I'm Back Baby!

Okay, so I was really hoping to stay more on top of my blog... just need more hours in the day, but I'm excited to "catch up" everyone on what's been going on.

First of all... Steve and I both recently attended the Southport Great Banquet. A very structured and AMAZING 72 hours with God. It is definitely a life changer. And I'm sooooo very thankful for my awesome sister-in-law (but I like to just call her "sis"), Lorrie, who invited us to attend. Different churches/denominations around the world have different names for this AMAZING event, so click on this link to find out a little more about it. I highly recommend it to everyone and I'll happily be your sponsor! The Men's Great Banquet was the weekend of Sept. 16th and I attended the Women's Great Banquet last weekend. No cell phone, no computer, no watch, no clocks, just time with God! Met some wonderful new friends too! Here's a picture of my group:





Wednesday was my 31st birthday and tomorrow is me and Steve's 6 year anniversary! Tomorrow we are going to Historic Madison, IN (1.5 hours away). A very cute, quaint little town on the Ohio River. This weekend is their Home Tour where locals allow private tours of their historic homes. I just love older homes! We also hope to get some hiking in as Clifty Falls State Park is right next to Madison, IN! It's going to be a beautiful day... sunny and 87!! Saturday night we plan to go see 'The Guardians of Ga'hoole'. I love owls, so I'm really wanting to see this movie (in 3D of course too). It depends on how tired we are from our little trip. Then Sunday we are going to the Colts game! Yeah Baby... I got the company tickets!! 1st Row, 40 yard line! Go Colts!

Speaking of anniversaries... October 14th will be my 8 year anniversary working at Baldwin & Lyons! Longest job I've had so far :)

Some other news... We are currently working on getting our house refinanced. We bought our house 3 years ago (closed on Halloween 2007), and we got a 6.75% interest rate. We didn't put any money down (as you didn't have to then because we bought right before the housing market went down the toilet). Well, since houses haven't really appreciated, we were nervous as to whether we could refinance (witout bringing money to the table). So I contacted 'Dottie' (a lady everyone at my office has been using to refinance) and started the process. The great thing about Dottie, is closing costs are only $350. I had to give $275 for the application and appraisal. Yes, the appraisal is the nerve racking part. We live in a neighborhood were houses range significantly different all over and houses that have sold lately were a lot less than what we originally purchased our house for. The $275 is part of the $350 in closing costs, however if our house doesn't appraise high enough, we would lose that $275. So we took the risk and prayed for our appraisal to be high. The bank will only finance 95% of what the home appraises at, the difference (if any) has to be brought to closing or the other option is, don't refinance. Well the good news call came in yesterday. Our house appraised for $2,000 more than what we purchased it for 3 years ago! We were so happy!! Praise God! We now get to refinance with a 4.5% interest rate!

How about our kids you may be wondering :) Well for the most part, both kids are doing great. Jordan has been struggling in school lately and as many of you know, he has trouble with focus and attention (he has ADD). Until just a week ago he has not been on any medication, however Tuesday of last week, I took him to the doctor and we started him on Concerta. Please pray that this helps Jordan. So far he really is liking middle school, but he just struggles so much with staying organized and staying focused. Even Jordan is excited to start medication as I know he gets frustrated with himself when he forgets things, or can't get something done. He's been with his dad since last Thursday (when I went to the Great Banquet), so I have yet to see changes, but I checked his grades on line and recent assignments and quizzes were higher than normal! I just pray this works for him. I don't want to have to "experiment" or keep changing meds to find what works. More than anything I wish he didn't need to take medication, but I am thankful that there is something available to help him. It can be heart breaking to watch your kids struggle with something! So anyway, that's the scoop with Jordan. Kylee is doing very well in school as she always has. She struggles most with math, but still maintains a B! Auntie (Lorrie), took her to see the Broadway show 'Mary Poppins' last weekend.

