DPP- Day 1

One day late...hope this isn't precedent setting.

I said we were going to put UP the stockings. They heard, We are going to put ON the stockings.

 

 

from year to year

I'm not sure late at night is the right time to be reflective, but WOW-  so many good gifts have been given to us in the last year.

Last Thanksgiving, my health was at an all-time low, with newly discovered (but long overlooked) adrenal problems, unresolved thyroid deficiencies, and a host of other smaller things that left me wondering if I would ever function well again. We had moved in to a new house several months before, but not much attention had been given to making it "ours" because I was just surviving. We'd miscarried several times, and had begun to think we were done with our childbearing years (which in hindsight, was sort of a rash thought, but we were preparing ourselves to walk a different path if that's what the Lord had for us). We were trying to scale back in order to make sure I got back on my feet. I had just learned that all of my health problems were made worse by eating gluten and any kind of preservative or additive, so I was learning how to cook in a totally different way. Not easy for someone who used to try at least one new recipe a week! My cookbooks and beloved copies of Gourmet magazine were all of a sudden useless. I had much to be thankful for last year, but it was a very rough patch for our family. My husband was amazing, and he truly loved me in spite of myself many times.

A year later, I am almost 6 months pregnant with my best pregnancy yet. Not without its troubles (hope to eventually get some pregnancy posts out there) but so much better this time around than ever before. It took until about April before I was functioning at mostly normal, and it wasn't until the end of May that I was able to get off some of my prescriptions, thanks to hours of reading and learning of comparable herbal and natural treatments. I am still amazed sometimes that we are expecting- it seems too good to be true (and I have to remind myself of that when my hips are aching and I'm ready for bed at 8pm).

A year later, I am no longer struggling to have enough energy to get through one reading lesson with my kids, but we have full school mornings! We are loving school (and loving the time off this week) and my thought that I needed the discipline of school to really spend the time I wanted/needed with the kids has proven very true. I am thankful for the energy to teach these kids, and that this first year has been a smooth transition from preschool to "real" school.

A year later, we have officially started a small farm. Who'd have thought? After hours of reading, and researching, and dreaming, and trying to get it all figured out in his head, my husband has completed his first year as a farmer. We are still doing this on a small scale, which is exactly how you should start these sort of ventures. That way, when you make a mistake that causes you to lose 10% of your flock, it's not a huge loss. :) We have made mistakes, learned a lot, continue to learn, and look forward to growing this business next year. Warren even bought us a pastured turkey (I was just planning on having a chicken breast this Thanksgiving just like last year...I can't eat all the preservatives they put in mass-produced packaged turkeys), partly so I could enjoy it with the rest of the family, and also because next year we hope to raise turkeys and pigs to sell. We've been enjoying our pig/pork for the last month! I'm so thankful for a husband who is a steady plodder (Proverbs 21:5) and who is quick to explain where he is going with his dreams and where he wants to be; it helps me get excited about supporting him.

The year has brought many other changes- new friendships, old friendships deepened, a better understanding of those who are sick and suffering, gardening and canning experiences, lots of failures and confession (it hasn't all been rosy), books read, and new mercies every day. One thing I didn't get around to was making my list of One Thousand Gifts (or at least sticking with it). But Thanksgiving seems to be a great time to start that again, and my friend Lauren sent me a beautiful Vera Bradley notebook today that is begging for an equally beautiful purpose. She also sent me a replacement bag since my other one was rendered useless. What a thoughtful friend!

Blessings to you, this Thanksgiving! May the Lord bring to mind all of His bountiful graces to you this Thanksgiving.

I'm already out of town at my in-laws and we don't store pictures on the laptop- this is from last year. It's always fun to look back and realize how much these little people change from year to year!

Week 12- a cautionary tale

So I have to get this in before Week 13 begins in about two hours. And let's not even talk about the fact that maybe weeks 7-11 are missing from my blog (and maybe my life...can't remember now). But we will pick up and start afresh, and I will tell you a short tale of why this should be important to you. For more info and ideas, or if you would like a copy of any of the graphics Lea has created, head over to her blog. This was all her idea anyway.

Last week's bite from Tsh Oxenreider’s ebook (and just as a reminder, we aren't going in order, but randomly generating our "bite" for the week) was:

Streamline your receipt system (or create a receipt system).

photo credit: Blog It All

Throughout our  7 1/2 years of marriage we have tried a myriad of budgeting systems. We did the envelope thing for a while, and I liked having the cash but splitting up the categories was unreasonably hard. And confusing. Plus I really like using my Amazon card to get Amazon points. Then we tried Mvelopes, but there was a monthly fee and that sort of defeats the purpose. It also seems like we couldn't have as many sub-categories as we wanted. After that, we moved onto YNAB (You Need a Budget). It did cost money- a flat fee- and I actually think it was my favorite budgeting system. The downside is that it is not online, so you could only use it on the one computer you've installed it on. We didn't have a working laptop at the time, so if we went out of town, or if Warren wanted to check something at work, we couldn't access anything.

So now we are using Mint.com. We have tweaked it and it works for us. It would be nice if we could find a system that actually DOES do all the work for us (sort of my theory with planners...if someone else could put all the info in there, it would be so useful!) but as I learned last week, it is really our responsibility to keep track of our money.

I usually enter in receipts once a month or so (I know, not frequently enough- true confessions), but seeing this week's challenge made me want to streamline the process, enter my stack of receipts and categorize my purchases on a weekly basis. I enter the receipts and deposits and throw away anything I don't need to save. If it hasn't shown up on any of our accounts (which are all in one place on Mint.com) I save the receipt in a large plastic envelope for next time. Next time is now every Monday, not once a month, thanks to Tsh.

So I was going through my deposits slips, and my most recent deposit of $200+ was not there, 10 days after I was at the bank. I love my bank ladies, so I asked them about it the next day when I was at the grocery store (bank in the grocery store= genius!). I also called when I got home to read them all the info from my deposit slip...so thankful I at least had a semblance of a system to keep all those deposit slips, even if the former "system" meant stuffing them in my planning notebook until they fell onto the floor by the side of my bed. Turns out, they had deposited it into someone else's account. Even though we have been fairly faithful to record our receipts and stay on a budget, our deposits have not endured the same kind of scrutiny. SO, keep track of your money, friends. Otherwise, some unknown person who uses your bank may be $200 richer, and you will never notice.

Moral of the story: Keeping up with these weekly habits might be the key to your happiness. Or, a little strategic organization goes a long way. Stay tuned for the next life-changing habit...