we made these out of garbage

I made these with my preschoolers out of trash. We painted food boxes and bags and such. The kids had a blast. How can you save some trash and turn it into a treasure? That is my challenge to you this weekend, especially if you are on east coast and having a snow day today.

Joey















Snowy

More homemade food

I am so excited. For dinner I made Spanish rice. My sister in law taught me how recently. My kids love when she makes it for them. I was uncertain how it would go being my first time making it. It was delicious; only a little drier than hers. I also made chicken and salad for dinner. The kids got canned peaches for dessert. I also used the peach juice to sweeten our homemade sun tea.

I also made beer bread and ham stew/soup for lunch tomorrow. I had some left over ham so I made some broth, added a little rice, a can of green beans, a can of peas, and the left over ham. It made a whole pot and I tried it. The soup/stew is good. It taste like pea soup. The beer bread will go great with it tomorrow. I am calling it soup/stew because it is thicker than soup and with not as much broth because it got absorbed into the rice. I am excited that I got a whole meal out of something I would have thrown away.

I also am making a loaf of bread in my bread maker, as we are out of bread. The kids love homemade bread. They will eat it as a snack with butter or peanut butter.

Tomorrow's menu:

breakfast:
homemade pancakes (already made and in fridge)
maple syrup
applesauce
sun tea

lunch:
homemade ham stew/soup
beer bread
maybe canned apricots (how did I get so many of them? lol)
water

dinner:
pot roast
left over Spanish rice
canned green beans
water

snacks:
homemade bread (half white/half wheat)
cheeze-its
cut carrots (fresh) with or without ranch

I hate not having fresh fruit and veggies, but I do want to use up all the canned goods I have as I want to make a switch from canned to all fresh or frozen. But I also don't want to waste what we do have.

I also like that we have only spent about $100 on groceries this month. We didn't get as many fresh fruits and veggies, but we got alot more stuff made at home. I did have to buy eggs again yesterday, as cooking from scratch so much requires lots of eggs.

How much do you usually spend on groceries? How many people does that feed?

I usually spend about $300 a month. That includes my vinegar (I buy about 4 gallons a month), baking soda, borax, washing soda, and my contact stuff. I buy lots of fresh fruits and veggies, and organic milk (for kids, I don't drink milk), organic eggs. I don't usually buy junk food, except about 1 treat each a week. My treat is a bag of tostitoes and salsa (which last me almost all month.) The kids treats are cereal, granola bars, ice cream, goldfish, or cheeze-its. (Don't worry Grandma makes sure they get other junk food.) As far as drinks I don't usually buy anything. We drink water. We make tea (with tea bags) that the kids add a little sugar to sweeten. Occasionally I do buy orange juice, but not too often.

I would like to eliminate sugar from my diet, but realize that will cost more money and am not sure I can increase my food budget. I want to eat healthier and be healthier (so that I am honoring God as my body is supposed to be His temple.) I have even considered a mostly raw food diet, but again am not sure how much that will increase my food budget.

Any advice or tips on eating healthy (sugar free and raw eating especially) without increasing my food budget would be appreciated.

-Becky

Homemade pancakes

We are trying to eat more from scratch, and use up all the food in our house before food shopping again. Today for a yummy lunch I made pancakes. The recipe is so simple. I made 4 times the amount so we could have pancakes for breakfast next few days as well.

Ingredients (for about 8 pancakes:)
1 cup flour (I used half whole wheat, half white)
1 tablespoon sugar (or sugar substitute, honey, etc.)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

oil or butter to coat frying pan / griddle
syrup, sugar, or fruit to top (optional)

Directions:
Turn on stove top to medium. Add oil or butter to pan. Put pan over flame.

Recipe calls to mix dry ingredients in one bowl, and wet in another. Then add wet to dry bowl. But I just added everything to one bowl, to save having to clean another bowl.

Mix. I used a wooden spoon. Batter will remain a bit lumpy.

