Works For Me Wednesday: Have Birthday Cards Ready!

I have a greeting card organizer that is very helpful for knowing where all my cards and stationary are stored. I did have to come up with a system to make sure my cards got sent out at the right time.

At the first of the year, I make sure I have enough cards for all family members and close friends. I go ahead and pick out a card for each person, write their names on the envelopes and organize them according to month. I then store them in my card box.

On the first day of each month, I have marked on my calendar to get that month's cards ready.(I also have each birthday marked on my calendar.) I then get that month's stack out, address and stamp them and put them in my little basket by the front door where I keep all outgoing mail. Each day, I see the cards and mail them if it is the right time.

This takes a little brain power to remember all this, but it has made it much easier to send cards out on time. It definitely works for me!

Works For Me Wednesday--Keep Aldi Bags In Your Car

I keep my grocery bags and a quarter(for the shopping cart rental) in my car for when I shop at Aldi's.There have been far too many times that I had to break a twenty dollar bill to get a quarter for a cart! And equally as many times have I forgotten to bring bags until I am ready to check out with an overloaded grocery cart. Of course, at this time, there are no nice empty boxes to be found and there is just something about buying plastic grocery bags that doesn't sit well with me. (Especially when I have literally bags of them at home!) My assortment of Aldi bags include several canvas tote bags, some heavy duty paper bags and a pile of regualr Wal-Mart bags. I usually try to swipe a couple of the flat boxes while shopping to put my cans in. I keep the quarter in my cup holder so it's always right where I can find it! This definitely works for me.

My Favorites: Activity Books For Toddlers

I recently treated myself to some new books from half.com. Among them were these toddler activity books. I remembered these as some of my very favorite resources when I was teaching little ones,but never had my own copies.

The Toddlers Busy Book by Trish Kuffner has so many great ideas in it that are very suitable for using at home, since it is written for moms by a mom! My favorite part of this book is the lists of recyclable and relatively cheap items that are recommended to keep on hand.

Wonderplay by Fretta Reitzes and Beth Teitelman is also a great find. This book starts with activities for infants and moves on up to things to do with older preschoolers. I would recommend this book to those with young, young babies and toddlers in order to get enough out of it. I like this book for the plethora of new chants and rhymes! (You'd think that after several years of toddler care-giving, I wouldn't need any more chants and rhymes, but hey, we all need new ideas occasionally!)

Even though I have lots of ideas in my head from experience with little ones, its nice to have some great resources for those brain-dead days or just to bring to mind new ideas or things you haven't thought of lately.

So if you're a mom who needs new ideas or an in-home child care provider as I am, check out these books!

Works-For-Me-Wednesday: Sacred Space and Bible Basket

Some time ago, I read an article in some Christian publication about designating a corner of your home as your "sacred space". Sounds cool, doesn't it?!? :-) It's a space where you can read your Bible, pray, be still before God, chill out, whatever...:-) It can be different depending on whether it is mainly for you or for several people in your family.

Up until reading this article, I had no special spot in which to land for my quiet time each morning. So I was immediately intrigued and began my search for a special chair for my sacred spot. I was hoping for something more cottage-y and charming, but this 21st Century American yard sale find was just the right price at $12, so I immediately deemed it as sacred.:-)Adding an afghan and a pretty pillow makes it seem very cozy, plus I have a floor lamp nearby that has a 3-way light switch so I can have dim light if I want it. Our CD player is close by and also a space to light a candle if I'm in the mood! This chair also comes in handy for cuddling toddlers, reading stories and is perfect for using as a certain toddler's "milk chair"(bottle time sitting against the soft pillow!). I don't have my chair in a secluded corner or anything, but then my living room is pretty secluded anyways at 5:30 a.m. when I sit down for my quiet time.:-)

Beside my chair, I keep a basket filled with my Bible, devotional book(s), various journals and blank books and at least one pen. Everything is right there and easy to find. Husband's Bible has also found its way into the basket, which makes it extremely easy to grab Bibles and get out the door on Sunday morning, since we know where everything is!

I love getting up each morning and going to sit in my special spot. Just sitting there is calming and promotes a quiet spirit before God. I encourage you to also find your own little spot in your home if you don't already have one. My "sacred space" is an idea that definitely works for me!

Be sure to check out Shannon's blog today for more great Works-For-Me-Wednesday ideas!

