I'm Back!!!

Well, I guess I should apologize for just disappearing off the face of the earth but the last several months have been a little crazy. Blogging became the last thing that I thought about. Many of you know where I have been, but for those who don't, I'll try to give you a brief synopsis of the last few months. Then maybe I can do better about more frequent updates.

My last post was in May after Joshua's graduation and after that we spent time preparing for VBS at the church. During this time I was still actively pursuing a travel assignment in the nursing field. The week before VBS, I received a phone call from 2 hospitals and had two job offers for travel assignments. I ended up accepting the one for California because the pay was better :-) and also because I already had the California nursing license. Suddenly, I had a million things to do to get ready and within 2 weeks, I was on my way to one of the craziest experiences I have had in a long time.

I went to work in a moderate size hospital in Yuba City, California and worked in a level II NICU/Well Baby Nursery. While being away from family was difficult, it was a great experience. The people I worked with there were awesome and they treated me like family. We had a great time. I did get lonely after a while and decided to get a kitten. Cali was my companion and helped to keep me sane. She is home with me now and has adjusted very well to life with family and 2 large dogs. I do believe she rules the roost many days. :-)

Talking on the phone was great, but it just wasn't the same as being together with family. We decided to get web cams and that made communication really cool because we could actually feel like we were in the same room with each other from all the way across the country. Skpe is pretty amazing. We even got our parents in on the action so I could talk to pretty much all of my family while I was gone.

I spent 13 weeks there and got to come home for a week and then went back to complete another 8 week assignment. It was truly an amazing experience and I look forward to traveling again when God provides the right assignment, but I definitely don't want to be gone quite that long again. I missed my family, friends, and my church. While I was in California, I found a great little church that took me in even though I couldn't attend as regularly as I wanted and treated me as one of their own.

I got back home the Monday night before Thanksgiving and got to take the month of December off. I spent that time getting used to being in a house full of people again. :-) After 5 months alone it was definitely an adjustment again. Being home has been great. We spent time with each other, worked on getting school work caught up and grades done and all that good stuff.

After Christmas, we started trying to get back in the swing of things and yet we were all moving a little slowly because we just wanted to spend as much time as possible with Joshua before he left for boot camp. We learned to play Canasta over Christmas from Nana and have become Canasta maniacs. It is a fun game and can be played with lots of people. We have even come home and taught it to some of our friends.

'Joshua left here this past weekend, on January 25th. He went to Montgomery, AL and spent the night there. On Monday morning he got up and went through the processing and all that stuff. :-) We waited all day to know if he had actually left and spoke with his recruiter that afternoon and were told that there was nothing they saw that would have kept him from leaving.

So again the waiting...and that night, at 9:25 we received a phone call. It was the very scripted phone call that we were told to expect, but not at all what I expected. All I could do was listen as he told me in a very monotone voice that he had arrived safely at Parris Island and not to try to call him or write to him, that we would receive a letter in 7-10 days with his mailing address, and not to worry about him. I tried to tell him 'we love you' but have no clue if he even could hear me. When I got off the phone, I actually cried. I had not thought it would be so emotional but I guess it finally felt real.

Please be in prayer for him as he goes through the next 13 weeks. It is a very tough training and we are so very proud of him. I can't wait for his first letter and then to be able to write to him.

Well, thanks for listening to my ramblings and getting you caught up on my life. I will try to be better about writing more often. I'll also try to get some pics out here soon.

God bless and have a great day!!!!

Graduation Week

Well folks, this has been a crazy week, so here is my attempt to catch up on some belated posts. I hope you enjoy this look into our crazy week of Graduation. For those who don't know, we have a new graduate in the family, so here is a brief view of his time in the spot light...at least from Mom's view. :-)

To start with this past Sunday was Graduate Recognition Day at our church. Seniors had the opportunity to create a table display to show off all their accomplishments over the last 12 school years. Well now who do you think these tables are for? :-) I do believe they are more for the benefit of the parents, don't you? Anyway... Mom was given carte blanche to do whatever I chose as long as he could tell anyone that asked that he didn't do it. I did make sure to get approval from him on any pictures that I used. During this time I had the most amazing helper in JB. He worked side by side with me for 3 days trying to get everything ready. As crazy as it was, it was also a lot of fun getting to go back through pictures and relive a lot of memories.

