No! No! No! well. . . . maybe?

As everyone does in the new year, the Stahly's have made a resolution. This years resolution involves us becoming close friends with a guy named Dave who is going to help us become Debt Free!! For those of you who aren't local, Dave might be a stranger. But around these parts, you either love or hate or fear Dave. Dave would be Dave Ramsey, the author of the Total Money Makeover. Dave has a radio show each day where he tells people how to work their way into being debt free. He is very black and white on how it should be done, and has steps in his book that you can follow to become debt free. His favorite line is . . . If you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else. So, Jeff and I have decided that we are going to do it. We are going to have the zero balanced budget, we are going to do the Debt Snowball, and we are going to adopt the envelope system. We are ready! (really we are)
However, the hardest part for both of us is one little word that we as a society do not say enough of . . . NO! Am I ever guilty of not saying that word enough? I love to be busy and I love to be helpful and be involved . . . and so often I say yes to just about anything I am asked to do. My kids know that I am weak in the 'no' area and know the way to ask for something and the number of times to ask before their sweet pleading eyes and adorable faces will get the 'yes' they are wanting for that piece of candy before dinner or that toy at the checkout or that McDonald's meal when I don't want to eat there. And the person I have the most trouble saying NO to . . . that would be . . . ME! I am admitting that I am a shopaholic. And that saying Yes to things I want for me, or the kids, or Jeff, or the person I think might like this or that . . . is one reason that the debt snowball is happening. But last night I made my first step in progress and think everyone should be oh so proud of me . . .
There is this purse. It is a bright red big purse! It is so cool looking! I met 'purse' for the first time on Saturday. I passed by it in my favorite store and picked it up and held it. And put it down. And picked it up. The store associates were in the process of swapping out sale signs for next weeks ad so I was unsure if it was a deal or not. One of the associates asked if I wanted her to price it out. I said . . . yes. The price she gave me was more than the sales sign so we concluded that purse would be a better price on Sunday. Last night, I had to run an errand that took me right by the store where purse was sitting. Again, I went in and looked and held and put down and held and put down. And all the while . . . . no , no, no . . . kept drumming through my head. And so, I put purse down said goodbye to it and left it sitting there in all its coolness.
When I got home I explained to Jeff the great accomplishment I just had. His jaw dropped to the floor and he couldn't believe it. I think he might have asked "Are you going back for it tomorrow then?" No I said. I have a purse. I don't need a purse. I said NO! YAY ME!
I am now on board with Dave and ready to live (pretty much) like no one else, so later I can live like no one else. So if you see me in a store just staring and touching items just know that I am in the NO struggle zone. And come help me by pulling me away before my NO turns into a Maybe and then a Yes.

Happy 5th Birthday Sophia (one day late)!!!

Five years ago in a small village in China, a precious little girl was born. God's plans for her life were already laid out and He knew what He had in store for her. Across the globe a family in TN was preparing their paperwork and hearts for a journey God had led them on. And on this day, January 19, 2004, Sophia Faith (Feng Shu Jing) entered the world and God's plan for her and her forever family were set into motion.
We can not imagine our lives without her laugh and her smile. Without her crazy stories and thought provoking questions. She is an amazing child of God who has not only touched our lives, but many of those around her. And we love her and cherish her! Happy 5th Birthday Sweetheart!

Happy 17th Brandon!

Today is Brandon's 17th Birthday! Seventeen years ago, a little 6 pound 2 ounce red headed bundle was placed in my arms! And since that point, he has kept me on my toes! He always is smiling and always making me smile and I do love him so! And thanks to the greatness that is the land of blogs . . . I can pay tribute to him right here. So without further ado . . . 17 Great Things about Brandon . . .

1) He is an excellent student and gets amazing grades!

2) He has very soft, naturally curly, a-girl-would-die-for red hair.

3) He works very hard at Snappy Tomatoe

4) He likes to play guitar . . . and is actually pretty good for being self taught . . . which reminds me I need to find him someone to teach him.

5) He is one of the sweetest big brothers to his little sisters. Now to his little brother, that can be questionable - but he is still a great big brother.

6)He is one good egg!

7) He likes to play World of Warcraft

8) He enjoys a good game of basketball

9) He was born one month premature after I had been on bedrest and meds for two weeks.

10) He was born in Beatrice, NE in the little hospital there. The door to the delivery room was wide open and all his grandparents got to watch him come into the world.

11) He is responsible considering he is a 17 year old boy.

12) When he was four years old, he was going to marry a little girl named Diandria. They were going to buy a duplex and they were going to live on one side and her parents and Jeff and I were going to live on the other. So cute!

13) Diandria and Brandon also put 'contacts' in their eyes one time. However the contacts were actually sequins, and Brandon didn't take one of his out for almost 8 hours after his eye was all red, itchy and puffy.

14) Brandon can always make me laugh. He just is a nut and has a way of making me laugh.

