Free email newsletter reaching over 500 women.

Offering encouragement to mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers

Editor: Donna Kauffman

Author: Treasures From a Mother’s Heart,

The Treasure of Careful Planning--Enjoy the Gift of Organization,

Treasures From a Waiting Heart--Experiencing His Healing Presence

Volume 4 #4 April 2006

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Do you know what I’m talking about when I say Paper Clutter. Whew, I weary of paper. I’ve found a few tips that have helped keep it sorted out and the piles eliminated. I hope they can be helpful for you as well.

If you have among your stacks, articles, recipes, old letters or children’s school papers.

1. Sort : Sort into categories.

2. Purchase: Inexpensive plastic storage boxes.

a. One for each child with a number.

Save just a handful of papers from each year of school. Store them in the child’s box.

b. Storage boxes for other paper items with a title-name and a number --

One box for old letters, cards. (Only for the old letters that you HAVE to save.)

One for articles you’re sure you MUST keep, etc.

As you go through your stacks, don’t get bogged down reading each one. Glance quickly, decide quickly and if in doubt, throw it out. Otherwise put it in the proper box.

4. Cover and Store: Put the lids on the boxes. Store them in the storage room. Keep a list of the number of the box with it’s title in the miscellaneous section of your notebook. You can then easily find the box to put the next item in it’s home on a regular basis.

B. Recipes

If you have recipe books you likely have all the recipes in the house that you need. Throw away the stash.

If you make a phone call for a certain recipe that you really want, write it out on a file card immediately upon receiving it and file it right away under the right section in your recipe file box.

Place any papers you need to save into the proper folder. You’ll find that paper when you get to that week of the year.

Tickler File Example: October Week 1, October Week 2, etc. I like to go through my folder for the week three times that week, working at the items that have been stored in it. Usually I do it on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

If I have something I need to remember for the month of December, or even next March, I stick a note or the paper in the appropriate file and it’s there when I get to that month. Even birthday cards can be purchased once or twice a year, addressed and stuck into the right folder for the week they need mailed.

All paper clutter can be filed into an appropriate tickler folder. You will find it on it’s date and there will be no stacks of paper laying around the house.

1~ Throw away:

Deposit the trash immediately and decisively into the waste basket.

Advertisements, junk mail is a time waster. Toss it.

2~Family Member mail

Everyone that lives in your house needs a place where their personal mail is delivered to.

3~Mail that needs read

but not at the moment gets filed appropriately.

Bob’s reading mail goes into a drawer in his desk.

Magazines go into the magazine rack in the living room. The rack gets gone through monthly. Only the issues from the past 2 - 3 months are kept in the rack.

A file folder works good for magazines also. Take the folder with you when you might be waiting or traveling somewhere.

4~Mail that needs filed

Such as bills, insurance papers and receipts.

File them in the appropriate tickler folder, the one dated with the date that you will need to work on the paper, or file it in a file folder that has been labeled for it.

5~Mail that needs responded to.

Respond to response cards immediately and get them to the mail box.

Note address changes immediately in your address book.

If a letter needs answered, stick it in the tickler file to get to when you get to that week.

If you can’t, for some reason get some piece of mail done at the moment, stick it in the tickler file of the week you think you can get to it.

I believe it’s Emilie Barnes that says, “Don’t put it down; put it away.”

And don’t scoot it from one work area to another or from one room to the next.

Proverbs 31:26

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Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.

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I didn’t have a poem for this month so I’m adding a little update on the boys:

Rachel and her four children just spent a week here. Oh it was wonderful. The boys are doing great. Jayden is now 10 months and Jackson is 9 months. They’re crawling and where there is one, there is the other. It’s oh so cute.

While Rachel was here we did a fund raiser garage sale to help with the expenses of the adoption. March doesn’t usually lend itself to weather in the 50’s and 60’s but we began to pray several weeks before for good weather. We asked the Lord for 50’s and 60’s for Thursday and Friday. We checked the weather, breathlessly for 3 weeks… at last Thursday and Friday came into view and it was to be in the 50’s and 60’s. We stuck our stashes in the garage. And exclaimed over the two most beautiful Spring days of the month.

