Mercer County Community College had a fund raising for their flight team last weekend. I took the opportunity for Kailtyn and Ellie to have a flight in a Cessna 172. The river out of Kaitlyn's window is the Delaware River. We crossed it and went into Pennsylvania and then headed back.
Yes, we're excited!!!! We are going to have a third child. The baby will be born around October 20th. When there's more news to post, I'll be sure to post it, but for now, here is a video of us telling Kaitlyn (our oldest)...
We started going to church a couple months ago and we decided to baptize the kids. We joined St. James Catholic Church in Pennington, New Jersey. It was over 15 years since I've been to a mass. We sought permission to have Kaitlyn and Ellie baptized in Florida while we were down there visiting my family. They were baptized at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church in West Palm Beach, Florida at the evening Mass on Sunday, December, 30th.
The next step in my journey is to have our marriage Convalidated. My wife and I were married outside the church during my absence from the church. It's interesting how easy it is to drift away from something important. Below are a few pictures of the girls in their baptism dresses:
Ellie
Kaitlyn
Kaitlyn and Ellie
Well, it has been well over a year since we have used a credit card. Unfortunately, I don't know the exact date we shredded the credit cards, but we freed ourself from consumer debt six months later on February 22nd, 2007, by making the last and final consumer debt payment we will ever make to payoff a chase credit card. The only debt we have left to payoff are our student loans. Tamra and I have vowed to never have consumer debt again. It's one of our "No Matter What's".
We have to thank Dave Ramsey and his book, The Total Money Makeover, for sharing the wisdom of living debt free along with a plan to become debt free that works. Living below our means has changed our life and we are planning a debt free life for us and our girls. We do plan on getting a small mortgage on a house that we can payoff in five years or less while we payoff our student loans. We hope that we will be able to help our girls start a debt free life by setting a good example, planning to help them pay for college and maybe even help them with a starter home.
Over the next few weeks, I'll share how we did it. But for now, I would recommend renting Dave Ramsey's book at the library. It's a quick read (it's motivating) and this book has the potential to change you life, too! You just have to do it!!!
This past weekend we went to the Howell Living History Farm for the annual Potato Harvest. We saw horses pull a plow like tool through the dirt that lifted the potatoes to the surface and then we went out and put them in buckets. We filled two buckets full of potatoes and then enjoyed some cookies and lemon aid. We also packed a picnic lunch and enjoyed it by the farmhouse. After lunch, which included fresh potato chips cooked outside the farmhouse, we visited the farm animals. The potato picking is on the first video and the animals are on the second video.
Here is Kaitlyn at the first Mercer County, New Jersey, Supporters of Ron Paul Meetup.com event. Our next event will be at the Freedom Fest in the Mercer County Park. My brother Matt Bireta took this photo for us.
Mercer County Supporters of Ron Paul
I dusted off the camera and took a few photos. It took all of ten minutes until Ellie was all over me and the camera! I always want to take more photos, but it's so easy to say "next time."
June 27, 2006 Podcast
I can't believe the National Commission on Higher Education want to do to our universities and colleges what the Department of Education did our public schools. I can't imagine anyone would be happy with standardized testing in our colleges and universities. You can read the article by Justin Pope of the Associated Press. Our university professors teaching to 'the test'?? I just don't see it.
Today's podcast also features a little bragging about our wonderful weather and Kaitlyn and me reading together.
The intro and exit music is Beethoven's Ecossaise in E-flat recorded by Kevin Macleod. He has some nice music on his site.
June 26, 2006 podcast
Kaitlyn's bottom molars are breaking through her gums (yes, both at the same time :( ). They were really bothering her last night (which means Tamra and I barely slept). But I a have some good news, it's been a week since the girls started taking an afternoon nap at the same time from 1-3 :). I can get so much more done when both of the are sleeping.
The rule "A Place for Everything and Everything in its Place" that I mention in my podcast is from half-way down this page which is part of a chapter from an online book called "The Joyful Child, Essential Montessori for Birth to Three." The rule has really improved Kaitlyn's play because she would get distracted or maybe overwhelmed (hard to pick the right word) when too many toys were out. She plays so much better since we started putting toys away after we were finished playing with them.
Kaitlyn also enjoys helping Tamra and me do chores around the house. She picks up her dirty laundry after bath time and puts it in the hamper, puts cloths into the washer and dryer, removes clothes from the dryer, and helps sort and put clothes away.
