10 Reasons Why Mom Gets Distracted in December

Take a break for a bit of humor today.

During the holidays dads are thinking about playoff games and kids are dreaming about Christmas vacation, but Mom’s mind is definitely somewhere else…

1. While everyone else stampedes through stores at 4:00 AM the day after Thanksgiving to buy this year’s most popular toy, Mom is still trying to remember where she hid last year’s most popular toy.  Read the other nine.

Thanksgiving Postcard from God Devotional

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Thanksgiving Postcard from God Devotional

It was 10:00 a.m. the day before Thanksgiving. In just a few hours the doors to our inner-city church would open, and we would host our urban neighbors, many of whom were Native Americans, to a free Thanksgiving dinner.

We were making last-minute preparations when we heard a loud knock at the front door. Another interruption, we thought as we trudged toward the door. When we opened the door, we were greeted by two delivery men from Sears.

"Will you sign for this?" one of the men asked as he shoved a clipboard our way.

"Sure, what is it?"

"A freezer," he answered.

"We didn't order a freezer."

"Someone did," he said. With that, he and his burly partner pushed past us and wheeled a full-length deep freeze up the steep steps and into our church.

As we studied the invoice, we discovered a sister church, New Hope Church in Crystal, MN, had purchased the appliance for us. That's strange, we thought. They never told us it was coming.

Our minds returned to the Thanksgiving dinner. Within a few hours, the first flakes of snow started coming down. In Minnesota in late November, that can mean anything from a dusting to three-foot snow drifts. On this particular day, it meant the worst. By 4:00 p.m., the flakes had turned into a major-league blizzard. The timing couldn't have been worse. By that late hour, all the food for our dinner had been prepared—a dozen turkeys, nearly a hundred pounds of mashed potatoes, and scores of piping-hot pies.

But we had no one to eat any of it. All our food and effort was about to go to waste.

That's when we remembered the gift we had received only hours earlier. We wrapped the food and carried it upstairs to our new storage freezer. One week later we held the postponed dinner and served a hot Thanksgiving meal to a church packed with grateful neighbors and needy friends.

Looking back, we realize we received more than an appliance from a department store that day. We received a postcard from God.

What's a postcard from God? It's one of those providential, serendipitous events that appear in our lives, marriage and family—a reminder that God has not forgotten us. For us, it's like receiving a short note that reads, "Dear Cheryl and Bob, I was thinking of you today. Just thought I'd let you know. Love, Your heavenly Father."

The ways in which he sends these timely postcards are as unpredictable as they are amazing. The net effect seems always the same: to encourage and strengthen us, often when we need it the most.

Piles of unwanted junk mail are delivered daily. As catalogs, sales brochures, newspapers, and a host of other materials accumulate on our desks, our goal is to dispose of the piles as quickly as possible. In the same way, our lives, our marriages, our families, and schedules can become cluttered with carpools, shopping, taking care of kids, exercising, committee meetings, weekly deadlines, and urgent calls to make. Our goal can become simply to get through the day.

In the midst of sorting through such clutter, it's easy to overlook the simple notes our heavenly Father sends to remind us of his love. When we take the time to sort through "coincidences" of my life, we discover simple but much-needed messages reminding us, "I love you. I haven't forgotten you."

Signed, Your God.



By Cheryl and Bob Moeller

8 Reasons to Stay Home on Thanksgiving and Black Friday

I have never been shopping on Thanksgiving Day or Black Friday.
Here's my 8 reasons why:


1. With deals not all that great, the retailers are not winning and neither are the
shoppers. 
2. It's crazy dangerous for three thirty something sisters, reunited Thanksgiving week to
be out shopping at 2:00 a.m.  
3. The thrill seeking of shopping super deals is lessened knowing that you have just run in front of a
single mom who won't get a toy for her child if you grab the deal first.
4. It's not safe nor smart to wrestle someone to the ground for a free sample of cheese spray.
5. Thanksgiving has always been "it's a gift to be simple celebration." The harvest is in
and we give thanks to God with a grateful heart. Let's keep it that way or cancel it
6. It's an intergenerational holiday gathering to unconditionally love your friends and family.
7. Its hard to run or walk in the mall after a Thanksgiving killer family football game.
8.  Missions need you the other 364 days of the year also, but volunteering on the day of
thanksgiving with your family is about as pure and sweet as it gets. This year start a meaningful holiday tradition your children will never forget and will repeat. Your Thankgiving dinner will taste better because others will have a Thanksgiving Dinner, love, hugs, and the Gospel message.

