tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37235629018465531272024-03-14T04:21:24.310-04:00Thy Will Be Done...Catholic Homeschooling Mom of 13Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05023087118133723165noreply@blogger.comBlogger1390125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723562901846553127.post-8226756883723290102023-08-01T13:54:00.002-04:002023-08-01T13:54:30.228-04:00Paying for College<p> We wrote A Catholic Guide to Spending Less and Living More (Ave Maria Press, 2021) for individuals
and families at every stage of life. However, there are two milestones in the life of a young adult that
can be particularly costly . . . and the first one is college. (The second is a wedding, and we have a
separate resource for that!) Your education can set you up for future financial well-being or put you
so deeply in debt that it will take years to dig out.
This download is for students who are finishing their high school years (or who are going back
to school after being in the workforce for a while) and are looking to get the education or training
they need to support themselves in the real world. Whether you choose a four-year university, a
community college, a local training school, or some other program, you need to ask yourself, How
am I going to pay for this?</p><p> Don’t Waste Your High School Years:</p><p> First, a bit of background. We have fourteen kids (the oldest is now in her thirties) and have helped
most of them launch themselves into college the same way they paid for their first car: save, plan,
budget, then start saving more for repairs or for the next car. Each of our kids has had the same goal:
to get their undergraduate degree and be debt-free at graduation. According to our family rules, they
are responsible for any college expenses due after financial aid and scholarships are applied, usually
through savings and work-study programs. We don’t help them with tuition, books, or room and
board (unless they live at home).
Because all of our kids (except for #13) were or are being homeschooled through high school,
they have more time to build up that nest egg than many students do. We graduate them from high
school at either sixteen or seventeen, depending on how much they have worked ahead. (Why stay
in high school longer than you have to? In the immortal words of Ferris Bueller, “It’s a little childish
and stupid, but then, so is high school.”) Graduating from high school early is also a plus if you need
to spread out your college education over five or six years due to finances. Our daughter Alex has
this to say about what homeschooling taught her about financial independence:
I believe we all became more independent by being homeschooled and starting to work as
young teenagers. We did a lot of self-directed work, which prepared us for college. We all
started working as soon as we could, maybe to get out of the house but also because if we
wanted money to go out with friends, buy special clothes, a car, or a phone, that was on us.
I appreciate having had to pay for those things on my own as that instilled good habits: an
early work ethic, saving, and budgeting. It also helped me to make more intentional decisions
about what I was spending my money on.
If you are currently in high school, it’s not too soon to start thinking about where you want to go
to college and how you are going to pay for it. Working summers and part-time during the school
year can give you a measure of financial freedom if you you are disciplined about saving. (If you’re
not sure how to do that, check out the chapters on budgeting and saving in our book!) </p><p>Search Relentlessly for Free Money (Scholarships):</p><p> During the fall of their last year of high school, each of our kids filled out the FAFSA (Free Application
for Federal Student Aid) application to get some wealth redistributed their way. Hey, if the government
is gonna tax people’s money and give it away for free, our kids might as well get a slice of the pie!
Once you complete the FAFSA form, you will learn how much free money (in the form of a Pell
Grant) you qualify for, based on your family income and other factors. You will also learn how much
money you can borrow. The federal government offers two kinds of student loans, subsidized (lower
interest rate) and standard (regular interest rates). We want our kids to avoid student loans like a
prom date with body odor. But, as you will see, sometimes the kids have had to take out student loans.
You will also want to research in the library, talk to your guidance counselor, and check with
your local politicians for scholarship money. Our kids have all received between $200 and $500 per
semester from various state officials.</p><p>Consider Community College:</p><p> While we don’t feel that college is a must, we do encourage our kids to go to community college for
two years. After that, if they want to continue at a four-year university, get a job, go to trade school,
start their own business, or try out for Dancing with the Stars, it’s up to them.
Community college is much cheaper per credit than a four-year university. We have a nationally
recognized community college about twenty minutes down the road from us. In addition to being
affordable, this particular community college is linked to all the public universities in our state. Credit
received for courses taken at the community college transfers to the state colleges. After attending
community college, all of our kids so far have transferred to a state university, receiving full credit
for two years of college. Another plus of community college: If you drop out, very little money has
been wasted.
And yes, our kids go to public colleges, not Catholic ones. The various public universities our
kids have attended have all had Catholic student groups on campus, some better than others. And
some of our kids have been more involved with those student groups than others, but all the kids
have kept their faith while in school. So we don’t see what $50,000 per year and a degree in philos ophy gets you, other than a job at Starbucks and a home in your parents’ basement. We are mostly
kidding! If you can afford to pay cash to go to a Catholic college and you feel the experience is worth
the expense, go for it.
Our community college costs $6,000 to $7,000 per year. Our kids usually get $3,000 to $6,000 in
aid and scholarships annually during their community college days. (They receive more aid when
attending a university.) The amount of aid the kids receive has been decreasing over the years as
our income goes up and the number of dependents living at home goes down. Depending on the
amount they receive, they have to come up with $1,000 to $4,000 per year. And since they have all
been working throughout high school and have developed good saving habits, this is not an issue.
After two years of community college, all of our kids have moved on to a four-year state university. Some go to one close to home and commute; they get free room and board that way but have
commuting costs. Others have chosen to go to a school farther away (living there adds to the expense, obviously). They finance this by using their savings, summer jobs, and on-campus jobs, plus whatever
financial aid they have received. For some of the kids, the financial aid package has been enough
to cover the entire cost of college. Public universities in our state cost around $10,000 per year for
tuition and a similar amount for room and board.</p><p>Keep Saving Once You’re at School:</p><p> It has been fun to watch our kids get creative with ways to save money in order to achieve their
goal to get through college debt-free while living on their own. Finding cheap housing is mission
number one. Apartments and houses that are close to being condemned but are perfect for a bunch
of twenty-year-old guys to rent are much sought after by our kids. They buy used books online or
rent them from sites such as Amazon, eBay, and Textbooks.com. They also know how to shop for
and cook basic, inexpensive meals (if you don’t know how, ask a parent for some lessons or find a
mentor). They get a junker bike to ride around campus. An old bike purchased at a garage sale for
twenty dollars is perfect for this purpose, and if it gets stolen, it’s no big loss.</p><p>And Now, a Word from a Real Live Graduate:</p><p>Our Son, Robert Fatzinger,
Age Twenty-One
I think the biggest thing I have to offer is to tell you to not get caught up in the idea of a “fun college
experience.” I still had fun going to community college and then transferring to the University of
Maryland (UMD). While at times I wish I had been able to go there all four years, the money I saved
and the credits I built up while attending community college were well worth it.
If you can find a way to get ahead by taking college-level courses while in high school, do it.
Taking classes at your local community college saves you so much time and money. The flexibility of
community college also allowed me to work between fifteen and thirty hours a week throughout my
first two years of school. I saved a good bit of money and got help from financial aid, which allowed
me to pay for the first year of school at UMD without accumulating much debt.
As far as living on your own goes, I did move out for my two years at UMD. This allowed me to
hang out with my friends who also attended UMD much more. If you do live at school, I suggest you
make sure you have a way to make food on your own. This saves so much money compared to eating
out all the time or buying a meal plan and eating on campus. I like to stick to easy recipes that I can
make with simple ingredients. The next big thing is to find a supermarket/grocery store close to you
that has good deals. The chains in my area like Aldi and Lidl have great deals. The idea is to just find
the cheapest stores so you can afford to buy a lot of groceries and be able to make whatever you want.
While I was in school, I set a monthly spending limit for myself. I tried to keep my expenses, other
than tuition, food, and rent, under $200 a month. This gave me enough money to hang out with my
friends and go to places around campus. I was able to do this by having a few different jobs. In my
experience, the best/easiest job you can get is an on-campus job. Student employee hours are usually
very flexible, and for the most part, the jobs are easy. I was also able to do homework and study a lot
of the time while at work. Not only do you make money, but it also is a good résumé builder. What should you study to get the best value for your education? If you are looking to get hired
easily after graduation, I recommend that you pick a practical major. It’s okay to do something you
enjoy, but make sure that thing will be able to support you after school. And if you want to work for
a larger firm, keep an eye on your grades. Try to achieve around a 3.3–3.7 GPA, depending on your
major. The other thing that helped me was having a lot of other activities during college to build my
résumé. Companies want to see that you can get good grades while also having a life. This is why I
worked, played intramural sports, joined clubs, and volunteered for a lot of charities. The good companies will recognize that you still achieved a good GPA while doing something outside of school.
I took on around $20,000 in debt during my last two years of school. The key to keeping your
debt down is to save your money and apply for all sorts of scholarships. By being frugal, working
throughout school, and going to community college, you’ll be able to graduate without a ton of debt.</p><p>Seeing Is Believing: Where Are They Now?</p><p> There are many ways to tackle paying for college, if you choose to go. The details provided above have
worked for us and may work for you. Here are our results so far from doing it this way:</p><p> • Child #1 received her undergrad degree at age twenty and her master’s degree at age twenty-one.
She finished undergrad school debt-free, took out a small loan for the last semester of grad school,
and had a job upon graduation. </p><p>• Child #2 completed his undergrad degree at age twenty-two. He was in the seminary for two
years after high school, so he got a later start on college. He graduated debt-free and had a job
upon graduation. </p><p>• Child #3 received his undergrad degree at age twenty and his doctor of physical therapy degree
at age twenty-three. He completed undergrad school debt-free. He took on a lot of student loan
debt for medical school. He had a job upon graduation. He is in the process of paying down his
student loans.</p><p> • Child #4 completed her undergrad degree at age twenty-one. She graduated debt-free and had
a job upon graduation. </p><p>• Child #5 received her undergrad degree at age twenty-one and a master’s degree at twenty-two.
She finished her undergrad degree debt-free. She took out a small student loan to pay for part of
grad school. She had a job upon graduation. </p><p>• Child #6 completed his undergrad degree at age twenty-one. He graduated with a small student
loan that he took out for the last semester of school and had a job upon graduation. He paid off
the loan within a year of graduating. </p><p>• Child #7 received his undergrad degree at age twenty. He graduated with a moderate amount of
student loan debt that he took out for the last two years of school and had a job upon graduation. </p><p>• Child #8 is nineteen years old and a junior in college. He has no student loans so far. </p><p>• Child #9 is seventeen years old and a freshman in college. She has no student loans so far. </p><p>• Children #10–14, to be determined. They range in age from four years old to fifteen. Child number
thirteen attends the local public elementary school and is in second grade. He goes there to have
some learning disabilities addressed that we are not qualified to handle. </p><p> So that’s how it has gone so far. The oldest seven kids are doing great and setting a good example
for their younger siblings.
Even if we could afford to pay for our kids’ college, we wouldn’t. Sam believes that kids who pay
their own way party less and study more than kids whose parents pay. (Rob is proof of that.) </p><p>Our son Josh shared that our family’s financial philosophy taught him skills that helped him find
a job and be successful as an adult:
• How to make big decisions—and small ones too by spending time in front of the Eucharist.
