Preparation: Inventory, menu and shopping list

Preparation: 

Inventory, Menu and Shopping List

This picture is before I took inventory of the cupboard. The very top shelf is part of our 30 day supply of food. That is food we don't touch unless there is an emergency situation. Eating from the pantry does not fall into that category so, I won't be using any of that food to prepare meals this month.

This is a picture after I reorganized the cupboard and threw out old stuff that had expired the 'best buy' date. I don't know if you can tell the difference but it went from looking pretty well stocked to pretty bare. It was actually scary how old some of the stuff from the very back was. If we were to eat only on what was in there we would be eating a lot of pumpkin muffins and pumpkin bread, pancakes and maybe a meal of kidney beans prepared somehow. Other than that, there was nothing else. Baking staples like flour and sugar but no rice, noodles or sauces.

The freezer is also empty and, except for about a dozen eggs and a couple bags of shredded cheddar cheese, the fridge is pretty bare as well. I desperately need to go grocery shopping. That's on my agenda tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the last day we'll be spending money for at least 2 weeks.

So, you might be thinking....how is this participating in the Eating from the Pantry Challenge? Well, they said to do what works for your family. Since we dont have a cupboard, fridge and freezer bursting with food I am going to fill it up. Once I've been shopping that's it for the first 2 weeks and except for things like bread, milk and fresh produce that will be it for the month. I figure with the Spending Free 2 weeks we had already decided to do on our own the Eating From The Pantry Challenge would be a fun addition to our own plan!

After I figured out exactly what we have don't have in the food department I sat down and made our menu out for the next 2 weeks.

First, I listed all the meals my family enjoys.

Then, I chose 14 of them to prepare for dinner for the next 2 weeks. Some people choose less and have left-over nights. Derek usually takes all of the left-overs to work the next day for lunch. If there is even more left the girls and I will eat it for lunch as well.

After the menu I made out my shopping list of everything I need to prepare meals along with snacks and drinks.

I'm going to be buying more then usually because I want to make sure we have enough snacky type food one hand so we're not tempted to make a Sonic run during happy hour. Also, this will alow me to pack snacks for when we're away from home.

So, after my shopping trip tomorrow we should be pretty well prepared for the next 2 weeks and the majority of the next month.

Edited to add: I wanted to add that the reason my cupboards are currently so low is because I didn't do much grocery shopping over the past month. We ate a lot of meals away, at other peoples homes, or on the go during the holidays. I also relied a lot on leftovers from family functions to feed us over the past couple weeks. So, this is not how our cupboards, freezer and fridge normally look.This is how they look after a month of not doing much grocery shopping and eating up everything we've had available here.

Our Challenge!

Derek and I have talked about this idea off and on before. There was never a time we thought we would be able to do it though. We know its going to be hard.
Probably, really hard.
But, we're setting our minds to it and jumping in with both feet.

What are we doing, you ask? Oh...right.....

We are going 2 weeks without spending any money. With 1 exception, gas. I'll explain that later.
 I have read other blogs about their families doing this but have always thought 'there is no way we could do that'.
I like my Sonic runs too much. What if we run out of diapers? Wait, I know there will be nights when I don't feel like cooking. It just wouldn't work for our family.
Until now.
We decided that once January hits we aren't spending any money for at least 2 weeks. We might get really crazy and see how long we can go. Don't hold me to it. I said, we might. ;)

Then, I was reading over at Money Saving Mom and Life as Mom that they are doing an Eating From the Pantry challenge this month. How perfect is that?! Using up what they have on hand for meals an entire month.
Well, unfortunately, our pantry, or cupboards in our case, are not that well stocked. So, I will be doing major grocery shopping on Thursday and getting everything we need for meals for at least the next 2 weeks. That means no grocery shopping at all during our 2 week spending free time. Yikes! I'll probably push the Eating From the Pantry challenge on through the rest  of the month with a small shopping trip around the 15th.

