Every now and then you hear an idea that just startles you! Wow. That's so genius! Why didn't I think of that?? Well, flipping through some blogs about saving money I ran across this article. Basically she sits down with her husband on Sunday evenings and does a run through of the week. They do a quickie budget report and look at needs for the week.

Last night Eric and I did this. It was nice to hear what he thinks is important around the house. It's not always what I am thinking. I'll see how the week goes.

Illness

Lately I have been having a lot of health problems. I have learned a lot about trusting in God during this time though I am still a work in progress! God is really working me over to just LOVE time in the Bible. My hunger for the things are God is renewed and strengthened!

Sunday I really did not want to go to church. My body was weak and weary and so was my spirit. Just walking, (err riding) into the building was overwhelming. But once there I could just feel myself being encouraged. The goodness and grace of God just washed away so many concerns and lies in my mind. We sang "All I Have is Christ". I kept waking up singing the song that night. God is so good, and He LOVES me. Not just loves me in the impersonal way that I used to think, but me, Lisa, specifically and affectionately. God really DOES work ALL things for the good of those who love Him. You can listen to part of the song both on iTunes and at the Sovereign Grace site. This really is an amazing song.

All I Have Is Christ

I once was lost in darkest night
Yet thought I knew the way
The sin that promised joy and life
Had led me to the grave
I had no hope that You would own
A rebel to Your will
And if You had not loved me first
I would refuse You still

But as I ran my hell-bound race
Indifferent to the cost
You looked upon my helpless state
And led me to the cross
And I beheld God’s love displayed
You suffered in my place
You bore the wrath reserved for me
Now all I know is grace

Hallelujah! All I have is Christ
Hallelujah! Jesus is my life

Now, Lord, I would be Yours alone
And live so all might see
The strength to follow Your commands
Could never come from me
Oh Father, use my ransomed life
In any way You choose
And let my song forever be
My only boast is You

© 2008 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI)

Avoiding

This morning I was reading my Bible in 2 Timothy 3. About the last days, and the kinds of people who will be around. There was a fly buzzing around. I hate flies. Last night one was flying around the family room. I told Eric I thought they were from the pit. He laughed, and then he said before the fall they had a different purpose. That since they eat dead stuff God would have created them to do something else. This is something that I look forward to learning about. Flies???

So one of the verses I was just reading came to mind. Verse 5 says "Avoid such people". That sounds like something I should DO. Not think, but DO. I don't believe that I should feel trapped by my circumstances (harassed by the fly from the pit), but I should look for what I can do. So 30 seconds later I dumped the dead fly in the trash, and I thanked God for the reminder that there is a time for action!

Sophie's Garden

This year a lot of our gardening efforts have been using seeds. Our lettuce has done well, and that encouraged me to keep trying. We have a small concrete pad to the side of our garage surrounded by a planting area. We call this area Sophie's garden.


The area is not big. Just big enough for a little girl's big planting dreams though! There is a retaining wall around the area, and on the other side is my blueberry bushes.

Recently we got this area planted. It was fun looking at the different seed sizes and trying to follow the directions for planting. It will be interesting to see what happens. We got the seeds in, and then we had a downpour. The poor seeds may all be washed away! We will have to wait and see what happens.

This is our "dirt". We are using the square foot gardening "soil" mix even for this area. It took us a long time to find vermiculite, then we got too much. It has been interesting comparing this "soil" to our yard soil.

Gardening

We are currently using Amanda Bennett's Gardening Unit for homeschool. I am not really sure it has been a good fit for our family, but it has helped me pull our family garden into our homeschool more.

Our garden is a square foot garden this year. The last two years we have done the traditional row garden. Truthfully we have plenty of garden space. Our soil is just so bad that we had very few things grow last year. My garden is a little behind right now. We have lots of lettuce though!



The spinach is on the left side of the picture. The other plants are various lettuces. The spinach is what I most wanted to do well. Maybe this fall is will work better.

The girls have had fun helping pick the lettuce.

