Some of my earliest memories of my mom are of her cooking dinner.  I think that is because of not only the sights but the smells of that yummy memory!

I remember her comforting me when I was hurt and taking me  places and being involved with my baton corp as well as encouraging me whether it was when I wanted to be a cheerleader, drill team participant or take piano lessons.

I remember her throwing awesome birthday parties and making and buying special Christmas gifts.  I remember her keeping our house nice and clean.  She would even clean my room while I was at school and I remember coming home from school to a room that was a joy to be in.

I remember her making my clothes and cutting my hair and the pride she took in sending her little girl out looking nice.  I remember her taking me to church and being a counselor at church camp just so I could go.

Clothes Hand Made by Mom

I remember my Mom, and my Mom’s Mom and my Mom’s Mom’s Mom.

Four Generations

I remember her love and her discipline and her guidance and most of all, I remember how much I did not appreciate it until I became a mom myself!  So.. thank you Mom!!!!!

My family does not really seem to have a clue when it comes to the cost of groceries and the difficulties involved with budgeting this amount for this many people with a goal toward eating healthy and getting their bellies full.

Tonight I decided to start a 4 week experiment.  Instead of spending $175 for all of us for the week, I decided to allow each individual $25 for the week. I told the kids they could get whatever they wanted and that my husband and I would also get what we wanted.  Since one of our family members is only here a couple of days a week, most of her $25 went to staples.  They had to make their own lists, get their own carts, keep track of their own food cost calculations, ring up their own food, load their own food in the car, mark their initials on their own items and then put their food away.  No one else is allowed to touch anyone else’s food.

So, here is a run down on how everyone did:

Husband went over budget by $1.96.  He only gets 23.04 next week.  E-13 yo daughter went over by $3.44, A-13 yo daughter went over by $1.25, B- 13 yo daughter went over by $2.36 and my 16 yo son came in at $19.05 over (he has to give me the cash) then I came in under at $23.29.  ( Taking a bow now!)  The girls will have to deduct theirs from their $25 next week too.  All condiments, shared items like coffee and creamer and staples like sugar, butter and oil do not come out of their $25 budget.

So, here are some of the comments I heard while shopping:

“I lost track of how much I put in my cart!”

“I don’t think I have $25 worth.”

“Wow, I can ‘t believe how expensive everything is!”

“I wish I could get more.”

“Oh, you are getting ice cream? I wish I could get ice cream.”

“Look!  I got pop!  Now I can drink as much juice or pop as I want!”

I think we are set to learn a lot of things other than just budgeting wisely.  We already had some lessons on smashed bread and dropping a bag with a gallon of milk in it and having it get a hole in it that was leaking everywhere tonight.  Amazing how much more personal it is when it is YOUR OWN FOOD that just go messed up!  And hey.. my kids all learned how to do self service check out at Wal Mart tonight! They learned what it is like to watch the grocery total on the register screen go up and up while realizing their budget was getting shot and that they might not have tallied things quite right after all.

To be continued……

We have made money from home by editing, writing, web design, internet marketing and by doing virtual services such as sales and customer support.

I have helped a lot of people start jobs from home in the past several years.  Now, I have a very exciting announcement to make and this will help a lot of you gain viable and regular paychecks from home!!!

Currently, one of my income streams comes from Arise Virtual Solutions.  Arise hires independent contractors to do work for their Fortune 1000 clients from home.  Most of the work with Arise is phone support, but some are also email or chat support positions.

When you sign up for Arise, you go through the admissions process, a background check and then ACP 101 to become certified as a agent for Arise.  Once you have completed ACP 101, you may then choose to form your own corporation or join an existing corporation.  I am with an awesome corporation called Zesa Inc.

Zesa Inc. is owned by Zesa Manhart who has been with Arise since 2004.  Although Zesa, Inc. has been around for several years, she just recently decided to start accepting ACPs (Arise Certified Professionals) under her corporation.  The website will be up soon and official launch will take place at the beginning of 2012!

When you join Zesa Inc. you will benefit from Zesa’s many years of experience with Arise and my experience with learning to balance a homeschooling household while both parents work from home.  We will be offering more than consultation for achieving success with Arise.  We will be offering resources, consultation and advice for learning to live a healthier life, personal finances and creating margin in your life so you can enjoy time with your family.  Zesa and I have about 15 years of combined experience as parents working from home.

At Zesa Inc, we have chosen to keep our fees low so our ACPs can take home more of their hard earned pay.  Arise charges $19.95 per check (paid bi-monthly) and Zesa Inc only charges $20 per paycheck once you start servicing.  You are not charged either of these fees until you have completed certification for a client and started receiving pay.

For those who transfer to Zesa, Inc, we are offering 4 paychecks with no charge from Zesa, Inc. This means the only deduction will be the Arise fee of $19.95 per paycheck!

Get in on a great ground floor opportunity!  We are looking for UTPs that have a passion for helping other parents work from home and who are dependable, responsible and care about not only their individual success but the success of their client team and their team at Zesa, Inc.

Please email Zesa or Joan for more information on this incredible opportunity today!

