Posts by Bekah Banihashemi
Bringing Jesus Into Your Home — A Fun Devotional Activity to Do with Your Kids
I’m always trying to through how I will bring Jesus into our home for our family and children now and in the future – Fun activities, memorizing Scriptures as a family, devotionals. I want to start at a young age, but I know many of the more fun activities that we will all be able to do together with more of an understanding will come later when the kids are older. Today, I found what sounds like will be a really fun way to spend quality time with my kids while teaching and talking about Jesus!
“Kids crave constant activities and attention. Adults crave quiet moments of refreshment. How can we achieve both? Big and Little Coloring Devotional engages adults’ minds with appealing biblical devotionals while providing a creative outlet through coloring to diffuse stress.
Let’s have fun with our children through coloring and facilitate their spiritual growth with Scripture. Big and Little Coloring Devotional will incorporate physical, spiritual, and emotional refreshment by providing authentic faith-filled devotionals combined with therapeutic doodling for both the adult and child.”
Read more about the story of the project and preorder it from the link below
Big and Little Coloring Devotional
You can also find it at Amazon,
Lifeway Christian Bookstore, and Barnes & Noble for Pre-order.
What are your favorite ways to bring Jesus into your home with young children?
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Skinny Oatmeal Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Cookies
I love to bake. This pregnancy my nursery nesting has been shifted into baking. Minus the dishes after, baking is what relaxes me and I love being able to share what I bake with others. So, when I found this new cookie recipe with NO white flour and NO sugar and just 2 TBS of butter, I had to try it. I adjusted it to make it just a little more delicious with some of my favorite baking go-to ingredients. As you move forward into this new school year and holiday season, don’t be afraid to try new things in the kitchen! Something might surprise you 🙂
Ingredients:
1 Cup Oats
3/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 TBS Cinnamon
Scant 1/2 tsp Salt
2 TBS Butter, melted
1 Egg
2 tsp Vanilla
1/2 Cup Honey
3/4 Cup Chocolate Chips
Adapted from The Food Charlatan
The How To…
- Add all the dry ingredients into a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, melt the butter. Add egg and beat together. Add the vanilla and honey and mix well.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients in the large bowl.
- Add chocolate chips.
- Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
- Shape the dough into large balls, place on prepared cookie sheet and slightly press down.
- Bake at 325 for 10-12 minutes or until they start to brown on the edges.
- As soon as you pull them out of the oven, press 3-5 chocolate chips into the tops of each cookie.
Makes 12-18 cookies
Share some of your new favorite healthy baking recipes!
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Consistency is Key
We have officially had a toddler in our household for a few months now. And with that has come more exploring, more curiosity, and more testing. So much testing. Yes, the “terrible twos” have come early for us. The last few months have not been easy – full of a lot of “No’s”, a lot of monotonous training, and a lot of consequences. However, the key for us to see any sort of progress (some days/weeks this is very little to no progress) has been CONSISTENCY.
— CONSISTENCY IS KEY —
be consistent with your spouse – be a united front
be consistent with your rules and discipline tactics
be consistent with your patience – as much as possible
be consistent with your response – respond, don’t react
be consistent with your love
Unfortunately, consistency doesn’t automatically mean that things will get better or easier. I have had some pretty rough, exhausting days when I don’t feel like being consistent or when my patience has run basically dry from saying “No” to the same things over and over again. But, I have to keep telling myself that being consistent and calm and patient through the training will pay off in the long run. So, if you have had some rough days, weeks, months, look back at some adorable pictures of your little ones, think about or journal some gratitudes about each child, and take some time for yourself to get refreshed before a new day to be the best version of you for your kids!
Getting through Mom-Life is so much about community so we would love to hear from you!
How did you handle the terrible twos or a difficult stage your child/children went through?
What discipline tactics worked best for your family?
What blessings could you look back …
Read MoreBekah’s Summer Update: The End of One Thing and the Start of Something(s) New
This has been quite a significant summer for us at the Bani Bungalow 🙂
We all survived intern year (Year One) of my hubby’s Pediatric Residency at UCSF Fresno. After one week off, we quickly started another year, but now we are that much closer to completing another step of this medical journey.
We found out that the newest addition to our family is a BOY.
He will be our second and are anxiously awaiting his arrival and seeing how Sophie likes being a Big Sister. This will be the 10th grandchild in our family making it a tie at 5 girls and 5 boys 🙂
We celebrated 5 Years of Marriage.
