Christmas time!

In my mind it is now officially my FAVORITE time of year! I was eagerly waiting for Halloween to pass so that I could pop in a Christmas CD and not feel too weird.

Some of you may think that it is still too early. "What about Thanksgiving?" you may ask...

I say that Thanksgiving is all a part of the Christmas season! Its all the same too me. Its about celebrating with family and friends. Its about decorating and enjoying the magic of it all. Its about extended holiday shopping hours. Christmas trees and garland up at every store. Words like "Wish, Wonder, and Magic" dangling from the ceiling at Target :-)

I love it all!

Please don't think that I forget the true meaning of Christmas in it all though. I remember my precious Savior! Its the Christmas songs that I have already started listening too that bring me back to Him so frequently. The one I heard today (and then played over and over...and over again) is Faith Hill's "A Baby Changes Everything" which talks about how Mary's life was changed when she discovered she was pregnant and then how when she delivered her sweet perfect baby, the whole world changed. I cry every time I hear the powerful "Hallelujahs" after she sings about the "choirs of angels" singing at Jesus's birth. Oh the chills it gives me! Praise Him!!

Every Christmas is special and magical, but this year is even more so because for the first time in 3 years, MY HUSBAND WILL BE HOME!

Three years ago B was in AIT (Army school) in Maryland and missed Thanksgiving but was able to fly home just a couple days before Christmas. We were so lucky that he was able to be with us on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but he missed the entire "season" of celebrating with me and our 20 month-old daughter.

Two years ago, he deployed early in November when our newborn baby was just 15 days old. I spent Thanksgiving and Christmas in Atlanta with our families.

Last year, he deployed again in November and missed Thanksgiving and Christmas. The kids were a little bigger so we decorated a small tree at our home in North Carolina but once again spent Thanksgiving and Christmas at home in Atlanta with our families.

But, THIS year B will be home with us for Thanksgiving (here at our house) and then for Christmas (in Atlanta). We have lots of plans for the season. My parents are coming up this way for Thanksgiving. We will be heading to Johnson City, TN to visit our good friends in early December and then we'll be spending two weeks in Atlanta for Christmas. I can't wait for B to go to Stone Mountain Park with us and see the wonder and amazment in the faces of our children as they see the seemingly millions of lights and decorations. I have taken C with me and my sisters for the past couple years, but this will be the first year B will be able to join us. I can't wait!

I can't help but be overjoyed that our whole family will be together this Christmas season, but I also can't help but to think of those families who have a deployed Mommy or Daddy. Some of my facebook friends' husbands are deployed and I know that they'll be facing Christmas alone with their kids. It makes me feel sad for the thousands of men and women serving around the world and their families back here and abroad that are without them. Thus is the life of a military family! Please keep them in your prayers as you celebrate with those that you love!

I'm off to stop my daughter from going through our ENTIRE roll of masking tape as she makes "crafts" all around the house. I just stopped her from stringing up tape across a doorway...

Merry Christmas and Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Bloggity Blog

Hello Friends.

I do apologize for not blogging frequently anymore. I am not making any promises to start blogging more often. The truth is that I just have other things on my mind right now.

I have SO many wonderful things that I'd love to share with you. I have pictures of the kids at pumpkin patches, stories of going to the zoo and touring Washington DC. Of course, my kids continue to do and say funny things daily. I could probably keep a blog of just the funny things they say and do!

I have been so stressed lately - that is the honest to goodness problem. Even though I am usually comfortable talking candidly about my life and its ups and downs, I have had to draw a line at airing my "dirty laundry" here on the blog. I have been struggling lately with even the simplest of tasks because of my stress level. My poor mom has heard me break down on the phone almost daily because I can't seem to keep up with the laundry or because my son is throwing yet another fit. Its as if I just can't "get it together" right now.

Maybe it has something do to with this pregnancy.

Maybe it has something to do with my health.

I know it has everything to do with my stress level.

So, I am making no promises to blog more often. I'd love to write in the evening and post pictures of the kids, but right now, I pretty much collapse in the tub and then onto the couch every evening just trying to renew as much energy as possible to face another day.