• How to be resourceful. There is always another option.
• How to be creative when bored.
• How to work with all sorts of people with all sorts of skill levels and abilities.
• How to work on my own and on a team.
• How to research a problem, find solutions, and choose the best one.
• How to bargain and negotiate. It doesn’t hurt to ask.
• How to have a healthy relationship with money I don’t want to be a slave to it because I have too
little or because I’m scared to spend it on what I need.
• How to think about short- versus long-term investments. There is no such thing as a “short-term”
investment. Invest for the long run. The best short-term investment is to not spend your money
in the first place.
• How to avoid buying for the wrong reasons. Don’t buy something if you feel forced or pressured;
you probably don’t need it. If you do need it, you usually end up paying more than if you planned
ahead.
• How to comparison shop. Don’t take the first option right away; wait until you have another
option to compare and contrast it to.
• How to get good deals by buying things out of season, such as buying a swimsuit in January, ski
jacket in June, etc.
• How to learn more about money. You can always learn more about finances.
• How to save by working so many hours that you don’t have the time or energy to spend your
money.
• How to save on gas. Let Dad drive when your tank is near empty because he’s likely to fill it up
for you.
• How to find cheap outdoor hobbies like biking, hiking, and camping.
• How to find and buy high-quality used name-brand clothing, outdoor gear, and sports equipment.
Then resell it for a profit when you’re done or pass it on. I use thrift stores, Facebook Marketplace,
Goodwill online, Craigslist, eBay, Mercari, and OfferUp.</p><p>What’s the Next Step?
If you are reading this article the summer after your senior year of high school and are just realizing
that there is no magic wand to fix your finances in time for your first semester of college or trade
school in the fall, don’t worry. The fact that you are reading this says that you have some important
8 College the Fatzinger Way
things going for you. You want an education. And you want to get that education without putting
your financial future in jeopardy.
In A Catholic Guide to Spending Less and Living More, we have shared our family’s experiences
in staying out of debt and saving for the future. None of this happened overnight, and at times we
struggled to achieve the goals we set for ourselves. (If you can’t afford your own copy of our book,
ask your local library to order it for you.)
Do you believe that God has a plan for your life? If you have never asked God what he wants you
to do with your life, take that step first. Go and spend some time in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
Take a notebook and pen, and write down your thoughts and questions. Ask Jesus to speak to your
heart and show you the plan he has for you. If your parents are unable to help you plan this next
phase of your life, ask God to put good mentors in your path who can assist you.
Maybe it will be community college or trade school. Maybe you can become an apprentice or learn
on the job. Ask God to guide you, and look expectantly for the doors to open. Start volunteering in
an area that interests you. Talk to others who are established in fields you are considering. Above all,
pray and ask for wisdom.</p><p> We’ll leave you with this passage from the letter of James:
Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the
testing of your faith produces perseverance. And let perseverance be perfect, so that you
may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. But if any of you lacks wisdom, he should
ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it. But he should
ask in faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and
tossed about by the wind. (Jas 1:2–6 , NABRE)</p><p> Homework
• What do you want to do with your life after you finish high school? What interests, activities, or
strengths do you see in yourself that might draw you to a particular career path?
• What are your most important reasons for choosing a particular college? Are these reasons
financially sound? Is this school going to provide a good value for what you want to do in life?
• What are three things you can do to strengthen your financial situation so that you can finish
your post–high school education with as little debt as possible? (For an explanation of good vs.
bad debt, check out the chapter on debt in our book.)
• Who are some people you admire who have pursued successful careers and who might be able
to give you good advice on the next steps you should take?</p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05023087118133723165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723562901846553127.post-60573671199072338662023-08-01T13:46:00.002-04:002023-08-01T13:46:47.426-04:00Feeding Your Family on a Budget<p> Feeding Your Family
without Going Broke</p><p>2 parents + 14 kids x 3 meals a day each x 365 days a year = Yikes!</p><p> We won’t kid you. Feeding up to sixteen mouths at a time can get expensive. It’s also time-consuming: We spend about half of our day preparing, eating, cleaning up after, or planning a meal.
And so, when our kids come home with leftovers after a youth group meeting, work lunch, or other
event, we are thankful both for the extra food and that they have taken our “no waste” rule to heart.
Dang, our kids can eat. Once they hit twelve years of age, they start eating like every meal is their
last. They can chow down on three cheeseburgers and a pile of fries and five minutes later ask where
the dessert is. So what’s a parent to do?
One of the biggest ways we save money is by eating at home 99.99% of the time. People think
we must do a huge meal prep and recipe planning sessions. But we don’t. Our only secret to frugal
meals and keeping up with feeding our family is to buy what is on sale and to eat simply. When we
say a dish is simple, we mean easy to prepare and using as few ingredients as possible.
We have found some go-to meals—or as Kendra Adachi, podcaster and author of The Lazy Genius
Way calls them, brainless crowd-pleasers—that our family likes, and we suggest you do the same.
(We’ve posted some of our go-to recipes on our website, FatzFam.com.) It helps to have between ten
and thirty go-to meals. Once you get your go-to list, start to stock supplies in your pantry by looking
for those ingredients on sale. On Sunday nights, we make a list of the meals we are going to prepare
that week. In the early years of feeding our brood, we would serve a meat (chicken, ham, or roast if
it was on sale) plus a starch (potatoes, rice, or pasta) and a veggie (salad, carrots, canned veggie, or
whatever fresh veggie was on sale that week). Nowadays, we are on low-carb diets, so the less starch
and sugar the better. We roast lots of veggies. We are big on leftovers (we call it restaurant night), and
we have breakfast for dinner about once a week.
Here are some other tips and tricks we use to keep the family food budget manageable.
Shop discount stores. Around the time we had our eighth child, our monthly food expenditure
surpassed our mortgage payment. We currently spend $1,400 a month on groceries. Before Aldi and
Lidl moved into our town, we spent at least $400 more than that. For the uninitiated, Aldi and Lidl
are no-frills discount food stores. We do 80 percent of our shopping at Aldi, 10 percent at Lidl, and
10 percent at Giant when the supermarket has discount meat sales. Since these discount grocery
stores moved to town, we have used our savings on food bills to contribute an extra $400 a month
to our retirement accounts.
Make friends with the butcher. At all the stores where we shop, we try to get to know the employees, especially the butcher. Sam’s mom taught her this tip. She would befriend the butcher and find
out when he marked down the meat, usually 33–50 percent off, and what items would go on sale the
following week. No point in paying $4.99 a pound for chicken breasts if they are going on sale next
week for $1.99 a pound. We’ve found chicken at Aldi for as low as $1.49 per pound, and that’s when
we stock our freezer.
Beware big-box stores. For years we were members at a big-box club store. While we got some
good deals on food and household items, we also tossed items in the cart that we didn’t need. Who
can resist an emergency pallet of food, a heated toilet seat with a night-light, or a 72 lb wheel of cheese
4 Feeding Your Family without Going Broke
(all actual items at Costco)? Eventually, we canceled the membership to avoid buying such items.
Aldi and Lidl save us as much or more on food.
Stock your pantry with staples. We have two refrigerators, two ovens, two dishwashers, two microwaves (the Noah’s ark kitchen), and a huge pantry. Now, if you don’t have a family of sixteen, you may
not need two of every kitchen appliance, but a good-size pantry is essential.
Sam plans the weekly menu based on three things: what’s in the freezer, what’s in the pantry, and
what’s on sale at the grocery stores. The better the sale, the more we get. If there is a limit on the sale
items, that’s no problem; we just bring along some of the kids and put them in the checkout line with
a fistful of cash!
What’s in the pantry? Things that have a long shelf life: boxes of pasta, jars of pasta sauce and
tomato sauce, popcorn, peanut butter (lots of peanut butter), canned soups, canned beans, canned
veggies (we love artichokes and mushrooms), rice, canned chicken and tuna, chicken and beef bouillon, cereal and oatmeal, almonds, and crackers. We also stock a variety of baking supplies, such as
baking soda and powder, cornstarch, white and brown sugar, shortening, chocolate chips, flour, tubs
of icing and cake mixes for last-minute celebrations, pancake mix and syrup, boxes of Jell-O and
pudding, and marshmallows and chocolate bars for s’mores. Common herbs, spices, and oils we stock
include vanilla, cinnamon, taco seasoning, sea salt, paprika, oregano, basil, cumin, garlic powder,
dried onion, pepper, Old Bay Seasoning (it’s a Maryland thing), and olive, coconut, and vegetable
oils. Condiments include mustard and mayonnaise, ketchup, and soy sauce. We tried growing some
of our own food, but it didn’t really pan out. Besides critters eating all of our stuff, Sam can barely
keep our basil plant alive.
Having a well-stocked pantry saves you both money (since you are stocking it when items are
on sale) and time, since you won’t be running back and forth to the grocery store to make small
purchases. Our neighborhood has a fun text group that asks questions such as who has an extra can
of roasted tomatoes or a pack of frozen broccoli when we have those inevitable moments when we
realize we are missing an ingredient for dinner. We would be lost without our community of support.
Make one, find one, beg God for one!
Home Is Where the Food Is
As we mention in A Catholic Guide to Spending Less and Living More, our entire family goes out to a
restaurant about once a year, and Rob takes the kids out for lunch on their birthday. We go on a date
night about twice a month, using restaurant gift cards we receive as birthday and holiday presents.
There are many reasons to eat at home apart from staying on budget. Taking sixteen people out
on the town can be a logistical nightmare, not to mention the noise and general craziness involved.
Rob’s mom thought she would treat us to McDonald’s one time at the beach when we just had ten little
mouths to feed; it cost more than fifty dollars, and she laughed, thinking it would be around twenty.
Our kids fix their own breakfast and lunch, and their menu choices are posted on the side of the
refrigerator: some combination of oatmeal or cereal, toast, eggs, and yogurt for breakfast; leftovers,
nachos, sandwiches, or veggies and fruit for lunch. We make sure to keep snacks and water bottles
in the car. That way we are prepared for those times when fast food may seem like a tempting option.
5 Feeding Your Family without Going Broke
Busy moms need to keep things simple to avoid falling back on pizza and takeout. Anyone can
learn to stick a whole chicken in the oven for two hours, make some butter noodles, and throw some
baby carrots on plates. Some moms choose to cook on weekends and freeze meals in advance. We have
a basic weekly dinner rotation that we vary so the meals don’t become boring: leftovers on Monday,
tacos on Tuesday, Italian on Wednesday, slow-cooker meals on Thursday, homemade or frozen pizza
on Friday, burgers or other grilled meat on Saturday, and roast beef or chicken on Sunday. Family
traditions don’t have to be expensive or fancy.
We believe mealtime is an important part of keeping families close. Home is where memories
are made (even some not so great ones), where kids see real people act like real sinners, and where
we celebrate milestones and create traditions. Above all, it’s a place where we pray and work together
to care for each other’s needs. Our kids grow up knowing that it is hard to be a Christian, to pick
up your cross, to not spend money, and to keep your mouth shut. They know what it’s like when
someone makes the wrong financial decision, disagrees with their spouse, or is disappointed with
their teenagers. That is the blessing of a big family. Our children see the truth in many different circumstance's and personalities.
