Meals on a Real Budget

Last night at dinner I looked at our fully laden table and did a quick calculation. The cost of our meal (for our family of six) was $2. Granted, some of the items we had recieved for free, but if we had paid for them, the cost of the meal may have reached $4. It always frustrates me when I look at cookbooks or search recipes online because their meals on a budget and my meals on the budget are not the same!

Our groceries budget for two adults and four children is $175/month. I hear about folks struggling to make it on triple that amount for a similar sized family! Again, some of our food we recieve for free- about $50/month worth. Adding that together brings our monthly total to $225.

How do we do it? I'm not really sure. I don't coupon all that much, my kids don't complain of being hungry all the time, and we even eat meat every night. I've come to the conclusion that it may be time to start sharing some of our life in this area with the world at large. Maybe some of you have some cheap meal ideas that we would appreciate trying out. Let me know what they are! For now, here's the menu from our meal last night, including approximate retail prices:

Scrambled Eggs (1 doz eggs @ .75)

Turkey Sausage, browned (1 lb, on sale @ 1.00)

Shredded Cheese (.25 lb, @ .75)

Cherry Tomatoes (garden= free!)

English muffins (from discount store 1/2 pkg @ .50)

Juice (1 can @ 1.00)

Corn Bread (1/2 pan leftovers about .50)

Apple Sauce (canned from last year= free)

Ending Thoughts

It's the last day of August, and what a summer it's been. Trips to the zoo, a baseball game, and lots of time at parks. The kids spent two weeks and their grandparents' house while Greg and I went to Asia. (Our return home party was planned by Zachary, and I still haven't managed to take down the "welcome home" sign!) But now the weather is already cooling off- we're wearing sweatshirts today! This past weekend we visited the State Fair and today we added the rest of our curriculum to our school day. Summer is at an end.

We still have time for a couple more trips to the zoo, and time with friends at the park, but we will soon be visiting the pumpkin patch, and planning for the holidays. Football season is upon us, and we have a new toddler to teach "touchdown!" to. We can take nature walks and visit the observatory. And of course, we have a new baby to prepare for.

As I make my plans and schedules for this fall, I am overwhelmed at the number of choices we already need to make as a family. There are many good things to do, but what is going to be the best for my family and our life goals? Will the things we choose be a benefit and a blessing to their lives? We pray that each of the children will have understand that their relationship with the Lord is the most important thing to cultivate in their life. Are we modeling that for them? Is Christ the center of my life in word and deed?

As I put structure to our days, it's so easy to focus on the children and what they need to be learning and growing in. I am finding it very difficult this year to spend my own time at the foot of the cross, basking in the holiness of my Savior. But that's what I need to be doing. For my own soul's nourishment, and my personal sanity, as well as for my children's benefit of learning from my example. I need to schedule this time, and it needs to be lengthy. If my husband only wanted to spend five minutes with me twice a day I would get pretty upset with him. I need to remember that my relationship with the Lord will take time and effort on my behalf. He has already done the work! He is waiting for me to turn to Him- to run to Him- and immerse myself in His glorious presence. He will transform me in to the kind of woman, wife, and mother I have the greatest desire to be. He will do that work in my life, He will make me whole and holy. He will do all of that, and more than I can ask for or imagine.

So, why am I still sitting here? I have a date with the King!

the game

Last week we went to the Saltdogs game. They're the Lincoln minor league baseball team. Our friend Gene was doing an exhibition and he got paid with free tickets. We got great seats, and only paid for one of our tickets! It was also $1 hot dog night, so we even enjoyed some food from the concession stand.

It was great to teach our kids game etiquette- sit instead of stand, no yelling, don't bonk the head in front of you, etc. They even paid a little bit of attention to the game. But mostly we were there to see Gene and Mabel. They did great!

Fuuny Things Kids Say

My kids are hilarious. Here are some more funny things they've said in recent weeks.

At Grandma's house releasing a jar full of baby praying mantids:
Veronica: Will they eat me?

Grandma: No, they're too little to eat you.

Veronica: Will they eat half of me?

Eating ice cream at a birthday party:

Veronica: Where's your ice cream?

Friend: I ate it.

Veronica: Can I see it?

Friend: No. I ate it.

Veronica: Why can't I see it?

Friend (switching tactics): Can I see your ice cream?

Veronica: No. I ate it.

Friend: Why can't I see it?

Veronica: You're too big to fit in my mouth.

At breakfast recently:

Quinlan: Is a fork an inclined plane?

