If I told you that you could get over $780 worth of eBooks, eCourses, and merchandise for just $29.97, would you believe me?  I know.  It sounds too good to be true.  But I’m here to tell you that, in fact, beginning Monday, April 29 – you will be able to do just that. 

Next week, I am joining 74 other bloggers to offer you a package that is so incredible, I’m having a hard time deciding how many I should personally buy.  (Because, yes, you can buy more than one so that you can share with others.) 

For $29.97, you’ll receive 97 eBooks and eCourses.  It’s an entire library of incredible information.  In addition, there are over $140 worth of free products (from companies I love like Redmond and Cultures for Health, just to name a few).  When you buy the bundle, you can use all that is included, or you can pick and choose which ebooks will benefit you most.  With a deal like that (31¢ per eBook!), and all the freebies, if you end up not needing an ebook or two, it will be painless (and fun!) to pass it on to bless someone else.

What are these eBooks all about?  In short:  All things homemaking.  From cooking and recipes to organizing, to crafting and decorating, to budgeting, to parenting and marriage, to growing spiritually – there are books to cover it all.  I have spent the last few days devouring book after book, and I can’t tell you how much fun I’ve had, how delicious the new recipes have been, and how encouraged I’ve been after reading the thoughts from so many wonderful authors.

This sale begins Monday, and will last through the week.  Because of this, I plan to devote many of my upcoming posts to different aspects of homemaking.  (Not that I don’t already.  This is Heavenly Homemakers after all.  But still.) 

I am honored to be a part of this sale so that I can share with you so many great resources for such a low price.  And I’m really looking forward to focusing in a special way with you on the subject of homemaking in the upcoming days.

Get ready for it!  This sale will only last six days, and you really don’t want to miss out.  In the meantime, I’m going to continue working my way through all the ebooks in the bundle.  I just can’t get enough.  Can you blame me?  Here’s just a sample of some of the books in the bundle.  The recipes and kitchen related books…

Books about getting your home organized…

Books of encouragement…

And that’s not all!  More information to come on Monday.  Be ready! :)

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With the Ultimate Homemaking eBook Bundle promo going on all week, I wanted to take some time to encourage us all in each of our unique homemaking roles.  God is so good to allow each of us to make our homes heavenly – at all seasons and stages of our lives.

So, who is a homemaker?

Hi.  I’m Laura.  I have a husband and four kids.  I am a stay-at-home mom.  I work a full time job from my home.  I homeschool my children.  We eat whole foods.  I don’t like cleaning.  I have a big garden.  I am a homemaker.

Allow me to introduce you to my friend Gail.  She is a college professor who spends many hours in a classroom and in an office each day.  She has blessed thousands of college students through the years.  She and her husband are empty nesters, enjoying their children and grandchildren when they have a chance to see them every few months.  Gail doesn’t like cooking – never has, never will.  Last I heard, she pays someone else to clean her house for her.  Her home is always open, and I always feel comfortable and welcome when I am at Gail’s house.  Gail is a homemaker.

Please meet my friend, Michele. She is single, with no children. I often see her serving those around her, particularly those with many small children. She involves herself in many ministries at church, at camp, and in the community. She frequently invites people into her home. She knows how to feed an army, and does so regularly. Michele is a homemaker.

I have to tell you about my dear friend Madge.  She is in her late 80′s (or early 90′s?), a widow after enjoying a lifetime of marriage to her sweetheart.  Madge is lonely.  She can no longer drive on her own.  Her adult children and grandchildren, as well as some Christian friends, help her get around and make sure she is always at church and involved in other activities.  Each time I see her, she has a smile and words of wisdom to share with me.  “Let go and let God.”  That will always be my favorite quote from her.  Madge always cuts out my newspaper articles from the weekly column I write and sends them to my Nana.  Madge is a homemaker.

Have you met my friend Brenda?  She just received her masters degree.  Her three kids are teenagers (one is in college) which has her frequently on the go with their public school events and extracurricular activities.  She hates to clean, and claims that her housekeeping skills leave much to be desired.  I beg to differ.  I’ve seen her piles of “clutter.”  They resemble my own, helping me know that I’m in good company.  She has people in and out of her home daily – particularly her kids’ friends and neighbors.   Brenda is a homemaker.

And then there is my friend Lindsey, who, unlike Brenda and myself,  loves to clean.  Loves it.  Her house is always spotless, and her smile is beautiful.  She is so much fun to be with, and she is intentional about keeping her marriage and family strong and growing in the Lord.  Her two little girls go to public school, and she is very involved in their classrooms.  Even though her daughters are young, I see Lindsey instilling in them a desire for purity, love for others, and love for the Lord.  Lindsey is a homemaker. 

