Merry Christmas

Well, we have certainly enjoyed Christmas this year.  We first had our Christmas service at church and the kids sang.

Then on Christmas Eve we went out to the Rock Ranch and looked at Christmas lights.  I gave the kids each new PJs and they wore  them out in the van on the ride.

Then we came home and made cinnamon rolls, drank hot chocolate and watched the Grinch.



I think the kids got great gifts.  I know I did.  My mom got me a Kindle Fire and with how much I love to read I will put it to good use.  We also got the kids a new TV for the playroom.

Today I cleaned for a while and then we went out shopping.  We took Brianna back to the Methodist Home and then went to Game Stop, Wal-Mart and Kohls.  It was crowded and I hate crowds, but the kids wanted to spend some of their Christmas money.  Now we are at home and they are singing a partridge in a pear tree.  Ashley has stolen my Kindle to watch a movie.  I ordered a cord so that we can stream them in from the kindle to the TV.  Aren't we advanced!

They are going to get hungry soon and I want a fire, so I am off to build a fire and heat up leftovers.  I also have a few loads of laundry to work on. 



Some great kids

Tonight I took Natalie and her friend Emily out to dinner because Natalie got all A's on her report card. We went to Cracker Barrel and then they asked to go to Lifeway Christian store. I was so pleased!  What pre-teen asks to go to a Christian book store?  I am so proud of the young ladies they are becoming!  Then they went with me to Sams and didn't complain!  I got them ice cream for the ride home.

Here they are outside the store. What a couple of sweeties.

Thankful

I am thankful tonight. I am thankful for a loving husband, thankful for my family, and thankful that we have our health and everything we need. I know so many that don't have all of these and it really breaks my heart when it is kids that don't have what they need. I know kids from school that don't get enough to eat, don't have decent clothes, and don't have anyone that pays attention to them or really loves them. Too many adults are into themselves and the children get overlooked. I also think about all of the poor people that don't have enough, and I think that we don't have alot of money, but we know how to take care of ourselves. We don't have lots of new clothes, but we have lots of great decent clothes from thrift stores and what people have given us. We don't have alot of money to spend on groceries, but we eat simple meals from scratch that are healthy and taste good. Most people if you gave them and bag of dried beans and a bag of rice they wouldn't know what to do with it. I am just saying that some people could be more resourceful than waiting on someone else or the government to help them. I am also thankful for these people:

These are my children and my niece and nephews.  My youngest nephew lives with us and the older two don't, but we think of them as ours.  They really don't have anyone else.  Even when it is crazy around here I love them to pieces.  

Busy Friday night

Out high school football team made it pretty far in the playoffs so they had to go four hours away to play. Ashley is in the band and i said that I would chaparone the girls on the trip. We didn't get back until 3 a.m. and I think I just recovered. Oh, by the way we lost the game. Most of the kids we good. One got on trouble and they didn't let her play. I hears some language I didn't like but these are public high kids. We did our second Christmas parade of the season so i guess it is officially the holidays. It is so warm today that it is hard to think about christmas. Well, we are going to church. Have a happy Sunday.

Happy Thanksgiving

It is Thanksgiving morning and all is still quiet.  I have homemade cinnamon rolls in the oven, but we are just going to eat them when we feel like it.  Getting teens up for family breakfast is hard on vacation.  In addition to my five kids that are normally here we have my niece here from the children's home and her brother who is 19.  He lives on his own, but considers us his family.  I feel like I have some college kids home for break.  My niece used to live with my in-laws and then with us and nothing really worked out so she chose to live at the children's home.  She is spending holidays and some weekends with us though, so it is OK now.

We are going to my mom's for Thanksgiving.  She is doing the meat and stuffing and I am bringing all of the sides.  My sister is bringing dessert.  I thought that was fair sense I am bringing nine people.  I am making sweet potato casserole, broccoli casserole, squash casserole, and some sweet potato biscuits.  We should have plenty.  We always do.

I love having everyone home on break.  They fight and act crazy, but I love not having to get out the door in the morning and not having homework.  We did some crafts yesterday and tomorrow we are going to start getting my Christmas stuff out.  Saturday we will get a tree.

Well, I guess I better check on the cinnamon rolls.  I was going to go to CVS early this morning, but Steven is hunting and I am enjoying my coffee and quiet morning too much.

