Lisa Jacobson's Blog, page 10

8 Ways to Make This the Best Thanksgiving Ever

Want to make this the best Thanksgiving ever?

Me too! And I’ve picked up on a number of tips that make a big difference in celebrating that day and I’d love to share them with you.

But before I get there, I feel you should know a few things.

About Thanksgiving.

And me.

You should probably know that I’ve experienced some very disastrous Thanksgiving celebrations. 

As in really, really bad ones.

Like my first year as a new bride and I tried to serve our guests from Ethiopia “an authentic American Thanksgiving.”

Who happened to be Orthodox Christians.

Who can’t eat turkey (not kosher). Or green beans (made with bacon). But who graciously enjoyed what side dishes they could.

I felt simply terrible. 

We ate a lot of mashed potatoes that year. 

Or like the year when all our guests starting arriving and I did a last minute check on the turkey in the oven. Only to find that my oven had decided to quit that day (oh, why?

Continue reading 8 Ways to Make This the Best Thanksgiving Ever at Club31Women.com

A Simple Homeschool Plan to Set Up You and Your Student for Success {Real Life with Lisa}

I don’t often discuss the topic of homeschooling here but since so many of you have asked about it,  I thought I’d address some of those questions today (and next week too).

And even if you don’t homeschool yourself, you still might find it interesting and helpful if you have other friends or family that are going this route? Or maybe you’re simply curious!

So today I’m going to take you through what a typical homeschooling day looks like in our home. When we start and when we stop. What subjects we cover – and which ones we don’t!  How we make it all “work” and other mysteries of homeschooling.

Classic Thanksgiving Traditions for Any Present Day Family

I’ll admit it was a bit early, but this year I began thinking about Thanksgiving in August. 

Not a lot mind you because we were in the throes of planning Laura’s wedding, but I knew which of our six kids were coming with their families, so I found myself thinking about sleeping spaces and how we’d juggle it all.

For most of our children, it’s an every other year arrival. We do have to share with their spouses’ families. Our very average-sized four-bedroom house is hardly big enough when even half of our kids are home at once, but that is half the fun.

This year it will be both sons, their wives and four kids each, our daughter and her husband and their seven sons, and newlyweds Laura and Josh. Just having 15 grandkids ages 17 to 2 is a small army to feed!

Family Gatherings

But I wouldn’t trade it for anything because gathering together is the best part about Thanksgiving. And what has made our family gatherings so rich are the traditions we share year after year.

Our favorite is Thanksgiving brunch.

Continue reading Classic Thanksgiving Traditions for Any Present Day Family at Club31Women.com

Three Items Every Woman Should Wear Out

Another shirt went from the closet to the pajama drawer this week. It’s quite a collection I have, of shirts that have an area of holes right across the waistline.

Took me a while to figure out what in the world was happening. Why the same circle of holes developing in the same place?

Countertop meets waistline. That’s what it was.

I was just the right height for the button of my jeans to rub through my shirt and against the edge of the countertop, in front of the sink and where I cook.

How Faithfulness Becomes Evident

I have never heard another woman talk about this problem. Is it common? Dishes in the morning, dishes in the afternoon, dishes at night. Cutting carrots. Wiping dirty counters. Putting together casseroles. Wearing a hole right through our shirts?

Proof of my domestic service to my family.

And then there are my hot pads. One day a friend came over, and I pulled a ratty, stained hot pad out of the drawer. “Yuck,” I said.

“Oh,” she replied, “I thought those were supposed to be dirty and worn out from using them all the time.”

Proof of food going in and out of the oven for my family.

Continue reading Three Items Every Woman Should Wear Out at Club31Women.com

25 Delightful Advent Books for Children

My husband is terrible at surprises. I can tell he has something up his sleeve from the little crinkles that form around his eyes when he’s talking about a date night he has planned or a present he wants to give. Without prodding, he will spill all the details.

It’s a quality I’ve come to adore. For him, sharing the excitement of anticipation is better than pulling off a grand surprise. That’s how I feel about Advent. Celebrating on December 25th is wonderful, but the reveling in the Christmas season imparts some extra joy.

On a spiritual level, I love the escalating tension as the advent of Jesus’ birth approaches — visits from the supernatural, relational conflict, long journeys, and finally the lowly birth of our precious Savior.

On a bit more superficial level, I love all the different countdowns associated with Advent. From the cardboard holiday scenes whose windows reveal a waxy, chocolate shape to the numbered mittens filled with peppermint nougat and little gifts my mom started to send me when I was in college, I enjoy them all.

Since having kids, my husband and I have adopted a book Advent tradition as a way to count down until Christmas.

Continue reading 25 Delightful Advent Books for Children at Club31Women.com

Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Stew

One of the questions I get asked most often by my kids is, “What’s for dinner, Mom?” I don’t hear it as often anymore from my oldest daughter, Grace, because she is a subscriber to my blog (Catz in the Kitchen), so she receives the weekly menu post every Monday, which means (if she reads her email) she knows what’s for dinner pretty much every night of the week.

