Rice and beans payoff

I don't know how many of you remember why I forced my family to eat rice and beans for the month of October. Allow me to remind you! This is why:We have developed a tradition of eating at a hibachi grill on Christmas Eve. We have done this, the six of us for the past 4 Christmas Eves. When faced with the reality of our finances, I was determined to find a way to make this happen for our family. My children had been extra picky when delicious and varied (and very well prepared) meals were placed in front of them and I had reminded them repeatedly that children in Haiti eat rice and beans for every meal...when they had one, and that they were extremely grateful for them. This gave me an idea! I fed my family rice and beans for four meals/week and was able to save $120 from our grocery bill for the month of October. Then, just as we were deciding where we wanted to go, one of the restaurants had a coupon to get a $5 gift card when you bought a $50 one. We bought two and ended up with two $5 coupons, giving us $130 for our dinner out! We were nearly able to pay for the entire meal for the 9 of us with this (since everyone drank water)!


We came home to the streets lit up by luminaries lining the sidewalks of our neighborhood. It was beautiful!

We enjoyed the beauty and I stifled an urge to take a run through the neighborhood to admire the decorations and luminaries. Instead we went inside to make coffeecake for Christmas morning breakfast!

I asked my kids if the sacrifice was worth the prize. They all agreed it was and all heartily agreed to do it again if needed. We all learned an excellent lesson in thankfulness. I couldn't help but be reminded of all the other blessings I am thankful for at this time of year. I am thankful for the baby born to die for my sins that will allow me to spend eternity with Jesus in Heaven. I am thankful for family and friends (that is you, you precious people who read my blog!) who are such a blessing to us. More than we could ever express. Each one of you have touched our lives and made it more meaningful. For that I am especially grateful. Merry Christmas to your family this special season.