I wish you could meet my friend, Margaret.  She gives the best hugs.  She and her husband are retired, and loving every minute of it.  She used to work full time outside of the home.  Now she can often be found at her grandkid’s sports activities or serving at church.  Margaret is a homemaker.

So who is a homemaker?  A homemaker is all of us.  A homemaker is you.  A homemaker is each person who works to make a home heavenly.  A person who serves, gives, loves, and cares. 

Whether you work outside the home sixty hours a week or stay home full time – you are a homemaker.  Whether you homeschool, public school, hate cooking, love cleaning, have too many piles of mail in your kitchen, can’t remember when you last washed your windows, decorate your home with elaborate handmade crafts, or wouldn’t know a piece of raffia if it hit you in the face – you are a homemaker.

Thank you God for the beautiful gift of homemaking – in all its forms.  We are blessed.

Share how God is working in your life on your blog, then come link up with us here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for! Please read through the Gratituesday Guidelines so that you understand what kinds of posts you can link up to share here. Posts that are linked but do not fit our Gratituesday theme will be deleted.

If you are linking up a blog post for Gratituesday, please copy and paste the following sentence into your post! Thanks!

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

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I sure hope you didn’t read the title of this post and assume I would be giving you my secret formula for getting my family out the door to church each week without being late.  I wish.  Although I will say:  Sometimes we actually are on time!! 

And then there are the other times.  Do my boys not have a hurry mode?  Do they not acurately comprehend my words when I tell them to put their shoes on?  Which part of “stop talking so that you can stuff food down your face” do they not understand?

From what I hear, this seems to be an issue in many households.  Today is our chance to share the tips and tricks that work for each of us to help get our families up and out the door to church on time – or shucks, maybe even early. 

Oh – and since we are, after all, going to meet with our church family so that we can worship our Creator together, I’d love to hear how you encourage your family to be on time, while maintaining joy and smiles!    Nothing like good ol’ family chaos to put us in the correct frame of mind to praise God. {cough}

Here’s what works for our family…when it works:

• Do as much on Saturday to prepare as possible.  Showers and baths taken, clothes laid out, Bibles and shoes by the door.
• Make breakfast easy.  Either we have oatmeal, or I bake something the night before so all we have to do is grab and eat.
• No Sunday morning down time allowed.  If you’re not completely ready to leave - with shoes on your feet, contribution money in your pocket, and teeth brushed, you sure as heck better not be shooting baskets in the hallway with a Nerf basketball.  (Don’t they know I’m trying to keep that joy and godliness in my Sunday morning routine?!)
• Mom gets up earlier than normal, allowing for twice as much time as it normally takes to get ready.  (And sometimes it’s still not enough.)

I am really excited for you to share on this topic!! What do you do to help your family make it to church on time? All ideas are welcome. If it works for you, it may work for someone else. Even if it just works sometimes. Or on the days when the kids don’t play basketball in the hallway before getting out of their pajamas….

Regarding this question, and many others, I have really enjoyed reading the eBook:  4 Moms of 35+ Kids Answer Your Parenting Quesions.  In this eBook, these wise moms address topics like:  How do you get your family to church on time?  How do you teach children to be still and quiet in church?  How do you keep your patience in the midst of chaos?  How do you teach your children to do chores?  How do you deal with sibling squabbles?  And so much more.

What a valuable resource for all who are raising children.  I encourage you to look into 4 Moms of 35+ Kids Answer Your Parenting Quesions. 

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I think I was about eleven years old at the time.  I was baking chocolate chip cookies - all by myself.  It was something I’d been doing since I was about nine, and my mom had confidently turned over all cookie baking jobs to me at that point.

As I reached in to pull the pan of cookies from the oven that day, somehow my right arm brushed the inside of the oven.  Ouch!  I’d had little burns before, but this one was a biggie.  Or so it seemed at the time.

Mom helped me try to find some relief for the burn as she finished up the cookie baking chore.  I remember being in a lot of pain – and feeling really frustrated with myself.  How could I have been so dumb?  It is not hard to take cookies out of the oven without burning yourself.  Why hadn’t I just slowed down and done it right?  I must  not be a very good cook, I woefully lamented to myself.

Later that day, my grandma came over to drop something off.  She took a look at the burn on my arm, winced sympathetically, and said, “Ah, the sign of a good cook…”

What?  Good cook?!  I had been thinking exactly the opposite.  As I got teary eyed, Grandma continued, “Laura, every good cook I know burns herself every once in a while.  It’s not fun, but it means that you’re working hard to help feed your family.  Take care of your burn, then get back in the kitchen and keep on cooking.”