I am trying to turn more and more things over to the Lord. I know He can bear my troubles better than I ever can handle them on my own. I am even doing a bible study entitled, "The Frazzled Female" with hopes that I will find some guidance and answers. I am making friends at my different women's groups, and that does seem to be helping. Being around my sisters in Christ seems to lift my spirit and leave me feeling more capable of tackling the world - or just the dishes and the dirty bathroom.

Bear with me as I go through this valley. I know my road will turn up soon. I can see my friends up there on the hill telling me that things get better. I can see them waving at me! For now, I will just put one foot in front of the other and try and to enjoy my children each day. And kiss my hubby each day when he walks in the door.

Then Jesus said to his disciples: Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than the birds!

Luke 12:22-24

The Missing Piece

Do you like to do puzzles? My mother-in-law does. My husband does. Personally, I hate them. Sure I think the end result is always very cool, but the patience and diligence it requires to build them piece by piece is so agonizingly slow and boring.

With that being said, I feel like my adult life has been a puzzle. When I was younger, I always wondered what my own family would be like.

Who would I marry?

How many kids would I have?

Would they be boys or girls?

Where would we live?

What will we do?

I think that since the day I got married, I have been slowly (sometimes agonizingly slowly) putting together the puzzle of my life. The Lord has revealed to me who I would marry. Then 2 and a half years later, he showed me my first child, a girl. The sweetest most beautiful baby girl in the world.

I continued to put together the puzzle as we moved houses and cities and then eventually made room in our family for another child. This time it was a boy. He was the spitting image of my handsome husband. His dimples still melt my heart.

Knowing that our "puzzle" still wasn't complete, I often wondered who and what would come next. Each day that I spent with my family, I longed to know what it would look like when it was a "complete picture." I dream of the day that we take a family picture, blow it up big and hang it on the wall. But who is in that? What does "complete" look like? Who is in that picture?

Well, friends...we've found the missing piece (or rather, the Lord showed it to us last week) -

I realize that this entry may seem odd coming after the last blog entry describing our lack-of-success with Dave Ramsey. But you know what?

I trust the Lord.

I trust His timing.

I trust His perfect plan.

Plus, I have just about every baby product known to man. Sure there are a few "new" things I'd love to add, but nothing is essential. I know I will breast-feed and I will probably continue cloth diapering. I trust that the Lord will provide for us. I trust that He has a plan for our sweet little baby :-)

I can't WAIT to meet him or her at the end of April! Praise the Lord for our little "puzzle piece."

Its finally Fall!

Happy Fall Ya'll!

(Truthfully, this picture is being posted because my sister requested it...hope you enjoy it too!)

The Dave Journey

I thought I'd give you an update on our Dave Ramsey success in these last couple weeks. We joyfully set out to stop using our credit card, save $1000, and then begin aggressively paying off our debt. We decided to have a yard sale to finish up our savings and then use the rest to go towards debt. The excitement, however, dwindled there.

Here is what we realized...when we stopped using our credit card and began spending only what we had, we realized that we BARELY have enough to get us through month to month. It's been a huge wake up call to us to learn that we have been living so far beyond our means for so long. (Although I will praise the Lord that we DO make enough to cover our monthly expenses! Even if its just squeaking by.)

Well, let me step back and say that when B was deployed, we made more, so I guess we got used to spending more. But now that he has been home for 3 months, we are settling into "real life" with real E-4 pay - in one of the most expensive areas in the country. Truly I have thought very seriously about going back to work full-time. Its the thought of putting both my kids in full-time daycare that makes me stop every time. I just feel that there has GOT to be a way to make this work!

For us, Dave Ramsey is going to have to be put on hold. Paying off our debt and building our savings is going to have to take a backseat to paying our bills and putting food on the table for the next 4 months. We have a huge blessing come to us each February in the form of our tax rebate. We have already planned that this year, our rebate will go to paying of B's car and paying the next 6 months of our car insurance. Thankfully, that will free up about $300 a month that we can finally begin to put towards some debt.