Try try again

Well, it is the end of the month and I really didn't stick to my $400.00.  I spent around $550.  I don't think that is too bad considering that I have teens and that there are 7 of us, but I really want to cut it more. I am doing some more baking and trying to find one meal a week that I can incorporate dried beans in.  Steven did kill a deer a couple of weeks ago, so that helps with the meat.  Well, we will try again this month.

Tomorrow is Halloween.  We don't trick or treat or any of that stuff.  We are having a fall festival at church and the little kids are dressing up for school.  I don't buy them any costumes,  we just put stuff together with what we have at home.  Emma is going to be a coygirl and Evan is going to be a hunter.

We are winding down soccer this week and I am glad.  The schedule has gotten a bit out of hand.  I hope we can slow down during the holidays. Ha ha.

Football Friday Night

Tonight is the homecoming football game with our school.  Steven and I will work the concession stand since the band gets the money, plus it gives us money off the participation fees for band.  It is alot of work, but I do enjoy seeing all of the kids and helping.  My feet will definitely be tired tonight!

We started getting calls from teachers that my nephew who lives with us was not behaving in school.  I then called the school and the counselor told me that they had already put him on a behavior plan.  What?  No one even informed me that there were issues until last week and he is on a plan?  You would think they would want to involve the parents.  So, now we have to work on our behavior.  I am taking him Monday to see about getting him some meds for ADHD.  He just seems so hyper sometimes and just talks and blurts out stuff all of the time that I don't know how much he can help, so maybe some meds are in order.  I guess we will see what the doctor says.

I haven't really been grocery shopping this week.  I spent $25 at Wal-mart the other night, but nothing else.  Tomorrow I will go to town and get some things, but not too much.  Evan shot a deer last weekend on youth day, so now we have lots of deer meat.  We grind it up and eat it like ground beef.  I also have two whole chickens in the fridge so that can become something.

Well, I guess I will fold a load of clothes and unload the dishwasher before we go to the game.

Camping

This weekend we went camping.  We went to a state park about 30 minutes away and had a great time.

This is Emma and Evan standing in the water.  We went to an animal park a few miles away.  We all love animals and this place is free.

This is us on a wooden alligator.  Steven was taking the pictures.  This is the baby squirrel that the kids found.



I was the mean mom and wouldn't let them keep it.  I love camping because their is no TV and we are outside. We have to talk to each other and we have to interact.  The kids play ball and hide and seek and at night we all sit around the campfire talking and drinking hot chocolate.  No, it is not all fun and game.  Kids will be kids and they fight and get on each other's nerves, but it is usually only for a few minutes.  I love that the kids all have to work together.  You might not know, but the older boy is my nephew, and it was the first time that we have taken him camping with us.  I think he had a good time.  He loves the outdoors.  We are all learning to live with him, and he is also learning to live with us.  I often have to remind myself of that.

The only bad part is the laundry that is so stinky when we got back.  I went ahead and made myself another batch of laundry detergent.  I was afraid that I would run out after washing every one's clothes and sleeping bags and blanket.  I also made a pot of chili, a batch of bread, and some oatmeal cooking.  I was just enjoying being in the kitchen.  That is what I miss when I work.  Just being at home and doing kitchen chores at a leisurely pace.  Now Steven can have the leftover chili for lunch tomorrow and the bread will start us out for the week.

Redoing the budget

I know that I am not the only one, but the continuing dragging economy and high gas prices have really been a drain on our family's budget.  The prices of our heath insurance, our taxes and everything else has gone up in price, but our income hasn't really budged.  Now don't get me wrong, I thank the Lord every day that my husband hasn't lost his job, and that I have a good job in our school system, but we have not really been saving any money, and that has to change.

We are currently spending about $600-$700 a month on food which I don't think is too bad considering that we have five kids and two of them are teens.  We rarely go out, but we eat alot and the kids love snacks.  Add to it that now I work full time, we are eating alot more prepacked stuff than we did in the past.  I have been buying individual bags of chips, fruit snacks, packs of crackers, etc when I used to bake cookies, granola bars and homemade snack mix all of the time.  Well, I have decided to make some more time out in the weekends to make some more of this.  I often make a double batch of muffins on the weekends and we can eat that for a couple of mornings or for snacks.  I also like to make banana bread or other quick breads.  My goal for the next month is to get us under $400 for the month.  I hope it is doable.