Check out Zesa Inc on Facebook!

Check out this great resource for teaching you how to create “margin” in your life!  Why be pressed to the limit physically, financially, emotionally, spiritually?  Breathing space is a great thing!

Disclaimer: The Link to the book about Margins is with my affiliate referral link for Amazon.

This book by Mary McReynolds is an apocalyptic tale of sin and redemption told through a devil’s emails and an angel’s airmails as they mentor underlings and battles for a young soul in the last days. Edgy, dark humor contrasts with celestial revelations written in the spirit of C.S. Lewis’s enduring classic, “The Screwtape Letters” employing high tech communications. Supernatural social media meets otherworldly computer systems with brilliant, off the wall texting.

Available in hardback, paperback, and eBook @ crossbooks.com @ amazon.com @ barnesandnoble.com @ Kindle @ Lifeway Books @ Full Circle, OKC @ Best of Books, Edmond and wherever books are sold and read.

http://www.forewordreviews.com/reviews/the-tapeworm-emails-and-the-gloria-airmails/

http://newsok.com/local-author-inspired-by-c.s.-lewis-the-screwtape-letters/article/3557152?custom_click=headlines_widget

Learn more about Mary McReynolds’ published work.

Connect with Mary on Facebook.

Millions of people are already reading on Kindle, our #1 bestselling item for two years running. It’s also the most-wished-for, most-gifted, and has the most 5-star reviews of any product on Amazon. Now it’s even better.

I posted this on my facebook status for Mother’s Day: God has been good to me. Despite 7 years of infertility, a miscarriage, a failed adoption (where we had to give the baby back) and 2 high risk pregnancies, I have 2 children who were conceived in my womb and 4 conceived in my heart. (Adopted). Thank you Lord for my 6 blessings!

Indeed I have experienced every aspect of motherhood.  I spoke about this at a Mother-Daughter banquet a few years ago.  I have been given the blessing of children through birth, adoption, step-children and caring full time for handicapped teens in my home.  All of that after experiencing almost 7 years of infertility, a failed adoption and 2 very rough pregnancies.

Concerning the failed adoption, we actually got to leave the hospital with the baby and then when we went to court that afternoon, we had to give the baby back because the girl changed her mind at the last minute.  Concerning the rough pregnancies: I went into labor with my first child at 27 weeks and by God’s grace she baked til exactly 36 weeks when I was able to come off of the Turbuteline.  Second trimester of 2nd pregnancy, I was having issues with bleeding and cramping from about 18 to 24 weeks gestation.  Thank God the Germans treat impending miscarriages before 20 weeks (here in the US they will not prevent a miscarriage until then) and so my daughter was born at 39 weeks.

Due to all of the above, Mother’s Day is a very special day for me because for seven years, I did not know if I would ever be a mom.

Yesterday, I got a card from one of my daughters saying,”You are not a normal mom, but in a good way.”  LOL  I don’t really know for sure what “normal” is, but whatever it is.. I guess I am not “normal.”  I am kinda glad.  Who wants to be a “normal” mom?  ;)

Please leave a comment and tell us about your birth, adoption, infertility experiences.

Becky Harmon specializes in coaching Christians on how to move from sabotage to success in their personal lives and organizations. She is a national coach and works with CEO’s, entrepreneurs and non-profit leaders. She is a certified Life Coach, launched two separate businesses and church plants and is a member of GCCA.

She partners with coach and consultant Clay Shiver, (formerly with the Dallas Cowboys ) and Beverly Lewis to host prayer calls, teams and workshops around the SE region of the US.

Becky offers a number of products and services.  In this article, she combines prayerfulness with practicality and offers videos and information geared at showing people how they can tap into their identity in Christ and build a bold identity.

If you want to learn more about what Becky offers, please be sure and visit her site at SuccessNotSabotage.com

If you have perused Becky’s products and services in the past, please free to leave a comment below.

Contact Becky Harmon at Becky@successnotsabotage.com.

Please let her know you were referred by Down Home Mom AKA Joan Vasquez

Money Saving Queen

Money Saving Queen offers workshops on a variety of topics as well as forums, a blog and vital savings information for families on her site at MoneySavingQueen.com.

On May 14th she is hosting a free coupon workshop for former and current Tulsa Public School employees.  Attendees will learn how to slash their grocery bill by 80% or more.  This workshop is being sponsored by Tulsa Teacher’s Credit Union (TTCU).

You can learn more about this event on her facebook event page.

If you have benefited from Money Saving Queen’s workshops, be sure and leave a comment below!

Deborah Shane is an author, entrepreneur, radio host and expert. She is the heart and soul of her business education and professional development company, Train with Shane and is in her third year of hosting a weekly business radio show on blogtalkradio.com.

She writes for several national business, career and marketing blogs, and websites including smallbiztrends.com, careerealism.com, Internationalbusinesstimes.com, Smartbrief.com and teachstreet.com.  Her new book Career Transition-make the shift-the 5 steps to successful career reinvention is available now on amazon.com.

Connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Blogtalkradio @Deborah Shane, or visit www.deborahshane.com.