Anna also had too much fun playing with Shadow, the new kitten that grandma and grandpa, and Chels and Gill nursed back to health after being abandoned by her mother. Since Shadow came along, all Anna asks for is a REAL "titten" that can really say "Meow" and that she can feed real food to! Anna always tells us that when she gets bigger and we get a new house with a fence and a gate, then she can have her real kitten! I have never seen a child sooo in love with a cat as Anna is!
Wednesday night, all the girls went to the movie and saw "Twilight". We all loved it (despite some bad reviews from many) and we all can't wait to see the second movie. It is crazy to try and judge a movie from the book. There is no way a movie producer can put everything into the movie that was in the book. With that being said, the movie was great, I enjoyed it thoroughly, and I LOVED having a night out without my kids!
After Thanksgiving was over, Russ and I were ready to get to bed somewhat early for Russ's mom is the queen of shopping on the morning after Thanksgiving! Seriously! She woke us up at 4:30 A.M. whispering fervently that we must hurry, for we had five minutes to be out of there and into Wal*Mart! We sluggishly got out of our nice warm bed and headed out into the crazy cold to fight off the crazed shoppers who seem to think it is worth it to be standing in line at 4 in the morning for a couple packs of pajamas! I think the worst fights we've seen yet are in the aisle of the pajamas! Come on people....it's just pajamas!!!! BUT....I can't say much, for I have been shopping at 4 in the morning for that last four or five years! Russ's mom had a plan all worked out, a mission impossible, that we successfully completed again this year! Afterwards, we sit in the living room, eating our leftover pie, and laugh about the crazy stories each person had. Then off we go back to our beds for a few more hours of sleep before the sun rises!
We had such a great week, and we especially loved being with family. There is nothing better. There is no greater gift we could give to our children than to allow them to make memories with family. Too many parents think they need to spend hundreds of dollars on their children every year, on every holiday, buying them this toy and that toy, something always bigger and better than what they already have. It is ridiculous! What are we teaching our children? That "things" will make them happy? That all these "things" will help them make more friends, be more liked, have more prestige and power in the world? Some people feel like that is how they show their children that they love them....by buying them more "things". It is a difficult and confusing time we live in today. It is too easy to get caught up in the unimportant ways of the world.
Having a husband as a student and raising two young children, it leaves Russ and I with little to spend on "things". I am sooooo grateful we are in the situation we are! We have had to really find out what IS most important to us. We sit in our tiny apartment, with the little that we do have, and cannot watch so many others who have so much more than we do, and not wonder how they can waste so much on such needless things.
I often wish someone could live a month in my shoes and realize all that I sacrifice, understand how hard it is and how hard I work each and everyday! Russ and I hardly ever eat out....I'm talking once a month....maybe twice...some months not at all! We cannot just go and buy our children clothes because there is a sale, buy them a toy just for fun, or buy ourselves something every once in awhile. Our kids wear the same clothes every week, the same shoes every day! They get new ones when the old ones wear out or are too small. That's it! We are trying to raise our children to know that just because they go to a store, it doesn't mean they get something. We try to teach our children that you work for something first and then you gain the reward, that they are expected to be obedient and they don't need a reward for every little deed. Rewards like appreciation, praise, hugs, encouragement, and time are what children need more and yet never get enough of.
The funny thing is that I bet if many people read what I just posted, they would think that Russ and I were unhappy. How can someone be happy with so little? I guess that's our little secret! We are sooo happy. It is all the things that money cannot buy that adds to our lives together. Granted, one day we look forward to Russ being done with school and making a higher wage! We look forward to the day when we can buy a house, feel less stress from our tight financial budget, have the opportunity to be able to actually have a great food storage, to put money away in savings for our children and their future, and to be able to give to others a portion of what has been given to us so far. We make the sacrifices now so that we might reap those blessings later. We live within our budget now so that we can live within our means later. They always say that bad habits die hard. Have you heard about this worldly culprit called debt? We have been warned so many times about the dangers of debt. Debt is pulling down too many good people in this world! I am so glad that Russ and I have resisted countless times the temptation to buy now(when we didn't have the money) and pay later. It is hard at times, but we have no burdens upon our shoulders, weighing us down because of credit card debt. We sacrifice now so that we might enjoy the blessings later.
We came home after a week of being with the best family in Pocatello and feel so good to know that our children were able to spend that much more time with their grandparents and other wonderful family members....building memories. We hope our children remember these moments and remember someday that the value of our lives doesn't come from a big paycheck, a fancy car or house, or lots of toys and things! In the end, that is all they will remember, that they were just "things". And what can they reap from that? What memories do you want your children to have? Memories of all the time they spent playing with their things....or countless memories with grandpa in the backyard, swinging and picking plums, sitting on the couch with grandma reading a stack of stories, making gingerbread houses with all the cousins, riding on grandpa's knee playing "trot a little horsey", building forts out of blankets, actually pretending and imagining, singing songs with the piano or guitar, or simply taking a walk collecting rocks and sticks and seeing them as the greatest "treasures" a person could possess. I think we owe our children at least all the things money cannot buy. No one has the excuse of saying "I can't afford that." The decisions we make today concerning our children will be the decisions that will help to shape our children's lives and who they will become.
"Sacrifice is and always has been the essence of motherhood" ..Shouldn't that mean something?
4 comments:
Amber, you are such an example to me! I hope that I can be as wondeful a wife and mother that you are! I often think about how incredible you are and how much you amaze me. I remember before you and Russ were married, you ate lunch at Cold Stones everyday and had fun spending your money. How much you've changed and grown! You are somebody I will always strive to be like!! Thank you for your thoughts, they always uplift me! Love you guys so much!!
Sounds like you guys had a fun visit. It's nice to have a break every now and then. I totally feel ya on the spending stuff. I think we talked once about just living in a home somewhere our families can fit. That's all you need.
I sure love your wedding picture on your page, by the way! It's so pretty.
You are the best at expressing feelings that we all feel! I loved this post. And can I just say, you made me feel so homesick. I mean, soooooooooooooo much. I miss you guys. Love you!
you always have great advice to give.
I can't believe you went to Black Friday shopping, I think we banned that our house it is just too crazy for us, after we had to work it.
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