Hopefully the rain will stop, and we finally can get the rest of the garden in.

Workboxes Day 4

Dh is out of town today, and over the weekend I have realized what a major slacker I have been with our homeschool stuff. Being sick got a LOT of things behind. That's okay. I have been doing my best to catch up! That's why I am up at this horrible hour of the day. Today was a teacher workday. With dh gone we ate leftovers and sandwiches, and I worked and worked and worked. The girls watched TV, well our version of TV at least.

This is what I did today / this past weekend. I installed Homeschool Tracker Plus. I highly recommend it! I took a bunch of the stuff I have been doing on paper and put it in the computer. I have terrible handwriting, haha yeh I know a homeschool mom who can't write. Plus I don't like rewriting everything from day to day. I finally went through some of my curriculm that we have only been partially using. We use Scaredy Cat, and there are a bunch of games and activities that go with it. I am pretty good at getting the basics done, just not the fun stuff. So all of that is pulled out, and at least partially organized.

Speaking of organization!!! Well, I did a lot of that. I stocked up on manilla folders at Sam's a couple of weeks ago. Good thing I did too. Oh, last Saturday I went to Staple's and loaded up on clearance workbooks and teacher stuff. I prefer printables, but the workbooks were cheaper than paper and toner. Not to mention I am getting worried about my printer.

Let's see, I laminated a bunch of stuff. Especially stuff I want to use for 4 or more children. I figured out curriculum and accessories that I need to buy. My head hurts thinking about spending all that money.

Oh most important I read and prepped our unit study we are starting on Gardening. I am a week or two behind getting in the summer garden, but hey I've been busy. So tomorrow we pull weeds with the lettuce, plant flower seeds in "Sophie's" garden, and decide what veggies we want to plant.

Whew. Just thinking about it makes me exhausted! Wait. It's midnight no wonder I'm exhausted.

So far so good. I NEED this workboxes to keep me organized and on track. The main problem is how to work with *3* that have "Work with Mom" stickers on almost all of their boxes?

Workboxes

A couple of weeks ago I heard about Sue Patrick and her workbox system. It sounded interesting so I started checking it out. About that time I got some new (to me!) bookcases. So I knew I needed to redo my home school stuff. We took last week off of school, and I rearranged and organized. This week we started using the workboxes.

This is my school room with my new bookcases and workboxes. Basically you divide your child's work between different workboxes (clear plastic shoe boxes).




I have just recently decided (been forced) to homeschool *4*. Now that she is 4 Katie thinks she is a big girl. I just have not been organized enough for all 4 girls.

We have done two days with the workboxes, and they are great. We have so much more done on the first day than any other day we have done school.

Sophie is really happy with the change, and I don't have little girls wrecking the house while I am trying to do school. Plus I am finally reorganizing all my school stuff.

Parenting

Do you ever read something and just keep dwelling on it. Rolling the words over and over in your mind. That is where all of this is coming from my pastor is preaching through 1 Corinthians. I like to reread what he preached on last week and read ahead for next week. I have been getting so much out of church lately!

So these are the verses I can't stop thinking about. 1 Corinthians 9:22b-23 "I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings."

Maybe this is a stretch, and I am sure I won't stop thinking about this here. Paul says "I do it all for the sake of the gospel." So that is why I do the rest. I think it is very important to have the motive down first. "I have become all things to all people." *IF* this is already true in my life what does it look like, *IF* it is not already true what would it look like? Can you see the difference your motive makes now.

For the sake of the Gospel, for God's glory, because I am so mercifully saved by Jesus, I can, no, I GET to act and live here on earth in a way that will glorify God.

So how does that relate to parenting? Simple if I have become all things to all people FOR THE SAKE Of THE GOSPEL. What kind of parent am I?

Dave Ramsey

I am a big fan of Dave Ramsey. Recently he hosted the Town Hall for Hope. He is running a special in his store where you can buy most of his books (even on CD) for $10. We will be stocking up to give them as gifts.

