New Year!!!!!

Ok so the New Year rang in well over a month ago but for some reason, I lag behind once again. So what is new.....Ella is just growing up so much. It's incredible to see how much she changes week by week. She is doing really well. She stays pretty healthy. Although she has had a couple colds recently but nothing serious. Stephen and I are fine. I am busy at work but absolutly love it. It amazes me that I work for Upward. I have always had a yearning to do something, to have a job, that was more than a job or a way to make money. Something that would really mean something in the long run, that what I did mattered. For the first time since returning from Australia I know that what I am doing matters. And it's not an ego thing, it really is not about how I feel at all. It's about having the opportunity and resources available to make a difference for someone else without them ever knowing who I am. I am so very thankful that God saw fit to use me at Upward. Stephen is great. His job is going well and he really likes it. I think that he plans to stay there maybe for the long-haul. It would be good to retire with the state and he likes what he does. That makes all the difference. Well, we have gone on a budget, a strict budget. We sould be debt free by April (other than the house and car of course). I read the book The Financial Peace Planner by Dave Ramsey. It has really changed the way we look at money and finances. I actually like working the budget now and we took a HUGE step. We cut up all of our credit cards except for 1 each and we use cash for everything. We don't even use debit cards anymore. It has been YEARS since I used cash, but it has made a world of difference in how we use our money and what we spend it on. It has been the best thing we ever did. Well one thing that is new in our budget is that we will begin saving for a big trip in 2010. We will be married 10 years and want to take a vacation. Right now we are saying that we will go to France during the Tour de France. I am still pushing for Tasmania though! We still have plenty of time to decide!

Just a side note, Stephen's Mother, Kay, is now in a nursing home and doing much better. She can talk more and eat. It's amazing that she is doing as well as she is! We are all so happy that she pulled through!

Until next time!