Matthew Proposes to Whitney!

We had an amazing weekend last weekend. I just MUST spill!

We had the kids home for the weekend. Most of you know that I have an empty nest–well, except for beloved puppy dogs who are promising me that they will not ever, ever grow up!

It is SUCH a treat to have the kids home and around. I love making memories. This weekend, we made a memory that I don’t think ANY of us will ever forget: Matthew proposed to Whitney. It was one of my most precious memories ever!

I think it is better for you guys to  “join” us by video to “be there” with us. How about it? Well, here we go… Read more

Romance On a Shoestring with Cindy Rushton

Romance is vital for a forever marriage. Satan has stolen romance and perverted the beauty in romance. He has made it look wrong, nasty. Even for those who do not buy into that lie, he has made it look out of reach for the Christian home. It is time to take it back!  Begin by dating your mate!

Dates are an important part of any couple’s relationship, but especially married couples. Dates are fun and add a bit of spontaneity to a marriage.  For couples with children, dates can be few and far between for a few reasons.  It’s easy for couples to forget to make time to go out together sans kids.  Then, there’s the money issue.  With kids money can get tight, especially if you have to pay not only for the date but a sitter as well. If you’re having a hard time coming up with wallet friendly date ideas, try these seven. I think you will find them doable…

Seven Shoestring Date Ideas for Couples Read more

Traditions from the Rushton Home by Cindy Rushton

Good morning dearies!

We are hosting a fun Mommy Homework lesson this week. They are all SO awesome! You will want to check them out. Here is the link: http://www.cindysdesktop.com/?p=2450

I thought that I would jump in and share a few of our traditions. Traditions are sometimes very little things, but they are things that we can always count on. They are the things that bring our children back home. This is my first Christmas where my grown son came back home for Christmas. Traditions mean A LOT to us this year. Here are a few of ours:

–> Our Trek to the Gaylord. Every year we go to the Gaylord Opryland and take Christmas pictures for the year. We leave out after church and head up for an afternoon and evening there at the Gaylord. It is stunning this time of year. It is the perfect background for special pictures. See our pictures at Facebook. Read more

Decorating For Thanksgiving Last Minute?

Ready for this week? Are you like so many of us and you have been busy today cleaning up and getting ready for the big week? Need some fun and inexpensive ideas for those last touches? Let us help!

Decorating for Thanksgiving adds an element of warmth and fun to your home. The best thing is you don’t have to go overboard or put a lot of time or effort into this. Use a few of the suggestions below, add some fall colored throw pillows or blankets to your couch, light a pumpkin scented candle and your whole house will have that special Thanksgiving feel to it.

Yard Display
Decorate the front yard with a wooden scarecrow, turkey or sign. For a little color, plant a few mums, either in the ground, or in pots and planters.
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Avoiding Thanksgiving Stress

Are you getting stressed just thinking about the Holiday season approaching? There are quite a few reasons why Thanksgiving may give us the jitters. From the stress caused by having to plan a 3-course meal for 20+ people to being questioned again by your aunt when you will start having kids or why you’ve gained 10 lbs. Fortunately, there are a lot of things you can do to reduce this kind of holiday stress.

Plan as much ahead of time as you can.
From getting an early head count to planning the menu well in advance, you’ll feel much better knowing that you have at least one part of the day under control.

Lists are your best bet to avoid getting stressed out. Keep a master list of everything you need to do, along with smaller daily to-do lists and of course grocery lists. And then of course there’s the “Honey Do” list, which brings us to… Read more

Planning the Family Thanksgiving Meal the EASY WAY!

The family unanimously decided that you are in charge of the Thanksgiving meal this year. Can you pull it off? Yes, with a little bit of planning ahead of time, you can throw a great family Thanksgiving get together without stressing or staying busy for weeks. The key is advanced planning

Step 1: Make A Guest List.
It’s next to impossible to determine how much food to buy and cook without knowing how many mouths you will be feeding. Contact friends and family early and request they RSVP by a certain date. Follow up with them in the weeks before Thanksgiving to make sure you know who is and isn’t coming. Plan for at least 2 extra guests – more if you are entertaining a larger crowd.
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Clean Out, Declutter, and Organize Your Car!

During the holidays many of us find ourselves LIVING in our car. In fact, this weekend, we are in ours.

Ever noticed that cars a clutter magnet? It does not take long before things just pile up, stink up, clutter up, and make everything more and more stressed.

How about joining me real quick as we clean out, declutter and organize our home on the road? Here are a few ideas…

–>  Have a trash bag in the car at all times. Read more

Setting Goals: Your Secret to Actually Getting Organized!

Gearing up for the holiday season? Trying to get organized but feel like it is an impossible pursuit? Like anything in life, a person must have goals. When you want to become organized the secret to actually getting up organized is setting goals. You must set up goals before getting started so you know where you are headed. Does that sound too tough? It is not. Let me take you by the hand….

To begin, just take getting organized fifteen minutes at a time. Set a timer for fifteen minutes and begin. When the timer goes off, stop what you are doing and relax for fifteen minutes. Then set the timer and begin again. Do this for about two hours a day and you’ll be amazed at all the progress that you will make.

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Time to Declutter!

There is something about fall that actually compels me to reorganize, declutter, and clean. No other season does it quite the same!

This is actually the time of year that we begin getting ready for the holidays by first decluttering and then getting our house in order bit-by-bit. Then, we are ready for the fun times that come with holiday celebrations.

So, want to declutter? Let me help!

First, KNOW THAT YOU CAN’T CLEAN OR ORGANIZE CLUTTER. This is so essential. Ever get frustrated by cleaning and organizing to only look up and find that everything still looks messy? That frustrates me. If I will sit back and look, the problem is that clutter is always messy. It can’t be cleaned up or organized. It has to be attacked. It has to go. Read more

Let’s Make A Memory…Over a Great Book!

Hummm…was it the giggles the whole way through adventures with Pooh? My constant sobbing through every page of The Little Preacher? Our total addiction to every single page of Pilgrim’s Progress? The giggles and strategy as the children would run off to “play” every single bit of Daniel Boone’s life—with stiff warnings from Mom that NO ONE really got the hair-cut! Peeking outside to see the hard, hard work as forts were raised and mud pies “baked” for our beloved “soldier.” Oh, the precious, precious memories! Precious memories that are OURS forever!
Want the best homeschool year yet?

Why not make it a priority to curl up as a family over the pages of a great book each day? Get the water going…pull out some nice snacks…settle down for tea (or hot cocoa!!)…and dig into great books!

Game, but have no idea where to begin?? Come home with our family and get a picture of how easy AND awesome building a memory—over a great book—can be! Read more

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