Families With Grace

Helping Christian moms create homes filled with grace, love & faith

Author: Stacey A. Shannon

Stacey A. Shannon is a freelance journalist and blogger who has been published internationally. She's also a Christian, a wife and a mom of two school-aged children. She started Families with Grace in 2019 to encourage Christian moms as they create homes filled with grace, love and faith. Be sure to get the FREE family devotion book, "Finding Grace at Home: 7 Days of 5 Minute Devotions for Families." It's a great way to help your family draw closer to each other and to God. Motherhood can be lonely. You weren't meant to go on your motherhood journey alone. Connect with Stacey and other Christian moms like you in the private Facebook group, Moms with Grace! And check out the books from Stacey A. Shannon as well!

Moms on a Mission: Kathleen Brooker

Posted on by Stacey A. Shannon

Profiles of moms making a difference

Back in 2009, I was pregnant with my daughter and joined a message board on Baby Center’s site for women expecting babies in October 2009.

Through the years, I’ve gotten to know a few of the moms from that group very well and consider them good friends. One of these mamas is Kathleen Brooker. When we first “met,” she lived in California. Since then she’s followed her husband’s calling as an Anglican priest to New York and now to Anchorage, Alaska.

As a pastor’s wife of a growing church, Kathleen often jumps in teaching Sunday School, serving in the nursery, co-leading the teen group and more.

Kathleen, who is a former mental health counselor, has chosen to be at home with her five children (ages 2 to 10). She homeschools her oldest three and does her best to keep the younger two entertained at the same time. She’s got such a heart for God and has blessed and encouraged me many times throughout the years.

Just reading Kathleen’s responses to my questions encouraged me, and I know they will you, too!

Families with Grace: What is your God-given mission or passion?

Kathleen Brooker: This is such a hard question for me to answer! It’s hard to zero in on the one thing I feel called to. I think that might mean that I haven’t figured that out yet. So many things draw me. I love to serve alongside my brothers and sisters in Christ, wherever we happen to be needed.

Right now, my service is mostly with the youth in our church: I homeschool our kids, teach Sunday school, and help lead our teen group. I have a heart for young moms and women experiencing crisis pregnancies. I long to be a kind and loving voice speaking the truth of the gospel into the hearts of those needing to hear it.

FWG: How do you work to live out that mission right now?

KB: I always thought the counseling profession was where I was supposed to really minister, but after over a decade I’ve come to the conclusion that a counseling office just isn’t where God wants me to serve.

So I serve at home by teaching our kids, by guiding their hearts to love Jesus. I serve by helping our teens at church learn to talk about their faith and share it with others. I serve by being a pastor’s wife.

As the wife of an Anglican priest and mom of five kids, Kathleen Brooker is busy. But she has a heart for God that shines through to encourage others. #MomsOnAMission #Ministry #PastorsWife #Faith #Church #Moms #MomLife

I love watching my husband share Jesus with people, whether it’s through a worship service, a sermon, a conversation or a prayer with a stranger who calls at 3 a.m. God has blessed him with a personality and heart to love His people, but that’s not always an easy job. That’s where I come in: I get to be his support as he lives out his mission.

God has set our family on a very interesting course — one I never would have imagined when I started dating my husband! We’ve been married for 13 years and have made three major moves (and two minor ones) in that time.

We crossed the country to serve in California, crossed back to serve in New York, then packed up our family again four years ago to serve a small church in Alaska. We’ve had some painful experiences and some times of beautiful peace and healing. Through all of it, we’ve been a team and God has grown us through our ministry together.

FWG: What are some of your biggest challenges in living out your mission?

KB: I think my biggest struggle is that my calling doesn’t feel like a calling sometimes. It just feels like tagging along where God calls my husband! So often, I feel like whatever I can offer is so small that it just has to be insignificant.

There are so many outreach ministries I would love to be involved in, but I’m just so busy with home stuff that it seems like I don’t have time to actually minister to anyone. That’s when I have to remind myself that this is where God has put me now, right here in this house, right in the middle of all this chaos. And He knows I’m here and what’s going on.

He’s blessed my husband and me with five little hearts that are so open to Jesus and long to know and love Him. That’s my mission right now: my kids. It doesn’t mean I can’t do other things outside the home or that I don’t want to, but my focus these days is on guiding them.

FWG: What have been some of your biggest blessings in living out your mission?

KB: It’s got to be learning to trust that God really does know what He’s doing. It’s easy to say that God is in control when things are going well, but it becomes so much harder when we run into complications in life. It feels strange to say that the times we’ve struggled most have also blessed us the most, but they have.

We had one particularly rough situation where my husband had lost his job. We were living thousands of miles away from family and friends. We were suddenly cut off from the little support and friendship we’d had, and we just didn’t know what we were going to do. I was eight months pregnant with no health insurance and things just seemed awful.

It wasn’t an easy time, but even in the middle of it, we could see God moving. It was amazing to see how He worked things out and provided for us. I love looking back at a situation and realizing, “Oh, THAT’S what you were doing, God!” It’s amazing to see.

I think my favorite example of this is always going to be the birth of our fifth child. I was so done at four children. I even told God that. Apparently He didn’t agree because shortly after we’d moved to Alaska and settled into our new life here, I found out I was unexpectedly pregnant.

I had such a hard time accepting that I was really going to have another baby and I struggled with it right up until the moment she was born and I saw her little face. The moment I held her and looked in her eyes, I heard God whispering in my heart, telling me to just trust Him. He was telling me that He knows my heart so much better than I ever could. He knows what I need and what is best, even when I think I’ve got a better plan.

During that whole pregnancy, I fought against trusting that God’s plan was better than mine. But the second I saw my daughter’s beautiful little face, all my resistance melted away and I was just in awe of Him. He was teaching me a mighty lesson, but He was doing it in such a gentle, loving way. At that moment I had just a glimpse of His amazing patience, love and grace.

I’d love to say that I’ve changed every aspect of my life and that I never worry and always trust wholly in Him…but that just wouldn’t be honest. Every single time I look at my daughter, though, He reminds me that His plans are best. I still struggle to trust Him completely, but I hope that I’m at least taking some tiny steps in the right direction, following where He’s so lovingly and patiently leading me.

FWG: What’s the best advice you have for other moms who are following their passions?

KB: I think my advice would be to remember that God has you where you are for a reason. It doesn’t always seem like we’re making any kind of difference or actually doing anything to serve Him, but we are.

I know I always catch myself comparing myself with other women who seem to be more accomplished than I am, feeling that if they are doing something I’m not, then I must be failing. But that’s not the way this works.

We are all here to serve Him in different ways. For some of us, that may never be a spotlight-type of ministry, and that’s OK. It’s more than OK; it’s what He has planned for us. I think we’re just supposed to follow Him faithfully, serving wherever we are with our whole heart and sharing the love of Jesus where we are.

