Wow - I knew that you folks were kind, generous, loving, and prayerful. I had NO IDEA that you were also brilliant! We have thoroughly enjoyed seeing all of the entries coming in and prayerfully debating the merits of each one. When we announced this contest, my biggest fear was that I wouldn't like any of the names - instead, I've been overwhelmed by the number of thoughtful submissions.
First, here is our randomly chosen winner: robin_charmaine(at)yahoo.ca . Congratulations, Robin!!
Now, on to the chosen name. While we loved many of the names, there was one that we kept coming back to over and over. . . . congratulations to Miss Carey for the name In Ruby Slippers!!! (We're going to use it without the dashes) The slightly quirky aspect of the name appealed to me, and I loved the explanation Miss Carey gave:
"Your reference to Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz inspired me. ;) The Proverbs 31 woman is likened to rubies and she would be thinking along the lines of everything you listed you want your blog to be. So, it's rather like walking her footsteps (or shoes)."
Here is the funny thing. I really do love the explanation - the whole idea of walking in the footsteps of the Proverbs 31 woman. I plan to tie each section/main category to scripture, and now I think I'll be able to key each section to a verse from Proverbs 31. I like the tidy, symmetrical aspect this will bring to the blog.
Even so, I felt that I was missing something BIG about this name. A few nights ago I was almost asleep and as I was drowsily pondering the names, it hit me. In the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy put on the ruby slippers, clicked her heels, and said (drum roll, please . . .) "There's no place like home!"
It's perfect! It's a whimsical, fun, slightly off-beat name with a great (easily recognizable) tagline and a wonderful deeper explanation. I was praying that the name would help guide my focus and narrow my purpose, and the tie-in to Proverbs 31 will give me the focus and structure I need. Thank you Miss Carey, and thank you Lord for inspiring her!
Robin and Miss Carey, please email me ASP at jkestes@gmail.com and let me know if you would like a $50 Amazon card (we can do Amazon.ca, Robin) or a $50 gift certificate to Hands and Hearts.
Let me thank each and every one of you for the prayers and hard work you all put into this. I wish I could have chosen every one of you as winners!!!
In the Noah news department, those of you who follow me on Twitter know that Noah ended up quite sick Friday afternoon. He caught Mary Faith's little cold after all, and Friday his sniffles developed rapidly into a bad case of croup. He was hospitalized Friday and discharged Saturday night. After several breathing treatments and doses of IV steroids, he was breathing well enough to come home. He still feels rotten, and the steroids are not helping. A toddler with 'roid rage is not a pleasant thing at all - I had no idea my sweet, loving boy could be so cranky! I'm thankful that his last dose is today and praying that it wears off FAST.
All of this happened so fast, we couldn't really blog - if you didn't see the tweets, I'm sorry. Please pray that he will recover soon with no lingering effects. He is truly stable and breathing fine, but is coughing horribly - that is a big energy drain and we've seen him end up with other mito issues when he has had persistent coughs.
If you're entering the Name That Blog Contest please be sure to include at least some sort of user name. Including your email would be better, but not absolutely necessary. We'll announce the winners by posting their own names and the blog names they submitted - if you win, you'll need to contact me to claim your prize. If you have already entered but did so as anonymous without leaving any sort of name/email in your post, PLEASE go back and edit your post or post again taking credit for your submission. We have had some wonderful submissions and I would hate for a winner to miss out on her prize!!
Shhhhh . . . . listen . . .do you hear that? Yeah, that's it - that quiet hissing and popping sound . . . it's the sound of my brain cells exploding. I'm at a mental impasse - does someone have a brain I can borrow?
Here's the thing. I'm launching a new endeavor, and that endeavor needs a name. I've got complete and utter writer's block on this one. I've prayed about it and come to the conclusion that the Lord wants to give the name to one of you!
Many of you may know that this blog was originally created as more of a regular "mommy" blog and less of a "pray for my sick child" blog. We've looked at different approaches and have decided that we will not change this blog, but we will be starting an additional blog instead.
Now that I am getting older not as young as I used to be, (in other words, now that I am forty more than thirty), I'm feeling an increased call to mentor and minister to other wives and moms. This new blog is going to be a venue for that ministry, and it will encompass more than just a blog. There will be the blog, a facebook page, and a Twitter feed. I've got articles, a blog designer, a mission statement, a list of topics to cover, and plenty of God-fed enthusiasm.
We would be all systems go if I only had a brain name. (Rats. Now I've got the entire Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz sound track stuck in my head. All at once.)
I think you see where I'm going here. I need ideas for a name, and I need 'em fast. I need them desperately enough that Jeff has agreed to let Hands and Hearts sponsor a Name-That-Blog contest. (Hands and Hearts has a vested interest in this blog as the focus of the blog is going to tie in with a new product line we are developing.)
Here is precisely what I need. I need a name (bet you didn't see that coming) that is available as a straight .com URL, as a Blogger name, as a Twitter name, and as a Facebook name. This means that to enter the contest, you'll need to do a bit of homework. The best name in the world won't work if I can't use it, right?
The name needs to capture the essence of this new endeavor. This blog will cover topics like cooking (lots of goodies there, from recipes to video tutorials!), child rearing, home management, frugal living, homeschooling, marriage, gardening, family fun, large family living logistics, and more, all from a biblical point of view. It's going to be a fun blog too, if I do my job right! When I look at my list of topics or think about this, here are some phrases or ideas that come to mind:
returning to/restoring old paths
the nobility/joy/beauty of living out our calling as women
embracing femininity
the glory of femininity - the concept of glory is pretty important here
multi-generational faithfulness
older women teaching younger women
living out my life transparently/pouring out my life to serve
offering practical help - a blog that is full of truly useful information
encouraging/edifying/coming along side other women -
letting women know in real ways that a surrendered and joyful life is possible
pointing others to abundant life in Christ
worshiping God through our daily services at home
the true freedom of biblical femininity - that we truly live when we die to self
the joy of serving our families/raising children
building a marriage that will last/a joyful marriage
turning our hearts toward home
I hope that's enough to give you a sense of what I'm looking for. I don't like overly cutesie names in general but do like clever ones. I'm open to (would love, actually) names that also come with a tag line - sort of like our business name is Hands and Hearts, but our tag line is "Hands-on homeschooling that touches the heart."
This contest will run for 1 week, and we'll announce the winners next Tuesday, February 9th. To enter, just leave a comment on THIS POST ONLY with your idea and a confirmation that you cleared the name's availability as a .com, a Blogger name, FB name, and Twitter name. This doesn't need to be any sort of formal confirmation - just say that you checked and it is truly available. You can enter as many times as you want, but please put each entry in its own comment.
We are giving away 2 prizes. One will be awarded to the person who submits the winning name. We will also select a randomly drawn winner from all of the qualifying entries (that's why you should put each submission in its own comment - it increases your chances of winning!) We will personally confirm that each winning name met all of the availability criteria, and if it did not, then the winner will be disqualified.
Each winner will receive his or her choice of a $50 Amazon.com gift card OR a $50 Hands and Hearts gift certificate, compliments of Hands and Hearts Homeschool, Inc.!! (Kinda makes me wish I could pick the winning name - I love Amazon.com!)
If I missed something, or if you have a question, comment ASAP and I'll clarify as needed.
Oh, and here's the super-short version of the news I'm sure you actually wanted - the Lord worked in an amazing way in the sale that our friends held for us. We are beyond thankful to those who gave, shared, and prayed, and I'll be posting details of what the Lord did in my next post. Noah is still doing really well. It feels like vacation to be home for this long!!
Can't wait to see how the Lord inspires you all and am looking forward to seeing those names!
Blessings,
Kate
**UPDATE** If you're entering the Name That Blog Contest please be sure to include at least some sort of user name. Including your email would be better, but not absolutely necessary. We'll announce the winners by posting their own names and the blog names they submitted - if you win, you'll need to contact me to claim your prize. If you have already entered but did so as anonymous without leaving any sort of name/email in your post, PLEASE go back and edit your post or post again taking credit for your submission. We have had some wonderful submissions and I would hate for a winner to miss out on her prize!!
Mary Faith had a GREAT birthday yesterday, and we took lots of pictures which we'll try to get up later today. In the meantime, could you help us spread the word that the sale at http://www.funfoodadventures.com/estes.htm is being extended to midnight tonight? We don't really believe in extending sale deadlines as long as they've been fairly announced in plenty of time, but we did have several hours where the Paypal button wasn't working, and we've been advised that the kindest thing to do is to extend the sale until midnight tonight. Apparently quite a few people tried to take advantage of this deal but were unable to do so because of those technical difficulties. I know that I'd be really disappointed to miss out because of a technical problem outside my control, so we're giving those folks this one extra day. There won't be any more extensions no matter what, though! :-)
So here's the thing - we think we did a pretty good job of getting word of the spread about the sale and deadline (thanks in part ot lots of you!), so there are probably a lot of folks who figured that they missed out and that there's no second chance. Could you take a second to tweet or FB or blog or email and help us spread the word? I have a limited range of contacts online, but if many of you helped we could tell a lot of people very quickly.
Thank you - and I'll try to get those photos up this afternoon . . .sounds like a fun way to spend an icy day!
Just a quick reminder that our amazing sale ends at midnight tonight, so if you haven't taken advantage of this great offer, you'll need to hurry! While we're excited at how God is working on OUR behalf through this event, we are equally thrilled at how God is going to bless each of YOU - this package of resources is really, truly fantastic for homeschoolers and non-homeschoolers alike . . . and the chance to get over $350 worth of items for only $39 is a great deal. We have to wait a few days more to allow time for mail-in orders, but I just can't wait to call up the winners of the prize packages and tell them they won. Some mommies are going to be VERY happy - have you seen those prizes???
