It is Christmas Eve afternoon

and the snow is falling like powdered sugar here in St. Louis.  The fluffy little ‘Dark-eyed Juncos’ flock the ground leaving tiny footprints in the new-fallen snow.  While the vast majority of people are putting the finishing touches on gifts and food in anticipation of family celebrations tonight and tomorrow, Terry and I are enjoying the quiet calm and relaxation that comes with no additional people or responsibilities in the next two days - other than the anticipated Christmas Eve service!  It’s rather reminiscent of those ‘blizzard days’ in Iowa when everyone stays at home relishing a ‘forced holiday.’ 

Following a short trip to his office to make sure all the finishing touches are completed on his Christmas Eve message, Terry has a jigsaw puzzle started and is outside scooping the fluffy snow off the driveway.  After taking the ‘thankful-to-have-you-as-neighbors’ treats to houses around us, I am leisurely wrapping presents to be given next week.  Food is stocked and Christmas music quietly plays in the background. (Obviously, I don’t work in retail in which case I might be ready to scream hearing one more rendition of “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas!”) 

What strikes me is the time that we have had for our minds to linger on that night (whatever time of year it was) two thousand years ago when a young and ‘inexperienced’ (if you know what I mean) woman gave birth in a stable to the King-of-the-Universe and Savior-of-All-Who-Believe. 

Terry and I have had several conversations about all the ramifications this one event had on the lives of people, both at that time in history as well as all throughout the rest of time and eternity!  As I mull this over, I am struck by my tendency toward ‘busy-ness,’ when I realize that having the time to really ponder this is such a rarity!!  Thank You, Lord, for this moment of ‘slow-motion’ and help me to slow down much more often!

 

Don’t get me wrong, our lingering thoughts might be interrupted by sadness if we didn’t have the anticipation of celebrating with our family next week!!  And, so, the inevitable hustle and bustle of packing and traveling will come.  But today, I’m so thankful for this time to ponder, resulting in grateful worship of this amazingly generous and merciful God!   

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Karol

Midday, just today . . .

 we walked into a restaurant (I know, we do that far too often) just ahead of an ‘upper-middle-aged woman’ and one appearing to be a generation older who was leaning on her friend for support.  They were both ‘dressed to the nines,’ to use an old cliché – fur coats, large glitzy broaches, sparkly dangling earrings, hose and heels (and I am assuming there were equally dazzling outfits beneath the coats!).  The older woman’s hair was teased and bleached in a style befitting her age while the younger one’s was in hair-sprayed looping curls just a shade less ‘done’ than her friend's.

When we got to the restaurant door, Terry held the door for me to walk in ahead of him.  He waited holding the door for the following ladies while I walked to the next door (of the airlock entrance) and held it for them as well.  This was not something that took any thought on either Terry’s or my part.  It’s just a natural, second-nature thing to do.  The younger of the women said, “Why, thank you so much!!  That is so amazingly kind of you both to do for us!  Really, you must go on ahead of us . . . ”

I was somewhat stunned!  Really?!!  Is this such an uncommon thing?  It was no big deal!   I said, “No, please, we’re in no hurry . . .” and she gushed at our kindness.  I know that kindness is not this uncommon, but one never knows when you will be conveying it to someone who is unaccustomed to it!!  By the way . . . the restaurant was . . . Wendy’s!!!  

Today is Monday.  The dryer is running.  The exercise bike has been ridden (I wish I could say that with enthusiasm, but I can’t!).  The Bible has been read.  The prayers have been offered up.  The leaves cling colorfully on the trees in my yard.  The surfaces of my kitchen still wait for the accumulated clutter of the weekend to be cleaned up – put away.  The week begins; anticipating many interactions and conversations outside my home in the days to come.  But, now, on this Monday, I bask in the silence.  I eagerly anticipate the mundane house chores to be done and errands to be run.  I wouldn’t want every day to be like today – this Monday.  But today, it is a pleasure.

Next time,

Karol

I have been avoiding my blog site

I must confess that I have been avoiding my blog site this past week.  Not because there is nothing on my mind, but rather because I have been so aware of all the ‘bad stuff’ going on in this world and I didn’t want to write a sad or negative blog!!

