Connected

 In my cold, uninviting basement, as my legs took me nowhere, spinning like a hamster on a wheel, my mind went to deep places only found by listening to that still small voice. Perhaps it’s the exercise induced euphoria that keeps me lacing up my running shoes day after day like a junkie looking for the next fix. Perhaps it’s the broken sleep schedule I’ve kept this week due to Andy working into the wee hours of the morning.  Perhaps it’s the semi-state of panic that grips people before a big storm as though the end is truly near.  Perhaps it’s the conversation with friends about death. Perhaps it’s the uptick in politically motivated Facebook posts lately.

 Perhaps it’s my own consciousness of how closely each of us is linked to one another. Within a six-week time frame our small, relatively safe community endured two police action shootings. Besides being the wife of an officer, I realized I was connected to every one of the people involved in some way.  I went to school with one of the officers who had to make a split second decision, with one victim and with one perpetrator. The cousin of the other perpetrator is a close friend and school mate as well.  The wife of the other officer who had to make a split second decision was a nurse at the hospital when my boys were born. She was one of the first people to hold my babies in her arms. Her father used to babysit Andy when he was a boy.  Connected indeed. 

As all these thoughts were swirling in my head to the steady beat of my feet and the music in my ears, a striking visual came to my mind.  As Back in Black blared in the background, I suddenly saw Jesus walking down the hall of a school, down a dark alley, into a rough roadhouse bar with this song, written by Aussie party boys, as his anthem. He was not the Jesus pictured knocking on a door or holding children in his lap.  He was dressed in jeans and a black leather jacket with his long hair flowing behind him, a look of confidence and compassion on his bearded face. He was in all these places filled with brokenness.

As this image left my mind I was reminded that we are all broken and in need of a savior. I was reminded that no matter what choices we’ve made, we are all offered forgiveness.  All we need to do is ask. I was also reminded that our job in this world is to help one another. Period. Our willingness to go out into the dark to bring in the light must not be deterred by the things that divide us.  We are connected by our Creator. We are connected by our community. We are connected by compassion. How will you connect today?

What Must Be Done is Best Done Cheerfully

     A new year, with a blank slate of white calendar pages, lends itself to resolutions and goals for the coming year.  It's a great time to ponder what we'd like to repeat in the last twelve months and what we'd like to change.  Of course, many things are beyond our control and we must do our best with our circumstances.  But we do have control over many things in our lives. Over my next several posts I'm going to share some ways that I have streamlined my life so that I have more time for the things that really matter.  These streamlined routines are also teaching and growing tools for my children.

 
     I am a firm believer that our physical surroundings influence us in so many ways. They contribute to our moods, our focus, and our level of motivation.  As someone who spends a great deal of time in my home, I can not abide by a cluttered or dirty environment.  I don't mean living in a sparkling home straight off the cover of Better Homes and Gardens.  What I mean is that my home needs to have a semblance of order. Things need to have a place so we can find them when we need them.  Grimy bathrooms and kitchens gross me out.  In my former blog I wrote about how having a regular cleaning person is not just a luxury for the affluent.  You can read about that here.  Since we are still a one income family we are still doing our own cleaning, but the changes we've made have afforded my children growth and skills, and have allowed me to delegate some of my household activities.

     A new school year begets time for contemplation in the same way that a new calendar year does.  Last summer, as I reflected on our previous school year, I sought out ways to ease the responsibility of caring for our home.  I considered ways in which I could involve my boys.  At the time they were approaching their big double digit birthday. At almost ten years old, I determined they were ready and capable to help out more.

     Several factors helped me make concrete goals for the boys. I thought about the things around our home that had been getting the most neglected.  Then I thought about my boys' ability to focus, their attention spans, jobs they don't mind doing and just as importantly, my own expectations of what I would find acceptable.  I also decided that we needed a schedule so that these jobs would become just as much a part of our weekly routine as having school Monday thru Friday and going to church on Sunday. 

     Having a schedule is actually very freeing to me mentally.  In the past, when I didn't have a plan in place for certain jobs to get done, I had a constant looming feeling of needing to do more.  NOW.  It was exhausting.  If you don't get that, it's ok.  But if you have a personality that lends itself to type A, you know exactly what I'm talking about.  I can relax more now knowing that even though the floor is dirty today we have a plan in place to remedy that very soon.