We did a mini celebration at the Underground Gardens here in Fresno (never stop exploring your home – you never know what cool adventures you will find!) and we will be doing a trip in a few weeks to Napa. Stay tuned for a post on how to do a Napa trip on a budget!
And, our happy girl continues to be HAPPY 😀
She is so curious and explorative. She loves trying new things and doing as much as she can on her own. She is a full on walker and is saying so many new words! And, she is such a girl. One of her newest favorite things is to put on her sparkly Minnie Mouse platform shoes and wear them around the house while she plays (Thanks for the hand-me-down, Cousin Mikah)!
As summer is coming to an end, always remember to CELEBRATE – big things, small things, victories, overcoming fears, trying new things and the people that you are surrounded by! Use these last few weeks of summer to not be overwhelmed by the coming year and everything you need …
Read MoreAmazon Prime Day!
Today is Amazon Prime Day!! Are you a prime member and love a good deal? Then, head over to Amazon right now!!
Here are a few awesome deals we are looking at…
The Instant Pot 8 qt.
$89.00 usually $129.95
Chicco KeyFit Infant Car Seat
$199.99
Save 20% at Checkout!
Check back later for more Prime Day deals!
— The Growing Weisser Women —…
Read MoreCommunicating in Relationships Using Love Languages
Do you ever feel like certain ways of communication that resonate with you do not for someone else? Maybe that is because how your love tank is filled is not the same as another. Gary Chapman wrote a book called “The 5 Love Languages” that explains his conclusion that there are “five emotional love languages – five ways that people speak and understand emotional love.”
He states in his book, “Inside every child is an ’emotional tank’ waiting to be filled with love. When a child really feels loved, he will develop normally, but when the love tank is empty, the child will misbehave. Much of the misbehavior of children is motivated by the cravings of an empty ‘love tank’…The emotional need for love, however, is not simply a childhood phenomenon. That need follows us into adulthood and into marriage.”
Learning about my love languages and the love languages of others has significantly benefitted my relationships, especially my marriage. When you really take the time to learn about someone and learn how to communicate with them, you will connect with them in ways you never thought possible. But, first, let’s learn about the different love languages…
Words of Affirmation
- Using words to build up
- Express verbal appreciation
- Encouraging words – “Encouragement requires empathy and seeing the world from (another’s) perspective”
- Tone of voice makes a difference – messages are often more interpreted by tone of voice, not the words we use
- Ideas: write someone a nice note, go out of your way to give someone encouragement, give compliments, tell someone how you appreciate their strengths
Quality Time
- The need for undivided attention
- Avoid distractions – maintain eye contact
- Quality conversations – “sympathetic dialogue where two individuals are sharing their experiences, thoughts, feelings, and desires”
- Genuine desire to understand thoughts, feelings,
Connecting at the Dinner Table – Active Listening
Do you ever feel like there are so many distractions around you that you are always half listening to those you are having conversations with? Technology, noise, fulfilling others needs…how do you connect when there always seems to be something pulling you in a different direction than where you can be fully present?
Malinda Carlson from the blog A Fine Parent says, “Active listening paves the way for us to have a better relationship with our kids. To feel listened to is to feel respected, valued, and loved. When our kids feel like we really listen to them, it builds their confidence and self-esteem. It reduces arguments. It makes them feel intelligent and capable. It builds emotional intelligence….Active listening is a way of fully hearing what the other person is saying. Not just assuming we know what they’re going to say after hearing the first two words and then spending the rest of the time they are talking preparing a perfect response. Instead, active listening focuses on dropping assumptions and working to understand the feelings, motives, and views of the other person.”
My husband and I are in a stage where there aren’t many dinner conversations with our daughter as she is 15 months old. However, because our little one is not talking much yet, it is especially important for us to be fully present when she is trying to communicate with signs or other cues she uses to help ensure her needs are met, but also so that she is validated in her efforts to communicate with us! It may be easy for us to throw food on her tray and let her be but that doesn’t allow any of us to connect or communicate with each other.