Zachary: No, a fork is a lever, watch my eggs fly!

the final week

We’re wrapping up the support raising part of our mission trip. We have less than a thousand dollars left to raise, but less than a week to do it in! If you were planning to make a donation, please mail it to us right away, and drop us an e-mail letting us know it’s coming. Please be praying for the money to come in. We’ve already had one cool story. We didn’t make the last deadline and had to write a personal check. It was a decent sized amount, too! We waited as long as we could, but had to send it in the mail. Less than a week later, we were handed a check for the exact amount we had sent ourselves! Our check hadn’t been processed, yet, so they sent it back. God is so amazing. We’re excited to see how this final week of raising financial support plays out.

This week we’re taking care of some other business, as well. We will be visiting the health clinic and getting all of our immunizations up to date. We also are sending in visa applications. Please be praying that all the forms were filled out correctly and there are no delays for any members of our team.

In the coming weeks we will be making sure we have all of our supplies, and figuring out how to pack everything. We’ll be going through our notebooks and reviewing the lessons that we will be teaching. Most importantly, we will be covering this trip in prayer. Will you pray with us?

We’re praying that the Lord will work in our lives and bring us closer to Him and closer to each other. Praying that our team will be unified and healthy for the whole trip. Praying that the people we meet will see Christ through us and the team. Praying that they will take step to a greater understanding of our Savior and that many will put their faith in Him. We’ll be praying that through this trip the Lord will continue to reveal Himself and His plans for our lives.

While we’re overseas, we will have limited internet access. If we are able, we will send out a note or two. You’ll definitely be hearing from us when we get back. We’re fairly sure that we’ll have many stories of our amazing God and the work that He is doing in Asia.

smell of parenting

I could tell you about my morning. Let's just say that I was focusing my time and efforts on the non-essentials today instead of grabbing my children's hearts. I ran across this article while reading some blogs online after lunch. It's too good to keep to myself, so I have to share it.

http://www.premeditatedparenting.net/93_the_smell_of_parenting.htm

I pray that the Lord will show me each day what is good and right and holy. That spending my time and energy training my children's character and guiding their hearts into right relationships is more important than finishing workbook pages or getting all the dishes put away. I pray that He will open my eyes to the teachable moments in their lives and close my eyes to my to do list. And I pray that where ever you are at today, that the Lord will meet you and take your hand and lead you a little closer to Him.

Who Me?

Yesterday I learned yet another lesson from another child in my home that is not my own. It's amazing sometimes how the Lord will use my circumstances to teach me something I should have gotten from His Word the first time around!

I got everything ready for lunch then headed upstairs to make sure the toys were put away. As each person finished their job, I sent them downstairs. When I came down, she told me that she didn't like two of the three items on her plate. This is pretty common for children to say! My standard response is "This is what we're having" regardless of whose child it is. The children always eat it eventually. They don't get anything else until their plates are clean! To make a long story short, this child is more stubborn in the food department (or else isn't made to eat things she doesn't like) and it took quite a while to get her to eat a few bites of sandwhich. I did conceed and only made her eat that before giving her something that she did like.

While she was eating, I told all the kids about Moses. You remember him, right? Pagues, ten commandments and all that. Well, we talked about what happened before that while he was out in the desert. There was a bush burning up on the mountain that wasn't being consumed. how odd! Out of it came the voice of God. He told Moses to go back into Egypt and get his people freed. How would you respond if God verbally spoke to you through a bush that was not burned up? I hope that I would fall on my face and do anything He told me to! Not Moses. He whined a little- "that's too hard, I don't wanna'" Can you even imagine the nerve? "I don't speak well, who's going to listen to me?" GOD is on His side and he wonders who's going to listen? Our gracious Lord grants a concession and tells him that he will send someone to speak for him. I can't recall if Moses complained any more at this point, but eventually Moses agreed to do what the Lord was asking Him to do. But he missed out on a blessing. Because he didn't respond at first with complete obedience, Moses would not be able to enter the Promised Land. Poor Moses! If only he had done the first time what the Lord wanted.

In the instance with this child, she had to do something that was hard for her (eat lunch she didn't like), I granted a concession (she could pick one of the two items to eat and be done). I didn't remove a blessing, though. I wonder how many times in my life I've whined about something that was too hard to do (a lot, I'm sure). I wonder how many concessions the Lord has granted to me (He's so gracious). My heart is torn by wondering at all the blessings I have missed.

I'm going to work hard to train this into my life and the lives of my children. We will not be whiners and complainers when we are asked to do things. Whether it's something "small" like eating something we don't like, or a little bigger like working hard to get out of debt. Life is full of hard things. When the Lord calls me to something grand, I want to be able to respond "Here I am, Lord, send me" (Is 6:6) Rather than "who, me?" I strive to become a woman who is ready and able to answer whatever call He gives me. My children, too, will become men and women who will respond quickly and immediately to the voice of the Lord.