Happy Anniversary!

“I don't pretend to know what love is for everyone, but I can tell you what it is for me; love is knowing all about someone, and still wanting to be with them more than any other person, love is trusting them enough to tell them everything about yourself, including the things you might be ashamed of, love is feeling comfortable and safe with someone, but still getting weak knees when they walk into a room and smile at you.”

Happy 5 years to us!

It's been a while....

Well, I'm back! Sorry for the temporary delay in blogging, but as they say "life happens".. It's already Wednesday, and in less than 5 days, I'll be back to the grind. Damn it!

I can say that the first week of my Christmas break was by far the happiest, best week that I've had in a really long time! It was nothing more than playing mommy and loving to do what I long for- playing Mommy all day! It was 4 days full of playing, baking, teaching, consoling, loving, snuggling, and just having plain ol fun with my girls! The only thing missing was Jeremy walking through the door at suppertime! I keep praying for God to place me in my home full time, or even half time if at all possible. I feel that this is part of the reason we were lead to join the Dave Ramsey class. Maybe manage our money better, then we have more saved and more realization as to what we need, don't need, and how much we can truly get by with. But then there's that little materialistic devil that lives on my shoulder that's constantly whispering "you do like that nice car, you do like those nice clothes, you do like to take small family trips, you do like to dress your children nicely, etc. etc. etc." And that's where it gets me. Can I learn to do without such things temporarily? I honestly, at this point, can answer that with NO! I like to have nice things! But I also feel that God is directing me to a "change" in my life, and is wanting me to realize the value in non-materialistic things! I have struggled with materialism for as long as I can remember! Hey-atleast I'm upfront with my struggles and not in denial!

Christmas was by far the biggest whirlwind that I've ever experienced. 6 Christmases in 2 days... won't do that one again. When it gets to the point that your kid doesn't have any interest in opening another present, to the point that there is such chaos going on that you notice your child is missing and is crying in a corner in the other room b/c the crown fell off her barbie and no one noticed her to help her--- I draw the line. We spent all day Monday recuperating Jaylee from utter EXHAUSTION. That is not the meaning of Christmas, and as much as I was looking forward to my child being spoiled those two days, the effect was quite the opposite. She has put her toys to the side, and has literally for two days, slept on and off and had no interest in her new things. I actually put a bunch of the toys in a closet, and we will gradually pull them out along the way. Hopefully with Christmas on a Tuesday next year we will be able to spread them out amongst Friday/Saturday/Sunday/Monday/Tuesday and maybe it will be a little less overwhelming!

I, myself, was spoiled as well this Christmas! Some of my top faves as gifts were-

#1- my TOMS! (Yes, they aren't that expensive but as a Mother I almost feel guilty buying things for myself like that!)
#2- Keurig Maker- NOPE- Not a coffee drinker but it sure brews some of the best iced tea- Black tea and Lemonade is ranking as my fave currently! Also- another something that I would never, EVER, buy myself!
#3- BEEF! My parents put up a beef and it is currently being processed to be put in the freezer. YAY for having fresh meat that is 10 times better than grocery store meat!
#4- A card with money that said "Go Shopping Mommy!"- I get a day away by myself or with a friend to pamper and spoil myself and buy nothing but only for myself.
#5- A one night stay at the Great Wolf Lodge courtesy of my in-laws!

Last but not least--- my husband bought some very, thoughtful, little things that I truly needed, but would never just go out and buy because I could "manage" with what I had- for instance- I mentioned a few times I needed new kitchen towels, a can opener, a mini sized crock pot, a nice cookie sheet like all the Food Network Chefs use, a card reader for my computer, and an i-tunes gift card. None of those things would I ever go out and just buy because I already have towels, a can opener, a crock pot, cookie sheets, that work just "fine" and can get my by. I thought it was very thoughtful of him to take notice of things that I truly NEEDED! I had recently tried putting pictures on a digital picture frame for a Christmas gift, and it was quite the pain since our laptop does not include a card reader. Now I have one! I also wanted to purchase the Lady Antebellum album from itunes- but once again- wouldn't waste money on such things not needed! So- I was very impressed at his insight to noticing things that I could truly "use" and "need".

