Well, today was the day that tickets to the Lady Gaga concert at the Toyota Center on July 25 went on sale. My wonderful wife took the time out of her day to try and score us some tickets (they went on sale at 10 a.m. so I was in class). However, it was not meant to be. They seemed to be sold out before they even went on sale. Oh well. Amy was so upset, bless her. But it is what it is. Would have been AWESOME, but I'm not going to pay like 5 times the ticket prices via other options. Good news though, as I figured, they added a 2nd show on Monday, July 26! These tickets go on sale next Friday. So, we'll see if we were meant to go to this show. If not, total bummer but I can handle it. I think this whole Dave Ramsey viewpoint accompanied with the adoption have helped me to realize what is truly important. Now, don't get me wrong, I still have my moments when things get skewed, but I'm slowly coming around. So, the new countdown to the next sale date begins! T-minus 6 1/2 days and counting. Stay tuned.
Tonight though should be fun. We are going to a party at a church/school friend's house that should be pretty cool. It's a crawfish boil and I love some crawfish - but not in the whole peel and suck the head sort of way. But there's gumbo which I also love! So, that accompanied by the fact that our 931 band Antidote 7 will be playing (yes they do mainstream too) make it a shoe-in for an AWESOME time! Mom is watching the boys overnight, which they both are excited about. So, party, good food, good drinks, friends, and a kid-less night! That's a way to start the weekend after a crazy busy week! Hence the reason I'm posting now - later will not be an option and remember the post-a-day goal! Friday, April 9 - check!
All is well, with fingers crossed for concert tickets, in Drosche Land.
Friday, April 09, 2010
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Technical Difficulties
Well, as you can tell by the lack of a post yesterday, my goal of blogging daily fell through last night. But in my defense, it was not my fault. I blame Word. As I was working on finishing my coursework for the week, Word abruptly crashed on me. It is not the first time it has happened, but this time it did not fully recover my work despite my frequent saving (every time I finish typing a sentence). Grrr. Argh. So, I did not finish until about 11:15 and by then I was exhausted and frustrated - not the best combination for blogging. So I threw in the towel and went to sleep. If only the world would realize, as I already have, the superiority of Pages and in fact all Apple products. Alas, they have not, specifically in this instance GCU. Oh well. Until then, I needed to figure out an alternative to blogging on Wednesdays since they are always busy as I am chased and pinned down by the procrastination monster who proceeds to beat me about the head with rubrics and discussion forums. But I digress, again. In order to keep my goal and supply the blog with wonderful pictures of the Drosche clan, I have decided to post only photos on Wednesdays. A lot of the blogs I follow, specifically the adoption ones, do this. I just need to think of a catchy name for the weekly posts. But I have until next Wednesday to do so, hopefully inspiration will come by then. Also, since this blog is all about the adventures of our family, I decided to start at the very beginning (a very good place to start) of our family. So, without further adieu - the first of our photo blogs. Yes I know it is Thursday, but this is counting for yesterday! Plus, my blog, my rules! :) Enjoy!
Our very first picture as a married couple! Wow, we look young!
The whole wedding party
Us leaving the reception amid bubbles. This is one of my all-time favorites of us!
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
The Fruits of Our Labors
Well, so we have bought and planted a nectarine tree and a lemon tree. I am desperately hoping and praying for fruits later this summer/fall. I'm not expecting a huge bounty, I'd be happy with one or two of each. However, birds, the weather, and my crazy sons seem to have other plans. We will begin with my beloved nectarine tree. When we purchased it, it was full of sweet-smelling pink blossoms. Those fell off and in their places came teensy fruits. They actually seem to grow quite quickly, turning a deep purple as they do. Attached is a picture of these. Soon the little tree was full of these marble-sized fruits. I have to admit that I am ecstatic about the idea of fruit; I have always wanted a fruit tree. I check it everyday to see how it is doing. Recently I noticed some were missing. Birds! It really could be the only explanation as there was no hard winds or rain, plus the fruit was not on the ground. So now I am busy trying to think of a way to protect my nectarines from these senseless winged thieves. I am open to suggestions.