Making It Together
Teaching your kids to cook is an important rite of passage—even if you’re not the world’s greatest
cook! As they get older and prepare to leave home, take the time to create a simple file of family recipes for them, especially those recipes that are an important part of your family tradition: Grandma’s
Christmas cookies, Aunt Netty’s mac and cheese, and Grandpa Mike’s baby back ribs. Include some
recipes for low-cost crowd-pleasers such as chili and chicken on the grill.
Encourage your kids to go to Goodwill to find some basic kitchen equipment for their new digs
or, better yet, to ask around. When our son and his wife left everything behind in Arizona to move
cross-country to work near us, we asked around among friends and on Facebook for extra household
things. Our son and daughter-in-law ended up with way more than they needed, so they shared with
the two brothers who were moving out on their own also.
We are so encouraged that our older kids offer the gift of hospitality in their new homes by hosting
backyard picnics, game nights, and kids’ home birthday parties. With a little culinary creativity, you
are helping them to create community and build friendships, while continuing your family legacy
of spending less and living more, long after they are no longer relying on you to provide them with
every meal.
For more ideas about how to raise independent (and hospitable) kids, check out our book, A
Catholic Guide to Spending Less and Living More</p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05023087118133723165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723562901846553127.post-78456612223427868812023-08-01T13:42:00.002-04:002023-08-01T13:42:26.563-04:00How we pay for Weddings<p> Weddings the Fatzinger Way\</p><p> A wedding is often a reliable test of a couple’s readiness for married life. It tells a lot about how the
two of them make decisions, what they value, and who the most important people in their life are.
If your child is planning a wedding, we suggest that you decide up-front what you can afford to
contribute—whether it’s $500 or $50,000—and give it to the couple to budget. This will help them to
discern what is important to them.
Starting out, Rob and I were in total agreement over what we wanted: a big, debt-free Catholic
family. We wanted a lifestyle that allowed me to stay home with however many kids God sent us.
And so, our wedding was very simple yet also reflected who we are. And for our honeymoon, we
spent a week at a friend’s beach house and had a great time. Rob’s dad offered us some money to help
because he knew we didn’t have much, and he said we could use it any way we pleased. We put this
gift toward a down payment on a town house.
As the kids have grown up and gotten married, they have taken a page from us and have kept
their expectations about their wedding and honeymoon very reasonable. As of this writing in 2020,
two of our daughters and two of our sons have gotten married, and each of them has managed to
keep the expenses down. And while we could have written a whole book about how to do weddings
on the cheap, we want to share a few ideas with you now. (If you like what you read here, be sure to
get a copy of our book, A Catholic Guide to Spending Less and Living More.)</p><p>Tip #1: Fit Your Wedding to Your Budget (Not Vice Versa)</p><p> Each time a daughter gets married, we give her and her fiancé $5,000, tell them it’s theirs to do with
as they want, and suggest that they decide together what is important to them. (Rob usually suggests
they pocket the money and elope. He really does hate large crowds!) While it is traditional for the
bride’s family to pay for the wedding, many couples today budget and pay for this event on their
own. We have seen in our own two daughters’ weddings that they had different wants vs. needs. One
daughter wanted a fancy dress and a good photographer. She stayed under budget by having a smaller
wedding. The other daughter married into a very big family, so she decided to host a big group and
save money on her dress. She wanted delicious food, so we paid the caterer for his special recipe of
meat and mashed potatoes, skipped his servers and appetizers, and enlisted some friends to make
our own appetizers. We saved so much.
Here is what our oldest daughter, Alexandria (Alex), had to say about her wedding:
My parents gave us $5,000 for our wedding. I could decide to spend that however I liked and
pay for any extras. We even paid for the honeymoon with that money! I chose the things that
were important to me to focus on. For me, that was the dress, photos, and flowers. However,
I still saved on those areas by negotiating a lower photo price by only doing the ceremony
and formal portraits. I saved on flowers by buying online from a wholesale flower farm and
making table arrangements myself. For the venue, I was able to use a clubhouse in my grandpa’s neighborhood, which also helped to keep the guest list short and allowed me to save on
food. Finally, for the honeymoon, we stayed in a private house on the beach but did this at a
place within driving distance.
4 Weddings the Fatzinger Way
We were so proud of our daughter for managing her money so carefully. Since she wanted a certain
fancy dress, she figured out when it would be on sale. Then she negotiated a deal with the photographer to take pictures just for the ceremony (instead of buying one of his packages) and had friends
and family take photos at the reception. We ended up with about seven hundred photos in total!
Alex ordered most of the decorations and flowers online, and discovered it was cheaper to buy
tablecloths than to rent them ($12 per tablecloth to buy them online versus $20 to rent them). That
was ten years ago, and we use those purple tablecloths at least five times a year at our church for
funerals, weddings, and retreats.
The food was from a local Italian restaurant, and we had friends serve it and help with the bar and
kitchen. (Yes, we have amazing friends.) A friend of Alex’s made cupcakes for dessert, and we used
an iPod for the music with a playlist that Alex and her husband created. I purchased my dress and
shoes at a consignment shop for under $40 and found a tux for Rob at Goodwill for $15 that fit him
perfectly. We sprang an extra $10 for dry cleaning because Rob was afraid someone died wearing it.
After Alex’s small wedding, we wanted to invite the entire town to meet our new “son-in-love,”
so we had a huge open house a week after the wedding to show off the photos and celebrate our first
child getting married. We rented our parish hall and had about three hundred people in and out all
day. Rob did the cooking with some help from friends. We hired a DJ and a face painter, and cotton
candy was provided by Alex’s old boss at the concession stand where she worked during high school
and college. It was a blast because our friends could bring their kids!</p><p> Tip #2: Ask and You Shall Receive</p><p> When our second daughter, Elizabeth (Lizzie), got married, we also gave her $5,000 and told her it
was hers to do what she could. Her priority was inviting extended family on both sides (she married
a guy with a huge extended family) and having good food. There were 160 guests.
Because her wedding was twice as large as her sister’s, the expenses were also higher. But as usual,
God provides the biggest blessings if we get out of his way. At a church dinner, I was talking to one
of Lizzie’s coworkers at the Catholic school where she taught math and explained what a hard time
we were having finding a hall we could afford for that number of guests.
“Have you talked to the high school president?” she asked. “I bet she’d let you use the gym.”
So our very shy daughter asked Sr. Joan, who gave her blessing. The school let us use not only the
hall but also the huge kitchen attached as well as tables and tablecloths. Another friend gave us her
white chair covers from her own wedding. I put on Facebook that I was looking for mason jars to use
as vases, and all my friends came through again! Two different friends commented, “I have had this
case of jars just sitting around waiting for a good home!” All you need to do is ask, and God provides!
We selected a caterer and picked out the food we wanted. When we got the cost estimate, we were
a little overwhelmed. We thanked the caterer kindly and explained that we had fourteen children
and that was a little pricey for us, and he emailed back with a huge discount. Thanks be to God! The
caterer provided the main and side dishes. We made three huge tables of appetizers with some help
from friends, and it was fantastic. Our simple style was three tables in different parts of the gym, all
5 Weddings the Fatzinger Way
having the same food: a fruit tray, a veggie tray, cheese and crackers, tortilla chips, seven-layer dip,
and queso cheese sauce from California Tortilla (our daughter’s favorite).
Brides need to learn that investing in one area means cutting costs in others. Lizzie ordered her
dress and a veil on eBay for $155 total. The friend she hired to take the pictures did a lovely job and
didn’t charge much. I found lovely, brand-new navy shoes from a thrift store for $9 that I have worn
for three more weddings. Rob wore his tux from Alex’s wedding and got a new tie to go with it. It
was a wonderful celebration, doable with hard work and help from family and friends.</p><p> Tip #3: Avoid Falling in Love Long-Distance (A Groom’s Family Splurge)</p><p>Our oldest son fell in love with an amazing girl he met while working for FOCUS (Fellowship of
Catholic University Students, missionaries to college students). To be honest, when I found out the
girl lived in Arizona, I wasn’t too pleased. I know what happens when you fall in love with someone
far away: You leave your momma!
We all flew out for the wedding and took advantage of being near the Grand Canyon to make
it a dream vacation. We may not be able to have a family trip like that again, but it was terrific. We
rented a house and had a great rehearsal dinner there. We cooked food and celebrated with all the
local family and wedding party. Rob purchased a gray suit to match the wedding party: $99, free
shipping, and no alterations needed.
This son’s wedding cost us more than the girls’ weddings, but it was a huge success. Rob told the
kids that he wouldn’t be traveling more than an hour from our house for any future weddings, so the
boys had better fall in love with local girls. And so far they have.</p><p>Tip #4: Don’t Forget the Fun </p><p>Our second son married a wonderful girl he met in physical therapy school. We took advantage of
a good opportunity to host the rehearsal dinner at a restaurant near the church. The chef had just
won the cooking contest show Chopped, and the food he prepared was incredible. For that wedding,
I borrowed a friend’s stunning dress, and another friend did my hair. Rob bought a navy-blue suit
online for $120 that was similar to what the groomsmen wore. Before the spate of weddings, he hadn’t
purchased a suit since 1987—now he owns two suits and a tux.</p><p>A Final Word on Weddings from Our Daughter Lizzie</p><p> Weddings don’t have to cost $30,000 or more. For my wedding, my parents gave me $5,000, my
grandparents gave me $2,500, and my in-laws provided beer and wine. Anything more we wanted,
we had to cover ourselves. We stayed within (or very close to) our budget, however.
I ordered a $100 wedding dress on Amazon and had it altered by a local seamstress. I bought a
pair of shoes for $78, which was a little pricey for me, but they were very pretty, had lace on them, and
matched my dress. I borrowed my veil from my grandma; she and my sister had bought it years before
at a consignment sale for 25 cents and the lace matched my dress perfectly! To help my bridesmaids
save money, I let them pick out their dresses. As long as it was a floor-length, dark green dress, it was
fine with me. Some purchased a dress for $20 on Amazon or eBay, and some spent up to $75 buying
6 Weddings the Fatzinger Way
a dress elsewhere. Either way, they were able to save more than you would typically spend at a bridal
shop. My husband and two of his groomsmen wore $150 suits from Men’s Wearhouse that they had
bought earlier in the year for his cousin’s wedding.
The biggest expenses for my wedding were photography and catering. However, we still saved
money in those areas. We hired a family friend who was a photographer but hadn’t done weddings.
She was wonderful and much cheaper than the typical wedding photographer. To save money, we
just hired her for the bridal party pictures and the ceremony, but to gain some extra experience and
because she was awesome, she came and took getting-ready shots and reception pictures! Since I
don’t really care for cake, we had doughnuts for dessert. We ordered 180 doughnuts (fifteen dozen)
from a local doughnut shop, and it cost about $200, which is cheaper than a wedding cake.
