Merry Christmas

October 2011

Enjoying one of JoJo's football games

Josiah and Grandma Swana. Oops! Look who's taller than Granny!!!!

Lil Emma is growing up so fast. Lydia. Abby.

Abby giving big smile at one of our favorite places, Braums!

Lydia on back to school night. So. Grown. Up. Ugh :(

Wow, it's been a long time. I didn't realize it's been this long though. I kept procrastinating. I hate it when my friends don't post new pictures but I totally understand! Months go by so fast. Someone told me that the days crawl and the years fly. That is totally true.

To give a little update: Lydia is in 3rd grade. The same group she has been with since kindergarden got split up, 8 "old" friends moved to the other class and 8 new ones came in. She lost one of her BFFs in the shuffle, Payton, so she is adjusting to that and begging me for Payton playdates which I can't seem to schedule fast enough. Abby is in "4 year old" pre-school, as apposed to last year "3 year old" preschool. She is always about 5 minutes away from taking charge of the whole shabang. God bless dear Mrs. Eck!! and bless her good because she keeps in front of Abby and Abby is getting a good education.

I am working my dream job at John Deere. ISO 9001 Management Rep. This entails taking care of the ISO 9001 continuation, internal audits, documentation, sharepoint, team projects and I'm working on a new quality website now which is really fun. I'm loving every minute. It's only 25 minutes, over by coffeyville. I go right past a wal-mart on my way which is VERY convenient. No more special trips to Parsons for 10 grocery items. My saturday mornings can be spend at home. In my bathrobe. As God intended.

God Bless you all.

Thank you for reading.

We love you,

Sarah & gang

Sunset 3-22-11

I love how the sunset lines up with my road home

The picture does not do it justice

The sun itself was as big as a skyscraper

I love where I live and how beautiful it is here

WISH$S AND DREAM$

I have a WISH LIST. On it I type every thing that pops into my head that I want but cannot afford that day. There are currently 35 items on the list but that number goes up and down. Knowing that I'm carefully planning and not just brushing aside my wants with a can't-afford-it sigh, I get much peace of mind out of this list.

Current Grand Total: $23,875 (I dream big)

I also have two other lists. A WISHES GRANTED list and an NAH...GUESS NOT list. The Wishes granted one is pretty self explanatory. When I acquire the item, it gets taken off the wish list and put here. It's essentially a list of blessings that I am very thankful for. These are purchased with carefully saved money sometimes but a lot of them are gifts and from money / gift cards from holidays and birthdays. This list amazes me how long it gets in a short time. My perspective is that I'm poor but this list suggests otherwise. I started it more recently than the wish list. I get much joy out of this list.

It's grand total is $1,826. That's a lotta cash folks!!!

I love my Nah....Guess Not list. Being on a squeeze-that-lemon-super-tight budget has it good points. This list is proof that I no longer have the luxury to Impluse Shop. The items on this list are things I think I want but after I've slept on it quite a few paydays I realize that I don't want that stuff, no way, not even if it were free, what was I thinking?!? I get much peace of mind out of this list because it is here that I'm reminded that money is no longer slipping through my fingers due to impuse buying.

It's grand total is $2,237. Kinda makes me shiver that I coulda spent that much cash on things I didn't want

For kicks I will share the top and bottom items:

Wish List top item: Alaskan cruise $8,000 (est. cost)

Wish List bottom item: Alarm Clock $10

Wishes Granted top item: Fall Branson Trip $250 (actual costs)

Wishes Granted bottom item: Scrapbook refill pages $0 (a gift)

Nah...Guess not top item: Thoughtful Christmas Gifts $1,000 (don't laugh!!!! I bought gifts, just not ahead of time and not $1000 worth)

Nah...Guess not bottom item: Makeup remover $10

Have a great weekend!

Sarah