We’re in the middle of our busy season. Debate Camp starts on Wednesday, and our speech and debate products are flying out the door. I managed to catch a bad cold and decided to take the Sabbath off and chill out.

We got an email from the Heppners. Joanna has discovered the fine art of Web development. She put together a fabulous page of pictures from our trip to Minnesota to see Josiah Heppner get married. We didn’t post enough about it, and thanks to Joanna for putting together this fabulous page. It is hard to believe that these pictures contain mostly only two families!

Visit the Heppner site here

Wendy was on KBIQ this morning talking about her cookbook. The spiral bound cookbook has over 200 recipes and has become a real hit. These are real meals the Jeub Family eats regularly, and the book comes with several tips on how to eat like kings on a frugal budget. Click the link below to listen, and don’t forget to buy her cookbook:

Listen to Wendy on KBIQ

Most Americans believe that the US is in a depression and that the economy is tanking. The recent bank bailouts and mortgage financing companies are truly disturbing. I sort of wish I wasn’t eye-deep in researching the NCFCA team-debate topic for release of our bestselling Blue Book for homeschool debaters. I’d be writing a lot about the economy, a topic I find intriguing. There is a lot of fear mongering going on, and though I don’t like $4/gal. at the pump anymore than anyone else, I am hesitant to agree with the alarmists out there. Follow me here…

I believe we’re going to be just fine.

I know, I know. The headlines on every news channel and every website is posting doom for America. I, too, see our political horizon as a bit scary. Congress, instead of drilling offshore and in ANWR, is debating bringing back the 55mph speed limit. Obama, who could be our next president, claims that because drilling won’t reduce gas prices for at least six years, we shouldn’t drill. Note: in 2002, President Bush was defeated by Congress to advance drilling in ANWR…yes, six years ago. John McCain at least promotes offshore drilling, something that Congress is digging its heals in about. Also note: John McCain led the charge of moderate Republicans to kill the ANWR bill. I’m not too hopeful that our politicians will come up with helpful solutions.

We can learn several lessons from India. Homeschoolers participating in the NCFCA will be debating changes to the US’s policy toward India, the league’s debate resolution. In my research of the topic, I am learning tons about the recent history of this remarkable nation. After India attained its independence from Britain in 1950, she struggled through 40 years of socialist economics. Though India has a rich history of some of the smartest scientists and businessmen in the world, she was known in the 20th century as one of the poorest nations on earth. It wasn’t until 1990 that India started reforming its License Raj, a series of beaurocratic red tape that made it virtually impossible to innovate and do business in the largest democracy in the world. The lifting of its restrictions have been a boon to India’s economy. Now India is in negotiations with the US to open up its nuclear power development to meet the energy demands of its growing middle class. World economists have predicted that India is on course to surpass China and America’s economies by 2045. No kidding.

It’s difficult to make sense of the bank and mortgage crisis, but what’s going on now is simply responsible taxpayers paying for irresponsible loans.  India recognizes that the only way to solve its poverty problem is to devert its policies from socialist safety nets to solving its economic infrastructure. President Bush has lifted the executive moratorium on offshore drilling, and now Congress needs to do the same. It is basic supply-and-demand economics that needs to be addressed: if we Americans demand more oil, and we have it, let’s get it and ease the demand (and our dependence on foreign oil while we’re at it). If government wants to be proactive in energy alternatives, pour money into nuclear development rather than bailing out mortgages. Again, India is onto this, and America should be, too.

We may see our government making foolish fiscal choices, but families should find themselves doing just fine through this shaky economy. Seriously, I am not getting too nervous, and I’m the guy with a 14 mouths to feed! Times will be tight for the next few years, sure, but that shouldn’t depress you. I’m hearing a lot of our friends complain of their scaling back and having to make frugal choices, but I know better. They’re simply starting to live life like the Jeubs, and frugal living has never robbed our family of joy and growth.

If I weren’t so busy with Blue Book I’d write a bestseller and make a million: “Frugal and Fruitful.” Much of our Cheaper by the Baker’s Dozen CD has rich ideas to live frugally, but the main point is this: don’t let anyone rob you of the life God has in store for you. In fact, the coming hardships should return Americans back to what matters most: faith, family, love. The second home or the SUV ain’t it.

