Good times...

On Saturday, the girls and I went to the Tree Lighting at Dos Lagos with Grammy, Papa & Auntie Holley. It was pretty fun. Unfortunately, Grazianos wouldn't give Josh the night off, which was a bummer.

Josh and I decided to buy our minivan a little earlier than planned since we have already put our truck up for sale. We LOVE it! I never thought I'd be caught dead in a minivan and now I'm pretty attached! We got a really great deal with no haggle from salesmen. We have learned our lessons the hard way on buying cars and everything went very smoothly! Our credit score has recovered from all of our past stupid mistakes and financing was a breeze, we got a great rate through the credit union, where we are now switching all of our banking to, as well.

Anyhow, the plan to pay off the last stupid credit card this month is still the plan. We will really need to bust our humps these last few weeks to pay it off. Ebay seems to be picking up again so I will be jumping back in full force. If you have anything you dont want, please let us know. We will gladly take it off your hands. We have been quite successful with ebay and it has helped us tremendously.

If you can see the pictures above, please go visit my actual blog which is www.priscillaandjosh.blogspot.com!

Love you all!

OPERATION SUPPORT OUR TROOPS!!!

Our church is collecting items to assemble care packages for the people fighting for our freedom while we get to spend the holidays with our families safe and warm in our homes! Josh and I wanted to be able to donate a ton of stuff!! So we want to get everyone we can involved at work, on myspace, in our families. We are so proud to be Americans and my eyes honestly well up with tears when I even see a man or woman in uniform because how fortunate I am and how grateful I am.

Below are the items needed. If you can help out even with just a few, that would be awesome and PLEASE give us a picture of your family and/or a letter to the soldier! I will actually be volunteering to help assemble the boxes so your stuff will make it to the church!! I need it NO LATER than Thursday November 20th.

MENS PERSONAL ITEMS (travel size only):

-toothbrushes
-shaving cream
-deodorant
-foot powder
-chapstick
-toothpaste
-shampoo
-bodywash
-disposable
-razors
-mouthwash
-lotion

LUNCHBOX SIZE SNACKS:

-nuts
-beef jerky
-rice krispy treats
-jell-o, pudding cups, fruit cups
-gum/breathmints
-christmas candy
-protein bars
-breakfast bars
-oreos
-cheezits
-micorwave beef stew & ravioli
-fruit roll-ups/fruit snacks

MISC. ITEMS:
-sharpies
-crew socks - white or black
-disposable camera
-black electrical tape
-AA batteries
-hot sauce - small size
-shoe insoles
-q-tips
-personal letters of support & encouragement
-$ for postage to send boxes

EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS!!

Thanks!

On a lighter note...

...we are sooooooo excited for the holidays and seeing everyone!! As far as my side of the family goes: I'm bringin' the pies!! Dont you dare bring your store bought pies! hahaha!

I got to hear baby Hank's heartbeat again, yesterday! That never get's old! I also have not gained a pound! Hooray!! We wont get to find out if it's a boy or girl for about 6 more weeks. Hopefully before Christmas. We cant wait!

We are also moving on December 7th! We will be saving a substantial amount of money each month on rent which will be really great. As far as your Christmas cards go, just send them to our current address until we get you our new address. We WILL pay off the last credit card this month if it KILLS us, but we are overjoyed to do so!!

Don't forget about the candle party next week on Wednesday!! I hope to see most of you here as there will be LOTS of food and it will be nice to have the company of people over 3 ft tall! Yay!

Please keep Josh and I in your prayers as we continue to conquer hurdles in our lives.

