Spring has Sprung, kind of

Spring is officially here. However, it doesn't exactly feel like it. The forecast is calling for a bit a snow today, just to remind us that we really have no idea what to expect. For those of you who don't know, we have purchased a house just south of Olathe and we will be closing at the end of April. We are eager, excited, and ready to have a little more space.



I have done pretty well so far keeping up with my reading goal this year. Now the real challenge is to not just read for the sake of reading, but to actually gain something through the process.

As warmer weather draws closer, Stefanie winds down her school year and construction season picks up for me. Stefanie is anxious to get standardized testing out of the way and I am looking forward to getting outside again and blocking traffic.

2011 & Beyond

As I look back on the recent blog posts, it appears that fall was completely skipped in what had become seasonal updates. I had originally intended to post more often than that, but it just hasn't been a priority. A lot has been going on the last few months, but I won't bore you with all of the details. It mostly involved the usual things, family, friends and travel.

Moving on to recent events, I finally found out today that I passed my PE exam. Sometimes I wish that was for physical education, but it is actually for my Professional Engineering License. I had a wonderful wife who supported me during my endless hours of studying that spanned the months of April - October.

Stefanie and I also spent time this fall teaching Financial Peace University at our church. It was beneficial for us to go through the program again and we had a great class join us.


Like you, we don't know what 2011 will bring, but we are ready for the ride. One of the things I want to do is to read more this year. I haven't read much in my adult life, but I think it will be good for me. The nerd in me is even considering purchasing an ereader. I have already started reading one book that I got for Christmas.

Summer Happenings

It seems like once a season is about as frequent as this blog gets updated these days. Stefanie and I have had a busy, but enjoyable summer, so far. At the beginning of the summer we sat down and started talking about all the things we wanted to do. Even though most of the items on the list were only weekend long excursions, dates filled up fast. We started out the summer by heading to Piedras Negras, Mexico with a group from Joplin. This was one of several times for me to go with the church I grew up in. However, this was Stefanie's first trip and we were very excited for her to get to experience it. Vida Nueva (New Life) Ministries is the organization we have always gone down to help. It is amazing to see how this area has changed since the first trip I made in high school. One of the special things about this trip was the decision that Stefanie and I made to sponsor a child so they can attend preschool. The cool thing was that we got to meet Maria, the child we are sponsoring before we left (Thanks for the picture, Bethany). If you are interested in sponsoring a child I would encourage you to get in contact with Lorena (lorenavidanueva AT hotmail.com) and see how you can make a difference in a child's life.

After Mexico, we've spent about every weekend traveling to see our family and friends across the midwest. We've purchased tickets from scalpers, danced in the car, and watched fireworks with captivated preschool boys.

For the most part things have been positive. However, there is always the good that comes with the bad. I lost my last living grandparent in May and Stefanie's dad has been in and out of the hospital a couple of times for surgery to repair some of the ailments that are a result of the cancer that recurred two years ago. He is home now and has started recovering, but we would still solicit your prayers.

In all things, we know that God is good and that we are Safe in His arms.

Bring on Spring

The time is finally here. It is officially spring and this week's forecast looks amazing. The Final Four and Opening Day are near and I am ready to spend some quality time in the great out of doors. This season should bring plenty of grilling, occasional camping, disc golfing, some geocaching, and maybe even a reemergence of the slackline. We will hopefully get a chance to go see some ball games, visit some parks we haven't been to yet, and discover new ways to enjoy this wonderful season. If this is your allergy season, I apologize, but otherwise I hope you find ways to savor and enjoy the next few weeks. So get off the internet and start making plans.

Keep track of your money in 2010

Several popular New Year's Resolutions involve money.  Get out of debt, save more, and give more to charity may be among your desired changes for 2010.  If you don't know where your money went last year, maybe these tips will help.  Being the self-professed nerd that I am, I put together a spreadsheet to keep track of our spending.  We use it to come up with our monthly budget and keep track of how we are doing.  You can download it from the link below if you like.  http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2887593/2010%20budget.xls

Another great tool is mint.com.  Mint (which was recently purchased by the makers of Quicken)can import your bank information using the bank's online banking system and categorize it for you.  This is an easy way to see where your money goes with fancy charts and graphs for you non-spreadsheet people.  We use both to see where our money is going.

If you are completely lost and confused about money, we highly recommend taking a Financial Peace University class.  If you don't think you have the time, much of the same information is covered in Dave Ramsey's book, The Total Money Makeover.

