Finding time to spend alone with your husband can be a challenge. Finding room in the budget to actually go out on a date can be even more of a challenge. Here are five date night ideas under $10 for some romantic fun with your husband this summer.

1. Drive-In Movie – Rent a $1 movie, pop a bag of popcorn, grab some sodas from the fridge, and head out to the driveway. If you have a vehicle with a built-in DVD player, crawl in the back seat and make it a drive-in movie date! DVD players will run a car battery down quickly, so be sure to leave the engine running. (If your vehicle doesn’t have a build-in DVD player, bring a portable one, or a laptop.) For extra ambiance, open the windows and the sunroof. Depending on the age and maturity of your kids you may not even need a babysitter for this date!

2. Picnic – Pick up some sandwiches from your local sub shop or make your own. Grab some chips, drinks and a large blanket and visit your favorite park, field, or even your own back yard. Kick off your shoes, watch the clouds and just enjoy being outside together. You can make this date romantic by feeding each other grapes and strawberries…or completely silly by starting a tickle fight or rolling down a hill together. Bring some music, board games, or an outdoor game (badminton, cornhole, etc.) and spend some time in the sun!

3. Take a Hike – …or at least a walk around your neighborhood. Women open up more when they’re face to face, but men open up more when they are shoulder to shoulder. So go for a hike,  a walk, or a climb and enjoy some good conversation with your man.

4. Ice Cream – One of my favorite date nights is a quick trip to the ice cream shop. It’s inexpensive, doesn’t take as long as going out for dinner, and if the weather is right, eating your ice cream while sitting outside and talking can be very relaxing.

5. Hit The Pool – Taking my five kids to the pool is an all out event. Finding enough goggles and towels and sunscreen and cover-ups and flip-flops and…well, you get the idea. It can stress out even the most organized moms. Add to that the constant scanning of the pools, the diving boards and the super slides for my big kids while toting around my 3 year old – well, it’s not very relaxing at all. So leave the kids with a sitter and hit the pool alone with your honey! Start a water gun fight. Let your inner kids out and have fun!

You read it right, this little meat dish is called Porcupines.  My kids tried guessing why they are called Porcupines, but the only reason they could come up with is the rice sort of looks like porcupine quills.  You can make this with any ground meat.  I used venison this time.

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground meat
1/2 cup uncooked white rice
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup water
Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, rice, 1/2 cup of water, and onion. Blend in salt, celery salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Mix well. Shape into 1 1/2 inch balls.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a large skillet, over medium heat, brown the meatballs; drain fat.
In an 11×7 inch baking dish, combine the tomato sauce and 1 cup of water. Place the browned meatballs into the tomato sauce, turning to coat well.

Cover and bake in a preheated oven for 45 minutes. Uncover, and cook for an additional 15 minutes.

*You can easily double this recipe, we have a family of five and I have to double it as my teenagers are big eaters!

The wind creaks, our house moans, and rain pounds on our roof. During the day, these sounds wouldn’t bother me as much. But at night, when the world is dark and my husband is far away, it’s scary. I do my best not to think about it, but there have been times when it truly sounds like someone is downstairs, opening and shutting doors, and making me oh-so-afraid.

I’ve never liked being alone at night. Before my little girl arrived, I would actually lock myself in my room, with my phone, before I went to sleep. That’s no longer an option with a child in the mix. I am here to make her feel safe as she sleeps at night.

And so I try to not let my imagination get carried away. I try my best to not think about everything that could happen.

Instead, I give those very real fears over to Jesus. I give them to Him, before they consume me. I’m not sure I would ever sleep if I held on to these concerns. I pray for protection over every corner, every doorpost of our house. I pray for peace when we sleep. And I pray for the safety of my husband fighting overseas.

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” (Psalm 46: 1-3, NIV)

These words remind me of the powerful, all-knowing nature of our God. There is nothing that is out of His control, nothing that is out of His powerful hands.

During a deployment fears seem to come to the forefront. Everything that might, scare me seems to be amplified. I’m afraid for my own safety, without my husband home to protect me. I’m afraid for his safety while he’s fighting overseas.