15) Brandon wears a size 12 shoe- sometimes 13.

16) Brandon was always the tallest kid in his class . . .until recently. Seems everyone has caught up with him.

17) Brandon was baptized on December 7, 2008. And he is sold out for Jesus!

There you have it! My 17 year old baby whom we love very much and are very proud of!

Some bloggable things . .. just not a full blog

First off I felt you needed to see a pictures of the cuteness that are my children. Are they not just adorable? Now if we could just freeze that moment, multiply it by 365 days x 24 hours x 60 minutes x 60 seconds . . . we would have every second of 2009 be as absolutely sweet and awe inspiring as that moment. Would that not be something? Of course if I could do that, I would have to market it and make millions.
I have found over the last week bloggable things, but none that really could warrant a full blog of their own. So for you now today, I have those not quite full blog moments:

1) My tooth is feeling better. The day after pain was not near what I feared. I now am (not) looking forward to the appointment where my 10 year old bridgework will be ripped out of my mouth to be replaced with some shiny new pricey bridgework.

2) I am reading Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. And yes, the next step is to start the Total Money Makeover in the Stahly House. Dave has this word he wants me to start using, that word is NO. I think I will be fine with saying NO to the kids, and NO to Jeff, but NO to me???? Hmmm . . . with that comes budget line items like Race in April, Race in October, Vacation in July . . .and my favorite budget line item is Retail Therapy. The jury is still out on if my Retail Therapy is cheaper than a true blue therapist.

3) Dawson had a note worthy comment to make yesterday. We were listening to our local Christain radio station. They do these little pre-recorded tidbits where an artist comes on and talks about a song they wrote, what it means to them, and what they hope the listener gets out of it. One of these came on last night and Dawson was commenting on how the artist was making a lot of sense with what he was saying. And then the radio station went to commercial. Dawson's comment "Well, that makes no sense. Why tell me all about a song, get me wanting to hear it, and then not play it?" I agree, and wonder that also.

4) Sophia and her deep thinking questions were drilling me again this morning on the way to school. New readers might be unaware that our Sophia loves the deep questions. This morning she started talking about babies and how they are in momma's tummies. She has been getting more and more into trying to understand the logistics behind her being adopted. She wants to know the details about how it came to be I think. This morning she was talking about Gracie having been in my tummy. And how she must have been in someones tummy at some point. I said yes, you were in your China momma's tummy. She was quiet for a bit, and then replied with - My China momma had to know I was in her tummy, and I had to come out of her tummy - so how come she isn't my momma? (believe me I about lost it in tears here as her sweet little mind is trying to put all this together). I reminded her how God has a plan for each of our lives, and His plan for her was to be a part of our family. And His plan for her China momma was for her to give birth to Sophia and then let her come live with us forever. Again she thought for a minute and then said - That was a good plan He had. Precious how she can take it all in and just accept what plan God has for her! I pray that she is always able to see it through God's eyes, and that she is a reminder to others that God is in control.

5) Not such a deep thought but funny . . . I actually ran out of toilet paper. Now for some of you that is no big deal. But there are four folks out there who will be totally frustrated with me that I allowed this to happen - my parents and my aunt and uncle in KS. I am not sure if there was some sort of TP Shortage in the 50's or something, but these folks at any given time will have close to 100 rolls of TP on hand. I mean if you open a new pack and place it in a bathroom, you now need to go to Wal-Mart to replenish the supply. It is an odd sort of thing. If I had that much TP on hand, I would be inclined to want to use it to say TP my friends houses. I would also be frustrated at the amount of space that it took up. And furthermore, I don't think Dave would think it wise of me to put my financial stability in TP. It just doesn't seem like a sound investment. So as I realized I was out of TP, I thought of my parents and aunt and uncle, isn't that sweet?

I am sure there were more almost blog worthy moments in our house over the last week, but I really wanted to leave you thinking about 96 rolls of TP being stored in my parents house in NE.