Read more from the series

Moms on a Mission: Dr. Karen Dowling

Moms on a Mission: Erin Mayes

Moms on a Mission: Mari Hernandez-Tuten

Moms on a Mission: Sarah R. Moore

Moms on a Mission: Stacey Pardoe

Moms on a Mission: Kristin Billerbeck

Moms on a Mission: Crystal (aka InnieMom)

Moms on a Mission: Pastor Stefanie Hendrickson

Moms on a Mission: Amy Cutler

10 No and low-cost Mother’s Day gift ideas

Posted on by Stacey A. Shannon

Moms don’t need an expensive gift to be happy!

I first put this list together back in 2013 when I had a newborn and a preschooler. Now my kids are 7 and 10, but the list STILL holds true. I’d love every single thing on this list for Mother’s Day any year.

This year as we are heading into Mother’s Day weekend either still in or maybe barely out of quarantine, we must remember moms don’t need expensive Mother’s Day gifts to feel loved and appreciated!

Mother’s Day is Sunday. I saw a cartoon recently where a woman was interviewing for a job as a mom. She said to the interviewer, “So, I only get one day off for Mother’s Day?” The interviewer responded, “Yes, and technically we still work then.” 

I laughed. It was funny in the way that something is when it has a nugget of truth in it. Motherhood has no days off.

Ideally, all moms would be able to relax on Mother’s Day and do what they want to do. But, that’s just not reality. However, moms don’t require much to be happy. If you know a mom (or a married to a mom!) who has young kids at home, I guarantee she’d like anything from this list and most of them don’t even need you to leave your house or spend a penny.

1. Give her the gift of a nap. 

Yep. This is my number one. I love naps. At any given moment, I would happily fall asleep if I could. This includes a nap sitting straight up in a chair (been there, done that). A nap where someone else is in charge of my youngsters for a couple of hours and I actually get to lie down in bed? Now THAT’S a wonderful gift!

2. Give her a compliment on her appearance. 

I’m constantly hunched over doing things like changing diapers, nursing, playing games, wiping faces, etc. Between my hunching, my post-babies’ body (which wasn’t a stellar one to begin with) and the fact that I’m beyond overdue for a hair cut, nothing about me feels attractive 99.9% of the time. 

Sometimes I literally look in the mirror and do a double-take when I find I don’t look nearly like the exhausted, hunchbacked zombie I feel like.  A sincere compliment from my husband might make me roll my eyes on the outside, but it also makes me feel good on the inside.

3. Give her some flowers. 

Listen, I have a fear of plants (I admit way too much in this blog) and even I love getting flowers. A vase of fresh flowers is cheerful and uplifting. They don’t have to be anything fancy. A bouquet of fresh flowers from the grocery store are just fine. 

The best kind of flowers to a gal like me are those I can enjoy in a vase for a week or two then throw out. Other moms might like the kind they can plant and maintain. My own mom and mother-in-law can plant anything outside and not only keep alive, but have it thrive. Go for what the mom in your life likes!

4. Give her a night off from cooking.

Even better, give her the whole day off! Whether we’re the kind of mom who cooks everything from scratch or relies on convenience food or somewhere in between the two, moms are constantly doing food prep of some sort. 

We probably don’t mind most of the time, but getting a break from making three square meals plus snacks for a day is nice. Even better is a homemade meal that we didn’t have to lift a finger for, but takeout works, too.

5. Give her the gift of laundry. 

I still keep my laundry schedule as best I can with a newborn and 3-year-old, but I also pretty much always have a load of laundry hanging over my head. (This is still true now even with my kids being a bit older now!) Right now, I do really, really well if I get two loads of laundry finished in one day. More typical is one load of laundry and even that may sit in the dryer for a few hours (or overnight…). Doing laundry for any mother is a blessing.

6. Give her the gift of a clean house. 

I’ve come across sayings about how cleaning your house when you have young children is like brushing your teeth while eating Oreos or shoveling while it’s still snowing. Yep. Sounds about right! Any home in which young children reside could use some cleaning whether it’s putting away some toys, scrubbing toilets or vacuuming — or all of the above!

7. Give her the gift of uninterrupted, fun time with her children. 

What moms really want (after more sleep) is more good memories with their children. Most of us have realized that their childhoods go flying by. Sometimes doing the tasks and chores involved with taking care of our families and everything else keep from being able to just hang out with and enjoy our children. 

Moms need that. Children need that. Take mom out of the house with the kiddos and have a picnic. Or just let her sit for the day and play with the kiddos without having to worry about cooking or cleaning.

8. Give her gifts made with love. 

A craft created by little hands just for mom that mom didn’t have anything to do with is special. Yes, we are that easy. We also love a heartfelt note of appreciation. Being seen for all we do in motherhood is priceless.

9. Give her the gift of alone time. 

We definitely want more memories with our kids, but we also could use some alone time to sleep, read, sleep, shop, sleep, watch television, sleep or whatever we want to do. I’ve been almost finished with the same book for the last three months since the birth of my son. I seriously could have the book finished at least within an hour, but finding an hour to just sit and read on any given day is impossible. 

Maybe make mom’s alone time outside of home so she’s not tempted to clean or catch up on other chores. We’re kind of crazy like that.

10. Give her the gift of appreciation. 

Moms do what they do out of love. We get up every morning and wipe noses, make lunches, play pretend, do laundry, kiss boo-boos, hug through tears and even discipline because we love our children more than anything else. But, we still need to hear thank-you sometimes. 

We need to hear it from our spouses and from our children. My husband has been good at this so our daughter is learning to as well. Just the other night she thanked me for dinner while she was eating. 

Everyone likes to be appreciated. We moms need to know that all our hard work and sacrifices are being noticed. While we don’t do them for glory or for thanks, being appreciated makes us feel good and helps strengthen us to keep going.

Moms really are pretty easy to do things for. We appreciate small acts of kindness. Most of the time we’re so busy taking care of everyone else that we don’t do much for ourselves, so when someone else does something to take care of us, we appreciate it. We accept it as a gift. And we sincerely enjoy it.

Happy Mother’s Day to all my fellow mamas! You are awesome, strong women who are doing the best for your children. May your day be filled with lots of love and laughter and — if you’re lucky — a nice, long nap!

Want more on Mother’s Day? Check out this post:

Learning to lean on God in darkness

Posted on by Stacey A. Shannon

A lesson I learned as a little girl has served me well

Growing up, we had a long (to my perception), dark hallway in our house. As a child with a good imagination, my imagination could get the best of me in that hallway and leave me frightened. I’d hurry down the hallway to get through it as fast as I could.

