You know.. A chapter 13 is a gutsy move to make in retrospect. Who knows if their jobs are bound to last 5 years past their filing? Mine didn't last 5 months.

Here I am though, happy and successful to this point.

I have the most beautiful family and a job that I love and wake up in the morning ready to get to.

Things are really good in my life right now and I thought I'd take a minute to talk about the happy on this, the first day of my favorite month of the year. After work today I get to drive on over to a church in what I like to call ghetto Houston where I am the alternate precinct judge for tomorrow's election. I will assist in setup then return home to reflect on the fact that the election that I have been working for (in some faculty or another) since this time last year is finally here. And by Wednesday morning it will be no more than just another history changing day in my books. I am really ready for Wednesday morning.

I am worried over Christmas. At this point there is no account in our books that isn't past due, but I have faith that everything will be okay. We'll be okay. I am getting a Christmas bonus this year and if we have anything left over, after catching up on rent, cell phone, cable and electricity, we will possibly be capable of buying presents this year, with any luck. It's going to be 2-3% of my salary from what I've heard.

The new year is right around the corner and it's going to be an amazing one. The changes in my benefit deductions are akin to giving myself a 20% raise in net pay, and that's an amazing feeling. I got a raise in September, a VERY small one, but I get a raise in January that should be a bit larger. That's a good feeling. Salary increases have been frozen for 2 years and a COLA is much needed for everyone. We are not the best paid company in our field, but it's generally made up for in the lax corporate policies, good benefits, general environment, and mutual employer/employee respect.

After the election is over I am going to need to find something else to occupy my spare time and I have been thinking heavily on that. Hunter's last soccer game is this Saturday. Maybe we'll just spend the next 6 months spending more quality, free family time together.

I think next year the family will be able to take a vacation if everything continues as it has. I am very excited about the prospects. Between this, and the realization that a home is less than a year in our future, I am just generally excited about our family future. Tessa's 2nd birthday is 5 months away and I'll need to get planning on that. In a Chapter 13, normal pre-planning diligence just doesn't cut it. The same goes for Christmas. We were all set for an amazing Christmas this year, but things don't always work out that way. Oh well.. C'est la vie. And one must move on.

So that's a pretty hefty list of things that we are saving for this coming year.
- Restock $1k emergency fund (this is first priorty)
- Truck for Mike
- Save for Tessa's 2nd birthday
- Family vacation in November
- Down payment and closing fees on house between end of July and October.

I do realize that this is QUITE the tall order to fill, but I think we have a number of things working in our favor, including raises to both of our income, new car insurance that is roughly $1k less per year, and my net pay increase from adjusted benefit deductions. If we aren't able to do it all, it's not the end of the world.

Exciting times we live in.