"Carbon Foot Print" of a Large Family

I've been hearing over and over again about the carbon foot print of a person. Some environmentalists attack large families and call for fewer children to be born in order to decrease this "carbon foot print". Some large families may have a larger foot print per person than smaller families, but I don't see that is the norm. Here is my proof:

Traditionally the more children you have the less money you can afford to spend on each child. This leads to some frugal and yet environmentally friendly behaviors. Here are just a few examples:

*hand-me-down clothes and shoes

*clothe diapers

* the use of reusable plates and cups instead of buying paper or plastic

* not buying individually wrapped grocery items and instead buying in bulk

* not eating out in restaurants (this saves on Styrofoam, plastic utensils, and paper products)

* having three or four children bath together

* All laundry loads are large loads (saves water and electricity)

* using wood burning stoves for heat (because there are enough hands to cut and carry wood)

* large garden to supply veggies (this saves on cost and the amount of cans a family buys)

*Canning ones own veggies and reusing glass jars

*Having a compost pile

*Raising chickens for eggs and then butchering for meat

*Eating up all left overs (with that many mouths to feed someone is going to eat it!)

*All sharing the same TV, radio, DVD player, CD player means less electricity per person

*the use of one vehicle to move 10 people means less gas per person

*make own laundry soap (less plastic containers and waste as well as harmful chemicals) *reusing bikes, scooters and toys

*reusing large yogurt, butter, and other plastic containers before recycling them

*recycling aluminum cans for extra cash

These are just some of the few ways that my family is being "environmentally friendly" just by being frugal. So to all the nay-sayers and environmental whack jobs trying to control the population, back off! My family is doing our part just by being frugal!

Update on Easter week and Divine Mercy Sunday

It's been over a week since I posted anything and for good reasons. We've been crazy busy with school work, celebrating Easter week, bed shopping, doctor visits, the Divine Mercy novena, a women's conference, a visit from Aunt Susan, and a First Communion Mass. What a busy week. Overall, a very blessed week, with a few worst moments of all time thrown in there.

Since Aunt Susan was coming for a visit, we crammed nearly a whole week's worth of school work into two days, but it was worth it so that the kids could spend more time with their aunt. We celebrated Easter week by attending Mass nearly everyday. (The only Mass celebrated on Mondays around here is at noon and about a 30 minute drive away. We were so wiped out from the weekend excitement that it became apparent that Mass was not an option that late in the day.)

While Aunt Susan was in town she watched the kids quite a bit for me. What a blessing that was! I was able to get the oil changed in the van, go grocery shopping ALONE, and shop for a new bed with dear hubby! We found an incredible deal on our bed because we were willing to take the floor model that had only been there about 5 months. It was TemperPedic and we saved over $1,000! All we had to do was wash the cover! Well worth the savings. Aunt Susan also watched the kids while I had my O.B. appointment. The ultrasound is set for Wednesday and the kids are so excited to find out if the baby is a boy or a girl. Of course, they are all hoping for a boy, but mostly for a healthy baby.

Saturday, I attended a Women's Conference with some 500 other women. It was refreshing to here some really holy priests and lay women speak. I was encouraged and challenged at the same time. It was a very long day, but well worth it.

I was able to finish the Divine Mercy novena again this year and feel so grace filled and at peace now that it is over. On Divine Mercy Sunday, I was not able to go to a Divine Mercy service because my Faith Formation class made their First Holy Communion that afternoon. What a privilege to know that I had some small part in helping to form their understanding of our Lord in the Eucharist! The kids were very well behaved and did a great job with all the Mass readings and songs.

Unrelated to the First Communion kids, I had some really bad moments when I exchanged words with our priest and the pastoral associate about some liturgical "enhancements" (as they called them) for the Mass. Enough about that, though. But prayer on the subject would be appreciated. Thanks.