The last day of a sale like this is often the most critical. Will you please help us by telling people about it while there is still time? Even if you have already blogged/tweeted/facebooked/emailed about it, would you please do it again? Many people will see a sale and decide to come back later. Without a reminder they will forget.
On a non-sale note, today is Mary Faith's 2nd birthday!!! I just really can hardly believe that our little princess is two. We're planning have the grandparents over for dinner and presents - Jeff is going to smoke some chicken (YUM) and we're having salad and homemade dinner rolls to go with it. Mary Faith is the ultimate "girly girl" so I think I'm going to try a new recipe for strawberry cupcakes - something nice and pink and princess-y. It promises to be a fun day. Every time someone wishes Mary Faith a happy birthday, she claps her hands, smiles, and positively twinkles. (As a result, her siblings are calling out, "Happy Birthday!" every time she enters a room just so they can see that sparkly smile!) Her cold finally seems to be better and Noah seems OK - really, really tired and complaining of leg pain on and off, but not officially sick. Here's hoping we dodged that bullet!
Quick prayer request for Noah - Mary Faith has had an icky cold for a few days and some of the other dc are coming down with it now. Noah's voice is now hoarse and he told me that "his mouth hurts." Please join us in praying for protection for him as his last couple of "minor childhood bugs" have had serious ramifications for him.
Ever have a really bad day?What about a really good day?What was it that made the difference?Most days that we would call “bad days” have a few elements in common – things like disappointment, pain, heartache, and unwelcome changes to our plans.Good days, however, are filled with happiness, productivity, and comfort.
Using that criterion, one could say that our family had a really bad year in 2009.We never meant it to be that way.In fact, as we ushered in New Years Day, we were filled with every sort of happy optimism.Jeff felt strongly that the Lord was telling him that this was going to be a great year – a year of blessing.We had some specific blessings in mind – sort of a “blessings wish list” if you will.Although our finances were deeply strained from Jeff’s being out of work for months, we had prayerfully formulated a number of new ideas for taking Hands and Hearts to the next level and we were certain that these new approaches would result in Hands and Hearts being able to financially sustain our family.
Mary Faith, the baby of the family, was about to turn one which made us think that perhaps a new little blessing would come our way in 2009.
Noah was starting some new treatments and we were hoping against hope that we would have a great and mostly hospital-free year of health for him, which would also mean that I would be able to spend more time at home with my other children.
We were full of hopes and dreams and we were trusting God when He said that He was going to bless us in amazing ways.Then our world came crashing down around our ears.
We had to discontinue our kits and our business ground to a screeching halt.Noah spent an extraordinary amount of time in the hospital and came near to dying.We conceived a baby but that baby died in my womb.We went through every bit of savings and retirement money we had but still found ourselves close to losing our home. On top of it all, we went through an additional and horrific private trial.
So, what happened?Did God drop the ball?Did He promise us a good year and give us a bad one?Where was He?
I’ll tell you where He was.He was on His throne, guiding and directing and protecting in ways that our feeble human eyes couldn’t see.He was beside us and with us, comforting and shielding and holding our hearts.He was before us and behind us, and He never, ever left.When we couldn’t see Him, He never lost sight of us, and ALL of His plans toward us were good.
We weren’t blessed with money, or health for our little boy, or relief from suffering, or life for our unborn child.We weren’t blessed with an easy road in any way, but we were blessed.We were blessed with a growing hunger for God, and He fed our souls.We were blessed with an increased awareness of our complete reliance on God, and He showed Himself to be perfectly trustworthy.We were blessed to fall in love all over again with the Creator, and amazingly He loved us back.
Was it a bad year or a year of grace?We’re inclined to go with the later.While we don’t understand why things happened the way they did, we also know that we don’t need to know the “why” as much as we need to know the “Who.”As we grow closer to the Lord and delve deeper in His Word, we find unshakeable truths that aren’t affected by circumstance.We know He is holy, that He is all powerful, and that His plans for us are for our good.The One Who holds all things in His hand just doesn’t make mistakes.
So here we are facing a new year wondering what God has in store for us in 2010.I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.Teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”We’ve been blessed with a lot of fish over the last few years, and we’ve received each with humble gratitude, but we also know that the time has come to grab a boat and a rod and get out in the water.As you’ve already read, we’ve been blessed by friends in the homeschool community who have equipped us to offer what may be the most amazing sale in homeschool history – over $350 worth of homeschooling materials for only $39, AND the opportunity to win one of five physical prize packages (two of them worth more than $849.00!!!)If the Lord is willing, we’ll earn enough income from this sale that Jeff will be able to start a home business that will allow him to provide financially for our family.
Is this a good thing?It is, of course, a pleasant and hope-inspiring thing.We believe that it is of God, but it is no more or less of God than all that happened last year.It is simply another manifestation of His grace.As we walk, we are learning the truth that there are no good days and no bad days, just days of grace.God’s good plans will be accomplished through all that happened last year and all that will happen this year.God’s good plan will be accomplished through this sale as well.At this point, it really isn’t clear whether “our” goals will be met through this sale or not, but we can rest assured that His goals will be.We can already see Him at work in the way that so many families are having the opportunity to get such wonderful homeschool materials for just pennies on the dollar!
If you are interested in getting this amazing package yourself, please take a look at it at here.It is an incredible sale and I think you’ll be blown away by the quality of the items being offered. By the way, you'll want to take a look even if you don't homeschool. Many of the materials were chosen to appeal to a wide range of people, and there are tons of things that aren't "homeschool specific." The sale ends Friday, January 29th at midnight, so please don’t delay – and if you like what you see, please spread the word by tweeting, blogging, posting on facebook, and emailing the people you know.Your help in getting the word out is invaluable to us!
Blessings,
Kate
P.S. To those who wondered if our finances affect Noah's care, the answer is yes and no. When Jeff was still working and had excellent insurance, we applied for a program called TEFRA which would give Noah S.C. Medicaid among other benefits. We did this because with medical bills of many hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, even our copayments were overwhelming us. We also did it so that he would be eligible for certain other services.
It takes many months for those applications to be approved, and when Jeff lost his job, we still hadn't gotten approval, and we were forced to pay an enormous sum for COBRA for a few months until the Medicaid kicked in. While Noah's pediatrician and all of the specialists in Greenville accept this sort of Medicaid, there are other needed specialists who do not. The doctor in Atlanta who diagnosed Noah will not accept it. He wants to see Noah again and has some very specific tests that he feels need to be done, but we would need to pay cash in full upfront. We simply can't do that. Noah's pediatrician wants Noah to see some other specialists who are unlikely to accept SC Medicaid because they are out of state - and Dr. B said that SC Medicaid may very well refuse to pay even if the doctors were willing to file. While Noah's liver is holding on in spite of TPN, if his liver starts to be damaged by the TPN, SC Medicaid will not pay for the insanely expensive Omagaven that would then be needed to save his life.
So there you have it - yes and no. Yes, all of Noah's basic and emergency needs are being met. He won't be turned away by any of his doctors here. On the other hand, no, he is unable to receive some further testing or get follow-up from the doctor who specializes in his rare disease, nor is he likely to be able to see some of the specialists who could possible help his quality of life.
We don't fret about this (usually LOL). We aren't being denied care that would make the difference between life and death right now, and his care is EXCELLENT. His excellent local geneticist never stops working to find ways for Noah to get the testing that he needs and in fact has just submitted a sample of his blood for one specific test at no cost to us at all. Many of these tests cannot be run in SC (remember, his disease is really rare) and can cost tens of thousands of dollars, but she is working to get those tests made available in SC for kids like Noah. As far as the Omegaven goes - well, if I think about it too hard, it makes me sick. At a cost of over $100 per day, it would take a whole lot more than a fundraiser to provide Omegaven. The key is to protect that liver and pray that we never get to the point that Omegaven is needed. That's why we are working so hard to give him some of his nutrition via g-tube at night and hoping that somehow we can ultimately reduce the amount of TPN he needs. It's really in God's hands and it does me no good whatsoever to fret about it.
There you have it - maybe a much longer answer than you wanted. :-) Noah answers are rarely short or even straightforward, and since this question caused a bit of a ruckus I wanted to respect the original poster by fully answering his or her question!
There was a problem earlier, but Paypal works now! Thank you!
My name is Donny Godsey, and I've gotten special permission from Jeff and Kate Estes to sort of hijack their blog and post here today. You know them as the Noah's parents and the owners of Hands and Hearts.
I have known this family for 12 years from church and from our local homeschooling group. The Estes have been in our “home group” where we share the details, challenges, prayer requests, and triumphs the Lord has taken us through. It has been in that relationship that I really got to know them. Over the years my family has seen the Estes navigate different things the Lord has placed in their lives with integrity and dependency on Him. They have encountered many blessings and many trials, and have specifically been dealing with some major financial trials for some time. Jeff is a godly man who wants to provide for his family, but has been unable to find employment since his job was downsized. The Estes have committed to stay debt-free but after two years have exhausted their savings, Jeff’s retirement fund, etc. Jeff feels that the Lord has led him to start an additional business that would provide him with work, income, AND the flexibility that Noah's needs require, but he has lacked the financial resources to fund the start-up costs.
As I was talking to the Estes this week, they shared with me their gratitude at the generosity of their friends and the solution that seemed to be emerging for their financial challenges. They told me that recently they had sought counsel from a number of fellow homeschool business owners. Jeff was concerned that they might have to close Hands and Hearts and liquidate the inventory in order to keep a roof over their heads and invest in a business that would allow Jeff to bring in a more stable income. The response from their friends was truly awe-inspiring as offers of product donations began to pour in – donations that would provide them with the opportunity to run an amazing sales event with the potential to bless their customers while raising the money that they needed.
When I asked what I could do to help, they asked only for my prayers. As I sat there and prayed, I kept hearing the Lord say, “Help them.” and as I continued to pray the Lord led me to offer to host this special page on my site, and perhaps more importantly, to “be their voice” in the promotion of this event.
