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Frugal Friday: A time to be frugal and a time to be practical
 As most of you know, my life has dramatically changed for a short season. Instead of cooking, cleaning, playing hide-n-seek with my girls, grocery shopping, and the myriad of other things I usually busy myself with, I'm spending most of my time in as-near-of-a-lying-down position as possible to attempt to keep my meals down. Yes, morning sickness has a way of causing one to step back and simplify. It's a hard season, but it's a good season. And the end result is something worth every single moment of nausea. However, I have to make it to the end of these nine months first, so that means shifting into survival mode. My usual frugal nature gets partially chucked out the window while I do what it takes to make it through each day. The hardest struggle for me when dealing with the first and second trimester sickness is meal preparation as I usually want to stay as far away from the kitchen as I possibly can. There's only one problem: we have to eat. I don't have a live-in chef or live-in maid and my husband is gone at work much of the day, so it's up to me to feed myself and my girlies. My husband and I decided that instead of getting carryout food multiple times per week, we'd substantially raise our grocery budget as a temporary solution. This extra wiggle room allows us to buy more "fast foods" that are also pretty healthful, too--things like Annie's Homegrown macaroni and cheese, beef hot dogs, and lots of finger foods for the girls. Raising our grocery budget by $30 or so per week is a big jump for our small family, but if it allows us a little bit more smooth sailing through these uncharted waters, it's every bit worth it to me. And in the long-run, I think it will also save us more money (not to mention being more heathful) since the default would likely be picking up dinner from a local restaurant three nights per week--and that adds up fast! It's only a season and it will pass. Hopefully in a few months from now I'll be all motivated to jump back into baking, bargain shopping, and cooking from scratch. In the mean time, I want to survive intact, and maybe with a smile, too! What about you? Are there seasons of life when you've had to let go of some of your frugal ways in favor of doing what was practical? And any great and extremely quick and easy meal ideas for me? I'm making a master list to work from over the next few months and would love your input.
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Have a frugal tip or thought to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Remember to keep it family-friendly and to post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. Links going to the homepage of your blog or any other part of your blog besides the direct link to your Frugal Friday post will be deleted.
If you don't have a blog, you are welcome to leave your tips in the comments section. Thanks so much for participating!Labels: Frugal Friday, Pregnancy and childbirth
Entering uncharted waters: Paine baby #3
 For those who may have missed my subtle hint yesterday, yes, we're expecting baby #3! And yes, it caught us completely by surprise, though we are incredibly excited and overjoyed! You see, we are in the process of a possible major job change and move and had been putting a lot of time, thought, and prayer into that. We were both hoping God would bless us with another child soon, but since I'm still nursing Kaitlynn we just assumed it wouldn't likely be happening until after she was weaned. [We both love children and have left our family size in God's hands. However, based upon past experience, I was pretty sure I couldn't get pregnant while I was nursing. It's been something we've both prayed about and discussed at length since we want to have many more children--should the Lord see fit to bless us in that regard--but at the same time it is important to us that I nurse our babies until they are getting plenty of nutritional value from foods or wean themselves. I'm excited to know now that it's not an either/or sort of situation!] I'd been struggling a great deal over the last few weeks and feeling almost constantly frustrated, moody, irritable, and exhausted. It was very strange and despite lots of prayer and reading God's Word, trying to quiet my heart before the Lord and rest in Him, I just couldn't seem to pull out of this major slump I was in. I began to wonder if I were "losing it" or what could possibly be wrong with me. However, there were too many other things going on in our life for me to really consider that pregnancy could possibly be a major contributing factor to my emotional instability. One morning this past week, as I was reading my Bible, the thought popped into my head: There's a pregnancy test in the closet upstairs, why don't you just take it? I had completely forgotten about that test we'd bought months ago for some reason or other and had been stowed away. What could it hurt? I thought. And so I took the test, expecting to quickly toss the negative results into the trash and get on with my day. You can imagine my indescribable shock when the test immediately registered as positive. Very, very positive. No wonder I've had just about every sign in the book of pregnancy the last few weeks. No wonder I haven't felt well at all! No wonder I've been experiencing some hormonal ups and downs! After I recovered from my initial shock and the metaphorical banging of my head against the wall to think I didn't see the elephant in the room, it hit me: Jesse had already left for work and he hadn't even the slightest idea clue that I was going to take a pregnancy test. (In the past, he's always been the one to go out and buy one for me and eagerly anticipate