On a personal level, several friends are dealing with cancer, or dealing with extreme marriage issues, or battling depression, loss of jobs, or incomes below poverty level.  Apart from God’s direct intervention, any one of these people could be feeling utter hopelessness!!  And that doesn’t even address the national and international crises that are prevalent today.

Last week, I was sitting in the Louisville airport waiting for Jamie to pick me up.  I had a book on my lap, although I was staring off into space.  Suddenly, I was aware – in my peripheral vision - of a child laughing and running in a circle around a woman who appeared to be his grandmother.  My attention was drawn to his mom saying good-bye to his dad.  It seemed that Mom, Grandma, Grandpa, and the little boy were taking a trip.

The little boy was running and laughing and, suddenly, I became aware.  His left leg was a flesh colored prosthetic with a brand-new tennis shoe on the foot and his right leg was one of those ‘titanium, bionic looking legs’ with a matching shoe.  He seemed oblivious.  And then, I noticed, as he grabbed his grandma’s shoulder bag and wound it around her, he had no hands!!  Just rounded stumps above the wrists!  Again, he was delightedly oblivious.  What a picture of things far surpassing a little boy with no hands and feet!! 

Are we able to delight in the joys of God in the midst of dark circumstances?  Are we able to say, “This is my life and I know ‘My Redeemer Lives!'?”  Are we able to rejoice that we have new strength (legs) which enables us to run as we were never able to before?  Can we get to the point beyond the response of, “Oh, that’s so easy for you to say!!”  That place where, like Joni Erickson Tada, we see that, apart from this circumstance, we would not comprehend the all-sufficient grace and power in our lives of the One who makes all things new?  Oh, I know, I’m wading in deep, deep waters right now.  Waters that are as far away as the Indian Ocean is from our mid-American homes to those who have only ‘inch-deep’ interest or even no interest in the amazing and personal God of the universe. 

I don’t pretend to have a strong grasp on this ‘place beyond.’  But I am seeing it . . . perhaps most vividly in the lives of those friends I mentioned earlier!  As Sam Storms writes in his chapter of the edited book of essays called,  For the Fame of God’s Name, “We are talking here about a deep, (not superficial or merely surface), durable (it sustains you in the worst of times, no less than in the best of times) delight (not merely duty or following God out of a sense of moral obligation) in the splendor of God (not in the stuff or goodies or achievements that occupy so many today) that utterly ruins you for anything else.” (p. 60)

And, so, this is the preoccupation of my mind these days!!

Next time,

Karol

I’m off to Lydia’s

Well, since the other two grandkids have just had their pictures posted, I can’t ignore grandchild #2!!  Lydia is nearly four months old already!!  AND I am on my way there tomorrow to spend a couple of days with her (oh, yes, and her mommy and daddy!!)  This will be the end of the Southwest Airline 39^th Anniversary Sale trips that I secured last summer!!  Cheaper than driving!!

Anyway, Lydia and I will do some cooking for the freezer interspersed with rocking and smiling and reading and eating and cooing and sleeping!!  More FUN!  I'm not sure I can take it!!

I certainly can’t wait until I can get all three ‘grandkins’ together for a picture.  Rest assured that, when it happens, it will be posted as well!!

Hope your Thanksgiving Month is started off with many thanks!!!

Next time,

Karol

It was only three days!

I just have to post the first pic of our beautiful new granddaughter (and Isaac's sister) Sophia Elizabeth, born Monday, October 25, at 10:58 a.m. weighing 7 lb. 14 oz. and measuring 20 ½ inches long! 

“Children are a blessing from the Lord” and grandchildren are a double blessing!!  (I know, that second part is not Scripture – just totally experiential!!)

Next time,

Karol

PS:  It's 51 degrees today!  Can we make it three more days without turning on the heat??  Well, at least Sophia is here!  We'll see . . .

What a delight it was last week . . .

 to visit Timothy, Sarah, and Isaac in Omaha!  Sadly, ‘fun’ is probably not a daily word in my life, but, boy, was it fun to play with, read to, tuck in, and watch Grandson Isaac and to see him interact with Mallah the neighbor cat! 

Isaac is approaching three and is amazingly imaginative.  (I know . . . this is a grandmother speaking!!)  This isn’t particularly surprising since both his mom and dad are improvisational actors!  The refrigerator is a ‘robot’ which he sits atop when his dad puts him there!  Not only is this cute to see, but it is quite impressive that the back of his pants are not black with that greasy dust that would certainly be the case if he were to sit  atop MY robot-refrigerator!  Sometimes he is ‘Curious George’ and his dad is ‘the man with the lellow hat.’   He bowls with golf balls, mimes a mean fastball, dances as a penguin would, and loves playing ‘hide and seek’ especially as a ferocious unknown animal! 

