EDIT: I *think* I have hit 100 posts! To my dearest readers, Thankyou for taking the time to check in, to leave a comment, to bring encouragement or to even share this little blog. I started this blog as an online diary to document our journey to a simpler life, as a place to reflect and so forth. I seriously thought I would be blogging to the virtual sparrows when I started, so the fact I have "readers" is totally cool to me, and quite surprising! But I love this blogging thing, as small as this tiny corner in the vast Internet world is, it's mine and I get to share it with you, readers from all over the world. It means so much to me. So Thankyou for reading, for checking in, for commenting, and for encouraging our family along the way. I love hearing from you all and if there is ever a topic you want to tackle with me please do let me know and I'll endeavour to explore it with you! Much love guys, and hope to have another 100 posts in me, with much growth and change along the way. ❤️ Em xx
We have spent much of our married life working really hard to get ahead financially. We often see friends going on overseas holidays or enjoying the financial benefits of being a two income family, fancy dinners, dressed up in beautiful clothes and big family holidays. All these things are wonderful and I celebrate and cheer my friends on in their achievements as they do me!
But it is not our life. Our life has been quieter, much of it at home working to get ahead, saving, renovating, trying to live simply. Sometimes we have done it all badly, sometimes we have rocked it, but it's always been our conscious goal which we work towards. Sometimes it has all seemed like "for what?" The pace has at times been terribly slow, filled with setbacks and then at other times been amazing filled with success. But I think it's the leaning into our values and keeping focus that's the main thing. Through all seasons. Weather we succeed or not, we will eventually get there if the goals remain unchanged.
For us that is -
- Living a life that reflects our faith.
- Living simply.
- Aiming to teach our boys about our values through our actions.
- Doing jobs ourselves.
- Learning new skills.
- Cooking healthy foods, from scratch.
- Living in a way that's environmentally sensitive and aware.
- Caring for animals.
- Caring for our home, and enjoying it.
- Avoiding consumerism.
But today as I sit in our cottage I know this; we own her. Not the banks, and that's what it's about. I'm proud of that. Seriously proud. At the ripe old age of 32 we own our home outright. She is small, and needs work. BUT she is ours, and that my friends, it pretty darn cool.
I'm going to keep it real - it will be short lived, we are getting a $60,000 loan to do the basic works on her like salt damp, electrical, fixing timber framed area, flooring and so forth as well as re-shuffling some finance and interest rates in the shop, so it will be $40,000 house/$20,000 business. But in this moment, I'm celebrating that milestone! A loan of that small size won't take long to whittle down if we continue to work hard. We don't own the business outright mind you, that's a little way off. But one thing at a time.
But today after the school and kindy run I won't be going out to celebrate, I will nip to our shop to help for an hour or so, then come home read with my littlest man and pop him to bed. Then I will pick the ripe lemons on the little stumpy gnarled old lemon tree make some refreshing cordial, whip up dinner and get on with life. The next couple of days are going to be hot here, 40c and windy. The farmers are on high alert for fires with the paddocks filled with crops. It's a time of rest, sewing, quietly organizing and re-charging before we start another big
push on the old cottage over the weekend.
Anyway, I must go, the boys are up, breakfast and coffee has been had and it's time to make lunches and get ready for school.
Much love,
Em
Xx
