Year 1

I know I promised not to blog on here for years, but then I realized it's September, I'm a year older, and we've officially been married for a year. Wow.

Probably the hardest thing for both of us this year has been a necessary life-style change. And I'm not talking about the part where we're now accountable to another human being. What I'm referring to is the need to spend money differently. Seems, in theory, like it wouldn't be that hard, or that it wouldn't be much of a change as neither of us spend extravagantly.

But the truth is, it's been hard. The main reason is because we worked out our financial goals and realized that we needed to get OUT of debt. On my own, my debt didn't seem that big. But once we combined our liabilities, it was overwhelming and depressing.

God has been extraordinarily gracious to us on this behalf this past year. Somehow, despite not even starting our official budget until January (thus 9 months ago), we have paid off over $24,000 in debt. From school debt to a motorcycle loan to whatever else kind of debt you can imagine...we're almost there. Plus, we had to buy a used car for Kyle to drive, as his car was falling apart and his 600 miles a week for work was taking its toll. There were a lot of one-time coming into money situations. Cashing in of old insurance policies that we no longer needed, etc. But it still blows my mind when I consider it.

In order to pay off that much debt, you understand how life changes. We've gone almost nowhere, we don't go out much, we try not to drive more than is weekly necessary for Kyle's job, and we also haven't bought clothes or anything else. It's straining. And sometimes you just WANT stuff. But the truth is, we're so close we can almost taste it. And that makes it worth it and enables us to keep going. We did manage to save enough money to take the most economical trip to South Carolina that was possible. We're so grateful to Tommy & Tracy for making it possible for us to stay down there for free.

Year 1 has also had a plethora of amazing things. We've made friends, hung out with old friends, participated in a friend's wedding, celebrated major milestones with family, and thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with each other.

We're so happy to be married to one another, and are hoping for even greater things in Year #2.

What's in a Name?

I realized this past week that I've officially changed in some regards.

A few are probably not surprising. I can sleep when there is another person in my bed. I cook quite a bit (and secretly I enjoy it some, too). I no longer think, "What am I doing this weekend?", but "What are we doing?"

The outward change, though, the NAME, has been something I wasn't sure I'd adjust to very quickly. I've been a Gottschalk and been addressed as Gottschalk for 26 years.

However, I received a letter in the mail this week addressed to Lana Gottschalk and I had to do a double-take. I am so firmly entrenched in "Lana Wilson" now that I no longer sign the wrong signature, I no longer have to make a conscious effort to say, "Hi, I'm Lana Wilson" and not "Lana Gottschalk" when introducing myself. (Even in November, I introduced myself as Lana Gottschalk to someone.)

Now, in January, I'm Lana Wilson.
Make sure you remember that. It's big news.