Strep Throat Round 4

Yep, Hannah has it again! We have the ENT appointment on Monday. It can't come soon enough! I told them when I got that referral (which was 2 weeks ago) that I would probably see them again before we made it to the ENT. I was right. I really hate the thought of her going through surgery, but we can't keep doing this either. She has had it every 2 weeks since February 12th.

They did some further sensativity testing and such on her culture last time and it showed that she has been taking the right anti-biotics after all. I was kind of hoping that they had been giving her the wrong medication, and that the right one would knock it out for good. I guess that is not the case. I'm trying not to get too worked up about the thought of it, but I'm afraid that might be too late. Hannah, on the other hand, has a great attitude about it. She doesn't even really feel that bad this time, because we caught it before the fever and all set in. Her throat is just sore and she is acting normal.

So, Monday we'll have some more answers and information hopefully. What is a mama to do except just pray?

On a lighter and much more fun note. Jamie is on his way to meet my sister to pick up 2 of my nieces to visit for the week.

On the Road to Debt Freedom!

This is the last day of the month. Also, the first month without a house payment hanging over my head. It feels very surreal and we are very grateful. I'm not really sure my feet have come down yet.

When we moved here, Jamie and I had decided that when things were better financially, that we wanted to be free of all our debt. We want to be good stewards of what God has granted us with. I think that being on a more restricted budget the past several years has taught us the difference between "needs" and "wants" and we spend accordingly.

I've been a careful budgeter for years now anyways. It is not unusual to see me every couple of days with my budget (in Excel, where every dollar is allocated), my checkbook (MS Money), and the bank account all popped up on the computer at once. The kids even know to leave me be for a few minutes while I'm doing this process, which is kind of funny in its own way, but also great for them to see.

Now that the house is out of the way, I tweaked our budget accordingly. We are hoping to be free of all debt in 2 years (more or less). It depends on how much "life" happens between now and then, but at least we have a game plan and I'm strangely excited. We are fortunante to not really owe on so much.

We have exactly 4 debts that we are currently repaying (no credit cards). None of which I'm ashamed of, but they are essentially robbing us each and every month. Debt is not really a "good" thing (an affordable mortgage aside) and my viewpoint has kind of changed about that over time. I think that we have sort of been desensatized as a society to just accept this as a way of life to have "things".

So, as we begin this next chapter of our lives, we do so prayerfully and contently. We know that God is going to bless us through this process. After all, it is all his anyways.

Happy Birthday Jamie!

I hope that Jamie has had a great birthday this year. He is off on Monday anyways, and since it is spring break, we got to enjoy a nice family day. The weather was beautiful and we were in no hurry to do anything (which is nice). Jamie got to sleep in, then we had a relaxing morning followed by an afternoon outdoors. We went biking and then let the kids play outside. Tonight I'm fixing some dinner that he had requested followed by Apple Dumplings (which is better than cake anyways).

Jamie, I love you baby. We aren't getting any younger, but I love growing older with you. And, what the heck...you are as young as you feel anyways. Right? Happy Birthday!

So....My Child Has a Purple Nose

This picture does not do it justice. The tip of his nose looks bruised. He decided that putting his nose into a drawstring bag and cutting the circulation off to his nose was a good idea. When I picked him up from Children's church, I thought he had marker on his nose. I asked him about it, then he proceeded to demonstrate this "fun" thing he was doing. Later we found out that people thought it was funny, so that only fueled it, and he saw himself and thought he looked funny too. Needless to say, he got a good talking to and got his drawstring backpack taken away for now.

Sometimes you just have to sit and wonder what goes through a child's head. Do they just think, "hey, let me see if pinching my nose off in this rope will feel good?". What is even the thought process there?