In celebration of this I want to post what we will be eating.  On school days we either pack a sandwich or eat at school, so I am not posting those lunches on my menus/

Monday:  Breakfast:  Leftover biscuits, scrambled eggs, fruit\
                Dinner : Cream cheese chicken in crock pot over pasta, carrot sticks

Tuesday :  Breakfast:  Bagels or cereal, fruit
                 Dinner : Chili and Frito's

Wednesday:  Breakfast:  Oatmeal or cereal, fruit\
                     Dinner :  Pancakes and sausage for a crowd before church (the kids bring friends home for a ride to church)

Thursday :   Breakfast:  Cereal (teacher work day, kids are off.)
                    Lunch: Sandwiches, chips, fruit (I will be working)
                   Dinner:  Tacos

Friday and Saturday we are going camping and I have not bought the food for that.  We usually will roast hot dogs and cook some beans one night and then do grilled chicken and mac and cheese another night.  We will make PBJ sandwiches for lunch with chips. Breakfast will be eggs and bacon one morning and sweet rolls another.  We will bring apples, bananas, and trail mix to snack on and we will have marshmallows and smores at night.  We usually bring lots of coffee and hot chocolate and I will get some cases of bottled water, Gatorade and some individually bottled juices.  Yummy!

I have already been shopping this week, but I am starting my $400 for the month on Friday.  I will post how it goes.

Feet up

I am sitting back chilling tonight with my feet up.  Steven has gone to the football game to chaparone the band.  They have an away game about 45 minutes away tonight so I didn't go.  I stayed home with the younger kids and let them each have a friend over.  The friends have now left and we are relaxing.  They are watching TV and playing on I-pods.

Work is going good and I am learning alot.  I like that the sped teachers will listen to me when I talk and take what I say into consideration.  The only hard thing is that I really can't tell anyone specifics about school because of privacy issues and such.  This is a small town and it wouldn't take long for talk to get around, so I am careful about what I tell people.  We do talk among ourselves in the special ed room, which is good.

Tomorrow Steven is taking the the boys to the Georgia game and Ashley and Natalie are volunteering at church, so I will just have Emma for a while.  I think we will go shopping.

Busy

School, work and life in general have been busy.  It is a good kind of busy, but busy none the less.  Emma is playing soccer, Ashley is in the marching band, and all three girls are doing dance right now.  I went to a women's conference in Atlanta last Saturday with Kay Arthur as the speaker.  It was so good.  I was gone all day, but the guys kept the house in pretty good shape.  I have been playing catch up from that all week.  Oh well, it was worth it.  I learned so much!

Tonight is church.  The kids bring home friends and we take about 10 kids to church on Wednesdays.  Fun to have a house full of kids.  I usually make a big pot of soup and some grilled cheese sandwiches or muffins or bread and off we go.  I use my crockpot so it is ready when we get in at 4:00.

I have to go get the troups ready for school.  Tyler takes forever to do his hair.  I think it is time for a haircut.

First Week of School

We had our first full week of school last week.  The kids were fairly excited to go.

 

 

 

It was also my first week of working all week.  We survived it, but I have to do better about getting some baking done on the weekends.  I overspent my budget this week on groceries, so I am trying to get it back in line.  I didn't make it to the medium sized city for shopping at Aldi, so I went to Wal-Mart and Ingles, which is just more expensive.  I did go and stock up on pasta at Kroger for 50 cents a box and I got some goldfish crackers and some cookies for afternoon snacks. 

 

I am working at the little kid's school as a special ed para pro.  Basically I go into the classrooms and help with the kids that need some extra help.  It is pretty good but busy.  I do like the job and the school.  I am just trying to figure out what I am supposed to do with these kids and what is the best way to help them and the teacher.  It is a learning curve for sure. 

 

In other news we got Tyler's custody worked out.  We went to court this week and now we have custody of him until his is 18.  I hope we can teach him like we have taught our others that school is important and that the love of the Lord should be the primary focus in  his life.  It is good to have that settled.

 

Well, I have to go put bread dough in some pans and take me a nap.  I love Sunday afternoons.

 

Saturday Shopping 8/4/12

I went to the mid-size city near us today and did some grocery shopping.  I say mid-size because we are 45 minutes from Atlanta and that is a big city and we are 20 minutes to Macon which is mid-sized.  I am also 5 minutes to Forsyth which is small but does have a grocery store and a Wal-Mart.  My budget to feed my family of 7 is $100 a week.

My first stop was the bakery outlet.  Here is what I got:

I spent $10.50.  This should last us the week.

Then I went to Kroger.  They had bone-in chicken breast for $.99 a pound and corn 3/$1.00.