It’s a good thing my grandma gave me that advice.  Otherwise, my husband and sons would be pretty hungry by now.  Just kidding.  I’m sure I would have found my way back into the kitchen eventually.  But Grandma’s words dried my tears, and got me off the couch and back into the kitchen that very day. 

Every good cook burns herself sometimes.  Every homemaker occasionally flings a spoonful of flour into the jar of salt.  (As in, I did this just last Wednesday.)  Sometimes, when you open the refrigerator, the plastic bottle of ketchup will fall to the floor, break, and shoot ketchup all the way into the living room, up your pantleg, and into the leftover pie.  (Again, last Wednesday.)

Every parent says the wrong thing to her child at one time or another.  Every person puts his foot in his mouth occasionally.  Everyone who has ever done laundry has found that a red shirt with a white sock will create a pretty shade of pink.  Or in my case, I learned that my green kitchen rug would turn my light blue guest towels the color of puke.  (If only Grandma could have come over that day.)

Afraid of failing?  Nervous about trying something new?  Scared that you don’t know enough about cooking, serving, parenting, homemaking, working, or you know…taking cookies out of an oven?  Not to worry.  Every good cook burns herself sometimes. 

Trying and failing, spilling and splattering buttermilk onto the ceiling, overbaking the muffins, dropping and breaking an egg into the silverware drawer – all of these are signs of a good cook in the making.  Who knew?! 

Um well, that would be…Grandma.

I’d love for you to share about a homemaking task you feel afraid to tackle.  What’s something new that you’re not sure of trying?  Have something you’re afraid of tackling?  Don’t worry.  Every good cook burns herself sometimes.  That’s how we learn!  Share with us!

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As an author, I was able to access the Ultimate Homemaking eBook Bundle two weeks ago.  It was kind of like Christmas – only better because every few days, I open up the folder where I put all of the books, and I open up several more.  It’s the gift that keeps on giving – for a really long time!

Hopefully you’ve grabbed your bundle by now, and are enjoying getting your new eBooks organized.  Even though I’ve had them for a while, I continue to find eBook treasures that I hadn’t noticed before.  I love having them all in a folder so that whenever I need/want to, I can go pull them up!

Here are a few recipes and activities we’ve enjoyed while working our way through the books the past couple of weeks:

When I saw that this bundle included The Armor of God Unit Study, I opened it up and printed it right away for my two younger boys.  They loved it, and it gave our whole family the opportunity to talk about the power we have through God (and how to be prepared for battle).

Really.  The boys were actually eager to do their writing assignments each day.  I think it had something to do with the fact that there were weapons, shields, and other manly items on each page.

Then, they both got to design a shield.  That was their favorite part!  (Again – I’ve got to say it.  Just like with writing assignments, my boys don’t normally sit and decorate pictures with markers.  This activity had them occupied for a good long while.  Rock on, Armor of God eBook!)

Just tonight I found the The ABC’s For Godly Boys.  How did I miss that the first two weeks!?  (Maybe because there are 97 eBooks and it’s tough to see them all at once??)  You had better believe I printed it off and worked it into our school schedule for next week.  I love that it includes scripture specifically to encourage our boys to become men of God.  (There is The ABC’s For Godly Girls in the bundle, too!)

 
I’m sure you’re not surprised that I’ve been really enjoying the recipe eBooks in the bundle.  I’ll highlight two for now, but there are many more I am so excited to have access to.

I love mixes, so the Cottage Mama’s Wholesome Mixes book was a fun read for me.  I quickly mixed up a Yellow Cake Mix from one of the recipes in the book.  Elias, our 11 year old, is really looking forward to the day I let him use it.  In the meantime, I think it looks pretty in the jar, sitting on my pantry shelf. 

I’ll let him make it…next week, after I’m done staring at it. :)

Crock On! may be the first eBook I opened when the eBook bundle arrived in my inbox.  It’s soccer season – I need healthy, easy crock pot recipes so that we can have a good meal waiting for us when we get home from games!

We fell in love with the Mexican Chicken Spaghetti from the Crock On! eBook.  It’s so crazy delicious, I actually warmed up the leftovers for my breakfast the next day.  All six of us loved it – and that’s saying something!  (Although, of course, two of my boys prefer it without the corn.  Who doesn’t love sweet corn?!  Two of my children, that’s who.  Oh well, it’s an easy adaption.  The rest of us can add our corn to our bowls separately.)