I want to make it clear that Jeff and Kate aren’t looking for a handout or a free ride. They are hard workers, and Jeff only wants the tools he needs to provide for his family.
So here's why I'm writing you today. I would like you to take a look at the sale I'm hosting for the Estes. I can assure you that you will be glad you did, and that you will be amazed when you see what may be the most incredible sale in the history of homeschooling! For example, how would you like to get over $350 worth of products for just $39, or be entered to win $850 worth of actual printed homeschool books and curriculum? Just head over to http://www.funfoodadventures.com/estes.htm and take a look. ,
I'm sure that many of you probably know Tami Fox of Discount Homeschool Supplies. She also asked if she could write something here:
Today I have a special privilege to tell you about my friends, the Estes family. Several years ago I “met” Kate Estes on an email group for Christian self-publishers. In the summer of 2006, several of us were expecting. In July of 2006, I gave birth to our 6th child, and a few weeks later, Kate gave birth to her 7th child, Noah. Her delivery was nothing short of miraculous. God spared both her life and Noah’s life. In February of 2007, I was honored to meet the entire Estes family in person in the Western North Carolina Bookfair in Asheville, NC. Even though we were both vendors that day, we found time to talk and get to know one another. Noah was this sweet little baby in a hand-crocheted sweet pea baby bunting. One thing that struck me then was how small Noah was compared to my own baby.
At that time, the Estes family had concerns about Noah’s size, but it was not until he was being considered for a feeding tube in April of 2007 that they found out that Noah had serious medical issues. His internal organs were not in the normal placement for organs. He was not a candidate for certain feeding tubes due to anatomical issues. Further testing over the course of months and years eventually gave the Estes family a diagnosis for their precious son. Noah was diagnosed with a progressive and ultimately terminal condition called mitochondrial disease. Since I do not have a medical degree, I will not go into a medical explanation of mitochondria. As a mother, I cannot fathom hearing that my child has a terminal condition. My heart has been heavy for Noah throughout his journey. I have prayed for him and his precious family for a long time.
Noah’s condition would be considered fragile. He has had many, many hospitalizations during his little more than 3 years of life. He has seen many doctors and specialists. And his parents have learned how to do many medical procedures at home in order to keep him at home as much as possible. Their family has been blessed with another child since Noah’s birth, so their family now has 10 members. It is very important that Noah’s parents are available to take him to the doctor or hospital on a moment’s notice.
A few years ago, Noah’s dad, Jeff, was working for a company and his position was downsized, and he was laid off. In this economy, most of you know how hard it is to find employment. He was able to do more with their home-based business, Hands and Hearts. But there were changes to federal law last year that forced them to shut down their business for several months. They make hands-on history kits, and the kits are for children aged 12 and under. Since then, there has been a temporary stay on this federal law, and they are once again operating Hands and Hearts from home. But it has not recovered back to its former level of business. The economy has been hard on many homeschool publishers.
Noah’s condition is so fragile that he is often in the hospital with Kate caring for him and Jeff at home caring for the other children.. So while God has worked many circumstances out to provide financially for the Estes family, God has also used many of us to bless the Estes family. That is why I am writing today. The Estes family has been working with many Christian self-publishers to provide a special package for anyone who donates a minimum of $39 to the Estes family. This would enable them to take care of financial obligations and allow Jeff to continue to run Hands and Hearts from home as well as start an additional business venture. From personal experience, running a business from home requires a lot of time and attention. And Kate can do some of the Hands and Hearts operations, but her focus is to care for her children and Noah’s medical needs. Jeff is really the backbone of Hands and Hearts. They are both prayerfully seeking God’s will for their lives and the lives of their children.
There are few people in this world who have stood firm in the faith during trials as Jeff and Kate have stood. They have always given praise and glory to God even when the situation was dire. There were many times that I expected “the call” that Noah had gone Home. God has plans for this special child, and He has brought him back from illnesses that doctors did not expect recovery. There will be those who read this who have something negative to say to the Estes family. They really do not need that type of “attention.” While I hope that the Estes will have your complete support at this time, if you feel the need to be negative, you can leave any negative comments here on my blog or here, or you can email them to me so that they will not have to deal with this. I know this family is the “real deal.” My life has been blessed and enriched from knowing them. And I know many, many people can say the same thing. Please prayerfully consider if God wants to use you to bless this family. While there is a suggested minimum donation, any donation is appreciated. For the special package made available by the self-publishing family, you are asked to make a minimum donation of $39. Just visit http://www.funfoodadventures.com/estes.htm to make your donation.
As you may have seen by our tweets, we spent Thursday evening in the ER in Abbeville and ALL day yesterday in Greenville having tests run. While an x-ray showed a strange deformity in Noah's femur, it isn't clear whether it could have any bearing on his current pain, and an MRI didn't reveal any signs of infection - a HUGE praise. The assumption right now is that Noah has Toxic Synovitis (read about it here) which, while really painful, should go away within a couple of weeks. The orthopedic surgeon wants to follow him closely to be sure that nothing else is brewing or develops, so we'll be seeing him in Greenville at least once next week.
Other than that, it's really just a matter of keeping Noah comfortable. He's an amazingly resilient child and is figuring out ways to move that won't hurt his leg/hip, so he's getting around surprisingly well when he needs to move. His energy has been lower than usual lately which is actually working to his advantage right now as he is wanting to spend most of the day sitting or lying down.
Thank you all so much for your prayers - keep 'em coming, please. We'll update again when we see the doctor in a couple of days (or sooner, of course, if something develops). We would also appreciate your prayers for our family in general as we have some really big things happening next week that are very important - I'll share more about that later. For now, suffice it to say that we would appreciate your prayers that the Lord would bless the work of our hands.
Noah is experiencing EXTREME pain if we externally rotate his left leg. He's also walking with a very pronounced limp. This is the leg where he had osteo (infection in the bone marrow of his femur) when he was a baby. He hasn't taken a fall or anything like that. We're waiting for the doctor's office to re-open at 2 PM.
Please pray. I'm really concerned about him and this is one of those "worse possible' times for him to be sick in terms of other stuff that is going on at home and with the business.
First, we're still home and Noah is maintaining pretty well - not doing really great, but not doing really poorly either! While we would love "great," we are very thankful for "pretty good!!"
Our family had a blessed and relaxing Christmas. Thanks to the kindness of several of you, our children were delighted to each find some "fun" presents under the tree (we had already purchased and set aside an item of clothing for each one over the previous months) and we also received several family gifts which we are thoroughly enjoying! It was such a treat just to relax and watch the children having fun!
The Lord even provided a Spike for Noah. He was very, very happy to get his "Baby Spike" as he called Spike Jr. and played with it non-stop. . . but to our dismay we repeatedly came upon him cradling Baby Spike and telling him, "Don't cry, Baby Spike. Your mommy is coming . . . it's OK - she's really coming." Christmas night he took Baby Spike to bed because Baby Spike needed someone to sleep with so he wouldn't be scared and cry for his mommy.
Yeah.
It would definitely take a harder heart than mine not to be very touched by this! Noah never, ever asked for Mommy Spike - instead, he was displaying a childlike faith and utter certainty that Mommy Spike was coming. Noah places a lot of importance on the fact that I tell him I will always be there for him - my presence is one of the only really stable things in his life. (Don't get me wrong - he adores Jeff - but I'm the one to stay in the hospital with him.)
After a day and a half of this, I started to really pray about it. I didn't know if this was just a game or a really serious thing for Noah, and I asked the Lord to provide a Mommy Spike IF and ONLY IF it was the right thing for him. Until this point I hadn't even really prayed about it because I didn't really think he needed a Spike LOL. Within an hour of when I started praying, Jeff and I found ourselves in Walmart with Timothy because of an odd "coincidence" which in retrospect was God's hand. While we were there, Timothy suddenly cried out, "Look at all of those Spikes!" I turned to see a display of several Spikes all marked down from $129 to just over $50. We had received a financial gift of $30 on Christmas Day and Jeff and I both felt that the Lord was providing Spike for Noah. I had a very little bit of money tucked away in a drawer and said that I would make up the additional cost out of that money, but even before I could get into the house to get the money we got our mail - and there was a letter from an old friend with a check to buy Christmas presents if they were needed. There was more than enough to finish paying for Spike!
Jeff decided to put Spike together in the basement and let him (her??) walk into the front room to surprise Noah. I wish I had had a camcorder - when Noah heard Spike coming he didn't scream or run or act excited. He just smiled the most beautiful smile, grabbed Baby Spike and said, "See? Your mommy came!" It really was very touching and I just had to come to terms that evidently Noah was meant to have this toy that was far more extravagant than what we would typically buy.
I'm happy to report that Baby Spike and Mommy Spike are spending all of their time together (including sleeping TOGETHER each night LOL) and that Noah remains utterly enamored by both of them. He has even started stomping around with his hands and feet to the ground/rump in the air while roaring because he is "Noah Spike." Cute stuff!
