Self Esteem

I am doing a series on Self Esteem and the five components of such over here at my Life Restored blog.
Join me as I journal into discovery...Ask yourself these questions, apply them to your parenting as well.
Love ya

Please pray

Denise over at shory bears, she is getting some news on lab results.
Surround her with the love that she has shown toward all of us

Free Steak

Good Morning!

I was just kneading the bread and thought of the shopping of yesterday morning...
I thought of the add for the buy one get two free steaks.

Yesterday I cut my had on a grocery cart so took said cart to the cashier to tell them to get it out of circulation. It had a bad weld on it. It needed to get filed down.
The Manager concerned gave me a band aide and I had some neosporin (anti biotic ointment ) spray in my purse. He asked me if I wanted to file an incident report and I declined saying "well that's just for if my hand falls off" and smiled...
The grocery trip was a real relaxed teaching time with the kids and so at the end I asked if the manager would honor a lead in that was empty on the shelf with another brand...joking to make up for the injury...

the add was buy one get three free...

He returned and told the cashier to take off the hot dogs and charge the price of one.
Folks he gave me $12.
the ones he gave me were higher quality

$12. free of dogs...

Well He had said something softly to her and I was a bit distracted by the children and so finished my order. The cashier said that the add was not for the all beef type that he had gifted me with. So I made point to thank him...
Once again I thanked him on our exit and told him with service like that I'll just have to keep coming back and doing my shopping there.
He laughed said he had 5 kids and understood.

I just looked at the receipt...
he gave me $60 worth of steak for free!!!!!!!!

It was a buy one get two free...
So I had made a point to teach the kids to choose the most expensive one and then get the other two as high priced as possible to get them free....

That thing he whispered...
Not to charge me for the steaks!

Gratituesday

Monday night I met up with all the girls to celebrate Lisa
It was her birth that we all acknowledged this time.
We had a really nice evening.
I started a silly little quiz of three questions.
what is your favorite color
what do you collect or love to have
what is your favorite character quality
?????????????

It was fun to hear them all share.
I took some note then almost forgot them on the table...oh me.

This day began after a long night of prayer and introspection brought on by silly me...
drinking three ice teas not thinking about the caffeine.
Two a.m. is very quiet at my house
:)

Thinking about addressing the needs of my children and my own self I set intentional course for the day.
Telling the children of my "mission" to go get the rest of the lead in add items for the stock pile concluded with a statement about succeeding then to play with them at a bowling alley!
So after said accomplishment at the grocery (spent $80 and saved $55) we dropped it all off at home.

We then grabbed a box of crackers, ice waters and some peperoni...we were off.
I found this place and was stunned at it!
Inside we went to find that even though each child had a free game reward it would add up yet like so
shoe rental 3x$4
my game $3
$15! an hour to rent the lane

Oh the game would not be able to be finished in an hours time so it would be $5 additional charge per 15 minutes. The lanes were full so he then handed me a pager.

I took the kids over to a snack bar table and showed them the run down of charges.
I asked Dash to add it up.
$30+ for a game of bowling!

Well I told the kids that I thought that was a disrespectful way to treat our income and they agreed.
After looking at the coupons we decided to head over to the roller rink instead.

I decided they were so good about all of this that I took them into the arcade and bought a $10. card for the games and received $9 credit that differed from the add on the teller machine.
Rip off over rip off

I split the funds between them
They had a nice time.
It was a bit stressful keeping track of the funds but I found myself easing my shoulders and choosing to just relax.
I have just become way to focused on fund but you know it showed to me that all around me it was like nobody cared they were all like robots just dolling it out?
I was in a cobra den...snakes in the grass!

Happily the games were all reduce due to time of day.
I never saw this before but the games were set up like debit machines fully automated and we lost almost $2 more to bad machines

Dove is so young and magical it is so hard to see her tricked and yet I have to let her make an informed decision. My Dear God...It is like I just can not lighten up!
Try as I might I am just so serious~

So Dash choose to take a turn at this and had then just figured he had lost I looked down at the crane just as the chain was sliding through and then the hook on the chain caught the cranes claw and he got it!!!