Next weekend we'll all be together! With the Great Banquet weekends for Steve and I, we had to make some changes in our normal schedule with the kids, so the kids haven't actually seen each other for about a month (and they do miss each other)! So next weekend I'm planning a trip to Kelsay Farms for hayrides, cornstalk mazes, apple cider, pumpkins, and all things Fall Fun!!

Well that's about it for now! I'm off for some 1 on 1 time with God (bible study and prayer). I'll try to maintain my blog and post pictures of all the fun things we do this month!! I love October!

FALL

Okay, It's getting close to my favorite time of year and I just have to blog about it :) Some of the temps the past couple nights have totally gotten me "in the mood" for fall! Even though it was almost 90 degrees today, tonight is a little cooler and so I broke out a Cinnamon Apple candle to give the house the aroma of fall! If the temperatures would just go down (at least into the low 80's), then I'd be able to decorate for fall. My husband is holding me back or else I would have totally decorated this past weekend. I mean what's wrong with putting a scarecrow in my yard when it's 90 degrees outside? Our grass looks like hay anyway (since it's all dead thanks to NO RAIN this summer), so we've kinda got the fall look already going!

So what do I love about this wonderful season... I love the colors of fall of course. All the trees changing color. Drives in the fall are the best! And I don't mind all the leaves falling either as it's a great workout raking them all up! I love the crisp air (smell of fall) and the smell of bonfires. I love having my windows open, planting mums, lighting my pumpkin spice and apple cinnamon candles, going to the apple orchard , the pumpkin patch, and fall festivals. I hope to go to some fall festivals this year too (just because I love the atmosphere, not to shop of course). And finally, another great reason to love fall... in three days (September 1st) Starbucks will be serving my addiction... the Pumpkin Spice Latte! Now the true test will be holding back from getting too many of these on the drive into work (it's not in the budget of course to have one everyday, let alone a couple times a week). Yes, the Pumpkin Spice Latte is my weakness. It's a good thing they don't sell them year round... just for about 4 months.

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There are many things that I celebrate in the fall too, so that may be another reason I love this season. My birthday is October 6th (the big 3-1 this year). Our wedding anniversary is October 9th (6 years this year). The anniversary of my job is in October too (Oct. 14th - 8 years this year). My favorite thing to do in October is to visit Nashville, IN and Brown County. It's the essence of the season for me... the small town charm, the colors of all the trees, the smell of apple cider, and the crisp air. It's the town Steve and I got married in, and we always take a day trip down each October to celebrate (and we usually stop at Appleworks on the way home to get some apples).

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All in all, I just can't wait for it to finally be here! So here are some pics from falls past to keep the mood going... How could these not get you "in the mood" for fall...

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2008 - Backyard Fun!

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2006 - Carving Pumpkins

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2005 - Waterman's Fall Fest

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2003 - Painting Pumpkins

Catching Up

I'd like to begin this post with a quote from a friends facebook page that says "As we begin to take action toward the fulfillment of our GOALS and DREAMS, we must realize that not every action will be perfect. Not every action will produce the desired result. Not every action will work. Making mistakes, getting it almost right, and experimenting to see what happens are all part of the process of eventually getting it right." I love this quote as it is so true. I especially feel that when we make mistakes, we learn the most (meaning we won't make the same mistake again or at least we won't plan to). No one is perfect and I believe how we each handle our mistakes, makes us who we are and forms our character.

So I have a lot to catch up on... I finally think I caught up on my sleep over the weekend. Yay! Came home Friday after a long work week and hit the couch for a three hour nap, but then stayed up until 1am finishing the book I've been reading. Yes, I finally finished the Twilight Series! Loved the books! I took another three hour nap today too, so I'm starting to feel refreshed.

