Well, we got our tax refunds, and we've been having some fun. I will say that over half of it, well pretty much most of it, went to pay off bills. And we are blessed by that. With the way the year ended and the fact that we took a pay cut, we had to use our credit card again, and get a small loan for the moving, we had some bills that needed to be paid off. I am blessed to say, those have been paid off. And we were blessed that all of Paul's medical bills were paid off last year. So though we didn't get to play much with our money this year, I am blessed that we have gotten rid of a lot of debt. But we did have enough to get some 'toys'.
One thing I ordered yesterday, but it won't be in until next week. I got Paint Shop Pro V9. I am quite excited about it. I've heard real good things about it, and the things you can do with photos, graphics and such. It will be fun. I mainly use the laptop and I wasn't looking forward to doing extensive photo editing with the little mouse pad thing on my laptop, so I got to get a new mouse for the laptop.
It's a simple, basic one, but it's nice to have. It's optic, so I can just use it on my couch. Plus, I like the fact that I can still use my laptop mouse pad too.
But one of the biggest toys we got was our cell phones!!! I am so excited. We got to pick them up yesterday and I had them activated yesterday too. I had a couple of issues with mine, but they have been worked out and they work great. We are so blessed to have them. Here they are, our toys.
And because they look exactly alike I put some stickers on the back of mine.
I don't know if you can read it but it says Jo, and it has a picture of a ball of yarn. That way if we put them next to each other by mistake, we can easily find out which one it is. They are nice phones, and we are blessed by them, but I was being selfish right before we bought them. I started getting selfish and prideful when I realized we really were getting phones, and all I wanted was the more expensive flip phones. It felt like more of a 'status' phone for me. I didn't want people to think we really couldn't afford 'normal' phones and/or plans. I went back and forth and finally realized that I was being selfish and prideful. Thankfully Paul was solid through it, and knew we should get the cheaper, non flip-phones. So instead of feeling blessed that we could even get the phones at all, I was feeling selfish wanting more. So sad. But the Lord helped me through it, and I'm back to feeling blessed, which we truly are. When we gave up cell phone a couple of months ago I never really thought we would get them again, ever. So I am blessed. We had fun today playing with them today and text messaging a little (we've never text messaged before). We won't be doing that all the time, but it was fun at the beginning. It felt good to have it when I ran to the store today. So, thank You Lord again for blessing us with cell phones.
Well, that's about it. We are having a fun, lazy day. So I'm off to enjoy it more. I hope you have a great day.
Just found your blog today. we have been going through similar financial problems since Dec. My husband took a huge paycut, the only blessing is is that he earns commissons on what he sells on top of a salary. Scary place to be in though. One verse that helped me a couple of Wed ago is in Malachi. Malachi 3:10. " Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this, Says the Lord of Host, If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour our for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to recieve it." I don't know if you tithe or not, but it is a hard thing to do when you don't have money. We tithe and God has always seen us through and I know he will again. Enjoy your tax refund and wait and see what else the Lord will do for you.
Yippee, you have phones!!! And I am so excited that you got PSP. Now you can get to work and think about how you can teach me and my mom how to use it. (hee, hee,hee) Although I only have version 7, I think. Maybe 8.
Jenn
I'm so glad you were able to get some toys. It makes having to save and being frugal more bearable. As for the phone not being a flip phone, I wouldn't worry about it. Now days, it seems like phones come in so many shapes and sizes, I don't think most people notice, but I can understand your feelings. I'm glad you were able to work though it. Please keep in mind, even the really wealthy can be frugal at times. My SIL's parents are multi millionaires. They have a beautiful home in Naples, Florida and can really spend the money at times, like spending $40,000 to decorate their home, but I also know SIL's mom goes to the Goodwill sometimes to buy her clothes. Who would have guessed???
I am glad that you got them! Cell phones have become big necessities in communication and so many people are giving up their home phones. I'm on the "fence" about this myself.
Blessings, Mama Karen
I'm so happy you got your cell phones, and glad to hear it yours is working also.
You are very wise. I like what you said about being selfish and prideful.
(((hugs)))
Katia
I'm really glad you were able to pay the debt first, and then buy toys. That is great! And it is nice to be able to buy toys every so often. It seems like a new toy every so often makes it easier for me to stick to a tight budget when we have to. So have fun!
This blog is so I can share my journey with the Lord, my journey as a wife and mother, and my journey as a homeschool mom. I pray that you will see the Lord in my life through happy and sad times, and that this blog glorifies the Lord.
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I am so excited. We got to pick them up yesterday and I had them activated yesterday too. I had a couple of issues with mine, but they have been worked out and they work great. We are so blessed to have them. Here they are, our toys.
I started getting selfish and prideful when I realized we really were getting phones, and all I wanted was the more expensive flip phones. It felt like more of a 'status' phone for me. I didn't want people to think we really couldn't afford 'normal' phones and/or plans. I went back and forth and finally realized that I was being selfish and prideful. Thankfully Paul was solid through it, and knew we should get the cheaper, non flip-phones. So instead of feeling blessed that we could even get the phones at all, I was feeling selfish wanting more. 
