrub out most stains.

Take your vegetables out of the plastic bags.  It’s interesting to me that vegetables will brown and wilt a lot faster if they stay in the original plastic bags you bring them home in from the store.  If you take them out and put them into the clean crisper bins or if you prefer the fancy veggie saving bags that are available now, you’ll find that this keeps them green and strong a lot longer.  The next step is not to forget about them in the fridge!  Be sure to write your vegetable side dishes down on your menu planner so they won’t go bad out of sight.

Regularly check your condiments.  Next to vegetables, condiments can also turn without your noticing.  Sometimes, just when you need them for some cooking, you’ll find stinky mayo or “stuff ” floating in your lemon juice.  YUCK!  A routine check of the back shelves of your refrigerator will stop you from getting any nasty surprises when you reach for the ranch dressing or cream cheese.  To stay organized, choose a date you’ll remember and check the condiments on that day every month.  (Or better yet, train your tween to do it!)

Eternal vigilance.  Make sure that the minute that you notice a spill or a stain that you try to tackle it.  Just like the fresh veggies disappear once the refrigerator door is closed, so can icky messes.  Make sure that to clean the entire fridge thoroughly at least once every 6 weeks.  (Or every other time you check your condiment dates.)  Thoroughly means you’ll remove the drawers and the bins (because this is where bacteria and stains like to hide) and clean with warm, soapy water.  A word to the wise, never put meat products in locations over fresh vegetables.  If the meat leaks, your fresh produce is then ruined, too.

Routine maintenance.  Preferably, perform  a perfunctory cleansing with a clean damp towel at least every week.  Don’t forget the outside or the handles as this is a popular breeding place for germs.

What tips and tricks do you use to keep up with your refrigerator maintenance?

After a decade of sorting through the messages we want our children to pick up on, we’ve finally decided to focus on the topic of New Life.  There’s a little song we sing that repeats the words, “New life, new life, is what we have been given by the Lord.”  Because there can be so much indecision surrounding this sacred holiday, I’d like to share with you some of the things we do to help keep the focus on our Savior.

Gifts.  We don’t do a whole lot with the “traditional Easter basket”.  We do accept gifts from family members but each year we try to encourage them to use their creativity and look for gifts that have to do with new life.

Baskets.  Like I said above, we don’t have Easter baskets for our children.  Not that we couldn’t, or think poorly of them, we just don’t have them ourselves.

Egg dying.  We do dye eggs.  We love to use all the lovely Spring colors that God has blessed us with.  We don’t use a lot of commercialization to do this, just simple wax for drawing and Spring stickers (i.e. flowers, butterflies, etc.).  We always buy the decorations after Easter the year before so as to get a really great deal and avoid the crowds.

Easter bunny photos.  We do not do photos with a person dressed as a rabbit.  If we did do “Easter” pictures, we would make them “Spring” pictures instead.

Easter bunny chocolates.  We usually shy away from anything in the shape of “Easter bunnies”, including food.  If we do buy treats from the store, we make sure they can be directly related to the blessings we receive in the Spring season.

Egg hunting.  We do hunt for eggs, however, we try to limit the hunting events to only two.  After you get this party and that activity and school and play dates these hunts can really rack up and leave our children with the wrong impressions of Easter.  Confusion is always a frustrating thing for a child.  When we do our own hunt at home, we use hollow eggs and do NOT fill them with anything.  When the children find them, they run to us open the egg and say, “The tomb is empty!”  We reply with, “He has risen, just as He promised.”  Then we give them a little toy or small piece of candy or a dime wrapped in aluminum foil.  It is our opinion that the children prefer this over just a simple egg hunt that ends as soon as you find all the eggs.

What do you do to keep your focus on the Savior during the Easter holiday?

This album, Yanni’s first instrumental release of original compositions in over 8 years, impressed me immediately with its astounding Yanni-like ability to capture my attention.  The artist works his talent through the speakers with back and forth action making you feel like you are a part of his creation. The pieces are full of texture and depth. The songs were aptly and wisely named.  “Seasons”, one of my favorites and “Voyage” can easily be visualized by the listener.

