Makism

Just now, while I was changing into my pajama's:

Makinley: Momma, don't take your boobies off!!!

To clarify, she was talking about my bra!

Still Around

It's been awhile since I posted. Not really much going on these days that feels exciting enough to blog about. I got hit by a stomach bug last weekend that put me out of commission for a couple of days and took even longer to just completely recover from. Work is crazy right now trying to really buckle down and get these kids ready for the CRCT (heaven help us!). Grad school is busy right now too...had a quiz last week....big presentation this Monday night and huge midterm this Wednesday. So, needless to say, the days are just disappearing by. Heading to a party tonight for my bf's 30th birthday. Going to try to remember to actually take my camera and take pictures. Then I'll have something to post. Okay, there's all my thoughts for now! See you soon.

Here Ya Have It!

Just call me "Stacey, the Soccer Mom"! Actually, that's exactly what I am because we signed Tripp up for soccer a couple of weeks ago. But, that's not the reason that we bought a soccer mom kinda car. I'm sure you remember this post. I had one excited husband when he came home with that truck. It's what he has always wanted for as long as I've known him. Well, I need to follow that reminder with this one. We have been dilligently practicing Dave Ramsey's principals around here for the last couple of months...dilligently. And can I just say, God has blessed us more than I can even begin to tell you! Once we laid out some of our financial goals, Joey mentioned that he was going to sell his truck. I convinced him not to because I thought he was being a little too extreme and we would be able to figure out some other ways. Well, a couple of weeks ago, he told me that he had been praying about it and he was 100% sure God was telling him to sell his truck and he had already listed it on Craigslist. He ended up also listing it on Autotrader. I was shocked. That was a big sacrifice for Joey to have to make. While we were at the beach, he got a call about his truck and when we got home on Sunday the guy came, looked, and bought it. We have been a one car family all week this week. Now, how does this help us as far as our "Dave Ramsey" mindset goes? Without going into too many details, Joey and I had two different debts that we wanted to take care of. We sold the truck for enough cash to pay off the smallest of those two debts and pay cash for another car. So, in selling the truck, we paid off one debt, freed up another small monthly payment we were making FOR his truck, AND had enough cash to go buy another car. The hunt for another car began and I decided pretty early on that I wanted a van. I just really wanted the space for the kids. I love my Explorer, but I felt like my kids were on top of me. So, the week of hunting has led to this......
and I love it. It's a 2003 Honda Odyssey. This is my actual van, but I highjacked the picture from the craigslist ad because I'm too lazy to go take a picture right now. It has a good bit of miles on it, but it's in awesome shape. Heated, leather seats, electric doors, controls for the CD player on the steering wheel, and a TON of space. The only thing it doesn't have is a DVD player, but that's okay. For our budget, I would have had to get one with 40-50,000 more miles on it to get the DVD player and that obviously wasn't worth it. It was a pretty radical decision on Joey's part to sell his truck..one that I really didn't think he would ever consider doing. It just proved to me how much my husband is willing to sacrifice his wants for doing what's best for our family. In the last 8 weeks, God has done some amazing things in our family financially. Amazing. I have no doubt that in just a few months, Joey and I will be exactly where we want to be. In the meantime, we are "living like no one else" so that one day we can "live like no one else". And I'm rockin' my minivan while doing it!

20+10

equals 30! Yep....the day came and went and now I'm officially no longer in my 20's. Joey and I went to Myrtle Beach for the weekend (and I did NOT take my camera!), and had a really good time. We did very little....and I mean very little. A little bit of shopping...saw a couple of movies (Valentine's Day and Dear John)....and a lot of eating out. We were back at our condo by 8 every night....we were up by 7 every morning! Can you believe that? It was actually nice though because we had slept so soundly each night that 7 wasn't bad at all and it made our days that much longer. We just enjoyed being together. It snowed on us Friday night...about 3/12 inches worth. But, it was completely gone by Saturday afternoon. We got to spend Saturday evening with my cousin and his wife. We had a great time catching up with them; they are expecting their first baby this summer and we are so excited for them. So, I'm 30. It feels really strange to say it out loud. But, the way I see it, being 30 just means that God has chosen to bless me with 30 wonderful years. Even as my birthdays get a little harder to swallow as far as age goes, I'll continue to just be thankful for another year to enjoy the ones I love!

P.S.....be on the lookout for the next post. You'll see how I'm fully embracing turning 30. It involves me swallowing my pride a little....but, if my husband can sacrifice his wants for our family, then I can swallow my pride!

Family Picture

I feel like I don't ever post family pictures. Seems like someone is always missing. Mak might not be looking at the camera, but at least we are all in it!

And the celebrating begins!

We've had a fun weekend! It began Thursday night with dinner out with Linda and Tom to celebrate my birthday. After dinner, we headed to the hospital to see my friend Leah's PRECIOUS new baby boy. Friday night, I went and spent the night with my parents. It was a nice "change of scenery" for the night and I needed a night away. We just hung out and my mom and I went to a trunk show for a children's line called "Orient Expressed". Got Mak's Easter dress and a couple of shirts for Tripp. Extremely expensive, but cute stuff! Yesterday, I hung out at my parents house all day and then headed home around 5. Joey and I had a date night planned and Linda kept the kids. When we got to the Mexican restaraunt, I was surprised to see 4 other couples there waiting on us! It was a nice surprise 30th birthday dinner for me! Wish Joey had thought to bring my camera, but oh well! It was fun night of hanging out with friends. Today, we met my parents and Trey and Jenn for a late lunch. Next weekend, Joey and I will be in Myrtle Beach (YIPPEE), so we went ahead and celebrated our birthdays today. The kids (well, mainly Makinley) spent the entire lunch going from one family member to another. But, at least she was sweet while she did it! Tripp kept himself occupied playing his Leapster when he wasn't eating. So, the week of celebrating turning 30 has begun. It's really hard to believe that I'm entering into a whole new phase of my life. Goodbye 20's! :-( Looking forward to celebrating my actual birthday next weekend alone with my husband. There will be LOTS of sleeping involved. I feel as if I only have about 4 years worth of catching up to do! Anyway, here are a few pictures of dinner with my family. It's the only time all weekend that I had my camera! What's wrong with me?!?! :-)
Poppa with his girl!

GiGi and Tripp. That's a bond that NOBODY can break right there!

The happy couple! Today is Trey and Jenn's one year wedding anniversary!!!

Me and my better half. I love him for making my weekend extra special!

Short and Sweet

God is good...all the time. I'm so thankful for answered prayers. Tripp got into PreK for next year. As happy as I am...there's also some definite sadness that he is old enough to go. Blows my mind. As far as the drawing today went, a dear, Godly woman I know said it best, "Stacey, why do we get so surprised when God shows up?!?!" I had plenty of people praying today, and I'm thankful for it. I'm so grateful that God's will included MCPS PreK!! :-)