Here is a printable rebate form for a free Oral B Cross Action Power Toothbrush. Purchase before March 31, 2008 to qualify.

Believe me, I know how hard it is to get out on the town with your husband once the little ones come along. Not only is your time limited, but so is your wallet! But it’s very important to nourish your relationship with your spouse, SO MAKE TIME! And if scrounging up enough money is a challenge (as it is for many of us), here are some free or very inexpensive date ideas:

1. Thrift Shop Date . Go to a local thrift shop, and allot a small amount of money for each of you to spend. Then split up, being sure to avoid each other, and find something to buy for each other with the money you have. It could be something silly, meaningful, or something you think the other person would really like. When you are finished shopping exchange your gifts somewhere else.

Some fun alternatives

• Try to find something that describes how you feel about your spouse (i.e. a lighter - "you light up my life", etc.)
• Search for something silly that your spouse has to wear in a public place for the rest of the date.

2. Volunteer Together . Help serve at a homeless shelter, or find some other way to volunteer together in your community. You will have a lot to talk about on your way home. Your local newspaper or it’s website may have a list of volunteering opportunities in your area.

3. Popcorn and A Movie. Utilize your local library and borrow movies for free. Or, check out your local Redbox Kiosk, and rent a movie for $1 a night (plus, sign up here and get a free rental). Pop some popcorn, pour some soda, turn off the lights and enjoy!

4. Mad Lib Movie Night . If you can’t seem to find a good movie to watch (it seems like there are fewer and fewer family-friendly movies out there today), do not despair, there’s still fun to be had! Find a movie you’ve seen a billion times, pop it in, then hit the mute button . Take turns speaking for the characters in the movie, saying what you think they are saying. Have fun, and be creative. This can get pretty hilarious!!

5. Coin Flip Date . Go to a historical part of town, or into the city where there are lots of little shops. Start on a corner and flip a coin. "Heads" walk right, "Tails" walk left. Go wherever the coin leads, with no plan at all. Have fun window shopping and sight-seeing. Learn more about each other by the types of stores and places that interest your partner.

6. Guessing Game Date . Before your evening out, go take pictures of places to go, or things to do on your date: picnic, restaurant, sport or activity. Get the pictures developed and seal them individually in separate envelopes. At the beginning of the date, let your spouse pick one of the envelopes, and go wherever the picture is of. Continue opening the envelopes one by one. Let the pictures lead you through your night!

7. Follow Them Date . Go to a busy public place. Pick one person to follow, and go wherever they go. Once you can’t follow that person any more, pick another person to follow. You’re sure to have lots of laughs trying to be discreet while keeping up with your random guides!

8. An evening picnic . Find a quiet place to go, maybe a flower covered field, a sandy beach, or an empty park. Pack a simple snack; sparkling grape juice, cheese, fruit, chocolates. Bring along a portable CD player with some soft music to relax to, and a cozy blanket to lay on. Also bring along some candles and matches. Sit, enjoying your time with each other. Feed each other snacks. Share your thoughts, your dreams. And when the sun drops low, and the stars come out, light the candles and cuddle in each other’s arms. You may find yourself drawn to one another like when you were first dating.

9. Play Together . Playing a sport together is good exercise, and lots of fun (just don’t get too competitive)! Fun ideas: Tennis, Soccer, Basketball, Frisbee, or tossing around a Football. If you don’t own any sports equipment, see if you could borrow from somebody.

10. Kids Play. Just because you are adults now, doesn’t mean that you can’t have fun together at the park. Race each other down the slide, play tag, or make-believe. See who can swing the highest, or jump off the farthest. Laugh, and talk about what you liked to do when you were little kids. This is a great way to get to know more about each other. But please make sure there are no kids there when you go!

11. Enjoy Nature . If you live near the mountains, go for a hike, rock climbing, splashing in a creek, or just exploring. If you live in the city, find a nature trail to walk together, or ride bikes. If you are lucky enough to live near the ocean, take a walk along the beach, hunting for seashells or something.

12. Board Games . Break out the dusty old games in your closet and play together! (Do try to let your husband win occasionally though!)

13. Climb A Building. (I have a hilarious story to go along with this, but I don’t think I’ll go there.) Go to the top of a building in the city on a clear night and look out at all of the beautiful lights. Hint: Go to a tall hotel and see if you can find a way out onto the roof. Tee-hee.