Tips For New Stay-at-Home Wives and Moms

Here are a few tips that I have learned during the last year as a Stay-At-Home wife. Feel free to read and to leave your own thoughts in the comments box.:-)

1) Get used to living on one income as soon as possible. This is good to do as soon as you get married or before you quit your job. Avoid going into debt and start to pay off any debt that you already have as soon as possible!

2)Get up at a decent time each morning. Shower and get dressed right away just as though you are going to work. This will help to motivate you for your day's tasks!

3)Discipline yourself to stay busy and get your work done. Fight the urge to watch TV, read or sit at the computer all morning. Occasional breaks are fine, of course!:-)

4) Make a house keeping schedule. Now that you are home and out from under an employer's schedule, the week looks very long. There is so much time to get everything done so why schedule it? This is what I thought at first before realizing that days and weeks were passing without a whole lot of productive activity in my home!:-( I was doing things I enjoyed, like cooking and baking, but not a lot of cleaning.LOL!! I have had to use a lot of discipline to get the rest of my home in order! After one year, I have finally come up with a schedule that is working for me. I think we are all entitled to a lazy day occasionally and we all have tired and PMS days when we just don't get that much done. I'm not talking about that but rather slumping around week after week accomplishing nothing! (You know what stage of life you are in right now and what is feasible for you to accomplish in a day. Each person is different in that regard.)

5) Make a list of your priorities and keep them in their rightful places. I like Linda Dillow's list of priorities in her book Creative Counterpart. Mine are 1) God; 2) husband; 3) my home; 4) time for me; and 5) other (for me that means my child care business and my children's church leadership commitments. If I had children, they would be in slot #3 and my home would be moved to #4 and so on. Do I always keep my priorities in the right order? NO!! But when I return to them, my life is so much more balanced and peaceful.

6) Resist the urge to fill up your time with every volunteer opportunity and do everything. Just because you are home doesn't mean that you are lazy(I'm still trying to convince myself of that!) or have nothing to do with your time. It also doesn't mean that you should feel obligated to take on every project and volunteer opportunity that is pushed your way since "all you do is stay home." Know your boundaries and kindly, yet firmly stick to them. Again, you know yourself and how much outside activities you can take on while still able to keep up with your home-making activities.

7) Learn new skills and have fun doing it! This is the time of your life to learn new skills especially if you have no children yet. Make a list of skills you want to hone and research them on the internet, check out books from the library, take a class or learn from a friend. Cooking, baking, sewing, gardening, flower arranging, home decorating, card and gift making,etc. are all fun things to learn and also can be useful in your home. These skills will also save you lots of money in the long run!

8) Cultivate a contented and thankful spirit. Ask God to help you to be resourceful with what you already have or can get on your budget. Pray a lot!!! God is very interested in the little things, too!

9) Make your quiet time with God a priority each day. This should be the first tip!!! It is definitely the most important.:-)

10) Make time for your husband and children.Plan special activities for holidays and ordinary days. It is so much fun to start and carry on traditions that your family loves. Doing this will let your family know that they are the most important people in your life and that they are special to you.

My Story: How I Came To Be A Stay-At-Home Wife

One year ago, I quit my job as a 2 year-old teacher at an upscale child development center. The original plan was for me to take a 2 month break and then find a part-time job closer to home. Being newly married, having just made an address and job change plus being gone to work 55-60 hours per week were leaving me overwhelmed and exhausted both mentally and physically. A 40 hour work week, an hour commute each way in rush hour traffic, plus required overtime hours meant that I was rarely home! I left for work at 8 am each morning and didn't return home until around 7 pm at night. Saturdays were stressful and overcrowded as I struggled to push five days of errands,cleaning and homemaking into one.

My husband and I talked it over at length and prayed much over our decision. He simply wanted me home more! He also longed to see me more relaxed and less overwhelmed. I thought that if I just had a break and was able to get my home and life organized, then I would be fine when I went back to work.

Our financial situation kept us from making a long-term decision for me to stay at home. There was no way that we would be able to live on my husband's small salary. We had been able to save a good portion of my wages up to that point, sow e were using that as a cushion while I took some time off.

It wasn't that our spending was out of control. It wasn't. I already cooked dinner every night, had a reasonably small grocery budget and we rarely ate out. We both took our lunches of leftovers to lunch each day. Sure, I could save gas money and wear and tear on my car. But, otherwise, I couldn't see how I could trim the budget any further. We had no unnecessary frills and luxuries to cut out.