Music was another large expense. For the ceremony, we hired two people from a music group at
church to play music and sing. They cost $300. We opted for a DJ at the reception, which is cheaper
than a live band. The DJ cost $650.
Since it was December, we decided against having flowers at the reception, which saved a lot of
money. I bought roses and baby’s breath at a local grocery store two days before the wedding and
made my own bouquets. I had a bouquet of red roses, greenery, and baby’s breath, and my bridesmaids had just a single white rose (the maid and matron of honor had three) and greenery. Overall,
it was very inexpensive for the flowers.
For favors, we ordered custom plastic cups in our wedding color with our names, the date, and
a fancy monogram design. They also had white labels each guest’s name and table number, so they
doubled as place finders. We purchased more than two hundred cups for about $200 online.
These are all simple ideas anyone can come up with that didn’t cost lots of money. We all had a
blast, and many hands volunteered to make the evening incredibly special. We know that God and
family come first and that marriage is a lifetime—not a one-day party that costs thousands of dollars</p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05023087118133723165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723562901846553127.post-67258742156335007852023-06-16T12:32:00.003-04:002023-06-16T12:36:22.307-04:00Homeschooling on a budget <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;">How to homeschool on a budget<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;">(notes from my talk at the Catholic Homeschool Conference)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;">To give you some info about me, I am the wife of Rob for 34
years, the mom to 14 (ages 33-6), and the Grammy to 13. I homeschooled my kids
till college. Thanks to a homeschool Tutorial called St Peter the Rock, (see my
prerecorded talk on how to start a Tutorial). My oldest two are homeschooling my grandkids. So,
it is nice to know they don’t regret being homeschooled. My answer when people
asked where my kids went to school was “<b>homeschooling Is our lifestyle, not
just our academic choice!”</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;">In 2016 our family was featured in the Washington Post for, “How
one family is sending 13 kids to college, living debt free-and still plans to
retire early” by Erica Johnston. The week the article came out we were put in
charge of a dear little 3-day-old baby boy. (He will be 7 this August) Ave Maria Press saw that article and offered
us a writing contract on a book called, “A
Catholic Guide to Spending Less and Living More, advice from a debt-free family
of 16. “ Since then, my husband has retired, and we still have two children
being homeschooled. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;">I am here to give you some ideas and suggestions on how to
homeschool on a budget! Let me tell you…IT CAN BE DONE!!! I have been homeschooling
for over 30 years and you can do it!!! <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Make sure you and your spouse get on the same page. One of my
favorite catholic couples Mike and Alicia Hernon are known for saying, “its better to be wrong
together, than right alone!” (Please follow their podcast and resources at
@messy family) I say all the time, <b>“Marriage is a Sacrament, Parenting isn’t”</b>
Even<b> </b>though we love those little darlings more than life itself, after
God, our spouse is our main responsibility.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;">For those who want the quick “Cliff notes,” on how to homeschool
on a budget, I am going to make this easy…remember
my name…SAM<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; line-height: 107%;">S: simplify</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; line-height: 107%;">-<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; line-height: 107%;">you don’t need to buy all the stuff</span></i><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; line-height: 107%;">…my go-to
comment to new homeschoolers is, “You need a library card and a math book!” Our
family loves, loves books…so I have them EVERYWHERE. I get them from garage
sales, library sales, thrift stores, freecycle,
and as gifts. For curriculum I bought things that could be reproduced, or that
we could use over again or with multiple grades. I also would always watch for
my favorite go-to workbooks by my favorite publishers at used sales, like
Explode the Code, Miquion (Singapore)Math, Easy Grammar, wordly wise, Handwriting
without Tears, Catholic Heritage Books, and many more. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; line-height: 107%;">You don’t need to do all the stuff…</span></i><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; line-height: 107%;"> so many
of us are burnt out from running all over the place to this co-op or this club…I
know it is so tempting to do all the things and participate in all the fun activities
but slow down…isn’t this why you are HOMEschooling? You are not driving-
schooling…music lessons are nice, clubs are nice, sports are good…but not if
they are costing us more than just a hole in our wallet. So much of our time is
wasted getting to and from activities. Especially if you have little ones,
those poor babies need to be home playing not stuck in a car seat driving their
siblings all over. Not to mention the money we spend on prepackaged snacks and
food when we are on the go ALL…THE…TIME…it gets very easy and tempting to stop
for some fast food when you had to rush out to piano lessons, or to go to the after-game
pizza dinner because little Johnny made a goal…or to have to pay for all the
extra equipment for all the sports and clubs. Now I KNOW I am hitting some sore
spots with some families. I by no means think you shouldn’t participate in all the
cool activities that are available, especially since many people homeschool so
they have more time to pursue some important talent or hobby like Irish Step
dancing, golf, robotics, ice skating, or gymnastics. Please don’t feel singled
out. I am mainly talking to large families struggling with finances, who feel
they need to take out a second mortgage so little Johnny can play on a travel
soccer team. Many couples need to narrow
down what their goals are. I would pray and think, “What is best for our entire
family???” How much is acceptable for your family? How much will this cost, how much time will this
take, and who else can help? (Grandparents, godparents, retired friends, neighbors,
uncles, and aunts?) We made our kids wait till age 9 or 10 before participating
in sports. Even then we found teams where we knew the coach or someone on the
team to carpool to practices and games. Some activities in our area are family
friendly. They practice an hour before games and all ages play at the same
fields. Also, many of our homeschool friends do things like cross country or
swimming where all ages do it together</span><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"> <o:p></o:p></span><b><u><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; line-height: 107%;">A: ask for help-</span></u></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;">From God first then others, I know one of the workshops is on building
a community, go to your friends to see if they have supplies you could use,
borrow, or buy…if they don’t have it check your local homeschool groups. I know
in our area they have so many to choose from and many who have Facebook groups
you could ask there. Not to mention, things we were paying so much money for
prior to covid are now free resources. I suggest asking grandparents or Godparents
for things like a science center, zoo, or aquarium membership for gifts.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;">M: make do-<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;">What do you already have??? Many people, myself included spend
way too much money on a curriculum, and decide they hate it…but because they
spent So Much on it, they make the child use it even if it isn’t a good fit for
the child or the parent. Maybe ask a friend if you can see it before you buy it
and get other advice before purchasing expensive material. Don’t forget to
always look at used book sites. I will share a list at the end. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pre-package curriculum might be great for different seasons in
your homeschooling. I have always put together my own resources from what works
best with each kid and their learning style. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; line-height: 107%;">We used in the past the library, all the time!! </span><span style="background: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; line-height: 107%;">I know the library
isn’t what it used to be, but you can order DVDs, activity kits, and more
online. Check your library app which gives you access to online research, books
online, and other things you can access from home</span>. <span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;">What can you do with or do on your own without spending lots
of money? There are also a million DYI or how-to-build stuff online to keep
your kids busy learning and making things from scratch. Do things at home like cooking,
playing outside, arts & crafts, games, fort building, and nature walks. Not to mention those thousand toys and games
the grandparents gave the kids for Christmas or Birthdays. What can you utilize
for free in your community? Parks, beaches, play areas, library activities,
free concerts, grocery shopping, nature
centers, town outdoor movies, pet stores, museums, and so many other homeschool-friendly
places right in your town that build learning into fun. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;">I
asked my frugal book friend Nancy about how she gets discounts and sales, especially
for high school and college. She suggested </span></span><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;">buying used books or renting them. AbeBooks, ThriftBooks, Better World
Books, and Amazon sells used books and rent textbooks also. Make sure to watch for
favorite publishers who have sales and free shipping, it helps to check their
website or get on their mailing list.</span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 28pt; line-height: 107%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: 37.3333px;">Thy Will Be Done!!! +JMJ+</span></span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05023087118133723165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723562901846553127.post-89336391889458009272021-11-19T16:01:00.004-05:002021-11-19T16:01:52.553-05:00Financial advice: From debt free family of 16<p> We were asked to give a talk to about 20 couples on finances. My husband and I don't have a program or system we invented. We just had the desire to be open to THE WILL OF GOD and to sacrifice everything we possibly could to make that happen. </p><p>So I have been searching a lot on line to see other peoples programs so maybe I can share their advice to better help families meet their financial goals. </p><p>This was a helpful site call <a href="https://sixdollarfamily.com/how-to-create-an-emergency-budget" target="_blank">Six dollar family</a>...</p><p><a href="https://www.biblemoneymatters.com/ten-ways-to-improve-financial-intimacy-in-marriage/" rel="nofollow">Bible money matter</a> is another site with lots of information. </p><div class="ez-toc-title-container" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; display: table; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; width: 425.609px;"><p class="ez-toc-title" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: table-cell; font-size: 19.2px; line-height: 1.45; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle;">Quick Navigation</p><span class="ez-toc-title-toggle" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: table-cell; vertical-align: middle;"><a class="ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle" style="background-color: white; background-image: linear-gradient(rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px, rgb(224, 224, 224) 100%); background-repeat: repeat-x; border-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); box-shadow: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; cursor: pointer; display: inline; float: right !important; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; padding: 1px 5px; text-align: center; text-shadow: none; user-select: none; vertical-align: middle; white-space: nowrap;"><span class="ez-toc-glyphicon ez-toc-icon-toggle" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; font-family: ez-toc-icomoon !important; font-size: 16px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1; margin-left: 2px; position: relative; speak: none; top: 1px; width: 1em;"></span></a></span></div><nav style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><ul class="ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; counter-reset: item 0; line-height: 1.6; list-style: none none; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; z-index: 1;"><li class="ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6; list-style: none none; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; z-index: 1;"><a class="ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1" href="https://www.biblemoneymatters.com/ten-ways-to-improve-financial-intimacy-in-marriage/#ten-ways-to-improve-your-financial-intimacy-in-marriage" style="box-shadow: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none; text-shadow: none;" title="Ten ways to improve your financial intimacy in marriage">Ten ways to improve your financial intimacy in marriage</a></li><ul class="ez-toc-list-level-3" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; counter-reset: item 0; line-height: 1.6; list-style: none none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 1.5em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; z-index: 1;"><li class="ez-toc-heading-level-3" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6; list-style: none none; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; z-index: 1;"><a class="ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2" href="https://www.biblemoneymatters.com/ten-ways-to-improve-financial-intimacy-in-marriage/#1-pray-for-guidance-and-wisdom" style="box-shadow: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; text-shadow: none;" title="1. Pray for guidance and wisdom:">1. Pray for guidance and wisdom:</a></li><li class="ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6; list-style: none none; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; z-index: 1;"><a class="ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3" href="https://www.biblemoneymatters.com/ten-ways-to-improve-financial-intimacy-in-marriage/#2-be-partners" style="box-shadow: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none; text-shadow: none;" title="2. Be partners">2. Be partners</a></li><li class="ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6; list-style: none none; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; z-index: 1;"><a