Looking ahead

22 Tuesday May 2012

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Its that time of year again to start planning out our summer. I have been working on summer plans since Christmas. This always seems to be the way it goes when you are working full time and juggling child care.

One of the biggest things I have been thinking about this summer is keeping E on track with school. We’ve worked really hard this year to keep our head above water and are finally starting to get some momentum. I really don’t want to lose this and I know summer is one of the most challenging times for students. After E’s diagnosis with dyslexia and ADHD in September we have focused on getting E accommodations in school and in the right reading program. Over the course of this year I have noticed she is getting better at reading and more willing to read directions on her papers or signs whenever we are out and about. We still have a lot of work to do and also need to help her get stronger in math.

One of the biggest areas of math I am going to focus on over the summer is her math facts. We have moved from addition and subtraction to multiplication and division. The pace seems to go quickly and we are struggling to keep up. I have tried to do flash cards with E, but these just don’t seem to work. They frustrate her and I, there is no set amount of time, its the same over and over and over and we don’t see progress. I was reading the homeschooling section of The Pioneer Woman the other day and multiple comments mentioned the website Xtramath.com. Its a free website that works solely on math facts. As parents you can get a login and add your children. Then you put in their grade and it places them accordingly. It is broken down into daily activities taking approximately 10 mins each day. We did it tonight for the first time and E really seemed to like it. You have 10 seconds to answer each problem, but the goal is to get it in under 3 seconds, earning you a smily face.

E’s school also has a summer workbook you can order to bridge the gap between grade levels. It keeps the child working on things they have already been learning. Its divided into 12 weeks with 2 pages per day, 5 days a week. We did it last summer and it worked out really well. Its called: Vacation Station and you can find each grade level here, on Amazon.

The school also does “Reading Bingo” over the summer earning the kids a free dress day when they return to school in the fall. Since we will already be reading over the summer we will read books as directed on the bingo card to earn E all her points.

Lastly, E will be doing twice weekly tutoring in June with her Academic Language Therapist to continue and build on all the principles learned in the Scottish Rite Dyslexia Reading program. We have seen so much progress with this program and I am so thankful for the many people who directed us toward this gold standard program and God’s divine intervention.

While it may seem like a lot of work, my goal is to have E do her math and workbook for 45-60 min daily, read approximately 20 mins daily and attend her tutoring sessions. If broken up appropriately this will not be too much, but should keep us on track for 3rd grade in the fall.

Here we come 3rd grade! We’re gonna be ready for you!

(taken Aug 2011 – first day of 2nd grade)

The Effects of Debt

20 Sunday May 2012

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My journey with debt began several years ago as I watched my savings dwindle and my credit card bills pile up. I was freshly out of college with a very small amount of debt, but I wasn’t handling my money well. I grew up with wonderful parents and an extremely frugal father. He was always watching where the money went and made sure to pay off his credit cards monthly. Why was it so hard for me to follow suit? I found myself spending more than I made and living outside my means. My parents had worked very hard to reach a place where they could enjoy a few luxuries in life. My mom often reminded me that when we were younger we didn’t have these luxuries. We couldn’t go out to eat all the time and we cut coupons to save grocery money. But all I remembered was the luxuries of living at home and having money to spend. I quickly learned I couldn’t keep living pay check to pay check. I went a couple months without completely paying off my credit card and it gave me heart burn. I realized there had to be a better way.

Not long after I found Dave Ramsey and started reading his book- The Total Money Makeover. I began to follow some of his principles and align my spending and budgeting accordingly. When I moved to TX I decided to take his Financial Peace University at my church. I was at the point where I needed accountability. I needed to attend a class every week and have someone ask me how I was doing. With a class of approximately 200 people we ended with only about 25-30 after 13 weeks. I completely paid off my credit card debt in that time frame and also started throwing more money at my car payment to have it paid off in 6 months. In Sept 2011 I became completely DEBT FREE.

This journey leads me to a place in life where I never want to have debt again. I never want to have to live paycheck to paycheck and I want to have a plan for a rainy day. Granted I’m not perfect and I’m more of a spender than a saver, but I’ve also learned to say NO.

