Merry Day after Christmas y'all!

Wow! Well Christmas came and went,huh? It seems so crazy every year when we spend weeks planning for this wonderful day the family. Food, gifts, games, fun!Then in a blink its over. I hope all of you took the time yesterday to pray and give sometime to Jesus.
I would have liked to of given a little more of my time to Jesus yesterday, well everyday. Its so easy to get caught up in the things of this world!

We are blessed and I am ever so thankful to the Lord our God for giving us a roof over our head and all the yummy food that we got to indulge in yesterday, and probably for the rest of this month!
My girls had a wonderful time! Its funny out of all the gifts they got their favorite items are the ones we spent the least on. Home made playdough for one and the my older one loved the Leapster2 she got. I got it on sale for like 20 bucks and she just loves it. She also received a bike and Madi got a giant puppy that she wants to sleep with no matter what I say:)
Oh and how can I forget to mention, it SNOWED here! Yes in North Texas!!!
It was wild to see and drive in on Christmas eve, but very beautiful and really put us in the Christmas mood:)
The biggest surprise was my sweet husband got me a "new" (its used but that doesn't matter) Chevrolet Suburban for Christmas. He's spent the last 3 weeks doing some maintenance on it, cleaning it, changing the oil and stuff like that without me ever knowing. Really I didn't have a clue! He did have to tell a few lies along the way, which, he said, killed him to do. But it turned out to be a wonderful surprise!
No we have room in the family car for another 4 babies!!! LOL
Well here are a few Christmas pictures-

Sad day:(

Its a sad day in my house. One of our hens was taken this morning.
We live in the country with lots of woods and right across from a large body of water at that, so wild animals are a given. But its always hard for me because I get so attached to those sweet little birds. And you know I was going to take a picture of all them this morning and didn't, now I wish I would have.
Next spring Ill be sure to have new babies though.

2 days left....!!!!!

Wow this season has just flown by!
Im so excited for Christmas. I just love all the decorations, the food, the family time spent together. I love seeing people who we don't get to see regularly. But most of all I love being reminded everywhere I look about the birth of our Saviour!
Its so easy to remember your faith during Christmas.
But the hard part is to continue with the feeling of love and adoration for our Lord once all the decorations have come down. Will I remember Christ at the turn of every corner in my home? Will I think of him as Im baking? Will I continue to tell stories of Jesus to my children like I do during the Christmas season?
I sure hope I do!
We had set our Christmas budget low this season, we could of spent much more on presents this year...but we chose not to go overboard. I have made many more handmade gifts. We will spend more time at home this year. We will go go candle light service on Christmas eve, which we are very excited about! At first we thought we would have to attend another church on Christmas Eve, since the Pastor said they normally do not do one at our Church since he had started preaching there a few years ago. But we expressed out interest and he said he would think about it...then the fallowing Sunday it was in the church bulletin! Ask and you shall receive!!
Its a short service, 30 minutes. But that will be just enough to remind us what Christmas is about and the girls should be able to sit through it. Plus we will be coming from my father in laws house that evening, which is usually filled with many presents. It can be overwhelming for the kids and Christ will often get lost in all those presents.
Well Im on a mission to get the house clean and prepared to celebrate the birth of our King! Must get going:)

Advent Conspiracy

Frugal Friday- Being a One Income Family- Christmas Time

Head over to Life as Mom for other great Frugal Friday posts!

So a few weeks back I wrote some about being a one income family. There are lots of difficulties that come with living on one income but I believe many more benefits.
This time of the year can be particularly hard when it comes to staying disciplined and focused. Just because its Christmas doesn't mean you forget all about your budget. In fact if you are an organized one income family you will have budgeted Christmas into your finances months ago.
I know its tempting to forgo putting extra on the credit card your trying to pay off so that you can buy that video game for your kid. But trust me when I say your child will understand, maybe not now...but when he/she is older they will remember what it means to be responsible and wise when it comes to money. So whats your Christmas budget look like? Do you have one? Here are some tips-

1. Set a budget and stick to it! Sounds simple doesn't it. But our consumerist society is out there waiting to temp you into buying more. And its not just stores that don't have your best interest in mind. Its friends and family too!
Just yesterday I was told by my well meaning Grandmother to just get a $5 gift for a gift exchange at a family gathering. Although I had just told her that we are not doing gift exchanges because our budget will not allow. Just $5, and my nephew will have something to open up. As if he doesn't already have many gifts to open that day. Its easy to think "Just $5" but that's a slippery slope to go down. Don't do it.

2. Make a list and check it twice! Yes, write it down, everyone your buying for and what you will be buying, then try as best you can to stick to it. I know once you get out there you might see something for someone you hadn't thought of, and that's okay. But it has to fit into the budget. Set a limit for each person your buying for. It might be $20 for your Aunt, and $100 for mom. If you see something while your out that you just know that special someone would love but it doesn't fit into your budget you will have to have the discipline and strength to move on. Maybe you can save to get it for them another time. There's always birthdays! Plus they will never know that you didn't get them that "other" gift!

3. Don't forget about the "other" expenses. Gifts are not the only thing that you spend more on this month. There's all that yummy holiday food, and gas to drive to visit family and friends. Is there going to be a office Christmas party, a bible study group gift exchange, or perhaps your child's school will have a special event that you'll have to bake something for? You must consider all of those things and add them into your budget.

So how is my family budget doing? We set a $500 limit and have about $200 left to get our kids their main gift and eachother something special. Okay, I would like to be able to spend more on my kids, my friends, my in laws. I want to bake every neighbor, church member and acquaintance cookies. Give my pets something special to show my love. But when it comes down to it that isn't what I want my kids to remember when they think back on Christmas. They won't remember that they didn't receive some toy that they wanted when they were 5. They will remember if Mom and Dad where always struggling to pay the bills or never saved for college.
And also let us not overlook that Christmas is about CHRIST, not shopping and presents!

Thankful Thursday

I don't know what I did to deserve these two, but Im sure happy I did!