But impressive instrumental tunes are not all Truth of Touch includes. The album also incorporates other talents, as is expected.  There is a musical collaboration with trumpet player Arturo Sandoval in “Yanni & Arturo” and romantic vocals with Nathan Pacheco in “O Luce Che Brilla Nell’ Oscurita” – truly lovely!

Additionally, Leslie Mills, Kentucky girl turned Nashville, has a couple of voice pieces amongst the instrumental variety of Yanni’s songs.  Although I like Leslie’s sound, I would have preferred just the instruments. For me, the lyrics seemed to distract from the composer’s talents. Although clearly Yanni in the background with a light, whispy voice in the foreground, Leslie is easy on the ears but I would have preferred to have an English language free album.

If you love Yanni, don’t hesitate to indulge yourself in his latest album – you won’t regret it!  If you’ve never taken the Yanni plunge, Truth of Touch is a great jumping in point.  The amazing rhythms will capture your attention while the melodies keep you humming all day.  Truly a masterpiece!

The 15 track CD includes the following titles:

1. Truth of Touch
2. Echo of a Dream
3. Seasons
4. Voyage
5. Flash of Color
6. Vertigo
7. Nine
8. Can’t Wait
9. Guilty Pleasure
10. O Luce Che Brilla Nell’ Oscurita
11. I’m So
12. Long Way Home
13. Yanni & Arturo
14. Mist of a Kiss
15. Secret

On March 22, Yanni launched a 40-date tour of the US. The tour will take him through theaters in major cities across the US including Radio City Music Hall in NYC and the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles.  What a treat to catch this talented performer live!

Will you be buying Yanni’s new CD for yourself or a loved one?  Will you try to attend one of his fabulous concerts and where?

In a time when the economy is being so unkind to so many, the scientists at the World Napology/Dipeology Association (WNDA) have declared a new way to save money. Instead of purchasing disposable diapers month after month and filling up landfills week after week, now parents have the option to grow their own diapers!

We’ve all heard about the study of nappies that started last decade – Napology (commonly known as Dipeology in North America). This science stemmed from the ever growing popularity of the green movement and the need for sustainable infant diapers and supplies.

Long before the WNDA was officially established, a young French scientist by the name of Noam Girard, was fast becoming a pioneer in the field of Napology. In 1972, due to space constraints within the garbage collection system, he recognized and documented the need for a sustainable diapering alternative for his home town of Metz, France. Paper diapers were abundant in the landfills there and this problem continued farther South, even into central France.

After much study and multiple failures, Girard broke major ground in 1998 with his design of a nappy seed. The seed could be tucked into a small hole in any standard baby diaper. After the nappy was sufficiently wetted, it could be buried 15cm (approximately 6 inches) below the ground. Any soil type was found to work; however, Girard did note that sandy soil needed additional fertilizer to produce a tree strong enough to withstand the weight of the nappy fruit.

In as little as one year, the nappy seed will grow into a small bush of about one meter (a little over 3 feet) in height; however, it will not begin producing nappy fruit until the following year. This amazing invention was years ahead of its time and earned Noam Girard the distinguished honor of being named the Father of Napology.

In addition to the need for advanced planting prior to baby’s arrival, the original nappy fruit, though purely synthetic, did not grow super absorbent polymers (SAPs) or sticky tabs. This flaw left the nappy with the inability to fasten around the child securely. In addition, without SAPs, the nappy was unable to absorb baby’s frequent deposits. Girard and his team quickly recognized the fruit’s shortcomings and wasted little time finding a “work-around” for their new creation. Their recommendation: the addition of duct tape to solve both issues. However, the solution did not come without the following warning: “Great care should be exercised when removing duct tape from the nappy once it is affixed to a child. Skin rashes and the potential flooding of the surface upon which the child is located are both possible.”

Fast-forward 12 years to present day 2011: Dr. Brady Hans, president of the WNDA, has today announced that Mr. Girards original seed has successfully been altered so that sticky tabs are now developing on some of the newest strains of nappy trees that were planted in early 2009. “This is exciting news for parents and caregivers world-wide!” Dr. Hans states, “Removing the necessary addition of duct tape also removes the likelihood of skin irritations and infections. To put it simply, this means we are one step closer to providing a real alternative to the traditional disposable diaper. Sustainable Napology benefits moms and dads from sea to sea.”

