Chocolate

We have a client that lives over seas and only comes to the states twice a year. They just came in and brought us a box of Belgium chocolates! This is one layer of the lovely little darlings.

"He [Barack Obama] has opposed the Supreme Court decision that finally upheld the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act against that form of infanticide. Most startlingly, for a professed humanist, Mr. Obama in the Illinois Senate also voted against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act . . . . Furthermore . . . [Obama] “voted to kill a bill that would have required an abortionist to notify at least one parent before performing an abortion on a minor girl from another state.” . . . - Nat Hentoff of the Washington Times

Vacation Bible School

We just finished 5 days of "Outrigger Island" for our VBS. It was a long week, but a good one. I did the music and Hannah did the sound and visual. Sarah and Hayden helped out where needed. We had a youth group in from Crowley, LA. to help us. They did a great job! Friday night we had commencement followed by fun time for the kids. We had inflatables, a water slide, and food. After that we ended up in a water fight with the youth. I do NOT have pictures of me dripping wet. Have Mercy!!! We had a 2 hour water fight that started with cups and progressed to buckets and coolers! We were exhausted and very very wet.

Bath & Body Works- This is a good deal!!

Bath & Body Works- This is a good deal!!

Bath & Body Works is holding is BIG Semi-Annual SALE. Get Select Signature Series Collection for $5 each! (includes lotion, shower gel, body spray, body cream, etc) Check it out here.

Free Lip Favorite or Anti-Bacterial Hand Gel with any in store purchase. Printable Here.

Buy 1, Get 1 FREE Home Fragrance (select items). Check it out HERE.

Online ONLY -- $5 True Blue Spa Heel of Approval with FitFlop purchase. Check it out HERE.

$5 Lush Orchid Tote with any Online Purchase. (pictured above)

Here are my two favorite guys on a scout trip to Cumberland Island. They had a wonderful time except for my hubby imitating Forrest Gump since the scout master's name is Dan. You guessed it, "Lt. Dan"! It embarrassed Hayden to NO end!! They were getting on the boat and William was at the end of the line. He started running and yelling, " I'm comin Lt. Dan, I'm comin"! Accent and all.

Yankee Candle Coupon

Yankee Candle Coupon

Save $10 on your next $35 purchase ---- including just REDUCED Sale Items!!!
Get your coupon here.

Update on Living Frugually

We are doing well over all, but I struggle when our schedule is disrupted. Like this week, we have VBS, I am spending more on gas, but we trying to eat at home. I haven't had time to make bread though, which I could do right now instead of blogging. hehe Guess I better get busy!
In spite of having no mortgage and only 1 car note, our expenses are still too high overall. We need to cut some cell phones, cut back on driving more, work on a stricter food budget, etc. I guess the cost of living is just out the roof now. Good grief!

This is Piper, our miniature dachshund. She is a hoot and a half!! She is unaware that is a dog and firmly believes that she has equal standing in the family. Well, she does I suppose. She is 10 lbs. of fighting fury when someone comes up to the house, but then runs behind one of us. CHICKEN!

Bella is showing Harley the love! These are two of our precious pets. Bella is a big ole black lab and Harley is a beagle/basset mix. They have been together a long time and are inseparable. Bella smiles, really, actually smiles. It scares the FedEx guy! hehe Now, that is entertainment, I don't care who you are!

Cardboard Testimonies

DO NOT MISS THIS!! It is awesome and inspiring.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvDDc5RB6FQ

I love our country home. We have flowers, herbs, and vegetables growing. Our children help with the upkeep of all this and it has been so valuable to their education. They have learned alot about caring for God's gifts to us. Instead of sitting in a classroom, they are living and experiencing life. What a blessing!!

How Did Our Grandparents Manage?

Looking at this chart one can see how many have gotten into tough financial situations. Our grandparents raised healthy, well adjusted children in small homes. Today the family is more fractured than ever, but hey, they have a bigger house. We continue to strive toward bigger and better at the expense of our children, our credit and our sanity. We need to stop and think about what is really important, it isn't more, and it isn't a bigger house, that is for sure.

