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SOUP!

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SOUP!
SOUP,Soup,SOUP!
Wonderful, glorious soup,
when I’m down and out,
when I feel duped;
I go to my kitchen,
take out my biggest of pots,
and I start making soup.
Soup is glorious!
Soup goes right to your heart-
it’s so easy to make,
it all starts from scratch.
My chicken soup ROCKS!
I’ll tell you how I make a batch:
Start out with chicken thighs,
it’ll take about 7, 8 or 9.
Then add some onions and chives,
peel you some potatoes-
8,9 or 10 is fine.
celery, onion and garlic,
they’ll season your soup,
people will love you ’cause you’re such a darlin’.
Throw all the ingredients in the pot
and fill it with water up to the top.
Remember: If you don’t season,
your soup will be bland,
your taste buds won’t forgive you-
you’ll lose all reason…
and of course it’ll taste like sand.
Let the soup simmer a while;
meanwhile, cut up about 8 carrots,
they’ll add color and style.
Wash and chop greens…
Eeewww…Greens??? Really?
Yes, all soups need greens,
be daring, try some; don’t be so silly!
Add these now to the pot.
Greens keep your insides clean,
they help you so you won’t rot.
Don’t forget to add corn and peas-
all your fans will be greatly pleased.
Lastly, when all’s said and done,
don’t leave out LOVE-
go light on the salt;
don’t spare the love.
So grab a bowl and dig in.
Soup, soup is DONE!
Eva Santiago Copyright 2011

MONEY: It Doesn’t Make The World Spin on its Axis

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The other day my youngest child came to me and said, ” Mom, I NEED money!” Her best friend’s birthday is right around the corner and she wants to do something extra special for her. Even though I’ve taught my kids form when they were very young, that you don’t always need $$ money$$ to be a blessing to others, they still feel the pull from society; the voice that yells at all of us incessantly,day in and day out: Money = True success.
 
I can think back to a lesson I learned several years ago when money was tight and I felt as if I had no resources. Christmas was coming up and I wanted to do for others. I was sad until one day I heard God say, ” Use what you have.” So I started looking around my home and I got busy; I hand made cards and I included my kids in the fun; these we sent out to friends and family. We made banana bread and took it to friends and neighbors. We even invited people over to our house for dinner and I began to see how the lack of money had been blinding me.

So I took my youngest daughter and I told her about one of my favorite birthday memories I’ve had as an adult. Way before I had any kids, I was working in Atlanta while putting myself through college. Lucy, my co-worker asked me a few weeks before my birthday to name a few things that I like. I named several things including home made pound cake. When my birthday rolled around, that morning when I arrived at the museum where we both worked I found a package on my desk. It had a little note attached to it. Lucy was right behind me and I turned around and gave her a big hug; then she told me to open it and once I did, I could smell the most delicious scent coming from the aluminum foil. Lucy had made a pound cake all for me! Let me tell you I felt so loved that day; I had received similar gifts like that in the past, but this one topped them all because someone thought enough of me to MAKE me my favorite cake. Hence I’ve never forgotten Lucy!

I could see my daughter’s gears turning and then she asked me at the end of my story,” What can I make for Tara?” We explored different possibilities and then she remembered Tara LOVES pie. So off we went to find her a recipe for pumpkin pie.
 
 We must teach our kids that money can be seductive; the lack of it can lure you into a state of quiet, helpless desperation. When you DO have it, you think you’re invincible and the world is yours. I have prayed this many times in the past: “God please give me enough bread to satisfy my needs and those of my house; don’t leave me without, that I have to resort to stealing and don’t give me too much that I end up turning my back on you.” We must tell our kids that even though money IS important, it DOESN’T make the world go around!
 
I still tell my kids that when God blesses you, take care of your needs first and if you have extra well then, that abundance is not for you; it’s to be a blessing to others. When you teach your kids about how to handle money early in their childhood you’ll be amazed.My husband and I give our kids a small monetary allowance every 2 weeks when he gets paid. If they aren’t keeping up with their house chores and someone is sloughing off in their work,they forfeit their allowance to the person that picked up the slack. I taught them this one rule I learned from the book RICH DAD, POOR DAD : Spend a little, give a little and save a little. In this way they will never be broke; the ones that live by this rule always have what they want, the ones who don’t go without.
 

1 Timothy 6:7-10
For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

 
Ecclesiastes 5:10
Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.
 
