I was checking out my fellow bloggers posts recently, and came across a post about how "fake" people's lives are in the blogging world. Now, I know they aren't fake, but 99.9% of the stories are only good ones-as if nothing goes bad in their lives. I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks this, but reading all of the fun-show-off-happy times types of posts on everyone elses blogs makes me almost wish that my life was as perfect a fairy tale as theirs. I'm definately not pin-pointing one certain blog, and I'm not saying that I don't like reading them, I do, it's just that I sit down to the computer and check out what's new in the lives of my friends and family, and wonder how they all got such a perfect life, a perfect family, a perfect house, the perfect vacations, and on and on, and wonder why I didn't. And I wonder what it would be like to live like a TV show. Because really, who's life is that perfect besides those made up on TV? I want to see all the good times, but please, someone, let me know that your life is as twisted as mine!!
This brings me to my point. My life is FAR from perfect. I've tried not to blog only the good things. Sometimes I won't blog at all, when things get that bad-I don't want the pity. But this one is going to be the worst; reality.
This is my so-called "Christmas Card" for 2009. I have to post it on my blog simply because my internet service is in my budget as of right now, but buying stamps and making holiday cards is not. As silly as that may sound, it is very true. Since we are currently in school, and some of our classes are online, we have to have our internet. (The good news is that we can write it off for business. phew!)
Hmmm, where to start with our 2009 year. How about back in 2008, at the very end of the year. Jonny and I both decided to start taking classes at a real estate university in Phoenix, AZ and online. It is NOT a real estate agent school, it's an investing school. A super awesome university all about anything you'd ever want to know about real estate. And, WOW, has it opened our eyes!! Well, just as we were getting excited about moving farther with our real estate life, Jonny was fired from his 6 year long employment with Standard Plumbing. No true reason, not much of a warning, and just like that, he's done. Now what? Back to square one, we guessed. I used to hear the life-long married couples in my ward talk about their "ups and downs" in life, and how their "downs" made them stronger, and I would stop and think about my life and would come to the conclusion that we hadn't really had any big "downs" ...yet. I'd hoped they wouldn't ever come. Lo and behold, they've come. Jonny was jobless from February to April. Not such a long time compared to others in this economy, but man, if it could've come at any other time in our lives, it would've been better than now.
You see, back in December when we enrolled in school, we had to pay for all classes, 2 years, for both of us, up front. The only debt we've had is our mortgage and our vehicle. So, we decided to put our school on credit cards. Yup. All 4 years of college on credit. Wow. That's a crapload of debt! It was ok, our plan was to pay it off in less than 6 months. Right when the bills started coming in, FIRED. Crap. Now what!
Well, we are forever grateful for the church, who put food on our kids plates and kept our roof over our heads until we found some other means of a job. Oh! And, even better, our kids were able to have health insurance, and because he lost his job, we also lost the insurance. (still uninsured-we're working on that) In April, Lowe's (I call it Blowe's) was kind enough to hire him on as the plumbing specialist. It was ok... at first. He had a job. We could pay most of our bills. They were nice to him, worked with his schedule a little, but then again, it's retail. No schedule in retail is good, right? RIGHT!! I have felt like a single mom since April. Because even when he has a day off, he's gone doing sidework for some extra income, and on the days he's working, he has the worst hours. The kids are used to only seeing him for an hour a day by now, but we really hope this won't last forever!!! You'd never realize how hard it is to have a family and a job with crazy hours, until you do. I'm stuck going to church, sports, scouts, and all other activities and family outings on my own with 4 boys because of Jonny's schedule. I can't ever get a little part-time job, because of his schedule. We don't have time to do anything together anymore, all because of his crappy schedule. Retail is a no-no for fathers! And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I call it Blowe's.
We have been looking for something new since he was hired, and only took this job as a temporary until we found something better. Something better, where are you???
During the unemployment and job hunt, Jonny and I were going through a rough patch with our relationship. It was so hard to deal with-especially with all of the other "downs" happening to us-all at the same time!
After that chapter of life was opened, we found out that some tenants in one of our rentals were going to be moving. They left in April. Our place was vacant for 4 months. What little savings we had was now gone. I even sold some of our furniture so that I could take the boys on our annual family campout over Labor Day weekend.
