Party On

Y'all, after 5 years and 2 months we finally did it! We're debt free! To celebrate I wanted to recap the journey for us.  Five years ago at Christmas we were gifted one of Dave Ramsey's debt free books. I don't even recall which one, but I do recall feeling compelled to get out of debt. At the time Josh and I had been married for 7 months. I brought in 60k in debt to our marriage: 40k in graduate school student loans, 20k in a new car. He brought in debt too- some student loans and car loans. It wasn't stressful to pay our bills, but seeing how much I paid in interest was frustrating.  We were off on a pretty good start. We had over 100k in debt, which isn't ideal for sure- but we did cash flow our wedding and trips- and we took some good trips! Now I should say we did a modified version of Dave Ramsey. There were things that we did that were off- like taking vacations for example, but honestly- I don't regret it. We didn't accrue debt for that a...

Anias is 17 months old! He's wild and crazy and fits right in. We just got home from Wyoming Monday night after a little 2 week jaunt of just us two. I'm still super unprepared for life. We haven't had groceries since I got home. I haven't done laundry, went shopping, or even unpacked. It's a little hectic right now, but it was worth it!  Anias: 17 Months Figuring out Zippers I say new words like… Uh oh, nuh uh, snack, grandma, papa, dad-dy, There he is!, yum, love you I have  17 teeth My favorite food is still eggs and blueberries My favorite toy is my toy Dyson or my trucks Some other things I did include… learning my body parts. I dance to Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes where I know every part (plus my belly). I've figured out doors and you know I'm running if my hands are in the air. I love dogs and like to feed not only Peanut Butter, but characters on tv and the iPad. I bring whatever clothes are nearby for mom to put on m...

I was going to wait to post this until after Eli's birthday party (we postponed it due to Anias' being ill and the weather being crap), but they're already changing so much! Eli: FOUR Years Old I tell mom "I brush my teeth all day long, so my teeth won't fall out and I won't have to go to the dentist!" I break out in sporadic prayer and some of them are so sweet. I prayed that our Heavenly Father would protect me from bad guy dreams and naughty guys (in life). I told mom "I love you will all my heart, all my soul, and all my paper." I love knowing what things say and am always interested in the 'no' signs. I asked for a Curious George, Fireman, Policeman, Car Wreck party. Mom did her best- and only realized later on I probably wanted a Rescue Bots/Curious George party. I call my ribs ribbons and asked for a hobo stick (pogo stick) for my birthday. Mom told me she loved me and I said, "yeah, well that's how life works....

It was a busy month! We spent 2 weeks in Wyoming with my family, celebrating Thanksgiving and enjoying the absence of snow. My dad got good news too- his labs indicated that the chemo is working! He still has cancer, but it is not growing and his PSA levels were .07 (a healthy man in his condition should have a 0)! It totally sucks seeing him in pain, but he's still walking, eating, and hasn't had too much nausea yet.  snuggling with Papa Then we came home on the 30th, had our new pup (Eli & Anias' Christmas present) delivered the 1st and celebrated Josh's birthday the 2nd.  After that it was Christmas prep time. So far we've Wrapped presents Picked out a tiny-toddler approved tree and put it up Bought our yearly Christmas ornament Put lights up outside Decorated indoors Made cookies, caramel popcorn, and hot chocolate with homemade bread Started our Shepherd on the Search Advent Calendar Watched Polar Express, White Christma...

Well I'm behind in my life so this is all about the babies! Anias: 14 Months old I say new words like…  “yuck", "please" I have   10    teeth My favorite food is blueberries My favorite toy is  my stuffed owl Some other things I did include… I make car noises (blow raspberries) when I push cars around. I shake my head no and yes a lot and turn on my baby monitor to pretend it's a phone. I take clothes out of the dryer and put them in the basket and I walk constantly. Mom can't remember the last time I crawled. I tease mom and brother. I like to almost give mom a bite of food then tear it away and laugh. I like to take brother's toys and run. I play chase every day and love to go down slides. I wait until the count of 3 and then throw myself down the slide. I like to hide in the curtains. I was curious George for Halloween while brother was the man with the yellow hat. I held my Halloween bucket all by myself! I went to my first pumpkin pat...

I might need to keep doing biweekly blogs just to keep my mind straight. Writing definitely helps me feel all zen, even if I'm the only one reading them. Here We Go Chemo Remember the little infographic about my dad? Well he fell here... in the terminal section. That doesn't mean he's going to die tomorrow (thank God!), but he's definitely more likely to die from cancer than old age. So that's not the most exciting news. The good news is there are still treatment options, and he's begun hormone therapy and will start chemo next week. Eli and I are going down to help (Eli is so excited to feed their dog) and enjoy their company in general. Modern medicine is so amazing and moving so quickly and I still feel hope that he will be around to meet my grandkids, but if you pray- pray for him please- and us. That's Hot It's that time of year again, the hot toy list is out! It's filled with robots and Teddy Ruxpin (ha!) and a bunch of seemingly real...

Anias is a year (and a week) old! We had so much fun at his party and I feel so blessed to be his mama. I would generally write a sappy, thoughtful bit here but I'm a little overwhelmed at the moment. I hope you enjoy the picture overload regardless! I still have a whole set to do of him in his birthday chair. Eek! Anias: Week 52- 1 year old  Dad calls me the great escape artist because I'm always sneaking out of everything. I like to free fall on the couch and I laugh and laugh even though it terrifies mom. I stand on my rocking chair and shake it back and forth or maneuver it so I can knock down all the toy storage on the top shelf. I like to 'play basketball' by throwing balls into my bucket and I took 4 steps in a row! I had my 1 year checkup and I weighed 19 lbs 12 oz (24th percentile), was 30 inches tall (56th percentile) and my head is 18.5 inches in circumference (76th percentile). I continued the family tradition of being sick...