Advice

I woke up last night with acid reflux, which I never have. I was desperate because I was tired and in pain, so I decided to try some milk. This didn't work at all. I started thinking, surely we have some Tums, so I went looking. I found a big bottle in the cabinet, YEAH. I looked at the expiration date; it was 2004. "Hum, that is only 4 years old", I say to myself. "It is just Tums", I say to myself. "They smell a little off, but it's just Tums", I say to myself. I am desperate so I pop a pink one in my mouth. Oh, and choosing pink was deliberate. Pink is passive, it looks innocent, wouldn't hurt anyone. Oh my word, it tasted weird. BUT, I do not spit it out right away, oh no. I think, "just suck on it a little bit and maybe it will help. Did not. " Bite it", I say to myself. Lord, can it get worse?? It did. Finally I spit it out. Lets hear a collective, "what was she thinking"! So, my advice is, no matter how much your throat burns, or any other part of your body, no matter how tired you are, DO NOT use anything that is 4 years old! Water and ice worked nicely.

Note to self: do not use old anything in your cabinets, throw them OUT! And stop talking to yourself!!

CVS deals - June 22-28

As always, remember that if you've not updated your email address here, you can do that and print out a $4/$20 CVS coupon.

Buy 1 Colgate Total at $2.99, Get $2 ECBs (Limit 5)
Use $1.50/1 coupons here or from the May issue of All You (there are also $1/1 coupons here)
Free plus overage after coupon and ECB

Buy 4 SoyJoy Bars at $1 each, Get $4 ECBs (Limit 5)
There is a printable $1/4 coupon here (I've heard it may have maxed out already, though, so if you get an error message consider sending an email to SOYJOY requesting that they reset the coupon) and there are also Buy 2, Get 1 coupons from recent inserts.
Free plus overage after coupon and ECBs

Buy $20 Worth of Charmin/Bounty/Duracell, Get $10 ECBs (Limit 1)

College Ready

We spent all day today at Hannah's college campus. They have a freshman day for students and their parents. It was a great day and Hannah left feeling good about her choice and her class schedule for Fall. William and I are confident she is where God wants her and that she is in a good place.
Hannah spent the day with other incoming freshman and Student Advisors. We spent the day listening to different staff, students and finishing up any loose ends. SHE IS READY TO GO!!!! Oh my...

* Note on saving: We spent only one night away and ate lunch on the campus in the Dining Hall!

We Did It!!!!

Yesterday evening was our last dinner for this catering job! I twisted my knee earlier in the day and my partner had to carry the load. Fortunately it was hotdogs and hamburgers, and my sweet hubby came to grill for us. Everyone was so appreciative of the meals. This was a group of families doing mission work in our area. We do it again next month with a larger group! Note to self: don't put hands in dirty water and do not twist knee in the middle of catering.

I HEAR JOY

We have just finished our 5th night of catering and my daughters and 'extra' daughter are in my bedroom just HOOTING! That is joy to my ears. These girls have worked SO hard since Sat., putting in 9 hours + a day. We prep tables, cut vegetables, set a salad bar, baked cakes, ground wheat, baked rolls, cooked and cleaned. We drive home moaning from the pain in our feet and other assorted places. Then we get home and they are laying on my bed laughing so hard they are crying. I love it. They drag me into their mayhem and I end up laughing too! My 'extra' daughter has on my hubby's motorcycle boots, one of his ties and a pink jacket of mine. She looks like a hoot. It is great to have the joy of the Lord. We are blessed!!!

Catering

We made it through our third dinner and second day of lunches. YEAH!! It has gone off without a major hitch and everyone is loving the food. In the picture you see our Chicken Pot Pie. Two more dinners and one more day of lunches!!!! For a total of somewhere around 600 meals! Did I mention that we are getting tired?

My "Extra" Daughter

This is Catherine, my 'extra' daughter, I feed her, she stays for extended periods of time at my house and I love her like one of my own!! She is CRAzY! Never a dull moment. She keeps me laughing with her antics.
Catherine and my girls help us with catering, which adds to the mayhem and fun!
Think flour flying!!!

Problem

My house needs cleaning, the dishes need washing and we have to start catering today. One problem, I DON'T WANT TO CLEAN! I'd rather sit here and pick my fingernails. And my finger stills hurts from where I cut it. I am pitiful and I know it. I hate dishes in the sink, but I want someone else to clean. My sweet hubby is on a scout camp out, so I can't whine and get him to do it. Dang! What good are boy scouts?! My finger hurts. Note to self: don't stick finger in dirty water again.

Catering Pictures to Come

Tomorrow we began a 5 day catering event for a mission group coming into our area. We start with dinner tomorrow night through Wednesday and sack lunches Monday through Wednesday. We got our tables set today and decorated with no blood shed! You will learn that things can get VERY heated when we cater. DeGina and I do not take it personally, we just keep pushing to the goal. We give each other the 'stink eye', constantly ask 'what are you doing?' and swear we don't have enough of this or that. Then it all comes together, we give each other a high five and collapse. It is fun and tiring and loud and hot and... oh you get the picture.