By the end of the next 10 days a new little sister will be arriving at Isaac’s house!  While I am convinced that this will be an incredible blessing to our whole family, I am even more convinced that this will be a wonderful, life-changing, and developmental essential in Isaac’s life!

Next time,

Karol

My living room is littered with Scentsy orders!

 

 I must say that I love Scentsy warmers and scents.  When I get a box (or three) with all the things that I’ve ordered for customers, I get so excited to see what everyone likes!!  ‘Paws’ for pet-lovers, ‘Yukon’ for outdoorsy types, ‘Nature Haven’ for bird-lovers, ‘Angora’ for the elegant, ‘Tribeca’ for the contemporary, ‘Twinkle’ for babies . . . and it goes on and on!   

Anyway, I am obligated to open each warmer to make sure that the beloved UPS man didn’t get too rambunctious and break any of them!!  (I had that happen once, so now I check!)  And then there is the sniffing!  I have smelled all 80 plus scents over and over, but when the order comes, I still find myself sniffing!!  “Oh, ‘she’ ordered Mochadoodle!!  I remember her saying how much she likes flavored coffee!”  “Mmm . . . just like laundry dried in the sunshine!”  “Ooo, Christmas is coming!!”  It’s just amazing how scents can conjure up past memories!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Scentsy (Yes, even though I love them, I think it is a corny name!) the best description I’ve heard yet is, “The scent of a candle; the safety of a nightlight.”  It is a ceramic warmer with a low wattage light bulb that warms specially formulated wax at a low enough temperature that won’t burn.  No soot, no evaporation, no burns if one becomes careless.  And best of all, every time I enter my house, I smile.  It smells so good!

So . . . I’ve had friends ask, “Do you make any money selling Scentsy?”  My answer is, “I would, but I tend to give warmers and scents away . . . to my kids, to fellow pastors’ wives (its clergy appreciation month, you know, and I appreciate their wives!), to the church office, to my husband for his office, to my friends, for baby showers . . .”  So, on one hand, I don’t make much money, but on the other I earn enough to give in a way I couldn’t otherwise!  So, YES, I make a bundle!!  J 

Next time,

Karol

PS:  If you want to SEE what I’m talking about go to my website:  karolschoenfeld.scentsy.us

After just arriving home . . .

from two days at a District Conference Pastors’ and Wives’ Retreat in Osage Beach, MO, I will turn around and fly out tomorrow to Omaha to help out with Grandson Isaac and preparations for his soon-expected sister.  Saturday will find me ‘winging’ back to St. Louis to greet friends who will stay until Monday.  Someday when I am old and tottery and unable to travel or do much of anything for others (except pray!), I will think back fondly on this time of life which is bustling with delightful opportunities.  Lord, help me appreciate each moment as it comes.

Next week!

Karol

Here’s what happened with the Neighborhood Brunch.

I bet you thought I forgot to give you the update on that brunch I hosted for our neighborhood women to get to know each other better.  You will recall that I had littered the neighborhood with flyers inviting the women to come and that I was suspecting that no one would (although Anna had said that she would have . . .)

Anyway, I

·        baked two kinds of muffins                    check

·        made apples and dip                                check

·        brewed coffee                                        check

·        had two ‘exotic’ kinds of fruit juice        check

·        got out the ‘good’ dishes                          check  (you guessed it – we don’t have china!)

And, of course, it takes these kinds of endeavors to force me to

·        clean my house                                        check!

The day arrived . . . the appointed hour (10:00 a.m.) came . . . and no one rang the doorbell!  You know, I wasn’t even disappointed!  I had said, “God, I think I need to do this, but YOU will have to bring the women!  And if You don’t, then OK, at least I tried.” 

I must confess to the world (or to the three people who might read this J) that I felt a stab of relief when no one came!  But . . . at 10:20, I was sitting in the living room watching and waiting and I saw Mary Ann, a neighbor in her eighties who lives across the street and down one house, gingerly walk across the street and ring our doorbell.  As I opened the door, she handed me a Lubeley’s Bakery Box which contained St. Louis’ famed Gooey Butter Cake and said, “Am I too late for the party?”  I said, “Not at all!  You ARE the party!!”