Steve and I went to a wedding in Louisville over the weekend. My old friend/former co-worker, Julie Mudd tied the knot to Dr. Sean Looney. They had a small wedding (close family only) and then invited all their friends and family to the reception at an old home (The Conrad Caldwell House) in the Louisville Historic District. I loved the area! Historic homes are some of my favorites. The street lamps were gas flamed and it had such a cozy feel. I'd love to live on that street! My good friend Kelsey and her husband Dave went to the wedding too. Steve and I stayed @ the Hyatt (via Priceline name your own price for $50!). Kelsey and Dave stayed @ The Brown (also via Priceline). After the wedding, we all met up at Fourth Street Live, which is right outside our hotel (a few blocks from The Brown), and I must say Fourth Street Live is very cool. It's a row of restaurants, bars, and clubs and the street is blocked off and covered! It was a perfect night to be outside. We sat at a little Irish Pub, listening to music, people watching, and just hanging out. I was also sipping on a margarita! It was a really fun night!

So we're back home now and as I was getting ready to unpack all my things, I realized I'm going to be traveling two more times this week (most likely), so why unpack. I'm going to Pittsburgh Tuesday for work and will be back Wednesday night. Then Steve and I are thinking about going to Nashville Saturday to Sunday to visit our niece Jenny! My wonderful sister (in-law), Lorrie and her hubby Greg are going down to help Jenny (their daughter) move in to her new home with some roommates and they've invited us to go too. Jenny turned the big 2-3 yesterday and so we would of course go out and celebrate with her if we go down. I love going out in Nashville. It's one of my favorite cities, especially since I love country music... it just makes for a great atmosphere.

Speaking of Nashville... my girlfriends Kelsey, Tammy, and I have planned a Girls Weekend Getaway in December to Nashville. We've already booked our room (via priceline name your own price of course) and we've got our weekend all planned out. We are going to see the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular @ the Grand Ole Opry Friday night, we're going to visit and tour the renovated Opryland Hotel (they do quite the decorating there at Christmas), we're going to see the ICE exhibit @ Opryland and of course go out downtown to experience the Nashville night life. Sunday morning we're going to eat breakfast at the famous Pancake Pantry too before heading home. Oh, the hotel we got was the Marriott Vanderbilt downtown and it's right across from the Parthenon in Centennial Park, so we plan to check out that too. I of course will meet up with my wonderful niece Jenny and her friends (especially when we go out since they know "the hot spots"). And yes, I've worked this into the budget. I started planning this over a month ago and we are doing things as cheaply as possible (at least I am).

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Last year, Kelsey, Tammy, and I went to Madison, IN at Christmas for their annual Candlelight Home Tour. It's a historic little town (love the ambiance and historic homes of course) and you spend the evening touring homes in the area (some public homes and some private) all decorated for Christmas. It was sooo much fun and I would love to do it again this year. We stayed at the Clify Falls Inn too which is the cutest Indiana State Park Inn (in my opinion).

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So now I need to start working on Steve's business website. I'm redesigning things with the help of an I.T. developer from work, who is now going to host the site. I'm hoping to make the website more exciting as it's so basic looking currently (but that's all I had to work with through the current host). I'm learning a lot (a little HTML too from another IT co-worker, but I'm not to that extreme yet). I love to learn all this stuff though!

Updates

Well, it's been 5 weeks since Steve and I started our Dave Ramsey plan (budget/debt snowball) and I'm happy to report things are going great! In our debt snowball we started off with 6 debts to pay off. By the end of this month we will be down to 4! Yes, debts 1 and 2 will be eliminated!! Our Honda Accord is next up on the list (#3). It is scheduled to be paid off in April of 2011, if we keep paying the min. monthly payment. However since we've eliminated two monthly debt payments (debts #1 and #2), we'll roll those monthly amounts into the monthly car payment amount (a.k.a debt snowball). Plus, we recently found out we had an overage in our escrow account for our mortgage, so we'll be getting an $800 check for that! We will use that money toward the Honda debt, and then our Honda will be paid off in December!!! Yay again! I love Dave Ramsey! So starting in 2011, we will have 3 debts left to pay off and my hope is that we get those paid off before 2012 begins! Even though our debt snowball shows October of 2012 as the "out of debt" date, anytime we rake in any extra money, we'll apply it toward the debt. Steve also had a garage sale Friday and we made $140. Not a lot of money, but we didn't have a whole lot of things to sell either. I'm surprised we made that much! We've also continued to pay for everything with cash and we've done really well with our cutting back... meaning I've only gone shopping for myself once (because I had a great coupon and I worked it into the budget).

