Lots going on today.

at least in my head anyway! :)

I'm so excited about life right now. I don't know if you can tell from my blog posts the last few months, but I just feel this change in attitude and lifestyle coming on. It started with Uncle Joe's visit, and then meeting Josh Schuette, our financial guy. Then Lori started talking to me about grocery game. Then Dave Ramsey came into the picture and all of the sudden I don't feel like the same person. Make any sense?

I'm listening to "More Than Enough" by Dave Ramsey right now and it is perspective changing. He talks a lot about having a long-term (horizon) view of things and making small sacrifices now for big rewards later. He tells us that people who are financially successful are so because they are always thinking about that 5 year plan. Writing out goals is crucial. Being cohesive in your marriage about your goals is crucial too. Rob and I are totally on board with this together, and that is super exciting. We are going to devote these next (gulp) couple years to paying off his student loans. It seems like a ginormous goal, but how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. :) I keep imagining the feeling we will have when that last loan payment is made, the feeling of freedom and accomplishment. I daresay it will rival the day he walked the line!

Grocery Game is really making me happy lately too. I did my rounds last night and spent $77. Of that $77 I need to return $9.29 because two items misrang and I didn't catch it. I will also receive $26.49 back from CVS in Extra Care Bucks (CVS is my favorite place to shop - it's like christmas every week). So my total spending will be $41.22 - pretty impressive when you consider I bought 4 containers of ALL small and Mighty, 6 12-packs of Dr. Pepper, 2 toothpastes, 4 bags of tortilla chips, 4 boxes of Post cereal, 8 boxes of popcorn, 8 boxes of granola bars, 1 full-size Keri Lotion, one medium size Suave lotion, 4 deodorants, a child's toothbrush, Maybeline eye shadow, 2 boxes of Altoids, 2 boxes of Tylenol to-go, 1 package Stayfree Maxipads, and 2 boxes of frozen pretzels, 5 cans of mandarin oranges, 3 cans pork and beans, 2 pumps of SoftSoap. Can you see why I love this game?
Rob was so impressed when I got home. He reminded me that I went to Walmart Sunday afternoon for supplies for youth led service and I spent $45 on items for the game, a prize and sandwiches for our students. He was comparing it to my haul from last night. It is absolutely amazing to me how far you can stretch a dollar compared to how easy it is to spend it without even putting any thought into it.
The other exciting thing about this game is that I can totally buy household stuff too - the deodorant and toilet paper and paper towels. All that stuff drives up your Walmart bill and just makes me sick, personally. A lot of it you literally buy and then bring home and throw away. Not any more for me. Now it's literally a game I play and I'm winning!
Ok, so now the pictures. I'm sure you are wondering what these pictures have to do with what I'm posting. These are from youth-led on Sunday night. Rob and the i-Evans played their gi-tars and drums. It was amazing. They totally sound like a band. Worship was awesome. Loud, but awesome. Sarah kept saying to me "It's too loud Mommy". he-hee. She was funny that night because she would also say "Good job singing Daddy!" every time Rob finished a song. Too cute.
I have a ton to get done today. I'm finishing up laundry and getting it put away. I'm uploading Rob's videos to expo. He's decided to do a few to help towards those student loans. I've got lots of random cleaning/dishes/organizing to do. But I'm feeling super motivated today, so that's a good time to do it. And hopefully I will get to scrapbook a bit today - if Sarah decides to grace us with a nap. And I might drag the kids to the library today too. We will see.