Dash was so happy.
Dove was gracious but hurt.
Dash will often win he is just shined on that way
hard to see Dove work through it.
I really need to work on seeing her made more aware of her competency.

He was so shocked!

I brought a box of crackers and we sat with some peperoni as well and ate a snack.
The kids had chosen to get these cool little suckers that had a drip of flavor syrup,
they had opted for them at the grocery.
I was iffy and then let them do it.
They rang up half price and that was neat.

She is so loving
Dove is very athletic and strong.
Sometimes I really feel like I am falling short with her.
I wish I could give her so much more.

two great kids!!!!!!!!
We spoke about a Dr Pepper soda treat but it was only a few coins left, She had asked about it...
When I told her there was some at home...
That we would have some there she was amenable and kind.
Needless to say we did leave the skate rink a little before the session was concluded.
They were satiated and ready to go home and have that soda (they seldom get to have them).

Well at long last!
Just as we were getting ready to leave the arcade...
Dash lost that tooth!
The tooth fairy had found a cute t shirt for him.
It met both needs.

It is Wednesday Morning now 4:26 a.m.
I fell asleep at 7 p.m. last night and am up early.
The house is quiet.
I feel rested but worried...this living by budget is so good I only spent $16 to do all of that and around me families were just spending huge amounts that I do hope they really can afford.
Living debt free makes you look like a poor man sometimes and we are so far from that.

My largest kitchen table challenge went bust.
We had spent nothing for a few weeks so the pantry was empty.
Now is is full and we are again in great setting with supplies.

What would it be like if people around me in society were really living debt free...?
Would we stand out?
we do a little now.
Steve said we really belong in a lesser home.
We tried to sell it out last year...
We are doing alright it is just hard and I think my flesh is crawling with it a little.
Seeing all the extravagance out there yesterday just hit me strange. I find myself feeling just a little sorry for myself.
You know it is all perspective and that I am not alone at all. I am just transparent about it and most folks I see are pretending that the status is the same...they keep spending to keep it up too.
I thank GOD that Steve is a man of good financial sense.
And I am a woman of same.

So what if it is hard it is harder to live a lie when the effect of said lie really hits home.
I wish we would have lived this way in our younger days.
Though I do wish we could lighten up, the strain of it is getting old.

Tackle it Tuesday

My tackle today is two fold with many layers as well...
First off I am going to tend to the esteem needs of my children and myself
security
self hood
affiliation
mission
competency
I did an extensive post with two journal post over at A life Restored blog

So....
First off it is my mission to go to the grocery that has a few lead in adds that I do not want to miss out on for I have coupons on the items and should save well over 50%
It is my heart to example mission and competency to the kids by including them with a sense of purpose.

For when we return from the store we will shower and then go bowling
We have coupons the kids got at the end of school year as an acknowledgment to the good work they did during the last semester.
They both received one.

Then I plan to shovel a few more loads of rock from the plot for the flower garden to be...

The bed tent for my son out from under the big bed and set it up.

Enjoy your day and remember that...

YOU MATTER!

Menu Plan Monday

It is hot!
So in honor of the heat stove is not going to be humming much this week.
Just some morning preparation cooking and the rest is served raw and fresh.

I get to go out tonight
do you hear the little bird singing
:)

Laundry on the line and it is summer time!

Harvest this morning...the beans are a bust I think just too much for them.
Strawberry's lost the battle too.
Amazingly that out of season gift of a winter squash it lives!
It is now shaded with a yard umbrella.
Lost 4 musk melons to critters?
Then gave them to the dogs and the chickens.
The chickens thanked me with a 5 egg day.
The garden is languishing it is so hot!

Hung 7 minutes ago!

DRY!!!!!!!!!!!!
Time to fold and remove
7 minutes!
The trick is to not let them get any dryer than dry or they get crispy.
If you do hang out and it gets crispy here is a trick.
Put the dry items in the dryer with a wet wash cloth or rag and dry for 10 minutes the moisture will soften the clothing the time is still much shorter than the 45 minutes to dry them in the dryer from wet, hassle well that depends on your philosophy
is it more of a hassle to put your makeup on and contend with the traffic and a a boss and coworkers?...well to some it well may be.
Not this woman.
I love the hassle of gaining/having freedom.



