Updates...

Ahhh, I'm going to go back in time a bit to... Ellie's Birthday. Ellie turned 7 in February. She's getting quite a personality. She has definate likes and dislikes. She likes to draw and create, does NOT like to write her ABC's in school. Loves to color, if it's on her terms. Does NOT like to color if it's part of an assignment. She cracks me up with her funny faces, and she is mastering teasing her brothers, especially if she knows that it bugs them. Her personality is exploding, and she's getting more and more independent all the time. She's a very fun little girl!

This year for her birthday, daddy and I got her a violin. Our family that came to her party each got her a violin lesson. She has been taking piano lessons for a few months now and is antsy to start on the violin. We're waiting to start her lessons until after Grace's birthday. We had gotten a violin for Ellie off Craigslist a while back, but realized it was a bit too small. Grace, after seeing Ellie's violin, asked if she could have one for her birthday. So, she will be getting the other one (shhhh, don't tell) and they will start lessons together (as long as ma and pop's piggy bank holds out :) It gets pricey with 5 kids in lessons, and even more so when they start adding other instruments... I keep telling myself, "It's an investment". Someday, it'll pay off... or at least I'll have some entertainment at family gatherings when I'm old and grey...

Another biggie for us this spring was our entrance into Dave Ramsey's world. Dave has become a close buddy of Paul (it's a one sided relationship... Dave talks and Paul listens). For those who don't know, Dave Ramsey is financial guy that encourages people to get out of debt and get on a budget. He has a radio talk show, podcasts, and seminars. We signed up for his 13 week video seminar at the beginning of the year at a local church. It's been an eye opener to how debt can really chip away at your life. Paul and I have never really had "debt". We would use the credit card and pay it off at the end of the month (to earn the "cash back", of course). Dave encourages you to use cash, and after making the switch to only cash (or debit), I am amazed how much more we spent simply because we didn't have a set limit. If we needed something, we bought it, and would pull money out of savings at the end of the month to pay the bill. By committing to pay cash, I am WAY more careful about what I "pick up" at the store. I make a list and check it twice, and then add the prices up before getting to the checkout to make sure I'm not over my budget. That's right, the "B" word... BUDGET. Something we haven't had in years. In fact, we hadn't even balanced our checkbook in years. Yes, sinful, I know. Our good friend Dave has taken us through the necessity of budgeting and not overspending. Ya know what? It feels great. Not the penny-pinching part, but the idea of knowing which direction we're headed and having a GOAL...

Did I say GOAL? After starting our class AND the smack-in-the-face of getting a $4000 credit card bill after Christmas, (I have NO idea what we spent all that money on), we decided to make our money work for us. What a concept! We did the math, and since we have no car or credit card payments, we decided to work at paying off our house. We had refinanced a couple years ago to a 20 year loan. We had 18 years left. We calculated to see when was the soonest we'd be able to pay off the mortgage if we put all our efforts into it. We figured about 6 years. Six years is a loooooong time to be fighting the penny pinching efforts and Caleb would be 18 and on his way out of the house. He'd be remembering his teen years as a solemn, "no, we can't, we have no money" period of his life. I didn't like that idea. We worked to figures to see if we could do it in 4 years. The numbers worked, BUT only if God intervened.

We prayed and the kids prayed with us for about a month before Paul's annual review at work. We prayed for a very specific amount. The amount we figured it would take to pay off the house in 4 years. (I am convinced through God's word that He is NOT in favor of debt. Mortgage or otherwise. Even if the fancy financial guys say a mortgage is good debt, God says, "Owe no man ANYTHING but the debt of LOVE" and "The borrower is servant to the lender") Our specific amount was not chump change. It was a significant amount. It came to almost a 10% increase, and in this economy, that's no small deal. That's a God deal. Each time I thought about it, I knew that we were attempting to follow God's financial plan and was certain that God would supply what we needed to do what He wanted. Well... let me tell you, God answered our prayer. Not only that, but He blessed us with exactly DOUBLE that specific amount! How awesome is that! So our 4 year calculation is totally do-able! We are still working our budget and getting to know our limitations, but at least we don't have to eat rice and beans for EVERY meal now. :)

To capitalize on the excitement, we have this beauty hanging on our wall for the next four years. The kids and I made a "thermometer" type gauge to visually watch our house get paid off. We make a big deal out of coloring in some of those lines every time we send in the mortgage check. And everytime we pass a big goal (like the little sayings on the side) we have a mini party. Our first was sparkling cider, popcorn and a movie. The kids are already looking forward to the next... Banana splits with lots of whipped cream!

Here is my birthday cake. Caleb and Seth made it for me while I was out gardening (in the crazy 80 degree weather in the middle of March). I am the lovely 35, and if I didn't have so many kids, I'd make some claim to still be in my 20's. With seven kids, that's just not believable ;)

Paul and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary at the end of March. Year number 13 didn't prove to be so unlucky. In fact, the more I'm with him, the more I enjoy him. We have our own style of quirkiness. We are in the same mindset, headed the same direction, with the same purpose, but even more than that, I revel in the fact that I have a great husband whom I love, and who loves me.