life swap!

We are life swapping with my sis-in-law for the weekend.

While she and her family are vacationing for the Labor Day holiday in our mountain community, We will be staying at their house in S.L.O.

S.L.O. (San Luis Obispo) is an active college town, with a great downtown for shopping. S.L.O. is just minuets from the coast, and minuets from beach fun!
It is also a short drive to Cambria (my favorite coastal town).

The great thing about the weekend get away is that our accomidations are FREE!

The best thing about the weekend is that we get to be together.

What are your plans for the holiday weekend?

Hey, even if it includes staying home and mowing the lawn i want to know (that's what we usually do)!!

this is just a funny picture of lindsey and i! i had to include it.

first day of school

Monday was our first day of school!


it has become tradition to have a breakfast party for the first day of school.



The breakfast party is always followed by first day of school pictures taken by our resident photographer (daddy).


i have been home schooling for 5 years (and have begun my 6th)! i had no idea this gig was what God had in mind for me, or our family. it is challenging, and rewarding, trying, and a blessing.
i look forward to another year and all that we will learn together.

Here are a few of our favorites to learn from
Math-U-See
Story of the World
Learning Language Arts Through Literature
A Beka (additional history and science)

into debt and out of debt- Light

I SAW THE LIGHT....

from sept 2002 to jan. 1 2005 we moved 4 different times. we lived with the in-laws in the off season, during the first summer we lived in a single wide trailer (generous offer from a couple at church, but difficult), and the next summer we rented the lower level of a friend's house.

in those 28 months, we became financially, emotionally, and spiritually debt free. we also bought our first computer, bought michael his first digital camera, and started promoting his photography business. today his business is the second income that we need to keep us financially stable. we are so grateful that he gets paid to do what he enjoys. we also bought just over an acre of property, and built this simple 1650 sq ft. ranch style home. if i told you what we paid for it, you'd pass out in disbelief! it's GOD!

we moved in January 1, 2005, the first day of a NEW YEAR with fresh beginnings.
here is a photo of michael caring me in over the threshold of our first home.
in my hands i have a frame, and in that frame are words that were written as a prayer for me years ago from a lady dear to my heart (i got my love of mary engelbreit from her). she now lives with our God in glory.
since i was 18 it has been a tradition of mine to carry it in as the first thing i move in to any home (yes, i am sentimental and sappy and proud of it).
you may recognize the words..
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart
Never rely on what yo think you know
Remember the Lord in everything you do
And He will show you the right way
Never let yourself think that you are wiser than you are
Simply obey the Lord and refuse to do wrong"
Proverbs 3:5-8

it is my hope and prayer in writing this that you will be encouraged to
Trust God with all your heart in what ever situation you are in, remember Him, let him show you the right way, obey, and LEAP!

into debt and out of debt- part 3

getting out of financial debt was easier than we had hoped, but would getting out of emotional debt be harder?
being so consumed with our lack of finances, had kept me from really looking at Jesus, it had kept me from looking at the emotional debt i was in. i didn't realize that i had been paying into something fierce for some years, and i also didn't realize that the price i was paying was costing me my life. i had been spending my life on lies.
i do not know how to start the sentence here... hmmm, we were becoming financially free, and at the same time i entered into a 3 year war with satan, lies, and pride. i call that season "the great depression," for obvious reasons.
there is much i could share about those years, i could tell you about-
my tears
the hurt
the fear
the warfare
the battle for my mind
the loss of self while being a young mommy
the loss of will to live
the plans to run away
the lies magnified

tears...

i asked God to get me out of debt. that is the thing about God, He always finishes to completion what He begins. He didn't just get me (us) out of financial debt, He got me out of debt to Satan, and brought me into FREEDOM!

i am learning to "Love the Lord my God with all my heart, all my soul, all my MIND, and all my strength."
i am learning to "take captive EVERY thought," did you get that EVERY thought.

"The wages of sin (of Satan) is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."

the dark cloud was lifting, I SAW THE LIGHT...

into debt and out of debt- part 2

we had to get out of it...

it started first with a conversation with a trustworthy friend. i confessed our circumstances to her, the financial bind we were in, the burden it was on our lives, not just financially, but emotionally and spiritually as well.

a few days later she phoned me, she and her husband had discussed and prayed over our situation, and God led them to help us. They were lead to give us a $100.00 a month until we were out of debt. you have to know this young family isn't rolling in it, but God had been gracious to them in a time of financial struggle, and they were "paying it forward."
we added that 100.00 to our payments, and the clouds started to break a little.

a few weeks later, during the a summer evening of 2002, michael's parents were over for dinner. they had recently completed a loft above their house to live in during the summer when they rent out their house. they shared that they were planning on living in it for the off season. somewhere in the middle of our conversation michael's mother kiddingly (i think) mentioned that we could live in the house for the off season.
after that my mind started reeling, and in hind-sight i know that the Holy Spirit was stirring up change.

there were many "buts" for me to consider- we lived in a great 4 bedroom, 3 bath house in bass lake which we rented for only 650.00 a month (new carpet, we could paint, and the land-lord was exceptional), this house was truly a God-send (that is a great story), we feared leaping out of it into the unknown future. we had recently painted the nursery for (at that time, 7 month old) josie, we had envisioned us rocking another child to sleep in that room, seeing another child take their first steps in the home that welcomed our babies. finally, we had wonderful neighbors, and a great community for our young family. we didn't want to move. we LOVED our home.

and then there were the friends who were committed to the 100.00 a month until we were debt free. if we stayed in our home they would be sacrificing that to us for a few years. if we moved we would have rent and utility free living for 9 months. a guaranteed way to get out of debt, fast. beginning to see light, and hope for our financial future we took a leap of faith and moved into the in-laws in sept. of 2002.

getting out of financial debt was easier than we had hoped, but would getting out of emotional debt be harder?

stop bye, say hello, and welcome my friend carrie waltner to blogville!