Wordless Wednesday
Reply
Author Archives: Sheila
The Night I Prayed
Disclaimer: Amanda- DO NOT READ any further!
Haley DO NOT READ any further!
Everyone else can proceed with caution but be warned I am sure this will contain a lot of raw emotions. I have refrained from putting some of this information on paper because of the pain it causes me and but at this point I just want to get it all out in an attempt to try to not let these thoughts and images cause such sadness and pain.
If you are not aware or can’t figure out what I am talking about today July 13th is the anniversary of the wreck that kill precious baby Remington Lee.
The weather was much like it is right now, stormy with heavy rain at points. I remember a lot about that night or should I say I have tried to forget a lot about that night. Matt and I had a disagreement about something stupid, I have no clue what it was but I remember I was upset as I went to bed. I had laid out clothes for the next day as I was supposed to work at the nursing home half a day. Haley was going to watch the kids. I answered the phone to Amanda crying “I killed my son, I killed my son” I do remember telling her that I NEVER wanted to hear those words again. The clock read 10:15, I quickly got dressed, explained to Matt that Amanda had wrecked and head to find her. I didn’t even know where I was headed, as I turned on to Beck’s Church road, I called back the number on my cell phone to find out where she was. I was so disoriented at that time, I had to ask the kind person on the other end of the phone how do I get there. I remember as I passed under the stoplight of Beck’s Church Road, the song “Jesus is a Rock in a Weary Land” ran through my mind and I had a peace that can not be explained. I don’t remember anything else about the ride to the accident scene but I was driving Matt’s company van, and I left my keys with a Firefighter who could not figure out how to crank and move the van. My brother, after waking up and explaining what was going on to my parents brought my dad to the hospital. When asked how he could help, I sent he and my father to retrieve the van, that is how I found out that it had not been moved. I will never forget looking at Amanda’s car, when I had arrived it had been flipped up on it wheels; however the windshield remained intact except for a small hole at the top of the passenger’s side. I have always been grateful that this was really not seen by Amanda. When the car was towed, the windshield cracked to the point it was unrecognizable. I could not give you a timeframe of how long I was present before they located Remington, however I do remember that on several occasions during the time on the scene, we were asked if they could call our pastor or the Chaplin, to help pray with us. I have never been one to pray out loud in fact I usually avoid it at all cost but this night, I knew that I needed to pray, I didn’t care who heard me or what I said, I was talking with my Savior. I also remember telling Amanda that we are so lucky to know and understand that we don’t need someone to help us pray/talk to God, we have an open door of communication. One thing that I still don’t understand but remember distinctly is that at one point as I was walking and praying around the ambulance, I heard a baby cry…. When they decided to transport him, I knew that I was not letting Amanda out of my sight, so I informed the state trooper that I was riding with them. I am going to end at this point with the powerful message that has been a comfort for these past three years. First as the state trooper opened the door, his radio was the loudest I have ever heard a radio being played, the station K-Love. As we travelled to the hospital, I distinctly remember the song “My Savior Loves” was on the radio, I see in my mind, my daughter, Remmington’s mother, with her hands raised in praise to God, singing this song. We did talk with the state trooper and I even asked him how we could pray for him. Yes, I am praying out loud again and this would not be the last time either. His request was that we pray for his family as well because “most people forget that we are people too.” I have been praying and will continue to pray not only for this state trooper but for all because they are people and must remain professional no matter the circumstance.
Budget Thursday 7/11/2013
The most exciting news for this week is that we were able to sell our red mini van. It sold for the exact price that we paid for the new van! I did apply a large chunk of the selling price directly to our personal loan. The remaining portion was placed in our saving account to cover tuition cost for Haley in August. I know this was not the most effective application however it helped cover the expenses we have an did make a dent in our overall debt.
