Looking for a way to cut expenses?

I'm sure most of us are feeling the pinch in this economy right now. I know, we are constantly looking for ways to reduce our monthly expenses. For months, I have had on my always lengthy to-do list to shop around for insurance.

We have been with the same insurance company for 8 years. And I had heard you should shop around every 2 years. After consulting Clark Howard's website, I found that the company I was with was ranked the 4th worst insurance company! And they are a major brand. I had thought for a long time that we paid way too much for insurance. But I had no idea how much we were overpaying!

The internet makes it so easy to shop around. Within only 1 hour, I was able to see that many companies offered great coverage for a lot less than we were paying. We ended up switching our car insurance and were able to save $1,000/year! I was shocked. We were paying more than 3 times what we should have been paying and we were receiving less coverage. Our previous company had some of our limits at state minimum requirements. Our new company quoted much higher limits and we are paying 1/3 of what we were paying.

So if you are looking for a way to save some money, try shopping around for new insurance and see what kind of deals you can find!

Pictures of our new house and quick update

Here is a quick clip of our new house in VA. We actually made a movie that Steve did an excellent job of narrating :) However, I'm technically challenged and have limited time, so for now here are just a few pics on a slideshow. Baby's room is still in progress, so those pics are missing.

We love this townhouse. The rooms are extra large so we have plenty of room. We also have huge storage spaces not shown in this pic for all of our stuff that didn't fit here. It is in a quiet development where the boys can safely ride their bikes on the wide streets. We back up to a cow pasture and have views of the mountains. Best of all we are just a couple of blocks from Starbucks and Target but tucked away so you would never know you are that close to civilization :)

Jacob finishes up his baseball season this week. He ended up playing in a league that covers ages 5-8 (of course, he is only 4). We were very hesitant at first wondering would he feel too pressured. At the first practice, we noticed the kids throwing to each other in warm up. Steve quickly let the coaches know that Jacob was 4 and didn't know how to catch yet. The coaches were wonderful in making sure to make him feel comfortable and work on drills to teach him these skills. So here we are at the end of the season and we can't believe the progress we have seen in Jacob. He went from hitting off a tee in GA and catching grounders to being able to hit off of a pitching machine and catching balls. He plays in the outfield and has made several plays and did a great job throwing to the right base. Last week, he even got a hit and scored. Most importantly, Jacob loved the season. He did an amazing job especially being the youngest on the team and playing in a league far beyond his skills. We have to laugh though b/c this is baseball that Steve played at 6 and 7 years old and here Jacob is at 4! He did love it and we are grateful for that.

Jacob also starts an enrichment class this week at Redeemer Classical School. We are excited about this program. The school offers enrichment classes for homeschool kids. So this will be another great outlet for Jacob to meet some new friends. We are in the process of trying churches and the boys will be able to plug into AWANA soon, which they are so looking forward to!

Homeschool is going great. Even though I am doing a K curriculum with Jacob, alot of it can be done with Zachary. Both boys are learning alot and really enjoying it. I'm blessed to be able to see their progress daily. Jacob is learning to read! He can read most short vowel words now. Zachary is learning letters and numbers.

Update on Zachary, we have seen a change in him with this move. He has lost his aggressiveness with other kids and has become such a sweet sharer! It is nice to see him not pushing and biting anymore. He loves to be the center of attention and is so full of life.

Pregnancy is progressing well. I'm 30 weeks now and everything seems to be going well. My mom is scheduled to come in the Sat after Thanksgiving as we await the arrival of this sweet baby boy!

Finally, Steve is doing great with his transition to a new job. He is learning a lot and enjoying getting to know everyone he is working with.

We are both praying we would get connnected to a church soon, make new friends, and sell our house in Atlanta soon!

We are LOVING the true fall here. We plan to soak up as much as we can this fall and prepare for a REAL winter that we have never experienced :)

This move has been such a blessing for us. We have so much time to just be with each other now. We have actually slowed down to the point where we can enjoy the special moments with each other. Our days are not filled with activities and hustle and bustle. The boys and I spend a good bit of time outside just enjoying God's creation. Our evenings are calm and quiet and our weekends are not spent running around like crazy anymore. It is hard to put into words, but life here so far is so calm, peaceful, and enjoyable. The moments and memories are so much sweeter now that we have time to focus on them and fewer distractions.

Stayed tuned for when baby #3 turns our quiet world upside down :)

We are in Virginia now

Well, our crazy, crazy summer has come to an end. We had a whirlwind of visits to family and friends in an effort to squeeze out every last bit of time we could get before heading off to our new adventure.

The last month in particular has been quite a ride. We moved up to Charlottesville, VA into a furnished apt so that we could all be together in the same state. We came back to Atlanta a month later to do our big move up to VA. We have rented a townhouse in Waynesboro, VA that we just adore. See the link for our video of our new abode I will be posting shortly.

We feel very blessed to be able to live in such a beautiful place. Right now we feel as though we are on an extended vacation. So reality hasn't quite set in for us with life in a new state. But we live in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley and it is just amazing. We are surrounded by mountains, rolling hills, farmland, and God's beautiful creation at every turn.

We plan to soak up every bit of this beautiful state! There is so much to do here. So many things to experience and see. The boys love that there is an adventure waiting for us at every turn. They love the wildlife that we encounter, the different species of insects that we experience here, the possible bear sighting that Jacob so longs for, the groups of deer eating grass leisurely on the side of the road, etc, etc.

So for now, I'm indulging in time with my husband and children as we settle into a new home and await the arrival of boy #3. I do plan to pick up the pace of my postings again! In particular, I will again be posting different subjects that I find interesting. I just haven't had time to sit down and put anything together this summer. But that will all change soon! So check back soon and often!