Budgeting

  To save enough money to be able to buy a few acres debt free will of course require a lot of determination, and self control -  Self control not to spend on wants and determination to try and reduce our needs. A budget helps. We usually have a fortnightly budget because Andrew gets paid fortnightly.

Andrews scrapbooking

  I make a list of all our weekly, fortnightly and monthly expenses, and break it down into fortnightly payments. I always pay bills first and put money away for quarterly and annual bills. What is left over after putting savings away is our 'slush fund' so to speak. Money we can use for luxuries, in our case usually craft supplies. By having a few dollars left over, and it doesn't have to be a lot,  it helps with the saving process.

Kate and Emily

 Instead of feeling like every single spare dollar needs to get put away, we know that we can still do our hobbies, still create beautiful things which is very important to us. We have always been a creative family, and to lose that over a block of land would not be right.

Benji

  We live fairly simply already, so our expenditures are not too huge, but having a large family means that bills like water and electricity are high and seem to be getting higher! and of course feeding a large family also takes a lot of money.

 As hard as I try, I don't seem to be able to reduce our water or electricity consumption. We don't have  tank water, nor do we have solar power, so we are totally reliant on town supplies of both.  But groceries I can manipulate. By shopping differently, cooking more simple meals, buying in bulk and directly from farmers I can save money and often the quality of our food is better.

Jake and Nick

  But all this takes more time on my part, and that is something I have noticed over the last little while, trying to live a more simple lifestyle, trying to save money all requires a lot more work. It is so easy to buy what we need, making it is more time consuming and difficult.

Beth and Jess

But isn't that part of the adventure of life,  working hard and making life beautiful.

  Jenny

Saving while renting?

Is it possible to save for a place of our own while still paying rent?

  We have been renting for about 8 years now and although I am grateful that we have a roof over our heads ( and 2 bathrooms), it would be lovely to have our own place! A place where we don't have to ask permission to do anything, where I can hang pictures, or paint if I want to. Where I can have our dog inside and a cow outside. And more room for the children to run around in.

  So Andrew and I have decided that for the next 18 months we are going to try and save enough for some land.

 We are a one income family. When we had our children we decided that I would stop working and become a permanent homemaker. While this works for the family and the children and Andrew like having me at home, financially it can be difficult especially with debt.

 Debt can be the killer of savings.  With debt there is often no option for saving because all our money is already earmarked.

  When we married we had a mortgage,  credit card debts and a personal loan. Financially we were drowning, so we made some tough choices. We sold the house, payed off all our loans and cut up our credit cards. We now have a "cash on the barrel" philosophy as Pa Ingalls would say.  As hard as it has been it has also been wonderful. We don't owe anyone, but if we want to buy something, especially big ticket items, we have to wait or go without.

 So when it comes to saving for land, while it is a possibility it is also going to take much sacrifice from all of us. We are going to have to set a strict budget and stick to it. I am going to try and save money on the groceries by cooking more from scratch and making more cleaning products. Christmas may be a little simpler and we won't have as much discretionary income for our craft supplies. But the end result will be wonderful. We will have our own piece of land and will be able to start homesteading in earnest.


 Jenny

Autumn canning

  Autumn is the busiest of seasons in the kitchen. Canning and preserving are in full swing with apples to dry for my homemade muesli  and to can for apple pies and crumbles

 come winter. Tomatoes are made into Passata, tomato sauce and BBQ sauce.   Capsicums and chilli's become Capsicum relish. This spicy relish comes from a friend of mine who has been making it for years. It has become a firm family favourite.

                                                       Capsicum Relish.

  Cut up: 1 lb capsicum
               2 cooking apples
               3 or 4 hot chillies
             
Add:      2 cups sugar
              1 tsp salt
              1 cup apple cider vinegar ( any vinegar could be used)
              1/2 cup water.

Boil till tender and bottle.


I love going to my pantry and seeing all my hard work put up in jars, and knowing that I am a little closer to living a more self-sufficient life. The dream is to one day grow most of our food, and supply most of our needs for ourselves. This will probably be a long time coming, so for now I am taking baby steps. Preserving what I can, from produce either grown by me or locally.

                                                      Tomato Sauce

                                                             
                                                              BBQ Sauce

                                                            Flowers from Andrew

Parenting with Grace

Monday night is Girls Brigade night, and for the 2hrs that my girls are busy, I meet with a few other  mums to listen to christian speakers.

My Brigaders  

Last year we listened to James Dobson from Focus on the Family, interview different people on various topics, from parenting to motherhood to being a wife.

