Tow Truck Troubles!

So this morning I woke up and started getting the kids ready for church. I was in the middle of changing Joshua's diaper when I heard my door bell ring. Very strange for the door bell to ring at 8:30 am on a Sunday morning. I ran down the steps to see my neighbor Carmen at the door saying "I am sorry to tell you but your car was just towed I tried to run after them but I was too late." My car towed....from in front of my house....on a Sunday morning....with all of my carseats....not cool!!!! So I called up the tow company and asked why it was towed and they said I had an expired state inspections sticker since 2009. Very strange that it could be expired since 2009 considering that is when it was first registered in Missouri, and I didn't think someone would give us and expired sticker they day they issued it to us. However the driver insisted that it was a "dead' sticker and he had to tow it. I explained I was unaware of anything being expired on the vehicle, I had 3 small children, 9 months pregnant and my husband in Afghanistan for the year, and asked if they could bring my car back. He told me it was against policy so I had to get a baby sitter for the kids ( my mom came right over) My neighbor gave me a ride to the tow place. I was unable to talk to anyone there because the girl behind the window was on the phone the whole time and just took my liscense, and debit card and then said go to the gate on the left.....I just wanted my car back to get to church since I had already missed sunday school. My mom and I both looked at the sticker which has no expiration date on it and knew they did not have any right to take it away. My car does not need to be inspected until the registration is expired in 2012!! They need to give me my $125.00 back and gas money to give to my neighbor. I called them tonight and no one ever called me back. So I will call again in the morning. I hate to complain but seriously this was not nice!

Where Will God Lead my Husband?

Time goes by so fast, Chris' deployment is just about half way over already! Thank God for keeping him safe thus far. I am so proud of him and greatful to have a husband that follows after God! He is 99% sure he is getting out of the Airforce upon his return and so that leaves my mind to wonder alot of our future. Where will we go, What will he do, What do I need to do right now to prepare our family? I think we will either stay here in Northern VA, or go back to Las Vegas. Chris wants to be a police officer. I know he will make an excellent police officer, he is a man of integrity, strength, perserverence, knowledge and overall great character. Any Police department would be greatly benefitted by his service. So I looked into Vegas and Fairfax County police Departments. The pay is greater in Las Vegas, and the homes are cheaper (alot cheaper) but we really need to make a decision based on where God wants us to be not on money. I love the church here in Alexandria, there are many opportunities to do outreach for Christ and provoking sermons. There is a great church in Las Vegas too. I could see our family in both places and able to serve Christ. I just have to pray alot for God's direction, and wisdom and for my husband to have an open heart to hear God's call in our lives. So now we are going to be working aggressively to save enough for a 3-6 month money supply and a 20% down payment on a house. So really that means saving a bunch b/c if we needed a 20% down payment in Vegas we need $24,000, if we need a 20% down payment here we need $46,000!! big huge difference so I will try and do my best in honoring God in our finances and not do any foolish spending. I always think of proverbs 27:1 "Boast not thyself of tommorrow for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth."

Baby Shower!

My friend Jessica made the candy bar wrappers, and my other friend whose husband is with Chris in Afghanistan made the diaper cake

My mom made 100's of roll sandwhich's

Charlotte hosted all the games

My Dad even came!

Last Saturday I had a baby shower at Lighthouse Baptist Church for baby Rachel. Everything was so nice, there was a diaper cake, chocolates with our faces on them, chocolate cake, my mother in laws mac n cheese, about 40 people, and a ton of baby girl gifts. I am so greatful for all the things I recieved. I actually got 2 of alot of items and ended up returning enough stuff to buy Christian a new jacket, hoodie, belt and 2 shirts from JCPenny's! I still have a $25 gift card to spend at the PX! It was so fun unpacking all the gifts and putting them in Rachels room. All I need now is our baby!

Natural Birth Plan!

Lord willing we will be having another Natural Intervention Free Childbirth in just a few weeks, so I have my hospital bag packed, babysitters lined up, a baby shower this weekend, and of course my birth plan!

My little Joshua!