There’s no great way to segue from spaghetti to my next topic, so I’ll just jump right to it…

I love that there is an entire selection of marriage eBooks in this package.  I pulled up 31 Days to Great Sex, and well…it’s been a fun read.  Husbands everywhere will appreciate it if you buy this bundle – just so you can get this one book.  Need I say more?  ;)

Did you get your Ultimate Homemaking eBook Bundle yet?  If so, leave a comment and tell us what books you are enjoying!  If not, I really encourage you to get the bundle if at all possible.  It is a fantastic library, full of wonderful information.  Every time I open my folder to look through the selection of books, I am so thankful to have it.  Between the recipes, the organizing tips, the learning activities for my boys, the marriage encouragement, and the spiritual refreshment – I am learning so much.  And shucks, I haven’t even touched the decorating books, the budgeting books, the books about how to put together a wardrobe…  See?  It’s like Christmas – every day.

Oh, and my Redmond Trading and Cultures for Health freebies came in the mail today already!!  Talk about fast (free!) service.

Click here to read more here about everything included in this bundle and about how to purchase.

 The deal is incredible – 97 eBooks for just $29.97, plus $140 worth of freebies.  You can’t beat it!  I’ll be posting one last reminder tomorrow, so that no one misses out.  This package is only available for two more days.  :)

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In case you didn’t know from all the subtle or not so subtle complaints I’ve dropped through the years: I do not like to clean.  I do enjoy a clean house, but the work that it takes to make it that way?  Ugh.  I’d much rather be in the kitchen cooking up a storm or at my computer writing fun articles.

Like many aspects of life that have to be done whether we like it or not, cleaning is necessary.  And not just every once in a while.  Dishes have to be done daily (hourly?!), floors need to be swept frequently, and please let’s not talk about the bathrooms.

Are you kidding?  That’s not my bathroom.
I just found the picture online.

I’m not into having a perfect, spotless home.  It’s just not my gift, and I am okay with that.  I hear God calling me to more important things than using a toothbrush to scrub the crevices around my – actually – I can’t even pretend to know how to finish that sentence.  What do people use toothbrushes to scrub around?  Well, whatever it is, I’m not into it.  If you are, please do go for it!  God gives us all different passions and skills.

What I have been recently convicted of, however, is that no longer should my attitude be that of cleaning just to get it done or so that I won’t die of embarrassment when someone comes over and sees the filth.  Those really have been my reasons in the past.

While one of my gifts has always been hospitality, recently God has put on my heart that our home is to be open and used more frequently to bless others.  He gave us a great, big house with plenty of food and fun to share.

Based on that specific calling from God (because this would never come from me – I’m the one who doesn’t like cleaning, remember?) I have found so much joy recently in preparing my home for the guests God continues to put on our doorstep.

No longer am I cleaning to save myself from embarrassment or so that guests won’t think I’m a big slob.  (Can you say, self-focused??)  I am now cleaning my house, preparing our guest room, planning meals, and making comfortable beds so that my guests will feel blessed and comfortable in our home.

Do we all need to feel like our homes are perfect before we open our doors to others?  Absolutely not.  My guests are not going to walk in and feel like they’ve walked into a show room.  Far from it.  Nerf bullets may still fly by their faces while we visit, dust will be found in places that I forgot to notice, and someone may likely come across a broken pencil having a party with the crumbs under a couch cushion.  An unapologetic smile and a warm, relaxed welcome absolutely trumps all white glove tested territory in a home.  I will not allow myself to feel like a failure when someone drops by and I have to scoot boxes, Lego creations, and folded laundry out of the way so that they can find a place to sit.

But as I scrub toilets, get out clean sheets and towels, and vacuum under beds, I will now be doing it with a new and refreshing purpose: so that my guests will feel peace and joy from being in my home.  (As well as the occasional breeze from a nerf bullet whizzing by their face.)

Do you enjoy having people in your home?  If not, what is holding you back?

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Do you live in a house?  Apartment?  Duplex?  Trailer?

Then you are very, very blessed.

Do you have a bed with a pillow?  A kitchen with a skillet?  A chair to sit on?  A shower with running water?

Wow.  Then you really have it made.

I’m guessing you might have more than a backpack to hold your clean clothes?  Blessing upon blessing.

Since going to Colorado with my family a few weeks ago, serving alongside those who minister to the homeless, feeding families who don’t have enough food to nourish their children through the week, and learning more about those who have no place to call home – I can’t quite see my house the same as I did before.

It’s been easy for me through the years to find fault in the house we’ve lived in for the past eleven years.  Our abode is well over 100 years old.  That means it has a lot of “character” right?  Yes.  If by “character” you mean that the toilets don’t flush well, the basement looks like the Adam’s Family lives there, and the dust from the Dirty Thirties is still stuck in crevices around each of our fifty drafty windows.

That’s how I look at my house when I have a self-focused perspective. The world tells me I need new, shiny, perfect, better, best, improved, highest quality, and spotless. Pinterest tells me I need my home and the contents therein to look like as though they climbed out of a magazine – completely unique, yet altogether trendy (which is oxymoronic, yet true). We must have the right color scheme, a lovely furniture arrangement, and classy wall decor. Otherwise, we must feel guilty, deprived, and less than.