I have a lot of respect for Mahatma Gandhi, the spiritual revolutionary who took on the British Empire through peaceful means. He had some daring ideas on economics, too. Though his lineage became socialist powers of the new India, I do not believe Gandhi was a socialist. He had a profound understanding of the economic challenges of India as well as discerning views of the West’s problems. An article I discovered in my research paraphrases a recent discovery of one of Gandhi’s audios, recorded weeks before his assassination in 1948:

Gandhi’s self-denial and tour of rural poverty was rooted in political philosophy. The central reason people turn to violence, Gandhi believed, was that they were afraid: of others, the unknown, of loving one’s possessions and fortunes, of death. Fear was the root cause of corruption and greed. The way to destroy fear, Gandhi argued, was to give up the things that people held precious in the first place. When you have no possessions, you fear no theives.

Wendy and I want so much to get this point across to young couples, which is why we wrote Love in the House. A life centered on building wealth is a life centered on fear, and we believe God wants us free from fear. Now, I’m all for working hard to make a good living, and I’m caught many times wishing I had more than I do now. But in my heart of hearts, I know that desire alone is worth nothing. My heart wants to walk with God and raise a family to do the same.

Okay, one last thing and then I have to get back to writing Blue Book. Wendy received an incredible email from a young lady about a week ago after our “Kids by the Dozen” episode was shown on The Learning Channel. Her story speaks volumes. What a testimony:

I’m writing to tell you what an inspiration your family has been to me.  My husband and I have been married for 6 years and have three children (6, 5, 2) but decided after our third that [my husband] should get a vasectomy.  I was a lost Christian and he was an atheist and we were consumed with worldly goods and keeping up with our friends–more children would be an inconvenience.

Since then, Jesus has grabbed ahold of our lives–we have a great encouraging church and [my husband] became a Christian one year ago.  We could not imagine the changes that the Lord had in store for our hearts and our family. My husband came to me about 2 weeks ago and told me that he had really been struggling with our past sins and our vasectomy and really felt the Lord calling him to have a reversal and let go of worldly things and focus on what really matters. I was, to say the least, reluctant.  We have a nice life now, three beautiful children, nice clothes, house and things. We do not make a lot of money and I didn’t want to stretch things too much. I am a stay at home mom and always assumed that 3 children is just right–any more and I might lose it.  I didn’t feel it was in the interests of the other children, but I told him I would think about it–but really just wanted to put the idea out of my mind.

Well, God had other plans.  I have struggled inwardly for the past two weeks about having more children and have prayed that God would show me what He wanted for our family and not what I want.  That God would take away my sinful desire for things of this world and instead allow me to focus only on the eternal.  Then, just last night, while washing dishes I heard a quiet voice–we were meant to have more children.  I still tried to push that thought away, put the kids to bed and get ready for bed myself.

That is when I started flipping through the channels and saw “Kids by the Dozen.”  I was in tears by the time my husband got home from work at 10:30.  You come across as so genuine.  I love your budgeting techniques, and the way you love and care for your children is evident, as is your love for the Lord.  I am not an overly emotional person, so my husband knew something was up [when he saw me crying].  He watched the rest of the show with me and was in tears as well.  We knew our calling was to continue to parent. We stayed up most the night talking and this morning we called to make our first appointment on the way to a vasectomy reversal.

I cannot wait to hold baby number 4 in my arms and watch my husband do what he does best–be a dad.  God is a loving God, a worker of miracles. In just a short two weeks he has allowed me a glimpse of eternity through the eyes of my children and our children to come.  Thank you for telling your story and being an inspiration to those like me.

God will bless his people when his people open their hearts to him. What a testimony from this young couple, how God moved them to follow his lead, to follow the love written on their hearts. Wendy and I are humbled that our meek lives helped encourage them. This family is stepping out in faith, fearlessness and, most importantly, a love for God’s will in their life that surpasses all understanding. A lagging economy won’t hold this family down. They will overcome any obstacle that tries to get in their way. May God bless them abundantly!

Love in the Kitchen + Free Audio CD

Love in the Kitchen, Wendy’s cookbook, is filled with dozens of money-saving techniques to help you and your family eat well despite hard economic times. Couple this cookbook with Cheaper by the Baker’s Dozen, Chris & Wendy’s talk on how to live frugal and fruitful lives, and you will be thoroughly prepared to stretch your budget.

Order through Speechsupplies.com here to receive the deal. Expires July 31.

The 4th of July is one of the most enjoyable days of the year for the Jeubs. Monument starts the day with “The Best Small-Town Parade in Colorado,” and our neighboring town of Palmer Lake ends the day with a spectacular fireworks show along the front range of the Rockies. Over 30,000 people tomorrow morning will flock to our tiny town to watch bands, Shriners, politicians, firetrucks and classic cars. A thousand kids (no kidding!) ride their decorated bikes through the street for the Kiddie Parade before the 2-hour parade begins. And this parade isn’t hyper-sensitive to tooth decay and water. Squirt gun battles rage, and kids bring home more candy than they get at Easter!