That’s why turning to Scripture is so integral to me. When I turn to God’s word, I’m reminded that I’m never truly alone and that there really is nothing to fear in this world. Sometimes it just takes a moment to remind myself of where my focus should be– not on my fears, but on my Creator.

Lonely nights can either be terrifying or times to fellowship with my Savior. While this deployment season is a long one, I’m starting to treasure the extra moments, in the middle of the night, when I can share my fears with Jesus and listen for His direction.

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’” (Psalm 46:10, NIV)

My all-powerful God is more than able to handle my fears today and always.

And so I trust Him to protect me in my dreams, protect my daughter down the hall, and protect my husband, wherever he may be on this night.

Megan K. Chaney received her Masters of English from the University of Dayton in 2008. Shortly after, she married her best friend and started off on a great adventure as a military spouse. Since then, they’ve moved over 1000 miles from home and have welcomed a daughter into their home. Visit her blog at www.deployedheart.com.

Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life,
Let me more of their beauty see, wonderful words of life;
Words of life and beauty teach me faith and duty!
Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life!
Christ, the blessèd One, gives to all wonderful words of life;
Sinner, list to the loving call, wonderful words of life;
All so freely given, wooing us to heaven!
Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life!
Sweetly echo the Gospel call, wonderful words of life;
Offer pardon and peace to all, wonderful words of life;
Jesus, only Savior, sanctify us forever!
Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life!
–Phil­ip P. Bliss, 1874

Some­times com­fort­ing a hurt­ing or dis­tressed per­son can be uncom­fort­able. Even when we have faced the same trial our­selves, it can still be hard and unset­tling. I think this is where cer­tain overused phrases are born. Out of a sin­cere desire to help and encour­age we find a phrase or two we are com­fort­able utter­ing. We slowly build a small reper­toire of niceties we can say when we feel hard pressed for a word of com­fort. Some of these phrases are ones I have heard many mil­i­tary spouses lament.

Phrases such as “You are so strong! I don’t know how you do it!” or “I know I am not strong enough to go through that! It’s amaz­ing the way you are cop­ing with this!” The inten­tion is kind­ness, but the result may be more dis­cour­ag­ing than you realize.

When we use this type of encour­age­ment we are hop­ing to build the per­son up, make her feel less alone, make her feel less des­per­ate, and help her muster her courage (hence the word encouragement). But, encour­ag­ing her using her per­sonal attrib­utes falls short. Why? Because she knows bet­ter! She knows she really is not strong, and that she really isn’t always han­dling the cri­sis she faces in the best way pos­si­ble. Some­times these state­ments can even iso­late her or make her feel ashamed and unable to con­fess her strug­gle hon­estly and openly. You have just told her she is strong, and she may just let you believe that.

The sis­ter you say this to may have been up all night cry­ing and wor­ry­ing her­self sick about her sol­dier. She may be deeply lost and griev­ing for her best friend whose hus­band was killed. She may smile and look strong, but her spirit may be strug­gling to find com­fort. Another sis­ter may have just con­fessed to the Lord that she doesn’t know if she will make it through this upcom­ing deploy­ment. She can not see how she will make it from one moment to the next. Yet, she smiles when you ask her how she is doing and when you tell her you don’t know how she does it. Hon­estly, she doesn’t know either, and she needs to be reminded!

We have such a won­der­ful model of encour­age­ment in scrip­ture. When I think of Job or when I think of the new Churches Paul was nur­tur­ing through hard­ships and tri­als, I look at how encour­age­ment came. How did God com­fort Job? He cer­tainly did not tell Job that he was strong and could get through it. No, God com­forted Job through recall­ing and reveal­ing God’s char­ac­ter­. He brought Job through his tor­ment and suf­fer­ing by remind­ing him that, although Job is weak and help­less, God is the Almighty. Job is left speech­less as his focus is shifted from his imme­di­ate pain and suf­fer­ing to the reas­sur­ance that his hope in the One True God would never be misplaced.

Paul’s let­ters to the early churches never started with “You are so strong you will get through this per­se­cu­tion. I don’t know how you do it!” No! Instead, we read through­out the Pauline let­ters words of exhor­ta­tion and encour­age­ment in the hope that they had in the Risen Sav­ior. “You can not, but Jesus Christ the Risen Sav­ior and Reign­ing King can, and because He is faith­ful, He will,” was the encour­age­ment that came to them in their time of need.