What if we just decided to be thankful instead?

We don’t have central air in our house.  Below is a picture of our kitchen window air conditioner, sporting white cardboard and clear packing tape to seal off the window.  (Which I felt was better than brown cardboard and silver duct tape, yes?)  I used to be embarrassed by this.  Now I just appreciate that we have air conditioning on 100 degree days.

Go ahead.  Pin this.  I dare you.  You know you want one just like it in your window.
Perhaps we could start a unique trend.

Undoubtedly, God gave each of us our home and has called on us to use it for Him as we raise our family and offer hospitality.  We need to keep it clean, take care of it, and create a space that will tell all who enter that our home is a place of peace and joy.

But beyond that, should we really lose sleep over the fact that our “to-do” list of needed home improvements is as tall as the pile of clutter in the corner?  I’ve come to realize that having a foundation, walls, a floor, and a roof is more than many people have.  Even if some of our furniture is old, worn, and stained – at least it’s furniture.

Look at your home through the eyes of the homeless.  Your home is perfect – a gift.  It is beautiful, and truly, you are blessed.

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When I wake up in the morning, I like walking into a clean living room.   I love to see a bathroom empty of dirty laundry.  And I feel so peaceful cooking breakfast in a tidy kitchen.

When I wake up the boys, it feels great to see them sleeping in a room that is uncluttered.  As I walk back downstairs, I love to see our school room organized, our stash of Legos all picked up, and a hallway that is clear of all toys, clothes, and balls.

Yes, this is what I strive for as a homemaker.  It is when my house is cleaned and uncluttered that I feel peace.

So what happens when I wake up to a kitchen that looks like this?

And a hallway that looks like this?

And a Lego room that looks like this:

Should I then feel like I’ve failed?  Should I sigh deeply, let my shoulders drop, frown, and wonder {again} why everyone else has it together better than I?

Sure I could, and I have many times through the years.  After all, older women have encouraged me to never go to bed with a dirty kitchen.  Books and blogs I’ve read have provided so many organizational tools and scheduling ideas that if I were to only implement them already, I could easily get done what I need to each day.  There should be no reason that my clean laundry sits in the hallway for three days before we get around to folding it and putting it away -  after all, I am home all day and I have a lot of boys to help out.  I have got to get better organized!  I have got to figure out a better schedule!  Somehow I must not be doing something right!

What is the matter with me?  When am I ever going to get all of this figured out?

Nothing.

Never.

Nothing is the matter with me and I am never going to get all of this figured out.  How about you?  Now let’s all breathe a sigh of relief.

Let’s stop seeing our personal imperfections and feeling crushed by them.  As huge as our laundry piles are, as long as our to-do lists become  - God is so much bigger, and so is his grace.  While He does call us to take care of our homes, He doesn’t ask us to be enslaved by them or to make them an idol.

If we are so hung up on creating a perfect home that we lose sight of the heart of our home, ain’t no amount of dishwasher detergent gonna give us peace.  Enough about me (or you) as a homemaker.  Jesus is the One who makes a home.

Sometimes I wake up to this:

It’s great.  I love it.  I strive to stay on top of the jobs that need to be done in my home.  And I will continue to work hard because that is what I am called to do.

But never again will I feel like a failure when working hard for my family does not achieve perfection.  Jesus is the heart of our home.  The gunk on my floor doesn’t stand a chance.

What gets you down?  What do you need to let go of so that you can accept the gift of God’s peace for your home?

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I thought I was going to gag.  I almost got a headache.  My lungs got tight.  I’m not exaggerating.  Elias (my 11 year old) was with me, and he started to feel queasy.  We were there only about seven seconds.

Where had I taken my child, you ask?  To aisle nine.  We were simply walking down the cleaning products aisle at the store.

I avoid that aisle at all costs.  But that particular day last week, I needed one item – an ingredient to make a homemade cleaning product.  Go figure, after those seven seconds of torture, I still couldn’t find what I was looking for.

Elias asked, “Mom, why is that aisle so disgusting?”  Obviously, I’ve avoided taking my kids there since my eleven year old didn’t know that it even existed.  If found it hard/ironic/frustrating to explain that all of those products that seemed so nasty to him are offered for sale to help us get our house, dishes, hands, air, clothes, furniture, bathroom, floors, and windows clean.

I’m all for getting rid of the dark cloud of dirty sock scent that hovers over my boys’ room.  But when did “clean” begin to smell so toxic?  And why are there so many hundreds of varieties of cleaning products to choose from?  Do I really need twenty-seven separate products to clean approximately five major areas of my home?  Must we all keep a large cabinet full of sprays, bottles, drops, powders, and scrubby bubbles in order to be fully equipped with everything it takes to keep a house clean?

