GotchaBaby

December 16, 2013December 13, 2013

Six Ways to Cultivate Contentment, a Guest Post by the Queen of Free

Today I am so excited to share with you a guest post from my friend, Cherie Lowe. You may know her as the Queen of Free. Cherie’s been inspiring people to live within their means, to get their debt under control, and to focus on people rather than material things for about five years. She’s real-life inspiration, and I’m so glad she’s my friend.

Picture it with me. Christmas morning breakfast is over. Paper and ribbons are strewn around the tree. Toys are half opened. Stockings spill out with trinkets and candy. Your smallest of child is playing inside of a box. Your eldest is whining about being bored . . . already . . . before noon . . . on Christmas Day. You’re wishing you would have had a few spare moments to teach a few valuable lessons earlier in the month.

HOORAY, it’s not too late. It’s not Christmas day (yet) and you have plenty of time to instill the virtue of contentment into the hearts of your family this holiday season. Here are six easy ways to keep the Christmas gimmes at bay while tending a spirit of generosity and gratitude.

Create a Thankful List FIRST. Before reeling out the wish list to Santa or Grandma, be sure to write down some blessings. Have kids list their favorite toys. Write down memories from the past year that you all treasure. Bonus points: make sure the thankful list is longer than the wish list. We really do have a lot.
Talk About the Difference Between Needs & Wants. If you have ever shopped with a toddler before, you have probably experienced meltdown in aisle four as your sweet cherub morphs demonic in front of your terror-stricken eyes over a box of crackers. Your kids *might* be even better at identifying this than you are (i.e. Starbucks is never a need, friends). Make a game of it, having your kids identify if something is a “need” or a “want.” Use basics like toilet paper (certain to make them giggle) or exaggerations like a water park in the backyard to warm up. Then begin to drill down their list through that filter.
Set a Boundary for Yourself. Each year, we only give three gifts – a really awesome toy, an article of clothing, and a book. I’ve also heard the adage, “Something you want. Something you need. Something to wear. Something to read.” Whatever your plan, get a specific number of gifts in mind and then stick to it. It’s a mark of the Divine on your soul that you want to give your children good gifts. But if you don’t limit yourself, you’ll end up wildly out of control which is good for n one.
Ask for Experiences. Rather than having Grandma and Grandpa fill the space around their tree with boxes taller than your children, beg of them to give you a museum membership or a board game. Both will provide hours of family entertainment without a toy closet that looks like it vomited on your child’s bedroom floor. Don’t be demanding of your relatives, but do provide a guided wish list or make some “We would really love” suggestions.
Serve Somewhere. Contentment is driven by getting outside ourselves and seeing the world through someone else’s eyes. You don’t have to serve the homeless community (but you could). You simply have to see that someone needs you to bring light into their life. Visit the lonely at the nursing home. Take cookies to unexpecting neighbors. Write thank you notes to those who have loved on you this year. As the parent, you must be a full participant in this process. Lead the way.
Reflect What You Want to See. This one stings my soul and sometimes my eyes. Often, my kids are a unique mirror on the state of my being. They reflect both the best and worst of who I am back at me on a regular basis. From scolding their dolls in a tone that abhors me but also sounds familiar, to extending kindness to a stranger in a sing song voice I recognize, I am acutely reminded of who I am through their eyes. Your family’s journey to contentment begins with your own heart. The best investment of your time this Christmas season might be to sit down with a Bible and a notebook to reflect upon what’s within your being. Rather than the hurry and scurry, pause to be grateful and filled spiritually before you begin buying the material blessings of the season.

Giving good gifts to your children is a joy. But any good gift pushed beyond its limit becomes a weakness. These simple steps just might make your seasons a little more merry and bright this Christmas.

For more tips on Christmas, kids, gifts, & contentment, check out:

Cherie Lowe, a.k.a. the Queen of Free, delights in sharing her family’s story of paying off over $127k in debt. Through speaking and the written word, more than anything, she longs for people to realize there is HOPE for their finances. Find her online at www.queenoffree.net and mark your calendar to pick up her new book Slaying the Debt Dragon, due to release Fall 2014.

December 7, 2013December 9, 2013

Quieting the Frenzy

For years and years, I was a put the Christmas-tree-up-Thanksgiving-weekend kind of girl. If we traveled for Thanksgiving, and Sunday was going to be the first Sunday of Advent, I’d go so far as to put the tree up before Thanksgiving. Once the kids were old enough to understand what was going on, of course the rest of the decorations, including stockings had to go up too. We’ve hit the ground running the very first day of Advent the past couple of years, While we’ve been filled with Christmas cheer, and while we’ve had nothing but really amazing Decembers, this year, I wanted to try a different approach.

I wanted to focus on Advent instead of counting down to Christmas.

I wanted to focus on what the Jesse Tree actually is, and why it’s important.

I wanted some time to do all of this without the distraction of singing snowmen and Santas that go Ho Ho Ho when you walk past them .

So we didn’t rush to decorate this year. We celebrated the first week of Advent by focusing on the first week of Advent. Imagine that.

So we did we do?

We set the Advent wreath up at our table. We pulled out our Advent book: Joy to the World: Advent Activities for Your Family, which comes in handy.

We started reading the Jesse Tree readings every night (I’ve always thought the readings were too long, this year, they were ready to listen). We started reading the story of the birth of Jesus one lift-the door at a time.

We topped off this first week with a special Mass for St. Nicholas and then dinner with Santa. After getting hopped up on candy canes and Oreos, I was floored when we walked in the door and Andrew asked if we were going to light the Advent wreath and eat the candy from the calendars. We skipped the candle, but they knew exactly what symbol we were reading about (the Ram, for Isaac).

Tomorrow we will decorate the house, and start the frenzy. But my fingers are crossed that they’ll still ask for their Advent calendar- candy and all.

September 20, 2013October 14, 2013

Fall Fun on Indiana Farms: We’re Having Pork from a Real Pig?

This past weekend my family had the chance to venture south of the city and learn more about two Indiana farms up close. My city kids got to climb on tractors, learn about how crops are grown, pet a cow, and so much more.

Indiana Family of Farmers hosted a group of Indianapolis bloggers to show us what happens on farms across Indiana every single day, all over the state. 98% of Indiana farms are family owned, and it was fascinating to learn about two of them.

Both the Campbell Farm ( we got to see the actual Front Porch of Jen’s Front Porch) and Kelsay Farms are being run by sixth generation farmers. These farmers are not only farming the land, they’re raising what will be the seventh generation on their land. This blew my mind, because I’m a third generation American. That’s it. When my great grandfather was in line at Ellis Island, the Campbells and the Kelsays were exactly where they are today.

I loved letting the kids run around an explore the hay rolls, visit with the pigs and ride mini-pedal tractors. When I commented that I was excited to have pork for dinner as the delicious smell wafted through the air, my daughter said, “We’re having pork from a real pig?” Yes, it is good for my kids to run around and breathe the country air.

I also learned about how the Kelsays feed their dairy herd. LIz and Leah talked the kids through an activity that detailed what makes up feed for the cattle. Did you know that it’s not just corn? It’s actually a variety of things, including molasses, because cows like sweet things just like we do. Did you know that they have to mash up and mix up the feed because cows pick through their food, just like we do? Did you know that samples have to be taken so that the right balance of nutrients is in the feed? I HAD NO IDEA.

Thank you for a great night, Indiana Family of Farmers. Living in Indiana I drive by farms nearly every day, but rarely do I ever stop and look at them, never mind learn what happens in the fields or the barns.