Moving Forward in 2024

Hey everyone! I feel like it’s been ages since I’ve actually had a chance to sit down and do anything productive. The past month has been super crazy busy around here and I definitely didn’t get as much done as I wanted to but LIFE happens and we are always getting thrown curveballs when we least expect them.

We did get to see some family that we haven’t seen in a while and we had a WONDERFUL time with them but it was over before we knew it and we had to say GOODBYE. We also had a WONDERFUL Christmas and we were able to complete most of the homemade gifts despite the ongoing oven issues. Bonus: I learned that I can bake in my NuWave!

Unfortunately, we did end up in bed for most of last week with the dreaded C word… not fun at all but we are on the mend now and the kids are definitely feeling better as they have been SUPER LOUD the past few days. My poor head is still hurting and so is my body but I know that this too will pass. I also hate to admit it but I was not in the best of attitudes over the past several weeks for many reasons but after reading this post about the OPPOSITE OF THE PROVERBS 31 WOMAN I am committed to making some changes.

Continue reading “Moving Forward in 2024”

Getting Ready for the Holidays Week 12 (The Week After Christmas)

We pray that your family had a wonderfully blessed Christmas holiday and that things are going well as you start the New Year. Here are some of the things we will be focused on this week:

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A Year in Review: Top Posts from 2022

We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and we pray that you have a Happy New Year! Our house is full as we’ve had some older kiddos visiting but that makes our hearts full as well so we have a good balance going on.

It’s hard to believe that this year is almost finished and a new year is about to begin. It’s definitely been an interesting year in many ways… the past couple of years have been interesting and have brought lots of hardships and trials but they have also brought us lots of unexpected blessings.

I read something earlier about letting out tears from 2022 be the seeds for 2023 and that sounds like a good idea to me. I know that 2022 has been a year of major adjustments here in our household. After spending most of 2021 in the hospital with Shyanne and away from our family, it has been quite an adjustment for everyone. I’ve also been dealing with some health issues but hopefully, I am on the way to getting better. It’s been a tough year for sure and it’s definitely been a struggle to get this far but we survived and I have faith that next year will be even better!

Continue reading “A Year in Review: Top Posts from 2022”

Starting the New Year Off Right with Bill Organization!

These are a couple of older posts but the information still holds true and I am still using those printables… last year I didn’t print off a new set and things got a little confusing as I was trying to just ‘reuse’ the old ones but I’ve already printed out my new ones for 2023 so I can get a head start.

I also went ahead and wrote down the balances on any accounts that I am working on paying off so I can keep track of my progress… it feels so good to pay something off! We are slowly climbing out of debt even though we’ve had a couple of rough years. We’ve been making repairs to the house whenever we get the cash saved for a project while trying not to go into debt for anything else.

Sometimes we have to go without something for a bit or we have to wait a bit longer than anticipated but the money we save in the long run is a great bonus. With the increased costs of EVERYTHING, we need to save money every place we can!

Having all of your bills organized so you aren’t forgetting about due dates and such can save you a lot of time and money because hopefully, you won’t have as many late fees. I keep a simple pocket folder in a desk drawer with a place for my printouts and any incoming bills for easy access. It truly does make paying bills an easier process although it can still be a bit painful on the wallet.

Here are the links to the posts and printables if you want to check them out yourself!

Keeping Up With The Bills

Keeping Up With The Bills Free Printable

This also works great as a worksheet to help teach kids about budgets!

Special Holiday Meals: New Year’s Menu

Have you gotten all the supplies you need for your New Year’s meal yet? If not, you better grab them quick before they are sold out!

Here are a few of our favorite recipes for our traditional New Year’s Meal:

New Year’s Meal:

Brown Sugar & Honey Glazed Ham

Black Eyed Peas,

Greens

Hoe Cakes 

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

What are your family’s favorite recipes for the New Year? Do you have any special traditions?

Here is another post we found about the luck associated with the traditional New Year’s Meal.

Here is an older Menu Planning post for the first week of the year which has a lot of our favorite meals included!