Doin' It Dave Ramsey Style

Last year we sold our home in AZ, paid off all our debt, and began a new and exciting journey. Debt free living! It has become a fun hobby for us to work together to budget and live within our means. We enjoy the freedom and peace that we feel and hope to be able to keep this up for the rest of our lives. This sketch was on SNL. Aside from being really funny it pretty much encapsulates the way we feel about consumer debt and how we make purchasing decisions. So here it is for all of you to see.

So far...

Today is our anniversary.  Three years!  Although it’s not a long time, Matt and I both feel like we’ve always been together.  Until I met Matt I always felt like that circle in Shel Silverstein’s book.  Just rolling along till I found my missing piece.   Matt is such an extraordinary man.  I feel privileged to be married to him.  Every day with him is a gift.  I feel like my real life began when he entered it.  I love that the New Year ushers in our anniversary. 

Things have been really busy since we returned from our holiday in Utah.  Both kids have been sick and Matt and I felt under the weather too.  Everyone seems to be doing better now and I’ve finally got all the Christmas decorations put away.  So now that I’m a little back in the swing of my pre-vacation routine I thought I’d offer a little recap.

We introduced Ian to snow at a community holiday festival here in Houston prior to leaving for Utah.  In an attempt to demonstrate what you can do with snow I accidently got the little guy in the face with a little ball of ice/snow.  To say that he was stunned is an understatement.

When we got to Utah where the real snow is Ian was already somewhat familiar with the concept.  We had so much fun there.  The first few nights we stayed with Seanna’s family.  Adam and Brandon took really great care of Ian.

Matt and Ian went sledding with Seanna’s family and Uncle Thomas, who came over after work.

This was fun for me because I got to stay home and hang out with my sister.  I also got to go shopping with Seanna the day after Christmas.  That was a lot of fun because Matt kept Ian so I would get to enjoy myself instead of wrangle him.  (He is a handful these days.) 

From Christmas Eve till New Year’s Eve we stayed at Matt’s parent’s house.  We also had a great time there.  There were so many people to help with my kids and hold them that I really did feel like I was on vacation.  Ian got a lot of great presents and so did Matt and I.  But the best gift of all for us was just getting to be with family.

After Christmas my family trickled into town.  Matt went snow boarding with Eric and his kids, Seanna’s family, and Thomas while I spent the day in Sandy with Cathy.  The day before Lily was blessed my sisters and niece, Patience threw me the best baby shower I’ve ever had!  It was just with family and a couple of close friends.  Jen Powell (mission buddy) came as did Susan Westover (Young Women’s leader).  It was a special treat to get to see them.

On Sunday, December 30th we blessed Lily in Matt’s parent’s ward in Kaysville.  It was a very special experience for Matt and I.  Even my brother Craig made it to the blessing on his way to Idaho.  I was so overwhelmed with love and joy as I saw my brothers and Matt’s Dad, Grandpa, uncles, and brother go to the front of the chapel and surround our baby.  It was a moment I’ve always dreamed of and that I’ll never forget.  My family made such a great effort to be there and it really meant a lot to me.  It was so wonderful to share that with those we love so much.  

Following the sacrament service we returned to John and Jeanne’s for a great luncheon.  We really appreciate them hosting all our family and providing such a great feast.  Sadly, we packed that night and had to get ready for our flight home the next morning.  

The trip home was especially interesting because we had to get 6 checked bags and four carry-ons to the airport, on the plane, and then in our little CR-V.  Miraculously we made it home with everything except a jar of Aquaphor.  What a great trip we had!! 

Since then we have just been getting over illness, organizing, and getting back into our rhythm and routine.   

    

Our Lily

On the 23rd of October Matt, Ian, and I went in for my 37-week check up.  After waiting for over an hour they were just going to send me home because the doctor had been called away on an emergency.  So before leaving I asked if they would just listen to the baby's heartbeat.  I had felt kind of funny all day.  I had been having increasingly more contractions over the last couple of days.  Also, I had been having these sneaking feelings that I should be more prepared for the baby to come.  But, since Ian was two weeks overdue, I pretty much ignored my feelings to "get ready now".  Anyway, the baby's heart rate was too high.  So they monitored me in the office for a while.  Then they had another OBGYN take a look at me and listen.  Before I knew it, we were on our way to St. Luke's hospital, just across the street, to be monitored.  They put me on an IV and after a couple of hours the baby's heart rate was fine but I was in labor.  I was having four-minute contractions and not dilating.  