McCoy Bowl

I attended an auction Tuesday night and found this McCoy bowl. I got it for $6.00!! Wow! The auction was a hoot. The auctioneer kept saying, "ya'll ain't paying attention, this is some good stuff, this ain't no junk." IT WAS JUNK! (except for what I bought!) Then he'd say, "this is real wood, or this is metal". My friend and I couldn't keep a straight face. We'd look at each other and say "that's what I'm talkin' about!" Have mercy.

CHERRIES!!!

My
father-in-law has some cherry trees and my sweet husband went over and picked some. It didn't take long to pit enough to make a cherry cobbler. Lattice topped.

My Injury

We have been out of town for a couple of days just having fun, but I'll share that later. And it was cheap fun. My injury is more important! Sunday evening we came home from church and the kids were starving. We usually stop for dinner after church, but since we are trying to save money, we aren't as often. I was rushing to get dinner done, clean out the sink, etc. Sarah kept saying the sink wasn't draining. I stuck my hand down in it to clean it out and there was a can lid. :( I yelled, pulled my hand out and told the kids to get their dad. It almost cut the fingerprint off my finger. AND IT HURT!! Still hurts. My dear hubby came to the rescue, he is an Eagle Scout. He poured peroxide all over it and bandaged me up. I about bled out. I am hoping the skin will live. I will not post any pictures since it is gross.

Update on Cutting Back

We are suppose to be spending less, cutting back, etc. Overall it is going well, but if I leave this house; not so good. Just gotta stay home. Stay home, try not to run the air and sweat! This is going downhill fast! It has been 90 degrees here this week, so I have compromised and turned the air down a little in the evening before we go to bed since there is absolutely NOTHING like sweating in your bed. Nuf' said. One of my sister-in-laws did give us a window AC unit for our family room upstairs, so that should help some.
The garden is coming along well; hopefully I'll have pictures soon. Hoeing is great exercise! And takes out any frustrations. Bread making is good. Cooking at home is good. Line drying towels, not so good. They are so stiff I think we are removing top layer of skin; working on this.
So, overall not bad. Could be better. Note to self: STAY home.

Picture of Hubby

Found this picture in our files. We were in St. Augustine at a little restaurant on the water. Of course the guy in the picture is my ever handsome husband, friend and provider. St. Augustine is a beautiful place to visit especially if you love history like we do. Other favorite places of ours are Savannah, Charleston and Williamsburg. We love to find local places to eat as we find that the food is so much better. Take the time before you go to an area to study good local places to try. If you are ever in Asheville, NC, go to Tupelo Honey in the downtown area. It is a locally owned eatery with fabulous food!!

Sweet as...

PIE!! We went to friends for dinner the other night and decided to bring everything to make a dessert. Let me clarify, the friends were my best friend and business partner and her family. We aren't in the habit of bringing an unmade dessert to people's homes! We made Paula Deen's apple pie with crumb topping. It was a HIT.

CVS Deals for June 8-14

Coke Products - 4/$8 Get 3.00 ECB's

Buy $20 of General Mills Cereal or Folgers Coffee - Get $10.00 ECB's

Candy Sale - Buy $10 of candy from sale flyer - Get. $5.00 ECB's

Schick Quattro Titanium Cartridges, razor or trimmer - 9.49 - $5 ECB's Like getting it for $4.49

Gillette Fusion manual or power razor - 9.99 - Get $4.00 ECB's Like getting it for 5.99

Buy $10 of Dove Skin Care or Deodorant - Get. $3.000 ECB's

Buy any Revlon Cosmetics from sale flyer - Get. $3.00 ECB's

Listerine Smart Rinse - 3.49 - Get $3.49 ECB's Like getting it FREE

Excedrin - 9.99 - Get $3.00 ECB's

Prilosec OTC - 26.99 - Get. $4.00 ECB's

Buy $20 of any Duracell Batteries - Get. $10.00 ECB's

Oral-B CrossAction Toothbrush Twin Pack - 6.99 - Get $6.00 ECB's Like getting it FREE

Coppertone Sunscreen - 8.99 - Get $2.00 ECB's

Ajax Dish Liquid 16oz. w/ card - .88

Scott Bathroom Tissue w/ card - 5.99

Why I Will NOT Vote for Obama...

Why I Will NOT Vote for Obama...

I found this clip (and it's a long one) on the blog Between Two Worlds and on this post specifically.

It is sickening.