Of course, it was considered odd for me- a wife and not a mother-to quit my job and stay home. "You will be bored to tears," my coworkers said. Also overheard was the comment, "Her husband has such a good job that she doesn't have to work!" I have no idea where they got that idea!

So I came home and began to fit into my new role. At first, I felt as though I was playing house. It was so much fun! I took great care in cleaning my house, organizing each room and cooking ahead for the freezer. I loved being home , but I knew it wouldn't last so I was hesitant to get too settled in.

My husband absolutely loved having me at home and I wished I could stay at home permanently. But after six weeks at home, I knew it was time to start looking for a part-time job. We were praying about the right job for me when a friend and neighbor called me and asked if I would be interested in caring for her four month old several days a week. I started taking care of the baby and soon I had two more little ones to care for as well. The money is not a lot as all these kids are part-timers, but is enough to comfortably meet our needs while still allowing me some flexibility in being a homemaker.

In February, we became debt-free and hope to remain that way until we take on a mortgage when we buy our first home. Being debt-free has also freed up a little more cash each month.

As I said before, we couldn't live on on my husband's small salary. This was true. I was wrong, however, in thinking that I couldn't trim our budget any further. As I continually pray, learn and experiment, I am slowly finding more ways to cut costs. There is an advantage to having more time than money! My grocery budget is still the same but I have been able to stretch it more and still have more of a pantry stash at the end of each month. This is possible by cooking more from scratch, careful planning and creative use of leftovers. I also am able to make more of my gifts, I am starting to experiment with making my own cleaners and many other little things around my home that are small but add up in the long run. Maybe eventually, I will have our budget trimmed way down! :-) (Where there's a will, there's a way!)

I know that not everyone who wishes to be home full-time is able to quit their job as I was able to. I don't know if I will always stay home either. None of us knows the future. But I do know that this is definitely where God has me right now and I am so happy with it! (Sure, there are some days when it would be really nice to leave my messy home and go to work! We all have those days!:-)

So this is my story. I can't believe that a whole year has gone by already! God has been so faithful and has provided so abundantly for us, way above whatever we thought would be possible!

Memorial Day At The Lake

Here is a picture of my husband and I. :-)

Works-For-Me Wednesday: MYO Mixes

I do almost all my cooking and baking from scratch these days. One way I keep it simple and fast is to make my own mixes. So far, corn bread, baked oatmeal, pancakes, waffles and lentil-rice casserole are my favorites to keep stocked in my pantry. I simply measure the dry ingredients into a quart-size ziploc bag and then write the remaining ingredients and cooking directions on the bag with a permanent marker.

While I sometimes will take a half hour or so and mix up a few to have on hand, usually I just fill a ziploc bag or two when I am cooking that particular item for a meal. That way I have at least one extra in the pantry ready for quick mixing!

Works-For-Me Wednesday: Organize Receipts and Bills

This idea may be too simple for some of you more technical people, but it works very well for the technically-challenged me.:-)
I have always had trouble keeping receipts and bills organized, so I was thrilled when I came up with this idea to keep up with them.
I use a regular binder and put a page protector in for each month. I file the bills and receipts in the correct month and everything is in its place and easy to find. This was very helpful last week when I needed to return my shoes. It also came in handy today when I needed to compare several months electric bills. I knew exactly where to find them! (Compared to last year when I stuffed all receipts in a small plastic drawer together. The idea was that I would file them at the end of each month. Well, that never happened and I could never find anything!!)
This binder also keeps all my budget info and each months income/outgo sheets. I also have a separate section where I keep track of childcare income and expenses.
Hope this idea will be of help to someone! It has really worked for me.:-)

Free Curtains!

After cleaning the office/craft room/guest room on Saturday, I felt like beautifying the room with some new curtains. When things are clean, pretty and somewhat decorated, I am more motivated to take care of it! So I went through my stash of fabric and found this plaid piece that was given to me last summer. I hadn't noticed it before but the colors go so nicely with the blue walls.

Curtains such as these are very quick and easy to make. I think it took me just under 2 hours to sew both curtains. I was very pleased to use something I already had and my husband loves the way the room looks now!

Works-For-Me-Wednesday: Don't Forget The Money!

