KCura Christmas

December 14th, Adam's Christmas Party... some fancy art gallery downtown!

This year the KCura event had to switch venues since the company outgrew the beloved Scoozi's.  

I forget the name of this place, but it was really nice.  

All you can drink and all you can eat.

I was upset there was no photo booth this year, but then pleasantly surprised when I found photo people with a green screen and PROPS.  Props totally make a picture!!! Everyone seemed to love it because they printed out the picture right there on the spot.  SCORE!

Merry Christmas!! 

27 Lives

twas' 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38

when 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven's gate.

their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air.

they could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.

they were filled wit

h such joy, they didn't know what to say.

they remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.

"where are we?" asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.

"this is heaven." declared a small boy. "we're spending Christmas at God's house."

when what to their wondering eyes did appear,

but Jesus, their savior, the children gathered near.

He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.

then He opened His arms and He called them by name.

and in that moment was joy, that only heaven can bring

those children all flew into the arms of their King

and as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,

one small girl turned and looked at Jesus' face.

and as if He could read all the questions she had

He gently whispered to her, "I'll take care of mom and dad."

then He looked down on earth, the world far below

He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe

then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand,

"Let My power and presence re-enter this land!"

"may this country be delivered from the hands of fools"

"I'm taking back my nation. I'm taking back my schools!"

then He and the children stood up without a sound.

"come now my children, let me show you around."

excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran.

all displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.

and i heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,

"in the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT."

Written by Cameo Smith, Mt. Wolf, PA

Two of the sweetest things I have seen on the internet paying tribute to the 27 lives lost last Friday.  I am sickened and saddened and lost about it.  

FPU GRADUATES

Adam and I took a 9 week course called Financial Peace University taught by Dave Ramsey.  Dave is a big name in the financial world and he helps a lot of people understand money in a simple way.  

"Taking control of your money is only 20 percent head knowledge, the other 80 percent is behavior." 

-D. Ramsey

I already had a book of his, and they were offering this class through our church.  We went to the orientation and ended up signing up for it.  It was a 100 dollars a person or per couple and now that we have paid we may return any time.  He teaches his Baby Steps thru biblical principles.  FACT:  Money is spoken about in the Bible more than any other subject.  

It was a really eye opening class, and we are trying to change our behavior towards the money we spend.  

His 7 Baby Steps are:

1. Save 1000 dollars in beginner emergency fund.

2. Pay off all debt using the debt snowball technique

3. Put 3-6 months of expenses in savings

4. Invest 15% of your household income.

5.  Save for your children's college

6. Pay off house early

7. Build wealth and give.

We are currently working on Baby Step #2, we have built ourselves a budget and are trying our best to stick with it.  We are using his "envelope system," for groceries.  We have placed 300 dollars cash in an envelope to buy groceries for 1 month, when that money is gone, you eat whatever is in the pantry to make it thru.  It teaches you to "feel" the money disappear.  When you use credit, you just pay for it later, and it's easy to over buy.  

It has been quite the adjustment because our debit cards have been in over drive and our checking just dwindles down so fast.  BUT all our credit card statements are starting to lead to zero balances!!!

In the end, we are very glad that we took the class, and would suggest it to anyone.  Whether you have financial problems or not, it's great information coming from guy who is passionate about helping people. 

If you live like no one else, later you can live and give like no one else!!!! 

  

Save Me San Fran

Alcatraz

I tagged along for the second time on one of Adam's business trips to San Francisco.  We flew in 2 days before he had to be there and got to spend time with Gabe and Jennah.  Once we arrived we met up with them and went for some clam chowder in sourdough bowls at Pier 39 and then headed straight to Muir Woods.

Last time in San Fran, we got to Muir Woods late after indulging in Napa for too long, and couldn't see a thing, it was so dark.  This time it was all fog like and rainy, but totally cool.  Those trees are huge.

I am so glad we made the return trip.

Day 2, we spent in Napa Valley.  We visited 4 winerys, and had a fabulous time.  This time we shared tastings which made the trip much more tolerable.  Funny, that I actually want to see the difference in wines and how they taste rather than just drink to get buzzed.  We actually had a game plan... eat breakfast, and share tastings.  It works.

Our favorite was Mumm's... where they served champagne   We liked it because where we were standing was the view from our table.  Glorious.

Wine tastings was followed by a late lunch at Mustards.

erica n' jennah

Monday and Tuesday, Jennah and I hung out during the days, we visited the Walt Disney Museum and paid homage to the guy who brought us together.  They were having a special exhibit on Snow White as well, so we paid extra and learned a bunch about the making of Walt's first animated feature film.  Amazing.

Made a stop at Ghiradelli... in which I was very excited they changed the G into green and red bulbs for Christmas.

We stopped at Buena Vista, known for their Irish Coffee.  I wasn't sure if I would like it... but who knew, I do!

We dined on ciopinno at night with the boys.  Adam and I talk about our first ciopinno experience fondly and couldn't wait to have more.  (As you can tell by our faces below.)

We skipped out on our last visit eating at Mama's since we were there on the weekend and the line can wrap around the entire building.  This time J and I went on Tuesday morning and still stood in line.  We waited for about 45 minutes to finally place our orders.  Which wasn't so bad.  With coaching from Dave back at home, I ordered the french toast sampler and was not disappointed!!!  It was awesome!

I also dragged Jennah across the city to see this staircase, made completely by hand out of mosaic pieces.  I read somewhere that it was a "San Francisco treasure" that most do not see.  And since I didn't want to repeat all the sight seeing from last time it was somewhere I wanted to go.  My favorite part was seeing another part of SF and walking thru the neighborhoods to get to the stairs... they were so darn cute.

Afterwards, we went to the SF Science Museum, where we saw baby ostriches, reindeer, an albino alligator, got to pet starfish, and sea urchins and also got to go in a room that simulates an earthquake.

We had another great SF experience... and I managed another almost 200 pictures...
Until next time San Francisco... until next time....

Thanksgiving 2012

I am still stuffed from Thanksgiving this year.  Adam's family was in town and of course we fried the turkey.  I'm telling you, you will never miss the good ole' fashion way after you eat it this way.  Pictured above, is Adam preparing the bird.

Thanksgiving revolved around Kaiis this year.  He came to visit from Colorado, and all of us took turns entertaining him and trying to play with him, especially when he wasn't crying.  He's quite attached to Brenden, and Brenden had to be in the room in order for him to be happy.  We nicknamed him Cry-is whenever he cried.

Peek A Boo!

In addition to Thanksgiving we also went bowling in which I beat the entire family once again with a score of 123.  Yes, that's correct... I beat them all.

We took Kai to the park, but it was just way too cold.

We went to a Chicago Wolves game, as well as a trip to Gene and Judes to follow.

It took 16 tries, and we still couldn't get everyone to look at the camera.

This is the best we could do!  

Happy Thanksgiving!!!