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Finding Truth In Gumballs

The other day, I had to run some errands and my 7 year old asked if he could come along. I told him that I would love his company and off we went! Our first stop was at the dollar store. As we were walking in, I noticed that Joe was clutching something tightly in his fist. When I asked him about it, he showed me 2 quarters that he had taken from his bank at home. He knew that the dollar store was going to be one of our stops that day, and he remembered seeing some of those candy machines there that you put coins in and turn the dial to get your treat. Every little kid has to get candy from one of those old machines at least once in their life, right?

After we finished paying for all of our items, Joe took his time to examine the contents of each machine so that he would get just the right candy. His first quarter he spent on a gumball. I was so surprised and delighted when he turned and handed it to me and said, “I bought this for Timmy, because I know how much he loves gumballs! Can you keep it safe for him?”

Timmy is my youngest son whom Joe has a love/hate relationship with at the moment. I believe that they are truly the best of friends. Joe is 7 years old and Timmy is 5 years old. All of their other brothers are much older than they are, so they are pretty close. These two are constantly with each other. They share a room, they share toys, and well, they pretty much share everything. However, spending that much time with someone comes with its challenges. They are easily irritated with each other. They have a hard time agreeing on things. Joe doesn’t want Timmy to touch ANY of his LEGOS, and Timmy hums. All. The. Time. He tells me that’s just the way God made him. While that’s true, I think it has more to do with the fact that Timmy doesn’t like quiet. If it’s too quiet, he’ll just start saying whatever pops into his mind, or he will hum. I think it’s adorable. Joe, on the other hand, most definitely does not. He gets super irritated with him and just wants him to go anywhere else then where he can hear him. This is why I was so surprised when Joe decided to spend his money on his little brother that day.

After choosing his own piece of candy from the machine, Joe and I started across the parking lot to our van. There on the ground, lying near the curb right where Joe could see it, was a shiny quarter. He looked up at me as if to ask if he was allowed to pick it up, and at that moment, I realized that I had been given a wonderful opportunity to share some seeds of truth with my precious son. I said, “Wow, Joe! You found a quarter! That’s so cool! You were super kind when you bought that gumball for Timmy, and I think that God saw that and wanted to bless you by giving you this new quarter to replace the one you spent on your brother! God loves to bless His children, especially when they bless others!” (From Luke 6:38)

Having that experience with my son made me think about all the opportunities to share truth with my kids that I had probably missed because I simply wasn’t looking. 2 Timothy says that we should always be prepared to preach the Word of God, and who better for this mama to preach to than my own kids? God needs to be a part of every single aspect of my life in order for my kids (and others) to see Him living in and through me, so I’m going to grab a hold of every opportunity to show my kids God’s truth in the ordinary, everyday moments that so often tend to pass by without being noticed. Moments like the other day when we saw God in a simple little gumball.

 

 

Home Made Ice Cream

Every Independence Day, for as long as I can remember, we have enjoyed a tradition of eating home made ice cream! This tradition started back when I was a little girl, and I have continued it with my own family.
I remember the week before July 4th, my mom would bring out the old ice cream maker and we would put all the ingredients in the metal canister, put the top on and plug it in. We would alternate handfuls of ice with sprinkles of rock salt and layer them until we covered the canister. My hands would get so cold! The motor was really loud as it churned the ice cream, but that was all a part of our tradition of making this delicious treat!
At first, we only made vanilla ice cream and then after a few years we found a decent recipe for chocolate as well, so we would make a gallon of each flavor. At some point in my later teenage years, my mom found a fabulous new recipe for our ice cream tradition. Oh my lanta! It is absolutely amazing! The secret is that you use instant Jello Pudding in the recipe.
After I got married and started my own family, my mother asked if I would take over making the traditional ice cream for our annual Fourth of July picnic. Of course I said yes, and she passed on the old ice cream maker for me to be able to share this great tradition with my own kids.
I had received an ice cream machine of my own as a wedding present, so we could now make the ice cream two gallons at a time, which was really helpful since we had a pretty sizable crowd when we all got together on the 4th with our growing families. Needless to say, two gallons just wasn’t enough for our crowd! We also decided that having only two flavors just wasn’t cutting it anymore, so, I set out to add to our traditional chocolate and vanilla. I started with just two additions, cookies and cream and chocolate brownie, and now I’m up to making eight different flavors of deliciousness, and I would love to share my recipes with all of you!

