NO Cook- Freezer Jam

Today, I'm blogging about "How to make NO Cook Freezer Jam", per request of Mrs. Liz R. = )

(Thank you Liz!!)

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Everybody LOVES home-made jam right?

Well, it does NOT have to be as difficult as making jam by cooking it AND canning it.

It's as easy as whipping it up quick & easy in a mixing bowl, to the jars, to the freezer. ~Whala!

~~It's also alot fresher tasting & retains more of the health benefits this way too!

So you're just gonna' acquire the NO Cook Freezer Jam Pectin

Raley's has it,

and SaveMart MIGHT.

Safeway does NOT have it.

-At Raley's it's located in the baking aisle,

which is also where the canning jars,

and kitchenware items are located.

Acquire the fruit ....

(in this case, Strawberries, OUR favorite jam)

Pluck the stems off

(See how quickly it can be done! Look at him GO!!!! =)

Rinse & drain....

(Puree it), Bag it up & Freeze it ...

for whenever you're ready to make the jam.

You can either bag the fruit up whole or already pureed.

Pureed saves you time later, and also lays nicer in the freezer.

Sometimes I do a little of both.

You just mix the sugar & the pectin together, real well...

Then add the fruit, & the pectin-sugar all together...

Assuming you've got your jars,

and you've got them all clean and ready to go...

and that you've got yourself a funnel for canning jars....

Now here's the BEST part!!

Nope!! ~Ya' don't have to boil it, you just...

Begin ladeling it into those pretty jam jars!!

Here's another favorite part:

Nope!! Ya' don't have to can it for several minutes!!

You just place those pretty jars in the freezer, and feel very, very satisfied!!!

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Now... if you're thinking you don't want to bother w/ all that defrosting stuff..... Here's the solution:

To avoid waiting for jam to defrost, ya' wanna' always have 2 jars in the fridge; the one you are using up, and the 1 that will be ready to go NEXT time.

We have 2 fridges, so what we do is we have the 1 jar in the fridge, and 1 jar in the 2nd fridge. When we empty the 1st jar, we take the 1 already defrosted jar out of the 2nd fridge, and at the same time, take a jar out of the freezer into the 2nd fridge again. That way, you ALWAYS have a ready to go jar of jam!

-NO problems!!

=)

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Additional F.Y.I.:

This time, I made a triple batch. That is what you saw pictures of.

You'll need 1 packet of pectin for each 4 cups of fruit (depending on what kind of fruit you use.)

To give you an idea of how much different quantities make:

I just had 2 gal. size ziplocks of strawberries,

and it made 12 cups of strawberries,

which in jars, was 14 jars, of the 12 oz. size.

That's 168 oz. / or 21 cups of JAM!!!

Also, each 1 gal. ziplock can hold about 6 c. fruit.

1 flat of strawberries made about 7 1/2 gal. ziplocks.

Of the 12 oz. size, that should make about 50 jars of JAM or more!!!

So... to make it a li'l clearer for the EYES & brain to read:

That's:

1 flat of strawberries = 7-8 gal. ziplock bags = 50 jars (of 12 oz. size)

1 gal. ziplock = @ 6 c. = 7 jars (of 12 oz. size)

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If you're interested in cost effectiveness:

The last time I figured it up (a few years ago)...

It comes out to almost the same price as the cost of buying an economy sized jar of jam, maybe just the tiniest slightest bit more... but not much.

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None the less- It does:

• Taste better!!
• Healthier!!
• MUCH more satisfying to serve to your family!!!

(And.... an added benefit for those of you, whose husband has a phobia of home-canned foods, your husband might let you make it, since it's dependant on staying fresh because of the freezer, not because of canning.)

Woo-hoo!!

If you hurry, you might be able to make it the fruit stand before strawberry season is over!!!

Happy Jam-Making to YOU!! :)

Lonely & Tired

As I lay there in bed all night, lonely... as can be, w/out my beloved.... I think of Heather D., -recently widowed this year, & I wonder if SHE is awake right now, at this moment, and feeling as just as lonely.... ??

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Chris (my husband & truckdriver)came home last night, but had to eat, shower and get right to bed, to wake up at 2 AM!! :( -The usual....