In the meantime, I am cutting coupons and using them at every store. I no longer buy what I want as I walk up and down the grocery store isle. I buy what is on sale and what is cheaper. My beloved Chocolate Frosted Mini-wheats will have to stay on the shelf. At over $3 a box (and a SMALL box it is), the $1.99 Honey Nut Cheerios seem to be winning out every time. It just makes more sense.

I've come to learn that using coupons is actually pretty fun and that seeing how much I saved at the bottom of my receipt makes it all worth while. I am not one of the "super couponers" that saves more than she spends, but I am very happy with every dollar I can save in the meantime.

I was able to go to a large consignment sale last week and get the kids a few long sleeved shirts for the Fall/Winter. I can't wait to consign some of my own things in the Spring and make some money too!

Oh, and I even got my haircut at Cartoon Cuts with C because they offered a "mommy and me" haircut for $29 - and then gave us a military discount! Is it one of my best haircuts? No. But, she did cut my hair and now it's not driving me nuts :-) I hope to be able to find a grown-up salon that doesn't have outrageous prices for the next one though, haha.

I am finding it difficult to not just run to the store and buy what I want to like I used to be able to do when B was gone. But, as promised, the Lord is providing what I need. My mom graciously mailed me Halloween costumes for each child and just today put another package in the mail full of long sleeved items for them. (She is a super good shopper and saves things as she find them throughout the year....she always has a "stash" of things for Christmas and Birthdays - and I guess now, for clothing emergencies! I have learned that Jesus can use anyone to provide.)

On another note, I have begun feverishly praying for B's promotion in the Army. He has been "promotable" for over a year, but for whatever reason, the Army has chosen to promote no one of his job title in at least 12 months. I keep thinking, "maybe this will be the month!!!" but each month comes and goes and we see that they are promoting nobody. HOWEVER, I know that at some point, they will!! I am praying that day is sooner rather than later :-) They can't keep them all at E-4s forever!

I wanted to write this post to be honest. I feel that I have always been honest with the folks that read my blog, and our finances are no different. If I hide behind a false pretense, I do myself no good. I would still greatly appreciate any money savings tricks and any words of wisdom. I am fully aware that we are not the only American family struggling month to month. I am sure lots of you have advice and success stories to share. :-)

We are already eating as cheaply as possible and trying to sell anything that we can sell for a profit. My biggest concerns are how to deal with times of abnormal spending....like gas for going home at Christmas, the Thanksgiving dinner I am hosting here at my house, getting the dog her shots, and of course, Christmas in general. I try not to be stressed about these things since I am doing the best that I can. I have also done my best to turn these "worries" over to the Lord.

He is great and my finances are no surprise to Him. I know that He will show us the way - this month and each month from here on forward. Praise Him for His love and wisdom!

I will keep you updated as we make progress with our debt pay-off and minimal spending plan! Thanks for reading :-) Hope you don't mind the honesty.

Strawberry Snuggle Bug

There are so many things that are the same day-in and day-out. Things that get boring and mundane. Unload and re-load the dishwasher. Change a diaper. Brush my teeth. Get the kids cups of juice and breakfast. Get C an afternoon snack....two packs of fruit snacks in a bowl. You know what I mean, right?

There is one daily ritual I do that I sometimes dread but never mind once I'm doing it. Each night I tuck in our little man. He always wants his mommy to rock him and be his final face before he heads to the land of nod. It's because of this that my husband always tucks in our 4 year old. He gets her snuggled into her big queen size bed (we had no place to put our old mattress set when we got a new one last month - just in case you were wondering why she has a queen size bed) with all her dolls and animals. He and I both head downstairs for a few minutes alone before we have to head to bed ourselves.

But then the inevitable happens....we hear the gate at the bottom of the stairs unlatch and C comes out from around the corner.

"I need mommy to sleep with me."

Sometimes we tell her just to head back to bed. But this rarely ever works. She is persistant and will hang out at the bottom of the stairs until I follow her back up to her bed.

