Winter Fun...

If you live in Northeast Ohio, you know that we have had one snow day after another! The weather outside is truly frightful, and for some moms, the weather inside can be frightful too! I personally love having my kids close and cozy with me, but currently, chaos is my middle name! As moms, we have to be quick on our feet and find ways to entertain our little ones. This is when I tap into my inner child. I just think, hmmm, if I was five or six, what would I want to do today. Then the ideas normally start flowing. Thought I would share a couple of fun things we do at our house to beat the winter blues.

How about bringing the snow into the house for some winter fun? Go outside and scoop up a few bowls of snow. Next, grab some ice, water, measuring cups, more bowls, and let everyone go to town playing at the kitchen table. Make sure you have plenty of towels handy! We create glaciers, let the boats go in the water, and just have fun with the snow.

Turn your kitchen into a bakery. We have this amazing neighbor who plows our driveway. My kids and I bake and bake cookies and brownies to hand out to neighbors or share with each other. They love to cook and this is great entertainment for them. Of course we have to break out the hot chocolate after our bake fest.

The other day my kids gave me an idea. My daughter said, "I sure wish we had a pool." I told her, "Well we don't have a pool, but we do have a bath tub!" So we mixed up the pink lemonade, put on the bathing suits, and broke out the beach towels. They had great time playing in the tub with bubbles, silly putty, fun foam, and each other!

I know you guys have an inner child in you too! Listen to it. Then, let us know what your inner child would like to do on a cold winter day!

Your girlfriend,
Melinda

Girlfriends With Grace - The Lent Experiment - Day 1

Living in Northern Ohio is full of challenges such as massive amounts of snow or the burden and pain of being a Browns fan. :0) Seriously, we have the challenge of being located near Cleveland and Canton, two cities on the United States fastest dying cities list. While the reasons these cities are on this list is long and full of more complicated issues than I can solve in this post, I would like to do something...something random...or maybe not so random...

So, back up to yesterday when I blogged about giving up or taking up for Lent. Have you thought about what you might give up or take up for Lent? Just curious. I would love to hear. Anywho, today I would like to ask you to join me in making a small difference in our community each day between now and Easter. I would like you to join me in the Girlfriends With Grace Lent Experiment.

The Girlfriends With Grace Lent Experiment is a way for us to put our words into actions. We all say we want to be agents of change and make the world a better place for our children, but we really don't know where to begin. Our experiment will give you the opportunity to help sow the seeds of change in your community. If you choose to commit to the Lent Experiment, you will need to check into the Girlfriends With Grace blog each day, including Saturdays and Sundays, and check out your random acts of kindness tasks for the day. We will post two and sometimes three acts of kindness each day and you must choose one of the choices and complete it that day. Over the course of our experiment, you will have the opportunity to do at least forty random acts of kindness.

Here is the coolest part of the experiment... many of our blog readers are from Ohio, but we also have readers stretching from Wisconsin to West Virginia. If we all sign-up to do the Girlfriends With Grace Lent Experiment and share this with our girlfriends, who share with their girlfriends, and so on and so on, we might actually be able to be a part of the force that changes our community and impacts our world.

If you choose to be a part of the Girlfriends With Grace Lent Experiment, we would love for you to sign up on the blog or on our Facebook group so we know how many Girlfriends or friends of Girlfriends are joining us and if our Experiment is spreading.

I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, and I hope you bring a friend or two, or three...

Your Girlfriend,
Michelle

To Give Up or To Take Up?

To give up or to take up... that is the question! With Lent beginning tomorrow, you may be asked, “What are you giving up for lent?” Some of the usual responses to this question are things such as sweets, alcohol, coffee, cursing, or anything we deem a unhealthy to ourselves – physically or spiritually. Well, I haven't decided what I'm giving up this year and, in fact, I am contemplating reversing the process and taking up something instead. I'm thinking Lent would be a great time to take on a new challenge, pick up a new good habit.