As with the others in the Eating From the Pantry Challenge I'll be posting our meals and progress along the way. I'm excited to see what I can come up with towards the end of the month and what others do as well! I'm also very excited to see how much money we have saved and not spent through the month! I love that Crystal, over at Money Saving Mom, will be giving the difference of her grocery budget towards Gleaning the Harvest.
Once I checked out that ministry I was super excited to have run across it. Growing up in a single-mother home I know how much this means to these families. My mom wanted to be able to work from home and homeschool me and we had a wonderful church family at the time who tried to help her do that. There were different times if she had to work outside the home I would go to another families house and do school with them during that period. If there had been a ministry like this at the time I know my mom and I would have been even more blessed!
So, through this Eating From the Pantry Challenge and the Spending Free 2 Weeks Derek and I have challenged ourselves to I'm excited to see how much money we waste and how much we really are capable of giving!
There will be 1 exception to our Spending Free time. We have to spend money on gas. We live out in the country and Derek has to fill up his car every 4 days to get to work. So, he'll be getting gas about 3 times. It takes 30 mins to get into town for church or friends and 45 mins to get to my parents. I'll fill up on Thursday and then my goal will to be only to fill up 1 other time.

It would be cool if others joined with us in a Spend Free period and joined in lots of others with the Eating From the Pantry Challenge! If you do, I'd love to know and follow your progress (if you're blogging through it).

So....what now?

Well, Christmas has come and gone.
But, that doesn't mean that the spirit of giving should go away with the day, does it?

We think not.

This month has left us with being more mindful of giving in general.
Be it by buying a coke for a co-worker (in Dereks case), parking at the back or feeding a child for a year. It's left our girls more aware of others needs and with the knowledge that there are many less fortunate in our world.
We, as a family, have come to realize in a much greater way how truly blessed we are.

So...what now?
I've been thinking about what to do with this blog since the Christmas season is ending. My plan is to blog as we journey through continuing to make giving a lifestyle. Not just something we do, or think about, during the holidays. 

One of the best ways that we can give more is by learning to be better stewards of what the Lord has blessed us with. This includes material possessions,  income/money,our health and our time. 
I can think of so many possibilities of ways to give to others if we cut out unnecessary spending. For us its eating out. What if we cut out fast food runs and instead put that money in our giving jar? 

What about time? If you organized your time would you be able to give more of it to others through....volunteering? Or blessing people with meals? Or babysitting for that couple with lots of littles. (ohh ohh thats us waving our hands to get noticed! LOL just kidding of course) 

How about your health? Eating out less means less money spent on bad for you food. Taking better care of your health, for some, could mean less time off of work or less visits to the Dr and co-pays.  Resulting in more money and energy to be able to give.


The possibilities are endless. 

So, once again...kick back, grab a cup of coffee and journey with us as we make giving a lifestyle and help encourage you in doing the same!

I Stand Amazed

We stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazearene!

We are so honored and blessed to be part of a chosen people. To have a God who gave His Son for us 2000 years ago and welcomed us, sinners, into His family. Thank you, Lord, for the birth of the baby we celebrate today. 

We have had a wonderful Christmas this year. We have made such a strong effort to not lose focus of what the season is really about. We tried so hard to make sure our kids get that it's not about the gift they get but about Him. That instead of focusing on what we get we focus on what we can give.  

When we first started our mission this year I prayed God would provide more than we could give. That He would multiply what we were able to give and turn it into more. This week God miraculously provided a way for us to give more! We literally stand amazed in our Jesus! We were given the opportunity to sit down with our girls and go through different ministries gift catalogs and let them choose different gifts to give. They put thought into each gift and why they felt it was an important one to give away. 
Thank you, Lord, for being you and continuing to amaze us!

Happy Birthday Jesus and Merry Christmas!! 

 

You Still Have Time!!

You still have time! 

It's not too late! 

For what, you ask? 

Well, to give a goat. 

Or a fruit tree. 

Or provide 100 lbs of rice and beans.   

Or...the list goes on. 

