The Saturday 7

1. I forgot to tell you guys that Lena won the spelling bee in her class! She got first place out of all the sixth graders, and she didn't even study the packet they sent home. So she automatically qualified to go on to the next round against the 4th and 5th grade winners. The first round is just done in their classroom with no adult spectators. But the second round is a whole thing where parents and grandparents come watch. I really didn't think she'd do it, so imagine my surprise when she was totally chill! Prozac for the win! She had a very laissez-faire view of it all, and I truly didn't think she'd care if she won or lost. But care she did! She was legitimately angry when she got out on the word "pesos." She said right there, "Why are there Spanish words in this spelling bee?" Lol. Again, if she'd studied the packet at all, she probably would've been more familiar with the word pesos, but she still managed to pull off 3rd place!

"C'mon! Pretend to be happy for a picture!"

2. It finally happened, guys. I had my picture perfect moment of everyone in the living room reading peacefully together on a cozy winter night.

I implemented "Mandatory Family Reading Time" for half an hour every night. You have to be in the living room and you have to read quietly for half an hour. Lucy struggles with the "living room" part and Levi struggles with the "quiet" part, but we did it . . . once. I told the kids they could have 30 minutes of screen time if they participated. The first night, all went well. The second night Lucy was in a mood and said she didn't even want the screen time and didn't want to leave her room. The rest of us did it, though. And then Wednesday night the kids have church, Thursday night I have book club, and by Friday night I'm exhausted and ornery and I pretty much check out and let the kids do what they want. Lol. Two nights is better than none, right?

3. For my reading time, I chose to read Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi. My brother recommended it to me years ago, but I never got around to it until I found it on Everand this week. I read the whole thing in two days and swiftly slapped 5 stars on it. Two 5-star books in the first two weeks of 2025! What the what?! It also earned the honor of being one of very few books that has made me cry. I mean, it was a couple tears trickling down my cheek, but considering how much Zoloft I'm on, that's a serious feat.

4. Again, my reading is the source of this week's What Did Sadie Learn? I gained a unique perspective of the Muslim faith by reading about one man's struggle to leave it behind. At least in my experience, Islam is usually represented as a harsh system of beliefs that is especially cruel to women. So it was very interesting to read about it through the eyes of an American Muslim who cherished his faith. His upbringing actually sounded a lot like mine. His parents were incredibly loving and devout. He was immersed in his faith and it was all he knew. His parents prayed for him and with him, taught him the Scriptures, and insisted he learn them and make them his own. His mom wore a burqa, but his dad did not rule with an iron fist. He describes his version of Islam as extremely peaceful. He was always taught to "turn the other cheek" and even encouraged to embrace Jesus's teachings in the gospel. He was also taught Muslim apologetics. He knew how to refute arguments by Christians from a young age, and was eager to evangelize. (I'm trying to keep this short, but it's not going well.)

Through a variety of circumstances and people, he slowwwly came to the realization that Islam does not hold up under scrutiny (historically or logically) in the way that Christianity does. He did rigorous study for years, and it destroyed the foundations of everything he believed to be true. He even ended up having visions of Jesus beckoning to him from heaven (the part that made me cry - and not as cheesy as I'm making it sound), but he was so reluctant to convert because he knew it meant destroying his family and breaking his parents' hearts. 😭 Spoiler alert: he eventually did convert, and it did cause major division in his family over which he grieved for a long time, but it was amazing to read about how much he cherished Christ, and how much joy he had in receiving the gospel.

Spoiler alert 2: I finished the book, then started to read some of the other reviews on Goodreads and was astonished to see people talking about Qureshi's passing. A quick google search revealed that he died of stomach cancer at the age of 34 just a few years after writing the book!! I was gutted!!

5. Justin and I have been using YNAB this year and really trying to stick to a budget for one of the first times in our lives. . . . It's a real pain. Lol. But it's been eye opening to realize how often I throw away money just because I want something. In fairness, though, it's also been eye opening to note how expensive kids are. Lena's birthday is this month. Levi's is in February. So it's not just the gifts, it's the birthday dinners and/or activities, a party, a birthday treat for school. And it's not just my kids' birthdays! In the first 11 days of this month alone, I've paid for a Christmas present for one of Lena's friends and a birthday present for one of Lucy's friends, plus Levi just got invited to a birthday party next week that I'll need to buy another present for. Then there's a homecoming dress for Lucy (and I'm sure I'll be paying for a ticket as well), plus she's ready to try contacts, so that's another expense. Don't get me wrong. I'm happy to buy presents and homecoming dresses. It's just a lot! When I wasn't sticking to a budget, I didn't notice it as much. I just charged it and cried a little every month when my credit card bill was due.

6. Speaking of crying a little, look at this letter we received yesterday . . .

Apparently the IRS thinks Justin received over $15,000 from a life insurance company in Iowa in 2023 and we didn't claim it on our taxes. The only reason they're notifying us of it now is because it could impact our kids' medicaid eligibility. Oy. Let me assure you. We have never received a windfall of $15,000. It should be easy enough to prove that by giving the IRS access to our bank account, but that makes me all kinds of nervous. This letter looks legit. I get letters with the same letterhead and contact info for my caseworker all the time. But when they call me next week am I really just supposed to give them my bank account info over the phone?? Also, the SSN that I redacted only shows the last 4 digits, but those digits do match Justin's. So does that mean someone who really did get that money stole his identity? Or is it just a clerical error? Ugh. No matter what, it's going to be a headache to resolve. Especially because it's attached to Justin's name, not mine, so it's unlikely that anyone will give me any information.

7. Let's wrap this up with some pics and memes. I have a bunch today for some reason. They're your reward for my long-windedness above.