Pour small circles shapes into frying pan or unto griddle.

When pancakes are bubbly and edges are slightly dry, flip over pancakes.
Cook for about a minute more.



Add syrup, sugar, fresh fruit, or butter for a yummy meal.
You could even pair with eggs, bacon, fruit, homemade hash browns, etc. to make a breakfast dinner. This is a fun and frugal thing to do.



By the way I love cut up apples in my pancake batter or chocolate chips. And if you use metal cookie cutters you can make fun pancake shapes.

Now I am going to make homemade bread and some Spanish rice and chicken for dinner. I think it is fun experimenting in the kitchen, too bad most of my experiments are not as yummy as my pancakes were today. LOL.

-Becky

Hoover Steam Vac SpinScrub Steam Cleaner review

The steam cleaner is the Hoover Steam Vac SpinScrub. I got it from Home Shopping Network. It was $200 including tax and shipping. It is already more money than I paid. I am paying for it over 5 months. It came with extra hand scrub brush, and floor attachment (which are usually sold separately.) Also it usually comes with one 16 ounce bottle of cleaner. I got that plus four more 32 ounce bottles. One is even for pet accidents. Of course this cleaner is not green, I swear this is not a new trend for me. I will use it until it is all gone and then will try just vinegar or soap in steam cleaner.

Jason put it all together. It was easy to set up and get started. I cleaned where the dog had her accident and my chair plus pillow. The kids loved doing the hand attachment. It was even easy for them. I will just say so far I am very impressed. And wow, that dirty water was black. EWWWW!!!! I can't wait to do my couch and rest of living room floor. I can even do carpet pieces on my stairs.

Just a side note, this does not actually steam or heat the water. You add hot tap water. But I still am very happy with it so far. It is convenient enough that I will not mind pulling out for spills or pet accidents.







This is so not my house. LOL!












p.s. I am not getting paid to do this review or am I affiliated with Hoover. Just a mom sharing my opinion with you.

We will be needing that carpet cleaner

My new carpet cleaner came in the mail yesterday and the dog is giving me a reason to test it out today. She had an accident on the rug. Yuck! I will type up a review of my carpet cleaner after I use it.

-Becky

Feb. overspending

These are the things I bought this month that were not in budget:

McDonald's $7.00
A.C.Moore $83.00
Snapfish $11.00
car window decals $82.00
carpet cleaner $65.00
Dunkin Doughnuts $12.00
Sat. brunch $42.00

About $300.

The A.C. Moore stuff was some craft stuff for my kids, friends kids, and kids I babysit for.
Snapfish was pictures for albums I do of my preschoolers.
Car decals I bought 5 of for my mom, sister, brother, stepfather, and me. They have Eric's name and a silhouette of a skateboarder, plus his birth and death years.
The carpet cleaner (total $200 over 5 payments) is because I want a new couch and carpet, but that is out of question, so I will clean what I have. I got a great deal, and am also ready for puppy accidents as well.
The McDonalds was for snack for kids (even though I swore we were done with fast food.)
The Dunkin Doughnuts was because boys got all ready for church Sunday ahead of schedule. We got bagels, doughnuts have too much sugar.
The brunch was because Sat. the boys have basketball at 9 & 12 so we have been going to brunch in between. Basketball is only about 5 more weeks, so this is a very special treat (we go with my mom and brother and sister as well.) One week we will go to bagel shop. Another Dunkin Doughnuts again.

Have you overspent this month? On what? If so how will you get back on track next month?

