This Year......I'm Going Cheap!

My goal for last year was to simplify my life. It has definitely been a year long project, but I believe I am almost there.

Really, can anyone ever really BE there?

Maybe!

This year I am making it my goal to be as cheap as I can be with everything. Now, this is going to take curious from the whole family because we are going to go against society and other family members. Now a days, society thinks it's ok to be in debt. Actually, society expects you to be in debt. Why else would you need a credit score? The only reason you need a credit score is to get more credit (debt).

Well, I am proud and excited to take this next step and go against society. We have been paying cash for everything the last year. But, now we are going to concentrate on paying literally everything off and save money to buy a house with CASH! We are anticipating 2-3 years to pay off everything and then begin to save. So we are thinking this project will take 6-8 years. I can't not wait until the day we sign the papers on our very OWN house.

We are so determined to do this. The first thing we did was to decide to sell our house. The mortgage payment was getting us nowhere. We barley and something didn't have enough money to just live day to day. This last year we have had more medical bills with the twins and our other children then we have had in the past. Every month got tighter and tighter. So we prayed about it . . . God delivered! He actually delivered a couple to us that was in the same boat a couple of years ago. This couple is from our church. They spoke to us about it and now are actually helping us out. We have a contract on our house, which is them. We have moved into my sister's other house to rent. We won't make a penny on our house but the way all the events took place.....We truly believe God had His hand in this situation.

The second thing we have done is to find where we could really trim even more. So we turned off cable, home phone and down graded our internet. This will save us about $120 per month. I also shopped around for different car insurance. I found "Progressive" who gave us the best deal with the most coverage. This will save another $100. So per year, we will be able to save another $2,400.

We have read the book by Dave Ramsey. He talks about going against society and how to live debt free. He gives you steps to accomplish it.

I am just so excited about this new adventure and change in our family. I think at the beginning of all of this type of talk = I was scared. I was scared of what my extended family, co-workers, friends, and neighbors would think. I was really scared of being embarrassed. But I am not! I am actually proud of us for taking this challenge and knowing that God is leading it. It is hard though! Society is everywhere and we have to stand up tall and not let it knock us down.

So as this year begins, I am on a mission to find different ways to be more frugal. One of the other adoptive moms, who I admire (especially in this area) is Heather Amsbury. She has all kinds of ideas that I have borrowed to implement. She has also used the Dave Ramsey ideas to be debt free. Her and her husband actually just paid off their house a couple of months ago. That is so fantastic!

As this year continues to go, I am going to be researching ways to be more frugal. I am actually really excited for it. I think this is my new hobby!

If you happen to have any tips, I would love to hear about them. I will be blogging the ideas I find and let you know how they work out. :)

Blessings to you!

It's Been Too Long....But I am Back!

Life has really gotten the best of my time lately. I am trying to juggle being a great and loving wife, mom, and teacher. My personality is to be the best that I can be with everything I do. Sometimes I let that get in the way of being the best for me.

Last year was my most challenging year ever (home life and career). I questioned God almost every day as to why He allowed my life to be like this. I asked him many times what He wanted me to learn from this. As I look back, I can now see the blessings He gave me during this time. The twins of course were a HUGE blessing to us. They have brought grace and personality to our family. The class I had last year was so overwhelming with the challenges, but I have learned simplicity. That was a lesson that I also brought into our family. The more simple I keep things, the smoother our clan runs. :)

About 6 months ago, I began going to the gym ALOT! It is my home away from home. It was so hard to get going because I was so out of shape. Now, I love it and find myself feeling guilty for loving it so much. I love doing double classes (back to back). It gives me the feeling of really accomplishing a lot.

This upcoming year is a year to expand on simplifying. We are working on cutting all corners in finances. We are doing the Dave Ramsey plan. Our goal is to buy cash for a house within 6 -8 years. We have cut corners to pay things off and use every resource we can to get this goal accomplished. I am really excited for this. I know we can do it, but it is hard when your wants come out stronger than your needs. :)

In the next day or so, I will post our Christmas day! We had a beautiful and amazing morning with the children. They were were so appreciative with everything they got. That is the best gift to give....being grateful!