Northern Vacation

Our trip to Northern Indiana was very long this time because of so many stops. I planned ahead this time and purposely chose a few locations we've always wanted to see up close. Our first stop was the Russel Stover's Chocolate Outlet in Seymour, IN. The kids were in candy heaven! I couldn't believe how many choices and how costly some chocolates can be. The wonderful thing about this outlet, though, are the "Bloopers". They taste just as great as the originals, but aren't perfect in appearance. We got 3lbs of assorted Chocolate for $4.99! If you are crazy about chocolate and are driving on interstate 65, I highly recommend you stop at Seymour, IN and check out the Russel Stover's chocolate outlet. Yum, yum, give me some, please!

After that we made a very unusual stop at McDonald's for a sundae and then off to a nearby Rest Area. The kids were able to run off some of the candy and ice cream before we headed off to see the home of Garfield and James Dean, in Fairmont, IN. We saw lots of memorabilia from movies, books, and magazines for James Dean. The kids picked out a pretty cool magnet for Paw-paw that had two pictures of James Dean. When we finally gave it to Paw-paw he was very grateful. While in Fairmont, we also stopped at the VFW post where the kids were able to get their pictures next to a helicopter, airplane, tank, and very large boat propeller. That was probably their second favorite part of our trip, after the candy outlet.

Lots of fun thus far, but much more to come as we are planning to visit museums, ride horses, go to Mass at the cathedral, target shoot, bowl, roller skate, and much, much, more. I'll try to post new pictures each night. God bless.

Aunt Susan's Visit

Aunt Susan arrived safely back in the U.S. after visiting India for two weeks. Shortly after coming home, she came to visit us and show us her pictures from her trip. The kids were really impressed with the Taj Mahal, but even more excited when Aunt Susan told them she brought back gifts. A small hand carved vase, a wooden elephant, and an Indian flag were great gifts, but the best were the pieces of fabric. The kids have spent hours wrapping themselves up and saying they are wearing sari's or that they are a king or queen. Of course, the blue fabric has been used to portray the Blessed Mother, as well. Our little toddler fell in love with the bright green fabric. These pictures are of them dressing up just before going to bed, so if you see pajamas peaking through you know why.

Aunt Susan also attended our First Friday activities while she was here. We didn't have a very big crowd this month, but the kids seemed to enjoy themselves. They talked about St. Patrick, made a shamrock that represented the Holy Trinity, created paper flutes, and then watched a short play about St. Patrick. We were able to attend First Friday Mass with Aunt Susan and the kids behaved very well with the help of another adult. It is amazing what an extra pair of hands can do. I am so glad that Aunt Susan was able to visit.

It was a little selfish of me, but I took the opportunity Saturday night to go out with my sister to eat and do some shopping. While we were out, I got my hair cut, found some maternity clothes for the summer months, and picked up some shirts for Dear Hubby. All in all, a very good night. We got a lot accomplished in a very short time. I love it when my sister comes to town. She's my favorite sister...oh, that's right, she is my only sister! Love you Susan!

Shopping For Christmas:

This year I am doing way more shopping online than ever before. I did a little the other day with Wal-mart's site to store deal. I now have my four nephews and four nieces marked off my list. Yeah!!! My favorite site right now is Land's End. Hear me out! Before you get ahead of your self, and think I am spending a fortune, just listen. They have been holding a St. Nick pick each day. It just so happened that the day I was shopping for a coat and boots for myself. They had a style from last year on clearance in the overstock department and then it was on sale that day. I also had a promotional code that made the shipping free. I was able to search through the overstocks and find the kids some really high quality shoes for the same price (if not cheaper) than I could find at Wal-mart! I was so happy! God had answered my prayers. I really had been stressing about how we were going to get the kids new shoes, since our clothing budget has been shot for the past two-three months.
Today, I received my coat, my boots, and the kids' shoes in the mail. I am really impressed with the quality. Land's End also sent along another promotion code to get $20 off my next order. Little did I know that the exact boots I was going to order for the kids are on sale today, $6.50 less than if I would have ordered the other day. And on top of that I will be getting the $20.00 off! I love that site. You have to check out their overstocks if you are looking to find a great deal. Happy hunting!