We are currently on track with our grocery budget for the month. If you will recall, I spent all but $50 of our July grocery budget in June. As of today, we still have $17 left of the $50. I have spent much less than I anticipated so far so I decided to re-address and direct the budget for the rest of the month. The currently plan for the month is to stay as close to goal as possible, I honestly think $50 over is very achievable. Today, we made a meal plan for the next week. After checking the freezers and discussion, we are going to buy essentials such as bread and milk only for the next 6 weeks. The last week of this we are vacationing at the Beach. This should allow us to continue buying items on stock up prices but not overspend!
Our irregular account has taken several hits this week. First we purchased a starter for my car last Friday. I was able to do this without touching the Emergency Fund! Next I have purchased a book bag for Kendall for the school year, this purchase came out of the clothing fund.
Overall not a terrible week for our budget and hopefully with our meal plan we can reduce the amount of dinning out we have been doing lately.
Wordless Wednesday
Or how we have spent most Tuesday evenings this summer so far..
Kendall getting some last minute encouragement!
God’s Timing
“As for God, his way is perfect:
The Lord’s word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.” Psalm 18:30 (NIV)
I often need reminders of God’s provision and faithfulness. This weekend was a needed and very obvious reminder ! We decided to purchase a new to us minivan in late May. The intention was that we would sell our current minivan for the same price as the one we purchased. We immediately placed ads on Craig’s list in addition to several other free sites. Initially we had several “lookers” but nothing serious. So six weeks later, Matt decides to update the ad to get some more attention. On Wednesday, my car refused to crank and we knew the starter had to be replaced. I was not at all concerned because I just simply drove the red van to work while my car sat in the driveway. Matt was able to get the starter replaced on Saturday morning! The new ad on Craig’s list was already getting a couple of follow-up phone calls but not even a looker yet. Today, Sunday, we have someone drive down from Greensboro and purchase the red minivan. Not only does this allow us to pay down our overall debt but also makes it possible for us to afford Haley’s fall tuition without a hardship on our normal budget. I realized just last Thursday that I had not be saving enough to cover the tuition that is due in August. God already had a plan and I am so thankful that I can enjoy it.
God’s timing is perfect, he knew we would need the van last week but more importantly, I need a reminder that we are in his will and he will provide as we need not as we want.
Budget Thursday – Fourth of July
Happy Fourth of July! I spent a good part of my morning working on our budget for July.
I ended the month of June spending all of our grocery budgets for both June and July except for $50. I seriously doubt that we will spend only $50 this month so I have chosen to include $150 for our projected grocery budget this month. I think that by the end of the year we will be back to an average of $600 a month for food but I also realize that it may take several months to get back on track so to speak. The really good news is that we are starting to get items in from the garden and with the stock pile of ground beef, I purchased both the month of July and August should be low spending months for us in terms of grocery items.
I was able to place $50 in the Emergency Fund but no extra money on any of the debt. We are hopefully and expecting that Matt has another website complete this month which will help reduce debt and increase the EF. This is in question at this moment as well due to the starter going out on my car yesterday. I currently have about 3/4 of the expected repair cost in our auto fund so I may need to use some of the EF to finish out the amount. I am also hopefully to pull this amount out of the gas budget and not touch the EF. But either way this unexpected expense will be covered without a major dent in our normal budget.
The worse budget news of the month is that I am looking at $200 shortage for the overall budget of the month. This amount are designated into gifts and clothing. My plan is to cover this amount first from the extra work I picked up last month at the nursing home and next with Matt’s monthly income from the websites he supports. I will keep track of these amounts during the month and report where the money comes from.
Wordless Wednesday -More Kendall Birthday
The carousal is always a request treat at the mall and it was no different this time!
Kendall’s Birthday
The Cake
Waiting for the cake
blowing out the candles
Unwrapping her gift!
