I sat down and created yet another grocery budget after having done a shop this past week and, though I've done a very similar one before, this time, I'm "debt-termined"......to actually fill it in! My headings were obvious, I guess - food item, brand, quantity, amount spent, typical amount spent (if it weren't on sale), then the next cell had a formula which calculated the amount saved (cool, I thought). I had my daughter enter in every single thing purchased (and it was a fairly big shop, so it took some time), but she was excited to be a part of it all.
I am very curious how this will all play out in 2015 - I'm very curious to see how many apples do we eat??? How much milk do we go through??? Even if nothing changes in particular regarding spending, then at least we'll know where our money is actually going.
We made a big decision this past week that is motivating us to watch every dollar as well. We have decided to actually get away this September as a family.
Knowing we had made a resolve to kill debt has always made going away an impossibility, but when we read Barry Cameron's book on debt he actually had a section on vacations. Just do them debt-free.
He had committed to taking his wife and family away every Christmas to see her folks across the country. It always cost them a fortune as they had to fly. He then said it took him all year to pay it off. One year, when they were in the middle of getting out of debt, he said, "Enough is enough. We aren't doing this anymore." But he didn't mean no more vacations. He meant, "No more going into debt to go away." They decided they would still try to go, but they had to pay cash, so in January, they somehow set up a little fund that they all worked towards to pay for the vacation and somehow, no doubt by God's grace, they have managed to go away every year to see her family....debt-free, paid in full, with cash, even with extra money for gifts, etc. That was an interesting thought!
Back to our oldest and the anniversary.....We don't know how many more years she'll be under our roof, but we know it can't be many more. The new year always brings our oldest daughter's birthday right away on the 10th. She'll be 17. She was only 15 when we started the hard core debt-reduction, seems impossible that time is flying that fast! It was easy to say "no vacations" when she was just a young teen, but now she's an older teen.....it seems like her leaving the nest could be just around the corner. I don't want to have regrets. As for us, we usually get away at least one night (though I've always longed for more) on our anniversary. It's always been a financial sacrifice, but we've happily done it in the name of our marriage and it's been so worthwhile. Twenty is a big one. We both wanted to celebrate that and especially with our children as they are the product of our marriage! Ah....the quandary....don't you see it? Kill debt and go away? How could we keep up our debt-reduction plan and go away at the same time. We wondered if there was a way to do it and pay for a getaway. One idea was to consider getting "part-time" work on the side, above and beyond what we were already doing and strictly apply that to the get-away. Yes, it would mean more hours of work, but we are fine with that as my husband is always on site and we see one another all the time. It occurred to us we actually had a source of "part-time" work that we haven't done for awhile. My husband has work he can do on the side, writing courses. He doesn't love that type of work - he loves engineering stuff, but it pays ok and isn't delivering pizzas! If he does a course or two, the vacation will be paid for. It won't impact the debt-reduction plan, in fact it could help the debt-reduction plan! We figured with that kind of extra work, all of us saving every penny, doing all the extra things we talked about in the summer and booking it far enough in advance that we can actually save for it.....we took the plunge and booked it.....
A day later, once it was booked, we told the kids.....they were over the moon! Even though it is so far away, the holiday feels like it has started for them. I thought it would be torture to have it booked so far in advance, but in a way, it has made it more exciting! They wake up each day wondering what they'll do when we get there!
We are going to one of the neatest places - the Outer Banks in North Carolina. It is a strip of land on the east coast. We rented a house that will fit the whole family. It's ideal in that it isn't that far to travel. We won't have to fly. We won't have to worry about meals. It's not as cheap as camping, of course, but it is manageable. We plan on turning it into a "visiting" trip as well as we have many friends in North Carolina as well, so that'll be fun for me as I love seeing friends I haven't seen in awhile.
There is an excitement in our home. Research is already being done on all the cool places to go. Actual kilometers from place to place are being figured out. It is fun. We are already so glad we've made the decision. The kids are sad that the trip will end at one point! I've had fun being in contact with people already asking them to consider staying at our home for a week or two as we'll need to arrange that far in advance to get all the animals taken care of. We usually try to ask city people to give them a chance out on the farm. Hopefully it'll be a blessing to them as well.
On a slightly different note, our pastor spoke on Sunday night from Ephesians 1, the last few verses of the chapter and spoke on prayer. One of the phrases Paul prays for the Ephesians is that they will have wisdom and revelation. I certainly am praying that for ourselves as well. We need wisdom in every area of our life. I love the term "revelation". I came home and shared what I'd heard at church with those who had been left behind sick at home and we had an awesome family worship time speaking about areas of our life where we need this revelation from the Lord. Such as, dealing with our children, their behaviour, their future's, their education, their spouses, how to spend their time.....for us, how to continue to create income that will kill the debt as fast as possible. So many areas in our life need revelation from the Lord. Then we prayed, asking for these exact things - wisdom and revelation.
I also have been reading another book that talked about Joseph and how he found favour with God. At the same time, in Genesis, I've been reading about Abraham and how he dared to approach God to save the righteous, if there were any, in Sodom and Gomorrah. Before he asked God, it says he just stood there. The next verse says, "Then he drew near to God...." It's as if he had to think through, "Do I dare approach God with this matter?" Then he dared. He didn't dare just once, but multiple times. I asked the kids, "Do you think he was asking for something righteous?" We all agreed that he was. I said, "I'm daring to approach God this year, too." I am no Abraham and I hesitate to even write my bold requests. Can I just be super honest and share what I'm daring to ask? I'm daring to ask to be debt-free this year. I'm daring to ask that we could go away having paid cash before we leave. I know these are very selfish sounding requests. Am I allowed to ask for favour with God? All I know is God grants favour, it isn't something I can get on my own. I shared my bold requests with someone and they said, "Francis Chan says we should ask that God would bless us so that we could give it all away." Of course! One step at a time!
We may appear like a walking contradiction this year - trying to get out of debt yet going on vacation....Hmmmm...figure that one out. I guess that is the real-life part of the blog, documenting everything, being super honest, perhaps making decisions others think aren't wise, being quietly criticized (or openly, like my friend!), writing down our crazy requests, perhaps not seeing them answered as we hoped, or perhaps truly seeing God's favour in our life.....we don't know what the end of the story is going to be. I'm not going to fake it and try to sound all spiritual. The truth is, we really do want to get away together and seriously haven't done a vacation in over ten years. My job is to write it all down, for my kids, for my grandkids, for myself, for my own faith walk. God is the ultimate author of our story this year. I'm one of the characters, perhaps one full of faults, to whom He'll still hopefully be gracious.
Wednesday, 7 January 2015
Wednesday, 31 December 2014
Hunting Stories, Unexpected Blessings and 2015
Last day of 2014. A great year for sure. Only a few hours left!
These last few days I've been able to finish a couple books I hoped to get through over the holidays. I finished the book Reckless Abandon by David Sitton and then a book given to us by my parents written by a doctor we knew personally when my parents lived in Zambia, Dr. Foulkes, called Hunting Stories. That was a fantastic read.
Dr. Foulkes lived and worked in Zambia for 38 years. Not only was he the doctor for the hospital, but he supplied all the meat for the hospital as well which required hunting every so often for big game. My dad was honoured to be in one of the chapters as he was also a hunter when he lived there. My poor sister can't get through the book as there are tales of animals getting hurt, but alas, it was not written for the faint of heart/animal lovers like herself! Sorry sis!
My boys and I couldn't put it down. I was born in Zambia while my parents were there on a short-term mission trip. They tithed 10% of their lives when they were 30 and that worked out to 3 years! I went back in my early twenties. I wanted to see this place my parents had talked about for so long. I wanted to see where I was born.
It was amazing. One of my first steps onto Zambian soil was in the dark. All I could see were stars, so close I thought I could reach out and touch them. I remember saying, "So that's what parents meant......" They used to talk about the African sky like it was a different kind of sky. I never knew what they meant until I saw it myself. It is something to behold. Bright lights, so bright that you would think they weren't real stars, but just flashlights at your fingertips. It was incredible.
I remember driving down the road in the back seat of a huge "lorry" or truck. I was cramped and could barely move. I was so sure I would see a lion jump out at every corner. We did see a rabbit or some small animal jump in front of the truck. They immediately stopped the truck, sure they had hit it. I'm thinking, "Let's keep going! I'm a little cramped for space here!" But to them, it was a meal they weren't going to miss...mmmmm....roadkill....not my first choice for dinner!
