Money-saving Tips for a Frugal Christmas in the Midst of a Recession

Christmas. It's the most wonderful time of the year, right? Then January rolls around and it's time to pay the bills incurred during the most wonderful time of the year. What if this year was different? What if there were no outrageous bills come January? Maybe then you could actually afford to join the gym that you talk about joining every single year. Maybe you could relax a little and enjoy the New Year a bit more. Wouldn't that be nice?

Here are a few tips and tricks to help make that a reality... or at least make it so that Christmas within your budget (not the Joneses budget) is a reality.

Let's tackle the issue of Christmas cards first.
1. Minimize your list. That "friend" who you haven't spoken to in 8 years probably won't notice if you don't send a card this year. Only send cards to those who are truly important to you.
2. Purchase your cards from discount stores like the Dollar Tree.
3. Send a family newsletter instead. You can type up the text on your computer, updating all your friends and family on the year's events. You can even add in pictures. Then print them right at home.

Holiday meals are another large expenditure.
1. Ask friends and family to bring a side dish or to pitch in when it comes time for the big feast. Chances are that they would love to help out.
2. Plan your meal well in advance and pick up must-have items when they are on sale instead of at the last minute.
3. It's okay to use generic brands when making that green bean casserole. No one will notice.
4. Buck the tradition and do something new this year. Lounge in your jammies all day and snack on a veggie, meat and cheese tray while watching fun movies with the family. Christmas isn't about the food, is it? Didn't think so.


And finally, let's talk about gifts.
1. Cut the gift list down. You don't need to give a gift to every neighbor in the 'hood. Select those people who are the most meaningful to you and send everyone else a Christmas card.
2. D.I.Y. Do it yourself. The web is full of ideas for quick and easy gift ideas. Check out www.craftster.org, http://www.marthastewart.com/crafts and www.curbly.com all have ideas that encompass all ranges of craftiness.
3. Shop sales and start shopping NOW. Waiting until the last minute is a surefire way to guarantee that you will be paying too much for a gift that you probably don't want to really give.

These are just a few tips. Check out these websites for more frugal holiday tips:
http://www.thefrugallife.com/
http://www.thenewhomemaker.com/
Happy Budgeting!

My Position on Childhood Immunizations

My children have not had a single childhood immunization... at this point. That's not to say that they won't have some in the future. I've been questioned over and over again about this. People tend to look at me as if I am some crazy loon who doesn't care about her children. It gets old. It's especially hard on my when my family thinks that way about me. They are the people who should know me best and who should understand that I love my boys more than anything. I would not intentionally endanger them, ever.

So, I'd like to share a few thoughts. First and foremost, if you want to immunize your children, please, by all means do so. They are your children and you need to do what you believe is best for them. I will not ever degrade you for that. I only ask that you grant me the same respect. Feel free to ask me questions. I am all too happy to answer, so long as you are asking out of sincerity.

It was not an easy decision for Ed and I to decide to not immunize our children, at this point. We recognize fully the good that vaccines have done in eliminating things like polio. At the same time, we recognize that vaccines are implicated in a number of different types of medical injuries that are life-long and life threatening (and I can leave autism out of that completely). We also recognize that there is still a risk for our children to become infected by a vaccine-preventable illness. We weighed the information. We still read and consider the ramifications of our decision, either way.

When Eddie was born, he was very frail and suffered from apnea of prematurity. That means that he stopped breathing at times. When he was 2 months old, the age that vaccines typically start, he weighed a mere 5 lbs. and he was till ont he apnea monitor. I researched the possible effects of the DTaP vaccine on a child his size with his medical complications. Children who are premature and suffer from apnea of prematurity are at a much higher risk for a severe apneaic episode that can lead to death, following the DTaP vaccine. Knowing that, I could not reasonably allow my child to receive that injection. That's how all of this began.

I began to look further into reactions to vaccines and found a whole host of information that made me reluctant (at best) to ever imunize my child. Upon further investigation, I discovered that the ingredients in vaccines are often considered dangerous in any other circumstance. I do not have peace about injecting my children with those things at this young and vulnerable stage in their life.

