Family

Today is Health Care Day 2 for the Supreme Court and their hearing of oral arguments on whether or not the Health Care plan that President Obama signed into law was constitutional or not?  And at the center of the arguments today is the highly contested and most often questions, Individual Mandate. I discussed yesterday my views on Health Care and what I thought that should be done, but I was asked by a friend, what does Health Care have to do with your sons?

Here it is in a nut shell.  If the law, as it is today, stands and goes into effect in 2014, there are a few things that could have an effect on the boys:

  1. If everyone is required to have medical insurance, getting an appointment if the boys are sick, will be that much harder with their Doctor.
  2. If small businesses are required to pay more for health care, then jobs could be slashed from employees.
  3. If jobs are slashed and cost of goods and services go up, that means, that as the parents of these boys, we have less money to spend on them.
  4. If we have less money to spend on the boys, that means less spending on family outings, meals out, baseball games, college savings, etc.

So, yes, this current Health Care bill does have an effect on my sons. It has an effect on all of us. I think that most agree that we have a health care issue, the difference is, I think that what is being proposed is going to do more long term harm than good. All American’s deserve the right to have Health Care, but it is the individuals right if they want it or not.  And I for one, would rather keep my discretionary income for my family, then see the cost of goods and gas go up higher due to the Health Care bill.

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We are only a few months past Christmas for this year and we are already talking about the next Christmas. Why? Well, for many reasons.

1) staying at home instead of running around
2) planning meals around feedings
3) first year, go less on presents
4) start buying gifts early and throughout the year to save money

Staying at home instead of running around
This past year, we spent the holidays with family. But next year, we have decided that since the boys will have more of an idea of what Christmas is about, that we will be staying home. It is important to us to establish traditions as a family. So, family will be invited to come over next year, instead of us going to visit everyone.

Planning meals around feedings
The boys feedings last year were different last year, but this year will be different.  Now that there feedings have changed, only 3 bottles a day, we will be able to plan our family meals better.

First year, go less on presents
We only purchased a few gifts for the boys this past year.  We will more than likely continue this again this year, primarily because the boys still really will not need a lot.

Start Buying Gifts Early
We have already started buying gifts for family members now. By spreading out the gifts, we are not scrambling to find gifts for family and friends in December right before Christmas. It spreads out the cost throughout the year and not just in 1 month.

These are just a few things that we are looking at for Christmas 2012.

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I grew up playing sports. I honestly, can not remember a time where I was not playing a sport, primarily either basketball or baseball as a child. Every Saturday morning, we played basketball. Mondays and Wednesdays were baseball. Soccer was Thursdays. So Friday and Sunday we had off, however, we were usually playing basketball at the gym.  Some of my most vivid memories were playing sports, whether it was the friendships formed from playing or the coaches that took the time to teach us the love of the game.

The times have changed. There are actually games that being played on Sundays, time that should be devoted to church and family.  As much as I love sports, there has to be boundaries. I want my sons to play sports, but I want them to have their priorities in order: church, family, and then sports.  So as my wife and I have talked about this, we have decided that we want to encourage our children to play sports at the YMCA, where Christian values are placed as the core values and sportsmanship are the top priorities.  But, they also do not play games on Sundays, which is important to my wife and I.

 

 

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As I have mentioned in previous posts, my wife and I are very focused on getting out of debt. To help speed up the process, we have both started doing some extra work to help us meet our goals of reducing our debt as quickly as possible. That being said, the last two Saturdays have meant that the boys were spending Saturday with Dad, while Mommy did some side work.

There were a few things that I had hoped to do today:

  • Stay in our pjs all day – DONE
  • Enjoy breakfast – DONE
  • The boys take a nap – They took a 2 hour nap.
  • Watch Field of Dreams – Watching it now & the boys seem to really be into it.
  • Watch some reruns of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives with Guy Fieri – DONE
  • Play with the boys – DONE
  • The boys take another nap – DONE
  • Enjoy dinner – We had Chipotle
  • Let the boys watch a little of the 1st half of the UNC vs dook game – The boys actually watched almost the entire game.
  • Put the boys down – Were down in 5 minutes after laying down in their cribs.