And yes, for those of you who see the Marine Emblem and don't know...Joshua is in the delayed entry program for the Marines and is planning to be ready for boot camp in January of next year. We are very proud of him.

Joshua was the first called up on stage for the recognition service and so was at the far end of the stage from where I was seated, therefore when it came time to get pictures I was in a pickle. I was so grateful to a friend who came and took my camera and took some pictures for me. It was a great service.

After the service we had lunch, catered by Olive Garden (yum!!!). It was a neat time of fellowship with friends and family. After lunch was completed, it was time for the Baccalaureate Service. What a fantastic service it was, lead by Westwood's very own Kevin Derryberry. He did a superb job of challenging these kids to live for Christ and to remember that whatever they do that belong to Him. His testimony is very inspirational and you can read more about his life here.

It was an exciting day and gave a small preview to what the next few days would be like. We stayed busy and had a great week. There was lots of cleaning house to get done in preparation for family and I had lots a fantastic help from these guys of mine. We got everything ready and were very disappointed when we learned that my parents would not be able to attend. My dad fell several weeks ago at home and fractured his back. He is still recovering from surgery and in a good deal of pain. They were planning to try to come, but decided that it would be wiser to stay put and not make the 5 hour drive to come here. We all agreed this was the wisest choice. Micah's mom and dad were able to join us and we enjoyed their company for the exciting event.

With over 300 students graduating from Thompson, it could have been a long service but it wasn't. I was impressed with the length and it did not leave you exhausted afterward. :-) I hope you enjoy the pictures below of the BIG event!!

Here we have the processional . . . talk about a happy young man. :-) What a grin!!!

And in this shot he has just received his diploma (or at least the cover)and is walking off the stage. They had to get the actually diplomas after the ceremony outside the building.

After graduation friends gather for pictures. More fun pics to follow.



Can't you just feel the LOVE!?!?!?!?!? :-)

And more LOVE!!!! :-)


Here are my three oldest boys (men). What mother wouldn't be proud? :-)

So there you have it . . . a brief look into an amazing week for us and the beginning of a new era for our second born son. Thank you for visiting and sharing in our family fun.

God bless and have a great day!!!

First Trip to Walgreens

Now here's my fun picture for the week. Not only do I get to share what I saved, but I also get to show off the baby of my family. :-) Koby has got to be the biggest "baby" you can ever imagine. He truly doesn't realize that he is NOT a lap dog. God blessed us with the sweetest and most well behaved, gentle dog you can ever imagine. And talk about smart? He can even close the back door when he comes inside! How's that for smart? Anyway...more about him another time.

This trip was made to Walgreens. My friend and I decided to give it a try and she had worked out several ideas, so I met her there to join in. Of course, we did get a little slow start because I went to the wrong store (we have 2 within a couple of miles and I didn't think to ask her which one she was going to...silly me. :-) ) Great thing was that since she was there ahead of me she had already scoped out all the deals and picked up a few items for me already. I am so blessed to have a friend to help me save money and we have such a good time getting it done. :-) Thanks Fiddle D. Dee.

So here's the breakdown:

TRANSACTION #1

3 Walgreens Facial Tissues - $.99/each - with store coupon
1 Zantac Cool mint - 8 ct - $3.99 - $5 coupon adjusted down
1 Gillette Venus Razor - $9.99 - $4 coupon
1 Dr. Pepper 20 oz. - $1.29 (for a very thirsty assistant) - free coupon

Paid $11.71 oop and saved $12.59 - generated $9.00 RR for Zantac and Venus razor.

TRANSACTION #2

2 Cascade powder - 2/$5 - .25 coupons for each
1 Zest bodywash - 3/$10 - .35 coupon
1 Old Spice bodywash - 3/$10 - .75 coupon
2 Crest toothpaste - 2/$5 - 1.00 coupons for each
1 Zantac Cool mint - 8 ct. - $3.99 - 5.00 coupon adjusted down
3 Charmin wipes - $1.99 each with store coupon

Paid $20.42 oop and saved $14.71 - generated $23.00 RR for purchasing 9 P&G products and the one Zantac.

TRANSACTION #3

1 Zantac Cool mint - 8 ct. - $3.99 -$5 coupon adjusted down

Paid $.32 oop and saved 4.99 - generated $3.00 RR for purchasing Zantac.

Now the total spent was $32.55 and the total saved was $32.29 and the total received in RR(register rewards) - $35.00. (I think I actually made money.)