Camping in Payson

What is camping?

When I was a little girl, we used to camp all the time at Lake Conroe in TX. We had the tent, gas stove, fire, cots, etc. We did the traditional way of camping. Well, we decided to try a "camping" trip to Payson last week. We rented 2 cabins. Due to our family's size, the cabins only fit 4 people per cabin. The owners weren't kidding about only fitting 4 people....and I even think that is stretching it. :)

Anyway, we made a bomb fire to roast marshmallows. We played and explored nature. We just had the best time being a family with nature.

Any time something is new to the girls, we get major questions. Here are some of the examples of the questions we get:

Are we going to eat dinner there?
Are we going to eat lunch there?
What are we going to have for breakfast?
Are there cups for us to drink water?
Is there water for us to drink?

I just think it is so sad to still be worried about not being provided for and worrying about if they are going to eat or drink. Time is helping out with them trusting us, but it is still on their minds when they have a new experience. They did do very well and they really liked it once we got there. :)

Below is a slide show of our trip:

It's a New Look!

I am so excited for the new look to our blog! Our family has really settled down after the first year together as a family of 7. It has been a challenge but looking back it's been a good challenge. Every time things got a little rough, I always remember that God will never give us more than we can handle.

Our family has adjusted very well. We are in the process of some changing again. We feel God is moving our family into another direction, so we are open and following his guidance. The change we are going to occur will somewhat be of a challenge for us but in the long run it will be really good for our family. I am excited but on the other hand just a little nervous. This is where my faith needs to be stronger and that is something that I struggle with. I know and love God but my faith is always something that I need to work on. I am A personality so I am used to running and controlling things up until I became a Christian. I have learned in the last 16 years to let God control but there are times where I step in and then I get in trouble. :) With this big change coming, I really need to focus on God taking the driver's seat and I will sit in the very back to watch. :)

Blessings,
Chalene

Looking for a New Look

It's that time to create a new and updated look for this blog. I am having Nikki from Blogs for a Cause help design my blog. She designs blogs and the money she gets for it goes toward her mission. If you happen to get a chance go to her website and see the designs she has done. You can also see her work over seas and where her passion is. I love to support people who have a passion of helping others.

To read about her work in the DR and Haiti www.heroholiday07.blogspot.com

To read about her work in Ethiopia
www.ethiopia2009-adana.blogspot.com




Anyway, hopefully in the next couple of days this blog should have a new look. :)

It's Finished!

Rita and Racheal got their hair professionally done today. I was looking for someone to do their hair where it will last for a long time. The style they got, should last 2 months. Now, this was just a treat for them. It's not anything we can do every 2 months, but once in a while. I had told them when school started we would look into getting it done differently.

The lady who did their hair took about 7 hours for the both of them. She was definitely faster than I am. I usually takes 6 hours per girl. We did braids and the ends are curled. This style will allow them to pull their hair back into many different styles. We will see if it last up to 2 months. I sure hope so.

The one new tip I learned today is that Olive Oil comes in a spray can. This is something you could spray on their hair twice a week. It keeps the scalp moisturized and shiny. I saw this type of spray at Walmart in the hair department.

Here are the pictures of their hair. The lady had it pulled up but they took it down when they got home.

So Excited!

The girls are doing really well! They are beginning to really bond more with us. I feel like each week is getting better and better. I feel like they are understanding what has happened and how they are a part of our family forever! Rita is so much more affectionate with me. This has been something we have worked on, but for her to initiate it is a huge step forward. YEAH!

I scheduled an appointment for both girls to get their hair professionally done. This is a huge treat for them....... and ME! The girls want extensions and as much as I love to do their hair - I am ready for a little break. I found a lady who will do their hair. She is from Sudan which is cool for the girls. Their big appointment is Saturday. She is going to do corn rolls, which is something I am not able to do so that's why this would be a break for me. This is something I won't do often because it is part of our bonding. I am going to stay and watch her so hopefully I can pick up some tricks to do it. :) I will post pictures on Sunday!