Have You Considered Refinancing?

When we bought our house 3 years ago, our savings account had an interest rate of over 4% and we got a great interest rate on our mortgage-5.875% on a 15-year mortgage. Last Monday, I looked at our last bank statement and noticed that the interest rate on our savings account had dropped to a measly 1.5%. This got me thinking about the interest rate on our home. I didn't think rates would ever drop enough to make it worth refinancing, but I decided to look into it. By the next afternoon, we had been approved at the bank for a refinance of 4.5%! The lady said she had never written one that low! Also, the refinance charges are under $2K and will be rolled back into the loan. This new rate is going to save us a lot of money over the course of the loan. Like I said, we had a 15-year mortgage that we have paid on for 3 years. Since they don't write "12-year" mortgages, we got another 15-year. If we drew it out for 15 years, our payment would be $150/a month less than it is right now, but we did not want to lengthen our mortgage. So, if we pay it off in 12 years like we had planned, it will still lower our payment by $40/a month, and if we just keep paying what we have been paying, it will be paid off in 11 years! There are lots of great mortgage calculators on the internet that will help you decide what rate would make it worth while for you to refinance. You generally have to lose at least 1% to make it worth while. You also need to plan to stay in your house for a few years. It will take 24 months for us to make it worth the $2k in charges. I am telling you all of this to hopefully help someone else out. If you haven't looked into refinancing, NOW is the time to check it out!! Here is a good calculator: http://www.mortgage-calc.com/mortgagerefinancing/mortgage_refinancing.html

The Laughter of a Child is the Light of a House

Is there any better sound in the world than a child laughing? What great lengths we will go to just to hear that sound! We will dance around in public, make animal sounds in front of people we hardly know, or play one hundred rounds of peek-a-boo just for those precious seconds of laughter! Hannah, your dad and I love to hear you laugh! Lately, whenever I start laughing at something, you look at me curiously and then get a little grin on your face and start laughing right along with me. You look at me like, "I don't know what we're laughing at, but I'm going to laugh just because you are!" This makes me laugh even more.... it's an endless cycle of laughter! You bring so much joy to our lives!!!

PEZ & Bobbleheads

I thought about titling this post "This is How Much I Love My Husband." He has a fascination with Bobbleheads and PEZ Dispensers. He has been collecting both since he was a little boy. The tubs full of his collections have been around the whole time we've been married. I got him shelving for a lot of this right before I went into labor with Hannah, and he has finally got them up for display in the basement. He has the whole basement to himself (except for the laundry area) and he has filled it with his pinball machine, pool table, ping pong table, darts, and now his prized collections. I sure hope our kids appreciate all of this one because we don't get a lot of use out of it right now. But, I know when we were looking for a house, he really wanted an area like this, so I'm glad he has it. Boys will be boys :)

K-Mart is Doubling Coupons

I know I have mentioned once before that I have become a big fan of the "frugal mom blogs" since I have been staying at home. This week, they were all going crazy talking about how most K-Marts are doubling coupons (and some are TRIPLING!). I don't usually shop at K-Mart, but I had to check out what this craziness is all about. I have quite an organized coupon collection, so my mom and I headed out to K-Mart last night after Hannah was in bed. I got so many deals I had to go back today and pick up a few more things, mostly because you can only use four of the same coupon at a time. My total before coupons for both trips combined was $170, and my total after coupons was $70! I got 7 packages of diapers that would have cost $70 alone (not that I ever pay full price for diapers!). But, if you look at it that way, you could say everything else was basically free including 10 bottles of Ocean Spray Juice, 3 Sure Deoderants, 2 Dawn Soaps, 6 Packages of Huggies Travel Wipes, 1 Regular Size package of wipes, 2 Cream of Chicken Soups, Nailpolish, Suave Lotion, Soap, Aveeno Baby Lotion, Dentek Floss Picks, Rice Cakes, and four boxes of girl items I may need again someday :) Is that everything? I'm not sure, but I love getting a deal. It's kind of addicting!

We're Going to Disney World!

