One step closer to being debt free!

Over 3 years ago when Jordan and I got married we entered our marriage in debt. Don't get me wrong, the only debt we had was a Kay's credit card we used to buy our wedding rings with. We paid off that credit card within the first 6 months that we were married, we paid our schooling as we went, we owned our cars outright, we didn't have a mortgage, we didn't have hospital bills, etc. We were doing pretty well financially.

The first couple months that we were married we didn't have couches and we couldn't get a credit card to buy them because we had no credit! There have been plenty of times that I wished we had a credit card so we could buy what we want or need. Instead we did things the old fashioned way - saved up and payed cash.

3 years late I'm proud to announce we still have no credit cards, however we do have debt. When I had Jayden we paid off our medical bill throughout my pregnancy and then after he was born we still had about $1,200 of debt which we paid off with my bonus from work. Unfortunately, we didn't have the same health insurance when I had Gabriella. We met our deductible of $4,000 when I had Gabri at the end of 2009, then 3 months later (January 2010) we met our deductible again when I was in the hospital for a kidney stone. Within 3 months we racked up $6,000 of medical debt.

My sister told me about this program called Colorado Indigent Care Program (CICP) for low income families that helps pay off medical debt. I called the hospital that I was admitted to for my kidney stone and found out they use CICP and I was accepted. My bill went from $3,600 to $220!!! I can't express to you what a relief it was to pay off that debt. Unfortunately, we still had $2,100 of debt at the hospital where I had Gabri. I tried contacting the financial aid office, but no one ever called me back. I was told this hospital didn't accept CICP so I wanted to see if they offered another program.

Yesterday while the kids were napping I was watching TV when the phone rang, I let it got to the answering machine. The message started, "Hello my name is so-and-so and I am calling from a collection agency for Kortnie Wertzbaugher"... not exactly what I was expecting to hear! The idea of having a collection agency calling me doesn't settle well in my stomach! I quickly answered the phone and began speaking with a really nice lady. I explained to her that I had tried contacting the financial aid office and no one ever called me back and some how I mentioned that we have CICP. She put me on hold and when she came back she told me that I need to fax my CICP card to them and they will come up with our new amount that we'll owe the hospital! I told the lady that I was informed that hospital didn't accept CICP so she put me on hold again to double check, when she came back she said for sure they do! Now we'll be able to pay off our debt and be completely debt free (except for out home mortgage!)!!!

I love how God works out these details!! This is such a huge weight lifted off our shoulders! I'm very thankful for programs like this that help people get out of debt!

Tactics

One of the tactics the devil uses on us is isolation. I hate to admit it, but I fall for it more than I should.

Heres how I fell for this dumb tactic recently: We're out to dinner with Jordan's co-workers and we have both the kids. No one else has kids as young as ours, in fact the next oldest kid at the table is at least 12 years old. Jayden isn't in the mood to sit down and just color, it was cool for about 2 minutes and then he was over it. I brought toys as a back up, but of course he doesn't want to play with the toys, he'd rather run laps around the restaurant and dance to the music. Now he's screaming as we try to make him sit in the high chair and eat his dinner. Gabriella is screaming because she just wants to nurse... which isn't happening in the middle of a restaurant. After wanting to pull all my hair out we finish dinner and drive home. The WHOLE way home all I can think about it is what terrible parents we must be if we can't even control our children and sit down and eat dinner. I beat myself up pretty bad that night and into the next day.

Then at church I consult a few moms with children the same age as mine and come to find out.... I'm not alone!!!! Other moms struggle with these same problems! The more I talked with these moms the more I felt normal again and less like a terrible mother.

We can walk right into the devil's tactic and not even realize it. I'm so thankful for the body of Christ that encourages and strengths me when I need it the most!

Stop your cryin'!!!

I have this totally great friend who tends to be super honest and blunt..and her name is Lauren! :)

The thing I love about friendship is that people can see areas of your life that your family doesn't always see. And if you allow them to, these friends can show you those areas that might need a bit of improvement.

One area I can improve in is complaining and making excuses. When I was in middle school my school counselor called me the Queen of Excuses. It's true... I tend to justify everything with an excuse. BUT I'm working on it.. only 10 years later! :)

The other day I was about to write a Facebook status complaining about how I need a break from baby-world.. also known as my children. I started thinking about my status and then went back and deleted it. I have NO reason to complain about not having alone time with my husband. We have so many people who are always willing to watch our kids for free.