And to top it off, Rachel had a secret goal she was praying for. She quietly voiced it to me and oh dear, I wondered. We had never had a garage sale bring in that amount before. But she continued to pray and we kept the garage doors open. By Saturday evening she had $850.00 and another gift of $150.00. The Lord had met the maximum of her prayed over goal.

2 c. flour

Mix the topping ingredients together. Set aside. Beat together with mixer the margarine, 1 c. sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients alternately with the sour cream. Spread half of the batter in a 9x13 inch baking pan. Sprinkle with half of the topping. Pour on rest of batter and sprinkle with rest of topping. Bake at 325* for 40 - 45 minutes.

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How much control should we have in planning the size of our families? We always hear emphasized about the importance of having faith and trust in God but when it comes to family size we like to take matters into our own hands. Are we really trusting God if we use every kind of birth control out there to make sure we don't have surprises? Something I've been thinking about and would like to know how some of you feel.

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I don't remember if this was covered before, but I am a mother of two, ages 3 & 1, and am looking for ideas for play time. The oldest often comes asking what to do next and sometimes I am at a loss as to know how to direct them. Any suggestions would be welcome. Grace

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My mother has suggested to us girls to make a list like she did when we were young. Mom had a list hung on the fridge. It had all the different items listed that we enjoyed doing during free time. If we were edgy or wondered what to do she would read the list to us and we needed to decide on something. If we couldn’t make a decision, mom made it for us. Before long we were very involved in cheerful play. Anyway, that’s what she tells me.

And mom didn’t let us use the word “bored.” She believed what we said is what we became.

I also really like to have an art box available. It has crayons, coloring books, scissors, paper, pen, cards or whatever. The girls love to dig into that box when they’re wondering what to do. Rachel, mother of 4

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I am a grandmother who had six children quite close in age — five boys and one girl. Yes, I remember the "boredom" times. However, I found some of mine were more easily bored than others. I think there are various ways that children express boredom. Teasing, pestering, arguing are also symptoms of boredom. There are also factors why some children are more easily bored than others. The hands-on child can more easily find something to do, and is usually the least bored child. The relational child is the one that can stretch your creativity. Many times what he is asking for is "relational time."

We need to remember that playtime is a time for children to explore, experience, and internalize concepts that will be used in later learning experiences. When a child is bored, he is saying "I need a new experience." That is different than "I need a new toy" Because every child is unique, the way of providing a new experience will be different for each child.

As young as age three, little chores are new experiences that will help boredom. Yes, they will complain about doing it repeatedly, but that too is a learning experience of responsibility. Chores usually help to make playtime more special. Also, at age three, I started them on preschool activity books which you can buy in the book section at Wal Mart, or at an educational store.

Our oldest son had a drive for making money. He was eight when our sixth one was born, and he pretty much quit playing and only wanted to read and learn from books. When he came to me because he was bored, I hired him to work for me, intentionally giving him a variety of jobs. Sometimes it was rocking the baby to sleep. It was only a quarter here and there, and that motivated him to ask for more work to do. He loved doing new things and it was a great help to me! I hardly needed a hired girl.

When my "hands-on" sons with mechanical bents were bored, I gave them any worn-out household gadgets or appliances to take apart. The basement was their "shop" for taking things apart. Do remember to cut off all electrical cords before giving gadgets or appliances to children to take apart. Allowing them to take things apart later became my advantage, because they loved to try to fix my broken stuff. Now they are an advantage to my husband's business.

Guess what I did for my relational children? Most times the best thing I could do for them was "Do you want to help Mommie?" They wanted a relationship. Sometimes I'd make a trade with them in that they helped me with a job, then I'd play with them for a designated time. Oh, how they loved to make the meal, and I set the table!

I also had one who was always on the move for something new. As young as age three, he had chores to do, but that was not enough. Around age four he was so bored, I was at my wits end! He was ready for school mentally, but not emotionally. Again, a variety of jobs, was his delight. He cleaned and organized my drawers or cabinets. That was so much fun to explore and experience! ! ! Each item in the spice cabinet had to be either tasted or smelled. Took him almost all morning to get it done. Organizing drawers held a major intrigue for him. He polished shoes, sewed straight lines on an old Singer sewing machine, ironed hankies, etc. Sometimes I had enough and he had to sit on a chair until he could think of what he wanted to do.

