Checking In

Well, I am just checking in. This has been another busy week for my family. We have had something on every evening, which is definitely not my favorite. However, in the midst of all of the craziness I have had so many “budgeting” conversations! For instance, my friend Rachel commented about taking a “break” from budgeting because she has had three weeks of family in town. It is an interesting problem and one that we all face in the holiday season. She just had her company early, but it is such a great issue for all of us to address. …

The Pumkin Patch

What a beautiful fall weekend. It has been such lovely weather here in Tulsa and after several weeks of sickness and a very busy week last week, it was so lovely to just enjoy our weekend and to visit the pumkin patch. I am posting a lot of photos, so I hope you don’t mind as I share pictures of my darling kiddos. I know I haven’t posted in a few days, but I am just really finding that I need a break from blogging right now. We have had a lot going on in the evenings and as we …

The Seat of Scorn, and The Tree of Abundance

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful…” Psalm 1:1 Now, I have to say, most of my counsel these days is with my children, I don’t often have the opportunity to stand in the path of sinners (in other words, to linger in their ways), but I have to confess, I sometimes sit in the seat of the scornful. I was reading the first chapter of Psalms the other day and just felt the Lord convict my heart. It …

Finding the Balance When You Are the Boss

Cynthia emailed me this question a few weeks ago concerning the unique needs of trying to set up a budget when you own your own business or are on a commission based income. I have already written a few blogs on this subject ( Feast or Famine , Finally Breathing , Your Business , The Power of Percentages ) but I felt like this question is so relevant to so many people that is bares revisiting. Cynthia wrote, “We desperately need a budget and it has been difficult for us to budget because we own our own business. I need …

Preparing for Future Expenses

What a lovely weekend it was here in Oklahoma! It was just perfect fall weather: cool, with clear blue skies, and no wind. It was such a nice weekend for my family because we were able to play outside, and just relax and take the weekend off. Noah got sick again last week and we had to keep him out of school for most of the week. So this weekend I also sterilized everything in my home, and washed all of the linens, and just cleaned everything. Noah is finally better and will be returning to school on Monday and …

Home Sweet Castle?

I recently heard a comment that 20 years ago doctors bought 3,000 square foot homes and today they are buying 10,000 square foot homes! I know American’s have gotten fatter, but seriously, what are they doing with all of that space? I actually know some people who own a home that approaches 10,000 square feet and the truth is, they just never go upstairs. They live in the living room, kitchen, and their bedroom and the rest of the home is just for show. To me, I can understand that size home if you have a lot of company, but …

Time to Begin

Wow, there is so much to write on with so much happening in the world! It has really been a financial roller coaster for anyone following the stock market and global markets over the past two weeks. There are dire predictions and forecasts, really a lot of gloom and doom out there right now. I have to be honest however, for me, I have taken more of a “let’s see in a month’s time, or maybe three month’s time.” It is difficult to really give this crisis the weight that all of the financial “prophets of doom” are saying it …

A Princess Party

My darling Ava Joy is 4 years old! I can hardly believe it. The party was a wonderful success, thanks in large part to my Mom who stepped in and saved the day. Praise the Lord, my fever was gone by Saturday, but I was still pretty weak. My Mom just brought the whole beautiful party together. Ava had such a lovely time and I was just so glad that she finally had a birthday party without tears. In fact, she totally enjoyed herself. So, I am still in recovery myself, but I did want to share pictures from the …

A Chilly Morning

For those of you checking in here to check up on me, thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers. Unfortunately, I am still running a fever. It just hovers right above 100 degrees… not enough to really burn this off, just enough for me to ache all over. This morning I bundled my children up in their fleece winter clothes because I couldn’t stop shivering and didn’t realise that I still had a fever. I was so praying that I would wake up well today. My Mom came to pick up Ava and Luke so that I could …

A Different Perspective

And she is down… and out of the game. Unfortunately for my sweet family, and for blog land, the bug that has plagued my boys all weekend has finally caught the girls. Luke started with a croup like cough on Friday night and it has just gotten worse and worse. Noah started running a fever on Saturday night… but Ava and I were still good. Unfortunately, yesterday we both started coughing. I still was hanging in there, but fever has found me tonight and I am out of the game. So… pray for Matt 🙂 because he is still up …