Of course, I wake up w/ him, as always, to cook him a good breakfast, make his lunch, coffee, etc... Then off, back to bed I go. Yay- sleep!! :)

Usually one, or both of the kids will sleep in my room w/ me, to keep me from getting depressed and lonely.... but Brittany said she hasn't gotten to sleep in her own bed for awhile, and she reeeeally needed a good night's sleep, AND she wanted Cody to keep HER company. She asked very sweetly and politely, so I figured "I'm the adult. I can do this. I can make this 'sacrifice' ".

I lay there awake most of the remainder of the night... praying, and praying....

-Still didn't get much sleep....

Man!- Am I tired!! Whew!!....

And what does Brittany say this morning?
She "didn't get any sleep".

I'm sure glad that was worth it! = )

Anyway.... just had to get this off my mind, by sharing.

My heart goes out to the lonely....

-Kt

Pesky Pantry Pests

Have you ever had your pantry/ kitchen invaded by bugs of some kind?

Isn't it just horrible?
It literally DOES make you feel quite "invaded" upon, doesn't it??

(I've got to get this off my chest, and hopefully in the process, SOMEBODY will get some useful help.)

These past few weeks I've had some horrible things happening. Here's my 1st clue of an invasion:

Say, like I just made this awesome salad with the WORKS!! Yumm... and I get out my bag of slivered almonds from the pantry. And I'm humming along, smiling so cheerfully, ready to dig in, when out w/ the almonds, I'm greeted by lots of cob-webby, crumbly, gross stuff, and worm-looking things!!!! GRRRRRROSS!!!!!!
Needless, to say, I'm avoiding almonds and salad for awhile, okay?

I since then of that incident, had purchased MORE almonds...... I soon had the same problem. Hmm.. perhaps it really is coming from MY pantry.....

I HAVE been noticing tiny moths flying around the pantry. I wondered if that had anything to do with all this....

Finally, after a few incidents, I got around to looking it up online (Yay!- for the internet!!) & found really helpful info.
Apparently, they say you can actually wind up bringing these pests home w/ you from the grocery store, unknowingly.... ESPECIALLY if you buy bird-seed!!! Well, I DO have birdseed in the pantry, but my goodness- that's been in there for like a year, and it's just now been an evident problem..... Hmm...

Anyway, the advice was to (obviously: get RID of the infested foods), and clean out, sanitize, an vacume the pantry/ kitchen, being sure to get nooks and crannies.

So, we began clearing out the pantry last night, and are still clearing it out....
We've got all the food out, and linens, and other things, but still have some things in there. In the mean time I found funny lil cocoon/ worm-things, along the ceiling crevice, shelf-crevices.... We found about....almost 10 or more....

I also found some in my cornmeal. Also, each time I find something I tell the kids to come and look. I asked them to look in the bag of cornmeal and tell me if they see anything. I'm teaching them to always look for "trouble" before they get all the way into the food or eat it. -Pretty helpful thing to know, huh? -I'd say so!! ;)
(Don't worry. The cornmeal I am currently use is in a sealed Tupperware container!) ;)

I eventually got to the corner of the pantry, where the bird seed was kept, and couldn't wait to see if it was the bird seed that was the problem. It did seem to have all kinds of yuckies in it, and out it went!! I figure, we should all learn now, that if we are gonna' have bird seed, we'd better be sure to keep it in a SEALED container. (Sealed REAL container. These pests get through plastic & cardboard okay? Use a Tupperware- type container.)

While cleaning out the shelves of their contents, one thing I wondered about momentarily, whether I really needed to take that out or not was a roll of cotton batting, in a bag, still un-used. I was thinking at first..... "Nah.... this isn't a FOOD...." But then started thinking "Well... wait a minute, they might think this would make a fancy, conveniant nest!" And sure enough, they DID happen to think so!! And they DID lay their larvae there.... Ugh!!! :(

There were 5 or 6 buried just 1 cm. beneath the top of the batting. I thought maybe I could try to save the batting, and cut out the larvae.... and also peeking throughout it, checking for more possible bugs, but..... I finally got them all cut out, and decided I'd be safer to just chuck it out. I don't want ANY more pests!! Gross!! I just HATE to see all the stuff I've had to throw away today!! -Wasted $$$ money!!!

