What a week! Let's just get on to the Quick 5, shall we?
1. I mentioned at the beginning of the week that we took a trip to Colorado and our engine seized on the way. We were actually 40 minutes from Nick's parents house when we were waylaid on the roadside. It overshadowed our trip, a little bit, with the concern over paying for the engine. We have an emergency fund tucked away for times such as these, but we foresaw that it would possibly drain that fund, which we would then have to try to save up over the next few months. Praise be to the Lord of All, we have been blessed generously! We have barely had to dip into that fund due to some very generous gifts from some very wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ. I can't say "Thank you" enough to these individuals as well as to our parents, who have given generously to us as well. We are hoping the Trooper will be up and running again soon, which will be a boon to us since the Jimmy is a semi-reliable car at the moment.
2. Nick and I are currently going through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University on our own right now. We have borrowed the cds and are listening to them. We are determined to do what we can to reduce our bills and utilities and trying to pay off debts. The rest will be tightening our belts are far as they can go. I am looking at ways to make our grocery bill stretch even further, from using coupons to even considering making rice and beans (a very economical meal) twice a week. Thankfully, Nick doesn't seem to have many whims meal-wise and doesn't bore with leftovers the way I sometimes do; just no onions or peppers, please, and he's fine. We hope the debt-snowball will pay off quickly. Doing away with medical bills and school loans will hopefully free up capital to put us on a firmer financial standing, and hopefully enable us to buy this house.
3. I'm discovering the paradox of toddler-hood with Eliza. One minute she is an absolute delight as she says something new or uses a new skill she's learned or exhibited her developing humor. The next she is a pain in my rear, throwing fits over small things, pushing her brother (whom she really does love) down or forcibly removing his toys from his person, or chewing her daddy out for something she doesn't like (usually discipline for being naughty). As I write this Quick 5 she is singing and dancing, her brother along with her as he bounces on his knees. Precious. She is at once still very young and dependent and growing up and gaining her independence. It's a hard age. For mommy and child. She has begun to tattle on herself: she came running into the kitchen yesterday saying she was sorry and then let me know she had touched my new laptop (a definite no-no). It was difficult to discipline her (she knows she's not to touch the laptop, especially when she has to climb to do it) when she was apologizing and being so honest with me. Again, at once proud of her honesty and frustrated with her naughtiness.
4. We are watching "The Rescuers Down Under." I've decided this is definitely a sad movie: the mom calling out for her missing boy, the authorities handing her his lost backpack... Being a mother gives you a totally new perspective on drama. I never watched Private Practice because as a whole I don't go in for that kind of drama. Now, I categorically refuse to because of the heartwrenching stories about dying and sick children. I would be yanking my children from their beds to hold them after something like that!
5. I've been thinking about my sophomore year of college lately. I remember telling a very dear friend before the school year started that I had a feeling it was going to be an important year: I could feel big things coming. To my mind, at that time, I hoped it meant meeting my husband and maybe getting married at the end of the year (HA!). Instead, I was in a number of car accidents (thankfully, none of them injurious), went to Puerto Rico to do hurricane clean-up, got a new and unexpected college roommate, and my grandmother passed, not particularly in that order. That's a very big year indeed! It follows the adage that you don't always get what you expect. If I had, I wouldn't have met Nick (who wasn't remotely following the Lord at that time), I wouldn't have married him, and my children would be quite different. Of course everything worked out for the best and I couldn't be more grateful. If I'd gotten married then, I would never have gone to Africa. I would never have backpacked through Europe. I would never have spent a year in Alabama with my parents or lived in St. Johns' in Omaha with some of the best roommates I could ever have asked for. I can't imagine my life without these experiences or without Nick and Eliza and Simon. It's good to remember years like that when things don't go as planned. Not everything that happened was good: my grandmother passing was hard and incredibly sad, though I don't worry about where she is now. The car accidents were stressful. Puerto Rico, however, was an amazing (though in many ways difficult) experience. I have hopes and expectations for this year, but if they don't happen? I can trust that the Lord knows best. "The heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes His steps." (Prov. 16:9. Look it up, it's good stuff.)
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