Thursday, December 31, 2009

2009

is nearing an end. Not only is the year ending, but it is the ending of a decade.

There have been great losses...there have been great joys.

A quote I read once at We Are That Family sums it up for me.....

I believe God orders our steps. The baby ones that move us small paces and the giant leaps that take our breath away.

Here we go...............

Monday, December 28, 2009

Do You Ever Box God In?

I know I do..and I don't know why.

Right now we have in our lives something that could change the course of our lives at least for awhile. It is medical. Today a test was being performed on my husband and I knew he was nervous, not necessarily because of the results but because of the pain.

With the kids out of school right now and the appt. being first thing in the morning, we opted to have his mom take him - he couldn't go alone. Throughout the night I would wake up worried about him, hating that he was nervous. So I prayed. I prayed that the Lord would not let it hurt too bad. I prayed that several times, until I asked myself why am I not praying that it wouldn't hurt at all. I mean the dr. did say there would be pain, so there has to be some pain. There I went.. putting God in a box. I knew He could make it not hurt too bad, but for some reason I apparently didn't believe that He could / would make it not hurt at all, so I didn't even ask.

Have I lost you yet?

When Jesus prayed in the garden, He didn't ask that the pain on the cross wouldn't be too bad, He prayed that He wouldn't even have to bear the cross AND He even knew before hand how that prayer would be answered, but He still prayed that prayer.

So laying in bed last night, I began praying that it wouldn't be painful for him. and you know what...He answered my prayers. My husband called me on his way home and told me he couldn't believe it - he had been nervous for nothing. The procedure went fine. He even gave his dr. grief about telling him it would be painful.

Thank you Jesus!!

So I don't wanna box you in
You've been doing big things since the world began
Sometimes I just don't understand
That you're big enough - but you're big enough Jesus!


Lyrics to Big Enough by Ayiesha Woods... great song!


Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Planning...

for next year already!! Yup - I sure am!!

So I have been reading a series by Kaley over at Cha Ching on a Shoestring how through careful planning she and her husband will be spending less than $50 out of pocket for Christmas... and no, she wasn't a grinch!! In fact she said because of her planning, they has been able to be more generous this year than in years past.


One of her biggest "free money makers" is creating an account with SwagBucks. Swagbucks is an online search engine that rewards you for searching online. It doesn't take but a minute to sign up and you will immediately earn $3 Swagbucks. Download the SwagBucks tool bar and let your searching begin! Unlike alot of online reward programs it doesn't take long to have "earned" enough to redeem for prizes or giftcards.

I am going to give it a whirl for next year....wanna join me? Just click on the banner below to sign up and like every reward program I will get a bonus for you joining!!


Search & Win










Monday, December 21, 2009

Clue Secrets and Spies...


As usual, Amazon is throwing out some ridiculously low prices.. I wanted to post this particular game. I had wanted to get this game earlier in the shopping season, but it was running at least $25 at most places..Amazon at the moment (who knows for how long) has it down to $3.99!!! Check it out here.
Believe it or not you can still get it in time for Christmas with their two day shipping option.


Sunday, December 20, 2009

I Just Have to Share...

what a wonderful weekend we are having!!

We took the kids to Our Lady of the Snows shrine Friday night. My oldest rode a camel, while my son rode a donkey. The other two enjoyed watching them ride, but were a little unsure that they need any other transportation other than their own to feet or mom & dad's van.

We drove through the Way of Lights and tested each other's knowledge on the true meaning of Christmas. I am proud to say we passed!!






Yesterday I was able to get up early, sneak out of the house and go Christmas shopping with my mom. We had a great time.

Then last night Brian and I decided to make a cake using fondant for a family Christmas get together that we are going to today. We enlisted the kids for help, ok actually they volunteered.. Ace of Cakes and Cake Boss is a family fave in our house. While we won't be having our own show anytime soon, I think our collective effort made for a pretty cute cake and certainly made for some great family fun!! Take a look...






As if our weekend was not filling enough, after church we will be heading to a get together with Brian's family for some food and games!!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend too!! Enjoy!





Thursday, December 17, 2009

Need A Little Santa??


If your children need a little reminder from Santa to be good or if you have kids who still believe and want to make their day, then check out PNP. What does PNP stand for you ask... why, Portable North Pole, of course.

For absolutely FREE, you can have Santa personalize a video for your child/children, with a gentle reminder that they still have to be good!!

Check it out - it is really cute! Ok, maybe not for your 2 year old, she was a bit freaked that this jolly ole man knew her name!! LOL

Monday, December 14, 2009

What Do You Do....



when your plans for the weekend are shot?