Not Part of My New Year's Resolutions

Okay, so right off let me tell you in case you didn't already know . . .I greatly greatly dislike dentists! I mean really dislike! So going to a dentist at 9:30 this morning was not one of my New Years Resolutions, or one of the things that I would include on my Bucket List. It was hardly visible on my 2009 calendar. It was there in very small print . . .9:30 T Dentist. And furthermore, this wasn't your normal everyday teeth cleaning kind of appt, this was a stinkin' root canal folks. I had one about 10 years ago in which during the procedure my tooth broke into three pieces, had to be pulled instead of fixed, requiring bridgework to avoid the huge gap between my teeth, which resulted in temp bridge work being swallowed (and thrown up), and finally in permanent bridge work on the back right top of my mouth.
I had been having pain since before Christmas. I had become an Extra Strength Ambesol Addict. Advil and I were tight - meaning I knew where the bottle was at all times so I could continue my constant drugged state. On Monday, I casually asked at my local dentist when they could possibly get me in to look at this. Now ,my "friend" Jody says. (remember I dislike the dentist). I get to the office and sure enough my loving dentist informs me that she believes I need a root canal and I will have to go to the special dentist in Nashville to have it done. Jody was nice enough to call said special dentist and they were able to fit me in today. Wasn't that just sweet of them?
So for the last two days I have dreaded this morning. If I was one to believe in omens and such, I would have turned my truck around this morning right after I got on I65. There seemed to be an accident this morning about 10 miles up from where I got on the interstate. Yet traffic was sitting still where I got on. Yikes! I decided that I wanted to get this over with and took some side roads to bypass the interstate chaos. I got behind the Hubcap Heaven van on Peytonsville Rd. and went winding over the river and through the woods to get back to the interstate. We followed a tractor for some bit of time also. The whole time I am thinking that surely if I am late they will have to reschedule this and I will just go back to Ambesol and Advil - that wouldn't be so bad. I am sure there is a support group for addicts of Ambesol that dislike the dentist like I do. However, Mr Hubcap and I successfully made it back to the interstate and I was flying again.
The special dentist office was actually located in Green Hills. For those of you not from the area, Green Hills is special all on its own. Luckily I wore my best in an effort to blend and not look like the small town hick that I am. I kept thinking if they check my clothing label they are so going to kick me out of here. The dentist office was in this little village area and for the life of me I could not find the building with the right number. I drove in circles - all the while feeling ill with the anticipation of what was to come. Finally I found the building number. I pulled over quickly, threw the truck into park, and then realized there was a meter by my truck. This meter said that I would need to be 25 cents for each 7 and a half minutes I was parked there. SAY WHAT? Okay, I am guessing I couldn't afford to shop much in this area but now I can't even afford to park to go receive said root canal mis-treatment?!?!?! What up with that?
As I am analyzing the situation, I notice a parking garage sign. So I get back in the truck and find that behind the cute little village buildings is a parking garage. Free at that. Woo hoo! I am now right at the time my appt is to have started. I find a map in the garage and begin to look for my suite number - it is not even on the map. I look two and three times before deciding I will just have to call and tell them I am lost. When the girl answers and I explain to her where I am standing, she says just walk up the stairs in front of you and turn right, we are at the end of the hall. Wah-lah - only 5 minutes late after all the chaos - I arrive for my unwarranted punishment.
The dentist man ended up being really nice and was very understanding about the fact that I didn't like him and we wouldn't be friends. He also understood how he couldn't explain any gross details to me in case I was to pass out. He gave me about a zillion shots and left me to watch TV. Yes, TV , there was one for each patient in their little cubicle area. I could watch whatever I wanted. (I had seen this before but at the pediatric dentist - whoever thought of letting grown ups have TV's also, I do like them). One thing I make sure I do while at the dentist is keep my eyes closed. I have no need to see all the needles, pliers, hammers, drills, and other strange devices going in and out of my mouth. I chose CMT to have on during my session so I could listen to some soothing country music. During a quiet point (there were not many), a song came on the TV called Some Beach. The jist of it some guy is talking about his bad day and wishing he was on Some Beach instead. Well, one of the things he had to do during his bad day was go to the dentist, wait a long time, wasn't numb enough, yet the dentist drilled anyway. I did open up and look as the video was playing and my Mr Dentist and Ms Hygienist were looking at the TV and smiling. If it hadn't been for the odd contraption keeping my mouth open, I probably would have laughed with them.
I sat nicely for the procedure, at least I think I did. Although there was no treasure box with a prize for me at the end. Unless you count the lady who asked me to pay up for the session of misery. What is up with that - charging me for letting you cause me pain? That is messed up.
As I sit here my mouth is still numb. Which I think is probably a good thing since Mr Dentist gave me a script for Tylenol with Codeine and said I would want to take it before bed tonight. I will be - don't worry.
In closing, I want to plead with any of my super smart readers out there - if anyone out there has a really big brain that you don't know what to do with it - PLEASE PLEASE invent someway that the dental patient does not have to hear the sounds of those drills in their head while the torture is being done. I didn't feel anything . .. but oh the sounds! I hate those sounds!

Happy New Year!

Hey all! We are back! I wonder if you knew we were gone! The Stahly Clan made our annual trip to Nebraska for Christmas. Cold cold weather but no snow. We had a good time with my parents, and catching up with aunts and uncles. And what is up with this, but we come back to TN and today it is as cold here as it was in Nebraska while we were there. Maybe it followed us back. Just wanted to stop in and say Hi, Happy New Year, and all that jazz. Still trying to catch up from the trip and being off work since Dec 25. Good times ahead . . found out today that I get to have a root canal on Wednesday. WOW! Aren't you all jealous? Anyway, here is one of my fav photos from the last two weeks . . . couldn't wait to share it . . .