All-in-all I call that a successful trip. I did learn a few things though and was thankful for Fiddle D. Dee, because she had shopped with Walgreens before and knew a few of the ins and outs. Bottom line that I learned ( and I do remember reading this on Crystal's site before a good while back) is that you can't use more coupons than you have actual items, so if you have 9 items and 9 manufacturer's coupons, you can't use RR. That was a little disappointing, but I'll just get to use them later. :-) Also we learned that it would only print 1 RR and accept 1 coupon for the Zantac on each transaction, which is why I spread mine out. Fiddle D. Dee bought hers first and had to return and re-buy one of the Zantacs because she didn't get her RR and it wouldn't take but one coupon. And so we both learned by her frustrations. :-)

Well...all I can say is that shopping at Walgreens was a new experience for me and since I have $35 in RR to spend I know I will be back. Hopefully it will be as much fun the next time and I can save just as much. Much thanks to Crystal on Moneysavingmom.com for all her helps and deals. She is such a blessing and it is a pleasure to learn from her. Please check out her site for more information on "how to's". She also has some great e-books that she has written and offers to help others learn to live frugally.

My prayer and goal in sharing my savings is to help others learn how to wisely use the resources God has provided. God has greatly blessed me by bringing into my life those who can help me and I look forward to sharing that information with others as I am able.

God bless and have a great week!!!!

Urgent Prayer Request for a Friend

As many of you may know, I am a nurse. My area of practice for almost 25 years has been Neonatal Intensive Care, where I have been privileged to care for premature babies. It is an incredibly rewarding job and I love what I do. Right now I am currently working a little differently in that I am working through a couple of agencies and am basically self-employed. That said, this post is to ask for prayer for the mother of a baby I took care of last year. This information is given with her permission and her blessing. She is an incredible lady with an incredible family and testimony. She believes that the more people praying the better.

Last year Caroline was born early via Cesarean Section because her mother, Laura, had breast cancer and needed to undergo further treatment that would be harmful to the baby. Born 9 weeks early, Caroline had an amazing course in the NICU and the witness of this family is incredible. Laura had a journal that she wrote and an e-mail list that she sent it to. At the request of some of the nurses, she made copies and placed them in a notebook to share her journey with others. I remember spending many a night using my spare time reading and being in awe of her faith and trust in God.

Having shared that part of the story, recently, while preparing for her reconstructive surgery, Laura was told that her cancer was back. After 8 months of being cancer free, it had returned and this time it is in her lungs. And still in the midst of it all, her only desire is that whatever happens, GOD be glorified. She will tell you in her own words that her wish is to see His hand working in whatever He has planned for her and her family.

My request today is that you join with me and thousands of others who are already supporting her in the prayer that God will heal her if that is His will and, that if not, that many will come to know Him through her experience. To find out more about Laura and her journey, you can go to a site called Caring Bridge where she has a site and is posting updates there. You can click on the "Journal" in the top navigation bar and it will take you to all the posts she has put out there which I believe go back to January. Here is the link to her site.

Please join in praying for this courageous woman who would love to stay here and see her children grow up, but more than that would like to see her Lord and Savior glorified above all else. Laura, please know that your courage and your faith are an inspiration to me and I will continue to lift you up in prayer as you journey through this stage of your life.

I am thanking each of you for your prayers for Laura and her family in advance and would love to know if you have visited her site, so please leave me a brief comment so that I can know those who are praying with me.

Thanks again and God bless!!!

Today's Trip to CVS

Okay this is my last CVS post for today, but I guess I just wanted to get caught up. Today I got to go with my friend and she and I ran into another fellow CVSer (I'm not sure that's really a word, but oh well.) :-) We had a blast yaking for a few minutes and found that one other thing we had in common other than CVS was MoneySavingMom.com . It was neat to talk to someone else who, when she asked if we used any blogs and we both told her about Crystal, she knew the site well. I was also able to tell another couple of ladies about Crystal's site so they could learn how to get "free" stuff, too. :-)

So anyway...as for today's trip, here is the breakdown:

1 Bic Soleil Refills - $5.99 - $2 coupon - $3 ECB's back
1 Softsoap Spa Radiance 18 oz. - $5.49 - $5.49 ECB's back
6 EOB toe separators - $.99/each
2 M&M's - $3.49 each - $3 ECB's for 2
3 Aquafresh Extreme Clean - travel size - $.99/each - $1.00 coupon/each
1 One Touch Glucose Meter - $19.99 - $20.00 (again adjusted down to $19.99)
1 Diet Dr. Pepper - $1.29 - thirsty again but this time with a free coupon :-)

Total spent OOP was actually a little higher than I liked because I didn't have enough smaller value ECB's to use. Something I will have to work on. I paid $10.63 OOP and received back $16.49 in ECB's. Not a bad trip and we had a great time. There should have been another $5 ECB, but when the toe separators rang up B1G1 1/2 off, it messed up that deal. Oh well. It's all still good and as I said, we had a great time.