To many of you dear souls it is not an option, often leaving you nothing left of yourself to even think of contending with the task.

laundry is fast in the summer from washer to folding it

even a fresh cool pool is just not enough today
time to let the dogs in for a few hours.
I let them in the evening of the 4th to wake up and step in dog pee on the floor!
I am not amused!
But I am kind heart and it is just too hot out there.

This my friends is in the shade
you back Easters now have a good day and get out and play in that rain for me will ya?
:)

The Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today... Monday, July 6, 2009

Outside my window... Sunny with a full blue sky...the dogs lay in the sun and the chickens are up in the hutch laying eggs. The gravel longs for another scoop and dump of the wheel barrow, I am thinking what I heard out in the garage this weekend may have been my husband filling the flat tire on the wheel barrow.

I am thinking... Going back to bed after morning lunch duty and sleeping in until 9:45 was just what I needed.

There s a sweet little girl who is just devastated that we are not having the party for Dove.

We gave Dove her choice and she had a skate party during the year with her school chums. On her day in two weeks she chose to do a family thing.

This little one hold the kids parties in high expectation.

We are friends from our home school days.

I cant get that little darling's grief out of my mind but I also can not do the normal big birthday party for Dove either. I usually do a big 12 kid get together with games and a cake and all. She must really love it. Oh I just so want to fix it for her....I do not see how I could possibly do so. Perhaps a play date?

I am trying to think up a way of yet providing this little girl with something to look forward too. I had no idea of how disappointed she was she really wept and opened up. This after Dove ran in VERY Upset and concerned about the fix she felt she was in.

Dove is also a tender heart.

I am thankful for... Rainier Cherries they are a pleasant memory from my childhood. I am grateful for having some things that were a fondness as a child. Being able to work hard and keep my family well fed without wasting lots of my husbands hard work (income ) doing so.

From the kitchen... Fresh fruit for I shopped last night. Counters still have things that need to be put away. Last nights loaf turned out so beautiful and sliced real nicely this morning.

I am wearing... A lavender mid calf cotton night gown. I am starting off slow and easy today.

I am reading... Eldala by Michelle Gregory see her blog Beautiful Chaos

I am creating... Cloth napkins to replace/reduce the use of paper products at least in part.

There are also the scrubbers that I use for dish washing that need to be made.

A clothing inventory list and a list of birthdays and dates with favorite colors so I can add it to the budget sheets and better be on top of it . this way I can have time to begin way before the week I need it. I can have the names and faces before to come up with some thing wrought by my hand.

I am hearing... The ceiling fan whirl and the hum of my computer . The children speak in the other room as they too are having their computer time.

I am going... out this evening to celebrate the birth of a most wonderful woman. She is an amazing mother and friend.

Happy Birthday Lisa

I will make a note later if I can attend at 5:30 or at 6:30 depending on my dear man whether he has to work over.

Around the house... There is a teddy bear/stuffed critter revolt and they are all staged on the floor in the hallway...groceries still need to have a few things put away and the laundry...well hidden in the mounds of my dirty laundry are a few more of the give away things I am sure to sort out into the giveaway box.

One of my favorite things... summer fruit

A Few Plans for the Rest of the Week... One more stop at a Albertsons to cash in on a few smoking deals, a gathering of my dear friends tonight (JOY) ! Laundry An attempt to cash in on a freebie deal to give the kids a day of play outside the home. A play date today and a swim date with the boy at his house on Friday. His Mother returns soon from a trip.

Please pray for Deb she is having closure with her grandmother who is passing

It is her boy I will tend today so that her husband can have a little break time. He will still have a two year old. Hard times for my little family of friends who we care so much for.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...

burning the night oil

:)

The full moon was a shining on me last night.

I think that is the prettiest loaf yet.

If you would like to join us in The Simple Woman's Daybook, please see grand mother wren here for link during the summer.

Breads in the oven

11 p.m.
I just put the loaf in the oven for his lunch tomorrow.
I got back to the house for the last time around 9 or so.