The rest of the summer I spent teaching at the girls secondary school, teaching English Literature and Home Ec. I got to meet so many wonderful Zambian girls. The missionaries were wonderful, too. Many of them were mentioned in Dr. Foulkes' book. I loved that I could still picture them all and remember different things about each one.
I had already read his autobiography a few years back. He didn't restate a lot of the details of his family life in his hunting stories, but I knew this man lived with "reckless abandon". He lost a wife and two children in Africa. Many missionaries did. David Sitton reminded me of that in his book, too, when he spoke of John Paton (our youngest son is named after him). He lost a wife and 5 children overseas. What a cost. Too much to imagine really.
Dr. Foulkes is still alive and living in the U.S., taking the time to write his memories on paper while he can. I'm so glad he did. I'm so glad I knew him and met him. I'm so glad he and my dad didn't get killed in their incredible hunting adventures! I'm not sure I would be here today! Knowing Dr. Foulkes was, again, like meeting Jim Elliot and Nate Saint, in person. I think the reason I love reading these stories is because they inspire me to live with the same reckless abandonment that they did. I'm still not sure I would be willing to lose my husband or any of my children. One of the missionaries we knew lost their son, a 16 year old boy, to a croc, in front of his dad. I can't even imagine losing my 16 year to anything, let alone a crocodile!
Reading his stories made my son want to go to Africa. I, uh, kind of discouraged it! But, if he is supposed to go, I must let him. I have to do what all the missionaries did - lay my children in God's hands as they really belong to Him anyway.
Our year ended with more unexpected blessing. I reflect on when we gave a few weeks ago, not really feeling like we could give, how God has taken that and returned it to us a least five-fold. We got unexpected gift after gift. We certainly never gave thinking that would happen, but we did try to seriously take God at His Word. Boy, has He ever proved faithful, more than we ever expected. From cheques in the mail, to unexpected orders for my husband, to more unexpected cheques, to unusual hay orders on the last day of the year at fantastic rates.....the list goes on and on.....God is good, so good.
Tonight we'll have a special time of reflecting. We always look back over the year. We look at each month. We talk about milestones for each child. We remember, we thank God, we pray. Then we look ahead. We'll write down goals, dreams, crazy hopes. Then we'll eat or play or talk some more or put some little people to bed! Then....as much as I want to go to bed, we'll stay up.....my older kids love staying up right until midnight...awful. But friends will come over at 9 and make sure that happens....what was I thinking? I've created party animals.
Happy New Year! I'm looking forward to seeing how God continues to work......
These last few days I've been able to finish a couple books I hoped to get through over the holidays. I finished the book Reckless Abandon by David Sitton and then a book given to us by my parents written by a doctor we knew personally when my parents lived in Zambia, Dr. Foulkes, called Hunting Stories. That was a fantastic read.
Dr. Foulkes lived and worked in Zambia for 38 years. Not only was he the doctor for the hospital, but he supplied all the meat for the hospital as well which required hunting every so often for big game. My dad was honoured to be in one of the chapters as he was also a hunter when he lived there. My poor sister can't get through the book as there are tales of animals getting hurt, but alas, it was not written for the faint of heart/animal lovers like herself! Sorry sis!
My boys and I couldn't put it down. I was born in Zambia while my parents were there on a short-term mission trip. They tithed 10% of their lives when they were 30 and that worked out to 3 years! I went back in my early twenties. I wanted to see this place my parents had talked about for so long. I wanted to see where I was born.
It was amazing. One of my first steps onto Zambian soil was in the dark. All I could see were stars, so close I thought I could reach out and touch them. I remember saying, "So that's what parents meant......" They used to talk about the African sky like it was a different kind of sky. I never knew what they meant until I saw it myself. It is something to behold. Bright lights, so bright that you would think they weren't real stars, but just flashlights at your fingertips. It was incredible.
I remember driving down the road in the back seat of a huge "lorry" or truck. I was cramped and could barely move. I was so sure I would see a lion jump out at every corner. We did see a rabbit or some small animal jump in front of the truck. They immediately stopped the truck, sure they had hit it. I'm thinking, "Let's keep going! I'm a little cramped for space here!" But to them, it was a meal they weren't going to miss...mmmmm....roadkill....not my first choice for dinner!
The rest of the summer I spent teaching at the girls secondary school, teaching English Literature and Home Ec. I got to meet so many wonderful Zambian girls. The missionaries were wonderful, too. Many of them were mentioned in Dr. Foulkes' book. I loved that I could still picture them all and remember different things about each one.
I had already read his autobiography a few years back. He didn't restate a lot of the details of his family life in his hunting stories, but I knew this man lived with "reckless abandon". He lost a wife and two children in Africa. Many missionaries did. David Sitton reminded me of that in his book, too, when he spoke of John Paton (our youngest son is named after him). He lost a wife and 5 children overseas. What a cost. Too much to imagine really.
Dr. Foulkes is still alive and living in the U.S., taking the time to write his memories on paper while he can. I'm so glad he did. I'm so glad I knew him and met him. I'm so glad he and my dad didn't get killed in their incredible hunting adventures! I'm not sure I would be here today! Knowing Dr. Foulkes was, again, like meeting Jim Elliot and Nate Saint, in person. I think the reason I love reading these stories is because they inspire me to live with the same reckless abandonment that they did. I'm still not sure I would be willing to lose my husband or any of my children. One of the missionaries we knew lost their son, a 16 year old boy, to a croc, in front of his dad. I can't even imagine losing my 16 year to anything, let alone a crocodile!
Reading his stories made my son want to go to Africa. I, uh, kind of discouraged it! But, if he is supposed to go, I must let him. I have to do what all the missionaries did - lay my children in God's hands as they really belong to Him anyway.
Our year ended with more unexpected blessing. I reflect on when we gave a few weeks ago, not really feeling like we could give, how God has taken that and returned it to us a least five-fold. We got unexpected gift after gift. We certainly never gave thinking that would happen, but we did try to seriously take God at His Word. Boy, has He ever proved faithful, more than we ever expected. From cheques in the mail, to unexpected orders for my husband, to more unexpected cheques, to unusual hay orders on the last day of the year at fantastic rates.....the list goes on and on.....God is good, so good.
Tonight we'll have a special time of reflecting. We always look back over the year. We look at each month. We talk about milestones for each child. We remember, we thank God, we pray. Then we look ahead. We'll write down goals, dreams, crazy hopes. Then we'll eat or play or talk some more or put some little people to bed! Then....as much as I want to go to bed, we'll stay up.....my older kids love staying up right until midnight...awful. But friends will come over at 9 and make sure that happens....what was I thinking? I've created party animals.
Happy New Year! I'm looking forward to seeing how God continues to work......
Sunday, 28 December 2014
A New Grocery Budget = Financial Gymastics
Be careful what you ask for. What did I ask for? A budget. A grocery budget, to be specific. We had always had one, but when I asked for a somewhat updated one, I regretted asking!
I was looking for the lazy man's budget, where you look at what you've spent in the past and then just either tried to stay at that same level or better it by a few dollars each month either through sales or flyers or just eating less expensively. My husband challenged me to do a real budget where I actually tracked what each meal cost, where I actually wrote down how many pounds of butter I used each month, etc. He wanted to know how many loaves of bread we went through, how many liters of milk, etc. I couldn't tell him exactly. I knew only generally. He wanted to know how it's possible to make a budget if you don't know those things. He and I discovered, sadly, I'm budget-illiterate.
I'm sure most moms out there know that stuff, but I really didn't. Actually I do know people who know those things, but they are my accounting friends. I remember seeing their spreadsheet one day. They knew how many dollars they spent on diapers each month, each year. I couldn't say for myself. I remember being in awe and thinking, "I should probably know that", but then I went home and didn't exactly follow through. My mind doesn't like to think about that. It meant entering every receipt and everything on that receipt, in order to track all the spending. Again, someone out there might shake their head...perhaps I'm the only one who doesn't do that.