In closing I'll leave you with the baby steps to Financial Peace.

1.  $1,000 Emergency Fund
2.  Get out of debt using the debt snowball
3.  Full Emergency fund (3 to 6 months of expenses)
4.  Invest 15% in retirement
5.  College funds for the kids
6.  Pay off the house early
7.  Build wealth and give

For more information see http://www.daveramsey.com/new/baby-steps/

You can do it.  Have a buddy keep you accountable and make those resolutions last all year.

It's been awhile

August 29, 2009. That's the date of our last post. It seems like we have been going almost non-stop since then. Stefanie has been busy with her new 4th grade class and I've been staying busy at work. In our free time we've been on the road quite a bit. We've been to Rogers, St. Louis and Joplin all in the last several weeks. We've visited family and friends and enjoyed spending time with everyone. We finally had a weekend at home to relax a couple of weeks ago, and I did a pretty good job of making it less fun by being sick all weekend. Now that there is a little bit of a lull before holiday season starts, we hope to do some relaxing again.

Our first offspring

Her name is Bonnie. Bonnie McReynolds. Bonnie McReynolds, the tomato plant. We adopted her from Lowe's at the beginning of summer. She hasn't been overly fruitful in her limited time with us, but that is not completely her fault. She only received partial sun in the mornings and we failed to ever give her any Miracle Grow. We're not sure if being in a pot affected her, but it's possible. We picked her fruit earlier this week, and it will probably end up on a sandwich within the next few days. Maybe next year we will have enough to share.

A Saturday Afternoon Jaunt

When we saw what beautiful weather was forecast for this weekend we decided we had do something outside. We took the opportunity to check out the Kansas City Sculpture Park at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. It is a great place to walk around, especially on such a beautiful day. FYI there are cameras and museum staff watching to make sure people don't touch the shuttlecocks.

Support Free Honduras

I usually try to refrain from political topics here. However, I urge you to do some research into the current situation in Honduras. Check out http://www.supportfreehonduras.com and heritage.org for more information. Below I have copied the letter I sent to my representative in the House. I encourage you to find your Congressmen/women and write them about any issue you are concerned about. You can easily do that at this website. https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

Scott

Mr. Moore, I am writing as a concerned member of the 3rd district of Kansas. Recent events in the Central American country of Honduras have created quite a news frenzy, one I believe is very misleading. Terms like "coup" and "military uprising" completely mischaracterize the situation. The Honduran Constitution clearly outlines a one term limit for the President. The people/government of Honduras were simply acting on their Constitution. There was no "coup" involved. Article 239 — No citizen who has already served as head of the Executive Branch can be President or Vice-President. Whoever violates this law or proposes its reform, as well as those who support such violation directly or indirectly, will immediately cease in their functions and will be unable to hold any public office for a period of 10 years. It would seem obvious what America's response would be. It was not that long ago that a young nation was being formed. The founders of this country envisioned a living document that would preserve the nation well beyond their individual lives. The Constitution of the United States of America is the document that gives us our freedom. Many men and women have fought and will continue to die in order to protect it. It is because of this devotion that one would assume that America would jump at the chance to uphold a similar document for a developing country. Unfortunately, our government officials have sent a completely different message. I am calling on you, Mr. Moore, as a representative of the people, to make our voice heard, by speaking up for Honduras and Constitutions across the world. If we are so quick to dismiss another country's governing document, what will happen when our own Constitution is under attack? What would happen if the roles were reversed? I urge you to consider the consequences of our actions in this matter and pass this on to your peers. Thank you. Scott McReynolds

One Year Ago Today....

I summoned up the courage to ask my wonderful girlfriend to be my wife. If you want to relive the whole story go here. We have since been married for a little over 6 months and are enjoying (almost) every moment. Plenty of things have happened in the last year and I don't know if I would have predicted any of it. We have made it through the good and the bad and I'm sure there will be more of both in the future. A couple of our friends that we have met in KC have started dating exactly one year after Stefanie and I did (Aug. 9). We were kind of hoping they would get engaged today in order to further solidify our destiny as lifelong buddies (we think things will still work out well). I guess there is still a little bit of time left in the day. As a side note, we will be getting our wedding pictures next weekend when we go to the lake to visit my family over the holiday. Be looking for those to be posted somewhere online if you'd like to see them again.