Had to punch it down and let it rise again.
I am so tired
I awoke at 3 am ironed over 30 shirts had a full family day
Did the lead ins and coupons and checked the inventory.
Went out to do the stock pile off the lead ins.


went to two grocery stores and a drug store and Wal mart
spent $150 and saved over a $170. (free with coupon and lead ins) good for a month or so.

I'll go shower and then when I get out pull the bread out
then oh then the pillow with my name on it.
see you all on the flip side.
just hop I get out of bed on the right side tomorrow. It is a Monday with a play Date set for Noon.

Family time fouth...

Hello
Hope that all of you found contentment in your weekend.

We were so happy to have My Love off on Friday for he had worked two 10 hour days to help the boss on a job. We did a few things here and then got together and set the house in order.
I worked on a project to clear out the clothing that was needing to be given away.

We spent a wonderful afternoon here Friday with Steve's folks here.
We had missed Fathers day with His Father and it was my MILove birthday on Thursday...
the perfect excuse to all get together and enjoy a meal.
I baked some chicken legs and then grilled them with a smoked BBQ sauce.

We had my first batch of pinto beans from scratch
Soaked the beans and all.
Not really hard at all just took a little planning and a lot of forethought.
They were crock pot after soaking and then all night in the pot outt in the garage.
Oh the smell not nice to my nose next time outside on the porch.

Then I made cowboy baked beans after the pintos were well cooked.
The other half of them were cooked on the stove into pinto for made from scratch re fried beans.
They turned out real good.

Our afternoon with the folks was nice.
They were able to return home before dark

She came with a wonderful idea to enjoy her grand kids...
She made rice crispies with them as I tended the grill.
She came with strawberries, carrots and tomatoes too.
It rounded off a real nice meal of BBQ chicken and cowboy beans.

She gave me a nice cookbook, it is one of age yet new to me.
I Just love these older cookbooks...sorta like the velveteen rabbit...they have been made real
:)
also a thermos with the old glass insert and an extra insert too look at the box.
Thank you

Steve and I did the budget for three hours yesterday sending out a three month projection
We are now better set to plan well.
This being the first 7 months of this new to us method we are yet working out all the bugs...
We rearranged the categories to fit my style of planning a bit better.

We then took the kids to a public pool, came home and watched Charlot's Web and had broiled honey mustard chicken kabobs...
It was real nice so nice that they fell out by 9 p.m. and we opted to get some much needed rest.

I awoke around 3 am to a dream about a niece that sent me to prayer and disturbed me.
I got up around 4a.m.
Ironed over 30 shirts as I held out in the silence in our master closet.
It will be real nice for my MR to have ironed shirts like in the BC days (before kids)
Now that I am getting this estate back to normal and the kids are healthy it seams things are getting back to the days of old when our home was better organized.
There is still a long way to go.


Dash and I played a game he created
then we has a phone call the kids together with a little pal .
The call needed intervention by that time Steve and I talked about some of the things I had been talking to God about all those ironed shirts long...
I set the table for a game and the kids came in as we were having a visit to find it almost set up.
Those two just sat right down and the game commenced
MOM and DAD time will have to wait until later.

Well the kids just ate lunch

The kitchen caught up by my darling while I Had tried to rest a little .
It is so nice to get a break from dishes.

I'll have bread to make this afternoon.

We asked the kids about camping again this month for it is going to be tight and they showed little interest...said that they were a little board going camping?!

Well perhaps that will make us able to do some other activity that would be out of the question otherwise. Well see.

Dove will be turning 12 this month perhaps I can do a little something extra for her.
She is growing up so fast.

Pray for a girl named Jennifer I am so concerned.

The 4th of July did not come free

All Men gave some
Some men gave all

The text of the Declaration of Independence is shown below.

