Friday, February 6, 2009
We're debt free!! version 2.0
Exactly four years ago we still had a car payment, borrowed money for the down payment on a house and bought a new refrigerator (on credit). Less than six months later we had to borrow money to put vinyl siding on our house. That's a total of $46,080 in debt.
I don't remember the first time I heard of Dave Ramsey, but I believe I just started listening to him on the radio. In the fall of 2005 I went to a Pampered Chef Show and I couldn't afford anything. The consultant doing the show (Valerie Reagan) said that if I couldn't buy anything that day I could still help out my host Sonja by booking my own show. At my own PC show Valerie mentioned that she and her husband were working on getting out of debt using the Dave Ramsey plan. "Hey, we're doing that!" I knew we wanted to get out of debt and I was willing to do something extra to get us there so I signed up to sell PC that night! (I only mention this part because when I think of Dave Ramsey I think of my PC business.)
After going to the live show here in Knoxville we cut up all our credit cards and went to the cash envelope system and debit cards only. We live on a monthly budget and we are so happy four years later to be debt free! We feel so blessed by Dave's teachings and we truly are enjoying financial peace. I am particularly excited that we have decided that I should quit my job after this year and stay at home with Ethan full time! (I might still contract out with KCS but it will be on a as needed basis.)
This Friday I called in to Dave's show and screamed, "We're debt free!" The show is suppose to send me the audio clip and I'll post it here as soon as I get it. Here is the summary that is posted on his site for hour 2 on Friday, Feb. 6th:
"Bridget keeps things going, paying off $46,000 in 4 years, and also saving up an emergency fund. They also had a baby during that time."
I hope this post inspires you that anything is possible and we can all "Live like no one else, so that later we can live like no one else!" And I should also say that "There's ultimately only one way to financial peace, and that's to walk daily with the Prince of Peace, Christ Jesus"
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
SNOW, SNOW, SNOW!!!
Yesterday I drove to teach my Monday class not thinking anything about the weather, except maybe that it was going to rain. In the middle of class one of my students says, "It's snowing!" Sure enough it was coming down in huge clumps. By the time class was out my car was covered with an inch of snow and I had to scrape off the windows with my laminated Knoxville map. I skidded across the parking lot to pick up Ethan from the other side of the church.
After getting out of the parking lot the driving was a little easier but I was still afraid of coming home and trying to get up the drive. It was probably the most scared I've ever been behind the wheel of a car. So while I was driving 5 mph down Middle Brook Pike I called my neighbor to see if our road was passable. Kristin had just left to go and get her son Alex and she had slipped all the way down her driveway. Since we were both out we decided to park across the street in this little sub station that has a gravel driveway. Then we had to walk across the street and up the hill to our house. It didn't help that I had worn sandals that morning! My toes were so frozen!!
It continued to snow until about 2pm yesterday and schools were dismissed at noon. Here are more pictures of us "having fun" in the snow!
I couldn't find his hat that I just knitted him, so I think he didn't like the snow getting on the top of his head! He also didn't like walking on the unsteady snow pack.
We got at least 2 inches at our house which is suppose to be more than Knoxville has had in three years.
So much snow got on the canvas of this patio cover it began to sag below the metal supports. Later when Philip got home I was knocking the snow off from underneath the cover and I heard Ethan say, "Crash!" I didn't think anything of it until after I finished the fourth side and I looked down to see this:
He didn't start crying until I asked him if he was cold. "Cold!" he replied with tears in his eyes....poor Snooks. I guess the falling snow had splashed up on his legs. I know he was standing underneath the cover while I was knocking off the snow.
Philip had fun making this:
The snow is still around now and we had a full day out of school today! We might even get more snow this afternoon and tonight.
In other news at Ethan's last doctor's visit he had only gained 3 ounces in three months. We are now suppose to try to beef him up. I am feeding him extra calories and fat when I can including hot dogs and macaroni and cheese. Tonight when we had french toast we introduced him to syrup.
He loved it!
He is also is learning his colors! He might not be good at naming a color. When you ask him what color something is he is most likely to reply, "Blu". But, if you ask him, he can bring you a red, blue, green, white, yellow or black car with 100% proficiency. We are working on saying all of our colors and not just defaulting to saying blue for everything.
I think that's it for now. I'll have a special post on Friday when Philip and I are going to call the Dave Ramsey show to scream, "We're DEBT FREEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
After getting out of the parking lot the driving was a little easier but I was still afraid of coming home and trying to get up the drive. It was probably the most scared I've ever been behind the wheel of a car. So while I was driving 5 mph down Middle Brook Pike I called my neighbor to see if our road was passable. Kristin had just left to go and get her son Alex and she had slipped all the way down her driveway. Since we were both out we decided to park across the street in this little sub station that has a gravel driveway. Then we had to walk across the street and up the hill to our house. It didn't help that I had worn sandals that morning! My toes were so frozen!!
