Reading Aloud with Children

In the last year we have started something that we all really enjoy - reading aloud as a family. We do this most of the time during mealtime, when everyone is together and sitting down (and Joshua is 'stuck' in his highchair). :) We have learned about many different people and places, and we talk about them long after the book is finished. I thought I would share a few of our favorites with you.

Nate Saint: On a Wing and a Prayer

This was the very first book we read in the Christian Heroes series by Janet and Geoff Benge. I honestly had never heard of Nate Saint, or any of the other men that were with him, until we read this book. Nate's life story was exciting, and it was exciting for me to tell my children stories of how God works, even in places that are remote and have never heard of Jesus. The others that we enjoyed from this series were Amy Carmichael, George Muller, Gladys Aylward, David Livingstone, and Cameron Townsend. I highly recommend all of these, and I am hoping to get the others in the series as well!

Laura Ingalls - The Little House Collection

I read these books when I was younger and I was so happy to be able to share them with my children. Definitely a classic! :)

Storytime With the Millers

The Miller family books we liked because they teach good character traits. They have a fun, loving family, and encounter things we might in our everyday lives. I especially liked how they incorporated Bible verses into every day situations. This was encouraging for me as a mom, because I need to be better at this. :) Other books in this series include Wisdom and the Millers, Prudence and the Millers, Missionary Stories with the Millers, School Days with the Millers, and Growing with the Millers.


What books do you enjoy as a family? I would love to hear your suggestions!

~This Week's Menu~

Breakfast-
Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal
Oatmeal x 3
Baked Banana Oatmeal
Peanut Butter and Jelly Baked Oatmeal
Baked Pancakes

Lunch-
Chicken noodle soup, dinner rolls
Leftovers x 3
PB&J, fruit x 3

Dinner-
Popcorn (Sunday)
Cheesy chicken and corn chowder, salad, breadsticks
Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas, black beans, rice, salad
Goulash, veggie, salad
Red Beans and Rice, cornbread
Lasagna, veggie, salad, garlic bread
Egg bake, pumpkin bread, cranberry muffins (per request of one of my daughters for her birthday) :)

Snacks-
Zucchini bread
Granola bars
No bake energy bites

I am trying out lots of new recipes this week. I have been looking for something new and I found some great blogs with lots of good recipes. Make sure to check out The Marathon Mom and Lynn's Kitchen Adventures if you are looking for new inspiration in the kitchen! :)

Reaching Our Goal!

                              
About 15 months ago, my husband and I started The Total Money Makeover from Dave Ramsey. (If you haven't heard of him, check out the link - you won't be sorry!) I had gotten the book, not really knowing what to expect. My husband and I read it together, and we both were nodding along with everything Dave was saying, like "This really makes sense!"
We were never in ALOT of debt, just a credit card with a few hundred dollars on it, a car payment and a mortgage. But we also didn't have a savings account and had never done a budget before, and NEVER paid for anything with cash! His ideas of spending every dollar on paper were a little scary to me at first, but after doing our first budget, we realized we had alot more money than we were seeing! That was motivating! From then on it was greenbacks and envelopes. :)
There were many changes made - no more just buying things out of impulse, making more foods from scratch at home, and keeping track of every penny that came and went, and saying no to things we didn't need. We even sold some things and put that money away!
We met the first 'baby step' goal right away, and then soon after we were able to pay off our van! The biggest challenge for us was saving the six months living expenses. We would make progress, and then our hearts would change and say "Why are we keeping all of this for ourselves?" We would lose our 'gazelle intensity', and it wouldn't be as important to save as it was to give. This is not a bad thing, but it doesn't help you reach your goal very quickly! :)
After 15 months we have finally reached our goal. Our emergency fund of six months living expenses is full! We have learned so much about budgeting, and sacrificing for the long term. I do not think I could ever go back to our old way of thinking.
Now that our emergency fund is done, we have set others goals, some of which I hope to share with you in the near future!
Have you done the Total Money Makeover before? Have you reached your goal? :)

Our Trip to Duluth

Early in March we decided that our family needed to get away to spend some quality time together. Duluth sounded like the perfect place - not too far away, but far enough that we weren't just going and coming back in one day.It is about a three hour drive from where we live (a bit longer if you stop at every bathroom along the way :) ). Last week we finally went - Spring break!


 

 

The first of many bathroom breaks along the way. This is where the girls learned what "hovering" is. :)

 

We stayed at The Suites Hotel, and got a two bedroom condo with a full kitchen. Our condo was very nice, and the continental breakfast was really good! I am sure that the condo we stayed in was bigger than our first apartment. :)

 

 

 

 

This window was the favorite hangout spot whenever we were at the hotel.

 

The view from the front of the hotel.

As you can see in the picture we were very close to the Lift Bridge, so of course we visited there many times. We also went to the Maritime Museum and saw lots of things about ships. :)

 

 

 

We drove to Two Harbors and walked ALMOST the whole way out to the light house, but it was so cold that day we decided to turn back. :)

Just picturesque, isn't it?

 We went to Bridgeman's to eat dinner one night. That was a great family restaurant - no loud annoying music, no alcohol, just good family time! Plus, they have kids eat free on Tuesdays - score! :) Everyone enjoyed their food, and we splurged on a colossal size banana split to share (my first one ever!).

 

We were really wanting to visit the Great Lakes Aquarium and the Lake Superior Zoo while we were in Duluth, and after some research I found that if we bought a membership to the zoo, we not only could get into over 150 other zoos for FREE, but we could also get into the aquarium for half off! That was such a blessing!

A bear at the zoo

 

Farm animals at the zoo.... It was a beautiful day!

 

The aquarium entrance

Cool tree house with a slide at the aquarium

 

 

The aquarium had so much to look at, but my little ones wouldn't stand still that long. :) They have a very cool table shaped like the Great Lakes where the kids can try out "the locks" with their boats. I am pretty sure that was the most popular spot in the whole place!

 

It was so nice to just get away, and spend time together. We didn't have time to see everything we wanted to, but we found that Duluth is a great vacation spot, and we plan to go back soon! :)

 

 

What did you do for spring break? :)