I talked about the first part of Kendall’s Birthday celebration here http://www.coffeefreakdesigns.com/teenstotsandeverythinginbetween/?p=1217. But we did have small family and friend party on her actual birthday. The best story from her birthday is that on Friday as we were walking through Aldi to pick up a few groceries, she and Zach saw bike helmets. She innocently looks at me and says “Mommie you could wrap this for my birthday” I knew she was getting a bike from her grandparents so I picked up the helmet with no intention of wrapping it. Both Kendall and Zach kept asking on Saturday when I was going to wrap the present. So I did! On Monday, Kendall asked a dozen time to open her gift before the party! Enjoy the pictures….
June in Review
Financial goals: In June the focus was to reduce the overall debt we owed. I was able to pay $750 overall this money. I did realize that when planning my budget in July that I would be $240 short for the month. I have already paid ahead $100 of this, my plan is to use the remaining gas money from June to cover the rest. One of the reason, June was an awesome month for us was the fact I picked up several extra days work at the Nursing home.
- Pay off Lawn mower by March 2014, so no interest is charged. Made an extra payment on this. (see above)
- Pay off all outstanding debt except the mortgage by June– No new debt incurred!
- Emergency fund to $2000– Did not add to it this month.
- Maintain a budget using a form of the envelope system – Still working well!
- Groceries: Spend $600 or less a month Ouch, Ouch and ouch. I currently set at $860 for the month. This does include Kendall’s birthday cake, stock up from Bath and Body Works as well as an order from Zaycon foods that will be picked up in July. I did find and check national averages this month. My understand is that groceries in this average are considered only food. Everything purchased at a Grocery store, drug store or Costco I count in this. The national average for a family of 6 with children the same ages as mine, considered “thrifty” was $748! So I should not feel as bad, at least that is what I am telling myself. I hope to get the average down by the end of the year but I don’t know that it will happen prior to school starting again. In July we will be purchasing meat so that usually throws the entire budget out.
- Gas- I am adding this category. The goal each month is to spend $450 or less for gas. We spent $340 this month. I am going to use the remaining money to cover regular expenses in July. Hopefully in the future I will be able to place in our auto fund as Matt is picking up more work to cover the short fall in our regular budget.
Blogging: Goal: 15 per month This is post number 14 for the month. I am excited because I feel like I have gotten into a good grove with post and am able to post more frequently. Our schedule for the past 3 weeks has been insane so I also think that as things slow down, I can post more.
Devotions: Goal is 5 a week Goal Met! I am really enjoying my morning time.
Weight: Goal to exercise 3x a week and to be down to 150 by December by losing around 4 # a month.. To be honest, I have not even address this goal this month. I have not gained the 10# I lost but there has been no progress.
Saturday Shopping 6/29/2013
Kendall requested a trip to Build a Bear for her birthday this year, so today we headed to Winston-Salem to celebrate all of her favorite things. An added benefit for me was that I could get some shopping and awesome saving in as well. Matt used 2 emptied Starbucks coffee bags for 2 free coffees. I had $10 Bear Bucks for Build A Bear and we ended up hitting Bath and Body Works to grab some hand sanitizer as well. However these were not the highlights of the trip saving wise.
I knew that today was $1 Flip Flops at Old Navy, however the other in store sales combined with a $10 off $40 that was given to be at the cash register made a good deal on flip-flops into an awesome trip for clothing. We purchased 4 shirts for Matt, Matt a pair of shorts, 3 shirts for me, 3 pair of Flip flops for me, both the little girls got 2 pair of flip-flops and Zach got 3 pair, one for this year and two for next. The total cost for 18 items $55 or 56% savings.
One of the last stops of the day was Harris Teeter. I knew they were running a Super Doubles promotions this week. I spent around 2 hours last night preparing a list. We chose to return to the “new to us” Harris Teeter. My only disappointment was that they did not carry “Suddenly Salad” but their customer service makes up for that in full. We purchased all items that we use on a regular basis including Kool-Aid Jammers for $1 a box. In total I spent $31 and saved $81 or 73%!