It continued to snow until about 2pm yesterday and schools were dismissed at noon. Here are more pictures of us "having fun" in the snow!
I couldn't find his hat that I just knitted him, so I think he didn't like the snow getting on the top of his head! He also didn't like walking on the unsteady snow pack.We got at least 2 inches at our house which is suppose to be more than Knoxville has had in three years.
So much snow got on the canvas of this patio cover it began to sag below the metal supports. Later when Philip got home I was knocking the snow off from underneath the cover and I heard Ethan say, "Crash!" I didn't think anything of it until after I finished the fourth side and I looked down to see this:
He didn't start crying until I asked him if he was cold. "Cold!" he replied with tears in his eyes....poor Snooks. I guess the falling snow had splashed up on his legs. I know he was standing underneath the cover while I was knocking off the snow.Philip had fun making this:
The snow is still around now and we had a full day out of school today! We might even get more snow this afternoon and tonight.
In other news at Ethan's last doctor's visit he had only gained 3 ounces in three months. We are now suppose to try to beef him up. I am feeding him extra calories and fat when I can including hot dogs and macaroni and cheese. Tonight when we had french toast we introduced him to syrup.
He loved it!
He is also is learning his colors! He might not be good at naming a color. When you ask him what color something is he is most likely to reply, "Blu". But, if you ask him, he can bring you a red, blue, green, white, yellow or black car with 100% proficiency. We are working on saying all of our colors and not just defaulting to saying blue for everything.
I think that's it for now. I'll have a special post on Friday when Philip and I are going to call the Dave Ramsey show to scream, "We're DEBT FREEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Post-dated Posts
So, I'm using our snow day today to update the blog. The problem is I've cheated a bit and post-dated some blog entries. To make sure you don't miss any here is a list of the ones that are post-dated.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Colorado: The good, bad, and the ugly
So the night before we were suppose to leave for Colorado Ethan started crying at about 11pm. This is highly unlike him, so I went upstairs to check on him. At first I didn't think anything was wrong but then I smelled a strange odor. Hmm....he had gotten sick. Then began our three hour adventure in our first stomach bug. The two of us ended up sleeping on the bathroom floor; me on a folded up quilt and Ethan on his changing pad.
Well we did finally get to sleep at about 1:30am and then at 5:30 Ethan popped up and started running around. "It is not time to get up!" I explained. I was glad that he was feeling better and I did get him to lay back down on my quilt and fall back asleep.
Philip and I still got up at our planned time and we drove to Oak Ridge to drop off our sick child at his god parents house. We are so thankful to Curt and Sara who were still willing to watch Ethan even though he had been so ill. Sara sent me some pictures of Ethan's stay with them:
The men watching TV together. Too cute!
Apparently Curt needed a lesson in communicable diseases because before we were back from CO he also got sick! Lesson to Curt: Do not let a sick child feed you cheerios!
Danielle (a.k.a. Auntie) flew in on Monday night and she was greeted with SNOW!
Meanwhile Philip and I went to ski school on Sunday at Winter Park and it didn't snow the whole time we were in Colorado!
Here we are in our ski jackets and pants. We really looked cute with all of this gear plus gloves and hats!
By Sunday night I had also succumb to the Ethan spread virus. By 1am I could not keep water down and I was begging Philip to take me to the Emergency Room. After the 30 minute drive we had to use a little phone on the outside of the building to get the nurse to come and let us in. I was the only patient that night and was so grateful for the 2L of fluid and the medicine that I received.
On Monday Philip was able to get a full refund of our ski rental equipment and lift tickets that we had planned on using during our trip. I was so grateful that we got all of our money back! By Tuesday I was ready to venture out and we did some sight seeing and even drove in to Denver to see a movie.
Wednesday we checked out of Winter Park and drove back to Denver. We even visited a Natural Wildlife preserve on the way back to drop off the rental car.
Wednesday-Friday was my conference in Denver and by Saturday we were ready to come home and see our little Snooks. When he saw us coming he clapped and started saying, "Dada, Dada!" It was fun to see his little excited face. Then he ran around and showed us that he could climb up in a chair and such. I didn't get ot hug him till we went down to get our luggage. Danielle got to stay for a few more days after we got home and that was great!
I don't think I'll want to try skiing again for a while, but I think that Philip has already scheduled a ski run here with his friend Shane.