Counting down the days.....

Well....Here is my week......

Christmas Faculty party Sunday night

Find out about a Christmas Dance Party that night at 9 pm and am notified at 3 AM to bring something sweet! Ha! Hope those girls loved their Cheetos! :)

Dance Party-- checked off the list!

Gifts for dance teachers- checked off the list!

Grade papers like crazy last night and get grades entered by 9 this morning so my boss can leave early on Friday, only to find out after entering them, that they will not be opening the gradebook until Friday morning. THANKS ALOT!

Christmas program practice was early this morning- and instead of taking my kids for music during their normal time for my conference, I didn't get a conference..... Grrrrrr

My house looks like WW III has taken place....

Still waiting on mr. repairman to fix my dishwasher (been 3 weeks since they ordered parts!)

Christmas program tonight at 6 P.M.

More Christmas projects/crafts to do at school tomorrow..... pack for the big trip Thursday

Cowboy's Stadium here we come Thursday!!!! Go Moguls!

Get home late Thursday night- throw class party on Friday morning- then stay til 3 PM to check off on grades that have been entered since 9 TUESDAY morning.....

FINALLY........CHRISTMAS VACATION STARTS!!!!!!!!!!

I'm tired of the "convenience" factor.......

Recently.....

Obviously, you know that our town lost a very, very amazing woman this past weekend. Although I, personally, was not as close to her, I could not help but just sob for her loved ones, the lives that she touched, and her family left behind. I continue to pray for God's loving arms to be wrapped around her husband and two sons. Going through such a tragedy right before Christmas two years in a row, is certainly unfair. I'll never understand why things happen this way, and it is definitely one of my questions that I will have for God when I get there.

Saturday night's concert.....totally EXCEEDED my expectations. To be perfectly honest I was looking forward to just having a date with my husband, never expected to be as blown away by their concert as I was. Their show was phenomenal and I'll definitely be attending the next time they come! My husband even commented on how awesome it was, and he rarely comments on anything.......

Making the list and checking it twice is what's going on with the Christmas shopping! I am down to the last 5 gifts and so far, everything has been paid for, in cash, and I am ever so proud! I recently read that 65% of Americans will still be paying for Christmas by next July. Isn't that a shame? We had a discussion yesterday at Church over the true meaning of Christmas and how all the hoopla of the decorating and gift giving is totally unnecessary! Our teacher made the comment that if we asked God today what he thought about Christmas....would God even care? Our response was "Probably not." We should be more focused on him dying on the cross for our sins rather than getting the latest electronic gadget and so forth.

As for our household, we are sticking to the nativity scene with gift giving. When Jesus was born, the three wise men came and gave him three gifts- F, G, and M. So... in order to stick to the true meaning of Christmas, our kids get 3 gifts a piece to open on Christmas morning. They get one Fun thing, one Garment, and one thing for their Mind. They also get their big toy from Santa on Christmas morning, and that special package from their Daddy. I started the Daddy thing two years ago, because there is something special to me about a little girl and their Daddy. So Jeremy goes and picks out one gift from him.

Anyways- tonight's lesson is all about bargaining.... I'll update soon!

Quote......

I never asked for you to agree with my decision, I only ask that you be respectful of it.......

Rollin~Rollin~Rollin

Whew! My mind is a rollin~rollin~rollin..... lots of thoughts and homework to do this week!!

First off--- cancelling our life insurance policy--- I thought we had the right thing- turns out we are way, under insured and have the absolute worse policy that one can have (if any of you that read this work for the school and you have probably the same one we do- I'd look into other policies!)

Secondly- time to shop for better health insurance- I've known that what I have is horrible for quite some time-- but typically--I didn't know what else to do!

Thirdly- we do have good auto insurance- yay!

Fourthly- our house is under insured and if it was to burn today- we couldn't even replace the house, much less it's contents! Also- time to take pics of the most important things in teh house to keep on file incase there ever was a fire-- we have proof of contents!

