Fun Ways to Spend Your Money :)

I realized that I've talked a little bit about how to do holidays and birthdays on a "buy used" resolution, but not as much about what to do every other day!

I'm going to offer a new-found (by my family, anyway) activity that gives your money to a number of great causes: a charity, your physical and mental health, family bonding!

We have discovered family races or walks that support a cause and encourage the idea among my family that fitness is "fun" even if you don't think so. I knew that I couldn't teach my children something that I wasn't walking. Hence, in order to prove to them that fitness was indeed fun (which, I didn't personally believe), I began to do it... in front of them. Jogging, family walks, family bike rides, workout videos, whatever! I have the cutest video of my 2-year-old doing the exercises he always saw me doing and LOVING it! What a treasure!

We live in such an obese society that on my list of "Things I Want For My Kids" I have 1: Radical for Jesus 2: Healthy. They have seen me lose 25 pounds and a couple dress sizes in the last year as I've raced to prove to them how much fun fitness is!

That said, I joined an amazing team of people who committed to running a 1/2 marathon and raising sponsors (like a jog-a-thon) in order to bring awareness and support to my friend, the Gilmores. They are moving to Haiti in January (Lord willing) in order to "live the need" among the Haitians in all of their current plights. Its one thing to hear about the need from friends... and a whole other thing to commit to understanding it through experiencing it. This is their goal.  You can see more about their mission here at Christian Friendship Ministries.

This commitment (which I made in total ignorance.... 13.1 miles is a lot of miles to run!) has kicked me into many of the smaller races around my town! I have found that MANY of them raise money for great causes and are just plain fun! We did Feet for Families to raise money for Adoption and Foster Care. That was a simple 3.1 mile race (or a two mile walk) and we got breakfast and all sorts of freebies! We also did a Walk for Huntington's Disease- 2 miles easy. At this one, my friend Dorina and I won a free Me-n-Eds pizza and a t-shirt for playing ping-pong with a snorkel flipper and shaking a ping pong ball out of a tissue box... attached to my bootie. AND, finally, we've just signed up for the Turkey Trot... a fun tradition for many families on Thanksgiving Day. Why not walk off all your meal before you eat it? Plus, "free" socks for the first 1200 to sign up!

All of these family walks and events were about $12 or less and supported causes we connected to. Plus, our family was able to spend the day doing something fun, for a common cause (not our OWN cause) and enjoying some physical activity. NOT BAD!

I just completed the half marathon yesterday. That was hard work! But I love what it has done for my body and my mind. I know that I can keep up with my kids. I feel better about myself. And my kids are biggest (and cutest) cheerleaders!

If you're in the Fresno area, heres a great website Pro Race Group with upcoming short and fun races.

So go at it! Use your money in a way that builds your family in so many worthwhile ways! Not on the next video game, movie, tv show, or "hottest" toy off the shelf! All of that will burn away.... but the time you spend together (supporting others) can never be undone!

Candy Buy-Back! Whoot whoot!

We caught wind that a Dentist (Dr. Treva) was giving children MONEY to sell her their candy. What a brilliant idea! A candy buy-back! We, just like most parents, would love a good way to keep our children from eating all of that Halloween candy. Or maybe its just me. As a child I saved my Halloween candy ALL YEAR! Not only was I a little savorer (enjoying special pieces only on occasion) but I lack a sweet tooth. My friends loved this about me. Every time they came to visit, I still had Halloween candy to share!

So maybe I'm just a nerd. But I jumped on this opportunity to sell all of their candy! In we went... a one year old, three year old, ten year old, and eleven year old... all bogged with bags of candy. Yes, even my one year old. Because she's so cute, candy distributors inundated her bag with sweets, regardless of her limited teeth to even chew it. I digress.