-Becky

Feb. spending

tithe 10% -paid
Sponsor child $38-paid
Sponsor child birthday gift $25-paid
Pregnancy center $22-paid
Haiti donation $50-paid

home insurance $100-paid
mortgage $400-money is in checking
taxes $400 (due quarterly)-money in savings
gas bill $100-not paid yet
electric bill $115-paid
water $50-money in savings
sewer $50 (due quarterly)-money in checking

car insurance $82-paid
gas for car $120-paid

freedom account $100-not paid yet
allowance $72
groceries amount not yet known
non groceries $30-paid
HSLD $11-paid
phone/internet $60-not paid yet

taxes done $250-paid [this is a once a year expense]
passport fees $215-paid (used money got for Christmas)

This month we are participating in pantry challenge, trying to eat up all in our pantry, but I have spent about $75 on groceries and will spend another $25 this week for milk, bread, eggs, and fresh fruit. Otherwise we still have stuff to eat until end of month. I highly recommend trying to use up what you already have to save money now and again, plus not let food go to waste.

I have either paid or have money to pay all Feb. bills. Some, like the gas bill, have not even come in the mail yet. I also have the money to fix and replace my roof, which will be done first week of March.

How is your budget? How are your financial goals for 2010 going?

-Becky

More puppy stuff

So we settled on: Cocoa (the only boy), Snowball, Bullet, Buddy, & Cloey. The mom we are calling Pretty. Puppies are cute, but sort of boring. They sleep almost all day. Except when they are nursing.

Mom likes me, but not the boys. She is eating and drinking well. I take her outside on the deck and she likes to walk around (I have her on a leash.) She doesn't really get I take her out there to do her business though.

The puppies are in a crate. Mom is too, but I leave door open so she can get out (I did just close it for the night.) She likes walking in and out, so she gets a break from puppies. They are too young to be able to get out.

My boys are doing well with them, but I think they are a bit disappointed they can't play with them. Puppies are too young, and mom is busy with five puppies; plus I don't think she knows how to play, she is from a puppy mill.

One thing I don't like is my house smells like dog. I am going to see if I can give them all a bath or something. Never having owned a dog I am not sure if smell is bad (like from them being in a puppy mill) or normal dog smell. Either way I can not stand it. I have a sensitive nose, plus I want my house to smell clean (not chemically, but clean.)

Just keeping it real. Lol. But now I am a bit worried that my mom will not come over until these pups are gone. And that is a bad thing, I love when my mom comes over. She is super cool to hang out with. Plus she makes yummy food and usually cleans my stove (how does she get it so clean?)

Does anyone have some bath free pet bath options? Or recommend a good natural or homemade pet shampoo? Or even know if I can bath puppies?

-Becky

Bullet, Buddy, & Snowball

















Jason with Cocoa
(more cheating to right. I had my mom send over some paper towels so I can clean up puppy messes. Not frugal or green, but I am not there yet where I can wash dog pee stuff too, even I have my limits. LOL!)
















Pretty.
This is her retreat next to crate. She loves snuggling on this quilt away from puppies for a few minutes, but still they are next to her in crate.

Puppies

We were approved to be foster parents for dogs and we got some today. We got a mom and five puppies. They are Chihuahua's. The mom is long haired and two years old. The puppies are four weeks old. So cute. Of course my boys are ecstatic. The boys already named them: Cocoa, Buddy, Jake, and Bullet. I get to name the white puppy and mom dog. I think I will call the mom Pretty. Yeah, another girl in the house!!! Here are Cocoa and Cloey sleeping:
















Update: All dogs except Cocoa are girls, so we need to do some new names. Any suggestions?

I cheated

[I am stealing a blog title from my awesome friend, Courtney.]

You all have read how I try to live very frugally and green. How I have only cleaned with vinegar, lemon, baking soda, borax, and washing soda over past few years. I do this mostly because the smell of chemicals gives me a huge headache. Also to save money, and to be a good steward of earth God gave us.

Well, today I cheated. I was helping clean Eric's house as it is going on market and all stuff needs to be removed asap. Well, he had lots of cleaners. The frugality in me would not allow them to go to the garbage. So I took them all home. I was going to bring them to co-op and put on the free table. But my sink has been stained with all the stuff I put in it. My vinegar was not cutting it. So I filled the sink with hot water and poured what was left of a bottle of Clorox cleaner (with added bleach) into it. I let it sit about 15 min. Then I drained the sink. WOW! My sink has not looked that clean since my grandmother lived here. No scrubbing on my part at all! I am not converting back though as the smell did give me a headache. Plus made me really thirsty (weird right?)