Buyer's Remorse

Buyer's Remorse. I'm sure we've all experienced that at one time or another in our lives. Sometimes we can rectify by taking back a frivolous purchase, especially if you shop at Nordstrom, or sometimes you are stuck with the item. Although, tomorrow morning I will wake up sad and will continue to do so for at least the next 4 years, I can hold my head high because I voted for the right man to run America, John McCain. Don't get me wrong, every American will be trying to get by this next term as well as can be expected, but those of you that voted along with Oprah, Ellen & the other celebutards will hopefully be aware of the wilting away of this fine country considering we just handed it over to a socialist on a silver platter. Everyone keeps reminding me that no matter what, God is in control. I know that in my heart, but sometimes I feel terrified in my flesh. I guess I'm just not quite sure how to brace myself for being taxed up the rear, the terrorist attacks on our soil that are sure to come, the further decay of the Christian Foundations, the continuous attack on traditional marriage & family, etc. My flesh just wants to scream "What the heck are you people thinking?!?" Obama is definitely right on about one thing: Change is coming. It's not going to be change that is good for this country. It's going to be change that puts America on the express lane to chaos and disorder. I'm proud of the way I voted and always have been. I wouldn't return my vote for all the store credit that Neiman Marcus could offer, but I truly believe that down the line, many of you that bought the non-refundable one-way-to-the-crapper Obama ticket wish you could return that for at least a measly K-Mart rain check. Yep. Buyer's remorse can be such an unfortunate predicament. I hope I'm wrong, but I HIGHLY doubt it. Then again, maybe the Lord will have mercy on the Christians and get them out of here before it all caves in. Ah, heaven. {swoon} Truly, I can't wait to get there. If everyone would just choose the Jesus ticket, which has already been bought, then we would never know of this "buyer remorse".

XOXO

If you are a Christian...

Tomorrow, when you go to the polls I challenge you to vote with your heart and your Bible, not with popularity, hollywood or even your pocketbook. Granted, the economy is affecting all of us right now, but if you are a Believer and you are faithful to the Lord, he will provide for you more than any government could ever even try to.


Vote according to what matters to God. Life matters to God and family and Israel. Vote for a candidate that will PROTECT our unborn blessings! Vote for a candidate that will Protect Marriage and promote the involvement of Parents in Children's lives, NOT government deciding what is best for our Children. Vote for a Man that take an UNPOPULAR position and Support Israel! God said to Israel he would bless those who bless them and curse those who curse them.
Those are GODS CHOSEN PEOPLE!!!

Yes, Iraq matters, yes the economy and healthcare matter, BUT they take a backseat to protecting what GOD has created.


Christian Brothers and Sisters!! Stand up for God and what is RIGHT in the eyes of the Lord, not your liberal friends. Don't vote for someone because they are a "maverick" or they are black. Vote according to God's word who upholds those values the Best.


After all that, it's clear how you should vote on Prop 8. Yes on 8. YES ON 4!!! Prop 4 says a minor must notify a guardian before having an abortion. Parents, we need to be there for our children when they come to us with these issues, God forbid it evers happens, but it does (Trust me, I know).


Pray this prayer tonight before you go to bed!


Billy Graham's Prayer For Our Nation

THIS MAN SURE HAS A GOOD VIEW OF WHAT'S HAPPENING TO OUR COUNTRY!
'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to
seek your direction and guidance.
We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those
who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done.
We have lost
our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.
We have exploited the
poor and called it the lottery.
We have rewarded laziness and called it
welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We have shot
abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline
our children and called it building self esteem.
We have abused power and
called it politics.
We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called
it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and
called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored
values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us, Oh God,
and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free.

Amen!'

Mmmmm...Ribs

It's what's for dinner! I do them in the crock pot and they are FABULOUS! Well, Fall officially began this weekend when I made, not one, but TWO pumpkin pies! Yummy! I"m so excited for Halloween. Madison is going to be a butterfly and Haylie is going to be a cute monster (since Monster's Inc is her favorite movie). Anyway we are going to my moms to Trick or Treat and I'm pretty excited and I think they are, too. They want to wear their costumes everyday!!!

Recently, my mom bought me a book (I'd tell you the name, but I forgot it and she borrowed it back to read it) about making your home holy. I know that sounds kind of funny, but it really makes sense. The first couple chapters talk about how are homes should be a little slice of heaven and that really resonated with me considering I have been feeling very anxious lately. I also felt so overwhelmed and that I could NEVER get my house clean enough. So the book proposed a question like "How do you envision your heavenly home? What are similarities and difference of your earthly home and your heavenly home?" The first thing that came to mind was clutter and crap. I felt so empowered and motivated to get rid of it and be more organized and I totally have. My house is MUCH more clutter free and I feel like I can breathe now. I feel so much more peaceful. I also decided that I needed a plant, so my mom got me the cutest plant that sits on my mantle AND I have candles going quite often so it always smells amazing and that has inspired me to have a candle party! YAY! I'm so stoked!

