A List

It turns out Chris finished up his residency just in the nick of time. We were always really careful with our money during our student years but somehow managed to get the things that were absolutely necessary. I always had a mental list of things I was going to do or buy when Chris finished his schooling. However, that list has kind of faded to the back of my mind as the replacement of necessities have taken its place. There are so many things we have had to replace the last few months and there is no way we could have done all that on our previous income. Here is a list of a few things that we have had to replace in the past few months:

• computer--our "old" computer was purchased during medical school. We bought one that fit our budget which turned out to be already outdated and not a good computer in the first place.
• filling--I was so bad with my teeth when I was younger, even in high school when I should have known better. I used to buy 100-count boxes of Blow Pops and eat at least one a day. Needless to say, my teeth are pretty silver! I had my last dentist appointment in November and the dentist told me I would need to have a particular filling replaced soon. I never made the appointment, that is, until it started giving me trouble.
• bed--we bought a bed shortly after we moved to NC. The house we purchased was new and we received incentives along with it, one of them being a gift certificate at a local furniture store. Again, we purchased a bed that was in our budget. Lately with my pregnant body and Chris's bad back, we are not getting much sleep. Off to the store this weekend to buy a new bed--this time a better quality that will hopefully last more than 4 1/2 years.
• van--this is not necessarily a replacement but a required upgrade. With #3 on the way there was no way we could fit three car seats in our Corolla.
• vacuum--we received a vacuum for our wedding (12 years ago this Sunday), a Eureka that we used from the time we had our first apartment until we moved into this house. It recently died but I thought 12 years was pretty good for a vacuum cleaner. I started doing some research and found that most vacuums in that category don't last nearly that long. It was difficult to find a vacuum that didn't cost $500 that sounded like it would be a good quality machine. I only have carpet in the upstairs and didn't need the fanciest model. I finally settled on another Eureka. Hopefully it will last another 12 years or so.

I feel incredibly blessed that all these things lasted as long as they did and that we have had the means to replace them all. We have so many other blessings to be thankful for too. This is by no means a brag list but an acknowledgement that we are blessed and I know He is watching out for us. It's good to make a list sometimes. . . .