It's the last few shopping days before Christmas so how about giving one of those things in someone elses name instead of buying them another sweater that will disappear somewhere in mass of their closet? Or, how about suggesting someone else give something in your name instead of that new pair of earrings or DVD? How much more meaningful would this Christmas be if we gave up our own wants and desires and gave to others instead?

My parents gave us an early Christmas present today. Today they gave a fruit tree to a family in Haiti in our names. I can pretty much gaurantee this will be the best Christmas present we give or receive this year!

This was idea #73.

Bake an Extra Dozen

Giving Day 21

Idea #52-Bake an extra Dozen

Today we were the ones given a gift.

But, I thought it was worth writing about since it kinda went along with the book. In this idea its suggested you go ahead and bake an extra dozen (or two) goodies when you're baking. Then, give them away to a new neighbor or family friend!

A friend of ours invited us (the kids and me), and some other friends, over to decorate Christmas cookies today.  She made lots and lots of sugar cookies and had a fabulous set up for the kids to decorate their hearts out. They had a blast being creative with the icing and goodies. And, eating a cookie or two in the midst of it all. ;)

Now, with the cookies the girls made they can give them away to someone else here in the next few days!

Sorry we've been absent the past few days. We've been battling sickness off and on for the past week.

A Reality Check

Giving Day 17
(posted a day late)
Idea (this isn't in the book)- Give a reality check

Christmas is next week. We've finished our shopping and don't have to worry about the 'holiday rush' in the shopping sense anymore this year. I found myself getting caught up in the frenzy of it all. Worrying over what I had left to get. I was then reminded that one reason we are going through this book this year is to step back away from the madness and embrace the reason.

We only give our kids 3 gifts each at Christmas. Then, there is 1 from Santa (yes, we do Santa. But,we don't focus on that aspect). We set the 3 gift limit about 4 years ago and have felt it was a perfect 'tradition' for our family. Jesus was given 3 gifts at His birth, so this is another way we can tie in the reason we give gifts at all. We also don't go overboard with the 3 gifts. We probably spend on our entire family what most families spend on 1 child. Derek and I don't give each other (material) gifts. Mostly because we usually can't afford to, lol. Maybe someday we will but for now we take joy in giving to our kids.

I got a little frustrated yesterday with my kids. It was time to do chores and they were grumbling. Well, the older 2 were. The babies, well...ya know. It really made me sad. Derek came home and walked into the grumbling spirit of not wanting to clean the house and take care of the things the Lord has blessed us with. This is something Derek and I have really been convicted of. Not being good stewards of what we're given.

So, we decided our kids needed a reality check.





We sat down and showed them some videos of children in Haiti. Haiti is said to be the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. It showed little boys digging in mud, hoping to find a fish or crab buried, for their dinner. The one meal that they might get to eat that day. It showed shacks where they lived in filth, by our American standards. The video showed a little boy who would cry out in hunger everyday. His mother felt helpless because there was no food to ease the boys pain. They might eat 1 time every couple days. That's. It.

Ava, our 5 year old, asked if it was real. In her little mind she couldn't even comprehend people that really live like that.

Here I sit with my 4 kids. Well fed. Well clothed. Well housed. And yet....we complain. We don't appreciate. I know my kids complain because they have seen us complain. They don't take joy in being good stewards because I, often times, have taken that same attitude.

I think we all needed that reality check last night. We gave that reality check to our kids but it was given to us as well.

After the video we sat down and talked about what we watched. Did God really want us to forget these people? What could we do to help? What could we give? We don't have tons of money but there are little things we can do for people in Haiti and people hurting here in the Dallas area. I've already been going through the house and purging it of things to give away. But, surely there's more.

The girls have been saving cans to cash in for some spending money for a trip we're going to take to visit family in Colorado this Spring. They decided instead of using that money to buy themselves more things (they don't need, but only want) they would save cans to cash in for money to add to our Giving Jar.

We thought that was a great start. But, mostly, we're just glad we can do anything. That the Lord has given to us so greatly that we can give to others.