Decade and a half

 "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

This has long been one of my favorite Bible verses, one that gives me comfort when my life doesn't seem to be going according to my plan...it's good to know that someone around here has a plan (thanks, God).

Fifteen years ago, when our 22-year-old selves stood at the front of the First Church of God and said our vows in front of God and everybody, we had no idea what was in store for us.  Sure, we had a plan, but you know what they say about the best-laid plans (you don't know what they say?  just google it :)

Anyway, Joe and I had lots of plans.  Work hard, make lots of money, travel the world, have a few kids (I said four, he said two), maybe move to the beaches of South Carolina and live happily ever after.

We have definitely worked hard.  We don't make lots of money, but we have enough to pay the bills and travel a bit and still save some, and you all know we ended up with three kids (marriage is all about compromise, is it not?).  And though we have struggled through some times when we didn't like each other all that much; when money was tight and patience was scarce; those times are few and far between.

Fifteen years ago, I chose this guy to be my husband:

and we ended up with an amazing family:

We may have had our plans, but I have to say that God's plan has been even better.

Happy marriages begin when we marry the ones we love, and they blossom when we love the ones we marry.

                                                         -- Tom Mullen

Busy bee

As a toddler, Gabe was what I lovingly referred to as my "busy bee".  The boy was always getting into something, going somewhere, or making a mess...and often all three.

As he got older, he calmed down quite a bit.  By the age of five, I had hope that he might survive into his teen years, after all (without driving his exhausted momma into an early grave, that is).

Now that he's seven (yes, my baby is seven...I have no idea how that happened!), Gabe can sit and read a book, build an entire Lego set all by himself, and contentedly watch a movie in the theater without getting up twenty-five times to get popcorn, go to the bathroom, explore the row in back of us, check out the toys in the lobby...you get the picture.

Despite the level of maturity that he has achieved, I have to say that Gabe is still my busy bee...

On any given day, you can find him building dominos, watching domino videos on Youtube, finding cool domino sets to buy on Amazon.com (domino-building is his newest passion):

 

or you might find him laying paver stones out back (his favorite part was hammering them in place with Dad's rubber mallet):

He still loves doing crafts, and it was no trouble at all to convince him to write out his thank-you cards for his birthday gifts:

Another favorite thing is to grab my camera and take pictures.  I had no idea he was using my pj-clad self along with my naked foot as a back-drop for the "many faces of Isabel photo shoot":

Isabel Happy

Isabel Sad

 His greatest love is still Legos.  He loves to build his own creations, then make videos or take pictures of them, always requesting that I "put them on Youtube, Mom!":

Needless to say, my boy is still my busy bee, and probably always will be.  At least now, he's old enough to clean up his messes :)

Now, can somebody please tell me how to slow down the clock, because in another seven years, my baby will be a teenager, and his siblings will be grown adults.  I just can't wrap my mind around that!

Talent

One of the things I admire most about my husband is his awesome talent to be able to look at a picture in a book and turn it into a real-life work of art.

Late this summer, we had to tear down our slightly dangerous playset that was slowly falling apart.  Joe and I had discussed our plans for the backyard, and we thought we wanted a gazebo-type structure.  I found this pergola patio in a book at the library, and Joe thought he could build it.

  

He drew up some plans, we headed to Lowes and bought the lumber and lattice, ordered the paver stones and gravel, and he got to work...(with a little help from Gabe).

I helped a little, handing screws and holding the ladder, on occasion.  Mostly, I watched and took pictures :)

He still has to finish putting the little frames up on the sides, which will be perfect for hanging baskets of flowers from in the spring.  We are still undecided on the patio furniture, but this setup is working just fine for now.  I am loving sitting out here in the evenings, listening to the wind chimes and reading a book, or just visiting with my family.

Thanks, Joe, for working so hard to make our home beautiful!  You are amazing!

one more reason...

Sometimes living in the midwest seems boring...

No oceanside beaches, no mountains to climb,  no famous monuments to pose next to on vacation...

Then, the seasons change.  The heat of summer relents and gives way to fall forecasts like this one:

and living in a place with four distinct seasons (and a most beautiful autumn) seems pretty darn great, after all.

Nothing says fall like...

leaves drifting down from the trees in our backyard.

chilly mornings which require jackets that are sure to be shed by the warm(er) afternoons.

the scent of woodsmoke in the air (man, I wish I had a wood-burning stove).

Applefest in our local hometown, complete with apple fritters, apple cider and apple spice donuts.

gorgeous mums from the local nursery (yep, I try to spend my dollars locally whenever I can).

pumpkin-flavored everything, especially this gem:

Pumpkin spice latte, I love you.  (courtesy of Starbucks)

It was a great summer, but I am more than ready to say hello to fall (my favorite season of them all).  On this rainy morning, I am sipping coffee and baking apple spice muffins and debating about which homemade soup to make to usher in the season...

What's your favorite thing about fall?

Frustration

I took my van into the shop last week to get my sometimes-functioning/sometimes-NOT-functioning headlights and NO-LONGER-functioning-power-door-locks fixed.  After having the van for a whole day, the headlight problem "couldn't be duplicated" and therefore couldn't be fixed, but the power door locks were made functional for the bargain price of $285 (including a transmission flush).

That lasted for two days.

Now only some of the doors unlock, the hatch/trunk doesn't open at all, and after having my van for yet another day, it looks like it will cost $800 for the parts/labor to really fix the problem.  Oh, and even though the problem wasn't fixed the first time, there will be no refund on the money already spent.

Big, grumpy sigh over here...did you hear it?

I'm trying so hard to look on the bright side of things, but my mood matches the weather today:  gloomy and gray.  And I don't know how to make it better, other than burying my head under the covers and hoping for a brighter day tomorrow.

Pinching pennies

I really don't want to go back to "frugal year", but in this economy of late, I would like to find some new ways to pinch pennies and stretch out our hard-earned dollars.  I already coupon, make meal plans based on what's on sale, and pack my kids' lunches nearly every day.  I shop at second-hand thrift stores and boutiques (scored a brand new Liz Claiborne purse for $3 last week!), and NEVER buy any article of clothing unless it's on sale.

After reading MckMama's blog post about making her own laundry detergent, I was inspired to try yet one more thing to save some moolah.  I made a list of the ingredients and headed over to Walmart, where I easily found most everything (except the essential oils, which aren't really essential at all).  I may try to order those online, if I decide to keep this up.  The detergent was easy to make, and my test run of towels last night turned out great.  For 1/10th of the cost of Tide, I do believe it's worth the effort!

Have you ever made your own detergent?  Inspired to give it a try?  What's your best tip to save money?