DOWNSIZING

By Kelly Bridgewater

At the beginning of September 2016, my family bought a smaller house in the country with a little under four acres. We have a nice patch of woods with a creek running through it, and a nice flat field for our garden next summer. We went from a 2,500 square foot home to a 1,536 square foot home, so we have had to get rid of a LOT of stuff. I, personally, got rid of 10 Wal-Mart bags filled of books, which knowing me, this hurt, but they were books that I had on my Kindle, so I decided they could go!

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My children and husband have a harder time getting rid of things. My husband now has a five car garage and the heated sun porch off the side of the house, and he won't throw anything away, which annoys me.

As a family, we needed this move because I have been saying over and over that the old school district just shoves students through the school district, not actually teaching them, so I needed my boys challenged. Which is exactly what happened at the new school. They are actually being forced to do school work and moving at a faster pace. They are not succeeding because of how harder it is, but I am glad for the extra work for them.

We are spending more time as a family. We are using the electronics less. Less television. Less game systems. Since we have no internet at the new house, my boys are actually running around outside, building forts in the woods and riding their bikes around the yard. It is nice to see these little boys act like little boys. They have spent too much time in doors at the old house because we didn't live in the best neighborhood, but it is nice to allow them to roam around outside and not have to worry about them.

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The boys may not enjoy all this "free" time, but Mommy really enjoys losing her apron strings a little. Since this is our first Christmas in a new home, I am excited to see how much MORE we incorporate Jesus into our holiday. I want to decorate our home with Jesus's birth in mind. My boys are not receiving any toys for Christmas since we don't really have room for more in our little house. More books. Yes. More time with family. Most definitely.

My husband and I want to spend more time with the boys making memories before they leave us for good and start their own lives without us.

What have you done to invest more time in your family?