“There is no influence so powerful as that of the mother.”
~Sarah Josepha Hall, American Pioneer and Writer

There is no time like the fall to spend some time cookin’ up some lovin’ from the oven…especially with my daughter….my cutie pie! Spending time together also provides a great opportunity for me to sprinkle a little joy, faith, understanding, comfort, and praise on her dear little heart. I heard it said once that “children are like wet cement, whatever impressions you press on their heart will last forever.” As with all my children, my goal is to love them, guide them, protect them, encourage them, cheer for them, comfort them, and give them a sense of belonging so they will grow to be confident, compassionate and happy adults. We can accomplish this throughout the activities of the day, but a child’s ears and heart seem to be a little more receptive to our message of love when we give them our undivided attention doing an activity that they enjoy. It’s also an important time to listen with our own ears…about the things that are on their mind. It’s amazing the things you can learn about your kids over a batch of cookie dough.

Miss Summer Rose, age 10, in her Butter-Yellow polka dot apron….

I tell her …..

~she is my dream come true

~I’m so glad you are my little girl

~you’re adorable!

~you belong to me
~I’m so proud of you!
~you are sooooo huggable!
~If I could pick from all the kids in all the world…I would pick you.
~I am soooo thankful God gave you to me and dad.

~ I love how creative you are!

~Good for you!
~You are a blessing.

~God has a wonderful plan for your life.

Is she pure sweetness or what? Oh honey!

~ You make me laugh!

~What a joy you are!

~I love having fun with you!

“I am thankful for laughter,

except when milk comes out of my nose.” ~Woody Allen

Take every opportunity to sprinkle

sweet and kind words on your child’s heart.

The result will be a wonderfully happy child….

“A merry heart does good like a medicine”.




If children live with encouragement,

they learn confidence.

If children live with praise,

they learn appreciation. ~ Dorothy Law Nolte

We need to be so careful about our attitudes around our children. If we are constantly putting ourselves down in front of them, ( I’m fat, I need to lose weight…I hate my hair…I have nothing to wear…why does this always happen to me…I am so unorganized….I’m so depressed…so angry…. I’m so…fill-in-the-blank……) we will cause our children to eventually do the same. Our negativity and critical spirit can change who they are, steal their joy and feelings of emotional safety. It can aid in dissolving their self worth (especially our daughters). Negative and critical words toward ourselves or our loved ones make it much more difficult, for them and us, to succeed in life. Those feelings come to all of us, and it takes practice to stop that negative self-talk, but it is crucial for the well being of our children and ourselves.

Take everything to the Lord in prayer, we need His help! Look around you and count your blessings.

“The words we choose to speak to our children in the privacy of our homes are so powerful they last a lifetime and often seep into future generations. Powerless and unable to defend themselves, our children often bear the brunt of all our problems. And home becomes a dreaded place of constant negative verbal bombardment. It is just as possible, even if it has not been your childhood home experience, to speak hope and success into their lives, instead of negative demeaning things.” ~ Pamela J. Bailey from her book Sanctuary

“We should strive to design an environment where our loved ones and we can feel secure, strengthened, and content. Never underestimate the importance of a positive atmosphere because within it God can produce miraculous results.” ~ Pamela J. Bailey

Read Psalm 139 to your children, to let them know how fearfully and wonderfully they are made. Read it for yourself! Pray that the Lord will help you realize how precious you are! You are the apple of His eye! If God had a wallet your picture would be in it! He loves you more than you can imagine! Begin to think good thoughts, thankful thoughts, gracious thoughts, and your mood, actions and words will follow. Do this, and you and your family will be blessed. The Bible says…”we are what we think”. It also says, “Fix your minds on whatever is true and honorable and just and pure and lovely and praiseworthy.” Phil. 4:8.

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak,

but their echoes are truly endless.” ~Mother Teresa

Happy Mama

Happy Child

Our home is a precious heirloom
where our family dwells together.
The meals we prepare,
and the memories we share
decorate our hearts forever.
Now go decorate your kid’s heart
with some snickerdoodle love!
AUNT RUTHIE’S SNICKERDOODLES

Preheat oven at 350
1 cup butter (2 sticks) *Do not melt butter! Chop cold butter into small chunks.
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
Cream together (I use a Kitchen Aid stand up mixer), then add the dry ingredients that you have pre-mixed in a separate bowl:
2 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda (make sure it’s fresh)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Mix well, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes in freezer or 1 hour in refrigerator (very important!).
Then roll into 1″ balls
and dip into a mixture of:
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cinnamon

Place on ungreased cookie sheet
Bake 8-10 minutes at 350 or 375 (each oven is different, so test the first batch and adjust temp and time if needed.)
*If you melt the butter, the cookies will spread out too thin, I learned a long time ago–the hard way–that when it comes to cookies never melt the butter!

Well gals, believe it or not, I am on my way out of town again! This trip has been planned for several months….It’s a road trip with my sister-in-law Linda….we are the tamer version of Thelma and Louise…but no less sassy! In Linda’s lipstick-red mini-van, we will head first to St. Louis…Gateway to the West…to the Joyce Meyer Women’s Conference…..then we will travel across the mighty Mississippi River, up through Illinois, Indiana and into Ohio to visit Linda’s daughter, my niece, Heather. Of course, since it’s just us gals, we will be stopping at our every whim, for antiques, chocolate and pie. We hope to catch a glimpse of the Amish and perhaps visit one of their shops or roadside stands (what I would really like to do is step into their farm kitchen to chat and watch them make a Shoo-fly Pie! How fun would that be!!). Fortunately, my hubby will keep the home-fires burning. His office is at home, so he will be there to take care of our little Summer.
I will get to your questions in my next post!

God bless ya’ll

Hugs!

Ruthann

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