When I was in third grade, my Sunday School teacher taught us the first part of Isaiah 41:10, “So, do not fear for I am with you.” (She might have taught us the entire verse, but that is the part that stuck with me.)

From then on, I’d repeat that verse over and over to myself when I walked down that hallway. I continued doing so for a year or two until I was older and no longer afraid.

For years, I didn’t tell anyone this story. I wasn’t ashamed of it, but it just didn’t come up. I first wrote about this story as a high school student for a church youth newsletter I started and edited.

After my mom read the story, she immediately told me she wished that I’d have told her and she could have put a light in that hallway. (In fact, later on she had put a light in that hallway.) I assured her it was fine.

In the years since then, though, this lesson has stayed with me. Isaiah 41:10 continues to be my favorite Bible verse. I’ve learned the entire verse and carried it with me through many situations much more frightening than that dark hallway in my childhood home.

Teaching my children to lean on God

Now that I’m a mom myself, I think about this lesson from a new perspective. Would I have learned to rely on God when I’m scared so early on without this experience? I’m not so sure. It was a small situation that was big to me and first taught me how when I’m scared I can turn to God.

I question whether I am instilling these lessons in my own children now. I am reminded that while I want to make their lives incredibly easy and without struggle, that isn’t always best for them because life doesn’t work that way.

Learning to lean on God when I’m afraid is a lesson I am so glad to have learned. Getting outside of our fear and clinging to the One Who holds us in His hand is sometimes quite difficult. I pray that my children will learn this lesson since our God can comfort and protect them in more ways than I can.

Feeling thankful for adversity

Paul tells us to be thankful for our adversities. That can be incredibly hard to do. I have had times in my life where looking back later, I completely understood and felt thankful for past adversities. This dark hallway fear is an adversity from childhood for which I am thankful. I learned how to lean on God in the darkness, and that’s served me incredibly well.

The darkness — both literal and figurative — can be such a scary place. We can feel alone and our anxiety can be intense. It’s easy to have our imaginations and thoughts spiral into a very dark place.

However, we do have One Who is with us in the darkness, even when we may not understand it or feel He is missing. He remains faithful and true in spite of our feelings. And God has given us His Word to encourage and remind us Who we most need to put our trust in, even in the darkest of times.

Moms on a Mission: Sarah R. Moore

Posted on by Stacey A. Shannon

Profiles of moms making a difference

I recently shared about the FWG Moms on a Mission series in a blogging group I belong to. Sarah R. Moore reached out to me to ask for more information. Within a minute of being on her page, Dandelion Seeds Positive Parenting, I realized she and I have a lot in common!

Her mission and mine line up incredibly well. Sarah is passionate about encouraging positive parenting and building relationships. You’re going to be blessed and encouraged by her insights!

Families with Grace: What is your God-given mission or passion?

Sarah R. Moore: My mission is help families know Christ’s love within their own homes and to feel His grace and live out His goodness in how family members treat one another. Words alone won’t encourage the next generation to believe. I want children to trust in God’s kindness because they’ve experienced that feeling of physical and emotional safety in their own homes.

Further, I hope to gently bring non-believers to Christ by helping them feel His love as they experience it within the context of gentle and positive parenting. I’m a peacemaker by nature, and I want to help people make peace with Christ, above all.  

FWG: How do you work to live out that mission right now?

SRM: I’m an internationally published positive parenting writer and educator. Still, I’m far from perfect, so I share my struggles as well as my “wins.” I want parents to know that I “get” both sides. I’ve never been one to write about why MY way is best or why someone HAS to believe in Christ; those things are off-putting at best.

Instead, I take a really honest and transparent approach. Sometimes, it feels like my blog posts should start, “Dear Diary…” But seriously, parenting can be HARD sometimes, and I want parents to have solid, research-backed, evidence-based information at their fingertips. Moreover, as a mom, I work to practice what I preach in my own home. My child is going to hold me accountable for this stuff!

FWG: What are some of your biggest challenges in living out your mission?

SRM: There’s so much misinformation out there – along with so many stereotypes. For one, many non-believers assume that Christian parenting is, by definition, authoritarian parenting and that’s simply not the case. Christ welcomed (and sought out!) those with the worst behavior and taught them through grace through parables and role modeling in His own life. He forgave them even when they did positively awful things. He was patience and peace embodied.

If anything, Christians should be modeling Christ-like behavior to their children and to others; we’re the examples that others see in the world. Of course, by definition, we humans are all imperfect, so it’s all the more important that we live humbly and treat others (including children) how we’d like to be treated – the Golden Rule from Matthew 7:12. It’s an uphill spiritual battle trying to show non-believers that Christ was kind and that we can (and should) raise our children accordingly.

FWG: What have been some of your biggest blessings in living out your mission?

SRM: So many! In my own home, I’m constantly reminded of the goodness of positive parenting. I see it manifesting in my child’s kindness that she pours out on others. If she sees someone who needs help, she’s the first one to show up for them – even kids she doesn’t know well (and she’s a strongly introverted child, so this is really something).

And of course, every time I receive an email or a blog post comment about how something gentle I suggested WORKED for a parent or caregiver, especially if it was a departure from how he or she would’ve previously handled the situation – that just makes my heart sing.

FWG: How do you balance motherhood responsibilities with your work/mission?

SRM: That’s tricky, for sure. One thing that helps is that, by necessity, I’ve set some strong limits around my own screen time. My child knows she can count on me to be there for her. I’ve definitely sacrificed some self-care time to get my work done in the evenings after she’s asleep, but in many ways, writing is my self-care. Framing it that way helps me keep the importance of my work in perspective, not only for me but also for my readers.

FWG: What’s the best advice you have for other moms who are following their passions?

SRM: Do it when it feels right. Don’t force it when it doesn’t, otherwise your passion will start to feel like a chore. Just like our kids grow in spurts, our own personal growth happens in much the same way. Trust yourself and trust that God will tell you when the timing is right. I’ve never gone wrong when I’ve trusted His timing with that which I feel called to do.

Read more from the series

Moms on a Mission: Dr. Karen Dowling

Moms on a Mission: Erin Mayes

Moms on a Mission: Mari Hernandez-Tuten

Moms on a Mission: Kathleen Brooker

Moms on a Mission: Stacey Pardoe

Moms on a Mission: Kristin Billerbeck

Moms on a Mission: Crystal (aka InnieMom)

Moms on a Mission: Pastor Stefanie Hendrickson

Moms on a Mission: Amy Cutler

Easy oat and honey granola recipe

Posted on by Stacey A. Shannon

Just the right amount of crunch to make this granola recipe the perfect snack, dessert or breakfast!

Affiliate links are used in this post, if you make a qualifying purchase via my link, I receive a small percentage of the sale at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products and services I use and love. It helps support my blog, so thank you for your support! Read my full disclosure here.