Well Joshua is not going to be the baby anymore next month! He still does not voluntarilly sleep when put down for bed so the crib is staying up until he starts climbing out of it! I love him so much and he is quite a handful! He has shared a room with Noah for quite sometime but he is going to have a new roomate! Lord willing I will be bringing home Rachel sometime next month. We have a 3 bedrooms with 4 kids(almost). Christian and Noah have been sharing a room together for the last month or so. This leaves Joshua to be the lucky boy to share a room with the girl. I am having my first girl so I don't want to miss out on decorating with girly things, but I also don't like to mitch match stuff . So I was able to find the exact same crib bedding as Joshua on Ebay except for a girl! I think it looks nice together.

Baby Girl!

I love the shirt that says "little sister" and the layette that says "Daddy's girl"

Our baby is due next month! I had a bath robe 2 dresses, 2 headbands, 5 hair bows, 2 organizing baskets and 2 pairs of socks this morning in my baby girl inventory. Soooo.....I decided I needed to buy some more things for the baby girl. I hate to spend so much money on baby clothes that will only fit for a little while, but I had alot of fun picking out cute girly things even with all 3 boys! God has blessed us with more than enough with all the children and I am so greatful for his provision. So here is what I came home with today =)

$65,000 Paid in Full in 3.5 Years!!

God is good everyday that He chooses to wake my family and I up, but especially today. Let me rewind back to May of 2007: Chris was getting ready for his first deployment Christian was 13 months old and I was seven months pregnant with Noah. We had two cars but were still paying for 3, 3 student loans, a personal loan, and 2 credit card debts. All together totalling around $65,000!!! I woke up today and realized it was the payday that we would finally be able to pay off our last debt! A $993 dollar payment to Nelnet for a student loan. I logged onto the website and even though it said we didn't owe another payment until 2017 because of how much ahead God has blessed us to pay back, I made the payment in full! What a blessing, it feels almost as good as the day I recieved Jesus Christ as my own personal savior for the debt of sin that owed back in 2004! I realize that not everyone out there is in the same financial situation as we are in but here are some things we did to pay back our 5 figure debt.

1) Put God first! Pay your tithes if you name the name of Christ!

Abraham paid Tithes before the law, the jews paid during the law and Christians did more than just give as their heart directed them to give. It took us a while to figure that one out but if you search the scriptures with an open heart you will see for yourself. This is one of the scriptures God used to guide us into laying aside 10% and then give on top of that as the Lord leads

1 Corinthians 16:2 (King James Version)
Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.

2) Share a Car with your husband if you are married:

Yes I know it is 2010 and people have places they need to go but if God has given you a husband and an opportunity to be a keeper at home as God commanded in Titus 2:5, then this should not be a problem. We have shared a car for 3 years and have been content in doing so. If I really needed to go somewhere I would put the kids in the stroller the baby in the wrap and walk sometimes 2-3 miles. If there was somewhere I needed to be that I couldn't walk to, I dropped hubby off and took the car or my friend Liz would pick us up in her van =) Not a big deal.

3) Pay on debt first before making any big purchases when you get tax returns:

Yes it is very hard to do when you see the IRS has deposited several thousand dollars into your bank account and your mind begins to wonder and plan out all the things you could buy with that nice chunk of change.....but stop.....Pay Your Debt!

4)Stop buying new stuff, and sell stuff your not using anymore

I take pride in our home being clutter free and do not wish to have a bunch of stuff in our home that just collects dust. I regularly go through our home and find stuff we are not using and see if someone I know needs it possibly if not, I sell it on Craigslist or a yardsale. I have made well over $1000 doing this and have kept our home clutter free!

5)Create a budget:

Well you must know where your money is going. We do one every month on a spreadsheet and just fill in the purchases we make everyday and review for a few minutes so we know how much is left and what still needs to be paid so we don't overspend.

6)Have an emergency fund:

This is very important because something always comes up always! You don't want to have to go and beg from a family member/friend or put your unexpected expenses on a credit card and pay 17% interest when you could have saved a little instead of spending all you had earlier on! The car needs new tires, we want to go visit family/friends in another state, we have another baby, the cat visits the vet, I buy a reclining chair for my mom to sit in, we need a washer and dryer..etc...etc....We need to be good stewards and save in the good years like Joseph did way back in the book of Genesis!

7)Co-habitate:

Okay this one I know not everyone is able to do, but it helped us save a good amount. While chris deployed to Quatar in 2007 and Iraq in 2009 we put our stuff in our generous friends, garages and basements (Thank you Reid, Lawhon, and Pittman Families) and moved in with my sister.