Below Your Means

Yes, I am about to talk about our "Little Shoe" (aka our small house) once again.  I know... I know... I know...  I am probably beating this topic to death!  However, I am going to write about it again for two primary reasons.  First, this post will lay the foundation for the next few posts that I am planning on writing.  Secondly, during this summer, God reminded me that we are blessed by what we have and why.

This was my first official summer as a mom of four.  With that new journey, I realized this summer how small our house really can feel sometimes.  There are times we really do feel like we are on top of each other when we live in a townhouse that is only 1280 square feet with little to no true yard.  Some days a little elbow room would be so nice!  I do look forward to the day that we are able to have more space and spread out!  However, now is not the time.  We are to stay right where we are currently.

Sure, more space for storage and elbow room would be nice; and a larger yard for all four of my kids to play in would be totally awesome.  And yes, there are days that I really get tired of cramming things, and trying to find room for things as I am also almost always having to move more than one object around just to get to the desired item needed.  I do have moments when I grumble.  There are times where the noise volume in our little space with six people can get rather intense, but this is the house that God provided for us.

It does get old when I hear people complain about how small their house feels for less people when their house is already larger than mine!  I also get tired of people who brag on FB about how big and spacious and great their house is, especially when again, they have less bodies living in it than I do mine.  And sure, Scot and I are commonly asked about when we plan on moving and how we manage.  We often see people's mouths drop wide open when they hear how many of us are crammed into such a small house.

Just last week, I was asked twice about our living arrangements--how we do it and when do we plan on moving.  For the first time all summer, I took pride with what I had to say and what I said about our house.  First, we make it work!  And I am more determined than ever!  Secondly, Scot and I have discussed it all, and we are finally on the same page in regards to this house; and our plans, and time frame for our next house.  Thirdly, it has been wrong of me to speak ill of the house that not only God has provided, but what my husband has provided us as well.  Lastly, there is just something about living below our means that has intrigued me.  It makes me feel comfortable!  We are not living paycheck to paycheck anymore!  For the first time, I have been able to list the positive reasons as to why we have chosen to remain in this house for a bit longer.

We are continuing to get our finances at a point that we will be able to hold two mortgages at the same time as long as no earth shattering event occurs!  We are not living paycheck to paycheck anymore, and there is freedom in that!  We have emergency funds set up for when life happens; and we didn't used to have that ability to have such things, and plan for the future.  We are able to easily allow our kids to have extra curricular activities, and the ability to vacation in ways we never thought we would ever be able to do.  We also now have the ability to bless others when we feel God's leading!  We are paying down our debt much faster than I ever thought possible!  And we can shop and do things with out sweating, and chewing our nails as much! 

For example, time was slipping away from us the last few weeks, and with four kiddos now, it was a big project to do school supply shopping and Autumn clothes shopping as well.  With life and busy schedules, we had to make it happen quick!  So with in the last three weeks we got it done--school supplies and clothes.  Unlike years past, I didn't spend time searching sales and consignment shops.  This time we pulled out some clothes and items we already had, and the went on a total BLITZ shopping spree!  We went to very few stores, and crossed out items off our lists.  And although we didn't break the bank doing it, we definitely didn't worry about breaking the bank either!

Scot and I are more determined now than ever to make this house work for a bit longer, because we see the freedom in it!  There is just something about living below your means!

I have been doing our seasonal clothes sorting and shifting; and in doing so, Scot and I have made improvements, and will be making more improvements, with our organization and storage and more!  I have even taken some photos!  With that said, I will be posting what we have done and what we will be doing, with in the next few weeks!  I will also continue to show you all how we make our small space work!  So be on the look out! 

It's Official!

It's official!  We have stepped into the whole new world of traveling as a large family!  And our vacation to the beach last week made that even more real to me!

Yep, gone are the days of just traveling with everything piled in our mini van!  We have now entered the world of traveling with luggage and gear on top of the van now!  We simply don't have the room on the inside of our van anymore for long trips and summer vacations. 

I wish that I took a picture of all the things we took to the beach--the huge piles throughout our house.  It was quite something!  I honestly didn't think that everything was going to fit!  Between baby gear, food, clothes, beach tents and umbrella, beach chairs, pool/beach toys, scooters, etc., we had to finally succumb to the fact that packing the van up by itself was simply not enough!  So Scot went out and bought a cargo carrier for the top of the Odyssey.

I still didn't think that everything was going to fit, but Scot kept insisting that it all would!  And it did!  He was right!

So traveling as a large family, requires stepping out into the world of your vehicle roof top, and the skills of a gifted packer!

Cheers to the new way this large family travels!