This brings me to our poor dwarf lemon tree. Yes it was small when we bought it and it could have been successfully planted in a pot (according to the tag) but we put it in the ground instead, thinking we would not want to transfer it again later. Well, almost immediately it was covered with white blossoms that quickly gave way to tiny green lemons. Get close and you can clearly smell them! This was about a month ago. All was well with our little tree. Then came a severe windstorm. Several branches, and all of the lemons, we blown to kingdom come! The little tree was ravaged and leaves began to turn yellow. We feared the worst. However, soon more blossoms came and brought many more tiny green lemons. As I type this I remember that I am supposed to thin them out before they get too big so that the eventual fruits are larger and of better quality. Something to look into over the coming weeks as the fruits mature. If the fruits mature that is. Today as Amy and I were cooking dinner I walk into the backyard to take out the trash. What to I find? Jack beating my lemon tree senseless with an oversized badminton racket! I was not a happy camper. Needless to say, said badminton racket is currently residing in time-out on top of the refrigerator.
So, fate seems to have it in for any crops of the 2010 nectarine/lemon season! But not if I have a say first! I'll even settle for one nectarine OR lemon. I'm not picky; I just want to say I have fruit trees that produce! Only time will tell I guess.
All is well, and fruitful thus far, in Drosche Land.
This brings me to our poor dwarf lemon tree. Yes it was small when we bought it and it could have been successfully planted in a pot (according to the tag) but we put it in the ground instead, thinking we would not want to transfer it again later. Well, almost immediately it was covered with white blossoms that quickly gave way to tiny green lemons. Get close and you can clearly smell them! This was about a month ago. All was well with our little tree. Then came a severe windstorm. Several branches, and all of the lemons, we blown to kingdom come! The little tree was ravaged and leaves began to turn yellow. We feared the worst. However, soon more blossoms came and brought many more tiny green lemons. As I type this I remember that I am supposed to thin them out before they get too big so that the eventual fruits are larger and of better quality. Something to look into over the coming weeks as the fruits mature. If the fruits mature that is. Today as Amy and I were cooking dinner I walk into the backyard to take out the trash. What to I find? Jack beating my lemon tree senseless with an oversized badminton racket! I was not a happy camper. Needless to say, said badminton racket is currently residing in time-out on top of the refrigerator.
So, fate seems to have it in for any crops of the 2010 nectarine/lemon season! But not if I have a say first! I'll even settle for one nectarine OR lemon. I'm not picky; I just want to say I have fruit trees that produce! Only time will tell I guess.
All is well, and fruitful thus far, in Drosche Land.
Our baby nectarines!
Monday, April 05, 2010
Easter 2010
Well, the last holiday of the school year has officially come and gone. As busy as we were, I have to say we did well today - doing absolutely nothing. We needed it too, all of us. Easter yesterday was great. The Easter Bunny did an awesome job and the boys loved it! I'm only going to post a few pictures below. For the rest I'm going to use Snapfish to place a link on the side like I did for the Campout pictures. I hope this works and everyone can view them. Anyway, moving on. Easter at 931 was wonderful, we truly enjoyed it. Especially Braeden. Easter must be his favorite time of the year because he has been talking about it for the past two weeks. He can tell you the whole story too! This makes Amy and I so proud and just is another great example of the wonderful education he is getting at Trinity - and I promise I have no biases! :) After church we surprised my grandmother for her birthday, Amy's idea, and that went very well. Then we spent the remainder of the day hanging out at Amy's Mom's house eating delicious food!
Like I said earlier, today we truly just stayed at home and relaxed. Sure there was cleaning and laundry to be done, but we only left the house late in the afternoon to do a little quick grocery shopping. Amy, riding high on the thought that the money we could have put toward a new car can do wonders for the adoption and our debt snowball, spent a lot of time doing financial planning today. First of all she did her usual 2nd pass for our taxes and found a few more breaks we can take. We will only owe the government $3.90! HA! Take that Uncle Sam! We haven't owed that litter EVER! Needless to say this is fantastic news. Next, she did a lot of work looking at our debt snowball, and our lives once everything is paid off. We truly will be following the Dave Ramsey plan. It will be awesome and will truly allow us to go through the adoption much more easily. She is wonderful! Not only does she do a great job at our family finances, but she loves it! I couldn't be luckier. So, all in all, it was a great break. I can't believe that the school year is almost over though. I'm both excited and nervous about staying home with the boys over the summer. I haven't had a summer, ever, so I'm not sure what to do with one. Luckily the boys will still be enrolled on Tuesday/Thursday so that'll give me a good schedule of home/away. But that's a post for another time. Time now to relax with Amy, watch Dancing with the Stars, and vote for Kate Gosselin.
