Debt, one of my biggest concerns

I think debt is one of the biggest problems our country is facing right now. I have posted about how Dave Ramsey's teachings on finances have changed our life here. The borrower is slave to the lender. I know who I am a slave to right now...the bank that holds my mortgage.
Who are you a slave to?
Who holds the US debt?

Hey, guess what? The government is NOT going to fix our problems. We are. Lets clean up our mess. I get tired of politicians (not delegated to just one party) talking about the working people like we are perfect. As an average, Americans are chained down by mounting personal debt and gross overspending...just like the federal government. Something is going to have give eventually. I do not know what or when, but I know we can not continue on our current path indefinitely. I don't even know the details of a solution. But I know a basic principle...YOU CAN"T SPEND MORE THAN YOU MAKE! The best place for me to start is with me. How about you?

If you have 15 minutes, check out the video below or if that does not show up click Glenn Beck on US debt

Isaiah Laughing

We love this boy!

Family fun

The lost rule of organizing

I am an organizer...sometimes to a fault. And this lost rule of organizing is something for me to heed. Know when to stop.

Big Boy Underwear

We're working on potty-training again around here. It's slow going for two reasons: 1) I (Miriam) do not have the time or desire to devote large amounts of effort to asking Lukie if he has to go potty every three minutes. And if he answers yes, that means I must rush him to the bathroom, unsnap a onesie (if he's wearing one), take down his pants and take off his diaper and get him on the toilet in time...often it just seems easier to let him go in his diaper. Isn't that terrible?

2) Lukie seems determined to poop in his diaper. Even when I catch him trying to poop, and I ask him if he wants to go on the potty, he responds frantically, "No! Go away! I need privacy. Leave. Go. I'm not pooping." He says all of this while earnestly waving his hand at me, showing me where he wants me to go, and quickly!

So, as I mentioned, we're working on potty-training! However, Lukie does love his big boy underpants that happen to have Thomas the train on them. Exciting stuff!

Raking Now

Be sure to check the post below this one!
Abby and Corey raking in November 2009, 2.5 years later. Corey has Isaiah, who is sound asleep, on his front.















The kids had a great time running and jumping into this pile of leaves. Luke, 2; Abby, 4; and
Isaiah, 3 months; all "helping" Corey with the leaves.

Raking then...

These pictures were taken in March of 2007, before Luke was born. We raked all the dead grass out of the yard, with Abby's help. Abby was almost 2 at the time and still in that chubby stage, very cute!

















I was also in the chubby stage, but it wasn't quite as adorable. :-)















Little girl all tired out after raking the yard. No better place to recuperate than in Daddy's arms.

Darth Miriam

My awesome wife got me tickets to the Star Wars: In Concert show playing at the Sprint Center in Kansas City on December 9. Pumped doesn't even begin to describe how I feel about this. My wife is not a fan of Star Wars (i don't even think she has made it through one of the movies yet...and i think she only tried once). On the other hand, I am a huge Star Wars fan (my firstborn son's name is Luke). I read the books (there really is a lot more that goes on than the movies can convey). I even got to watch Star Wars Episode II during its opening week at the Odeon Cinema at Leicester Square in London (there are 1,683 seats...just huge).

This is going to be great. A huge thanks to my wife for such a creative and sacrificial (remember she hates star wars) gift. I wonder if she will let me dress up in costume and take my lightsaber? Probably not, but this ... is ... sweet!

Abby and Izay!

Isaiah is getting so big! He's over 12 pounds now and two months old! Abigail and Luke continue to enjoy being big brother and sister to him. Isaiah ("Izay" as the kids call him) is smiling and cooing frequently which is so much fun!





Abby dressed up like a kitty cat (courtesy of my mom, Mima, who whipped this outfit together). She looked adorable and thought it would be great fun to claw and lick all of her family. She's a great girl!

He's Getting Bigger

Isaiah is 5 weeks old. We had him weighed last week (4 weeks of age) and he was already 9lbs 5 ounces! He had gained 2 lbs since birth, which is a lot in four weeks! We were very grateful for his good weight gain, because that means he's getting enough milk and nursing is going far better than we had hoped for!

Isaiah is a sweet little guy who loves to be held and is a cuddle-bug. He is still not sleeping well at night, getting up to nurse about every 2-3 hours, so I am tired, but I'm getting used to it. Abby's in preschool now and so we have a routine at least 3 out of 5 days.