We were able to go to the zoo (It's Hollywild - www.hollywild.com) and had the most WONDERFUL time. We have both video and lots of photos but I need some help from Jeff to show me how to upload the videos. They actually opened the zoo just for our family and the family who made this happen! (It's only open at night during the holidays as they have a big light display/safari drive.) We had the whole place to ourselves with no worries about protecting Noah from germs. We got a complete educational guided tour and the children got to feed and pet a TON of animals - not only every possible traditional farm animal but also things like several kinds of deer, buffaloes, baby yaks (surprisingly cute), and, of course, a ZEBRA! Noah must have spent 20 minutes with the baby zebra. He fed her and pet her and talked to her - and hasn't stopped talking about her since! Her name is Holly and he has now named one of his stuffed zebras Holly. We aren't sure why this particular toy was singled out for this honor LOL but it's very sweet to see him talking to her and reminiscing about his fun time! He only seemed confused by one point - every time tells someone about his experience, he wraps it up by saying, "But Holly not talked to me!" We wonder what he was expecting her to say!!! :-)
Like I said in the beginning, Noah is really kind of so-so in the wellness department. He seems to be tiring a lot faster and needing a lot more rest. He's also struggling to stay hydrated and is having some struggles with the very small amount of g-tube feedings he's getting at night. We are SO blessed by his wonderful pediatrician who is working really closely with us to keep a handle on everything, and are blessed and thankful that Noah remains well enough to be home. We're also thrilled that Noah's infectious disease doctor said that while Noah needs to be kept almost exclusively at home, the rest of us can start doing things like going to church. We've been on pretty tight "house arrest" due to the risk that we would bring germs back home to Noah and it was an amazing joy for me to return to church for the first time in many, many months.
There isn't too terribly much going on with the other children. Homeschooling is going well and I remain in awe of the goodness of the Lord to allow me to be at home with the wonderful children He gave us. (Oh, sweet Sarah story - I caught her coming up to Noah the other day. She crouched down to his eye level and murmured in his ear, "Guess what, Noah? Sister loves you bigger than the sun and the moon and all of the stars!" Sometimes I wish I could video tape every moment of every day.)
Mary Faith is growing and changing so quickly - do you all realize she'll be TWO this month?! It hardly seems possible. She is the most delightful little thing and brings so much joy to us all. It's a good thing that she doesn't have a temperament that lends itself towards being spoiled easily, because her siblings all completely dote on her!!
As always, there is more that I could write (and I haven't forgotten the requests for Easy Bake recipes and directions for Marshmallow Shooters!) but I need to run. I'll also see if I can't gently nudge Jeff toward helping me get some videos up!
Merry Christmas to all of you! We are counting our Christmas blessings here and just loving being together as a family. Noah isn't as stable as we would like and is needing a boatload of extra medical care every day, but he is handling it like a real hero and being a very good sport about it all.
We were able to do some Christmas shopping for the children thanks to the generosity of some of you - thank you so very, very much! A precious friend just came by with a lovely hot lunch for us to enjoy, giving me some extra time with my precious family - thank you, Zana! We also just got a call from some dear friends who did something amazing for us. There is a zoo not far from Greenville where they train animals for movies and things. The animals are tamer than most zoo animals, and they have ZEBRAS that will eat out of your hand. We've wanted for a long time to take Noah there, and hoped to do so this fall - but Noah was too sick. Now we can't even think about affording the tickets. Well, as a surprise, our friends called the zoo and told them a bit about Noah. We got a call this morning saying that the zoo wants to wish Noah a merry Christmas and that we can bring our WHOLE family there next week for free - and our friends can come too! I am just blown away by the generosity of people who have never met my son but want to give him the chance to meet a zebra up close and personal. PLEASE pray that he is well enough and stable enough to go. Please pray for our little friend Eithene (link in sidebar) who is HOME for Christmas but is also struggling with multiple issues at home. Little Emerson (link in sidebar) is very gravely ill and in PICU right now.
We (actually our company) "adopted" a lonely senior citizen and bought her a few simple Christmas gifts which need to be delivered after lunch. We'll be heading to my parent's in a little while for presents and fun, then we will drive around and look at lights (finally LOL) on our way home. Tomorrow morning will be the best sort of hunkering down together to enjoy being together, opening gifts, and just treasuring each other. Then we'll head to my mom's for a big Christmas dinner - Jeff is smoking some chicken (yum) and I'm sure we'll all eat more than we need to. :-) Doesn't that sound like the most lovely couple of days possible???
Please just continue to pray that Noah will hold his own and start to do better. Also please pray for joy for him today and tomorrow. He is pretty clingy because of not feeling too good. He is also convinced that he is getting "Spike the Ultra Dinosaur" which he saw and played with in the store once - it is a very expensive Fisher Price remote control dinosaur that we just couldn't possibly afford. He is getting some very nice toys and we are praying that he will be happy with them and not upset about Spike. He really truly doesn't need a Spike but we haven't been successful in explaining to him that he isn't getting it. (He is a pretty typical 3 year old with a pretty determined mindset LOL) We are just praying for a spirit of contentment and joy and excitement for him and we know that the Lord can do this for him!! We did find Spike's "little brother" for $15 but haven't decided if we are better off giving it to him and hoping that he will accept it as a smaller, more basic version of Spike - or if it will just upset him because it isn't really want he wanted - we are praying for wisdom there and know we will get it.
Timothy had a wonderful, happy 11th birthday yesterday. I have a bunch of photos of our December birthdays, cookie fun, and (will have) pictures of tonight and tomorrow. I hope to get photos and/or a slideshow up this weekend!!!
Soooo . . . Noah was indeed discharged on Friday night. Got home, got him settled, made cookie dough, and then I collapsed gratefully in my own bed. :-) Got up Saturday and baked a bazillion (actually about 250) sugar and gingerbread cookies and made 18 graham cracker gingerbread houses with my children. A little while later our friends arrived and we all had a blast decorating and eating and laughing.
As the evening wore on, Noah's output from his g-tube increased a lot and we realized he hadn't really been wetting his diapers as much as he should. A round of phone calls between us and his nurse and some doctors resulted in Noah being admitted to Greenville last night. Yep - home Friday, back Saturday.
We had a long and tiring night, but after a lot of fluid his labs looked good this morning and his output was waaaay down - so much so that his g-tube drainage bag was removed to see if he could manage without it. He's had some retching and gagging but hasn't vomited, so we are going home! Yep - home Friday, back Saturday, home Sunday.
We don't actually have a plan right now. We just have a boy who is once again stable enough to leave. We don't know what will happen when he is allowed to drink or eat, we don't know if we can restart g-tube feeds or what will happen if we do. Half of his medications are given by g-tube and he hasn't had them in a week and a half, and we still don't know if he will be able to tolerate them, BUT we can try to figure this stuff out at home rather than sitting here for who knows how long trying to figure it out while inpatient.
The wonderful Dr. B, (Noah's pediatrician) is going to be in contact with GI tomorrow to start figuring out a plan. We just don't know if we are in the clear here, and it's possible that we will keep yo-yo-ing from home to hospital. We just don't know yet. If he starts to throw up or if he is retching enough to be miserable, Dr. B wants him brought to Abbeville hospital (the one much closer to home).
I've got to tell you that it is really and truly exhausting to keep being catapulted from home life to hospital life over and over without warning, but I would still rather go home knowing that we could end up back inpatient as opposed to staying here. Noah looks "OK." His nurse and I noticed that he was, for back of a better word, "wobbly" on his feet yesterday. He slept in until 11:30 this morning which was fair enough considering his rough night - but he's had lots of rough nights without sleeping in that late, AND he is sleeping again now. He played on his bed for a little while then just wanted to lie down and fell asleep. This isn't typical, but it also isn't a big enough deal for us to keep him here. It's just going to be a matter of watching and waiting and seeing how he does.
I'll try to post some photos of our cookie and gingerbread house decorating fun. Even Noah got into it and really enjoyed himself. :-)
Please pray for crystal clear guidance for and from the doctors and for peace and healing for Noah. He hasn't been able to eat since a week ago Thursday, and he hasn't been able to even sip water since last night - and won't be able to drink anything until we get a plan worked out at some point tomorrow. I'm praying that we don't have some sort of meltdown with him asking for a drink and being denied, and I'm hoping that he will be able to drink tomorrow without vomiting or retching. (His TPN keeps him hydrated if he has no other fluid loss but he still enjoys drinking.)
We are heading home today! Noah's GI issues are not resolved or even really improved, but the doctors agreed to give us a chance to manage them at home. His care will be a lot more complicated, and we'll be in very close (daily) contact with the doctors and almost daily labs with his home health nurse. It makes me a little nervous, but if we don't try this at home, Noah will be in for quite a while longer. I feel like I owe it to him and the rest of the children to try.
It's a pretty sure bet that I won't update again for a couple of days unless there is a problem. We had scheduled our annual cookie decorating day with friends for last Saturday, but Noah was in Abbeville so we had rescheduled for tomorrow. Since we are coming home today, I'm going to bite the bullet and proceed with the fun for tomorrow. I just hate to disappoint the children since they put great stock in this tradition. (I can always sleep when my children grow up, right??) Between a pretty complicated new regime for Noah and a bazillion cookies to bake, I'm going to be busy - happily busy AT HOME!
Please pray that we will manage Noah's care well and that we can do a good enough job that he can stay home and not have to come back in. If you get this quickly, please also pray for him - we are heading to the treatment room in a few minutes to do a dressing change on the new line and the cauterized old line site - these dressing changes will really hurt and he is already pretty emotionally fragile from yesterday.
Noah is in his room resting comfortably, but I'm sorry to say he had a pretty rough go of it today.
He was scheduled for surgery at 2:30, but the surgeons came in at about 9 this morning and said that there was an opening and that Noah would be going down right away. I called Jeff (on the way with the children) and he turned back and went home. I sat with Noah and waited . . . and waited . . . and waited. One of the Child Life Specialists came in and did some medical play with Noah - he made a doll then used OR equipment to do procedures on the doll such as sticking on cardiac leads and an 02 sat monitor, using the anesthesia mask on the doll, etc. We also looked at lots of photos of the OR to open discussions of what would happen. He's been having increasing anxiety with each surgery and this was done to help demystify the process.
