Catch up

We went to the North Pole and saw Santa.  Kevin was a little leary, but with Dad close by he agreed to talk to the man in red. Claire was all over this....she would have sat on his lap for an hour if he would've let her. Funny, when children see this man, requests come out of their mouths that have never been heard before! What is up with that?? They also had his sleigh there if you wanted pics.  They thought this was out of the world too. They were beyond excited to think it was really his sleigh.

Claire is very excited for her upcoming birthday.  She believes that 7 is so much more grown up than six. She is also excited that Jesus has the same birthday month as her.  She is so sweet about reminding us what the season is really about. Hannah continues to be a wonderful teen, she is still a TEEN, but trys to stay on the good side.  I know it is hard these days, but she remains strong in her convictions and commitment to God.

We hope you all have the best of the CHRISTmas season.

YOU CAN STOP THIS

This is the beginning of adoption awareness month.  Please consider adoption it will change your life. It will change everyone around you. You have the power to stop these rooms from filling up EVERYDAY.  Once the beds are empty they are immediately filled.  Ask someone about adoption today.

Happy Halloween

Here is hoping you don't get any rocks in your bag

Challenge update

This is the snack drawer.  Kids open this daily, as if somehow there will be more there. Yes, we keep dog snacks in there so the littles can feed them.  Why do you ask????

This is our breakfast drawer....usually OVERFLOWING

Canned goods, mixes, etc....again usually filled.  We did good to empty out older things.

This is our noodle drawer.  Most everyone's favorite.  Again,this is depleted of its normal inventory.

This is our last week of the challenge.  Thirty days of not buying anything that isn't necessary for basic daily living.  No frills, no eating out, no "just because" purchases and what a road we have traveled. We have discovered how much we like cooking together AND sitting at the table together.  We even had "picnics" in the living room, because we didn't REALLY have enough food to call a meal....just finger foods.  We learned that happiness doesn't come in a treat that can be bought at the store. It can come from extra one on one time and making a special project because  you made 100 on your spelling test.  I haven't checked, but we could've lost a few pounds.  BONUS.  Honestly, it has been such an eye and heart opening experience.  We have taken our money that was saved and spent it in places that NEEDED it more than us.  It really felt good.  Getting there was somewhat painful for the small ones.  I am sorry to say that is probably my fault. I tend to over indulge.  My heart has been changed with those thoughts as well. I believe Christie has another challenge up her sleeve and I am anxious to see what God will do with this one!  Take a look at Christie's blog for more inspiration.

***Sunday Snapshot ~5 full yrs***

                                         My baby is here and safe. Never to be alone again.

                                    She is the light of our lives and we wouldn't change a thing.


     Sweet princess ...we love you to the China moon and back.  You are a precious gift to us everyday.  We thank the sweet and wise Father in Heaven for picking us to be your family.

Happy Moon Festival and a small 30 day update

We are releasing our lanterns tonite....there is so much excitement here.  Hope you enjoy your beautiful moon and celebrate if you choose.  We have enjoyed making new things from the things we have found in our pantry/freezer.  It has made for some fun times during dinner.  We also have enjoyed adding new recipes to our big book of goodies.  I am so thankful that this challenge came along.  There had been so much stirring in my heart about somethings having to change around here.  It wasn't making my heart very happy.  This challenge came along and God seemed to speak to my heart to say..."if you can do this for 30 days why not always" My mind and heart seemed to switch and it feels great.  Yes.....I would love to not cook everyday.....yes, I would like to buy everything that my children want and don't even know they want but I find cute. But God needs our money elsewhere, there are too many children that must stay in orphanages for too long.  Men and women can't feed their babies because they are battling addictions or joblessness. I want to redirect our childrens thoughts to others and not themselves.  We are going to discuss a charity we would like our money to go to locally (we sponsor babies in China, but felt we needed to do something local) and we also hope to spend our time there too.  Wish us luck...it really isn't that bad. Maybe you could join us next month.

Stop by Christies blog and see more stories of sacrifice and blessings

One week down and our spirits are still up..

We have completed one week of our no spending challenge.  Wednesdays are always weird because the teen goes to church early and then hubby goes to work in between times....whine whine whine.  Anyhoo...the teen had some of HER money left over from who knows what and wanted to by herself some quicky dinner and not eat at home.  Ok I say, but the two little ones in the backseat will require an explanation as to why they aren't getting anything.  Once my heart started beating again, I realized she had ordered them their favorite drink.  To share, lest you be REALLY shocked.  I was so very proud of her, I believe the extra time we have been spending together this week made her feel a little more generous towards them.  Sometimes that seems to be a problem, they have each other and she still feels like odd man out sometimes.  Not really interested in adult conversation....wait I think it is US that isn't interested in 15 yr old drama, but yet she doesn't really want to PLAY with them.  We have also been blessed with cooler weather, so it makes our spirits soar!  We were so sick of hearing about records being set everyday.  I heard someone say that the devil called and wanted his weather back.  That is exactly how we felt.

We are actually looking forward to next week to see if mom pulls out some more recipes from "the bottom of the drawer" and wow everyones socks off.  We will be having a non home cooked meal on Claires family day....I can't hardly wait. I am already wondering if I will order the same thing or try something new off the menu.  It is a family (from Taiwan) run Chinese place that will blow your socks off, can you tell I don't like wearing socks, I seem to be wanting to blow them off all the time.  They are such a sweet couple and the food will take you right back there.

Stop by and say hello to her and give some encouragement.

Update...everybody settle down

We have started our 30 day challenge and are doing ok.  I say ok, because we are a impulse buying family.  Let me say that again, we buy OFTEN without really thinking about it.  Sad to say, but it is what it is.  Here is a list of our weekend so far.
*Fri afternoon slushies replaced by homemade koolaid slushies.
*Sat am donuts replaced by wonderful sausage bisquits at home with a WONDERFULLY cool am. Sat. afternoon was a sammy of choice with veggies and watermelon. Then sat dinner we pulled out a recipe that I had forgotten and it was a HUGE success with another wonderful family meal.

Hmmmmmm seems to be a trend starting here.  If we don't disperse with fast food to the tv room and actually eat on plates around the table......WE HAVE WONDERFUL FAMILY TIME, even with the teen. Sigh...good times had by all.  We are having cooler weather, so outdoor activities won't be so horrendous.

Thanks so much for Mrs. B for starting this challenge and helping us to slow down and enjoy what we have and not think about what we want.  Go say hello and leave a note of encouragement, this is harder than you think.

Reeady.....GO

. We have a clean organized pantry and a freezer that has been organized too.  We are ready to take on our challenge to spend NOTHING for 30 days.  We know that we will need milk and SMALL essentials like that. But.....no eating out, no spending on clothing, no movies, no coffees or huge drinks that last all day. The payoff for this suffering.....I mean discipline exercise?? Well, hopefully money will be put away for that big holiday that comes towards the end of December AND we will see that we don't have to BUY BUY BUY to be happy and satisfied. I have envisioned picnics with our family ( in the living room of course, because it is still 100+ everyday) instead of noisy fast food places and special movie nights with homemade popcorn instead of 5.00 buckets at the movies. Long walks in our neighborhood instead of long walks in the mall.

If you still would like to follow or join us, click on A bushel and A peck for details.  I will post about the progress and the missteps along the way.

I am really going to give this the old college try.