Please come visit us at our new location.
We can't wait to see you there!
Monday, February 10, 2014
Sunday, February 2, 2014
We don't just follow Dave Ramsey. We also follow his daughter Rachel Cruze. She is following in his footsteps reaching out to the younger generations. In the last week she posted on her facebook page an important tidbit that we all need to remember. No is a complete sentence.
There are so many things we should say no to. We often forget to say no. Albert and I have decided it is time to say no to stupid tax! If you listen to Dave, you know all about stupid tax. Stupid tax is the extra money you dish out after making a bad financial decision. Stupid tax comes from consigning a loan. Stupid tax comes from lending someone money and expecting to get it back. Stupid tax comes from signing unnecessary financial contracts.
When we were pregnant with Harli, her bedroom window was on the side of the house. It was in front of the gate to the back yard. It was the most accessible window that was the furthest from the front doors. It was also out of sight from the neighbors. To me it seemed the most likely place for someone to break in. So when the salesman came to our door to offer us an awesome security system we jumped on board. We let our emotions drive our decision. We did not even think about it over night. The system was wonderful. We loved it! It gave peace of mind. The video camera even allowed Albert to check on us while he was at work. The app let us lock and unlock the front door from our phones!!
The system was everything we hoped it would be. But then we moved. Our renter was not interested in it. We could not really use it where we moved. We no longer needed that type of security. We tried for months to sell our contract to anyone interested. No one wanted it. So we paid 2.5 years worth of stupid tax. The company was unwilling to work with us on forgiving the contract. Why should they? We signed the contract. We agreed to the payment. So we bit the bullet.
We closed the account this week. It is such a great feeling to not be paying any more stupid tax! We agreed that we will never sign a payment contract again. If we need a security system in the future we will use a company that doesn't require a contract. Next time we need new phones we will not be renewing the two year contract just to get a discount. We are saying NO! No to stupid tax. No to unnecessary contracts!
One more payment off of our budget! One step closer to Bringin' Mama Home.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Accessing the Drive to Succeed
What motivates you? What drives you to success? Are you able to self motivate? Do you need external forces to push you or pull you along? Do encouraging words motivate you? Does praise motivate you? Perhaps the fear of discouraging words forces you to push towards the finish line. Maybe you are motivated by rewards. Does food motivate you? Do presents motivate you? Some quality time with yourself or a friend may motivate you. Pampering rewards can also be motivating!
If you have never thought about what motivates you the most, take time to find out now. Whether it be internal, external or both, motivation is a powerful tool without limits. It is a tool we often forget to access at full potential. It is a tool that is more dangerous if left in the toolbox, forgotten.
I have witnessed what lack of motivation looks like in a loved one. It is heartbreaking. As a high school teacher, I see it more and more every year. Many of my students have never been taught, or at least bought into the power of self motivation. It is destructive. It is lonely. Lack of motivation quickly kills our spirit.
Again I encourage you to find what motivates you. Find it. Hold on to it. Use it intentionally.
Nothing motivates me more than Albert. His words motivate me. His actions motivate me. His touch motivates me. It seems appropriate then for Albert to be the one to reward my successes. My big goal right now is to lose the baby weight and give Albert back his bride. 
Thirty-two pounds is a big goal. Too many small set backs can be enough to put a halt on the entire process. That would make my goal feel impossible. I decided to break my goal down into small increments. Eight pounds to my pre-Levi weight. Six pounds to a mini goal. Six more pounds to my pre-Harli weight. Six pounds to my next mini goal. The final six pounds to my wedding weight.
Albert has set up rewards for me along the way. The first, coming soon, is three nights of dinner and dishes taken care of! Then one full week of dinner and an hour massage. Next is a home project of my choice completed. The fourth reward is a week of dishes and another project completed. The grand finale is three one hour massages in one week and four nights of dinner and dishes. To me, these rewards are amazing. I have always been able to self motivate internally, thanks to my parents, but these external goals will keep me moving at a pace beyond what I could do on my own. Like I said, motivation is a powerful tool. Find what works for you and run with it! 