Overall we still had a good trip and we were so thankful to everyone who watched Ethan when we were gone. We were really greatful that we were able to get away together for a week.
Well we did finally get to sleep at about 1:30am and then at 5:30 Ethan popped up and started running around. "It is not time to get up!" I explained. I was glad that he was feeling better and I did get him to lay back down on my quilt and fall back asleep.
The men watching TV together. Too cute!
Apparently Curt needed a lesson in communicable diseases because before we were back from CO he also got sick! Lesson to Curt: Do not let a sick child feed you cheerios!Danielle (a.k.a. Auntie) flew in on Monday night and she was greeted with SNOW!
Meanwhile Philip and I went to ski school on Sunday at Winter Park and it didn't snow the whole time we were in Colorado!
Here we are in our ski jackets and pants. We really looked cute with all of this gear plus gloves and hats!
By Sunday night I had also succumb to the Ethan spread virus. By 1am I could not keep water down and I was begging Philip to take me to the Emergency Room. After the 30 minute drive we had to use a little phone on the outside of the building to get the nurse to come and let us in. I was the only patient that night and was so grateful for the 2L of fluid and the medicine that I received.
On Monday Philip was able to get a full refund of our ski rental equipment and lift tickets that we had planned on using during our trip. I was so grateful that we got all of our money back! By Tuesday I was ready to venture out and we did some sight seeing and even drove in to Denver to see a movie.
Wednesday we checked out of Winter Park and drove back to Denver. We even visited a Natural Wildlife preserve on the way back to drop off the rental car.
Wednesday-Friday was my conference in Denver and by Saturday we were ready to come home and see our little Snooks. When he saw us coming he clapped and started saying, "Dada, Dada!" It was fun to see his little excited face. Then he ran around and showed us that he could climb up in a chair and such. I didn't get ot hug him till we went down to get our luggage. Danielle got to stay for a few more days after we got home and that was great!
I don't think I'll want to try skiing again for a while, but I think that Philip has already scheduled a ski run here with his friend Shane.
Overall we still had a good trip and we were so thankful to everyone who watched Ethan when we were gone. We were really greatful that we were able to get away together for a week.
Friday, January 16, 2009
I'm leavin' on a jet plane.....
Well, tomorrow we are off to Colorado for seven days! Ethan will be staying with Nanny Sara and Parrain Curt for a few days, but then Auntie Danielle will be flying in to take over on Monday. I'm still a little nervous about leaving him for seven days, but I KNOW that he will be in more than capable hands!
I do apologize for not having posted about Christmas yet. If you want to see pictures (or watch the whole family rock out on Rock Band) click Mawmaw Cindy's pictures on the lower right =>
Please do pray for our safety to Colorado and back! I will be excited to post all of our ski pictures when we get back. Funny thing is that today in Knoxville it was colder then it will be probably the whole time we are in Colorado!
I do apologize for not having posted about Christmas yet. If you want to see pictures (or watch the whole family rock out on Rock Band) click Mawmaw Cindy's pictures on the lower right =>
Please do pray for our safety to Colorado and back! I will be excited to post all of our ski pictures when we get back. Funny thing is that today in Knoxville it was colder then it will be probably the whole time we are in Colorado!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Books of 2009
Here is where I will keep track of the books I read this year.
- The Eyre Affair - I would reccommend this to any one who enjoys literature and/or grammar.
- The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency - Almost a collection of short stories this is a fun and easy read with a little bit of African culture mixed in.
This apple did not fall far from the trees!
So a brief history into our childhoods.
Philip was a very orderly child. Every toy in his room had a place. His parents even joke that they would go in and move toys to see what he would do. Philip would get very upset by out of place toys and immediately set things right again. Mrs. Cindy said that growing up Craig was Philip's greatest adversary. Not just because they were brothers, but because Craig was not an orderly child and would not like to put things back in their place.
Philip also had his own special language growing up: Juice = Juey, Computer = Doodaloo, Finger = Bimmy, Philip Boudreaux = Fal-lap Boo-dough. For a while they thought he had a hearing problem, but no, he just had a better way of thinking about the world.
I, on the other hand, was a "testy" child. My parents tell stories of me disobeying them just to see what they would do. I once pushed an ashtray off of a coffee table all while my father was sitting out of reach saying, "Bridgette Marie Stelly, don't you push that ash tray off of the table." I stared him straight in the face and pushed it right off. Whew, it's a wonder I survived those years.
Well, Ethan is proving to be a mixture of us both. At 17 months of age he will clean the entire living room. Not just picking up his toys, but also putting them in the correct locations: puzzle pieces in the puzzles, hot wheels in the little plastic bucket, big cars in the big plastic bucket, blocks in the canvas container, and all other toys in the metal basket. Every toy has a place and he knows where those places are.