There are ramifications for our decision. We take extra precautions, such as frequent handwashing and avoiding sick children, to reduce the risk to our boys of catching a vaccine-preventable illness. We know that certain vaccines contain versions of these viruses, so we know to stay away from children who have been recently immunized so that our children do not become ill.

Our children cannot make your vaccinated child ill, if vaccines truly work. But, your vaccinated child can make our child ill. We recognize that and do not hold that against parents who vaccinate. We don't feel the need to permanently remove our children from the presence of vaccinated children; that would only hurt our children.

Those are just a few of my thoughts regarding immunization. That's not to say that you should do this or that or whatever. Do what you feel is right for your child. Just please, please, please don't insinuate that I am less of a parent and I'll give you the same respect.

An Update

It’s been a while… again… since I last posted in my blog. Sorry. I guess I’m still trying to figure out how exactly to make time for certain things. Anyway… Thought I’d update on what’s goin’ on with us these days.

We are living in Ft. Mill, SC while we wait to hear about a job for Ed. He was laid off from the airline in September and has been working with the National Guard since then so that we have some income. He’s applied for a full-time position with the National Guard and we are waiting to hear whether or not he got the job. We’ll see.

The boys are growing like wildfire. Eddie is wanting to learn to read and we do some basic math stuff here at home too. He’s my little nerd. Love him to bits.

Andrew is hilarious. He’s walking all over the place and is trying to talk. He’s a climber. He’s the one who is going to make things “interesting” because he’s mischievous. :)

I’ve been keeping busy with the boys. My mom did pass away in October after battling colon cancer. That was rough. Still is rough at times.

Can't Resist

I know it's been a while and all, but I really can't resist just spewing right now, so pardon me while I do just that.

I will say that I can appreciate the fact that America apparently (because it isn't *quite* over yet) elected its first black president. That is historically significant and should be noted.

However, I have to wonder how much of Obama's voted was spurred on simply because of race. In other words, how many people voted for him simply because his skin color was the same? I don't know, nor do I pretend to know. I'd like to though.

That's a minor blip on my list of questions and concerns regarding the outcome of this election though. A really minor blip.

I'd venture to guess that every last one of our founding fathers rolled right over in their graves tonight. We've elected a president who has said openly that he hopes to tax the coal industry (an industry by which thousands of people support their families) into oblivion. We've elected a man who has decided that it's a wonderful thing to take hard-earned money and give it away as he sees fit. We've elected a man who allows members of the PLO into his home to watch his children. We've elected a man who support abortion and even said that he hopes the option is available for his daughters should they make a "mistake." We've elected a man who wants to make union votes public and who would not mind extending that to political votes as well. By the way, he'd like all industry to be unionized. We've elected a man who thinks our schools should be teaching very young children about sex, as opposed to the parents teaching their own children about sex.

We have no checks and balances anymore. There is a democratic majority in the Senate and the House and we have a democratic President. Does anyone else not see that as a problem? Doesn't anyone else supect that the rights and beliefs of those of us who are right of center wil be trampled on and that we will be censored?

What is coming? Really? What have we signed up for? How long will it be before homeschooling is not an option? How long before we are experiencing a Harrison Bergeron life?

What is so bad about celebrating our individuality and differences -- even if those differences are financial or intellectual?

I saw a little blurb tonight where someone was interviewing Oprah. She's not my favorite person. I don't particularly dislike her, but I think her spiritual mumbo jumbo is a little out there. Anyway... she said that we have all been brought together in the name of hope. That's a nice idea, but sorry Oprah, my hope does not come from Barrack Obama.

My hope comes from Jesus Christ alone. That is the one thing that gives me solace right now. Jesus is stil on the throne. Praise HIM!

The other thing that Oprah said that kinda hit me was, "...There's a wonderful Bible passage that says, "what does it do to gain the world and lose your soul?" And I knew that in this moment in time, in my lifetime, I would have lost a piece of my soul had I not stood up for him..."

NO Oprah, who you support in a political election does NOT determine whether or not you lose you soul. That is a very poor understanding of Scripture.

Again though, my HOPE is in Christ and in his apparently very quick return.

Need a Safe Place to Rant About Politics.

Before I begin, let me be very clear that I am not at all thrilled with EITHER of the candidates running for president right now.