Pray­ing and speak­ing the attrib­utes of God as revealed in scrip­ture is such an encour­age­ment to a tired and weary spirit. There is noth­ing more com­fort­ing to a child of God than to be lov­ingly told, “I know you can’t do this, but Christ Jesus is faith­ful. Because He’s faith­ful you can do this!” “You can do all things through Christ Jesus who strength­ens you.” or “I know you are not strong and you feel like you are ready to give up. Let’s pray together so we can remem­ber God’s good­ness and kind­nesses to us.”

The only real hope and encour­age­ment we have to give is through our Sav­ior, Christ Jesus. Speak lov­ing truths to those who are hurt­ing. It is like a calm­ing and heal­ing salve to the tired and sore spirit. Lov­ingly remind them that God is sov­er­eign and good. Speak ‘won­der­ful words of life’ to one another!

About the Author:
Claire Shackelford began writing when she found herself attached to the Army at the hip—at one point her husband and two sons were serving. It was then she began writ­ing about her jour­ney through sep­a­ra­tions and deployments from a Christian perspective. She never faced deploy­ment with her hus­band, but she has been through 2 now with her old­est son. Claire holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work and served as a ministry leader with Christian Military Wives and on the Board of Directors for Christian Military Fellowship. You can find more of Claire’s writing at Colloquial Soliloquy.

By, Carlie Kercheval

A question I am often asked by fellow military homeschooling families is, “What are some of the ways that we can save money on our homeschool curriculum?” Below, you will find five ways that allow you to lighten your budget without compromising the quality of your children’s education.

1. Buy used. Buying used curriculum has helped my family save thousands of dollars over the last eight years. Yes, you read that right – thousands of dollars. I have found the best way to purchase used curriculum is either from your local homeschooling group, at used bookstores or online. When purchasing online, you can start with eBay or Vegsource.
2. Be patient. Patience alone will help you save money when buying curriculum. As homeschooling moms, we have a tendency to be lured by every shiny new homeschool catalog we see. By being more patient and calculated with your purchases, you will make less impulsive buys and reduce frivolous spending. This simple tactic will keep the money in your hands until the right product at the right price comes along.
3. Make a list. This might seem silly, but it is a crucial step when buying any homeschool curriculum. I always have a list of what I’ll be needing at least one year in advance. From time to time, I will update the list to make sure that we are on track for the upcoming year. If you keep a running list of what it is you are looking for, you will eliminate purchasing unnecessary items.
4. Consider e-books. Whenever possible, it is wise to purchase e-books, as they can cost less money, they don’t take up any space, and they are the most environmentally friendly option. Purchasing e-books has been a very inexpensive way to build up our reading collection for our three children. As an added bonus, e-books actually last, as there are no pages for the younger ones to tear or mark up! We also have physical books in our home, but this option for homeschooling e-books is wonderful when you are committed to a frugal way of living.
5. Sell, trade, or consign your old curriculum. This is one surefire way to “trade” up from year to year. Because some of us are homeschooling multiple children of different ages, we might keep some of our curriculum. However, if you do not need to hold on to something, why not sell or trade it? Not only does this give you money to spend on your next set of curriculum, it can also be a blessing to another family looking to save money.

I hope that this list can help you to think differently about your approach to buying curriculum. This is not a comprehensive list of saving on homeschool curriculum, but it will certainly put you on your way to a wonderful start. Happy saving!

Carlie is a blessed, stay-at-home, homeschoolin’ mama to her 3 precious gifts she calls “children.” She is a proud Army wife married to the love of her life, Michael, for over 11 years. In her free time, she enjoys anything to do with Jesus, family, reading, writing, singing, teaching, and being outdoors. You can find out more about her faith and family at her blog: So You Call Yourself A Homeschooler?

While working on my M.A. in Adult Education, I was happy to come across the following quote about intelligence:

“Intelligence results as much from how people learn to cope with the world around them as it does from the internal mental processes with which they were born.”

