Frugal Finds!

Alternately titled: How I got great stuff cheap!!!

I have always been a coupon girl, sometimes a little more half-heartedly than other times. But recently my friend, Devin, has really challenged me to do a little more and save a lot more! This week I ventured into the realm of drugstore bargains for the first time. I am quite sure that any number of people could have walked away with more than I did, for less money than I did, but I was very pleased with the savings I found.

With list and coupons in hand, I started my adventure at Walgreens. My scenario included Listerine Zero, Crest 3D white toothpaste, 2 Oral-B 3D white advantage tootbrushes and a small notebook to add one more item so I could use another coupon. (Walgreens will not let you use more coupons than the number of items purchased, even though you may use 2 coupons for the same item. Ex: a Walgreen's store coupon and a manufacturer's coupon for the same item.)

Bottom line:

Listerine Zero 500mL: $1.99

-2.00 manufacturer's coupon

Crest 3D white toothpaste: $3.00

- .75 manufacturer's coupon

Oral-B toothbrush $3.00

- .75 manufacturer's coupon

Oral-B toothbrush $3.00

-3.00 BOGO manufacturer's coupon

1 notebook $ .17 (after Walgreen's sale)

Total before sales and coupons: $15.13

Total savings: $ 9.79

Total paid: $ 5.34

Register Rewards back $ 4.00

TOTAL Out of Pocket $1.34

That was exciting!!! :)

I also got a great deal at Kohl's.com this week. Zachary has been outgrowing his clothes faster than I can keep him them. Last Sunday, we realized that Zachary had outgrown both his black and brown dress shoes, his black dress belt, and his khaki dress pants. With that in mind, I jumped on the Kohl's 35% off your total purchase sale. I was able to purchase all of those items, plus a belt for Justin and a new blouse for myself. All of the items were on sale, and several were more than half off. Then I used two discount codes for the 35% off on top of $.99 shipping per item! All of that for less than $60 and it will be delivered to my front door this week! That's my kind of shopping! :)

Nancy

Giveaway!!

My good friend, Devin, is hosting a $60 CSN store giveaway! Simply hop on over to her blog, Our Very Full House and sign up to enter for your chance to win a $60 shopping spree. I'm thinking Christmas presents.... :)

Nancy

It Snowed!!!

So far here in Greenville, we have had three snow/ice storms this winter...each time falling while Rebekah and I are at the hospital! This time (finally) we had all snow and no ice - perfect for the boys to get outside and play! They had so much fun....I'll let the pictures tell the story. :)

Caleb wasn't sure what to do with the snow. Drew said at first he kept trying to step over the snow and then picking his feet up not sure he was supposed to be stepping on it. :)

The boys have never had a sled before, but some good friends of ours brought one over Friday afternoon. They had a blast pulling each other around in the snow. Well, mostly Zachary pulling, but they still had a great time.

Aaron had a fun time, but got tired of the cold faster than the others. When he got cold, he was done! But he did have lots of stories to tell me about the snow.

Zachary and Justin playing with the sled again.

Caleb looking at the snow...trying to figure it all out.

For some reason, Caleb was fascinated with the snow on his boots. He told me about it hours later when he was at the hospital to see us.

Making snow angels! It looked like so much fun! :)

Zachary, Justin and Aaron.....I think they were a little covered in snow by this point! :)

Caleb and Aaron sharing the sled!

Caleb is ready to slide!

Justin sliding!

Happy New Year

It has been awhile since we have had time to post. We all have had a different holiday this year. We were all sick and more home bound this holiday season. We like to get out and see lots of family during the holidays, but that just didn't work well this year.

The boys are busy growing and staying busy. Zac and Justin are doing well and enjoying school. Aaron is turning 4 soon and is very excited to have his birthday coming up. He has been counting the days since thanksgiving. Caleb is busy, busy, busy. He is talking more and doing many bigger boy things. He loves to run and play with his brothers. He and Aaron are very devoted to watching over Rebekah and making sure she is cared for. That brings me to Rebekah. She is doing well over all. We are looking to go back to Charleston (MUSC) this month for a heart cath. We are moving closer to surgery in a few months to hopefully repair her heart and lungs. Besides her heart problems Rebekah is changing and doing normal baby things every day. She is almost rolling over, babbling more and more, and playing with toys. She loves to touch faces, pull her brothers hair, and cuddle on the couch with Daddy. She sits up with a little help and enjoys watching all the things going on around her.

Mom and Dad are doing well too. We enjoy the time spent with all the kids. We love to watch them grow, ask questions, and try to figure new things out. Mommy tries hard to keep up with everyones busy schedules and keep things running at home. Daddy is enjoying his new job and working hard to provide for all this gang.

We are very thankful for all the blessings and many ways the Lord has provided and cared for us thru 2009. We look forward to what he has in store for us in 2010. We trust and know he will take care of us. There are a lot of uncertain things up coming for us with Rebekah's care , but we are confident that the Lord has already made provision for all of it. We look forward to his leading and guiding of our family.

D

Apple Picking

Because Justin's birthday is in September, one of his favorite birthday activities is apple picking. This year, we invited two other families to go with us for Justin's birthday. These are a few of the pictures from our apple picking trip.

Rebekah was completely cozy during the whole experience. She was comfortable and I was even able to pick some apples while holding her.

Caleb loved the first apple picking trip that he can remember! He ate an entire apple - seriously, I had to stop him before he ate the stem and core! Because the ground was wet from rain, we didn't let him out of the stroller, but he enjoyed watching the bigger boys pick apples.

Aaron proudly displayed one of the Granny Smith's he had picked - right before he ate it! I was beginning to wonder if he would eat his weight in apples!

Zachary bravely jumped into apple picking and even climbed a tree or two. He ate his fair share of apples as well.

We are trying hard to pair all of our children up with future mates by the time they are ten! Not really, but Justin's and Aaron's best friends happen to be sisters. They are never far apart from each other when our two families get together.

New to the apple-picking scene this year is Uncle David. He came up to spend Justin's birthday weekend with us and we enjoyed having him join the celebrations.

Dear Sara Kate! She and Justin are inseparable! We enjoyed spending the day with her family, and I know it made Justin's birthday extra special to have her there.

Nancy

Happy Birthday, Justin!

Today is Justin's sixth birthday! If you read the post on Rebekah's blog, you already realized that we are having technical issues with our hard drive and I cannot access my pictures. So for now this is a picture-less birthday post, but I will add the pictures as soon as the drive is back up.

Justin is 42" tall and weighs 36 pounds. His favorite activities are riding his bike, reading, learning his doctrines and Bible verses for Kids4Truth club, and playing with his brothers. I am homeschooling Justin for kindergarten this year, and we are very much enjoying it. Recently, there were two activities in which Justin dictated sentences to me, and I thought they would be appropriate to share on his birthday.

I like to play...

....baseball on the Game Cube.

....Runescape and Ice Age (computer games).

....on the swingset.

....riding my bike.

....with my guns and bullets (caps for the cap guns) and all my cowboy stuff.

When I am big...

....I am going to play paintball. (???!!)

....I will have a bigger mouth.

....I am going to drive a jeep.

....I am going to take Sara Kate on a date.

"There might be other things I can do when I am big, but I can't think of them now." - Justin

Oh, to be a six-year old! We love you, Justin!! Happy Birthday!!!

Huge Praise!!!!

Praise the Lord I have a JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I start my new job today with a local builder. I will be supervising the construction of custom homes for them. This is a huge weight off us and a great opportunity to learn and grow in my field. Thanks to all those who have faithfully prayed with us.

Most of all Thank you Lord for providing for our every need.

D