Well, from that point in time until now, here's what has taken place. We were able to work things out with our relationship(and are still working on it, with LOTS of prayer and professional help), Jonny still has a job with [B]lowe's (better than nothing), we've caught up with being able to pay tithing again, we got a new tenant in our place, and are still hunting for that better job.
Our bishop asked us if we wanted to be an Angel Tree family this year. I couldn't do it. I couldn't make myself believe that we were in that tight of a situation financially. My boys didn't need it, our family is doing ok. Just keep feeding the boys. That's good enough. There are others who need those things way more than us. No matter how poor you are, there is always someone out there who has less. Well, what now then? Where will we get the money to buy them some Christmas gifts? At least one each. They don't need more than that. And they will understand this year. They will know that we've had it rough and that they can do without. (btw, Thank you, grandparents, for helping us out!) Besides, what better time than now to teach them about the true meaning of Christmas and having a very humble Christmas for ourselves. Jonny and I aren't going to be giving each other anything this year, we don't need anything. The boys are way more important! But I did hear little Kade say that he was going to ask Santa to give us $100.00. "You're going to LOVE your gift from Santa", he says, "I know you need it." Bless his heart! (and this is coming from a kid who said that Santa will bring him presents even if he's naughty, cuz he was naughty last year and he still got presents! What an angel with horns!!) Christmas will be good-it'll be memorable, and creative! (We apologize in advance to family members who will be getting our "creative" gifts;) )
We aren't looking for pity. I'm making my point. Life isn't perfect. I'm not afraid to tell anyone about our life, because everyone has their problems. We aren't alone, and our "downs" are definately making us stronger.
This time of year is extra humbling for us, especially this particular year, because it helps us remember that money, material things and getting gifts isn't all there is to life.
We are grateful for the gospel and all of the blessings it brings to us, we are grateful for our neighbors, friends and family, we are grateful for prayer, we are grateful that we still have a roof over our heads, and most of all, we are grateful for each other. If we woke up on Christmas day and the only gifts we received were hugs and kisses and 'I love you's' from each other, it would be a great Christmas!
We hope these holidays bring everyone happiness and memories! We pray for those less fortunate, who could really use our prayers and blessings, especially during these special holiday times. We hope that all will remember those around you who need those extra prayers, and try to remember during your busy holiday bustle to serve one another.
We love you all and thanks for all the support!!
Love, The Bakers
This brings me to my point. My life is FAR from perfect. I've tried not to blog only the good things. Sometimes I won't blog at all, when things get that bad-I don't want the pity. But this one is going to be the worst; reality.
This is my so-called "Christmas Card" for 2009. I have to post it on my blog simply because my internet service is in my budget as of right now, but buying stamps and making holiday cards is not. As silly as that may sound, it is very true. Since we are currently in school, and some of our classes are online, we have to have our internet. (The good news is that we can write it off for business. phew!)
Hmmm, where to start with our 2009 year. How about back in 2008, at the very end of the year. Jonny and I both decided to start taking classes at a real estate university in Phoenix, AZ and online. It is NOT a real estate agent school, it's an investing school. A super awesome university all about anything you'd ever want to know about real estate. And, WOW, has it opened our eyes!! Well, just as we were getting excited about moving farther with our real estate life, Jonny was fired from his 6 year long employment with Standard Plumbing. No true reason, not much of a warning, and just like that, he's done. Now what? Back to square one, we guessed. I used to hear the life-long married couples in my ward talk about their "ups and downs" in life, and how their "downs" made them stronger, and I would stop and think about my life and would come to the conclusion that we hadn't really had any big "downs" ...yet. I'd hoped they wouldn't ever come. Lo and behold, they've come. Jonny was jobless from February to April. Not such a long time compared to others in this economy, but man, if it could've come at any other time in our lives, it would've been better than now.
You see, back in December when we enrolled in school, we had to pay for all classes, 2 years, for both of us, up front. The only debt we've had is our mortgage and our vehicle. So, we decided to put our school on credit cards. Yup. All 4 years of college on credit. Wow. That's a crapload of debt! It was ok, our plan was to pay it off in less than 6 months. Right when the bills started coming in, FIRED. Crap. Now what!