What a shame!! All because of the fall of man, sin, and the curses.... I bet Eve would have never eaten that fruit had their been a bug in IT!! (I couldn't help but throw that thought in there!) I NEED a good chuckle!!

We're almost clean, and lil by lil, new "wormies" keep showing up. I have a wipe ready to squish it with, but no!! It creeps into the crack between the shelf and the wall! :( Rrrr.... The advice I had read included NOT using poison, but guess what? Out came the poison!! I sprayed all the nooks & crannies!! No mercy for those pesky critters!!


Well, I tell ya, if you're looking to lose you're appetite, get yourself invaded by Indian Meal Moths. I didn't want to eat a thing today!! I finally attempted to eat something from the fridge, but couldn't.... The thought of all those "things" I saw... Gross!!

So.... We headed for Taco Bell.... (Which by the way, don't ever order a Nacho Grande, thinking your gonna' get a "Grande salad toppings, w/ refreshing lettuce, and stuff, cause that ain't gonna happen!" I was bummed about that! NO lettuce on a Nacho Grande?!?? Ah well.... It was food that did NOT come from my kitchen... and that, I was pretty thankful for! :)

Now.... perhaps, I hope, that the pantry has aired out enough to go finish my pantry project..... See, I have food ALL over my kitchen counters & everywhere, and I basically can't do ANY thing, until that food gets out of the way....

Happy Pantry to YOU!! May all your pantries & kitchens be blessed & pest-free!! ;)

-Kt

Tips & Tricks to Share, Part 2

No More Messes...

This is about using Mugs & Aprons for children to prevent messes! ;)

We have some friends that had came over for dinner. They wanted to know if we had any ideas on how to keep kids from spilling their drinks at the table every night.

We just told them that we either use cups w/ lids & straws, or a good, sturdy, WIDE-based mug. It doesn't tip over! ;)

They loved that idea & started using it themselves! I was happy that made a difference to somebody's life, and so I'd like to share that idea w/ more people.

We also use aprons for the kids at the dining table. They're a bit old to be using bibs, but not old enough to keep their shirts clean! ;)

So they simply wear my old aprons! :) I cut the neck in 1/2 so that it can be tied up better around their smaller necks, and cut the apron strings so that it doesn't have so much extra to around their smaller bodies.

They leave the apron in their seat until the next meal.

Again.... Whala! :) It makes us happy! It works for us! :)

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Templates -Making & Using Templates for those regularly used "forms" we use:

How many times do you make up a new grocery list? Or how many of you even bother making a grocery list at all?

I have what I call "My Grocery List Template". I love the idea of templates for the same reason I love efficiency! ;)

I generally go to the same stores regularly, each month. Rather than making a running, UN-organized list, and going all over the place, running in circles, and still not coming home w/ what you needed... this works.

There's a column for your dept. store shopping, warehouse shopping (I used to use Costco, but now stick w/ Smart N Final).... Columns for the Office store, Bread store, Health Store (or Co-op), Hardware Store.... and there is a new column I just added: "Errands". This is where you can list the order of errands you'll be doing for the day.

I designed my template, and keep copies made up so I can grab one and get to making my list. When one list starts to get pretty sloppy looking from page curls or items marked off, I copy the items still needed to the new list, and off I go again....

Also, I have in each column, the general layout of the store in mind, so that you can easily go after what you're getting, w/out backtracking, going in circles aimlessly, etc...

I know this scanned image turned out lousy, but you can get an idea this way. Also, if you email a request to me, I'll send you an attachment in an email for you. Either way, you can change this to suit YOUR needs, YOUR stores, YOUR plans & desires.... for YOUR family.

* Once you make YOUR own personalized Grocery Template, be sure and mark the original copy in yellow highlighter pen "original". Then use "black copy". Why?? -The yellow marker doesn't show up on a black copy, and you'll want to use the original each time you make copies, or the copies get worse worse, each time (for those of you that didn't know that already).

I also keep my list on a clipboard that goes in the front seat of the grocery cart, as I go around the store. I can easily see my list this way. (If the seat is taken, of course you'd just have an older child hold the clipboard for you.) ;)

I hope that helps!