I take great footage every year of the Jeubs catching candy and gawking at the passing elephants. (Yes, we have elephants in our parade!) But we are so incredibly busy in the summer. I am writing curriculum for Monument Publishing, working 12-14 hours six days a week. Wendy is holding the fort, though she still manages to take one night a week to go into the office and work on her new book (due out in November). People often say, “How do you do it all?” At times like now, I return, “I have no idea!”

Well, actually, I do. God has a profound way to leading Wendy and I through the twists and turns of life. I just finished reading John Eldredge’s newest book, Walking With God. (And how do I find time to read a book? It’s a God thing.) I’m learning to listen to God’s shakes and prods–his “convictions”–when drudging through the busyness of life. Take, for instance, this blog posting. A half-hour ago I was simply going to enjoy a glass of Kombucha and go to bed early. God prodded me, “Go post,” so here I am with you.

“We don’t get an outline for each new day, with summary points at bedtime. There is something to be learned in every story…Pause along the way [in your life story] at those points where God is speaking to you, shedding light on your story, or teaching you something new. Pause there. Let that be the lesson for the day. Don’t just plow through! Take your time and let him speak.” (Walking With God, p. xiii)

It is extremely difficult to listen to God when busy, but with the help of the Holy Spirit, we are able to pause, listen, and move to the areas in life he wants us to go. Eldredge subtitles his book, “Talk to him. Hear from him. Really.” I’m sure he has to place the “really” at the end because something inside us says, “Yeah right, God doesn’t speak to us that way…” and then we get back to our busy life.

I’m convinced that God wants us to walk with him, talk with him, and listen to him. I’ve been practicing this lately, really. Just the other night, when I was tempted to end the day by jumping on my computer, God said, “Go out on the back deck and enjoy a conversation with your daughters.” Okay, so I did. Cynthia, Lydia and I talked for over an hour on a cool summer Coloradan night. It was absolutely beautiful and divine. A real heaven-on-earth moment.

How many heaven-on-earth moments have I passed up, too busy to notice God calling me? You catch what I’m saying, don’t you?

I’ve got decorated red-white-and-blue bikes in the driveway ready to go first thing in the morning. We’ll be busy tomorrow, but not with busyness. There will be much joy tomorrow celebrating the birth of our great nation. God will be there celebrating with us at the parade and the fireworks. May he be there with you, too. God bless America!

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> Love in the House
> Love in the House Study Guide
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Families of all sizes will appreciate the Jeubs’ creative solutions to raising children and managing a home. Get the complete package today!

I just sent this email out to 3,300 homeschool debaters on my emailing list. Here’s an offer you may want to take advantage of:

As a homeschool dad myself, I identify with families struggling to make ends meet in order to excel in their homeschooling. Prices are going up everywhere, and Monument Publishing is no exception. This email explains how you can lock into 2007 prices for the NCFCA bestselling sourcebooks Blue Book, Blue Book Advanced and Red Book.

After filling up your cart at www.speechsupplies.com, type in the coupon code below. A monetary deduction will automatically be applied to account for the price increase for these three sourcebooks. The savings will also be applied to the savings in bulk orders and bundles, giving you the ability to save over 50%! Here’s the secret code:

07again

When I say I identify with financial struggles, I identify more than you might think. My wife, Wendy, and I have put together two products that show how we, as homeschooling parents of 14 children, have continued to live fruitful lives on a frugal budget. Two products released earlier this year reflect these strategies: Love in the Kitchen (a cookbook) and Cheaper by the Baker’s Dozen (an audio CD). Both resources are packed with money-saving techniques that will surely save you money. Exclusively for our SpeechSupplies.com friends, we’re offering the CD FREE with the purchase of the cookbook. That’s a $12.95 savings, for tools that will save you even more! Click here for complete information.

Don’t let the economy get you down. Continue to homeschool, continue to raise your family, continue to teach powerful communication skills through speech and debate. I hope these bargains will encourage you to do so. God bless you and your family!

~ Chris Jeub

We’ve been back from our Midwest Adventure for a few days now. We’ve barely had enough time to relax. Horse Camp started first thing Monday morning, and we rolled in from a 15 hour trip from St. Louis at 9:00 pm Sunday night! Yeesh. But, we wouldn’t trade the fun and excitement of our four week trip through the Midwest for anything.

