budgeting and generous giving

I told my husband the other day that I want to create a real budget since we now have a house payment (something we’ve not had in our 11 years of marriage). Sure, we’ve had other payments, but none as big as this mortgage and none that will last for such a long period of time. The past several Sunday School lessons at our church have been about work and money management, so this comes at the perfect time.

After teaching my spin class yesterday, I got into a conversation about budgeting with one of my students, who has been on a budget for quite sometime. She follows the Dave Ramsey principles which I’m somewhat familiar with (thanks to my cousin who gave me that book many years ago!). I need to pull that book back out because I only made it to the second or third step in the plan. Either way, this gal was so helpful and emailed me the neatest spreadsheet on budgeting that she uses. I plan to get into the meat of it this weekend and figure out our budget for next month and see how it goes. I don’t think our house payment will start until May which is nice so we’ll have a month to practice.

This week’s Sunday School lesson is about “Our generous giving should glorify God and reflect Christ’s giving.” My mom raised me to understand the importance of tithing (giving the first 10% back to God) and over the past several years, I’ve really practiced this. I’m a good tither, but I’m not good at “offerings”, so I plan to work that into the budget. I was proud to hear my sister say she gave a good chunk of her earnings to the church last year. I guess mom’s words DID sink in after all!

Some points from the Sunday School lesson this week (2 Corinthians 9:10-13):

• The Lord is the One who provides our necessities of life and more
• The reason for multiplying our material resources is to increase the harvest of our righteousness
• God prospers us not so we can move on up and enjoy a bigger piece of the pie but to enable us to do more to bless others
• Our generosity will result in people offering thanksgiving to God, thus bringing glory to Him
• Generosity supplies the needs of the saints
• Generosity expresses thanks to God
• Generosity confesses the gospel of Jesus Christ to everyone

So, I’m praying over our new budget and asking God to guide me in creating it and following it. I know it won’t be easy to change some of our habits (like eating out WAY too much), but I know we can do it. One reason we got a house is to stay here and enjoy it, so I plan to work on meal planning on the weekends and this gal is going to be grilling out a LOT more this spring and summer!

On another note, I got me some Starbucks Veranda Blend Blonde Roast at the grocery store the other day and it sure is tasty. I had been drinking my favorite Jamaican Me Crazy blend, but I was almost out and was ready to try something new. Plus this was half the price. Yes, I’m pregnant, but I don’t worry about one cuppa joe a day.

Have a blessed day!

A pretty sunset one evening this week

farmin’ photos

My father-in-law is out of town and he normally feeds the cows, so my husband got to fill in. It was such a pretty morning that I thought my son and I would join him. We had fun “farmin” – all I did was take pictures and open a gate. My son loves to be outside and especially loves being around tractors, so it was a big adventure. I thought I would share some pictures I took and some from the past week as well.

On another note, my husband and I had a wonderful date evening as our son is staying with a relative tonight. We got a bite to eat, watched “Winter’s Tale” (I give it 3 stars), and ended up buying our dining set! I had my eye on a set from IKEA, but when I saw this “Jesus” table at a furniture store we stopped at on a whim, I knew it was the one. It cost just a little more, but it’s fully assembled and they will deliver for free! Seems to be good quality and very heavy.

Days like today leave me elated and feeling so blessed. I truly wonder why God takes such good care of me and my family and gives us all that we have. But, when I stop and think about being a child of God, it’s a little easier for me to understand as a mother. I would do almost anything for my son and I will give him all that I can in this life (but not spoil him, you know).

Anyhoo, enough typing, time for pictures!

The snowman my mom made with my son on Thursday…

…the snowman on Friday morning. Take that, snow!

Heading out to feed cows

The weathervane on a blue sky backdrop

A cow playing peek-a-boo with me

It reminds me of my sister’s cow we had when we were little…her name was Ivy

An old barn door

My son stomping the last patch of snow while his shadow watched

The herd waiting on the hay

This cow was resting his head on another’s back

Cows checking us out

My son watching his dad drive the tractor

The moon

Helping open the gate

The bright morning sun

An old gate

My husband on the tractor

An old out building

Father and son farming bonding time

I liked the way the light came through the wall

True bliss on a John Deere

happy groundhog day!

