Debt Snowball

As many of you know, Justin and I are trying desparately to get out of debt. It's a very slow, tedious process that every time we rework our budget and debt numbers, makes me even more depressed. I hate seeing it on paper, because then it's real. When we are only making enough to pay bills, getting out of debt quickly is just not an option. Luckily we have these things called tax refunds, and thanks to Morganne and school we will be getting at least some money to put towards our "Debt Snowball". Those of you who do not know what this is, please ask! and/ or see Dave Ramsey. We have made it an obsession, which I've heard is the only way to make it work for good.
It scares me every time I hear about this "Ecomonic stimulus plan" and it's 300+ BILLION dollar bailout. I have one question: Where is this money coming from??? If the country is needing bailout because people are spending more than they can afford and can't pay back the banks and credit cards and are filing bankruptcy- WHY IN THE HECK IS THE COUNTRY NOW DOING THIS ON A MUCH LARGER SCALE!?!?!?! I pray for my daughter and future grandchildren when in 30 years, China comes knocking and says they want their money back with interest. I hope that we can instill a better financial responsibility in them that they won't have to depend on the governement for help. That is our goal.
I will say that this ecomony is pretty scary. Now 3/5 couples in our bible study, whom the husband is the sole/majority provider, are now out of work. It's scary, especially when there are no jobs out there to just turn around and get. I have a hard time believing this "bailout" will really improve much though. I am definitely not an Obama fan, but that is a whole different can of worms.
To God be the Glory. Today in church, one of the friends in our bible study that just lost his job, taught on the story of Jesus raising Lazurus from the dead. A cool story, check it out (See the book of John). In it, as well as in other stories in the bible, he explains that he lets these "bad" (Lazurus dying!) things happen so that in the end, God will get the glory when people see things work out for good. One of my favorite sayings, though I haven't said it in a while, is "If it hasn't turned out well and for the better, it isn't over yet." Which means, if you are going through tough times and things seem dark, just have hope, it will get better. Luckily, in these hard times my friends have hope in the "bigger" picture. I hope you do too!

Funny videos

Real quick, here are a couple new videos. I know I've been posting a lot lately, but it's so neat watching Morganne change and learn new things. This site is primarily for family and loved ones far away that don't get to see Morganne grow. We miss you guys and want you to be a part of our lives, even far away! This first video you can hear her say "Daddy" and also see her beginning to crawl. She is now crawling with confidence and able to move just about anywhere. I have a feeling she will be trying to take steps soon too.

Sorry this video is so dark. We really need a real video camera. If you can see it, the moving black blob is Zeke chasing a laser light. Morganne is sitting by the couch. I hope you have your sound on!!!

(This makes her laugh every time! It's great!)

Mo is on the move!

Morganne began crawling this week! However, no one but Justin and I have seen it yet. She has been so close for the past month and then Wednesday night finally realized how to work her legs. Everything in her own time, she can't be made or enticed to crawl. I took her to daycare on Thursday and told Amanda that she was crawling and to watch for it. She didn't all day. Nor did she crawl when Nana came to visit Thursday night. She is a very laid back child, has been since birth. Oh well. I think part of it is our very small house. Everything is within reach, why move?!?! I have appreciated the low stress child that she is. She is also very observant and catches on to things very quickly. She knows the sign language sign for cat and dog and has been doing them reliably for about a month now, even to pictures in books. It's quite cute. She has also said her first word- Daddy! (Boy is Justin thrilled! :cP) I do believe she knows Justin is "Daddy" however, she really likes saying it, and calls just about everyone she knows Daddy now. It makes us laugh. She has said "Mommy" but it's not as fun as saying "Daddy" over and over again. Next, we're working on "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious". :c) We're not over-achievers!

We got a great report from Dr. Berrios, Morganne's orthopedic specialist, last Friday. We went in for a 3 month check up, and like always had hip x-rays done of her and he said that they look completely normal now! No more double/triple diapering her anymore! Yeah! We go back again in 3 months just for another check, but he said that if they continue to look normal, then he will see us once again after she's walking and we could be done! We were thrilled!