I couldn't get my head around it for the longest time. My husband was in shock as he has to itemize all of his spending for every project he does. How else would he know what to order or how much he's made on each project, etc., etc.. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know, I know. But can't I just spend what I want to spend when I want to spend it? I thought as long as I was using the flyer/savings techniques I'd recently acquired, wasn't that good enough? Sure, he said, if you don't want to get out of debt and if you don't care where each dollar goes. I care, I care!
So, he called me out on the very thing I was asking for. I was asking for a budget. I was asking to do whatever it took to get out of debt. I was asking where every dollar went. He showed me what I needed to do in order to get all of those things done and guess what....I didn't want to do it. I was so overwhelmed by the task ahead of me. I simply didn't know where to start. He was in shock at my response! I kind of was, too!
The only way to describe it is I just haven't ever thought that way. He quickly showed me all his spreadsheets and how simple it was. I still couldn't picture it. All the receipts, all the entering of every item, all the formulas, unit pricing, dollar per meal....arrrrgggghh!!!!!!! Too much for my non-mathematical mind to handle. I felt like exploding groceretically!! New word. It means "too overwhelmed to figure out the grocery budget". My husband could see I was self-destructing and calmly said, "I'll do it for you, don't worry!" No, no, no. There was no way I was going to have him do it.
Here I was writing almost daily about debt, budgets, financial goals, etc., and here I was being challenged to do the very thing I was trying live out....I knew it was just another step I had to take in our debt challenge, but seriously, I think it's been one of the toughest challenges for me personally. I'll call it the debt-sanctification process. I tried to explain it to my mathematical husband who honestly couldn't figure out my problem. I said, "It's as if I don't know how to read. You tell me it's easy to learn, but when you don't know how to read, at first it seems like you'll never be able to learn. That's how I feel." The truth is I'm just lazy and I don't feel like doing all that's he's suggesting I do. I think once I start I will discover that it isn't that hard to track, especially if I use a spreadsheet system. It's just a matter of a new habit I need to create. When I go to the grocery store, I'll unpack the groceries and then I'll go upstairs and enter it all in. Seems simple enough, except that I have to do it for a whole year!
My grocery self-destruction moment only lasted for a few minutes. After I took a shower and picked up all the pieces of me off the floor, I was fine. RM was a little worried about me for a bit there! I assured him I could do it. I'll keep better track. I can't have him do it as then my girls will never learn. In fact, I might even have them help me with all the data entry as it'll be a great pattern for them to learn. I don't want them to be overwhelmed by budgets, by numbers. I want it to be as natural to them as breathing. It just isn't easy for me. That's perhaps why I relate so well to my son who struggles in math. He can write poetry! He's amazing with words. Get him to do some mental math and he almost self-destructs, too.
"In some ways it seems pointless. We should have been doing this a long time ago," I told my husband. But he reminded me, "Yes, we should have, but it's not too late." It some ways, it won't necessarily change our budget dramatically as we'll still need to eat, but in other ways, it'll be very helpful, very revealing of areas where we could make serious improvements. If I find out that we go through 6 jars of honey a year, then when I see a major sale on honey, I'll buy all 6 then and there knowing I've bought what we need for the whole year at a great savings. I'll also know, once we are through the 6 jars, then that's it. Anyway, I get how this is important. I'm going to do my best to be the best budget-conscious mom there is! I can only figure I need to be able to explain this to my kids, so it's always good to have to learn it first myself.
I did a quick tally on our meal last night. It was very interesting. I'm using estimates, but this is what we ate and what it cost:
Salmon Fettuccine:
$6 (I used 2 cans of salmon...way cheaper)
$1 bag of noodles
$1 fresh dill
garlic
butter
onion
parmesan cheese (those last four items are hard to itemize for one meal....that's where it'll be helpful to keep track, to see how much I actually go through in a year)
milk/cream in sauce
$2 lettuce
salad dressing
Total - $10 plus all the incidental ingredients. Not a super expensive meal. I got some of those ingredients from a while back when we got the grocery delivery/gift, so it didn't cost us too much at all.
That in itself was an interesting exercise. Our lunch meal was $23 because I splurged and got prime rib for Christmas Day. It was on a great sale, but still expensive. I got two roasts. We had the second one yesterday as leftovers - super expensive leftovers!
So, I can see why this is important to do. I will do it. I'll learn "to read". It's not too late to be a better budgeter. At this point in the debt-reduction game, I'm willing to do whatever it takes, even if it means making my mind get stretched in a new direction. That's what it's going to be for me - financial gymnastics! I have sore muscles just thinking about it!
I was looking for the lazy man's budget, where you look at what you've spent in the past and then just either tried to stay at that same level or better it by a few dollars each month either through sales or flyers or just eating less expensively. My husband challenged me to do a real budget where I actually tracked what each meal cost, where I actually wrote down how many pounds of butter I used each month, etc. He wanted to know how many loaves of bread we went through, how many liters of milk, etc. I couldn't tell him exactly. I knew only generally. He wanted to know how it's possible to make a budget if you don't know those things. He and I discovered, sadly, I'm budget-illiterate.
I'm sure most moms out there know that stuff, but I really didn't. Actually I do know people who know those things, but they are my accounting friends. I remember seeing their spreadsheet one day. They knew how many dollars they spent on diapers each month, each year. I couldn't say for myself. I remember being in awe and thinking, "I should probably know that", but then I went home and didn't exactly follow through. My mind doesn't like to think about that. It meant entering every receipt and everything on that receipt, in order to track all the spending. Again, someone out there might shake their head...perhaps I'm the only one who doesn't do that.
I couldn't get my head around it for the longest time. My husband was in shock as he has to itemize all of his spending for every project he does. How else would he know what to order or how much he's made on each project, etc., etc.. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know, I know. But can't I just spend what I want to spend when I want to spend it? I thought as long as I was using the flyer/savings techniques I'd recently acquired, wasn't that good enough? Sure, he said, if you don't want to get out of debt and if you don't care where each dollar goes. I care, I care!
So, he called me out on the very thing I was asking for. I was asking for a budget. I was asking to do whatever it took to get out of debt. I was asking where every dollar went. He showed me what I needed to do in order to get all of those things done and guess what....I didn't want to do it. I was so overwhelmed by the task ahead of me. I simply didn't know where to start. He was in shock at my response! I kind of was, too!
The only way to describe it is I just haven't ever thought that way. He quickly showed me all his spreadsheets and how simple it was. I still couldn't picture it. All the receipts, all the entering of every item, all the formulas, unit pricing, dollar per meal....arrrrgggghh!!!!!!! Too much for my non-mathematical mind to handle. I felt like exploding groceretically!! New word. It means "too overwhelmed to figure out the grocery budget". My husband could see I was self-destructing and calmly said, "I'll do it for you, don't worry!" No, no, no. There was no way I was going to have him do it.
Here I was writing almost daily about debt, budgets, financial goals, etc., and here I was being challenged to do the very thing I was trying live out....I knew it was just another step I had to take in our debt challenge, but seriously, I think it's been one of the toughest challenges for me personally. I'll call it the debt-sanctification process. I tried to explain it to my mathematical husband who honestly couldn't figure out my problem. I said, "It's as if I don't know how to read. You tell me it's easy to learn, but when you don't know how to read, at first it seems like you'll never be able to learn. That's how I feel." The truth is I'm just lazy and I don't feel like doing all that's he's suggesting I do. I think once I start I will discover that it isn't that hard to track, especially if I use a spreadsheet system. It's just a matter of a new habit I need to create. When I go to the grocery store, I'll unpack the groceries and then I'll go upstairs and enter it all in. Seems simple enough, except that I have to do it for a whole year!
My grocery self-destruction moment only lasted for a few minutes. After I took a shower and picked up all the pieces of me off the floor, I was fine. RM was a little worried about me for a bit there! I assured him I could do it. I'll keep better track. I can't have him do it as then my girls will never learn. In fact, I might even have them help me with all the data entry as it'll be a great pattern for them to learn. I don't want them to be overwhelmed by budgets, by numbers. I want it to be as natural to them as breathing. It just isn't easy for me. That's perhaps why I relate so well to my son who struggles in math. He can write poetry! He's amazing with words. Get him to do some mental math and he almost self-destructs, too.
