Halloween 2011

We're getting ready to head out for our trick or treating and to sit in the front yard, cook hot dogs, and meet our neighbors. But first, I thought I'd post the kids in their costumes before I forgot. Abby is a beauty queen this year and Carson is (obviously) Spider Man. I have such cute kids!

WE'RE DEBT FREEEEEE!!!

Well, this is actually kind of old news now, but I never got around to posting it. Furthermore, I generally do not make it a practice of talking about our finances with other people. However, this is something that I want to remember, and I especially want my kids to remember as they become adults, so for that purpose, I am telling our story.

Several years ago (or more -- Abby was just a little thing), we were fairly newly married, had two car payments, student loan debt, and a good chunk of credit card debt. We were pretty normal, I suppose, but always felt the weight of all the payments and never feeling like we could get ahead. On a visit to my parents' house, my dad started talking about this guy he'd been listening to on the radio and what he'd been learning. Turned out this guy was Dave Ramsey, and my Dad offered to pay for us to go to his Total Money Makeover event here in San Antonio if we'd be willing to go. Well, we weren't going to turn it down, but it was admittedly a little hard to get excited about going to talk about money. We went, though, and were totally inspired. There was hope. We didn't have to live this way!

So we decided on a plan. We saved up a little emergency fund, cut up our credit card, and we began to pay off debt. I won't say it was easy. It wasn't. And there were a couple points where we lost focus (we bought two cars along the way, adding to our debt). BUT... the more we paid off, the faster things got moving and the more excited we became, until five years later (PRAISE THE LORD FOR HIS PROVISION!), we finished paying off every last dollar! (Except for the house.)

All along (especially the past year or two) the kids have been very involved in the process. When we paid everything off, they were thrilled about calling in for Dave's Debt Free Friday, and screaming "We're debt FREEEEEEEEEEE!" But with our schedules, we never seemed to be able to get all together at the right time. So a couple weeks ago when I heard that Dave would be in town for a book signing, the kids asked if we could go meet him and tell him about being debt free. So we did! We got the chance to meet him, have him sign our book, and (though the kids chickened out and hid behind me) tell him we were debt free. We didn't scream in the book store, but he and his team said, "Yaaaaaaay!!!" It was quick fleeting moment, but it was fun. :) Our friends Daniel and Amanda were there too and were kind enough to snap a quick pic.

While paying off debt was thrilling, I think the most exciting part was being able to buy a car without a car payment in August. That was one thing we just never thought would be possible! It wasn't expensive or fancy, but it's not dragging a payment with it, and THAT feels good!

Chicken Noodle Soup [What's Cookin']

It's been a while since I posted a recipe, so I decided I'd post one (no, two) recipes that I tried for the first time tonight, and they are the perfect "fall is here" type recipes. This was my first soup of the season and it warmed my soul.

Abby hated the celery in the soup (next time I'll make it without), but the promise of more garlic knots inspired her enough to finish it. Enjoy!

Classic Chicken Noodle Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 stalks celery, medium-diced (1 cup)
3 carrots, medium-diced (1 cup)
3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 quarts chicken stock
2 cups wide egg noodles
2-3 cups cooked shredded chicken
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions:
In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the celery, carrots, salt and pepper and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the noodles and cook for 10 minutes, then add the chicken and parsley. Continue cooking until the chicken is heated through and serve immediately.

Garlic Knots
You might want to double this recipe!

Ingredients:
1 can Pillsbury Breadsticks
1 T. EVOO
2 T. butter
1 t. finely choped garlic

Directions:
Grease 12 muffin tins and preheat oven to 375. Tie each breadstick into a knot and place in muffin tin. Melt butter with olive oil in microwave (about 30 seconds), then add garlic, then brush/pour onto dough. Bake 10-15 minutes until golden and delicious. Try not to eat all 12 yourself.

Love

I don't post about this guy nearly as often as he deserves. He is my perfect complement, my BFF, and so much more. We've been having so much fun together these past few months (not to mention the past nine years). Since the kids have started school, we've begun Monday "Date Days", which have been incredibly refreshing and fun. Earlier this week, we spent a couple days down at the coast -- just the two of us. I love him more than I could ever express, and I think the feeling's mutual. :)

This picture was taken by Sandy at Lauren and Jonathan's wedding a few weeks ago. When Aaron and I started dating, Lauren was in 5th grade. Talk about feeling OLD! But that's another post for another day.