But I just had to confess that I cheated, since I actually feel guilty or maybe that feeling is a high from the fumes. LOL!

-Becky

Haiti relief through Compassion Child

God is the creator of love. He loves you. He loves all those suffering in Haiti, too.








Matthew 25:40
"I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."
Matthew 25:40

Show God's love to those in need this Valentines Day. You can even donate the cost of a card and box of candy (about $10.) Every little bit counts.

Help Haiti Earthquake Victims

You can provide immediate relief to children impacted by the earthquake in Haiti.

$25 – helps provide clean water to a family for a week
$50 – helps feed a family with food such as rice, beans, canned meat and oil for a week
$100 – helps provide basic medical supplies for a church partner to treat up to 50 patients
$500 – helps provide critical life items like temporary shelter, blankets and clothing for 10 families
$1500 - helps to rebuild a home

Any amount you choose provides critical relief for those in Haiti whose lives are in great need.

Donate here through Compassion Child

I just donated the money I promised for each comment on this post. I got 11 comments, plus my mom and Scott added $11 as well. So I sent that plus a little more. Every dollar counts. I can't imagine not having shelter, food, or clean water. We have enough to share. Even those with almost nothing in US have way more than enough.

-Becky

Eric

Yesterday was such a good day, but today I think is my worst day for me in the past 25 days. I woke up late, on the wrong side of the bed (actually I was on the couch, both my boys wanted to lay with me so after they fell asleep I went to the couch.)

My boys are not listening at all. Josh has said two bad words and lied about something ridiculous, so now I have to come up with consequences for him. Jason was watching tv (which he was not allowed to do) and didn't get dressed or take out the garbage when asked. I gave him 5 min. to do both tasks, but he took 25. So I have to come up with consequences for him as well. We all seem to be in bad moods (I guess since I set the tone in the house, I set the bad mood today.)

Of course it would be hard enough being Valentines Day as I am am not in a relationship. It is hard being a divorced mom with two kids. I want some love and romance. I want someone to think I am special. I am so grateful that the Lord loves me and thinks I am very special, but today I am having a pity party about not having someone here on earth to do that.

But even worse is that 8 months ago today we lost Eric. Yesterday as we all went to the basketball games and out to brunch it was a great day, but he was still missing. I am surprised my mom wanted a shot of us all as I thought she would never want a picture again as Eric will never be in another picture. It still all seems so senseless. As I recall the details of that horrible day 8 months ago, I try to make sense of it all. I spent that day looking for Eric. All day long the gnawing feeling that something was wrong grew. Discovering he was dead was the worst thing I have ever heard. At that instant my body was still there but my mind was not. I thought I was being lied to, and I also kept praying that God would bring him back as he did for the child who was dead but Jesus said was only sleeping. I thought if God could do that, he could raise Eric too. But for reasons I will probably not understand until I am in heaven, He did not.

Eric was gone. Eric is gone. He isn't coming back.

As I try to live my life now I have some good days, some bad days, and some really bad days. But each day I reflect on Eric, on his life, or some thing he did that was funny or cool or even dumb (to me.) He is with me. I still wish he wasn't dead. I still long to hug him and tell him I love him. To talk to him about God more (he didn't like discussing such things.) To watch him play with his dogs or fight with Joshua or hang with Jason. And it is sad that I can't do these things anymore. And some days it is ok that I need to cry and stay in bed a bit longer. It is my way to face the better days. Today just doesn't happen to be one of those better days. Losing Eric is hard, but living without him is harder.

Here are some pictures of Eric that I have been reflecting on today:

What are you looking at? Eric and Josh 6 years ago















I love this picture. Joshua's middle name is Eric.













