Why You Should Be Excited if Your Child Has ADD

Is your child bent toward being an entrepreneur?  If so, encourage it! We were so inspired by this video–you’re going to love it!  Hat tip to Kathy for finding it.  (Please note that it has some mild slang language–use discretion with children.)

“I think we have an obligation as parents to start teaching our kids to fish instead of giving them a fish.”

Ah! Thank you! It’s about time somebody just says that out loud.

Very inspiring video, especially if you have boys that seem to struggle with school.

As the Family Goes, So Goes Civilization

Teach it to your children…

Family and marriage are institutions designed by God–they are not man-made.  Perhaps then, we shouldn’t be surprised that the family is becoming an enemy. Who would have ever believed there would come a time when society would be hostile to what has always been considered the basic unit of its existence?  It is why I think feminism has had the most damaging impact on our culture…because at the core, it seeks to separate family…with destruction as a result.

We have slid down a slippery slope and arrived at the belief that the basic unit of society is the INDIVIDUAL.  (Think about it for a minute…look at all the ways families are divided and the expectations that is should be so…even within the church.)  And when that is believed, the individual is very quickly lost in the state.

“Dr. Carle C. Zimmerman, Harvard University spent his life studying the history of the family.  He has pointed out the family’s significance:  that whenever the atomistic (separate, unrelated members) family develops, in which the authority of the father is no longer paramount, then there is a very quick disintegration of society, the total state takes over, and there is a radical collapse of civilization…..

With the development of the atomistic family–which is really no family at all–the home is simply a place to room and board while the state takes over the role as father–to take care of the family in its every need, providing for the children and the parents; the family no longer cares for itself; civilization collapses. ” -R.J. Rushdoony

(By the way, this paradigm does not exclude the rare single men and women not called to marriage;  all still belong to a family and have a major importance in that role.)

Listen to  Zimmerman’s conclusions:

He believed…

“..that a fundamental purpose of civilization is the empowerment and enabling of the family — and is absolutely key to the health of any civilization. … Nobody undertakes to have a large family because it’s fun, or, in advanced societies, because it’s economically beneficial. They do it because they believe that’s what people do. In other words, they believe that children are a blessing from God, and that we humans are participating in the divine will by begetting children and raising them up to carry on our civilization….

Mankind has consumed not only the crop, but the seed for the next planting as well. Whatever may be our Pollyanna inclination, this fact cannot be avoided. Under any assumptions, the implications will be far-reaching for the future not only of the family but of our civilization as well. The question is no longer a moral one; it is social.”

Building the family is the only option for surviving–slice it any way you like, our ideals and personal opinions won’t erase factual reality.

10 Ways Economic Hardship Can Benefit a Family

Prosperity equals advantage.

Do you believe that?

I am fascinated with the irony of this mentality most Americans hold dear.  Maybe even more so since I hear often, as a mother of 8, about “affording all those children“.

All of us believe, somewhere deep within, that to prosper financially puts us at an advantage. And in many ways that can be true (nor am I an advocate of “poor on purpose”).  Hey, we’re an entrepreneur family…I think of ways to make money in my sleep.

But history reveals hundreds of men and women whose very hardship catapulted them to distinction through the chiseling of character, (snatching our bosom-clutched, false assumptions right out of our hands), yet we still refuse to nod at scarcity or give it its due reward for human improvement.

Hard times can have immensely positive effects on people, families and society.

Scarcity doesn’t feel nice; maybe that’s the bottom line. But a panoramic view gives us slightly more confidence to praise the attributes of living on less.  We might be better–the whole society, it seems, was better in a less prosperous era.

From a USA News article, Americans are finding “things they can live without”.  Interestingly, when one thing is lost, another, often better thing takes its place.  Can you see from this list how prosperity so quickly robs families of important things, while a dearth can restore them?

Clutter. As Americans downsize, do more of their own cleaning, and look for stuff they can sell online, they’re discovering tons of things around the house they can get rid of…. “We keep being amazed at how having less stuff, with no deprivation, actually gives us better quality of life,” says Deborah Merchant. “We’ve gained emotional and spiritual maturity.”

Cable TV. Many people are cutting back on pay-TV services or canceling them altogether, which saves $50 to $100 a month…. Others are giving up television completely. “There’s no money for cable TV, so my Internet does me for all my news and other entertainment,” says Mariluna Martin of Los Angeles. “That’s money saved, plus no TV means no blaring of bad news, fear-mongering, ad pressures, and other unpleasantness.” Martin spends more time reading books and sipping tea at a neighborhood café. She finds that rewarding: “The changes I’ve had to make have made my life better. Things are simpler and healthier now.”

Privacy. To save on rent or mortgage payments….grown kids are moving back in with their parents….. “We have learned to enjoy a simple, cost-effective, and minimalist approach to life by developing an appreciation for nature and family,” he says. “Big, expensive toys and trips were fun before, but we really don’t need them anymore.”

