Foods 
As soon as September 1st rolls around, my cravings for pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin lattes, and pumpkin bread begin. To be fair, I do try to curb the cravings until Starbucks rolls out their Pumpkin Spice Lattes. So, since the lattes are out in full force and grocery stores are selling crazy pumpkin concoctions (Pumpkin Spice Pringles? Really?), I figured it was time for a little bit of pumpkin baking. Looking for gluten-free recipes and resources? This Everything Gluten Free page is a library of everything gluten free we’ve worked on. I normally make pumpkin bread, but since I would be the only one eating it in my ...Read More
A Christian Parent’s Guide to Halloween: Preparing Your Kids
Many Christian parents I know would like to obliterate Halloween from the cultural calendar. In their minds, it is a day consumed with darkness and evil. So last year when I wrote an article about redeeming Halloween, I was not surprised when I was met with a litany of protests. (If you don't remember the article or didn't read it, I recommend you go there first.) Some believe there is nothing redeemable about Halloween—it is demonic to the core. While Halloween is one of those cultural celebrations that is often used to glorify darkness and evil, I believe there are many elements within it that can be redeemed and ...Read More
Homemade Southwest Spicy Ranch
Ranch. It's one of the standard condiments in every American's refrigerator. It makes sense: creamy and delicious, ranch is the perfect dipper for veggies or topping for your favorite fajita salad. YIKES: Check Out These Ingredients Just look at the image below, if some of these ingredients don't scare you, I don't know what will! I've hi-lighted some of the questionable ingredients by underlining them in red (some of the ingredients I don't even know WHAT they are). Some of the biggest red flags: soybean and/or canola oil, more soy, monosodium glutamate, artificial flavors...and more. Yuck, yuck, ...Read More
Homemaking From Scratch: Help for the Overwhelmed Homemaker
Ladies, being a homemaker is a lot of work. But I don't need to tell you that. You live it. Whether you're a stay-at-home mom, work-from-home mom, or work-away-from-home mom, you understand the challenges and demands of keeping a home. I want to you to be encouraged. I want to be encouraged. That is why I'm so happy to announce the launch of the Homemaking from Scratch online conference. I was so honored to be included in the list of speakers asked to be part of this online conference, but more than that, I can't wait to learn from the other speakers. There is still so much for me to learn and so many areas of my ...Read More
What To Do When Your Garden Fails
It's September and the summer gardening season is coming to a close. Was your garden wildly successful for you this year? Or are you like me and chalking this year up to a learning experience? It's hard when you've invested as much time and energy in to a garden to get it going as it takes, and then somewhere along the way, it all goes down the tubes. For us this year, we didn't even get a lot of the plants in the ground that we usually do. Of the four trays of tomato plants I planted, we had 5 germinate. As frustrating as that was, God is still in control and He still blesses us unexpectedly. We were blessed to ...Read More
Sugar-Free Barbecue Sauce Recipe
This homemade sugar-free barbecue sauce is the perfect balance of tang, spice, and sweet. It's the type of signature sauce that screams 'summertime' and 'grilling'. Summer is the perfect excuse for grilling. I just love the taste of a good barbecue sauce dripping off of hot ribs, burgers, or chicken. I even like slathering barbecue sauce on my bacon wrapped meatloaf. However, I don't always like the store-bought version of barbecue sauce. Oftentimes, they are full of sugar which hides the tang of vinegar, the spices, and the sweetness of the tomato sauce. Why worry about buying sugar-heavy barbecue sauces when ...Read More
Recipe for the Perfect Date at Home!
One of my fondest dating memories is my second date with my husband. He spent 4th of July with my 3-year-old son and I. He allowed me to drag him along to a big family picnic and then we went to watch the fireworks with some of my friends from church. He stood behind me and gave me a sweet little neck rub. It wasn't out of this world or anything, but just knowing that he was willing to try, made me happy. He certainly knew how to win a girl over! When we were dating, it felt like things were bliss just spending time with each other. Time stood still when we were together. We could enjoy sitting quietly at the park ...Read More
Homeschooling 10 Commandments Mini Unit Study {75+ pgs}
I've put together a 10 Commandments Mini Unit Study for kids ages Preschool - 6th grade (and up). This unit study is full of fun, creative activities for the kids, so they can learn about the 10 Commandments and have fun at the same time. The 10 Commandments is one of those sections of Scripture that I want my kids to know by heart. I want them to know God's Word is not only important, but also that it is timeless. Even though those Commandments were given hundreds of years ago, they are still rules God wants us to follow and live by. 10 Commandments Mini Unit Study So what better way to teach them about ...Read More