Monday, January 20, 2014
Being an Eight Cow Wife
I wrote the following several months ago on Facebook. I wanted to expand it further. "It still amazes me that I never need to ask Albert to do anything around the house, for our daughter or for me. I never
feel like I have to correct him in any way or work on making him a
better person. I only knew my husband for 6 months before I married him
and I have never felt that I ended up with someone different than I
expected. I have never felt jipped in the husband I chose to marry.
I have never felt unloved or unwanted. I have never been yelled at or
abused in my marriage. I have never felt alone in my marriage or in my
parenthood. Part of the reason I have my piece of heaven on earth is
the mere character of my husband, another reason I have such a beautiful
love story is because I try to remember the needs of this man that
chose to share his life with me. I remember that he needs to be
encouraged every day. He needs to know I want him, need him and
appreciate all that he does. I pray that all wives choose to encourage
and enjoy their husbands today instead of under-appreciate them. Thank
you God for the man you have blessed me with."
Have you ever read the story about the eight cow wife? If you have not, go read it now. I first read it in Night Light: A Devotional for Couples by James and Shirley Dobson.
When I visited the South Pacific islands, I took a notebook along. I had a three‐week leave between assignments in Japan, so I borrowed a boat and sailed to Kiniwata. The notebook was supposed to help me become a junior‐grade Maugham or Michener. But when I got back, among all my notes the only sentence that still interested me was the one that said, “Johnny Lingo gave eight cows to Sarita’s father.”
Johnny Lingo wasn’t exactly his name. But I wrote it down that way because I learned about the eight cows from Shenkin, the fat manager of the guest house at Kiniwata. He was from Chicago and had a habit of Americanizing the names of the islanders. He wasn’t the only one who talked about Johnny, though. His name came up with many people in many connections. If I wanted to spend a few days on the island of Nurabandi, a day’s sail away, Johnny Lingo could put me up, they told me, since he had built a five‐room house—unheard‐of luxury! If I wanted to fish, he could show me where the biting was best. If I wanted fresh vegetables, his garden was the greenest. If I sought pearls, his business savvy would bring me the best buys. Oh, the people of Kiniwata all spoke highly of Johnny Lingo. Yet when they spoke, they smiled, and the smiles were slightly mocking.
“Get Johnny Lingo to help you find what you want, and then let him do the bargaining,” advised Shenkin, as I sat on the veranda of his guest house wondering whether to visit Nurabandi. “He’ll earn his commission four times over. Johnny knows values and how to make a deal.”
“Johnny Lingo!” The chubby boy on the veranda steps hooted the name, then hugged his knees and rocked with shrill laughter.
“What goes on?” I asked. “Everybody around here tells me to get in touch with Johnny Lingo and then breaks up. Let me in on the joke.”
“They like to laugh,” Shenkin said. He shrugged his heavy shoulders.
“And Johnny’s the brightest, the quickest, the strongest young man in all this group of islands. So they like best to laugh at him.”
“But if he’s all you say, what is there to laugh about?”
“Only one thing. Five months ago, at fall festival time, Johnny came to Kiniwata and found himself a wife. He paid her father eight cows!”
He spoke the last words with great solemnity. I knew enough about island customs to be thoroughly impressed. Two or three cows would buy a fair‐to‐middling wife; four or five a highly satisfactory one.
“Eight cows!” I said. “She must be a beauty who takes your breath away.”
“The kindest could only call Sarita plain,” was Shenkin’s answer. “She was skinny. She walked with her shoulders hunched and her head ducked. She was scared of her own shadow.”
“Then how do you explain the eight cows?”
“We don’t,” he said. “And that’s why the villagers grin when they talk about Johnny. They get special satisfaction from the fact that Johnny, the sharpest trader in the islands, was bested by Sarita’s father, dull old Sam Karoo.”
“Eight cows,” I said unbelievingly. “I’d like to meet this Johnny Lingo.”
So the next afternoon I sailed a boat to Nurabandi and met Johnny at his home, where I asked about his eight‐cow purchase of Sarita. I assumed he had done it for his own vanity and reputation—at least until Sarita walked into the room. She was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. The lift of her shoulders, the tilt of her chin, the sparkle of her eyes all spelled a pride to which no one could deny her the right.
