I love this! Thank you for taking the time to spell it out.

How did they get 10 children to school without a vehicle?

Our nearest Catholic school is a long drive from us so walking is out of the question. Taking the bus is a good way to get stabbed where we live. It's like a little Compton. There were several shootings at the parks this weekend if that's any indication of what our town is like. It's kinda funny but not really.

I'll have to wait for my children to be a little older to do a lot of these things. We definitely put our oldest two to work and also do not use television. Our neighbors are crackheads so asking the community for help is out of the question nor could we afford to hire them if we DID have reliable neighbors. We live in the hood but its the only place we could afford a house.

Our situations are different but I really appreciate the detail and it gives me hope and something to strive for.

You also mentioned not buying into the commercialization of Holy days...what does that mean? We are recent converts to Catholicism so we're still taking it all in and trying to understand the customs and whatnot. We had to buy nice suits and outfits for the all kids for baptism and confirmation and I was so upset about spending the money on outfits that will be worn once. Hopefully we can donate these and another family will be spared the expense. Now your comment about commercialization of Holy days has me wondering what other expenses are going to come up?

Thanks again!