Karina is 7!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, KARINA!!!

We love you! :)

Commonsense Investing

Aaron and I have big dreams, and we spend a lot of time trying to figure out ways to accomplish them. From what we can tell, it's a good thing to think outside the box. So, in December, Aaron and I began investing in the stock market. (With this economy, don't you think that's outside the box?) We actually don't care much about making money; we want to educate ourselves now so that (hopefully) in the future we could use the stock market to make real money.

I can be candid with the figures, since, come on, who cares about our $500? So, we deposited this $500 into our new account to begin trading. In a little less than two months, we've made an almost 45% profit on that initial investment. Every day or so, I log into our account and see a chart on the home page that graphs the value of our account. I get excited watching it fluctuate up or down, and have been happy to see such a profit in two months, even if it doesn't add up to much money.

So, as of yesterday, our account was valued at $722. Well, Aaron and I had an extra check from work on our hands (which happens twice a year). We decided to go ahead and deposit it into our trading account. Here's what the graph looked like when I logged on this morning:

HOLY SMOKE!, I thought. Look at the jump!

Of course, this huge leap in the value of our account is not because of huge gains in our stock positions, but simply because we deposited more money. But that's when it hit me. We increased our assets in this account by 343% just by not spending the extra money.

I make myself dizzy sometimes trying to think of another way to earn more money for our family. But I could never underestimate the value in saving and being frugal. It is amazing how much money you give yourself by not spending $50/month. It's easy to lose the true value of it. But time and time again, I realize that the best and first thing Aaron and I can do to achieve our dreams is to continue to cook from scratch, buy groceries from the sale ad, have Aaron repair our vehicles, say no to luxuries, etc. It saves (earns) us hundreds and hundreds of dollars in one month.

It may not be complex or sophisticated, but it does make sense. :)

Christmastime

Most recent first:

Getting ready to leave FTW...

It was so beautiful while we were in FTW, we rode the 5 mile Train. J was ecstatic. Emma was hypnotized.

The Train.

Cowboy Joe. (That's the only "Joe" reference I want to give to my son.)

Sweet Emmaline.

Papa gave lawn mower rides to the grandkids.

Uncle Donnie and Aunt Carley gave Emma her first Cabbage Patch Doll: Isabel. Emma loves her.

Just before Christmas, we went to Branson with Aaron's family. We stayed at a really nice condo. On the last day it was 4 degrees! Aaron borrowed this hat, and scared the daylights out of his daughter.

While there, we also dealt with obscene amount of vomit. This is me afraid. Very afraid.

Joseph got sick, and had to sleep on the kitchen floor of the condo. We were consoling him.

We had a lovely time this year, but it was hard. The kids were sick with a stomach thing for over a week (part of which was in Branson). Just after Christmas, while we were in Fort Worth, Aaron and I got sick with a bad respiratory Something. We concluded that 2008 was a year full of sickness for our family, and ended accordingly. :)

But Jesus is still here, still King, and still worth celebrating! Praise God!

Winter takes us inward

I'm bad. I've been looking at houses. Again.

At first I thought, I'll look at land around here. Then I became nostalgic, and looked for homes in Norman. Then homes with land in Norman. Then Broken Arrow. It's never a good idea for me to do this. But I do.

If I knew with all of my heart exactly where I wanted to be, I don't think it would be a negative thing to do (or, as negative). But I don't know where I want to be. I don't like the idea of any of these places, really. Will I ever like ANY place? Or is it some unreal idea I want?

I do know I want to love my life. And that can happen right now. If I break habits and get productive. If I get off the comoputer. If I drink more water. If I hold my tongue and smile more. Talk about a "day of small things"....an entirely different life lies in wait for me. And it's made up of seemingly small decisions which are not nearly as attractive or magnificent as the life I want.

I loathe irony.