 I spent $18.60.  Then I went to Aldi.  Now Aldi is my favorite place for fresh stuff and staples for cheap.  I have never been disappointed with the quality of their items.

It was around $66 total.  I think I did pretty well.  I have about $5.00 left for the week for some sale stuff at CVS.





What these kids are doing

My kids are so different.  Right now I have one reading

One is trying to nap:

Two are playing Star Wars on the Wii

Tyler isn't even here.  He is at a friend's house.  Emma loves technology and Natalie really doesn't care.  The others are inbetween.  It is so funny how different some kids are.  I have raised them all about the same, yet some are so different.  I guess that is what makes everyone who they are.





Braves Game

We went to an Atlanta Braves game yesterday.  Boy was it hot.  We were in the direct sun and it was about 95 degrees.  After about the fourth inning we moved to some seats in the shade.  No one said anything to us so we just stayed there.  That was much better and then we enjoyed it.  Don't we look cute!

It was an adventure.  The company gave us each $5.00 to spend at the concession stand.  We all bought a frozen lemon aid and then we only had enough money left for one sprite for all of us to share.  We had brought in our own water and then refilled them at the water fountains, so we didn't spend too much.  We ate lunch in the van on the way and then we stopped at Subway and got four footlong subs. 

So, today Ashley had band camp again this week from 8 to 12.  I need to go get another phone for the kids to have at the house since we have no home phone and Ashley is going somewhere all the time.  We also need to go to the library and at 4:30 we are praying at one of the schools with our church.  Busy busy.  We only have two more weeks and then I start work.  Boo for work but yeah for the money!

Well, I have to get Ashley up and going.  Have a great day!

Baseball

Sorry to have been MIA.  The kids spent last week with their Aunt, except for Ashley who had band camp.  I really didn't get anything done except I did relax and shop some.  I bought some clothes for work and some comfortable shoes.  I am going to be a teacher's aid for special ed and I will float to whoever needs me.  I figure that I will be on my feel alot and I just love tennis shoes, but I didn't want to look like I was wearing tennis shoes.  I went to the Sketchers outlet and bought two pair that feel like you are wearing bedroom slippers, but they don't look like tennis shoes.  I also dug through the clearance section at Belk and bought four shirts and a pair of pants.  I plan to wear pants every day except on Fridays we can wear jeans.  If I am working with older kids (4th or 5th grade) I might wear some skirts, but if I am working with Kindergarten then forget it.  I figure that they aren't paying me enough to buy a whole wardrobe.

I did have to go pick up the kids a day early because Natalie had a fever.  It turned out to be a virus and today I think she is almost over it.  She has had no fever today and feel lots better.  She still is running to the bathroom, but she is OK.

We are going to a Braves baseball game tomorrow.  Steven's work gave us ticket and $5 to the concession stand.  We are going to pack a cooler lunch and buy some dinner on the way home.  I will be hot, but hopefully fun.  We have never been before and we love family outing so we will have fun.  We always have fun together.

Cabin Fever

I feel like we have a little cabin fever here.  I know in other places people get it in the winter, but around here I feel like we get it in the summer.  The heat index gets above 100 everyday and I can't get the kids to go outside.  I don't blame them, I don't like to go outside.  I try every few days to take them swimming, but some days we have thundershowers that start early and we can't even do that.  Yes, I know they can get out first thing in the morning, but some aren't even up until 9 and by the time we are dressed and have breakfast and do morning chores it is after 10 and already getting hot.  Yuck!  I want my own pool again!  We had one when we lived in Albany and I loved it.  I know it was expensive to have, but I felt like it also saved us money because there was always something for the kids to do with friends and we had all of our birthday parties out there.

So today I am taking them swimming at my moms and taking my little nephew with me.  The older girls are still at the beach with their grandma, so we are down by a few.  Right now I can only take one friend anywhere with us in our mini van.  I am hoping to get a larger SUV later this year.  We will see.

Well, I have to go finish canning tomatoes and get these guys some breakfast.  They are watching too much TV, but like I said they have cabin fever.  I will turn it off after breakfast and make them do something else, and tonight is church so that will take care of today.

Good Morning

I got up early this morning.  Not really because I wanted to, but because Collin is coming this morning which is always  a good thing.   Everyone loves him!  He is so sweet and has the most pleasant personality.  My sister just has a doctors appointment so we won't have him all day.  We will probably go swimming at my mom's in the afternoon.

