Simplify

Today I had an appointment with our amazing chiropractor. Have I mentioned them yet???? Dr Curry. There are four of them... today I saw Dr. Matt. During our time together (he worked on myself, Hannah, AND Corban) he mentioned how they are trying to live more simply... buying less things. He had no idea about our resolution.

Here we are, Feb 16, 2010.... and so far so good! Jeremy will have a post coming up on his Bahamas/snorkel experience. :)

We survived Valentine's day with hand made valentine cards, homemade cookies, and left over valentines from previous years (unused). The kids didn't lack anything in the way of traditions :) And Jeremy and I were forced to be a little creative... but in a way no less rich than previous years. Our real challenge will be with our oldest son's birthday party in a month. Hopefully we can pull the whole thing together under this resolution. I think we can!

Dr. Matt noted how much they were able to get used with the recent birth of their new daughter. They've had two sons... so they had nothing feminine on hand. But so many people have had things to give that they have had very little NEED.

I LOVE COMMUNITY! :)

KLove Cruise and Bahamas :)

Well, we did it! We were gone for 8 days to Orlando, Fl and a cruise through the Bahamas. Again I was faced with how easy it is to want to buy something JUST BECAUSE. This was especially hard because i LOVE music and was on a MUSIC cruise with some of my favorite artists in the world. I also really enjoy supporting them....

At the mention of supporting others, our family has discussed this alteration to our goal. We have decided that we can purchase items "new" if they are hand-made and support the livelihood of someone... something not mass produced. We ran this idea by our children on the trip. We try very hard to not ever feel entitled to luxury. We aren't entitled. No one is. Not really. As we toured by the impoverished homes of Bahamians and hear of their "need" to do and deal drugs to survive, peering into their shacks of homes... we found ourselves praying for these people. As we listened to the stories of the many staff on-board the ship... our hearts were broken with compassion. Jeremy was even able to share the gospel with his room attendant the Good News of Jesus. The man had NEVER HEARD the gospel presented before! And he was right under our noses.

My oldest daughter found a hand-woven purse that she liked. It had a Tinkerbell woven into it. As she checked it out and asked the price, I questioned the woman about her "job." She said that it takes 2-3 days to make a purse, depending on its size and design. The purse was only $10 (considering the amount of work it takes to make, i'd say that was a deal!). My daughter decided to purchase the purse and told the woman, "I am buying this from you for two reasons: 1. I like it :) 2. I know you worked really hard on it and I want to support you in your livelihood." The woman began to cry. So did my heart. THEY GET IT!!!

However, here is my confession. My husband's, really. I stayed on board with the kids so they could nap (after a long tour of Nassau) and told him to go play. He left the ship and asked around about getting to a beach. After a bit of an ordeal, he made it to a beach... with no snorkeling gear. The snorkel tours wouldn't take him as a solo person and there was nothing to rent, only buy. So he bought a snorkel. I wasn't thrilled when he told me he'd broken our family goal. But I realized quickly that messing up, changing things, and dissecting our family direction is all part of the experience. I hope that whoever he bought it from needed the money! And now we know to work out some possible scenarios in the future to be prepared for situations like his. He had spent A LOT of time trying to get out there... that he finally figured to make it worth it, he'd just buy the thing and be on with it. Alright! Onward we march!