Ya'll have a great week and don't forget to check out the deals at MoneySavingMom.com. She also posts lots of ideas and deals for other stores besides CVS. That's just all I've managed to work with so far. I have to figure out one store before I can tackle another. :-)

God Bless and thanks for stopping by to visit my blog. Don't forget to leave comments. I'd love to know if you came by to visit.

Another Day at CVS - April 28th

So here is my trip from yesterday, April 28th. My friend and I went to CVS specifically looking for a couple of items. One thing we were hoping for was to find the Post-It-Note Flags. Since there were only a couple, I let her have those since I had other things I wanted. We went to a different store today in hopes of finding them, but alas...no such luck. :-) This time(yesterday) I did get a little smarter and broke it up into 2 transactions in order to be able to use 2 of the $3/$15 purchase. Find this coupon here.

Transaction #1

2 Palmolive Liquid - B1G1 - $.25/each
2 EOB Facial Scrubbers - $1.49 each
1 One Touch Glucose Meter - $19.99 - $20 coupon (adjusted down to $19.99)

Used $3/$15 CVS coupon and no ECB's and only paid $2.58.

Transaction #2

1 EOB Facial Scrubbers - $1.49 each(to complete first transaction deal for $5 ECB's)
2 Cover Girl Tru-Blend foundations- $9.49 each - B1G1 Free Coupon ($6 ECB's)
2 Twizzlers candy - B1G1 free - $2.49
1 Diet Dr. Pepper @ $1.29 (I was thirsty) :-)

Used $4/$20 CVS beauty coupon(received in an e-mail), $3/$15 CVS coupon, Cover Girl B1G1 coupon, and $6 ECB and paid a total $2.98.

Total spent for the day--- $5.56
Total saved for the day--- $50.26

Now that was fun. As I said in my last post, I am learning that sometimes it is easier to break it up into smaller transactions to make the most of your coupons and ECB's. The total ECB's I got back were $11. Not a bad trip. :-)

For all the scoop on how to do this with a great deal more information than I can ever hope to offer, please go and visit Crystal's blog at MoneySavingMom.com. She gives a great deal of information on how to be frugal and make the most of your money. I am so thankful for all the words of wisdom that she has to offer and all the links that she provides. If you have any trouble with the link I added here(not sure if I did it right or not) use the link on the side bar under favorite blogs.

Happy shopping and saving!!! God bless!!!

April 24th at CVS

Ok folks...this was one awesome trip and I wish I could say I saved more but I did not. Now don't get me wrong, because this was still an incredible savings, but I did pay $40.58 OOP. So as you can see the exciting thing is that I saved $90.46 (total purchases were over $130) so I really can't complain. One of the reasons I believe that it was higher was that I bought the Alaway eyedrops. They are not cheap by any means and at $12.99 for a little bottle...well...OUCH!!! :-) Here's the breakdown:

Alavert -5 boxes - sale price-$5.99 - $4 coupon/each and $5 ECB for each

Softsoap Spa Radiant 18oz (4)- $5.49 each with $5.49 back in ECB's for each

EOB(Essence of Beauty) gift bags 2@ $1.49 each with

EOB Eye Makeup Applicators 1 pack @ $1.99 - 3 items and got $5 ECB's back

M&M's - 4 bags @ $3.49 each - $3 ECB's back for every 2 purchased

Alaway Eye Drops - $12.99 each - B1G1 1/2 off with $3.00 coupons for each

All-in-all it was a good trip and generated over $50 in ECB's. The thing I am learning is that when I buy it all in one lump sum like that then my ECB's are also in one lump sum, therefore making it harder to use later on. As you can see I am still learning, but I am having a great time while I learn. I had a great time this past weekend giving away some bodywash to friends and family. That makes it even more fun for me.

Hope you have a great week and God bless!!

