How importatnt is it for women to pass down what they know to their children?

                                 

 I have been taking a class on Women's Health and Fitness to renew my personal trainers license. I always knew that the older women were supposed to teach the younger women about being a wife, mother, etc, but this book is showing how important passing on that knowledge is. Women hold an huge role in helping our families and communities grow stronger, healthier, and wiser

 Have you noticed that health related advertising is pointed toward women? Notice next time you see a band aid or cough syrup commercial. Who are they focusing on?

Women who have learned health related things will pass this information on their families and communities. Yale economics professor T. Paul Schultz says that when developing nations spend more money educating girls than boys, the rate of return is higher. Birthrates drop, overall health increases, and the spread of AIDS drops. Educated mothers are more likely to have educated children. This promotes a stronger economy.

As women we need to learn about our health and health in general. We then need to pass this down to our children. 

                       

                          

DIY Holiday Soap Dispenser

Need a quick gift for a teacher or friend? This hand soap cost $1 at the Dollar Tree. The Christmas gift labels also cost $1. I took the bell off the Christmas tree and found a tiny tree branch that had fallen off the decorations somewhere.

1– Remove the label from the liquid hand soap dispenser.

2-Cut the Christmas gift label to fit the dispenser.

3-Glue the label on to the dispenser.

4-Prepare ribbon with decorations and place around dispenser.                                          

                $2 gift!

Thank you Dollar Tree.

Ginger Bread Houses

 Our gingerbread house tradition started at our wedding. Phil and I were married on December 20th so we had to have a Christmas wedding. At our reception we had centerpieces of gingerbgread houses. We had a Christmas tree with gingerbread men hanging on the branches. One lucky person at each table won the gingerbread houses and everyone enjoyed a gingerbread man off the tree. Then the fun began when Santa Clause and Mrs. Clause showed up.

 

 

There are several places online that offer free printable gingerbread house patterns.

This is my favorite gingerbread recipe. For gingerbread men I only bake for 8 minutes. This makes them soft and chewy. For the Gingerbread houses I bake for 12 minutes so they are alittle bit harder and hold together better.  

 

I use a pizza butter to cut the dough. For me it works  better than a knife.

 

I use a dry paint/pastry brush to dust off the cookie.

 

Royal Icing is an icing for decorating cookies that dries hard. It’s easy too…it only takes 3 ingredients: 3 T meringue powder, 6 T warm water and 4 cups powdered sugar.

 

Use canned soups to hold the sides in place until dry if needed.

Make sure sides are dry before adding the roof.

Start decorating. My goal is to only use edible items I have around the house.

This is my finished Gingerbread house. I love it. I had so much fun!

Teach your children to give this Christmas.

I asked a few parents what they did to encourage their children to give during the holiday season.  Here are their responses. 

“We're all about giving presents all year long. To start, we want to care about what God cares about, and the only things that last: God, His Word, and People!!” --Kristin

 “Last Christmas we didn't give each other gifts since we all have more than enough already, but spent time together picking out material and making blankets we sent to be given to the family the Struska Family built a house for in Mexico.” --Dale

“As the kids grew older, and even while they were young, we taught them that time was valuable and something that could be given as well even if they had no money. We packed boxes for Operation Christmas Child and would go to the dollar store to pick out items to donate. We have also given to children in Haiti as well.
Thoughtfulness is always key and homemade items are deeply treasured. Simply cooking a meal for the family or cleaning up after a meal. Small acts of kindness go a long way. Sometimes the most inexpensive gifts are the ones that hold our memories longer than the big expensive items.” --Jamie

“We have always included our kids in day to day giving, so they have become natural givers...(they see us helping homeless with tangible goods or like Gary who lives with us) often Lorelai will have me take her home to get chore money so that she can give it to a needy person. As far as holiday gifts go we generally take them shopping one on one and have a date night.  We'll talk about their sibling and their likes/dislikes and pick out a gift together...” --Katy

“My girls are very excited to play Secret Santa every year. On Thanksgiving, we draw names with our family.  Sometimes we go shopping or sometimes we do shopping online and wait for the packages. They do their own wrapping. It's truly a highlight of the season for them!” --Leslie

“Since Travis has a larger family and there are 8 cousins, each child draws a name of a cousin and then gets to buy a present. The kids love to watch the cousin they drew open the gift.” --Kendra

Take the time to do something for someone else this Christmas season. Do something as a family. Be a good role model for your children!

Christmas Tree Scavenger Hunt

Do you have your Christmas tree up? How many points can you find on your tree?

Candida Test

I did the test. Its quick, easy and FREE!

What is Candida? 
I have been hearing a lot about Candida lately. So I had to find out more about it. 

"Candida (technically called Candida albicans) is a microorganism in the category of yeast, fungi, and mold. It is normal for it to live in small amounts in the digestive system and on other body surfaces.

Candida has become a very common and often serious disease in our modern world, due both to modern practices that suppress these immune functions and to a fermenting diet."

If you test positive for

Candida click on this link for more information. ProBio5 is a natural product which helps those who are suffering from Candida. It promotes the proper balance of probiotics in your intestinal tract and a better intestinal balance can result in proper absorption of nutrients. 

I tested negative. Phil tested maybe, so we need to work on that some more. How about you? Its an easy and free test. Why not give it a try! 

Thank you vs thanks

“Thanks!” or “Thank you!” -- which do you say? The phrases are used interchangeably in our culture, but I think there is a distinction. “Thanks” is usually expressed in an informal situation, to a close friend, or an incidental happening. “Thanks for holding the elevator door.” Or maybe you use “thanks” when writing a note to a friend.

“Thank you” is used to show respect and acceptance to someone. It’s more polite or formal. By adding the simple word “you,” the expression suddenly becomes more personal. It conveys genuine thankfulness to the person.

In today’s world, we are in such a hurry with our words, that we forget the meaning of them. Let’s be thankful to one another with our words. If you are thankful for someone, tell them. Express your feelings through your words. Paul in his writing to the Thessalonians said: “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

The next time someone does something nice for you, make eye contact and say “Thank you.” You might be surprised at their reaction to your personal expression of thankfulness.

By Dennis LeFleur (my Daddy!)