The update on my bible reading isn't as positive. I did really good the first three days and then I started slacking. My goal to finish by the end of this year is not a reality. But there is good news... I talked to Steve about reading the bible with me and starting Sept. 1st we are going to read the bible together each night before we go to bed. We're going to follow the same chronological order of reading the bible in a year that I had planned to do. And the goal will be just that... to finish it in a year. I think this will be a great experience for us as we can both grow in our relationship with Christ together and we will be able to discuss what we read each night. It will also encourage us to pray together each night (as we haven't done that in a long while). On another good news note... Steve has decided to go to the Great Banquet too! The men's Great Banquet is September 16th through 19th (2 weeks before the women's). Steve also signed up for the nursing home outreach through our church and yesterday was his first time. He said it was him and 3 other men. They went to a local nursing home to talk and pray with many of the elderly folks there. He said it was a great experience and he plans to do it each month! I'm so proud of him! He's such a great man of God!

Lastly, I wanted to quickly touch on my goal of moving to Michigan. A few people e-mailed me after my first post and asked "Why Michigan?" or "Where in Michigan?". Here's the basic gist of it... Steve and I visited a small town in Michigan a year or two ago (Grand Haven) and we both fell in love with the ambiance of the town. The town is right on Lake Michigan with a very nice beach, cute little shops, restaurants, homes, boats, and you could ride your bikes everywhere. It was just so cozy! I'm not sure we would necessarily live in Grand Haven. I've been to other small towns in Michigan (South Haven, Leland, Mackinac Island) and they all have the similar ambiance that Grand Haven has. The main factors is that it needs to be a small town near or on the lake. Another reason for Michigan is that I need to have my seasons... I don't want to live where it's always warm. I like to see snow in winter (we both like to ski) and I have to experience my favorite season... FALL! The changing colors of the leaves, the cool crisp air, pumpkins, bonfires (it's right around the corner now and I'm so ready for it). I like the changing seasons! My wonderful hubby is just as on board with this dream as I am! It will be at least 15 years down the road (kids will be in college or soon graduating) but that's the basic gist of my (our) Michigan goal/dream.

Well that's all I have to update on for now. I slept in until 2pm today (I know... crazy!) and now it's past midnight and I have to get up early for work. It's going to be a busy week at work so I need to be as productive as possible (a.k.a. well rested)!

Middle School and Trumpet

So Jordan started Middle School yesterday! Yes, he's a big 6th grader now! And I'm happy to say that he is really liking it! He actually said tonight, "I wish tomorrow was a school day." I couldn't believe it! I almost wanted to cry (tears of happiness of course), and then I started thinking...today is Friday the 13th... this must be some freaky side effect from that, LOL! Jordan struggled last year in fifth grade. He hasn't ever really liked school, he has trouble staying focused, and unlike his mother, he lacks organization. I thought going from 5th grade (being in one class) to 6th grade being in 9 different classes a day, was going to be a huge challange for him, so I was nervous for this day to come. However, I'm feeling better about it now. This morning as I was driving to work, a light bulb went off in my head... backing up a bit, I found a magazine online called 'ADDitude' that comes out with four issues a year and it's all about ADD/ADHD. I signed up for a subscription and by doing so I also got access to all kinds of printable PDF articles, so I started downloading, saving, and printing. I've skimmed through some of the articles (hope to get through them all this weekend), and one of the things I read was how important it is to give a child with ADD "breaks" when doing homework each night. So back to my light bulb moment today... it hit me that maybe with Jordan going to different classes all day, getting "breaks" after each 42 minute class, will help to keep him focused. He no longer is in one class sitting at the same desk, listening to the same teacher all day... now he has different teachers, short classes (to keep his attention hopefully), and breaks! I really hope my thinking on this turns out to be true. Plus add to the mix the fact that he's actually liking school (if that lasts), this could be his best year yet! Jordan asked me Wed. night while we were walking through the school halls for 'Back to School Night', "mom, if I make the A/B Honor Roll in the first semester, will you get me a cell phone?" and my answer was "absolutely!" It's not so much the grades I care about (I do care about those), but it's more the fact that he really tries... if he puts his best effort into his school work... shows interest in school, shows more responsibilty about bringing homework home, writing down assignments, doing homework without complaining, etc... If I saw those improvements, that would make me happiest. I've been asking Jordan questions each day about school (ie. what teacher do you like the best, what class are you most excited about, etc.) and it's great to hear that he has such positive answers to all my questions. He's got the "I'm so cool, I'm a middle schooler" attitude and I love it! It's so cute!