class="ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4" href="https://www.biblemoneymatters.com/ten-ways-to-improve-financial-intimacy-in-marriage/#3-define-goals" style="box-shadow: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none; text-shadow: none;" title="3. Define Goals">3. Define Goals</a></li><li class="ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6; list-style: none none; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; z-index: 1;"><a class="ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5" href="https://www.biblemoneymatters.com/ten-ways-to-improve-financial-intimacy-in-marriage/#4-combine-it" style="box-shadow: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none; text-shadow: none;" title="4. Combine it">4. Combine it</a></li><li class="ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6; list-style: none none; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; z-index: 1;"><a class="ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6" href="https://www.biblemoneymatters.com/ten-ways-to-improve-financial-intimacy-in-marriage/#5-distribute-responsibilities" style="box-shadow: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none; text-shadow: none;" title="5. Distribute Responsibilities:">5. Distribute Responsibilities:</a></li><li class="ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6; list-style: none none; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; z-index: 1;"><a class="ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7" href="https://www.biblemoneymatters.com/ten-ways-to-improve-financial-intimacy-in-marriage/#6-budget-jointly-and-meet-regularly" style="box-shadow: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none; text-shadow: none;" title="6. Budget Jointly and Meet Regularly:">6. Budget Jointly and Meet Regularly:</a></li><li class="ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6; list-style: none none; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; z-index: 1;"><a class="ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8" href="https://www.biblemoneymatters.com/ten-ways-to-improve-financial-intimacy-in-marriage/#7-work-at-removing-financial-pressure" style="box-shadow: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none; text-shadow: none;" title="7. Work at Removing Financial pressure:">7. Work at Removing Financial pressure:</a></li><li class="ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6; list-style: none none; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; z-index: 1;"><a class="ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9" href="https://www.biblemoneymatters.com/ten-ways-to-improve-financial-intimacy-in-marriage/#8-agree-on-some-guiding-principles" style="box-shadow: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none; text-shadow: none;" title="8. Agree on Some Guiding Principles:">8. Agree on Some Guiding Principles:</a></li><li class="ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6; list-style: none none; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; z-index: 1;"><a class="ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10" href="https://www.biblemoneymatters.com/ten-ways-to-improve-financial-intimacy-in-marriage/#9-seek-outside-help" style="box-shadow: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none; text-shadow: none;" title="9. Seek outside help:">9. Seek outside help:</a></li><li class="ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6; list-style: none none; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; z-index: 1;"><a class="ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11" href="https://www.biblemoneymatters.com/ten-ways-to-improve-financial-intimacy-in-marriage/#10-put-the-needs-of-your-spouse-above-your-own" style="box-shadow: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none; text-shadow: none;" title="10. Put the needs of your spouse above your own.">10. Put the needs of your spouse above your own.</a></li></ul><li><br /></li></ul><div><a href="https://www.livingonadime.com/budget-advice-for-married-couples/" target="_blank">Living on a dime</a> has lots of resources also. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://lifehopeandtruth.com/relationships/finances/christian-budget/" target="_blank">Life, hope, and Truth</a> is another site I found in my search. </div><div><br /></div><div>If you know someone engaged, <a href="https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/11-ways-engaged-couples-should-deal-with-finances-now/" target="_blank">here</a> is some great advice. </div><div><br /></div><div>You can never hear it too much...<a href="https://fiercemarriage.com/finances-marriage-7-principles-every-couple-consider" target="_blank">7 principals every couple should consider</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Some <a href="https://www.focusonthefamily.com/marriage/marriage-and-money-what-does-god-expect/" target="_blank">biblical</a> advice...</div><div><br /></div><div>Wow, <a href="http://www.christian-marriage-today.com/making-a-budget.html" target="_blank">Christian Marriage today</a> give super super simple advice and a great worksheet for families. (Maybe one of my favorite!)</div><div><br /></div><div>Some times we just need some <a href="https://www.familylife.com/articles/topics/marriage/marriage-challenges/finances/money-management-for-the-christian-family/" target="_blank">basic quick advice</a> like this from Family life.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thy will be done!!! +JMJ+6<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fYTj4fHYsrM/YZgQmJ_DxJI/AAAAAAAARLw/P8t2Kdm-f38ewfqJWLih7Hq1dQU9uFBjwCPcBGAsYHg/s3088/64571414319__FA973AA3-7601-4809-B3EA-035F2DD8DFB1.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3088" data-original-width="2316" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fYTj4fHYsrM/YZgQmJ_DxJI/AAAAAAAARLw/P8t2Kdm-f38ewfqJWLih7Hq1dQU9uFBjwCPcBGAsYHg/s320/64571414319__FA973AA3-7601-4809-B3EA-035F2DD8DFB1.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u2I6zp0wA0c/YZgQmADQRVI/AAAAAAAARLw/O_XV329pZPwA52PF3VfWlq0DlrPLnf0jwCPcBGAsYHg/s3088/IMG_3717.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3088" data-original-width="1852" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u2I6zp0wA0c/YZgQmADQRVI/AAAAAAAARLw/O_XV329pZPwA52PF3VfWlq0DlrPLnf0jwCPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_3717.HEIC" width="192" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EDtrrN5RoqI/YZgQmJ7Xv0I/AAAAAAAARLw/Ql9iUhD_2xMNXWE1ZceNxG_OwDWqDoqVQCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_3863.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EDtrrN5RoqI/YZgQmJ7Xv0I/AAAAAAAARLw/Ql9iUhD_2xMNXWE1ZceNxG_OwDWqDoqVQCPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_3863.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PNWCOzA-EVI/YZgQmBL-7BI/AAAAAAAARLw/WZmkKhz7BMg0l2D1n6XN21VPLkNltqB8ACPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_3864.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PNWCOzA-EVI/YZgQmBL-7BI/AAAAAAAARLw/WZmkKhz7BMg0l2D1n6XN21VPLkNltqB8ACPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_3864.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></nav>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05023087118133723165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723562901846553127.post-18351669306693047832021-08-01T21:38:00.000-04:002021-08-01T21:38:25.807-04:00Day one - losing weight again...<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal">10 years ago, when I was 43, and the last baby I gave birth
to was 17 months old, I worked incredibly hard to lose weight. I was 163lb. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mainly doing the 17-day diet and working out
five days a week. I lost about 36lbs. It was hard but I felt great mentally and
physically. I bought a new wardrobe and got into great eating habits, I could even
cheat about once a week. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Well, 21 months ago I weighed 130 lbs. and wore a size 6. With
older age, menopause, and covid restrictions, I now weigh 160 lbs. and wear a
size 14. As a hugging extrovert, the pandemic really affected me. The closing of
gyms and 90% of my activities left me moping on the couch and causing lots of
stress. So, the weight came on and on, and I kept stress eating more and more. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In the past I would just do a 17-day cleansing and get back
on track. Lately I would try, and try, maybe lasting a couple days, I would lose
a few pounds, and then gain it all back again. I love food, all food, not just
salty, but sweet too. ALL THE THINGS…<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have tried different diets; keto, carnivore, low carb, intermittent
fasting, but none have lasted with my weak self-control. I have asked people for
help and advice, trying new things, and getting great suggestions. Nothing
really worked significantly. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Each month I would try and try again. Working out each day,
getting back to the gym, and trying to eat better. But could never have the
motivation I had years ago. Then it dawned on me…I used to do the 17-day diet
with others and publicly share my successes and failures. I would post my
weight and my food daily. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe having accountability
was all I needed…<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>So Here I Go. <o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">August 1, 2021<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Weighed 159 lbs<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ate three turkey burgers and some pickles<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Lots of artichoke Salad<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">(Cheated-licking the icing on birthday cake)<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CWAwyVxCN5U/YQdJbJp01CI/AAAAAAAARBQ/b-YTweyHPXQkup__BMEt9SVe0NNy5dlagCPcBGAsYHg/s2809/IMG_3667.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2809" data-original-width="1812" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CWAwyVxCN5U/YQdJbJp01CI/AAAAAAAARBQ/b-YTweyHPXQkup__BMEt9SVe0NNy5dlagCPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_3667.HEIC" width="206" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">August 2021- 159 lbs<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_ALl8s-ku6M/YNH48Rryt0I/AAAAAAAAK5I/hqnYk-P0yT4V9BaBj70ac6toAHg0yAsHQCPcBGAYYCw/s750/IMG_6210.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="712" data-original-width="750" height="304" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_ALl8s-ku6M/YNH48Rryt0I/AAAAAAAAK5I/hqnYk-P0yT4V9BaBj70ac6toAHg0yAsHQCPcBGAYYCw/w320-h304/IMG_6210.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>November 2019- 130 lbs</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Thy Will Be Done!!! +JMJ+</div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05023087118133723165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723562901846553127.post-68576377074578650082021-06-20T22:23:00.001-04:002021-06-22T10:51:34.453-04:00This is me<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_ALl8s-ku6M/YNH48Rryt0I/AAAAAAAAK5I/hqnYk-P0yT42CV9xXkNVgNk1hd87HqkegCPcBGAsYHg/s750/IMG_6210.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="712" data-original-width="750" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_ALl8s-ku6M/YNH48Rryt0I/AAAAAAAAK5I/hqnYk-P0yT42CV9xXkNVgNk1hd87HqkegCPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_6210.PNG" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">This is me<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">I love:<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">My God<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">My husband<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">My kids<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">My family<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">My friends<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">My parish<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">My town<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">I am a bad Christian, wife, mother, sister,
friend, and neighbor<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">I love to serve my God, my husband, my
kids, my family, my friends, <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">my parish, and my town<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">I am a bad housekeeper & cook, and I
have way too much clutter.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">I love mornings and I am a grouch in the
evenings<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">I am a sinner<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">I have a strong personality<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">Not everyone enjoys my temperament<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">I make lots of mistakes, <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">but I mean well<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">I have a big mouth, <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">but I usually try to use it for good<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">I mean well, <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">but sometimes I am misunderstood<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">I am bold<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">I am loud<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">I am pushy<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">I am obnoxious<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">I love, love, people<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">I love meeting new people<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">I love connecting people<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">I love helping people<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">I love holding babies<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">I am sure I am lots of other things that <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">people don’t like, <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">but I am trying my best to be <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">the person God made me to be. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">This is me, the good, the bad, and the ugly.
<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">+JMJ+<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05023087118133723165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723562901846553127.post-48980292821397533742021-03-30T15:10:00.003-04:002021-03-30T16:02:50.514-04:00How to save money from a Debt-free family of 16<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal">How to save money from a Debt-free family of 16<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let me share what I call my S.A.M. hack. Why SAM? Well, it
has been my nickname since I was twelve weeks old. My four older brothers
thought I looked like a boy, and since my brothers could do no wrong in my
eyes, it stuck. Unfortunately, my beautiful birth name Cecilia Ann did not. I
tried to make up for that by naming my tenth child, the fifth girl, Cecilia.
