And so it is done.

A Testimony in Tithing

One of the gospel principles that I have the strongest testimony in is the blessings that come from paying your tithing. I've experienced so many temporal and spiritual blessings from paying a regular tithe that I can not deny the power of it. What I experienced today was another example of such a blessing. Let me explain...

Austin City Limits (ACL) is a music festival that lasts for two 3-day weekends. Both weekends are the exact same lineup and you buy a $225 pass for one whole weekend (or both if you wanted to try and see bands you missed the first weekend). This was one event I was looking forward to when we found out we were moving to Austin. The 2012 lineup was amazing and I was excited to go and be a true Austinite. Well, last year's lineup was a disappointment and I didn't go. This year's lineup was released on Tuesday. The night before, I read a rumour that listed a few bands that were expected to be on the lineup, including my favourite as a teen, Pearl Jam. My desire to go to ACL grew infinitely but so did my stress over how I would pay for a pass.

You see, for the last couple months, our tenant in Canada has been very late in paying rent. That has caused our family a lot of financial stress as we juggle to pay our own rent, the mortgage in Canada (because the tenant wasn't paying rent on time), and extra car payments (Sheldon's old car that was paid for didn't make it to Austin so we had to purchase another one). I spent days creating, adjusting, and re-adjusting a budget that projected every single expense I could think of until the end of the year just to make sure we had enough. But now, where was I to find $450 for passes for Sheldon and I?

On Tuesday morning, I woke up, checked the lineup, and was even more ecstatic; so many good bands to see, including Pearl Jam! I was jumping around the house, so excited about the lineup. Sheldon sleepily said (because it was 6am) I could buy one pass for myself. I was torn! How could he not want to go? I know he's not into music as much as I am, but still! I had no idea where the money would come from but maybe Sheldon was thinking of dipping into our meager emergency savings that we were putting aside to cover the mortgage and then trying to shave in other parts of the budget each month to put back into the savings.

So I did it. I bought the pass.

And now today...

I took the car in for regular maintenance. Based on the maintenance schedule, I knew this was a big one so I put aside the listed $600 for it. When I went to pick up my car and pay for the maintenance, the girl at the cash said, "$394.10."

Ummm...what?

She saw my puzzled look and said Gilbert (my service rep) must have given me a deal. He does that for me sometimes but $200 must be a mistake. Well, Gilbert came and explained that they didn't do the transmission flush that was listed on the work order because the mechanic said we really didn't have to do it until I had 100,000 miles on my car. When they did the km to miles conversion, they realized I only had about 70,000 miles on my car therefore I saved $200!

Think about that for a moment. They could have easily done the transmission flush anyway and collected my $200 but instead, they were honest and saved me enough money to pay for my ACL pass! So big shout out to the folks over at Southpoint Hyundai in Austin!!!

Now if you're thinking that I'm still going to have to fork over that money for a transmission flush at some time, don't worry. I had the foresight to budget $100 for each vehicle maintenance after this big one for the rest of the year. I figure that many of these will only be in the $30 range for oil changes but I budgeted $100 each time just in case; so I'm covered!

I can relax and sleep a little better tonight. Blessings from tithing; that's all I can say. So very blessed and grateful.

NOTE: I usually don't condone buying "fun" things like this without knowing how you were going to pay for it so my plan before today was to find a creative way to raise the money...babysitting, busking on 6th St., something. I couldn't in good conscious dip into our emergency savings.

Blessings from hard work and sacrifices

Eeek, has it really been that long since I last blogged? So much has happened but the most exciting thing is today UT Dallas offered Connor a full ride scholarship! I'm so proud of him. All his hard work is now showing the results. He was so stressed out last night too. Oh, what a blessed thing to hear today! It just makes all the sacrifices and the crazy move here worth it. I'm so thankful for Heavenly Father's help in guiding us through our choices. I'd like to think we listened to His promptings most of the time and if we didn't, we gently guides us back onto the right path. It's just up to us to act upon his promptings.

Oh, I'm so happy and proud of Connor. I'm one proud mama today.

(and, whew, we must have done something right as his parents)

Feasting upon the word

Aidan is my boy who hates to read. Hates it. He was the one who didn't want to go to seminary but reluctantly said he would give it a try. I was worried he would quit after the first day. I walk into the kitchen tonight and see this! I had to take a picture to capture the moment. My heart is filled with joy. I'm so grateful for his seminary teacher who not only keeps it interesting enough for my boy that he now chooses to go to seminary but inspires him enough to feast upon the word.

What makes a mother happy? Seeing her sons up and dressed for school by the time she gets out of bed.

Fulfilling a Mother's Dream on Father's Day

The second you realize you are going to be a parent, you start imagining the different milestones that you're going to experience. Visions of first steps, teaching them how to ride a bike, and wonderful family vacations where everyone gets along dance through your head. As a Mormon mother, my list also includes other milestones for my sons like their first day in nursery (a day that many young parents look forward to), baptisms, and serving missions. 

Connor recently turned 16 which allows a worthy young man to be ordained as a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood. One of the Priest's duties is to bless the sacrament before the Deacons, (12-13 year old young men who have been ordained as such), pass the sacrament to the members in the congregation. 

This past Sunday, Connor blessed the sacrament for the first time with his father by his side and his younger brother standing in front of them waiting to pass it. It was a wonderful sight for a mother to see. My heart was full of joy and still is whenever I think about it. 

I thank my Heavenly Father for blessing me with three worthy Priesthood holders in my home. 

Bliss

A quiet house, pyjamas, chocolate, tea, and Jane Austin.

Blessed

Lately I have been amazed at the amount of strength, love, and support that my family and friends give me. I am so thankful to have them in my life.

You don't have to wait for Thanksgiving to reflect on what you're grateful for. What are some of your blessings?

It's a sign

During the summer, our small laptop died.

We've also noticed that the picture on our old TV in the basement starts to shake if its been on for a long time.

On Labour Day weekend, we decided to send our big laptop to the shop to get fixed. It'll be a month before we get it back.

Just after Labour Day, our main TV died. We think it's due to a power surge.

The other day, the Playstation3 that is hooked up to the TV in the basement overheated and died.

We now only have our desktop computer working and we don't have any immediate plans to replace them.

Don't you think it's interesting that this all occurred around the same time the kids went back to school? It could be a sign. I say it's a blessing in disguise.