Last year was a first for me - I did our taxes by myself. And it turned out to be SIMPLE. There are hundreds of places you could spend money on tax prep. We went that route for years (mainly because we had income from another state = paying federal taxes plus 2 state taxes = somewhat complicated). But now our taxes are fairly straight forward, so doing them myself is easier than I thought it would be.

My suggestion: go here to learn more about using the FreeFile system (income less than $57,000, you qualify for FreeFile). You still need to have all your paperwork lined up, of course. This system helps point out errors in your return as well as makes suggestions of credits for which you qualify, which is very helpful (and meant $1,000 bigger refund for us last year because I missed a credit we qualified for!) You can expect refunds within 10 business days, with direct deposit.

Needless to say, with a system that takes your hand and walks you through the process, there's no need to put this off until April 15th!

It works for me!

It's Tuesday. We made it through a few very busy days and still have a few more very busy days to go. The to-do list looms large. But in the middle of it all, I've been more and more conscious of the need to be "all there" for my kids, to be real with them and actually engaged with them. It is easy to just sit at the computer while they play and only half-hear what they are saying, even questions directed towards me. It's easy to be busy cooking, cleaning, whatever... and not really be engaged with the other people in the room. For some reason this issue has come to the forefront of my mind lately and I'm working on spending more "quality" time with my kids, looking them in the eye, really listening to what they have to say, tuning in to them and tuning out the distractions. Easy? No way. But worth it? Absolutely!

The to-do list doesn't go away and still requires my attention. But it's a lower priority than people in my life.

Today we were running errands to the bank, post office, etc. While out for only 1 hour, we saw 2 separate hearses and funeral processions. Made me think again of the fragility of life and about priorities. Souls will last. Everything else will pass away. In those terms, it's easy to see where we should invest ourselves, our time, our energy.

I'm off to do just that! :-)

A new week = a new menu plan! We have a busy week before us, but planning a menu is one small thing that can save headache and hassle later on. Here's what we're planning to eat this week:

• ham and bean soup
• cheesy rice skillet
  
• breakfast for supper (scrambled eggs along with pancakes or waffles)
• homemade mac and cheese with ham, side of veggies
• meatloaf and baked potatoes
  
• pork chops and rice, veggies
  
• Date Night (use a gift card we received for Christmas)

Monday once again is here. Another week is before us. Do you have a plan for what your family will be eating this week. We have stocked up on meats this month, during some recent sales. We will be eating from our stockpile this week and probably next week too, not needing to make any grocery store runs (with a possible exception of buying some more eggs).

• Breakfast for supper (have a large supply of homemade pancakes, waffles on hand)
• Homemade mac and cheese with diced ham, side of peas
  
• Porkchops, stuffing and homestyle potatoes
  
• Venison roast, baked potatoes
• Crispy, country chicken, mixed veggies and homemade biscuits
  
• Meatloaf, potato wedges
• Beef and rice skillet

This beautiful picture was taken in Haiti - a country now trying to recover from a devastating earthquake. Whether you know anybody in Haiti or not, would you take a moment now to pray for all of those in Haiti right now? There are many Christian organizations that work in Haiti, especially in orphan care. All of those workers could use prayer support. Thanks.

• Chicken pot pie
• Homemade pizza
• Homemade spaghetti (on menu last week, didn't happen)
• Breakfast for supper (homemade waffles, scrambled eggs)
• Meatloaf and baked potatoes
• Venison roast, butter-baked potatoes
• Porkchops, stuffing, onion skillet

I have lots of options for desserts right now: ice cream, brownie mixes, pudding mixes, banana bread.

That's our plan for the week. How about you? Make a plan. You'll be glad you did!

and here in Indiana this week, we have had PLENTY of snow,

which makes for snow fun!

Let it snow! Let it snow!

It's the first full week of the new year. I resolve to be more consistent in menu planning. This is a huge time-saver for me - a little forethought and way less stress at supper time each night. This is also a huge money-saving for us - stocking up on what is on sale and then using what we have on hand. My hubby is a creative cook and he has been helping me come up with delicious and unique meals that have clean out our pantry. Here is what we came up with for this week's menu:

• Homemade mac and cheese and ham; salad on the side
  
• Homemade pizza (with ham, black olives, pineapple, anything else we want to throw on it)
• Chop Suey, homemade biscuits
  
• Chicken and Rice, salad on the side
  
• Chili
  
• Tuna sandwiches, side of peas
  
• Homemade spaghetti

Happy New Year!

2010 is here. For us, 2009 was a year of abundant blessing for which we give all thanks to the Lord, our God! We are anxious to see what more 2010 could hold for us. One thing we know - we will celebrate 10 years of marriage in May 2010! We're starting to make plans to celebrate this milestone.

Next week I will do a 2009 Recap post, with the highlights of our year.

But for now, we are preparing for our last Christmas celebration, so I've got to run. Be back next week!