Even when I try to be a mature catholic woman and write Cecilia on my name tag
on events, those who know me say, “nice try! You are a SAM through and
through!” <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I could go on and on about S.A.M. Hacks. Let me give you an
idea of where I am going with this. With my hacks, I can promise you if you
follow some of them, you will save money. Maybe not millions, but it all starts
with baby steps. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let us start with <b>S</b>. <b>S</b> is for words like save,
simplify, self-control, sales, sacrifice, suffer, and then some more. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>“A” </b>stands for things like asking for help, being
assertive, appreciating, and abundance. These are tactics I use daily in my
life. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The last letter is <b>M</b>. “<b>M”</b> is a good one, make
a plan, minimize, make do, motivate, meditate, and Mother Mary. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have used these tricks to help my husband and I live debt-free,
pay off our house, and plan to retire early.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Some may only be able to pick one. I would suggest using what
works for your family and your state in life.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For example, “<b>S” </b>for save. If you have a bad habit
like going through the drive thru every Tuesday after soccer practice, remember
to pack snacks. Boom! Ten dollars saved per week. If you have kids like mine
who go to wash their hands in the kitchen sink and grab the roll of paper
towels like they are streamers at a birthday party, then stop buying them or
hide them until they learn how to use them sparingly. We have a box of rags
under the sink. They are used daily…reminder to self…” don’t cry over spilt
milk!” Check your online credit cards for monthly payments. You may be paying
for a subscription or membership you did not realize you were still paying
monthly fees, or you no longer need.</p><p class="MsoNormal">How about ”<b>A”</b>, asking for help? My superpower is
being a spoiled brat. Just ask my eight older siblings. Or am I just
persistent, a nag, annoying, stubborn, tenacious, and needy? Oh yes, I am all
those things. God bless my dear husband and friends. Asking for help is not a
dreadful thing. As I have said often, asking for help is giving another person
the grace of service. I used to be very much in need of help, socks to match,
kids to be read to, milk needed at the grocery store, someone to drive my kids,
the list can go on and on. Now that I am not pregnant and nursing, ALL.THE.TIME. I do not need as
much help. It is my turn to offer to help, match some socks, read to others,
grab some milk at the store, and drive other kids. It is my pleasure. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I tell my kids you are not spoiled if you appreciate. Another
a word I love. Writing a thank you note, texting a photo of you using the item
given, or just a call to say, “hey, thanks again for picking that up for me!”
Remember the leper who came back to thank Jesus. Were there not nine others???
Do not be the nine. Again, these
suggestions do not work for everyone.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> My go to is what is
best for your family. So, when I say A is for Abundance I mean buying extra.
This only works if you have a big freezer, a spot in your house for a gift
basket or closet or can handle extra junk in your house and the chaos it may
cause in your mind. You know who you are. I have a go to cabinet with baskets
labeled. Frames, candles, girl, boy, baby, grandchildren on them. When I find a
good deal, or I hit the after-holiday clearance bin I fill up with the stuff I
know I will use. White fancy candles are great for a friend's birthday,
anything with unicorns is perfect for my granddaughters, a baby bib or blanket
are perfect when you are delivering a meal to a new momma, so I grab some when
they are on a super sale. At the end of the year, I donate a basket with all
the extras. Food, there was a time when I could not keep up with all the food
my kids ate. Then something sad happened, my three college boys moved out and
leftovers were not eaten, I cooked too much for meals, so my husband and I
tried to scale back for the six small eaters at home. We now adopted about five
widowers that get little packages weekly. I cannot stand to waste anything, so
this helps me from ever throwing out food. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JfdVsfI7nC0/YGN3GswPtbI/AAAAAAAAK1A/j4n5e6JfYpYJtA2w1cgzHFGhBvSImf5tACPcBGAsYHg/s4032/59844943055__17E869E4-0D96-4ECB-8636-ACF40CC397B0.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JfdVsfI7nC0/YGN3GswPtbI/AAAAAAAAK1A/j4n5e6JfYpYJtA2w1cgzHFGhBvSImf5tACPcBGAsYHg/s320/59844943055__17E869E4-0D96-4ECB-8636-ACF40CC397B0.JPG" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Make a plan is essential for any family, with food, life, or
just plain get through the day. I hope I am not the only crazy mom who has
showed up at the doctor and the receptionist says, “your appointment is
tomorrow, not today.” Minimize, even my
clutter free friends find it necessary to minimize, I am so bad at this because
I like my junk, but I still fine time to clear out when I can. (like having guests over) My mommy taught me
the pure skill of making do or offer it up as some of us say. Do not like your
sneakers, make do until your birthday.
Want a new car? Make do with this one until it is unfixable. How about getting motivated? This may be part
of your money spending plan. Make a note or sign or something that says when we
save $400, we can put a down payment on that vacation, or that fun day trip. I
have learned the hard way about missing my time to meditate. There is a saying,
“if your too busy to pray than pray longer.” A priest friend of mine says,
“don’t tell me you forgot to pray today, did you forget to eat today?”
Especially mommas need some quiet time. I would stick my babies in the bathtub
and say the rosary or read while sitting next the them while they were content
while splashing around. You would be doing yourself a disservice if you didn’t
call on Mother Mary for her intercession and example. Our Lady Undoes of Knots
is my new go to. She does not miss a beat when I am in a predicament</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I hope you find a nugget or two in this little SAM hack. I
know it is hard but as Catholic Mommas we can use this suffering to bring our
souls and the souls of our family to heaven. So, offer it up!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Dq8aoiqJGwA/YGN3g_edejI/AAAAAAAAK1I/xjV9VNDn4WQM9H9MYF0as5EcTeZL_m4IACPcBGAsYHg/s750/IMG_5569.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="750" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Dq8aoiqJGwA/YGN3g_edejI/AAAAAAAAK1I/xjV9VNDn4WQM9H9MYF0as5EcTeZL_m4IACPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_5569.PNG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">+JMJ+ Thy will be done!!!</span></p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05023087118133723165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723562901846553127.post-5139514894738987702021-03-23T21:02:00.001-04:002021-03-23T21:02:08.367-04:00CELL PHONE RULES: <p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><u><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Cell Phone Rules</span></u></b><b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><div style="text-align: start;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;"><b>Our kids get to buy a cell phone at 15. They start with a dumb phone then if they behave they get a smartphone since school and maps are important uses for a phone. </b></span></span></div><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="background: white;">1. Phone Number:<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> Do not give your phone number to anyone stranger.</span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="background: white;">2. Caller ID:<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> Do not answer any calls or reply to any
texts unless you know who it is (Caller ID). <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b><p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Always answer when Mom or Dad call.</span></b><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="background: white;">3. Extras:<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> No downloads ("Get It Now") or joining
websites with an email.</span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="background: white;">4. At Night:<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> Phone MUST be turned off by 10pm each
evening and left in mom and dad’s room for charging. It stays there till the
next morning after school and/or chores are done.</span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="background: white;">5. Pictures:<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> Do not send inappropriate pictures! If you
receive any pictures from friends or anyone that make you uncomfortable, tell
Mom or Dad about it.</span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="background: white;">6. At School:<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> Phone must be turned in. Phone cannot be
used at school during school hours unless you have your teacher's approval
first.</span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="background: white;">7. Off Limits:<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> No cell phone till your </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><u>homework and jobs</u></i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> are done. No phone during family times
(dinner, family night, or when company is over).</span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="background: white;">8. Contact List:<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> You can only call or text those who are on
your contact list. </span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="background: white;">9. Inspection:<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> Mom & Dad can request to inspect your
phone at <u>any time</u>.</span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="background: white;">10. Time Out:<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> Remember this is our phone...even though you
paid for it and pay for the service. If any of the above rules are broken, or
you have a bad attitude, Mom or Dad may put the phone on "time-out"
for as long as we feel it is necessary.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">11. NO PHONE
UPSTAIRS…if you get caught 30 days phone jail. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">SIGN HERE:
_________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Sam +JMJ+ Thy Will Be Done!!!</span></b></p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05023087118133723165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723562901846553127.post-59026422964740579052021-02-27T20:27:00.004-05:002021-02-27T20:33:18.220-05:00My Husband is Amazing<p>My husband Rob is pretty amazing! Besides putting up with me all these years he has accomplished many financial and physical goals! I heard from a radio show (pre podcast days) that it is important to write down your spouse's positive qualities, so when they drive you crazy you can read it; over and over, and over again!!!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p><br /></p><p>1964: Rob born</p><p><br /></p><p>1978 age 13: First 10 miler</p><p><br /></p><p>1984 age 19: Met Me (yes I was 16)</p><p><br /></p><p>1985 age 20: 10k (first and only race with ME-I was 17)</p><p><br /></p><p>1989 age 24: Rob married Me-I was 21 </p><p><br /></p><p>1990 age 25: Our first baby was born</p><p><br /></p><p>2003 age 39: First Marathon (just after 9th baby was born)</p><p><br /></p><p>2007 age 42: First Iron Man (just after 11th baby)</p><p><br /></p><p>2008 age 43: First 50K</p><p><br /></p><p>2011 age 47: First 50 Miler</p><p><br /></p><p>2012 age 48: Paid off our home (after baby #13)</p><p><br /></p><p>2017 age 52: Ran Boston Marathon (after baby #14)</p><p><br /></p><p>2018 age 53: First 100 miler</p><p><br /></p><p>2020 age 55: Wrote first book: A Catholic Guide to Spending Less and Living More</p><p><br /></p><p>2022 age 57: Plans on retiring</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YUsC86U0-N4/YDrwGgVjfCI/AAAAAAAAKyM/AcJJerQtZbM_bh7TshpkBvvnr2zmx8dFwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/2C3CC6F8-5517-47CB-A903-5B8BC9DB8373.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YUsC86U0-N4/YDrwGgVjfCI/AAAAAAAAKyM/AcJJerQtZbM_bh7TshpkBvvnr2zmx8dFwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/2C3CC6F8-5517-47CB-A903-5B8BC9DB8373.jpeg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WMBGobZAbh8/YDrwH-fF6uI/AAAAAAAAKyg/OH0uS2praQw0JZHFAA4e822MzCiNygbMgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/6C9F623B-B06B-42BC-881E-0176F1531E75.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WMBGobZAbh8/YDrwH-fF6uI/AAAAAAAAKyg/OH0uS2praQw0JZHFAA4e822MzCiNygbMgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/6C9F623B-B06B-42BC-881E-0176F1531E75.jpeg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-abdvP7V3BT8/YDrwKv9FUeI/AAAAAAAAKy4/e_JS5dmZtgMJua0GqGNJu_AwIX_9veJQQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/E647C1B4-C777-4B72-8128-DEA63E5CFC2D.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-abdvP7V3BT8/YDrwKv9FUeI/AAAAAAAAKy4/e_JS5dmZtgMJua0GqGNJu_AwIX_9veJQQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/E647C1B4-C777-4B72-8128-DEA63E5CFC2D.jpeg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tinHjRvBrG8/YDrwKwIQa7I/AAAAAAAAKy8/Oavv_cnKQWsFZJWWg9_dLOxas5_2wrBogCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/EB067481-767D-4819-BB0F-52A7F874A65E.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tinHjRvBrG8/YDrwKwIQa7I/AAAAAAAAKy8/Oavv_cnKQWsFZJWWg9_dLOxas5_2wrBogCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/EB067481-767D-4819-BB0F-52A7F874A65E.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HIdTMeQKCEw/YDrwKyRT9QI/AAAAAAAAKzA/IB6aamSLKhIb2NI-H-Dg3aASwjSNmPnDQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/F9DF6670-DEFD-4A61-B57C-7B50E43C1678.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HIdTMeQKCEw/YDrwKyRT9QI/AAAAAAAAKzA/IB6aamSLKhIb2NI-H-Dg3aASwjSNmPnDQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/F9DF6670-DEFD-4A61-B57C-7B50E43C1678.jpeg" /></a></div><br /><p>THY WILL BE DONE!!! +JMJ+</p></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05023087118133723165noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723562901846553127.post-55149052843984676962021-01-28T11:08:00.000-05:002021-01-28T11:08:01.562-05:00One of those days...