A neat website for living frugally

I found this site that has some neat articles and ideas for living simply and frugally.

Neighborhood Party

This evening we had a neighborhood party at our house. I had been wanting to have one and Ken (my husband) thought we should have it on National Night Out. We prepared by taking out invitiations first about a month ago and then we took out reminders again last week and then we also put out a sign at our driveway last night so that they could see it all day today. The kids and I had fun taking the invitations around. We got to meet quite a few people just going from door to door. We decided to grill hotdogs and hamburgers and then asked others to bring side dishes and desserts. We had a fun evening and quite a few came. I think getting to know neighbors is a really good thing and I find it neat how receptive people are to neighborhood parties. I would encourage others to try it. It is really not that much work, you can even have them bring their own lawn chairs and have a totally potluck meal. For more ideas check this out. Don't stress out and have lots of fun!!
Abbi

Singing in the dark

We started a fun traditon not long ago. When I give the kids their bedtime hugs and kisses I also spend time and pray with them. One time my oldest daughter mentioned that she would like to sing prayers better. (she is my dramatic, whimsical girl). So we have started singing a song of prayer to God as well as our spoken prayer. Usaully we sing songs that were already written such as "I Love you Lord", "Thank You Lord" and "God is so good" but sometimes we sing songs that just say what we are thinking or songs like "God is so Happy" (my 3 year olds creation.) When we sing we have the lights out, there is something about singing in the dark that I love, it allows you to really focus on Who you are singing to.

Paper Dolls

My 7 year old daughter really enjoys playing with paper dolls and we discovered that there are a lot of them that are free to print available on the Internet. Here are a few that we have found.

• http://www.paperdolls.org/archives.html
• http://www.ushsdolls.com/paperdoll/denver.htm
• http://www.makingfriends.com/f_Friends.htm
• http://familycrafts.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=familycrafts&cdn=parenting&tm=11&gps=79_239_1020_587&f=10&su=p284.8.150.ip_&tt=14&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.berenstainbears.com/dressup.html
• http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/kids/dolls/caddie/clothes.asp
• http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/kids/dolls/sterling/clothes.asp

It works best if you print them out on card stock but paper works too. A lot of these come in color but as we don't have a color printer we just print them out in black and white and then Mara gets to color them. Coloring, cutting out and then playing with them can keep a child busy for quite a while. It is a nice project for times when they need to be quiet.

My $5 Rose Bush

This spring I bought a $5 rose bush at Wal-mart. Throughout the summer so far it has had around 25 blooms on it. It has been so fun, they smell so good and are fun to cut and give away to others. I have especially enjoyed taking blossoms to my Mom as yellow roses are a favorite of hers. I an hoping it will winter over well though I am a little concerned since we are in zone 3. Even if it doesn't winter well I think I got a good deal for $5. God makes so many beautiful things!! "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." James 1:17