As I began to date The Minister I quickly became aware of his debt in the form of student loans. Early on we discussed money and my opinions about debt. Thankfully he too had heard of and followed Dave Ramsey to some degree, though not fully. Thankfully he doesn’t even own a credit card, but while in college he fell into the trap of believing there is nothing wrong with student loans. He took them out freely with the belief he would just pay them back over 10 years once he finished his schooling.

As we began to look at finances together his debt became my reality, a reality I didn’t want to embrace. Debt was something I had run very far away from. One day I finally pinned him down and asked him for the exact figure for his student loans. He came back with a number much higher than I expected and it made me very angry. Angry because he was bringing this into my life and angry because he didn’t have a better plan then the 10 year plan. The next 24 hours were rough, very rough as I processed this information and we dealt with addressing a very serious issue between the two of us.

As the past week has progressed things have gotten better and we have started to pray very hard about our future and God’s provision. We also began to make a plan and ask God for very specific things.

This morning in church we had an evangelic speaker, Ken Freeman, who shared an extremely powerful message on Matthew 20: 29-34. His question was, “What can Jesus Do for you?”

First, you have to HAVE A NEED: Our need is financial security/resources

Second, DROP YOUR PRIDE: Right now I am letting go of my pride by telling the world we’re in debt. The Minister has let go of his pride as he seeks a job, maybe even TWO in whatever field he can.

Third, BE REAL AND HONEST ABOUT YOUR NEED: We need The Minister to get a good paying job. We need the focus and determination to pay off our debt.

Fourth, BE DETERMINED THAT GOD WILL MEET YOUR NEED: We have asked God for very specific things and I know God is bigger than all of us combined and can answer our prayers. We must not contain God in a box, but realize he will bless us beyond comprehension when we ask him.

Lastly, WORRY WILL BLIND YOU FROM WORSHIP: This was simply a point the pastor made today that stuck with me. As I lift my prayers up to the father I must truly trust him. God knows exactly what we need.

Over the past week I have read two articles about the detrimental effects of student loans and the lies my generation has bought into. It may look good to take out loans, go to school and have ten years to pay off the debt, but the reality is harsh. In our case the combined minimal debt payments for the outstanding loans is $631/month. On an average post college salary that may be a 1/3 of your total monthly income. Beyond your debt you have monthly rent, food, gas, electric, phone, insurance, medical, and personal expenses. Leaving you with little or no extra money to dump toward your debt. Forcing you into the never ending cycle of debt payments and increasing interest. One Harvard Grad realized this and decided to do something about it. Please visit his blog and watch the video, here. It makes a powerful statement and inspires us.

If you would like to encourage us, hold us accountable and pray with us here are our prayers:

-For Austin to find a job (or 2) in San Antonio by July 10th that will provide for our needs and pay off our debt.

-That we would be debt free by June 2014! (It is particularly important for us to be debt free before we move to a foreign mission field.)

We will also be diligently living a frugal life in order to dump more money toward our debt, just a few examples include:

Rare occasions of eating out, no starbucks, and sonic only at happy hour.

Rare occasions of going to the movies or none at all.

Kate won’t get her hair highlighted.

No travel outside of TX.

My relationship with Whole Foods must be distanced

I will diligently follow the www.emeals.com eating plan to keep our grocery budget in check.

We will also being selling: my bike, a couch, my bed, and a chest of drawers. With more things to be added as necessary.

This list will continue to evolve.

Thank you for allowing me to BE REAL with you tonight.

Aquatica’s Opening Day

19 Saturday May 2012

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The most amazing thing about living in San Antonio is the ability to go to Sea World any time we want. Upon moving to San Antonio we immediately bought season passes. This year I bought them on black friday and received $20 off each ticket, pretty sweet deal. If you go to Sea World more than once a year it pays to buy an annual pass. As pass members we get FREE parking every time ($15 savings), plus 20% off all park purchases including tours, camps, and animal experiences. This year I also bought E a week of summer camp on black friday and received another amazing deal.

