I dont mean to..

... complain but ....

We filed bankruptcy in November and it was finalized December 12th. When I say we have no money, we really don't. We're trying our damnedest to keep our heads above water but we keep getting pulled down. We don't live extravagantly. We've cut-back on so many things. We cant be late on our mortgage our they can change out cheap interest rate to something astronomical. So that being said, when I say all this preface or at at the end or whatever with "and we really cant afford it"

1st Tom gets a dental abscess. Dentist refuses to give him meds without seeing him and wont help us knowing our financial situation and wants all cash upfront. (supposedly a family friend. Some friend, huh?) So he attempts to take garlic.

Cole gets a loose crown. I e-mailed dentist, since it was his work, and he wont help him either! Luckily his pain only lasted 1 day and he hasn't spoken a word about it since.

I get dental pain (in a tooth the dentist's wife said she would work something out with earlier because we knew it needed some help but I couldn't afford it). I'm in so much pain at times, I cry. I'm on 4-tylenol/advil every 3 hours just to cope. My stomach is taking a hit from this. After pain started to slow down, I get a massive abscess that made me look like I had a stroke on that side of my face when I smiled. I prayed over all this stuff. I asked for prayers to keep our finances in the thoughts of the church. I wasn't looking for a windfall, just to be able to survive not in pain (for me or my family). So, when my infection started making me physically sick (headaches, extreme fatigue, nausea, etc), I prayed over my health too. The church tracked me down and offered to send me to a dentist to get rid of the infection. Well, I got on Amoxi and told I needed it pulled and my options were: (1) pull & nothing, (2) pull & do a bridge, (3) pull & do an implant. Well, I dont even have funds to pull the tooth so while it wasn't causing pain, we cold hold off slightly. After 7 days on Amoxi, the infection was the same. They put me on a 3-drug cocktail trying to kick the infection, hoping to kick it. If it wasn't better in 2 days, they needed to pull it. Well, it seems like its going down. I think. Anyway, last day of meds is on Christmas Day. One of the pills I take 4 times day and it is so foul! I have to use milk, put it in the back of my throat (not mouth), open wide, place/drop pill down throat and just drop it all without the pill touching anything or else I have the worst taste in my mouth for so long. 

I should add here that we haven't had heat in the downstairs of my house since we used it last season which would be sometime in winter/spring 2011. We use our gas fireplace (which is more aesthetic than heat but it gives off heat so we use it) and a space heater. It's now getting cold and it shows.

Then, Sunday happened. I heard water pouring in the garage. It was the water heater! So yeah, skip skip... we've had no hot water since Sunday morning before church. Guy comes today since we do have a coverage Tom took out a few months ago, and it needs to be replaced. So does the tank. And the valve. Total of $1185. Luckily our coverage is 850 and we only pay the difference but when you have no credit cards, and no stash of cash anywhere this hit is hard! Add the fact Christmas is this week! 

Can anyone say ramen for Christmas dinner?

Seriously, donations are accepted. We're not too proud. Not with all this crap happening!

I try and stay strong. I have 3 small boys. I need to be there for them even though I just want to cry all the time. Thanks for reading my post. That made me feel a little better - temporarily. I know it can e worse. I try and look at it positively and thank God that we put the insurance on the heater, that we have a space heater, that we have a house at all. I try not to lose sight of what it really important.

Raise Money Online

Easy Sentimental Ornament

So while perusing the internet, I came across a gal who took an invitation she received, shredded it into 1/4" strips, wrapped it around a pencil and shoved it into a glass ball. After being married for over 10 years, the extra 50+ invitations we have are just sitting in our memory box. So when I saw this, I knew I had to make one!Here's my how-to on this sweet, simple idea. You can do it with a birth announcement or anything else that is special to you.

The invitation before... It's a thick vellum over top black embossed cardstock

Here's the vellum ready to be cut.
You can't see vellum overlay but it's a wedding couple

Ready to make nice cuts.
I wasn't going for exact measurements, I wanted each line as a cut (curl).

slicing the paper, line by line.

All sliced and ready for the next step.

This is all you need: cut paper,
something with a small barrel, & an empty ball.

wrap each individual paper around the barrel.
I found that since my vellum was thick, I had to pull it off and pull it a little tighter.
But it worked awesome still.

All curled and ready to stuff in a ball.

Put the curls into the ball.
When full, use the barreled item to help push them in.

All done!

Better Late than Never, right?

I'm just now posting about our Thankful Wall 2011. 

Yeah, I know, I know. But hey, at least you can see it!

We do this every year.

Convert 1 wall into a wall to write/draw what we are most thankful for.

This is the picture of the 2011 edition.

Please click it, make it big and enjoy our artwork :)

Quick run down of what's on there. 

We are thankful for: Henry Ford for making Fords, Mom & Dad, Our Fireplace, Books, Jesus dying on the cross for our salvation, our house, Movies, Recycling, Trees, our cats, restaurants, all the colors, brothers, school, the TV, coffee, turkey, my parents, the kitchen, Richland Creek (our church), that God made the earth, that my brother is still cancer-free, Charlie Brown specials, our neighborhood, glasses so mom (me) can see, food in our extra freezer, to be married to Tommy for 10+ years and us.

I save every years. I fold them up, write the year on the outside and save it. To see how they progress and to see what they are thankful for is a wonderful thing.

Now it's time for ME to thank YOU for reading this! :)

5x7 Folded Card

Wishing You Merry Christmas Card

Custom Christmas cards are always available at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.