Owen is my baby. He’s the youngest of my three boys and is 20 months old. He is babied by the bigger boys and probably by Josh and me as well. He loves to play outside and get dirty and sometimes he can be a real loner. Today, he went out back to play by himself. I was watching him from the kitchen window and saw him looking up with his jaw hanging open. Something had caused him to pause in awe. I grabbed my camera and went outside to share in his experience. His head was turning back and forth, left and right, up and down, as the birds and the squirrels played, jumped, and flew from one tree top to the next. Owen was enjoying the majesty of God’s creation, as if for the first time. It is such a joy to watch our children grow and explore and discover things for the first time. Things that we take for granted and no longer stop us in our tracks. Things that no longer make us weep before the Lord in thanksgiving and wonder. I’m enjoying my journey to having a heart more like Mary and less like Martha. I just put Owen down for a nap and the big boys are playing out front. I’m going to go walk on the treadmill in the garage and spend some time with Joshua and Jesse. It is an absolutely GORGEOUS day. Sunny and 70. God is so good.

~audrey

Monday, Josh and I celebrated our SEVENTH anniversary. We went to dinner and Josh ordered an absolutely perfect 11 oz. steak. It was a filet, so it was rather round in shape. For some strange reason, as he cut into it for the first time, I said, “Do you realize babies have survived that weighed less than your steak?” It’s true. The smallest baby that has ever been born early and survived was born at 24 weeks weighing a mere 10 oz. What a miracle.

Josh’s response: “That’s kind of disturbing. Thanks.”

The steak was delicious.

~audrey

Yesterday was BAD…to say the least.   My kids were CRAZY, nothing went as planned, I stressed all day about something that ended up getting rescheduled at the last minute, and I found out that I have to have a biopsy on my thyroid this morning!  It was NOT a good day.  Unfortunately, I feel like most of my days have been like that recently.  I have felt completely out of control and as a result, I have been stressed out and ‘on edge’ constantly.  My children have been the recipients of my anger lately and I hate that.  I have been yelling again and Jesse has gotten several spankings in the last week.  I had not spanked in a LONG time, but my change and lack of calmness has effected his behavior and as a result he has earned some pretty major punishment.  I do not like me like this.  I’ve actually been consciously doing all the right things to get myself together and calm down.  I don’t know what’s gotten into me!?  Is it this new birth control?  It’s suppose to have a VERY low dose of hormones that lasts for FIVE years; how could that have such a dramatic effect on my ‘mood’??  All I know is, something has to change!  I have absolutely no motivation to do anything around my house, I’ve lost all creativity with the kids, and everyday tasks just seem like a chore.  I was actually watching a commercial last night for Cymbalta ( a depression med.) and all the symptoms they listed were ones that I have had lately!!  But I don’t feel depressed.  It’s not like I feel sad or “down”.  I just don’t feel like myself and I’m going to fight like crazy to get back to the “old me” without medication.  Believe me, I’m not in denial.  I am being treated by my aunt with homeopathic remedies for a variety of things and usually my remedy balances my hormones as well.  I just hate the thought of having to go on some long term medication at my age.

Anyways!  Enough of the depressing stuff!  I am taking the right steps to regain my sanity and enjoy life to the fullest.  Thankfully, I have a new project underway.  I am organizing a large armoire for a friend.  She is consolidating her desk into this armoire and it is full of school supplies, crafts, books, bills, CDs, and all kinds of things that don’t belong in there but don’t have a home of their own.  I started on Monday and I hope to finish up today.  Organizing is definitely one area that makes me come alive.  I’m looking forward to the finished project and the satisfaction of knowing this will make their life easier and more pleasant.  To me, there is nothing better than always knowing where something is when you need it.  Some prime examples of things that often go missing in a home are:  scotch tape, scissors, keys, remote controls, and glasses.  If you create a specific ‘home’ for these items and get in the habit of returning the items to their proper home everytime you finish using them, you will never have to “look” for them again!

Choose joy today!  I am not going to raise my voice today…with the Lord’s help!