Summers are the busiest time of our year. Though our homeschool is put on hold, business is enormous. Monument Publishing, the publishing company I own and some of the kids are employed through, publishes the bestselling curriculum for the NCFCA and sold nationwide. This is literally my third 16-hour work day since we returned home (Wendy has been holding the fort). I just posted new material on our website at www.speechsupplies.com. Check it out if you’re interested.

Our grand finale from our trip was the NCFCA National Tournament in Birmingham, Alabama (which is in June the hottest place in the universe, did you know that?). Lydia didn’t break to outrounds, but she did do well and had a remarkable challenge–and honor–among the best expositors in the nation. You may have watched Lydia’s speech at an open tournament earlier this year (see here). She has come a long way! Here she is competing at Nationals:

The Jeubs wiggled their way all the way from Canada to nearly the Gulf of Mexico. The weather has been hot and humid, but we’ve all managed to “keep our shirts on.” None of us have had any time to post to the site, and now it is 5:30 a.m. in Birmingham, home of the 2008 NCFCA National Championship. Real quickly, here are some highlights…

We stopped in Janesville, Wisconsin, for an overnight with the Hanus family. I mention the Hanus family in our book, Love in the House, as a family who had a great deal of influence on my life. They, too, have 14 children, though they are a generation ahead of Wendy and me. I was best friends with their 2nd child, Paul, when growing up. Their youngest is 16 years old, and we arrived with very peculiar timing. The day before in the apartment of their home, one of their daughters gave birth to her first child (it was a home delivery). Fran Hanus shared with us how the delivery was beautiful and the help that her daughter received included nine other Hanus moms. “The love was so thick in that room, you could cut it with a knife!” This makes 32 grandchildren for Mike and Fran Hanus.

Our stay was short-lived. After a good night sleep, we headed down to Springfield, Illinois, where we were featured to speak to a group of homeschoolers. The managers of Camp CILCA, Kevin and Tawn, were most gracious to us as we popped up our tent and camped for three nights. Our talk included presentations of Cynthia and Lydia for NCFCA, and Wendy and I presented our Cheaper by the Baker’s Dozen talk on frugal living. It is encouraging to see moms and dads dedicated to making the financial sacrifices to homeschool their children, and it is our honor to give them tools to successfully do so.

The next day was our site-seeing day. We visited the most incredible museum we have ever visited: the Lincoln Presidential Museum. If you ever have the chance to visit, you must! We spent most of the day their reveling in the rich history of Abraham Lincoln. Such a man of faith and courage! The brand new museum had wax statues, kids play rooms, two spectacular historical movies, re-creations of Abe’s cabin life, and rich walk-throughs of the fantastic time of history. If your homeschool family is big enough, everyone can get in for free: 15 kids makes a “school,” and teachers and bus drivers pay no charge. Our dozen kids and our guest’s kids pushed us over the edge. See, it can truly be “cheaper by the dozen”!

We ventured further into the south, all the way to Chattanooga, Tennessee, to visit some friends, Howard and Kristi Tripp. I worked with Howard when at Focus on the Family, and he and his family (they’re expecting their seventh child) live in the beautiful mountains in Chattanooga. We swam Sunday afternoon in a warm lake…quite the contrast from cold Minnesota! Yesterday (Monday), I left Wendy with most of the kids in Chattanooga to stay with Kristi and Howard as Cynthia, Lydia and I zipped down to the NCFCA national tournament in Birmingham, Alabama.

Lydia did quite well her three rounds of Expository speech, but the competition is incredible. I wish I had time to upload a video and some pictures, but I barely have time to post this post. We have a Training Minds Ministry table at nationals and working it will suck up my time. Besides, Lydia will be putting together a vacation video soon. Thanks for your prayers…this trip has been full of blessings. We’ll post more soon!

The Jeub Family — Cheaper by the Baker’s Dozen

Parents to 14 children Chris & Wendy Jeub are convinced that the downturn in the economy should NOT limit the calling God has for families. Their lives are living proof as they claim to “live like kings” while maintaining a frugal budget. The Jeub grocery budget is under $700/month (feeding 12 children at home, mind you!), they homeschool on a single income, and they live in a modest mountain home. Their secrets are available to families of all sizes!

