Mortgage

When we moved to Arizona, we bought a smaller home than we could afford and put it on a 15 year mortgage. We are now 6 years, 4 months into our mortgage and hope to have it paid off near the 7 year mark...cutting the life of our loan by more than half and saving ourselves thousands of dollars.

We live in an economy where people are letting their homes go to foreclosure or short sale (a term I was completely unfamiliar with 3 year ago) either because of necessity or because the home values have dropped so drastically that most people are upside down in their mortgages (owing more than their homes are worth) and figure that's the best way out.

Knowing that our house is currently worth less that what we paid for it, why would we go ahead and strap ourselves financially so that we can pay our mortgage off? I ask myself that question all the time. We are definitely a minority in our thinking...

And yet for the past 2 years, we have put ALL of our extra money on our mortgage. Sometimes that's only an extra $1000. Sometimes it's as much as $20,000 (Paul's bonuses). But most of the time it's an extra $2000 added to our $1481.01 mortgage. Right now $1084.79 of that goes directly to the principle of our mortgage. Only $400 of this months payment is applied to interest and escrow. That's the upside of nearing the end of our mortgage...more of each monthly payment is actually applied to principle, whereas at the beginning of a mortgage, the opposite is true.

We now owe just under $60,000. Paul has estimated his bonus this year to be $38,000. Too bad we won't see all of that. Thank you taxes. And of course we always pay our tithing. That's a BIG tithing check!!! But we are SO grateful for all of our blessings, financial blessings included. So the left over will be applied to our house. Leaving us with approximately $30,000 +/- still owing.

So we continue to be tight. When will this feeling end? We've been tight financially our whole marriage! Either because of salary, or school tuition, or now paying off our mortgage. Don't get me wrong, I'm not pleading poverty. We still take our family on vacation, we still buy new clothes and shoes (mostly at discount stores). We still allow ourselves to enjoy the journey, but those months where we "enjoy" are extra tight.

Paul reminded me today that we are now in the last 6 miles of a marathon. This has been a long road. And the last 6 miles are the toughest! We KNOW the end is near, but it still feels SO far away! We both know it will be worth it in the end, and so we keep chugging along. One step or dollar after another.

March 18, 2011...paid $24,506.09 ($34,345.46 left owing)
April 27, 2011...paid $3481.01 ($31,235.55 left owing)
May 16, 2011...paid $3481.01 (28,287.62 left owing)
We're considering paying off the mortgage next month. We've got enough money in savings and Paul's stock to pay it off and still have $6700 in savings.

We had a small course change...We thought about buying a larger home, which in turn caused us to stop paying extra on our mortgage.

Instead we decided against the purchase of a bigger home (for now), and decided to take a break from being financially strapped...

Instead, we PAID OFF THE MORTGAGE!!!

September 15, 2011...paid $24,689.17 ($0 left owing!!!)

The Valentines Box

Dear Grandma Carol,

Thank you for all of the time, money and love you put into our Valentine Box. The smell of hand dipped caramels, peanut butter balls and cherries made our tummies growl. The caramel and chocolate covered pretzel sticks were devoured first. Your home made sugar cookies and creamy pink frosting is unmatched! We ALL love it!!!

And as much as we all LOVE the home made yummy treats, the most entertaining part is the brown box full of packing peanuts. Next year, will you hide inside so you can see all the fun we have with it?

We hope these pictures give you a small sense of how much we enjoy it.

Love,
The AZ Boleys

The clean up--only the vacuum would do.

Another Bear?

This one is a CUB SCOUT. Andrew (and his dad and his mom) have worked very hard to achieve this rank.

Now Paul and I can sit back until his next Birthday when he'll be working on Webelo's achievements.
I have to remind myself that it's not too bad now...in a few years, we'll have 4 boys to be after with Scouting. Sigh...

Brotherly Love

I found this note from Barik on the counter the other day...

(Dear Andrew

I love you.
You are the best
brother in the whole
Universe.)

Dirty Jobs

Our trampoline of 6 years had seen better days.

It was time for a new one. And since we were going through the effort of putting a new trampoline together, we (Paul) decided to make the hole extra rain resistant. You see, the problem with having a Jerry-rigged in ground trampoline is that when it rains, the earth around the trampoline gets washed under, thus creating large holes around the tramps frame.

The workers:

(What a mess!!!)

Andrew and Barik headed outside right after school with their pick ax and shovels to work on this hole (only to have it covered a couple days later).

At the end of 6 days (filled with lots of dirty clothes and sore muscles), the masterpiece was complete and enjoyed by all!

Paul decided to turn one of the rain-made holes into a secret entrance to the "Underworld". The boys LOVE their hide-a-way!

Good Bye Bubbles...

Hello Waves...

Barik felt a little left out with all the room changes that happened several months ago, so this was our compromise. Rather than buying a new house (this one was "boring") I repainted and rearranged their room. We all approve.

We're going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo.

How 'bout you, you, you? You can come too, too, too. Cause we're going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo.

A trip to the Zoo capped off the first graders Animal unit. With the enlisted help of a couple friends to watch Cooper (thanks Abby) and Drake (thanks Julie) I was able to accompany Barik's class as a chaperone to the Wildlife World Zoo. I always love the opportunity to spend a little more intimate time with each one of my boys. Even though Charlie was part of our little group, I was still able to spend lots of time w/ my little Bear.

Feeding the birds...

This was the ONLY animal Barik would touch. Not the giraffe. Not the goat. Not the llama.
No. The non-fuzzy turtle was the lucky one to win Barik's affection.