We were not prepared.  Ian was with us and we didn't have anything for going into the hospital.  While Matt took Ian to a friend's house to spend the night, my doctor, who had been monitoring me at the hospital, came in and told me that we'd be having the baby that night.  When Matt had left with Ian we were under the impression that we'd be going home after a little more monitoring.  So I called him on his cel and told him that the plan had changed.  By 7pm I was signing admission papers and being prepped for surgery.  By 8pm I was lying on the operating table soon to meet our new baby.  Lily arrived at 8:09pm healthy, screaming, and pink.  And, she came with a bunch of dark hair.  After they got her cleaned up Matt went with her to the nursery.  I spent the next hour getting sewn up and trying not to go into shock.  I don't know why but I was a lot more freaked out then when I had Ian.  I spent the next few days in the hospital and then got released on Friday the 26th of October.  We are so happy with our new little girl.  We love her so much.  And we are especially happy that she came early so that we could enjoy her sooner.  She is very sweet and mellow.

We have been very blessed to have Matt's mom, Jeanne, with us since Lily was born.  I've had a harder time recovering from Lily's delivery because I kept trying to pick Ian up when I first got home from the hospital.  After hurting myself and seeing my progress grind to a halt I realized I had to take it easier and stop lifting Ian.  So I had to turn it all over to Grandma.  Jeanne became the mother of our home and did a great job taking care of all of us.  I can't thank her enough.  On top of all that, I got the worst breast infection I ever had.  Jeanne had to take care of both the kids and me while I recovered from that.  Having Jeanne with us was really great because she got to spend a lot of special time with Ian.  Ian, of course, has been having a difficult time not being the only child.  He seems to have a genuine affection for Lily, he just doesn't like having our attention divided.  Ian was cheered greatly when his "Papa", Matt's dad, John, came to visit this past weekend.  We didn't really go anywhere because that's when I had my breast infection.  However, John was busy enough while he was here building the most awesome doll house for Lily.

So my mother, Joann, and I want to express our deepest heartfelt gratitude to Jeanne for coming for three weeks to take care of Matt, Ian, Lily, and I.  And I want to express my sincerest gratitude to all our family and friends who have prayed for us, brought us meals, wished us well, and who have called or written to express their love and support.  This means so much to us.  We have loved hearing from you and have greatly enjoyed sharing this happy time with all of you.

Grandma Jeanne went home yesterday so now I am at home figuring out how to shower, eat, and get things done with two kids in tow.  It's a lot fun and I enjoy the new challenges.      

Think Pink

I know this is a bit earlier than my normal update but I just wanted to let everyone know how the ultrasound went.  We had our 36-week check-up on Monday.  The baby looks good and healthy.  Currently the baby weighs a little over 6 pounds, which is good.  In addition, I asked them to check the sex again and our baby is still a girl.  As everyone knows I've been very skeptical of this because of what happened last time.  But now I am pretty convinced that we are in fact having a little girl.  Of course, we couldn't be happier.  Mainly we are just thrilled to know she is doing well.  We could see her face pretty good in the ultrasound and she looks really pretty.  We are so excited.  Ian has no idea what's about to happen.  Although, we have been talking to him about it since the beginning.  I have felt the baby move a lot less lately, but that's probably due to the fact that there isn't much room in there.  Over the last week or so I have felt increasingly more cramped for space.  Otherwise, I feel really great and power walk 2 miles a day.  

In other news, as all of you may know, I've been trying to think of ways to bring more money into the house.  I've been trading stocks since April and that's going really well.  In addition to that I came up with another idea that I'm trying out.  I buy iPod's off of Craigslist for cheap and then sell them for a profit on eBay.  It looked really promising, since I could make 30-40 per iPod after I pay my eBay fees and such.  So I began listing my iPods and that's when the fun started.  My first iPod sold easily and made a $30 profit.  However, a major problem soon reared its' hoary head.  The buyer paid $150 more for the item than agreed upon and required shipping to a "cousin" in Nigeria.  Also, the buyer's English was poor and they didn't understand U.S. geography.  Although the buyer's address stated they lived in Vermont, the buyer referred to him/herself as residing in Texas (the street they lived on was Texas Hill Rd.).  I called Paypal and was able to confirm my suspicions, that this was in fact a scam.  Of course, I didn't send the iPod and I alerted eBay...yada, yada.  But, that wasn't enough for me.  No!  I was mad.  So I sent an email to the phony Paypal address, called the thief by name, admonished him for being a criminal, and exhorted him to change his ways.  This didn't go over so well.  And in retrospect I realize it wasn't a good thing to do.  I unwittingly called down upon myself the wrath and fury of angry Nigerian criminals, pricked by the truth (doubt it), and desirous to wreak havoc upon my unsuspecting eBay profiteering. 