"In some ways it seems pointless. We should have been doing this a long time ago," I told my husband. But he reminded me, "Yes, we should have, but it's not too late." It some ways, it won't necessarily change our budget dramatically as we'll still need to eat, but in other ways, it'll be very helpful, very revealing of areas where we could make serious improvements. If I find out that we go through 6 jars of honey a year, then when I see a major sale on honey, I'll buy all 6 then and there knowing I've bought what we need for the whole year at a great savings. I'll also know, once we are through the 6 jars, then that's it. Anyway, I get how this is important. I'm going to do my best to be the best budget-conscious mom there is! I can only figure I need to be able to explain this to my kids, so it's always good to have to learn it first myself.
I did a quick tally on our meal last night. It was very interesting. I'm using estimates, but this is what we ate and what it cost:
Salmon Fettuccine:
$6 (I used 2 cans of salmon...way cheaper)
$1 bag of noodles
$1 fresh dill
garlic
butter
onion
parmesan cheese (those last four items are hard to itemize for one meal....that's where it'll be helpful to keep track, to see how much I actually go through in a year)
milk/cream in sauce
$2 lettuce
salad dressing
Total - $10 plus all the incidental ingredients. Not a super expensive meal. I got some of those ingredients from a while back when we got the grocery delivery/gift, so it didn't cost us too much at all.
That in itself was an interesting exercise. Our lunch meal was $23 because I splurged and got prime rib for Christmas Day. It was on a great sale, but still expensive. I got two roasts. We had the second one yesterday as leftovers - super expensive leftovers!
So, I can see why this is important to do. I will do it. I'll learn "to read". It's not too late to be a better budgeter. At this point in the debt-reduction game, I'm willing to do whatever it takes, even if it means making my mind get stretched in a new direction. That's what it's going to be for me - financial gymnastics! I have sore muscles just thinking about it!
Friday, 26 December 2014
Recklessly Abandoned...It's a Win-Win....
I'm up early today. I've been giving myself a few sleep-in days which has been so nice as we've had a lot of late nights and we are not late night people. I tried to sleep-in again today, but no, I had several visitors into my room last night with bad dreams or feeling scared or waking up cold, so I finally stopped fighting it and woke up. Now I'm holding a toddler on my lap who feels feverish and typing at the same time. This time of year seems to bring on the viruses. I can only pray that it won't sweep through the whole house.
It was a wonderful day again yesterday, just like last year. I was amazed at how everyone woke up so late, as we'd had super late nights nearly three nights in a row. My daughter had made cinnamon buns so we had that for breakfast. Then we opened the surprise tickets to the show we'll be going to today. They were super excited as they weren't expecting that. I reminded my son how he'd made that comment a while back about taking the magic out of Christmas with less gifts now, but I pointed out to him, "Look at the younger four children. They came downstairs today and all they said was, 'Merry Christmas, Mom!' They didn't run around wondering where the pile of gifts were. This is all they will ever know and they are completely ok with that!" I went on to explain how so often, no matter what we spend, even if we buy the perfect gifts that everyone wanted, when all is said and done, there's always a little point in the morning where a dissastisfaction seems to settle in, "Is that it? Isn't there more?" We don't have to worry about that anymore as things never truly satisfy. He agreed with everything I said and told me many times throughout the day what a wonderful Christmas he had had. He hadn't been showered with gifts, per se, but he saw how many blessings we'd had come our way this year. I thanked all of them again for how they are changing the generations to come. I thanked them for helping me have a much more peaceful season.
We enjoyed so many wonderful fun things again that didn't cost money this year. We got together with friends this past week and enjoyed a variety of soups one of the moms made. Later that night the kids all got out their instruments and we sat around the piano and sang led by the kids! It was really beautiful. Tonight, after the show, we'll go to another friends' house and the plan is to be there until midnight if my kids get their way! They said it'll be a perfect day to spend it like that, up late with friends, after a fun show in Toronto.
Earlier on in the week I delivered cake pops to our neighbours. I've done something like that every year. At first I did it just to meet people, but I've kept up the tradition despite the fact it seems like so much work! I don't always take the time to knock on their doors now. I'll leave it in their mailboxes if I don't see them home. This year was different though. Ever since those push-you-out-of-your-comfort-zone street preachers came and ever since my daughter started leaving tracts wherever she goes, she said matter-of-factly, "Why don't you include a tract with your card this year, Mom?" "Uh......perhaps?" What I was thinking in my head was, "Cake pops are good enough. That shows I'm a Christian. There is no need to put my neck on the line and be some crazy tract-leavin' neighbour."
I called my husband to see what he thought. He was with me. Good, whew. Didn't need to do it. But, of course, my conscience got the better of me within seconds. I started to think about all that had been going on my head recently. The pastor did his talk last Sunday on Joseph and how once he was told in a dream to take Mary as his wife, he just woke up and that's what he did! No doubts, no wondering if it was all in his head, he simply obeyed, despite all the opposition he no doubt experienced. How could this be? Because he recognized he heard the truth. Once you know you've heard directly from God, there is no way you can question it. There is no way you can be swayed even when it means putting your neck on the line. Joseph knew he'd heard truth and he acted on it. I also knew the truth. I, too, needed to just act on it - obey. But I really didn't want to!
Then the pastor read a passage from a book called Reckless Abandon by David Sitton. This is the man who played a part in influencing those two young missionaries to go work in northern Ontario, the ones who came to our church a few weeks back. David Sitton got the quote "recklessly abandoned" from Ed Scully, one of the "Ecuador Five" who died alongside Jim Elliot back in the 50s. He wrote how he wanted to be recklessly abandoned for God and that he was willing to give his life for even a handful of natives. He did, only days after he wrote that. I asked if I could borrow the book and have been reading it non-stop since Sunday. Sitton asks, "Why aren't we willing to do that?" It comes down to unfortunately not believing that Christ is worth it. Those words started milling in my head after my daughter suggested I put in a tract with the cards. Why was I afraid? Sitton came to the conclusion that it was a win-win, just like the apostle Paul. If he died, yeah! Then he was with Jesus in heaven. If he lived, bonus! Then he could continue to share Christ longer on earth.
What was the worst thing that could happen to me? My neighbours could kill me, but the likelihood of that was fairly slim, at least I thought so! My neighbours could hate me, but the thought of that was also fairly slim. They might think I'm weird or fanatical, but I could handle that. I quickly called my husband back, "I'm going to do it. Are you ok with that? What's the worst thing that could happen to us? Are you ok if they think we're weird?" My husband was on board right away, "I can handle it, " he said. It was decided. I ended up including a tract, but I also wrote a note that was slightly different in each one, but said something like this, "I'm including a Christian tract this year that I hope will give you something to think about this season." I signed all of our names and included the treats. Since then, no one has egged our home. No one has returned the cake pops. We'll see if anyone brings it up when we see them this year.
I'm not sure that anyone will come to Christ because of what I did. I actually think it was more for my benefit to do something that was hard for me. If I keep attempting things like this perhaps it will get easier and easier. I think what finally pushed me over the edge was realizing I was saying to myself and my daughter, "Christ isn't worth it. My comfort level is more important to me." I knew that wasn't true, but that was what I would have been communicating. My own parents did something similar when I was a kid in our neighbourhood. They gave out Josh McDowell's book More Than a Carpenter, which has just been re-released and updated. They gave a copy to each neighbour. I remember thinking that was pretty bold even back then. But nothing ever came of it that was negative. If anything my parents always had a great relationship with all of our neighbours. They were one of the more respected couples on the block. If that sticks out in my mind, maybe what I did will stick out in my kids' minds when they get older and perhaps they'll be willing to try something that requires boldness, too.
Perhaps that will be the theme this year - recklessly abandoned, but not just for the sake of it, for Christ's sake, for truth. What's the worst thing that could happen to me? It's a win-win, right?
Well, the little sickie is back in his crib. I'm going to attempt making breakfast while everyone is still sleeping.