Best of all Sea World built a new water park this year and it opened TODAY! As crazy as it may sound I decided to get up bright and early and go on opening day. Several friends at work thought I was crazy, but E was on board, so I figured we could be crazy together. Its also our last weekend as Single Mom and daughter before The Minister moves down south, so I wanted to end it with a bang. Makes me cry a little to realize that 8 years as a single mom are almost over!

Today we woke up at 6:30, put on our swimsuits, had breakfast and were out the door by 7:20. We stopped for gas and money and were off to Sea World. The gates opened at 8 and I figured there would be lots of people there, so I wanted to be early. Thankfully I wasn’t the first car, but we were about the 7th.

Breakfast of Water Park Champions!- Special Whole Foods Chocolate Croissant and protein shake.

Good Morning Sea World

Look at all those cars!! HEHE :) – P.S. She also has Harry Potter in her hand to keep us company till the park opens at 10 AM.

There it is, right over that fence! We waited at the gate for about an hour, then saw the ribbon cutting and finally walked to the front gate.

We Made IT!

The signature Aquatica Animal- Stingrays!

Just waiting for people to fill them!

Our first animal encounter! Completely awesome! Emma’s been asking me for an owl, just like Harry Potter.

We’re ready!

Went down this awesome slide called sting ray falls, which dumps you into a clear tube where the sting rays are swimming around you. We were also able to pet the sting rays and feed them. We spent at least 30 mins at the sting rays twice today! E will forever be my animal lover. I would not at all be surprised to see her working with animals as an adult, maybe even at Sea World some day!

Opening Day Sand Castles. They contracted 3 sand castle builders for the day. They were working on these all day. They turned out so cool!.

Baby Pool (For my cousin Angela- I would like to see you this summer!!)

Thank you Aquatica for the amazing day!

Was it worth it? YES!!

Will we be going again? Yes, in two weeks actually with several friends from work.

The park was absolutely amazing. It might have been silly to get up at 7 am and go to opening day, but how often do you get to do something crazy like that in life? E had a blast and kept telling me how much she loved me.

We rode 3 slides, floated the lazy river twice, spent hours in the wave pool, petted and feed sting rays and swam in several other pools with kid friendly slides. Sea World had a water park before, but this is so much better. It even has SAND, which makes the whole experience more fun.

One thing we did not experience was the food. With our diet eating at the park is not an option; I took my trusty cooler filled with lunch and snacks. I actually thought I was taking too much food, but by the time we left at 5 PM there were only 2 apples left in the cooler. I also took our Sea World cup and filled it with water, for free, throughout the day :)

The park capacity number is 5,000. I thought for opening day they might reach it, but I didn’t notice them close the park for any length of time. It actually never felt too crowded. The slides had lines at all of them, but that is to be expected.

As a Season Pass Holder we will be spending a lot of time there this summer. They are also going to be open late, so I expect some evenings at the park.

Thank you Sea World/Aquatica we now have a new friend and you turned me into a lobster!

How to Love Your Pastoral Staff

19 Saturday May 2012

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Allow me to take this opportunity to brag on the church I’ve called home for the last four years.  FBC Brownwood has shown me what it means to care for people.  I’ve seen these people embrace new staff, support them and their ideas, come around them in times of need, and celebrate with them when God calls them elsewhere.  I have been truly blessed by this church.

A few of weeks ago The Mom and I were spoiled as my church threw us an awesome wedding shower.  Now, I had never actually been to one before since they have usually been for women only, but I can’t really imagine them getting much better than the one we had.  There was great food, great people, and we were blessed by their generosity. E even go to swim with some other kids so she wasn’t bored! Kate and I are planning to make regular use of one of the gifts pictured below:

The Mom is excited for me to grill for her this Summer so she doesn’t have to actually touch the raw meat!

My mom got to come up for the shower too, which was nice!

Aren’t they gorgeous?!

A couple of weeks after The Mom and I were blessed with our shower, FBC Brownwood blessed another young couple who are working with the church by helping them fix up the house they will move into after their wedding.  More than 30 people, including teenagers, showed up on a Saturday morning at 8:00am to paint, mow, weed-eat, caulk, install a window, install a door, install insulation, repair electrical wiring and clean.  The last workers did not leave until after 8pm.  Here are some pictures of the work that was done:

BEFORE

AFTER (the door was replaced with a standard sized door, and we still had a little cleaning to do after this was taken, but you get the idea)

So if you need any ideas for how to make your pastoral staff, call FBC Brownwood. They’re pros!