All is well, after an egg-cellent break, in Drosche Land.
Like I said earlier, today we truly just stayed at home and relaxed. Sure there was cleaning and laundry to be done, but we only left the house late in the afternoon to do a little quick grocery shopping. Amy, riding high on the thought that the money we could have put toward a new car can do wonders for the adoption and our debt snowball, spent a lot of time doing financial planning today. First of all she did her usual 2nd pass for our taxes and found a few more breaks we can take. We will only owe the government $3.90! HA! Take that Uncle Sam! We haven't owed that litter EVER! Needless to say this is fantastic news. Next, she did a lot of work looking at our debt snowball, and our lives once everything is paid off. We truly will be following the Dave Ramsey plan. It will be awesome and will truly allow us to go through the adoption much more easily. She is wonderful! Not only does she do a great job at our family finances, but she loves it! I couldn't be luckier. So, all in all, it was a great break. I can't believe that the school year is almost over though. I'm both excited and nervous about staying home with the boys over the summer. I haven't had a summer, ever, so I'm not sure what to do with one. Luckily the boys will still be enrolled on Tuesday/Thursday so that'll give me a good schedule of home/away. But that's a post for another time. Time now to relax with Amy, watch Dancing with the Stars, and vote for Kate Gosselin.
All is well, after an egg-cellent break, in Drosche Land.
Jack and his eggs after the hunt
Braeden with his egg hunt treasures!
Seriously, Not Right Now!
Well, if you have been following our many adventures, you can correctly assume that this post is about our current car adventure. Well, this time, Amy and I didn't wait for the answer to be given to us. Instead we came to the realization ourselves. After sharing our good news with everyone we got to thinking. Was this the best choice for us? Clearly it is what we wanted, and things seemed to be working out, but was it really best? So, we got home yesterday (Easter post to come later) and decided to crunch the numbers. Not just to see if we could afford the new car, but what about if we didn't get the new car? Well, once doing so, the answer was clear before us. After adding in the cost that our car payment would go up, in addition to the rise in insurance we found that it would be about an extra $300 a month we would need, at the least. Well, not that we couldn't and didn't have that money, it's just that the money would have to come from our debt snowball funds. This would mean that instead of September 2011 being the payoff for our credit card debts, it would be much later. That in turn would affect the way we save up and fund the adoption. Plus, we finally looked at how much longer we actually have left on the van, and we realized that we could pay it off by December 2011. That means that just 3 months after Amy's 30th birthday (and our official submittal of all adoption paperwork) we would have over $1500 extra month to put toward the adoption. If you add these numbers up over the estimated 15 or so months it might take us to find our child and finalize everything we suddenly realized that we would be very close to paying the entire adoption off with cash! This sealed our decision. Could we seriously put a new car higher in priority than our daughter? NO! So, we made the adult decision to keep the van, pay it off, and continue to attack our debt. We are sure, though, that we will be going through this Costco program once we are ready to buy a car. No fuss, no haggling, big savings - that has us written all over it! Being an adult blows! But, we knew that it was the right decision. Are we bummed about not getting a new car? Yeah, of course. But the excitement about not only being so close to getting our daughter, but being able to pay cash for nearly all of it totally eclipses any disappointment over a silly new car that we will have to wait a bit longer on.
All is well, and content with decisions made, in Drosche Land.
All is well, and content with decisions made, in Drosche Land.
Saturday, April 03, 2010
Right Now?
