During the Great Depression, everyone HAD to use their ingenuity to create gifts conveying their heartfelt love. Here’s some ideas to get you thinking now, during the Great Recession. You could even make a couple of these homemade gifts for each person on your list.

1.  Know a child learning Spanish?  Save several sizes of clean tin cans with unique labels in Spanish, with any jagged points bent safely down.  Fill with slightly used pens, sharpened pencils, paintbrushes, markers, and dried flowers. These make great decorative storage for your el esponol student’s desk or dresser top.

2. Write a letter to your child, niece, or nephew telling them how excited you were before they were born, about their upcoming birth. You could even frame the letter, for a gift, showing your anticipated love.

3. Print out your favorite Bible verse as a small poster. Add a label at the bottom that reads, “Mom’s Legacy Bible Verse” or “Dad’s Legacy Bible Verse.” Others, including your children, love to know what’s on your heart and in your head. Share yourself with them at this level and they will cherish your gift.

4. Give a gift of a picture of you and the gift recipient. Write at the bottom of the frame, “You are Loved.” It could be Grandpa/Grandson, Mom/Dad/You, Daughter/Mother.

5. “I love you all year long.” Write a letter about the year just ending. Make it twelve paragraphs long for each month. Tell the person just how much they meant to you each month of 2008, including a special memory from each month and a canister of homemade granola (granola takes a long time to eat)!

6. “What I’m going to Change, to Love you More.”  Write a card to those on your list, with something that you intend to change/improve, with God’s help, about yourself, in your life this year. Make it something that will make you an easier person to live with. (Now, that will be a welcomed surprise gift to the recipient, a gift that keeps on giving all year!)

7. Shine everyone’s shoes for Christmas morning. Under the tree, have everyone’s shoes lined up looking brand new. It’s an act of service that will be appreciated.  Or, give another act of service, such as car detailing. “Borrow” someone’s car a day or two before Christmas and detail it for them by hand for a Christmas morning surprise.

8. Give a gift of your professional services. Maybe you are a teacher and could offer to tutor. Maybe you are an accountant and could offer tax services as a gift.  How about a plumber, carpenter, or electrician for some home repair services? Perhaps you are a great writer and could help a family member with an updated resume.
Perhaps, you have nice handwriting and can address envelopes as a gift.

9. Regift books you have already read. Wrapping it up beautifully, adding a small letter, detailing why this book was special to you and why you want to bless them by sharing it.

10. Give each person on your list, a souvenir of your life or heirloom. Give them something of your’s, that they would enjoy having. Clean it up, fix it up, and wrap it up.

photo credit: Mr. T in DC

2. The childbirth coach promised the contractions wouldn’t hurt any more than holding an ice cube in her hand. She’s never been able to take ice in her tea, since then.

3. Rather than playing soothing music in the birthing room, her husband listened to ESPN Classics rerun of the 1987 Super Bowl.

4. The doctor decided to play an additional nine holes and ordered the Pictosin drip turned down to one drip per hour.

5. Her husband took a picture of her facial expressions, during hard labor and used it for their family Christmas letter.

6. The hospital mistakenly delivered a taco supreme with Tabasco sauce, instead of clear broth and ice chips for lunch.

7. The florist tied five dozen helium balloons to the end of the bed, causing it to rise at a 45 degree angle for over an hour.

8. The nurse mistakenly wrote the name of the prescription on the birth certificate — making her the proud mother of a girl named Tylenol 3.

9. Your husband promised the entire delivery room staff a sit down Thanksgiving dinner the day after you arrive home.

10. She overheard her husband in the hallway saying, “I don’t know what the big deal is about labor…I think she’s being overly dramatic…”

1) Apologize quickly and sincerely as soon as you realize that you’ve wronged someone (particularly your parents and siblings).

2) Never feel sorry for yourself (self-pity is another form of pride).

3) Stay in control of your emotions.

4) Never burn bridges behind you, in relationships.

5) Nothing is ever gained by quitting.

6) Remember, there are more people counting on you than you realize.

7) Don’t forget that God is at work, even when you can’t see it. God is working right now, in ways you don’t know about.

Love your family!

9) Meet every day with prayer, praise, and God’s Word.

10) Stay connected to the hearts of your family (particularly in a time of testing). To solve a problem with another person, soften your own heart first.

11) Listen to those who love you, before making a life-changing decision.

12) A good name is more valuable than great wealth.

2 Corinthians 7:10 “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret.”

By Bob and Cheryl Moeller.  Bob and Cheryl, married for 30 years, are parents of 6 (and one-son-in-law), and Co-founders of For Better For Worse For Keeps Ministries, connecting 2 hearts for a lifetime.  Cheryl is a comedian and speaker for mom’s group and blogs at Momlaughs.

2. Mom and dad are doing full-out cannon ball dives into the community swimming pool — that is, until they ask you to leave.

3. Bedtime is now 7:30 sharp — in the morning.

4. You roasted s’mores with the kids over an open fire last night — that is after the marshmallow catches fire on your stovetop.

5. You make truckloads of lemonade for dinner — using the water from the fire hydrant.

6. You call your friends and tell them you’re calling from seaside at Martha’s “Grape” Vineyard — actually you’re sitting in a 2 foot plastic wading pool, after your son smears grape jelly all over his face.