Top 10 Reasons I’m Excited to Get Married

18 Friday May 2012

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Wow, its been exactly 10 days since we last posted a blog and so much has happened. I am not sure how we fell of the bandwagon. The Minister was so good about staying on top of this and making sure we were producing fresh content.

Tonight as I stood in my kitchen I started to think about all the things that excite me about marriage. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t live in a fantasy world and believe its going to be perfect or easy, but it is an exciting time. I think I am pretty realistic about marriage and maybe even a bit pessimistic at times. I realize The Minister has a hard job coming into my life with E and adjusting to being a husband and a father. I also realize I am taking him away from his comfortable life and friends in Brownwood. In truth the decision for him to move to San Antonio was not easy and it took a lot of prayer and consideration of our future goals. For now we will call San Antonio, TX home. As we always said when I was growing up “Home is where the Air Force sends you.” For Austin and I it will be “Home is where God sends us.”

Why am I excited about marriage?

1. I get to wake up next to him every day and realize he loves and supports me.

2. I get to kiss him every day

3. I get to run outside on real pavement again!! (this is something I love) More on running as the summer progresses.- Marathon training begins on my birthday, July 10

4. I have someone to cook for and eat all the food I want to try. Unfortunately he is going to be a guinea pig for a while. I have lots of new recipes I want to try and I’m not very good with meat, so we’ll be learning together.

5. He gets to grill for me!

6. He can drill holes outside for my hanging plants and fix my stupid leaking toilet.

7. I get to pray with him everyday

8. Emma gets a daddy.

9. He will be there to help me, so I don’t feel like I’m barely hanging on.

10. He’s really good at unloading a dishwasher!! (His Mommy taught him well).

Last night I went and had my bridal portraits done; only 6 weeks till the wedding. My portrait session was amazing. Our wedding photographer, Arol, is exceptionally talented. He seemed very natural and had so much fun during the shoot. He kept saying “Oh, go stand there the light is perfect.” I was nervous going into it because I’d never really had portraits taken, but he told me exactly what to do. I can’t wait to see the pictures and for our wedding day. Its all going to be amazing!

RaNdOmNeSs of MaY

08 Tuesday May 2012

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This begins the randomness of my life last week. I attended an awards ceremony at E’s school last monday and in the search for a parking spot I find THIS GUY! Really dude? There are barely enough parking spots as it is on campus and he decides he needs THREE! I wanted to leave a note and tell him its not a very Christian thing to do. (P.S. E goes to a Christian school)

– This is her sleeping on the couch at 4 pm. My child NEVER sleeps in the middle of the day.

Monday turned into tuesday and E had a fever when I picked her up from school. On Wednesday and Thursday we stayed home from school with an off and on fever. Besides a cough she had no other symptoms, so I just gave her tylenol and cough medicine and kept watching her.

On Friday they had field day and she had been fever free for a day and really wanted to go, so I let her. (Probably shouldn’t have). She did really good though and had fun. After wards we went ahead and drove to Brownwood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FBC Brownwood threw us a wonderful wedding shower. We received some awesome gifts and ate really good food. (wish I had more pictures, but they were captured over three digital devices and I haven’t been given copies.) After the shower we went home for the evening and crashed. The Minister and I were going to go to a 10 pm movie, but I was dead. I constantly have to remind him that I turn into a pumpkin at 10 pm.

Again E spiked a fever sunday night, so I finally decided it was time to visit the doctor. We are treating her with a 3 day course of antibiotics. Potential “walking Pneumonia” diagnosis, but we’re not 100% sure. She went back to school today and seems to be doing better. Still not all the way recovered. I also had to have her medication compounded to ensure it was flavor and additive free. Thankfully her pediatrician is willing to write for this and I know of a great pharmacy nearby that compounds meds, Oakdell Pharmacy in Stone Oak area of San Antonio. Most people probably forget that almost all kids medicines have artificial colors and flavors in them. Luckily E is at the age where she can take the adult dose of some medications, but not this particular antibiotic. I will tell you the medication tastes TERRIBLE, AWFUL, and DISGUSTING, but she’s been a champ. Taken 2/3 doses! Thankfully we only have 1 dose left. Not sure we would make it through a 7-10 day course of antibiotics.