About eight years ago, I tried a homemade granola recipe. My memories of homemade granola were at a bed and breakfast I went to with my parents back when I was in between high school and college. The proprietor offered homemade granola as part of breakfast.

I didn’t think about it too much after that, but then a few years ago, I tried a granola recipe a friend made and decided to make the plunge and try making it myself. I’m glad I did, because this recipe has been a favorite of my family’s for years.

When I made it again last week, I decided it was certainly time I share it on here. This easy oat and honey granola recipe is delicious. When I first made it, I crumpled it up thinking I’d use it in small pieces for cereal or something. After that I left it in chunks, because it’s so good on its own that we eat it for snacks, dessert and breakfast around here.

This oat and honey granola recipe has just the right amount of crunch and sweetness. It’s surprisingly easy to make with simple ingredients you probably have in your kitchen right now. And it has the added bonus of making your house smell great while it’s baking!

Just look at this goodness!

Getting started

I’ll be honest and tell you that when I first started looking for a granola recipe to make, I didn’t even know what kind of oats recipes were talking about.

I learned that it’s the oats you buy in a canister to make oatmeal. You can use either quick-cooking oats for this recipe or old-fashioned. I’ve made it with both. We prefer quick-cooking oats because they are a bit smaller.

Once you have your ingredients and are ready to go, turn your oven to 350-degrees to preheat. Then put the oats, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, vegetable oil, water and salt into a bowl.

Next, stir everything together. It will seem like it is too dry, but it will be fine. Just keep stirring for a couple of minutes until everything is coated. This oat and honey granola isn’t a mix that gets really wet.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or non-stick aluminum foil. Spread the granola mixture out in a thin layer all of over the pan.

Baking

Bake it in the oven at 350-degrees for 10 minutes. Take it out, stir it around and press it back into the same layer as before Return it to the oven for 10 to 12 more minutes until the oat and honey granola is a lovely golden brown with crispy edges and your kitchen smells divine!

Even if you like things extra crunchy, don’t be tempted to over-bake this oat and honey granola recipe. I’ve tried leaving it in for a few extra minutes and ended up with a hard block that tasted slightly burnt.

Don’t worry if the oat and honey granola doesn’t seem super crunchy when it’s still warm. It crunches up as it cools.

If you want it in small chunks to eat like cereal or as a topping, then stir it around again as soon as it comes out of the oven.

If you want to leave the oat and honey granola in chunks to snack on like I do, then let it cool completely, lift it off the pan and break it into chunks. I store mine in a quart-sized ziptop bag to keep it fresh.

The oat and honey granola will last about a week before it starts getting on the chewy side.

 

Easy oat and honey granola recipe Pinterest image

Easy oat and honey granola

This oat and honey granola recipe is easy and delicious! Just the right amount of crunch and sweetness make it a great breakfast, snack or dessert!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Course Breakfast, Dessert, Soup
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups oats quick-cooking or old-fashioned; I prefer quick-cooking because they're smaller
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon water

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
  • Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix them together. The mixture will be sort of clumpy and wet without being soaking.
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or non-stick aluminum foil.
  • Spread the granola mixture out in a thin layer all over the pan.
  • Bake it in the oven for 10 minutes, then stir it around and press it back into the same thin layer as before.
  • Bake for 10 to 12 more minutes until it’s a lovely golden brown with crispy edges and your kitchen smells divine.
Keyword granola, oat and honey, oat and honey granola

Prayer envelope project for kids

Posted on by Stacey A. Shannon

How to help your kids pray for others

One of my favorite parts of each day is bedtime. We sit together as a family and read a devotion, the kids pray and we read a book together. The devotion has been added just in the last two years, but everything else we’ve been doing since our now 10-year-old was a baby.

I have loved hearing how my children’s prayers have evolved through the years as they get older. But sometimes they get stuck on repeat. A few years ago we used prayer envelopes for them. About four months ago, we decided it was time to use prayer envelopes again. And I’m so glad we did!

What are prayer envelopes?

Very simply, prayer envelopes hold slips of prayer requests the kids come up with. Each night, they draw out a new slip of paper of someone or something to pray for. While they can and do pray for other people and things as well, this gives them something specific to make sure to pray for.

I love that this reminds the kids of people they want to pray for that maybe they had forgotten. When we sat and made their lists a few months ago, I was flabbergasted by the topics and people they came up with. Of course there are expected names like grandparents, their dad and me, each other and the puppy.

We have encouraged them to pray for their teachers and friends, so those made the list. And we have talked about praying for our church and specific leaders at our church. Those made the list.

They both also decided they want to pray for the food pantry ministry that we work with, which blessed my heart. My kids are praying for the right president to be elected for our country this year. My daughter is praying about global warming. Their prayer requests are sincere, sweet and surprisingly insightful.

How to make and use prayer envelopes

You can certainly make the prayer envelopes look cool or fancy, and you might totally have a better idea for how to do them, which is great! I am not crafty and tend to be pretty darn simple. Here’s how we did ours.

First the kids made a list of their prayer requests. My daughter wrote hers out and then I typed them up. My son, who is newer at reading and spelling, just told me what he wanted to pray for and I typed it.

We printed out the lists and cut each request into a strip.

The strips went into a small envelope marked “To pray for.” We then put that envelope into a 5×7 size envelope with their name written on the outside.

Each evening, they draw a slip of paper out of their small envelope. That request then goes down into the larger envelope and the small envelope goes back into the larger envelope one as well. Basically, we keep the “prayed for” requests, so that when the small envelope is empty, we can refill it and rotate through the requests again.

And that’s really it. Prayer envelopes are a simple concept, but can have a big impact on our kids in teaching them how to pray!

More prayer resources from Families with Grace:

Moms on a Mission: Stacey Pardoe

Posted on by Stacey A. Shannon

Profiles of moms who are making a difference

You know how sometimes you “meet” someone online and feel a connection with them? That’s how I’ve been with Stacey Pardoe — and it’s not just because we share the same first name!

Stacey is a fellow blogger and freelance writer who I came across in faith-based blogging groups and gotten to know a bit. Stacey’s blog posts are encouraging and uplifting. Her blog, StaceyPardoe.com, is all about encountering God in the ordinary.

Along with being a blogger, Stacey is a certified special education and elementary education teacher. Right now she’s is taking a break from the classroom to focus on raising her three little ones. When she isn’t writing or taking care of her babies, Stacey also mentors other women.

I know her insights and journey will inspire you as well!

Families with Grace: What is your God-given mission or passion?

Stacey Pardoe: My passion is to walk in Christ’s love and make His love known to the world. I believe all ministry should flow from a personal relationship with Christ. My hope is to encourage others with the hope Christ gives to me on a daily basis.

