Your Presence is the Best Present

Forget about the fancy triple chocolate cookie pops, the pricey heart covered Build-a-Bear, and the massive red and white mylar balloon bouquet you were planning to gift your child with this Valentine’s Day.  Save your money and present your son or daughter with your presence on February 14th and in the days, weeks and months that follow. While candy, stuffed animals and shiny inflatables typically rank high on a child’s Valentine’s Day gift wish list, most kids would likely trade in the treats for one-on-one time with mom and dad. Life is hard enough for youngsters, so knowing that they … Continue reading

Free Websites that Teach Your Kids about Money

Teaching kids about money, where it comes from, how to make it grow and how to use it responsibly is one of those things that many of us mean to get around to doing, but don’t often seem to complete. In fact, money lessons should never really come to an end. As society, the economy and technology changes, it is important for us all to keep up, and pass on the skills, knowledge and advice to our children. Fortunately, we don’t have to do this alone. There are a few really good websites out there that will help us teach … Continue reading

Building Healthy Habits To Set A Good Example

Earlier this week I had a couple of days where I did not quite feel like myself. My patience was wearing thin, I was grouchy and irritable, and I was generally not all that fun to be around. I believe that the underlying cause of my acute case of the crankies is that for the past eleven days, I have been following a rather strict nutritional program called the Whole30. The Whole30 is a nutritional program designed by the folks at Whole9 that lasts for 30 days, as the name would imply. It is designed to help people reset their … Continue reading

FHE with Small Children-Understanding Needs

My husband did a great family home evening this week with our kids. It was simple, and short, with a little activity that they enjoyed. He first began by sharing the golden rule scripture. It can be found in multiple books of the bible, but we used the one in Matthew 7:12. “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” We talked about what the golden rule meant. Then my husband asked them if they thought Heavenly Father knew what they needed. … Continue reading

FHE with Small Children-Setting Goals

Have you ever thought about teaching your little ones about setting goals? I don’t think I ever really learned the value of goal setting until I became a missionary. I’m sure in my life up until that point, I had set goals and achieved them, but until my mission, I didn’t appreciate how setting goals can be life changing. We decided to have a family home evening with our little ones on how to set goals. It was a VERY simple lesson. We have been working with our oldest daughter, who is almost 6, on encouraging her to stop sucking … Continue reading

What Your Habits Teach Your Kids

I’m filling in for Sara for a few days and I have to say, I’m a little nervous. What do I know about money that I can share with you? Since most of my life is consumed with raising my daughter to be a good person, and that includes someone who is fiscally responsible, I’ll start with what we are teaching our kids about money, and what we should be teaching them. Are your bills in a pile on the counter? A pile that keeps getting bigger and bigger while you ignore it? Are your credit cards maxed out? Do … Continue reading

Should Children and Teens Be Forced to Attend Church?

If you are a church-going family, the odds are high that at some point you may deal with having a child who is no longer interested in attending. This can especially become a challenge when children reach their teenage years. So how do you handle that? Should you force your child or teen to go to church? Well there are two sides of logic when it comes to this issue. There is the side that believes forcing a teen to attend church will only turn them off more. Forcing an issue can sometimes make them more resistant. There is the … Continue reading

Your Work, Your Worth

I just read a wonderful post by Richele McFarlin about how important it is to avoid taking on work that is not worth your time. I wholeheartedly agree, and I also think that sometimes home – based professionals have a tendency to underestimate what their time is worth simply because they feel so lucky to be able to work at home. It is a wonderful thing to be able to work at home, but it does not in any way diminish the value of your time. For example, if you are a writer who has been able to find and … Continue reading

Setting An Example For Your Children

One thing that work at home parents may not think about very often is the example that they set for their children. Whether you have started your own home – based business or you have a job where you work from home, your children are learning from your example. This is a very good thing. I grew up in a home where my dad worked outside of the home and my mom stayed home to raise my sister and I. As a child, I certainly enjoyed having a parent taking care of me at home. As I grew older, I … Continue reading

The Importance of Taking Care of Your Home

In my last blog I asked if you were overscheduled. This is important to know because it can affect so many areas of your life, including the keeping of your home. If you have determined that indeed you are overscheduled, then its time to learn what you can do about it. I think the first thing is to really grasp the importance of maintaining a clean, orderly home. Too many people think it’s the last thing you should be concerned with. In fact, I have heard some try to sound like the best mom in the world by making comments … Continue reading