It was a wonderful day again yesterday, just like last year. I was amazed at how everyone woke up so late, as we'd had super late nights nearly three nights in a row. My daughter had made cinnamon buns so we had that for breakfast. Then we opened the surprise tickets to the show we'll be going to today. They were super excited as they weren't expecting that. I reminded my son how he'd made that comment a while back about taking the magic out of Christmas with less gifts now, but I pointed out to him, "Look at the younger four children. They came downstairs today and all they said was, 'Merry Christmas, Mom!' They didn't run around wondering where the pile of gifts were. This is all they will ever know and they are completely ok with that!" I went on to explain how so often, no matter what we spend, even if we buy the perfect gifts that everyone wanted, when all is said and done, there's always a little point in the morning where a dissastisfaction seems to settle in, "Is that it? Isn't there more?" We don't have to worry about that anymore as things never truly satisfy. He agreed with everything I said and told me many times throughout the day what a wonderful Christmas he had had. He hadn't been showered with gifts, per se, but he saw how many blessings we'd had come our way this year. I thanked all of them again for how they are changing the generations to come. I thanked them for helping me have a much more peaceful season.
We enjoyed so many wonderful fun things again that didn't cost money this year. We got together with friends this past week and enjoyed a variety of soups one of the moms made. Later that night the kids all got out their instruments and we sat around the piano and sang led by the kids! It was really beautiful. Tonight, after the show, we'll go to another friends' house and the plan is to be there until midnight if my kids get their way! They said it'll be a perfect day to spend it like that, up late with friends, after a fun show in Toronto.
Earlier on in the week I delivered cake pops to our neighbours. I've done something like that every year. At first I did it just to meet people, but I've kept up the tradition despite the fact it seems like so much work! I don't always take the time to knock on their doors now. I'll leave it in their mailboxes if I don't see them home. This year was different though. Ever since those push-you-out-of-your-comfort-zone street preachers came and ever since my daughter started leaving tracts wherever she goes, she said matter-of-factly, "Why don't you include a tract with your card this year, Mom?" "Uh......perhaps?" What I was thinking in my head was, "Cake pops are good enough. That shows I'm a Christian. There is no need to put my neck on the line and be some crazy tract-leavin' neighbour."
I called my husband to see what he thought. He was with me. Good, whew. Didn't need to do it. But, of course, my conscience got the better of me within seconds. I started to think about all that had been going on my head recently. The pastor did his talk last Sunday on Joseph and how once he was told in a dream to take Mary as his wife, he just woke up and that's what he did! No doubts, no wondering if it was all in his head, he simply obeyed, despite all the opposition he no doubt experienced. How could this be? Because he recognized he heard the truth. Once you know you've heard directly from God, there is no way you can question it. There is no way you can be swayed even when it means putting your neck on the line. Joseph knew he'd heard truth and he acted on it. I also knew the truth. I, too, needed to just act on it - obey. But I really didn't want to!
Then the pastor read a passage from a book called Reckless Abandon by David Sitton. This is the man who played a part in influencing those two young missionaries to go work in northern Ontario, the ones who came to our church a few weeks back. David Sitton got the quote "recklessly abandoned" from Ed Scully, one of the "Ecuador Five" who died alongside Jim Elliot back in the 50s. He wrote how he wanted to be recklessly abandoned for God and that he was willing to give his life for even a handful of natives. He did, only days after he wrote that. I asked if I could borrow the book and have been reading it non-stop since Sunday. Sitton asks, "Why aren't we willing to do that?" It comes down to unfortunately not believing that Christ is worth it. Those words started milling in my head after my daughter suggested I put in a tract with the cards. Why was I afraid? Sitton came to the conclusion that it was a win-win, just like the apostle Paul. If he died, yeah! Then he was with Jesus in heaven. If he lived, bonus! Then he could continue to share Christ longer on earth.
What was the worst thing that could happen to me? My neighbours could kill me, but the likelihood of that was fairly slim, at least I thought so! My neighbours could hate me, but the thought of that was also fairly slim. They might think I'm weird or fanatical, but I could handle that. I quickly called my husband back, "I'm going to do it. Are you ok with that? What's the worst thing that could happen to us? Are you ok if they think we're weird?" My husband was on board right away, "I can handle it, " he said. It was decided. I ended up including a tract, but I also wrote a note that was slightly different in each one, but said something like this, "I'm including a Christian tract this year that I hope will give you something to think about this season." I signed all of our names and included the treats. Since then, no one has egged our home. No one has returned the cake pops. We'll see if anyone brings it up when we see them this year.
I'm not sure that anyone will come to Christ because of what I did. I actually think it was more for my benefit to do something that was hard for me. If I keep attempting things like this perhaps it will get easier and easier. I think what finally pushed me over the edge was realizing I was saying to myself and my daughter, "Christ isn't worth it. My comfort level is more important to me." I knew that wasn't true, but that was what I would have been communicating. My own parents did something similar when I was a kid in our neighbourhood. They gave out Josh McDowell's book More Than a Carpenter, which has just been re-released and updated. They gave a copy to each neighbour. I remember thinking that was pretty bold even back then. But nothing ever came of it that was negative. If anything my parents always had a great relationship with all of our neighbours. They were one of the more respected couples on the block. If that sticks out in my mind, maybe what I did will stick out in my kids' minds when they get older and perhaps they'll be willing to try something that requires boldness, too.
Perhaps that will be the theme this year - recklessly abandoned, but not just for the sake of it, for Christ's sake, for truth. What's the worst thing that could happen to me? It's a win-win, right?
Well, the little sickie is back in his crib. I'm going to attempt making breakfast while everyone is still sleeping.
Tuesday, 23 December 2014
Choosing Peace over Frenzy
Getting that unexpected gift of money was amazing. I immediately came up with a quick little list of things I wanted to buy for my kids, but when I ran it all past RM, suddenly I realized....when? how? It might have been possible if I'd started a while back, but how could I possibly get what I needed to get in such a short amount of time at the craziest time of year. I realized that when we gave up buying presents, I had gained a tremendous amount of peace in my life at this time of year. I was suddenly not feeling so peaceful.
One of the stresses was I was trying to keep this a secret. In order to shop, someone was going to have to watch my kids. What would be my excuse? I was going to need a lot of time. How would I explain that? Finally, RM and I came to a conclusion. We wouldn't go out to any stores - it would be nuts to think of shopping now. We decided we'll still bless them, but we'll give them an "experience" instead that we wouldn't normally do, so we're going to head on in to Toronto for the day and we're going to take them to a neat show downtown. Whew! No more stress! Tickets have been bought!
Knowing that was the decision we were going to make changed everything. On Saturday, the busiest shopping day of the year, I was home helping my daughter set up for a little cookie exchange she had organized. It was wonderful to be available to her knowing I didn't have to leave her at home to do it all herself alone while watching a houseful of children as well. Once the girls arrived for the cookie exchange, I stayed in the kitchen decorating cookies with my younger children. That was so fun, seeing them enjoy the whole experience so much. If I had been gone shopping that day I would have missed out on that, too. They would have been stuck in front of a video or watched by brothers who have such a hard time with them sometimes. I would have been gone potentially for hours if I had bought all that I had planned initially.
The frenzy has permanently left our home. Instead it has been replaced with peace - the true meaning of Christ coming.
One of the stresses was I was trying to keep this a secret. In order to shop, someone was going to have to watch my kids. What would be my excuse? I was going to need a lot of time. How would I explain that? Finally, RM and I came to a conclusion. We wouldn't go out to any stores - it would be nuts to think of shopping now. We decided we'll still bless them, but we'll give them an "experience" instead that we wouldn't normally do, so we're going to head on in to Toronto for the day and we're going to take them to a neat show downtown. Whew! No more stress! Tickets have been bought!
Knowing that was the decision we were going to make changed everything. On Saturday, the busiest shopping day of the year, I was home helping my daughter set up for a little cookie exchange she had organized. It was wonderful to be available to her knowing I didn't have to leave her at home to do it all herself alone while watching a houseful of children as well. Once the girls arrived for the cookie exchange, I stayed in the kitchen decorating cookies with my younger children. That was so fun, seeing them enjoy the whole experience so much. If I had been gone shopping that day I would have missed out on that, too. They would have been stuck in front of a video or watched by brothers who have such a hard time with them sometimes. I would have been gone potentially for hours if I had bought all that I had planned initially.
The frenzy has permanently left our home. Instead it has been replaced with peace - the true meaning of Christ coming.
Friday, 19 December 2014
Close Calls, Garage Doors, and Little Girls
If you don't have a few downs, you don't appreciate the ups as much......
Now we don't have one vehicle to fix, but two. I'm not even sure if it was exactly a year ago, but it was about a year ago or even less that RM was in a car accident. He seems to be a magnet for them and quite serious ones at that. Two days ago it happened again, same vehicle, same RM, and like I said, this one had the potential to be deadly again. He definitely has a truck angel.