I don’t remember much when I was a kid spending a Saturday with my Dad, but I hope that there were days like this. I look forward to Saturdays when I have the boys and I hope that the boys will look forward to their Saturday with Dad.

 

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It is February and many families are starting to plan their summer vacation. But how is the economy playing into those decisions? Are you planning on staying local for your summer vacation? Or are you looking to maybe travel, but stay closer to home? For us, we’ve decided to leave town, but we are doing a trip with other family members to cut down on the cost. By doing this, we will save on gas, food and the house rental.

A summer vacation is important, it is great for getting away, having fun with the kids, and experiencing something new. But with a down economy, high gas prices, and uncertainty with our economy it is important to be smart when planning your family summer vacation.

So what are your family plans for your summer vacation?

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I stumbled across a Pork Loin with Cranberries and Orange recipe this week and to say that I’m excited is beyond words. The recipe has 3 of my favorite things:

  • Pork
  • Cranberries
  • Oranges

So, today, I’ll see how well it turns out. I figure that for this meal, which I will spend about $17.50 on in total for the ingredients, I will get at least 3 meals out of it. I was fortunate to catch the Pork Loin buy 1 get 1 free, which cost me $12.50, then the cranberries and oranges make up the rest of the cost. And considering that I’ll get a dinner for my wife and I and 2 lunches for me out it, all in all, it is a solid meal.

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I am not a Dr, nor do I play one on tv, so I really do not have a medical stake in this topic, other than stating my opinion, so here goes.

I think that children watching tv can be healthy, but to a point. I can see a lot of benefits from certain tv shows ,whether they talk about the importance of being friends and helping your neighbors or learning to speak multiple languages.   But, in saying that, I think that there needs to be moderation.  Too many people use TV as a babysitter, so just be careful and monitor what your kids are watching and the amount of time that they are in front of the tv.

So parents, if you choose to let your children watch tv, that is your decision, but just monitor what they are watching and for how long. I would much rather sit in the floor and play with my boys, then sit on the sofa and let the tv interact with them.

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Every night, before I lay the boys down, I say a little prayer over them. It is simple and basic, but goes something like this:

Dear God,
Thank you for today and thank you for these boys. Please watch over them tonight and protect them from harms way. Please help my wife and I be better parents and love these boy more every day.
Amen.

I think that it is important to get the boys use to praying now, as it is a part of our lives.  A book that I’ve read a few times now, Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?, by Philip Yancey, has really had a powerful part into not only the importance of prayer, but how to pray.

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As January 2012 is quickly coming to an end, I sit back today and reflect the last year, there were both highs and lows, but mostly highs:

Highlights:
– The boys were born and are healthy and growing
– My wife and I are closing in on our 4th wedding anniversary
– Family and Friends are doing well and healthy
– My sister welcomed her daughter into the world, so we are aunts and uncles again
– Our careers are doing really well, even in a down economy

Lows:
– There were some trying times after the boys were born for us.
– Financially. You know how they say with twins, it is two of everything. They aren’t kidding. It has been hard financially on us, but we have gotten by and have been able to start learning to live on less.

All in all, 2011 will go down for my wife and I as a great year. We were able to welcome our sons to the world and they have been able to bring us so much joy and laughter, that I can’t imagine a day without them. And spending time reflecting on the past, is helping me plan for the future.

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The last time that I checked, life is too short and we aren’t guaranteed tomorrow. But even so, we can plan ahead and protect our loved ones as best we can. As a father, I feel that it is my role to lead by example and to make sure that my family is always provided for, even if something were to happen to me.

The week after the boys were born, I added them to my Life Insurance policy at work, which guarantees $20,000 each. I also increased the individual life insurance policies that my wife and I both have as well. And then I added them to my other two policies that I had taken out with USAA. If I were to die tomorrow, the boys would be taken care of and all for a few dollars a month. There is a peace of mind knowing that if I am not here tomorrow, that they will be provided for.

I highly recommend sitting down with a financial planner and discussing with them your options and protecting your family and their future.  Taking an hour or two out of your busy schedules, is worth the security for when you need it the most.

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