I think she felt a little sorry for me that she was the only one there, but I assured her that I would love to visit with her, as we really didn’t know each other.  She is a widow – we met her husband, Dan, just months before he died two years ago – and we talked about Dan and her daughters and her autistic granddaughter and about how the neighborhood used to be.  Then it was time for her to go.   

Was it a waste of time?  I don’t think so!  Now, I know Mary Ann.

Next time,

Karol 

Football Is In The Air!

I know that we are a little behind those of you farther north, so you’re probably thinking, “Duh!”  But this is the first week that the weather has made me think, “We need to go to a football game!!”  Yes, I look back fondly on those years of watching our own sons play football!  Even if they didn’t win, there was a wonderful camaraderie among parents and friends in the stands.  The band played, the team roared onto the field, the smells of popcorn filled the air, and a large portion of the community turned out for the entertainment of the week!!

So, that being said, we are going to our first high school football game since our move ‘south!’  We will watch Daniel and Thomas – two seniors from our church who play for the Kirkwood Pioneers – as they challenge . . . oh . . . some other team!!  We have the luxury of choosing to go on a beautiful fall evening to watch as they play their second game in their newly renovated stadium.  (And we have the luxury of not even caring who they play!)

Please understand that I have not forgotten all those icy-cold nights of sitting in sleeping bags to keep our toes from becoming frost-bitten or those torrential downpours when we sat in ponchos under tarps!  But, happily, we are not required to choose to go on those nights anymore.  (Even though, those very experiences helped cement that earlier mentioned camaraderie!!)  No, this Friday we go because it is beautiful football weather!!  Go, Daniel!  Go, Thomas!!  Go, Pioneers!!

Next time,
Karol

Liliana came to the U.S. . . .

from Romania three years ago this November to live with her sister and brother-in-law.  Soon after, these family members decided that she was not doing what they wanted her to do for them so they decided she would have to go back.  Although devastated by their abandonment, she determined that she would not go back!!  Left with little money and speaking little English, she determined to enroll in the local community college while continuing to work the part-time job allotted by her visa.  Her dream: to become a nurse.

Liliana came to our church with neighbors of her family members, our Russian (AND Romanian) speaking pastor and his wife!  Soon after moving in with a co-worker and her adult son, she discovered they were drug users.  Suddenly, the opportunity came for her to move into a church member’s home.  During those first months at church, she listened and learned and finally surrendered her view that there was no God!  She was seeing God work in her circumstances, through other people, and she finally came to the realization that He WAS real and that He had died for her sins and He truly DID care for her! 

God blessed her with additional hours at her community college job, gave her strength to endure a painful back injury and the opportunity to receive medical treatment.  For two years she often walked two miles to catch a bus to take her across town to her college – summer and winter!  She has since moved to another home nearer her college and worked hard to get her driver’s license.  She has faithfully paid back every dime of a loan she needed to purchase a car.  Liliana has continued taking pre-requisites for nursing – things like this semester’s Biomedical Ethics and Biology of Health & Disease.  (I can’t imagine taking them even in my first language!!)

And now, we rejoice with Liliana as she has recently been accepted and will begin Nursing School in the spring!!  Liliana, you are my hero!  Your perseverance is breathtaking!  We rejoice with you in what God has given you the strength to accomplish!!  (Have I mentioned that Liliana is in her forties with a 20 year old son back in Romania??)  Keep on keeping on, Girl!!

Next time,

Karol

I’m back again . . .

after several delightful days with our sweet and happy granddaughter, Lydia!

Isn't it amazing how tiny children change from one moment to the next!!

The last time we saw Lydia – at six weeks old in August – she was just beginning to learn to smile.  This time, only four weeks later, she is smiling and ‘talking’ (the correct baby-term would be cooing, but I’m sure she is perfectly aware of what she’s saying!) and is quite amazingly happy! 

What makes her so happy??  Is it the security that she will be fed?  Is it having lots of ‘snuggle’ time?  Is it just her personality?  I don’t really know, but it is great fun to watch and imagine as her little personality develops.  Anna and I wondered together at what she would become . . . what she would like and dislike.  Will she hate the feel of velvet – like her mommy?  Will she love clean and comforting scents like citrus and cinnamon rolls like her grandma?  Will she know all the names of birds like her daddy?  Will she have a passion to play golf like her grandpa?  Nah . . . ! 