That is also my baby sister, Sam in the background. She was 13. She is now 20. Yikes!

Saturday

Yesterday my boys had there first basketball games. They both did great (Josh after a rocky start and some bribing from Grandma.)
My mom, brother Kevin, & sister Sam all came out to watch. Josh's game was at 9, Jason's was at 12. In between we all went to the pancake house for brunch. It was nice.
Then the boys and I relaxed at home and I even got a nap.
Last night we went to their cousin's house and while the kids played we watched The Hangover and then played Yahtzee. I got my highest score. I got 3 Yahtzee's in 1 game, with a total score of 499. Go me!

My mom, Kevin, & Jason on sidelines at Josh's basketball game
















Kevin (my younger brother) and Jason while watching Josh's basketball game

















Joshua dribbling
















Joshua shooting


















Jason at basketball

















Samantha, me, my mom, Jason, Kevin, & Joshua

Caught up on paperwork

Today I caught up on all the boys lesson plans. My goal was to do all of Feb.'s as well, but that was a bit ambitious. I like to keep track of what the boys are doing. Plus it lets me know if we are on schedule. And I have something to show of what they are doing if my homeschooling ever comes into question.

This is what Jason did today





















This is what Josh did today. I do his lessons on orange paper so I can keep track of whose is whose (my mom gave me this tip.)











We do these lesson plans 2-3 days a week (Mon., Wed., and Fri.)
My boys do History, Science, formal P.E., & Latin on co-op days (Tues. and Thur.)
Every weekday they do Bible reading, a devotion, and reading time.
They also do cooking / baking about once a week each.
They also get lots of free outside play. And lots of movement time.
They get about an hour tv time daily, and 30 min. video game time after all schoolwork and chores.
They each do there age in chores daily. Jason does 12, Josh does 6. Some are simple, like make your bed.
But I digress, we are done for the day. Yeah! Movie night and early bed. We have to be at basketball at 8:45am. Fun!


-Becky

Decorating cookies today

Today was another at home day. I watched my pastor's son. Jason's friend was also over for half the day. And my niece and nephew were here on and off throughout the day. I painted and did play dough and model magic with the little boy. The older kids played outside in the snow again. We also made sugar cookies and decorated them. I actually had to force them to do so (except Breanna,) they think these ideas of mine are dumb. But here is the photos I also made them smile for. Boy my kids have it tough. LOL!
Jason



















Joshua



















Michael





















Breanna

I have this card on my computer desk

by Sark

Looking back on snow play

Jason & I exactly 9 years ago. I was 21. He was 3.















Joshua exactly 5 years ago playing in the snow. He was 1.













Josh & I, 5 years ago. I was 25, he was 1.














Jason exactly 5 years ago playing in snow. He was 7.









Me last year (Notice the hat is same as 9 year ago photo. I still have it and had it on today while outside in snow. I have not bought a hat since. That's frugal.)















Joshua last year















Jason last year

Homemade dishwasher soap

You will not yet be seeing my homemade dishwasher soap recipe. It was a flop. It actually left a film on my dishes. Eww soap flavored food. Anyone make there own dishwasher soap? Care to share the recipe?

-Becky

p.s. that is not my dishwasher, got the picture online

Another snow day

Love














My house today


















my side yard



















Jason with the snow fort he made with his cousin



















Breanna & Josh with snowman they made


















kids big snowman

Please Pray

Tues. at 10am we have an appointment to get our passports done. I am a bit nervous about it. We need them for the mission trip we plan on going in the summer with our church. Jason and I are both going (God willing.) Please pray all goes smoothly as we have a special circumstance in not having his dad's signature (his dad is not all that involved and moved out of state without telling us.)