For homeschool families, come to watch Lydia Jeub (age 13) perform her nationally qualified expository speech on amateur movie making. You may or may not know, but the only nationally recognized homeschool extracurricular activity is speech and debate, and the Jeubs are on their way to compete at the National Tournament in Birmingham, Alabama. Chris has written extensively on this most exciting activity and the entire Jeub family have been involved since HSLDA started the league 11 years ago. The Jeubs are open to questions after Lydia delivers her Expos.

Chris and Wendy were featured on Discovery Channel’s “Kids by the Dozen” series in 2007. The family of 16 live in Monument, Colorado, where Wendy homeschools and Chris runs an academic nonprofit ministry. The Jeubs wrote Love in the House: Filling your home with the greatest commandment in response to the numerous questions about their lifestyle, and Wendy has just recently come out with a cookbook on affordable meals for growing families. Chris and Wendy are traveling through the Midwest on their way to the national homeschool speech tournament in Birmingham and have stopped to share with us.

West Side Christian Church, 2850 Cider Mill Ln, Springfield, IL. (Google map)
Thursday, June 5, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
This event is FREE
West Side Christian Church is conveniently located just off IL Route 4 (S. Veterans Parkway) in Springfield, IL.

It’s easy to find and there’s plenty of parking. The presentation will be in the Centennial Room. (Enter from the south entrance and you’ll find it easily).

So much has been happening in the past week that I have barely been able to post online (and access to the Internet is always an issue, too). It has been a long, awesome week since we posted of our first two items on our itinerary–the Elk River Booksigning and the Larson Family Reunion–both wonderful times with friends and family. At the booksigning, Wendy and I were able to conect with a few homescooling parents. The family reunion was a fantastic time to reconnect with relatives and meet new members of the family.



Our third and fourth big events have just finished. My sister Kate and her husband, Jerry, own a resort in Tenstrike, MN. Birch Haven Resort is a vintage resort with small cottages built along the shore of one of the hottest fishing lakes in Minnesota. We didn’t stay in one of the cabins, but rather popped our outfitters tent and helped out preparing for the summer season. Kate and Jerry have been slowly-but-surely fixing up this resort to its fuller capacity. As my mom and kids cleaned cabins, I would follow and take pictures of the finished cabins. I then used my Internet expertise to build web pages with specific details on each cabin. I also set up a wireless router onsite so that Kate and Jerry can offer free Internet to renters. You can check them out here.

It is hard to believe we would go further north than Tenstrike, but we did…all the way to Warroad, MN. Recall the little knob on top of Minnesota that sticks into Canada: that’s the location of Warroad. We stayed with our wonderful friends, the Heppners, to specifically see Josiah (their 4th child) marry Lisa Rygh on Saturday night. The wedding was beautiful and we danced the night away at the reception afterward. You may remember the Heppners if you are familiar with our TLC program “Kids by the Dozen.” The Heppners were, along with us, one of the three debuting families to be featured. The world of viewers didn’t know that the Heppners were already friends of ours. In fact, when TLC contacted them first and asked if they knew a family who would consider being filmed, they referred us. The show was an experience both families walked through. Of all the Heppner children (there are now 17 of them), Josiah was special to us, as he stayed at our home for a while after high school as he explored is post-graduation options. We are most fond and happy for Josiah who, by the way, is our Josiah’s namesake.

After the wedding day, we spent two much-too-quick days relaxing with the rest of the Heppner family. My sister’s children, Madison and Emma, came with us, so a total of 30 children between the four parents scuttled in and out of the home. Several of the adult Heppners stopped by to visit. Duwayne got upset with us for showing up with food (heh) for they stocked up with some of the best food in northern Minnesota. The kids baked the Heppner’s famous Rhubarb Cake (see recipe) and we ate like kings.

Duwayne and Miriam have been walking very similar spiritual paths as us, and we stayed up till 3:00 a.m. on Sunday night sharing great things with one another. We are Christ followers, personally devoted to Jesus Christ. Our relationship with Him brings great things into our lives that are exciting and adventurous. Though we are 1000 miles separated, our vision for family and faith are so similar that it validates our convictions.

We are so excited at how God is giving us a blessed vision for family, and we are both taking advantage of opportunities to speak and travel on it. Miriam shared with us of a retreat she was featured at in Canada and how God moved greatly among Native American women at the retreat. We, likewise, shared with them about how our booksigning in Elk River and the Cheaper by the Baker’s Dozen message of family economics have encouraged families to follow the will God has in their lives. What rich conversation!