Hans’ staff expects the new seeds to be available in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and North America as early as January 2012. Since the nappy fruit doesn’t emerge until the second year after planting, this news comes just in time for anyone expecting children in 2014.

Happy April Fool’s Day!

I’ve got the scoop and I’m sharing it was Stephanie’s readers at Keeper of the Home today!  Head over to see the tips you won’t want to miss!

While furthering my research, I found a vast amount of information spread all over the internet as to where to take your child for a special night out.  Additionally, tons of ideas regarding spending time with your children also came to my attention.

Being a trusty Google Warrior, I set out on my mission:  To find wholesome, engaging, fun activities for both parent and child and compile them into a single list.  What I learned from hours and hours of reading other people’s opinions is that there is a general consensus among parents:

Spending time with your children does NOT have to be expensive to make a difference.

I sure have had a lot of fun poking around to find ideas and I hope you will benefit along with me from this research!

70 things to do with your children!

1. Eat dinner together
2. Read to one another
3. Go camping
4. Go shopping
5. Go to the library
6. Play a board game
7. Play a video game
8. Take a nature walk
9. Go to the park & play WITH your child
10. Go to a museum
11. Go to the zoo
12. Bake cookies or brownies
13. Flip through a magazine
14. Play basketball, baseball, catch, soccer, etc.
15. Hula Hoop together (I suggest separate hoops though)
16. Go for a scenic drive and leave the radio and DVD players OFF
17. Write a story together
18. Draw or color a picture together
19. Make a blanket & box fort in your living room
20. Go on a hike
21. Have a picnic – inside or out
22. Walk on the beach
23. Ride bikes together
24. Fly a kite
25. Create an putt-putt golf course inside
26. Dance to fun music
27. Act out a play with puppets behind the kitchen table – no audience required
28. Make popsicles
29. Decorate the cookies you baked
30. Design an obstacle course & run through it
31. Try some homemade “Minute To Win It” challenges
32. Play doubles solitaire (can you still call it solitaire if you play with someone else?)
33. Go swimming
34. Decorate family t-shirts with old tees & fabric paint or iron ons
35. Scrapbook
36. Design cards for later use
37. Go swimming
38. Go skiing
39. Go walking
40. Go roller skating
41. Hang a bird feeder & research local birds to watch for (binoculars would be fun, too!)
42. Pitch a tent (outside or in) and sleep in it
43. Pop popcorn and watch a movie together
44. Take the dog for a walk
45. Make a paper airplane
46. Play dress up (Not just for girls!  Don’t forget about knights, dragons, policemen, firemen, etc.)
47. Have a water balloon fight
48. Volunteer at the SPCA
49. Go on a scavenger hunt in your backyard
50. Sit on the porch and count how many different sounds you hear
51. Make silly faces and take pictures
52. Learn a new skill
53. Go fishing
54. Thumb wrestle
55. Play “Rock, Paper, Scissors”
56. Play “Tic-Tac-Toe”
57. Play the word association game (say the 1st thing that comes to your head when I say…)
58. See how many words you can think of that start with a certain letter
59. Learn to sing “Happy Birthday” backwards
60. Soak your feet in a tub of warm water & talk
61. Go Geocaching (GPS required)
62. Play Madlibs
63. Plant a tree
64. Pick flowers
65. Gaze at the stars (perhaps from the rooftop)
66. Make homemade ice cream
67. Catch a frog
68. Go bowling
69. Wash the car (spray each other with the hose)
70. Enjoy a favorite beverage (coffee, soda, tea, etc.)

What creative things do you do when you spend time with your children?

Here’s a bibliography of where some of the above ideas came from:

• Childreach:  Spending Time with Children – free & inexpensive ideas for spending time together; conversation starters for building relationships.
• Associated Content from Yahoo:  10 Inexpensive Ways to Have Fun – a bulleted list of creative ideas
• Associated Content from Yahoo – lots of reading/skimming but still good ideas