14. Acting Out . Spend the whole evening out together acting like characters from a play, book, or movie that you both enjoy.

15. Find A Nearby Ghost Town. Learn a little of the history of the place. See if you can find any relics or treasures in the dirt.

16. Camping. Even if it’s just in your backyard, this is fun to do! If you don’t have a tent, see if you can find one to borrow. Pack pillows, blankets, music…whatever. If possible, build a bonfire and roast marshmallows.

17. Spontaneous Generosity . This is an interesting idea. Give yourselves a few one dollar bills ($5 or something), walk down a busy street and randomly hand out the bills. Entertain yourselves with the stranger’s reactions of protest or thanks, and be a blessing to someone in the process!

18. Fly Kites. If you don’t have a kite, make one together!! Then go have fun seeing if you can get the kite to fly, or see whose flies the best!

19. Free Local Events . Look in your local paper, or on it’s website in the entertainment section for free events to attend. In the summer time especially there is usually a lot going on.

20. Be Strangers . Show up separately to a public place. Pretend that you’ve never met. At first you go your own ways, but after a while you start to notice each other. Make eye contact, smile, flirt. Act like you would if you were first meeting. You’ll have a blast!

21. Kidnapping . Blind fold your date and take them to an undisclosed location. No peeking! Have a fun event planned for the two of you. A good one is to have a tent all set up somewhere private, and once you’ve kidnapped your spouse and driven to your destination, lead them through the woods still blindfolded, until you reach the camp site. They will have no idea what you are up to!

22. Bookstore Date . If you love book books, this is a great date for you! Peruse books together. Sit down and read comic books or look at pictures from around the world. Get a coffee or latte at the coffee shop. Often bookstores host live folk music, poetry readings, and lectures all for free. I know Master’s Loft have a variety of activities - if you have one in your area you should check them out.

23. College Events . Often colleges have free events you can attend such as lectures, music recitals, art exhibits, and even plays.

24. Truth or Dare . It doesn’t really matter where you go for this date. The fun is in the game!

25. Letter Hunt . For your date, take a camera with you. Go into town, or somewhere where there is a lot of architectural interest. Try to find architectural features that look like letters. See how many pictures of different letters you can find. You can try to find letters to spell out a specific word, or see what letters you find and try to make a word out of them. This project may take a few dates to find lots of letters. When you have taken all of the pictures you want, get them developed in black and white, and frame them spelling out your word, as a reminder of your fun time together. Example:

26. Memory Album: Take crazy pictures together at random places throughout the day. Get the pictures developed at a 1 hr. photo, and go home and make a memory album of the day, to forever remember the fun you had together.

27. Indoor Picnic . If it’s gloomy outside, be creative! Make a nice indoor picnic for you and hubby to enjoy!

28. Lake Date . If you live nearby a lake, take some bread and go feed the ducks. Or, if you have fishing poles, go fishing if it’s free.

29. Visit a Museum . Sometimes Museums have specials when they offer low cost, or free admissions, especially during certain holidays. Check out your local museum’s website, or give them a call, to see what they may have to offer.

30. Arcade . Give yourselves a few dollars to blow on arcade games. You’ll have lots of fun, and $5 worth of quarters may last longer than you think! Hint: Chuck E Cheese is only $.25 per game! And often their website has printable coupons for free tokens with food purchase. Win lots of tickets and buy each other a prize at the end of your date.

31. Watch a Sunset . Go up on your roof, drive to an open field and sit on the trunk of your car, find somewhere to go and watch a beautiful sunset together.

32. Explore A Local Flea Market . Walk around together, browsing and admiring crafts. You may even stumble upon a great deal!

33. Ice Cream Date . Go out together for ice cream. Share a sundae, or find some printable coupons for B1G1 Free treats!!

Well, I hope these suggestions have inspired you to get out and have some fun with your honey. I sure am ready to get out of the house and enjoy some one on one time with my sweetheart!

We received a number of comments suggesting even more ideas on how to fill your home with Scripture. Thank you! It sure was a blessing to read through them, and I came away with new inspiration that I can’t wait to put to use! Here are a few highlights:

From Joanne:

We like to ‘write’ verses onto our own digital photos that we have enlarged and then frame them. One that we have on top of a bookcase is a picture of a mountain that could be seen from my parents back porch. We used Psalm 121:1 - 2. It has become a reminder not only of where our help comes from, but of the lovely vacation we spent with my family four and a half years ago. And yes, I know those verses by heart and it wasn’t painful trying to learn them!