P.S. If you see the eyes behind the Softsoap that would be JB, my helper and co-conspirator. :-)

Late Nite Shopping Trip

Last night on my way home from working a half shift at the hospital, I decided to stop by CVS and see if they had any of the Alavert that is part of a hidden deal that I learned about from Crystal on MoneySavingMom.com. Thanks Crystal. For more tips on how to save money at CVS and lots of other places visit Crystal at http://www.moneysavingmom.com/. She is awesome.

We use a lot of Alavert at my house and this was a great deal. I got 5 boxes of 12 count tablets(actually 18 count because they were bonus boxes) and made $1.00 overage on each. WOW. That paid for the body wash that I got that was on sale for my DH but that I didn't have coupons for.



I love learning how to do this. Like a friend of mine says, "saving money is addictive". What an awesome addiction to have. :-) Well anyway, here's the breakdown for the trip last night.



Alavert 5 boxes - $6.99 each - 5-$4.00 coupon and $4.00ECB for each

Sauve Men's Bodywash - (50% more bottles) - 3/$5.00

Dove Hairspray - 2 @ $3.99 each ($5.00 ECB for $15 Dove purchase)

Dove Shampoo & Conditioner - (33% more bottles) - $3.99 -each + $3.00/2 coupon



I spent $60 + before coupons and ECB's and used $$33 dollars in ECB and ended up paying $1.84 in the end. This generated $25 in ECB's for next trip. Not as well as I would have liked, but still not a bad trip to get things that we use all the time. According to my receipt I saved $84.00 and spent $1.84. Not bad for 30 minutes shopping, huh? :-)



Hope you all have a great day and God bless.

Jeremy & Lesley's Wedding Pictures

Well, I guess now is a good time to try to venture off into something other than sharing my shopping fun. :-)

All right now...for all you veteran bloggers, I have about had it with trying to post multiple pictures, but I finally think I have conquered it. At least for this post. :-)

I hope that you all enjoy this look into a very wonderful day in our lives...the day we finally added a girl to our family!!! I am no longer alone!!!

For those of you who may not know what I am talking about, I am posting just a few of the pictures from Jeremy and Lesley's wedding in October 2007. It was an absolutely beautiful affair and I hope you will enjoy the pictures.

I'll try as I go to add commentary as needed, but for the most part they are self explanatory. Most of their pictures were taken ahead of time and they had a wonderful time getting to see each other privately for the first time in the sanctuary and then proceeded with the picture taking.

This is probably one of my favorite pictures and I had to share it because they are an adorable couple. Of course, that is from a mother's view, so what can you expect? :-)

Below is one with both sides of the family and also gives a good view of what the church looked like. The decorators and caterers did an absolutely fantastic job. You'll find some pictures of the reception as you scroll down.

Then of course the bride and groom with the parents.

Then there's the bridal party. From left to right is Laura, Julie, Laura, Rebecca, Lesley, Jeremy, Micah, Joshua, and Jason and in the front is Mikaela, Jonathan and Nicholas.
I couldn't resist including a some pictures of my adorable niece Mikaela who was the flower girl. She was enchanting and beautiful very much the princess of the day. I think she captivated quite a few hearts.

I liked this picture because I got to be surrounded by the most wonderful group of men any woman could ever ask for. What woman wouldn't be proud to be in the company of this handsome group of fellows? And just think ladies...I get their company all the time. (Well, I am missing the daily company of one now, but he gets the pleasure of keeping his lovely wife company now.)


And then the vows and the kiss. I'm telling you...for those that missed it, it was a beautiful wedding.

And finally all the food!!! What a spread they put out for us. It was amazing and very delicious. The decorating again was well done and the food divine. Just looking at these pictures again made my mouth water. :-)

Groom's cake on the left and Bride's cake above. Both were delicious and beautiful.

First pictures of the bride and groom as they exit the church.

One very exhausted young lady in momma's arms. But it didn't take long before she was up and ready to see the bride and groom off on the honeymoon amidst a shower of bubbles.

Jeremy and Lesley made it to the car (which escaped any major decorating damage) and were off to start their life together. They honeymooned in the mountains of North Carolina and had a wonderful time.

I hope you have enjoyed this brief look into the first wedding for our family. It is my pleasure and joy to be able to say I'm not the only female around here anymore. :-) Thanks Lesley, for joining me against all these guys.

Lesley and Jeremy

October 13, 2007