Little Hank is 13 weeks as of Sunday and I have another appt in a week. I feel pretty good most of the time, but it has definitely been different this time around. Madison is picking up new words and phrases everyday. She is so cute to have a conversation with. Her hair is getting so long, too. Haylie is picking up new words and very excited about the ones that she knows. She is pointing family members out in pictures, too. They are making lots of friends in the neighborhood and its great to see them interacting with other kids.

And the subject you are all sick of: Debt. A quick little note on that. We only have $1777.94 left of Credit Card Debt, total. And it WILL be paid off in the next 3 weeks. Done and Done. Hope everyone else is doing great and we would love to hear from you if we haven't already.

XOXO

Garage Sale update

Our garage sale was another successful one! Thank you to everyone who gave us stuff! We made $250 and we went and gave it to Bank of America immediately following. Our balance on the total left to pay on our credit card debt is now just a little over $1800. We have some other things in the works to earn even more extra money this month. I know I've said it before but your encouragment has meant so much to us! It never gets old hearing that we are on the right path because sometimes the path seems so overwhelming! Thanks again! We look forward to updating everyone in the next couple of weeks as we pay this sucker off!!!

Were getting there!

Yesterday, we paid off the last $481.73 on our US Bank card which started off at a fabulous $2300.00 in January. Words can't really decsribe the relief. We now have ONE credit card left and we were even able to already pay an extra $300 down on that so far this week. So we are down to our final $2000.00. YAY! I am praying our garage sale is going to be amazing! We have had so many wonderful friends and family give us stuff for our garage sale. We can't thank all of them enough! By the grace of God, we may be able to pay off this card this month, but worse case scenario we go into November a little bit, which is kind of a bummer. Keep us in your prayers as we finish the credit card fight! Thank you for your support and prayers.

Here is a little letter I wrote to US Bank:

My Love,

I write with deep regret that today I'm breaking up with you. I know the timing is bad with these past few weeks being some of the worst in your families' history. I truly am sorry for your friends Wachovia & AIG, but I just cant go on with a relationship like this. When it was good it was good. I thought you were giving me everything I had ever wanted, but you were so manipulative. Everything you gave me, I had to pay back with interest & fees. You left me so broke with nothing left to give. I need someone who pays me the interest and doesn't try to wine and dine me with flyer miles and bonus points. You were never even there most of the time! Everytime I saw you you were on the floor, maxed out! I cant have that kind of behavior in front of my kids, they'll pick up those bad habits! Towards the end, the only communication we had was the hate mail you'd send me once a month. I know with out a doubt that many more poor saps will wander your way and beg you to let them pay your interest and your fees with hopes of one day having enough flyer miles to travel the world or that free t-shirt you'll give them upon accepting your proposal. I wish I could say I wish you the best, but honestly I hope to see you go down like the others. Please don't contact me anymore, whether you're offer is gold, platinum or whatever other fine metals you offer. I'm off to bigger and better things in my life and even have a blind date next week with Mr. Funds. Mutual Funds. And he's already promised to take me to places that you never could.

Goodbye US Bank.

XOXO

It's been awhile!

Hi Family & Friendsies,

It has been awhile since I last checked in with ya'll. So here's an update in the chaotic life of the Millsaps...

Financially, things are going pretty good. Lot's of lonely/hard working nights are paying off. Although, they're not all lonely. My sister, Linda and my dad have definitely been keeping me company! My nana & parents have definitely kept us fed lots of times, too. Josh and I have really tightened our budget this month and were are striving to get the last of our credit card debt paid off. We will be paying off our 2nd to last credit card on Wednesday, which has a balance of $481.73 and we will be down to ONE CREDIT CARD!!! The balance on the last credit card is about $2300 and we should be able to get the balance down to about AT LEAST $1100 by the end of the month. that number does not take into account our garage sale money or anything extra that may come up. The goal was to pay it off by the end of October, which seems almost impossible, but it's not over until the fat lady sings and we are going to keep chipping away and chipping away. I think I will just sob tears of joy the day we pay it all off for the entire day. We are taking donations. hahaha, totally just kidding!! All of your prayers, cheers and support have meant more than all of you will ever know. Thank you so much!!