     The answers to the questions helped me create a schedule that fits for our family for this season of our lives.  I'm sure that it will change in the future, but this is what is working for us right now.  Some of these things on this schedule were jobs the boys were already doing.  They have been doing all their own laundry since they were eight years old.  I'll share details of that in a forthcoming post.  I just love the quote from Laura Ingalls Wilder that says, "What must be done is best done cheerfully. " I inscribed it on the top of our schedule as a reminder to keep our attitudes on the sunny side.

     The biggest thing we added, that has dramatically relieved the burden from me, is that the boys are in charge of all the dusting, dust mopping and wet mopping. I chose to give them these jobs for several reasons.  One is that they enjoy using the dust mop and the wet mop.  Dusting and mopping were things that had a tendency to slip through the cracks in the busyness of life.  These are jobs that I can be more forgiving about.  I chose not to give jobs that require more attention to detail such as the bathrooms or the kitchen.  I wanted to enable them to learn how to do a job well, without having to do a flawless job.  I wanted the job to by done them.  Not done by them and then redone by me.  That's just a recipe for frustration on both sides.  They need to feel that they are competent so I gave them jobs that are within their abilities.

     I also took the time to instruct the boys in how the jobs need to be done.  I didn't just expect them to know what to do.  In my next post I'll share with you a tool I created to keep them focused and on task. It's super easy to customize for your own use.  This tool has changed the way household chores are accomplished in our home.  If you are looking for ways to streamline your life while teaching your children life skills and responsibilities you'll want to check back in soon!

   

Ordinary Recipe, Extraordinary Results

     Six weeks ago our family began a sweet journey, a fudge making journey.  Sixty-four batches and 128 pounds of sugar later, we are at the end of the road. I am still in awe of the success we achieved. I am humbled by the support of friends and family members and friends of friends.  One customer summed it up by saying, "When you started selling fudge people bought it because they wanted to help the boys realize their dreams of Disney World. Now they are buying it because they really want the fudge."

     The fudge recipe is one that has been in my family for many years, but it's certainly not a secret recipe.  It is a cookbook recipe, and I even found it posted on the Internet.  In spite of the easy accessibility of this recipe we had many customers tell us that it is the best fudge they've ever tasted!  One even said she's been to a lot of fudge shops and it's better than any of theirs.  Incredible.

     This morning I taught Sunday School for 4th-6th graders.  Our lesson was on Moses and the burning bush.  One aspect of the story we touched on is that God used an ordinary man, to accomplish His purposes. Now don't think for a moment that I believe making fudge holds a candle to leading the Israelites to freedom.  Yet I see how God used an ordinary recipe that we've taken for granted for years to teach our family, and especially our boys, numerous lessons that can not be taught in a classroom.  

     Aside from the business lessons and math applications that I wrote about in my last post, Ezra and Eli have learned what it means to be disciplined and self-motivated.  We had orders that we promised by a certain date.  They could not be put off or brushed aside just because they didn't feel like doing it that day.  I am so proud of their excellent work ethic.  They didn't complain and joyfully completed their work.  Many times I was serenaded by their Christmas carol singing.

     Andy and I explained to the boys about the importance of tithing. They earned a lot of money.  We felt very strongly that this was the perfect opportunity to impress this spiritual practice upon their tender hearts.  We read passages from the Bible that refer to tithing.  We also read about Biblical characters like Abram and Jacob who gave God a tenth of what they owned.  We talked about how everything we have already belongs to God.  We talked about the times in our lives when expenses arose and we wondered how they would be met. Then just at the right time we received the means to pay these expenses.  Our gifts to God honor Him, empower our faith community, and strengthen our faith by knowing that when we are faithful to Him, He is faithful to provide for us. It was not easy for the boys to part with this tithe, yet after our discussion they did not protest.  My hope is that this example of faithfulness in their young lives will stick with them as they grow into adulthood and manage their own finances.

     We made our final two batches yesterday.  We are glad to be done making fudge. We are encouraged by our success.  The Gemini Fudge Co. will definitely be open for business next holiday season. We are even contemplating Valentines sales. We give God thanks for the extraordinary results from our ordinary recipe.

   
   
   
   

It's So Good You'll Want it Twice

       It's so good you'll want it twice.  While working on the logo design for the Gemini Fudge Co. label, Eli said these words. My husband Andy and I looked at each other with astonishment and agreed that this was a perfect slogan for a delicious confection made by twins.  The name they chose for their company reflects their identity as well.  Ezra drew the Gemini twins on the logo.