The Right Machine
First of all, you’re going to need a good ice cream maker. The machine we used when I was a child as well as the one I received as a wedding gift was a Rival brand. They’re great quality. This year when I was out in our garage where I store our ice cream makers when we aren’t using them, I accidentally knocked one of the motors down and it broke into several pieces. I immediately went online to Amazon to price a new machine. They do have Rival machines, but they aren’t the same as what I wanted, so I looked at the Hamilton Beach models. Not only are they a bit cheaper but they look just like the ones I already have with all of the same features. I went ahead and bought this one, and I was very pleased with the way our ice cream turned out!
Now that you know which ice cream maker to get, I can share this yummy recipe with you. As you will see from the list of ingredients, this is definitely not a fat free, sugar free or diet friendly recipe in any way. (Good thing calories don’t count on holidays, right?)
All of my flavors start with one of my two original flavors which are chocolate and vanilla. From there, the add-in possibilities are endless. I would love to hear what different flavors you come up with if you decide to try your hand at making ice cream!

You will need a lot of ice and a big bag of rock salt.

CHOCOLATE or VANILLA

3 (14 oz) cans of sweetened condensed milk

2 (6 oz) boxes of instant pudding (chocolate or vanilla for whichever flavor you are making)

1 1/2 tsp of vanilla

2 1/2 – 3 quarts of half and half

Put the first 3 ingredients into the metal canister and stir well before adding the half and half to the fill line.

Put the paddle in and the top on and then place the canister in the machine. Hook up your motor and then plug it in and let it spin for a minute before adding your layers of ice and salt. It should take anywhere from 20 – 45 minutes to churn. As the ice begins to melt, continue adding more ice and salt to keep the canister covered. The motor will slow down or stop completely when it’s finished. You can put the metal canister right in the freezer or you can pour your ice cream into your own container. We save gallon sized ice cream containers throughout the year just so we will have them for July 4th! I should mention here that I make 2 different flavors per batch of ice cream. I have two containers ready and pour half into each before putting my add-ins in.

 

CHOCOLATE BROWNIE

After churning your chocolate ice cream, just add bite sized pieces of brownies. I like to buy Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies and just pick off the candies. Keep in mind, I am making 8 flavors at a time, so I don’t take the time to make home made brownies for this. It still tastes amazing and is one of the kids’ favorites!

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH

This is an add-in for the vanilla ice cream. Confession time. I use a whole roll of Nestle’s pre-maid cookie dough for this. Yup. Raw eggs and all. We haven’t gotten sick off of it yet, so I’m not going to stop, but for those of you who prefer the egg-less option, you can make your own dough with this recipe.
Just cut up your dough and mix it in the churned ice cream before putting it in the freezer.

COOKIES N CREAM

Take an entire package of Oreos and put them in a gallon size ziploc bag. Crush them up or roll them with a rolling pin and then mix it into vanilla ice cream before freezing!

CHOCOLATE MINT COOKIES N CREAM

Use chocolate as your base, and then follow the directions for Cookies N Cream using mint flavored Oreos instead! I’ve only ever used plain and mint flavored Oreos, but with all the different flavors that they have, I’m sure that you could add whatever your favorite flavor is to make a new flavor!

SALTED CARAMEL/SALTED CARAMEL TRUFFLE

I put 2 flavors here, because not everyone is a chocolate lover like me! For both flavors, you’re going to mix up a batch of caramel sauce ahead of time so that you can mix it into your vanilla ice cream when it’s cooled down. If you want to add the “truffle” flavor, cut up a handful of Ghirardelli Dark & Sea Salt Caramel Squares and mix them in. This is my mom’s favorite flavor!

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER

This was my personal favorite this year. It has chocolate for the base. Take a cup of creamy peanut butter, a pinch of sea salt and 1-2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Mix it until smooth and then drop chunks of it into the ice cream.