Hannah and College- Changes

Today Hannah called her college and requested a roommate. The girl requested her and she had to do likewise for the college to put them together. She now knows who she is rooming with and what room they will have!! It gets more real each week. We have been purchasing items for her dorm room and go later this month for freshman orientation.
This momma is starting to panic. This is my baby, my first born. (I am gonna get mushy) I watched her take her first steps, say mama, pee on my floor (she'll appreciate that one), go off to preschool and say "bye momma" (that floored me). I have watched her grow into a confident, intelligent young woman who loves the Lord and cares about the big picture in our world. I enjoy talking with her, debating with her and even arguing now and then. I love to watch her help her siblings and work at our church. I love the person she is becoming; the adult she is becoming. And now it is time for me to let loose some, trust God with her, trust her and know that we have poured our lives into her to prepare her for this day.

Michaels: Free Family Event (Saturday, June 7, 2008)

If you are looking for a fun activity for your youngsters tomorrow, stop by any Michaels store in the U.S. or Canada from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a free family craft event. Your children will have the opportunity to create two craft projects for free. More details here.

From Money Saving Mom

Walgreens

Walgreens: Saturdate with Beauty (June 7, 2008)

Stop by your local Walgreens from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow (June 7, 2008) for their Saturdate with Beauty event. They will have specials savings, coupons, and lots of samples.

From Money Saving Mom

Free Woman's Day

Free subscription to Woman's Day magazine and more!

Get a free subscription to Woman's Day magazine here. (This will go fast. When it no longer says $0.00 as the price, the free subscriptions are gone.)

I have been up since 5:30 and watched it get daylight. All I hear are the birds singing; what a blessing to live in the country. No cars, no city noises; just nature. Having grown up in the city this is a wonderful change. I love the quite and the solitude. Oh, and there are the donkey's across the creek; they are loud. This is a peaceful, blessed life.

The Hubby

This is a picture of my husband with his grandparents in 1958. They lived in the mountains of North Georgia. He was born at their house so he isn't sure what he weighed or his length. His parents later moved to Atlanta to work.

CVS Deals for June 1 - June 7

From Money Saving Mom

Buy 2 Dawn Dish Soaps (11 oz.) at $1 each, Get $1 ECB (Limit 4)
Use 2 $0.25/1 coupons from 06/01 P&G insert
$0.25 each after coupons and ECB

Buy $20 worth of Pampers Jumbo Pack Diapers (on sale for $7.99) or Wipes (70-77 ct. on sale for $2.99), Get $5 ECBs
Use $2/2 coupon from 06/01 P&G insert

Buy 1 Gillette Phenom Fusion Razor at $9.99, Get $4 ECBs (Limit 1)
Use $4/1 coupon from 06/01 P&G insert
$1.99 after coupon and ECB

ANOTHER BUCKET OF CRAZY

On Monday I went to the grocery store and found the boneless chicken breasts on sale. Yeah! My partner and I have a catering job coming up in 2 weeks and we need chicken for 100; I have been buying along. I purchased 11 packages Monday, which was all they had.
One of my daughters just came up stairs saying that it smelled down stairs in the basement. I am thinking septic, no she says, "I think it is in the laundry room". Thought, is there any of our animals missing. She continues, "the freezer door is NOT closed all the way". ALL the CHICKEN is ruined. It's ok, no one died. And I got it real cheap since it was on sale and I had a Food Lion coupon for 13.00. I got it cheap, thinking of crying now. Oh, by the way, it was my 10 yr. old son that took it down, and he would feel terrible, so I will just replace it.

Parental Rights

The role of parents in the lives of their children is one of unquestioned value and should be supported. The vital role of parents is increasingly under attack from governmental intrusion and international law. Parental rights have come under assault from federal judges and international law seeks to undermine the parent-child relationship.

Excerpt:

International law that seeks to empower the government to intrude upon the child-parent relationship is becoming an increasing threat. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), a seemingly harmless treaty with dangerous implications for American families, is approaching possible ratification by the United States.

If this treaty is made binding upon our country, the government would have the power to intervene in any child's life to advance its definition of "the best interests of the child." The scenarios that could occur—and are occurring—as a result of this dangerous notion are both manifold and frightening.

Under the UNCRC, instead of following due process, government agencies would have the power to override your parental choices at their whim because they determine what is in "the best interest of the child."

There is only one solution to this approaching storm: a constitutional amendment that places current Supreme Court doctrine protecting parental rights into the explicit language of the U.S. Constitution.

READ NOW!

Money Saving Mom

I love this website, she has so many great money saving ideas! She has updates on the latest sales at CVS and grocery stores. She also has links to printable coupons.