Yes! There is hope for me! However, this notion of coping is often impeded by several characteristics, many of which I, myself, have exhibited. Through teaching and leading Bible studies, I’ve witnessed these characteristics in others as well. Here is a list of the five most common characteristics that impede learning, along with descriptions of each.

By far the number one characteristic that impedes learning in adult women is spreading oneself too thin. Women today don’t know how to say “no.” They want to have it all and do it all – all at the same time. They are moms to young children, they volunteer at their children’s school, they lead the children’s ministry at church, they lead home Bible studies in the evening along with their husbands, they commit to serving on the women’s ministry team…and then they decide to get a part-time job to supplement income. It proves very difficult to focus on learning when your life is full of multiple other commitments.

The second characteristic I often see that impedes learning is engaging in activities that
require the use of abilities that are not our strengths. Because women cannot say no, we
quickly jump in to meet any need that arises, giving little thought as to whether or not we
have the ability to do what is required of us. Eventually, we begin to realize we might be
in the wrong place, so we quit, often feeling like a failure. This has a huge impact on our
learning because of the internal anxiety it produces.

Distractibility and lack of concentration are issues I observe all the time. In a world of
rapidly flowing information via electronic gadgets, it is difficult today to even hold
a conversation with someone without being interrupted. I have observed that many
younger women, in particular, lack the ability to concentrate on anything for extended
periods of time. As their teachers, if we are going to keep their attention, the first thing
that we must eliminate is the 45-minute lecture.

The inability or unwillingness to see the forest for the trees seems to impede learning in
many of us. We tend to be so focused on the events of the day that we fail to look at the
big picture to learn what God might be teaching us. We get bogged down with the here
and now, and fail to look ahead.

Too little self-confidence impedes learning in many of us. We’re not really sure about
this ‘thinking differently’ stuff! We’re afraid to step too far out of our comfort zone
for fear we’ll make a mistake or do something wrong. It is much safer to stay right
where we are. As a teacher, I try to be patient and realize that we all learn by taking baby
steps. Praise for taking baby steps gives people the confidence they need to take another,
and then another.

Do you see yourself anywhere in this list? My friend, you were born to learn. You were
born to experience life to its fullest. I want to challenge you to make a change in your lifestyle that will put you in a better position to learn. Once you do, I think you will like the new you!

So I have to confess- I have a great addiction to cupcake shops! You walk in and there are so many different amazing flavors. I could leave with one of each! They can be quite expensive, so I decided it was time to take matters into my own hands. With some experimenting in the kitchen, I’ve come up with some delicious home made treats. Once you start bringing these to gatherings, people will always ask you to bring the cupcakes!

Andes Mint Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Cake Mix

1 box Devil’s Food Cake Mix

1 cup Sour Cream

½ cup oil

¼ cup Buttermilk

3 Eggs

¼ cup Water

1 teaspoon Mint Extract

Mint Butter Cream Frosting

1 cup of Unsalted Butter (2 sticks)

3 ½ cups Powdered Sugar

¼ cup Milk

1 teaspoon Mint Extract

Andes Mint Candy to top them off

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two cupcake pans with cupcake liners.
2. Wisk together Sour Cream, Oil, and Mint Extract. Then add one egg at a time, stirring between each egg until smooth.
3. Alternate adding the Devil’s food cake mix, Water, and Buttermilk. Be sure to end with the cake mix. Wisk until smooth with no powder lumps.
4. Fill your cupcake liners just over half way and bake for 15-17 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
5. Let cupcakes cool completely.
6. Mint Butter Cream Frosting: In a bowl, beat butter until it is creamy.
7. Gradually add Powdered Sugar, Milk, and Mint Extract until all is combined, light, and fluffy. Taste test: add more powdered sugar if needed.
8.  Pipe the frosting on to the cooled cupcakes and top it off with an Andes Mint.

About the Author:

Tricia is a proud new Army wife, who believes that putting Christ first in your marriage will bring you over any obstacle that the military may bring to you. She is a photographer and also the Co-Coordinator of the Christian Military Wives Prayer Vine. In her spare time she enjoys reading, sewing, and saving money.

We’ve been making some changes and expanding our ranks. While we say good-bye to a few familiar faces, we’re looking to add some new talent. If you have a knack for word-smithing and a heart for military wives, we’d like to invite you to join our team.