-Becky

My first piece of art purchase

I got my snow clouds photo from Courtney's Etsy shop in the mail today. I love it. Plus it is the first piece of art I have ever bought. I feel so grown up. I even went out and bought a frame and it is already hanging next to my computer in my mini office (the corner of my living room.)
Check out Courtney's Etsy shop here.
Thanks! -Becky

Josh has a blog too

Want to check out what a 6 year thinks is important? Click here

He is so cute, but I am a bit partial.

-Becky

Update: I am donating $11 to Haiti on your behalf

So far I have 11 comments on my post about donating to Haiti. For each comment I am donating $1 to Haiti relief, so I have 11 comments so far. Hey every dollar helps.
-Becky

Homemade Board Game

The other day some friends came over and we played a fun Cranium game. My boys liked it so much I decided we could make something similar. So yesterday we took this:
blank cardboard













and turned it into this:
completed game













Here are some of the during photos:
Jason working on spinner





















Joshua working on spinner
















Me smiling even though boys said how dumb a homemade game was over store bought (even though they spent about 2 hours making game and thinking of ideas)


The result:




Aunt Joanna came over and we played new game and had fun. Yeah!!!

Homemade dish soap

So I just made 4 bottles of dish soap (to wash dishes by hand, not in dishwasher. I also made dishwasher soap, but am tweaking the recipe before I post it here.)








Here is how I made the dish soap:
supplies
-shredded soap scraps (I used organic soap scraps I bought online from someone who makes them and shredded them with my old cheese grater that I now only use for soap and wax)
-water
-vinegar or lemon juice
-essential oils (optional) for scent

1. Place 2 cups of soap shavings into a large pot.
2. Add 4 cups of hot water and cook until all soap is dissolved.
3. Stir the mixture until it becomes smooth. Add more water to reach the desired consistency (you will add about 5 more cups water.)
4. Add 1 cup of white vinegar to help fight grease. Optional add lemon juice or an oil for scent.(I added tea tree oil and some lemon juice.)
5. When it cools put in old dish soap bottle.
5. Shake well before using.

I bought a box of organic soap scraps from someone online for about $10 which included shipping. I only used a small bit for making this dish soap. So I estimate I used $4 worth of ingredients to make 4 bottles of dish soap that is all organic. I also added tea tree to kill germs. I usually pay $4 for 1 bottle of Seventh Generation dish soap, so by making my own I saved about $12. Not too bad. Plus I am reusing old bottles which makes me feel good as well. The true test will be how well it cleans dishes that I hand wash.

If you make homemade dish soap how do you do it?

-Becky

Snow day

The boys first basketball games and my work was cancelled today due to the snow. So I am making homemade laundry soap, dishwasher soap, and maybe some shampoo. I found some great recipes online. I will post after I try them out, in case they are no good. I am trying to save even more money by making my own dishwasher soap and shampoo. We will see.
I am glad for a day home in my pj's (except when I went out to clean off my car.)
I have to do some home school lesson plans for this week. I also want to do our menu for week as well.
The boys are playing with there cousin, Breanna. Her brother is sick, so she came here. They played outside in the snow for a bit but it getting really cold.
Actually Jason is playing with her, Josh is now in my ear crying about how bored he is. Life is so hard! Let me go find something for him to do, I am thinking we will be making cookies.

-Becky

My sister's blog

Hi! My baby sister, Sam, has started a blog for school, but the subject is her pregnancy. Stop by here and give her some love. She also could use baby advice as this is her first baby. She is an amazing person and I love her so.

-Becky

Cloth diapers and mama pads

If you are interested in cloth diapers and cloth menstrual pads, I buy from PNPBaby, a Christian homeschooling mom of four. Her products are great! My friend, Courtney with 3 in diapers uses them as well. Check out Courtney's review here.
Then go to Meghan's Etsy site here. She also makes wallets and notebooks covers and such. I have a wallet made by her as well.

-Becky

How to save $1,000 or more with not much effort

Some of you may already be doing this sort of stuff, so the savings will not be as much, some of you may think I am too extreme. But by doing all of these things I saved over $1,000 in 2008 and again in 2009.