Smitten

I've got some new competition. I'm not quite sure how I feel about it either. Cooper is only 4...much too young to think that anything or anyone is prettier than his Mama! I should have learned this already when we were in Utah over Christmas vacation. You see, I was told, by Cooper that Sage (the DOG) is prettier than me. Not only that, but Cooper loves Sage (THE DOG) more than me. I'm just not ready to be kicked off my pedestal yet.
Are you curious to know who my latest competition is?

Her name is Ms. Susan Bocks Dutter Docks Berklummer Snue. And she even has her own book! It's all about her! How can I possibly compete with that?!

So, when Cooper asks to stare at "the pretty girl" before going to bed, I guess I'll allow it...So long as the pretty girl is in a Dr. Seuss book.

My body: Ice. My throat: Fire. My saliva: Gasoline.

I don't get sick. At least not sick enough to need a Doctor. I visit my O.B. once a year for my obligatory yearly exam. And that's it.

I guess there's a first time for everything...

Tuesday night my left gland was the size of a ping pong ball. Swallowing was very painful. So painful that it woke me every time I did so. With a fitful night's sleep, Wednesday was a rough day. This was Day 2 of poor sleep (I slept on Drake's floor Monday night trying to comfort him through his fever spells). I can deal with one night of poor sleep, but not two. Tears are FAR too close to the surface under those circumstances. And I was a blubbering fool Wednesday...

and Thursday...

and Friday.

Between my own issues and Cooper's and Drakes multi-nightly visits, a good night's sleep was impossible.

Friends and family kept asking if I had strep. "I don't get strep. My kids don't get strep. Paul doesn't get strep. It must just be a bad sore throat." SORE THROAT...That sounds SO wimpy!!! But the PAIN and DISCOMFORT that this "sore throat" caused was unbelievable. The chills set in on Thursday. I was living on ibuprofen. It took the edge of the pain off...barely. I only got off the couch when absolutely necessary.

Having accepted the idea that this bug wasn't going anywhere without force, I resorted to making a few Doctor calls. Starting with my O.B. (my only Doctor). But he only deals with "girlie" issues. Next...Doctor or P.A. friends. Both were booked. One didn't even have an appointment available for 6 days. SERIOUSLY?!?! What's a sick girl supposed to do for SIX DAYS?!?! So, I either spend another $130 at Urgent Care, or call in a favor. But with $130 Urgent Care bill for Drake AND $577 E.R. bill for Cooper both sitting in my drawer waiting to be paid, Urgent Care was the least desirable option.

After describing my symptoms to my "friend", a prescription was ordered. "Sounds like strep." I guess I'll never know if it was REALLY strep. But who cares. I'm feeling better now. Saturday morning my throat felt as good as if I was on ibuprofen (and I wasn't). By Saturday afternoon, I could swallow without ANY pain. Starting just today, I'm able to yawn without pain.

I'm SO thankful for my health!!! Having lived only a few days with less than ideal health, I am very mindful of those who live with pain and disease every day. I'm grateful that is NOT one of my challenges. I wouldn't deal well with that one. I'm also SO grateful for Doctors and Scientists who discovered the healing powers of penicillin. I'm grateful for a "friend" who put their reputation on the line to help someone in need. I'm grateful for friends and family who were praying for my health to return. I'm grateful for my husband who picked up the slack and made meals for the boys and I. He cleaned up after those meals and then took over the bed time routine to let me veg the rest of the night away. He even had a sleep over with Barik and Cooper so I could have a room to myself where no little "sleep walkers" could find me. And I'm thankful for my sweet boys who were so concerned about their "sick" momma. Your tender words of sympathy will be cherished.

Cooper-Crazy

Is my new name for our 4 year old. He thinks it's really funny. I never know what to expect from him. I often leave shaking my head in disbelief. For example...

After throwing an absolute, throw-down fit over having the blinking light of his tooth brush turned ON one night, (which resulted in spending quite a bit of time outside in his undies "chilling out") I didn't turn it on the next night. "I want it ON!!!" he yelled at me.

"It's time to go to preschool, Cooper." In near melt-down mode he responds, "I don't want to go to preschool!" I try to point out the best in every situation. So when there's school, he "gets" to go to school. When there's not school, he "gets" to stay home. On Monday, when he doesn't have preschool, he asks if he has to go to school. "No, you get to stay home today." "BUT I WANT to go to school!!!" Ugh!

"Cooper, will you get your jacket on?" "I don't WANT to wear a jacket!" So we leave without a jacket. "Where's my JACKET?!?!"

"I don't want a bath!" followed with "I don't want to get OUT of the bath!"

"I don't care if I have dessert tonight." "Why don't I GET dessert?"

I never know when he's going to turn. I'm sure it's just a 4 year old thing. But this 4 year old is bi-polar! Laughing hysterically at one moment and then crying equally hysterically at the next.

That being said, I sure love this kid! He and Barik have become such good friends over the past several months. I remember this happened when Andrew and Barik shared a room. Brothers turned into best friends. Now it's Cooper and Barik's turn. They were just brothers before. But now they are best friends. They seek each other out when they have something funny to share. They both think the other is hilarious! They are each others biggest fans. It's good to have Barik's good influence over Cooper.

As a side note, Cooper recently became aware of germs. Drake wanted a drink of Cooper's Gatorade, to which Cooper replied, "He can't. He'll be a zombie!!" Maybe Cooper drank a zombie's Gatorade. That could explain why he is "Cooper-Crazy."