I hear ol’ Phil saw his shadow today, but what the heck does he know? My dad says it will be an early spring and that’s what I choose to believe.

I celebrated Groundhog Day with my pal Tonya. She came to church with me and then we went to a local winery for tastings (her, not me) and lunch. Very good food! I had a take on shrimp and grits, but the grits were smoked Gouda grit cakes. My beverage was a very nice cup of decaf coffee. The dessert menu wasn’t tickling my fancy, so I came home and had a leftover piece of my son’s birthday cake from his party yesterday. Yummy.

My son’s party went well yesterday. It was a small family gathering of about 10 people. I fed them slow cooker chicken and dumplings (big hit), green beans, and real mashed potatoes. My mom made the prettiest cake and it was very tasty. She used to make a lot of our birthday cakes when we were little. Tonight, my little toddler decided to eat a lady bug! I had left him watching it crawl on the couch. When I came back, I asked him where it was and he drooled all over everything. I smelled that squished lady bug smell and he confessed to eating it. So gross.

The most exciting part of the weekend? The excavators came and dug the hole for our new house!!! I was so discouraged going to work yesterday morning because they were supposed to come Friday and never showed. They didn’t even call. When I left at 9:30, they still weren’t here and I was all messed up because everything has seemed so slow and delayed. I should have known God was taking care of things. My mother in law called at 10 am to report we had equipment at our house site. That made my day! Hopefully, the weather will cooperate so we can get the footers and foundation in soon. I still have my fingers crossed that we’ll be moving in our new home the first week of March.

The big game half time show is over and I didn’t hear of any weddings. So glad.

Just think folks, only 6 more weeks of winter, either way. Enjoy this little photo recap of the past week or so.

One winter sunset…

…and another.

Licking the icing from his fingers on his birthday

Instead of “choo choo” he says “shoo shoo”.

Finally! The hole is dug for our new home!!!

Blowing out two big candles on his cake his MeMe made him.

Playing with the snake his Aunt Rachel made him.

Riding his horse he got for his birthday – his legs are the horse’s back legs. It’s a hoot.

my thankfulness

An early morning sunrise I recently caught on film

I was very tempted to blog about something negative this evening. I even got a few lines typed before I decided to be positive instead. I had been thinking all day about what I am thankful for, seeing it is Thanksgiving week. This morning in my son’s Sunday school class, they made little crafts showing what they were thankful for. It made me think about how we always rattle off things like food, family, friends, yada, yada. That’s all fine and good, but I thought I would be specific with my list this year. Here’s what I’ve come up with after mulling it over most of the day:

• a loving God who blesses me daily and is building me a home in heaven right now
• a wonderful, hazel-eyed husband who puts up with my craziness and lets me snuggle up to him each night
• a beautiful son who makes me laugh and smile every day while showing me how innocent the world can be
• a loving mom who raised me in a Christian environment and taught me the value of thank you notes
• a loving dad who has shown me the value of a dollar saved and hard work
• a sister who turned me on to wheat pasta, reusable shopping bags, and cooking from scratch
• another sister who surprises me with hand written notes in my mailbox and lives a carefree life I can only dream of
• in laws that treat me like their very own daughter (and grand daughter)
• fresh, clean drinking water in abundance
• the ability and desire to exercise and stay healthy
• a flexible work schedule that allows me to spend more time with my family
• enough money to provide all of my needs and most of my wants
• the freedom to worship and live the life I desire
• healthy blue eyes to witness the amazing beauty of nature, sunsets, and all the other gorgeous things on the earth
• a warm bed with clean linens
• hot showers
• a car that’s paid for
• good books and colorful magazines
• a church family that gets along and supports each other like a family

This list could go on and on forever, but I’m honestly pooped right now. It’s about time for bed, but if I think of anything else I missed, I’ll add as another post. I challenge you to think outside the box and come up with your own thankfulness list.

early autumn fishing, biking, and photos

It’s officially autumn for a few weeks now, but it feels like summer all of a sudden. Well, at my house, at least. It’s been in the 80’s for days and the nights have even been warm. But, it looks like tomorrow brings the 60’s and it will feel like fall again.