I have had SEVERAL, several fellow-customers or baggers, or cashiers stop and check out my grocery list & ask questions, in amazement. So I'm sure you'll find something helpful about this! ;)

To GOD be the GLORY, honor, and praise! ;)


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Another template of mine is the plain ol', blank, columned template.

I had gotten to where I finding myself making and re-making columned forms, I figured I may as well have a template for that too! ;)

(Although, it would be really nice if I could ever get the spreadsheets/ charts on the PC ever figured out. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't... for ME, that is!) So... I make them the old fashioned way... by hand!) ;)

Again, not a great image to look at, but you get the point. It's an idea to gleam from anyway...


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Next, there's my newest & now my favorite template: My To-Do List Template:

I'd gotten a similar idea from someone else years ago. I had purchased a packet of household forms to use (I call them templates, myself). Although, I wound up getting frustrated w/ many of those forms, because I needed something a bit different. So eventually I would up changing them quite a bit.

The trouble I find w/ to-do lists that I'd always keep making up, is priority level. How do you figure out which to do 1st, with out going up & down through the list- looking, all the time??

I have 4 columns of Priority Level:

There's the 1st column, which reminds me to pray, get in God's Word, and exercise, BEFORE I go trying to tend to my to do list.

Then there's column 2, 3, & 4, according to priority level.

Each column has sections for:

To do, Email/ Online, Phone-calls, & Errands.

Those are all things that I may do on a regular, daily basis, as do most of you, I'd imagine. Again, use the idea, and change it to suit YOUR needs. May you benefit from it! ;)

Again, you can email me a request to send you the form in an attachment, for clearer reference.

Years ago, I thought one day, I too could make $ off my ideas & templates, and sell my forms like other moms did.... but I'm not ready for that.... in the mean time.... I'd just like for others to benefit from my work.

To God be the Glory, Honor & Praise! ;)

-Katie ("Kt")

Tips & Tricks to Share, Part 1

Tips & Tricks to Share:

It seems to me so many of us have things to share w/ others... tips and tricks... gifts from God to share and be used by others... to bless....

And I have been wanting to do some sharing myself. ;)

As many of you know, God has made me gifted in the areas of organization, and some of you have been asking for some of these ideas to be released, so that you too, may use them! ;)

So here we go......

We have:

1. Goal Sticker Flags (for school workbook tracking & management)


2. Decoupage Fun, Organizing, & Fixin'
   
3. No More Messes -No More Stains (Well- alot LESS stains, anyway!) -Mugs & Aprons-Kids


4. Templates -Making & Using Templates for those regularly used "forms" we use

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Goal Sticker Flags:






I don't know what you all do, and I am certainly by no means, an expert in the homeschooling dept, but I do feel I'm learning some valuable, helpful things along the way. And I have gotten to this point only after learning some wonderful ideas from older, wiser women. -Wonderful ideas(yet so should-be obvious & simple that it makes me think: "why didn't I get this earlier?!")

So.... the simple idea I learned was to just take the # of pages in the studen'ts book & divide it by the # of school days.


But the women who taught me these things have older children, and I believe they would have some sort of chart to go by. What the kids go by, I'm not really sure- I'm guessing the chart.

I came up w/ this method. I like it because it simplifies things even more. There's no guessing if the child is really where they are suppose to be or how close/ far they are to their daily/ weekly goal. And if an unexpected event/ vacation/ illness comes up, you don't have to worry about re-typing out the whole plan again.

I write the # of pgs./ day & per week on the front of the workbook, for easy reference. Then....

There are 4 flag-stickers, which are labeled:

Teacher/ Student (Color-coded Purple): This is where I/ the teacher last left off checking/ grading the work completed.

1. Now (Color-coded Green): This is where they are now.


2. Daily Goal (Color-coded Yellow): This is where they stop for the day, once they get there.


3. Weekly Goal (Color-coded Red): This is where they stop for the week, once they get there.
   

Initally, I set up all the flag-stickers where they should go (and what they should be labeled as), and after I've trained them how, where, and when to move them, then they move the flag-stickers, themselves to where they need to go.

