Just An Update

I'm sorry I've not been updating much here in "blogland." I've been attempting to spare y'all repetitive posts about my emotions, etc. Anyway, here's an update to life.

We're moving. A WONDERFUL friend offered us their HUGE home in a FABULOUS neighborhood. We're renting it from them at the maximum of what we can afford, but half of what it's worth. I's 3200 sq. ft., 5 beds, 3 bathrooms, pool, basketball/tennis courts, etc. It's a TRUE blessing. God has blessed us immensely through these friends, and we're grateful for it. I'll be able to teach piano and flute again, so it will actually improve our lives. The home is large enough for us to live here comfortably for a very long time. Our move-in date is set for May 1st.

Second, we've been listening to Dave Ramsey. We're trying to improve ourselves financially, and he's helping. I've been talking with other Dave Ramsey people, and we've come up with a few ideas to help our financial situation.

First, instead of trading our car in and taking on a new car payment for a van, we opted to take our tax return and buy a slightly older van outright. God blessed us again, I believe because we trusted him and chose to be faithful stewards with what he gave us (our tax return). We found an amazing deal on a van that is newer than we'd expected, and has every feature we wanted and then some. THANK YOU GOD! We own it outright, no car payments, so this summer (only a couple of months after we move into our new home) we will be CAR PAYMENT FREE!

Second, we're investigating better insurance options for me. We've found that since I am the only one needing medical coverage, and I'm not needing maternity coverage, that private insurance will be a MUCH better option for us than the crap offered through Tim's work. We're looking at $250 a month freed up here as well. So, by summer, we're looking at a total of $650 a month saved!!! This is not including the estimated $100-$200 a month saved in gas by not having to drive 40 min. each trip (2 trips a day) to take Heather to/from school.

So, I am grateful for God placing such wonderful friends and family in our lives to help us figure out ways to become better stewards, and thus alleviate a LOT of stress in our lives.

Tim was diagnosed with Diabetes this month. We're not 100% in agreement with the diagnosis for a lot of reasons, mainly the way the "tests" were done (they were not accurate tests to give a diagnosis like this, and the dr. Tim got stuck with isn't very competent - it's a VA Hospital Dr who admittedly told us his license to practice medicine is limited ONLY to the VA...that his prescriptions and such are good ONLY in the VA system, and won't be recognized by civilian pharmacies, clinics, etc...). However, as his wife I DO see signs that if he's not a diabetic he is at least headed towards that diagnosis. This has proven to be a strain on our marriage, but we're trudging along and working on things. :o) God is good, all the time!

Baby Girl is HUGE! She's in the 18 lb - 19 lb range at only 3 months of age!! She's moving into 9 month clothes because she's equally long! She's cooing up a storm, and "talks" in her sleep (can we say security risk? LOL).

Little Man is going to be 3 in 6 weeks! I can't believe it! My baby boy is growing up! He's such a little man now, not a trace of the baby left in him. He is such a sweet, tenderhearted little boy. I pray that God keeps him this way.

Sweet Pea is about to be 5! She's such a sweet girl, and she LOVES her baby sister. She's thriving in school, starting to read, and doing basic addition/subtraction. We're getting ready to home school her this fall. She has a best friend, with whom she shares a love of horses and has already spent the night. She is fearless. She spent the night with her friend, and didn't even need a call home to put her at ease. LOL I think I was more nervous about the night than she was, and even I was fairly at ease. I trust her friend's mother implicitly: they're a like-minded Christian family. She is also starting Martial Arts through a WONDERFUL program at a local church. She's loving this as well.

I think this is all for now. All in all, our family is doing well. God is continuing to work in our lives and bless us immensely.