We are now on our way to southern Wisconsin to visit with a family that I mention in our book Love in the House, the Hanus family. Their second-born child, Paul, was my grade-school friend. Mike and Fran Hanus have 14 children. They have only four children at home–most are married and with families of their own. They just added a grandchild last night as one of their newly married twins had her first. Running total: 14 children, 32 grandchildren, and 1 great-grandchild (their 2nd due any time now). They are dear, dear people, and we can’t wait to connect with them and their family.

We’re only staying the night and then we’re off to Springfield, Ill. We’ll be speaking on Thursday night in Springfield (click here), so I hope you can make it. It should be quite a night! This is our final speaking event till Nationals the following week in Birmingham.

We’ve got the family further north in Tenstrike, MN, on beautiful Gull Lake (see Birch Haven Resort). Micah and Isaiah went fishing last night with my sister’s husband, Jerry, and caught about a dozen northern. We had a huge fish fry this evening where a couple other cabin campers joined us for fun as the sun went down. I don’t have much time to type, but here are some grand pictures for you to enjoy…more later!

Tabitha swimming	Josiah!	Maddie & Lydia	Our tent.
Birch Haven	Good night!

The entire day Sunday was spent cooking, eating, talking, laughing, making-smore’sing, and having a great time on Wendy’s side of the family. The Larsons–many of whom we have not seen in years–traveled to the Jeub home for a long-overdue family reunion.

After the long, long day, I spent some time relaxing with my mom, Judy. She said something quite profound, “After all this family has been through, I truly believe we can achieve world peace.” Wendy goes into just a tidbit of dysfunction in our book Love in the House, and our “Kids by the Dozen” TV show only mentions a poor childhood. Wendy doesn’t like to go into detail, but her upbringing was incredibly difficult.

Despite all the crud that life shoveled her and the rest of her family, LOVE has shone through. Yesterday was an ultimate manifestation of God’s overreaching love that heals wounds and builds relationships. Wendy’s family is a group of beautiful people, and their collective testimony–while interesting–is nothing unusual in God’s family. When love is the main ingredient in a family, no worldly dysfunction can hinder His will. I really believe that.

Here are some pictures with some short footnotes that explain a lot…

Joshua & Isaak	Mary Ann’s 70th	Newest parents	Abby
Derek & Amanda	Goofy faces	The start of it all	Josiah’s toad
Grandma L.	Alicia & Isaak	Grandpa & Isaac

It has been a great few days at Grandma and Grandpa’s in Minnesota. I (Chris) has had to spend some time working on the computer while Wendy and the kids enjoy themselves. It has been difficult to find time to post on the blog. Today will get real busy real fast, as the Larson side of the family is all meeting here at the Jeubs for a family reunion, the first in several years. We’ll be posting pics of that soon!

Here is a video of something that happens only when you “hang” at a home long enough. Our trip to the Midwest purposely allows time to relax and enjoy the people and surroundings. The backyard of my parents’ home always had these odd looking vines hanging from large poplar trees. Cynthia got the idea of tying two vines together and making the most incredible swing in the world! We’ll be sure to have a video of it posted soon…but for now, here’s a couple pictures. The little boy is my nephew, Charlie. (Click the picture for a larger view)

When I worked at Focus on the Family, I had the privilege of spending an entire hour with Steven Curtis Chapman. Yep, he and me, alone in a room, talking about his family’s new adventure of adoption. It was when he just released “When Love Takes You In,” a song dedicated to the adoption of his daughter Shaohannah from China. The excitement in the Chapman family lead to Shaohannah’s Hope, an adoption ministry that has helped thousands of families make it possible to bring children home from China. The Chapmans adopted two more girls from China since I wrote the article for Focus on the Family.

Three days ago, when we were traveling cross-country to Minnesota, the Chapmans lost their youngest daughter, Maria, in a tragic accident in their driveway. Busy with our trip and sort of removed from the world, I just found out about this last night (you may have already heard about it). My heart is simply broken for their beautiful family. Here’s a post from the Chapman manager and friend:

Maria Sue Chapman, adopted and youngest daughter to Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman, was killed tonight in a tragic accident in the family driveway on Wednesday evening. She was LifeFlighted to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital but for only reasons God can explain she went home to Him… Not to Franklin as we all so desperately wanted.

The family eventually left the hospital and was surrounded by friends and family at their home church where many had instinctively gathered to hug and cry and pray together. There must have been 250 people or more there at this impromptu gathering after 9pm at night

Friends. Please pray for this family who has loved so generously so many.