Eva Santiago Copyright 2011
 
 
 

Let Kids BE Kids

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LET KIDS BE KIDS!

On Sunday Johnnie has tennis lesson.
Come Monday it’s piano.
Tuesday the tutor comes
to teach him Latin and Esperanto.
Wednesday is his cooking lesson,
Thursday he takes fencing.
By Friday Johnnie is worn out
but off he goes to batting practice.
On Saturday he wished he could snooze
but oh no- he better win and not lose!
The game is all about his parents
no one ever bothered asking Johnnie,
what HE dreams of doing-
no one ever let Johnnie daydream.
 
So Johnnie grows up frustrated, annoyed and irritated;
now he goes off to a job he hates.
And John has a son-Junior.
And John does the same to him.
Only this time Junior has a back bone.
Junior says, “No way!”
“Dad, I love you!”
” Dad, thanks but no thanks.
I have dreams I must do.
I’m gonna be who I wanna be.
I was born to be ME;
and not a little replica of you!”
 
Eva Santiago COPYRIGHT 2011
 

Family First

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Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle on May 5, ...
Image via Wikipedia
I am a keen observer. When my kid’s friends come over I listen to their conversations as I’m busy doing things. I hear how the kids go on out of state trips to amusement parks and such with out their parents. It almost seems that the school has become a type of surrogate parent for kids now a days. The kids I talk to for the most part aren’t even phased by the fact that their family isn’t as tight as it needs to be. I came away thinking that perhaps I’m bringing my kids up to be too attached to their immediate family; then I remember that that’s the way it was intended to be.
 
If you ever read The Bible Genesis 10:4,20,31,32; we find the first reference to “nations” arising from family groups. You can see how important the family is to God. God created the family before He gave us ways to govern ourselves. So if family is deemed important to The Creator, shouldn’t we be placing family first? I have been ridiculed to my face and behind my back by people who think I’m doing a disservice to my kids by not sending them to public school. These nay sayers always mock saying that my kids are overly sheltered. Interestingly enough when I consider the source of these ignorant comments, I find most of these people don’t have very good family situations. I just shake my head and wonder how they can judge me for what I do when I’ve never bother them about their unruly, rude kids.
 
 
 
 

CHILDREN LEARN WHAT THEY LIVE

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Good Day!
I wanted to share this piece with you. If you have children remember that they won’t be little forever; childhood is such a fleeting time and  they grow up before long. Do you ever look at your kids and think, ‘ I rememeber the day I brought you home from the hospital.’ I do, especially around birthdays. I have 3 teens in my home and 1 pre-teen and I never let a day go by without telling them or showing them in some way that they are loved and appreciated; they need to hear words  like that more than ever these days. Even if you don’t have any children of your own, find a young person to be good to; remember they ARE our future and we need to invest in them. Have a great day and hug your kid/kids today!!
Children Learn what they live…If a child lives with criticism,
He learns to condemn.
If a child lives with hostility,
He learns to fight.
If a child lives with ridicule,
He learns to be shy.
If a child lives with shame,
He learns to feel guilty.

If a child lives with tolerance,
He learns to be patient.
If a child lives with encouragement,
He learns confidence.
If a child lives with praise,
He learns to appreciate.
If a child lives with fairness,
He learns justice.
If a child lives with security,
He learns to have faith.
If a child lives with approval,
He learns to like himself.
If a child lives with honesty,
He learns truth.
If a child lives with acceptance and friendship,
He learns to find love in the world.

Dorothy Law Nolte

 

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Be Advised :)

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CAUTION! Before you decide to home school you should know that not everyone is going to jump on your band wagon and support you. When both sides of our family learned of our decision to home teach we received mixed feed back from different people in our extended families. My sister thought I was just plain stupid to have gone to college and gotten my Bachelors only to sit at home with my 4 kids and in her words,” waste my talents.” My brother in law admonished her by saying,” Are you kidding? How can she be wasting anything when your sister is pouring out the best of herself into her children?” Thank you for that Larry! Has it been tough on us with one of us bringing in one pay check? Well, at times it has been but in the end our needs have always been met. We also have learned that you really don’t need as much stuff to have a happy, comfortable life. We may not have the latest gadgets or go on vacations every summer but we do have each other and that is really what kids want: A stable happy home life where they know they are loved by both of their parents.