I turned back to Johnny Lingo after she had left. “You admire her?” he asked. “She… she’s glorious,” I said. “But she’s not Sarita from Kiniwata.” “There’s only one Sarita.
Perhaps she does not look the way they say she looked in Kiniwata.” “She doesn’t.” The impact of the girl’s appearance made me forget tact. “I heard she was homely. They all make fun of you because you let yourself be cheated by Sam Karoo.”
“You think eight cows were too many?” A smile slid over his lips. “No. But how can she be so different?” “Do you ever think,” he asked, “what it must mean to a woman to know that her husband settled on the lowest price for which she can be bought? And then later, when the women talk, they boast of what their husbands paid for them. One says four cows; another maybe six. How does she feel, the woman who was sold for one or two? This could not happen to my Sarita.”
“Then you did this just to make her happy?” I asked.
“I wanted Sarita to be happy, yes. But I wanted more than that. You say she is different. This is true. Many things can change a woman. Things that happen inside; things that happen outside. But the thing that matters most is what she thinks about herself. In Kiniwata, Sarita believed she was worth nothing. Now she knows she is worth more than any other woman in the islands.”
“Then you wanted… ” “I wanted to marry Sarita. I loved her and no other woman.” “But… ” “But,” he finished softly, “I wanted an eight‐cow wife.”
Johnny Lingo’s Eight-cow Wife
by Patricia McGerrWhen I visited the South Pacific islands, I took a notebook along. I had a three‐week leave between assignments in Japan, so I borrowed a boat and sailed to Kiniwata. The notebook was supposed to help me become a junior‐grade Maugham or Michener. But when I got back, among all my notes the only sentence that still interested me was the one that said, “Johnny Lingo gave eight cows to Sarita’s father.”
Johnny Lingo wasn’t exactly his name. But I wrote it down that way because I learned about the eight cows from Shenkin, the fat manager of the guest house at Kiniwata. He was from Chicago and had a habit of Americanizing the names of the islanders. He wasn’t the only one who talked about Johnny, though. His name came up with many people in many connections. If I wanted to spend a few days on the island of Nurabandi, a day’s sail away, Johnny Lingo could put me up, they told me, since he had built a five‐room house—unheard‐of luxury! If I wanted to fish, he could show me where the biting was best. If I wanted fresh vegetables, his garden was the greenest. If I sought pearls, his business savvy would bring me the best buys. Oh, the people of Kiniwata all spoke highly of Johnny Lingo. Yet when they spoke, they smiled, and the smiles were slightly mocking.
“Get Johnny Lingo to help you find what you want, and then let him do the bargaining,” advised Shenkin, as I sat on the veranda of his guest house wondering whether to visit Nurabandi. “He’ll earn his commission four times over. Johnny knows values and how to make a deal.”
“Johnny Lingo!” The chubby boy on the veranda steps hooted the name, then hugged his knees and rocked with shrill laughter.
“What goes on?” I asked. “Everybody around here tells me to get in touch with Johnny Lingo and then breaks up. Let me in on the joke.”
“They like to laugh,” Shenkin said. He shrugged his heavy shoulders.
“And Johnny’s the brightest, the quickest, the strongest young man in all this group of islands. So they like best to laugh at him.”
“But if he’s all you say, what is there to laugh about?”
“Only one thing. Five months ago, at fall festival time, Johnny came to Kiniwata and found himself a wife. He paid her father eight cows!”
He spoke the last words with great solemnity. I knew enough about island customs to be thoroughly impressed. Two or three cows would buy a fair‐to‐middling wife; four or five a highly satisfactory one.
“Eight cows!” I said. “She must be a beauty who takes your breath away.”
“The kindest could only call Sarita plain,” was Shenkin’s answer. “She was skinny. She walked with her shoulders hunched and her head ducked. She was scared of her own shadow.”
“Then how do you explain the eight cows?”
“We don’t,” he said. “And that’s why the villagers grin when they talk about Johnny. They get special satisfaction from the fact that Johnny, the sharpest trader in the islands, was bested by Sarita’s father, dull old Sam Karoo.”
