Moving On

Well, it's safe to say that 2009 has been a tough year for a lot of people. The worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, the housing crisis, the H1N1 outbreak, war raging on, and a looming health care crisis...most people are looking forward to welcoming a new year in hopes of a new outlook.
When I look back at 2009 for us, I won't say it was easy. We had our own share of setbacks and frustrations. I could think of a handful of things to complain about. But I won't. We were blessed this year. We both kept our jobs in a time where many couples faced the loss of one or even two incomes, many with children to support. We didn't have any major health concens. God blessed us with the ability to get up and get to work every day, feeling well enough to do our jobs. By His grace we avoided the dreaded H1N1, even in jobs considered to be high risk. We still own our home, and so many people faced the loss of a dream when their home went into foreclosure. Even people close to us. We came out on top this year. We are grateful. We are blessed.
As we prepare for a new year, we are looking forward to the promises God has for us and we cannot wait to see how this year unfolds according to His plan. I am confident that this new year holds many more blessings for us. I am sure they will be accompanied by some challenges, but it is all in His hands and if we give it all up to Him, He will provide.

Another Crazy Holiday Season

It has been quite awhile since I last posted, but let me just say I have been BUSY. Actually, that would be an understatement. November and December are always crazy months,and we decided to throw in Thanksgiving at our house, my brother's wedding, being sick, and hosting my parents for Christmas.
We began the Holiday season with a wonderful Thanksgiving at our house with all of our friends. This was our third Thanksgiving away from home, and while I always miss our family this time of year and wish we were closer, I am so thankful for our wonderful Arizona friends who shared this day with us.
We rolled into December with all of the typical craziness at school. Programs, parties, pot lucks, Christmas crafts, overly excited kids. December as a teacher is exhausting. I managed to survive our pajama party the last day before break despite being terribly sick...all to hop on a late night flight to Indiana for my little brother's wedding. The wedding was beautiful, and I only wish I had been feeling well enough to actually enjoy it. I got through the rest of the weekend, and after finally getting some medicine I started to feel better just in time to catch a flight back to Phoenix with mom and dad for Christmas. We had a great time at Christmas. Nothing too special, just enjoyed time together. Our plans to take mom and dad to the Grand Canyon on Christmas day were cancelled due to snow up north, but we found pleanty to do. We shopped, attended the Christmas service at chuch, ate at Matt's Big Breakfast, toasted hot dogs and made smores in our new fire pit, walked around Lake Pleasant, caught a movie, and enjoyed Christmas dinner at Rustler's Rooste. It was nice to spend time with them. I miss being able to hop from house to house and see our families, and I hope next year Santi will have a job that allows him to travel during Christmas.

Now that all the craziness is over, I am happy to have a week remaining to relax before returning to work. I am looking forward to a relaxing week of cooking, organizing, and being lazy.

The Wish List

Here we are flying right through October. This is my most favorite time of year, and it always flies right by! Despite a few record-breaking days of heat this week (102 yesterday), we are finally easing into more pleasant weather. The Arizona weather I love is on its way, and I am reminded of why I put up with the ridiculous summer heat. Just last weekend we returned from Indiana after a week with family...and it rained, and rained, and rained some more. We had a good time overall, but wished we could have enjoyed some nicer weather. I guess we are just spoiled by our regular doses of sunshine out here in "the valley of the sun".
So...we are doing pretty well with our budget still. It's not easy, but we are working hard to really watch where our money goes and avoid unnecessary purchases. It feels good to have better control over our finances, and I hope that by the time spring roles around we will be in a better position to do some things I have been dying to do around the house. I just have to get these ideas out...so here goes my wish list...
1) We NEED a real dining room table...okay, maybe we don't "NEED" it, but I really, really want one. Our current table is from IKEA, purchased for about 100 bucks when we had the apartment, and it barely seats 4. It looks so tiny in our dining area...and when family comes out to visit, or friends come over, it can get rather crowded. 
2) Curtains...I have yet to do any kind of window treatments (other than the blinds that came with the house). I would really love some simple panel curtains...but man they can be expensive! Especially since we have 5 windows just in our living/dining area. Any suggestions on where I can find inexpensive window treatments and and curtain rods?
3) Paint...okay, we painted our master bedroom over a year ago when we moved in...and I will admit the paint color was not the best choice. I always wanted a chocolate brown room, but with dark bedroom furniture it's too much. Our master bath is a sort of teal color, and I would like to do the whole bedroom in a lighter version of that color. Santi wants to kill me for even saying I want to repaint:) Anyone up for helping me out some Saturday when he is working?
4) New comforter in the master bedroom....I love our current comforter from Crate and Barrel, but we purchased it from the outlet and don't have the whole matching set, plus I ruined one of the throw pillows in the washer...so it looks like a hodge podge bed set now. Oh yeah, and our dog's dirty paws on the white comforter don't help...no matter how many times I wash it. Nothing expensive..I have been looking at Overstock.com
5) Next would be something I know we won't be purchasing anytime soon, but I can dream can't I? I would really like to have a sectional sofa with a pull out bed rather than our little love seat and sofa. We need more space for guests, plus I love sectionals. The only reason we didn't get one at first was because we were still in the apartment and it wouldn't fit.
6) Mexican fan palms. Our poor little Queen palms in the backyard didn't survive monsoon season. Now we have two big holes in the backyard. I love palm trees...they are one of the best parts of living in the southwest! I would like to fill those holes with some sturdy Mexican fan palms that will NOT blow over during a monsoon storm!
7) Area rug. Although I LOVE having tile throughout our house...I would love to feel a little carpet under my feet in the living room. I would love a big beautiful area rug for the living room. 