Remember the dangers involved in shopping the sales?  Instead risk it for something important.  

The only way retailers are going to close Thanksgiving Day is if no one
shops.  If I don't go, I am voting that the stores will stay closed until Thanksgiving
is officially over.

3rd Anniversary of the Homegoing of my Dad

 Rev. Roy Webster was a Tennessee boy but ministered from 1949-1996 in the Midwest.  

My dad went home to be with his Lord and Savior on a Sunday morning. He loved to go to church and Sunday, December 13, 2011, he walked into the presence of the Lord during the Sunday morning worship hour.

He told me when I was ten years old that he wanted to make it to 80 years of age and he passed away at 81 3/4 years. God blessed him with a long life. 

He loved football and senior year his team at Clinton High School, Clinton, TN were undefeated.He was a young soldier serving during the era of WWII because he joined the U.S. Army at 14 years of age in 1943. He rode on a bus from TN on an unpaved dirt road (common in 1943) all the way to TX. The army thought he was 18. He envied his older brothers serving our country and he decided to join them. He became a Sargent at 15.  He was found in 1944 at the age of 15 while standing in line to board a ship in CA headed to Japan.  A boat that did not return.  His family had been searching for him through the Red Cross.  He went back to play football for two years for Clinton High School.  He then served in the National Guard from 1947-1949 as he attended Eastern Tennessee University.  He was called to duty several times in the state of Tennessee for a prison riot and hostage situation and civil unrest in another major city.

While some in Hollywood boast of being married 61 days, my dad was married for 61 years mid-century (August 25, 1950) mid-America (to a Michigan girl), the love of his life Gladys Windquist, he met at Owosso Bible College in Owosso, Michigan.

                         Rev. Roy Webster in Pastor's Study, Warren Wesleyan Church

                                                       The Four Webster Daughters

Dad and Mom were married 61 years and here they are at their 25th wedding anniversary party at Flint First Wesleyan Church in Flint, Michigan









He never turned on a computer, but he had more friends than most of us will ever hope to have on Facebook. He never met a person that he did not like.

My dad really did love his mom (and dad), baseball (and football), and apple pie. Oh yes, and automobiles.

He loved wining the grandfather with the most grandchildren on Father’s Day for several years in a row.

And, then to know that he had 2 great-grandsons. (Now, he has 4 great-grandchildren.)

He spent the last decade of his life, calling and talking with members of his former churches that he was not sure of their salvation. He would present the Gospel and give them a chance once again to respond to the claims of Christ. And, he kept calling them until they trusted in Christ as their Lord and Savior. 

Raised in the hills of TN, he was blessed to minister in east Michigan where many southerners had come up to work in the hey day of the car industry. When he retired in 1996 from the pastorate, he wanted nothing more than to go back to his people in Tennessee. And, that is from where Sunday morning, November 13, 2014, he went to be with the Lord, among the twiggy dogwood trees, soft biscuits with sweet honey, good old southern gospel quartet singing, and his people. Now he is singing with his much loved family members and friends who went on before him.

My Hyperemesis Gravidarum was not glamorous and neither is Princess Kate's

My Hyperemesis Gravidarum was not glamorous and neither is Princess Kate's.

                                                          by Cheryl Moeller


The tabloids have whispered Princess Kate is trying to get attention with her inability to handle morning sickness.  I can tell you Hyperemesis Gravidarum is not morning sickness, unless it's morning sickness on steroids.