Well, today marked another busy day of our Easter vacation. We began by waking up and having a quick morning getting everything ready to head to Amy's Mom's house for egg dyeing with the cousins. That was a lot of fun as usual. 5 kids, 4-dozen eggs, and 9 colors. Good messy fun! The kids had a blast as usual as all of the adults hovered over frantically keeping everyone's eggs from breaking and colors from spilling! I have to say though, the eggs turned out great - see the pic below.
After we finished dyeing the eggs, hanging out, and having lunch it was time to head home to relax a bit before heading out again to visit with Sarah, Nathan, Niki, and David. That was fun. It was good to see them, especially since we have not all been together in about 5 years! The boys were themselves - cute, charming, silly, and crazy! Niki and David brought them Woody and Buzz Lightyear toys and Sarah and Nathan got them sidewalk chalk and bubbles! Needless to say, they were instantly won over! It was nice to sit back and reminisce and catch up. Plus, Sarah grilled some great brats for dinner. It was also great to discuss the adoption with them and get their thoughts and support about it.
Onto the title of this post. This morning before we headed out Amy was reading through our monthly Costco magazine and there was an article about their auto program. Well, you know we are in the market to replace our ginormous van for something a bit smaller and a lot more reliable. What could it hurt to try? So, we got online and entered in the information for the Nissan Rogue we have been looking into and the nearest Nissan dealership that participates in this program is in College Station, not actually all that far at about an hour and a half. So we gave them all the information and waited for them to call us back. Flash forward to Amy's Mom's house. The guy from the dealership calls and basically the deal they give for the Costco membership is $100 off the invoice price plus whatever incentives are being offered at that time. Plus, it seems as though the car will be delivered to us and we can do everything via phone and email! We were definitely intrigued by this point. Once we got home we looked into what we wanted and I called our contact and then emailed him all the information. On the way home from Sarah & Nathan's I had time to check my email and we are being offered a great deal. The Costco membership will basically save us about $3,000 off the MSRP! So, I emailed him back and asked what we do next. We are excited, things are looking up. It seems as though we are very close to closing the deal! We are still keeping in mind that we do have the walk-away power Dave Ramsey taught us, but we are still optimistic. If it all works out, we will be getting a brand new car for about the price of a used one from CarMax, minus the mileage and plus the full dealer warranty! So, maybe this time the answer is "Yes Right Now"? We'll see. Until then we continue to research and read up about the Rogue. All good things. Overall a great day with family and friends and some potential good news! I think I will go to sleep a happy man!
All is well, and maybe going Rogue, in Drosche Land.
After we finished dyeing the eggs, hanging out, and having lunch it was time to head home to relax a bit before heading out again to visit with Sarah, Nathan, Niki, and David. That was fun. It was good to see them, especially since we have not all been together in about 5 years! The boys were themselves - cute, charming, silly, and crazy! Niki and David brought them Woody and Buzz Lightyear toys and Sarah and Nathan got them sidewalk chalk and bubbles! Needless to say, they were instantly won over! It was nice to sit back and reminisce and catch up. Plus, Sarah grilled some great brats for dinner. It was also great to discuss the adoption with them and get their thoughts and support about it.
Onto the title of this post. This morning before we headed out Amy was reading through our monthly Costco magazine and there was an article about their auto program. Well, you know we are in the market to replace our ginormous van for something a bit smaller and a lot more reliable. What could it hurt to try? So, we got online and entered in the information for the Nissan Rogue we have been looking into and the nearest Nissan dealership that participates in this program is in College Station, not actually all that far at about an hour and a half. So we gave them all the information and waited for them to call us back. Flash forward to Amy's Mom's house. The guy from the dealership calls and basically the deal they give for the Costco membership is $100 off the invoice price plus whatever incentives are being offered at that time. Plus, it seems as though the car will be delivered to us and we can do everything via phone and email! We were definitely intrigued by this point. Once we got home we looked into what we wanted and I called our contact and then emailed him all the information. On the way home from Sarah & Nathan's I had time to check my email and we are being offered a great deal. The Costco membership will basically save us about $3,000 off the MSRP! So, I emailed him back and asked what we do next. We are excited, things are looking up. It seems as though we are very close to closing the deal! We are still keeping in mind that we do have the walk-away power Dave Ramsey taught us, but we are still optimistic. If it all works out, we will be getting a brand new car for about the price of a used one from CarMax, minus the mileage and plus the full dealer warranty! So, maybe this time the answer is "Yes Right Now"? We'll see. Until then we continue to research and read up about the Rogue. All good things. Overall a great day with family and friends and some potential good news! I think I will go to sleep a happy man!