McCain isn't my top pick, but he will likely get my vote because Obama is utterly terrifying to me. My fear of a President Obama has nothing to do with his race or middle name. It has nothing to do with his religious preference or even his religious associations, although I will say that Rev. Wright is disturbing to me.

I fear Obama because of his stance on the issues.

He welcomes abortion. He said he would want abortion to be available to his daughters should they find themselves pregnant as teenagers. How appalling. Why is it okay or even welcome to kill the unborn? We are NOT God. It is not our place to determine when life should end.

Taxes... He wants to tax corporations and rich people so that he can redistribute their wealth as he sees fit. Of course, this would be done via government-run programs and we all know how efficient the government is at managing money. We all do still remember the bailout, right?

With the income that we make, we would not be directly affected by Obama's tax hike, but this hike would affect us in other ways, such as limiting employment opportunities.

Obama is not in favor of school choice. As a future homeschooling mom, this concerns me greatly. I do not want my children or grandchildren to be programmed by some shoddy public education system.

Oil... Obama only said that he'd be in favor of drilling after others mentioned the possibility of drilling while also exploring other resources for energy. I don't believe him. We'll be stuck trying to be "green" with no oil for our cars, no way to transport food across the nation, no oil to run anything.

I could go on, but in short, there is not one single issue where Obama and I line up.

More than that though, I am concerned about the way Obama fans adore him and praise him, almost as if he is their savior. Children sing songs about Obama. Everyone seems to think that Obama will change the world. Obama will fix everything. There will be no more pain or hunger or war or death. Obama has become a messiah of sorts.

That's enough to make the hair on my neck stand up. When I consider the praise for Obama and my religious beliefs regarding the End Times, I can't help but shudder. Now, I do NOT think Obama is the anti-christ or anything like that, but I can clearly see him paving the way for the Anti-Christ.

Don't misunderstand me, I know that means that I am that much closer to seeing my Savior face-to-face, but I know that also means that my family and friends are that much closer to being eternally separated from Christ.

So yeah, I'm not an Obama fan. I literally cringe at the thought of him being our President.

Life is Far Too Short.

Just this past weekend a young 22 yr. old woman from my church back in NC became a widow. Her husband was only 21.

I just read about Dennis Rainey's granddaughter who will probably pass into the arms of Jesus with the next day or so. She is only a few days old, but was born with a severe defect.

A few weeks ago, Stephen Curtis Chapman had to bury his daughter.

I could name countless others who have lost loved ones way too soon.

It's not fair. It's not right. It makes no sense. There are no words that can truly comfort those who are grieving. That pain will never completely disappear, even if it does fade over time.

I often struggle between not going and ministering because I don't know what to say or going and saying too much.

As someone who has not lost a spouse or a child, it is easy for me to think, "God has a greater purpose. Yada, yada, yada..." That may well be true. God will surely get the glory from all things, either now or later. I can't help but think that sometimes God would be better glorified if we kept those thoughts to ourselves.

Sometimes, it's enough to embrace the broken hearted and tell them you are sorry, or to say nothing at all. Sometimes, they just need to know that you are there, holding up their arms like Aaron did for Moses or that you are able to help them bear the burden of grief.

One of my professors once said that sometimes the only thing we can do is bring the Holy Spirit into a situation to minister to the hurting. As children of the Most High God, the Holy Spirit indwells us and is with us whereever we go. So, just being there for the broken is ministering.

My challenge to you is to go and minister to that person who needs comfort and strength in the midst of their storm. You don't have to say a word. Just be there.

Feeling Drained

Funny how being home with the kids by myself for just two days is such a complete drain on me. My brain is fried. I'd love to update the look of this blog. I'd love to create some cards or design something, but I don't have it in me.

But, my boys are great, so I can handle being drained.

Eddie is growing so well and is so smart; too smart for his own good. He's almost three. I can't believe that. Makes me happy and sad all at the same time.

Eddie is my smart, shy boy with the puppy dog eyes. His eyes can convince you that he should have whatever he wants, even if it's cake for breakfast.

And Andrew, well, he's just funny. There's not much shy about him and talk about a charmer!!? He flashes those bright blue eyes at anybody and everybody. He'll never have a problem making people believe him.

So... I'm drained for now, but my cup overflows with the blessings that are my boys.