Waiting to See What God Does Next

God has really been providing for Steve and this month. Every time I turn around there is some kind of sign that He is still there. Not that I thought He went anywhere, but sometimes it's nice to be reminded.
This weekend was one of those times. I was working through our budget for the month of June when I realized that we made $650 more from Sears together than we budget to come from Sears. Sears was good to us this month. Most of it came from Steve though. He had some good weeks in the Appliance Department this month. On a side note, thank you Tabby for recommending that your parents buy their washer and dryer from Steve. You are an amazing friend. You rock!!!

Anyway, back to the topic of God being awesome. My Ford's power locks went out a few weeks ago and I was prevented from even opening the back doors. I brought it into the shop on Friday night. They said they had to replace a part on the rear passenger door and that would fix the problem. There original price quote was $675 , but the final price was only $516. That's still alot but I liked the second number better than the first. So with my check from Sears and birthday money, I was able to pay for the car without going into our Emergency Fund or Savings. That felt pretty good.

Unfortunetly, the story is not over. I picked up the car on Saturday afternoon and when i got home I realized that the power locks only work for the back passenger side door. They only fixed part of the problem. I brought the car back to the shop this morning so they could finish the job. I got a call not to long ago telling me that it could cost over $1000 more to fix the other 3 doors, so i will have to live with no power locks for a little while. At least I can get in the back seat now.
We still haven't got our Stimulus Check but that money is already earmarked for paying off debt.

College Personal Finance 101

Are you a Doll Collector?

I have some precious procelian dolls for sale. They each are 18 inches tall and gorgeous. All proceeds from the sale will be donated to the YWCA of St. Joseph County in South Bend.

The pictures don't do justice to just how beautiful these dolls are.



Please send me an offer to me via email @ Bethelgal42@yahoo.com or BPitney@ywcasjc.org.

This Video Makes Me Sad and Angry.

Memorial Day

Hi.

I know it's been awhile since I've posted anything. It's been a busy week or so. Memorial Day weekend Steve and I helped some friends move. Along with getting to hang out with their two adorable children and them sharing their toys with me, their youngest decided to share her cold with me too. I ran around after her most of the day with a kleenex wiping her face off. I came home from their new house on Saturday with a stuffy nose and a minor cold. Fun times for me.

Memorial was a paid Holiday for both me and Steve so it was nice to have the day off. We spent the afternoon at his brother's in Bourbon, Indiana. Then we ran home to clean up our apartment and get it all straightened up for a cookout we were having in the evening.

The evening cookout was great. We had about 10 people hanging around our smal apartment. It was great. It didnt feel cramped at all, probably we were surrounded by good friends. Steve and I were talking later and thought it was funny that almost half our Bridal party was over for Memorial day.

After the Memorial day fun was over, I realized my thought hurt ALOT. I could barely swallow. I took Tuesday off work hoping it was just a cold and would go away but I was still sick Tuesday night. So i stayed home again Wednesday and went to the doctor. The doctor told me i might have Strep Throat so I'm on Anti-biotics now.

I was really sad because I had to miss the Oasis Graduation. In 8 years, I have never missed a Graduation.
I am feeling better today but I still am not sleeping very well.

Today's Thoughts

2 Thessalonians 3

6 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow.

13 And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.

16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.

The Coolest Gift Ever!

I received the coolest gift I have ever received last week. My Aunt sent me the Harlow Family Bible. She said that on her first wedding Anniversary, her father (my Grandfather) gave it to her. She said it is to be given to the first daughter on her first Anniversary. She said since she doesn't think she will ever have kids, she decided to give it me as the oldest Granddaughter to get married. That would be me.

Not to mention that it looks old and antique, it has the geneology of my family back to the 1800's. My dad said it was probably given to my Grandfather because his 2 sisters died, otherwise one of them would have it and be passing it through there family.

In the front of the Bible is a signature from 1888. It says "To My Dear Mother. From Lizzie 1888."

If I wasn't afraid that the cover would fall off, I would start doing my devotions with this Bible.

The geneology tracks my dad's side of the family. Since I don't know really know my dad's side of the family that well, now I feel like I have some kind of connection to them. My Aunt wrote our names in it so when we have kids we will have to add them to the geneology page and then pass it on some day to them.

My Dad's New Toy

My dad turned 50 in April and decided it was time to go out an buy a Mustang. Steve and I bought his truck from him, so now Steve has his truck that he has always wanted.

My dad needed to use the truck a few weekends ago to bring my sister home from College, so he traded us the Mustang. We went on some special errands that weekend. I think Steve was taking the the long way to everything so he could drive it longer. Steve was having a blast driving the Mustang around town.

It was a pretty sweet car.

My Family Tree - Harlow Side

Here is the other side of my family. This is my dad's side. My family is pretty small but I like it. I don't know this side of the family as well as the other side. The entire Couture side of the family gets together at Christmas and Thanksgiving every year at the Grandma C's house. I haven't seen most of the people on the Harlow side in about 10-15 years.

My entire family on both sides is less than Steve's immediate family so my family grew by alot when I got married.

My Family Tree - Couture Side

Steve and I were talking about family the other day and I thought it would be fun to map out my family tree. This is my family on my Maternal Grandparents side.

There is nothing you can do to make God love you Less

This is a video from last nights Oasis. It is pretty powerful.

Jars Of Clay - Flood (Original Version)

This song brings back some fun memories.

