The Smiling Stewarts

Summer was CRAZY

2009-12-20T15:08:00.000-08:00

So MANY family members came to my house this summer! While I enjoyed it, I was too stressed to take pictures :)--however, there were definitely lots of pictures taken that I need to get my hands on (Katie!)

Shine!

2009-09-17T08:23:00.000-07:00

After watching Little Bill do a concert, the girls wanted to do the same!

WE'RE DEBT FREE!!!!

2009-06-02T05:47:00.000-07:00

I am so excited! The only debt we have is our mortage! It has taken us about 3 years to pay off about $50,000. That number just makes me sick to see it...but it is gone! I always thought we were doing okay with finances through out our marriage.

It wasn't liked we lived on credit cards--but we did use them occasionally. I always justified that our income wasn't quite enough & the little we put on the credit card was just until our income went up. Our first year of marriage I think our income for that year was only like $12,000....so surely $3-4,000 in credit card debt would be easy to pay off when that income went up (meaning when we were done with school)......then we played the "shifting" of our debts to make us think we'd paid them off.....so we decided to get out a student loan to pay for our credit card debt---better interest rate & tax deductable.......what a way to make a debt last longer in reality!

So as you see, we didn't really make good financial decisions along the way. I think I vowed to be credit card debt free several times---& we have been credit card debt free a few times in the last 11 years.....the only difference was that our student loans just kept increasing.....& somehow, we still used credit cards & racked up more credit card debt.

I remember getting so frustrated because we wouldn't use our credit card for 8 or 9 months, & then we'd somehow justify using them & before you know it in just 2-3 months time we were yet again in about $5,000 worth of debt. (It's amazing how much money you can spend when it is on a credit card!)

So 3 years ago practically to the date, we hadn't used our credit cards for almost a year, we had got our credit card debt down to just 1 card around $5,000......when we decided with company coming to visit we "needed" a trampoline, a futon couch, & food, so we justified using our credit card for those purchases & then the card was in my wallet & before you know it I had decorated our bathroom, bought new bedding for Andy & me (& I have to say I do love it....even though I shouldn't have bought it!)....not to mention whatever else I bought & used my credit card because I didn't want to worry about balancing my checkbook or overdrafting my checking account......

3 months later I was sick with guilt & frustrated with my weaknesses for using credit cards....not only did we have the 1 credit card with about $5,000 on it.....we managed to take a card that had a zero balance & charge $6-7,000. Sickening, huh?

& that's when I had my "Ah-ha" moment. For several years at church we have been taught not to go into debt & to live with in our means....but I only followed that council "most" of the time.....

I realized, I don't watch rated R movies because of our churches council, & I have no problems with that. I have no problems with keeping the word of wisdom & staying away from alcohol, tobacco, coffee, tea......I have no problems with keeping the sabath day holy.....I have no problems with paying my tithes.....& then it hit me, my struggle was credit cards. We all have our weaknesses & it doesn't matter which one it is, they are weaknesses & we're supposed to learn to overcome them.....so I vowed from then on to be done, finished, with using credit cards.

I knew I needed God's help to overcome this struggle. I prayed every day for a few months to keep me strong from using credit cards. I fasted at least once a month sometimes twice a month to overcome this weakness. Andy & I attended the temple once a month for a few months as well. It was so hard....but luckily Andy's job paid adequately to provide our needs & even some of our wants. We were doing okay. I remember making my 1 year mark with out using credit cards! My confidence grew that we could do this!

Then, Andy had the opportunity to take a new job that would result in less pay but the potential for more pay, not to mention that he would be home pretty much every night & myself & the kids really hated the travel associated with his job in Arizona.....so we made the decision to move to Indiana.

This last year in Indiana has proved most difficult in our quest to not use our credit cards. Andy's income was enough for the essentials, but nothing more. My kids didn't play sports for a year. They no longer took piano lessons. We did not eat out at all (okay so maybe taco bell every other month...but really I cooked every day)....it was so hard to not go out & buy things that I realized are not essential....but seem so.

I didn't buy my kids new school clothes. Christmas was really hard. I usually keep a "gift" closet up so I don't have to always go buy presents....& that is what my kids got for Christmas....we spent practically nothing on Chrismas....I think I spent $100 (which for a family with 4 kids....not much & the items that I spent the money on were new shoes....it wasn't like I was out spending $25/kid at toys R us for a new toy)....Andy & I went without gifts (although thanks to all my friends that got me a little something--it was definitely appreciated).

I also am thankful because someone from my church gave us snowboots & snowsuits for all of my kids! It was something I had wanted to buy, but just was not in the budget.

I had also started listening to Dave Ramsey! I highly recommend his radio show, tv show & his books....check out his website www.daveramsey.com He is the one who really motivated us to become DEBT FREE!

