The economy of Craigslist

Preparing for baby number 3 was a completely different venture than preparing for baby number 1.  Here's what preparing for Josué looked like.

-2 hour long trip to Baby's R Us with good friend (already a mother) and using the store's checklist to go through and scan item by item onto the registry.
-Receiving multiple gifts from baby showers (we were blessed)
-Purchasing (and receiving as gifts) 500 dollar crib, mattress, mattress cover, change pad, change pad covers, high chair, bouncy chair, nursing pillow, baby bath, pack and play, play mat and the list goes on, baby carriers, stroller etc....

And here's what we discovered:

We didn't need half of it!!!

Over the past 6 years our priorities and our views have changed a lot- we have become a lot more environmentally conscious and we have discovered our parenting style (attachment parenting) which is actually a style that requires VERY little material goods.

We co-sleep (so there goes the crib, the mattress, the sheets, the pack and play- which honestly was a hassle to get baby down into to sleep anyways).
We breastfeed on demand (there goes the need for soothers, or bottles- we go right to cups when the time is right)
We carry our babies (there goes the need for a double stroller (although it does come in handy for a suitcase or two during travel)... which natural child spacing due to breastfeeding and the fact that we carry our babies a single stroller could have done us fine!

Here's what preparing for baby 3 looked like:

-Not needing any clothes (my very generous friend with a 2 year old daughter has passed on ample and more clothes for our baby girl)
-Ordering half a set of organic cloth diapers from motherease (we still have a half a functioning set from our 2nd)
-Finding a new toddler bed rail for our bed on craigslist (15$) Nat gave ours away by accident
-Buying an ergo baby insert (which was actually an exchange in a store for some girl clothes we received but didn't need).

And voilà our baby is good to go!!!

Over the past 6 years I have shed my snobbiness towards used goods and realized it is just plain smart to buy things used  (and then re-sell them).
My friend bought her ergo baby used off craigslist and sold it two years later after plenty of use for just 5$ less... She was able to use and enjoy one of the best (and most expensive) baby carriers out there for her for only 5$.

And that goes without mentioning the saved environmental impact!!!

Famille de 5 Family of 5

Well we are pleased to share the arrival of our newest Noémie... She is beautiful and so far a great nurser, great sleeper and pretty content!  God knew that she would be the 3rd child in our home and the aventures we'd be up too and so she is fitting in great with our family and we are truly enjoying getting to know her.  Here are some pictures you might enjoy.  Nat made some homemade hammocks that the boys really enjoyed.

Nous sommes heureux de célébrer l'arrivée de notre Noémie.  Elle est belle, boit bien, dort bien et est assez calme et heureuse.  Dieu savait qu'elle était notre 3e et que nous comptons sur elle pour s'adapter à nos aventures ;)  Nous sommes vraiments contents d'apprendre à la connaitre- Elle est vraiment un cadeau de Dieu.  Voici quelques photos (dont quelques unes dans le hammock que Nat a fabriqué)

Becoming???

We are about to embark on a very exciting adventure, a year abroad in France!  This is a unique opportunity, that many people never have, to sell our house, leave our jobs and create a new life for ourselves (at least temporarily)!

God has spoken to us over the past few years (through circumstance and through the Bible) about not being hoarders, not getting attached to material goods and moving abroad is another chance to take that one step further!

When thinking about storing our furniture for a whole year it has lead us to think about what is really important to us and what we really want to keep!  In fact last week we received an offer on the house that included most of our furniture!  (We are not sure the offer is going to go through, but it was a good process for us).

Letting go of our goods has been one process, but another process of letting go (in order to become something new) is letting go of our jobs and therefore professional identities.  Who we are next year will not be defined by the jobs we have (or don't have!).

Next year we will have the chance to decide how much to work, not based on the size of a mortgage, but based on our expenses and the things we would like to do.

We will have more time to build into our church community, strengthen our family connections (both immediate and extended) and take time to do things like cook healthy food and read.

Will we become French?  Nathanaël and I are looking forward to immersing the boys totally in French for a year and for them to experience a different culture.  Living in another culture always helps one re-evaluate the things we take for granted or come to expect.  Surely there will be challenges, but we look forward to a year of growth in lots of different ways.

And likely we will be able to blog more consistently about our experiences and share them with you.  Thanks for reading!