Please don't try to be me and think you need to do as I did. I only shared my story as a springboard for you to come up with your own ideas. Happy mothering, Ellen Kauffman

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Preschool activities - we've had a lot of experience with preschoolers in this house so here's what's ~in my cupboard!!
~wooden blocks ~wooden shape pieces that can be arranged into patterns ~puzzles ~play dough
~cookie sheet with rice and some small cars or digging tools (get the vacuum out later) ~the bathtub with some fun toys (plastic bowls, large mega blocks, etc.) ~a fleece or flannel board - take two pieces of sturdy cardboard and duct tape them together to form a hinge. Duct tape a piece of plain fleece or flannel or felt to the whole thing. Duct tape a loop of string on the inside so that it can stand up like a tent. Cut out letters, numbers, shapes, etc. out of felt and you have a two person felt/flannel/fleece board. ~soft blocks - take six squares of fabric (all the same size), sew together in a cube, stuff it and you've got some safe cubes they can build or throw with ~2 litre milk cartons make good building blocks too. Wash them out well and then push one inside the other. Cover with sticky shelf paper in bright colors. ~If you have the internet there are some fun on-line game sights for toddlers where they can just press keys to make things happen. Search for KNEEBOUNCERS, it's one my two year old enjoys. My three year old loves the Thomas the Tank site.
~Painting - got to supervise this one, but some old shirts a big plastic sheet, washable paints and an old box are a lot of fun.

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For my daughter’s 3rd birthday, my husband and I gave her an art box. We got a little tote and stocked it full with glue, tape, stickers, paper, wooden sticks, pom poms, wiggly eyes, and lots of little things to glue onto other things, beads to string, water color paints, colored pencils etc. Over the past few years we have kept that stocked and when my children (my daughter is now 5 and I have a 2 year old too) are looking for something to do, that is the first place they go. It gets pulled out nearly every day! They may make a mess with it, but it's well worth it!

The other thing that has really kept them occupied lately is a wooden train set we gave our 2 year old for Christmas. It's got wooden tracks that can be put together any which way and then little trains to drive all over it. My kids put a train together almost every single day - it has proven to give hours of entertainment every day. Plus, it is something you can always add to, getting a few more pieces here and there. They are quite expensive if you go with the Brio brand, but we found that the Maxim brand is totally compatible with the Brio and every bit as nice.

And keeping them busy besides play is great entertainment for them. Both my children help in the kitchen anytime they see me heading there. They love to help sweep the floor, dust and clean with wet rags. I'm amazed how much help they actually are! Shari, mother of 2

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I really can understand your dilemma! However, here are a few things that work well with my children (almost 5, 3, and almost 2): Especially on days that they seem bored with other things, I make a quick "tent" by draping a throw/blanket or two between chairs (use your imagination--couch cushions work for walls, other small cushions or sides of furniture can form entranceways, etc). They love this and play for awhile--it can be a house, and they'll "eat" inside, or it's a tent and they're going camping, or it can be a garage to park trucks. Spark their imagination with suggestions. It doesn't take long to set up or put away, and it provides much opportunity for fun play time!

Something else I do is keep on a shelf (a small cupboard works too) that they can reach some play supplies in a basket--coloring books & crayons (in a small container with a lid they can open), paper & small scissors, and board puzzles. I also have a basket on the floor with books they can look at. When they come asking what to do I can suggest a puzzle or book or coloring and they can go get it, then put it away when they're done.

They also love when I occasionally give them something from the kitchen that they usually can't play with--a mixing bowl & big spoon, or a rinse pan, dishcloth and towel (they love to pretend they're washing their hair, washing dishes, or giving a doll or stuffed animal a bath).

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I tried also the program eating anything you want and only eating when hungry...it really doesn't work long term. You need to make a lifestyle change and start eating healthy foods, drink 8 glasses of water a day, and do some kind of exercise and if you are already exercising add something extra to it.

Watch portion sizes closely.....it does matter because the types of food we consume are not always in balance to the kinds of foods our body needs.