So Jordan is now in band too, and he is playing the trumpet. Toward the end of fifth grade, his class took a trip to the middle school and took some kind of music test. I got a call from the band director on Easter Sunday, and was told that Jordan did really well on the band test. He asked if Jordan was interested in joining band, and to my surprise, Jordan was very excited to join. The next question was what instrument to play. Jordan wasn't really sure, but his first response was the French Horn. Then Steve talked to him about maybe trying the trumpet (Steve played the trumpet in high school and has wanted to take it up again for some time). Well the French Horn group was already full, so Jordan chose the trumpet and Steve is super excited! He can't wait for Jordan to bring the insturment home and, well, today was his lucky day, as Jordan brought home the trumpet. As exited as I am that Jordan has joined band, I know that our house is going to be filled with this "trumpet noise" for the next who knows how long (depends if he likes it and stays with it). Steve and Jordan already spent a good portion of this evening taking turns playing the trumpet. Here's a clip of what I have to look forward too :)

Trumpet

This will be a good thing for Jordan and Steve to "bond" over. Steve has already been praising Jordan on how well he's doing. They say kids with ADD excel in the arts. Jordan has always had great drawing skills, now he's done really well on a band test and is playing an instrument, so who knows, maybe he'll be playing the trumpet in the church band soon! I'm really excited for him and I hope he sticks with it. I'll keep you all posted on how it all goes... and don't worry, I'll share the music from time to time too :)

BEHIND

I'm so behind on my blog! I have a list of things written down that I want to talk about (love lists) so I hope to "catch up" this weekend! Anyone else have too much to do and not enough time or is it just me :) LOL

Check back this weekend... I'll have more posted!

Sad Good Night

Tonight was a sad night for our family... we sold Steve's truck. The 1979 Ford F-250 that we had for almost two years is no longer. It was a great truck... very useful, very reliable and full of character. I've never been emotionally attached to a vehicle, but I totally shed some tears as she drove away. Kylee started to really cry and even Steve shed a few tears. Jordan doesn't know yet as he's with his dad this week, but I know he'll be sad too. He wanted the truck to be his first car :) We all are truly going to miss that truck.



On the "bright" side though, by selling the truck we will be able to pay off a chunk of debt, which is all part of the plan. It's actually been three weeks since we started our Dave Ramsey plan and things are going well. We've been sticking to our budget as well as can be expected. We've been paying cash for everything, which is definitely something to get used to and I've been couponing. I haven't done any crazy savings yet (like using $50 worth of coupons on $55 worth of groceries) but hopefully I get to that point. Though I do get a little rush from finding a good deal and having a coupon on a particular product. :)

One of my friends (I won't name names, but she knows who she is) said she gives me 5 weeks before I go on a shopping/spending frenzy. And tonight my dad enlightened me with his opinions on finances. I love the advice dad always gives, but I disagreed with his opinions (because I'm focused on Dave), so we ended up arguing. It was all good and fine in the end (no serious arguing), but dad doesn't necessarily believe in some of Dave's views. He doesn't understand how we will survive without a credit card. So now I'm motivated to prove him wrong too. :)