We're Back!

My apologies for the lack of posts in the last month. I for one thought that December was supposed to be the craziest time of the year. I guess I was wrong! January was twice as busy as December and it had our family running around like crazy for practically the whole month. And now we're almost halfway through February?? Sheesh!

Since the beginning of 2011, our family has gone through a lot of changes. Our condo was remodeled in early January which had us displaced from our home for a few days. Nick quit his job at Efinancial and was blessed with an amazing new sales position at Liberty Mutual that we are very excited about. We also took a two-week trip to the midwest to visit family and just got back this week. Not to mention, Owen is sitting up all by himself now and is eating solid foods three times a day. Bananas are his favorite!

God continues to grow and shape the Walker family as we go through continued change and unexpected twists in life. Nick was hoping to find a new job in the near future, but we had no idea that He was going to bless Nick with such a wonderful job in such a timely manner! Nick's first day at Liberty Mutual was today and he is already extremely excited about what this company has in store for him. I'm just happy that he has found a job that he can get excited about!

Since I'm all out of words for the evening, here are a few pictures from our trip to the Midwest.

Looking out over the frozen lake at cousin Erin & Gerard's house

Papillion, Nebraska 

Owen playing with Daddy on a snowy cold morning

Papillion, Nebraska

Three second cousins playing together (L to R: Trevor, Tyler and Owen)

Papillion, Nebraska

Tickle time!

Papillion, Nebraska

Penguin swimming at the Henry Doorly Zoo

Omaha, Nebraska

Giant iguana relaxing on a log at the Henry Doorly Zoo

Omaha, Nebraska

Floating jellyfish at the Henry Doorly Zoo

Omaha, Nebraska

Cousin Izzy

Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Three lovely ladies cozied up on the couch (L to R: Becky, Izzy and Kathi)

Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Vote for Owen to be a Gerber Baby!

A couple of months back, Nick and I entered Owen into a cute baby contest sponsored by Gerber. There are a few prizes for monthly winners but the grand prize is a $25,000 college scholarship! The voting is now open and every computer can vote once per day for as long as the voting is open! I don't know when voting ends, but for now, vote vote vote!!!

VOTE FOR OWEN HERE!

They ask for your email address but no worries - I haven't been spammed by them and I've voted multiple times. They only need your email so you can complete your vote.

Thanks everyone!

Creating an Emotional Emergency Fund

It's been a crazy month here in the Walker family. My car broke down, we discovered a water leak behind our bathroom wall, Nick's job has been unpredictable and now it's Christmas! Someone asked us the other day, "What do you think God is teaching you through all this?" I blinked a couple of times, unsure what to say to that. And now I think I've figured out why.

Until I was asked that question, I didn't even realize how crazy our month had been. All these challenges seemed small to me. Perhaps that's what God has been revealing to me - things will happen, but as long as you're prepared for the challenges, life won't seem so scary. Nick and I stayed up far too late last night talking about this and came to this conclusion:

It's important to have an emergency fund in the bank, but even more important to have an emotional emergency fund in your heart and mind.

Nick and I went through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University class a year and a half ago - just before we got married - and it immensely helped us shape the way we approach finances as a couple. If you're in need of some unifying of your financial habits as a couple, I highly recommend Dave's books, classes and website. His first "baby step" to reforming your finances is to put $1,000 in the bank to start your Emergency Fund. As he likes to say it, the emergency fund is a "Murphy-repellant". The fact is, stuff will go wrong... but will you be prepared for it?

What if we could implement this strategy to our marriages, other relationships and the rest of life in general? What if we stocked up our "emergency fund" so when crisis hits we aren't flying off the handle and throwing a pity party for ourselves?

I know my emotional emergency fund was not prepared enough for the news that I was pregnant with Owen. It took me a while to readjust my thinking to God's will at that time. However, I feel that in the following eight plus months I asked a lot of questions, read a lot of books and spent a lot of time listening to pastors and other wise counselors to emotionally and physically prepare me for Owen's arrival.

To me, that's how you stock up your emergency fund. By reading good books, conversing with people you respect and learning from others - through their successes and mistakes. If we could constantly be preparing for not only the next life stage, but also other life stages that might happen upon us suddenly - death of a loved one, children, sickness, financial crisis - our emotional emergency fund will be ready to be tapped into when those rough times come. And they will come, because we live in a fallen world and this is as close to hell as those of us who love Jesus will ever get.

So how are you preparing for the challenges ahead? Are you seeking to build up your emotional emergency fund?