I threw up non-stop for a total of 24 months of my life.  On the ground, aisle #6 in the grocery store, padded church pew, hospital floors, friend's purses, and in my own lap.  This went on for at least four to five months with each of my six pregnancies, except for my second one which was less.

I learned the most wonderful people in the world love and care about me during my non-stop lock-ins.  For when I trembled as if the end was near, a loving person would make sure it was not the end.

With #6, as with the others, I was literally penned in my upstairs bedroom and unable to walk without aid.  Needled to my IV's and feeding machine, I thought I heard vacuuming.  I opened my eyes and there was the school crossing guard vacuuming our upstairs halfway.  She said, "Go back to sleep.  It's okay I got worried because I hadn't seen you for a while."

My gorgeous sister-friend and neighbor, Cecelia Feicht, R.N., came over daily with shots when I finally was allowed to be at home.
                                             

Cecelia Feicht

Faint from throwing up 1,000 times, a friend, family member, or stranger would give me the hope to continue.  They always went beyond "just showing up" by giving of themselves with acts of service, hugs, food, and gifts.

Hundreds of people helped our family, including me, in 1981, 1984. 1986, 1987, 1996, 1998.  I will stand up and thank them again.

Bob, my husband, and our children always went to great lengths to make sure I was watched.  Bob was the ever present friend and prayer warrior.

The kids all had to do things most children don't learn so young like knowing when to summon adult help, washing the same sheets for the fifth time in one day, and washing a sink full of really grimy pots and pans.

God always exceeded expectations.  For example with #4 pregnancy, the former Director of the Home Economics Board in the state of Ohio, volunteered to cook for three months.  Because I could not smell food, Virginia Wiley cooked at her home and delivered meals each day with her husband E.B.

There are so many friends and family that deserved to have one of our children named after them.  I apologize for not doing that and you know who you are.  Maybe I can sneak in your name for a grandchild's name.  For you, I will try.

And, I love the name Princess Kate.

                                          Worth it all and but, by the Grace of God alone.
                                                                RJ and Melissa
                                                                Mackenzie and Megan
                                                                Andrew and Brent

Pink Cookie Recipe - Banned Recipe in Elyria, OH - Speakeasy at the Back Door for the Recipe

Feds ban school's beloved "Pink Cookie" in Elyria, Ohio

Th recipe below makes 3 dozen of the famous and beloved sour cream sugar cookies with soft pink frosting.  This has been shored down because at home you probably don't want to make 12 dozen now, do you?  

From Fox News School children in Elyria, Ohio are mourning the demise of a 40-year tradition – the loss of their beloved pink cookie. The fabled cookie, long served in local school cafeterias, was done in by a pound of butter, six cups of powdered sugar and the Obama administration’s food police.Click here to finish reading the article

Speakeasy at the Back Door for the famous banned PINK COOKIE recipe

Ingredients For the banned Cookie and Pink Frosting Recipe:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup Crisco
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 large eggs - (1 egg and 1 egg white)
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream

Frosting Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
Pinch of salt
3 tablespoons heavy cream
Red Food coloring, not optional but use sparingly :)

Preparation:

1.  In a separate bowl, add flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt: sift together well.
2.  Set bowl aside.
3. In a second bowl. cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is mixed in. Add vanilla extract and sour cream beating until combined.
4. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined. Divide dough, which will be a little sticky, into 2 sections.
5. Push down into rectangles about 1½ inches thick, then wrap with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours.
6. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
7. Line 3 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
8. Lightly flour the counter. With a floured rolling pin, lightly roll the dough out to 1/2 inch thick.
9.  Using cookie cutters, cut and place on baking sheets.
10. Bake for 7 minutes, until cookies are finely golden at edges.
11.  Transfer right way from cookie sheets to a rack to cool.
12.  Cool cookies completely before frosting.
13.  Using cookie cutters, cut and place on baking sheets.
14. Bake for 7 minutes, until cookies are finely golden at edges.
15. Transfer right way from cookie sheets to a rack to cool.
16. Cool cookies completely before frosting.