So there I go. Up the stairs behind her. I usher her into her big bed and although she has two pillows and plenty of room, she and I snuggle on one pillow. Her hair is always in my face. I think she just loves to be as close as possible to me. Tonight she smelled like her shampoo - like strawberries. She was so fresh and clean. And so sweet and innocent. Within a minute or two she quickly flips around and faces away from me.

"Mama, can you scratch my back?"

She ALWAYS asks this as she is lifting up her shirt preparing for the scratching. This is near and dear to me since I used to always ask my grandma to scratch my back. She would always do it. She never said "no." I try and remember this as I scratch C's back every time she asks. Her back is so little that I can't do much moving of my hand before it runs right off her back, haha. She's still so tiny.

After this she flips back around for a few more snuggles before I kiss her and tell her that I'm heading back downstairs. She always asks me what we're going to do tomorrow. She's such a planner :-)

Truthfully, I do get tired of rocking and snuggling with D before laying him down (and then often having to redo it when he fusses) and then heading back upstairs to snuggle with C. So, I try and take in the sweetness of it all. It really is wonderful and awesome. I love to be able to soothe and comfort my children. I love that they need me and want me above all else. I do love the way they smell and the way their skin is still so soft and pure.

Here is a picture of my Strawberry Snuggle Bug from this morning in her new church dress. (from an awesome consignment sale yesterday!) She is still so little and sweet :-)

Far From Family

Today I was watching, "A Baby Story" on TLC and it got me thinking about how much I miss what I don't have. See, in this episode, the expecting family was moving to a new house a week before their baby was due to arrive. It was a crazy move since they were expecting the new baby at any time! The girl's family was there to help them get moved and settled. There was even a clip of the sister unpacking all the pots and pan into the cabinets! The mom-to-be said, "We really couldn't have done this without the help of our families."

That made me sad - but not sad for her. It made me sad for me. Since the day we got married, B and I have been "spreading our wings." Flying away from the flock. Soaring into uncharted new cities. Figuring out new roads, new Wal-Marts, and new places to shop. I have never regretted moving away or "freeing" myself from my hometown, but at the same time, I miss my family greatly.

One of the times that I have missed them the most was at the births of each one of my children.

When I had my daughter in TN, my mom came to visit and stay with us for a week. When we were in the hospital we had a tricking of our friends and B's coworkers come to meet our new addition. When I had my son in NC, my mom and my sister came to help. My mom was there to experience his birth and my sister watched my daughter. We left the hospital the next day. We had no friends come. Just one lone soldier sent on behalf of my husband's unit. I didn't even know him. I am not sure if my husband did either, haha.

I know that we are loved and cared about by our families, but it just seems like something is missing when you are so far away that those people that mean the most can't come and share in the excitement of our lives. Frequently when I have visited friends and cousins in the hospital after the births of their babies, there has been a "revolving door" of visitors coming to meet the new baby and congratulate the parents. I know this must be exhausting for the new mom and dad, but I can't help but to be envious of all the visitors and loved ones who make the trek to the hospital just to share in this special day. I have heard stories from friends who say that the waiting room was packed full of family members while they pushed the baby out in privacy. One friend told me her family even overflowed outside the waiting room, haha. What a blessing that must have been.

I know it seems that the grass is always greener on the other side. Perhaps some of my friends wish they could have had their babies in peace and quiet and then been able to rest all alone in the hospital followed by coming home to a quiet house like I did. But for me, an extreme extrovert, I wish I had the hoopla. I'd like to think that the "next" baby will be different. But now that we live even further from our family and friends, I have a feeling it may be even less than it was with the first two. I imagine we will have our "good" friends (I don't know who this is yet) watch the kids while I am in labor. Hopefully my mom can be here for the birth, but with an 11 hour drive between us, that may not be feasible. I can only hope that we make a lot of good friends between now and "then" so that we will feel the support and love that so many new moms and dads have when they live closer to home.

So basically, I have just come to realize that, "spreading our wings" isn't all roses and sunshine. Sometimes I want to close them and come tumbling back into the nest. :-)

And then have a baby and have everyone come to visit and bring flowers and balloons!