Anyway, only time will tell and we will enjoy the adventure of watching her come to be the Lydia that God has made her to be!!

Next time,

Karol

My husband loves to golf . . .

To most of you who know us, this is not a sudden revelation!!  But I’m not sure that many people really get what golf does for him.  While he often plays for enjoyment with others, he is one of those guys who really doesn’t mind playing alone.  It seems to have a variety of benefits depending on his mindset of the moment.  Like . . .

1.   Stress relief . . . when he is frustrated with things at work (or rarely with things at home J) he seems to be able to gain a fresh perspective as he ‘talks to himself’ (or more likely God) on the course.  (I guess the mental health benefits outweigh the appearance of ‘crazy’ as he seems to be talking to himself!)

2.   Clarification . . . when he has a particularly sticky text for Sunday he often works it through as he ‘chips and putts’ in the great outdoors.
3.  Mini-vacation . . . as it seem to 'take him out' of his daily responsibilities and 'into a world-away' for just a few hours.

3.   Pure delight in God’s creation . . . he has actually been heard saying, “It was like being in a Disney cartoon today!  It was so beautiful . . . I was expecting Bambi and Thumper to come bounding out . . .”   

4.   Exercise . . . although I must say that is more in the past than the present as the golf cart is often required at courses here in the city!!!

5.   The Challenge . . . as he plays in his own private tournament (it might be the Masters or the US Open) doing the color commentary and play by play in his head.  (Yes, he might be embarrassed that I told on him . . . but he doesn’t read this so . . .)

At any rate, when anyone insinuates that playing golf is a waste of time (Yes, even you, John Piper!) I am thinking in my head, “No, you just don’t get it.  It keeps my husband sane and he somehow connects with God 'out there' . . . and I’ll encourage that any day!!”

Next time,

Karol

PS:  I really did ask him if it was OK to give away his secret in # 5!  I think he's fairly confident that not many will read this!! J

How Do You Get To Know Your Neighbors?

Have you noticed what a challenge it is to get to know your neighbors? It is SO easy for me to live my own life, do my own thing, and completely ignore those who live just feet (yes, in our little neighborhood it is just feet) from me in my own neighborhood.

So . . . I decided to do something about it!  I made flyers and left them in twenty doors inviting women to a Neighborhood Brunch at my house this coming Saturday morning!  I didn’t even ask for RSVP’s because I didn’t want to know ahead of time if no one is coming!!!  I will face it when it comes!!  (I don’t always deal very well with rejection!  J)  I did meet a couple of women on the street and handed them the invitation and explained that it was just to visit and get to know who our neighbors are . . .  Their reactions seemed somewhat stunned and non-committal and I must confess that I have thought to myself, “I don’t know if I would go if I was invited by a stranger!!”  (My daughter says she would!) 

So . . . we’ll see!  By the way, my husband says he’s proud of me for trying.  I think I’ve told you before that he is a good guy.

I will report back!

Karol

I have this friend . . .

Perhaps you were thinking, like my good friend Lois, "Where has she gone?  I thought she intended to write this blog-thing every day!!"  In fact, this is what my good friend wrote to me via email:

"So, it's like this - I have a good friend who started this fun blog.  I read each thoughtful and entertaining entry with great interest.  Then, for some unknown reason, the entries stopped.  I guess there must not be anything happening in the life of this friend.  And hopefully, "no" news is not "bad" news.  It can't be that she is too busy since all she has to do is be there for her husband, her children, her church, her customers, her friends, etc, etc, etc.  Well, maybe she is having writer's block and can't come up with a topic.  Yes, that must be it.  So, how about thoughts on golf, old (in length of time) friends, old (in age) friends, fall, football, someone who inspires you, someone you have watched grow in their faith, working in the nursery, meeting new friends, or preparing for a Bible study.  There probably are one or two other things but I seem to have developed a writer's block . . ."

Isn't she cute!!  THANK YOU, Lois, for your encouragement!!  I must confess that as I missed one day (funeral of a young mom at church) and then two (keeping kids for a family whose dad is ill) and three (prep for numerous teaching ops coming up) that I was thinking, "Who in the world really has any interest in reading your wandering thoughts anyway!!" 