Okay...there is a reason that was called a "wish list"...I will wish for these things and maybe one day God will bless us with the financial resources to finish up our little home. Until then, I am more than thankful with all that we have. Our lives are full of blessings...and all this budgeting, although sometimes painful and difficult, will pay off in the end when we are able to finally start thinking about a family:)

Can't Buy Me Love

The picture is our sweet puppy after surgery to remove a baseball hat from his stomach. The adorable black dog is his friend Nahla who was staying with us for the weekend.

Ever since we returned from our big trip to Ecuador, we have been working hard at being better stewards of the money and resources God has blessed us with. This began by stepping out in faith and starting to tithe...meaning giving 10% of our income to the church. It felt great to know that we were being obedient to Him, and it strengthened our faith as we counted on Him to provide for us each month.
I would like to admit that while we have seen God provide for us in many ways, it has not always been easy to trust that He has things all under control. Sometimes you have to really take a step back to see Him working. The month of August was especially difficult. Things seemed to be going quite well, although I will admit we were not doing the best job at budgeting our money and spending wisely. I had received a nice bonus for my teaching portfolio, and that was mainly used to pay off the credit card that we used while we were in Ecuador. Well, we went slightly over budget on our trip, but we still managed to get it paid off with my bonus. Around my birthday we decided that we could finally afford for me to replace the car I have been driving since I was 16. We found a great deal on a new Nissan Sentra, and the best part was that we qualified for an interest rate of 0.9%, which is next to nothing. It was a little more than we had planned on spending, but the thought of having a car that is under warranty for three years made it seem worth it. We knew that with two cars over 95,000 miles, we were going to start running into expensive problems sooner or later. The month of August was a little slow for Santi, and his commission check was not as high as normal...no big deal...we were still more than fine. We have emergency fund for these purposes if need be. Then...one day our lovely dog decided that a baseball hat seemed like a delicious lunch while we were at work. I came home to find no more than a couple of tiny pieces remaining. I thought surely he had destroyed it enough that it would just make its way out naturally. Well, that was not the case. $2,ooo later the hat was successfully removed via emergency surgery, oh, and there was also a toy in there. Following that hit to our budget, my mop also decided now would be a great time to break. This is not just any mop...it is a steam mop. When you have mostly tile floors in your home, it is not practical to just mop the old fashioned way. So...I had dirty floors and no mop. When it rains it pours. All of this was in light of our already planned trip to Indiana for my fall break in October...so tack on $500 in plane tickets and another $250 to board the dog. In the grand scheme of things, these minor setbacks may seem like nothing. We are very blessed, and we can work around them. They may be a pain, and they may mean we have to sacrifice here and there...but they are manageable.
After feeling a bit frustrated...I was able to see that this must be God's way of telling us it was time to get serious about budgeting our money and start being better stewards of what He has given us. “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.” (Luke 12:48)
So...as of September 1st...we are back on track with our budget and so far doing better than we ever have. We have been out to eat once in over a week...and it was to Taco Bell! We have also been under budget on groceries...and my cooking skills are quickly improving:) I will keep you all posted on how this new budget works out.

Fall is around the corner...

Ahhh fall...well, I can pretend anyways. Once the calendar flips over to September, it is fall in my book. It may be 105 degrees outside, but I can still get into the spirit of fall can't I? There are many wonderful benefits to living in the desert, like ample sunshine and mild winters...but I really do miss fall. Last year we drove up to Sedona in October to get our fill of fall weather and scenery, and I must say that Sedona is a beautiful place to be in the fall. Well, Sedona is a beautiful place to be any time of year...in fact it may just be one of my all time favorite places to be period. This year I don't think we will make it up there for the fall season...but we will be heading to Indiana, where I am hoping we get a real taste of all things fall that I miss so dearly. Bright colored leaves, cool sweatshirt weather...and the wonderful smell of fall. My husband likes to tease me when I talk about the "smell" of fall, but ladies will all agree that fall definitely has a distinct and lovely smell. A sort of combination of apples, hay, crisp air, and pumpkins...or something like that. I don't know, you can't really describe the smell...you just know it when you come across it.