<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JNUkYGt2lT0/YBLgGb3AraI/AAAAAAAAKvk/e1DDnlatXTg2cmwvyAiWzhRXBLuKPIzPgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1334/3F34953A-25B4-43E9-B6E0-FBAF552A7E31.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JNUkYGt2lT0/YBLgGb3AraI/AAAAAAAAKvk/e1DDnlatXTg2cmwvyAiWzhRXBLuKPIzPgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/3F34953A-25B4-43E9-B6E0-FBAF552A7E31.jpeg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GB3CUT9VJHk/YBLgGjMGC-I/AAAAAAAAKvs/q9i7GZWKt3MLRaftjPDmvlgb3uVr3p0fwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/05BC35A9-7EB1-47F5-9A86-0A9296D194AA.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GB3CUT9VJHk/YBLgGjMGC-I/AAAAAAAAKvs/q9i7GZWKt3MLRaftjPDmvlgb3uVr3p0fwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/05BC35A9-7EB1-47F5-9A86-0A9296D194AA.jpeg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y3nKd8Q74m0/YBLgGay0z1I/AAAAAAAAKvo/zSeRvrC8qQI6ODSRoM7ne0kQ0Y1kS2UGQCLcBGAsYHQ/s750/35F20F36-F36E-4B58-BA91-342F4E52A0B3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="697" data-original-width="750" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y3nKd8Q74m0/YBLgGay0z1I/AAAAAAAAKvo/zSeRvrC8qQI6ODSRoM7ne0kQ0Y1kS2UGQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/35F20F36-F36E-4B58-BA91-342F4E52A0B3.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MwBssudWWl8/YBLgHQ-Us2I/AAAAAAAAKvw/Kl03Wo7SJLIMVvG3-hHAPo08QNgRfxHnwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/E541F56D-F089-4409-8D60-141234A117FB.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MwBssudWWl8/YBLgHQ-Us2I/AAAAAAAAKvw/Kl03Wo7SJLIMVvG3-hHAPo08QNgRfxHnwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/E541F56D-F089-4409-8D60-141234A117FB.jpeg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy2sRQ--BRbR7KkyIRe0ZAIGGDmUYXe_9P68B6StYRygyW7aqKmvN3osRPrx1sx-TyJnNOgCjrU6UAJEwMXZQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /> Some days I go to bed and look over my day and wonder if I really did all that...<p></p><p>4:45- wake up </p><p>5:00- go to gym </p><p>6:30- go to mass </p><p>7:00- get son ready for school </p><p>8:00-tea and devotional time </p><p>9:30- parish staff meeting </p><p>10:30- pick up granddaughter </p><p>10:45- pick up free school lunches </p><p>11:00- homeschool </p><p>1:00- stop by the thrift store on the way to carpool pickup </p><p>2:20- pick up carpool </p><p>3:15- get home and unload </p><p>4:00- pick up free couches </p><p>5:30- check out new car purchase </p><p>6:15- eat dinner </p><p>7:00- (date night) parish unbound talk </p><p>8:30- home and clean and rearrange furniture </p><p>9:30- hot bath and popcorn😍 </p><p>10:00- bed and relax</p><p>Thy Will Be Done +JMJ+</p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05023087118133723165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723562901846553127.post-34977586185254710292020-09-08T19:03:00.007-04:002020-11-04T21:53:38.250-05:00Catholic Moms Summit<p>So grateful to be asked to join this team of fantastic women who are striving towards heaven!!! I am excited to share <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZxlY1fU55df3xB6odq5hP4cr_1MeFmnn/view" target="_blank">this interview </a>with Danielle Bean</p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><span face="Slack-Lato, appleLogo, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1d1c1d; font-size: 15px;">To get an All Access to this convention <a href="https://www.cardinalstudios.org/a/34146/YuovZQvc" target="_blank">click here</a>. I even get credit if you use my link. </span></p><p>To join conference free <a href="https://www.cardinalstudios.org/a/34145/YuovZQvc" target="_blank">click here</a>. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y0f9HGxIxO8/X1gNUT3INbI/AAAAAAAAKoY/IqGkEz6gYXMs7FuUTD8F0rc12RNOt41mQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1080/catholicmom.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y0f9HGxIxO8/X1gNUT3INbI/AAAAAAAAKoY/IqGkEz6gYXMs7FuUTD8F0rc12RNOt41mQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/catholicmom.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>+JMJ+ </b></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>THY WILL BE DONE!!!</b></p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05023087118133723165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723562901846553127.post-26266847692980707132020-05-19T08:56:00.000-04:002020-05-19T08:56:34.700-04:00Be Not Afraid<div style="text-align: center;">
Father Dan Leary from St Andrews Church in Silver Spring MD had online mass that just spoke to my heart!!! He said to get our of our Grief Bubble. Mary is Full of Grace, Not full of Grief. </div>
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I accidentally fell upon this after online mass today. I am not musical but wow, it touched my heart so much!!!</div>
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Thy Will Be Done!!! +JMJ+</div>
Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05023087118133723165noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723562901846553127.post-43090471354111688692020-05-15T23:14:00.000-04:002020-05-15T23:15:02.740-04:00Stress, anxiety, depression...oh my! Covid 19 Pandemic<div style="text-align: center;">
Day 60 of quarantine</div>
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In my lifetime I have never encountered such a time as this. What is happening in our world is so strange and unpredictable. As a well balanced homeschooling momma of 14, I usually have my act together. Not great but at least I could handle the day to day ups and downs with a positive attitude.<br />
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This is a difficult time in my life with my normal schedule ruined. I am a strong woman when I am on my schedule, but this has thrown off my grove. I used to be super active, OK that is a nice way of saying super spazzy, if I was born in the 90's they would say ADD. My dad called it "monkey glands," I call it my super power.<br />
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Being off my schedule has caused me to fall apart in many ways like gaining around 15 lbs and being ultra lethargic. My house is getting messier and messier. I don't have the energy to do much. Everyday I have been surviving on watching daily mass, doing morning prayer with parishioners, doing a light workout, face timing family or friends to see a face other than my darling family at home, getting outside, taking a candlelit bath with praise and worship music, and watching family movies almost every night.<br />
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Today a priest I have been following for daily mass, said today that we need to fight against spiritual sloth and mental stupor. "We need to engage, the Goal is not to just endure the virus but to make the choice to sacrifice, than love, than friendship with Christ."<br />
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I am really appreciating the slowing down of my super crazy schedule, God is bringing lots of blessings to many families by having time with their daddy's, and working from home with their babies. I am not enjoying trying to do zoom school. This is not the homeschooling I have been used to for 30 years! As you can see from the classroom baseboard my kids aren't loving it much either.<br />
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This time of year I am busy planning and hosting parties,now its all cancelled. How else is my home gonna get cleaned if I don't have a party to host? Easter, First Communion, my birthday, Mother's Day, my daughters baby shower, seeing my grand babies, two graduation parties, the Father/daughter dance, end of the year banquet, not to mention all the sports...so many things cancelled. My old month looked like this...so God has given me a gift. This month everything is crossed off.<br />
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For an extrovert this is hard to deal with. I get out of the house each day but I am used to more of a schedule and without one, I literally lay on the couch and wonder what I have the energy to do. It's also hard on my marriage. My poor husband, I am trying to keep up with the housework when I am not trying to miss one of the ten zoom meetings we have. My husband is an extreme introvert and his schedule hasn't changed except that we are all home now, ALL. THE. TIME. So, he hasn't had his usual time by himself when we leave for the home school tutorial. This makes us more edgy than normal. My poor kids long to see their buddies again, thank God for letter writing, they have really embraced that fun skill lately.<br />
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So, lets keep praying for our world to get through this time with prayer and fasting and hope our churches open again. We need each other. Remember to keep reaching out to others and don't let anyone get left behind. Many are struggling and need our support.<br />
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Menopause support supplements </div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">My old schedule looked
like this: </span></u></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />
Get up at 4:30 am and go to the gym<br />
Go to 6:30 am mass<br />
Quiet time before the kids woke up<br />
Do school<br />
Have lunch<br />
Do jobs<br />
Get ready for dinner<br />
Eat<br />
Try to pray as a family<br />
Get ready for bed<br />
Pass out between 9:30-10:00 pm<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">My new schedule looks
like this:</span></u></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">
Get up <i>around</i> 7:00 am</span></span><br />
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Take large amounts of Menopausal supplements</span></span><br />
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Brush teeth</span></span><br />
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Try</i> to put on makeup</span></span><br />
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7:30 am light work out</span></span><br />
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8:00 am listen to online mass</span></span><br />
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8:30 am Do morning prayer </span></span><br />
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9:00 am online school</span></span><br />
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11:30 am lunch</span></span><br />
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12:30 get dressed if not dressed yet</span></span><br />
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1:00 pm put baby down for nap</span></span><br />
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Take a </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">candlelit</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> bath with praise and worship music<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Lay on the couch and do nothing</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">5:00 pm Dinner</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">6:00 pm try to pray</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">6:30 pm watch TV</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">8:30 pm put kids to bed</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">9:00 to 11:00 Lay around usually watching TV</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">Try to go to bed before 11:00 pm</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">Thy Will Be Done!!! +JMJ+</span></span></div>
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<br />Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05023087118133723165noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723562901846553127.post-70482176221432135902020-05-02T20:26:00.003-04:002020-05-02T20:26:34.276-04:00Ezra Jack Keats stories<br />
Peter's chair and a letter to Amy<br />
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Thy will be done!!!<br />
+JMJ+Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05023087118133723165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723562901846553127.post-16473741264203917542020-04-30T22:22:00.002-04:002020-04-30T22:22:36.857-04:00The Gruffalo, by Julia Donaldson, read by Pop<div style="text-align: center;">
Pop is way more fun than me when he reads, he is so silly. Here he is reading one of his favorite books. The Gruffalo</div>
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Thy Will be Done!!! +JMJ+</div>
Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05023087118133723165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723562901846553127.post-34126862341009330022020-04-30T22:05:00.001-04:002020-04-30T22:05:04.049-04:00Love you forever: Read by me...<div style="text-align: center;">
Even though some people think this book is kinda creepy, all my kids have their own copy. Especially now that I can't be with some of my children during this pandemic, I totally want to hop in my car and drive across town and rock them back and forth, back and forth, and tell them that I love them forever, I like them for always, as long as I'm living my baby they will be. </div>
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Thy will be done!!!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
+JMJ+</div>
Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05023087118133723165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723562901846553127.post-58347640483522745022020-04-30T22:00:00.000-04:002020-04-30T22:00:03.347-04:00Just Plain Fancy by Patricia Polacco read by me: Grammy<div style="text-align: center;">
During this pandemic I have been reading some of my favorite books online to my Grandchildren. I hope you enjoy this. </div>
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Thy Will Be Done!!!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
+JMJ+</div>
Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05023087118133723165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723562901846553127.post-17818618683326886382020-04-25T17:20:00.002-04:002020-05-15T23:22:03.658-04:00Brown Bear, brown bear-Storytime <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Grammy misses her grand babies </b></div>
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<b>THY WILL BE DONE</b></div>
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<b>+JMJ+</b></div>
Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05023087118133723165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723562901846553127.post-56321593865184635312020-04-25T17:07:00.003-04:002020-04-25T17:15:43.981-04:00The Little Engine that could- Storytime During this pandemic when I can't see my grand babies I decided to start reading to them via my old iPad.<br />
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+JMJ+<br />