Well, the rest of you have Lois to blame for the continuation of this writing experiement!!  And doesn't she have some great ideas to write about?!  In her honor I shout, "GO, STATE!"  (That's Iowa State for those of you who are wondering!) and look forward to posting new 'insights' - maybe not every day but more often - beginning today!!

Later,
Karol 

Just Do It!

I know that the following statements will seem to be 'sweeping' stereotypes, but it is something that I have observed in several years of working with women . . . 

Many young women today did not get to grow up watching their moms do what my mom and the generations before her did without thinking.  Things like cooking meals from scratch (no frozen meals or eating out), 'keeping' house, reaching out to friends and neighbors in times of need or just for friendship, sewing clothing or curtains, showing hospitality, growing food and canning/freezing, and raising the kids by example along the way!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that we should all be doing all of those things!!  (I don't really like to grow food - but I do know how and I can can freeze and can should I ever need to!!)  But what I notice is, that when these young women get married and begin having families, they suddenly want to know how to do some of these kinds of things.  So the point of my bringing this up is . . .

'Sisters-in-Experience,' look for someone younger who wants to have an older encouraging friend!!  NOT so that you can tell her all the ways she's failing, or so that she can sit silently by listening to all your amazing wisdom, but so that you can interact.  She will ask you questions and, amazingly, you will learn from her, too.  So in the words of the 'ga-zillion-aire' sports company . . .

Just Do It!
Karol

On Monday!

Mondays used to be our Saturday - back when we lived in the small town.  Terry is almost always in his office, meeting with people and later working in the quiet on Saturdays and, then, of course, Sunday is busy, busy, busy for the Pastor and his wife!  So . . . for twenty-five years, Monday was the 'day off' - a day away when the phone was not answered (unless there was an emergency message left) and attention was turned to the kids - or in later years to golf (for Terry) and maybe even getting out of town. 

Now, since moving to the city, that day has changed to Friday.  Mondays are too 'office intense' at this church.  Terry really likes this arrangement as he works hard to have the sermon ready by Thursday and he can look forward to Friday all week.  I, on the other hand, still have occasional longings for that day of rest together.  It doesn't make sense, as we do get that day together later in the week.  I guess it is just the habit of twenty-five years dying hard.

This Monday involved checking on our health insurance (that's a long - and boring - story), updating Scentsy paperwork (my wickless candle business), unpacking and cleaning up after the weekend away at Camp Cornerstone (the annual camp/seminar/fellowship weekend for Cornerstone Church), having a friend drop in, and re-assessing the week and month to come as September brings new ministry responsibilities.

Hope you had a hopeful Monday - beginning a week of new possibilities.

Next time,
Karol

The Basement Artwork . . .

Last week when there were eleven of us cozying into this house (kids, grandkids, granddog . . .), I came up with the brilliant (?!) idea to do a painting in which all of us would put one footprint on a colorfully painted 12" x 72" canvas (or three 12 x 24 which is all I could find)  that would hang from the rafters in our basement, camouflaging the water pipes which hang below the rafters.  Starting with the oldest - guys on the right, corresponding gals half a step forward on the left - and ending with tiny baby Lydia (Sorry, Rufus, we were leaving room for later additions . . .) we each squished our feet in the paint and stepped!  Done in vivid colors of lime green, hot pink, electric blue . . . it became a very striking and funky painting.  Now that it is 'installed' (I believe that is the term one uses when placing high end art in one's home!), I am thinking that, while it disguises the offending pipes, it directs attention to the rest of the open rafters in which miles of electrical, cable, and phone wire resides!!  Oh, well . . . the painting makes me smile and my mind wanders to who has the smallest feet, who has the largest feet, how soon will the 'little feet' outgrow this moment in time, and what a fun week we had . . .

Hope you have a wonderful weekend.  I'll be back on Monday!!
Karol

We have this basement

When we moved from a small town to a city 2 1/2 years ago, we had to downsize (even though we upsized the mortgage!).  We went from four bedrooms, three baths, a livingroom, a walk-out basement familyroom with 9' ceilings, and a MBR walk-in closet (one of the things I miss the most!!) to a three bedroom, two bath, a livingroom, and an unfinished 1960 basement with 7 1/2' ceilings, (and we won't even discuss closet space)!!  Don't get me wrong, we still live in a wonderful house and there are, after all, just two of us most of the time. 