Summer's heating up

Temperatures are rising, bugs are biting and the smell of BBQ is in the air.  Summer time is here (although not officially until June 21st).   This will be our best summer yet as a married couple.  Yes, that's right it's our first summer as a married couple.  Anyway, we have a lot of fun already planned and I know that just as much enjoyment will come from the unplanned events.  Baseball games, relaxing by the pool, family/friend visits, cookouts, church activities and float trips are all ready planned.  Who knows, we might even make a trip to Branson.  If you are going to be in the KC area, please let us know so we can try to meet up.

Town Hall for Hope

In case you missed it, Dave Ramsey's Town Hall for Hope has been posted online.  It is an hour and a half of history, statistics, optimism and of course, caller questions.  I encourage you to make time to watch this and check out the website.

Dave Ramsey - Town Hall for Hope 2009 from Central FPU on Vimeo.

Dave Ramsey's Town Hall for Hope - April 23rd, 2009

One week and counting

Well, it's officially been one full week since we made our move to the Kansas City area. It's been pretty busy around here but a good first week. We went to church on Sunday and were able to meet up with a family that Scott used to go to church with in Joplin. They have a daughter that is my age who got married last summer (We had the SAME wedding dress! I think we're just made to be friends.) They already knew that we were moving to Overland Park, so we weren't too nervous about going to a new church since we already knew some people there. EVERYONE was so friendly & nice! We had a wonderful time at church & then went to lunch with our new (Scott's old) friends.

Scott began his first day of work at KDOT on Monday. It was a little overwhelming because of all the information he had to take in the first day, but for a first day of work it went well. He found out that he will be in charge of 7 projects in the area. He is now a supervisor of 4 people, so he'll have to take a class in April dealing with all of the fun stuff that goes along with that responsibility. And he now has his own office! YAY!!  (I'm more impressed with this fact than he is. haha) He also found out on Monday that he would be going to Topeka for a class the next day. He had to report to work on Tuesday & Wednesday at 6:30 in the morning. Needless to say, not having to be at work until 8 o'clock now seems wonderful! :) The rest of his week went really well, and he thinks that he's going to like it.

My week consisted of cleaning, unpacking, and putting away everything in our boxes. I will not complain because we were fortunate enough to have movers who packed, loaded, & unloaded EVERYTHING that we had. It was wonderful!! However, I do not like clutter, so once the movers left I was ready to start unpacking. I finished unpacking & putting away everything by Tuesday. I couldn't have been happier, but we had 36 boxes full of packing paper that needed to be broken down & taken away. WE HAD A LOT OF PACKING PAPER!!! One small box of packing paper took up 4 large trash bags. I've spent the remainder of my time trying to get all of that paper & boxes to our local recycling center. I've got about 4 more boxes left. I will probably do a somersault when all of those are gone. :)

Wednesday night we went to church and met more wonderful people. I feel very fortunate to have found a place where I feel so welcomed so early on. :) Thursday night we went to dinner at Josh & Holly's. We had a wonderful time together with a delicious meal (thanks Holly).  Now we look forward to a nice, quiet weekend at home....hopefully with as little snow as possible. Stay tuned.

We're Here

Yesterday the movers unloaded all of our stuff into our new apartment.  We have been unpacking boxes since around 3pm yesterday and have made pretty good progress.  After a trip to Lowe's, we now have an operational washer & dryer and shelf paper to install.  If anyone needs boxes or paper to stuff in them, let us know.  We are swimming in it right now.  We are excited about going to church this morning and I am anxious and excited about starting my new job tomorrow.  The apartment is a little smaller than the house in Pea Ridge, but we will adjust and in a couple of weeks we won't notice it as much.  Stefanie really likes the "coziness" of the living room.  We look forward to meeting new friends and having old ones come visit.  Let us know if you will be in the area, we would love to see you.

Moving

It is hard to believe that we are moving to Kansas City next week.  When I look back, a lot of things have changed in the last 6 months.  I now have a new wife, a new job and will be living in a new place.  The movers will be here next Thursday to pack everything up (so glad my new job is paying for this).  Friday they will come back to load it and then head out on Saturday.  I still have a lot of anticipation and anxiety about my new job, but God has shown us over and over that this is where we need to be right now.  Stefanie and I have the next week and a half to spend together at home, since neither one of us is working right now.  This should allow us to make sure everything is ready and help us to not stress out as much (I hope).  We have already had one person look at the house, which is encouraging.  As we have said before, this is a bitter-sweet time for us and we will miss it down here.  However, we know that God has plenty in store for us in Kansas and he will continue to take care of us.