Frosting Directions:

17. In a separate bowl cream together the butter and vanilla extract.
18. Beat in powdered sugar and pinch of in a separate bowl cream together the butter and vanilla extract.
19. Beat in powdered sugar and pinch of salt.
20. Add in heavy cream and beat at medium speed for a minute or two until fluffy.
21. Add red food coloring, one drop at a time, and beat until combined until you see pink. Rule:  One drop of red food coloring at a time.  Frost completely cooled cookies.  Allow frosting to set.

.

Usually my oven is low and slow. Buy Now! Cheryl's 
Creative Slow Cooker Meals:  Use Two Slow Cookers for Tasty and Easy Meals by Cheryl Moeller Click here

Family Humor
by Cheryl Moeller
More at www.momlaughs.blogspot.com

You know it's time for summer to end...

1) When you start telling your kids that you're bored.

2) You've quit wearing perfume and instead settle for two sprays of misquoto repellent..

3) You've grilled everything you can think of including your husband's favorite pair of flip flops.

4) The only family vacation you want to take is to Slumberland.

5) You cut the grass in the shape of a giant calendar to you can mark the days until school starts.

6) You've started using the hedge clippers to trim your own hair.

7) The lemonade has turned ruby red -- exactly the same color as the tube of lipstick you can't find.

8) You've eaten so much sweet corn that you now chew your green beans holding them with both hands.

9) Your garden produced so many zucchinis that you have started hiding them in the purses of friends who visit.

10) You get caught trying to buy school supplies for yourself.

Laugh Your Way Through Parenthood, More of Momlaughs

100 More of Momlaughs at Families Online Magazine, One of 15 magazines that use Momlaughs syndicated Humor Columns

So who is so funny that she is causing laughter in audiences everywhere?

Cheryl Moeller cranks up the spin cycle on her washing machine and life to help parents cope with too much laundry, raising preschoolers (on 12 hours of sleep per year), surviving teenagers, pleasing relatives, understanding spouses, and the 1,000 other challenges. She uses her over-the-counter humor to make parents laugh until it feels better.

Cheryl is a sister, a wife, a mother, a daughter, a niece, an aunt, a granddaughter, a friend, a volunteer... well you get the idea. Let.s just say she.s a lot like you and has decided the best way for us all to cope is to laugh (don't try to inhale at the same time, it only makes matters worse).

Cheryl is a wife to Robert for 35 years. Mother to Duke, Missy, Pooka, Skippy, Megs and Kenzie. One fish - Poncho. Cheryl cranks up the spin cycle on her dryer and life to help parents cope with too much laundry, raising preschoolers (on 12 hours of sleep per year), surviving teenagers, pleasing relatives, understanding spouses, and the thousand other challenges.  momlaughs@gmail.com @momlaughs Momlaughs Facebook  

Take a Last Days of Summer Trip with the Kids....  :)

Blue Gate Restaurant

When we told the kids we were going to Amish County last week, they said, "Great mom, we already are Amish!

When you visit the Blue Gate Restaurant & Bakery, you will enjoy a warm and inviting atmosphere, great home-style cooking, friendly service and all the baked goods your little heart desires. While your table is being prepared, enjoy a peaceful moment on one of the many gliders that line the very quaint and beautiful wrap-around porch.   

The Blue Gate Menu Click here

"Everything was perfect from start to finish. I'd like to return."  

"Hard to describe how soft and sweet."  

                                                 "Now that is old fashioned goodness."

"Add mashed potatoes and reach perfection, then end with pie."  

"So simple to make, but they make it better than me.

    

              I highly suggest the sugar cream pie Stop by, even if it's only for some pie." 

"This is not fishy fish.  It's worth the drive and the effort."  

Don't forget they have a bakery and a world class theater  Click to reserve your spot for dinner and theater

Blue Gate Restaurant Website

Mckenzie House Bed and Breakfast, Middlebury, Indiana, Future Venue for a Marriage Retreat or Writing Conference

We first noticed Mckenzie House above the other bed and breakfast establishments in Amish County because our youngest daughter is named Mackenzie, so it was worth clicking on the website.

