Saturday, February 23, 2008

A Dave Ramsey Testimonial

Many of you may know that we are BIG fans of Dave Ramsey and his teachings. We started listeing to Dave about 2 1/2 years ago and decided to join the "Debt Free" movement. We started a budget for the first time in our lives and did our best to live frugally and within our means. This past summer we accomplished a HUGE goal when we became DEBT FREE!! The was accomplished with a lot of hard work, supportive friends, and many many blessings that entered our lives.

So we were really excited to be debt free, but we were also excited to loosen our purse strings a little and have some fun. We were still saving but also enjoying life. Then we got hit with a WHAMMY. Jeff was "let go" from his job. Yes, big shock in our lives. What are we going to do? How will we survive? Should we panic?

The answers to those questions quickly presented themselves. NO, we don't have to panic. YES, we do have a plan. We have been living that plan for the past 2 1/2 years. We don't have a mortgage because Dave said we shouldn't get one if we didn't have 20% down. We know what to do. We have to live within our budget. We have some savings, we know how to budget, we know how to be frugal and we work well together. We can do this! We also have what has always been most important, each other and our family.

So Jeff and I are taking the steps to provide for our family without having to make rash decisions. We are moving because it makes sense. We are selling all our stuff, because frankly we are tired of moving it.

For awhile now Jeff and I have kept his job loss within our family. We didn't want people to wonder what happened or to answer the millions of "what are you going to do" questions. But I am sharing this post because I want everyone to know what power being Debt Free can bring. Yes I will give kudos to Dave Ramsey for teaching us, and many others, these wonderful lessons. But it really wasn't Dave who made this happen, it was Jeff and I. We worked hard, we drive crappy cars, and we are really, really cold right now :) But we have been blessed. God has a plan for us that we are just discovering. Our future may be uncertain, but we can't wait to find out what it brings us.

Tyler's Birthday

We celebrated Tyler's Birthday this year with a low key celebration at home. All of his cousins were there and that was really excitement enough for Tyler. He got to pick out his own cake and eat lots and lots of icing. He even decorated himself with homemade signs that still are stuck on my wall. He was in his glory.

Jeff made the observation that before you have kids you listen to people talk about how fun birthdays and Chistmas are, but you really can't understand what they mean. (Kind of like the lack of sleep thing) But it is just such a wonderful thing to see the joy and excitement on your child's face. It's really great if they get that much joy out of little things, like the fleece sweatshirt Tyler got for his birthday or his favorite gift of the season, his "art supply case."

Christmas

We had a fabulous Christmas. This was really the first year that both kids understood all the excitement surrounding Christmas. Tyler was very, very excited this year. He couldn't wait to decorate. Daddy and Tyler decorated the tree all by themselves. They did a very good job. We went to Grandpa and Grandma Hammond's a few days before Christmas day for our first celebration. The kids had a blast and were very excited to play with their new toys.

We celebrated Christmas morning at home and then drove to the Pa Pa and Nanny King's for the afternoon. Tyler got a crazy pair of "Moon Shoes" that everyone enjoyed hopping on. Maggie got lots and lots of babies and Dora DVDs.

It was one of the best years. We all have alot to celebrate. Even though it didn't snow, we were thankful for the lovely sunny days for driving.

February Fun

Ok, so I am a bad blogger. I have perfectionism tendencies which leads me to not post because I think I have to post pictures with every blog and I haven't figured the picture thing totally out yet. So I have been really bad about this. Let's play catch-up.