I had already vowed not to use credit cards, but because of his "baby-steps" for financial success, we had set aside $1,000 for an emergency fund (which we had to use some of it for car repairs--to prevent us from having to use credit cards). I also really stepped up selling Pampered Chef. We were on our way. It's amazing how much easier it is to get out of debt when you aren't continuing going into debt.

When we got our tax return this year, I used all of it to pay off debt.....we did not buy those things we were going with out, like a light for our kitchen (we continued to use the light from the microwave & the light just above te sink--but no overhead light), matt's for our doors--we have to sweep constantly with the amount of dirt that gets brought in, we didn't re-do the floors in our dining room (which I have to tell you are disgusting--whoever puts carpet in a dining room with kids is crazy....I can't wait to have the money to put wood laminite flooring in the dining room)....

By doing this, we were able to use the "snowball" method which Dave Ramsey teachings & were able to continue paying off our debts. We also decided to take out our annuity to pay off the student loan debts & in doing so we are now DEBT FREE! & we haven't used credit cards in almost 3 years.

Now our goal is to continue on with Dave Ramsey's baby steps & set aside a 6-month emergency savings account. Which isn't as much as is sounds because we only need enough for mortage, utilities & food! Since we no longer have debtors!

So there you have it. We are debt free! I'm just excited & I'd love to help anyone who wants to do a jouney that is not easy but is smart. Most people are worried with the economy these days & how nice it feels to know that we do not have debtors.

Dave Ramsey always says, "Live like no one else, so that later you can live like no one else!" I'm excited to be one step closer to living like no one else as the reward. We certainly have not been living like most people lately.....which has been difficult.....Dave Ramsey's way is not the get rich quick program...it is one of hard work & putting aside wants....or acting like an adult & not a child.......It took me what like over 10 years to realized just because I want it, doesn't mean I get it....especially if we do not have the money to buy it.

I just wanted to share my story for those who might be in the position I was in 3 years ago, sick of using credit cards & sick of just continuing on as society lives telling us we can have it just by using our credit cards. If you want a way out from the stress of drowning with credit cards--let me know & I'd be more than willing to lend my support when things are tough--when you don't get to buy something that might seem like a need but because you don't have the cash for it, you don't get it! I'd love to help anyone along the way so that they could shout, "I'M DEBT FREE!"

Pinewood Derby

2009-05-05T08:17:00.000-07:00

We love Pinewood Derby at our House. Andy & Marc have a lot of fun designing & making thier car. David has had to watch 2 years in a row now...but next year, he'll get to do one too! He can't wait!!! There was a new track & everything was done electronically....Marc got 9th out of 12 over all (so you see their is much to improve upon!)....they keep learning.

Alena has glasses!!!! & hair cut

2009-05-05T08:09:00.000-07:00

Alena had an eye appointment & sure enough she needs glasses....she's so excited to be like her cousin Samantha! We bought the smallest glasses at Sam's Club, but as you can see, she'll need to grow into them :)

Our new dog Sugar!

2009-05-05T07:52:00.001-07:00

We have a dog! Her name is Sugar & she's a miniature Schnauzer (sp??)... The kids absolutely adore her! Andy & I put up with her since her previous owner never potty trained her, she frequently has accidents around the house. Okay, so Andy & I love her too! Her name has created a few problems for some of Kerra's friends though......

Her friend Hallie was with her mom when some lady said something like, "Hi Sugar!"....Hallie's response was....I'm not a dog.

Kerra's friend Jaxton was making cookies with his mom, when she said we'll add some sugar now...& Jaxton gave her the most perplexted look....then his mom showed him the bag of sugar & said, "This is sugar." Jaxton replied, "No!"

We've really enjoyed Sugar!

Alena & Kerra

2009-05-05T07:49:00.001-07:00

Alena & Kerra are becoming the best of friends! Every few days they beg for me to take their picture together! I don't always do it, but here's some of the ones I've taken. Aren't they so sweet!

Easter Sunday Best

2009-05-05T07:44:00.001-07:00

Marc

Alena

Kerra

David

Easter Egg Hunt!

2009-05-05T07:30:00.000-07:00

Easter Morning, we always do an Easter Egg Hunt. Finally all the kids can do their own hunting w/o much help from mom & dad!

Half-Marathon in Valparaiso!

2009-05-05T07:02:00.000-07:00

Race Day was the day before Easter. My family came to support me!!! I was so looking forward to seeing them around mile marker 9 & 10--it really gave me something to look forward to!!! So Thank You Andy, Marc, David, Alena & Kerra!!!

I survived the race with out stopping or walking! Of course this is a pre-picture....I didn't look so alive when I was finished. I averaged a 11:45 minute mile!!!

