We stayed at a campground in Southern Wisconsin last weekend. Wendy’s mother and brother, Tod, live in Burlington, so we popped the outfitter’s tent and enjoyed family. Tod’s children (2) had a blast with their Jeub cousins (13).

This campground had about a half-dozen playground areas. Monkey bars, swing sets, etc. What did the kids spend most of their time doing? Making their own swing out of an old camping rope and a metal bar. Nearly the entire day was spent making the most interesting swinging contraptions.

This caused me to ponder two things that are on our hearts a lot lately. First, creativity. The kids find more value in the play they create than the play that is created for them. Sure, playgrounds are fun, but how much more fun for the children was a rope and worthless bar? They created it themselves, and that was 90% of the fun.

Second, hard work. The kids really worked hard. They had to throw the bar over high oak branches, getting stuck several times. Hours were spent setting the swing up. Hard work, but rewarding to say the least. As Teddy Roosevelt said, “The best prize that life has to offer is working hard at work worth doing.”

We’re now in Minnesota at my folks’ place. Wendy and I are speaking tonight in Elk River on “Cheaper by the Dozen: Economic principles for living frugal and fruitful lives.” Creativity and hard work are two principles of life that aren’t spoken of much anymore. They really should.

We’re leaving for our big 2-week trip to Minnesota tomorrow. What a zoo it has been these past couple weeks. Today will be extremely busy packing, so I woke up early this morning to prepare for the business aspect of our Minnesota trip: Heppner’s Legacy Homeschool Resource Workshop, “Cheaper by the Dozen.”

If you can make it, do so! We’re building on our 2007 presentation “Cheaper by the Baker’s Dozen” and providing more entrepreneurial ideas for families. Plus Lydia will give her award-winning presentation “Creativity in Family” which she will give at NCFCA Nationals in June.

This presentation will be a cozy group (capped at 24 people, space still available), so Wendy and I are looking forward to really connecting with the couples there. This presentation may sound sort of stale, only about money, but it weaves a most profound principle and is extremely convicting. Here’s the principle: God has a fruitful plan for your family, and finances should not get in the way of that.

This begs the question, “How can I do it?” This economy is at a standstill, and the more I see Washington’s foolish responses, the more skeptical I become. The present is daunting, and the future looks bleak. “You don’t know the position I’m in, Jeub,” I can hear someone say. “Things are really, really tough.”

You’re right, I don’t know the position you’re in, but God does, and Wendy and I stand to testify how God has lead us through tough economic times. We have developed a handful of principles to financial stewardship (largely from years of trial and error) that have paid the greatest dividends over the years. Life is good–and it always has been, in both tight and loose times–and the principles we share should bring freedom and wealth to your family.

So, I hope you can make it. If not, we will be giving the same talk at the Christian Home Educators of Colorado Conference in June. We hope to have a new book out for CHEC, Frugal & Fruitful Living, but there are several elements that need to come into place to make that happen. For now, try to make it to either event, especially if you are feeling the crunch of this current poor economy.

Wendy’s newest book Love in a Diet is being exclusively sold here (it is not available anywhere yet). It is also at a 20% savings PLUS a free sampler of her and Cynthia’s cookbook, set to release very soon. Really, folks, now is the time to buy this book. Here is some initial feedback…

I got your book. I sat down and immediately read it. Now we are reading it as a family each night. I am surprised that my kids are now writing down everything they eat. Ya’ll keep spitting those books out so my family has something good to read;)

Debbie

I just received your book Love in a Diet and I LOVE it! Finally a book written to real people who want to eat great AND lose weight.

In Christ, Ellen

I got my book early this afternoon and read it before dinner (thankfully I had something easy to prepare for dinner!) What a great book! Well done (thanks for keeping it short and to the point too!) You are an inspiration and I look forward to pluggin’ away at this. I have about 30 lbs to lose (ideally, 20 would be a great place to get to also!). I look forward to implementing your 8 steps as well as the other things you suggest.

Jen S.