     We had 10 batches of fudge that needed to ready by the Tuesday before Thanksgiving so we decided to divide up the cooking into several days.  Saturday and Sunday we made four batches each day and Monday we made two batches.  Amazingly, everything went very smoothly. 

     We quickly established an efficient routine, and I see the boys' skills in the kitchen improving each time we cook. I butter the pots and trays while the boys measure the sugar, open the butter, and open and pour the evaporated milk.  They have mastered using a lever type can opener on the cans of evaporated milk. This was tricky for them in the beginning, but they kept trying until they could do it.  While they stir those ingredients, I measure the vanilla, and peanut butter or chocolate chips that go in at the very end.  After it cooks for a while we start testing it to see if it is in the soft-ball stage.  They are really getting the hang of knowing when it's there.  

      The most challenging part of the process is pouring the fudge into the prepared trays.  There isn't much time until the fudge starts setting up so working quickly is imperative.  Like most children, saying, "Hurry up!" doesn't really help make things move more quickly! They are learning that they must scrape the pot quickly as I hold it.  My favorite part of this part of the process is that EVERY time we pour the fudge the boys start humming the song Pure Imagination from the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory movie. The waterfall of fudge looks just like the chocolate in the opening credits. This is one of my all time favorite movies, and we enjoy watching it together.  I just love hearing their little voices humming this familiar tune.

We have been able to integrate our fudge business into our homeschool classroom.  As I mentioned earlier, we've learned about marketing and advertising.  We've also had the opportunity to do lots of math problems.  I created word problems for them with the ingredients we are using. They've gotten lots of practice multiplying, dividing, adding, and subtracting.  They've also done some conversion of units like ounces to cups and teaspoons to cups.  It's been such a wonderful real life application of using math in everyday life.

We have already had a few people pick up their orders.  We are getting rave reviews! It's so encouraging for the boys to hear that people are enjoying the delicious fudge they have created.  One customer even placed another order because, you know, it's so good you'll want it twice!

Oh Fudge!

            As a homeschooling mom, I have the pleasure of spending a lot of time with my children.  Although there are days when tempers flare and attitudes are the pits, the struggles are worth the blessings. Right now, I am blessed to be in the midst of a new endeavor with my 10-year-old twin sons.  We have gone into the fudge business for the holidays!

            You just never know when inspiration will strike.  A few weeks ago we did a unit study on Judy Blume’s classic Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.  It was so much fun!  We capped off the unit by making a batch of chocolate fudge since one of the main character’s nickname is Fudge.  If you haven’t read this book we highly recommend it! 

The boys have been my trusty fudge making assistants for years. This time they did it all by themselves with my supervision. I asked if they would like to try to sell a few batches during the holidays.  They readily agreed.  I posted a couple of photos on Facebook of the boys making the fudge and asked if anybody would be interested in purchasing some fudge from us around the holidays.  We were encouraged when five people expressed interest.  

            The next time the boys and I went to the grocery we priced all the items needed to make the fudge.  We priced them at two different stores to make sure we got the best prices.  One evening while waiting on the boys at soccer practice, I calculated how much it would cost to make chocolate fudge and peanut butter fudge.  I also looked online to see what fudge is selling for in candy shops nearby.  I realized that we could sell an excellent product well below retail cost while making a nice profit. 

            When I shared this news with the boys they got really excited.  They decided that our earnings should be directed to our Disney fund.  We’ve all been dreaming about going back.  I didn’t really know how much we would earn, but thought it would be a fun endeavor and an awesome learning experience for all of us. 

            Last week I got the word out through social media, texts, and emails.  We chose three dates and gave only two flavor options to keep things simple. The response we’ve gotten has been overwhelming! As of this writing, we have around 30 batches to make!

            What started out as testing the waters at the edge of the pool has become a cannonball off the diving board.  The boys are getting a taste of what running a business is like.  We created a name and are in the midst of crafting a logo.  Out of the blue one of them came up with an incredible slogan.  We’ve ordered packaging.  We’ve created a shopping list that includes 60 pounds of sugar! Today I announced we only have room for a few more orders and they are filling up.  Holy cow! This is getting real!

            As we make our way through this journey of fudge making I know that we will hit some roadblocks.  I know that it won’t all be smooth sailing. But no matter what happens, I will have two boys beside me building memories each step of the way.  And that’s what the journey is all about.