THY WILL BE DONE!Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05023087118133723165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723562901846553127.post-24013256584295944062020-04-07T21:44:00.001-04:002020-04-10T10:55:39.322-04:00Peace in the pandemic It’s been a long time posting,<br />
I wanted to share a Holy Spirit thought- I had great holy plans tonight- after dinner we were going to say the stations and watch some of Jesus of Nazareth. By the time dinner was over kids were mysteriously gone--- when I went to look for them...Kolbe was playing legos by himself, Ray and Brad were making a fort outside, Eric in bed reading, Mary writing letters, Cecilia drawing in her journal, and rob writing our book...I thought I would give them a couple more minutes till the fights started but for the first time in years, everyone was at peace!!! Honestly, two hours past without conflict and I finally had to bathe and put the littles to bed! I think the slow pace of this pandemic is bringing back self-awareness and creativity back to our family instead of rushing around and running to activities and doing homework.so sometimes we just need to go with the flow of the Holy Spirit and rest in His gifts! +JMJ+<br />
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<br />Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05023087118133723165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723562901846553127.post-47268742850970971562020-02-24T13:13:00.001-05:002020-02-24T13:13:16.822-05:00rules for dating our sons (nine boys yikes!)<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="mso-cellspacing: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;"><tbody>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">RULES FOR DATING MY Son</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">…(just changed some words around from <a href="https://babystepsjmj.blogspot.com/2008/10/rules-for-dating-my-daughterrevisited.html">this post</a>)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>1. Make sure he KEEPS His HANDS TO </b></span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b>HIMSELF</b></span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>.</b></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />a) Hand holding and friendly hugs acceptable</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #660000;">2. MAKE SURE HE TREATS YOU LIKE A PRINCESS</span><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">a) have him hold doors open for you<br />b) pull out your chair<br />c) make sure he is kind to you</span><br />
<b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #660000;">3. GUARD HIS PURITY</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">a) DRESS MODESTLY</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">b) Be careful of the movies you watch<br />c) watch out for the music you listen to<br />d) don’t get in an uncomfortable situation</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /><br /><b><span style="color: #660000;">4. SPEND TIME WITH OUR FAMILY</span></b><span style="color: black;">a) we aren’t as bad as we seem<br />b) we would like to get to know you</span><br /><br /><b><span style="color: #660000;">5. WATCH WHERE YOU GO TOGETHER</span></b><span style="color: #660000;"><br /></span><span style="color: black;">a) public places are great<br />b) group dating is better<br />c) don’t be left alone</span><br /><br /><b><span style="color: #660000;">6. BE CREATIVE WHEN YOU GO OUT</span></b><span style="color: black;">a) watching movies is fun but try something different<br />b) There are tons of free public activities<br />c) Going for a walk is nice</span><br /><br /><b><span style="color: #660000;">7. DRIVE CAREFULLY</span><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></b><span style="color: black;">a) Make sure he drives carefully</span><br /><br /><b><span style="color: #660000;">8. BE His FRIEND FIRST</span></b><span style="color: black;">a) Make sure he treats you like his close friend</span><br /><span style="color: black;"><br /></span><b><span style="color: #660000;">9. SUPPORT HIS FAITH</span></b><span style="color: black;"><br />a) you are always welcome to come to church with us.</span><br /><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span><b><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 15.5pt;">10. DID I MENTION TO MAKE SURE HE KEEPS HIS HANDS TO HISELF?</span></b></div>
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Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05023087118133723165noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723562901846553127.post-5607209471047575122018-07-03T13:39:00.001-04:002018-07-03T13:39:15.300-04:00Spinach Quinoa Salad<blockquote id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1530548145280_90179" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 1em;" type="cite">
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Spinach Quinoa Salad by my dear friend Monica</span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1530548145280_90215" style="font-size: 14pt;">Salad</span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1530548145280_90212" style="font-size: 12pt;">Fresh spinach or mixed greens (spinach ,kale, chard)</span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1530548145280_90219" style="font-size: 12pt;">cheese of your choice—feta, blue cheese, whatever you want</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">dried fruit—cherries, cranberries, whatever you want</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">toasted nuts—pecans, almonds, walnuts, etc.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">cooked quinoa—1 cup uncooked yields 2 cups cook.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Dressing</span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1530548145280_90208" style="font-size: 12pt;">Lemon juice (2-3 lemons)</span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1530548145280_90205" style="font-size: 12pt;">1 large clove garlic</span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1530548145280_90202" style="font-size: 12pt;">½ tsp salt</span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1530548145280_90199" style="font-size: 12pt;">¼ tsp pepper</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">oil (1-3 ratio to lemon juice)</span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1530548145280_90196" style="font-size: 12pt;">Shake to combine</span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1530548145280_90194" style="font-size: 12pt;">Put all salad ingredients in bowl and add however much cooked quinoa you want. Add dressing and then toss everything. </span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1530548145280_90187" style="font-size: 12pt;">A favorite combo for a large party: a large bag of mixed greens, feta cheese, dried cherries, candied pecans, approx.. 2 cups quinoa, and a cup of dressing. </span></div>
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</blockquote>
Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05023087118133723165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723562901846553127.post-50688204170083896062018-06-22T14:13:00.002-04:002018-06-22T14:13:46.283-04:00TRYING TO RAISE good kids when I'm soooo old...<div class="WordSection1">
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 34.6667px;">Since we got our first foster baby 6 years ago, I stopped really blogging. It's one thing to ignore my own children to blog, but I just couldn't do it with someone else's baby. (totally kidding, I used to blog when I nursed my babies or they were sleeping) We adopted our Ray on Jan 7th, 2018. PRAISE GOD FINALLY, since we got him when he was 12 weeks old and he is almost 7. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: 34.6667px;">On August 7, 2016 we got another baby. He was just 6 days old. We still have the little firecracker and I just turned 50. Wow, what a difference raising a toddler when you are a grandma. Lord help me! </span></span></div>
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<img alt="Image may contain: 6 people, including Elizabeth Rowedder and Paul Rowedder, people smiling, people standing and wedding" src="https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/26220186_10155841867381826_2755911357379089220_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=d776e9e844015536afc267bf8ddb1e6b&oe=5BB31676" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: 34.6667px;">This being the case and summer here, I was intrigued by a podcast I started listening to. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 34.6667px;">I have been in podcast heaven...its the only way I can convince myself to workout at the gym or clean. It has been a lifesaver. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 34.6667px;">When I listened to <a href="http://catherineboucher.com/while-you-were-folding/">Why you were folding podcast</a>. </span><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 34.6667px;">I heard about </span><span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=the+well+behaved+child&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=229054700535&hvpos=1t1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16256114257183441685&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9007720&hvtargid=kwd-308110491051&ref=pd_sl_38wrzgqxrh_e_p38">The Well-Behaved Child: Discipline That Really Works!</a> I especially appreciate Catherine spending extra time with her show notes. Don't forget to look at them! I have really utilized them, especially since its hard to take notes on a treadmill or with weights in your hands!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">I am trying to get my kids to heaven one good behavior at a time. Things always get crazy with the change of schedules. So we are trying the advice from the book and my added stars for good and extra work! </span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 26.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red;">CHECKS<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 26.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red;">▪ Checks 1-3 are warnings <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 26.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red;">▪ Check 4: Lose dessert<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 26.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red;">▪ Check 5: Lose screens<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 26.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red;">▪ Check 6: Go to bed 1 hour early<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 26.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red;">STARS<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 26.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red;">READING: 15 MIN 1 STAR<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 26.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red;">SCHOOL DONE BEFORE NOON: 1 STAR<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 26.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red;">HELP WITH BRADLEY: 1 STAR<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 26.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red;">HELP WITH RAY: 1 STAR<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 26.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red;">15MIN EXTRA CLEANING: 1 STAR<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 26.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red;">5 STARS = 15 MIN SCREEN TIME<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 26.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I will let you know how it turns out. Please pray for my kids and those in my care that they will be the saints God has created them to be. I pray that their<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers+32%3A23&version=NASB"> sins will find them out</a> and they won't fall into any bad behaviors.</span></b></div>
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<img alt="Image may contain: one or more people, child and outdoor" src="https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16002860_10209205246100873_5935706320741035749_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=fdeed21f848e49164741b901d4b5568f&oe=5BB020AE" /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 26.0pt; line-height: 115%;">THY WILL BE DONE!!! +JMJ+ </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 26.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br clear="all" style="mso-break-type: section-break; page-break-before: always;" /></span></b>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05023087118133723165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723562901846553127.post-8341839366228850372018-06-18T12:20:00.001-04:002018-06-18T12:20:10.969-04:00Mexican Chicken and Black Bean Soup<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I found this original recipe on Marathon Mom blog that seems to no longer exist. I changed it up a bit. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mexican Chicken and Black Bean Soup<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ingredients</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3 or 4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts ( I usually do a family pack)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2 (15 ounce) cans corn, drained<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes and chiles (like Rotel)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2 cups water<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><a href="http://themarathonmom.com/spicy-taco-seasoning.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Taco seasoning mix</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4 large garlic cloves, minced<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese<o:p></o:p></span></li>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Instructions</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Place all ingredients except for cream cheese into slow cooker.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or until chicken is cooked.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Remove chicken from slow cooker, then turn slow cooker setting to high.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Add cream cheese to slow cooker and stir.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Shred chicken, then return to pot and stir well.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">We serve with tortilla chips, cornbread, soft tacos, or rice. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">THY WILL BE DONE!!! +JMJ+ </span></div>
Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05023087118133723165noreply@blogger.com0