~audrey

I have felt SO convicted lately about being a “Martha” and never being a “Mary”. I feel like I’m always looking at the next thing. The next client, the next date on my calendar, the next event, the next appointment…I rarely live in the moment. Just today I was thinking, “I can’t wait for Joshua’s birthday to be over.” That is terrible! I want to be a fun mom that enjoys life and enjoys my family and my children in each and every moment. I want to learn (it is going to be a learning process for me!) how to put my “agenda” aside and enjoy all the little moments I am currently missing out on because I’m too busy checking things off my list and preparing for ‘the next thing’. I’m now looking forward to Joshua’s birthday, having his friends spend the night, and throwing him a FANTASTIC birthday party on Saturday. I want him to enjoy every moment and I want to be there to enjoy it with him (hopefully capturing it all on camera .
In order for me to become more like “Mary”, I knew the Lord was leading me to prioritize my schedule. Get rid of things that just don’t fit anymore and only keep the things that are best for my family.
One of the first things I felt like I needed to let go of was the praise team. Every single Saturday for I don’t even know how long, I have been at praise team practice. And every single Sunday for about the last eight years, I have been on stage singing. I absolutely love worship. I love being a part of the worship team and I’m looking SOOOOO forward to our new worship leaders coming next month. However, I NEVER have a weekend with my family…ever. In fact, Sundays are typically my busiest day of the week. It just shouldn’t be that way. As a result, I have really felt a need to purge all unnecessary things in my calendar. A clean sweep of my schedule. I have a hard time saying no. Especially if it is a client asking me to do extra work. In my mind, it is the responsible thing to say yes, hire a babysitter, squeeze it into my schedule, and earn the extra money. However, I came to the realization last week that I AM A HOMESCHOOLING, STAY-AT-HOME MOM WHO IS NEVER HOME!!! As a result, I cleared my schedule this week. Nothing on Monday, no school with the Bailey’s on Tuesday (sorry guys!), no girls’ lunch on Wednesday…it has been amazing. I go to bed each night almost stress-free. I wake up each morning, start the coffee pot, and sit down to watch cartoons with the boys for a little while. I didn’t even get out of my jammies until around 11am at least two of those days. This is how it needs to be more often. My house is clean, I’ve gotten caught up on all my laundry, my kids have gotten back on their normal schedule, and things are just more peaceful around here. I’ve actually sat down with a book a few times this week…just because I had TIME! Although I love all the things in my schedule, I love my family and my sanity more. Although it hurts me to cancel playdates with friends and quit something I love as much as the worship team, it is also liberating to know that I can stay at home with my children– which was my biggest intention all along. I know that eventually we will get busy again…busy is not always bad. But right now, in this season for me and my family, home is where I want to be. Just us, with nothing else to do. It’s nice.

~audrey

I am officially finished with my part of the fostering process. I dropped off all of our paperwork at the agency. We have the furniture ready to be set up in our “new childrens’” bedroom, I have washed all the extra blankets, purchased new toothbrushes, sterilized bottles, etc. I feel like I’m in some sort of alternative nesting phase. I’ve been reorganizing our garage and getting rid of unnecessary belongings to allow for more storage space. We’ve made arrangements to purchase an upright freezer for the garage so I can make meals ahead of time and freeze them. As crazy as it sounds, I’m looking forward to the extra laundry. I’m looking forward to making larger meals. More baths, more toilet paper, more diapers, more hugs, more laughter. I’m so grateful for the peace of God that allows me to sleep at night, knowing He has hand-picked my family for the foster children that will come into our home. I don’t have to fear that we won’t be “a good match”. It’s such a relief being a child of God. You don’t have to worry about the “what ifs”. He already knows. I serve a God that IS into details.
As I sat down with my boys this morning to do school, my heart smiled at the thought of two more little ones joining us for our morning Bible time, or snuggling up on the couch to read a story before bed. What an honor to be able to love and protect and provide for these children in their deepest time of need. I look forward to sharing the news of that anticipated phone call when we finally receive our first “placements” in about six weeks.