I don’t know about you, but I am hugging my kids tightly this day! Our prayers are out to the Chapmans as they grieve. We are crying with them…

Today Chris and I had a lovely time spending the day with some homeschool families at Heppners Legacy Homeschool Resources bookstore in Elk River, MN. It was relaxing to spend one-on-one time with folks in the area. One mom, in particular, made our day with the counsel she sought. She was naturally concerned with the power struggle she has with her 3-year-old son. He’s a bright, active little guy, but he really loves to wear the same clothes every day: a Batman pajama shirt.

I, too, have had this issue with some of my young boys. My conclusion is not to fight them on this issue. So, I encouraged this mother to let him wear the Batman pajamas and let the battle go. I had this identical issue with my now-9-year-old son, and I even had an old family picture in my purse. I pulled out the picture and this is what this mother saw:

Click for full view

There’s my Noah at 3-years-old, plain as day, in the family picture several years ago. What a picture! And what a lesson. Noah is standing in the front row with his Superman pajama shirt, a shirt we couldn’t tear off of him at the time.

The mother’s mouth dropped to the floor. “That’s my answer!” she said. Chris said, “That’s a God thing,” and she replied, “Ya think?”

When Chris and I returned home, we saw this response in our email:

I just wanted to say “thank you” for your special visit to Elk River, MN!  I learned so much from the two of you and it restored my energy (and faith) as a parent. As a mom of 3 young children, I simply devour any information on parenting and you two are certainly full of that!  I pray that you all have a safe rest of your trip and good luck to Lydia at her competition!  Thanks again for sharing with me…it really meant alot.
P.S. I am washing the Batman shirt tonight, so hopefully I have a good morning:)

I love to encourage mothers to be the best moms they can be. It’s not about the clothes they wear (and I understand the struggle), but it’s about letting the child go through the stage in their life and loving them through it. I’m so happy to see a mom willing to look beyond a dirty Batman shirt and love her child made in the image of God. She made my day!

The leaves on the trees are fully grown in Minnesota, unlike the trees in Colorado. The travel from MN was 19 hours total, a couple extra hours from what Google Maps told us. I guess we’ll have to keep in mind that Google Maps assumes you never have to stop for gas or potty breaks.

But I am extremely proud of my kids! They were fantastically patient. Micah wasn’t feeling very well (a bad cold is going through the kids right now) and at about lunchtime he looks panicky when I said we had about 10 hours left of driving. Most times we needed to stop at a rest area between fill-ups, but we made it through TWICE from full to empty without stopping. Way to go Jeub kids!

One reason we took so long is because I took the advice of a trucker friend of mine and slowed down on the Interstate. Keeping the van at a steady 65 mph saved considerably on gas mileage. The following is a chart that I kept during the trip. I started the trip busting out of the mountains screaming at 75-80 mph. Once on the plains and through a second tank of gas, we slowed down to 65 mph. Notice the significant change in mileage: 1.3 miles per gallon! Not too shabby: that saves about 2-3 gallons every fill up. That used to not mean much, but now that’s some serious cash…

You can tell where I was anxiously trying to get to Grandma and Grandpa’s. (heh)

Mom, Dad and 12 kids ages 15, 13, 12, 11, 10, 8, 7, 6, 3, 2, 2, and 5 months will be stuffed into this small 15-passenger van for 16 hours to the upper Midwest. We’ve managed a comfortable route that the kids have grown used to. We blast out of here and stay in a hotel in Albert Lea, Minnesota, but we’ve chosen to skip the hotel this time around. The savings will be roughly $150, and you know that our gas tank will be swallowing that up. Grandma and Grandpa’s country home in Minnesota will be much more suitable…so we’re planning to make the entire trip.

Another cost-saving maneuver was retiring our old reliable bus. A family came by to look at the bus yesterday, and they are mostly likely going to buy it (I can see it in their eyes!). I was tempted to make this trip with the bus, but the gas mileage would be more than twice the mileage as our van with trailer. Oh well, we as a family need to make decisions based on what God gives us at the time. The bus has served us well, but now we’re onto different adventures.

There are three public events that we’ve scheduled in our trip. Here they are, and we hope to see you there!

1. Thursday, 5/22/08 Elk River, MN 3:00-7:00 details
2. Thursday, 6/5/08 Springfield, IL 6:30-8:30 details
3. Mon-Fri, 6/9/08-6/13/08 Birmingham, AL NCFCA Nationals details

The Jeub Family — Cheaper by the Baker’s Dozen

Parents to 14 children Chris & Wendy Jeub are convinced that the downturn in the economy should NOT limit the calling God has for families. Their lives are living proof as they claim to “live like kings” while maintaining a frugal budget. The Jeub grocery budget is under $700/month (feeding 12 children at home, mind you!), they homeschool on a single income, and they live in a modest mountain home. Their secrets are available to families of all sizes!