“Eight cows,” I said unbelievingly. “I’d like to meet this Johnny Lingo.”
So the next afternoon I sailed a boat to Nurabandi and met Johnny at his home, where I asked about his eight‐cow purchase of Sarita. I assumed he had done it for his own vanity and reputation—at least until Sarita walked into the room. She was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. The lift of her shoulders, the tilt of her chin, the sparkle of her eyes all spelled a pride to which no one could deny her the right.
I turned back to Johnny Lingo after she had left. “You admire her?” he asked. “She… she’s glorious,” I said. “But she’s not Sarita from Kiniwata.” “There’s only one Sarita.
Perhaps she does not look the way they say she looked in Kiniwata.” “She doesn’t.” The impact of the girl’s appearance made me forget tact. “I heard she was homely. They all make fun of you because you let yourself be cheated by Sam Karoo.”
“You think eight cows were too many?” A smile slid over his lips. “No. But how can she be so different?” “Do you ever think,” he asked, “what it must mean to a woman to know that her husband settled on the lowest price for which she can be bought? And then later, when the women talk, they boast of what their husbands paid for them. One says four cows; another maybe six. How does she feel, the woman who was sold for one or two? This could not happen to my Sarita.”
“Then you did this just to make her happy?” I asked.
“I wanted Sarita to be happy, yes. But I wanted more than that. You say she is different. This is true. Many things can change a woman. Things that happen inside; things that happen outside. But the thing that matters most is what she thinks about herself. In Kiniwata, Sarita believed she was worth nothing. Now she knows she is worth more than any other woman in the islands.”
“Then you wanted… ” “I wanted to marry Sarita. I loved her and no other woman.” “But… ” “But,” he finished softly, “I wanted an eight‐cow wife.”
There are two things I urge you to focus on. The first is being an eight cow wife. Some of you may not feel as though you are an eight cow wife. You are. Regardless of how your husband views you, Christ paid the highest anyone has ever paid. He paid that for you. Christ sees you as an eight cow wife. It is time to start being one. In the book Sacred Sex by Tim Alan Gardner he states that "Eve had no reason to doubt that she was everything Adam ever needed or desired." I love this beautiful message. By internalizing that thought we become everything our husbands need and desire. We become who we think others think we are. If I really believe that Albert views me as confident, smart, beautiful, desirable, the best wife, the best mother and anything else he needs me to be, then I become all of those things. I carry myself in a different way.
I would also encourage you to view this story flipped around. Is your husband an eight cow husband? Are you encouraging him? Are you loving him? Are you serving him? Are you respecting him? Perhaps if you view him as an eight cow husband he will become one. If he constantly feels inadequate, he will quickly become so. Marriage is not a fifty-fifty deal. It is a one hundred percent deal. You must give one hundred percent.
Treasure your husband. Treasure your marriage.
Treasure your husband. Treasure your marriage.
You are an eight cow wife!
Monday, January 13, 2014
Covering Little Bums
Yet again cost effective collides with healthier choices! Our babies sport cloth diapers one hundred percent of the time. This includes road trips and even camping (there is a laundromat near by). We save quite a bit of money using cloth. Plus, the many chemicals in disposable diapers never touch my babies' bottoms.
I have several different brands and styles of diapers. If you are just getting started you may want to do the same. In my variety I have learned my favorite types. Brand is not nearly as important as style. I prefer one-size pocket diapers with snaps. The one size allows the diapers to be used through the entire diaper wearing career. The pockets allow me to choose the number of inserts to use based on the amount of absorbency I need. I double stuff for sleeping, long car rides and even church (so my children don't have to be taken out during services). Snaps seem to be much longer lasting than Velcro.
My Velcro diapers have stopped sticking after less than two years of use on one child. It has happened at an unfortunate time as Harli is not quite ready to be potty trained, Levi is growing out of his newborn diapers and I am going back to work (meaning I can't wash diapers whenever I need to). Not a great time to be running short on diapers.
Instead of buying new (or even used) diapers, I decided to convert my Velcro diapers to snaps. I had to buy a few tools and the snaps. It is still by far cheaper than buying more diapers!