The surgical team finally came for him at about noon and took him down to the holding area where we sat for 2 hours. Everyone was really kind to Noah, but he was very nervous and stressed about sitting down there knowing what was coming next. A nurse brought him a coloring book and crayons and several little toys that he could play with and that he could keep - this helped, but he was still pretty sad. When the OR was almost ready for him, the nurse started giving him versed (at my request) to help calm him down (it usually knocks him out) and to cause him to forget the trauma. I don't know what happened, but they gave him 4 doses and it didn't phase him a bit. As soon as we headed toward the OR he started crying, telling me he was scared, begging me not to leave him, etc. Once I had to hand him to the nurse the sobbing started in earnest and I could hear him screaming for me until I got on the elevators.
I hate that.
I really, really hate that. It's one thing to stand in the treatment room watching him suffer - at least he knows I am there for him. Handing him off to OR nurses while he sobs is the hardest thing I have to do.
Ultimately the surgery went well. It took a lot longer than usual, and the infected tissue around the old broviac site had to be cauterized (burned) off - an extra owie. He's got sutures in his shoulder and the center of his chest where the new line comes out. When I got to recovery, he was crying and sobbing uncontrollably. It's an unusual reaction for him but not unheard of, and even if he is upset he calms down immediately once I hold him. Not this time - he screamed in my lap for over half an hour. At first I couldn't figure out why he was in so much pain - granted, he had three significant "ouchie" areas, but he's had broviacs before. Then I looked at his face. He's had his typical Noah reaction to infection, which is incredibly red swollen eyes and big red welts all over his body (not hives). When they taped his eyes shut for surgery, they didn't take that fragile, compromised skin into consideration, so when they took the tape off it ripped all of the skin off one of his eyelids. Every time Noah would try to snuggle in against me (or even blink) it would cause that poor eye to hurt. It looks awful - red and weeping - and I can only imagine how much it hurts.
2 more doses of morphine later he calmed down enough to stop crying, and when we got him back into the room a massive dose of IV benadryl finally nudged him off to sleep. I prayed so much for him to be peaceful instead of hurting and afraid, and admit that I don't understand why he had such a hard time. I know it hurt God to see Noah hurting as well. The Lord is very near to me with the comfort and empathy of One who had to watch His son hurting unfairly as well. It doesn't make things OK, but I know that when I go to Him with my pain and questions and doubts, He understands.
My mom came up here this morning and, blessedly, Noah settled down right before Jeff got up here with the children this afternoon. (I even had a few minutes for a shower before Jeff got here.) She sat up here with Noah so I could spend some time downstairs with the rest of the crew. Matthew enjoyed opening his presents (We got him the Clue Secrets and Spies game, and his siblings got him the Deal or No Deal DVD game), then we took some pictures in front of the big Christmas tree. My mom slipped Jeff some money so the children could all get a treat at Starbucks and they really enjoyed that! The time was over all too soon, but I am deeply thankful that I got to love on my birthday boy even for a little while. I still can't believe that I have three teenagers now!
Please pray that Noah sleeps well tonight. He was very uncomfortable and restless last night as the welts on his face and body hurt and itch. Funny/sad story - in the middle of the night a nurses aide came in to check Noah's vitals. He'd been in and out of sleep because he was so uncomfortable and he was just settling down when she came in and flipped on the BRIGHT overhead light. In all of our visits here, no one has ever done that unless Noah was in distress and doctors needed the lights on. Anyway, Noah hates bright light and this was a total shock to a just-dozing-off boy. I quickly told her to turn off the lights, and he looked at her with a hurt expression and said, "You maked my widdle (little) tears come out!" Talk about twisting the knife - I don't think she will make that mistake again!
I'm hoping that somehow he'll be able to rest well tonight. The sheriff's department came by with big presents for all of the children - Noah got a Diego Dinosaur Rescue set. He's never seen Diego but he LOVES dinosaurs and this includes not only a dino but an alligator - big thrill! He hasn't seen it yet so it should be good for a smile when he wakes up.
We are working on a plan to get Noah home ASAP. He is still draining tons of bile out of his g-tube and it doesn't seem to be slowing down. It needs to be managed with replacement IV fluids but we want to do that at home if we can - he isn't actually sick per se and it would make everyone happy if we could care for him at home. The doctor warned me that between daily labs, custom replacement IV fluids, and additional IV meds it would be a lot of work, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes as long as Noah doesn't actually need hospital care. I don't know if it will be possible to manage him at home or not - if he has to be managed here we may be in for a long haul. Please pray for wisdom and clarity and for a peaceful good attitude for me if I have to accept staying here longer. My heart is pretty bruised after today and my flesh just wants to gather ALL of my children around me safe at home - but Noah's needs come first. I just need to find rest in knowing that the Lord knows what those needs really are.
Noah is heading into surgery in a just a few minutes. This is several hours ahead of schedule which is good for him. Jeff and the children were in the car on their way here so I could see Matthew on his birthday, but they've had to turn back now as it will be 2-3 hours before I can get away to see them. I hope so much that they can get back later today.
Noah is having surgery tomorrow to remove his current broviac and to get a new one. The old line is pretty significantly displaced and unstable, and the surrounding tissue looks just awful. The doctors don't even know if this is a bacterial or fungal infection yet, but the surgical team is moving ahead right away. We prayed for extreme clarity and decisiveness from the doctors, and we got it. Even though the line is technically still in the superior vena cava (pipeline to the heart), it will exit that vessel if it moves even a couple of millimeters. Rather than send us home with a line that works but is on its last legs, the surgeon said that we need to handle this NOW in a controlled environment instead of waiting for the emergency that would be truly inevitable if we kept the line in.
Honestly, as much as we hate to lose a line (and I mean REALLY, REALLY hate to lose a line), we had already come to grips with the fact that this line was no longer really safe. Given that information, I agree with the surgeon that it is pointless to delay the inevitable. A broviac emergency at home is a terrifying thing to me.
I don't know where that leaves us in terms of staying admitted. Surgically Noah should be clear to go home by Friday morning, but I don't know how the rest of the team will feel. He is still draining about 600 cc's of bile-laced fluid from his g-tube every day, and we still need to treat the infection in Noah's chest. I don't know how much of that the doctors want to supervise inpatient and how much they will let us handle at home. I should know more about that tomorrow.
One slightly off-topic prayer request is that tomorrow is Matthew's 13th birthday. Noah's wonderful home health nurse had offered to come up and sit with Noah so I could go out to eat with Jeff and the children and just spend some time celebrating this big milestone, but the surgery changes all of that. He's scheduled for surgery at 2:30 but could go hours earlier or later, so I'm not comfortable leaving the hospital. The plan is for Jeff to bring them up here early - say 9 AM and meet downstairs at the Starbucks on the main floor. (No children are allowed to visit upstairs because of flu precautions, so we can't just have the family come hang out in the room.) It won't be much, but at least I can see him, hug him, and watch him open his presents. He'll have a fun dinner, cake, and family movie night at home tomorrow night. It's hard on me to think of not being there for everything, and while he's putting on a brave face I'm not sure how he really feels about it. We've done birthdays here before lots of times, but the children were able to be up in Noah's room, the playroom, etc. and able to spend hours visiting and enjoying a meal and cake.
Timothy's birthday is a week from today, so I told Matthew we would do another cake for him when all of the grandparents come over for Timothy's birthday.
I'll try to tweet when Noah goes down for surgery. Please pray for safety and comfort for him, and especially pray for a non-traumatic experience. He has had so many surgeries and it is heartbreaking to see him crying for me as he is carried off into the OR. I always request versed to calm him and to make him forget, but he still gets upset sometimes. Please also pray for continued clarity for the doctors and for peace for me as we hammer out the details of where to go from here with Noah's remaining issues. I want to go HOME just as soon as possible. We've received a couple of gifts (I don't have your names, but thank you!!) that will allow us to do a bit of Christmas shopping for the children. I want to get home, enjoy the remaining days of Advent, wrap some things and get them under the tree, and just be TOGETHER. I also need to be willing to submit to whatever the doctors feel is best for Noah, trusting that the Lord is in control of the timing here.
Sorry for the lack of updates - I didn't have internet access in the Abbeville hospital.
It's about 1 in the morning right now. Noah was transferred to Greenville Children's Hospital by ambulance from Abbeville about an hour ago, and we are waiting to see the doctors here. While Noah's strep seems to be resolved, he appears to have an infection around his central line. This is a serious enough issue to require transfer to this much larger hospital.
Noah is looking OK - he does not appear really sick at all. Our prayer is that if there is an infection, we've caught it before it could hit his bloodstream. We are also obviously praying that this can be resolved quickly without the need for a new line.
I'll update again later when we know more and once we've gotten some sleep - hope those doctors come in soon! If you are awake and reading this now, please pray that Noah either won't need labs drawn from a vein and that if they do need to stick him that it will go easily. He's exhausted and certainly not back to baseline from his strep throat - a drawn out treatment room visit would not be tolerated well.
Hello everyone, this is Kate's daughter Hannah Grace. Some of you might have seen the Twitter updates saying that Noah had to go to the hospital on Friday. For those of you who didn't see it, well, Noah woke up on Friday with a fever and a cough. It was high enough for him to go to the hospital, so Mum and Dad took Noah to the Abbeville hospital. The doctors found out that he has strep throat. Noah keeps having fevers and bile is coming out of his G-tube.
Because they are in Abbeville Mum does not have internet access, which is why I am updating for her. Please be praying for Noah, he is really not feeling well. He is not sick enough to have to go to Greenville, but he is still rather sick.
I promised to follow up my Advent ideas post with a post on saving money, so here you go! Before I get started though, I wanted to touch on the comments that were left in response to that post. Almost all of you were really supportive - it was great to hear from other families who are in the same boat and from families who have been encouraged to add some new traditions. Unfortunately "Anonymous" from Hodges, SC felt the need to leave a pretty substantially hateful comment. ("maybe if you did not have 8 kids that you cannot afford, you would be able to provide for the ones you do have.")