One of his favorite activities is lining things up: lining up cars,
or refrigerator magnets.
He recently has been aggravated by our dog Emma who leaves her two stuffed toys around the living room. Now when he finds her toys unattended he returns them to her crate. It is really cute that he is picking up after the dogs. The other day Emma busted one of her toys and before I had a chance to clean the stuffing up, Ethan was gathering up all the stuffing and making trips to the trash can.
Another thing he is orderly about is the dinner table. He does not like food to be off of his plate. If I am pushing his chair away from the table he will scream for me to stop so that he can put all of his food back on this plate.
Now for the "testy" side of him. I'm sure this will get worse but recently he has began to test his limits. The other day I told him not to touch the lime bush. He stood with his finger 1 mm from the bush until his foot slipped and he ended up touching it. Arg! Or earlier this week, he picked up a Christmas decoration that he knows he is not suppose to play with and just stared me down. "Put that back where you got it, Ethan." Blank stare. "Put it back, or you will be in trouble." Now, those are big words in our house Ethan knows that trouble is our code for you are about to get a spanking. Blank stare. So I get up out of my chair and what does he do? Yep, you guessed it, he immediately put the decoration back and ran the other way. Too bad I can still run faster than him.
On a lighter note, Danielle is coming to stay with Ethan in January and I think I should warn her that he has a list of vocabulary that do not make any sense to normal adults. For example, he calls a bagel a "Da" and (as you know from our Christmas card) he calls a ball a "gall". He can say baby so I know he can make a b sound, but he does not say ball, only gall.
Oh well, that's it for now. I'll post about Christmas soon. I hope you all had a good one.
Philip was a very orderly child. Every toy in his room had a place. His parents even joke that they would go in and move toys to see what he would do. Philip would get very upset by out of place toys and immediately set things right again. Mrs. Cindy said that growing up Craig was Philip's greatest adversary. Not just because they were brothers, but because Craig was not an orderly child and would not like to put things back in their place.
Philip also had his own special language growing up: Juice = Juey, Computer = Doodaloo, Finger = Bimmy, Philip Boudreaux = Fal-lap Boo-dough. For a while they thought he had a hearing problem, but no, he just had a better way of thinking about the world.
I, on the other hand, was a "testy" child. My parents tell stories of me disobeying them just to see what they would do. I once pushed an ashtray off of a coffee table all while my father was sitting out of reach saying, "Bridgette Marie Stelly, don't you push that ash tray off of the table." I stared him straight in the face and pushed it right off. Whew, it's a wonder I survived those years.
Well, Ethan is proving to be a mixture of us both. At 17 months of age he will clean the entire living room. Not just picking up his toys, but also putting them in the correct locations: puzzle pieces in the puzzles, hot wheels in the little plastic bucket, big cars in the big plastic bucket, blocks in the canvas container, and all other toys in the metal basket. Every toy has a place and he knows where those places are.
One of his favorite activities is lining things up: lining up cars,
or refrigerator magnets.
He recently has been aggravated by our dog Emma who leaves her two stuffed toys around the living room. Now when he finds her toys unattended he returns them to her crate. It is really cute that he is picking up after the dogs. The other day Emma busted one of her toys and before I had a chance to clean the stuffing up, Ethan was gathering up all the stuffing and making trips to the trash can.Another thing he is orderly about is the dinner table. He does not like food to be off of his plate. If I am pushing his chair away from the table he will scream for me to stop so that he can put all of his food back on this plate.
Now for the "testy" side of him. I'm sure this will get worse but recently he has began to test his limits. The other day I told him not to touch the lime bush. He stood with his finger 1 mm from the bush until his foot slipped and he ended up touching it. Arg! Or earlier this week, he picked up a Christmas decoration that he knows he is not suppose to play with and just stared me down. "Put that back where you got it, Ethan." Blank stare. "Put it back, or you will be in trouble." Now, those are big words in our house Ethan knows that trouble is our code for you are about to get a spanking. Blank stare. So I get up out of my chair and what does he do? Yep, you guessed it, he immediately put the decoration back and ran the other way. Too bad I can still run faster than him.
On a lighter note, Danielle is coming to stay with Ethan in January and I think I should warn her that he has a list of vocabulary that do not make any sense to normal adults. For example, he calls a bagel a "Da" and (as you know from our Christmas card) he calls a ball a "gall". He can say baby so I know he can make a b sound, but he does not say ball, only gall.
Oh well, that's it for now. I'll post about Christmas soon. I hope you all had a good one.
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