Why We Homeschool

We chose to home school after realizing we were running through each week and not spending quality time as a family. Our kids were in a private christian school and we were very involved as parents. But, by the time we got everyone home, had snacks, did homework then dinner, we had no time to just enjoy each other or talk to each other. Public school was not an option for us since so much has changed in public education. The standards are lower, the teachers cannot discipline for fear of reprisal and the parents have limited input.
We also believe it is our responsibility to educate our children spiritually and academically. We do not desire to isolate them, on the contrary, we travel and have many friends. We do not wish to keep them ignorant of the world nor the circumstances many face daily. Our children are taught that they are blessed to have been born in America and that few around the world have as much as they do.
We teach our children practical skills as well as strong academic skills. They learn to care for a home, garden, cook, run a business and serve others. They have the luxury of time instead of spending 7 hours in a classroom. They interact with people of all ages and minister in our church. They are children that don't mind doing for others, in fact, they seem to thrive on it. Their legacy is one of service to others.
We spend a lot of time just talking to our kids. The topics range from politics to religion to conservation. There is very little TV watching. We sit on our porch and talk. We get in the kitchen and cook together and talk. We go to friends for dinner, games and conversation. Each child is comfortable stating their opinion and conversing on any topic.
Parenting has been the biggest gift and the most incredible blessing!

BOGO at Home Depot

Coupon for BOGO shrub for FREE! at Home Depot (good through June 12)
Print yours HERE

Abort 73

This is a fabulous website my oldest daughter told me about. They have a great ministry. Check them out.

Life- A Faith Journey

I would love to hear from others how they apply their faith in their everyday lives. There is no doubt in my mind that God holds me in His hand and my faith is a daily walk that apply to all parts of my life. I can not separate who I am in Christ with the issues I deal with in this world. In our finances, our kids lives, our business, etc. We strive to apply the principles in the scripture to whatever we are facing. But, I see so many who deal with their "church" life one way and the rest of their lives another. They operate their daily lives as if Christ didn't matter. I truly am confounded by this.

Brides, Grooms and Gnomes!

Here is a picture of a fruit display we did for a Garden themed wedding. It was a lot of fun to find ways to incorporate gardening into the reception. We found these gnomes at a garden center and they fit perfectly into the fruit display. Note the gardening tool at the left! We used a wheel barrow for bottled water, bricks to raise platters, planters for various foods and tall clear containers filled with vegetables.

Crazy Queen Girls!

This past Christmas the girls and I decided to go to Wal-Mart at 3AM! The sales start early morning and we didn't want to go to bed for a couple of hours. Here we are listening to Louis Armstrong's Winter Wonderland. CRAZY! This was a bold move for me. Years and years ago a friend and I decided to do this; we shopped for hours. Going into the last store I tripped on the curb (absolute exhaustion) and fell into a trash can!! Can you say "Most Embarrassing Moment!

The Day the Lights Went Out or A Big Bucket of CRAZY Dumped on Me

This morning just before we began our worship service, the lights went out. I lead our praise and worship and had two DVD's in the line up for morning worship. Deep breath, regroup, bang head, confer with pianist and make back up plan; I mean I had a whole two minutes!! Think. No power point, no microphones, no DVD's. NO PROBLEM. Pastor now looking at me anxiously, I am smiling, silly grin. I grab a hymnal which we rarely use anymore, throw it in front of the pianist and she laughs. Laughs?She has played for years and years in churches (she is our pastor's wife) and I pick a song she DOESN'T KNOW! I told her "play it anyway"!! hehe We are good friends, or were good friends! We muddled through with me doing deep breathing exercises the whole time! No problem...

Sammy

This is Sammy, or as we fondly refer to her, "fur with an attitude"! We rescued her and she is SO thankful. She allows us to rub her, scratch her, feed her, let her in and out CONSTANTLY and sleep wherever she desires. WHAT A CAT!!!

Catering

My best friend and business partner did our largest catering job last November. It was a 600 person banquet for a non-profit organization. It was an incredible experience and an exhausting one! We worked two 18 hour days the day before and day of the dinner. I have never worked so hard or been so proud of us. My two daughters and her oldest daughter worked along side us tirelessly. There was only one mishap and that involved ME. I was taking a pan of chicken out of an oven and it tipped toward me. I had hot grease go down the front of my chest; there was nothing I could do because I was NOT dropping that chicken! I survived and the whole evening went off perfectly. You learn a lot about yourself when you take on a task this large; it will kill you or make you stronger. I choose stronger!