God Gave Us Love Giveaway Winner

The winner of the copy of God Gave Us Love is.....

Sarah C.!

Thank you so much for entering. You have until midnight on

Sunday, April 22nd to email your mailing address to: ChapinFamilyLLC@gmail.com  Congratulations, Sarah!

God Gave Us Love Giveaway

A while back I reviewed the book, God Gave Us Love. You can see the review here. I have an extra copy, and I would love to share with one of my readers.

The contest will run from 4/15 thru 4/22, and I will choose one winner. This contest is sponsored by me, and I will fulfill the prize by mailing out the book via USPS. Please enter using the rafflecopter widget below. More details on the rules are found at the bottom of the widget. Good luck!

Teaching our children to find joy in every day work

My little girl is three, and she loves doing housework, and I let her. I think it is a perfect age to instill joy in keeping a home, and to try to perfect my attitude toward cleaning, cooking, and laundry. Too often, we as parents make so many mistakes that show up later in life in our children in their feelings toward work.

Our attitudes toward our daily tasks help mould how our children will feel about their lives later. If we dread mopping the floor, find laundry too trying, or grumble about going to work, you bet our children will as well. Instead, lets choose an attitude on joy, for we are not only serving our families, but the Lord as well. He put us here to nurture and strengthen our households, and these so-called mundane tasks are a part of a glorious calling from on high.

While they are young, and still enthusiastic, encourage them to do housework. Letting them help may take a little longer, but the benefits will show when they get older. My daughter loves housework, so I let her have joy in it and help me. It isn't always done perfectly. But, she finds happiness in it, is proud of her accomplishment, and she will gain independence and be more responsible.

Every child is different, but here is a list of things I let her do. This doesn't mean your child couldn't do more or less, it is just an idea. Note: I use only non toxic cleaners. I wouldn't let your child do some of these things if you use conventional cleaning products.

1. Wash dishes
2. Vacuum
3. Make the bed
4. Fold and put away small laundry (underwear, washcloths, etc)
5. Wash vegetables and put them into the cooking pot
6. Add ingredients from measuring cup to bowl or cooking pan
7. Wipe down the counters or table
8. Bring dishes to sink
9. Dust
10. Wipe down the bathroom
11. Load dryer or washer (I hand her items to put in)
12. Water plants
13. Pull weeds
14. Sweep
15. Put items in trash
16. Tidy room by throwing out garbage, putting toys away, etc.
17. Help stir food in the bowl (such as potato salad, cake, etc.)

What do you let your little ones do? Do they have any favorite jobs around the house?

Abe's Market Giftcard Winner

The winner of the abesmarket.com $25 gift card is: camelfam Congratulations! You have until end of the day on April 4th to email me your information at chapinfamilyllc@gmail.com  I hope you enjoy your gift card.

Chorizo Skillet

I have been planning this post for a while, and then saw someone make the same exact thing and post it on their blog! The early bird catches the worm, I guess, but I decided to post this anyway. This chorizo skillet is quick and inexpensive. We eat it for any meal, since it is so hearty. For breakfast, it is good with a fried egg on the side. If you need to make this recipe go further, just add more cabbage or potatoes. We eat it plain, but some people may want ketchup, salt, or pepper (especially if you decide not to use spicy chorizo and go for regular instead).

1 pkg. spicy chorizo sausage
1 head cabbage, chopped into bite size pieces
5 medium potatoes, diced

Break apart sausage and place in large pan. Add potatoes and cabbage. Saute over medium heat until sausage and potatoes are cooked through (the vegetables will stick at first, so stir often, but then the chorizo will help grease the pan). Serve hot.

Refrigerator Cleanout

It spring cleaning time, which means it is also time to really clean out the fridge. Cleaning it out and making sure it is nice and fresh isn't difficult, and really should not take much time.

This is my before picture. Lots of food everywhere, and produce past its prime in the drawers.

To clean the fridge:
1. Remove all food and dump what is no longer good.
2. Wash containers that held food and wipe down bottles and jars.
3. Put shelves and drawers in tub with some baking soda, soap, and hot water.
4. Wipe inside of fridge with hot water that has some baking soda dissolved in it. Wash inside of fridge and freezer, and rinse well. Wipe dry. Add an open box of baking soda to both the fridge and freezer to help with any odor. If you have any juice from raw meat or fish, wipe with an antibaterial wipe made from herbs (like Seventh Generation's cleaning wipes).
5. Scrub the drawers and shelves, dry, and put back into the fridge.
6. Put food away, and vow never to throw that much food in the garbage again.
7. Wipe down the outside.

If you are very ambitious, you could pull it out to clean the back, and sweep and mop underneath. Do this before you put the food back.

Easy peasy! Now, I did have a dinner party, so the fridge still looks a little full, but at least it is clean.

This post is apart of the Spring Cleaning Challenge Linkup    Go over to check out loads of links from bloggers everywhere on their Spring Cleaning adventures!

Blueberry-Grapefruit Ice

This recipe is adapted from one I found on allrecipes.com  I changed it slightly to include only wholesome, real foods.

3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
3 cups grapefruit juice (I used RealGrapefruit, but fresh squeezed would be best)
1 cup local, raw honey

Blend until liquid and combined. Freeze in a baking dish for three hours. Stir to break up the chunks, and freeze again for another three hours. Drag fork across, creating a fluffy ice and serve. Garnish with whipped cream or mint, if desired.

I think this would be delicious blended with yogurt or kefir to make a frozen yogurt pop. If you are avoiding plastics, I recommend Stainless Steel Popsicle Mold

For more real food recipes, visit the Healthy Home Economist's Monday Mania

This post is also apart of Real Food Wednesdays over at Kelly the Kitchen Kop

Go check them out, these ladies are incredible!