The other two kiddos almost always wake up and greet me with a hug, a kiss, ask how I slept and then proceed to reveal what’s really on their little minds…

“What’s for dinner, Mom?”

And because they’re kids, this often means that they forget halfway through the day and need to be reminded of what’s for dinner again…and again…and yes, usually, again while I’m in the middle of cooking dinner.

I know that those questions can be a little repetitive, especially when it’s on a daily basis, but I have to be honest. I love this question, because to me, I interpret it as them saying that they look forward to our family dinner time around the table instead of just another meal that fills their hungry little bellies.

Continue reading Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Stew at Club31Women.com

Are Your Trials Making You Bitter or Beautiful? Encouragement for When You’re In A Hard Season {Real Life with Lisa}

Strong, smooth, and soaring.

Isn’t that the way our life is supposed to go?

Isn’t that what they tell us in most movies, magazines, and on social media? Maybe we even hear it from close friends and in church.

Success.

That’s the goal. That’s the expectation.

But what if your life doesn’t seem to follow this cheery script? And it’s no fault of your own.

Your challenges are not merely a matter of “trying harder’ or “working more.” Your problems are not going to be solved by simply “pulling yourself together.”

But not many – if any – of the people around you actually understand.

Illness. Job loss. Disappointment. Heartbreak.

You’re facing trials that threaten to overwhelm you.

And you can feel the bitterness creeping in.

Yet what if it could be different? What if rather than growing bitter, you could grow beautiful instead?

Here’s some solid encouragement for you – or for someone you might know – that could use a bright word in a dark time…..

Continue reading Are Your Trials Making You Bitter or Beautiful? Encouragement for When You’re In A Hard Season {Real Life with Lisa} at Club31Women.com

The Most Romantic Surprise of My Life {Told Mostly in Pictures}

It’s not easy to surprise me.

Not that I’m so all-knowing or anything, but I’m a mom...and, well, moms tend to have a special sense when something is up. If you know what I mean.

But, no, not this time.

This was a complete and utter surprise.

Because my husband conspired – with our older children and longtime friends – to come up with a plan that I would never have guessed in a million years! A happy-24th-anniversary plan. A you’re-never-going-to-believe-this plan.

And an incredibly romantic plan, at that.

It went something like this….

While I LOVE to travel, ever since we’ve had children (ahem, 22 years ago), I’ve opted to stay at home. At first, it was because they were too young for me to feel comfortable in leaving them. And then we had our Avonlea, and she couldn’t be left.

So I stayed home. My choice. My joy.

But you see, those same children who were “too young” to leave are now young adults and wanted to bless me.

Continue reading The Most Romantic Surprise of My Life {Told Mostly in Pictures} at Club31Women.com

Getting Your Kids Happily Involved in Cleaning House

When my first child was just 3 years old, I began having her help me empty the dishwasher. All of the plastic plates and cups were in a low cupboard where she could reach them and easily put items away. She emptied the dishwasher like this until she was old enough to reach the upper cupboards and handle glass carefully. At that point, she was also able to load the dishwasher. She was probably about 8 years old at that time.

Now she is 14-years old and has two sisters to help in the dish rotation. Each night, they rotate on who loads, handwashes, and dries/puts away the dishes after each meal.

In addition, I continue to train my younger children in different chores around the home. These are important habits to know and there are a few things we’ve learned along the way.

Here are two important ingredients when training your children to help around the home:

Teamwork

There’s a difference between working side by side and working together.

Teaching our children to work as a team when it comes to keeping house is a great way to teach problem- solving skills, help them learn to appreciate each other, and build their relationships.

Continue reading Getting Your Kids Happily Involved in Cleaning House at Club31Women.com

6 Fantastic Fantasy Series for Tweens and Teens

I blame The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe for my love of the fantasy genre. As the pages turned, the cold snow bit my cheek, Mr. Tumnus’ tea burned my tongue, and Aslan’s roar of victory filled my ears.  I devoured the rest of The Chronicles of Narnia series and continued with A Wrinkle in Time, The Princess and The Goblin, The Hobbit, and many more.

Why the deep love for fantasy?

It’s a lot of fun! Where else can you strap on a sword to storm a castle, ride a flying horse, tame a dragon (or maybe kill one), battle goblins, and be true friends with royalty?

But more importantly, fantasy teaches honor, courage, and hard work. Even the basic fantasy reader knows that a true king is the first into battle and the last to leave.

Above all, though, the fantasy genre can give us a deeper understanding of God. C.S. Lewis is one of the masters of using fantasy elements to teach us more about God. In his series, The Chronicles of Narnia, Aslan is an example of Jesus Christ.

Continue reading 6 Fantastic Fantasy Series for Tweens and Teens at Club31Women.com