I thought I'd join in the fun this week! This idea is a small one, but it really works for me!

As soon as I write my tithe check, I slip it into the front of my Bible, so it is sure to make it to church. I hardly ever forget my offering money this way! I used to put it in my purse, and found that I seemed to change purses for church and the check would always be forgotten.

Be sure to check out Shannon's blog for more Works-For-Me ideas and participants!

More Cheap Ways

Since I have had no success in posting my next saving money post, I will just rewrite it now. These are some ways that I have been able to save significantly. I have only been married a year and a half, so I am still learning as much as I can to save even more! I thought I was frugal before I was married, but nothing compared to now.:-) And I'm sure more things will change in the years to come. I recently read a blog about a family of 6 ( four kids) who live on less than my husband and I do now. Wow! And I think that I make sacrifices! It just changes your perspective somehow. So here are my few ideas :

1. Limit the amount of disposable items. I use some cheap ziplocs and don't normally re-use them. We also use toilet paper.:-) I don't use a lot of paper towels or paper plates, cups and napkins. Cloth napkins are so much nicer and can be gotten cheap at yard sales or make your own out of scrap fabrics. Of course, there is a time and place for using disposables, I just don't do it all the time.

2. I have found that using half the recommended laundry detergent works just fine. Also, I wash most loads in cold water.

3. Keep a gift box. I pick up small items that will make nice gifts and keep them on hand. I try to select items that can be used for different occasions and people, unless I am buying for someone in particular. I find nice items at yard sales as well as the dollar store and clearance. I also buy my cards at the dollar store or make my own.

4. I stay home a lot. This saves a huge amount of gas $$. This also helps me to get my work done at home.:-) I have one day a week that I don't keep kids, so I plan all errands and appointments for that day.

5. I use the library. I was disappointed that the local library doesn't carry the selection of movies like the library where I used to live. My sister and I do trade books, movies, and magazines back and forth so we always have something new at no charge.

6. We don't go to movies or on outings really often. The trips we do take are planned for. We enjoy going on picnics, which is also a great activity that we can continue when we have children. And with our busy schedules, we just enjoy an evening at home together these days.

7. I try to make do as much as possible. This not only saves money, but helps me develop my creativity. I apply this a lot in decorating.

That's all I can think of for now! What are some things you do(or don't do) to save money?

On Saving Money and Living Frugally

In the last week or so, there have been many blog postings regarding saving money, living frugally and living on one income. The discussions have been interesting and encouraging, so I thought that I would share some of my own ideas here. I hesitate to share too much on this sort of subject as I am younger and much less experienced than most of my readers. So as you read, keep in mind, that I am only sharing what I have learned as suggestions and ideas. This is not in any way Biblical truth other than trying to promote good stewardship of what God has given us to work with in terms of money and possessions.

I also realize that many of our family and close friends read here regularly, although many of you are "lurkers" and do not comment often or at all!:-)Please do not get the idea that we are poor and destitute. This is not intended to be Mary Ann's pity party at all. We have everything we need, in fact more than enough. I find it a great challenge to stretch our income as far as it will go.

This time I will focus on saving money on food. Later I will share some ideas for other areas.

Saving money on food:

1. I don't buy meat for over $2.00 a pound. I watch the specials and stock up and freeze plenty when the sales are good. I do pay more for fish and the occasional steaks, but still buying them when marked down.

2. We eat a lot of cooked oatmeal for breakfast which is certainly better for us than most cold cereals. I do buy a couple of boxes of cereal per month, but try to stay in the limit of $1-$2 per box.

3. We drink mostly water. Again, the health benefits are great. I keep some orange juice concentrate on hand and we always buy a big jug of cranberry juice each month.

4. I keep very little snack foods around the house. I do buy tortilla chips and a bag of pretzels every month. For snacks, we will make popcorn or eat fresh fruit which I try to keep on hand depending on the season and price.

5. I consider canned beans a convenience food. That being said, you can probably guess that I don't buy many prepared foods. I do buy boxed mac & cheese for a quick, easy meal.

6. I cook most of our meals from scratch. This saves a lot of $$!

7. I bake most of our bread, and I also buy marked down loaves at the local bread outlet for when I can't bake my own.

8. I try to keep most meals rather simple by planning menus such as soup and fresh bread, a casserole and a salad and so on. It depends on what we are having as to the amount of sides, but especially during the week, I keep it pretty simple.