Dr. Treva bought their candy for $1 per bag. We made out of there with $5! Last year, we let the kids pick as many candies as they were years in age. Then we traded the rest for Jamba Juice. This year, we forgot about letting them pick out some and just sold it. Then we went to the Dollar Store (not a thrift store, but.... almost!). I let them each pick something with their dollar and offered to cover their tax. This way, each child had something tangible and fun. My oldest bought sun glasses. My next oldest bought fake money with a money tray (and kindly paid for the dinner I made her :). My youngest son bought a paddle ball. And my baby couldn't decide- so she kept her buck. And because it's the Dollar Store, its all only going to last a couple of days anyway and will then make it to the trash- minus the cavities, obesity, and sugar highs.  (Point in case, the ball and the paddle parted ways after only 4 hours).

I just wanted to share another really cool way to have a "loose" hold on things in life.. including our candy mountains. Maybe my "sweets" aren't actual sweets... maybe its my laptop, or my ipod, or my guitar, or whatever! Maybe its even my children! But to truly be at peace with our lives and the journey God takes us on, we have to hold things loosely, for the season with which we've been given them.

I loved seeing my kids so willing to give up ALL THAT CANDY for only a buck. Oh, and for our soldiers... Dr. Treva will be donating the candy to our deployed army men and women!!! So we did talk about how we were sending candy to our soldiers. The kids made cards to send with their candy. What a rewarding thing to give up something meaningful for the sake of others (and their cavities! j/k).

 Just sayin' :)

Celebrating for a Cause (other than myself :)

Finally, of the gazillion birthdays we've celebrated this year, MINE came around!

I love my birthday :) Not just because I get to be the center of attention for a little while, but because I have a scheduled reason to spend time with friends! Lots of them, all at once! Or, I have some excuse to do something ridiculous in the name of my birthday. Last year, we went to Medieval Times all dressed up... that was great.

This year, however, was the big 3-0. My husband and a dear friend, Dorina (along with some faithful helpers), jumped onboard for throwing me a party. It was filled with delicious food and tons of fun games based on the Minute to Win It game show. I had never actually seen the show but it was so much fun!

As far as gifts go... we've been trying to figure out how to handle gift-givers in light of our resolution. For a couple birthdays (maybe all of them?) we asked people to give previously-loved gifts rather than buying anything new. We didn't want people to spend money on new things for us since we weren't doing it for ourselves. Besides, when their birthday comes around, they are getting something used (or handmade) from us!

Facebook Causes sent me an email about having people donate to a cause in lieu of gifts. What a great idea! So I set up a birthday wish. You can view it here: My Birthday Wish. I decided to try to raise $500 for my friends who are moving to Haiti. They have had long standing relationships and history (like, for generations) and now are wanting to go and LIVE the need they keep hearing about from their dear Haitian friends. They have been to Haiti numerous times. In fact, my family joined them on a 10 day trip to Haiti during the summer of 2009. This has given us a heart-connection with the people as well. You can visit my friends' ministry here: Christian Friendship Ministry. (At this writing, my birthday wish is just shy of its goal and you are WELCOME to help me complete it by clicking here.)

But I thought, why stop there??? I asked ALL of my friends to send gifts to my Birthday Wish instead of purchasing me a gift.

I must state here that my "love language" is gift giving. Not so much for the sake of the gift as much as for the knowledge that someone has been thinking of me. I laid that "love" aside for this Cause only to be completely taken by surprise. It has been SO neat to see people respond! I've received donations for my birthday from people who probably wouldn't even have given me a gift otherwise! I think I feel MORE loved by the response to the Birthday Wish than I ever would have from the traditional gift-giving of birthdays!

By the way, some people gave me purchased gifts as well as a sponsorship... THOSE gifts have still been wonderful! :)

Anyway, I've been so blessed by this experience that I've decided to support a cause for EVERY birthday here on out. Not only that, but my husband has been inspired to do the same. It's so exciting to see people give in my "honor." I'm hoping and praying that my children see the joy that overflows from celebrating ones birthday in this way and will thus become creative about how to celebrate their own!