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Natures God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

The 56 signatures on the Declaration appear in the positions indicated:Column 1Georgia: Button Gwinnett Lyman Hall George Walton Column 2North Carolina: William Hooper Joseph Hewes John PennSouth Carolina: Edward Rutledge Thomas Heyward, Jr. Thomas Lynch, Jr. Arthur Middleton Column 3Massachusetts:John HancockMaryland:Samuel ChaseWilliam PacaThomas StoneCharles Carroll of CarrolltonVirginia:George WytheRichard Henry LeeThomas JeffersonBenjamin HarrisonThomas Nelson, Jr.Francis Lightfoot LeeCarter Braxton Column 4Pennsylvania: Robert Morris Benjamin Rush Benjamin Franklin John Morton George Clymer James Smith George Taylor James Wilson George RossDelaware: Caesar Rodney George Read Thomas McKean Column 5New York: William Floyd Philip Livingston Francis Lewis Lewis MorrisNew Jersey: Richard Stockton John Witherspoon Francis Hopkinson John Hart Abraham Clark Column 6New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett William Whipple Matthew ThorntonMassachusetts: Samuel Adams John Adams Robert Treat Paine Elbridge GerryRhode Island: Stephen Hopkins William ElleryConnecticut: Roger Sherman Samuel Huntington William Williams Oliver Wolcott

Have you ever wondered

what happened to the 56 men
Who signed the Declaration of Independence?


Five signers were captured by the British as traitors,
and tortured before they died.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.
Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army;
another had two sons captured.

Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or
Hardships of the Revolutionary War.


They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes,
and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they?


Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.
Eleven were merchants,
nine were farmers and large plantation owners;
men of means, well educated,
but they signed the Declaration of Independence
knowing full well that the penalty would be death if
they were captured.


Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and
trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the
British Navy. He sold his home and properties to
Pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British
that he was forced to move his family almost constantly.
He served in the Congress without pay, and his family
Was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him,
And poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer,
Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that
the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson
home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General
George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed,
and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed.
The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying.
Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill
were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests
and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished.
So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and
silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they
paid.
Remember: Freedom is never free!


It's time we understand that patriotism
is NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July has more to it than beer,
picnics, and baseball games.
Happy Independence Day America, and may we as a nation turn BACK to God and be the Christian Nation as like we began.

Charitable Gifts on a budget

charity

• Main Entry: char·i·ty
• Pronunciation: \ˈcher-ə-tē, ˈcha-rə-\
• Function: noun
• Inflected Form(s): plural char·i·ties
• Etymology: Middle English charite, from Anglo-French charité, from Late Latin caritat-, caritas Christian love, from Latin, dearness, from carus dear; akin to Old Irish carae friend, Sanskrit kāma love
• Date: 13th century

1 : benevolent goodwill toward or love of humanity
2 a : generosity and helpfulness especially toward the needy or suffering; also : aid given to those in need b : an institution engaged in relief of the poor c : public provision for the relief of the needy
3 a : a gift for public benevolent purposes b : an institution (as a hospital) founded by such a gift
4 : lenient judgment of others

synonyms see mercy

When we Budget

We are not just budgeting our monies
On some lines if your ability to give money is hampered
As it well may be for so many in these days...
There are endless ways that you might be able to contribute to the acts that build up the world around you.

Give of your heart Prayer acts of service making a needed item If you have two shirts and you see someone with non share If one is hungry share If one is lonely too Well add a potato to the pot and sit down for a meal and give an ear.
If one is in a prison give them liberty For the prisons of man are without limits
Those of incarceration true...consequence to be sure What of the prisons
rejection by others
Mental illness
of error Hardness of heart dysfunctional relationships stuck in ways that began in wounds.
Helping them heal
now that is a priceless act
that can effect many for generations to come.



When I was a little girl (before the age of 6) my Momma would get so mad when those folk from the church would pull up feeling all good about themselves offering us the scraps from their pantry and acting beholden.
Momma would say "I don't accept charity"
We would be hungry...a single mom of 8 kids
Well I always remember this...
Some smart soul of humility figured it out how to bypass the wound to her dignity.

They were from the Salvation Army Late at night in the dark a box of food would be left in secrete.
Momma had no wound by it or shame.
We would eat well that week.
It was that momma had charity mixed up with being shamed for having a need.
She did not understand that it really was not the charity but the ego of the pride in others that she really was rejecting.

It was her dignity she was trying to hold onto.
When you are on poor times that is sometimes all you might own.

My mom would cook for the Veterans every Friday night.
This after working hard all day.
As early as I can remember
I was serving tables at the Veterans Administration Hall.
Reading BINGO numbers (a game)
That is where I learned to cook and too serve.
That is where I learned that a simple glitter covered pine cone is the world greatest treasure to a lonely man.