FWG: How do you work to live out that mission right now?

SP: Right now, most of my energy goes into raising my own little flock of three blue-eyed children. Bekah is 9, Caleb is 5 and little Aiden will be a year old in May. While there are days that drag on – days when the mission of motherhood feels too hidden and humbling – I regularly remind myself that shepherding this little flock is among the highest callings in my life. 

In addition to long stroller walks down our country road, afternoons spent chasing frogs in creek bottoms and campfires under hemlock trees with the kids, I also lead Bible studies, mentor women and spend the in-between moments writing. 

Writing fuels my soul in a quiet way that fills me up while I pour out. I began my freelance writing career three years ago. This opportunity to share the hope of Christ with the world nourishes my soul as I follow Christ into vulnerability and the uncomfortable realm of authentic, heart-level sharing. I have learned that one of the greatest gifts I can offer the world is the gift of my vulnerable, authentic self.

FWG: What are some of your biggest challenges in living out your mission?

SP: I love being a mom, but if I’m completely honest, there are days when the mission of motherhood is very challenging. While I thrive on routines, the cyclic nature of performing the same tasks again and again sometimes wears on my soul. 

I thrive in the warm months of the year, when we can get outside for long days in the woods, but there are winter days when the walls close in. There are days when I lose my patience and forget all about being thankful for this calling. 

There are also times when I struggle with balancing the callings to write, mentor and parent. At times, I find myself stretched thin from ministering to the world and neglecting home; however, at other times, I am restless from too much time pouring exclusively into my own little flock. I’ll share more about this below.

FWG: What have been some of your biggest blessings in living out your mission?

SP: I am very blessed by this mission of motherhood. After seven years as a high school Life Skills Support special education teacher, I am grateful for this season of pouring into my own children. The miracles of watching them grow, teaching them about Jesus and simply enjoying them are true blessings to me.

I became a mentor somewhat by accident. Throughout my years as a high school teacher, I was also a youth group leader at our local church. I led countless Bible studies and joined teens on mission trips and retreats across the country and beyond. Most of the younger women I currently mentor are now in their 20s; they are the teens who once helped in my classroom and bunked next to me on mission trips. I am blessed to count these young women as friends in this season of life. 

When I picked up writing a few years ago, it quickly became a wonderful ministry that fuels my soul in a different way. God uses writing to nudge me to look at what He’s teaching me and articulate it in a way that speaks to the needs of others. I am deeply blessed by writing.

FWG: How do you balance motherhood responsibilities with your work/mission?

SP: There are certainly times when I struggle to keep a balance between how much I’m ministering to people outside my family and how much I’m pouring into my own family. This is a week-by-week journey. I generally find that God whispers to my soul based on how stretched I’m feeling. 

I can tell when I’m pouring out too much outside the home. I snap at my kids, feel a low level of anxiety and feel like I’m always in a hurry. 

In the same sense, I can tell when I’m not reaching out enough. I have a restlessness in my soul and deep desire to connect in community. That can mean heading to the local university campus to take a walk and mentoring a younger woman or slipping to a quiet spot in the house to work on a writing project.

FWG: What’s the best advice you have for other moms who are following their passions?

SP: Don’t lose sight of your passions. There will be seasons when you might need to put them on the back-burner as you tend to your family, but this doesn’t mean you have to throw them away altogether. There is no formula for finding the balance between ministering to the world and ministering to your own family.

The key is to stay close to the heart of the Father.  He will whisper to you – through his written Word but also through your energy levels, or just a deep place of “knowing” – about when it’s time to push out and offer more to the world and when it’s time to pull back and give more to your family. The key is a relationship with Him. Keep your love for Him first, and He will help the rest fall into place.

Read more from the series

Moms on a Mission: Dr. Karen Dowling

Moms on a Mission: Erin Mayes

Moms on a Mission: Mari Hernandez-Tuten

Moms on a Mission: Kathleen Brooker

Moms on a Mission: Sarah R. Moore

Moms on a Mission: Kristin Billerbeck

Moms on a Mission: Crystal (aka InnieMom)

Moms on a Mission: Pastor Stefanie Hendrickson

Moms on a Mission: Amy Cutler

15 Ideas for spending time at home with your family

Posted on by Stacey A. Shannon

Advice from an introverted work-at-home mom on self-isolating

Affiliate links are used in this post; if you make a qualifying purchase via my link, I receive a small percentage of the sale at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products and services I use and love. It helps support my blog, so thank you for your support! Read my full disclosure here.

In an effort to contain the COVID-19 virus and keep from overwhelming healthcare facilities and workers, a good portion of the U.S. population is at home for work and school right now. Along with that, health and government officials are recommending that we self-isolate — basically stay home and avoid contact with other people.

And that is pretty much a normal day in the life for me. I work from home and have since 2003. The last couple of years, my husband has joined me in working from home as well. Add in that I’m also an introvert who recharges with time alone and have chronic health issues that sometimes keep me from being able to get out, and I’m pretty much the poster child for self-isolation.

As my kids get older, I get out of the house more often to take and/or pick them up from school. They each also get to pick one extracurricular activity a week that we take them to, but even that my husband and I usually divide so we only are going to one activity a week.

But my happiest days are the ones where I never leave the house. I love to find ways to be productive and to be lazy. I feel most free at home.

Of course, my feelings are not shared by everyone. Statistically speaking, introverts are a minority (and even among introverts, my INFJ type is the least common). So I can only imagine that there are a lot of extroverts being told to stay home right now that are kind of at a loss.

Folks who are constantly on the go and seldom home. I once joked that our neighbors (who have since moved away) were a family who was almost never home and they probably thought we were a family who was always home. I’m sure we seemed different to them in the opposite way they seemed different to us.

So, I’ve been thinking about what to do at home. What do I enjoy about being in my own house with my husband and kids? What makes this my happy place? The answer has nothing to do with the actual house itself and everything to do with the people inside it, my attitude about it and the activities going on within it.

1. Do some work.

This is probably a no-brainer. Right now, people are working from home and schools are sending home assignments. So, clearly one of the the things you can do at home is work. One of the things your kids can do is schoolwork.

Finding the motivation to do that while at home can be a challenge for some, so I offer things I’ve learned through the years.

Get dressed. You’ll be more likely to be productive in clothes versus PJs, even if it is yoga pants and a T-shirt.

Designate a work area. If you have a space dedicated to work then your mind will go to work when you get there.

Work together when you can. While I usually work in my home office, when the kids are doing e-learning, working at the kitchen table is easier so I can help them. (Plus it creates a feeling of solidarity that we are all working together!)

Minimize distractions. Keep the TV off and, if you play music, go for something not distracting. Instrumental music works really well!

