Healthy Holiday With the holidays quickly approaching, it’s up to us to continue to make healthy choices to better both our physical and mental health. The holidays are often centered around three things: family, friends, and food. The typical holiday foods, while very tasty, are oftentimes not the best for our overall health. However, there…
Whether you have your own or looking to start one, below are some Christmas traditions submitted by local families. My kids can open one present on Christmas eve that is specifically marked “open on Christmas Eve” it has: 1. New Pajamas 2. A book 3. A small treat like a candy or cookie 4. A…
Family-Friendly Ways to Heal Together Navigating the delicate path of helping our children cope with loss is a journey that demands both strength and tenderness. Over the past few years, my family has faced our fair share of heartache – from the painful experience of a miscarriage in 2021 to bidding farewell to my beloved…
Not-For-Profit Spotlight: Festival of Lights One thing that my family and I have enjoyed doing the last couple of years is driving through the Festival of Lights that takes place at Moorman Park. Each year, I am always amazed to see the display. So much time, work, and effort goes into building and creating this…
Coping with Grief During the Holidays Grief is a curious thing. It is supposed to get better with time, but what it really does is change you over time. It changes the way you look at things. It changes the decisions that you make. It changes the relationships that you have with others. It ultimately…
Tips & Tricks for the Busy Working Parent Initially, when I wanted to write this article, I thought it would be about Tips for the Commuting Parent. I’ve been a commuting parent as long as I’ve been a parent. When my daughter was born, I commuted from Belleville, Illinois, where we lived, into St. Louis’s…
Marriage Date Night First, let’s just get the credits out right now. I snagged this adventure from my church, The Crossing, in Quincy. My husband and I participated in this date night challenge, and it was one of the greatest dates we ever had. I’m including dates when we were newly in love and still…
Jingle Bell Bark PREP TIME: 10 minutes ADDITIONAL TIME: 2 hours TOTAL TIME: 2 hours 10 minutes Ingredients 12 graham cracker sheets 12 ounces white chocolate morsels, melted Sprinkles Instructions Place graham crackers on a baking tray. Melt white chocolate morsels according to package directions. Spread over graham crackers. Sprinkle generously with sprinkles of choice.…
Reindeer Pancakes Reindeer Pancakes Prep Time: 10minutes Cook Time: 10minutes Total Time: 20minutes INGREDIENTS 1 package of bacon 2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour (I prefer Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix) 2 large eggs 1 1/2 cups milk 1 Tablespoon oil 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract 1 cup mini marshmallows Marshmallows and M&M’s for eyes Red candy…
Holiday Food Safety 1 – Hand washing. Keep your hands clean by effective hand washing with soap and water. Avoid using your bare hands to touch “ready-to-eat” foods. Ready-to-eat foods do not need to be cooked in order to be consumed. Examples are crackers, breads, cheeses, deli meats, veggies for a veggie tray, etc. 2…