Well, we are officially starting to save for a new house. Of course, we have a savings, but we are now being more aggressive and specifically saving for a down payment. That means big changes in our house. Not that we are big spenders by any means. We are actually more savings/benevolence minded, which makes it that much tougher to drastically increase our savings without going down any on the important things (church, retirement, insurance, etc).
Here is our plan.
1.The basic--no more eating out. (Or at least a drastic reduction in eating out.) Tim eats out every day for lunch and we eat out probably 4-5 times per week. This month my goal is to eat out 2-3 times the whole month (including Tim's lunches).
2. Cut our monthly cable bill by a whopping $40. (I'm very proud of that one)
3. Cut cell phone bill by $20/month.
4. Park the truck (let insurance and tags go) and borrow one to take trash off occasionally.
5. Refrain from running the dishwasher every night and washing laundry that could be re-worn.
6. Turn lights off and keep the thermostat low (or high depending on the season).
7. Cut back on monthly spending money for random toys, clothes, etc.
WISH US LUCK!
And feel free to give any recipes/cooking tips you want to share!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
A Quiet Child
This story starts about three years ago while I was pregnant with Clay. Lots of people pray for their children before they are born. We all want them to be healthy and to raise them to love God and be strong Christians. But lots of people have extra requests, too. Some want their kiddos to enjoy sports or a certain hobby. Others want them to posess a certain character trait that is important to them. I prayed for my baby to be articulate.
I am very conscious of the words I use and the way I say them. That is important to me. A big part of it comes from being misunderstood and going to speech therapy until I was about thirteen. It still amazes me that (at least according to my husband) everyone else doesn't think about the sounds of words and how to form them as they are talking. That's just a natural part of speaking to me.
Anyways, I didn't want my baby to struggle with speech or being understood. Not that I expected (or wanted) my baby to come out speaking in complete sentences. But I prayed for him to be able to communicate how he felt and to be clear and to have a good vocabulary so he could choose the best words to express himself.
When Clay turned one we were just starting to get the occasional da-da. He just had no interest in learning to talk. At every checkup when the doctor read his little list of questions, "Is he doing this, Can he that," my answers in the vocabulary section were always, "Not yet." And I felt like the answer to that specific prayer in my life was, "No."
I wasn't bitter or upset. I just felt like for some reason God decided to answer that one, "No."
We bought Baby Signing Time at the suggestion of one of our friends and found it to be a life saver. In two weeks Clay was signing 5-6 words and in the next few months his signs increased rapidly. Before long he knew signs for nearly everything he wanted to say and made up signs for the things he didn't. We felt like we knew what he was thinking most of the time.
Lots of times I would "warn" Sunday school teachers or babysitters that Clay wouldn't say much, but he signed. I specifically remember saying to someone, "He doesn't talk much, but he gets his point across."
That's when it hit me. Wait a minute. He gets his point across. Isn't that what I prayed for? He could communicate with us well. He had a large vocabulary and we understood him almost all of the time. So what if he didn't use words? God hadn't answered my prayer with a "No," but with a "Sure, no problem." I just hadn't been creative enough to see the way he worked.
Now that he is quickly approach the 2 1/2 mark, he is starting to show interest in saying new words. And putting words together. For example, yesterday afternoon when it was time to leave my mom and dad's Clay very clearly said, "No. Mommy. Daddy. Home." Then pointing at himself and nodding, "Poppy. G." Which was great for us because what grandparent is going to say no to that? And Tim and I got a much needed nap.
Yep, he gets his point across.
I am very conscious of the words I use and the way I say them. That is important to me. A big part of it comes from being misunderstood and going to speech therapy until I was about thirteen. It still amazes me that (at least according to my husband) everyone else doesn't think about the sounds of words and how to form them as they are talking. That's just a natural part of speaking to me.
Anyways, I didn't want my baby to struggle with speech or being understood. Not that I expected (or wanted) my baby to come out speaking in complete sentences. But I prayed for him to be able to communicate how he felt and to be clear and to have a good vocabulary so he could choose the best words to express himself.
When Clay turned one we were just starting to get the occasional da-da. He just had no interest in learning to talk. At every checkup when the doctor read his little list of questions, "Is he doing this, Can he that," my answers in the vocabulary section were always, "Not yet." And I felt like the answer to that specific prayer in my life was, "No."
I wasn't bitter or upset. I just felt like for some reason God decided to answer that one, "No."
We bought Baby Signing Time at the suggestion of one of our friends and found it to be a life saver. In two weeks Clay was signing 5-6 words and in the next few months his signs increased rapidly. Before long he knew signs for nearly everything he wanted to say and made up signs for the things he didn't. We felt like we knew what he was thinking most of the time.
Lots of times I would "warn" Sunday school teachers or babysitters that Clay wouldn't say much, but he signed. I specifically remember saying to someone, "He doesn't talk much, but he gets his point across."
