Here we are, January 31st and I'm writing my first blog entry of the year. (face palm!)

The holidays went well for us, I am a part of our church choir so the holidays were especially busy for me. I loved it!

My husband and kidlets are doing well with the oldest two making it thru their first semester of high school! YAY!

Our finances are still super tight BUT, we are still maintaining a budget and for the first time since James started his job a couple of years ago, we had saved up enough dollars to cover his unpaid time off! Being on the same page with my hubby with regards to finances is a massive blessing.
Having 4 weeks off every year, unpaid aside from any holiday pay there might be, is pretty stressful for a family of 6 on such a low income. But God gave us brains to use, so we should be using them wisely.

Christmas was still a little bit stressful for me personally, it usually is. Not having the luxury of being able to join in any of the gatherings, seeing/meeting my nieces and nephews, etc,.
I've reached out to three of my brothers a few times on Facebook, two of them read what I send but do not reply. I'm okay with that, at least I'm able to tell them 'Happy Birthday' and whatnot directly instead of needing to always put things on this blog as I have to for Julia.

I know that there are a lot of families out there who have bad stress and anger over the holidays with family, but imagine never being able to communicate with them let alone see and spend time together.
But please suck it up, you really don't want to be without your family.
Over the holidays, friends just don't have time for you because they're all busy with their own gatherings and families, so there are no 'stand in' family over the holidays.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be a downer or have people feel sorry for us, but I saw an awful lot of complaining about family going on with my Facebook friends and its just so sad that people can't be thankful for what they have.

Happiness and thankfulness are both a choice, and it is 100% up to you.

I am so thankful for peace and togetherness in our marriage and children right now. God has blessed us so much in following after His will for our lives.
James and I are both unsure as to what God wants our future to look like right now, but we also both know that we are doing something right...We've been under attack but the blessings keep coming anyway.

All that being said, I hope that all of you had a wonderful and Merry Christmas and that this new year will be the year that you choose to follow after God's heart and not care how others treat you.

If your focus is on what God wants for your future, don't allow others to distract. You are the only one who has to live with your decisions.

Love you guys!

September 30th, 2019

Money, oh how I hate the constant requirement of it.

Money for food, money for fuel in our van, money to pay for the house....UGH!! The list never seems to stop!

** Slight Interruption**    Speaking of houses, I would like to point out that James and I were able to purchase our very first home together this past March! YAY!!!

That being said, we have also made the decision to become debt free outside of having a mortgage.

Life has not been fun for us over the last two (ish) years, however things seem to have finally slowed down enough for us to be able to collect our thoughts, and choose to fight to get out of debt.

For us, credit cards are the bane of our existence. We're really good at paying them down, then we don't save, hit a major financial hurdle, and rack the cards up again!

Almost a year ago, I was kicked by a cow at the farm where I worked and as life would have it, I am now unable to do the job there and lost my hours. I still have pain in my left arm that may take years to go away and the lovely Worker's Compensation Board chose to quit paying for my physio, nine months in. So, this is potentially my 'issue' for the next long while.

James and I knew that we could not survive financially if I were to get cut off of my job or Worker's Compensation, so he started looking and was able to find a Saturday job cleaning trucks and whatnot.

I have also started teaching piano and violin lessons again and also hope to do some babysitting to add to the household income. It won't be as much as I was able to make at the farm, but it's something and I am able to be at home with our little man Dexter as well as the girls when they're not in school.

Someone told James and I that we should just 'get used to having credit cards, a mortgage, and having a car payment.'

Well no,James and I don't currently have a car payment, and we do not intend to EVER have one....ever!

Late last year, I 'discovered' Dave Ramsey and his 7 Baby Steps.

James and I started paying down some of the bad debt, but didn't really commit as it wasn't something important enough, I guess. We were doing awesome until May...then it was birthday month, Mother's Day, and of course Father's Day. Yeah, we were THOSE people.

I still can't believe how much money we put on the credit cards in just that one month alone. CRAZY!

Now though, we actually cut up our cards, it wasn't enough to freeze them in water in our freezer. We needed to outright get rid of them, for good. That was actually really hard for me to do! 

I mean, we didn't have a lot of room on them anyway but still....Whoa!!

I know that this post may seem a bit off from some of my previous, but I believe that it is quite relevant to what this blog represents.

My Life Unchained

How not to be chained to debt, not to be indebted to someone else instead of living and paying for our own things, being able to give back and to help others who have been in my and/or James' shoes.

Now THAT is part of what a life unchained SHOULD be like.

This is going to look ugly at times...like today for instance, I thought I had accomplished so much with saving a whopping $60 but I'd forgotten that my driver's license AND vehicle registration was coming out at the end of the month. It's literally a once a year thing but still something that I'd totally gapped! 

I can't wait though, to see how God will bless us in our desire to follow after Him in removing our debts to others so that we are able to give and serve God and not man.

That's all for now, thank you to all of those who keep us in your prayers. We appreciate them to no end!

Laura

To My Baby Sister On Her Wedding Day (June 1, 2019)

I guess that I thought that I would have been able to share this day with you regardless of our father, but that's okay, I do understand.

Since I have no way of sending you a private email, I decided to write to you here.

Julia,

Although you probably don't remember me, you still hold a special place in my heart.
All of those time when you would beg to sleep with me to have a 'slumber party' (you would have been about 3 or 4 at the time), I remember looking at you sleeping and hoping and praying that I would never forget those moments.
I never forgot.

I want you to know how much I love you, and I want you to be happy no matter what choices you make.
I know that you only know of me by what you hear from my haters, but that's okay.
If you need me for any reason, don't be afraid to reach out.
I was, am, and will be here for you anytime, day or night.

God has provided so much for me since I left, and I know that if you keep Him at the center of your life, you will be taken care of too.

So, my one and only baby sister and soon to be brother in law, I want to wish you many years of happiness and joy.

Julia, I miss you more than you could ever imagine.

Love Forever,

Laura