Focus on the Family offers practical advice on the importance of …
Read MoreCreative Ways to Memorize Scripture
It’s summer! Kids are out of school! That means 3 months of no learning, right?? Hate to break it to you kids, but not exactly! Summer is a great time to focus on some of the things that may get put on the back burner during the craziness of the school year, like memorizing Bible verses! Even if there is an emphasis in your house to do this all year round, use the summer months to try some more creative ways to get those verses ingrained in your kids! It is so important to communicate to your children the importance of memorizing Scripture, hiding it in your heart and filling your mind with God’s Word! Make it fun, and make it a family activity! Set goals of when to learn each verse and spend time at meals or when you are getting ready for bed to practice each part of the verse you have learned that week!
1. MUSIC
- Seeds of Character by Seeds Family Worship – Word-for-Word Scripture songs
- Hidden in My Heart: A Lullaby Journey Through Scripture – soothing, sleepy music based on Scripture
- Meet the Rizers – upbeat and very current, your kids will love them!
- Bear Hug Band – focuses more on character development, but has some Scripture in their songs
- Scripture Songs by Grace Evangelical Church
- Fighter Verses Songs – Word-for-Word Bible verses set to music specifically chosen to help believers to fight the fight of faith
- Steve Green: Hide ‘Em In Your Heart Vol 1 & 2 – throwing it back with Steve Green (We listened to him when we were young) but still a classic with straight Scripture put to song; Great for kids!
- GT and the Halo Express – Another that we listened to as kids – learn 100s of straight Scripture
Tortilla Stew – The Perfect Survival Meal for the Busy Mom
Taking a meal or groceries to a new mom is one of the greatest stress relievers. Thinking of what food to prepare for meals, let alone choosing what to eat day to day, was very difficult for me when I first became a mom. There are so many things at play – sleep deprivation, having to take the baby out to get groceries, not having the time to prepare a meal – so to have someone simply say that they will bring over dinner is such a relief! This is one of my favorite meals to make with a busy toddler and not always having the time I would like to prepare dinner. It is a “Throw everything thing in the crockpot, turn it on, and leave it kind of a meal” and it is delicious, making it a perfect meal for your own family in your busy life or to make for a new mom in need!
Ingredients:
1 Can of Tomato Sauce
1 Can of Stewed Tomatoes
2-4 Chicken Breasts (depending on how big they are)
1 Cup of Salsa
2 Cans of Kidney Beans (or Black Beans), drained
1 Can of Corn, drained
On the Side:
Shredded Cheese
Spinach
Cilantro
Whole Wheat Tortillas (I’ve really been liking the Whole Wheat Corn & Flour Tortillas from TJs)
Chips
Salsa
Veggies: Carrots, Cucumbers, Bell Peppers
Optional: Add another can of Stewed Tomatoes, Add more beans or a variety of beans, Tapatio Sauce (my hubby likes to add this to his stew for more of a kick)
Instructions:
- Combine all ingredients in the crockpot in the order specified above.
- Cook on Low for 8 hours. Stir every few hours. In the last hour, shred the chicken and stir.
- Serve in bowls with side options to sprinkle on top (cheese,
Baked Oatmeal Muffins – A Recipe for Connecting
Food has always been something that we use to connect with the people around us- Weisser cookies at every event, other healthy baked goods, or meals to share! I wanted to share with you one of my favorite recipes and one of Sophie’s new favorite breakfasts/snacks! Muffins are a perfect thing to connect with a new community or to share with your tribe at any event! And, these are healthy and a hit with kids 😄
Ingredient List:
2 Eggs
2 Tsp Vanilla
2 cups Applesauce
1 Banana, mashed
1/2 cup Honey
5 cups Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
2 TBS Ground Cinnamon
1 TBS Baking Powder
1 Tsp Salt
2 3/4 Cups Almond Milk
Additional toppings (Optional): Chopped Apple Slices, Almonds, Blueberries, Raisins, Chocolate Chips, White Chocolate Chips
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix eggs, vanilla, applesauce, banana, and honey together in a large bowl.
3. Add the oats, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Combine well with the wet ingredients.
4. Mix in the milk. (Your batter will look runny — This makes the muffins turn out very moist and yummy!)
5. Place muffin liners in your muffin tin. Use a 1/4 or 1/3 of a cup, depending on how big your muffin tins are, to evenly fill each muffin slot.
6. Add toppings on top of individual muffins. If you want to add toppings into the batter, transfer some of the batter into a smaller bowl and mix in your toppings. You can do this for as many toppings as you would like. Remember, you are not limited to the above list – Add all types of fruits and nuts or try some other dessert options!
7. Bake for 30 minutes or until they are cooked all the way through. (Check with a toothpick)
8. Allow …
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