the results with me!) How on earth should I tell him? I thought about a dozen different scenarios but none of them were just right for the occasion. Instead, I picked up the phone, dialed his number, and said, "Honey, I know I don't usually call you at this time, but I thought maybe I should tell you: I just took a pregnancy test and it was positive."It took quite a bit of convincing before he realized this wasn't a joke; I was 100% serious! And then his disbelief turned to ecstasy. If we were giving out awards for which husband reacted the most enthusiastically to his wife's pregnancy announcement, I'm pretty sure Jesse would win, hands down! We are both thrilled with this unexpected surprise and humbly praise the Lord for bestowing upon us the privilege and responsibility of, Lord-willing, raising another warrior for His Kingdom. Kathrynne (3) is especially excited as she has been praying for almost a year now that we could have another baby. What a joy it was to share with her how God was answering her prayers! At the same, I am overwhelmed with the thought of juggling morning-noon-and-night sickness while mothering two little girls and keeping some semblance of order in our home. Pregnancy is always a very stretching experience for me--both literally and figuratively! I need God's grace more than ever and am thankful that I can trust Him to provide for all of my needs one day, one hour, one moment at a time. As many of you know, I also had some fairly serious health issues with my last pregnancy. I have put forth a lot of effort in the last year to fully recover and regain my health back and am grateful to be starting out this pregnancy in just about the best health I've ever been in. My hope and prayer is that diligent effort on the diet and nutrition front coupled with good medical care will allow me to have a healthier pregnancy this time around. However, again, I want to have my trust in the Lord--not in doctors, or midwives, or supplements, or exercise, or healthful eating. He is ultimately in control and I want to rest in His perfect sovereignty. Before I close this now-very-lengthy post, I wanted to ask all of you moms for any practical advice, input, or words of wisdom for me: What were the greatest helps in allowing you to survive morning sickness with toddlers underfoot? I'm feeling more-than-a-bit overwhelmed here as the nausea has arrived in full force. Comments, emails, links to articles/blog posts, are all very welcomed.
I also know nothing about what to expect regarding nursing while pregnant. I'd love to hear from those of you who have experience in this area and what worked for you.
Thank you in advance for your willingness to help this mom who feels like she's entering very uncharted waters and is in need of encouragement from those who've gone before.Labels: Pregnancy and childbirth
Saying "yes" to less
 A butterfly at the Omaha Zoo Butterfly Garden
Our family stole away this past weekend to Omaha, Nebraska just to be together as a family, refresh our spirits in the Lord, and take time seek the Lord and make some goals for the next few months of our life. It was the perfect timing for such a vacation: I was feeling like life was beginning to spin out of control and I felt frustration and chaos in my heart and life instead of peace. The very first morning, I got up early and made out a long list on a yellow pad of my current life goals. I realized, in writing out these goals, that most of the lack of quietness I'd be feeling in my heart and the lack of organization we'd be experiencing in our home was, in large part, the result of busyness. For two months, we'd been running here and there, doing-doing-doing, going-going-going. After four years of staying home almost 90% of the time, going somewhere every day or every other day was taking its toll on me, on our home, and on our family. As I reviewed my list of priorities and goals, I realized the only way we would be able to accomplish those goals or have my priorities in order would be by God's grace and a lot less busyness. Jesse agreed wholeheartedly. And so, we're cutting back and saying "yes" to less--less busyness and fewer outside-the-home commitments and outings. In other seasons of life, we might be able to do more and go more. In this season, my husband and I feel God is calling us to keep it simple and stay home more--a lot more. I need to focus my time and energies on raising and training my daughters; they are only little once and I don't want to squander this season with busyness. I'm looking forward to a Fall filled with baking in the kitchen with the girls, snuggling up and reading stories on the couch as a family, playing outdoors and digging in the dirt with Kathrynne (don't ask me why, but she loves dirt!), more quiet time for reading and studying God's Word, and, Lord-willing, many special memories made. Most of all, I want to be still before the Lord, listen to His voice, and soak up His goodness and the beauty of His creation. I want to say "yes" to less--and cut back on less of the many "good things" my life has been wrapped up in which are seeking to rob me of investing my life in the best things.  Related: Stephanie's post on a similar topic was a great encouragement to me as I was seeking the Lord on this. Labels: Avoiding Burn Out, Home Management and Organization
Frugal Friday: Fresh juice the frugal way
 Always one to be on the lookout for ways to eat healthfully yet frugally, this past year we've been experimenting with making fresh juice. And believe it or not, we have found it's not that expensive to pull off! I did a bit of research and found a durable juicer on eBay for $50. We then started pricing costs of fruit and vegetables to determine how to get the best for our buck--both nutritionally and financially.