What happens after the Credit Card debt is gone?? Well, Josh and I have altered our plan a little bit to accomodate baby Hank on the way. We are going to make huge payments to pay down our current vehicle so we can either A. sell it and borrow someone's car for a few months while we save to pay cash for a van or B. just get to where can at least break even on a sale, then continue to pay the regular pmt. as we save for a van and pay cash. As soon as we have a van, then we will begin to conquer our RIDICULOUS school loans FULL FORCE!! We aren't quite sure how the planning to buy a house fits in quite yet. We are praying about it.

Okay, enough about money (even though it's my favorite subject because we are WINNING, unlike 70% of America) Baby Hank is so far so good! I have my first doctor's appointment last Thursday. Even though I was only 10 weeks, she tried listening for the heartbeat (they dont usually do that until 12 weeks) and we heard it!! Apparently Hank is about the size of a plum right now! How cute! I'm doing my best to stay in shape this time around. No 40 lb weight gain EVER AGAIN! My next appointment is 4 weeks from the last and I have to have blood work in between. ugh.

Haylie was dedicated at church last week! She was such a little doll, I'm glad we finally had that done before little Hank got here =]. Both girls are getting so big. Madison says the funniest things and is such a little person. It's so funny. Yesterday, her and I took a walk to Grandpa's together while daddy and sissy napped. It was nice to spend some one on one time with her. Haylie is starting to for her own vocabulary and everything that comes out of her cute little lips is adorable!

Micellaneously, our bible study has been awesome and we are making wonder friends which are much needed. We still haven't heard anything about the position at Meggit for Josh, sadly. We are definitely praying that something happens career-wise for Josh. I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited for the holidays this year that I can hardly stand it!!! Well, that's all I can think of right now. Love to hear feed back from all of you! Email me @ priscillamillsap@hotmail.com instead or replying to this. Looking forward to hearing how everyone else is doing.

Much LOVE!

The urge was too strong...

...to ignore.

I've been dying to write a blog so here we go! Life has just gotten so interesting in the last week or so. On Sunday, August 24 we found out that we are having baby 3! We are sooooooo excited! Not gonna lie, we are definitely hoping for a boy! LOL, but yes yes, we'll be just dandy if it's a 3rd little girl. Seems we make pretty cute ones, anyway. =] It was so hard not to run and tell everyone, but everyone was so busy so we waited until the next weekend and we had bought Madison & Haylie shirts that they wore to both of their Grandma's house and for their Papas. They said "I'm going to be a big sister!" & "I'm going to be a big sister again!" It was pretty cute! So after we let family and our close friends know, we put it on blast only a week and half later which felt like an eternity! haha! I've been at the gym EVERY day because I'm determined not to turn into the Goodyear Blimp this time around.

Also, today we found out that a position that Josh and I have been praying would open up at another company has! The position had been filled, but then fell through, so Josh submitted his resume today! This would be a MUCH better company for Josh to work for and we are really praying that this happens, but of course, as my dad so lovingly reminded me, that we really need to be praying that the Lord's will be done, and we will - I just hope this is his will! LOL.

God has really taken care of us and blessed us. I have been striving to be more Christ-like every day. Trust me, it's not always easy, but I know if I continue to press on even when I slip up then he is going to continue to bless us. Our life is worlds different from 2-3 years ago. It's amazing how far we have come and I am so proud of us, but I give the glory to God because he has been watching over us even when we weren't looking to him. Our Bible Study Starts up next week and we're super excited about that. We are so blessed to have the wonderful friends and family that we do and we love them to pieces! I just want to say thank you so much to those of you that got my text today and said you would be praying for us. You really dont know how much that means to us! We know the Lord hears our prayers and I have recently been experiencing the power of prayer in a very special way. Please feel free to let us know if you ever need prayer as well, I consider it privelege to pray for you and yours!