I do realize that if I'm honest and transparent on my blog, it will open me up to nasty-grams like this. I can usually take this in stride, but this comment was, well, horrible. I know our family is very different from the American norm, and I know that people often react negatively to what they do not understand. I want to extend grace to "Anonymous" and assume that he or she reacted out of a lack of understanding. Even so, this comment cut me to my heart and I feel the need to respond. If you "get" our choices in regards to family size, feel free to skip this part. :-)
1. We didn't have 8 kids that we couldn't afford. First of all, we could afford them just fine when we had them. We couldn't always see how the provision would come at various times, but we knew that God would not send a child that He would not provide for. (See point #4 below) The sort of financial disaster that can come from a seriously ill child, a job loss, etc. can devastate families of any size. Second, our religious beliefs (which are NOT up for debate) have led us to the personal conviction that only the Lord can "plan" our family size. Again, in case you missed it, these beliefs are NOT UP FOR DEBATE. If you have a sincere question about these convictions or the quiverfull movement in general, you are more than welcome to email me. You aren't welcome to attack me.
2. Different people have different definitions of what it means to "provide." Our children live very simply by common American standards. They have a secure home, warm clean clothes, and fresh wholesome food. They have more love than they imagine. They have board games to play, art supplies to inspire, books to read, dolls and teddy bears to love, Legos with which to build, trees to climb, and time to lie in a hammock and watch the clouds go by. We focus on these things that they do have, not the "stuff" that they don't have. We don't have TV (we do have a DVD player) or any of the latest high-tech gizmos and video games. We don't live in a mansion, our children share rooms (quite happily, by the way), we don't wear designer clothes or go on big trips - but I believe with all of my heart that we are providing the best things. I know absolutely that our children would never be willing to trade what they have for what they do not have.
3. Only God can truly provide. Jeff takes his role as provider very seriously, but still recognizes that all provision comes from the Lord. When seen through earthly eyes, our financial outlook is bleak right now, but we walk in faith which is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. We don't have to see our way out of this. We need to be faithful and look to the One who has seen the end from the beginning.
4. Our children are priceless beyond compare. It is an appalling thing to wish that someone had never been born. To say that about a child is unconscionable. Which of my eight children should not have been conceived? How many of them should have been prevented so that the others could have fancy Christmas presents or so that we wouldn't have to worry about money? Really - which ones? Since it's too late to prevent them from being born, should we sell a few on eBay and use the proceeds to buy a Wii or a Playstation? God has never looked at one of my children (or any others) and thought, "Oops. I didn't mean for that eternal being to exist. That one is a mistake."
I have to wonder if Anonymous ever thought about what these dear ones will provide to the world. I don't know if any of them will discover the cure for cancer or become president or win a Nobel prize, but I do know that they are givers, not takers in this world. There's Hannah with her blossoming ability to write and communicate, William with his story of his amazing journey out of autism, Matthew who can build or fix anything, Timothy with his dear tender heart, David who shows true artistic gifting, Sarah with her joyful spirit and love of cooking, Noah with his courage and cheerfulness, and our loving and innocent Mary Faith who is so beautifully brimming with potential. These little people (well, OK, three of them are taller than I am) are resource makers, not resource takers. They are happy, productive, respectful, intelligent children and I firmly believe that the world is a far richer place because they live. To be their mother is a privilege beyond imagining.
Whew.
OK.
'Nuff said.
On to saving money . . .
Some of the things I share may not be available to all readers. Please don't feel defeated or defrauded if the Lord has put an opportunity in front of someone else but not in front of you. I'll share some things that we have done and are doing, but please remember that your mileage may vary. Also, in some cases below, I can receive a small commission for referring others to certain sites. I won't ever endorse something unless I truly think it is a great idea and I will let you know which suggestions involve any sort of gain for myself.
1. Pray for provision. I know, I know - that sounds basic and obvious, and you are looking for "rubber meets the road" ideas . . . but this is the biggie. It's the foundation for everything else. Pray before you shop and you will find yourself amazed at ways that the Lord will bless. Those blessings may be in the way of material things or they may be spiritual blessings. When we dedicate our comings and goings to the Lord, He seems to delight in surprising us! When that surprise comes in the way of a material blessing, pray about how He would have you use it.
2. Become a yard sale and thrift shop expert. Jeff and I have a standing date for every other Saturday morning. We get up early and hit a bunch of yard sales. (If you live up North, this may not be helpful right now, but spring is coming!) We get a newspaper the day before and use Mapquest to help us track the best route - hitting the most promising sales first and trying to coordinate our route to avoid much backtracking. This is an excellent and fun date for the two of us.
If you haven't done much in the way of yardsales, I suggest you give it a try. We've been squirreling away clothes, toys, and other items that are new or like-new. Be sure you know what you need (keep a list of clothing sizes, needed items etc) so that you don't buy for the sake of getting a good deal. Decide if the things you buy will be set aside for gifts or given to the recipients that day. Also be sure to know your own price limits - I won't spend more than $2 on a piece of clothing unless it is something extremely special! Common housewares can be found very cheaply and make great hope chest gifts for a girl, and tools can be easily found and given to young men. We've also found that sheets can typically be had for $2 - $3 a set, so we just don't pay retail for kid's sheets. It often pays to go really early because you'll get the best selection, but on the other hand the best deals are found later in the morning. If a seller won't negotiate the price you want, leave and come back right before the yard sale ends. You may be able to get a much better deal at that point! Keep in mind the need to pray and dedicate the endeavour to the Lord, and to pray for specific needs. We recently found several very specific needed items (like one light blue twin bottom sheet!) that we prayed about.
Thrift stores are also a good way to buy like-new at a rock bottom price, but you'll need to take stock of the thrift stores in your area. We've found that in our town, one sells mostly really junky stuff that isn't worth the time it takes to pick through. Another sells lots of incredibly nice clothes and household items - they even have their used books arranged topically and alphabetically by author! Great gift buys at thrift stores include clothes, costume jewelry, household items, and books. You'll often pay a little bit more at a thrift store as opposed to a yard sale, but there is the advantage of far more merchandise in one location. Note that consignment shops tend to be by far the most expensive option for used items.
3. Click, don't clip. I never had really stellar success with clipping coupons until I started using Coupon Clippers.
This website, run by a couple of moms, allows you to pay a very minimal (pennies apiece) clipping fee to order coupons. Why pay someone to send you coupons? Well, I found that in most cases, the coupons in the paper were for highly processed or expensive items that we don't need. The few exceptions just didn't make it worth the bother. Now that I'm using The Coupon Clippers, I can order the coupons I want in quantities that make sense. When I see something like $1 off of toothbrushes or bandaids, I'll order a bunch of coupons so I can buy a toothbrush for each child or stock up on bandaids. Same thing goes for any item that we already use - I'll order enough coupons to stock up. Be sure to look at the coupons closely as sometimes there are multiple coupons for the same item but with different expiration dates, or varying value coupons for the same item - e.g "save $1.00 on 2" vs. "save $.75 on one." Paying a little extra attention can net you better savings. Take doubling into account too. Unfortunately, we only have one store that doubles coupons, and only doubles them to $.50, but I still come out better with a lower-value coupon I can double vs. a slightly higher value coupon.
Now, you need to be wise to get the best value from your coupons. I like to record each coupon on a calendar and I record it on a date a few days before it expires. Each week I briefly peruse the sales fliers in the hopes of matching my coupons to "loss leader" types of sales like buy one get one free. If I see a sale, I go use all of my coupons for that item. When I get to the day when a coupon is recorded on the calendar and I haven't matched it with a sale, I typically go ahead and use the coupons up on that day. We've saved some significant money this way!!
Best gift ideas using The Coupon Clippers include stocking stuffers like toothbrushes, bandaids, and snacks or treats. Personal care items like razor blades or a fancy shampoo are nice stocking stuffers for teens. Use items that you got at rock bottom prices to put together a little gift basket with a theme like bath items. Buy an assortment of coupons and sort them into an inexpensive coupon organizer as a very nice gift for an adult - I got this as a wedding gift and LOVED it!
**Please note that I will earn a small commission if you use The Coupon Clippers by following the link in this post. It would be a blessing if you used this link each time you shop there, so please save the link.
Another variation of the coupon concept is to sign up for the newsletter of any store where you shop, and always check their site for coupons before going to the store. We don't get an AC Moore flyer in our paper because the nearest store is Greenville, but I can go to their site and print out 40% off a single item coupons. We have one of the bonus-card types of cards which earns us $10 gift cards back in the mail (Office Max does the same thing). We combine the $10 cards with the coupons when we are in Greenville shopping - I just got an aquarium car Thomas (reg. $25) for Noah for under $5. That is a great Christmas gift that my Thomas maniac will love, but it cost almost nothing! Of course, we could have gotten something cheaper for totally free. We try to treat the reward certificates from various stores as bonus money and use it to buy fun stuff we couldn't afford another way.
4. Get stuff free. OK, I can see some of you rolling your eyes out there. :-) Obviously free items make wonderful money-saving gifts, right?? The question is how to get them. There are tons of sites out there that list links to free samples and free gifts. If you order free samples now, many of them won't arrive in time for Christmas, but this is a strategy you can use to squirrel things away for next year. Even free samples handed out in stores can be used as stocking stuffers or bundled with other items as a nice gift. One fun idea is to send away for surprise freebies for someone else - whenever I send off for a free sample, I also fill out another form for my mom. It tickles her to open her mailbox and find a little free treat that she wasn't expecting!