~audrey

Do you ever stray too far from your normal routine and get stressed out and behind on all the things you feel are important in your life? I’m there.
My husband and I had to attend 20 hours of pre-service training this past week for foster parenting. It was from 5-9pm every night. That meant, every night my children were fed by their babysitter. She gave them baths, she read them stories, and she tucked them in each night. Not only did I miss my kids terribly, my house suffered as well. I have a bedroom FULL of laundry right now…I don’t even know what’s clean and what’s dirty. All I know is, there are clean sheets in the dryer right now and I will be sleeping on them tonight. I’ll start sorting out the rest tomorrow.
I must say, together (my husband, babysitter, and myself) we really pulled off a successful week. I had a home cooked meal ready each day at 4:30 before I had to leave, I had jammies laid out on the bed each afternoon, and my sweet, amazing babysitter cleaned up the house AND did the dishes after she put the boys in bed each night. I could not have survived this week without her. Knowing that I wasn’t coming home each night at 9:30 to a disaster area with dishes in the sink, dirty clothes on the floor, and toys everywhere was a huge load off my shoulders…no I will not give you her number; she’s mine!
It just goes to show, when you have a good routine with the basics in place, you can have a week like I had and not get lost in the abyss of mounting laundry, dishes, and housework. Unfortunately, my littlest one is sick and I don’t think we’re going to make it to church tomorrow, BUT that will give me an extra three or four hours to get started on things around the house. Luckily, it’s only 8:30pm right now, so I technically have at least another hour and a half to get stuff done before going to bed. Thanks to my household notebook, a well-organized laundry system, and FLYlady, my house will be back in working order in no time.
What I missed the most this week, besides my children…my girlfriends!!! I wasn’t able to pick up the phone in the evening and chat, or run down the street to meet you at Starbucks…I’m looking forward to getting back to THAT routine! Love ya’ll!

~audrey

Alright, I’ve had several friends ask me to email them a copy of my menu/grocery list. My old budget for groceries was $50/week. Lately it’s been more like $70, but that includes paper items, cleaning supplies, and snacks for my kids…if you don’t have children, you can save quite a bit by not buying snacks!
I start out by taking inventory of every food item in my house. I make as many meals from the food I already have and start my grocery list of the things I need. For example…I may have ten tortillas, shredded cheese, and spanish rice…so I’ll add ground beef (we actually use ground turkey, but I didn’t want to confuse anyone), lettuce, and sour cream to my list so we can have soft tacos/burritos one night.
Because I don’t like to spend two hours at the grocery store, I then catagorize my shopping list according the order of the aisles at Walmart…produce, breads, canned items, pasta, breakfast aisle…etc…that saves a lot of time and trips down the same aisle!
One of the keys to saving money on your groceries is to stick to your list and buy the cheapest brand whenever possible. I used to think “well, the generic brand is only .40 cents cheaper, I’m just going to buy the brand name.” BUT, if you save .40 cents on half the items in your cart, that is a HUGE savings…so I now buy as much generic as possible. Think in advance as much as possible. Plan for every breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, and dessert that you possibly can. This will keep you from making two and three trips back to the store later in the week/month. You also might want to check with your favorite grocery store and find out what days they restock. For me, it is Monday nights. It is best for me to do my shopping on Tuesdays when the aisles are clear and the shelves are full…and I always shop at night. I put the boys in bed and call my dear friend down the street, we pick up starbucks, and hit the grocery aisles. Might as well make it a good experience!
I typically make breakfast and lunch very simple. The same two or three meals in rotation. For dinner, I try to rotate chicken, beef, fish, beans, soup, etc. I don’t like to have chicken four nights in a row. So here is a look at my menu for the next two weeks:

Breakfasts:
oatmeal (cheap and healthy)
yogurt and cereal
pancakes (I make a huge batch of the healthy kind once a month, and freeze the leftovers)
grits and eggs (another cheap one and they keep you good and full until lunch)
biscuits, gravy, and eggs (typically a Saturday morning breakfast)