I was able to keep from gaining so much weight during my pregnancy when I did this and I know it works. Now I am again writing down what I eat. This really makes you stop and think before you put something in your mouth.

Also, you may think you aren't eating much but it depends also on what you’re eating. There has to be a balance of all the food categories.

Its a struggle but, know that you aren't alone. When you mess up, start over on the next meal. Blessings to you, RS

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I walked into the kitchen and observed my 5 year old son sitting at the table with a glass of water. He was staring intently into it, so I peered over his shoulder. He had a Red-Hot candy ball in the cup of water. I asked him why he had that in there. He told me patiently, "It's too hot so I'm putting it into this cold water to cool it off."
I explained to him that this was a different kind of "hot" and I didn't think it would work to do this.
He said emphatically, "oh yes it will. It always does. I leave it in the cold water until the ball turns white. Then I know its not hot anymore." ( All the hot cinnamon dissolved in the water)
He didn't understand why, he just knew it worked! Sharon, mother of 6

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1.Pray that I could always abide in Christ, even when many interruptions interfere with my day’s plans.
2. That I could display the spirit & love of Christ to the ladies that come visit me .That they could see that the Christian life is more than going to church & doing good things.
3. That I could enjoy my children & take time for them , even tho´ I am often busy or am entertaining visitors.
4. That I could be a true help meet to my husband by encouraging & supporting him in the work he has to do.

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Congratulations to our new mothers.

Jayce Elliot Martin

Birthdate: February 1, 2006
Weight: 8lbs 7oz.

Length: 21.5"
Parents: Jay & Marilyn Martin
Siblings: Dylan(5 1/2), Durrell (5 1/2), Lauren(2)

Raine Chandler

March 5, 2006

10 lb. 2 oz.

21 inches

Chris and Renee Sensenig

Siblings: Chandel, Dylan

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Amy Marie

6lbs.3oz

191/2 inches long.

March 6th 2006

Logan Ohio

Parents- David and Suzanna Weaver

Big Sister-Erika Kay (age11/2)

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I hang up anything that needs hanging up! The children are ages 6, 3, & 2, and they love being Momma's helpers. I love it too as it frees me up to do something else!

They will sometimes even help fold and put in their basket! They have come to recognize their names too!

The older 2 help the younger one. I sometimes need to straighten up the drawers! No problem! The baskets nicely store inside each other until the next laundry day! Momma of 3 precious souls.

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Greetings! What happened to the newsletter? It is already the 7th of March and I haven't seen it yet! I hope my server didn't classify it as Spam/Junk Mail! I look forward to it every month and reread it several times! Hope to see it soon! Blessings, Lydia

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While I was reading through Judi Marten's article I kept thinking, "This sounds so much like what I learned from Teri Maxwell at the homeschooling convention I was just at." Then she mentioned the book 'Managers of Their Homes' which is Teri's book. I want to thow my own endorsement behind it. While I have just begun to read it and learn how the system will work for our family I know that it will have very positive rewards. The Maxwell's have an excellent website at www.Titus2.com.

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I have a question I would love to have in your next newsletter and by the way, I just love getting them!! I almost "eat them up" when they show up on the screen!! :) Thanks for doing this for us!! Bonnie, mother of 3

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Introducing my new book.

Treasured Meditations

For Mamas and Grandmas

--Quiet Moments for Busy Homemakers

It’s due off the press in early September.

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*The Treasure of Careful Planning: $7.99, four or more $7.00 each.

*Treasures From a Waiting Heart: $9.50, four or more $8.50 each.

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This book tells the story of how the Lord met me during a very low time in my early mothering years. The message He unfolded has changed my life from that day until today. You’ll learn to determine your purpose for being on this earth, and numerous ideas on organizing your life in a way that you’ll have more time to accomplish your purpose than you imagined.

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You can order my books at rdkauffman@alltel.net I’ll send an invoice with your order. You may mail a check or money order when you receive the invoice.

Shipping for one book is $1.50 each. In Canada, $1.75. If you purchase more than one book the shipping cost is less per book.

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237 Luvia Lane

Harrisonville, PA 

17228

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