Yes, I know this is starting to sound like a New Year's Resolution, most of which have faded by this time of year. But, here’s the difference: do NOT take up this challenge without prayer. Take up this challenge with the full knowledge that without prayer, you have only your own strength to accomplish any goal. After some serious thought and prayer, I've decided what to take up, instead of what to give up. My new habit is to take a walk every day. I decided on this as my new habit because it will benefit me in many ways. Walking is good for me physically. Walking with my husband is good for my marriage because it offers me time to talk and listen to my husband. Walking benefits me spiritually because when I walk alone, I can think, pray, and just have some quiet down time – which I don’t do often enough. You would think this would be a simple task that I could handle on my own, but apparently it is not or I would be doing it already! I need to rely on prayer for an adjustment before I can successfully take on my new habit.

Unsure of what you want to give up or take up? I suggest that narrowing the focus to a single habit would be most effective, and by the end of six weeks, it's more likely to be a permanent habit.

Need some ideas? How about...

fold the laundry straight out of the dryer
plan dinner before 10am
begin a daily devotional time
finish all the dishes before bedtime
make your bed everyday
write a note to a friend (different one each day)

So, what will you be 'taking up' for lent?

Your Girlfriend,
Michelle

PS - The graphic for today's post lists the top 100 things bloggers from all over the globe are giving up for lent. The largest spelled items are the items most often chosen. I thought it was interesting.

Make It Monday: Non-Toxic Cleaners

Everyday we see and read more and more about going green and keeping our planet green. For the next few weeks, we are going to blog about simple things that we can all do in an effort to help keep our planet green.

Over the past few years, I have collected and used a variety of recipes for cleaning supplies, not because they were green, but because they were cheap! I like cheap. Now I find out I am also doing something good for the environment. Green cleaning supplies also have another benefit - if my small children should happen to get into the cleaning supplies, they will not be harmed. So, for our first post in our Going Green series, I thought I would share some of these recipes today.

WINDOW CLEANER
1/4 -1/2 teaspoon liquid detergent (I like to use Dawn)
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 cups water
Spray bottle

Put all the ingredients into a spray bottle and shake. The soap will help to cut wax residue that may be on your windows.

FURNITURE POLISH
1/2 teaspoon oil, such as olive
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Mix the ingredients in a glass jar. Dab a soft rag into the solution and wipe onto wood surfaces. Cover the glass jar and store indefinitely.

OVEN CLEANER
1 cup or more baking soda
Water
A squirt or two of liquid detergent

Sprinkle water generously over the bottom of the oven, then cover the grime with enough baking soda that the surface is totally white. Sprinkle some more water over the top. Let the mixture sit overnight. You can easily wipe up the grease the next morning because the grime will have loosened. When you have cleaned up the worst of the mess, dab a bit of liquid detergent or soap on a sponge and wash the remaining residue from the oven. I don't know about you, but I hate the smell of oven cleaner! This solution does not smell at all!!

On another note, there are two things that every green cleaning home should always have on hand.

Vinegar is something to always have on hand. I just keep straight vinegar in a spray bottle. It cuts mildew and smells. It is also great mixed with water to use as a bathroom and kitchen cleaner. I also regularly use it to deodorize drains.

Baking Soda is another great item to have. I use this to polish the sinks. It also works as a deodorizer.

I encourage you try a few of these. They are easy to make, cost only a few pennies to make, and are better for our environment than most cleaning supplies you buy in the store. If you would like more information on going green, this website can give you more recipes for cleaning supplies and other green tips.

Your Green Girlfriend,
Melinda

Foodie Friday - Cherry Cheesecake

On Tuesday, I shared one of my favorite cheesecake recipes with you and suggested it as a Valentine's Day treat. Since I know that not everyone likes coconut and chocolate, I wanted to share a more traditional cheesecake recipe with you. What could be more festive for Valentine's Day than a super easy and super delicious Cherry Cheesecake?

Cherry Cheesecake
Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 pound butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar

Filling:
6 eggs, room temperature
2 cups sugar
2- 8oz. packages cream cheese, softened
1 can cherry pie filling

Mix all crust ingredients together. Lightly pack in the bottom of a spring form pan. Set aside. Beat eggs; add sugar slowly, then blend in cream cheese. Pour over crust. Bake at 375 degrees until lightly browned on top, about 35 minutes. Cool. Pour pie filling over the top of the cake and refrigerate.

Enjoy!!