That's when it hit me. Wait a minute. He gets his point across. Isn't that what I prayed for? He could communicate with us well. He had a large vocabulary and we understood him almost all of the time. So what if he didn't use words? God hadn't answered my prayer with a "No," but with a "Sure, no problem." I just hadn't been creative enough to see the way he worked.
Now that he is quickly approach the 2 1/2 mark, he is starting to show interest in saying new words. And putting words together. For example, yesterday afternoon when it was time to leave my mom and dad's Clay very clearly said, "No. Mommy. Daddy. Home." Then pointing at himself and nodding, "Poppy. G." Which was great for us because what grandparent is going to say no to that? And Tim and I got a much needed nap.
Yep, he gets his point across.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Babysitting Blessings
What a day. Yesterday was a long day, but in a good way. It started with some scary news Sunday night. Some good friends of ours have a baby who was sick and they were taking her to Vanderbuilt. She is doing much better now and should get to come home in a few days. What that meant for us was we were going to have company.
They have three other kiddos who needed a place to stay. They are about 4, 7, and 10ish. They camped out on the living room floor Sunday night and then Clay and I got to play with them all day Monday. (Except for a few crucial hours when their dad came in to get some things done and I was able to run to the grocery store!) Once we were well stocked, the fun began. About 6:00 yesterday morning I learned how to play Monopoly while Clay and their youngest slept. Then we played with Christmas toys, made puppets and had a puppet show, played hide and seek, made our own pizzas, and anything else we could think of. We even bundled up and went outside for a bit and then warmed up with hot chocolate afterwards.
By 5:00 I was ready to crash, and we all cuddled up and watched Alvin and the Chipmunks...for about 30 minutes. Then that was enough of that! The last of us fell asleep about 10:00 last night and then their dad was able to come in and get them for the night about 11:30.
I was definitely exhausted, but have a lot to be thankful for with the day.
First and foremost, I am thankful for a beautiful healthy baby!!
Secondly, I am thankful for good friends who feel like they can count on us and who trust us enough with their kids that hopefully that was one less thing they had to worry about yesterday.
I am thankful that they have good kids! These are definitely NOT hooligans we're talking about here. These are the most polite, sweet, loving kids you will meet. And I don't know how their parents have done it, but they NEVER whine at all!! Not even if the Wii doesn't work right or Clay tears up their craft they've been working on or their sister spills milk all over them. NEVER! They smile and say, "That's okay. I don't mind." SO SWEET!!
Finally, I am thankful for a husband who, after working all day on the busiest day they have ever had, comes home and gives me a good 20 minutes to eat my supper in my room in near peace and quiet (the sounds were at least muffled through the closed door :). And he would have given me more if I had wanted it!
I have much more to be thankful for, but I don't have the time right now. I am getting off because Clay and I have muffins in the oven and are expecting three loving kiddos soon to help us eat them.
They have three other kiddos who needed a place to stay. They are about 4, 7, and 10ish. They camped out on the living room floor Sunday night and then Clay and I got to play with them all day Monday. (Except for a few crucial hours when their dad came in to get some things done and I was able to run to the grocery store!) Once we were well stocked, the fun began. About 6:00 yesterday morning I learned how to play Monopoly while Clay and their youngest slept. Then we played with Christmas toys, made puppets and had a puppet show, played hide and seek, made our own pizzas, and anything else we could think of. We even bundled up and went outside for a bit and then warmed up with hot chocolate afterwards.
By 5:00 I was ready to crash, and we all cuddled up and watched Alvin and the Chipmunks...for about 30 minutes. Then that was enough of that! The last of us fell asleep about 10:00 last night and then their dad was able to come in and get them for the night about 11:30.
I was definitely exhausted, but have a lot to be thankful for with the day.
First and foremost, I am thankful for a beautiful healthy baby!!
Secondly, I am thankful for good friends who feel like they can count on us and who trust us enough with their kids that hopefully that was one less thing they had to worry about yesterday.
I am thankful that they have good kids! These are definitely NOT hooligans we're talking about here. These are the most polite, sweet, loving kids you will meet. And I don't know how their parents have done it, but they NEVER whine at all!! Not even if the Wii doesn't work right or Clay tears up their craft they've been working on or their sister spills milk all over them. NEVER! They smile and say, "That's okay. I don't mind." SO SWEET!!
Finally, I am thankful for a husband who, after working all day on the busiest day they have ever had, comes home and gives me a good 20 minutes to eat my supper in my room in near peace and quiet (the sounds were at least muffled through the closed door :). And he would have given me more if I had wanted it!
I have much more to be thankful for, but I don't have the time right now. I am getting off because Clay and I have muffins in the oven and are expecting three loving kiddos soon to help us eat them.
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