Prayers, please.

Well, Sam has his interview for PA school tomorrow!! He has worked so hard to get to this point, and I know he will make an amazing physician assistant. We've been praying so much that whether he gets accepted or not, God's will be done and we receive His grace to trust in it. Please pray for us and for Sam specifically, that he does his best and that he feel confident in his interviews.

God has been working in our lives so much lately, and I give all glory and honor to Him.

I'd like to say that I'm very proud of Sam and myself, but I know that would be giving undue credit. The reason for this feeling is that we've been sticking to the financial principles taught by Dave Ramsey, and we're so close to completing the step we're on now. It feels fantastic to look back on the progress we've made this year in eliminating debt. When we got our W-4's in January this year, we looked back on 2010, and thought, "What do we have to show for this income? What did we do with it all?" We made more than we needed to live on, yet hadn't done much about our debt. It was then that we really decided to get on the Dave Ramsey bandwagon and start eliminating debt. We've made great progress to date, but still have a way to go.

We're working toward getting rid of the last of it by the time Sam starts (God-willing) PA school in May of next year. If we do that, I'll be able to keep working 2-3 days a week and pay for his school in cash payments as we go. This would be ideal, as working during PA school is highly discouraged, and mine would be our only income. While seeing the debt snowball really work in our finances is exciting and exhilarating (silly, I know, but I really feel that way), I still have to often tell myself Dave's mantra, which has become our own, "If you live like no one else today, you can LIVE like no one else tomorrow."

Now while I am proud of us, it's not for the fact that we've started to overcome our debt, because for that success I give credit to God. What I am happy about is that all of this has happened because we finally started listening to God and not to ourselves. We're allowing Him to work in our hearts and in our lives. We're getting pretty good at relying on the Lord as our strength to delay gratification of the things we want and keep our goal in sight.

This goal is financial independence for two reasons: yes, we definitely want to not worry about money and not have to work, but more than that, so that we can abundantly bless people. I want to be able to pay for a cart full of groceries for a mom who looks like she's struggling. We want to start a marriage and natural family planning ministry program. I want to give thousands of dollars to the Catholic Answers apostolate every year to help in it's wonderful evangelization efforts. I want to assure that our parents retire without worry. I want to start a small scholarship fund for my younger cousins to help them get through college. I want to multiply the talents God has given Sam and me, so that we can pay it forward to other people.

Please keep us in your prayers as Sam has the most important interview of his life tomorrow and as we continue to work with diligence on completing our Total Money Makeover. Blessings to you all.

When?

So I've been a proud and ever-busy momma of two little ones for a tad bit over two months now. And I've had one question in mind a lot lately... when?

When-

...do I do chores? (should I instead play with my little loves?)

... do I play with Ella and Little Man? (or do I clean?)

... do I blog?

... can I craft?

... will I ever start to work out again? (I seriously feel like there is no time for this!)

... will I find a babysitter/childcare that will work out for us?

... can I find a quiet time to pray and read my Bible and earnestly listen for God's voice?

... will Sam and I resume our date night?

... should I get ready for the day?

I know this last one sounds like a stupid question. You're thinking, "Um, in the morning?" Buuut, I don't like Ella to wait for breakfast because she gets grumpy and Little Man, well he just won't wait. And it takes me an hour to get ready from start to finish if I hustle. But by the time he's nursed and happy and I've made breakfast and Ella is fed (it can be a struggle, let me tell you), I feel like I need a break, and by the time I'm ready to get ready (ha, ha) it's 10 o'clock. :sigh: And while it may seems that 10 isn't too late, by then I'm thinking, "Well should I get all readied up just to start on the morning chores?" I try to get a few chores done before we go eat lunch with Sam at work as we do everyday. And, yes, I could get up earlier than the babies wake up. Samy wakes up to nurse around 4 or 5am, so I could just stay up then, but that's just so early! I usually go back to sleep then, but don't wake up until Ella wakes up around 8 o'clock. And its very, very hard to go to sleep for only 1 or 2 more hours :( So, alas, when should I get ready for the day?

So, it seems as though I need to get a little better with the new demands of my time and figure out just when I will do all these things that need to be done or that I want to do!! Whew. I feel like I need to take a breath after typing all of that!

The thing about it is, I get pretty much everything done each day, so I guess I just need to feel comfortable in doing what I'm doing at any given moment in the day,. Today, for example, I was getting the chores done for today to mentally cross them off of the chore chart, when I couldn't help but feeling like I should stop cleaning and play with Ella. I play with her in between chores and sometimes she likes to "help" me clean by pushing the vacuum with me or "folding" clothes while I do laundry, but I can't help but feel like she deserves my undivided attention all of the time. I know that that, in itself, is not good because I've seen little kids who always were the center of attention and turned out to be spoiled brats. She's already good at individual play, and I'm proud of that.

I guess its just the mom in me that wants to make sure I'm doing the best for her. (This same feeling applies to Samy too, but I don't have to worry too much about entertaining him, since he is mostly still eating and sleeping all the time.)

So, back to my original question... when? When do I get done all that's on my list for the day and still spend meaningful time with my babies and husband? Because after all, that (along with my prayer life) is most important to me.

The Blues

Today wasn't a very good day.

I'm still thankful for all the blessings I received.

But overall, the day leaves me feeling exhausted, unaccomplished, stressed out and resentful.

Lord, please take away the feeling of frustration I had today with those I love, and let me instead feel your peace.

Let me realize how blessed I am in all aspects of my life, and I have little, if anything, to complain about. I want to lessen me and focus on you.

Help me, God. Help me to be more like you.

Amen.

Little Man!

So I've been meaning to post these pics a while ago but never finished. I started this post several weeks ago and then got distracted. I've added a few more pics to make up for my serious lack of

posting lately. Baby Samy has grown so much lately! It's amazing to see him get bigger each day. There have been days when I can literally tell he's grown overnight! Sounds crazy, but its true.

Here are a few pics of my handsome little man.

Hangin' out outside soaking up some rays.

Laying down with mommy.

Ready for a little outing. Check out his tummy! :)

I just love overalls on a baby!

And I can't leave Ella baby out. Here are a few pics of her, the top two are from today.

Yeah, look at those hands! She was having fun playing in the mud :)

Taking a break a the park. I love her little rosy cheeks. She definitely gets that from her daddy <3

My love and me!!

I just can't get over how handsome my wonderful husband is. I am so in love.