I say all of this to help you understand the discussions between my husband and myself these past two years:

Him - "We don't even need to use that space (except for storage) . . . the ceilings are too low, it is too dark, and their are only 2 electical plugs and 4 bare bulbs for lighting!!"  (But, yes, we do have to go down there to do laundry!)

Me - "But couldn't we just add some electrical plugs, upgrade the lights, shore up and put safety rails on the rickety stairs, put in 'real' ceilings, add some inexpensive carpeting, finish off a bedroom and a family room, and maybe add a bathroom??"

Him - "We'd never get our money back out of that!!  Our house has already depreciated with the economic nose dive!"

Me - "But when the kids come, there's not room for all of them upstairs!"

Him - "How often do the kids all come at one time??!!"

Well, this summer THE KIDS CAME . . . FOR A WEEK!  Thankfully, we had 6 months advance notice AND I had some new, powerful persuasion . . . "We don't want our 2 1/2 year old grandson to be scared to go down there or to fall off the side of the stairs!  AND someone is going to have to stay down there for a whole week!"

What resulted was marital compromise (take note young couples!).  Yes, the stairs, the electrical plugs & lighting, and inexpensive carpeting were addressed.  A bedroom was partitioned off with bookcases and a cozy-enough family room was arranged.  The hold-outs are the ceiling and the bathroom!  BUT I can live with that . . . for now!

More about the family art project for the basement tomorrow . . . but the moral of the story is . . . patience and compromise!!  He really is a good man!!

Talk more later,
Karol

About refinancing

Yesterday, I mentioned that I recently refinanced our house.  As most of you are aware, the mortgage interest rates are at an all-time low (in my lifetime and, no, I'm not going to say how long that is . . . but it's 'PLENTY' to quote my friend, Madelene).  Anyway, I thought, "We just bought our house 2 1/2 years ago, so refinancing will probably not pay for us . . ." 

But at the urging of a friend, I called a reputable mortgage provider and spoke with a really nice person who answered all my questions and assured me that, YES, it would be a very wise thing to do.  She made it painless and the end result is: 

1.  Our percentage rate will be just shy of 2% lower
2.  Our required payment will be $200 per month lower
3.  OR we can choose to pay exactly what we pay now and pay our house off 10 years earlier and save $70,000 in interest!!
4.  Our original mortgage was 'sold off' to a company that was next to impossible to contact so an unexpected bonus is getting to have a new company that has been a dream to work with!!

We will choose to do #3 since we had such a late start on paying for this house and we are afraid we might not live long enough to get it paid off the other way!!  I'm sure our children would rather inherit a 'paid-off' house!!  (Your welcome, children!)

To sum it up, I am quite happy that I searched out the option - because I LOVE saving money!!  If it is feasible for you, I highly recommend it!!

Talk again soon,
Karol

Because I am who I am . . .

I am always looking for ways to save money, decorate on a budget, enjoy life and my family, and make a meaningful contribution to my little world and beyond!  So, that is why I decided to begin blogging! 

Actually, my oldest son suggested that I take up blogging!  (I hope that you understand that, when your son thinks you might have something of value to say, you sit up and take notice!!!)

So . . . it's like this . . .

I have three amazing and hilarious children - all married to equally amazing and hilarious 'children-in-love.'  (AND if you don't believe me, you need to go to 88improv.com where proof can be found for four of them who perform regularly as 88improv!!)

I have an amazing (yes, the repetition is intentional!) and longsuffering husband, who generously lets me stay home and think of new ways to save money, decorate on a budget, enjoy life and my family, and make a meaningful contribution to my little world and beyond!  How do I do that?  Below is the list of this week's attempts.  I will expand upon them in further blogs.

1.  Refinance our home
2.  Create an art project with our kids for our basement
3.  Renegotiate our phone, cable, and internet bills
4.  Host all the kids for a week-long vacation where we live (in St. Louis - 5 to 8 hours away from them)
5.  Meet with younger women to encourage them in their marriages and spiritual life
6.  Provide opportunities for others to beautify their homes (and their homes' aromas!) through Scentsy

. . . And it's only Tuesday!!  (Actually . . . the vacation with the kids ended Sunday!)

We'll discuss more tomorrow!!  See you then!!!!
Karol