My "abundance"...

Today we went out and braved the blizzard.

We had so many errands to run...Meijer, Walgreens, WalMart, Old Navy, Target...I got groceries, household supplies, and also made progress on my Christmas shopping.

I got some amazing deals and saved so much today.

And after spending over 3-4 hours out in these sub-zero temperatures...I came inside after unloading the trunk of the car...and as I took all my groceries and supplies and Christmas gifts out of the bags...

I thought...

LOOK AT ALL THIS STUFF.

I am so blessed.

I was slowly warming up...

And thought...

It feels so good to be inside my warm cozy house.

And I looked at all the food and supplies on the counter...

And I thought...

My gosh...

We are so blessed.

We have so much to be thankful for.

I think it really hit me because of this frigid weather.

There are people out there who are homeless trying to stay warm tonight.

I have this wonderful warm home.

They have no food.

I have cabinets, closets, cupboards, and freezers FULL!!!

I looked at some of the gifts I bought today and felt blessed that I can be generous to people.

My Christmas gifts aren't fancy, they're not expensive...

But they are from my heart.

I try to be unique and creative.

But I still am blessed enough to be able to give during the holidays.

Even though my husband lost his job in January and my business has declined this year...

We have managed to get by...and then some.

We live on a budget...a very tight one at that.

But our needs are met...and God always provides.

We are able to pay our bills and provide for our family.

One thing that I consider a true and very real blessing...is everything I have learned from my couponing and money-saving friends and blogs.

These have been amazing gifts to me this year.

I jumped in head-first to all these couponing/money-saving blogs in February right after Jamie lost his job.

And now...

We have probably ten times the food, supplies, etc. that we ever did stockpiled for probably 50-70% less that I ever paid before!

What a blessing!

It has not only been a blessing to our family...but I have been able to share my stockpile with others.

We've been able to bless other people in need, animals at the humane society in need, our boys' school, and more!

I am so grateful to God for blessing our family...so that not only we are provided for...but so that we can bless others as well.

We are blessed to be a blessing!