Our Garden Starts

We planted 60 seeds so far this year. The first seeds are starting to poke above the soil. It is so fun to see them grow. This is really a first for us. In the past I have planted seeds outside or bought starts from the store. I haven't really had much luck with the seeds I planted so I mostly stuck with starts from the store, but now we are doing a lot more ourselves. It is a family project and we all work together to make the decisions and plant the seeds.

Cold weather

We got snow today. I am glad we aren't living at the homestead yet. Makes me realize how very important our stove will be. This is the stove that we want to purchase to heat our home. We will be able to use it to heat the home and to cook on while we heat the home.

We are just two weeks away from purchasing our homestead. It will be an entirely new adventure for our family. We will be building our own home, planting our gardens, and raising livestock. We have learned a lot, but this is the first time we will be putting what we have learned into practice. The kids are super excited and I hope their excitement stays through the first couple of adjustment months, especially until the cabin gets built. We still have to get the inspection on the property, but we are hopeful that everything will work out.
We will have a one room cabin for shelter (besides tents) until the cabin gets delivered in May or June. We will be doing most everything outside, but at least we will have some shelter if we need it. We are going into the summer months so it is the best time to be in tents.
We are hoping the small cabin gets finished by the end of April. We need to have the sheetrock up and the floor painted to move in.

Our solar panels

 

Carrie hanging insulation in the little cabin.

"Today I shall behave, as if this is the day I will be remembered."
-Dr. Seuss

I went to a store yesterday and bought 3 shirts. I don't normally buy shirts new at a store if I can help it, but I was buying a particular brand and was looking for something specific. I purchased the three shirts and paid $42 after taxes. I was shocked. Wow, I am use to paying no more than $4 for a shirt and that is if I splurge. I am so very very grateful we have amazing thrift stores that we can shop from so that I can cloth our family for a fraction of the cost.

A penny saved is a penny earned!

Our family loves to save money. We love going to the thrift store and finding great deals on clothes and other items, but mostly on clothes. Today we got some great deals, but I am mostly excited that we got some jeans in great condition for my 3 year old son for $1 a pair. Super excited!!! So I just had to share.

I can see the change in her countenance. She is so much more sure of herself. I love her so much. I am so grateful she has this opportunity for growth at this time in her life.

Today is a new day and I am excited about the future. For those who need a great free website for getting out of debt. I use this website to help me plan paying off debt. It has helped a lot. The last debt that I have is going to take some time (student loans), but I can see how much extra payments affect the pay off date.

I don't have a chest full of gold to pay off my debt, but I have an amazing family and my goal is to get through the next few years of paying off my debt while letting my family know how amazing they are and how much I love them. I don't want to pass on my financial stress to them. That is my goal. How I will accomplish that is still a work in progress.

I have decided that I feel like this yo yo when it comes to my diet and my debt. I don't seem to be making any progress or going anywhere. Both my debt and my extra weight seem to just hang around. Sometimes they go up and down, but that is just about all they do. I think I need to figure out why I can't seem to make the progress I would like to make if I hope to make any real progress.

Goal update

This month we are not making the progress that we want to on our student loans, however we are paying with cash for 3 kids to be in college classes at community colleges. My sister laughed and joked with me saying, "I hope we pay off our college before I start paying on my kids college." I love my sister she helps keep things fun for me. I guess it would be nice if I had my college paid off first, but at least we are starting a new legacy here of paying for school without going into debt. I am teaching my children that debt is to be avoided whenever it is possible, so even though I am off to a late start with my financial goals I am moving forward avoiding debt.

I had to admit I am behind with learning new recipes too so today I need to break out the beans and try a new bean recipe.

Today may be a Dave Ramsey day. I might need to listen to his show for a few hours to get on fire again about getting rid of our debt.