House for Sale

Last Saturday Stefanie and I went to KC to go apartment hunting.  We got to stay with Josh & Holly on Friday night and set out on Saturday to find a place to live.  After looking at six places, we settled on AMLI Clear Creek apartments in Overland Park, Kansas. 

We now have our house in Pea Ridge up for sale.  It was built in 2007, approximately 1340 square feet, 3 bed/2 bath, all brick and only minutes from Bentonville.  If you, or someone you know is looking you can send them to www.tinyurl.com/204Oakley or have them search for MLS #568760 on their favorite site for more info.

A New Leaf

As spring approaches, most of us eagerly anticipate the end of winter.  Warmer temperatures surprise us more frequently, the green color slowly returns to the horizion and the familiar chirping of birds and crickets graces our ears.  Seasons are changing for us as well.  As most of you know, I was laid off from my job with Crafton Tull Sparks on January 9.  Since then I have been looking for work and pondering all of the questions that invade your mind after a life altering event.  We have had such great support from all of those around us.  Our family, friends and church family have shown us an immessurable amount of love and we are truly greatful for that.  On Wednesday I was in Olathe, KS for an interview with the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT).  I have since been offered the position and have accepted.  Details are still trickling in, but I will likely start sometime in the middle of March.  Stefanie and I believe that God has answered our prayers by providing this opportunity for us.  This is a very exciting/nerve racking/sad time for us.  Change is never easy, but is often beneficial.  We will leaving an area that we both have grown to love.  We have made so many friends and we hate to create a further physical distance betweeen us, but know that you will always be in our hearts.  We plan to come back and visit when possible and will do our best to stay in touch.  We have several friends in the KC area and we look forward to being near them.  Again, we can not thank you enough for all of your prayers.  We know that without them things would have been much worse.  Please know that this is not goodbye, simply a new leaf.

Logic will get you in trouble

I want to know the answers and I don't typically like surprises.  I need logic and reason.  I also don't want to drive myself insane.

Exactly what does breed insanity is reason. Poets do not go mad; but chess players do. Mathematicians go mad, and cashiers; but creative artist very seldom. I am not, as will be seen, in any sense attacking logic: I only say that this danger does lie in logic, not in imagination.
-G.K. Chesterson

The Only Constant in Life is Change

Science tells us that there many constants in this world, many of which I memorized during college.  Like many things in life, there are often exceptions to these "laws" of nature.  New research will allow for refining of these numbers or sometimes even completely nullify them.  Fortunately for us there is one thing that we know will never change.  The writer of Hebrews reminds us that Jesus Christ is the same today, yesterday, and tomorrow.  With all that said, there is going to be some change taking place in our lives.  I found out last Thursday that I was being laid off, along with 27 others, from the Engineering firm I have worked for the last 2 1/2 years.  Even though the workload had made it pretty apparent that this would happen, it was still quite a shock to the system.  I am actively seeking work and we have no doubt that I will be able to find a job.  However, there are always so many unanswered questions.  When will I find a job?  Who with?  Will we have to relocate?  Will the pay be the same?  Will we have to sell the house?  As so many of you who have been through this before have shared with us, we know that it will work out and it will be ok.  God is faithful and he will take care of us.  We just ask that you pray for us during this time and that you would ask God to give us peace, and to make clear the path he has set out for us.  Thank you for all of your encouragement.  We would be so much worse off if it wasn't for our family, friends and church family.  We love you all.

3 weeks and counting

What's so hard about this marriage thing, anyway?  Ok, ok, so maybe we haven't quite fully experienced all the different aspects of marriage just yet.  All things considered, married life is wonderful.  There is nothing quite like sharing your life with your best friend.  (insert awwws or regurtations here)  Anyway, the first week of January will probably represent the start of what we will call "normal" life.  The holidays are over, traveling is done for a while, I'm going back to work again (I'd already been back after the honeymoon), and Stefanie is going to start another long term sub position in a pre-K class.  We are looking forward to a little more routine, but will try to keep things from getting too scheduled and dull.  As the questions and greetings shift from "how was the honeymoon?" to "when are the babies coming?" you can rest assured that we will keep you up to date and give you all the information we deem necessary.  So, stay tuned.....The best is yet to come.