You make buckeye candies, of course.

My littlest one has a nasty cold. She has had a runny nose for a couple of weeks now, but no fever, no cough, just a faucet for a nose. This weekend she decided to make it a full fledge nasty cold.

Since staying indoors was a must, I decided to make some buckeye candy..a favorite in our house.

FYI the pic above is a google image, mine never turn out so perfectly formed.

Here is the recipe I used to make these....

Buckeyes...

1/2 stick of butter (4tbsp)
2.5 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. smooth peanut butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup melted chocolate chips


Combine softened butter, peanut butter, powdered sugar, vanilla & salt.

Mix 1-2 min. on med. speed

Using tsp. form into balls

Chill for about 30 min.

While those are chilling melt your chocolate.

Once balls are firm, they can be dipped. Using a toothpick, skewer a ball and dip it halfway into the melted chocolate. You want to leave at least a dime-sized circle of undipped candy on top of the ball.

Drag it along the lip of the bowl to remove excess chocolate, and place it back on the cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining peanut butter balls.

Return balls to fridge to set the chocolate. Serve once candies are firm


Enjoy!!!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Mall Shopping...


is not for someone who could possibly be ADD. So many stores, so many people, so many kiosks, I mean the distractions are just endless.

I had the privilege of going to the mall alone.. that is right, no kids, no husband, just ME!! The older kids were at school and Brian graciously stayed home with the baby (ok, so she's two, but she will forever be the baby!)

I made my list and checked it twice. With my coupons in hand, I was on a mission.

First things first.. where to park. Really that is a big decision, at least for me. I have to park somewhere that will be easy for me to remember where I parked - goes back to the undiagnosed ADD.

Check.. parked at a Macy's entrance. I parked there because when the store was still a Famous Barr and I would go to the mall with my mom, that is where we parked.

Easy enough.. now off to shop. I did well, let me give you a run down on how I did..


Using a Yankee Candle coupon that you can find here I headed to the Yankee Candle store in search of teacher gifts. I needed three, I want them to be nice, we really like our teachers!! So I found some really nice Christmasy candleholders (go figure, candle holders at a Yankee store)

First purchase of the day....

3 Christmas candle holders
2 candles (the third requires a tealight. I already have one at home, in case you were wondering)

Total before coupon...$26.XX
Total after coupon....$16.XX

Three presents bought..I will pair these candleholders up with a previous great deal I got at Bath and Body Works.

I was pleased...

Next stop.. Hot Topic

I can't say that I am a big fan of Hot Topic, but my daughter is and I am a big fan of her. So I popped in there to see what they had. And just in case she would happen to decide to see what mom has posted recently, I am not posting my purchases. I will tell you what I saved...

Total before discounts (no coupon, just good sales)..$40.xx
Total after discounts...$22.XX

Not too shabby...2 presents and 4 stocking stuffers!

Now I am looking for Bath and Body Works. I printed off a coupon that I found here. This coupon is for a free item of your choice, up to a $13 value, when you spend $10 or more. There are a couple of exclusions listed, such as the free item cannot be a gift set. Your $10 purchase can be a gift set though.

So total before coupon $23.XX
Total after coupon - $10.XX (Yup, I spent $10 and my free item was $13..love how that works)

My last and final stop.. the Hallmark Store. I brought with me a coupon that I found here. This coupon is good for $5 off your purchase of $5 or more.
I found there a really pretty bracelet - haven't decided for sure who will be the lucky recipient of it.. I have a couple of people in mind.

Total before coupon... $10.XX
Total after coupon....$5.XX

So in case you haven't been adding in your head as you went...

Trip to mall total before coupons and discounts....$99.XX
Trip to mall after coupons and discounts....$$53.XX

Total Savings...$46.XX (I did not include tax in any of the amounts)

I am happy!!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Missing In Action...

That would describe me lately...

Since Thanksgiving, our family has endured some worries I suppose, for lack of better words. The things that have presented themselves as worries are still among us for now, but we are putting aside the worry....God is in control and the Great Physician. Enough said.

I hope everyone is well and on their way to having a Merry Christmas! It is just around the corner!


If you are looking for ways to have a beautiful Christmas on a budget, I encourage you to take a look at Cha Ching On A Shoestring on how to do just that. Kaley has teamed up with a couple of other bloggers to show us how to have beautiful Christmas without breaking our budget!!


Merry Christmas All!!





(Pretty cool, huh?- I can sign my name!)