Then, I'll just check every few weeks to be sure they have their stickers on the right pages, so we don't wind up w/ a big surprise of being behind at the end of the year. And that hasn't happened, so it's working out quite well.

In many things, I need my childrent to be as independant as possible, & this enables me to accomplish that better. If this sounds like you, then this is for you! ;)

...............................................

......Now... to explain further... I only just started using this beginning of LAST school year, and I didn't come up w/ the Teacher/ Student flag until probably middle of last year. I found myself constantly flipping thru pages to see where I had left off. I knew where THEY left off, but didn't know where I did!! :) So, whala! Out came the Teacher/ Student sticker.... of which I'm also thinking I'll change to simply: "Check/ Grade".

I also didn't come up w/ the color coding until this school year. It makes things even more clearer, especially if you've got a workbook where the next goal is on the left hand side of the book, that means you're label is not readable from one side! :(

The flags come in a lil booklet of 5 colors: blue, purple, yellow, red, & green.

The blue is too dark to read what you wrote on it, so I resigned them to use as bookmarks, instead of "leafing" book-pages. That works out well! :)

Green is kinda like for "go". (Now)

Yellow is kinda like for "your almost to the red light" (Daily Goal)

Red is for stop, just like in the streetlights! :) (Weekly Goal)

And we simply use purple for the other one, because that's what is left... (& what woman doesn't like purple anyway?)

These flags can be found at any dept. store, right by the post-it notes.

Well, this is what I'm doing. If you've got an even better idea for younger children, please do tell me!!

I hope this helps somebody!! :)

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Decoupage Fun, Organizing, & Fixin':

I've always wanted to do decoupage, but never seemed to have the time to do it (nor allowed myself the time to relax and indulge in some pleasure for myself). But I am learning that relaxing is NOT a luxury, as I had used to think so, but a MUST! ;)


Instead of throwing away all the magazines & catalogs & such that come in the junk mail, I had been going through them and checking for pretty images that I would cut out and save for a future project.

This particular time, I was mostly looking for floral designs.

I did not know WHAT I was going to decoupage though!!

I did recently turn a shipping box into a drawer-organizer. It was pretty ugly, so it could use some feminizing beauty-touches!! :)

So this is where it was both fun & organizing....
And below is just another view...

In case you don't already know how to decoupage:

First of all the pieces of paper you use do work better IF you can tear them instead of cut them. It allows the pieces to set down smoother. So tear when you can.

2nd, you just use some regular ol' Elmer's glue, 1/2 and 1/2 with water.

You dip an appropriately wide paint/ pastry brush into the mixture....

Brush it onto the project

Put the desired paper-pretties onto it...

and brush on some more glue!

Let the areas dry a few times, while adding more layers of glue, to harden the project.

Whala!!

Not bad, for a 1st timer! It certainly was fun & relaxing.... and satisfying too!!

I did run out of my desired decor-paper, so I had to improvise... and didnt get exactly the look I was initially going for... but I'm happy, and it certainly looks ALOT bettr than what it did, when it was just brown cardboard & duct tape! ;)

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This is where the "Fixin' " part comes in:

Now.... I was having so much fun decoupaging!! I was also sitting in my new-old office chair that I just got at a yard sale a few weeks ago. It came w/ masking tape around the arm rests, because they were not staying stuck together, evidently... and this masking tape started unraveling, and sticking to my arms while I was doing my project there, so....

I got this wild idea, wondering if I could decoupage those armrests together!! ;)

So I did!! ;)

Since I was not just making something cosmetically pretty, but also repairing something structurally, I 1st wrapped a layer or 2 of plain newspaper strips, pasted w/ the glue solution....

Then I pasted on some more pretty garden/ floral papers....

... and that wasn't quite nice... It looked more like an eyesore! :)

It seemed it would be fun to make the chair bold w/ red... I had been trying to accent my school room in red anyway... so what I did was go over the floral design w/ red craft paint that I already had, and then another layer of glue....

Then more paint, and more glue.....

And whala!!