Prepared foods. More people are cooking at home, and they’re doing it with fewer pre-made sauces, marinades, dressings, and other ingredients. “Moms are back to basic cooking,” says Chance Parker, a market researcher at J.D. Power & Associates. “They want to use fresh herbs and spices. It saves money, and it’s more healthy.”

Extra calories. Some Americans say they’re eating less to save money and drinking more water or doing other things to suppress their appetite.

New gifts. Regifting is a time-tested practice—but there’s always room to refine your strategy. Linda Amicucci of Tenafly, N.J., holds a “treasure party” with a group of friends after Thanksgiving every year to swap recyclable gifts.

New cars. It’s no secret that new-car sales plunged to levels 40 percent lower than the peak in 2006. But many buyers who have traded down to a used model are surprised at the quality of the merchandise.

Comfort. Thermostats all across America are going lower in winter, higher in summer.

A daily commute.  Telecommuting increased during the recession as well, and more people say they’re riding bikes or walking more to save on gas costs—or a gym membership.

Debt. Who needs it? “I have learned that it takes little time to run dangerously high credit card balances,” says Tom Poirer of Lowell, Mass., “but an inordinately long time to pay it back. I have learned to deprogram myself from the consumerist mayhem.”…We may ultimately end up with less stuff. But at least we’ll be able to afford what we have.

Can you hear it?  A country that has been (and still is) so consumer minded, so money-driven and stuff-hungry, that even these changes would sound crazy to a truly impoverished individual?

Still, I’m thankful for many lessons our family has learned and is learning by “force”, simply because affordability is not an option.  No, I don’t think we should aim to be poor; but we would do well to respect its natural improvements on our lives and not be so afraid of it.

Homemade Gifts Save Money: Washer Necklace

Alexa wanted to set up her own booth in an upcoming local Bluegrass Festival.  So we set out to find just the thing that would be cute, easy and fun.  These washer necklaces proved perfect.  We’re addicted!

I’ve decided we’ll keep these on hand for gifts too–think hostess gifts, birthday gifts, just-because gifts…

Here’s how it’s done:

Read more »

Frugal Living: The Tightwad Gazette Author, Amy Dacyczyn

“Our first child was born nine months (and fifteen minutes) after the ceremony. I set aside my career in graphic design to be a Mom. It was during this time that I discovered daytime talk shows and first heard commonly held myths expounded by intelligent audience members.

“Nowadays, a family has to have two incomes to make ends meet.”

“Nowadays, it is impossible for a young couple to get into the housing market.”

“Nowadays, families cannot afford to raise more than two children.”

As if the message could magically be shot back through the television tube, I raised my fist and shouted, “It is not true, it can be done!” And so began my quest to prove that it could be done – that it was still possible to raise a large family and buy a house without two full-time incomes….

Over the years our average income has been less than $30,000. In less than seven years we saved $49,000, made significant investment purchases (vehicles, appliances, furniture) of $38,000, and were completely debt free! That is an annual savings/investment rate of over $12,500 per year, or 43% of our gross income.”

Keeping the Home Fires Burning: Mere Survival Was Good For Society

So we got a wood-burning stove.  Our power bill has always been through the roof so a while back I suggested we get a stove, though my first suggestion had more to do with the economy collapsing and leaving us with no power…but mostly I’m optimistic.

I’ve had an epiphany through our short life with our wood heater:  the world is crazier now because everyone was too busy keeping the fire going to get into trouble before.  (That and milking the cow–a project I’m so grateful my daughter happens to love as I am not even tempted–though I love the milk–to head out in the cold at dusk to milk–“my sympathies, dear Buttercup“.)

And while my epiphany is a little in jest, mostly it’s not.  Before technology made our lives so much easier, think of all that merely surviving entailed…

This one little fire has taken center stage in our home and all the children feel equally responsible for keeping it hot enough to heat the house.  It’s a full-time job!  And boy does it eat wood!  (Of course we’re experiencing our lowest temps of the year.)  My husband is going to have to come up with some extra time in his day to cut it.  (Or I suppose he could calculate the money we should save on the electric bill and subtract that many hours from his work week )

So I cooked a pot of soup on it last night. (The kids got excited when I told them they’d have to get the fire hotter to cook the pasta.) I’m very excited about this because now I can save more money not using the stove to cook beans for hours.  My neighbor brilliantly suggested that we cook beans and rice on it frequently, saving them in the freezer just to utilize the heat.  Good thinking, Jane!

But I do seriously ponder the irony of our “improved” lives due to technology. Don’t get me wrong, I love technology.  I love hot showers when I want them, indoor toilets and all the ease of a dishwasher.  But I wonder if, on a large scale, the comforts outweigh all the repercussions of a life with so much more time on its hands; that time snowballing into a monstrous lot of negative consequences.

If we were busier–as a society–just trying to survive, I just think it would be better.  We have it all backwards so often.   *Shrug*

Food for thought.