My Cowboy...and his brother

Tonight was "Cowboy" night at Awana.

Of course we didn't remember until this morning but thankfully I was able to find a few things that Isaac had worn as a costume in years past and put something together for him.

The only thing we didn't have was cowboy boots. And the vest was super huge but he looked great regardless!

Of course Elijah wanted to be in the picture with Gabriel. But he had just finished his dinner and had gotten a tootsie roll and when I took the picture it looked like he had a piece of chew in his cheek!

This was making all of us laugh....

I was trying and trying to get a good shot of the two of them but it wasn't working.

I LOVE the above shot because it is so who are kids are...no poised and proper kids in this household! :)

But after a few tries we were able to get a pretty good one....

I love that our boys love eachother and want to have pictures together. Happy Wednesday to all of you!!



Couponing

How many of you have watched that show on TLC - Extreme Couponing? I admit I have, and while I think some of those people are a little...shall we say off their rocker, you can't deny the fact that they are getting thousands of dollars of products each year for almost free.

I honestly don't know how they do it - but I have started to coupon a bit myself. If you have been following my blog you have already heard that last week I lost my job.  So now, even more than before it is important that I find a way to cut some of our expenses until I am able to find a job again!

My favorite site for coupons so far is Coupons.com.  All you need to register is a valid e-mail address and then e-mails are sent to you when there are new deals etc available. You are allowed to print 2 each month and new coupons are added throughout the month too.

The coupons are mostly for brand name items so you do have to compare the value of the brand vs. store name in price with the coupon. Sometimes the store brand is still a better deal and I just go that route.

On these extreme shows the talk about "stacking" coupons...using a manufactures coupon with an Internet coupon for the same item.  I tried this at Walmart and they wouldn't let me do it. If you have had luck with this let me know how/where would you please?!

I also have become more of an "ad" shopper. I used to do all of my shopping at Walmart - one stop was easy. But I have found that I can get some great deals from our local Hy-Vee if I watch their ads. About a month ago we bought LOTS of cans of beans for chili because they were so cheap. We have them stored in our basement "pantry" and won't have to buy beans for a LONG time.

We do this with other items as well like cake mixes and spaghetti sauce and noodles.  Another thing I like to do is buy a bunch of hamburger when it is a great sale and brown it up and freeze meal-sized portions.  This helps make meal planning easier when I just have to thaw a container of meat instead of thawing AND cooking it.

Also some stores have special days where they will double your coupons value up to a certain amount. Kmart does this on Wednesdays here and they will double up to 5 coupons with a $25 purchase.  So you have to watch the ads and make sure you are getting your value out of the coupon. Last week I got a couple of items BOGO 1/2 off plus I had a $1 off coupon that was doubled. That made the prices much less than I would have paid for store brand at Walmart.

I haven't ventured out yet to coupon clipping sites, or dumpster diving for ads! :) But if you get a Sunday paper and don't use your coupons and would like to send them my way from time to time I would really appreciate it!

These days when I leave a store and don't have an amount off for coupons I feel like I have lost a little! Last week we saved $16 at Walmart and $8 at Hy -Vee just from taking the time to clip/print a few coupons.

I would LOVE to hear if you coupon, how it works for you and what other money saving tips you may have!!

Who's the adult here?

I don't want to forget this little conversation I just had with Gabriel...

I picked Gabriel up from school and we were headed back home. I always ask him about his day, what he had for lunch, if he has homework etc.

When we pulled into the garage I asked him if he was going to have one of the brownies I made yesterday as a snack.

He said "yes" and then I said "or should I just eat them all"? (teasing)

Then he said "Mom if you eat them all you will get a stomach ache!" And I responded "Oh I will? hmmm"

As we walked into the house he said "Mom when you talk like that sometimes I feel like I am the adult and you are the child!"

So I asked what he meant by that and he said "You should know that eating all the brownies would give you a stomach ache - adults know that stuff....and when I have to remind you it feels like I am the adult and you are the child!"

Ahh yes....that's my Gabriel! He just cracks me up at times!!

What are some of the funny things your kids have said to you?

When a "boy" daddy finally has a girl

Having a girl after 3 boys was a shock to both of us. Dominic really was surprised...said he didn't think he had it in him.

All of our boys looked the same at birth - so he was just a tad worried about how she would look. He didn't want a "manly" looking daughter! :)

But she is every bit sweet and girly and petite and it is so much fun to dress her up in pretty dresses.

So this week Dominic was out on the road for work and he and his boss had some downtime between appointments and they ran into a TJ Maxx.

And when he came home he had this for our girl - his "miss" as he calls her...

A beautiful dress - maybe for Easter? And it was only $10! It has a matching headband and these beautiful rhinestones for buttons on the back....see?!

The most special part to me was when he said "This is the first thing that I have ever bought for her on my own". (Insert tear)

And I couldn't help but think that one day he will buy her another dress....and that one will be white and I will always remember the day that my man brought his "miss" home her first dress from daddy.