Have set work times to help you stay motivated to start working when you’re supposed to. Set work time also helps you stop and switch to home mode.

Communicate with your family. If you have a time busier than others or calls scheduled, let your family know ahead of time. Work out a system for what they should do if they need you during that time.

Keep realistic expectations. When my kids are home for e-learning or off on a break, I know that I will not be able to get quite as much done as when they are not here. I modify my priorities accordingly.

If your kiddos don’t have schoolwork sent home with them or need additional ideas, finding educational apps they can use or things you can print out for them to work on while you work. Check out the following:

– Scholastic Learn at Home
– Free weekly broadcast with do-at-home activities through the Cincinnati Zoo’s Facebook page
– 12 museums that offer virtual tours
– List of over 30 virtual field trips
–PBS Kids Daily weekday newsletter

2. Enjoy family meals.

Eating together for dinner can be a challenge for some families. Having a chance to eat breakfast and lunch together is impossible for a lot of families. Times at home are great for togetherness over food. Even if you’re just having bowls of cereal together for breakfast counts. Turn off electronics and chat.

3. Read together.

Even if you’re kids can easily read on their own, reading a book out loud together is special! Check out your local library’s website to download e-books or consider signing up for Kindle Unlimited through Amazon, which I LOVE! If you need ideas of books to read, check out this list of more than 100 children’s books worth reading; it has ideas for toddlers to tweens.

Another great option is Epic!. Right now, Epic! is offering a month free. It has all sorts of books for school-aged kids and includes the option to have the book read aloud, which is great for early readers and non-readers. We love Epic! so much that we’ve had a monthly subscription for a couple of years.

You can also have a nice time just sitting snuggled together or in the same room reading to yourself.

4. Watch movies together.

Thanks to streaming services like Netflix and Disney Plus, you don’t have to leave home to watch a movie together. We love movie nights at my house and having a chance to have them more often when we are all home together is nice. You can combine it with mealtime or snack-time with easy finger foods while you watch. And then, of course, you can also snuggle together!

5. Find new television shows to watch together. (Or watch family favs you are behind on!)

We’ve found a few shows our family enjoys watching together through the years. Recently “Green Eggs and Ham” on Netflix was something we all four enjoyed. We also like baking competitions, “America’s Funniest Videos,” “LegoMasters” and pretty much any of the Scooby-Doos series.

You can also get some culture in by watching one of the Metropolitan Opera’s free nightly broadcasts being offered right now.

6. Cook together.

My kids have loved helping in the kitchen since they were toddlers. They like a chance to bake with me in particular, but even doing meal prep can be fun for them. Cooking with kids usually takes a bit longer, so times being at home are ideal to do so. This is also a great time to try out new recipes or old favorites you haven’t had time to make for a while.

Some of our favorite foods to cook or bake together include the following:

Pumpkin bread
Whipped pudding pie
BLT pizza
Peanut butter honey nut cereal clusters
Brownies
Pizza subs
4-ingredient lemon squares
Cookies, especially toffee cookies

7. Organize or clean together.

Cleaning isn’t so fun, but the more time I have at home, the better condition my house is in. Time at home is great for cleaning and organizing. Work on tasks you need to do but never get around to. Clean out and organize your pantry. Sort through your kids clothes and pull out things that don’t fit. If you feel really ambitious, clean out toys!

In the end, you’ll all feel satisfied with a job well done and be able to do something fun afterward to relax like watch a movie and eat snacks.

8. Get creative together.

Remember all those Pins you saved on Pinterest of stuff you want to make with your kids? Being home together for a while is a great chance to do them. Or pull out craft kits your kids have forgotten about and finally have time to do.

If crafts aren’t your thing (they aren’t mine), then make art together in a low-key way. My family enjoys coloring together. We all work on pictures we want. I use crayons and don’t get detailed. My husband uses high-quality markers and adds lots of detail and shading. My daughter and son each have their own styles as well. But we all have fun!

9. Play games together.

We love games! Being home is a great time to pull out board games, card games and even video games you can play together. We have a wide variety of games our kiddos like. Various types of Uno card games are one of their favorites at the moment. (If you’ve got a younger kiddo, consider getting a playing card holder to help them out. My first grader loves it!)

My kids also love Story Cubes and Toilet Trouble, which are easy for non-readers to play as well! If your kids are solid readers, consider Fluxx, which is a fast-paced card game where the rules constantly change.

Another family favorite of ours is Mad Libs. These are bonus, educational fun because your kiddos have to identify parts of speech!

10. Have unstructured play time together.

Having time at home without other things going on is great for just playing together. My kids’ love any chance for one-on-one playtime with us. My husband and I will set a time for 30 minutes or an hour and play with one child during that time. When the timer goes off, we switch and do the same with the other kiddo. My kids absolutely love it!

11. Make a list of independent activities.

I’d love to say that having extra time at home means we will be doing fun and productive things with our family all the time. But that’s not reality. We still have to do things like work, shower, clean and even just relax! I’ve found having a list of ideas (either written or in my head) that my kiddos can do on their own helps when they come to me and tell me they’re bored.

This can include chores, things they want to do, activities you know they’ll like, etc. You could also encourage them to do something nice for others. Maybe they could make cards to mail to extended family members or those in nursing homes right now.

12. Shop online together.

Sometimes our downtime at home involves online shopping. With warmer weather coming, my kids are going to need some new clothes. While my 7-year-old son doesn’t care so much about his wardrobe, his 10-year-old sister does! Having a chance to look online at some clothes together is always good. Showing my son a couple of options to pick from or scrolling through items with daughter works.

You might not buy everything right now. (Hello, budget!) But, at least you’ll know what you need or want to order over the next couple of months. It can also be a good time for kids to plan what they want to save for or how they’re going to use their spending money.

13. Have spa time.

OK. Maybe not spa time, per se, but being home is a great time to do some beauty sort of stuff you don’t usually get to do or don’t always have time to enjoy. You can do this with or without kiddo involvement.

My daughter and I have recently started doing face masks together and it’s so fun! We also enjoy painting our fingernails. Once I did temporary hair color gel in my kids’ hair. It doesn’t have to be complicated or over-the-top. Just have fun with it!

14. Blare some music.

When my kids were toddlers, they loved dancing around the house with me. Even now at 7 and 10, they still do sometimes. If you’re bored or doing something physical, crank up some fun music and let loose. I can’t tell you how many times I have danced around while baking. One of my favorites is the soundtrack from the musical “Wicked.”

15. Just be.

My favorite thing about time at home is the chance to just be. I love having a chance to just fully be myself. Home is the place where I can be dorky, crazy, quiet, silly or anything else. I can be me.