In conclusion, I've known a number of people to use their birthdays to raise money for causes or to help the less fortunate. Here's a shout-out to everyone who already does that! I GET IT!

Convenience Culture Pay Off :)

I was humbled on Tuesday.

Actually, I find some humility every day.

Tuesday was different.

I had to take my older kids to school (which is unusual for me... usually my hubby takes 'em). This meant getting my older two in the car and ready to go. I had to get my two babies in the care (wake them up and feed them). I had to get my son's preschool stuff together. Throw in my guitar and Bible study book for Bible Study at 9. Oh, and the juice I had to bring for potluck.

All that to say, by the time we got to my son's little preschool... it was raining. Add to that- of all the things I could have forgotten that morning, it happened to be his backpack... complete with sweater and umbrella. Yep. Fortunately we were 1/2 an hour early. I quickly (but not too quickly :) drove to Goodwill. CLOSED. Actually, just about everything was closed at 8am. (really? When did all of the businesses decide 9am and 10am were better times to avail themselves to frantic mommies of cold children?) The only place open: Walmart.

In we went! $6 later we had a great warm sweater. We made it back to his school JUST in time for his class to start. (A couple days later I found a light rain jacket at Neighborhood Thrift. Score!)

As you know, Walmart is NOT on our list of places to buy "used" things from. However, on this day, I was reminded that our culture of convenience isn't ALL bad. It sure comes in handy in those emergencies that don't leave you much time for bargain and thrift shopping. And I still got a great deal!

I love when God restores balance to my little universe. I needed to remember that every new purchase is not a bad purchase. Not every transaction of convenience is utterly detestable or ridiculous :) It seems He certainly uses these methods to meet our needs as well as the others we are experimenting with this year! May the Lord lead and guide you as you wait on Him for your every need!

Little is Much

Theres a really great song by the amazing band, Downhere, called Little Is Much. Buy it.

Its so true though. I was in my garage yesterday. I have a bin beside my door for shoes. I have another bin beside my laundry for rags and towels. Actually, I had bins in these two places.

The rule was: only shoes in the bin. No clothes in the towel bin.

But what do I find every time? Socks in the shoe bin and clothes in the towel bin. AH! So what did I do? I tossed the bins! Put in a NICE shelf for the shoes and said "throw the towels in the washing machine." Little is much. Little is more.

I've also done this in my kids rooms. It seemed that if there was a cranny to shove a piece of trash or soiled clothing.... they stashed it! SO I took it all out. They have a bed and a desk. No dresser. No book shelf. Clothes all get hung. They have organizational bins in their closet for school, art, and personal. Thats it. And its amazing how much cleaner a room can be with less stuff in it.

I've even read studies lately stating that with all our technology we are producing LESS. And that the more STUFF a person has around them, the higher their stress levels. I can't quote the studies... but I can say on a personal level that this seems so true. Before facebook my house was a lot more clean! Or, maybe that was before KIDS! They both kind of kicked off about the same time, so I'm not really sure who the culprit is! :)

Anyway, as we try to live on the excess of our nation and to support our friends as home-makers and local businesses... we are also finding that getting rid of stuff is so freeing.

Even my three year old gets it. His sister tried to give him a new cool bracelet. He checked it out, said it was "cool" and gave it back. She said, "no, its yours." He said, "I don't need it." She tried to convince him that it was still his but he was adamant: He didn't need it.

May I be as quick to get rid of the things I don't need and thus free myself of more stress and perhaps even become more productive! Lessons of a three-year-old.

Birthdays, Birthdays, and more Birthdays.

Wow, its been awhile since my last post. Whoops!