7. You contact Carnival Cruise Line on-line and ask if they will sell your family one way tickets.

8. You tell your husband you’re having “shrimp on the barbie” for supper — actually its your way of telling your husband that your five-year-old daughter left her favorite doll on the gas grille.

9. You call your favorite baby-sitter and insist tonight they read a story and make macaroni and cheese — for you.

10. Mom finally takes a nap — but doesn’t notice, under the sprinkler.

…if you peel your kids’ grapes.
…if you do your kids’ laundry, even before they wear their clean clothes.
…if you are way more interested in planning your eight-year-old’s birthday party, than your eight-year-old is.
…if you have to limit yourself to only vacuuming 30x a day.
…if you dilute your kids’ soda pop, worried the bubbles will frighten them.
…if you bake totally organic bread, with absolutely no crust.
…if you have each kid, each day, in over 500 activities.
…if you start to teach your daughter classical french, and the doctor asks if you mind waiting, until he cuts the umbilical cord.
…if you lay awake sobbing that your four-year-old won’t get into Harvard, because they lost the coloring contest at Wendy’s Restaurant.
…if you think your two-year-old doesn’t have potential to be an Olympic ice skater, because they don’t twirl properly, in the balls at MacDonalds.
…if you peel your kids’ hot dogs.
…if you urge your kid to run for president and the contractions are still five minutes apart.
…if you hire an oil painter to do a portrait, of your baby’s ultrasound.

Chicago Homeschool Expo is new and affordable! Kids are free!

Mommies Magazine Columnist, Cheryl Moeller, will be featured in several workshops at the Chicago Homeschool Expo, Schaumburg Convention Center, Schaumburg, IL.
The Expo will be August 7-8, with pre-conference workshops on the 6th. Check out the website
at www.chicagohomeschoolexpo.com
to view all the workshops and exhibits, that will be your’s to choose from, for one price. Thursday’s workshops, are offered at a separate price.

One word could sum up this expo – affordable. Kids are free and there will be tons to see, learn, and do.

See you there.

(These are intended for married couples… to fan the flames of continued courtship)

1. Make a dinner for your husband where everything begins with the first letter of his name. For instance, if his name is Robert, you could make roast beef, rice, and radicchio salad. Serve red licorice and raspberry ice cream for dessert.

2. Add “I love you” to his calendar on the day of his birthday, every month. So, if he was born on December 15, write ” I love you” on the 15th of every month.

3. Clean the house. Pack a lunch for you and the kids. Leave a lunch behind for your hubby. Tell him his gift is a quiet house. He’ll get to be alone for a whole day.

4. Ask your wife to marry you on the anniversary of your engagement. Ask her in the same way you did the day you became engaged. Set the scene again. Relive the moment and celebrate! Look her in the eyes and pop the question again.

5. For Valentines’ Day, set up a mini Christmas tree in your bedroom, with heart ornaments and lights. Your heart ornaments can be handmade, with construction paper, doilies, and scissors.

6. Make a taco salad, with her favorite ingredients. Buy a bag of large taco chips to use as the silverware. Take a moment to feed her with a chip.

7. Go out with both sets of grandparents for a triple date.

8. Practice smiling throughout the day. It could be contagious!

9. On her next birthday, send her the number of cards that matches her age. For instance, if she’s going to be 38, then send her 38 cards to arrive on her birthday. Some of the cards can be homemade. Fill up her mailbox with your love and good wishes.

Happy Valentines’ Day from Cheryl Moeller Production. Bob and Cheryl have been married nearly 30 years and have 6 children, ranging in age from 9 to 26.

photo credit: The G-tastic 7

• to talk out their issues and problems, instead of shoving, pushing, and tackling out there on the field.
• to stop whispering out there in huddles, it makes the other team feel bad to be talking about them.
• that the real Super Bowl is the white big bowl in the bathroom.
• that the point of wearing a uniform is to help you act more polite and respectful in school. So, why do these men put on uniforms, then start ramming each other and doing crazy dances in the end zone to celebrate it? No one should clap for them when they do either.
• that those men in the black and white striped shirts, carrying a whistle should use their yellow handkerchiefs and not throw them down on the field. And why use yellow ones? they don’t match anyone’s outfit.
• that those men floating up there in that big Goodyear helium balloon should come down rig ht now before it pops and someone gets hurt. Besides, they are cheating — hanging up there trying to see the game without having to buy a ticket. Shame on them.
• that it’s really not nice to pour a huge bucket of Gatorade on that man with the clipboard, standing on the sidelines at the end of the game. That’s probably his homework he’s been working on the entire game. Now it’s all wet and the teacher will make him stay after school and do it all over again.
• that coaches should know when you call a “time out” you should make all the players go over and sit in the corner for 30 minutes, and think about what they have done wrong. And you don’t let them back on the field, until they say they’re sorry. They usually let them run back on the field in just two minutes — it only encourages bad behavior.
• that NFL teams don’t need a coach. What they really need is a MFL super mom, who won’t give the guys supper, if they come in with their uniforms all dirty one more time.