My Mom really knew how to offer charity.
Although she had little material substance to offer
What she did give She did so with humility.
So if ever your going to give do so in a way that you never harm an others dignity.
Go out of your way to do so.
Season your words so that they are doing you a favor.
Even accept their help if they have a offer it to you.
I often say
" I have some extra, I was wondering if you would like to take it off my hands"
or something like that.

Just cause there is nothing left over in the coffer
does not mean that there is nothing left within you.

Clothing Inventory

With two children who grow and change
I have to keep atop of the needs for the next school year.
It is far too easy to neglect this until school days are at hand.

I try each summer to go through the clothing
at least a month before school fall semester

My reasons are two fold

1. The children around me who are of the sizes that my kids out grow can better be set to know what they are going to need for the next year as we will be .

2. It is NOW that the clearance racks are full!
In another two weeks the competition for said items will increase substantially.
It is now that the greater selections are at hand.
In this economy it will even be more fierce a competition than before.

We are doing clothing inventory this week end.

What that looks like...
Each child will go through the clothing to see what they will no longer want and put it aside.
I then go through that.
I find things like pants that I can let the hem out of...
undies that are new and not the out grown ones :)
Genderless items that can be passed down in house.

One other category of keepers even though out grown are those hand made items that I will store for them to give them when they are adults.
That will come faster than any of us think:)

Dove did a pretty good job yesterday with very few exceptions.
This morning attending her closet with her we went through every item.
All of the child's hangers are being switched over to little brother this year....
She is becoming a young adult soon.
Oh the joy she felt to graduate to grown up hangers.
(they were readied by the inventory/sorting of our master closet this morning).
I box winter and open summer to hangers by swapping them out.
Then sorting out the worn out items or things that have not been used.
Some items that I really like and hope to grow/reduce :) into are stored.

I have a huge box in the hall with the clothes from us in the bottom.
Dove is the next layer and then later today Dash will have his on top.
This way I know who to send what items when I box them to pass them on.
This year will be the first year (Dash is now 9 and Dove 11) that I will need to purchase or make much for them. I make clothing every day.
I remember when we adopted the kids that we were afraid or concerned how we could pull it off or afford to tend them...(Darling was laid off right after Dash came home from Russia). So we just trusted.
Year after year beginning with their arrival God had led folks...
some I did not even know
to pass on to us the things their kids had out grown.
It has been amazing how God has provided for these tow kids.
It is a joy to give freely and pass them on to others.

I have been tempted at times to sell on ebay to cover costs and every time it was just not my way...
when I gave it always returned back often many fold.

Remember School is only a few weeks away...

Biggest Kitchen Table

Biggest Kitchen Table - Living Deliberately and Money
So if you too are serious about living Deliberately this is some of our method
Our challenge this week is to spend nothing for a week.

It is a thrill to do the no spend thing.
We often will go two and three weeks with this.
I shop in bulk and with the garden often have no need to go to the store.

however this last week we spent so very little until
we had some flowers and birthday gifts to tend too.
Thinking back if I were more on top of the birthdays I could have made something much more personal.
There are those times when things spring up quickly.
I think I will develop a method of keeping track and perhaps listing on the prior month any birthday or event that a gift might be required
Perhaps a creative gift list that has each name and month perhaps a line for interests and favorite colors and such.

I may need a bit for a luncheon out with the girls.
Or I may consider forgoing the meal or even perhaps doing an appetizer as an option and eating a small meal late in the afternoon.

We are using the Dave Ramsey system and have been living deliberately now for 7 months.