Some of our best memories have been made during times we aren’t doing a darn thing. We all pile onto our bed or the couch and giggle over silly things. These days the puppy get into the mix and adds some craziness. We just have fun together.

My goal is to let my family just be themselves at home. Of course there are rules to follow and chores to do and all that responsible stuff. But above all, I want them to feel free to be who they are in their own spaces.

School lunch ideas even your pickiest eater will love

Posted on by Stacey A. Shannon

Delicious lunch ideas to get out of the sandwich rut

Affiliate links are used in this post. If you make a qualifying purchase via my link, I receive a small percentage of the sale at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products and services I use and love. It helps support my blog, so thank you for your support! Read my full disclosure here. 

As I told you in my 8 tips to reduce the stress of packing lunches, I try to do as much lunch packing the night before as I can. I also try to stick with a same general theme for my two kiddos and switch things up so that they don’t have the same thing every day.

While we do have lunches like peanut butter plain or with jelly or honey on sandwich bread with a side of potato chips and fresh fruit, that isn’t our everyday fare.

I decided to put together a few examples of some of our more creative lunches that aren’t any more difficult than PBJ sandwiches and don’t take any longer to make.

For more information on my lunch packing system and all our favorite lunchbox essentials, check out this post:

Get creative with your bread

One way I’ve learned to break up the lunchbox sandwich monotony is with different bread. Some of my kids’ favorite alternatives to bread are flour tortillas, Hawaiian rolls and Bagel Thins.

I have one kiddo who will eat pretty much whatever I make for her and another who wouldn’t have any protein in his diet if it weren’t for nuts and dairy.

My son has been recently obsessed with bagels. He would eat a toasted bagel with peanut butter pretty much every meal if I’d agree to it. But, a toasted bagel doesn’t pack well for lunch, so we go with Bagel Thins. They’re lower calorie and taste great not toasted.

My kids also love applesauce. The Go Go SqueeZ pouches work well for their lunches because they have no added sugar and the twist top is super easy for the kids to open.

My son’s lunch: A Bagel Thin with peanut butter, an applesauce pouch, baby carrots with Ranch chip dip (lower calorie with some protein and less messy than Ranch dressing) and Goldfish crackers.
My daughter’s lunch on the same day: A Bagel Thin with peanut butter and strawberry jelly, an applesauce pouch, grape tomatoes and Goldfish crackers.

Another favorite of my kiddos is Hawaiian rolls. I use them both to make sandwiches and served solo with peanut butter on the side. We don’t do these quite as often because they are a bit higher calorie and such, but they are a nice every so often to shake up lunches.

My daughter’s lunch: thin-shaved turkey breast with shredded cheese, mayo and honey mustard on a Hawaiian roll, grape tomatoes, strawberries and raspberries and sour cream and onion potato chips
My daughter’s lunch another day: Thin-shaved turkey breast with shredded cheese, mayo and honey mustard on a Hawaiian roll, baby carrots with ranch dip, Jif power-ups and fresh pineapple chunks
My son’s lunch: a Hawaiian roll, peanut butter in a dip cup with a plastic spoon to eat it, Cheez-Its, frosted animal crackers and grapes

Tortilla shells also make another great alternative for sandwich lunches. My daughter, in particular really likes wraps. I also sometimes buy a package of individual baked sides to make packing lunches even easier.

My daughter’s lunch: Baked potato chips, grapes, a wrap with thin-sliced turkey, shredded cheese, mayo and honey mustard and grape tomatoes
My daughter’s lunch: White cheddar popcorn, a fruit and veggie pouch, frosted animal crackers, a wrap with sliced salami, provolone cheese and a bit of mayo and raisins

Think outside of sandwiches

One of both kids’ favorite lunch days is what we call a “snacky lunch.” I usually send a snacky lunch on Tuesdays and sometimes Thursdays. Granola bars work well on these days. My son especially LOVES sweet and salty peanut bars. He would eat them each meal and for snacks, too!

My son’s lunch: Peanut butter in a dip cup, Ritz crackers, a sweet and salty peanut bar, blueberries and a homemade cookie.
My daughter’s lunch: Fruit and grain bar, teriyaki beef jerky, Ritz crackers, grapes and grape tomatoes

Snacky lunch options for my daughter can also be a sliced boiled egg. I put it in a silicone cupcake holder. Sometimes I include crackers on the side, but lately I’ve been including croutons, because she loves them so much. I usually include a dip cup of ranch dressing for her as well.

Another option I’ve sent for my daughter is salads. I fill her large container with lettuce and top it with things like shredded cheese, boiled egg, onion and tomatoes. Then I add bacon bits and croutons in a separate container and a dip cup of salad dressing she can pour on as well. I usually send along some peanut butter crackers and fruit to complete her lunch.

Get creative with hot lunches

Hot lunches take more time on the morning of in order to heat the food and make them. But I do usually get the sides put together and in lunchboxes the night before.

My kiddos like breaking up the lunch monotony with hot lunches. I usually do a hot lunch for them on Wednesdays. I love the Thermos Funtainer food jars.

You can find more details on how I use them by warming them with hot water for 15-20 minutes in my post on how to make packing lunches easier. While I sometimes use leftovers for hot lunches, most often I use other options like the ones below that I took a few different days.

My daughter’s lunch: An applesauce pouch, Lean Cuisine Swedish meatballs, peanut butter crackers and frosted animal crackers
Part of my son’s lunch: frozen pancakes, cut up into quarters (This is a favorite for both of my kids! My daughter dips hers in applesauce, so I send an applesauce cup with hers. My son just likes the applesauce on the side, so he gets a pouch.)
My son’s entire lunch: An applesauce pouch, frozen pancakes cut into quarters, peanut butter crackers and frosted animal crackers
My daughter’s lunch: Smart Ones tuna casserole, an applesauce pouch, a granola bar and raisins
My son’s lunch: Apples and cinnamon instant oatmeal, an applesauce pouch, a granola bar and raisins

More lunch ideas

These are just a few days’ worth of lunches I’ve packed for my kiddos lately. Just a bit of creativity can shake things up and get them from getting bored. Here are a few grocery ideas to add into your lunch rotation:

How to make packing lunches easier

Posted on by Stacey A. Shannon

8 tips to reduce the stress of packing lunches

Affiliate links are used in this post. If you make a qualifying purchase via my link, I receive a small percentage of the sale at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products and services I use and love. It helps support my blog, so thank you for your support! Read my full disclosure here. 

For the last 4-1/2 school years, I’ve been packing at least one school lunch a day. Since last school year when my son started kindergarten, I’ve been packing two.

Along the way, I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t. I’ve come up with ideas to keep things interesting and healthy. While both my kiddos have regular go-to favorites, they also don’t want the exact same lunch every day, and I don’t blame them!