From Infinity Goods:

We have bibles and art books with psalms in every room. Some rooms have several! Joanne’s comment is great too. For samples of what she is talking about, you can visit Amydeanne’s “Word Filled Wednesdays” at http://the160acrewoods.wordpress.com/word-filled-wednesdays/. I’ve just joined them too and I’ll be printing some of my favorites on photo paper, adding mats and framing them.

From Cindy:

In a recent newsletter from Nancy Campbell (Above Rubies) she talked about all the ways she spent time with the Lord, even in the midst of many little ones. She used a book holder (a stand-up one, like you would use for a recipe book) and put her Bible in it, up over her kitchen sink (since she spent lots of time there doing dishes). Personally, I have little girls who do most of the dishes, so I was thinking of finding a little book stand and just putting my Bible out on the kitchen counter!

Wonderful ideas! If you are at a loss for Scripture verses to use, here are a few that we’ve put around our home:

Isaiah 40:29 - “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength.”

John 7:38 – “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

Matthew 11:28 – “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest… For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Psalm 42:8 – “The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and His song will be with me in the night, a prayer to the God of my life.”

Psalm 36:9 – “For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.”

Psalm 46:10 – “Be still, and know that I am God”

Isaiah 41:10 – “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

Matthew 7:24 - “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

Being new at couponing, I often wonder if it’s worth all of the effort when I can just go to Aldi and get the best prices in town. Well, don’t be caught in the “couponing blues”…it is worth the effort!

Case in point…

This week I found some cheese on sale (B1G1 Free) at a store that doubles coupons. Well, after doubling the coupons and getting the B1G1 free sale, the price of the cheese was $1.37 a bag - Aldi’s price is $3.49 per bag. That’s a $2.12 difference!

Unfortunately, the only way to know if you’re getting a good deal on sale is to know what Aldi prices are! Well, I just so happened to run across an Aldi price list that someone posted online. Yipee!

You’ll probably want to start a price list of your own from your local Aldi (since prices vary), but here is a jump start!

Enjoy!

Check out this website to “predict” your child’s eye color

It’s been so cold outside still, I haven’t been able to use my clothes line for hang drying my cloth diapers and covers. I can toss my diapers in the dryer, but the vinyl diaper covers need to be hung. For a while I had diaper covers hanging all over my house, anywhere I could find to drape them… over door knobs, cabinet handles, clinging to the blinds. Until one day I had an “Ah ha!” moment:

Hang them on the shower curtain with clothes pins!!

So, this has been working very well for me. You probably laugh at how simple this idea is, but hey, it works for me!! Maybe it will work for you too!

Here’s my menu for the week. It’s so nice now that the baby is 1 yr. old, and can eat pretty much whatever we are having (in some form or another). He’s a good eater, and enjoying table food!!

• Breakfast

Cereal and Oranges
Egg Burritos
English Muffins
Blueberry Waffles
Oatmeal
Breakfast Smoothie
Cinnamon Biscuit Blossoms

• Lunch

Grilled P.B. & Banana, Carrot sticks
Popcorn Shrimp, Squash, Apples
Grilled Cheese and Hearty Tomato Soup
Keilbasa and Mac ‘n Cheese
Hot Dogs, Baked Beans, and Bread
Chicken Nuggets, Peas, and Applesauce
Turkey Wrap and Fruit Salad

• Dinner:

Beef and Bean Burritos, and Avocados
Paprika Chicken w/ Sour Cream Gravy (still haven’t made this yet!!)
Chicken Stir Fry
Taco Salad
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Scalloped Potatoes and Ham
Leftovers

• Snacks:

Pears
Apples
Bananas
Grapes
Veggies and dip
Cheese Nips
Baked Fruit Crisps
Organic Bunny Grahams
Yogurt
Applesauce

• Drinks:

Milk
Apple Juice
Water
Orange Juice
Sweet Tea
Hot Tea
Chocolate Milk (for you hubby)

“The minimization of the homemaker’s role has been a priority of the feminist movement for decades…Hollywood would like for us to believe that a woman who stays home serving her husband and children is not joyful and content, but desperate…”

My generation is a generation of women who have been inculcated with the feminist agenda for almost five decades. We no longer have a clear picture of what a “homemaker” truly is (or is meant to be). Granted, many of us have the idea that 1.) she stays home, 2.) she takes care of her children, 3.) she provides meals and keeps her home clean, etc, but sadly, many young women do not have a living example of what an efficient, innovative, capable homemaker looks like, leaving us at a loss for practical footsteps to follow. I just read a quote of a young lady who said, “I am only 26, so I don’t really know what it was like to have mothers stay at home as the norm” [emphasis mine].

