Monday, November 17, 2008
can i be serious for a moment? i know that's not my normal M.O. but bare with me. i've been really stressed lately because i have no idea where i'm going to come up with money for christmas. with four kids and a huge family, that's stressful. i'm the kind of person who lies awake at night and obsesses about it. today i watched a documentary about poverty in america. they followed three families and their daily struggles. one of the families had five children and lived in a shack with no running water or electricity. both parents would go out each day looking for manual labor or odd jobs to buy food. neither had a high school diploma or car so there was little else they could do. it broke my heart. here i am worrying how i will buy my kids christmas presents, when people all over my own country are going to bed wondering if they will be able to feed their children tomorrow. or worse yet, worrying because they couldn't feed them today. i looked around my house and realized how very blessed i am. while i like to complain that we have six people in a two bedroom, one bathroom house; there are people who would weep to have this house. i have heat, electricity, water (clean water), clothes, food, gasoline, two cars, and so many toys that we live in constant danger of breaking a leg if we get up during the night. i have a marriage that gets better every year. i have four beautiful, healthy children. every day when i wake up i know that my kids will have a three healthy meals and warm clothes to wear. i have awesome parents and in laws. i have a big family who loves one another and supports each other through anything and everything. i attend a church full of people that are like a second family. my husband has a good job, health insurance and a pension. i am able to sacrifice luxuries so i can stay home and raise my children. i am so incredibly blessed. i just needed to say that.
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6 comments:
I agree with you about wanting more and then realizing that you have more than the average person. I wish we relied on credit cards less. I think credit gives you a sense that you have more than you actually have.
As for gift giving, I give what I can afford to friends and extended family. I have had situations where friends have spent more on me than I have on them. I look at it as a personal choice issue.
several years ago, we decided to live debt free. we paid off all of our credit cards and car payments and cut the cards up. so now we have no credit cards. although this is definitely a good thing for us, this time of year i wish we had one! it would make things easier. then i could just get what i need and pay it off over the next few months. i try not to stress about it, but we both have large families. its not i feel obligated to buy for them, it's that i want to! i have so many awesome people in my life, i just want to bless them the way they bless me:) but that show was a good reality check for me!
What a beautiful post! Sounds like you are truly blessed each and every day!
My older children would tell you now that they remember the excitement of the day. The family and friends that would come over and the food! The gifts that they do remember are ones that we made for each other.
We still have two at home and they are asking what we can make to give this year.
What a beautiful post! AND what a beautiful blog! Thank you for sharing this.
Christmas can get so stressful. I realized last year, my child, would be just as happy with 10 dollar store presents as he would be with a big humungous thing from Toys R Us. This year, at age 8, he does really want a Nintendo DS but it is the first time he has actually wanted something specific.
I am going to pray that God sends some blessings your way so you will be able to do something special for the kids.
I also think you must be part super hero to live in a 2 bedroom house with 6 people. HOLY CANOLI I am impressed : ).
We have 3 bedrooms and I want a baby(or 6) to put in the third bedroom...Your baby, and all your others, are splendidly sweet : ).
I like this post. We are incredibly blessed. we, too, are living debt-free, minus the mortgage. We only use the credit card for what we know we can pay off that month. However, Daddy Mo got laid off two weeks ago, which sucks anytime that happens, but especially sucks when you are about to enter the holiday season. I am so sticking to a budget this year because I am terrified of running out of money in the future : (.
thanks for the encouragement! after watching this show, i was really humbled by how blessed i am. the family i described really broke my heart. my husband has a really good job with only a high school diploma. i as able to put myself through college working two jobs and come out of it debt free. (you cannot incure when you're getting a social work degree, you'll never make enough to pay it back :) my kids will be thrilled with whatever they get, they just love Christmas! mommy mo, i'm praying that your husband finds a new job SOON! we don't want that sweet baby of yours to lose any of his chub LOL
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