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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In our book Love in the House, we comment on one of the biggest fears people have when considering the blessing of children: TRAVEL. Those couples who choose to restrict children from their lives very typically site travel as a main reason to NOT have children. When they think of our family, they cannot imagine what it would be like to travel for, say, 4000 miles across the midwest with 12 kids. Can you?

To us, it sounds like a blast…and that’s why we’re doing it!

We were planning a simple vacation up to Minnesota. A Larson family reunion (Wendy’s side) and the marriage of Josiah Heppner (son of the Heppners, another “Kids by the Dozen” family) made a two-week vacation to the upper Midwest a reality. Since our extended family is primarily from there, we have somewhat of a system down in our travels. The kids enjoy the 14 hours of driving (no kidding) and we have the rest areas and gas stations all mapped out.

When we found out Lydia qualified to nationals (see Big News for Lydia), we contemplated finishing our MN trip early and flying her out alone to the tournament. But then Wendy and I paused for a moment. We remembered our long trips out to Virginia in ‘99 and San Diego in 2000. These trips, too, were for nationals when Alicia (now 24) qualified, and the memories they built were irreplaceable. So, why were we being hesitant to travel to Birmingham in June? Yes, heat is a factor, but the kids would love the adventure.

So, our two-week trip has turned into a four-week trip, and we’re busy making the countless amount of arrangements to shore up our plans. We will travel to Elk River, Minnesota for a book signing (more on that in a later post) first, then to my folks’ in Royalton where the reunion will be. We’ll travel further north to my sister Kate’s resort for some fishin’ and campfires, then up to Warroad, MN (borders Canada!) for Josiah’s wedding. We’ll hang some more in Minnesota before making the 1,400 mile haul down to Birmingham, AL for NCFCA Nationals. Training Minds Ministry will have a booth there, too, making the traveling somewhat of a business trip.

We are all so PUMPED about this trip! Right now we are cleaning, finding arrangements for our animals, making phone calls, etc., etc., etc. Already we’re thinking, why would we hesitate traveling thousands of miles with a van of 12 children? The kids will never forget this opportunity. We will keep you posted as events unroll, and perhaps we’ll see you along the way!

On the way into the office this morning, I heard a news broadcast complain about the record broken today in oil ($126 a barrel, the highest ever). My ears perked up but was let down when this reporter said, “One of the causes is supply and demand.”

One cause? What other cause is there that makes oil go up in price?

There are some economically-ignorant people out there–some in high political places–who spend a lot of time and energy (no pun intended) trying to point to other reasons other than supply and demand that raises the price of oil. Hillary Clinton recently lashed out at OPEC cartel for fixing prices, and her opponent Barack Obama chose to lash out at oil companies. The reasoning is simple in their minds: surely gas prices would come down if those oil companies would let go of some of their record profits. Try telling that to their shareholders. Read the rest of this entry »

Lydia put together a video of PE PLUS Field Day. Special about this year is the introduction. Dave Kemp, friend and phy ed teacher of hundreds of kids in his PE PLUS program, has been doing this for over 20 years. His mom, Pat “the clown,” recently came down with cancer. In fact, on Field Day, she was going in for her second chemo treatment, but took the time to thank everyone for their prayers. She’s full of life and has a huge heart (as you can see from her clown outfit). We’re still praying for Pat the Clown!

We gathered on the back porch for a picture. We tried to line up everyone from the Kids by the Dozen episode photo. Here it is…Happy Mother’s Day, Wendy!

Lydia spent the last school year pouring herself into her expository speech on amateur movie making. (See more about it plus a video here.) We were all very disappointed last week when we found out that she was ONE SLOT AWAY from qualifying to the NCFCA National Tournament in Birmingham in June. A few tears and anguish were vented as she put away her props and called it a year. Her attitude was great (better than her dad’s who lobbied the league for numbers) admitting that she had a fabulous year for which she was very proud.

My cell phone was dead all day in the office (left the power cord at home), so I didn’t listen to messages till in my driveway at home with my car charger. A message from friend and regional coordinator for our geographical region, sang into my ear:

You may have already heard, but one of the qualifiers to Nationals declined his invitation in expos. I would like to extend the invitation to Lydia as the next in line to Nationals!

I’m surprised the kids didn’t hear me scream in the car. I took the phone in the house and put it on speaker phone for the entire clan of Jeubs to listen to the announcement. We all jumped for joy that Lydia is going to Nationals!!!