Josh and I have wanted to go to Disney World for awhile now. He used to go every year with his family and he LOVES it! In high school, he would always come back from his trips and tell me how much he wished I could have been with him. Since we have been married, there has never seemed to be the "right time" to go. It seems like every year there is something big that is going on (buying a house, having a baby, etc.). We wanted to do something special for our 5 year anniversary this year, but we also wanted to include Hannah in whatever we did. We started talking to some families at our church about vacation ideas. Several people mentioned Disney. We were hesitant about it with Hannah being so young, but plenty of people said they did it and had a great time. We just decided that there wouldn't be a better time any time soon given the fact that we could be pregnant or have a baby any year for the next several years, so we decided to take the plunge! We are going in late September, so we said it would be our Anniversary Celebration, Hannah's 1st Birthday, and Josh's and My 27th Birthdays all rolled into one! I know Hannah won't remember it, but I think she will still have fun. We are going with the mindset that we won't get to do everything, but we will have fun no matter how much or little we do. We are staying at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort, so even if all we do one day is swim and eat at a nice restaurant, I would say that is a fun day :) Did I mention this will be my first time in Florida??? I've been to over 30 states, but Florida is not one of them. I'm so excited!!!

CHRIST IS RISEN-HE IS RISEN INDEED!

Easter weekend was about as crazy as ever. It started Saturday morning with our Easter Egg Hunt at The Catlin Park. Josh and I organized the event and it was fun and quick as always! We had about 2800 eggs this year, as well as a coloring contest. I ordered 15 dozen donuts and we only had 16 donuts left! After the hunt, I went to Champaign with Emily, Hannah, and mom to watch Betsy finish her second full marathon! I am impressed by her motivation and dedication. That is not easy! She beat her last time by about 10 minutes. I was amazed at how many different types of people run marathons! While we were in Champaign, I bought a couple of new outfits so I would have something to wear for Easter! That night, I made a couple of Easter desserts. I was feeling quite exhausted by this point but felt that I couldn't really complain, considering Betsy had just run 26 miles! Hosting an egg hunt, taking care of a baby, shopping, and cooking all in one day don't even compare to that! On Easter morning, our kids sang at both services. They did such a great job! There was a part in the song where there were different languages saying "Jesus Loves Me" and the kids held up flags of those countries. I was really happy with the way it turned out. I wish I had pictures, but I was kind of too busy directing :) I left Hannah in the nursery during this time and when I got back, she was HYSTERICAL! She doesn't stay in the nursery much. It is hard because it is her normal naptime, but it is impossible with all of the noise! I know babies need to be able to sleep through some noise, but doors opening and slamming, crying babies, toddlers banging on drums and xylophones, and a strange bed isn't really conducive to sleep. So, I have tried to accept the fact that Sundays will be cranky days... After church, we had lunch at my parents' house. Here are the highlights: The food was super yummy this year. Hannah had her hand in my dad's mouth the whole time he was trying to pray before lunch :) My Grandma came late because she wasn't feeling well, and then she kissed Hannah on the lips when she walked in (lovely!). Hannah loved the ball that Sammy got in his Easter basket. Mom felt bad she got her a bunny rabbit instead of a ball :) Then, we were off to Josh's dad's side of the family in Urbana. We did not eat there. We just visited and Hannah showed off her floor skills (attempts at crawling!). Everyone took a million pictures of her. Then we were off to Josh's mom's in White Heath. We got there for dinner at 5. After dinner, we got our Easter baskets and left for home. We got home at 9. Hannah did amazingly well considering she basically did not have a nap all day and she hadn't been up past 7 for three weeks! It was an enjoyable day, but a very hectic one. As much fun as new dresses, Easter baskets, and egg hunts are, Easter is REALLY about the celebration of the resurrection of Christ!!! CHRIST IS RISEN-HE IS RISEN INDEED!

Spring Update In Pictures

Just playing on the floor... I'm still trying to figure out how to crawl. I am sooo close! This is my first bath in the sink (without my baby tub!) I'm about to outgrow my carseat!!!!

I got two teeth the day after my seven month birthday! I'm trying out the biter biscuits that Kristina and Sadie got me. They are yummy and messy. I took a bath afterward! Please pick me up? Look, no hands! I am sitting up really well! My first swing ride at the park! This is my favorite toy right now! Gotta love the $2.50 Christmas present :) I loved swinging so much that I had to take my friend Violet. Her sister was asleep in the stroller. (We got this idea from Micah Troyer's picture from last year!)