Yesterday I finally returned to work and its been interesting. I’ve learned you just can’t please everyone no matter how hard you try. Work Stress is really not fun or good stress.

Keep us in your prayers. We have three weeks of school left and this time of year is super stressful. Lots of school activities, plus this year I have wedding tasks: final dress fitting this weekend, portraits next week, then one more week of school and final class party.

Random Life

03 Thursday May 2012

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On Tuesday E had crazy dress day at school. It was an impromptu day as the class filled up their marble jar. Emma went to school with 4 pony tails and completely mismatched outfit. The only thing that matched were her shoes.

She also started to develop a cough and by the time I picked her up on Tuesday afternoon she had a fever. We’ve been home the past two days.  Yesterday she was a little more sleepy, but besides a cough hasn’t acted too “sick.” Today she seems normal, but still has a fever and a cough. I’d really like to go to work tomorrow, but fevers often linger for several days.

Yesterday I did go and get my hair cut and E took her DVD player. I also made cookies and brownies. The brownie recipe came from Joy the Baker and are so delicious, they secretly had Black Beans in them :) . And E likes to tell me she doesn’t like beans. That silly girl doesn’t know whats good for her. I’ve also started making her protein shakes, which she really enjoys.

My wedding list is down to 4 tasks. We already have our final meeting set up with the venue and my bridal portraits are in 2 weeks. Its only a few short weeks till the wedding day! This weekend is a couples shower put on by several wonderful ladies at The Minister’s church.

How to be a Cool Dad- Step 1

01 Tuesday May 2012

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As The Mom already told you, I got to spend last Friday learning more about being a dad.  E and I had an awesome time at the zoo and riding trails through the park and I really got to learn some things during the whole experience.  It seems like every time I’m left to take care of E by myself I learn some new aspect about the role of father and, this time, what I learned was quite practical.

As I prepared to leave the house with E, The Mom informed me that I needed to be sure to pack snacks and a drink for the trip.  I thought this was strange because we were only going to be at the zoo for three hours. Then would go back home for lunch.  But apparently, 8 year olds are not able to walk several miles around a zoo without stopping for the occasional snack.  So, like a good dad I gathered the appropriate snacks:

I was confident that E would not eat all of these, but wanted her to have some options.  But once the snacks were assembled I realized I faced a dilemma:  the cheese and yogurt would start to spoil if they weren’t kept cool somehow.  The problem was that the only cooler I  The Mom owns is a bright pink one, and that would be almost unbearable for me to carry around in public.  So I went on a mission to find an alternative device that could hold all of the snacks, plus a couple of ice-packs, and would not leak.  The result: my very own bag!

The Mom got me this bag for my birthday last year, and it turns out that it is the perfect solution for dads who need to carry stuff for the kids, but still want to look like a dude!  It’s a carrier bag made by Chrome that features a waterproof, truck-tarp lining on the inside.  It is 100% waterproof!  The bag was well insulated so the food was kept cool, and nothing leaked through.  It was also the perfect size for our needs, but larger versions are available if you need something bigger.

You see, Step 1 to being a cool dad is getting the right gear.  When guys want to start a new sport or go on a camping trip, or pretty much do anything, the first thing we do is “gear up”.  And we don’t want to be seen carrying pink coolers and frilly diaper bags.  We need manly gear that still serves a fatherly purpose.  I was able to find a website called www.dadgear.com that has some cool stuff, but if you know of any other places to get cool dad gear, let me know!