Absolutely not.  Be relieved and take a deep breath (but by all means, get out of the cleaning aisle first so that you don’t pass out).

I’m inclined to ask, “What would Grandma do?”  I spent hours at my grandma’s house, helping her cook and clean.  Try as I might, I can not remember where in the world her cleaning cabinet was.  This leads me to believe that she didn’t have one.  She wouldn’t have seen the value of spending money on a variety of different cleaning products when her home naturally had everything she needed.  In fact, as long as I can remember, she made her own bars of soap.  If I close my eyes, I can still smell it.  Mmmm, there’s nothing toxic about it.  In fact, it didn’t have much of a scent at all.  It only smelled…clean.

I’ll admit – I don’t make my own soap.  Instead, I have found some great online resources for a few products I trust for our skin, hair, laundry and dishes.

As for cleaning my home?  Well, I don’t find that it’s very complicated really.  There’s nothing like good old water.  Norwex products are awesome.  And the best?  Baking soda and vinegar.

I found a great online resource, sharing 27 Ways to Clean with Baking Soda.  Not to be outdone, here’s a post I found called 1001 Uses for Vinegar.  I’m guessing Grandma knew many of these tricks, because she knew that getting her home clean didn’t require that she spend much money or use toxic chemicals.  I’m guessing, actually, that she never gave thought much to toxic chemicals – she simply used what she had, and she knew how to keep her home clean.

Ahhh, fresh, clean, and chemical free.  That’s what I call cleaning your home naturally.

I know many of you have knowledge on this topic!  Share your tips and ideas.  How do you clean your home naturally?

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As I’ve been trying recipes from eBooks in the Ultimate Healthy Living Bundle, I was excited to find a Frosty recipe in the Simple, Healthy, Tasty book.  One afternoon last week, I tried the recipe to surprise the boys.  It was a huge hit!  I love that it has very little sugar, includes all real food ingredients that I already had on hand, and was a great treat for the family.  It’s just one of the many great recipes and ideas in this fantastic bundle.  (Only two days left to purchase, by the way!)

Making these took me back to the very first time I ate a Frosty at Wendy’s.  I decided to share the story with you.  Why?  Because I figured you wanted to go back in time 35 years with me.  Just picture the cuteness and lack of seat belts…

I must have been about five years old.

I was sitting in the front seat of the car with my grandparents on the way to…hmm, I’m not sure where we were headed.  Back in the day when there were no car seat laws, my favorite spot to sit when riding with “Nana and Daddy Joe” as we lovingly called them was on the “boo” – which was the arm-rest that pulled down between the front seats and created a booster of sorts.  (Get it, “boo” was short for booster. It all makes sense when you’re five.)

So there I sat on the boo singing songs and having very grown up conversation with my Nana and Daddy Joe.  How fun to take a trip all by myself with them!  Somewhere along the way, they told me, we were going to stop at Wendy’s for lunch.

Now that was very exciting news!  Why?  Because I had a cousin named Wendy, and she had two sisters who were also my cousins and we all had great fun together.  Going to Wendy’s for lunch!  Yay!  (This must be where my geographical challenges began.  Seeing as Wendy’s family lived in Texas and we were currently driving through Kansas, there was no way we’d be there in time for lunch.  But when you’re five…  Or thirty-nine.  Or whatever.)

Finally it was lunch time and we reached the town where Nana and Daddy Joe had planned to stop.  But what was this?  A restaurant?  And who was that red-headed girl on the sign?  That didn’t look a thing like Wendy.  Now I was starting to get confused.

Disappointed, I asked Nana why we weren’t at Wendy’s.  She said, “But Laura, we are at Wendy’s.  Daddy Joe is going to get us some lunch.”  I said, “But where are Amy and Rebecca?  Where is Aunt Claudia?”

Ahhhh, Nana realized now what I had thought they meant by “going to Wendy’s.”  As my face crumbled in disappointment, Daddy Joe saved the day.  He pointed to the menu and told me that after we ate lunch, he would get me a special treat.  But he insisted that I save a few of my fries to eat with the treat.  Weird, I thought, but okay.  I ate my burger, holding onto a little bit of hope that my cousins might somehow magically appear through the door.

After lunch, Daddy Joe presented me with a Frosty.  He told me how good it would be.  Then he proceeded to show me the proper way to eat it.

First you pick up a French fry, then you skip the ketchup and dip the fry right in your frosty.  Take a bite of frosty on the fry.  Yum!  Now that is good!

I decided right then and there that I liked Wendy’s, even if Wendy and her sisters weren’t there.  After all, I was on a special outing all by myself with my Nana and Daddy Joe, and I got to have a frosty.