I am so blessed to have such a caring and tender hearted man! And my girl is going to be beautiful in her little pink dress this spring!

For those "what now Lord" moments

If you are friends with me on Facebook you may have already heard the news that today I was told that the position I had with a company I had worked at for 13 years was being outsourced, and that as of today I no longer had a job.

And just like that everything that I knew about my world stopped for just a moment. I was in shock really - not much to say, words failed me and I tried to reassure the HR person that had to tell me the news that I was going to be ok.

God has a plan in everything right?

I say that all the time to other people...but could I really believe it for myself?

This has been quite the past 18 months or so. First Dominic taking a leap of faith and moving to another state to start a job we felt he had been led to, to losing a best friend, to having our daughter and then finally after 8 months taking another leap of faith and moving to Marshall.

We finally felt like we were where we were supposed to be and that things would start looking up for our family. But Dominic's job was difficult to say the least. A tough and negative environment and it was wearing on us all.

Right before Thanksgiving Dominic's employment with the firm we had moved here for ended....for the better really - but here we were right before the holidays and he was without a job.

 God has a plan in everything right? You do right? I mean what now Lord??

And He did have a plan - one that we didn't see unfolding and the very next day Dominic had a new job, a company car and a fantastic group of people to work with. I heard him laugh, genuinely laugh for the first time in months that first week. And although he has had to "start over" in a sense....he is happy and we feel very blessed by his new employer.

And we started feeling like finally now maybe things would start looking up...again.

And then, out of the blue, I get the news I got today.

God has a plan in everything right? You do right? I mean what now Lord??

And although I have NO IDEA what is in store around the corner for me. I don't know when or where I might find a new job. I don't know if I can/will stay in banking or if I should be doing something different.

There is so much unknown right now and it could feel really scary. But I feel strangely at peace.

I don't know how God is working but I KNOW THAT HE IS!!

So in these "what now Lord" moments where do we turn??

I have to turn to His word and the truths found there....

Isaiah 41:10 "Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand"

God knew about what would happen today before we moved to Marshall, God knows what my next job will be (I am hoping He clues me in sooner than later) and I trust fully in His timing.

I can't explain the peace I feel about all of this - but it is there. Do I wish this were different - absolutely!!  But because this is now my new path I move forward in faith.

So what now Lord I ask??

Fear not my daughter, fear not! - Those words whisper to me tonight, a soothing balm to my soul and I find rest in Him. Thank you Jesus for your provisions....I walk forward in faith - lead on!!

Joy

I am linking up today with Bonnie over at Faith Jam to talk about Joy.

When I looked up the definition of Joy I was surprised to see what the first description was.

"The emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires"

Interesting I think because I don't think that is how I would describe the things that bring me joy in this life.

If my joy was defined by my well-being, or success or good fortune - things defined of this world - I would probably find myself disappointed and unhappy.  Because we won't always have a perfect, successful, fortunate life.

There will be tough times and can I find joy in those times too?

I think that we have and we do.

Here are just a few of the things that bring me joy lately....

The toothy grin that Karlena gives me in the morning.

Hearing Elijah say his prayers.

Asking Gabriel to tell me about his day when I am picking him up from school.

Having conversations with Isaac and feeling blessed that he still talks to me! ;)

Phone calls with my husband when he is away for work and sharing our day with each other.

By the world's standards these may not be things that should bring me joy, but they do.

And I am grateful.

I have found that seeing joy is really about about my perspective. And when I choose to see the joy in the little things, I am blessed.

So how about you? Where do you find joy in your days? Please share - I would love to hear!



Prayers With Our Kids

We are definitely a praying family. Saying prayers together is something that we really started to do about 5 years ago.

In the mornings the kids and I say prayers as I am taking them to school/daycare. We pray for their day and for their dad's day at work and recently have been praying for sweet Isaac that I shared about last week. He can still use our prayers so please keep him at the top of your list!!

And we pray at night before bed as well -thanking God for the day and asking for protection as we sleep.

When we eat we say a few "common" prayers and one that I have only ever heard in our immediate family. It is called "Happy Hearts".

We thank you Lord for happy hearts

For rain and sunny weather

We thank you for the food we eat

And that we are together.

Amen

What makes this prayer fun is that we will replace "rain and sunny" with different words. So if it is a birthday and it is snowing out we would say snowy and birthday weather....you get the point right?

Recently this prayer has become Elijah's favorite and being  2 1/2 and not always able to share - he is often the picker of our words.

His favorites right now are Magic Wands and Praise Jesus weather. LOVE this!

And because this is now his favorite prayer he wants to say it for every prayer. So we say it at bedtime and in the morning and at meals! :)

But he is so adorable because he has learned it and even though he doesn't realize it now he is learning to bring his requests to God and hopefully he will carry that with him for life!

So how about you - do you have a favorite family prayer? Please share it here with me because it would be fun to learn something new!