So I decided, this is not who I want to be.. I don't want to be that person that is complaining about something but isn't willing to do anything about it. It's probably one of the most annoying things in the world... I mean really. People get tired of hearing the same complaints, the same excuses from people who won't do anything to change their situation... I say this because I have honest friends who tell me what they REALLY think.. haha!

Anyways, my in-laws watched the kids on Sunday night and Jordan and I went out. We didn't do much, but the point is that we didn't do much together.. alone.. without the kids! Then I went over to his parent's neighbor's house and I visited a high school friend of mine. I got to spend the whole evening doing what I wanted without having to be "Mommy". It was great and rejuvenating!

I really want to apply this "Stop complaining and do something about it" thing to every area of my life.

Midnight with Jesus

Lately in my quiet time I've been reading the book of John (from the Bible). The other night at 1am as I was training Gabriella to learn how to comfort herself and go back to sleep, I sat outside her bedroom reading the Bible on my phone. It took her 45 minutes to fall asleep so I decided to be polite and not keep waking Jordan up by getting in and out bed-it also gave me a chance to spend some alone time with Jesus.

Anyways, I was reading John chapter 8 about the woman who was caught in adultery. Could you imagine how humiliated you would be in you were caught in your darkest sin and dragged out in front of all your town by the religious leaders saying you should be killed for you sin? This woman was probably sobbing, thinking her life was about to end when Jesus stepped in. The Bible says that Jesus bent down and started writing words in the dirt.. I really want to know what it was he was writing. I've heard people say they think it was the sins of the religious leaders who were condemning the woman. Anyways, Jesus says, "Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone." Then all these religious people start leaving one by one, starting with the oldest. I wonder what the significance of that is?? Then Jesus tells her “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

POWERFUL stuff!!!

It gives me chills every time I read it! Jesus is so full of love and compassion for the lost. I wish there was another chapter on this woman's life and how Jesus turned it upside down!

I was not an adulterer when I met Jesus for the first time. I was just a 14 year old girl who knew I wanted more out of life than failing every class in school, broken relationships with family members and friends, no goals for my life, etc.

My mom cleaned out my bedroom at her house and we found my high school transcript. It's amazing to actually see exactly when I started caring about my life... 9th grade all my grades were D's and F's... 10th, 11th and 12th grade- A's and B's. My relationship with my dad was restored and I actually enjoyed spending time with him and wanted to see him. One year after I met Jesus I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life living for Him and telling the people of the world about His Love!

My story might not be as dramatic as the woman in John 8, but it was enough to shake my life and turn it upside down. I hope one day I can touch people with my story.

Negative Nancy..

Do you ever have those moments when you realize you've been super negative about everything?? Well, I'm having one of those moments. It's also one of those "Negative Nancy" kind of things... actually a friend of mine from high school used to call me "Negative Neifert" (Neifert is my maiden name). Probably one of the worst nicknames I've ever been given.

I've been complaining today because Jordan has to take a class for his work and it'll be in the same town that he works in, which is 30 miles away from our house. The class goes from 6:30-9pm every Tuesday night. It just stinks all around. The place is inconvenient, the time is inconvenient, the fact it's 12 weeks long is inconvenient, etc... As I sat around feeling sorry for myself and the fact that he'll be gone yet ANOTHER night of the week I remembered two friends of mine. Both of these ladies are pregnant and married to military men... and both of their husbands are deployed and will be missing the birth of their children. How can I sit here and feel sorry for myself when they won't even be able to see their children be born?!

Then a friend of mine posted a FB status about her husband having to work late again tonight. She really encouraged me when she said, "I know when I complain it makes him feel bad! I know he doesn't want to be away from us, so I try hard to be understanding." I have failed miserably when it comes to complaining to Jordan about his responsibilities outside our family. I know my husband is a homebody, he LOVES being home with our family and playing with our kids and spending time with me. So WHY do I make him feel bad about having to be away from us, when there is nothing he can do about it?!

During these next 12 weeks I'm going to try and have a positive attitude about the whole situation and not complain. Anyone have a word of encouragement or advice to get me through?? :)

-K.

Mr. Jayden "Bubba"

My first born turned two years old on Saturday... it's unbelievable! When we first brought Jayden home from the hospital I cried for the first 3 days straight. I never realized how selfish I was until I had to share every area of my life with this new little baby who needed me to do everything for him. It didn't take long for me to adjust to my new role. I thought I knew everything about parenting until Jayden turned one.