Your Girlfriend,
Melinda

Twelve Fun Ways to Show You Love Someone

I know we have been talking about Valentine's Day quite a bit. But all these ideas can be used year round to show someone you love them! Sometimes we get so caught up in our lives that we forget to stop and enjoy the simple things in life, the fun stuff. I am particularly bad at this. I want everything done, organized and fitting perfectly in my little world. These are just some quick ways to step back and say "I love ya!"

1. Put up post-it notes all over the house with special messages.
2. Take out a big bottle of bubbles and start blowing bubbles all over the house!
3. Lay down with a cozy blanket and snuggle.
4. Build a fort in the middle of the living room. Have dinner and camp out as a family.
5. Make pink pancakes with pink milk for breakfast.
6. Take out old photo books and tell stories.
7. Turn off the computer and TV for a full 24 hours!
8. Get out a puzzle and build it as a family.
9. Hide Hershey kisses all over the house. Go on a scavenger hunt.
10. Climb into bed early and read stories.
11. Pull out coloring books and color as a family.
12. Put down a huge piece of paper in the kitchen and finger paint.

I am sure you all have great ways to spend time together and show love. Love to hear about them!

Melinda

Weigh-In Wednesday - A Special Valentine

Over the last two months, we have spent a lot of blog time talking about love – love for our spouse, love for our children, and love for our friends. Today I would like to share with you a way to show love for someone you may never meet. Before I do, I would like to introduce you to two special family members.

This is Abuid with my dh last summer when dh led a group of people from our church to visit their sponsor children. Abuid is from Peru and is similar in age to our little guy. When we decided to sponsor a child, we looked at all pictures of children from Peru and decided on Abuid because he reminded us of our son. We have been sponsoring Abuid for about two years now.

We also sponsor a little girl named Brigida. She is our daughters Ecuadorian twin! When we began sponsoring Brigida, she was only five years old and the picture of her on the internet was of her with her hip cocked out to the side, her hand on her hip all sassy-like, and the most ornery grin you have ever seen - just like our little lady. We knew she was the girl we needed to sponsor as soon as we saw her!

This Valentine’s Day, I would like you and your family to consider showing love to a child living in extreme poverty by sponsoring a child through Compassion International. When you sponsor a child, you are linked with one particular child who will know your name, write to you, and treasure the thought that you care. He or she will pray for you and write to you. Sponsoring a child through Compassion International only costs $38 dollars a month and connects your child with a loving, church-based child sponsorship program that provides:
* Food and clean water
* Medical care
* Educational opportunities
* Important life-skills training
* Most important of all, your sponsored child will hear about Jesus Christ and be encouraged to develop a lifelong relationship with God.

When you choose to sponsor a child, you can visit the Compassion International website and look through all the pictures of children waiting to be sponsored. After you choose one (or more) you will receive your child's photo, personal story, and a child sponsorship packet by mail in approximately fifteen days.

When children find out they've been sponsored, the joy they feel is indescribable. While I have never seen a child's face when they find out they have been sponsored, I have experienced, through my husband, the extreme joy in meeting our sponsor children for the first time. My dh went to Ecuador in the summer of 2008 and Peru in the summer of 2009 and got to meet and spend the day with our two sponsor children. The coolest thing to me was that the children knew who my dh was before he was introduced to them. When they arrived at the meeting place, the two children tore off running for my husband - just like our children do when daddy comes home. That shows me that our sponsor children, through our letters and pictures, have gotten to know us. For a sponsored child, knowing that someone across the globe cares for and about them means more than we can imagine.

What I like about sponsoring children living on the fringe of society is seeing the relationship that my children have developed with our sponsor children. They speak often of Abuid and Brigida and pray for them daily. They are conscientious of the fact that Abuid and Brigida do not have all the things that we have and know that they live in poverty. Their prayers include requests for warm beds, food in their bellies, and good health. Through child sponsorship, my children are learning about caring for those less fortunate, which we hope is a lesson they will carry with them into their adult lives.

Sponsoring a child will profoundly change the future for your sponsor child and will change your own life and that of your family's as well. Give a child hope for the future — and for all eternity. Sponsor a child today!

Your Girlfriend,
Michelle