The ice cream will need to freeze for at least 4 hours. I usually make mine several days in advance, since I always have tons of other food to prepare!

I hope that you enjoy this tasty tradition as much as we do!

Spending Our Summers Unplugged

If your kids are anything like mine, they really love to play video games. My little boys can’t wait until their school work and chores are all finished so that they can go play Lego Star Wars or Super Smash Bros on the Wii. My older school age kids usually like to grab their tablets and play Mine Craft or some other game. Even some of my adult children like to disappear after work and play on their XBox.

I’m actually not a huge fan of gaming, but I don’t think that there is anything wrong with it, as long as you play in moderation. In our house, all of your school work and all of your chores have to be finished before you’re allowed to get out the controllers, and even then, we have a time limit on how long you can play.

I AM a huge fan, however, of spending time outside. When the time is up for gaming, I send the kids out! Out for some fresh air and some good old vitamin D! You can never have enough fresh air. We have a nice back yard, a dog who will play ball for hours on end, and a trampoline just waiting to be jumped on. There are endless possibilities for what kids can do out in our back yard!

If it’s such a great place, then why do my kids come in after 10 or 15 minutes of wandering around aimlessly and ask if they are allowed to come back inside? Why do they tell me that there is nothing to do out there? If I tell them that they need to stay outside and play longer, a lot of times they just go and sit on the trampoline looking miserable or if I do let them come back inside, they usually just tell me that they are bored and that there is nothing to do. I know exactly why.

Addiction. There. I said it. My kids are addicted to screens. I think that most of you, if you’re being honest, could say the same thing about your own children. Kids in this day and age spend so much time playing inside, in front of a screen, that they’ve forgotten how to use their imagination. They are so caught up in what their high score is or what time their friends will be on so they can play against them, that they’ve lost the art of playing with someone. A lot of their conversation revolves around what games they are currently playing, or, if your kids are older, they’ve exchanged face to face communication with Snap Chat or texting or some other form of social media. Even we as parents get caught up in our own social media venues and watching our favorite TV shows and movies. Today’s culture is really, truly addicted to screens.

So, what can we do about this? Well, I believe, like any addictive substance, you have to stop using. Unplug the consoles. Dock the tablets and phones. Put the controllers away. Hide the power cord if you have to. Declare a video game fast!

For several years now, on our last day of school, I let the kids know that on a particular date, the games will be off for the entire summer. The first week is always really tough for them. They mope around the house saying that there is nothing to do. “I’m bored” is a phrase that gets really old after hearing it for the fiftieth time! They know better than to ask if they can play Nintendo though, because when this mama says that the games are off for the summer, then the games are off! Non-negotiable!

An amazing thing happens after that first week, though. I hear “I’m bored” less and and less and I begin to hear the happy sounds of children using their imaginations! Toys that have sat unnoticed are rediscovered and played with for hours. Suddenly, the back yard becomes an exciting place for endless adventures. All this in just one week of turning off those screens!

I’ll admit, I struggle with wanting the “me time” that I would get by letting the screens babysit my kids, but I love my kids too much to let them waste their summer hours sitting in front of a screen for hours on end. I have to ask myself, if my kids were addicted to drugs, alcohol, or porn, wouldn’t I do everything in my power to wean them off of those and get them interested in more life-enriching and healthier things? Then why is an addiction to a screen any different? Any one of those addictions affect the mind in a negative way – gaming included! One day my kids will be grown and moved out and I’ll have plenty of “me time”. I need to make the most of the time that I have with my children now while they are still at home. Isn’t losing my “me time” worth making sure my kids are living their life to the fullest extent and enjoying the wonders of God’s creation? Absolutely yes.

If my kids are going to be addicted to something, the only thing that I want them to be addicted to is their relationship with Jesus Christ. This is why we spend not only our summers unplugged, but also several weeks throughout the year. I’ve been entrusted with 10 precious gifts to raise and train by God’s grace, and I’m not here to raise junkies. I’m here to raise warriors.

Finding the Fruit in Your Kids

I love berries! They’re probably my favorite fruit. Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, wine berries…my mouth is watering just thinking about them! Have you ever been berry picking? I like to go to the local farm where we can pick our own strawberries. Berries just seem to taste better when you’ve picked them yourself!

