Window To Our World

We took a road trip to Utah as a family a couple of weekends ago, to be a part of Kaley's special day, her wedding. Uncle Lowell (Derek's dad's brother) and Aunt Sharon opened their home to us for a place to stay in Springville Utah. The wedding was in Payson, so not that far at all. It was so nice to visit with family and to see them again, since it's been awhile. It couldn't have worked out any better! They have a beautiful home in the foothills of the mountains. Some of Derek's cousins and their children were also living there or near by so we had the chance to hang out with them too. Patty and son Matt, Katie and son Avery, and Randy.

All of them sure spoiled Cassie with lots of attention. Cassidy enjoyed all the attention with no trouble and was happy about her new Cabbage Patch doll from Uncle Lowell and Aunt Sharon. It was fun to watch Cassie take care of her baby like a little mommy feeding her with the bottle. It was also sweet to watch Cassidy grab the hands of the other kids, Avery and Matt and lead them to play. One time she even grabbed a book, sat next to them and started reading to them in her own little voice. She also enjoyed playing with their cat, Cinnamon. The time we did get to spend together in between the wedding plans we appreciated. We're so grateful to be blessed with such a loving family.



On Saturday morning we met Kaley and her mom, Peggy, for breakfast at IHOP. It was nice to spend some time with them before the wedding later that afternoon. We had a chance to just talk and enjoy each other's company. Then, as we dropped them off at Kaley's apartments we exchanged phone numbers so we could get directions to the house where the wedding was going to be later that day. We were supposed to meet them early for pictures at 3pm and the wedding would start at 5pm. But first the plan was to take Cassie back to Uncle Lowell's house to take a nap so she wouldn't be so tired.

Well, just an hour before pictures the unthinkable happened. I dropped my cell phone as I was walking to the car to get something and my phone busted to the point of not being able to use it anymore. But we still hadn't gotten the directions to the wedding. So Derek quickly drove to Kaley's apartments to see if he could catch Kaley before they left to the house. Of course our luck, they already left and Derek left a note on her door just in case. He even talked with the apartment manager to see if we could get Kaley's phone number from him. But no luck.

Meanwhile, Cassie is just fighting a nap and didn't sleep at all. Derek called to the house on his way back from Kaley's apartment to see if I could find any Sprint stores to see if they could transfer Kaley's number to his cell phone. So Uncle Lowell helped me to find Sprint stores. The mistake was not giving Peggy Derek's cell phone number too. We were able to find a store and they said they might be able to help us. We got dressed for the wedding, and headed to the mall to the Sprint store. Of course by this time we already missed pictures, and there was only an hour left until the wedding would start. Luckily, there was enough juice in my phone that they were able to transfer my phone book of numbers to Derek's phone. But when I tried to get a hold of Kaley, I just got her voicemail beacuase, of course, she's getting married in less than an hour! But then we remembered Kaley saying at breakfast, her phone was about to die and sure she hasn't had time to recharge it.

The Sprint store was not able to transfer Peggy's cell number because it wasn't logged in the phone book, it was just set as an incoming call and Sprint couldn't access those numbers. So I left a message just in case on Kaley's phone. Derek and I decided to drive to Payson anyways since that's where the wedding was taking place. Okay, so everyone told me Payson is such a dinky town and there is nothing there. So maybe, just maybe, we could have some luck and find the house on our own. Now it's 1/2 hour before the wedding, we're so bummed and asked ourselves why is this happening???? Derek spotted some little girls walking up the street in pretty dresses and thought maybe they're going to the wedding so we should ask them. But what went through my head was those girls are doing what little girls do best, playing dress-up. But we were desperate and I let Derek talk to them. When Derek asked them if they're going to a wedding, one of the cute little girls says, No! We're having a Parade. How sweet! But another dead end.