He was on the highway heading home. He had debated staying overnight where he was working as it was a two hour drive home and he had to go back the next day, but he thought to himself, "No, I want to go home and see my family." I told him later, I wish he had stayed there overnight! But, can't look back. Some young guy was getting on the highway, merging, at a very high speed. He saw RM and tried to pass him on the right, in the merging lane, not smart. Then, suddenly, he realized his short merging lane was coming to an end, but the problem was RM was still there! He hadn't seen him trying to come up on the right as he came up so fast. The guy decided, "Oh well, I'll just have to go in that lane anyway even though A CAR IS STILL THERE!!!" He hit RM so hard from behind the RM didn't know what hit him. All he could see was what looked like plastic and metal flying all around the back of his vehicle. The fact he wasn't pushed into another lane, or hit by another car is mind-boggling. The other guy must have been going well over 130 km an hour or even more.
He drove for about a km before he pulled over because he simply didn't know what had happened and it looked like whoever had hit him had taken off. The truth is the other vehicle involved was totalled and had pulled over within seconds of the accident. Once RM got his bearings and pulled over. He called the police and within an hour or two he was back on his way home. The back end of his vehicle needs some repairs, but it drove him home. We're so glad he was in the truck as the weight of it probably saved his life. We're so glad he was driving, not my new driving daughter. We're so grateful he came home alive.
So one day brings tremendous joy and the next day brings hassles, or so it seems, but both days were days full of rejoicing as there was no funeral to attend this week. It doesn't take much to put things in perspective. Of course, now there is a lot of paperwork, getting the truck fixed, insurance, blah, blah, blah....but we don't mind as RM is alive.
Today, he'll take his broken truck and drive the two hours to pick up the cheque they owe him. I said, "Why don't you ask them to courier it?" He said he didn't trust them. He figured they'd courier it and we still wouldn't see it for a week. We need that cheque now. Suppliers. Funny how they want their money, too.
We are now praying for wisdom. This tower order we got is great, but it's forcing us to make some decisions. The towers require paint. Paint needs heat to dry. His shop has no heat. The garage doors are so ancient that some of them don't even open and they certainly don't keep out the cold and in fact, they let in snow! Last year, we painted the towers indoors, in my HOUSE, if you recall......not the best place to paint with 8 kids running around. I had paint stains, and still do, in all sorts of random spots throughout the house.
RM would love to order new garage doors. He priced them out and they are very expensive. He could easily justify the cost because he'll make a good profit on these towers, so they'll pay for themselves, but at the same time, he and I both feel it is just too expensive, perhaps there is another way to get the paint to dry - buy more heaters for the shop or something like that. So far it hasn't been an awful winter - PRAISE GOD!!!! It's a major quandry.
I asked the kids to pray really specifically yesterday about this - we need wisdom. One of the ways we asked God to show us what to do was to give us another order that would specifically cover the cost of the new doors. RM then called everyone who was potentially going to order other towers and none of them said, "Yes, for sure, orders are coming." They just responded, "Perhaps, we'll see...." So that didn't give us the exact answer we were hoping for. I think for now we feel we should wait, not be impulsive. I'm kind of excited to see how God will answer.
These towers could be finished by June. There isn't a specific deadline. The problem with that is then we don't get paid until July. The faster the order gets out, the faster we get paid, which is why we want to get on them now and have them done asap. This requires working through the winter. One thing I tell the kids all the time is that we have to be specific in our prayers. It is amazing to look back and see how God answers specifically. So, like I said, yesterday we prayed specifically for garage doors and whether or not we should buy them. We need His wisdom even in the the purchasing of garage doors. I think my kids will grow up to be praying adults. They've seen God answer so many times, in such specific ways.
Eleven years ago, I was due imminently with my 4th child. This doesn't happen often to a pregnant lady, but they were concerned because I was so small! HA. I haven't had that issue before or since. I looked 6 months pregnant when she was born, not 9. It turns out she was my smallest baby, only 6 lbs, 9 oz. Not that small really, but compared to my other porkers, at 8 lbs, 12 oz, she was small. Still is.
I went in for a routine ultrasound on the 22nd of December to see if she was ok as my amniotic fluid was getting lower and lower. The doctor said on the spot, "This baby is coming out today." What?! I had nothing ready at all. Up to that point, all my babies had been two weeks overdue. I figured I still had 3 weeks ahead of me! I had also hoped for my first home birth, but no, the midwives were going to meet me at the hospital. I was going to be induced for the 2nd time. I do not recommend being induced. It is awful. I called my husband, told him what was going on. He had to quickly organize childcare and was at the hospital fairly shortly after.
The induction took place and within 10 hours a baby was born, a whole week early. That never happens to me! It was kind of nice to not wait an extra 3 weeks. It was also a special Christmas that year as we placed her under the tree, tied a bow around her and that was her birth announcement picture. So sweet. I loved having a baby at Christmas. I felt I understood Mary a little bit better (even though I know Jesus wasn't actually born at Christmas,,,,you know what I mean....) I read every Christmas passage with new eyes.
I was so happy to have a sister for the oldest girl. We now had 2 girls and 2 boys. I loved saying to my husband, "Where are the girls?" noticing the plural form of girls! I loved having what was considered a big family. The oldest was 5 for a whole 3 weeks and then she turned 6, so for a brief period of time, I felt like a hero having 4 under 5! It was an amazing time.
Looking back, it is amazing to see how much time has passed. Now that little girl has some friends coming over today to help celebrate her life. She has become our industrious little girl. She was inspired by her older cousin and now she and her older sister are attempting to have a cake pop business just like her cousin. This cousin is super successful, we'll see how successful we are! My daughter has had an entrepreneurial spirit from a little child and always wants to have a business of her own. She was probably 5 or 6 when she first started dreaming of what kind of business it was. It always seems to involve food and hospitality of some kind. We sometimes wonder if she'll run a B & B someday. She also is the one who suffered from all the health issues this past year or two. She has a keen interest in the natural healing through herbs and good food. We wonder if she'll pursue health care. She definitely has the gift of mercy, too, and she is very affectionate towards older people. Will she work with seniors or people who have special needs? I don't know, but I see God's gifting in her so clearly. It'll be so neat to see how her life unfolds. Praising God for her this week and for the gift of children.
Now we don't have one vehicle to fix, but two. I'm not even sure if it was exactly a year ago, but it was about a year ago or even less that RM was in a car accident. He seems to be a magnet for them and quite serious ones at that. Two days ago it happened again, same vehicle, same RM, and like I said, this one had the potential to be deadly again. He definitely has a truck angel.
He was on the highway heading home. He had debated staying overnight where he was working as it was a two hour drive home and he had to go back the next day, but he thought to himself, "No, I want to go home and see my family." I told him later, I wish he had stayed there overnight! But, can't look back. Some young guy was getting on the highway, merging, at a very high speed. He saw RM and tried to pass him on the right, in the merging lane, not smart. Then, suddenly, he realized his short merging lane was coming to an end, but the problem was RM was still there! He hadn't seen him trying to come up on the right as he came up so fast. The guy decided, "Oh well, I'll just have to go in that lane anyway even though A CAR IS STILL THERE!!!" He hit RM so hard from behind the RM didn't know what hit him. All he could see was what looked like plastic and metal flying all around the back of his vehicle. The fact he wasn't pushed into another lane, or hit by another car is mind-boggling. The other guy must have been going well over 130 km an hour or even more.
He drove for about a km before he pulled over because he simply didn't know what had happened and it looked like whoever had hit him had taken off. The truth is the other vehicle involved was totalled and had pulled over within seconds of the accident. Once RM got his bearings and pulled over. He called the police and within an hour or two he was back on his way home. The back end of his vehicle needs some repairs, but it drove him home. We're so glad he was in the truck as the weight of it probably saved his life. We're so glad he was driving, not my new driving daughter. We're so grateful he came home alive.
So one day brings tremendous joy and the next day brings hassles, or so it seems, but both days were days full of rejoicing as there was no funeral to attend this week. It doesn't take much to put things in perspective. Of course, now there is a lot of paperwork, getting the truck fixed, insurance, blah, blah, blah....but we don't mind as RM is alive.
