Transplanted in Texas

Debt. It's a cloud many carry, and most couldn't care about. It comes in the form of credit card debt, student loans, mortgages, financed vehicles and equipment, and ranch loans. Then there's medical bills/debt, a totally different story, but the way to conquer them is the same way you conquer all other debt - aggressively. "For the rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender." Proverbs 22:7. We have had a loan over our heads for over two years now. My then-fiance, now-husband, got a cattle loan in January 2016 so he could provide a home for his future family. At the time, he was making very little, and our only hope was to pay off the interest every year, with perhaps some extra to put on the principle, and re-sign. With help from my family, we landed with our feet on the ground but little thought given to the prospect of actually paying off the debt. In June of 2016, he got his first real job, and suddenly we had an enormous inco...

Well, Monday marks two years of marriage for me and D. In that time, we've gotten a colt, gelded the colt, gotten a son, written a book, installed electricity and water in our home (yay!), installed a wood stove, installed a washing machine and dryer, repaired said dryer twice, had several work days, sold a horse, gone through three phones and one laptop between the two of us (and my third phone is suffering... oops), met Dustin Ellermann, gotten two dogs, gone through several cats (but managed to keep one), and gotten two more siblings between the two of us - via marriage and also birth. Our first niece or nephew is due early May. Through it all, we've stuck by each other and look forward to many more years together. We will be out of debt and have at least three months of expenses in an emergency fund by our third anniversary. So here's a selection of pictures from the last two years. This weekend, we're going away. Just for two days and one nig...

Sunday, we were lazy early and busy late, shopping and moving hay and working on leather. Monday, the power was out because a big truck had wiped out some power lines a quarter mile up the road. So, we had to take a long route to get to my mother-in-law's and enjoy some time there in electricity while she got to see her grandson. I also used the internet there to post the video of week one of Dingus - which took all day. YouTube is frustrating at times. So to recap - Monday I was avoiding semis on a one-and-three-quarter-lane road, navigating around dogs, and all in all not being 100% sound behind the wheel. I was really off for some reason. BUT! We got the signed transfer from Sneaky's breeder in the mail, so that's awesome! Tuesday, we took Dingus to the vet. We had loaded him up Monday night with water and hay, and then I took the hay and water out just before we took off. He won't step on concrete, we found out, but besides that he did pretty well when we dr...

Well. It's Friday again. And that means it's time for another blog post. This week, we got to experience life with a wood stove in our house for the very first time. Over the weekend, the installing process was finally finished (thank you, Daddy and D!), and it made its debut on Sunday evening. And I like it. We will be getting a screen   to put around it so Yance doesn't burn himself on it, but other than that we're done. And he's been good about avoiding it. My family had a wood stove for the last several years of my life with them, so I am used to life with them. And I prefer them over other methods of heating because they're generally cheaper. And besides, there's nothing like the sight of a warm fire on a cold day. The horses have a suitable winter coat, and I chopped off our stallion's tail because it was basically a log of hair. It looks funny now being really short, but it's a lot cleaner! Just so you know, it's a bad idea ...

In two days, my beloved and I are going to celebrate our first wedding anniversary. It’s been a busy, eventful year. The adventure began two years ago, when we both were hauled to a “mini-shindig”, put on by homeschooling families to let like-minded people meet and enjoy each others’ company. Neither of us were looking for prospective spouses. But by the grace of God, and some meddling by D’s father, we met and hit it off so well that it wasn’t long before we were in a budding friendship. Unfortunately, neither of us had bothered to ask for contact info before parting ways, so I was certain we’d never meet again, or at least it would be a very long time before we saw each other. That deflated the moment. But, a couple weeks later, he, his sister, and his father came out for a party I was throwing. At the “mini-shindig”, he had been the first person to get me to actually enjoy dancing, and at this party he showed me the ropes of volleyball - and was the first person to get me to d...

Present collection! Dryer (and me) Cake (no, we didn't eat all that in one sitting) So... For my birthday, I baked a cake, got a pie, and also some other things. My parents in law brought me a Breyer model horse set - the Classic size Black Caviar & Foal. Tana sent me some baby clothes (a onesie and footed pants to match), and my sweet hubby got me movies and ammo for my rifle. It was great. Dryer - in place and ready to go! We ate pizza for supper and drank A&W root beer, before cake and ice cream. And we watched the new Mechanic movie, too. Washing machine Last weekend, D got the dryer installed, and his future brother-in-law wired everything in for it to work. And then on Monday, D got the rest of the necessary pieces to make sure it and the washing machine ran without problems (one of those things being a dryer hose-vent without holes everywhere in it). Then the washing machine was hooked up, and tada! we have a working washing machine AND a work...

Well, I had my 36 week appointment yesterday. Apparently I need to do a better job stretching (surprise, surprise), and drinking water (again, surprise....), but other than that everything is fine. I got my blood drawn for the third and final time this pregnancy, which went well - after I went and got some food and water. It was 9:30 in the morning and I hadn't eaten breakfast yet or remembered to get a drink. Whoops. My husband had to take me back to the birth center about 11:30 to get the blood drawing done. Fortunately we had planned other stuff in town anyway so we could go get food and such before going back. I'm glad he puts up with me NOT doing stuff.... Let's see... The bathroom is well covered in drywall mud, and Dad plans to come back next weekend (not tomorrow) to prime it so we can shower. We've been able to take baths, but not showers. At the moment we are just grateful to have running water to the bathtub after a year of owning the house! ...