I remember taking my girls to the strawberry patch a few years ago and when we first approached the plants, they were disappointed because there weren’t that many berries. I carefully lifted up the leaves of the first plant and showed them all of the delicious fruit just waiting to be picked by eager little fingers! Their disappointment quickly changed to excitement and they were off to fill their buckets! Of course, I told them to make sure to leave the green berries so that they could grow into beautiful, red, juicy berries for the next person to find and pick.

This reminds me of something I used to struggle with in parenting. Have you ever gotten frustrated when observing the spiritual state of your kids because you just don’t see any fruit? Or maybe your frustration comes more from the fruit that you DO see! Fruit like stubbornness, a quick temper, pride or selfishness. I mean, come on kids! Are none of our Bible lessons sticking with you at all? This can definitely get pretty discouraging at times.

Don’t lose heart! Sometimes, I think we just need to “pick up the leaves” and look a little closer to see the fruit that is growing in our kids. It’s not always going to be evident for all to see, but I believe that if we are faithfully instructing them and teaching them God’s Word, our kids WILL have fruit! Maybe it will manifest itself in smaller ways. For instance, my five year old came to the bathroom door (never fails, they always need SOMETHING as soon as I need to use the little girls’ room) asking if he could have some of the candy that I bought earlier that day. I told him that he could choose two and when I came out a few minutes later, he had brought out the bag and offered the candy to the rest of the family as well! Small fruit, but hey! He was practicing kindness AND sharing! That’s a win for me! We have to remember that our kids are still being grown into the people that God wants them to be and those little victories are the fruit growing in them that we are wanting to see. The fruit will get bigger as they grow and be more plentiful the closer they get to Jesus.

Sometimes, however, the fruit in our kids’ lives might look more like those green berries that just need some more time to ripen. I’ve seen this firsthand with my own kids. When they were younger, one of my kids was super stubborn. Actually, they still are, but I do have a point with this! I would get so frustrated at this kid! I could be teaching them something in school, and if I stated a fact about something and this kid disagreed, NOTHING I could say would change their mind. I would just have to move on and at some point, maybe years later, they would come to the conclusion on their own that I was actually right. (Imagine that!) When it came to food, picky doesn’t even begin to describe this kid’s eating habits! We aren’t the kind of parents to cater to that, though. We insist that our kids eat what is put in front of them and to be grateful that they have food to eat at all! If they don’t eat what’s on their plate at dinner, they will eat it the next morning for breakfast. Having the same meal twice has always worked in the past, but with this particular child, I reheated that plate for breakfast, lunch AND the next dinner! Yup. Definitely stubborn.

One day, I was discussing my frustration with my mother, and she gave me some wise words that have stayed with me ever since. She said, “The stubbornness that you see in your child today, may very well manifest itself one day as perseverance.” Wow! I really chewed on that one for awhile, and decided that I would use those wise words to encourage me every time I got frustrated with my obstinate child.

Turns out, my mom was right. My stubborn (now adult) child does indeed have the gift of perseverance, and those wise words have changed my perspective on how I see the fruit in all of my kids’ lives. You know the kid that is ALWAYS telling the other kids how and what to play? One day, they are going to be a fantastic leader. I have a kid who is extremely passionate when it comes to their emotions. When they’re happy they just cannot contain themselves. When they are sad, the world is literally coming to and end. When they are angry, well, just picture The Incredible Hulk. One day, they will redirect that passion and be on fire for the Lord.

When we are looking for the fruit in our kids lives, remember the berry patch. Not all the fruit is sitting out in plain sight, and some of the fruit might just need a little more time to ripen into something beautiful. Sometimes we just need to look a little closer to see that God is indeed at work in our kids’ lives.

Summer time: To School or Not to School

I absolutely love summer! I love everything about it. I love the long days where the kids are outside for hours. I love sitting out in the hot sun and getting my tan on. I love when my kids sleep in and I have a quiet house in the morning. (Okay, my 5 year old does NOT sleep in, but one kid makes a lot less noise then the whole crew.) I love the extended evenings, the picnics with friends, the lightning bugs that my younger kids like to chase around and bring back for me to see. I love the trips to the beach and sitting for hours in the sun while my kids play in the waves. I love the days at the river and the afternoons at the pool. I love my flip flops and tank tops. I love all the fresh fruits and vegetables! I just love summer. All of it.