Today, he'll take his broken truck and drive the two hours to pick up the cheque they owe him. I said, "Why don't you ask them to courier it?" He said he didn't trust them. He figured they'd courier it and we still wouldn't see it for a week. We need that cheque now. Suppliers. Funny how they want their money, too.
We are now praying for wisdom. This tower order we got is great, but it's forcing us to make some decisions. The towers require paint. Paint needs heat to dry. His shop has no heat. The garage doors are so ancient that some of them don't even open and they certainly don't keep out the cold and in fact, they let in snow! Last year, we painted the towers indoors, in my HOUSE, if you recall......not the best place to paint with 8 kids running around. I had paint stains, and still do, in all sorts of random spots throughout the house.
RM would love to order new garage doors. He priced them out and they are very expensive. He could easily justify the cost because he'll make a good profit on these towers, so they'll pay for themselves, but at the same time, he and I both feel it is just too expensive, perhaps there is another way to get the paint to dry - buy more heaters for the shop or something like that. So far it hasn't been an awful winter - PRAISE GOD!!!! It's a major quandry.
I asked the kids to pray really specifically yesterday about this - we need wisdom. One of the ways we asked God to show us what to do was to give us another order that would specifically cover the cost of the new doors. RM then called everyone who was potentially going to order other towers and none of them said, "Yes, for sure, orders are coming." They just responded, "Perhaps, we'll see...." So that didn't give us the exact answer we were hoping for. I think for now we feel we should wait, not be impulsive. I'm kind of excited to see how God will answer.
These towers could be finished by June. There isn't a specific deadline. The problem with that is then we don't get paid until July. The faster the order gets out, the faster we get paid, which is why we want to get on them now and have them done asap. This requires working through the winter. One thing I tell the kids all the time is that we have to be specific in our prayers. It is amazing to look back and see how God answers specifically. So, like I said, yesterday we prayed specifically for garage doors and whether or not we should buy them. We need His wisdom even in the the purchasing of garage doors. I think my kids will grow up to be praying adults. They've seen God answer so many times, in such specific ways.
Eleven years ago, I was due imminently with my 4th child. This doesn't happen often to a pregnant lady, but they were concerned because I was so small! HA. I haven't had that issue before or since. I looked 6 months pregnant when she was born, not 9. It turns out she was my smallest baby, only 6 lbs, 9 oz. Not that small really, but compared to my other porkers, at 8 lbs, 12 oz, she was small. Still is.
I went in for a routine ultrasound on the 22nd of December to see if she was ok as my amniotic fluid was getting lower and lower. The doctor said on the spot, "This baby is coming out today." What?! I had nothing ready at all. Up to that point, all my babies had been two weeks overdue. I figured I still had 3 weeks ahead of me! I had also hoped for my first home birth, but no, the midwives were going to meet me at the hospital. I was going to be induced for the 2nd time. I do not recommend being induced. It is awful. I called my husband, told him what was going on. He had to quickly organize childcare and was at the hospital fairly shortly after.
The induction took place and within 10 hours a baby was born, a whole week early. That never happens to me! It was kind of nice to not wait an extra 3 weeks. It was also a special Christmas that year as we placed her under the tree, tied a bow around her and that was her birth announcement picture. So sweet. I loved having a baby at Christmas. I felt I understood Mary a little bit better (even though I know Jesus wasn't actually born at Christmas,,,,you know what I mean....) I read every Christmas passage with new eyes.
I was so happy to have a sister for the oldest girl. We now had 2 girls and 2 boys. I loved saying to my husband, "Where are the girls?" noticing the plural form of girls! I loved having what was considered a big family. The oldest was 5 for a whole 3 weeks and then she turned 6, so for a brief period of time, I felt like a hero having 4 under 5! It was an amazing time.
Looking back, it is amazing to see how much time has passed. Now that little girl has some friends coming over today to help celebrate her life. She has become our industrious little girl. She was inspired by her older cousin and now she and her older sister are attempting to have a cake pop business just like her cousin. This cousin is super successful, we'll see how successful we are! My daughter has had an entrepreneurial spirit from a little child and always wants to have a business of her own. She was probably 5 or 6 when she first started dreaming of what kind of business it was. It always seems to involve food and hospitality of some kind. We sometimes wonder if she'll run a B & B someday. She also is the one who suffered from all the health issues this past year or two. She has a keen interest in the natural healing through herbs and good food. We wonder if she'll pursue health care. She definitely has the gift of mercy, too, and she is very affectionate towards older people. Will she work with seniors or people who have special needs? I don't know, but I see God's gifting in her so clearly. It'll be so neat to see how her life unfolds. Praising God for her this week and for the gift of children.
Wednesday, 17 December 2014
A Mailbox Full of Blessings
Yesterday was quite the day. We were busy tidying, making cheesecake, decorating cookies, trying to do some school in the midst of it all, still dealing with brake issues....it was a busy day, but I was still determined to start it off with Bible reading and prayer. This often happens, as we're praying, RM will walk in from his office with news.
In his hand he was holding the first cheque to arrive unexpectedly that day. It was for the hay we sold to Florida. I think what I love most about getting money in the mail it that you never know when it will arrive. It literally seems to come from heaven sometimes, as if God put it directly in the mailbox. It had actually arrived the day before, but somehow got mixed up in Monday's mail and got missed. It was a relief to get as we still had another dental bill remaining for my son's teeth. We were able to pay.
While my son and husband were out at the dentist for one final adjustment to his new retainer, I got a call from RM saying, "The order came through!" We had been told some towers were being ordered, but once again, we never know when that'll happen. The government has months to decide when they want to push that order through. This was the week it happened. That order will clear all debt outside the mortgage - so we were praising God. Was it the huge 100 tower order that I hoped for? No, but it was big enough for us to handle. The truth is a 100 tower order would probably kill my husband, so God gives us the contracts we can handle in the increments we can handle. Plus, He still wants us to rely on Him for everything and keep us faithfully depending on Him.
Then, still not done....when yesterday's mail came in, the cheque for the grapes came in and another cheque for pork that had been bought last week. Amazing timing, wouldn't you say? You would think I knew what was going to happen before it happened in light of the verse I'd written a few days ago.....what did it say, "pressed down, shaken together, running over....?" Something crazy like that. Those cheques virtually covered what we owed a different farmer for taking care of another section of our property. No more debt owed to him.
On top of it all I found out about a little surprise for the kids which I won't say much about now, but suffice it to say, they might even see a little something under the tree thanks to a random gift from a relative completely out of the blue that we are intended to use for the children!!!!!! I couldn't believe it. Couldn't believe it! "With what measure you use.......it will be measured to you......" If I weren't writing this with my own hand, I wouldn't believe it myself.
We were tempted to miss family worship last night as the ladies from church were coming over soon after dinner and I still had some last minute things to do, but RM said, "We've got to stop and thank God for what He's done." I quickly agreed. The funny thing about homeschooling and having the kids around you all day long is you just assume everyone knows what is going on all the time, but they had no idea what had transpired throughout the day, so those little family meetings at the end of the day are so critical. It was a short time to debrief and then to just thank God for His goodness to us. It got the kids really inspired to see we were actually getting closer to the reality of being completely debt-free.
My mathematically-challenged son, who now is feeling like a math expert, suddenly started to do some mental math in his head, "If we could just make this much money a month, we'd have the mortgage paid off!" "Yes!" We started to talk again about the farmer's market...eggs....meat....homemade crafts....it's the little by little thing again. They are starting to picture the freedom! I think they are seeing the home stretch and they are excited!
So the ladies came over, we enjoyed a rich time of fellowship - a little cheesecake always helps the fellowship! I led a brief study on the importance of studying God's Word in the historical and cultural context in which it was written. We're working through a book by Jen Wilkins, Women in the Word. She reminded us of the skill of digging in Scripture like we're archaeologists. Most of us admitted that we don't do this because we are just plain lazy. As moms with many children, we just don't have the time. We are busy! This is a true fact, but doesn't get us off the hook. There will be a season when we will have more time. The challenge I gave was to at least improve in one small area - to just start. To pick up a pen. To write something down. To read a bit more. To do a bit more research than we've ever done. Mining God's Word will only reveal more treasure. It can't ever hurt to go deeper. We are the only ones who lose out if we don't. God's just waiting to reveal Himself to us.
