Simply an Update

Goodness, I have been terrible about keeping up with the blog lately!

I'm always flattered by the family and friends who tell me they love following my blog, so I'm sorry if you've been wondering what happened to me lately. I'm busy, of course, but not really more so than usual... so there's no excuse.

I'll try to catch up over the next few days, so keep checking back!

So what have we been up to, you may or may not ask? Well, I'll tell you either way. Chris and I completed the 9-week Financial Peace University (Dave Ramsey) course at his mom's church earlier this month. We learned a few new things but mainly were inspired to suck it up and write that big check to pay off his car (HOORAY!), and start really buckling down on a budget. I'm ashamed to admit that in our eight years of marriage, we have never truly budgeted our money. I try not to think about where we could be financially if we had taken this class before we got married... and I hereby pledge that we will enroll our children both in FPU when they are finishing college (or sooner). I highly recommend it! As far as our financial journey goes, without divulging too much, we are working hard to follow the "baby steps" and practice some delayed gratification. We are blessed to own a nice, functional house in a good neighborhood, and our monthly mortgage payments are not straining our finances. We are getting to that point where people start asking when we plan to move/build/buy another house, and trust me, that is on our radar. We have dreams and goals, but ultimately I want to make solid decisions about down payments and a shorter mortgage term, so if that means living here a few more years, so be it. I'm sure it will be all the more gratifying when we finally achieve the goal of owning a house with more dining space, for starters :) Also, we have executed our wills and all the other slightly morbid documents and plans that go along with that, and we are currently in the process of purchasing level term life insurance policies. I guess we are officially grown-ups.

In other news, I am just wrapping up an exhilarating season of women's indoor volleyball through a city recreation league. Getting back into volleyball (I played through ninth grade) has been multi-faceted: I have better control over my body and can therefore spike and dive at a higher skill level than I could when I was in the thick of training and playing every day, but I also feel soreness in muscles I didn't even know about and have developed a new appreciation for my body and its limitations. 30 is eye-opening!

I've also gotten involved at a local charity called Hearts & Hands. I go most Thursday mornings to help distribute food to the needy, and I took Noah this morning to see what they do and hopefully to help him appreciate his blessings. I have made some friends up there, and it's a great chance to visit my grandparents who live nearby.

Noah has hit the ground running in Kindergarten, of course! He has made some good friends and LOVES his teacher. Like, he whined for three days when she was home sick. He is learning to read at a high level and his little brain is soaking up all kinds of knowledge every day. His favorite part of the day, though, is still the bus ride home. He cannot get over his love of the bus--and Chris and I are so tired of his insistence that we check whether every bus we pass, no matter where or what time of day, is his bus!

Noah and his friend Braylin at his awards ceremony last Friday.

 Noah was recognized for good citizenship and for knowing all his sight words.

Audrey is her usual crazy, stubborn, contrary self. If you tell her she's a stinker, she'll say, "I know." If you threaten to spank her, she'll point at you, furrow her brow, and say, "Stop it. Now. No pank me." She challenges me a hundred times a day and I'm just trying to raise my success rate by one or two a day--gotta keep those goals attainable! She pretends to cry when I cross her, and then she'll later inform me, "I cry. I cry right there." Just in case I missed it. She is hands down the funniest kid I've ever seen, between the things she says and her ridiculous expressions and mannerisms.

One of her CRAZY faces

She refers to herself as "Princess Audrey" and every outfit she puts on must be somehow related to a princess or Frozen. For example, the other day she wore a Princess Turkey dress. She loves to sing, especially the "Aaaah-aaaahh-aaaaaaaaahhhh" wordless tune from The Little Mermaid, at the top of her lungs, in inappropriate places like church or a quiet restaurant. And no, we still haven't cut her hair--and it still seems to be the same length it's been for a year or more. But I promise, when it's wet, it touches between her shoulder blades--but immediately curls back up only seconds after I pour water all over her head!

I'll try to keep track of these kids' crazy antics; check back soon for more!