Everything changes the day your baby has their first birthday. No more bottles, no more formula, no more baby food, no more pacifiers, etc. It's a big deal. My whole world fell apart.... okay maybe it wasn't that bad, but it did change a lot. But of course, I adjusted to that as well.

Then I gave birth to Gabriella and Jayden became a big brother at 14 months old. He is such a great big brother. It didn't happen the moment I brought her home from the hospital, but he has become a very sweet big brother .

Now as we enter the "terrific two's" my parenting skills are being put to the test again. I spend the majority of my days teaching Jayden how to share, not to throw tantrums, be obedient, use manners, eat nicely, clean up after yourself, help with chores, no hitting or throwing, etc. It's a lot of work right now, but I know it will be worth very soon!

Jayden can now count from 1-10 in English and Spanish, draw circles, say 2-3 word sentences, help me unload the dishwasher, put his dirty dishes in the sink, help me do laundry, clean up his toys, eat his meals without assistance, drink from a regular cup, etc. I'm so proud of him. today we were eating lunch and he said, "My heumse (I have no clue what that word was) toe hurts." A COMPLETE SENTENCE!! I had to call Jordan when Jayden repeated the sentence! I couldn't believe it!

There are plenty of days when I want to pull my hair out and cry because I'm so overwhelmed and I feel like I'm failing as a parent. But then there are other days where I sit down and Jayden cuddles up on my lap and kiss my arm as we read a book together and it it makes everything worth it.

I believe Jayden is called to be a worshipper of God. (Yes, all of us are called to this, but I believe he is anointed to do it!) Before Jayden was born I knew he was going to be gifted in music. He's had a love for music since he was 6 months old. As Jayden gets older we are able to see his talents come out. He loves playing the drums, just like his daddy, he can beat box (which I'm not sure if that's normal for a 2 year old..), he loves to dance and sing, for his birthday my mom brought him a ukulele from Hawaii and he just sits down and strums on that thing forever!

His birthday party was a lot of fun. We had it at our house and we had 43 people!! It was slightly chaotic, but fun! We set up a canopy in the backyard and some tables and chairs. I made lots of sugar cookies for the kids to decorate. I baked a carrot cake with yellow cream cheese frosting. I also baked two round chocolate cakes which Jordan stacked on top of each other and covered them with a blue buttercream frosting. Jayden was so blessed! He got lots of cute new clothes, puzzles, a guitar, sand for the sand box and lots of sand toys, golf clubs, hot wheels, his first remote control car, books, etc. Since we had church the next day and then my Uncle's annual BBQ Jayden didn't get to play with his toys until Monday morning. So we've spent all day playing with toys!!

My favorite thing about Jayden's party was being surprised by our best friend Brendan and his new wife and my Grandma! Growing up I saw my grandma almost everyday and 2 years ago she moved to Wyoming, so I don't get to see her nearly as much as I'd like. Brendan moved to California earlier this year and completely surprised us by just showing up at our house Saturday with his beautiful new wife, Brenda! I could have cried I was so happy!

My Grandma Jean

Opening presents

Decorating cookies

Playing with the new sand toys

My uncle Mike, My oldest brother and My dad

Nerd Alert!!!!!!

In my previous blog I wrote about Her Mother's Hope. I just finished it this morning! It didn't have the ending I was expecting, but it still leaves me anxious to get my hands on the sequel.. which doesn't come out until September, but I am second on the list at the library to get it! :)

This Summer I ventured over to the library in our town for the first time to take the kids to Story Time. I really enjoyed getting out of the house and doing something fun with them that's focused for their age. The library is really fun for kids. They have an entire area dedicated to them with toys, movies, books and games. Our library isn't super big, but it's new! I honestly haven't been in a library in a very long time... besides the CFNI library, which I only went a couple times and it wasn't to read books (it was for other school projects which we ended up going to Panera Bread to finish).

Anyways, I think the library is probably one of the greatest places. A. It's free. Except for late fees, you don't have to pay for anything! You can check out DVDs, audio books, regular books, etc. and you don't have to pay a dime. It doesn't cost anything to get a library card, it's all free! (even story times). B. You get DVDs for a week and books for 3 weeks. The library isn't Blockbuster, but they have a wide variety of movies. Even though our library is small, if they don't have the book you want, they borrow it from another library.

I really appreciate the library and the fact that it has so much to offer. I will be taking full advantage of it from now on. :)

What are some of your favorite books??? I may add them to my reading list...