Luke's Special Find

Last Friday, I had an errand to run for Sonny on the west side of town. It was a beautiful, sunshiney day and I enjoyed making the trip to the store with them, windows down and singing all our favorite Patch-the-Pirate songs!

On the way home, I spotted some garage sale signs and decided to attempt to go to a few with them without any other adult help! :) The first few garage sales were very close to the street so I left the boys in the car with a snack and ran to browse quickly. Luke's a fast eater but Zach is slow, so on the last stop, I decided to take Luke with me and leave Zach in the car (which was 10 ft. away in the driveway).

Luke was infatuated with this object below. A chair. A very dusty, old, rickety chair with one of the legs underneath glued several times, you could tell. He would look around with me and then look back at the chair and then we'd move on again, and he'd ask how the chair was and would tell me that it was still on the first table we looked at. At the end of my looking, he walked me over to the table and with 'those eyes' asked if he could have it. I, at first, thought we had no need for this chair. But then I remembered a few garage sales my mom took me to when I was little and let me pick out something that I really treasured, some of which I still have today - so - I allowed him to buy the chair. Fifty cents was the price and it was worth it for the smile it brought to him!

So here is a picture of the beloved chair. I wondered what Luke had in mind when he wanted it...

Here is what he had in mind - a nice wooden rocking chair for Woody!

We recently watched the movie "Toy Story" for the first time with Luke and he simply adores the character Woody. My dad found this Woody doll years ago and I believe he just had it kept in the garage, but once he realized how much Luke liked him, he gave it to him one day and what a great day that was for Luke! I thought it was cute how he thought of his toy and had in mind to get a chair for him! What their little minds think up!

So, sit back and relax, Woody, and welcome to the family!

I :: Heart :: Coupons!!!

I've been going back and forth about posting deals I find using coupons. I thought no one would care but I had two really good trips today and thought maybe if I post, I could encourage someone to use coupons to save money and get great items! The Lord wants us to be stewards of our money and I believe using coupons is being wise and also a blessing as I buy brands I would not normally buy and sometimes get more for less and some things for free!

CVS trip

2 Tresemme shampoos - total $1.77 (with tax)

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Target trip

Everything you see here cost $4.65 with tax, with a savings of $21.79 and the receipt below just to prove it!

I really love talking about, looking for and sharing coupon ideas and tips! If I could ever be of any help, please ask! I am currently 'teaching' my hair stylist how to get started with coupons and make the most of them! It is just so wise, and fun, and I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I did! :)

Live rich with coupons!

Look what I found!

Look what I found while taking a bike ride the other day... Isn't he a cutie!

Luke asked if we could keep him and I said sure! :)

The mullet is gone!

This will be old news for my bloggy friends and family but for those we don't see often, the mullet is officially gone! Back on Feb. 20th, we took Zach for his first haircut! His hair was horribly long but we were holding onto the 'baby' for as long as we could!

Here is before:

Here is during the cut:

It started off pretty well. He sat in a chair that looked like a tractor and really liked that. I was also armed with some gummy fruits and an oatmeal creme pie just in case things got bad!

Then things got bad!!! We had to get Sonny involved to hold him down. Zach wanted nothing to do with someone he didn't know touching him or his hair!

The one thing that got us through - his bottle! SO glad I packed that too!

All in all, it was a fun day and full of good (and frustrating) memories! Our baby now looks like a little boy which is both cute and sad for me. Just another thing to show he is growing up!

Below is a picture of both boys now. They almost look like twins sometimes! Love you boys!

A first with lots of waiting...

Good Afternoon to you! This is my first ever post away from home! I am currently at Marymount Hospital, waiting on some bloodwork and tests that I need to have for the baby. I have been here for over two hours already and am still waiting on a shot I need to have. The nurse just came to me and said she JUST called the 'bloodbank' and the shot I need is going to take another half an hour to make it up to this lovely 6th floor. Wonderful! I'm just wondering why this place wasn't called sooner since I've been sitting in her view for a half hour already. Oh well. What can ya do?

This hospital is the one we plan on delivering at, instead of Hillcrest. The distance from our house is only about 10 minutes, compared to 30 plus traffic to Hillcrest, so that is a plus. This hospital is very Catholic, which gives me the heebie geebies but God is in control and will take care of me. I will bring my Bible and laptop with me to pass the time. But, as for now, I'm just sitting here, thinking of things I could be doing, thinking of my mom home with my boys and my hubby at work, emailing my sisters too much since I have the time...

And, I've also been thinking about the many people I've seen pass me in these hallways and waiting rooms. I wonder to myself how many know Jesus and if any are saved. I've prayed for some I could tell where nervous, talked to a few of them and have smiled till my cheeks hurt. So many nurses and staff here are just 'doing their jobs' but so many people come in scared and nervous - a nice smile and friendly 'hello' can make all the difference to them.

Today must be 'Marymount Day' because there are at least one bazillion people here today and the parking lot was jam packed. But the Lord knew this already and had a blessing waiting just for me. I drove around the parking lot two or three times and just decided to take the first one I saw, which was about a mile away from the door. Oh well. If I didn't have a baby sitting on my bladder at all times, this wouldn't be a problem, but that distance wasn't so appealing to me. So, I parked and got out with my bags and here comes a shuttle bus directly to my spot and the gentleman asks if I needed a ride. Of course, I say 'sure' and he drove me all the way to steps away from the door I needed to go in. I was so happy! He knew it too! Thank you, Lord! That lessened my burden of carrying the baby and my purse and bag. It may seem small but it was a big blessing to me!

Well, I'm going to sign off for now in hopes that they will be calling me soon for this shot I need. Then I need to hoof it back downstairs to have my blood taken again for the last of my bloodwork/tests. It has not really been a 'fun' day but just anticipating the arrival of this baby has me smiling inside and out.

Have a great day!

Updates

Hello, ya'll! I'm back from a nice email/blog break. Life for me has been so busy and long these last few weeks but also chock-full of great events and memories that I soon hope to post!

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Now that Luke's birthday month is over, we say goodbye to trains and hello to cute, little spring birds for the blog decor. I needed something springy and pink. This last word - 'pink' - may be a shock to some since I really don't like the color pink and never really have. BUT, I am expecting my third baby and since we're not finding out the gender, I am thinking it could be a girl and now pink has suddenly become a likeable color for me. :)

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Our Easter weekend was so much fun. We spent time with our families on Saturday and Sunday and had such great food and fellowship! I know Easter is over but I think we should celebrate it all year long to remind us of His resurrection! In my header is our Easter family picture and here are some others we took:

Here are our honeys on the way to church! We had such a nice, sunny weekend to celebrate Jesus!

Here are the not-so-smiley cousins after a long day of Sunday school and 'big' church!

(Zach is 21 months, Rose is days away from turning 3 and Luke is 3)

Here is Daddy who said "I need a picture with my boys"! Well, one boy had his fill of pictures and didn't want to cooperate and the other was bribed with smarties! Such precious memories! :)

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Well, I finally downloaded my pictures from the last 5-6 weeks of our lives so I hope to post some fun memories in the coming days. Isn't it amazing how it is already halfway through April? And, I will officially be 30 weeks in a matter of days. That is scary! I am starting to make my lists and get my hospital bags packed just in case I go early. Pray for me!!!

See you soon!