The first step is using an unstitching tool to remove the Velcro from the diaper. I found it easier to work between the Velcro and the diaper after getting started. This method allowed me to pull the Velcro away from the diaper a few stitches at a time. Then I picked away all the remaining thread to clean up the diaper.
Next, I traced and cut out a piece of card stock to use as a template. I pinned it to a snap diaper. Then I used a pencil to shade the card stock. This outlined the position of the snaps.
I then used an awl to poke holes on my card stock.
I placed the card stock on the old Velcro diaper using a pencil to mark the snap positions.
This handy press assembled the snaps rather easily. I had a different snap press that turned out to not be compatible with the snaps I purchased. It delayed my project by a few days while I waited for the correct press to arrive.
I'm not an expert. They certainly are not perfect. They will, however, cover my babies' bums and keep us rockin' 'n rollin' the cloth diapers.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Organizing Our Life
I do not generally do well without a schedule. I definitely do not do well without a plan. Yesterday was planning day. I go back to work one week from today. I needed a plan. I needed a plan to help my family eat well. I needed a plan to make sure the house stays clean. I needed a plan to make sure I get everything done while maximizing my limited time with my family. So we made a plan.
The first part of our plan is our menu. When we got married my aunt gave us a cook book with her family recipes. In the cookbook was a letter from her. She explained how it was easier for her to have a themed menu. Her themes were Mexican Mondays, Soup Tuesdays, Chicken Wednesdays, etc. I have used many of the recipes in this book over the last three and a half years, but I had yet to make it my own. Last week a friend sent me a link on Pinterest that had the same basic idea. I took this opportunity to revamp my cookbook to reflect our chosen themes.
Sunday is crock-pot or casserole dinner night. This works well if it is a potluck Sunday or if we have Sunday company. I can prep the meal Saturday and no cooking is required for Sunday. If it is just us eating, we are sure to have excellent leftovers for lunch that week!
Monday is international dinner night. This allows us to enjoy our favorite Mexican, Italian, Thai, etc. menus without having to devote a different night each week. I borrowed this idea from the above link!
Tuesday is pantry or freezer dinner night. This can also be interpreted as left-over night or whatever is on hand night. Tuesdays we will be hosting FPU starting April and we wanted an easy dinner night. We do have family dinner with my parents and sister every other Tuesday, until FPU begins. To accommodate this I will likely trade meal nights for something more exciting when it is our turn to host.
Wednesday is soup, salad and/or sandwich night. Another easy night so that we can eat quickly and enjoy Bible class.
Thursday is BBQ night. This is my one night off!! It is Albert's night to cook burgers, brats, steak or anything else delicious on the grill. I LOVE this night! I have also chosen Thursday to be my grocery shopping day. It is the one day I don't have to rush home to cook. I prefer to grocery shop on a week night so that it doesn't interfere with family weekends.
Friday is pizza dinner night. I am starting this week off with pepperoni and pineapple calzones and homemade dough.
Saturday is new recipe night. This will encourage me to find yummy and healthy recipes to add to the mix. If we love a new recipe it will get a place in my revamped recipe book.
I used a sharpie on my kitchen whiteboard to outline our weekly menu. I know a teacher trick to remove it if I ever decide to try something else. Meal planning done!
What about the rest of my life? How do I get everything else done that needs to get done? When I try to schedule all of the chores every week I lose most of my family time and my sanity. So I decided to apply the themed idea we used with our meal planning.
Sunday is relaxing night. This can be interpreted in whatever way we want as long as it is relaxing. If Sunday night is hectic chores then I don't feel like I got a weekend. This makes for a rough Monday.
Monday is chore night. I have to do laundry and dishes everyday to keep up with diapers and bottles. All other chores are reserved for Monday. I know the whole house wont get cleaned every Monday. My family is more important. Instead, we will complete only the most needed chores on any given Monday. I am hopeful that all chores will get done at least once every two to three weeks.
Tuesday is catch up day. On Tuesdays that we are not teaching FPU or having family dinner night, we will play catch up. This is our opportunity to work on any unfinished projects from the weekend.