Our favorite frugal juice combination so far is orange/carrot juice. I usually buy oranges when they are on sale for $2.99/bag or less at Aldi and then we buy carrots for $0.99/bag. Altogether, this $4 investment will make enough juice for three breakfasts for all four of us. We usually serve our juice with either bagels, English muffins, or homemade bread for a total cost of about $$0.40/person for breakfast. If I have extra eggs, I might scramble up some of those for extra protein, but it's still under $0.60/person for breakfast.  One of the great things about the juicer is that I can use it for fruit or vegetables which might be getting past their prime or need to be used up quickly. This past week, we've had lots of tomatoes from our garden, so we've been throwing those in our juice in the mornings for a little extra Vitamin C punch. Better even than the ability to use up fruits and vegetables which might otherwise go bad before we can eat them, though, is that I've found I can sneak almost anything into our juice and the whole family will gladly drink it down--even the girls who aren't always the world's best veggie eaters. It's always nice to know we've started off their day with lots of nutritious vitamins freshly squeezed! -------------------- Have a frugal tip to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Remember to keep it family-friendly and to post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. Links going to the homepage of your blog or any other part of your blog besides the direct link to your Frugal Friday post will be deleted.If you don't have a blog, you are welcome to leave your tips in the comments section. Thanks so much for participating! Labels: Frugal Friday
Waiting on God
 The following is a snippet from the 31-day devotional by Andrew Murray, Waiting on God. These words spoke volumes to me today as our family is currently in a season of waiting and I have been poignantly reminded of my own depravity and just how much I lack in faith and trust in God.
Whatever the outcome of our current situation, it doesn't really matter so long as I am basking in the goodness of God... His kindness, His faithfulness, His love. He is all I need.------------------ "The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him." Lam. 3: 25.
"There is none good but God." "His goodness is in the heavens." "Oh how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee." "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!"
And here is now the true way of entering into and rejoicing in this goodness of God--waiting upon Him. The Lord is good--even His children often do not know it, for they wait not in quietness for Him to reveal it. But to those who persevere in waiting, whose souls do wait, it will come true.
One might think that it is just those who have to wait who might doubt it. But this is only when they do not wait, but grow impatient. The truly waiting ones will all have to say, "The Lord is good to them that wait for Him." If you would fully know the goodness of God, give yourself more than ever to a life of waiting on Him.
At our first entrance into the school of waiting upon God, the heart is chiefly set upon the blessings which we wait for. God graciously uses our need and desire for help to educate us for something higher than we were thinking of.
We were seeking gifts; He, the Giver, longs to give Himself and to satisfy the soul with His goodness. It is just for this reason that He often withholds the gifts, and that the time of waiting is made so long.
He is all the time seeking to win the heart of His child for Himself. He wishes that we should not only say, when He bestows the gift, How good is God! but that long ere it comes, and even if it never comes, we should all the time be experiencing: "It is good that a man should quietly wait": "The Lord is good to them that wait for Him."