I went and did a big monthly shop last this weekend.  I spent $75 at Aldi, $25 at the bakery outlet and $185 at Sams.  Now, I will have to make a few small trips throughout the month, but that was the bulk of my shopping.  I say another $100 for the month.  Not too bad for a family of seven.

My brother in law bought me a huge box of tomatoes that I have to do something with this week.  He said that it was only $10 and we weighed it and there are 22 pounds in there.  I am going to make another batch of salsa since I do have peppers and onions.  I will have to get some more cilantro and tomato paste.  I will probably peel and chop today and cook and can tomorrow.  It is tiring, but in the winter we are always grateful!  I guess I will just can the rest of the tomatoes to use in sauce this winter.

Well, I guess I will go.  I will let you know how canning goes.  I have already done one batch of salsa and 20 quarts of green beans for winter.  Some tomatoes will be nice to have.

Frugal Vacations

Yes we are in the midst of summer and everyone is going on vacation.  You would probably think that we would hardly ever go on vacation because of the size of our family, but we try to take a regular vacation a few times a year.  I just think that we only have these children for a few years and I want to make memories with them, so here are a few things that we do:

1. Rent a cabin in the mountains.

The last few years we have rented mountain cabins in North Georgia for spring break.  The last one was $99 a night and the third night was free.  It was a two bedroom with a loft and a pull out sofa and two bathrooms.  It had a full kitchen, living room, and deck with hot tub.  It was in a community where we could fish and canoe.  We took advantage of mountain hiking trails that were free and cooked it.  We did visit an apple orchard and get fried pies.  Everyone had a great time and it was relaxing.

2.  Share a beach house with another family.

We usually use a family beach house when we go to the beach, but I know many families who go in together and get a beach house and share it.  While renting a house is somewhat expensive, we go to the beach most of the day which is free and then we buy local seafood and cook it ourselves.  I found a local guy in Florida that sold shrimp right off of the docks for $5.00 a pound.  For $10.00 the kids were stuffed full of shrimp.  That same meal out would have cost us over $100.00.

3. Go camping.

Now I know that tent camping is not everyone's favorite thing to do.  I don't really enjoy the bugs and sleeping on the ground, but my kids love it and we always make the best memories.  We have no TV and no electronics, so they usually enjoy nature.  If we travel we may take in a local attraction.  Around here if you aren't going to swim all day we camp in the fall or spring.  Summer is too hot unless you stay in the water all day!

4.  Save for the big trip.

 Every few years we take a nice vacation somewhere like Disney.  We just set up a fund and continue to add to it until we have enough money.  We usually rent a condo so we can cook in and take backpacks in with water and lunch and snacks.  We might eat out somewhere cool that we can't get around here, but the rest in eaten in.  Lot of fun and loads cheaper.

I am sure there are some others.  What do you do for cheap vacations with a large family?

New

Well, today starts some new in my house.  A new boy is moving in.  He is my nephew and he is 15.  He has been living with his grandparents.  We asked last November if they would like for us to have him come live with us for high school.  We could tell that they were getting older and were struggling with teens, so we offered to help.  At first we were told no.  They were afraid that he would have a negative impact on our family and the two families definitely don't agree with the way to raise a child,but over they last few months things have changed and they have agreed for him to come here.  They left the final choice up to him, so all is in agreement.

This will be a change in lifestyle for him.  He has been the only child over there for the last few months and was only there with his older sister for the past year and now he has four younger brothers and sisters.  He has been home schooled and now will be going to high school.  They rarely went and did anything, had no TV and no Internet, and we are constantly busy and have satellite TV and Internet on many devices.  The biggest change might be with church. We are active in our church and my husband is a deacon and while they are believers they do not go to formal church.  Alot of changes, but change can be good!

We pick up Ashley and Natalie from youth camp tonight.  They have been painting houses for the less fortunate all week and I am looking forward to hearing about how God has shown up this week. I hope they will be changed!  Well, their are dishes to do and I have to run to Wal- Mart.  Fun fun!

Drugstore Games

Do you play the drugstore games in which you buy products and get coupons or vouchers to spend on future products? The main ones to use are Rite Aid, Walgreens, and CVS.  My sister-in-law gets great deals from Rite-Aid, but it is out of the way for me so I rarely go.  I mainly use CVS.

In the small town near me we have a CVS and during the school year I go by it twice a day, so it is easy for me to pop in and get a few things (as easy as it can be to shop with 5 kids.)  I normally get our soap, shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, feminine supplies, razors, etc for next to nothing and usually get cheap toilet paper and paper towels.  With us now having teens and preteens we go through lots of hygiene items and that is good.  I want them to smell good.

