A Lovely Birthday

Yesterday was wonderful!! The best birthday!!!

I shared the best breakfast with Hubbie. We then packed a lunch and headed with the girls to Daingerfield State Park to hit their bike trails.

What a ride!!! We hit the easy loop to start! We lerned to avoid the sand bogs. Then we hit the A Trail.

We started down hill... that was fun and fast. As we had to head back up Ladybug was ready to tun back. She was done!

With a big rest off the path, we started again with a big dose of encouragement. "You can do it." "Walk if you need too." "I can do all things thru Him who gives me strength." "To go back the way we've come is all up hill." "You're doing good." "We're almost to the top of the hill." It was hard!

You can see Ladybugs face all flushed. We were all hot and downing the water.

We completed the trail and we were glad to get in the car for the A/C!!! We drove around the park and headed home. We'd thought to stay the day but the heat drove us home.

I'm so ready to go back!! My bike's tires are slashed from the rocks on the path and it has flats too. That's a bit of recover but I hope to go back soon!!! Maybe the girls will swim.

Once home we cleaned up to get out for dinner. We enjoyed Texas Roadhouse!! A treat for sure!!!

It was a best birthday ever!!! Filled with family and fun!!! The Facebook notes were great too!!!

Thank you Husband for a wonderful birthday!!!

ss

Phone Squelch

Yesterday I bought 2 of the LG600 Tracfone. Today I returned them both. After they said NO to the return... they did take them back! Thankfully!

After calling to cancel Sprint, we've worked out a psudo plan. Alas, my phone & Hubbies have been totally squelched. All we can do now is call... and text. I'd wanted and iPhone! Ha! "I'm cutting bills!!!"

I cannot count the times I've tried to use the phone to catch up on email... or read the news. Now with a blocker on the phone there's no service... and no extra charges. "I'm cutting bills!"

So, bottom line I've cut my Sprint bill from $110 to something like $30.
We have 350 minutes... no roam... Sprint calls free, and any 5 #s free... and 100 text. That may be a test... without the accessories I'm finding using the texting more... "Yet cutting bills!"

As long as my phone works... today I'm with Sprint. I'll not commit to any years so there's no breaks in phone prices. In the store they actually told me to hit ebay!!! Hummm.... Anybody have an good used phone???

Cutting bills!!!
Grace! ss

Blueberry Festival Countdown

This is the weekend!!! It IS Blueberry Festival time!!

In 2007, I think, we actually camped at Palistine's Railraod Park to catch the blueberries. We all enjoyed the pancakes!! Yumm....

Here's the official site for the Texas Blueberry Festival!!!
Here's a news blast on it...

Oh!! The Great Texas Balloon Race is just around the corner!!!

Grace! ss

A new kid...

We have a new kid on the block...

She and Maple are not getting along well... Maple want to herd her and runs endless circles around the kid.

The girls are thrilled! Hubbies made a table for the kid to climb on! They were all eager to have her here. Hope the neighbors feel the same!!

We are borrowing the goat for a month... if we can keep her contained that long. For now she's in a harness and tethered. That required a new tether to keep Maple from herding.

We have bleating at night and she woke the fam this morning before 7a. She quiets when the girls are out to play.

She's a sweet blue eyed kid... baaaabaaaa...

Grace! ss

Daddy

What are Daddy's made of?
Snakes & Nails & Alligator Tails!!

Love you Hubbie!! Grace! 123

Phone or House

We have the option...
We can either pay for the cell phones or pay off the house??

What would you choose?

Snip.. there goes another rubber tree plant!

Grace! ss

Follow up... the Paid off in 10 is only in theory... humf! We needed a car fund. Now to cut everything we can to make it happen!! Snip!

Shattered the Grill

Bummer! Drats!

Instead of grilled chicken... 2 kinds for dinner.... I've managed to destroy the grill as the glass shattered destroying both the grill and dinner.

The girls heard the glass burst as the grill was aflame. I lost a shoe running to turn off the gas and now shoeless with a blistered foot. I'm glad the girls were not near the glass nor Maple as the girls had her on the leash.

I hope the milk is good... It must be a cereal night....

Hmmm. Father's Day approaches. How does that fit in the budget!!!

Grace! ss

Alas, there's too much to blog today!!!

The 10 Year Plan

We'll is it official... we are hooked on a new financial plan. Thru the years we've tried to go no debt.. the minivan & A/C system busted that.... we've tried to follow the teaching of the Bible... Larry Burket and Austin Prior... and other Godly teachers.

Only now have we started heading in the direction to pay debts and save.

Here's what's changed our direction:

• Spend EVERY dollar before the month begins
• Absolutely no credit
• Now we're looking at 10 years to be free & clear.

I've listened to the CDs. Then I bought the books and read them.... The Total Money Makeover, Financial Peace Revisited, and I'm listening to the podcast of Dave Ramsey.

We started this journey in March thanks to our Small Group with FBC. Relunctly, I spent the money for the materials for the study. I had the hope that maybe this would get Hubbie and I on the same page. He'd been frustrated for quite some time. I'd only kept the checkbook yearly or so. I'd decided my time with homeschooling did not give me time to account for us. Our quicken program needed an upgrade and I'd refused to do the quicken thing. We'd done quicken since 1993 and it had not helped yet!!!

It has totally changed our direction!! Now we've been spending every dollar before the month since March.

This week we've had the break thru. I've been running numbers like crazy...

EVERY available dollar to an Emergency Fund of 3-6 months of expenses. That's till sometime next year.
Then we're debating a car fund. That's till 2011.
Next is the 15% to retirement & college funds for the girls.
Pay off the mortgage.

As I ran those numbers there was just not enough at the end to attack our mortgage.

Refiguring over and over... I've tried to find how can I add about 400 a month... what can I do to help... just $100 a week. The numbers have been running and running in my head. How can we do this!??? The pieces just did not fit.

In the late night hours I found the key.

To pay off the house as well as the retirement & college fund... we have to pay early NOW and not wait till these others are done. Then it will all fit. Praise Praise Praise!!!!
Really, we are treating our 30 year mortgage like a 15 year. This is what puts us on the 10 year plan!!!

10 years to be debt free!!! 120 months or so! I hear the grass feels different then... :)

Only God can bless our plan and make it happen!!! It's all HIS!!! I do feel like we are on a better stewardship plan than we've ever been.

Grace!!! ss

Followup: In review we just cannot make it fit!! Alas, we need a car fund for we cannot drive the house. Soooo we are working on ways to cut expenses like the phone bill to pay off the house!! Snip!

How do you boil water?

Ladybug asked "How will you boil water?"

It as a genuine question! Alas, my electric kettle has keeled over. The base has a short in it and with all Hubbie's efforts he's been unable to repair it. So we'll need to figure out how to boil water... or get a new electric kettle...

Why boil water?? We're always making Hubbie's pick of peach tea... and my pick of mint tea. Do come over and we'll treat you to an iced glad of tea!!

In the meantime, I'm boiling water on the stove top in a saucer... I don't even have a kettle!!

Grace! ss