I fixed the chair! It isn't ugly. It doesn't stick. It isn't broken. It's pretty! It's BOLD!! It's colorful! :) It's fun! ;)

Yes, the date is upside down, but the photo IS the right way. Here is a close up of the decoupaged arm-rest. God is good!! Glory to GOD!! :)

I like it!! I think it looks like those old marbelized looking vinyl like furniture there used to be so much of.

However.... I'm not entirely sure how well this is going to hold up. I do wonder if & when it will start peeling or cracking...... ;(

But so far, so good! ;)

I'll let you know!! ;)

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Autumn is Coming!! Autumn is Coming!!

Fall is MY favorite!! Don't you just feel it was made JUST for US!??!?!? ;)

The entire season of Fall seems to be a holiday to me!

Nature seems to interact w/ us at this time of year....

The leaves dance across the ground,


swirling & whirling around,

leaves falling,

branches swaying....

It's like God is brushing up against us....

Colors changing as though they were "performing on stage".....

Leaves crunching beneath your feet....






For more enjoyable fall pics go to:
http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmJldHRlcnBob3RvLmNvbS9nYWxsZXJ5L2R5bm9HYWxsMi5hc3A/Y2F0SUQ9NDQ5JnBhZ2VJRD0yNiZyb3dzPTEyJmNvbnRlc3RDYXRJRD0mY2FtSUQ==

Ahoy! TREASURE!!!

Finding the Treasure....

I heard somewhere recently (perhaps at the homeschool conference) about using a treasure hunt adventure to get a child reading more. Cody started reading the beginning of LAST year, but he'd been lacking interest and willingness.

I always thought a treasure hunt would be fun!! Who wouldn't?? ;) I just didn't know if I could get creative enough to put one together, myself!! I thought I could find some ideas online, although, if I got online, I'd wind up gettting "stuck" there, distracted by all the many things I could get done, while online... So.... I just sat down and started thinking....


I prayed for God to help me & use this to his glory, and after awhile, some pretty clever ideas came, and I even managed to teach them some great lessons, while they had to hunt for each clue to get closer to the treasure map.

1st of all, when they found the paper w/ the clue on it, Brittany was aloud to read it to herself first, then Cody had to read it out loud, before they could go on.

The 1st question/ clue was something like: "Reading is the KEY to unlocking the many things you want to learn about...." Go to the keys to find your next clue....

Some clues were answered by how much they knew about our own family. IE): "What is Mommy's favorite family game? Go there to find your next clue." I thought we'd find out if they really pay attention & care about others & remember.... and......that was fun too.



But I wanted to use this clue-finding-thing more to my advantage, in more valuable ways.

One question was something like: "Where do you go to find the answers to life? Go there to find your next clue....."

Other questions meant they had to recall past Bible memory verses, and look up their addresses.

One verse was about the "do not worry... for God even cares for the birds...." That was their clue, and they were supposed to go to the (birdfeeder) for the next clue.

Another verse was about "go to the ant, you sluggard, and consider its ways".... and they were to go to place we usually see ants, and find their next clue there! :)

God really kept wonderful ideas coming!! Wow!!



I also didn't know what on earth I was going to FILL that treasure box with!! And boy, the kids wanted to be sure they weren't going to "get jipped" either.... So I had to keep earning their trust...

I decided it would all be alot funner, more appropriate, special.... etc, if we wait 'til Daddy gets home, and include him in all this, and so we did, and he loved it too! (He also got honors of getting to "bury the treasure"!) ;)

I decided to put in the big, beautiful Bible of my Mom's & also a certificate for each of them, that I'd made, to redeem for "their very OWN Starbucks, of their choice, and a day at the park".

I figured, that at FIRST, they may get disappointed and feel "jipped" when they initially find the Bible, and ASSUME that's "all" there is. I know they DO have a love for God's Word, and love to hear us read the Bible... but stilll... they are kids....

I could have just put only the certificates in there, but I wanted to leave them w/ many lasting impressions of the things I'd hoped they'd learn from this treasure hunt, especially including that I hope they will realize the Bible truly IS the BEST and truest TREASURE OF ALL!!!
It is my constant prayer that is so.

What a fun & memorable family event! :)

(I had made MANY attempts to include the video clip of them undigging the treasure, but after several failed attempts, it's a sad "no-go".) ;(