This year it is Essentials of Parenting (Raising kids with a faith that lasts). One of the topics is Grace Filled Parenting. I grew up up a fairly legalistic family, many rules to live by, many do's and dont's, but not much compassion, forgiveness or grace. So when I hear the term "grace filled parenting', I immediately think permissive parenting. 

Listening to Dr Tim Kimmell speak made me realise that parenting with grace is not letting our kids get away with everything, rather it is modelling Gods attributes for our children. Living out His love, mercy, forgiveness in front of our children so they can see how He wants us to live in this world. Our society needs to see Gods love, His mercy, graciousness, forgiveness - all His attributes at work in us, and the home is a fabulous practice ground for this. 

My default position is to go back to the way that I was raised. It is so hard to get out of that mindset, but I don't want children to think that my love is conditional, that my motherhood is just a list of rules. I want my children to have a heart for God and to see God through me. It is a good thing we have a big God who can work through the lowliest of people. 

Every day life

God has placed me in very green pastures and  life is very good. One of my favourite verses in the bible comes from Isaiah.

            He tends his flock like a
              shepherd
            He gathers the lambs in His
              arms
            and carries them close to his
              heart
            He gently leads those that have young.

                                   Isaiah 40:11


 With as many little ones as I have, life can get very chaotic at times and I love knowing that God watches over me, I have a place in His heart.  No matter what happens God is completely trustworthy, and whether it is needing a place to live, my husband needing a job, or all the children coming down with Gastro within  days of each other, He is in control. That is not to say that I wont be exhausted or sad at times, or that tough stuff wont happen. But when it does God is there.

This morning, the kids and I walked to the park to get rid of some of the energy that seems to abound in young children.

 

     They had fun.

We then did some school work

      and they are still having fun!

And after so much work and play, of course it is time for lunch. I make a very simple bread for our daily loaf. I have tried Sour dough but I am having trouble finding a recipe that we all like. I think it is an acquired taste. 

This bread is super easy! All I do is place some water and milk in my mixer, add yeast, a little honey and a little salt. Then comes some bread flour, enough to make a sticky dough. I let the mixer knead it for me for about 5 minutes and then leave the dough to rise. After about 2 hours I split the dough in half,  pop it into tins and let it rise for another 45 minutes. Then into the oven to cook and we have lovely fresh bread for lunch. 

RUGS

 One of my latest crafts is rug making. When I was younger I tried hooked rug making but found it too slow and tedious.

 Recently I discovered a type of knotted rug that goes by the name of toothbrush rugs, or pencil rugs.  It is basically a crochet type knot that doesn't need a hook, just a pencil.  It is so easy to do, and comes together really quickly, which suits my personality beautifully.

  They look good, don't they?

  God Bless,

  Jenny

SPRING

 Well spring has finally sprung down here in the Southern Hemisphere. The days are  getting longer and warmer, although our nights are still very cold. The chickens are starting to lay more beautiful free- range eggs, and I have been busy  cleaning! Isn't it funny how the end of winter stirs the need to refresh the house, to wash down walls, and make the windows sparkle? Even the fridge got a spring clean.

  In recent years I have tried to use more natural cleaners in our home.   The effect that so many chemicals in our everyday cleaners, can have on my children is worrying. Their  skin absorbs  these chemicals a lot more readily than adults, and only now does science seem to be discovering the damage they can do to our bodies. But I always thought that natural, more old-fashioned cleaners were not as effective. So I began  with good old common vinegar. I have used it to clean my windows and mirrors, and it does a good job. I have found that wiping with old terry nappies works well, and doesn't leave any streaks, which is aways nice :)

  I then tried Bicarb of Soda (baking soda) on my oven. I made a paste, and slathered it all over the inside of the oven, left it for a few minutes, and then took a gentle scourer and scrubbed gently. Now my oven has not been cleaned for a good long time ( to long to mention really) and I do cook the occasional roast in winter, so it was fairly dirty. It took some work, but the bicarb removed a lot of the more cooked on food, and left the oven reasonably clean.  Possibly not as quick and easy as Mr Muscle  would work, but with none of the fumes or chemicals either.

  I wipe down my walls and kitchen cupboards with sugar soap. I haven't discovered a replacement yet, but I am looking.

  I am thrilled that some natural cleaners do work. It seems silly now to buy chemically laden products, and I wonder why I did so for so many years, but it is hard to change what you know sometimes, isn't it?


  God Bless,

  Jenny