Fifthly- my disability insurance is a huge plus and I was very smart for taking that out when I did! The amount that I have paid in, still has not equaled to the amount that I have received on both rounds of maternity leave!!!

God is Good....All the Time!

Well, as many of you have questioned about my facebook post last night, the good news regarding Jeremy's job was that he got yet, another raise!!! I wasn't expecting this since he got one just a few months ago; especially since the boss had seemed to be really high strung/tight wod here lately. I was bubbling when Jeremy told me last night. I immediately thanked God for his continual blessing. Jeremy was slightly disappointed that it wasn't more, but I told him that EVERY PENNY counts and look how much God has continued to bless us through this job...... Anyways.... it's exactly as I posted last night...... it was definitely a big risk that we took a year ago.... never, ever, did we imagine it lasting this long or making our life this comfortable to live! Thankfully we met Dave Ramsey in this process and are learning how to manage the "extra".


I cannot even express how stressful life used to be...... I remember after coming home from harvest 2 years ago, and Jaylee was on baby food, I was counting baby food jars in order to see how many we had until the next paycheck. I remember not being able to buy hardly anything in order to make sure we had baby food and diapers for Jaylee. I remember not buying any school clothes to start the year out with, because flat out, we didn't have it. One specific night, I recall counting 13 jars of baby food, and it had to last us until the next paycheck....... I remember praying many many nights for God to just get us through and to mainly keep providing for Jaylee. Unexpectedly my mother in law would show up with a bag of baby food and a box of diapers that she would have picked up on a recent shopping trip. Talk about answered prayers! I even remember, before we had kids, that I was on the way home from seeing Jeremy in kansas on corn harvest and I was SO upset that I couldn't buy pumpkins to put in our yard. PUMPKINS--yes PUMPKINS! I remember crying that night about how broke I was to not even be able to buy a stupid vegetable that was going to rot away in my yard! I remember the constant fight of not having enough money to pay the bills and us both not knowing what to do. There were many, many nights of laying in bed just crying because I knew of nothing else to do.............

The biggest change.........I read DR's book 2 1/2 years ago.....and I tried to begin the process that we are on now, then. However, my husband wasn't onboard, and when two people are on different pages---it doesn't work. For some reason, he was just as ready as I was this time to make a change and he realized that just because he was the saver that he had some changes to do as well. I cannot tell you the difference DR has made on our marriage. We no longer fight about money. Budgeting with an allocated zero budget makes it to where every dollar is accounted for and there is no "extra" to fight over as to where it goes. Budgeting does not mean you can't have a life either. We are going to a concert and to dinner this coming weekend! You just have to learn to live within your means and put some things on hold for a while. Just because I want new floors in my house....does not mean I go and apply for a Lowe's credit card and pay it out. Just because I want a new bedroom suit (because we still have no head board/footboard) does not mean that I go to the finest furniture shop and finance it. What it means is that I put in my budget "furniture" and I start saving a little each month into that envelope.....then when there is enough....I take my cash and buy exactly what I want (maybe get that discount too when they see the cash!) and on the drive home I get to be excited because I know it was paid for, IN CASH, and there will not be a taunting bill coming in each month, that I have to make a payment on. If I did go the financing route, I do make a payment, and I am 3 days late on that payment, and that 0% interest skyrockets to 24.9%...... Urgh.....thank goodness we have learned that this is NOT the way to live!

Don't get me wrong, God definitely provided for us. I know many people think that we never "roughed it" but, we did, you probably just never saw it. Just because we didn't start out with just a card table and two chairs, does not mean that we didn't have our struggles like everyone else has had. Not many people display their struggles, especially when it comes to finances. I definitely see now how he did nothing but teach us a lesson on handling money and making us learn to be appreciative.

NOW....looking back, it has been worth it. It definitely makes us appreciate what we do have. I am very proud of my husband for his job and doing what he does in order to provide for us. Even though he is not the mushy, gushy, lovey dovey type..... he definitely displays his love in his ways of providing for his family.