Now we have to turn our plans on its head and get Lydia to Birmingham in five weeks. What great news! Congratulations Lydia Jeub!

The Duggars made it on the cover of Fox News Online today: “Happy Mother’s Day: Woman pregnant with 18th child.” Congratulations, Duggars!

Read article here

and here’s a cute announcement.

I’ve received tremendous feedback from folks who are cookin’ away with my recipes. This page is devoted to posting these comments, and use the comments section at the bottom of the page to leave your own. Thank you! -Wendy

-Jane Buss, United Kingdom

-Angela G.

-Lisa P., Minnesota

Amy W., South Carolina

Jen T., Tennesee

I just wanted to say thanks you for the cookery book. I’m from England so have had to Google a few ingredients for alternatives, but last night I made a list of recipes to try and there must have been at least 20 on my list. I am mum to 5 kids, although 2 have now left home and my others are young adults/teenagers with big appetites. When we all get together plus friends there are often 9 or 10 of us. With prices rising so fast on this side of the pond (I expect its the same where you are)I am having to make even more use of what I can get hold of, and the recipes in your book will help add variety to my menus. With love to you, Chris and all your lovely children.

Helen G., England

We’re doing a one-day blowout sale of a mountain of items tomorrow. (See growing list here.) All proceeds are going to Training Minds Ministry, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that hosts the largest debate camps in the nation.

I have Lydia and Isaiah setting out the clothes, and some friends are coming into the office to help price the mound of stuff. The entire AWANA room at Monument Hill Church (where TMM’s office is located) is packed full of items. Much of the stuff is incredibly nice, really good donations from friends in the area.

If you’re able to come by, please do! Bring the whole family. We’re serving hotdogs and chips for lunch (small charge). Mention you found out about the sale on our website and we’ll give you FREE POPCORN.

Visit TMM’s website here to find out about this sale and particulars about the ministry. It is quite exciting stuff. God bless!

Training Minds Ministry will be having a HUGE garage sale on Saturday, May 3. The entire Jeub family is tasked with setting things up and selling a truck load of stuff. All proceeds will go to Training Minds Ministry. Several families have donated some great items that will be sold off throughout the day.

And the Jeub family is making a considerable donation: THE JEUB BUS. Yes, we are hanging up our bus adventures, and we’re donating it to the ministry to sell for a sticker price of $4000. The bus is in solid shape, but our family has not driven it for over a year. We are reverting back to tent camping, and a bus conversion just isn’t in our future plans as a family. However, we LOVE our bus and want to pass it onto another family. The bus will be parked in the lot ready to tour.

Training Minds Ministry is able to provide debate camps for home schoolers from all over the country at a most reasonable rate. In fact, our camps this year are the most inexpensive, particularly with the fundraising efforts of things like this garage sale. Your donations to the sale are tax deductible, too. Hope to see you there on Saturday!

When we spoke in Minnesota, one mom asked how we afford extracurricular activities (the question is at the end of our Cheaper by the Baker’s Dozen CD ROM). We choose one “activity night” for the entire family, most years being AWANA on Wednesday nights. With such a large family, we aren’t able to cart the kids around to individual activities all over town all at different times.

However, when a child shows considerable talent in a particular area, we are drawn to give that child the special attention needed to develop that talent. In fact, we rushed home from Minnesota to get Noah into a special gymnastics program offered by our phy ed teacher (Dave Kemp of PE+). It was a 4-day class of 2 hours each, consisting of students of all talents and years of experience.

Noah has never taken gymnastics, but in these four short days developed a routine that was a head above the rest. He truly has a natural talent. Check out the Google video below. He makes every move look so incredibly natural, and remember, he had only four days of training…

“Train up a child in the way he should go” - Proverbs 22:6a

As Wendy and I prepare for another presentation of “Cheaper by the Baker’s Dozen,” we are tempted to rename the presentation “Hurry Up and Stock Up the Pantry.” News item after news item is validating what we have been saying ever since oil began its rapid increase of prices. Add the minimum wage increase, growing demand in Asia, and government environmental policies for biofuels, you’ve got a recipe for expensive food!

The Wall Street Journal came out with an incredibly persuasive article on stocking up the pantry. Columnist Brett Arends lists the reasons with logical analysis in his article “Load up the pantry“:

• Food is a global economy, so economic food prices in Asia does effect us in America.
• Inflation in 2007: Flour up 13%; dairy up 10%; eggs up 30%; poultry up 5.4%. Compare that to the average money market fund (2.5%).
• Food companies are no longer absorbing costs for raw materials (e.g. wheat has tripled in three years).
• There aren’t “starving children in China” anymore, as a rising middle class is demanding more food (same in India).

