Changes

We've had a very busy fall.  In fact it was so busy, that Christmas was over before it even began.  Everything was scheduled so close together, that I was spending at least 3 nights out a week.  We had concerts to perform at, dinners to go to, church activities, and homeschool activities...and it didn't help that Erik picked up a part time job along the way.  Our home renovations basically ground to a halt during that time, and stuff started to pile up and take over our rebuilt area.  We used to store everything in Emily's bedroom, since she was away at school, but the week before she returned home for the holidays, we had to move it all into the mudroom.  There came a point where I just couldn't function anymore and I was ready to tear my hair out.  Too much stuff!
I am now in the process of trying to declutter.  At the same time, Bob and I have started a regualr time of devotions.  It has really helped to calm me down.  Lately, we have been wanting to store more food and have found an interesting program (which we are modifying to suit our life) where you spend an extra $5.00 a week, to build up emergency food stores.  Now, in case you are getting the wrong idea, I should clarify here that in no way are we becoming survivalists, nor can we put stock in stuff we accumulate to keep us "safe".  Only God alone can do that.  However, we have been feeling the need to be better stewards of what we have, and since we live out in the country and tend to have really bad blizzards and Bob does work a job that can be prone to occasional lay-offs, it would be nice to have a fully stocked pantry.  The last time Bob was laid off, we had quite a few groceries already, so we didn't need to buy anything except milk, eggs, cheese and lettuce, until he got his first unemployment cheque.  Since these cheques can take quite a while to come, it was a comfort not worrying about food.  I am also planning on doing a lot more cooking from scratch, which should be healthier and better for us.