Great Weekend

30 Monday Apr 2012

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Over the past several weeks The Minister and I have been able to spend a lot of time together. We have had several back to back weekends together between Brownwood and San Antonio. Somehow there has been one event or another requiring us to be together. This friday was “fiesta holiday” here in San Antonio and E had the day off of school. It was pretty much the only full day off school this semester where I didn’t have child care, so we just planned a long time ago to have The Minister come down for the weekend. He had the opportunity to take E to the zoo friday morning and then to the nearby park in the afternoon. By the time I came home from work she was a hot sweaty mess! They had a blast together and E rode her bike around the park for over an hour. We’ve really tried to encourage exercise and getting her outside to help with the ADHD symptoms. The minister is really good about doing this and whenever he has her after school they spend most of the time outside.

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On friday evening he made dinner for me too (i planned it, he cooked ;) . We had homemade french fries and lamb burgers. Wish I had a picture, but I forgot! He did a great job on dinner and all I did was wash the dishes.

Saturday morning I really needed to clean the house because I wasn’t home last weekend and I won’t be home next weekend. I have learned The Minister is really good a following a list. If I just tell him what needs to be done he does it. I gave him a few instructions on how I like the house cleaned and he did a great job. I left for an appointment and when I came home an hour later he had done everything I asked. After I finished the upstairs and we had lunch, E had riding lessons.

Since this was one of the last weekends together till June I wanted to get a few wedding purchases out of the way. I asked a coworker if she could watch E for a few hours while we got some stuff done sans a 8 year old trying to be the center of attention. We dropped E off and finished out errands in record time.

After hearing about a local pizza joint over and over from a local friend/blogger, Kelly we decided to invite my coworker and her family and meet there for dinner. The pizza place is really on the other side of town for us, but since we were already over there, we just made a day out of it. Fralo’s, has awesome pizza and it was a great atmosphere! We ate outside, ordered 3 pizzas for 7 people and cleaned our plates! The service was great and its even BYOB! We didn’t know about the BYOB, but next time we will be bringing our own drinks.

They even had live music and the guy was pretty good. We’ll be eating at this place again.

What a great weekend! Only 4 more weeks of school for E and this time of year gets really busy. Awards ceremonies, field day, and an end of the year party. The next two months are going to fly by!

Brownwood Take 2

25 Wednesday Apr 2012

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The Minister already mentioned  E and I went to visit him last weekend. This has been the first time we have been since January, which felt like a really long time ago. I’m thankful he is willing to coming to San Antonio because I have too much going on with E and full-time work.

First thing I did on Saturday morning was go for a run. I love running in Brownwood because I can head out on the road and get lost in the country. Saturday morning was absolutely gorgeous. It was perfect sunny weather, but not too warm. I ran about 3.5 miles and came across so many beautiful wildflowers!

After my run we went to the community gardens. They were having a little spring “festival” and ladybug release for the kids. I knew E would like this and it gave us something to do.

After a wonderful BBQ lunch from  a local joint, Sticks, we headed to the park. I have to laugh because every time we go The Minister introduces me to something new, but he doesn’t realize it. He took me to the BBQ place and I laughed because he has never taken me there before. Then we went to a new park, which is way better than the park we normally go to. I think its all old hat to him, so he doesn’t realize its new and exciting for me.

Above is E and The Minister off on some adventure. Then we walked around the whole park and came across this awesome bridge!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gotta mention how skinny The minister is getting. Compared to 15 months ago when we met each other he has lost over 20 lbs. (40 lbs since initial wt loss started) Now he is doing P90X again, so the rest should come off shortly! Go!!

They were having a good time on the bench playing with each other. E is really a prankster and thinks its great fun to tickle people!
I love my Man! I am sorry he is leaving Brownwood, but so excited we get to spend our lives together! I am so blessed by The Minister’s head pastor because they have always allowed me to stay at their house. They have a wonderful bedroom where E and I sleep and E has so much fun with them. The Minister and I have affectionately called their backyard, The Grove! It is absolutely beautiful. Debi, the pastor’s wife has done such a nice job making it beautiful. They only bought the home about a year and a half ago, but its really turning out nicely. They extended the deck and she’s added tons of plants and flowers. They have two hammocks, so we enjoy “resting” in them. I say “resting” because you can imagine an 8 year old does not allow for much peace and quiet.

 

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