What a blessed life the life of waiting then becomes, the continual worship of faith, adoring and trusting His goodness. As the soul learns its secret, every act or exercise of waiting just becomes a quiet entering into the goodness of God, to let it do its blessed work and satisfy our every need.
And every experience of God's goodness gives the work of waiting new attractiveness, and instead of only taking refuge in time of need, there comes a great longing to wait continually and all the day. And however duties and engagements occupy the time and the mind, the soul gets more familiar with the secret art of always waiting. Waiting becomes the habit and disposition, the very second nature and breath of the soul.
Dear Christian! do you not begin to see that waiting is not one among a number of Christian virtues, to be thought of from time to time, but that it expresses that disposition which lies at the very root of the Christian life?
It gives a higher value and a new power to our prayer and worship, to our faith and surrender, because it links us, in unalterable dependence, to God Himself. And it gives us the unbroken enjoyment of the goodness of God: "The Lord is good to them that wait for Him."
Let me press upon you once again to take time and trouble to cultivate this so much needed element of the Christian life. We get too much of religion at second hand from the teaching of men. That teaching has great value if, even as the preaching of John the Baptist sent his disciples away from himself to the Living Christ, it leads us to God Himself.
What our religion needs is--more of God. Many of us are too much occupied with our work. As with Martha, the very service we want to render the Master separates from Him; it is neither pleasing to Him nor profitable to ourselves.
The more work, the more need of waiting upon God; the doing of God's will would then, instead of exhausting, be our meat and drink, nourishment and refreshment and strength. "The Lord is good to them that wait for Him."
How good none can tell but those who prove it in waiting on Him. How good none can fully tell but those who have proved Him to the utmost.
"My soul, wait thou only upon God!"
-Excerpted from Andrew Murray's book, Waiting on God
Graphic from AllPosters.com
Labels: Faith
Carrying a burden not my own
 I love this picture of Kathrynne snapped when she was helping me cook the other day. Sheer delight in working with mama!This morning as Kathrynne and I were working on cleaning up another stuff-bomb in the office, I asked her to go get me a trash bag from the kitchen. A few moments later I overheard her huffing and puffing and hollered down to ask if she were okay. Her strained voice replied, "I just can't do it, Mama. I can't carry this up the stairs."I quickly realized she was trying to lug the large and overloaded kitchen trash up the entire flight of stairs instead of bringing me an empty trash bag as I'd requested. Immediately, I couldn't help but think of how often that's me. I don't listen clearly to the Lord and run ahead and try to do what I think He asked of me only to find myself completely overwhelmed and struggling under the weight of some load He never asked me to carry. "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30) "Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved." (Psalm 55:22) Labels: Avoiding Burn Out
A crown to your husband
 All of you who are married or hope to be married someday must run over and read this excellent piece by Camilla Brown: 12 Things You Should Not Do To Your Husband. As wives, we have the incredible responsibility to be the help meet to our husband. This word, "help meet" in the Hebrew ("ezer") literally means "a tower of strength". Think about that for a minute: Are your actions, attitudes, words, and thoughts bringing strength to your husband? Or are they tearing him down as a man? If you are married, purpose today to invest your life around serving the Lord by serving your husband. Be his helper, be his encourager, be his biggest cheerleader. Listen to him, notice his needs, praise him, go out of your way to show him love in practical ways. Become a student of your husband--know his likes and his dislikes, his interests, his vision, his passion, his heart. Let us throw off the garbage we've been fed from feminism, humanism, and egalitarianism, and let us be noble women of virtue and valor, bulwarks of support and love to our husbands! "A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones." (Proverbs 12:4) Labels: Marriage
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As most of you know, my life has dramatically changed for a short season. Instead of cooking, cleaning, playing hide-n-seek with my girls, grocery shopping, and the myriad of other things I usually busy myself with, I'm spending most of my time in as-near-of-a-lying-down position as possible to attempt to keep my meals down.
