Women's conference: I had a fabulous time at the women's conference last weekend! I was so glad I went. I felt a little odd going by myself, especially when it came time to try and find a seat among the other 8,500 women there, but I mustered up the courage to do it both days and told myself I'd never see the women I was sitting next to again, so who cares if they thought I was a weirdo for sitting by myself. The conference has given me a lot to think about and I'm still trying to find the time to process and put up a post on what I learned/was challenged with.
House hunting: We've continued the process. And as much as I'm not interested in moving this summer because of all our traveling, we walked through a house yesterday that has us putting an offer on today! It's an older, smaller, less open feeling home than the 1st one we had an offer on, but financially it is so much better for our comfort level. It's in a great subdivision with swim/tennis and lots of activities for families. It's on a court (that would be a cul-de-sac for you Midwesterners- myself included) in a really nice neighborhood. The home is older (built in 1987), but still the original owner who has meticulously cared for it. We'd feel good buying from someone like that. They listed everything out, including the types of bird species they regularly see from the deck! Most major items have been replaced (roof, a/c units, furnaces, water heater, etc. and the siding and deck have recently been painted). We would need to do some updating (take down wallpaper, paint dark wood trim, etc.), but that would all be cosmetic and could come later. It has a nice yard I can see R playing in and an unfinished basement for storage...well, 1/2 basement since it's a drive under garage. My only issue is the square footage....I'm wondering if we will outgrow it at some point as it's hard to imagine what our family will look like in 5 or 10 years. They already have 6 offers on the home (1 from a family for close to list price and 5 from investors for over list price), so we are #7 but they only want to sell their home to a family. So we wait and see what happens over the weekend, but I'm really ok with whatever happens. I've come to terms with the financial sacrifices we need to make if I stay home and if we want to continue to tithe 10% and save 20% for retirement. I love the newer homes built after 2000 and how open and roomy they are, but we just can't afford those in this particular school district on one income. I'm ok with whatever happens with our offer. We shall see.
A baptismal birthday. R's baptismal birthday is coming up and I'm wondering how to celebrate. Do any of you celebrate your baptismal birthday (the specific day you were baptized)? I always send a card to our Godchildren to acknowledge the special day each year and remind them of the importance of their baptism, but I'm wondering what sort of traditions to start with R. There's always so much emphasis on actual birthdays- the physical day we were born. Why not place the same or greater level of importance on the date of our baptism- a day that marks our spiritual re-birth? I know R won't remember what we do now, so I guess it's more of a question for down the road, but I'd like to start some sort of traditions with it now. Hmm....ideas?
Summer Bible study: I've decided to try participating in an online Bible study of sorts this summer (well, really just 6 weeks starting next week). My personal time with God and His Word has really been lacking since we moved here. I read a short devotion with a Bible verse in the evening and journal a few thoughts down on the remainder of the page. I pray throughout the day and with DH in the evening. I attend worship on Sundays. I think about God-related matters frequently. That is about the extent of my spiritual walk, and it seems to be the sparsest it's been for awhile, and I'm not proud about it. I saw this study on a blog, and just felt it would be so good for me. It's a study based on Gideon about my weakness and God's strength. I'm not super familiar with Gideon, but reading about the study seems so valid for me right now because I feel so weak in my parenting skills, my ability as a wife lately, etc. It starts on Tuesday with a video that will be uploaded to a blog and then there are 5 days of homework (readings about Gideon, questions about the Bible, and personal questions). This goes on for 6 weeks. If anyone wants to join me, I'd love to have a study buddy or two! More details can be found here.
Upromise: If any of you were interested in setting up a Upromise account that I mentioned in a previous post, let me know because I can send you an email to sign up and we'll both get $5 in our account! Sweet. Free money. I like free money! This is only good until the end of June, so let me know ASAP. Upromise is a way to save for college (for you, your child, or existing loans you have).
Travel plans: I'm kicking myself that I didn't buy some of our airline tickets earlier this spring when I first started looking. I've traveled enough by now that I should have known to book earlier rather than later, but I was waiting to see if the flight on a specific airline would come down to the lower price another airline offered. It hasn't and now we're probably going to pay $100 more a ticket. Dumb $200 mistake, PPIW. And now I wonder if I just book to prevent the price from going further up or wait and see if it comes down again. There are still plenty of seats, so that does give me options, but it's a gamble and I've never been one to like gambling!
And this, you see, is what happens when I actually start Quick Takes on Thursday. They all of a sudden become Long Takes when I finish them with all my wordy details on Friday. Ah, well. Enjoy the weekend!!
For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!
I like your "long takes"! Will pray that whatever is supposed to happen happens with the house.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to learn more abou upromise. Can you send me something? My neice and God-daughter is 11 months on Sunday and it's never too early to start saving!
I just sent you a link for Upromise, Donna. Let me know if you don't get it. I think it would be a perfect idea for your Goddaughter, and you can invite others to join the account and save for her as well!
DeleteI hope you get the house! It is so important that you feel comfortable with the seller and this sounds like a great opportunity! Prayers for you on that!
ReplyDeleteI haven't celebrated Luke's baptismal anniversary ... didn't even think about that. (That's terrible!) Maybe I will when he's older? I think commemorating the day is special and will remember to do that next year.
I'm glad you enjoyed the conference. It can be tough to go to something like that alone, but still worth it. I love that you are going to celebrate R's baptism anniversary. I agree that it's at least as big of a thing as the birthday itself. Good luck with the house!
ReplyDeleteI hear you on the house-hunting. We too had to come down and get a less open floor plan. We love our home - have been in it about 18 months. But... yes, go into the situation with a sense of flexibility and humor. :) I was just realizing today that I may have to say goodbye to my beloved dining room. N is probably going to just need a room to "free play" in without me chasing after him all the time. I guess I could transform his bedroom into that room buuuut... I can't imagine shutting him into his bedroom upstairs while I do stuff downstairs for hours on end??? I think, if I am honest, I need to accept that the dining room really needs to be the play room. Sigh. :) And at some point, our office may need to become part of our living room. Of course, with creativity, it doesn't have to be a burden!
ReplyDeleteAnd you feel weak right now? Yeah, me too. Your spiritual habits sound way beyond mine, actually. I think I am going to look into this Bible study online!