Until, I get the urge to write again, have a blessed rest of the week and don't ever forget that the Lord is in control. God Bless you!

You might have thought that we had given up on our dream of being debt free since I write so few and far between. On the contrary, friends~~ I dont update as often because we are now chipping away at the much larger bills and I guess I could update you every time I send a payment but thats just not as exciting as 'WE PAID THEM OFF!' which leads me to tell you the checks to pay off my State Farm Visa and our Nordstrom card are being sent off TODAY!! $850! UGH! I can only imagine what we will be able to do with our money when we are done paying off ALLLLLL our debt!! That leaves us with only TWO credit cards left!!! Praise God! I was looking at the statement from the 2 we paid off from a year ago and each of them had $1800 on them! Whoop whoop!

Ok, for those of who havent been reading my blog all along here is a quick recap. Since starting Dave Ramsey's Plan in January aka being responsible with our money we have paid the following!

Paypal: $80

Macy's: $80

Sears:$300

Macy's: $600

Kay Jewelers: $1600

Honda: $4000 (sold it!)

Nordstrom: $1500

State Farm: $1500

Us Bank: $500 (balance owed:$1850)

Bank of America: $400 (balance owed: $2350)

My Student Loan: $400 (balance owed : $2200)

Chevy Blazer: $2160 (balance owed: $8600)

Total Paid off Since January: $13,120!

I think it's pretty remarkable! =]

To God be the Glory!

My Prayer

I love love love this song. It has ministered to my soul. I especially love the word 'chaos' in it. The last few weeks have been a ball of confusion and hopefully down the road I'll understand what the Lord was doing, maybe I never will. All I know is it doesn't feel good to go back and forth all the time. It's also a gut check to make sure I'm doing what the Lord wants me to do. If you want to listen to the song go to www.myspace.com/madisonnhayliesmommy. It will automatically play when you get there.

Whatever You're Doing by Sanctus Real

It's time for healing time to move on
It's time to fix what's been broken too long
Time make right what has been wrong
It's time to find my way to where I belong
There's a wave that's crashing over me
All I can do is surrender

(Chorus)
Whatever you're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something heavenly

Time for a milestone
Time to begin again
Revaluate who I really am
Am I doing everything to follow your will
or just climbing aimlessly over these hills
So show me what it is you want from me
I give everything I surrender...
To...

(Chorus)

Time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out
That I've wanted to say for so many years
Time to to release all my held back tears

Whatever you're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but I believe
You're up to something bigger than me
Larger than life something heavenly

Whatever you're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but now I can see
This something bigger than me
Larger than life something heavenly
Something heavenly

It's time to face up
Clean this old house
Time breathe in and let everything out

Summer Days Driftin' Away

The splash Zone at Citrus Park is awesome! I was going to do my own cute little review, but it's simply fabulous. The only thing is make sure your little ones are wearing water shoes!


Then Yesterday we went to the beach for surf fellowship, unfortunately we missed the fellowship part. =[ Enjoy the pics!

Harvest Crusade 2008

I think I've got it figured out

Yay! So I love this blogspot! I was excited to start one, but then I was looking at other people's and was like, ok, how do they do that and did they add that...so I took sometime and figured out most of it! Like my question mark?? Oh ya! I did that all on my own =] LOL! Ok, now that I've messed around with this its time to make better use of my time and get back to cleaning the casa! Leave me some comments! And if you have your own blogspot, send me the link! Ok, 'til my next rant...bye!

Something I found encouraging when I feel completely discouraged

"When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives, my brothers, don't treat them as intruders, but as friends. Realize that they come to test your faith and to produce in you the quality of endurance. . . . you will find you have become men of mature character, men of integrity, with no weak spots." (James 1:2-4)

I found this to be really appropriate and encouraging today. Sometimes, I just flat out dont understand why things happen. It's hard not to react to certain situations the way our flesh wants us to and lash out. In my frustration, I just stopped and said 'Lord, it's in your hands, I'm not going to cry anymore, I'm not going to worry about. I'm not sure why you're letting me be let down like this, but I am going to have faith and trust and just leave it to you." I'm not gonna lie, if anyone knows me - you know how hard it is for me to leave something alone and not want to try to fix it or figure it out. 23 yrs later, I've realized only God can fix most things and only he knows why they are going on at the time. It would have been so easy for me to lose my cool and completely blow my witness, but instead I committed the situation to God. Perhaps the Lord is just teaching me to guard my heart which I seem to let people constantly walk in and out of, or maybe there is a bigger purpose behind it. Who knows? He does and that will just have to be good enough for me, as hard as that is to accept. I want to be molded and shaped by God and I want to be a woman of integrity. I'm a work in progress...

