Better than Sears??

I took some(more) pictures of the kids today. I sure like my camera! (Callie was sleeping)

Things I liked about Thursday...

-a cup of coffee in the morning. I love coffee!
-getting to MAC on time.
-driving to MAC in our newly fixed van...that actually runs and doesn't overheat after seconds(although it shouldn't for $1300!)
-holding a sleeping Callie at MAC. She never is still anymore, so I cherish the times when I can cuddle with her.
-racing Tate in the gym at MAC. He would say, "Ready, go!"
-the BEAUTIFUL weather! It was 65 degrees and sunny out!
-the picnic the kids and I had outside on the porch.
-playing in the leaves with the boys after lunch.
-having a meeting with our grant guy about our house repairs. It IS going to happen!!
-baking chocolate chip cookies with Hunter.
-EATING chocolate chip cookies with Hunter while we read books.
-taking pictures of the kids outside, like this one:(Tate was still napping)

-watching Callie get her first Jeep ride. She LOVED it!

-having the boys come inside while I was making supper and giving me little flowers they picked. Hunter told me "Here are some flowers for you b/c you love us."
-going out with my friend after supper.
-finding the best stocking stuffer gift for the boys....magnetic dress up Lightning McQueens! I love the Target dollar isle! The boys will love them!
-coming home and finding that Brent doesn't have to go to work tonight!

It was a good day.

I love Fall

On Sunday Hunter and I went to get a pumpkin and we carved it, roasted the seeds and made carmel apples. The carmel apples were so sticky that our jaws were sore when we got done eating them(not to mention the kids...think sticky mess)

We should be getting our van back late tomorrow! I'm very excited b/c I have missed it. Although I'm not complaining, its been kind of hard on the back putting all the kids in the borrowed Bonneville. The kids are nice and cozy back there.

Last night Brent introduced the boys to going down the stairs on sleeping bags. I'd rather he not of done this, b/c I foresee an injury in the near future, but boys will be boys, right? The boys LOVED every minute of it, they laughed and laughed. So far staying inside every night hasn't been too bad. Its always hard at first when you are so used to being outside every night.

I've got a head cold right now, so hopefully it is over soon.

Pray for my bro and sis-in-law as they travel to Korea tomorrow to pick up my new nephew!!

Can I just say.....

...that I have the cutest girl ever??? I'm really loving dressing her in dresses all of a sudden. She's wearing the same shoes I wore as a baby:

Oh Happy Day

I am having a GREAT day! Gma Debbie called this morning and offered to take the boys for the day, so Callie and I have been hanging out today. I laid down while she was taking a nap and we just got back from a nice walk. The weather is just great. Also, Brent called me from work and asked me out on a date tonight!!! We are going to grill up some steaks(my mouth is watering just thinking about it) and then we are going to use our anniversary present of movie tickets to go see a movie. I'm very excited! Its been a real downer dealing with all these car problems and gloomy days and Brent having to work extra, so having a day to myself and a date with my hubs is a GREAT treat!!! Yay!

ps. Doc has been found....along with a missing dinosaur from the library kit we checked out. It pays to check under the bunk beds once in awhile.

Where is Doc??

That has been the question around our house lately. The doc I am speaking of is Doc Hudson, of the movie Cars. Hunter has a lot of the cars from that movie and he has lost Doc. The boys and I were sitting on the couch Saturday morning and Hunter saw our sign that says "Faith". He asked what it meant and I told him that faith is knowing something without seeing it. I told him that we can't see God but we know he's there and that is faith. He agreed with me and then said, "Hey, I can't see Doc but I know he's here in our house! That's faith!" He's even prayed to find him. I decided to try looking for him today, so I gave the boys flashlights and we checked under all the furniture. We didn't find Doc but we DID find lots of other things;) That got me cleaning. I feel like writing another version of "If you give a mouse a Cookie". I get sidetracked easily. I ended up putting some of the kids toys in containers and moving the furniture around in the play room. They seem to like some toys more when they aren't around all the time. I put away the musical instruments(hallelujah!) some construction machines and the doctor stuff. I know that when I put the food in a tupperware container last year and I bring it out once or twice a week they actually play with it and it is easier to keep track of. I got a lot done, but we still didn't find Doc. I got out some chalk for the chalkboard side of the easel, and Hunter really enjoyed practicing his name. Tate enjoyed coloring not on the easel but on his sister's face.

Speaking of Callie, she can add the Johny Jump up to the list of things she's fallen asleep in. I was getting lunch cleaned up and the boys down for their naps and she fell asleep while I was doing that.



I've been trying to have Tate go pee on the potty lately. I know he's not near ready, but I am hoping he'll be ready sooner than Hunter was. He told me this morning that he was pooping and I hurried him to the potty and he went on the potty!! That is very exciting!

A funny Hunter saying:
-Brent usually says to me after a meal he likes, "You're a good cook and beautiful." Hunter has been thanking me for making the food lately and calling me beautiful right after.

Frugal....

....is my new middle name. We (sort of) figured out what is wrong with our van today. Brent spent a whole weekend not even a month ago fixing a part on our van to save us money, but unfortunately it wasn't the only problem it had and now it has to be replaced again along with other parts. All in all it will cost around $1400. We have spent the whole weekend and early week thinking and praying and trying to figure out what to do. It is so frustrating! We have decided to go ahead with the repairs and fix the van. There is no guarantee that it will fix everything b/c it could have a cracked something or other which would mean a new engine, so pray that they can fix it completely and that we will have NO repairs for at least a year!!!!! I can't even begin to explain how sick I am of having car problems. We would be so much better off financially w/out them. Having said that I am very thankful that car problems are the biggest worries on us right now. There are lots of people struggling with unemployment and the economy and health problems that I do want to make it clear that we are truly blessed. Its just one of those things that a person has to deal with in life.

We are going to have to come up with this $1400(and money for new tires) somehow. The cool thing about this is that I've seen many times God providing for us. I know with full confidence He will do it again. We want to remain as debt free as possible, and we still have to have our money for our part of the remodel, so I'm determined to reach an all new frugalness.

I think I do a pretty good job of being frugal. I buy 95% of the kids clothes at garage sales. The other 5% is either clearenced(b/c it is getting harder to find Hunter clothes in good condition at sales) or given/borrowed. I buy clothes for Brent and myself when I have good coupons at Kohl's.

For groceries(including toiletries) I stick pretty well to a $275 a month budget. I am going to try, however, to lower it to $200 a month until we are back on our feet. I shop sales for everything and plan out a month worth of meals at a time. I use coupons as much as possible. I try to have a breakfast for supper night once a week, a soup night once a week and we have homemade pizza every Friday. I make Callie her baby food and have definitely saved money that way.

We used Netflix and like it, but have cancelled that for now. We don't have cable but watch our favorite shows online.

We take advantage of the Pump Perks that our local grocery store offer. We've been able to save lots on gas that way.

I use Mypoints and have been able to get quite a few gift cards that way. (If you are interested in joining, leave me a comment and I'll send you a referral, I get points that way!) I've used them for birthday gifts, getting treats for Brent and myself and have funded outings with friends.

I really like the Pear Budget that we have set up. It is a very easy, user friendly way to keep track of your budget.

I think I'm going to resurrect my old cooking blog and am going to add a menu plan to the side of my blog. A relative just started doing that and its a great way to get ideas for new meals. I'll hopefully link any recipes to my cooking blog.

So, we'll get through this annoying car stuff and hopefully be even more disciplined with our money!