Here are a couple of sites that list free samples and free gifts: Wise Bread Blog - I keep this blog in my RSS feeder, and each weekday they have a post entitled "Best Deals for (whatever day of the week)." These best deals include extra-good money saving deals online but also include several freebies. Walmart Free Samples - This site always has a list of free samples you can send for. Every now and then you will also see information about free samples being given out in Walmart stores. The samples rotate pretty frequently so it's worthwhile to check it once or twice a week. Homeschool Freebie of the Day - I just love this site. It's run by Jim Erskine of Homeschool Radio Shows. Every weekday, Jim lists a totally free resource that is available for that one day only. These may be .pdf downloads or .mp3 audio downloads. These are great even if you don't homeschool! While you can't share these outside your family, there are plenty of ways to use them as gifts in your own family, including burning an audio to an mp3 cd or printing an ebook and binding it either yourself or at a copy center. You could also make a gift certificate saying you will download an audio file onto a family member's mp3 player!
Along the same idea is My Audio School, which offers a TON of free audio books, old time radio shows, etc. Don't be put off by the word "school" as these are fun for anyone! They offer even more content with their membership (which is very affordable) but much of the content is completely free. This also lends itself to the gift idea of loading some fun books and shows onto an mp3 player for a family member! Of course, with this site or the one above it, you could also load the files right onto a family member's computer. These are free gifts!
Here are some specific freebie offers that are available right now and are available in time for Christmas: Snapfish is offering TONS of free things with a new free offer each day. You can have multiple accounts per household as long as you have different email addresses. The current offer for today is a free photo puzzle (new members only) AND a free 4X6 photo book to all members! New members will also get 50 free photos printed. I understand that the shipping on this offer is under $2.00, so here is a very nearly free gift or two! You will need a coupon code for the photo book - it's GMAFREE. The free book offer expires on December 13th, and the gift for new members changes each day. - but you can create multiple new accounts for different members of your family. These photo items make great gifts!! Vistaprint is offering 12 different free items right now. You do have to pay shipping, but you can still come out with some very inexpensive photo gifts like mugs, calendars, and even a tote bag! No need to buy into the upgrades they offer at checkout, btw. I'm hoping to sit down this week and get a bunch of free photo items here! I'm not seeing an expiration date so it's probably best to act quickly. Obviously these are excellent gift items. Artscow is offering a very nice, hardbound 30-page photo book for just $4.99 SHIPPED if you use the code 7X5PBKS499 . Photo books are great gifts for grandparents but can also make great gifts for children. Try an ABC theme with pictures of items that start with different letters (fun for preschoolers) or a "year in review" or "reasons we love you" themed book for older kids or teens. The code expires Dec. 23. I haven't ordered one of these yet, but they look great! The same site also has a custom photo calendar for $4.99 SHIPPED. Use the code 2010CLNDR12M which expires December 22. I would guess that you can't order both at the same time as most sites only allow you to enter a single coupon code.
Staples has free 20 count AA or AAA Duracell batteries right now!! You have to be a Staples Rewards Member (their bonus card program). The batteries (a bonus pack with 4 extra free batteries) cost $12.99, but you will get a $12.99 automatic rebate in the form of a Staples gift card by mail if you use your Rewards card at checkout. You can get 2 packages for free PER WEEK from now through December 26. You can see the details here.
5. Earn gifts with Swagbucks. I just started doing this a few weeks ago and am so wishing that I had heard about it a long time ago! Swagbucks is a site that allows you to earn "swagbucks" that you can cash in for gift cards, merchandise, or money in your Paypal account. You earn the swagbucks by using the Swagbucks search engine instead of Google or something similar.
Like I said, I've only been at this for about 4 weeks, but I've learned a few things. First, install the toolbar at the top of your internet browser. This makes it painless to remember to use Swagbucks. Be sure to notice the "From TSG" section of the toolbar - now and then messages are posted there which contain codes you can enter on the Swagbucks site to get a free Swagbuck. This is KEY - use the search field in the toolbar every time you go to a website. If I want to go to amazon.com, I type "amazon" in the search box then click the appropriate link instead of typing the URL. We have the toolbar installed on all of our computers using the same account so that we can rack up Swagbucks faster. There is also a "shop and earn" section of the website. It has links to a LOT of online stores, and if you shop by clicking through the link at Shop and Earn, you will earn back a percentage of your purchase in Swabucks. Our business just bought a computer through Tiger Direct using my Shop and Earn account, and when the purchase clears I'll have earned enough Swagbucks for a couple of $5.00 Amazon cards.
There are lots of gifts available, but it seems to me that $5.00 Amazon gift cards are the best deal. In four weeks, I've already earned enough to get 2 of these!!! (I've earned them through searching - that doesn't count the ones I'll get from the computer purchase.)That's $10 worth of completely free gifts.
Here is the deal. Another way to earn a lot of Swagbucks really quickly is to refer friends. Swagbucks rewards referrals in the form of matching Swagbucks - when your friend earns a Swagbuck by searching, you do too, up to 100 Swagbucks! It would really bless me if you signed up for Swagbucks using my link, which is http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/jkestes This would give me the potential of earning lots of additional Amazon gift cards (can you tell I like that prize LOL) that I can use for groceries, books, educational stuff, gifts, etc. You can then share your referral link on your blog or wherever and start earning stuff faster too! This isn't a scam - I've really earned real Amazon gift cards. They get their revenue from sponsored search listings just like Google.
6. Consider simple homemade gifts. One year I made no-sew knotted fleece blankets for each child and each grandparent. Lots of the fabric stores have their fleece 50% off right now, and many stores offer big coupons if you sign up for their newsletter, so this can be a really affordable gift. I committed to pray with each knot I tied, and I told each recipient the things I had prayed for them. Everyone loved these! Children can also make these for each other or for family members. There are lots of directions online for these, including here.
Another year I made warmer packs. I made rectangular bags out of inexpensive muslin and filled them with rice and some dried lavender. I sewed the bags shut, then made slightly larger bags out of pretty remnant fabric, put the filled bags in the new bags, and sewed the opening shut. These just literally two rectangles sewn together around the edges for each bag - very easy. The recipient can store the bag in the freezer for a flexible cold pack or put it in the microwave for a minute or so for a heat pack - oh so cosy! These are nice as long rectangles that can be draped around the neck for tight, sore shoulders, or as larger squares that are so nice put under the sheets at night to warm the feet. Children love the foot warmer ones! They are reusable for a long time and almost free to make if you have some scrap fabric lying around. I would only use cotton fabric, btw, as I'm concerned that a synthetic might melt in the microwave. Store the bags in a ziplock and the lavender smell will last longer. (You can buy bulk lavender online pretty cheaply, and you can also skip the lavender altogether.)
If you have a little one who loves to bake, make a baking gift set. Search online for recipes for mixes - you'll find everything from cake mixes to cookie mixes to soup mixes that you can make cheaply at home. Make a couple of fun mixes, put them in ziplocks and package them together with a few fun kitchen gadgets like cute measuring spoons or a cute plastic bowl from the Dollar Store. Add a gift certificate with a time and day for a "cooking date" for your child to make these with you! This is also a fun gift for an older sibling to give to a younger one. Sarah's siblings just gave her an Easy Bake oven for her birthday. I'm a fan of doing real cooking in a real kitchen, but Sarah has a mania for baking so this seemed just too fun (and they were on 50% off at Walmart!). Hannah and I stayed up for an hour one night and made Sarah 20 each of vanilla cake, chocolate cake, vanilla frosting, and chocolate frosting mixes which we bagged in snack size baggies. I also bagged up teeny quantities of mini chocolate chips, sprinkles, etc. that she could use to decorate. These mixes were a HUGE hit with her and cost me probably no more than $2 or $3 altogether.
Jeff is planning to make marshmallow shooter kits for the boys for Christmas. He'll buy the PVC and other parts using coupons at Lowe's, then package them with a gift certificate for a time and date to make them. We'll throw in some generic marshmallows too, of course!
OK, I'm just plain too tired to post any more ideas. Please do this for me - leave a comment with your best ideas or links, and I'll compile them into another post in a couple of days! I know if we put our heads together we can come up with many more ideas.
Noah is still home, still stable, and doing well. We're still having to spend every Monday at the hem/onc clinic, but hope to start spacing those visits out soon. We can't do the venofer infusions at home, but are hoping to start having our home nurse draw the hem/onc labs at home then fax them to the clinic so that we don't have to go to clinic if Noah doesn't need an infusion that week.
Since there isn't much going on in the Noah arena (YAY), I thought I would share a little about what our family will be doing this Christmas season. I shared a little of this last year, but it was later in December and a number of readers wished they had heard these ideas early enough to incorporate them. I can't wait for the joy and blessings that we enjoy together every Advent, and hope that some of these ideas bless you!