What we found when we visited where the air is sweeter and the birds are whistling a clearer sound was spectacular.




Please look around on Mckenzie House Bed and Breakfast website Click here
Featured recently in Midwest Living Click here
Updated information for latest happenings on facebook for Mckenzie House Click here

Can you believe we had never been to the Shipshewana and Middleburg area of Amish Country in Indiana?
We discovered a real delight that we want to return to soon.

Equally delightful as the venue were the InnKeepers, Bruce and Sherry...

The Bed and Breakfast and rooms are named after their grown daughters.  Bruce and Sherry are just like family, as hosts and as cooks. Excellent breakfast with all of the fixings done like a festive holiday brunch.  We could not have been more well pleased in every way.

We are thinking of doing a marriage retreat and/or another event like a writing conference at this venue fall 2014. What do you think?  Would you like to attend?  Write to us at cheryl@forkeepsministries.com or leave us a comment

Ten Ways to Save on Back to School Shopping by Stephanie Nelson, CouponMom.com

by couponmom.com

1.  Inventory so you won’t overbuy. Go through drawers and closets to inventory your child’s current wardrobe. Sort items that are too small or never get worn at all and donate them to a local charity.  Older children’s acceptable outgrown clothes can go to a younger sibling, if possible.  After determining the number of acceptable outfits you already have, you can make a realistic list of specific items you need to buy. 

2.  Plan. The key to saving is planning. Before you leave the house to start buying  school clothes, backpacks and supplies, sit down and plan what you need to buy with your student.  Discuss what your student wants and make a specific list of what they need to buy – this will save money, time and stress. While you are out do not overbuy, it‘s easy to do before you see what your children like. Once the school year is going for a few weeks you can sit down again with your child and plan what they need and prefer. 

3. Tax Free can save you up to 10%! Take advantage of tax-free holidays in some states to save the cost of sales tax.
http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/rate/sales_holiday.html  

4. Check newspapers and websites. Watch for special promotions in the newspaper ad circulars.  Many will have generous coupons in addition to sale prices. Also, check out store websites where you can find great coupons such as
www.rackroomshoes.com, www.payless.com, www.shoecarnival.com, www.premiumoutlets.com. 

5. Email. When you check your favorite store websites for coupons and promotions also sign up for their email newsletter to get special coupons and discounts. Be sure to subscribe to the email newsletter of your local mall,too.  You will be sent information and free coupons for special promotions.

6. Purchase a few extras now. Watch for sale prices of up to 90% (or even get free items) at this time of year and stock up for the entire year. Look at store ads for grocery stores, drugstores, big box discount stores, and office supply stores. Bargains will continue starting now through September. When a note comes home from the teacher in January requesting more paper or crayons you’ll have extra on-hand.

7. Price Match. Take advantage!  Basic school supplies are at their lowest price during this time of year (50-90% off)—some items are as low as 1 cent each, or even free after a coupon or promotion.  Check the advertising circulars for grocery stores, drugstores, office supply stores and even dollar stores. Find the lowest advertised price for every item that you need, circle the item and price in each circular, and take all of the circulars to the closest store that “price matches,” meaning they will honor any other store’s lower price. Walmart and Target stores have a national price matching policy.  Call your local stores ahead of time to ask if they price match and many will match competitors’ prices if you ask. Save time, money and gas!

8. Backpacks. For younger children, the $5 to $10 backpacks on sale at discount and drugstores may be all they need.  As students get older, it could be worth investing in a higher quality backpack to last several years. You can expect a good backpack to last a few years and provide the necessary support and padding for heavier books. 

9. Shoes. The back to school season is the busiest time of year for shoe sales.  As a result, stores have many special promotions to get our attention.  Because common promotions are “buy one pair, get the second pair 50% off” it makes sense to take your entire family shoe shopping together.  If you can find a coupon to use along with special promotions, you will really save. And, if you know the size and style of shoe you need, check online shoe retailers for bargain prices, coupons and free shipping to save time and money.

