Seeds Family Worship

I am always looking for ways to fill our lives with scripture.  A few months ago, I ran across Seeds Family Worship. They take scripture and put it to music.  We have been listening to it in the car and during meals and I LOVE it!  Scripture memorization is something that I know that I need to do personally, but I am not always that great on following through with it!  Listening to these verses through song has been a wonderful way for me to learn!


How do you memorize scripture?  How do you make scripture apart of your home?

Homemaking 101: Fab Product Finds

Last week, I mentioned on the R&R Facebook page that I was totally feeling old because I was getting overly excited about coupons and minivans.  Well, this post only adds to that aging feeling!  Perhaps instead of seeing it as a sign of aging, I should see it as a Growth Moment and rejoice that the LORD is growing my passion for homemaking.


I am all about finding products that can make life a little easier and this little gem is one of those products!  I had a smaller, less powerful sweeper that just wasn't getting the job done, so we headed to Bed, Bath, & Beyond and found this Electrolux sweeper.  It is cordless and light AND it has the built in hand vac that you can remove and use.

In addition to the sweeper, I found this Bath Stone by the checkout.  Since we moved in, I have had horrible trouble keeping hard water stains out of our toilets.  Well ... not any more!  This little bath stone is AMAZING.  It totally cleaned up the stains and the potty is now sparkly!  At a play-date this week, I mentioned my love for the Bath Stone to a friend and she said she had used a pumice stone and got similar results.  

And my last find at Bed, Bath, & Beyond, were storage bins on clearance for $3.99!  These days I can't get enough baskets, bins, etc. 

I totally wiped out my stash of 20% off coupons with this Bed, Bath, & Beyond trip, but I bet I know where I can get some more. :)

Mom's Memory Book

I have mentioned that I might have done just a little shopping in DC! :)  I found a great deal on new black boots and I was also able to pick up a jean skirt and black pants that I had been wanting, but my favorite find was this precious little book: "Mom's One Line a Day, A Five Year Memory Book."

Before I started on R&R, I was much better about keeping up with milestones on my personal blog, but working on this blog combined with adding another child to the mix, I just haven't recorded as much as I would have liked.  I found this book in a neat store in Old Town Alexandria. It gives you just enough space to record one or two things you want to remember for the day.

I am looking forward to remembering the funny things they say and they days they reach big milestones like crawling or walking but I am also going to record the days we face challenges!  Lately, I have read more than one blog post that almost sound negative about what we face as mothers and want to tell you that it is okay to complain.  Yes, there are LONG days that I am grateful when I put them to bed and have quiet time with Hal, but I am convinced that scripture tells us to find joy in ALL circumstances.  Even the hard days ... we can experience joy. The Lord gives us the grace to experience joy even when we are still stuck in the circumstance. So, I am looking forward to recording the hard days filled with discipline and correction and the days filled with laughter!

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Money Saving Mom Book Review and GIVEAWAY

***Congrats to Jennifer for winning the book!  Email me so I can get it to you!***

I have followed the Money Saving Mom blog for quite some time.  Of course I love the deals Crystal posts on the site, but more than finding a fabulous bargain, I love her focus on stewardship of the home and finances.  I have found recipes, coupons, and organization ideas and have been challenged by her goal setting and focus on budgeting and using cash instead of plastic.  When I found out she was releasing a book, I was super excited to see what she would include.  It was released yesterday and I read it yesterday.  Below are a few of my favorite take aways from her book.

• CASH: This totally goes against everything I know as a bank marketing director where we want to put debit cards in peoples’ hands because they make a huge amount of $$$ for banks, but she reinforces the cash only system.  We have tried this a few different times and always end up going back to the card.  I know from our personal experience that we spend way less when we use only cash.
• COUPONS: I used to laugh at my mother for clipping and using coupons thinking that $.50 really isn’t that much, but wow was I wrong.  I have been much better in the last year at using coupons, but I still have not been super consistent. Crystal gives a down to earth approach to couponing and helps you identify what is a good bargain and what is in not.
• CLUTTER: She comments that if your life is cluttered than you are going to have a hard time meal planning, budgeting, and couponing.  Her chapter on clearing out your house and life motivated me to get up and work on my closet.  Even though it hurts, I need to admit that I am probably never going to fit in the dress that I wore to my rehearsal dinner ... time to get rid of it. :)
• CLARITY: I don’t know about you, but I can get way overwhelmed when I read blogs or books about all that different women do to run their households efficiently and cost effectively. From making their own tortillas to dishwashing liquid, there are a TON of ideas out there to save money and time.  I often think I should be doing more and there are probably a lot of areas I could be doing more.  She talks about looking at the cost savings per hour of different tasks to see if the cost savings are really worth the time investment.

I am going to be giving away a copy of this book either on your Kindle or a hard copy in your mailbox! 

You can enter the contest twice: 1) Leave a comment on this post 2) Leave a comment on the Rubies & Rewards Facebook page and tell share your goals for 2012 in regards to home management, couponing, or budgeting.

Be sure to enter the contest by Friday at midnight and I will announce the winner on Saturday!

Jesus Storybook Bible = Great Gift

"It's not a book of rules. It's not a book of heroes. It's most of all a Story. And Every Story Whispers His Name...The Bible as novel for kids."

Whether you are buying for one of your children, grandchildren, niece or nephew, finding a gift that they don’t already have or one that they won’t toss a side quickly is always a challenge.  I always love it when I can find gifts that will work for my boys in different stages.  We received the Jesus Storybook Bible from a good friend when B was born and I am in love with this book!  Of course we pray daily that the Bible will never be something our boys toss aside, but the best thing about this format is that I feel like it will grow with them.  We have several different children’s Bibles, but so far this is by far my fave!  

Right now at 3 years old, D is captivated by the pictures and we break up the stories into several parts to keep him interested and I can see him reading the Jesus Storybook Bible for himself in just a few short years!  If you are looking for a gift for a child, you won’t be disappointed with this purchase.  I have seen them at Lifeway and Family Christian and of course you can find them online.

Homemaking 101: Tips and Tricks

I love it when I run across a product that makes keeping my house in order easier.  I love it even more when it is something that I don't have to run out and buy because it is already in my house!

Stainless Steel Appliances

Stainless Steel appliances are beautiful, but what were we thinking when we bought them for our new kitchen?!?! They looked beautiful for about 2 weeks until the sticky fingerprints and water spots appeared.  I had been warned that they would be hard to take care, but desire for the hip thing outweighed my sensibility(that is a subject of a different post).  I have tried numerous horrible smelling cleaners with no results.  I decided to Google “water spots on stainless steel appliances” and Google came through once again!  Olive Oil.  I read the suggestion and thought it was worth a try and VOILA ... shiny, clean appliances!  I put olive oil on a paper towel and rubbed it on the front of the dishwasher and then buffed it with a clean towel.  A super cheap and easy solution.

Shiny and beautiful!

Stubborn Stains

There are many reasons I wish I lived closer to family, but on a completely selfish note, I wish I lived closer to my Maw Maw because she is a laundry miracle worker!  I am pretty sure she can get ANY stain out of anything.  One of the tips she passed along was to use Dawn dishwashing liquid on stains.  I don’t even keep another stain remover in my laundry room.  It has been known to get out stains that have been washed and dried several times. 

Good ol' Dawn!

Do you have a secret homemaking tip?  Leave a comment and I will come to your house and do your laundry for a month ... JUST KIDDING, but really, leave a comment and share your tips and tricks with us!