Well, we are forever grateful for the church, who put food on our kids plates and kept our roof over our heads until we found some other means of a job. Oh! And, even better, our kids were able to have health insurance, and because he lost his job, we also lost the insurance. (still uninsured-we're working on that) In April, Lowe's (I call it Blowe's) was kind enough to hire him on as the plumbing specialist. It was ok... at first. He had a job. We could pay most of our bills. They were nice to him, worked with his schedule a little, but then again, it's retail. No schedule in retail is good, right? RIGHT!! I have felt like a single mom since April. Because even when he has a day off, he's gone doing sidework for some extra income, and on the days he's working, he has the worst hours. The kids are used to only seeing him for an hour a day by now, but we really hope this won't last forever!!! You'd never realize how hard it is to have a family and a job with crazy hours, until you do. I'm stuck going to church, sports, scouts, and all other activities and family outings on my own with 4 boys because of Jonny's schedule. I can't ever get a little part-time job, because of his schedule. We don't have time to do anything together anymore, all because of his crappy schedule. Retail is a no-no for fathers! And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I call it Blowe's.
We have been looking for something new since he was hired, and only took this job as a temporary until we found something better. Something better, where are you???
During the unemployment and job hunt, Jonny and I were going through a rough patch with our relationship. It was so hard to deal with-especially with all of the other "downs" happening to us-all at the same time!
After that chapter of life was opened, we found out that some tenants in one of our rentals were going to be moving. They left in April. Our place was vacant for 4 months. What little savings we had was now gone. I even sold some of our furniture so that I could take the boys on our annual family campout over Labor Day weekend.
Well, from that point in time until now, here's what has taken place. We were able to work things out with our relationship(and are still working on it, with LOTS of prayer and professional help), Jonny still has a job with [B]lowe's (better than nothing), we've caught up with being able to pay tithing again, we got a new tenant in our place, and are still hunting for that better job.
Our bishop asked us if we wanted to be an Angel Tree family this year. I couldn't do it. I couldn't make myself believe that we were in that tight of a situation financially. My boys didn't need it, our family is doing ok. Just keep feeding the boys. That's good enough. There are others who need those things way more than us. No matter how poor you are, there is always someone out there who has less. Well, what now then? Where will we get the money to buy them some Christmas gifts? At least one each. They don't need more than that. And they will understand this year. They will know that we've had it rough and that they can do without. (btw, Thank you, grandparents, for helping us out!) Besides, what better time than now to teach them about the true meaning of Christmas and having a very humble Christmas for ourselves. Jonny and I aren't going to be giving each other anything this year, we don't need anything. The boys are way more important! But I did hear little Kade say that he was going to ask Santa to give us $100.00. "You're going to LOVE your gift from Santa", he says, "I know you need it." Bless his heart! (and this is coming from a kid who said that Santa will bring him presents even if he's naughty, cuz he was naughty last year and he still got presents! What an angel with horns!!) Christmas will be good-it'll be memorable, and creative! (We apologize in advance to family members who will be getting our "creative" gifts;) )
We aren't looking for pity. I'm making my point. Life isn't perfect. I'm not afraid to tell anyone about our life, because everyone has their problems. We aren't alone, and our "downs" are definately making us stronger.
This time of year is extra humbling for us, especially this particular year, because it helps us remember that money, material things and getting gifts isn't all there is to life.
We are grateful for the gospel and all of the blessings it brings to us, we are grateful for our neighbors, friends and family, we are grateful for prayer, we are grateful that we still have a roof over our heads, and most of all, we are grateful for each other. If we woke up on Christmas day and the only gifts we received were hugs and kisses and 'I love you's' from each other, it would be a great Christmas!
We hope these holidays bring everyone happiness and memories! We pray for those less fortunate, who could really use our prayers and blessings, especially during these special holiday times. We hope that all will remember those around you who need those extra prayers, and try to remember during your busy holiday bustle to serve one another.
We love you all and thanks for all the support!!
Love, The Bakers