Back in the saddle, I put a second iPod up for auction a few days after these unfortunate events had unraveled.  My auction was soon ending.  It was going great!  Then, the last minute, the Nigerians swooped in and bid $600 for my $200 iPod.  Of course this ruined any further bids that might be legitimate, as no thinking person would pay so great a value for an iPod (maybe if it were owned by Elvis).  I got the eBay police on it and they discovered, as I already knew, that the bid was placed with a stolen account.  The Nigerians clearly did it just to ruin my auction and cause me to incur high fees from eBay.  The fees were refunded, but now I feel marked.  So I've been doing multiple chats with eBay security representatives, or whoever, trying to straighten out this debacle.  I've been trying to convince them that the Nigerian Electronic Mafia is targeting me and eBay needs to do something, like let me change my userid.  I will say this about ebay, their web-based help is about as useful as stereo instructions written in Japanese.  Oh well, that'll teach me to act in anger.  Then I look at my husband, the calm and still lighthouse he is, and realize how badly I really need to let him rub off on me.  He already has but I've still got a long way to go.  

So all this happened around the time of my birthday.  I was a bit embittered at the loss of some extra cash right now.  But, my birthday was so great that it cancelled out all the evil.  My husband made it such a great day for me.  I've never had such great birthdays in my life till he came along.  And I tell him I don't need presents because he's the best present I've ever gotten and I don't need anymore.  He made me a great breakfast, took me to dinner, rubbed my feet, and gave me gifts too.  I got perfume, anti-aging face lotion, and hand-made computer generated coupons.  As he said, it was my "pretty, pretty, birthday",  i.e. sorry your so fabulous with child that feeling pretty is a forgotten concept.  Matt makes me feel pretty, though.  Just one among so many reasons why I love him so much and why he's my best friend.  And now we get to have a cute little girl.  My life couldn't get any better!

"What???"

Would you believe I was actually in the kitchen with Ian when this occurred?  I don’t think I had my eyes off him for more than 30 seconds.  That’ll teach me to pay attention to what I’m doing when I’m chopping vegetables.

Where do I begin?  This has been an awesome summer!  The Lingards visited in mid-August and we had so much fun with them.  They were a complete joy to have.  It was great to see Thomas, who recently returned from Africa.  Aside from the funny accent, he’s pretty much the same, only even cooler than before.  Ezra is 2.5 now and he’s a riot.  We really loved getting to know him.  It was especially fun to see Ezra and Ian together. 

The Lingards rented a beach house at Quintana Beach and we spent 5 wonderful days there lounging, sunning, swimming, and playing.  Matt brought his kayak and we all took turns paddling around.  It was so much fun.  Even Ian and Ezra got to take turns.  We also got to spend a little time around Houston with the Lingards.  It was great because Ian got to know his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousin.  We look forward to next year’s adventure, which consoled us when it was time for them to go. 

In other news, life has been good for us.  At the beginning of September we were without a car for a week.  That was really difficult but interesting.  Matt rode the bus to work and I had to ride the bus to my doctor’s appointment.  What a day that was!  Three hours of bus riding plus three hours for my appointment.  My doctor was running REALLY late.  As soon as I arrived they suggested I come back, but after all my effort to get there I said I’d wait.  So Ian and I walked to Rice to see Daddy.  All and all I have to say he was a really good little guy considering the long day.  Also, the car thing prompted us to begin re-thinking our finances and plans.  No solid conclusions yet, but we’ll let you know.  

As of this Monday there will only be 6 weeks left in my pregnancy.  It’s really flying by and I’m so glad.  We got Ian’s room all set up with a cool car bed and the baby’s room is set up too.  I just hope that we do have a girl or I’ll be putting stuff away again.  In 3 weeks we will have our final ultrasound.  At that point I will believe whatever they say we’re having.  For now I remain a hopeful skeptic.  

In Ian news...he is doing great.  He knows a lot of body parts, several signs, and is very eager to communicate.  He is very bright and understands everything I say to him.  He’s a genius!  What can I say?  Also, he will be a dragon for Halloween.  Grandma Chase bought him a costume and Mommy is really looking forward to Halloween.  It remains my favorite holiday.  (See new photos on Flickr for a sneak preview as well as the chicken costume that didn’t win.)  

We are all looking forward to Christmas as we will be spending it in Utah this year.  We will bless our baby there and anticipate seeing a lot of the Chase’s there as well as Lingard/Neville’s.  The blessing will likely be Sunday Dec. 30th in Kayesville and my sisters will be hosting a baby shower the day before in Sandy.  

That’s all for now.  Love you all...E   

P.S. My birthday is October 11th.  Just thought I’d remind everyone.