Eric and I have been doing Dave's Financial Peace University Online. It really is changing the way we think and the way we live.

Dave is also on lifechurch.tv. I am hoping to watch tonight while I cook dinner.

Homemade vs Store Bought

In my attempts to cut back our grocery bill I am looking and trying new ways to make familiar foods. For instance did you know that if you have an electric mixer you can make delicious whipped cream for 1/3 the cost of Cool-Whip, AND it tastes MUCH MUCH better! We had some strawberries to have for dessert, and I started thinking how good some strawberries and whipped cream would be. So I pulled out my heavy cream (that I had on hand thanks to my low-carb diet) and in five minutes I had whipped cream with sugar for the girls, and whipped cream with splenda for dh and me! Yum! I was the super duper wonderful mom tonight.

Here's how to make homemade whipped cream.
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1-2 tsp of vanilla
1-2 tbsp of sugar or splenda

Whip with an electric mixer or by hand if you really are superwoman!

I read this post on making homemade vs store bought. She compares taste along with price.

I think I will have to try making homemade yogurt next. The girls just go crazy with yogurt. Better tasting and cheaper sounds good to me.

Money Saving Ideas NOT to Try

With my ideas to save money we have found some that just have NOT worked for me. I have been using Cascade complete tablets. They work great. I have to clean the dishwasher strainer in the bottom (most dishwashers do this automatically). Using the cascade complete the strainer was really clean. I run the dishwasher roughly three times a day. I put everything through the dishwasher. I have put really dirty skillets, and my dishwasher does a great job. My dishwasher is one tool that I LOVE!! And I don't say love lightly either. So I tried the Member's Mark detergent from Sam's Club. It runs about half the price of the Cascade complete tablets. They totally did not work for me! I kept thinking that the strainer needed to be cleaned. If there were greasy dishes (and I have a LOT of greasy dishes) then the plastic cups and bowls would be covered in grease. When I started running the dishwasher twice to get them clean I realized that it was time to change back. The good news is that if you are not satisfied with a Member's Mark product you can take it back to the store. So off to Sam's I went. The exchange was so easy! I might even be convinced to try their laundry detergent!

I have also tried cheap store brand trash bags. We stuff our bags really really full. The cheap ones would just keep breaking.

Other things to keep in mind if you want to save money. Libraries charge late fees! If you rack up enough fees on DVD's being late just get Netflix!

Green Savings

We got our electric bill yesterday. This bill was for the first full month that we have been really trying to save money. Our bill took a big jump in the cost per KWH in Febuary so I really wanted to decrease our electric usage. I have been comparing our KWH usuage to the same month last year. This month we came down roughly 25% from the same month last year. We even had snow during the month.

How did we bring it down? First we traded some of our light for CFL's. Mainly the ones in the kitchen and playroom. Changing the bulbs in an ongoing project for us because the CFL's cost so much.

I think the biggest change is putting in cellular blinds and then keeping them closed when it is dark or cloudy outside. When it is winter and a sunny day I open the blinds up to let the light and heat in.

We also changed the temperature on the heat pump. It was not much of a change because we keep it cool anyway in the winter.

We started insulating the hot water lines. That is something we will keep doing as time and money permits.

This month we are working on our garden. We are trying the Square Foot Gardening. It took a long time to find the vermiculite. This afternoon we should get our very first plants started! It should be good for our budget and tummies!

Also this month we will be getting more blinds. We have a half circle window that lets in great sunlight. In the summer that room bakes though! At Lowe's they sell cellular blinds at the best price we can find both locally and online.

My Spending Choices

The process of how to spend money for each category in our budget has been a slow painful process.

First I was shocked to discover we spend well over $1000 a month on food, paper, diapers, formula, and eating out. We are a family of 7, but still! So this became my first priority to spend less. We have almost completely stopped eating out. That was a huge money saver. I started trying to keep more cooked and ready food in the frig and freezer. I really don't want to look up and discover it is 6 PM and supper is not ready. I have also changed it so that I have only $150 a week for groceries. That may seem like a lot for some. Hopefully I am on my way to spending less.

