Kayla Dawn

Kayla is finishing her first semester of college today. How is that even possible? I feel like she should still be a pre-schooler! She had a full load this semester and I know she is ready for Christmas break. Kayla received the high achiever scholarship so she is going to Rend Lake for FREE!! Even books are paid for. She will graduate with her Associate's on May 15, 2009. Mike and I are so proud of her!!

She also works about 24 hours a week at the Dairy Queen. That's good for her but bad for us because we always think we have to eat there so we can see her!!!
She bought a car this summer and it is so cute! It's not new but it's very nice. Unfortunately it died on her about a month ago! All it needed was a tune-up but it cost 544.00 :( Mike and I said we would help her pay for it, as in pay for most of it, but she said No it was her car and her responsibility. So she paid for well over half of the bill! It is a bittersweet moment when you see your child making adult decisions. When they are small, you think "I can't wait until they are old enough to do for themselves." Then they CAN and it's hard because you get this sense that they don't really "need" you as much as they used to. It was hard for me not to step in and say "No Kayla you are just a baby and you can't possibly pay for this mean old broken car out of your own cute little money." (you really have to imagine me saying that in baby talk to get the full effect). Kayla went to the bank and she told my mom (who is a bank teller) that after depositing her paycheck, writing out her tithe check and paying her car payment, she had $30.00 left!! But she will make that stretch because luckily she inherited my frugal gene!! Did I mention we are proud of her!?!?!?

We shopped til we dropped

Mike and i took our annual Christmas shopping trip yesterday. Overall, it was a very successful trip. We always have the best time and we laugh so much. I am thankful for Mike and the fact that we still have so much fun together after 21 years!! I was cracking up yesterday before we left because as I was making sure I had our Christmas cash and coupons, I was also making sure I had tums and Advil! We know we are getting older and can't make it shopping without being drugged!!

I had completed about 75% of our shopping online already (YAY for Amazon and their free shipping) so the list I had was very short and specific. I am always torn this time of year because we ALWAYS say we are going to cut back this year, but I LOVE to buy for family and friends. I simply CANNOT stop buying for the kids. And Mike is WORSE than I am. Our kids don't need anything at all, but I love to give to them and see the look on their faces when it's exactly what they wanted. And now we have Miles in the family and we feel the same way about him! My parents say every year not to get them anything, but I love to try to remember things they've said they wanted and surprise them with it. Mike's mom is a little harder to buy for and I really stress about it. So at the end of the day, I would say we are 95% finished with Christmas shopping. I still have to take Jenna to shop for her friends, so by Saturday, I will be done.

I would like to end with a verse that I thought of several times yesterday!!

Matthew 7:9-12 (New Living Translation)

9 “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? 10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! 11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

Fireproof

Mike and I went to see the movie "Fireproof" on Friday night. It is trapping season, so anyone who knows Mike knows that he doesn't go anywhere during trapping season!!! But I told him I'd heard it was really good, and it was on the five buck club list!!! I fixed supper at home so I promised him it would be a cheap date. So we "hired" Jenna to babysit Landon (I don't know why I put hired in quotations, we DID pay her!!!) and we took off! I am one who simply CANNOT watch a movie at the theater without popcorn, so while I made a pitstop at the bathroom, Mike was in charge of getting a SMALL popcorn andSMALL soda for us to share!! When I came out of the bathroom I noticed Mike standing to the side of the concessions with no popcorn or soda. There was no line, so I couldn't figure out what he was waiting for. It didn't take me long to find out!! He fell for the "For only a quarter more, you can get the jumbo size everything!!" So we ended up with 14.50 worth of popcorn and soda!! So much for a cheap date!!

The movie was amazing! I hate to admit, but I am sometimes afraid to go see movies that are touted as being "Christian". I fear that they will come across as cheesy and simply unrealistic. I didn't feel this was true at all about this one!! I already was familiar with "Facing The Giants", a movie put out by the same church group. They do a wonderful job; God has really blessed them with a vision for reaching people! I cried like a baby (but to be truthful, I cried just as hard at the National Guard commercial before the movie...) But Fireproof really made me think about my marriage and the role I play in making it a happy one. I think we tend to blame our spouse when things aren't going well, without taking any responsibility of our own. This movie really deals with that subject. Mike and I have a very happy marriage, I am pleased to say, but no marriage, or any relationship for that matter, is without room for improvement. I came out of the theater with a real desire to be a better wife to Mike. To be the kind of wife that GOD wants me to be.

I wanted to come up with a "couthy" title for my blog (couthy is Kayla's favorite "word")!! It seems like it fit since I'm a stay-at-h0me mom!!! I hope to update it at least once a week, because so many changes will be happening in my family in the next 6 months to a year. Kayla will go away to college after graduating from Rend Lake College in May; Jenna will get her driver's license in February; Landon will go to kindergarten next fall!! So I decided I want to have all of my emotions and concerns in writing for my own memories. Hope you enjoy hearing the roller-coaster of my life and I'm always open to helpful hints!!!

Alicia