Photo Hunters

This weeks theme is practical. It took me a while to think of something that is practical to me in my everyday life. I finally decided on what to chose while I was brushing my daughters hair. She has long hair and for her and me it is very practical to keep it in braids or ponytails as long as it is pulled back. Here's a picture of her with her hair down and long (kind of like Rapunzel I think).




Now here is a much more practical hair style for a very busy little girl. Now I know I am totally biased here but I think she looks lovely either way.

But if your looking for something a bit more masculine than talks of practical hair styles then perhaps this next picture will interest you. It is a picture of the "Jaws of Life" tool that will cut you free from a crushed car if you should ever have the need. Very practical indeed. Although I really was expecting some much larger than this. I mean you hear so much about them I truly thought they would be bigger.
Regardless, there is nothing like a big macho tool like that to make the men feel better about having to look at my daughter's golden locks. Hope you like my take on this weeks practical theme.

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Eat More Beans!

I had this talk with K. this morning driving in the car.

K: Mom, your not strong enough to carry me upside down anymore like daddy.

Me: K. your getting so big that I can't carry you for that long upside down. Your right, daddy is much stronger.

K: Yep, daddy is stronger. He eats all his beans. You need to eat all your beans to if you want to be big and strong like daddy and carry me upside down.

What should you be for Halloween?

I found this cute quiz about what I should be for Halloween. Not quite sure how I ended up as this but I guess there could be worse things out there.

Your Halloween Costume Should Be

Elvis

What Should You Be For Halloween?

The New Math

My husband is ready to retire. No, I really mean it. My husband who isn't quite forty is ready to retire. The only problem of course is money. So we have been reviewing all the things we are going to have to do in order for my husband to retire at his dream age of 55. We really aren't doing to bad considering I have been out of the work force for about five of the last seven years and haven't really been able to contribute much financially to our retirement plans. But we are still way off from where we need to be in order for us to reach his goal. And while neither of us are big spenders and aren't the type that have to "have stuff" to be happy, we do spend money on the things we like to do.

But last night my husband took the cake with his latest ways in thinking about big purchases. He has been saving up for a mill for a while now and has finally reached his goal. He went online only to find out that the mill he really wants is now on sale so he can even save a couple hundred dollars. Now to me that would have just been the icing on the cake. But since my husband had just finished reviewing where we need to be in twenty years he wasn't as excited as I expected. He stopped for a minute and went to punch in some numbers on the computer. Then he came back and told me that if he invested his money into our investments instead of buying the mill then by the time he was ready to retire he would have about $50,000 more towards our retirement goals.

So now he's wondering if this mill he has been saving up for is worth the fifty thousand it could cost us in the long term. And while I can see his point I am a bit frustrated. So I had to remind him that he's been saving up for this for a long time and he'll need to have something to keep him happy and entertained while we sit home for the next fifteen years and save money for retirement. And that it's okay for him to buy something big like that every now and then. But as to whether he can now get past that new price tag he has in his head, I really don't know. I hope he does. He works way to hard now not to have a few things to enjoy in his life now.

Wordless Wednesday

Hoss and K. share the same ambition for when they grow up. Can you guess what it is?















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A Pink Truck

K. has decided that she wants a pink truck. She is getting pretty darn adamant about it also. Not just any pink truck, she wants one of those big Power Wheels pink trucks that she can drive around outside with. She has been asking me for weeks now and I keep telling her no since they cost to much money and since Hoss has a truck that she can drive around. The only thing is that Hoss's truck isn't pink it's burgundy. So that means that it's not the right color.

She is now telling me that she will just have to ask Santa for one since it cost mommy and daddy to much money. (She is so considerate in thinking that way isn't she). So I have switched tactics telling her that we really don't have the space in the garage for another big truck like that to fit. She just smiles sweetly and says don't worry mommy, it will fit as long as you keep your van outside. She is now telling any one and everyone who will listen that she is going to get a pink truck from Santa...and it's only October. I have even stooped to showing her all the commercials for toys on TV as they gear up for the holidays. I'll try and convince her that this toy would be so much more fun for her than a truck but she just smiles sweetly and says she wants her very own pink truck to drive.

Truly, I knew we were going to have issues with who gets to drive what car and when but I really wasn't expecting it to happen while the kids were still in grade school. Instead now we are having issues of who gets to drive what Power Wheels and when and who gets to use the battery that is fully charged. These toys that give my kids so many hours of fun are truly starting to wear me out. As for whether or not she will get a new Pink Truck, I really don't know. I don't want to give up the extra space but once she starts to work on daddy, who knows what he will come home with. He is so easily swayed by his girls.

What a Weekend

I had a wonderful weekend. I was blessed enough to be able to go and spend three and half days with a wonderful bunch of women from my church community at an ACTS retreat. The time spent there refreshed me both mentally and spiritually. Once again I was reminded of the love that our Lord has for us.

I wish I could say that my husband had as blessed a weekend as I did. But poor thing, his weekend was much more difficult for him. My children did not really cooperate for him and proved extremely difficult for him. But by late last night he was looking a lot better than when I first saw him.


For I know the plans I have made for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a future full of hope. Jer. 29:11