Girl Scout

If you’ve spent any time around Abby lately, you surely know that she recently became a Girl Scout. This is the biggest and best news to hit this house in quite some time if you ask her. Tonight was her “Investiture” Ceremony where she was officially welcomed as a new member. She had a lot of fun and was very proud of her new pin and her first two patches!

It was a nice evening, and we’re looking forward to a year of new experiences!

The Girl Scout Promise

 Getting pinned

After the ceremony with her certificate

Lil’ Miss Social Butterfly with her friends. What you don’t see is about 15 other girls swarming towards them trying to get into the picture as well.

Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend, Aaron and the guys from church spent a few wonderful days at Men's Retreat. The kids and I stayed home and laid low for the most part, but Saturday morning, Natalie called and asked if we wanted to go to the pumpkin patch with her and the kids. Of course we do!

So we headed out and spent the morning enjoying the nice, cool weather. We watched the kids play, tried desperately to get them to pose for a picture together (Just ONE picture, guys! Just ONE!"), and enjoyed talking and catching up on life. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the morning.

Abby took this picture all by herself! I love it!

Happy Birthday, Jerah!

A couple weeks ago, we got to drive to Bryan to celebrate a very special little girl. My niece, Jerah, turned FOUR! It was so nice to drive up for the day to celebrate her and to hang out with family. I just love Jerah's enthusiasm for life and her sweet sweet heart. We had a super fun day, and can't wait to see them again at Thanksgiving!

I just love this picture of the cousins! We were so excited that Amorette got to be there this year! She and Abby just loved playing together all day.

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Bike Rider

This week has been beautiful. The weather is perfect. Finally, I am happy that I live in Texas. Autumn in Texas means afternoons at the playgrounds, hiking at the State Park, and evenings playing out front with the neighbors.

Tonight was no exception. After homework was done and rooms were clean, I took the kids to the playground to play. When we got home, Aaron was lighting up the grill for dinner (mmmm… steak!) and the kids immediately asked if they could go out front to play. On his way out the door (I didn’t even hear him), Carson said, “I’m going to learn to ride a two wheeler.” The kids took off down the street and Aaron and I set about finishing up dinner. About fifteen minutes later, I went out front to check on the kids. I saw Carson running around a few houses down and called him over to tell him dinner was nearly ready. “Hey, Mom. Let me show you how I can ride a two wheeler.” (I have to admit being skeptical because we’d never really spent any time teaching him how to ride a bike, and his bike has been out of commission since July.) He went over, grabbed Abby’s bike, hopped on, and… rode it. All the way up the street. Then did it again. And again. And again.

Gasp.

Apparently his daddy did the same thing when he was a kid, while I, on the other hand, took weeks to learn with hours of help from my dad. (Aaron says that technically, Carson did have help from his dad – genetically. Ha ha!)

At any rate, I was super shocked proud of my little guy!

School Portraits

My kids came home with their school portraits today. When I explained to Abby that we probably wouldn't be buying them because I had a rockin' photo shoot planned soon, she was like, "Awww, man! Can't we just get these instead? Please?!" Like, Mom, you're so uncool. Ha ha, oh well. As generic as they are, there's always been a special place in my heart for the old school photo, so even if I don't buy a thousand wallets that will never get handed out, I wanted to at least document these precious photos for all posterity.

Abby, Second Grade (Age 7)
Carson, Kindergarten (Age 5)

The List

When Aaron and I were dating, he took me to this little Mexican restaurant here in San Antonio. As we sat there waiting on our food, we began talking about all the things we’d like to do, places we’d like to go, etc. So, Aaron grabbed a pen, and right there on the paper placemat, we started “The List”. The list was put in the glovebox, and went with us everywhere. When we thought of something else, we’d add it, and then we’d mark things off as we did them. It was great!

However, somewhere along the way, our list got lost. Over the years, we’ve mentioned it now and again, but I guess the demands of life and small children distracted us. (That, and I always had a special place in my heart for that paper placemat.) But then on Monday, as I was finishing up some e-mails, Aaron came into my office and said, “Let’s get this list started again.” So we did. We talked and dreamed and wrote as much as we could think of on a blank notepad. It felt good. It was fun.

After our list was done, we went out to lunch together. I wanted to take him to a little Thai place a friend had taken me to. As the waiter sat us at our table, we both couldn’t help but smile as he set our drinks down on our paper placemats, to which we promptly transferred our list.

P.S. I think we’ll be adding a section to the blog with our list and our experiences, so stay tuned!