And here’s a comment on the FREE SAMPLER that comes with your order of Love in a Diet…

I just wanted to email you to let you know we went camping over the weekend.  Saturday we had a potluck.  I made the “Birthday Bash Beans” from the recipe sampler I had gotten.  Everyone just raved about the beans.  In fact when we got together for lunch on Sunday, everyone requested that I bring over any of the leftover beans from the night before.  Even a couple of the guys, who are farmers, had seconds.  Made me feel very good – thanks to Wendy & Cynthia!! My hats off to you.

Jill Wonick

This product is sold at the publisher's website:
www.monumentpublishing.biz

Wendy and I have been incredibly busy these past few weeks, as you can see from our lack of posting. Of course, getting Wendy’s Love in a Diet to market has been all-consuming, and the girls’ (Cynthia and Wendy) second edition to Love in the Kitchen Cookbook is now wrapping up. There is more to pulling recipes together than you might think! I hope to have pre-order information up this afternoon.

Anyway, there are a few big news items that you’d like to hear! First, Wendy and I will be speaking in Elk River, Minnesota, on May 19 at Heppner Legacy Bookstore (click for information). This won’t be a huge event, nice and cozy for a small group of people who can make the trip. Wendy and I will be talking on two subjects, “Love in the House” and “Cheaper by the Dozen”, the same two talks we’ll be giving at the CHEC conference the month later. If you can make it, register with the bookstore and reserve a seat. Seating is limited to only 24 (like I said, nice and cozy).

The 2nd news event is huge-o-mongo! For shame that I haven’t posted about this. Both Cynthia and Lydia qualified to NCFCA Nationals at our Region 3 tournament (see results)! Cynthia was rumored to be one of the tournament surprises, her first year in Lincoln-Douglas debate. I wasn’t surprised, though. She credits her work in extemporaneous speaking (also first year) as the extra training she needed to pull ahead in her debate skills, and she and I worked particularly hard training her for this event. She went 4-2 in prelims and was knocked out in quarter-finals by the debater who won the tournament. Pictured here is a cross-examination between Cynthia and her old team-debate partner, Matthew Erickson. They had both wanted to meet each other at previous tournaments, but weren’t ever matched up. They got their chance at Regionals, and Cynthia clocked him won the ballot.

Lydia (pictured presenting for a 3-judge panel) has a very nice Original Oratory that attempts to articulate her large family life. She has worked hard to try to show how creativity makes its impact in the Jeub family…and can in any family. Funny, she watched most of Cynthia’s rounds and flowed the debates. She’s convinced she’ll be doing debate next year (she’s been sort of dragging her feet). Both girls are off to Nationals in June! They’re flying to South Carolina; we’re not making the big vacation trip out of it like we did last year.

The 3rd news event is bitter-sweet: we sold our bus! That’s right, the same bus that was featured on “Kids by the Dozen,” the bus that brought us on several camping trips into the mountains, the bus that broke down in New Mexico and made for a great story in the introduction of our bestselling book Love in the House. Ah, the memories. But that is what we cherish, the memories, not so much the bus itself. To be honest, the bus was getting too small for our family (no lie!) and we’ve preferred the outfitter’s tent over the bus in the last few big trips.

The bus’s new home is in Alabama, purchased from a family who saw our show and fell in love with the bus. A three-generation representation flew into Denver and I picked them up to drive them to their new RV. It was very cool to get to know Adam I, Adam II and Adam III. Their entire purpose of buying the bus is to have a vehicle to visit family who, unfortunately, need to live apart from each other for a time being. Adam II has four daughters and one son, the perfect amount to fill the bus with new memories and adventure. The Jeubs couldn’t be happier to pass on the bus to such a good family. Check out their blog here.

Thanks for the memories, bus! We’ll miss you!

So, that’s the big news lately! We’re super busy right now, and I had to get up at 4:00 am to pound this post out. Order Wendy’s book Love in a Diet if you haven’t already. It is a great book that we hope to speak into the hearts of moms out there. And, if you can, link to the book’s order page from your blogs. We’d appreciate the business. Blessings to you and yours! -Chris