Hi, I'm Kimberly. I'm a homeschooling mom of 11 and here on Raising Olives I share about what I've learned; tips, ideas and some of the ups and downs of managing a home and raising children for the glory of God.
One morning last week Mark said, “Hey, let’s go camping…….today.”. Five hours later we were packed and on our way Yes, we’re last minute like that and, trust me, 5 hours is pretty good for all the laundry, packing, shopping and food prep we had to get done, not to mention the fact that our…
Vanilla extract is super simple to make at home and it’s more economical to make than to purchase at the store. This is all you need: Homemade Vanilla Extract Ingredients: 6-12 high quality vanilla beans (We purchased our from saffron.com) Bottle of vodka Simply split the vanilla beans in half length wise Place them in…
Leftovers? What leftovers? While it’s true that our family rarely has leftovers, it does occasionally happen, and being the incredibly creative cook that I am (go ahead and laugh), I do one of four things with our family’s leftovers. If there is enough leftover from one meal to feed our family another full meal I:…
Welcome to this weeks edition of 4 Moms, 35 Kids: How Moms of Many Manage since all of us are bloggers we’re talking a little about blogging today. For us the purpose of Raising Olives has always been clear: Offer practical help, advice and encouragement to younger moms. (Titus 2) Tell a little of our…
My brother-in-law gave us the idea for this simple DIY compost bin in a trash can. Since we had just put our house on the market, and since the compost pile out back was less than desirable, this contained option seemed like a good solution. The trash can keeps the compost contained and “neighbor friendly”. …
Menu planning and cooking for a large family, keeping up with the laundry and housework, homeschooling and being a wife and mother, when does a busy mom of many find time to balance the budget? In our house the answer is simple, I don’t. For the first several years of our marriage I was responsible…
Unless we want to live in a home much like this (but with considerable less charm), our family must have a system for controlling, managing and minimizing ‘keepsakes’. Keepsakes can come in all shapes and sizes. That little dress that Aunt Barbara knitted for your first baby, journals and scrapbooks, photos, awards and trophys, children’s…
Feeding a large family on one income certainly adds interest to menu planning. This week the 4 Moms are challenging ourselves (and you) to feed your family for $.50 per person. Our normal budget for the evening meal is $1 per person, but we have several meal options that are less than this (and lots…
I’m answering another question from Facebook today. Amanda wanted to know some of my frugal tips. Buy used. Furniture, clothing, dishes, towels, sheets, home decor, etc. can all be found used. We shop mostly yard sales, but second hand shops can be useful for harder to find items (like boys blue jeans sans holes in…
We enjoy hot chocolate, especially during the winter months. Every Sunday morning we get up and gather in the family room to read our Bibles while sipping a cup of hot cocoa. {Bella (1) does not sip, she gulps and beware the person who tries to help her hold her cup when she pauses for…