For homeschool families, come to watch Lydia Jeub (age 13) perform her nationally qualified expository speech on amateur movie making. You may or may not know, but the only nationally recognized homeschool extracurricular activity is speech and debate, and the Jeubs are on their way to compete at the National Tournament in Birmingham, Alabama. Chris has written extensively on this most exciting activity and the entire Jeub family have been involved since HSLDA started the league 11 years ago. The Jeubs are open to questions after Lydia delivers her Expos.

Chris and Wendy were featured on Discovery Channel’s “Kids by the Dozen” series in 2007. The family of 16 live in Monument, Colorado, where Wendy homeschools and Chris runs an academic nonprofit ministry. The Jeubs wrote Love in the House: Filling your home with the greatest commandment in response to the numerous questions about their lifestyle, and Wendy has just recently come out with a cookbook on affordable meals for growing families. Chris and Wendy are traveling through the Midwest on their way to the national homeschool speech tournament in Birmingham and have stopped to share with us.

West Side Christian Church, 2850 Cider Mill Ln, Springfield, IL. (Google map)
Thursday, June 5, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
This event is FREE
West Side Christian Church is conveniently located just off IL Route 4 (S. Veterans Parkway) in Springfield, IL.

It’s easy to find and there’s plenty of parking. The presentation will be in the Centennial Room. (Enter from the south entrance and you’ll find it easily).

This Jeub Trip will be an adventure. Fourteen Jeubs will travel in their 15-passenger van w/ trailer all over the Midwest. I created a Google Map that pinpoints the highlights of our trip (click the “more” link below). There are several things we want to accomplish on our trip that will be of interest to you. Here they are…

1. Affording such a trip. We received a downer of a post yesterday: “Gas is $4.09 and climbing…..we’re in a recession heading for a depression…I don’t think too many will be heading out for a vacation anytime soon! (no matter how many children they may or may not have).” Cheer up, nolaffing, and read my posts that will directly refute this negative attitude. There is nothing that should get in the way of the exciting adventures in life that God has in store for you!

2. Friends and Family. When you think of “vacation,” what comes in mind? I suppose most people think of tourist traps and site seeing. We will be spending 80% of our trip with friends and family. Truth be known, this whole trip started out with an invitation to a Heppner wedding…and it morphed into a month-long adventure!

3. Education & Business. There are a couple of things that we are certain to accomplish on this trip. We will spend a couple days in southern Illinois visiting the landmarks of Abraham Lincoln. We already have a stack of books from the library that we are studying now as a family. This is also a business trip and there will be days specifically assigned to ME getting work done. No, it is not 4 weeks off of work. Thanks to the Internet, this is very possible.

4. NCFCA Nationals. Hurray for Lydia! She will be competing at the NCFCA National Tournament. If any homeschoolers out there would like to visit a phenomenal group of the most impressive young people in the nation, go to Birmingham!

Click through below to view the map (and we will be adding pictures as the trip unfolds)…

Read the rest of this entry »

The Jeubs will be in Elk River for a special book signing and seminar on Thursday, May 22. The event will take place at Heppner’s Legacy Homeschool Resources from 3:00 to 7:00 (see map below). If you are in the Twin Cities area or are comfortable traveling, this event will be well worth it. Here’s the schedule:

3:00: Nationally Qualified Expository Speech by Lydia Jeub. “Amateur Movie Making” won a slot to Nationals by 13-year-old Lydia Jeub, and she’s here LIVE to give it to an audience. Chris Jeub will also give a quick rundown of how academic speech and debate can fit nicely into your homeschool goals.

4:00: Cheaper by the Baker’s Dozen. Chris and Wendy spend under $700 per month on groceries, and they have 14 people to feed! They claim it can be done, and they will share some money-saving secrets for you and your family!

5:00: Love in the House. Prodigal children surface in the most unlikely homes, and homeschoolers aren’t immune. Chris and Wendy briefly share their story, one with lessons learned and a lovely ending.

Brad and Nancy Bjorkman are owners of Heppner’s Legacy Homeschool Resources and travel to homeschool conferences with the Heppners to help families establish a solid homeschool foundation. Thank you, Bjorkmans, for putting this event on! Door prizes will be given away on the hour, so hope to see you there!

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