Busy times!

Wow! What a crazy, busy day! I am exhausted!!! As I sit down on the computer thinking about the day, I started to think about the time in our lives when we had really small children and I was a stay at home mom. I remember being so poor and not having an extra cent to our name. In many ways, life is still like that lol, but we have definitely come a long way! I remember scouring the couch cushions for change and having to ask my parents once for a few dollars so that I could buy a jug of milk. I definitely had to swallow my pride in that moment. I remember waiting desperately for it to be payday and being so thankful when it finally came! As I think about those times, I also remember how I was willing to do almost ANYTHING to bring in a few extra dollars for the family. I used to read the newspaper like crazy, trying to find any work that I could do from home. I once came across an ad for stuffing envelopes. I remember reading it and thinking, this must be too good to be true! I don't know if I was desperate, or naive; maybe I was a bit of both but I convinced Matt to let me send $100.00 to order this package. At the time, $100.00 was a lot of money for us to spend! I waited anxiously everyday for the mail to come. I could not wait for this to arrive! I really thought that I could do this and I could really make a lot of money! The day finally came when the package arrived! I sat down and opened it with such anticipation and excitement. Was I ever disappointed when I saw what was inside! Basically, the whole concept of stuffing envelopes involved a lot of mailing out stuff things for people to buy; including homemade jewelry. It definitely was not just stuffing envelopes and getting paid for it. I was heart broken to say the least and kind of felt taken! When I look back on the memory, though it makes me laugh! I love how I truly believed that I could do this! I loved how I trusted what the ad said in the newspaper, never believing that the advertisement was completely false!!! I love how Matt agreed to let me try! I love how, when telling a friend about it, who was also a stay at home mom, she said that she did the same thing!!! Too funny! I wonder how many other stay at home moms attempted to bring in some extra cash by stuffing envelopes? I wonder if anyone actually made any money doing it?

                                         
                                           A picture of the kids when they were small!

We're now at a stage in our lives where I no longer have to look for odd jobs like that. We still have to work hard for our money and we still wait anxiously for payday. We have bills like crazy, a mortgage, school to pay for, sports...you know, the everyday costs of life! I love looking back on the memories of the early days and the many different things we tried just so that I could stay home! Some of the ideas were crazy, some of them worked, most of them didn't, but it lead us to where we are today!