We also decided to cancel our TV and landlines. Those two changes alone have saved us roughly $100 a month. I live within view of the cell tower. My cell coverage at home could not be better. My phone also has a 911 GPS locator. So if I call 911 they can find me. I recommend the GPS locator if you give up your landline.

We also have decided to go green. Most environmentally friendly choices also save money. We have cut down the heat, changed over to CFL bulbs, put up drapes and shades, and started insulating more. Those decisions are individual, but spending a little on insulation or CFL's can really save you money long term.

We are also putting in a big garden this year. We'll see how that goes!

Budgeting Part 3

Budgeting is important to controlling your finances. Part 1 and 2 are about finding where your money is going or not going.

We now had all of our expenses coming from our checking account, and we had stopped using our credit card and overdraft loan. So we got to really feel our choices. Because that is all that a budget really is. What are your choices? Our choices were to spend a ton on food. I mean a ton!!! It was nothing to pick up fast food or convenience foods at the grocery store.

We decided that we wanted to pay off our debt as much as possible as fast as possible. So we choose to put more of our money toward debt and less toward other things like food and stuff. Since WE were making the decisions it actually has been empowering. We make the decisions, and we are not just watching our money do whatever.

Making a budget is not that hard. Just decide what is important to you. List all of the categories you spend your money on. Put them in order of imporance (like food and housing first!) Then spend your money on paper from most important to least. When you run out of money you are done. Either spend less on the more important things or none on the less important.

For us it is taking us months and months to refine our choices. Like can I really spend X amount on groceries each month. Can I spend less here? And only after I prove I can spend less is that money given up to another catagory.

Budgeting Part 2

Budgeting has been a huge part of controlling our finances instead of letting them control us! Part 1 was about finding out where you are actually spending your money. It may not be where you think.

Once we had a good idea of where our money was going we got to decide where we WANTED it to go. I actually was tired of running up more credit cards bills because I had prescriptions automatically going to a credit card through a mail order pharmacy. That money just disappeared each month. So my balance was actually going up even though I was making payments each month.

We stopped all automatic payments that had been going to our credit card. We sell on ebay so all of our FedEx shipments were getting charged. Nothing regular, but just enough to throw off things for me. Also our paper and Netflix was getting charged. So I transfered all of those charges to my debit card. At first that was painful, because I was not actually changing my spending habits. I was just tracking them.

I also had a loan that I was using like an overdraft account. If I thought we were running low I would transfer money. When payday came I would transfer the money back. It cost less than a dollar or two, far less than a bounced check. However it showed that I was not really in control of my money.

More to come...

Budgeting Part 1

For us getting control of our finances meant that we needed to find out exactly where we were spending our money. So we started tracking our money better. We use Quicken, which I do like. It allows you to categorize your spending for easier tracking. However you have to actually set the categories when you spend the money. My bank allows me to download my transactions into Quicken so I often skipped that step. We also had problems when I would buy from more than one category at a store. For instance at Sam's Club we get food (groceries), pizza (eating out), paper goods (groceries), books (entertainment or education), pants (clothes), and gas (auto:fuel). Not really that complicated, but it took just a little more effort than I put forth.

It actually took us between 2 and 3 months to really get a good idea where our money was going. This was really an important step. Because our idea of where our money was going was far different from where it actually was going.

Finances

This year dh and I decided to really get control of our finances. Last year was difficult for us financially, mainly because of medical problems. We both have started feel like our money was controlling us instead of us controlling our money.

For several years I have been a fan of Dave Ramsey, however being a fan did not really mean that I did what he said. I get his emails and in January he did a special on Financial Peace University Online. The class is great. You can also do the class at a local church. For us doing it online has worked best.

Our mindset about money has really changed. We are willing to spend less in some areas so that we get to choose where to spend that money. For instance we are spending less on food so we get to pay off medical bills. We are also spending less on stuff. Stuff? Yes, stuff things we buy and then barely use or let just sit.