We use a zero balance budget spread sheet. I will try to have my husband give me a blank pdf to post for any one who is interested

These are the major categories and the suggested percentages from the book
we have tweaked them for our families needs

Charitable Gifts (10-15 %)
cash
Non-cash
Non Deductable

Savings (5-10%)
Emergency Fund No Touch(to eventually = 3 months income for emergency living)
Emergency ONLY Fund (for an a/c unit or such $1000) sugested
Child 1 savings
Child 2 savings
Pay Pal Fund

Housing (25-35%)
First Mortgage
Mortgage Late Fees
Additional Principle
( I am so looking forward to hitting this hard)
Repairs/house/furnishings
Replace Furn/Appliances /Deco
Yard/Garden Maintenance/insect control
Yard/Garden Purchase
Security Door
Flooring

Utilities (5-10%)
Electric
(It came down over $20. a month already)
Water/trash
Phone
(bare bones basic service)
(we have no cell phone)
Easy News (our brouser)

Transportation (10-15%)
fuel
car 1 car 2
then we list each week as in wk 1-5
Oil
tires
repairs
Auto Ins
Deductable
License and registration
by car with due dates
Emmisions Test
Car Replacement

Medical and Health (5-10%)
Doctor
co pay per family member
Dentist
list family members
Optometrist
list family member
keep track of apts and due dates for cleaning and exams...
Drugs
list each for each family menber
Non Mail order
non prescription
Hearing aide batteries (son)
Vet exams
list each due date for vacinations

Food (5-15%)
Grocery
list 5 wks
Stockpile
Birthday celibrations
Holiday/parties/vacation
restaurants
(a very rare event indeed)
Dog Food
Chicken Food
School Lunches
(I make them)
Steve's Lunches
(I make them every morning)
I have researched ways to save by baking bread
Supplements
Costco Membership

Personal (5-10%)
Allowance child one
Allowance child two
Computer fund hrdw/softwr
Cosmetics
Educational expenses
School Supplies and expenses
School Photos/Field Trips
Adult Eduation
Library Fines
Gifts (aniversary,Holiday, Christmas
Gifts(our bithday, adoption day)
Gifts (to give, bday , wedding, ect
Hair care (I buy in bulk at a beauty supply)
Hobby/craft/sewing

Life Insurance mom
(we place a very high priority on this)
Life Insurance dad
(Knowing that the family is covered if anything should happen to either of us.
However gain knowledge the type of ins. is crucial)

Miscellaneous
Postage/shipping and Handling
Pet supplies
Chickens(pine shavings)
Dogs (yearly Licence)
subscriptions/Magazines
Toiletries
Pocket cash (petty Cash)

Clothing (2-7%)
Adults
Children

Recreation (5-10%)
Entertainment
Admissions
Media,Movies, Games
Vacation

Debt
upcoming pmts for Dove
upcoming braces for Dash

Total all catagories



Income
by check or pay period
refunds/reembursments
Federal Tax Refund
State Tax Refund


Total income

every dollar has a place and if we do not use it there by month end it is either allocated for an unexpected expense or set aside for quarterly/yearly pmts.

We start out wit the income and then the essentials of house pmt and bills, transportation in that category we save for the auto insurance and pay it quarterly
Then we have medical and Rx, here I have gone to mail for the 3 months for the price of one co pay, all meds are then used in this way so that they are scheduled and we know when we need to reorder. We set aside a copay per family member

then as the totals drop we see what we have left if a bill is due that is covered.

Off the top we set aside our life insurance pmts divided by 12 so that is is there when we need it.

we have a spot for everything

I do not have a blank to show you but will try to create one. So every penny is assigned a spot in the apx column.
Then as the month proceeds we review weekly adding actual to the actualized column

we have paid off all debt except the house by prioritizing those sheets to do so. Now just the house is left.

We are basing our expenditures on the lowest 40 work weeks.
If overtime we will save of pay unexpected

any bimonthly or quarterly or yearly bill we set aside the amount divided by 12 so it is there when we need it.

If we then have a month where we have more than we need it will cover the items like clothing or shoes and such.

Now 7 months ago when we started the categories were often used
Now often as the months have gone by I have found ways to not use monies to fill those spaces but to use creative solutions to make it myself or find cheeper ways of getting by.

It is a highest leek come first basis.
Now only 7 months out most all leaks are stopped and any hemerages are gone
When they do occure we are able to say no to something and use it to cover the hit.

Thats the jest of it.
I hope it might help some of you.

Thankful Thrusday

Join us over here at Lynn's

This Evening...
I give pause to a moment of catch up.
I give pause in the gratitude of this odd day.
Here at the Life Uncommon another uncommon day...