I also love not having to school my kids during the summer. Don’t get me wrong. I love home schooling my children, and I want to do the best job that I can possibly do, teaching them and growing them into well-educated adults. I have had moms ask me if I school throughout the summer, and I am quick to give them a very emphatic “no”. I have realized that I need the summer break just as much, if not more, than the kids do. A burnt out, frazzled, tired of teaching, irritated at everything me, is definitely not the best version of me to be teaching my kids, well, anything!

So my opinion is that summertime is not the time for school, but it doesn’t mean that it isn’t the time to teach. In fact, it’s one of the best times for hands on teaching that we have, because we don’t have to fight the table of contents in our textbooks for time to show our kids the things that aren’t in a book. I don’t have any written plans for teaching my kids this summer, but I do intend to take every opportunity to help them learn about life every single day. I just need to be intentional in looking for those opportunities when planning out our summer adventures.

Here are some of my ideas for this summer:

PLAYING AT THE RIVER

We love to visit the different rivers around where we live. The kids take their boogie boards and walk up-stream a bit, and then they ride their boards down to where I am waiting for them. (I will note here, that I have at least 2 kids who are certified life guards and all of my kids have taken swimming lessons. Also, the water isn’t usually too deep where we hang out and I make sure that I can see my kids at all times.) This is a perfect time to talk about the different roles that the river can play. Water is the most essential ingredient for humanity. Rivers are used for irrigation, navigation and for hydro-power. It provides homes for many different animals, like the turtles and snakes that my kids like to catch! I’ve taught some of my kids how to skip rocks, build dams and make bowls out of river clay. The possibilities are endless.

STREAM ADVENTURES

Another thing that my younger kids and I have done, is get involved in the Harford Streams Summer Adventures. Visit the streams on their list, take a selfie at each one and win prizes. We’ve discovered some streams that we didn’t know about by taking part in this. It also raises awareness for protecting and restoring the area streams.

HIKING

One thing about living in Maryland, is that we have tons of great hiking spots around. Besides the obvious of hiking for exercise, there is a lot of nature out there to be explored, discovered and learned about! Teach your kids about the different kids of trees, or why the moss tends to grow more on the north side of the trees. Take a list with you and go on a scavenger hunt!  National parks usually have some great hiking trails, and most of them some sort of historical background that you and your kids can learn about. A few of my favorite places to hike are Harper’s Ferry, Cunningham Falls, Kilgore Falls, and Gunpowder Falls State park.

MESSY CRAFTS

You know all those times your kids wanted to do some really messy art project during the school year, but you absolutely did not want the mess in your house? Summer is the perfect time for those messy crafts, because you can do them outside! My daughter wants to tie dye shirts, and I’m sure there are tons of other messy crafts that we can get into as well.

SUMMER IN THE KITCHEN

While baking might seem like too warm of an activity for summer, you don’t have to use the oven every time to make tasty food! We have a 4th of July tradition in our house of making home made ice cream. We have 2 electric ice cream makers. We mix up about 6 gallons every summer. It doesn’t last very long in this house! Maybe this year we will use some of the ice cream to make cookie sandwiches!  I think we’ll give these Watermelon Ice Pops a try as well. My kids will have a blast coming up with some yummy treats to make this summer!

HARFORD COUNTY FARM FAIR 

If you’ve never been to the farm fair, I would suggest you give it a try this year! There are tons of farm animals, carnival rides, lots of booths giving away free stuff and a whole row of bounce houses that the kids love! There are several different contests, but our favorite has always been the watermelon eating contest. We’ve collected quite a few ribbons from this contest over the years! I’ll be at the fair for the whole week at the Beachmont Corn Maze booth. Stop by and say hi!

Summer time is here, and so is the time to put away our books and get outside! There will be plenty of time next school year for schedules, math problems, history and science. For now, I’m on break from school, and it feels wonderful!