Then Derek had a great idea and told me to change my voice message on my cell phone saying, if you need to get a hold of us, please call Derek's cell phone number. (Some of you have heard this message since :) ) Thankfully, I have a smart husband, and just minutes after my voicemail message was changed, Peggy (Kaley's mom) calls Derek's cell phone, we were all celebrating! We got the directions and were on our way to the wedding. As we followed the directions Derek and I came to the conclusion there was no way we were going to find it on our own. Wow! We weren't even close, even though we put in good effort. :) Needless to say, it was quite dramatic, adventurous, nerve racking, and all of the above. But on a positive note, Cassidy was able to get a power nap. Phew! It all worked out in the end, and all along part of us knew it would. :)

It was so special to see Clint and Kaley get married. They are so happy, and so in love. Their back-yard wedding ceremony was just beautiful! We had the privledge to meet many relatives of both the bride and groom and enjoyed visiting with them. We felt like we fit right in, like we were part of the family. Everyone was so nice!! Cassidy had fun playing with the other children and wasn't shy to use her charm. She looked so adorable in her dress that Kaley picked out to match with the rest of the children: Abby, Shelby, and Ella. We're so happy for Kaley and Clint - they both are so fortunate to have each other. We're so proud of them and happy that their dreams are coming true. And looking forward to hearing the news of them being sealed for time and all eternity!

The weekend was so wonderful! We couldn't miss a special weekend! Thank you, Kaley for inviting us to be a part of your happiness. We thank Heavenly Father each day for bringing you into our lives.

Well, we've joined the Dave Ramsey bandwagon. For those who don't know, Dave Ramsey has a daily radio show and has authored several books on how to establish financial peace and wealth by eliminating debt and credit. Derek first began listening to him at work and then bought his audio-book "Total Money Makeover". The more we learned, we realized that Dave's financial plan of action is very similar to the Church's guidelines for years: Live within your means and avoid debt. Dave also teaches people to avoid the dangers of credit cards, car loans and leases, and home loans.

Here are the "baby steps" from the book:
1. Create $1000 Emergency Fund
2. Pay off all debts except house from smallest balance to largest
3. Create fully-funded Emergency Fund of 3-6 months of living expenses
4. Invest 15% into Retirement
5. Start a college fund
6. Pay off that mortgage
7. Build wealth to where your money works harder than you do.
8. Invest, Have fun, and give like never before

We have completed steps 1-4 so far. Thankfully, Derek's dad taught him how to spend money wisely from childhood and thus we have avoided most debts. When we started this program, we still had a $5000 student loan that we were paying each month , 8 years after graduating from college. We realized it was time to take money out of savings and get rid of that nagging payment that probably would have lasted another 4 years. Now, we can get serious about paying off our home mortgage. We figured that if we really pinch for the next few years, we can pay off our motgage in 6-7 years. That would be SO cool!! The LDS church has been teaching us to do this for years. So, we are excited that we are finally starting to make some progress.

Another aspect that Dave Ramsey's books focus on is preparing for emergencies, including death. Mostly it was things we already knew but keep neglecting. We knew we needed a will. We knew we needed more life insurance. Now, we are starting to do something about it.

Finally, this book also helped us to finally look at our monthly spending habits. We are not big spenders, but we do have our weaknesses such as eating out. Wow, we loved to eat out. It is also surprising how much vacations add up to each year, even when staying with family (granted rising gas prices sure don't help). We are now trying to commit to a written budget, even when unexpected financial challenges come up.

We feel strongly that these steps will help us to strengthen our marriage and family. We have common goals to work toward, and we are learning self control. Wish us luck!

This weekend on Saturday morning, all 3 of us got up very early and drove to Memorial Park for the Hot Air Balloon Festival. It was so neat to see so many balloons at once! We walked around and watched as each balloon was getting ready for take off. We saw all kinds, many different colors, some animal characters, and many different designs. Cassidy was in awe and happy to see so many balloons. She would point to them all and as each one took a turn for lift off she would wave good-bye and blow kisses. It was so cute! There were around 90 balloons! Some of them even touched down at the lake. That was pretty cool. We'll have to go every year now, and make this a fun family tradition.