9. Since there are just the two of us, I will make a whole batch of something and freeze the extras. When I make lasagna, I put it in two 8 or 9 inch square pans instead of one large pan. We can eat one that night and freeze the other for later. I often will cook double when making dinner and freeze the extras. I like this approach better than spending a whole day preparing food for the freezer, although I do that sometimes too.

10. I try not to waste food. Leftover oatmeal can go into muffins. I keep my veggie bin cleaned out by chopping up the leftovers and freezing them in small amounts for soups and casseroles. I also keep a large container in the freezer for any leftover cooked veggies, veggie broth and little bits of meat. When I get enough, I will make soup.

11. I keep my grocery budget at about $150 per month.Including paper products, cleaning supplies and personal care items, I spend $200 a month altogether. This gives me enough to stock my pantry a little at a time and we also have guests over for dinner several times a month. We eat out probably about 2-3 times per month. Otherwise, we eat at home and my husband takes a lunch to work. Our eating out money has its own category in our budget.

12. I read lots of cookbooks and am constantly finding new recipes online. I love to cook and bake and find lots of recipes that use cheap ingredients.

13. For most items, I buy the store brands. This saves quite a bit. There are a few brand name items I love, such as Kraft dressings and we have found that no matter how cheap the Food Lion mac and cheese is, we still do not like it. :-)

14. As you may have figured out, I grocery shop once a month. This works well for me. I keep a small amount of money back to use for sale items that come up through out the month. I like getting all my staples at once, then I plan my meals by looking at what I have in my pantry and freezer.

Please share your ideas for saving money on food!

How To Pray For Your Husband

I came across this article/list as an about-to-be-married woman and continue to find it excellent and useful. This was written by Sandy Day and taken from the book The Best of the Proverbs 31 Ministry. Along this same subject, I also highly recommend the book The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian.

How To Pray For Your Husband

Sunday: That he would become a holy man, a man of prayer, mature in the Lord, growing in his knowledge of God and daily seeking Him with all his heart. (I Thessalonians 5:23; Colossians 4:12: Ephesians 1:18-19; Ephesians 3:16-19; Psalm 119:1-2)

Monday: That he would learn to take every thought captive, to not be conformed to the world's thinking, but to think scripturally. (Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 10:5)

Tuesday: That his self-image would be a reflection of the Lord's thoughts toward him. (Ephesians 1:17-19; Romans 12:3; Psalm 139)

Wednesday: That he would become a called man, not driven, with well thought-through and prayed-through goals in life. (I Corinthians 9:24-27)

Thursday: That he would stand firm against the schemes of the devil and resist Satan in all circumstances. (Ephesians 6:10-18; James 4:7)

Friday: That the fruit of the Spirit would be exhibited more and more in his life. That he would learn to love as God commanded. (Galatians 5:22-23; I Corinthians 13:4-7; Romans 12:8-10)

Saturday: That the Lord would protect him, guarding his course. That he would learn to manage his time well. (Proverbs 2:8; Ephesians 5:15)

Control Journals and Menu Planning

I have been setting time aside this week to build my control journal the Flylady way. Hopefully, by following her steps one at a time, I will be able to do this long term!

Ever since the beginning of the year, I have come to a standstill with my weekly menu planning. I just can't seem to think of anything to cook! My pantry and freezer are well-stocked, so the problem obviously lies with me.:-) I made a master list of the foods we like in their respective categories and started doing a monthly dinner menu. Then each week, I can transfer it to a weekly menu and include side dishes and breakfast and lunch menus, which are simple to come up with in comparison! After several months, I should be able to rotate the menus, and it will help me to remember to prepare our favorites on a more consistent basis.

For the sake of simplicity, I adopted and adapted the "If it's Monday, it must be spaghetti" meal plan.(On the Flylady website.) This was helpful in preparing the monthly menu because it gave me a game plan to go by. I also left at least one day open a week for Cook's Choice, so that I can either try a new recipe or use leftovers(my friend in cooking and eating frugally.) Here is the plan I came up with, which I'm sure will be tweaked as the year moves along :-):

Monday: dinner with small group 3 weeks out of month, otherwise Cook's Choice
Tuesday: Soup and salad or sandwich
Wednesday: vegetarian night
Thursday: crockpot or something from freezer
Friday: Cook's Choice
Saturday: Breakfast foods(I like doing this in the evening when there is more time and it will be helpful when yard sale season rolls around! Heehee!!!)
Sunday: Snack-type foods

My husband's supervisor sent home some cooking magazines for me to look at yesterday. Some of them are the Kraft Food and Family magazines. I am getting lots of great ideas. A lot of these recipes call for convenience items that I don't normally keep on hand, but others use cheaper ingredients that I do have in stock. I already found a few that I want to try and some more expensive ones that would be good for a special dinner(think Valentine's Day!). If these are good recipes, I will share them with you on my cooking blog!