Fire Station

2009-05-05T06:51:00.000-07:00

For Alena's pre-school group, we went to the Fire Station! Alena & her friend Hallie talked the ears off the fireman--telling him all about fire safety they learned in pre-school 2 days before! They even demonstrated "Stop, Drop & Roll!"

Something FREE

2009-03-16T11:17:00.000-07:00

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me!
My choice. For YOU!

I saw this on Wendy's blog and decided it would be fun to do this too!

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It'll be done before the end of the year. Hopefully sooner than later.
4. You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be sewn, painted, written, scrapbooky, or be something totally random that I come up with on a whim. I may even bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. Let's spread some love!

So, the first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they are doing it too win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me!

(I know...that could either be cool or scary) Who knows! :)

Be sure to post pictures of what you won when you recieve it! :)

You better hurry! (Well not really...not that many people read my blog...haha)

I know, I know, I know, I know...

2009-02-19T11:12:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's been so longs since I posted anything. Our camera wasn't actually broken--just dead batteries--however, to our disclaimer we tried new batters first & it still didn't work--but they were just crappy batteries. So, we were able to still capture pictures of our holidy memories! Check out all my postings from today--there were a ton! Enjoy--& don't expect anything for a while :) :) :) :)

Pre-School Fun

2009-02-19T11:03:00.000-08:00

All year, Alena has been part of a co-op preschool with some friends her age. Today I taught the letter V & we made frozen errupting volcano treats!! Found recipe online at http://gourmetmomonthego.blogspot.com The kids had a blast!

Kerra loves it when I teach because she gets to go to pre-school too! On the other pre-school days, Kerra has special mommy time & we go to the local library and do story time! She has a blast there, not just because of mommy time, but also her friends Hallie & Jaxton usually show up too!

Happy Birthday Marc!

2009-02-19T10:56:00.000-08:00

Marc is 9!!! I can't believe it!!! Just the other day I told my mom that in 10 years he'll go on his mission...in 7 years he'll be able to drive a car...in 5 years he'll be able to go to church dances...in 3 years he'll be a deacon--crazy--& help pass the sacrament on Sundays...

Time is going way too fast!

Marc had a Rock & Roll birthday party in February. They played songs on the piano & a few friends played songs on a guitar! It was a really fun day + Marc made out with presents!!!

Notice the colors he picked...black, white & PINK!

Still My Baby!

2009-02-19T10:54:00.001-08:00

Kerra is still my baby! She fell asleep while I held her on my lap! That is one of her special blankies & that is her special kitty.

Here comes Santa Clause!!!

2009-02-19T10:47:00.001-08:00

Santa brought fishing poles to my kids this year so that way when it warms up, we can go to the pond and catch fish!!!

Choo Choo!

2009-02-19T10:36:00.000-08:00

Christmas Trains! We've done this activity a few times over the last few years! It's great to have holiday traditions.

Oh Christmas Tree!

2009-02-19T10:27:00.001-08:00

Every Christmas, we take pictures in front of the Christmas Tree! With out fail, every year, at least 1 of my kids does not want to do this....

But we prevailed. This Christmas we did it "Dave Ramsey" style...nobody got anything new...

Kerra wore her dress from last year, Alena managed to get some cute hand-me over clothes from a friend, and they both wore hair bows from last year. Marc and David just wore dress shirts they already had....but it worked!

We made it through a 2nd Christmas on CASH!!!

The Girls!

2009-02-19T10:25:00.000-08:00

The Boys!

2009-02-19T10:19:00.000-08:00

Snow at Last!!!

2009-02-19T10:06:00.001-08:00

After moving from Arizona, the kids were excited to play outside in the snow & build their first snowman this winter season! They then begged for snowsuits & snow boots to play outside in the snow at school & at home....Thankfully, a friend brought some to us!!!

Now, however, since it is February, & it has snowed A LOT, the kids are saying, "not again" as it snows...& they wish they could go back to Arizona.

The fun in the snow was short lived--only the first 2-3 snows they enjoyed...but since it took about a month to melt, they quickly grew tired.

More Halloween Fun!

2009-02-19T09:56:00.000-08:00

Every year for the past few years, we always eat "Monster Brains" for Halloween! They are so delicious.

Pumpkin Carving

2009-02-19T09:43:00.000-08:00

Every Fall, we carve pumpkins! The kids absolutely love Halloween & fall!

David had a blast with his Monster Pumpkin.

Whoahh!!! Marc has a huge pumkin!

Alena's pumpkin was too big to hold for her picture!

Broken Camera

2008-10-19T20:47:00.000-07:00

So, I think our camera is broken :( We even went to the zoo all dressed in our costumes & I didn't get 1 picture. I'm so bummed. Hopefully we can fix it or it might be a while until I can post new pictures.

YAHTZEE!