1) Make your own laundry soap. Cost about $20 for 20 gallons. Get the recipe I use here.
Savings about $160 a year (if you spend $15 a month on laundry soap.)[Bonus the homemade stuff is free of added scents that irritate my son's skin.)

2) Use cloth paper towels. Chances are you have plenty of cloth towels in your home that will work just as well as paper towels, if not better. Savings about $240 (if you spend $20 a month on paper towels.)

3) Use cloth napkins. Again chances are you have some nice washcloths or a set of cloth napkins already. These work better than paper napkins. Savings about $60 a year.

4) Use cloth tissues. Use some of the washcloths, towels, etc., you already have around the home. One of my cloth tissues works way better than about 5 paper tissues. Savings about $60 a year.

5) Use cloth menstrual pads or a Diva cup. Switching to cloth menstrual pads has been amazing for me, read about it here. In 2008 I bought a set, so in 2009 & 2010 I have no costs. Savings over three years, about $500. Buy here from a great work at home Christian homeschooling mom.

6) Use cloth toilet paper. I just cut up old clothes, see here. Savings about $120 a year.

7) Line dry your clothes. Did you know it cost .30-.60 cents per load to dry clothes in the dryer. If you wash 4 loads a week, that is about $2.00 to dry your clothes. $2 x 52 weeks is $104. I actually do about 6 loads a week, so for me that would cost $156 a year. So I line dry my clothes from March-Nov. Saving about another $100 a year. [Bonus it works out my arms to hang the clothes.]

8) Clean with only baking soda and vinegar. Savings about $100 a year (or more.)

9) Use white vinegar as fabric softener. Savings about $20 a year.

10) If you need something, look around and see if already have something similar that will do the job before you buy something new. Savings can really add up.

11) Join Freecycle.org. This site was created to keep good items out of landfills. Join online for free and post things you need (and want to give away as well) before you go out and buy something new. I have gotten rugs, toys, clothes, and so much more. Savings can be very high. [Bonus you can give away stuff and declutter while not feeling guilty that it will be in landfill.]

Leave a comment with a great money saving tip you have. Thanks!

-Becky

They are getting it

Today on Star 99.1 (the Christian radio we listen to) they were asking people to call in and donate to Haiti relief. They are working with Compassion to help rebuild people's lives in Haiti, especially children's lives. Anyway when we got home Josh gave me a stack of money. I thought he was trying to pay me so he could stay up late, but he said give this to Haiti. It was all his money ($25 in singles.) He blesses my heart so. So we went to make a donation and Jason also gave me $25 (again in singles.) So all together my boys gave $50 of there own money, on there own free will. It brings joy to my heart that they are getting it.

So now I encourage you to do whatever part God has for you as well. Give through Compassion or some other organization. Also comment on my blog post below and I will donate $1 for each comment I get to Haiti relief as well.

-Becky

All Jan. bills are paid in full

All Jan. bills are paid in full!!! I am amazed how God works this out every single month.
I also got all my tax stuff to my accountant who already did my taxes, but I can't file until the first time home buyer credit form is finalized. That will be in about 2 weeks.
I do need to pay myself back $300, plus come up with $250. The $300 is towards my home insurance ($1200 due every year, so I save $100 a month.) And the $250 is to pay my CPA to do my taxes. I use her because she specializes in self employment, especially in home daycare. As a bonus she is a work at home mom and I love supporting work at home mom's like myself. I will most likely take this $550 from my tax refund. I also will use my tax refund to pay for home repairs.
How are your finances going?
-Becky

Leave a comment and I will donate $1 to Haiti

This is an idea I got from another blog. For every comment I get on this post I will donate $1 to Haiti relief. I will either donate it to Compassion or my church that is taking a special donation for Haiti relief. This helps me to see who is reading my blog and get to know you all as well. Plus it helps Haiti. So comment away.

-Becky