I don’t mind packing their lunches. It makes me feel connected to them and part of their day. And, well, taking care of them is part of my job! My husband and kiddos have both participated in lunch packing as well, so it isn’t always just me making lunches happen. But no matter who is packing them, we’ve got a system down that works for us.

Pack the night before when possible

My absolute best tip for packing lunches is to do whatever you can the night before. I am a morning person, and I usually don’t have to get myself ready until after my husband and kids leave for school drop-off, yet I still find it easier to do everything I can the night before.

The majority of the time I can pack everything except drinks the night before. Lunches are stored in the fridge and Thermoses are ready to be filled, so that in the morning, I only have to add the cold pack, fill the Thermos and put it all in their lunchboxes.

Napkins, notes and non-refrigerated items go into their lunchboxes the night before as well.

Buy good food containers for cold lunches

Finding the right lunch containers for cold lunches was a game changer for me. I’ve tried a few different options through the years, but by the second year in, I’d come across Rubbermaid Lunch Blox and haven’t looked back.

They are seriously awesome because they stack together with the ice pack, come in a variety of shapes and sizes and are incredibly durable. They wash well in the dishwasher, which is important to me!

The only time I’ve had to throw out these containers was when the lid fell down onto the heating element of the dishwasher (totally my fault on that one) and once my daughter threw away the lid to her lunch container.

Otherwise, we are still using the original containers along with the additional ones I’ve bought. I have enough cold lunch containers to get us through two school days without doing dishes.

Finding good reusable containers is not only cheaper in the long run but also better for the environment.

Along with the Rubbermaid LunchBlox containers, I also love silicone baking cups. I use them a few times a week to divide up food in the large container. I use them for boiled eggs, crackers, croutons and pretty much anything I need to keep separated in the same container.

Purchase good drink containers

My daughter was going into kindergarten before I thought to look for something that would keep her drinks cold. And, hands down, the best options we’ve found are Thermos brand.

My kids love the Thermos Funtainers. They start with the 12-ounce Thermos Funtainers with a straw. In third grade, I switched my daughter to the 16-ounce Thermoses and anticipate doing the same for my son.

My kids have only needed new Thermoses when they outgrew the characters on them. (But I still have Blaze and Paw Patrol Thermoses in my cabinet, because they come in handy around the house when the kids are sick and need cold water!) And with knowing that, I went with plain or long-lasting patterns for them when I bought new ones.

Outside of lunchtime, we use them in the car, for their weekly sports practices and more. They last so well and you can even replace the rubber parts if needed to make them last even longer, but I’ve not had an issue with them.

For cleaning, they are a bit trickier in that they aren’t dishwasher safe. The Thermos part (where the drink goes into) is stainless steel and dishwasher safe, but the lid and straw parts are not. They work so well and last so well, though, that I happily hand wash! All the components pull apart to make an easy, thorough cleaning possible.

Make a routine

To make my life easier, I’ve developed a routine for our lunches. My kids don’t like and eat many of the same foods, but I have a same basic plan for their lunches.

  • Mondays: sandwiches
  • Tuesdays: snacky lunch (think peanut butter and crackers or a boiled egg and croutons)
  • Wednesdays: hot lunch
  • Thursdays: sandwiches or snacky lunch
  • Friday: non-perishable lunch in disposable containers

Each week doesn’t always look exactly like this. In fact, this week is all out of sorts. We were out of bread for Monday’s lunch, so Monday was snacky lunch. Then today, I had an early appointment. So hot lunch switched to Tuesday instead.

But, no matter which option I choose, I go with it for both kids. They may not have the exact same items, but they have the same type of lunch. For example, my daughter may have a turkey sandwich while my son has a peanut butter sandwich.

When I’m trying to figure out what to pack, having a category to look for helps me.

The only day that is different for them is Friday, because my son chooses to buy school lunch on that day for pizza. I have opted to send my daughter lunch in all disposable containers most Fridays so I don’t have lunch dishes to deal with going into the weekend.

Figure out hot lunch options

To help give my kiddos more lunch options, I send hot lunch once a week. That works for us. Your schedule may be different, and that’s OK!

Again, Thermos brand food containers make hot lunch days easier. I eased my way into them during my daughter’s kindergarten year with a Disney “Frozen” Thermos Funtainer Food Jar for her.

By the time she was headed into third grade, my son was headed to kindergarten, so I decided to get hot Thermoses for both of them. I picked up some off-brand ones at a discount grocery store. They were awful and nearly impossible to open once they had hot foot inside.

So, I went back to Thermos Funtainer Food Jars and have been using the same ones for nearly two years now. I love that they have folding spoons in the lid so that I don’t have to remember to pack utensils!

Like the drink Thermoses, the Thermos food jars need to be hand washed — at least the lid and its components. But they wash up well and don’t stain.

I do follow the suggestion to fill them with hot water before putting hot food in them. Usually on hot lunch days, I leave the hot Thermoses on the counter and put a big measuring cup of water in the microwave for 3 minutes and 33 seconds (because I only have to hit one number that way!). I pour the hot water into their Thermoses and let them sit for 15 to 20 minutes while I’m doing other things.

I usually pack their hot lunches around 7 a.m. and when they eat at 10:30 or 11 (depending on the kiddo), they both report their food is still nice and warm.

Involve the kids

I don’t make my kids pack their own lunches every night, but I do like to involve them as much as possible. I will often talk with them about what I’ve been sending and ask for suggestions on what sounds good as I’m making my grocery list.

They have each come up with different ideas that have surprised me and weren’t what I would have thought of. My daughter has requested salads and wraps. My son has even asked for a slice of bread plain with the peanut butter in a dip cup on the side. He’s my particular eater, so I am always looking for ways to get him to eat. If a deconstructed peanut butter sandwich works for him, then I’m fine with it!

Keep easy food on hand

Figure out what lunch plan for the week as you go grocery shopping. Then also make sure to stock favorite items that can always fill in lunches like raisins, canned fruit, crackers, granola bars, gummies, gogurt, graham crackers, peanut butter crackers, yogurt covered raisins, string cheese, etc.

I’ve found that having a few staples for lunches always in my pantry keeps me from freaking out that I have nothing to pack the kids and getting stressed out about it.

Purchase the right disposable products

While I love reusable containers for the vast majority of what I pack, the other thing I use a couple of times a week is 2-ounce disposable dip cups with lids.

These are great for packing dips, dressings and even peanut butter. I’ve utilized them to make sure that carrots get eaten. (I am a big fan of Ranch chip dip versus salad dressing because it is healthier and less messy.)

For sending in a disposable lunch on most Fridays, I also love Glad Press’n Seal. It actually stays on the sandwich and keeps it well wrapped. Then it works as a handy placemat as well! (I use Press’n Seal for many things!)