2008-10-05T15:38:00.000-07:00

Andy & I decided to play Yahtzee while the kids were watching tv...but Kerra came and wanted to play with us. She would pick up the dice & we'd say, "Roll it." Then she would put them all on the ground, and pick up just one and start rolling it in her hands...we quickly learned we had to say, "drop them or throw them" for her to actually "roll" them...She got 2 yahtzees & a large straight!

It's About Time for Halloween!

2008-10-05T13:24:00.000-07:00

Every year, we go to Target & buy Halloween shirts for the kids! We have a lot of fun doing this tradition, and we've done it for several years now. We also buy those mini-soda cans that we save for a treat after we're done carving our pumpkins. We haven't made it to a pumpkin patch yet, but we will soon...so keep posted.

My Boys!

2008-10-05T13:22:00.001-07:00

David picked out a bat shirt! He is studying bats at school.

Marc picked out a skeleton shirt. He wants to be a skeleton for Halloween!

My Girls!

2008-10-05T13:17:00.001-07:00

Kerra picked out a Halloween Kitty shirt!

Alena picked out a heart candy corn shirt!

Go Colts

2008-10-05T13:14:00.000-07:00

Kerra likes to watch the Colts just like mommy & daddy, with her legs propped up!

I'm A Genius!

2008-09-30T14:20:00.000-07:00

So last night we had our neighbors over & had ice cream sundaes...needless to say our ice cream was gone--but we still had plenty of hot fudge, caramel & whipped cream. So my genius idea of dessert was hot chocolate sundaes! My kids had a lot of fun drinking hot chocolate with whipped cream, hot fudge, caramel & chocolate sauce drizzled on top! Am I a genius or what?

Our House

2008-09-09T14:30:00.000-07:00

This is our humble abode! Our front yard & back yard above.
The girls room in pink and the boys room in sports.

Pampered Chef

2008-09-09T14:11:00.000-07:00

I'm (Marcianne Stewart) a Pampered Chef Consultant. View my website online at www.pamperedchef.biz/tsmarci

Anyone interested in ordering, having a cooking show or a catalog show, or becoming a consultant like me go to my website and email me.

1st Day of School!

2008-09-09T14:05:00.000-07:00

Marc & David are back at school! Yay for Mom! Here are the boys on their way to the bus stop. Mom is excited because she can see the bus stop from her front porch. See the stop sign behind them....that's their bus stop. Marc is in 3rd grade and David is in 2nd.

David turned 7!

2008-09-09T14:01:00.001-07:00

David had a batman birthday party! We had brownies & ice cream instead of cake & ice cream because David does not like frosting & mom really likes to decorate "cakes" for birthdays.

Happy Birthday Alena and Kerra

2008-09-09T13:55:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Kerra's 2nd Birthday and Alena's 4th Birthday at Chuck E Cheese.

Summer Vacation

2008-08-09T10:12:00.000-07:00

So our Summer was crazy! We visited Washington State & went camping for 4th of July! We also went to Utah. We were gone for over 1 month. To check out pictures go to Katie Johnsons, Russell & Wendy's, Merrill & Maria's blogs & Jenelle Johnson's facebook page.
I promise to take pictures of our new house soon & post them on my blog.

Happy 2nd Birthday Kerra :)

2008-07-13T16:39:00.000-07:00

Red Robin's Birthday Song!

Too Much Going On

2008-07-11T10:26:00.000-07:00

So I keep getting badgered about not posting anything else yet--but I've been busy!!!!

Bloom Where You Are Planted

2008-04-24T20:35:00.000-07:00

Kerra Lynae~Adorably Rotten--If she wasn't so stinkin' cute she wouldn't get away with everything she does!!! She loves Dora, swimming, & her family!--not to mention her blankies & pacifier.

Alena Jewel~such a talker! She is so sweet & loves to talk. She loves to pick flowers and already works on scrapbooks with coloring pictures, cutting paper and decorating with stickers and then asks, "Mom, this can go in my scrapbook, right?". She is also a fabulous swimmer!

David John~a sweetheart! While trying to be like his big brother Marc, his own talents come out as a fantastic artist! He also is very empathetic to Mom & Dad and is mostly always willing to help out when we need him. He is a great defender at soccer & he also loves all superheroes--especially drawing them!

Marc Andrew~the oldest & confident! He knows exactly what he likes & doesn't. He is an avid lizard catcher, he loves to play outside with friends, and he is great at soccer--and all sports. He's also coming along as a pianist learning how to play a song from Pirates of the Caribbean. He loves cub scouts--and Mom & Dad do too when he needs to do things like dishes to earn his wolf badge!

Welcome to our blog

2008-04-24T20:29:00.001-07:00

I have finally given into the peer pressure of creating a blog--thanks to Michelle Kaltaler who helped me set this up, Cynthia Timothy who keeps reminding me to do one & everyone else that keeps asking me when are you starting a blog!