Disneyland & the last day of school

Remember when you were a kid and you had a trip to Disneyland coming up the next day and how hard it was to sleep the night before because the excitiment made you wanna pee your pants?? You know that feeling you get on Christmas Eve or the last day of school? That uncontrollable anticipation and excitiement! Wouldn't it be amazing to feel that way every day, to ALWAYS have something to look forward to?? That is what I have found in Jesus Christ and I have just discovered the last couple weeks!! I am heaven bound and I am yearning to be used by the Lord and do work for his kingdom! I am so excited at every opportunity to share his love, grace, mercy, compassion and the fact that he sent his son to die for US!! How amazing is that?? I'm just little ole imperfect, constantly falling short, sinner Priscilla, but somehow God is going to use me to do good work and speak through to others so they can have a relationship with Jesus, too! Not a long distant one, like I have lived most of my life. I put Jesus in a box and only brought him out when I wanted to. I have never felt more joyful than I do now making Jesus my BFF, my bestie!! He is in everything I do! I want everyone to have this kind of relationship with Jesus! School is almost out and Disneyland is fast approaching, get to know him NOW so you can spend Eternity with Him! www.knowgod.org Shoot me an email if you want even more resources!!

Good news for you & me!

I have never been so on fire for the Lord ever in my life! I have never had such a heart to reach other people for Jesus. To truly die to myself and live for him. I have been living for myself for a long time. I have felt the calling for about the past 7 months or so. I was like I will, Lord, soon. I dont know what I was waiting for. I really felt it on Sunday at church a week and a half ago. I know God has been speaking to my heart. I have known all my life that Jesus had paid the price for my sins, but it just really hit home last week. It became so personal. He spoke right to my heart Priscilla, look at everything I have done for you, its time. Pick up your cross and follow me. I decided to listen this time. I know Jesus has been tugging at my heart for awhile and I have felt that lack of relationship with him in all the aspects of my life. I want to reach as many people with the message of how much Jesus LOVES you. I think so many of us have forgotten that simple fact and forget to go back to basics with our Heavenly Creator. He would have suffered and died if there was just ONE soul to save. He created me AND you in his image and we are his children. God sent his ONLY son to die on the cross for our sins!!
I know that there are alot of people hurting for a lot of different reasons and I want you to take comfort in knowing that there is nothing too big for the Lord to handle, there is no person too messed up for God to put back together, there is no situation he cant mend. All you need to do is say a prayer letting God know you are sorry for your sins and you want to accept his gift of ETERNAL salvation and from this day forward you are going to follow him. You wont ever regret it.

Often I see bulletin posts, emails or status updates from some of you who may have lost hope or are going through tough times. You dont need to be hopeless anymore. I have seen God work in my life and lives of so many others. He has healed my marriage and my relationships with other people. He gives me comfort when there are situations out of my control and helps me be at peace. Trust me, I am a work in progress. I am a sinner, I have fallen so short of the Glory of God, but he is giving me the courage to press on and get up when I stumble. He helping me be humble. Sometimes, when I know I've messed I'm like Lord, I am never going to be that quiet, meek girl. I am just going to keep screwing up, Jesus, How you could you possibly use someone like me in your kingdom? And then there is His still small voice Priscilla, I am going to use you, continue to be faithful, run this race with endurance.
If you don't know Jesus, get to know him TODAY! If you have turned your back on the Lord, he is waiting for you with open arms, like he was waiting for me. Today is the day for salvation. Go check out http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3Lmtub3dnb2Qub3Jn He loves you and miss you! Dont wait another second!