My husband and I took our son to a local pond the other day for some fishing. It was fun, but it was HOT! My husband caught one small mouth bass, which we threw back. It was funny, because our toddler wouldn’t have anything to do with the fish or the worms. He’s all boy, but he’s started to become hesitant of touching everything he sees. When he was smaller, he’d pick ANYTHING up and stick it in his mouth.

I took a 25 minute spin on our homemade cyclocross course a while ago. It is such an intense workout! After that, I did some triceps dips, lunges, squats, and push ups since I’d been lazy the past two days. I still need to practice before the race on the 19th so I can be somewhat ready. I intend for it to be something fun the hubby and I can do together, but it sure would be cool to place, eh?!

Son and father fishing on the bank

What a serene setting

Trying to figure out the fishing pole

The pretty pumpkin patch near the pond

I have always thought the sky reflecting on the water is beautiful

Another gorgeous SWVA sunset

Color is starting to creep into the trees (part of our cyclocross course runs through these woods)

The colors of fall

for God so loved the world…

It rained quite a bit yesterday after about two weeks of dry weather (and a very wet summer). After the rain quit, the sky turned gorgeous and out popped a beautiful, double rainbow. I love rainbows and my son even pointed it out in the sky. The scripture that immediately came to mind was John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

I told my son the quick version of why we have rainbows and what they mean. They sure are a sweet token of a timeless promise. Then, we took a short walk around in the wet grass before bed. Enjoy the blessing of a gorgeous, Southwest Virginia sky!

end of summer photos

Yes, I know it’s my THIRD post today and I’m hogging the blog arena, but I wanted to share some end of summer photos that I’ve gathered over the past couple of weeks. I live in a beautiful place and I try to thank God for it every day. Enjoy.

The old apple tree I’ve been blogging about.

My son has a habit of running around with his tongue stuck out.

Strolling through the hay field with a wooden spoon.

Pretty apples.

HUGE hydrangeas at a nearby shop.

June bug on my dad’s head.

Checking out the June bug (that crawled up his face).

My family when I was little. My sister on the left is the one in California the one on the right lives in TN. I miss them both so much. We were a beautiful family.

Checking out the deer in the woods.

The deer in the woods.

Another gorgeous sunset in our yard.

perfect summer evenings in Virginia

I’ve had two wonderful evenings in good ol’ Southwest Virginia. Well, they are all good, but these past two have been something wonderful and memorable.

Yesterday, I took my son to help my dad pick wild fox grapes so dad can make his famous jelly. Dad really worried me climbing up so high on the ladder (that he had propped up on ANOTHER ladder), but he ended up safe and sound. I helped a little, but I was mostly chasing my 18 month old son around, making sure he didn’t fall off the little bridge into the stream. The setting was beautiful and thankfully I had taken my camera and got some good shots. Some local yocals had been putting up hay that day and it made me reminisce about when I had to put up hay in my teens.

My dad way up high picking grapes.

My little boy checking out the field.

Dad was making me nervous on that ladder!

Grandpa and grandson. I think I’ll get this one blown up and framed for dad.

Beautiful red and purple flowers (not sure of their names).

Ms. Spider doing a split.

More beautiful, Virginia scenery.

The old hay field.

Ah, summer…

We had cows then and baled square bales.  I was learning how to drive a manual transmission (what we call a “stick shift” or “straight” around here) and the truck was loaded down with hay bales. My loving father (he he) parked me on an incline and told me to drive up the hill. I was SO nervous. I popped the clutch and half the hay fell off the back. I cried because the boys my age saw the whole thing and I was so embarrassed. Oh, those teenage years.

Speaking of growing up, I was thinking about kids today and what my son will grow up to be like. We had a group of 4th grade students come to the pool today for water safety and I watched them interact with each other. I just finished reading a book called “The Memory Keeper’s Daughter” and in the book, the mom tells the dad of the boy that she hopes he grows up to be happy. When it boils down to it, that’s all I want for my son. I want him to be happy as long as he’s being nice to others – people, animals, and the world in which he lives. I don’t have dreams of him being a doctor or the president.