What I do is get the coupon inserts out of our local paper, and the usually get 2-4 extra of the Atlanta paper if I see there are good coupons that we can use.  I will cut them and put them in my binder if I have time, if not I just clip like inserts together and write the date they were put out with a sharpie.  I then go to a website that tell me what is on sale at CVS and what coupons to match.  I almost always buy stuff that gives back extra bucks and use extra bucks from my last purchase.    Extra bucks are like cash that take money off of your next order.  When I get them at the end of my receipt, I put them in my wallet with my cash for the next time.  Here is an example.  My kids love Aussie shampoo.

The Aussie was on sale 2/$6.00 and gave a $1.00 extra buck back with purchase.  I had a coupon for $1.00 off of 2 which made it $5.00.  I also had a $4.00 extra buck from my last purchase, so I used that and my price became 2/$1.00, and then I got back $1.00 extra buck to use next time.  See how that works?

I don't do extreme couponing.  I don't have the time and we don't eat most of the foods that you can get coupons for, but I do get small stuff from CVS and we almost never pay full price for toiletries!



Forgiveness

There have been some issues in our extended family in the past few months. Most of these have been due to misunderstandings, but some of these are due to feelings of resentment and unforgiveness.  I have been a party to some of this and I feel terrible about it.  I have asked family members for forgiveness but they have refused it.  This is what the bible says about forgiveness:


Colossians 3:13
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Matthew 18:21-22
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
Matthew 6:14-16
For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Mark 11:25
And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins


As I read it, we are commanded to forgive if we are Christians and if we don't we are in sin.  It doesn't mean that you have to spend large amounts of time with them, but you do have to forgive them. 

I hate that members of the family are harboring bitterness and unforgiveness and I pray that their hearts will soften, because in the end they are only hurting themselves.

School Supplies

I went to Staples yesterday to take advantage of all of the back to school deals and here is what I got:

I paid $32.00 but I am getting a $12.00 rebate back on the paper, so that comes to only $20.00 for all of that.  The pencils were the best deal because they are mechanical and only .25 a pack with a limit of 4 per customer.  I just sent two of the kids through with pencils and $1.07.  We go though mechanical pencils like crazy.  Tomorrow I am going to Wal-Mart because someone told me that they had folder for cheap and I know Emma and Evan need folders.  In the past I have spend almost $50 per kid for school supplies which would put me at $250 this year with 5 kids.  This year I plan to spend $100 total for everyone (I just hope one of my high schoolers doesn't need an expensive calculator).

Tonight is date night and I might make Steven go with me and get more mechanical pencils.  Ha ha, he won't mind.  He is more frugal than me!

Camp

My older two girls are away at youth camp this week.  They put them on crews and they either paint someones house or reroof someones house.  We are in central Georgia and the temperature gets up to 95 everyday and the heat index is usually above 100, so working out in the heat is really giving of yourself.  They also try to share the gospel with the homeowner and the people in the neighborhood.  I love that they do this for church camp. I love that they are serving and not just having a good time.  They do have fun, but the service comes first.  I pray for safety and lives to be changed.

I am babysitting today, but not until 12:30 then Steven and I will go out to dinner and my mom is letting Emma and Evan spend the night.  I bought a Groupon last week to a Japanese restaurant in which you pay $12 and get a $25 gift certificate.  When Steven and I go out we almost always use a coupon or a special.  We almost never go out with the whole family for dinner.  What I will do is take them out for lunch in the summer or sometimes take one kid with me when I go shopping and we will get some food or a treat.  It is just so expense to go out with 5 kids and the food is usually not that good.  We usually try to get food that I can't make at home like Japanese or  Chinese.  I can make fried rice at home, but forget sushi or anything else.

Tyler is moving in this week and we are still changing around and rearranging rooms.  We still have work to do so I better go.  I also want to work out on the wii so I need to do something else.  Have a good day serving the Lord!

New Circumstances, New Blog!

I have just started a new blog because our life circumstances have changed.  I called my last blog affording 4, but now I have 5 kids because my nephew is now living with us.  I also am not going to be a stay a home mom much longer.  I am going to be a para (helper) with special ed in my kids school this year, so we will no longer be living off of one income.  I still want to talk about saving money, but I also want to talk about my family, my church, and Jesus and whatever else I decide.