Now, I just want to note that I was NOT one of those alarmists freaking out about Y2K. Back then I thought the claims of food shortages and riots were greatly inflated. You remember, computers would all collapse and ships would stop shipping food and chaos would consume. I remember thinking, “If that happens, I’m going hunting,” and I let others stock up on food and candle wax.

Also note, however, that the Y2K fears were not based on economics: they were based on technological opinions that no one fully understood. As I claim in Cheaper by the Baker’s Dozen, “Economics is as sure as gravity.” You can always count on it to work out, for the better or for the worse.

What should you do? Our third Principle of Frugal Living listed in the presentation states, “Frugal living requires creative solutions to economic realities.” Notice we didn’t say “economic problems” or “catastrophes.” There is really no such thing. Economics is amoral and simply a “reality” that we must deal with. The ideas Wendy and I come up with are simply ways we have dealt with the reality for 17 years of our marriage raising 14 kids.

Wendy’s Love in the Kitchen cookbook has a section in it called “Stock your shelves.” No kidding: nearly the exact same title as today’s Wall Street Journal article. She explains how she frugally keeps a tight reign on our family budget and how you can too. It isn’t computer engineering; much of it is simply understanding the family economic unit. Really, the advice she gives is worth much more than the price of the cookbook.

Could you do us a favor? Cut-and-paste the content of this post and send it to your friends. We’re onto something here, and you can help. Spread the word, for I believe our cookbook and CD ROM are rightly timed to serve a growing need out there. Thanks!

Wendy and I were shocked to hear that Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club has put a restriction on the number of bags of rice customers can buy (see “Wal-Mart limits rice purchases“). I used to work for Sam’s Club (many moons ago) and they are very capitalistic in their strategies, so for them to place a restriction on demand is unprecedented.

We were even more surprised because of how apparently prophetic the news was! In our presentation last Friday at the Minnesota Association of Christian Home Educators conference in Duluth we specifically said that we bought 100 pounds of rice from Sam’s Club. “And you should too,” Wendy said. It was when we were explaining the spike in food prices worldwide. (You can order the CD ROM here.)

Wendy and I are giving the same “Cheaper by the Baker’s Dozen” presentation tomorrow in Colorado Springs. It is supposed to be an encouragement to home schoolers to keep on home schooling. We believe that no matter how bad the economy gets, God will still provide to keep families doing what God is calling them to do. That’s the purpose of our frugal resources like our CD ROM and Wendy’s cookbook.

It has been one year since we released Love in the House: Filling Your Home With the Greatest Commandment. We have gotten a ton of feedback from readers all over the world. We pulled the testimonies together in one long post. If you’ve read the book yourself, please take a moment to post your thoughts. If you haven’t read it, please order it today!

- Jessica F. (Minnesota)

- W. Cukierski (New York)

It was standing-room only when approximately 500 moms and dads gathered in a ballroom in Duluth, Minnesota to hear Wendy and I debut our “Cheaper by the Baker’s Dozen” presentation. The principles of frugal living left many taking diligent notes. The presentation went great! We met many folks who have bought our book and many who we have emailed with over the years. Several old friends from high school and college came up to chat at our booth.

We have one more day of the MACHE conference. We may sell out of Wendy’s cookbook today (we have less than 100 left). We figured over 90% of those who thumbed through it at our table bought it. This is not your ordinary cookbook! Some comments:

• The recipes have ingredients that I actually use!
• The opening chapters are encouraging to me!
• I’m told how to save money when I shop/prepare for the meals!
• These are actually the recipes that the Jeubs eat!
• These recipes aren’t just for big families, they will fit my family too!

We’ll be shipping the piling orders off on Tuesday, so get your order in here. Remember, it comes with a free presentation of “Cheaper by the Dozen” ($12.95 value), but only while supplies last.

We’ll be leaving early, early, early on Tuesday morning to head off to Minnesota. We’re bringing only 10 kids along. Cynthia and Lydia qualified to the NCFCA Regional Tournament in Seattle and will be heading out there to compete in speech and debate. We’re very proud of the both of them; they have put in a ton of hard work. As for the rest of us, we’re going to Minnesota so that Wendy and I can speak at the Minnesota Association of Christian Home Educators. Whew! What a busy time!