All is well, and maybe going Rogue, in Drosche Land.
Our Easter eggs - I love this picture, they're beautiful!
Friday, April 02, 2010
Bunny Prep
Well, Amy and I just finished filling over 60 eggs for the boys for this year's Easter. Yes, it seems like a lot, but each is only filled with a few pieces of candy, and there are some filled with some change. They love putting money in their jars. We are going to get them on the Dave Ramsey plans for kids when they are a bit older. For now we are just trying to teach them to "save". They will not make the mistakes we made with money, that's for sure. But I digress. This morning has been one busy blur of a Good Friday. I woke up at 6:15 this morning to find Amy awake since 5:30 and the boys since 6:00. Amy was already hard at work cooking and preparing for the coming holiday festivities. We were just talking the other day about how everyone loves the Easter holiday, but nobody every actually "rests" over this vacation. It is always go go go, this year will be no different.
After lunch today we head to the mall to meet my Mom who is getting an iPhone! She lost her other one and she has wanted an iPhone since we got ours last year. So, Amy and I have converted another person to the iPhone. I am so excited! Plus we get to go to the Mac store which is always fun. After that we will be going to their house to help her set it up and learn it. Tonight we will go to the 931 Good Friday service with Mom. I am super excited about this because they always lead such an amazing Good Friday and Easter worship. I know it is going to be an awesome experience, as 931 typically is.
After lunch today we head to the mall to meet my Mom who is getting an iPhone! She lost her other one and she has wanted an iPhone since we got ours last year. So, Amy and I have converted another person to the iPhone. I am so excited! Plus we get to go to the Mac store which is always fun. After that we will be going to their house to help her set it up and learn it. Tonight we will go to the 931 Good Friday service with Mom. I am super excited about this because they always lead such an amazing Good Friday and Easter worship. I know it is going to be an awesome experience, as 931 typically is.
Tomorrow we head to Amy's Mom's house to dye eggs with Amanda and her kids so the boys are super excited about that as usual. I think right now we are bringing about 3-dozen eggs! The kids are so cute when dyeing the eggs though, I can't wait for the cute pictures. We will eat lunch there and head back home to get ready for an evening with friends. Our college friend Niki and her husband David are coming to Houston today so we will be getting together with them and Sarah & Nathan! It'll be a like a college days reunion! We live fairly near Sarah and Nathan but never see them due to such busy schedules. We haven't seen Niki in 5 years since Sarah and Nathan's wedding so that should be fun. The boys are coming with us so I know they will charm everyone there once they get over their initial shyness.
Sunday brings Easter morning worship at 931, which I'm also pumped about! We didn't get to it last year so I am excited for our first time. After service we will head to Amy's Mom's for Easter lunch/dinner. Celebrating Thanksgiving with my side of the family and then Easter with Amy's has been a good compromise that seems to work well with everyone. Then Monday, maybe, might bring some rest and relaxation. But that remains to be seen, we'll see if anything pops up before then.
Sunday brings Easter morning worship at 931, which I'm also pumped about! We didn't get to it last year so I am excited for our first time. After service we will head to Amy's Mom's for Easter lunch/dinner. Celebrating Thanksgiving with my side of the family and then Easter with Amy's has been a good compromise that seems to work well with everyone. Then Monday, maybe, might bring some rest and relaxation. But that remains to be seen, we'll see if anything pops up before then.
So, with a hectic schedule, bags of Easter goodies that the Easter bunny will bring the boys, and a fridge that smells like fart we enter Easter vacation. I know it will be crazy, but it will also be filled with fun, memories, and some great worship experiences. As usual though I'm sure we will feel like we need a vacation to recover from our vacation!
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