Here's why: I've begun homeschooling my 11 year old which I believe will be short-lived. I have two toddlers. I've been invited to lead worship for my Bible Study which means I have to dust off the guitar and learn some songs ;) I'm a wife. I live in a house with five other people, a dog, and a cat (though the animals stay outside). I am a writer (ha!). I'm the publicity coordinator for my MOPS group. All of these are great blessings. All of these use up my resource of TIME :)

That said, its 11:02pm. The kids are asleep. The cat is asleep. The dog is asleep. The hubby is working on school stuff. My guitar is locked up. My MOPS work is done (for the time being) and Im ignoring the unswept floor. Finally, my laptop is open before me. Here we go.

Since my last post we've had at least three more birthday

s, a child with a tummy ache (too much candy at one of the parties), an entire summer, and the beginning of the school year. CRAZY! I mention the tummy ache because it was the only time (in these last months) where I chose to break our resolution... for the love of a child.

Unfortunately for this resolution, my love language is gift-giving. My then 2-year old had snuck a gummy bear too many and his body was working it back out... of both ends. Sorry for the details. We moved him to our room so he could wake

us

up if he needed to. Did I mention he was potty training? (side note: he woke up one day and agreed to "no more diapers" and now wont let us put one on him if we try! He made it through the above episode without ONE accident! He'd wake us up in time to make it to the potty!) Back to the confession. He needed some crackers and 7-up...

both of which I was out of. So at 1am I headed to my neighborhood 24-hour Winco. God bless that store.

While there I saw a Buzz and Woody toy. I'd passed it a bunch of times knowing that I "couldn't" buy it out of loyalty for our decision. This time, however, I made the conscientious to love my

baby boy with a new gift. Hearing him say, "what's that?" and cry as his gummy bears punished his gut broke my heart and my resolution. I came home to a sweet son, dealing ever so gracefully with his situation, and gave him the NEW buzz and woody. He slept with them that night and recovered very well from his tummy-trouble. It made me happy to see HIM happy in a moment of such discomfort and pain...it was worth the break from our goal :)

Aside from that, though, we've really stuck with it! I've discovered some of the BEST thrift stores in town... and re-realized that I'm a yard sale junkie... so I'm not sure if this whole plan is helping my budget yet or not! We've had an Olympic-themed party, a Caribbean themed party, and a Lion King party... all using previously owned or handmade items. Even the gifts were either used or food. :) I've bought some beautiful handmade tutus from a friend as gifts for other little girl toddlers. SO cute. Here are some pictures of the various birthday parties

I stayed up till midnight making Pride Rock :) Fortunately I had the right Lion King toys already to complete the scene :) A closer look at the onlookers will ... well, you'll see some familiar characters. My son LOVED this (he's three so it didnt have to be amazing to anyone but him :)

Dirt cupcakes! We all enjoyed some "grub" with Pumba and Timon. Favors were animal crackers in some safari themed favor bags (last minute compliments of a friend, thanks!)

This was for my husbands birthday. This has been the year of making fun cakes (and I am NOT a baker). My husband is "from" a Caribbean island, San Andres. This was an ode to his islander side :) Everything was edible... the palm trees are made up of biscotti, bubble gum leaves, and white chocolate glue. The coconuts are chocolate covered raisins. The sand is ground up animal crackers. And of course, gummy sharks and fish.

Olympic-themed bday party for my oldest daughter! So much fun! We made all of the medals and awards with chocolate coins. Cupcakes were easy enough... as you can see :)

This is what I presented my daughter so she could blow out the candles. FUN!

We are still continuing to learn so much in this process. I'm still blown away by how easy it is to go meet our own needs and rob God of the opportunity to do it. Not that he doesn't sometimes meet our needs through Target... but I've had some really neat experiences waiting on Him. And its still amazing how much STUFF we have. Every time we have a yard sale or give something away I think: "Okay, now I REALLY have given everything I don't want away." And then someone says they need something, I happen to have it... and its gone. OR I just get in a mood of "thats gotta go." We will be having another yard sale in two weeks. :)

Thanks for patiently waiting for me. I'm not sure who I'm thanking really... maybe just the internet abyss out there... but regardless, its good practice :)