Anyway, I’m veering off subject! This evening, we had a bunch of barn swallows flying around in front of our house.  We’ve lived here for about 8 years now and I’ve never seen them do that before. Here’s a glimpse of what we got to watch.

Then, I took my son down to his grandparents on the 4-wheeler to spend the night (since my husband and I have to be gone so early in the morning). It was a beautiful ride down and we saw the big, orange sun setting as well as a deer running into the woods. On the way, I noticed the old apple tree was full of apples, so I stopped on the way back and picked some apples standing on the 4-wheeler. I just piled them up in my shirt and brought them home. My plan is to cook some up and freeze or can them for this winter. The best part is that they are “organic” – no pesticides on this ancient apple tree!

Speaking of organic, I read a good article today in Prevention Magazine. It’s called “Is Organic Food Really Better for You?” – turns out, it is (but I already knew that).  The more I read from all these different sources, the better I feel about the choices I’m making, but it also stresses me out because I’m not more organic than I am. There’s always room for improvement, I guess. I saw a sign for a local, organic produce place right down the road from my house. It’s only open on Saturdays, so I plan to check it out this weekend.

One more thing and I’m done for the night… I’ve published over 100 posts on my blog! I think this is # 103 and I’m tickled. I can’t believe I’ve stuck with it this long. I love writing. Thanks for reading!

spring?

I’m sitting outside and it’s 7 pm. It’s warmer right now than it’s been all day…today was cold and breezy, but now it’s decided to get pretty. The robins are out in full force filling up their bellies with earthworms (I called them “wormsicles” the other day because it was so cold…witty, eh?). I love to hear the birds.

We took our son to his first Easter egg hunt today. It was a public affair where the folks dropped about 500 eggs onto the baseball field, then let the 1-3 year old kids pick them up. There were so many kids that the eggs were gone in probably 5 minutes. I think our son got 4 or 5, but it was fun and cute. He would pick up and egg, yell, and throw it in his bucket. He also met the Easter bunny, and he seemed to like her.

Here are some shots I captured lately of our deer friends, robins, and more.

Our deer friends

March sunset

More deer friends

One of our robins…if you look closely, you will see the snow that was falling that day.

My son playing with the gate. Even though it’s cold, we’ve still been playing outside a lot.

 

paper bag pirate

My husband came in the door a few minutes ago and whispered “Come here!”, so I stepped out the door. Then, he tells me to put on my flip flops and come around the back of the house. After I get half way around the back of the house,  he’s saying “You have to see this.” So, I’m thinking he’s trying to get lucky (he tries to trick me sometimes).

BUT, that wasn’t the case. He really did want to show me this neat cloud formation in the sky and look at the lightning bugs slowly rising from the July landscape of our backyard. He gently wrapped his arms around my waist and we admired another one of the good Lord’s beautiful masterpieces.

June 2012 sunset on our hillside

He said he wanted to hit some golf balls (mind you, it’s 9 pm and you can hardly see) so I went with him to get the clubs and balls. He brings out a paper bag of balls he bought at this local gas station – $13 worth of balls, to be exact. After dumping the balls from the paper sack into his golf bag, he whacked one WAY out into the trees, all the way over the field. I thought I would try to hit one and I actually did with his coaching skills. I always miss the darn things. Mine went a total of 10 feet, I think. But, I did hit it!

He smacked the third ball out into the field somewhere and when he walked off to retrieve my pitiful attempt at golf, I saw the paper bag lying there and decided to have a little fun. I put it over my head and started trying to tear some eye holes in it so I could see. Needless to say, I got ONE eye hole because I had trimmed my nails down to nothing last night. So, I stuck my arms out in front of me like a zombie and started walking toward him. He’s laughing at me and saying “What are you doing?”

After I peeled the bag off my head (laughing myself), I said “See, I can be fun!” and he’s like, “You’re a lot of fun!” I was afraid I was becoming an old fuddy dud since becoming a mom (you know how we worry, moms).

On the way back to the front door, he says, “Now I only have $12 worth of balls.” But, that $1 sure did equate to a few minutes of fun for the both of us.