We are always looking for general articles, so feel free to visit our Writer’s Guidelines to see where you might contribute.

Right now, Wives in Bloom is also looking for a couple of people who might like to write a column once a month. We have one open slot (if you have an idea, just shoot the editor an email), and then we’re also interested in someone who would like to write about parenting in the military and life as a military kid.

If you’re interested in joining us as we seek to encourage and equip Christian military wives, please email the editor at raleneburke@yahoo.com.

And now, the winner of our drawing for Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore is Theresa Martin! Please email Ralene with your address. Thank you!

It’s May! The kids are finishing up their last few weeks of the school year; the television commercials bombard us with beautiful pictures of warm, sandy beaches and clear blue water. We’re ready to get away – whether it be a week on an island or a weekend at Grandma’s! As you begin to make your summer travel plans, keep these great military family saving tips in mind.

HOTELS: When booking your hotel online, search the best rate for the room you desire. Then, call the hotel directly and ask if their military rate is better than the “best rate” you found online. Recently, my husband and I stayed at a costly resort in a popular lake resort area a few hours from home. Not only were we able to lock in the government rate of $77/night, but when I told the agent that my husband was a wounded warrior, she bumped us up to their biggest suite for free. We saved $300/night! Don’t be afraid to ask about military rates or other incentives.

FLIGHTS: There are many popular sites that promise to deliver the lowest available prices on airline tickets. One you may not have heard of yet is  www.militaryfares.com. Military Fares offers competitive, low prices for military members and their families to fly, cruise, sightsee and rent a car.

SATO VACATIONS:  SATO Vacations is a trusted name in leisure travel for members of the military and U.S. government. While they specialize in cruise and vacation packages, they can also help military families secure low rates on airfare, hotels, rental cars and more! www.satovacations.com

This is a tough question, but a great topic to discuss because it is so relevant to relationships other than the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law. It could just as easily be a friend, a sibling, or another military spouse that is looking for a shoulder to cry on, a safe place to share their anxieties with someone whom they assume will understand.

I’m sure your initial reaction is to tune her out or to be blunt and say to her, “I don’t want to talk about it,” both of which could cause more relationship problems. The one needing the comfort may then feel like you don’t care about her feelings or understand their fears when in reality you understand her fears all to well and that’s exactly why you don’t want to talk about them.

Having walked in your mother-in-law’s shoes, I can tell you it is extremely difficult emotionally to send a child to war.  Not being able to protect or care for a child, regardless of their age, truly is like having a part of her heart cut out. For that reason, I encourage you to really pray diligently for godly wisdom and the correct words prior to talking with her so as not to break her spirit and bring about a spirit of hopelessness and discouragement

Obviously, the best solution is to be honest about your feelings on the topic to her, but not in the heat of the moment.  If the relationship is one that you are comfortable sharing your heart with her, be willing to do so.  I would suggest letting her know you want to talk with her about something then meet for coffee or a walk and be as open with her as you possibly can. Acknowledge that you understand she is worried, but then convey your fears to her explaining that you’re trying to focus on other things in order not to be consumed by them.

Then suggest other topics of conversation such as what to send in care packages, funny memories of your husband or topics of interests that are totally unrelated to the deployment in order to keep both your minds in a less anxious state. If she is a Christian let her know you will be praying for her and tell her areas in which she could pray for you.

If you are unable to get together then you could initiate a phone call where you immediately let her know you called for a specific reason and then tell her what it is. The last option, if you aren’t comfortable talking directly to her is to write a personal letter telling her what you would’ve expressed in person if you could.  This note would be more heartfelt and carry more of an impact if it was sent via regular mail with a special card instead of by email.

Once you have lovingly shared your feelings with her, she may still bring up her concerns and that is when you need to gently remind her that it’s just something you don’t want to talk or hear about. Depending on her mindset and the relationship she may respect your honesty and accept your desires or she may get upset. At this point your responsibility is to pray for her, encourage her in anyway you can such as to find a support group for blue star moms, and not to feel guilty for being honest about your needs in the situation.

An emotional topic like this is hard to approach, but if done prayerfully, gently and lovingly, it can bring about a stronger relationship rather than hard feelings.