ADVENT TRADITIONS
We love traditions. Doing some of the same things every year at the same time builds memories and gives children a strong sense of family. It also reduces stress since we aren't having to try to come up with something new - we just know that our family does so-and-so at certain times most years. We especially enjoy our Christmas traditions. They help us slow down and focus on Advent for an entire month instead of rushing around with "gift time" as the focus. Here are some of our favorite traditions. 1. Watching the Advent Calendar DVD. This is a fun DVD with a short segment for each day of Advent. Each segment teaches about the history of one Christmas tradition. Some are secular (the story behind Rudolph) and others are religious, but none are offensive. The children scamper to get ready for bed and get the dishes done so that we can watch this each night. (Here is the link to the DVD we watch. I just noticed that there is now a "volume 2," which we have not seen.) 2. Advent calendars. After watching our DVD, we open the appropriate section of one or more advent calendars. Some years we have one candy-filled calendar per child, other years they share and take turns. I try to buy a non-candy calendar such as a lego calendar during after-Christmas sales. My mom bought them a very cute Playmobil advent calendar this year. 3. Carol singing/prayer time. After the DVD and the calendars, we make sure everyone is totally ready for bed, then we gather at the table. We turn off most of the lights in the house and light candles at the table. We sing one or two Christmas carols/hymns, and some years Jeff reads some sort of devotional or reads from a Christmas book. When we are through, Jeff goes around the table and prays for each child, then they quietly go off to bed. I LOVE this tradition. There is something very peaceful about the candlelight and the singing, and the children seem to settle in bed so much better because of the quietness. Some years we do a traditional Advent wreath and other years we've just lit an assortment of candles. This year Jeff is going to be reading from The Jesse Tree (link here) each night. We got it last year and accidentally packed it away in our ornament boxes after we decorated the tree LOL. We looked high and low for it and didn't find it until after Christmas! 4. Secret Santas. Every year on Thanksgiving, the children each draw the name of one sibling. These "secret santa" assignments are kept very hush-hush and provide a lot of happy plotting. Each child buys a Christmas gift for their chosen sibling, and also tries to get away with other little surprises without giving away their identity. (Surprises might include a little note, a little treat left on the bed, doing one of the sibling's chores, etc.) They also pray especially for their chosen sibling through the month. 5. Looking at lights. Last year when Noah was sick a lot leading up to December, we asked the children which traditions were most important to them. I wanted to be sure to focus on the things that they treasured most. I was surprised that most of them listed this as one of their top favorite activities! It's as simple as can be - I make a big pot of hot chocolate, pour it into disposable coffee cups, and we all pile into the car. We crank up some Christmas music and drive around looking at Christmas lights. That's it! Nothing fancy and no real expense, but they love it. :-) I put the littles in their pj's so that the rest of our evening goes smoothly when we get home. 6. Cookie party. Each year we spend one single day decorating Christmas cookies, and we usually invite others to share the fun. I make the dough the night before, then get right up to roll, cut, and bake the cookies. I put frosting in ziplock bags and either just snip the corners off or put decorating tips on the bags, and I put out bowls of various candies and decorations. Each child has a large sheet of waxed paper as a work surface (cuts down on mess) and they have a blast decorating, laughing, listening to Christmas music, and (of course) sampling! We often have a fun, simple dinner like pizza that night and do something special like watching a Christmas movie or playing games while eating some of the cookies. While I truly love to bake treats from scratch, the important thing here is the time spent together and the memories made, so don't feel guilty if your cookies come from a package and your frosting from a tub!! (SECRET MOM TIP: You might be wondering why on earth we invite more people - aren't eight children enough? Here's my secret . . . if I invite others to come, I'm committed to the project. If I don't invite others, it's easy to get tired or behind on housework or whatever and just not get around to doing this. Since this is something our children treasure, I build in a fail-safe to be sure it happens. Remember -accountability is your friend LOL) 7. Decorating. We usually get our tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and we've built in lots of rituals and traditions there. We have a local tree farm down the road that offers free hayrides, a petting zoo, and all sorts of other festivities. We head there, enjoy the fun stuff, and buy an ornament or wreath or something. Since we don't buy our tree there, we feel like we should buy something to express our thanks for the fun they provided our family. We then head to a local tree lot that donates all of their proceeds to charity, and we get our tree there. This involves a great deal of debate and voting (and lots of playing hide-and-seek among the trees LOL) with each child hoping that his or her pick will end up being the "perfect tree." Each child receives a Christmas ornament each year, so decorating the tree brings back lots of memories and laughter as we talk about why a child got a certain ornament when he or she was younger. We also do some simple decorating around the house. (SECRET MOM TIP: Putting out some simple decorations is the best "clean up" strategy I know. Our house stays nicer looking during Advent because the children know they have to clean up really well before we decorate, and they aren't going to dump "stuff' on surfaces that hold decorations.) We often invite the grandparents to join us for our tree decorating time. 8. Reading by the fire. Over the years we've collected a box of books that we only pull out at Christmas. We try to take some quiet time in the afternoon to light a fire and sit and aloud. Other years we just pick a really good book (like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe) that is a great read but not Christmas-y. 9. Family room picnic dinner. One night each December, Jeff and I will pick up a bunch of fun, snacky things for dinner and will serve dinner in the family room - usually with a movie. Favorites include clementine sections, meat/cheese/crackers, popcorn (maybe with special seasoning), sparkling grape juice, nuts, etc. Dessert that night is always s'mores with marshmallows we roasted in the fireplace. This is another one of those simple, inexpensive things that we all just love! 10. Crafts or hands-on projects as time, money, and busyness allow. I wanted to make a Jesse tree with the children last year, but it would have meant a level of stress that I wasn't willing to accept. Maybe we'll do it this year. Some years we make lots of homemade gifts for family and friends, and some years we just make cards. Oriental Trading is a good source for inexpensive craft kits that are generally packaged by the dozen - if you don't have a big family, go in on a couple of packages with a couple of other families and divide everything up. We've used these for homemade gifts or just for a fun afternoon activity. Lots of prayer is the key here to know what is right for your family this year. 11. Sharing with others. Again, this varies by year to year, but we always try to put an emphasis on serving those who are less fortunate than ourselves. We've found that if we pray and are sensitive to the Spirit, the Lord will impress the right opportunity on our hearts. We've done things like Angel Tree (waaay more meaningful if you can sign up to help deliver the gifts, btw), Operation Christmas child, making blankets for needy children, we decorating placemats for Meals on Wheels or making and taking gifts to a nursing home - it all just depends on our season of life that year.
What we DON'T do during Advent is run around to parties and activities. We almost always turn down invitations to outside activities during December. Our focus is on lots of shared activities WITHOUT stress. This is a season of joy and blessing for us, and if any activity is going to rob us of our joy, then we don't do it. It's that simple. We put a really high priority on being together as a family and having peaceful days. This is especially important during Advent and we hope it's sending our children the message that this season is about so much more than gifts, materialism, and the rushed madness that seems to be the norm this time of year. Children really truly don't need expensive, elaborate, busy Decembers. It's surprising how much they cherish little things like the treat of some eggnog after dinner, a special dessert, the surprise of hot chocolate, cookies, and a read-aloud in the middle of the afternoon "just because," and so forth - and a calm, unstressed mama who has time to snuggle is far more
precious to children than anything money can buy!!
It's also important to take extra time with your husband during Advent. Consider his needs and be sure to incorporate any traditions that he finds important. Jeff and I have a weekly date night, but during Advent we try to find time for more mini-dates too - even just sitting in front of the fire with some cocoa for a little while after the children are in bed. Take extra time to pray for him during this season. It's easy to feel like we mamas can get overworked during Advent, but don't forget that your husband may be feeling extra pressure due to extended family dynamics, finances, etc.
GIFTS
When it comes to finances during Christmas, we learned have learned how to abound and now we are learning how to be abased. Whether we had lots of money to spend or not, we realized long ago that it was easy to get overwhelmed with STUFF during December. Three of our children have birthdays in December - add that to Christmas gifts for 8 children and you are talking about a boatload of toys and games and so forth. Several years ago we decided to give just one really nice gift to each child, plus a really nicely loaded stocking. They also each get a gift from their Secret Santa Sibling, and we also often give several multi-child gifts, such as a game or DVD - things that multiple children can enjoy together and that don't belong to any one person. Since our children have very generous grandparents, we've encouraged the grandparents to focus on things like swim lessons rather than tons of toys. (Other non-stuff ideas are zoo memberships and museum memberships, or a joint family item like swing set.)
Now I'll be honest here. I'm not sure that we'll be buying much of anything for the children this year, including a tree. The money just simply isn't there . . . but that is OK. It is really and truly fine. I'm sharing this because I want to encourage others out there who are experiencing serious financial issues this year, but I am NOT sharing it to garner sympathy. Like I said, Jeff and I don't see this as a problem. Instead, we've seen it as a challenge. We've tried to live in such a way that our children could see Christmas for more than the gifts. There was a time when I thought that children HAD to have piles of gifts or it "wouldn't be Christmas." I've learned better, and our children have too. Even though historically we've bought them some very nice things, gifts are never mentioned when we ask what they enjoy most about Advent. This season is so rich, and that time of gift opening (while admittedly loads of fun) isn't the point of the season. Our children won't be "deprived" this year. If nothing else, they will certainly be getting gifts from their grandparents.
I'll say it one more time, because it bears saying, and because I don't want to get a bunch of critical emails from people who missed it the first time I said it . . . this is all OK. I'm not looking for sympathy. I truly don't need it. Jeff and I really are at peace with this. I wouldn't be honest if I didn't admit to a twinge of "oooh, I wish I could by such and such for so and so," but it's really only been a twinge. Our children know they are loved by both their earthly parents and their heavenly Father, and they are right with us anticipating the blessings of Advent - blessings that don't come wrapped in shiny paper with big bows on top. They also know that in every moment of their days they are so incredibly, abundantly blessed FAR beyond so many other children in the world!!
So if I'm not looking for sympathy, or complaining about money, then why get so transparent and honest and real here? It's because I would imagine that some of you are in similar situations, and maybe you could use the encouragement of knowing you aren't alone in this. Maybe some of you aren't in this situation and are realizing that maybe you've put too much focus on the stuff, and maybe you could use the encouragement that comes from hearing another perspective on this.
I've got some practical encouragement here too. The Lord has led us to various opportunities to obtain some of their birthday gifts (for the December kids) for free or for very little money, and we KNOW that He will lead us to similar opportunities for Christmas gifts if the children are meant to have them. We've already found a number of free or almost free goodies for their stockings. One focus in being this transparent is to share how we have gotten some of these items. Listing all of my tips and tricks is really a blog post of its own, and I'll try to write it and get it up in the next day or two. There are some amazing bargains to be had if you look to the Lord and get creative!!! In the meantime, can I humbly encourage you (regardless of your financial situation) to take some time to pray about how the Lord would have you celebrate this Advent? If you have an open and obedient heart, I promise you'll be blessed!
Take a look at our sometimes crazy but always blessed life as we homeschool our eight children, run a homeschool business, and serve God as He leads us. You can also follow our baby Noah as he struggles with some serious health issues - we covet your prayers for him.
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