Weekly Specials

Even though I do the bulk of my grocery shopping on a monthly basis, I still try to save a little of my grocery money to use towards the end of the month on great deals that come up, especially meats and produce.

I have been using the Sunday Savers site to check the weekly specials for those store circulars that I don't receive in my mailbox each week. They have a ton of stores listed and you can click on whichever ones you frequent and see this weeks specials. I use it to check specials for the stores that I don't normally shop at, but are known to run really great specials on meats, like Harris Teeter. Having it all online also helps to eliminate some of the paper piles around the house.

Oops!

As I was writing the post below, I suddenly felt something scratchy beneath my neck and realized my sweater is on backwards.The stitching of the tag is quite noticeable and the funny thing is that I didn't even get dressed in the dark this morning. Oops!!!:-)

Engagement Anniversary

Today is two years since we got engaged. We don't make a habit of really celebrating these special days, but it is fun to remember them.

The day we got engaged was Martin Luther King Day and we both had the day off. I had no idea he was going to propose, but we had been discussing marriage and starting to plan our wedding. I knew he had picked out the ring and was paying for it.

Anyways, we had a very nice quiet morning talking about wedding plans when out of nowhere, he said he was working on a special song for the wedding and wanted me to hear it.(He writes songs and sings, so I wasn't suprised about it.) So he proceeds to sing this lovely song and I thought it was wonderful. When he was done, I hugged him and told him how great it was. He told me to sit back down and then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. He actually put the ring on my finger and then ask me to marry him. :-) Then we called everyone to tell them that I had said "yes", and no one was really suprised but they were all very happy.

And that, my friends, is the story of our engagement. Oh, and he later sang that song to me at our wedding.

Quick Shopping and Bargains

I finally did it. I was in and out of Wal-Mart in less than 10 minutes. Sure, I only needed 3 items, well, 2 and ended up with 3, but it was also Saturday morning. So that counts for something, especially since a few minutes of that time was walking to and from our car which was parked in Outer Mongolia. My husband, who sat in the car because he hates shopping at Wal-Mart during busy times, was quite impressed.

My little impulse buy from this morning turned out to be a package of corndogs for my husband who sometimes craves food from his bachelor days. :-) This will be game food while he watches the Redskins and Seahawks play this afternoon. Go Redskins!

Since we all like to brag on our bargains from time to time, I thought I'd share my buys from this week. If you know me at all, you will know that I love Mary Engelbreit. I am thrilled that Michael's has been carrying a line of her cards and papers and such in their dollar section. I popped in the other day and they had the Mary Engelbreit Christmas cards for .30 a package so I got 40 cards for $1.50. I was pleased. I also found 2 large cans of sweet potatoes for .79 each(half-price). The only reason they were discounted was that the labels were a little torn. While I love a good deal, I think I save a lot more money by just not buying many items even if they are on sale. Just because it is cheap doesn't mean I need it. But if it is something I use anyways and will need in a reasonable amount of time, I go ahead and buy it.

Thought For The Day

This quote was found on a Mary Engelbreit card:

To be happy: Don't do whatever you like; like whatever you do.

That is pretty profound and a good thought for most of us to ponder. The picture on the card shows a woman pushing a vacuum and waving a Flylady-style duster while dancing and holding a rose in her mouth. Now I don't know about the rose part, but I need to remember to be cheerful no matter what my circumstances. It is easy to generally be discontent with life because "It's not what I expected." Well, I guess that's the way life is, isn't it? This quote reminds me of a familiar Bible verse: "...And be content with what you have." Hebrews 13:5. Also in Ecclesiastes 5: 19 and 20: "...When God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work-this is a gift of God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart." I wonder what will happen in my heart and home as I cultivate a spirit of contentment and joy?