More later...

Like a Baby

My 13 month old is such a joy. In fact I hear her saying ma ma right now. She smiles at me, and reaches for me even when others are holding her. She is always excited to see me.

Once of the first lessons I learned as a mother is how the mother child relationship mirrors the God child relationship. Yes I know they are far far apart, but I think of how much of the nature of God I have learned as a mother. I love my children in a way that they will not know unless they become parents.

When I walk in the room my daughter is so excited to see me. Her eyes light up, and she smiles so big. Is that how I am about God? Do I really get that excited about being with Him? And if I don't what do I need to change so that I do?

Dessert

Yesterday was my daughter's birthday. I made a cake, and they loved it. This morning we had our traditional day after a birthday breakfast. Yup birthday cake. I am just trying to ruin my reputation as a mean mom. My other daughter asked me to pull out my recipe books and make some desserts "like ice cream, chocolate chocolate chip cake, popsicles, and fruit cake". See I ruined them.

Pulling Weeds

Over the years I have enjoyed gardening, both flowers and vegetables. I am terrible at getting to weeds though. I would think today would be a good day to get those weeds except it is raining. OH WELL!

Lately I have been reading lots of reminders to get those weeds before they fully emerge and start to seed. Guess what? It is raining.

Well, it was just a little misty. So I decided to take advantage of the impulse and pull some weeds. I got started, and it was so much easier! I got on a roll. I was only going to do a small area. Instead I got the whole front of the house, and down one side. I pulled a ton of weeds. It started really raining, but I was so happy with my progress I did not care. I got an old dust pan out of the garage and carried my weeds to the trash. It took me 5 or 6 trips to dump the weeds.

Wow. I feel great if a little wet. I got a lot of pesky weeds that took over last year.

I find I have several other weeds in my life. Things that really aren't that hard to do, but I just get lazy and imagine the task to be so big. Hmm, I think I will go find some more "weeds" to take care of today.

A Great Parenting Article

This really is the best parenting article I have read in a long time! It is nice when you run across something like this.

The Mean Mom Continues

Picky eaters, I just don't have them. Let me rephrase that. I don't ALLOW them. We aren't poor. I have lots of food. You know how your grandmother used to say that "No one will go to bed hungry in THIS house." Guess what? You can go to bed hungry in MY house. Don't like the food. Fine. I won't bribe or manipulate. Just GO TO BED HUNGRY. Tomorrow you will be hungry. Children learn FAST.

And no I don't reserve meals. Though I do serve leftovers. By the time a meal is leftovers they already know the drill.

Do you bribe or manipulate your children to eat? What do you think that is teaching them? First day of a job. "Buuuuuut I don't wanna do that." No problem they just get fired. Is that really what you want to teach?

I Am A Mean Mom

Recently dh and I got the girls to clean up their toys. They got to fill a big toy bin with all the dolls, dress up clothes, and big toys that would fit, and it is a pretty big bin. Then they each got small bins with their names on them. They got to fill up their bin with all of the small toys they wanted. Things like polly pockets, little petshop, the small stuffed puppies that McDonalds gave out. Things like that. It worked great for a couple of days.

Today I gave them 10 minutes to clean up. Put it where it goes or I WILL CLEAN IT UP. That is code for I will take it to the basement where it won't return. Well at least not until they sneak downstairs and bring it back.

I EVEN gave them an extra 10 minutes after telling them AGAIN that I will clean it up. So what happened. I had to clean up. It took me 30 MINUTES! Yikes. What were they thinking? They even watched me clean up. On top of the favorite sock monkey, clown, and people I took ... ... the favorite froggy blankey. Wow. I am starting to feel mean. Hmm, it should pass soon.

My Blog Name

Why did I pick Seven Fishes Going Right as my blog name? On the back of my van are seven fishes. One for each member of my family. Of course they are all "swimming" right. Right because we want to go the right way toward God and others.

This blog is about my thoughts, family, and most important my God.