A Time For Every Season....

Well, we're done. I think this was the hardest fasting month we've ever experienced. We've decided to move the fast next year to September when hopefully less is going on! This week we spent 89.50 on groceries due to the fact that we were adding extra food and such for our company and the bill posted a few days into the next week! . Other than that we enjoyed our media fast and time reading books. Drew loved Little House in the Big Woods - as did mommy! I did buy John some new clothes for work and the boys had to have new shoes for school, so that set me back about 75.00 but I used a lot of coupons and saved around 75% on everything I purchased. We also needed a new mattress (John's back has been giving him some issues and the mattress had to go) so the time we spent not buying things was spent researching a new mattress. We'll see if john ends up liking the one I picked out it arrived today! I didn't get as much growth and contentment as I expected this fasting...

This was an interesting week, we had company come visit us over the weekend, so we had to take a break from our spending sabbatical. We took our guests - David and his girlfriend Kessa, to Joe T Garcia's for lunch on Friday. Then on Saturday we celebrated my mom's birthday with a girls day out for pedicures, a cute little tea house for lunch, and a movie that evening. I had some cash set aside that someone gave me as a gift, so we didn't spend any family money on the weekend. I did have to buy some groceries for when our company arrived, so we spent 42.45 on groceries for the week. Other than that it was a fun and enjoyable week. John had to work most of the week and the kids and I went to the pool and played around the house. Drew is mastering his phonics and the writing of his letters, while Gabe spent most of the week trying to get his eye teeth to come through . Gabe was especially cranky and even put on a nice tantrum for our company. It was a wonderful week of fun! ...

Week two was a rather hard week for me. I've been home with the kids for two full weeks. John has been gone almost the entire time - leaving before I get up and home after I go to sleep. It was a rough week of work, kids, cleaning, and nothing else. We went swimming a few times to get out of the house, baked a ton of homemade treats, and read oh so many books. Drew has been eager to practice his phonics and write some letters - I bribed him with a guarantee that we'd take him to his first NASCAR race once he learned how to read! Drew thinks that is where Lightning McQueen lives and races when he isn't making movies. I was energized late in the week with my first ever double up to 1.00 coupon extravaganza at Kroger! It forced me to get my coupons organized and put together my endless lists of what to buy. My mother and I awoke before dawn (5:30 am), coupon and list in hand. We weren't surprised by all the other frugals who were also shopping bright and early on a Sat...

The kids are in bed and I'm sitting on the couch, devouring frozen yogurt, reading the new "TOS Magazine" and listening to my new favorite song "What Do I Know of Holy" by Addison Road (Below) over and over again. I'm mulling over starting a composting bin with red worms (a very NW thing to do!) and dreaming of the homeschooling material I've been researching. I love our fasting month, no temptations to turn on the TV and veg out!

I had my checkup today, everything went great. Our peanut is growing and had a normal heart rate (174). I gain a pound since a month ago but my tummy is protruding a lot - my body is already changing. The boys are super excited about having a little brother or sister. I'm excited for the morning sickness to go away.... still waiting! I'd also love my energy back! The boys have been enjoying the hot weather, we swam in the whale pool this evening and made some rice krispy treats for the kiddo's to enjoy. Drew and Gabe were so excited! I've been busy saving money - I took a few months sabbatical from couponing while we cleaned out the cupboards and freezer. Now I'm getting back into the couponing. Here are a few of the deals I did this week to get free food! 10 boxes of Rice Krispies at Albertson's which cost 8.00 (oop) after coupons and in store ad. I will receive a 10.00 rebate check sometime in the next 4-6 weeks. So I made 2.00 - here come the Rice Krispy tre...

It is August! It is time for our family to go without! It couldn't have come at a better time, we're still in the vacation mindset of eating out and splurging, so our reality check will come via hard core disciplines this month. Actually, it may sound like an awful practice, but I really look forward to our fasting months. For some reason I am challenged to save, bake, create from scratch, stay home, spend more time in God's word, listen to relaxing music, bring out the candles, read those books I've been staring at, and pray more. I love the fruit of our month long fast, prayer comes more naturally and concern for others is always more on the forefront of my mind. I always feel closer to God and my time in the Word is more in depth. Not spending is like going without caffeine. It is really hard in the beginning, but after a few weeks you don't even noticed your without it. An added benefit of our no spending month is the subsequent months also benefit. In reviewin...

Well, our fast ended on 8/8/08 - we celebrated by watching the opening ceremonies for the Olympics. I learned that giving up TV is a piece of cake, giving up the convenience of dining out wasn't so easy. I cheated a week before our fast ended and met a friend at Starbucks. I cheated again on 8/7 and ordered a cheeseburger at McDonald's while running home from the store. I did learn that convenience is a huge decision maker when ordering out. So, to help my cravings for convenience I've started cooking a few items in "bulk". Tonight I made breakfast burritos after the kids went to bed - 15 to be exact. I then wrapped them in plastic wrap and stuck them in the freezer. Now I have a simple breakfast item to grab when I'm rushed. In case you want to make them, their very simple and cheap! Dozen Eggs .99 * sale at Safeway Ground Sausage .65 * discounted meat at Safeway Grated Cheese 1.67 * 3/5 at Kroger Tortilla's .90 * Costco 50 for around 2.50 Rice .10 * Left...

Our fast is going so well! This fast we are working on plumping up our savings to 3 months living expenses. I am so excited to see the only expenses in our checking account are bills! John laughs at me because yesterday I looked at our savings account balance 3 times just because I loved the large numbers! It also helped that we received our tax refund; for once we didn't have other expenses to pay! We should have our 3 months living expenses complete by the end of May. I am so excited! John has been doing super on his goals for this fast, he has prayed with me every night before bed which we are both excited about. Drew has only watched TV once and that was when he had his ear infection and felt crummy. It is a tradition that when Drew is sick he can watch a DVD on the portable DVD player. The nice thing is that Drew doesn't even ask to watch anything. He has been using his imagination a lot, playing rocket ship instead of asking to watch it on Tv. My fasting is going well, I...

Many of you may or may now know that every February and September our family goes on a consumerism fast - not because we are more holy or strong in faith, but because we are weak and desperately need a period of refreshing and rejuvenation. Between the hours of TV, stops at McDonalds, trips to the mall and thoughts of the next drive to Starbucks we seem to loose our vibrant and constant need for our "living water" - - our savior. John and I often don't listen to what the Lord is telling us because we don't make time. Our priorities waiver and we fall into a rut of being content with God instead of Alive In Him! We miss many opportunities to show love to our children, friends and even strangers. We ignore or miss discerning moments and our prayer lives become stagnant and uniform -- boring and ineffective. For me, this current fast was much anticipated, I actually looked forward to taking a step back and really looking at the thoughts and activities that consume my day...