10. Wait and save with online shopping. Shop summer sales to get a few new items for the beginning of the year. Then, wait to shop for fall/winter clothing in a month or so when those items start going on sale.  Check the retailers’ websites for special coupons, promotions and free shipping offers.
 

Stephanie Nelson is the Coupon Mom. Her website, www.CouponMom.com, has 7 million members, and she is established as the nation’s top expert in couponing across the country. Stephanie has been on every major national television talk show and taught millions how to save money for the past 13 years. She has been called ‘”the rock star of the recession” by the Washington Post and her book, The Coupon Mom’s Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half, is a New York Times best seller.

Five Must Visit Midwest Spots before Summer Ends

1.  Culver, Indiana, "Cape Cod of the Midwest"
Hidden off the highway so the crowds are manageable.  Your own private "East Coast" here in the Midwest.

A world of fun and relaxation away from the city bustle awaits visitors lucky enough to discover the treasures of Culver, which stretches along the glistening waters of Lake Maxinkuckee, the second largest in Indiana.

Weekenders and vacationers head to the water for sailing and fishing or just a refreshing dip off the community beach. On land, they might take in a round of golf or an afternoon of biking. You’ll find unique shops and boutiques that sell fine art, antiques, sweets and more; restaurants that offer delicious fare with everything from down-home breakfasts to upscale cuisine, and comfortable lodgings to tuck into at the end of the day.

Culver is home to the world-renowned Culver Academies, a private co-ed boarding school, that counts actors Hal Holbrook and Joshua Logan among its alums. 

Visitors love to watch the school’s legendary Black Horse Troop during Sunday afternoon parades. The Troop has been in Presidential inaugural parades since 1913.

Culver, IN Website: Click here

2.  Glen Lake Cottages

See why ABC Good Morning America viewers voted Glen Arbor, in the heart of the Sleeping Bear Dunes, the number one place to visit in the US!  ALONG THE SLEEPING BEAR DUNES NATIONAL LAKE SHORE.  The Glen Lake Cottages are tucked in amid mature oaks & lofty white birches. Their crystal clear sand-bottom spring-fed Lake teems with a variety of wildlife and fish. Take Guided Nature Walks in the Park, see dappled twin fawns, swans, ducks & geese from the compound and docks... fish, swim and climb the Dunes. Winner of the Good Morning America's 'Most Beautiful Place in America' Contest. Click here 3.  Camp Forest Springs - A few openings for August Family Camps Family Camp 5 Aug 3 – Aug 9, 2014 (Sun – Sat) • Speaker: Philip DelRe Family Camp 6 Aug 10 – Aug 16, 2014 (Sun – Sat) • Speaker: Rob Rienow Family Camp 7 Aug 17 – Aug 23, 2014 (Sun – Sat) • Speaker: James Engle Labor Day Family Weekend Aug 29 – Sep 1, 2014 (Fri – Mon) • Speaker: Martin Giese Click here to find the details or to register for Family Camps 2014 Summer staff 2014 Camp Forest Springs.                                                      Taste sweet flavor of community. 4.  Petosky and Charlevoix, Michigan A road trip to adjacent towns on Little Traverse Bay is a memorable way to wave good-bye to summer. Petosky, Michigan A walk along Petoskey's shoreline will prove the word mist is both a noun and a verb in magical places by the sea.  I liken it to the northern most parts of the British Isles for several reasons. First, as early as mid-August the inevitable march to autumn is beginning with cool early mornings requiring the heat of a cup of coffee. Secondly, is the desirable northern breeze coming inthrough your screens. Charlevoix, Michigan View of Downtown Charlevoix  Sea Fever by John Masefield I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by, And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking, And a gray mist on the sea's face, and a gray dawn breaking. I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied; And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying, And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.  5.  Buffalo Joe's in Evanston and Chicago, IL Wings and Burgers at three locations.  Order ahead to take to a park?  Too messy! So enjoy the restaurant's ambiance indoors. You'll become a regular no matter how far the drive.  Click here Even better than Buffalo, NY