And that, my friends, is the story of my first frosty.  I think of Daddy Joe every time I drive see a Wendy’s restaurant.  And on the rare occasion I indulge in a frosty, I totally dip my fries in it.  :)

Now that I have this recipe, I can make a Frosty anytime I want to have a fun Nana and Daddy Joe memory – and I don’t have to worry about the ingredients in the cup.  Perfect!

Are you a “dip a French fry in the frozen treat” kind of person?

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I have had the most fun day today. We bid farewell to the last of our graduation guests yesterday (sniff), then I spent the entire day today playing with cinnamon sticks.

Say what??! Trust me. I’m pretty sure you’ll want to spend a couple of hours playing with cinnamon sticks too after you read this.

My Cinnamon Sticks came from Olive Nation. I could tell a big difference in the quality of their cinnamon sticks – so big a difference that I took a picture of them side by side. Olive Nation’s sticks are bigger, more fragrant, and just overall much, much nicer than others I’ve purchased from other sources. This doesn’t surprise me. Olive Nation products always rise above the rest. (Yet their prices are still reasonable. I love this.)

I typically think of cinnamon sticks as something to use in the fall. This led me to do a little research. What can we do with cinnamon sticks in the summertime?

THIS is the part where I become giddy. I have found so many awesome uses for these this summer! Not to mention I’ve discovered that cinnamon sticks are wonderful for our health. Cinnamon can help lower cholesterol levels, aid in pain relief,  help with digestion, help us avoid bladder infections, and help regulate blood sugar levels. And that’s just the beginning.

10 great ways we should all use Cinnamon Sticks this summer.

Special thanks to my son Asa who used his talent with his brand new camera to help me get some wonderful shots of our cinnamon projects today.

10 Ways to Use Cinnamon Sticks in the Summertime

1. Use Cinnamon Sticks as a Natural Insect Repellent.

Insects don’t like the smell of cinnamon (silly little bugs). Plus they don’t like the feel of powdered cinnamon. Grate a cinnamon stick then sprinkle it around any place (inside or outside) you’re trying to get rid of ants or other annoying bugs. You can even sprinkle it around your kids’ sandbox to keep the bugs away. Brilliant!

Want to avoid mosquitoes? Put a small citronella candle inside a jar. Tie or clue cinnamon sticks around the outside of the jar. Light the candle outside while you’re sitting around visiting and enjoying the summer weather. Insects are turned off by the smell of the cinnamon and citronella, and you can enjoy the scent plus the freedom from bugs!

2. Treat an insect bite.

Bugs already got to ya? Mix up a little bit of honey and ground cinnamon. It will alleviate pain and itching. At the same time, this honey/cinnamon combination will disinfect the area while moisturizing and healing. Amazing.

3. Make a Cinnamon Stick Flower Pot

This is not only a great way to repel bugs inside and outside – it is super adorable! Hot glue 25-30 cinnamon sticks around a flower pot. Tie a ribbon around the cinnamon sticks to complete the project. I can’t stop staring at my flower pot in all its cuteness!

4. Make Cinnamon Apple Infused Water for a refreshing detox drink on a warm day.

Or use fresh or frozen pineapple with cinnamon sticks instead. Either way, you’ll have a cool, refreshing drink that is good for your system. Simply slice one apple (any variety) into a quart jar. Add 1-3 cinnamon sticks. Fill jar with water. Allow mixture to sit for a few hours to infuse. Chill and serve.

5. Start a batch of Cinnamon Extract for Christmas gifts.

I am so excited about this one!! After all my years of making Vanilla Extract, I’m venturing out to make other extracts – beginning with Cinnamon Extract. (Watch for other fun extract recipes soon!)

How to Make Cinnamon Extract: Place three cinnamon sticks in one cup of brandy, rum, or vodka. Store in a dark place (such as a kitchen cabinet). Shake the jar about once each day for two weeks. Voila. Merry Cinnamon Extract Christmas to the family this year. (Don’t tell them how easy and inexpensive this is.)

6. Make All Natural Cinnamon Orange Cleaning Spray.

Here’s a fresh idea for non-toxic cleaning!

Fill a quart jar about 3/4 full of distilled white vinegar. Add 3-4 cinnamon sticks and 1-2 oranges worth of orange peel. Secure lid. Store in a dark place (such as a kitchen cabinet) for two weeks, then strain out cinnamon sticks and orange peel to transfer liquid to a spray bottle. This is so simple and inexpensive!

And here’s another great cleaning option: Put a Cinnamon Stick into a cleaning bottle with attached sponge (like the purple one pictured below) for a fresh, cleaning fragrance.