Introducing Isaac Kupfer

I finally have a "Great Cousin." Apparently, he is actually my 1st Cousin-Once Removed but I like "Great Cousin" better.

My cousin Pete and his wife Gina have been married for 3 years and this is their first child. This adorable little child is my first 1st Cousin-Once Removed. :) I can't wait to meet him.

Born: April 22nd, 2006 at 7:55am
8 pounds, 6 ounces

Both mommy and baby are doing great.

FRIENDS by Michael W Smith

My friends are amazing. I hope they know that I love them.
I decided to dedicate this song Ben. I believe is dancing with Jesus right but we are friends forever and nothing...not even death can change that.
We miss you so much.

Spring Cleaning is Fun!

Steve and I started doing some Spring Cleaning last night. His sister, Sarah, is coming into town and she is alergic to everything so Steve thought it would be a good idea to make sure everything is clean. We made a long list of everything that needs to be cleaned and straightened and then what we wanted to do first.

First, we went out to dinner to Texas Roadhouse. I love that resturant and I didnt really want to have to wash more dishes. We still had some resturant money in our budget for this paycheck so it was ok.
Then we came home and started cleaning. It was just a nice day outside. Hopefully soon we will be able to start riding our bikes to places. We want to start riding our bikes to work once it gets nice. That will help us get in shape and save money on gas. Seems like a win-win situation to me.

The apartment looks pretty nice now. We didnt get alot done but we got some. I worked on our bedroom and tried to get all our laundry washed and put away. Steve worked on the loving room straightening everything and dusting. We went shopping the other day and Steve got a Swifter duster and I think he found his new favorite toy. He was going all over the apartment dusting everything, sometimes more than once.

5 (ish) Things All Kids Should Know

"What are five things I want my kids to know before they grow up?"

A few people in my circle of influence have started a "tag game", I guess. They answering the above question. My pal Corey Mann put his in songs, which doesn't surprise me since he loves music so much. I thought it would be fun to answer the question with my own songs. Even though I don't have kids, I am thinking back on all the things I have learned in my years of middle school ministry. I realized the other day that I have been doing ministry long enough that I have former 6th graders in their 2nd year of college. Yikes. I sometimes think back and wonder if I made any kind of difference in their lives. I hope so.

I thought of more than just 5, but oh well. It's my blog I get to make the rules, right? :0)

1. Wait For Me by Rebecca St. James
2. Someone Like You by Jamie Slocum
3. We by Joy Williams
4. Mirror by Barlowgirl
5. American Dream by Casting Crowns
7. The Last to Be Chosen by Ray Boltz
8. Small Enough by Nichole Nordeman
9. Bless the Broken Road by Rascall Flatts
10. I'm With You By Avril Lavigne
11. If We are the Body By Casting Crowns
12. Tommorrow by Annie
13. Revolutionary Love by David Crowder Band
14. Her by Everyday Sunday
15. Sometimes He Calms the Storm by Scott Krippayne

Most importantly every child needs to know they matter to God and that they matter to you!

Happy Birthday Steve!!!

Today we celebrate the life of a great guy. He is my best friend and I love him more than words can say.

For his birthday last night we tried the resturant Rib Shack in Granger. Neither one of us had ever eaten there before. Damian, the Bones, and some other friends met us there. It was a good time.

It is suppossed to be a nice day today, so we are going to have a cookout with some other friends for dinner tonight.

Happy Birthday, my love!!!

My Dad is 50 Today!

Happy 50th Birthday Dad!

Hope you have a good one.

April 15th = Evil

Does anyone else hate taxes?

Steve and I brought our tax information to his dad this week and finished our taxes. We get a refund from the but we owe money to Federal. This annoys me to no-end. I don't think I would mind it so much if I thought my taxes we being spent responsively, but when my tax money is being wasted it does not make me happy. Maybe the next President will be more fiscally responsible. One can hope, right?

His dad did our taxes both filling as single and as married and we actually owed more as single, so good thing we got married. Just kidding...We didn't get married for the tax benefit.

I am looking forward to getting the Economic Stimilus check this summer. I thought it was going to be like a loan on text years taxes, but his dad said it's tax-free income. So yeah!!!

We plan to use to pay off one of his credit cards, so then we will only have one credit card left. Our Debt Snowball will really start rolling then. :0)

Weekend

This weekend was a good weekend. Steve and I both worked Saturday until 4. After work, we ate dinner at TGI Fridays, then rented some movies, and had desert at Cold Stone Creamery. It kinda reminded me of the night we got engaged. That night we ate at Fridays then Cold Stone. We rented Mr. Magorium Wonderful Emporium and No Reservations. Both movies, I thought, we very good. Mr. Magorium was a fun kids movie. No Reservation was a pretty typical Click Flick but i was a fun date night movie.

On Sunday after church, Steve cut his hair then we went to work. We were pretty busy at work. It was VIP Friends and Family Night. Everything was an extra 10% off including sale and clearance items. I like saving people money and getting lots of commission of those sales is a good thing too. Steve said he was busy in Appliances too.

I was sick yesterday and stayed home from work. I dont usually like to admit when I'm sick but I felt pretty awful. After work, my sister invited us to go with some other friends to see Alvin and the Chipmunks at the Dollar Theater. It was a fun movie. I never really watched to cartoons as a kid so it was fun to see the movie as an adult.