Living without a job, introduction

In October, 2007, my husband left his position after 17 years. We made this decision together for the strength of our family. We didn't know what we would do or how we would do it, but we did know that our children were growing up with a father who was absent or distant much of the time. Many families live this way, and it is the norm of our culture. We wanted something different, something better. My husband, Don, was led by the Holy Spirit and the encouragement of other godly men, to be a leader in our household. He quickly realized that one can not lead a place he is not part of. His job required so much of his time, energy and talents that church, home and family requests for his time were just reminders of how little time, energy and talents he had left at the end of the work day.
There are two questions, that I have been asked almost daily since that decision was made; "Does your husband have a job yet?" and when I answered that no, he is still home with us, I am asked, "How do you do it?"
The answer to that question is a lengthy and complicated one. There are many steps that we have taken to keep Dad at home, and many of them are just obvious ways of life to me, and yet, I've found, that many people think they are extreme, or don't ever think of them at all.
So, in an effort to share our experience with others, and to encourage other families, we are going to try to give you some insight into the ways that we survive without a paycheck. We are a family of 7, soon to be 8 (in Jan. 2009), we are a Christian homeschooling family, we are honest (we don't rob banks and we do pay taxes), we are not as frugal as some families, but we are more frugal than others, we aren't coupon crazy (although I have found a unique way to make money using these). We own our home, but we do have to pay a mortgage every month, we have one car, and we do have a car payment. We are far from debt free, but we are working on it. We are NOT very different from the average family in the US, and we pay our bills every month, even though neither of us goes to a regular job, and neither of us receives a regular paycheck.
So, I hope you are, like many others, asking the question, how do you do it?
Keep checking back as we share our 'secrets'

Corinne Johnson