May I tell you about it.
Humbly I admit that I had a real struggle ....
This Morning I awoke tired for My darling pulled a 14 hour day yesterday and we ended it with a very long drive to deliver a gift of kindness across town I really wanted it to be there.
This was a pull up to a curb and drop of an arrangement of flowers for my SILove who had a successful (it appears) surgery yesterday.

So after the early morning duties

I had some a clearing of confusion with amends of my error in a miss communication.
I found myself in some prayer as last night too, was I in prayer over said miss communications. I really grieve anytime I hinder someone.

My day started off in prayer over this and a dear friend who faced a ct scan today.

So on the sofa sat I with my two kids watching the Price Is Right and vegging a bit, so much so that Dear Dash offered me a pillow and covered me with a blanket...sweet little boy.

My life is far from perfect

and there are times where here in this paradise :)
I too like you must face my own challenges and slay my own dragons.
Wielding my own swords over the life of my loved ones
and those who are placed in my path.
There are even times when I have to stand up for what I believe in
and not be too popular for it.
It is not all glamorous and beautiful.
Yet oddly that really is the beauty in it.

When I live it though
in comparison with my youth yep...

boy howdy it is pretty perfect
for I am safe,
I belong
with a great purpose
and competencies
I can live my life and the hard times pale so
(even when any other might see them they would be FAR from easy)
yet do I celebrate this life.

I guess I do not speak of the trials too much for it is just that I have this perspective...
that
This too shall Pass

That even if and when
it is so difficult...
there must be an opportunity for me to humble myself or grow or offer up myself to help another.
Even medical tragedies like threats of health or life...
Over and over I have witnessed that everything turned out alright ...
within days I will need to really help another who has not had the good news.

Yet becoming intimate with the threat somehow I can comfort with the comfort I have been comforted with by God.

This life is FARR from perfect but
it is not my own.

I have been bought with a price and have given it away to love.
Love then has overridden all of the hardships and threats from torture to Alzheimer's

So today fatigue and a heavy wherry mind and heart over friendship strained I vegged on the sofa.

When into my world came the door bell quite unexpectedly for the house was well....lets say well lived in :)
First thought is they came here unannounced they must feel free with me so I let down my embarrassment and greeted a neighbor (who drives me bonkers!).
This dear woman so wounded that she appears to act "better than thou" when in fact it is her insecurity and need to feel good about herself that causes this behavior.

So I sat at the dining table with her while folding clothing all the while praying in my mind for the endurance to be patient with her and just let her talk to be heard.
Each thing she spoke could easily be taken an insult and I chose moment by moment to hold my tongue.
At one point she finally pushed it a bit too far... Expressing a "well why not...why can't you afford it?"...
I hung in there and after two hours she was then opening up about the real reason of her visit
I sat with her and watched her change her tone
understand her tone
see her wound
and receive unconditional love from me
that pulled it up out of me Toes!
She then sat at my table asking question after question regarding changing her responses to life and changing her control,
bossiness and self willed determination.
Seeing that it was not her heart but her learned behaviors
I am so thankful that some how I hung in there and confronted behaviors while loving her so much that she could hear.
She studied litrature I had on the developmental needs of a human
applied it to herself and to her son.

I am worn out a bit.
I see though that no one had ever really loved her enough to speak candidly and stand up to her behaviors without attacking her.
She had no Idea of how she came off...
she was saying how good she was because she felt to inadequate and bad about herself

She needed that badly to be acknowledged that it came out of her own mouth.

Somehow I saw that having known a little of her story.
I told her how proud I was of her...
that she then responded in a negative of how she really has a lot of work to do to restore her self to her son...

I told her today is today

"This day I am proud of you...
you showed a lot of character to be honest enough to say that you see your controlling lecturing behavior and you want to learn to do this custody battle for your son and not to win over your ex husband."

she looked at me and said yes...
today is today...
to which I added

"I am proud of you"

It takes great courage to be exposed
fears of rejection
"if they really knew me inside ?"

I was loved
within me is the choice to love.
Was it easy
NO
:)

It sorta wore me out It took a lot of mental energy to stand up to defensivness and excuses that later became a humor of truth to her.

but her son....
just maybe she will be a little better able to be restored to him before it is to late.