Justin is currently finishing his 10th day in a row of work. Lovely responsibilities. If only this can spur him on to finish school and get a job he enjoys. I know it's hard for him to see the light at the end of the tunnel sometimes. Luckily, for his weekend off, the weather looks fairly nice. The sun is shining today! How much do we appreciate something so normal, but when it's cloudy, rainy, and cold for days in a row, the sun is a nice sight to see. Even though it's still a muddy mess in our backyard, I feel better about leaving the dogs out longer when the sun is shining. I do believe our kitchen floor is permanently colored brown though. There is only so much mopping and vacuuming that you can do to keep up. Here are a few pics taken recently:

Working on her hip flexion after a bath! :cP

You can't beat natural lighting when it comes to photography!

Studying up! Her favorite thing to do is have Mommy or Daddy read books to her. She definitely has her favorites too.

Daddy's favorite thing to do.

Ripken's favorite thing to do! ;cP

Unfortunately, our coffee table is a junk mail collector as well. Well, now that Morganne is moving, she decided to help us with the cleaning too. This is what I walked into the other day. She was very proud of herself! I guess she will make mom and dad better at picking up the house, you think?


I tried three times to get a video to link of her crawling. No luck. So, it remains that Justin and I are the only witnesses so far. I promise she is crawling! :c)

Fun video

Sometimes you just can't help but smile...

It's an amazing phenomenom when children begin to develop their own personality. It's my first taste of losing control. She has the ability to make me frustrated and to be honest, annoyed, but never a day goes by when I'm not totally thankful for her and she can make me smile. I will say I do not know how single parent's do it, and I have so much more respect for them now. We are so blessed.

MUD!!!!

Unfortunately, in Indiana, warmer weather means LOTS of mud. I really hope it dries up soon! The poor dogs are living either outside or in their crates and I we are constantly mopping the kitchen floor. We've accepted the fact that our carpet will need to be replaced whenever we sell this place. It's a losing battle.

Loving me as Christ loved the church

So, I have a wonderful husband. It was his birthday this past Monday (2/2, he is finally 26! :c)) and he was fortunate enough to have the day off so he stayed home with Morganne. He is so good with her. She is saying "Daddy" now, and it makes his day every time he hears it. Not only did he play with her all day but he went to the grocery, cooked a great dinner (on HIS birthday), and cleaned the bathroom and kitchen. Wow. I am so blessed. (His dinner is the Cheeseburger Mac and Cheese, see the link to the side. Very Yummy!) He's such a hard worker and a great friend to everyone. I got a good one I tell ya! :c)

Last weekend we got rid of the Jimmy! Yeah! (Those of you close to us understand why we cheer!) and Justin got himself a truck. A big truck. It was a good deal and it fits the whole family. Luckily, our neighbors are great and they don't mind the noise it makes. Did I mention it's a diesel?!?!? A '98 Dodge Ram ext. cab Cummins Diesel. I think I got that right.... :cP Justin is like a kid on Christmas morning. He smiles every time he talks about it. Boys are just big kids really and a boy with a truck..... I will attach a picture soon. I will admit that I like how it looks, and am happy with the decision to buy it. I felt at peace about this truck, where most of the others he's looked at just didn't make me at ease. So, keeping our fingers crossed we will pray it's not a lemon...

So, officially we now have a 2002 Honda Accord for sale with 78, 000 miles. We are asking $9000. Great car- seriously. We will be sad to see it go. But he has the free, yes free, '94 Nissan Sentra to drive to work and back and I now need a vehicle that can fit a car seat and dog crate.

Here is some recent video of Morganne's ever developing skills. She loves to play ball now. It's so crazy what all she is learning now. She can point to her nose, eyes, and mouth too. She is 11 months old today. Boy does time fly...

Also, here is a video of Justin with Morganne. Unfortunately, he saw the video camera too quickly and stopped. But you can get the idea. This is a frequent happening around here. It's so cute!