Tomorrow (Monday), Lydia and I will be coming into the office to send out the stacked up orders of our newest products. We are so incredibly excited at the quality of these new resources for families. If you haven’t already ordered these, get your order in by noon tomorrow and we’ll make sure they get out the door before we leave. Here’s a rundown of the products:

• Love in the Kitchen – Wendy’s long-awaited cookbook…it is awesome!
• Love in the House Study Guide — A great accompaniment to our book!
• Cheaper by the Dozen – Presentation CD ROM giving strategies to frugal living…it CAN be done!
• Arrows in His Hand — Now in its second printing, this children’s book is perfect for families
• Jeub’s Guide to Speech & Debate — A great resource for homeschoolers…here for 1/2 off!

We hope these resources will bless your family abundantly! Though we will be on the road for the next week, email us with any questions concerning these products. Please pray for for us: safe travels and mountain-top experiences in the Midwest!

Wendy is working late nights at the office (which is usually my job) putting the finishing touches on her first cookbook, Love in the Kitchen. I was making final edits to it last night and wanted to post the introduction on our blog. First, here’s a synopsis…

One of Wendy’s most popular questions is what she cooks for a family of 16. While most people are terrified at the thought of what the Jeub Family Kitchen looks like, it really isn’t all that bad. In fact, Wendy is loved by her family and friends for making some of the best food imaginable. The children and I love her cooking! What is most intriguing about her cookbook is this: Wendy shows how to make feeding many mouths incredibly affordable. Despite the downturn in the economy, her grocery bill still is between $500 and $700 per month!

Interested? The cookbook will be fresh off the Monument Publishing presses on Monday April 14 and you can order your copy in our new Resource Center. From now through Mother’s Day, we’re throwing in a second cookbook for HALF OFF! Now you can buy one for mom and grandma. Click here for information. Click through the following link for the Introduction… Read the rest of this entry »

Isaiah, my oldest son, turned 12 yesterday. I plopped my Macbook on the dinner table and took a video of his blowing out candles (see below). It is so neat to see so many faces giving him their love in the house. Watch how Hannah gives Isaiah big hugs, how Keilah cheeses for the camera, and how Joshua is fascinated with the computer. All so much fun in the family.

Isaiah’s big birthday present was successfully completing Colorado Hunter’s Education Course! Friday night and all day Saturday was spent down in Colorado Springs working through the material. Isaiah studied hard the month before and was very nervous at his first “non-homeschool” exam. There was a lot on the line: limited elk draw is due April 1, and if he failed the test, he would not be able to carry a gun his first year hunting. Isaiah sweated it out and, with excellent teaching from his hunter’s safety instructor, pulled through. Lots of smiles in the Jeub home last night!

Well, the first kid is up this Easter morning as I type out this post. Easter eggs pepper the living room and each has a bowl of candy hidden for them to find. May God bless your day reflecting on the greatest gift to mankind: Jesus the Christ. He displayed ultimate love by voluntarily submitting to the scorn of men, all for our sake. Jesus has made more of an impact on the Jeub household than any person. He is alive and well, and He is the reason for the smiles in the house. God is love, and may you experience His love on this “Son Day”!

Okay, brag time here. My sister Becky received a high honor last month. She has served as school counselor at St. Johns High School in Arizona since 2002. To her surprise (but not to those who know her) she received the Arizona Outstanding Adviser of the Year Award.

Becky is a most incredible woman who pours her life into those around her. She has taught Wendy and I an incredible amount about love in the home. We couldn’t be more proud of her.

Congratulations Becky! Read about the award at her home town’s paper here.

We kid you not. A recent decision by a judge in a controversial juvenile court published a decision a week ago that states:

“It is clear to us that enrollment and attendance in a public full-time day school is required by California law for minor children unless (1) the child is enrolled in a private full-time day school and actually attends that private school, (2) the child is tutored by a person holding a valid state teaching credential for the grad being taught, or (3) one of the few statutory exemptions to compulsory public school attendance applies to the child.”

So, essentially, thousands of homeschool parents in the state of California are in violation of the law. The Home School Legal Defense Association plans to appeal this to the California Supreme Court. It amazes me how, when it comes to educating children, folks like this judge rely on government’s flawed system over that of families. The Jeubs will be keeping HSLDA in our prayers as they fight this ignorant decision.

To read up on this, visit the Christian Examiner here or a San Diego paper here. A petition is also being taken by HSLDA that they will use as leverage in their arguments (click here to sign the HSLDA petition).