Lunches:
pb&j
soup & salad
mac n cheese
egg salad
grilled cheese
leftovers

Snacks:
pears
applesauce and string cheese
popcorn
nuts
yogurt covered raisins
banana chips

Dinner:
Veggie Burgers, tater tots, and broccoli
Pork Chops, green bn. casserole, mashed potatoes
Spaghetti and garlic bread
Burritos/Soft Tacos
Broccoli, Ham, and Cheese Soup (this recipe is AMAZING, I’ll post the recipe later…and best of all, it’s in the crock pot, for your workin’ girls!)
Red Beans and Rice (we eat this at least once a week…we can feed our family three times on this $3 meal!)
15 bean soup with kielbasa sausage and cheddar biscuits (another cheap one…about $4 total, and you will definitely have leftovers)
Chicken Divan (a chicken casserole with saffron rice), broccoli
Potato Soup and salad
Ginger Glazed Salmon
Saucy Chipotle BBQ Pork (another crock pot recipe…this is a new one for me, I’ll let you know how it turns out)
Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole with green beans
Chili
Chicken Pot Pie

That is 14 dinners in all. For the recipes that are cheap and easy, double it and freeze one! Another KEY to saving money on food is eating your leftovers! I read that 40% of our groceries end up in the trash. That’s almost half!! Eat your leftovers and don’t let your meat or produce go bad in the fridge (I used to be horrible about that!). We don’t waste money on drinks. I make sweet tea once or twice a week, we don’t buy soda, and my kids only drink juice or milk at meal times…water in between. That can save a lot of money if you’re big soda drinkers. And finally, I am starting to make our own bread from freshly milled flour that I buy in bulk from a family business in Atlanta. It breaks down to about .70 cents a loaf and I also make our pancakes, biscuits, and homemade baked goods with that flour. Freshly milled flour is cheaper and the health benefits are endless. Here is their website if you want to read about it: www.breadbeckers.com

We don’t have dessert very often, but I try to keep some options on hand. This week our options are:

brownies
sugar cookies (from scratch are cheap and easy and you can let the kids decorate them)
pudding (a family favorite)
popcorn and m&ms (good for movie night)
cinnamon toast (MMMmmm…)

I hope that helped a little!? I’ve learned a lot over the years from my friends with large families and small budgets. Desperate times call for desperate measures. You’re always a little more willing to make sacrifices when it’s necessary. I make sure I try a new recipe at least once a week. Make meal time special. Let the kids help you cook and especially let them help with the dishes. Use placemats and cloth napkins (that also saves money on paper napkins), set candles out at dinner. That will make the plainest meal a little more special. And always be thankful for what you have, no matter how little or boring.

Bon Apetite!

~audrey

I realized I haven’t posted an update on how God is continuing to bless us as we continue to give cheerfully each week. Here is a recap:

The first week, we gave an offering that was beyond our tithe of 10%. Withing 48 hours, a new client called and I earned five times what I gave that Sunday.

The next week, we gave the same amount and I tithed off my earnings from my new client. Within 24 hours, I had another call from an old client who had about five hours of work for me. I ended up earning 15 times what we gave on Sunday. On top of that, some dear friends of ours gave us their daybed that was in storage…with a mattress! That was one of the things we were praying about for our foster children.

The next week, we gave the same offering again and I tithed off my earnings as well. Within 48 hours, my husband got a call from a church where he used to lead worship. They needed him for the next two weeks…earning another 15 times what we gave on Sunday. That same day, I got a call from a current client that needs a little extra work done this month…earning another 10 times what we gave that week.

It is now the beginning of a new month. I now get excited about writing that offering check each week as I pray that God will continue to give us the heart of a cheerful giver and continue to bless us by the measure in which we give. If you haven’t done this yet, I highly encourage it! Reread Luke 6:38!

For the month of February, we are praying that Josh’s annual raise is beyond our expectations and we’re praying that the Lord will provide us with a stand up freezer for the garage which will help me store extra food when we start receiving foster children.

~audrey