Wednesday is Bible class and fellowship night.
Thursday is reading night. This is our chance to catch up on Bible reading, personal development reading and of course fun reading!
Friday is game night. It pairs well with pizza! We can play games with Harli after dinner and then play cards or backgammon after she heads to bed. We used to play games several nights a week before kids. We are ready to reclaim this time!
Saturday is of course movie night. It is a great way to end the weekend and a Saturday that was surely full of projects and photo sessions!
I feel accomplished just by making a plan. This week is implementation week so that we have some what of a routine established before I head to work next Monday. What strategies are you using this year?
The first part of our plan is our menu. When we got married my aunt gave us a cook book with her family recipes. In the cookbook was a letter from her. She explained how it was easier for her to have a themed menu. Her themes were Mexican Mondays, Soup Tuesdays, Chicken Wednesdays, etc. I have used many of the recipes in this book over the last three and a half years, but I had yet to make it my own. Last week a friend sent me a link on Pinterest that had the same basic idea. I took this opportunity to revamp my cookbook to reflect our chosen themes.
Sunday is crock-pot or casserole dinner night. This works well if it is a potluck Sunday or if we have Sunday company. I can prep the meal Saturday and no cooking is required for Sunday. If it is just us eating, we are sure to have excellent leftovers for lunch that week!
Monday is international dinner night. This allows us to enjoy our favorite Mexican, Italian, Thai, etc. menus without having to devote a different night each week. I borrowed this idea from the above link!
Tuesday is pantry or freezer dinner night. This can also be interpreted as left-over night or whatever is on hand night. Tuesdays we will be hosting FPU starting April and we wanted an easy dinner night. We do have family dinner with my parents and sister every other Tuesday, until FPU begins. To accommodate this I will likely trade meal nights for something more exciting when it is our turn to host.
Wednesday is soup, salad and/or sandwich night. Another easy night so that we can eat quickly and enjoy Bible class.
Thursday is BBQ night. This is my one night off!! It is Albert's night to cook burgers, brats, steak or anything else delicious on the grill. I LOVE this night! I have also chosen Thursday to be my grocery shopping day. It is the one day I don't have to rush home to cook. I prefer to grocery shop on a week night so that it doesn't interfere with family weekends.
Friday is pizza dinner night. I am starting this week off with pepperoni and pineapple calzones and homemade dough.
Saturday is new recipe night. This will encourage me to find yummy and healthy recipes to add to the mix. If we love a new recipe it will get a place in my revamped recipe book.
I used a sharpie on my kitchen whiteboard to outline our weekly menu. I know a teacher trick to remove it if I ever decide to try something else. Meal planning done!
What about the rest of my life? How do I get everything else done that needs to get done? When I try to schedule all of the chores every week I lose most of my family time and my sanity. So I decided to apply the themed idea we used with our meal planning.
Sunday is relaxing night. This can be interpreted in whatever way we want as long as it is relaxing. If Sunday night is hectic chores then I don't feel like I got a weekend. This makes for a rough Monday.
Monday is chore night. I have to do laundry and dishes everyday to keep up with diapers and bottles. All other chores are reserved for Monday. I know the whole house wont get cleaned every Monday. My family is more important. Instead, we will complete only the most needed chores on any given Monday. I am hopeful that all chores will get done at least once every two to three weeks.
Tuesday is catch up day. On Tuesdays that we are not teaching FPU or having family dinner night, we will play catch up. This is our opportunity to work on any unfinished projects from the weekend.
Wednesday is Bible class and fellowship night.
Thursday is reading night. This is our chance to catch up on Bible reading, personal development reading and of course fun reading!
Friday is game night. It pairs well with pizza! We can play games with Harli after dinner and then play cards or backgammon after she heads to bed. We used to play games several nights a week before kids. We are ready to reclaim this time!
Saturday is of course movie night. It is a great way to end the weekend and a Saturday that was surely full of projects and photo sessions!
I feel accomplished just by making a plan. This week is implementation week so that we have some what of a routine established before I head to work next Monday. What strategies are you using this year?
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