Now, half way through the week....still more things to plan! This is all without the craziness of shopping. I can't imagine how stressed I would be if I had to add that in to the mix. My 2nd daughter's birthday falls at Christmas time. We haven't done a birthday party for a while and have kept it pretty low key, but this year she's having some special friends and cousins over. It's actually a bit of an experiment.
My 2nd son wants to start doing "Pony" parties using our little mini horses. This is his first "gig". He'll take the girls for rides and then teach them how to care for the horse, brushing it, etc. Then they'll get little pony cake pops, pony crafts....you get the idea. If this takes off, we plan on bringing the pony to the farmer's markets to "sell" the pony party idea. That is huge in the city as little city girls all love horses. We want to make their horse-loving dream a reality! It'll be a fun little business for my son, too.
After the party, Christmas is around the corner. We'll celebrate with the church on Sunday and that same afternoon with my family. Talk about lots of eating. My daughter and I have decided to do a two-week shred after all that excess food. That means two weeks of hard-core eating well and, ugh, an hour of working out a day - half hour in the morning and a half hour at night. Good 'ol Jillian. She'll be back in my life for a bit. That is quite unsustainable in my life, working out that long, but I can do it for two weeks, Normally, I only spend a few minutes these days, just enough to maintain a little muscle mass.
One of our favourite lines in the comedy movie Princess Bride is when the King has just delivered Princess Buttercup's love to the torture chamber. He stands outside with his aide talking about how tired he is, "I've got my Kingdom's 500th anniversary to plan, my wife's murder...I'm just swamped," he says matter-of-factly. "Go, get some rest...if you don't have your health, you don't have anything," his evil aide tells him. We always laugh so hard. We'll do that, too, "I've got my daughter's birthday to plan, cake pops to make, dinner to cook...I'm just swamped." Then one of my kids inevitably says to me, "Go...Mom, get some rest....if you don't have your health.....you don't have anything..." By that time, I'm laughing my head off. When did they get so funny?
So, it is true, I'm swamped, but it's all good - if there were nothing going on, I'd be bored silly. This is the kind of busy I like - lots of things to look forward to, not too much that I'm stressed, just enough to keep me on the go, not sitting around.....According to Gary Smalley, who wrote about the different personality types, I'm an otter. He describes the otter as "a party looking for a place to happen". That's me to a "T". My husband just looked at me when we read it together and laughed as they described my personality exactly..fun, fun, fun. And I wonder why my kids like having stuff going on......hmmmm......
In his hand he was holding the first cheque to arrive unexpectedly that day. It was for the hay we sold to Florida. I think what I love most about getting money in the mail it that you never know when it will arrive. It literally seems to come from heaven sometimes, as if God put it directly in the mailbox. It had actually arrived the day before, but somehow got mixed up in Monday's mail and got missed. It was a relief to get as we still had another dental bill remaining for my son's teeth. We were able to pay.
While my son and husband were out at the dentist for one final adjustment to his new retainer, I got a call from RM saying, "The order came through!" We had been told some towers were being ordered, but once again, we never know when that'll happen. The government has months to decide when they want to push that order through. This was the week it happened. That order will clear all debt outside the mortgage - so we were praising God. Was it the huge 100 tower order that I hoped for? No, but it was big enough for us to handle. The truth is a 100 tower order would probably kill my husband, so God gives us the contracts we can handle in the increments we can handle. Plus, He still wants us to rely on Him for everything and keep us faithfully depending on Him.
Then, still not done....when yesterday's mail came in, the cheque for the grapes came in and another cheque for pork that had been bought last week. Amazing timing, wouldn't you say? You would think I knew what was going to happen before it happened in light of the verse I'd written a few days ago.....what did it say, "pressed down, shaken together, running over....?" Something crazy like that. Those cheques virtually covered what we owed a different farmer for taking care of another section of our property. No more debt owed to him.
On top of it all I found out about a little surprise for the kids which I won't say much about now, but suffice it to say, they might even see a little something under the tree thanks to a random gift from a relative completely out of the blue that we are intended to use for the children!!!!!! I couldn't believe it. Couldn't believe it! "With what measure you use.......it will be measured to you......" If I weren't writing this with my own hand, I wouldn't believe it myself.
We were tempted to miss family worship last night as the ladies from church were coming over soon after dinner and I still had some last minute things to do, but RM said, "We've got to stop and thank God for what He's done." I quickly agreed. The funny thing about homeschooling and having the kids around you all day long is you just assume everyone knows what is going on all the time, but they had no idea what had transpired throughout the day, so those little family meetings at the end of the day are so critical. It was a short time to debrief and then to just thank God for His goodness to us. It got the kids really inspired to see we were actually getting closer to the reality of being completely debt-free.
My mathematically-challenged son, who now is feeling like a math expert, suddenly started to do some mental math in his head, "If we could just make this much money a month, we'd have the mortgage paid off!" "Yes!" We started to talk again about the farmer's market...eggs....meat....homemade crafts....it's the little by little thing again. They are starting to picture the freedom! I think they are seeing the home stretch and they are excited!
So the ladies came over, we enjoyed a rich time of fellowship - a little cheesecake always helps the fellowship! I led a brief study on the importance of studying God's Word in the historical and cultural context in which it was written. We're working through a book by Jen Wilkins, Women in the Word. She reminded us of the skill of digging in Scripture like we're archaeologists. Most of us admitted that we don't do this because we are just plain lazy. As moms with many children, we just don't have the time. We are busy! This is a true fact, but doesn't get us off the hook. There will be a season when we will have more time. The challenge I gave was to at least improve in one small area - to just start. To pick up a pen. To write something down. To read a bit more. To do a bit more research than we've ever done. Mining God's Word will only reveal more treasure. It can't ever hurt to go deeper. We are the only ones who lose out if we don't. God's just waiting to reveal Himself to us.
Now, half way through the week....still more things to plan! This is all without the craziness of shopping. I can't imagine how stressed I would be if I had to add that in to the mix. My 2nd daughter's birthday falls at Christmas time. We haven't done a birthday party for a while and have kept it pretty low key, but this year she's having some special friends and cousins over. It's actually a bit of an experiment.
My 2nd son wants to start doing "Pony" parties using our little mini horses. This is his first "gig". He'll take the girls for rides and then teach them how to care for the horse, brushing it, etc. Then they'll get little pony cake pops, pony crafts....you get the idea. If this takes off, we plan on bringing the pony to the farmer's markets to "sell" the pony party idea. That is huge in the city as little city girls all love horses. We want to make their horse-loving dream a reality! It'll be a fun little business for my son, too.
After the party, Christmas is around the corner. We'll celebrate with the church on Sunday and that same afternoon with my family. Talk about lots of eating. My daughter and I have decided to do a two-week shred after all that excess food. That means two weeks of hard-core eating well and, ugh, an hour of working out a day - half hour in the morning and a half hour at night. Good 'ol Jillian. She'll be back in my life for a bit. That is quite unsustainable in my life, working out that long, but I can do it for two weeks, Normally, I only spend a few minutes these days, just enough to maintain a little muscle mass.
One of our favourite lines in the comedy movie Princess Bride is when the King has just delivered Princess Buttercup's love to the torture chamber. He stands outside with his aide talking about how tired he is, "I've got my Kingdom's 500th anniversary to plan, my wife's murder...I'm just swamped," he says matter-of-factly. "Go, get some rest...if you don't have your health, you don't have anything," his evil aide tells him. We always laugh so hard. We'll do that, too, "I've got my daughter's birthday to plan, cake pops to make, dinner to cook...I'm just swamped." Then one of my kids inevitably says to me, "Go...Mom, get some rest....if you don't have your health.....you don't have anything..." By that time, I'm laughing my head off. When did they get so funny?
So, it is true, I'm swamped, but it's all good - if there were nothing going on, I'd be bored silly. This is the kind of busy I like - lots of things to look forward to, not too much that I'm stressed, just enough to keep me on the go, not sitting around.....According to Gary Smalley, who wrote about the different personality types, I'm an otter. He describes the otter as "a party looking for a place to happen". That's me to a "T". My husband just looked at me when we read it together and laughed as they described my personality exactly..fun, fun, fun. And I wonder why my kids like having stuff going on......hmmmm......
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)