A little over a week ago, I was on the phone with my sister bemoaning the fact that I wish I had some sort of a manual…book…anything to tell me exactly how I should be carrying out my role as a homemaker.

Thankfully, about two days after speaking with my sister, the Lord crossed my path with this book…Passionate Housewives Desperate for God.

In response to the increasing requests from my generation for help, Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald spend a good portion of this book shedding light on the destructive confusion that the feminist movement has introduced into the family unit and, ultimately, into our culture and paint a beautiful picture of what Scripture says about God’s design for women.

Here are a few quotes from the book:

Feminism

“Our culture now glorifies the “have-it-all” woman: you know, the one with the ultra-slim figure, power suit, perfect hair, successful career, beautiful home, and, on top of it all, the adoring husband and two perfect children. Problem is, that woman doesn’t really exist”

“One of the strange ironies of feminism is that it isn’t feminine. For several generations, women have been told they have to be more like men, adopting male occupations, mannerisms, and clothing…while women have pursued masculine traits, men have faced pressure to soften their maleness and adopt feminine traits.”

A Woman’s Calling

“Home is too important to be left to itself; it is something precious to be tended, cared for, kept, and yes, guarded. God has given women a sphere that is naturally and wonderfully their own to manage and wisely govern.”

“Even those of us moms who have chosen to go against the grain can still be filled by feminism’s lies. We can be lured by the insidious notion that being separated from our home and little ones is a good thing…”

“When we recognize and fully embrace our calling, we are finally free to truly enjoy it; we’re able to experience contentment in the uniqueness of our role and achieve overwhelming victory in our homes and lives!”

“The text of Scripture is straightforward and unequivocal: a woman’s duties are to be home-centered….As families shrink…we also see the breakdown of the family and the disintegration of the God-ordered home - yet too often we don’t see the connection…her ministry is her family…being a keeper at home is a holy mission….women are to passionately undertake it.”

Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald also provide practical and inspiring insights into topics such as daily quiet time for busy moms, praying in “prayer droplets”, help for sleep deprived mothers, self-inflicted “busy-ness”, pride, perfectionism, comparing oneself to others, humility in relationships with other women, older women teaching younger women, powerfully supporting our husbands, what a keeper of the home looks like, and many other helpful tips.

I walked away after finishing this book feeling inspired, refreshed and with a renewed zeal to pour myself, with all of the fervor that I can muster, into the incredible role that God has ordained for me. May His name be glorified and His gospel furthered by my role in the home as homemaker!

In the midst of our busy daily lives managing our homes, we need small oases of God’s Word in each room where we can take “sips” of living water throughout the day.

God’s Word admonishes us to meditate on His Word day and night (Psalm 1:2), so here are a few ideas for filling your home with Scripture:

• Stock up on a few inexpensive frames (you can usually find them from $0.25 to $1.00), print out some verses and scatter the frames throughout your home (I printed the verses on velum paper and used decorative scrapbook paper as the backdrop).

• Buy a handful of tiny pocket Bibles and place them throughout your home - in the bathrooms, on nightstands, next to your nursing chair, etc. - so that whenever you get a chance to sit down, you can refresh yourself with the Word. I read this idea in Passionate Housewives Desperate for God (a book review is coming tomorrow!).

• Put verse memory cards next to your kitchen sink or where you fold laundry so that you can work on Scripture memory while tackling these other tasks

• Look for sales at Christian books stores or online, stocking up on Scripture calendars, framed scripture, scripture bookmarks, scripture decorations (like doormats, wall hangings, etc.). My grandma actually found this one (below) at a yard sale.

• Here is a fun decoration idea that we haven’t done, but that I saw the other day: vinyl wall lettering using Scripture (simple to put on and peels of easily with no messes or damage).

So, fill your home with Scripture. Let every room glow with God’s Word so that wherever you turn, you are reminded of His promises and His statutes.

Who couldn’t use free food? Buy a box of Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Pasta on Feb. 29th, and complete this form for a full refund (up to $1.99)!! If you can find a coupon to use, you’ll even make money on this deal!