7. Grate a piece of cinnamon stick into yogurt or add it to a smoothie for a refreshing summer meal or snack.

What a great way to add deliciousness to a cool treat! You can also grate cinnamon into your coffee or tea.

8. Make Cinnamon Pancake and Waffle Syrup

Yes, yes, yes. Make this. Bottle it up for gifts or enjoy it at your own breakfast table. It is super easy to make and crazy delicious.

Cinnamon Pancake and Waffle Syrup Recipe

1 1/2 cups water
3 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
1 cup sucanat

Place all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat. Cover and allow mixture to steep for 15 minutes. Remove cinnamon sticks. Store Cinnamon Pancake and Waffle Syrup in a jar in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

9. Make Cinnamon Infused Sugar

It does not get any easier than this. I’ll be including a jar of this sugar with my Christmas gifts of Cinnamon Extract. I should also include a loaf of bread and a stick of butter – then my recipients would be set.

Cinnamon Infused Sugar Recipe

1 cinnamon stick
2 cups sugar, brown sugar, or sucanat

Put the cinnamon stick into a jar. Cover it with sugar. Secure a lid on the jar. Shake the jar once each day for two weeks. Use cinnamon infused sugar on buttered toast, in coffee, or any way you would typically use cinnamon sugar. Continue to refill the jar with sugar as the cinnamon stick will continue to flavor it for quite some time.

10. Boost your energy!

Feeling tired, lethargic, or low on energy? Pull out a cinnamon stick and give it a whiff. It’ll help you find your focus. Who knew? Easiest energy boost ever. From now on, I’ll be keeping cinnamon sticks at my desk. Hmmm…just took a whiff of one right now. Perfect.

You Can Reuse Cinnamon Sticks

Save $$. Get more than one use out of your cinnamon sticks!

To reuse your cinnamon stick, simply rinse it under hot water then allow it to dry. Run the stick over a grater a few times to release the flavor. Do this up to 5 times before discarding. Way to get a lot of bang for your buck!

A Discount Option:

For high quality, reasonably priced cinnamon sticks, I recommend Olive Nation. They are great to work with us here at Heavenly Homemakers. Here’s what they offer:

• Use the code home to receive 10% off your entire order.
• OR, if you spend $50 or more, you can use the code FREESHIP to avoid paying a shipping fee altogether. (Free shipping is always the way to go if you ask me. I love these cinnamon sticks so much and I super love the Olive Nation vanilla beans. I have gifts to make with cinnamon sticks and vanilla beans.)
• You may only use one coupon code per order, so figure out which is best to go along with your free cinnamon sticks: Get 10% off with the code home; or get free shipping on a $50 order with the code FREESHIP.

A Freebie To Go With These Cinnamon Stick Ideas!

Download a page of free printable labels to go with the gifts you might choose to make: Cinnamon Extract, Cinnamon Sugar, Cinnamon Orange All Purpose Cleaner, and Cinnamon Pancake and Waffle Syrup. Attach them to your jars and bottles, tie with a ribbon, and you’ve got an adorable, inexpensive, and useful gift!

Download Your Free Cinnamon Labels Here.

Leave a comment to tell us what you’re going to make first!

The post Cinnamon Sticks for Summertime ~ 10 Great Uses and 10 FREE Cinnamon Sticks (Through Wednesday Only!!) appeared first on Heavenly Homemakers.

What can you and your family do to be a blessing to someone during the next few days? I encourage you to pray with your family about this. Can you take someone some food? Visit a neighbor? How can you be a light and bless someone? To bless your efforts (blessings all around, right?!) – we’ve made some fun Summer Blessings printables for you. They are free. Help yourself! Print as many as you like.

Download the Summer Blessings Printable
Cards and Gift Tags Here!

Suggestions for ways to use these Summer Blessings Printables:

• Print a set of 6 or 8 of the Blessed and Hello note cards. Tie them up with a ribbon and give them as a gift. Be sure to include envelopes! (Like these.)
• Print a few Blessed and Hello note cards. Spend some time writing encouraging notes in the cards to give or send.
• Bake something yummy, package it up and attach one of the cards or gift tags. (Here are some baked good recipes to pick from.)

Since it’s summertime and you might not want to turn on the oven, how about some No-Bake treats you can make to share?

• Mudballs
• No-Bake Chocolate Fudge Bites
• No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookie Bites
• No-Bake Snickerdoodle Bites
• Homemade Tootsie Rolls

Other summer friendly ideas include:

• A basket of fresh fruit with a jar of Homemade Fruit Dip
• A plate of fresh cut veggies with Easy Veggie Dip

What else? Leave a comment to share ideas of ways we can use these fun new printables!

The post Free Summer Blessings Printables ~ Use These Free Printables to Be a Blessing! appeared first on Heavenly Homemakers.