FREE stuff for your Friday! :)

Here's a list of some of the things you can get or do for FREE this weekend. Enjoy!

Free Offers:

-Go HERE to request a FREE Sample of Lawry’s Seasoning. Hurry…quantities are limited!  Allow 4 – 6 weeks for your sample to arrive!- All gone now!

-Eat Better America is offering a FREE 2011 Eat Better America calendar when you sign up for their Newsletter HERE!  Quantities are limited!

-You can also go HERE and request a FREE 2011 Betty Crocker Calendar! This calendar will be filled with recipes and maybe even coupons!

-Head over HERE to request 2 Free Samples of Dove Daily Treatment Conditioner:  Dove Intensive Repair & Daily Moisture

-Head over HERE to request a Free Sample of Shout Color Catcher

-Request a Free Sample of Tom’s of Maine Toothpaste Wicked Fresh Mint Flavor.  Copy and paste the following link into your browser
http://www.startsampling.com/sm/toms101470

-Go HERE to request a Free Sample of Garnier Wrinkle Test Strips and a $2.50 off coupon for Garnier Ultra-Lift.  When you sign up for the FREE sample, the submit button is at the very bottom of the green part of the screen and it is barely readable. If you move your cursor over it, you should see it.

-Head over HERE to request a FREE 2011 Calendar from Oriental Trading!

-Go  HERE and request a copy of this Debt Free Holidays Handbook, you’ll get to learn how to:
Identify Your Holiday Budget
Give Yourself A Holiday Bonus (Free Up 10%-15% Of Your Income)
Identify Gift Ideas
Create A Shopping List
Stay Within Your Holiday Budget
This Free 18 page booklet can help you to stay debt free for the holidays.  Limit one booklet per address and it’s only available by mail.

-Head over HERE to request a FREE Sample of Rachael Ray Nutrish dog food.  Scroll down a bit and click on the ”Switch to Nutrish” button.

-Go HERE to request a new FREE Sample package of U by Kotex!- All gone!

-OfficeMax is offering up a great text message promo! Just Text OFFICEMAX to 30364 to score a FREE $5 savings card, valid thru 12/31! You should receive a response back via text message almost immediately. The text message you receive back will include a code and pin # which you will be able to use at any OfficeMax store to redeem your $5 Savings Card. You may need to show the associate the message you received on your phone too. What an easy way to score $5 worth of FREE items! 
This offer is only valid to the first 10,000 respondents, so you’ll want to be fast!
*Note: Standard text messaging rates do apply.

-Sedona Labs is offering up FREE samples of their top selling Multi-Probiotics and Enzymes! Just head on over here and fill out the simple form. You’ll be able to request up to 4 FREE samples.

-Head on over here to request a FREE sample of Axe Dry Phoenix Deodorant! You do NOT need to be a Sam’s Club member to snag this sample.- All gone!

-P&G magazine called Rouge. It’s a quarterly publication produced by Procter & Gamble. If you’re new to my site, this magazine is completely FREE to request! Plus, each issue includes P&G coupons!
The coupons included in the latest Fall 2010 issue are:
* $7/1 Crest 3D Whitestrips
* $2/1 Venus Embrace or cartridge
* $1/1 Cover Girl Cosmetic Product
* $1/1 Olay Body Wash or Hand & Lotion
* $1/1 Natural Instincts Product
* $1/1 Crest 3D white toothpaste, toothbrush or rinse
* $1/1 Olay Facial Moisturizer or Facial Cleanser, Any
* $1/1 Perfect 10, Root Touch Up or Nice ‘n Easy Product
* Buy any (2) Secret Scent Expressions 2.6oz, Antiperspirant & get a FREE Secret Body spray
(valid up to $4.29)
* Buy any (1) Olay Body Wash and get a Zest, Ivory or Safeguard Bar, Body Wash or Liquid hand soap FREE (valid up to $1.99)
**Interested in requesting this FREE magazine? Just head on over here to do so (click on “Sign Up Now” in the upper right corner).

-Free coffee sample. Just go here to score a FREE sample of Thomas Premium Blend coffee!

-Head over to a Blockbuster Kiosk and get a FREE Movie Rental when you rent one movie now thru 10/31/10. Use promo code 2HLLWN at checkout.

Free Store Deals:

-Bath & Body Works – FREE Lip item with ANY purchase (up to an $8 value) Coupon Exp 10/31

 Bath & Body Works – Free Signature Collection Body Care with $10 purchase Exp 10/31

-Petsmart – Free Day of Doggie Day Camp Exp 10/31

-Pier 1 Imports – Free Reusable Bag with $25 purchase Exp 11/7

-Victoria’s Secret – Free Lingerie Bag when you buy 2 Bras – While Supplies Last

-Use this coupon at Gap Outlet stores: buy one item, get one FREE!  This coupon is valid on Saturday, October 30 only, and is limit one per customer. We here in St. Louis to have a Gap Outlet at the Mills and The Warrenton Outlet Mall! Just head over HERE to print your coupon!

-Upcoming Walmart FREE Sampling Events!!  Click on EACH link separately to see the date and time your store is participating
Little Bites Fiber Plus Sampling Event 10/28 – 10/31
Frosted Mini-Wheats Little Bites
Sun Products Clorox Demonstration Event 10/28 – 10/31
Clorox 2® Stain Fighter & Color Booster and all® small & mighty®!
Frigo Cheddar and Fun and Fit String Cheese Sampling Event 10/28 – 10/31
Extra and Orbit Sampling Event 10/28 – 10/31
Extra® Dessert Delights™ and Orbit® Tropical Remix™ Sampling Event 10/28 – 10/31
You can always go HERE to the Walmart Event Finder, put in your zip code and see what events are headed your way!

-Walgreens

Balance Bars $1.59
Get $1.60 RR wyb 1
FINAL PRICE = FREE

Fullbars $1.99
Get $2 RR wyb 1
FINAL PRICE = FREE

Buy 3 Alka-Seltzer Plus Fast Crystal Packs $3.99 each
Use (3) $3/1 Coupons (10/24 Red Plum)
Pay $2.97
Get $5 RR
Final Price = FREE + $2.03 Money Maker

Contac Cold and Flu (28 ct) $6
Get $6 RR
Use $2/1 Coupon (10/10 RP) or Printable Coupon HERE 
Final Price = FREE + $2 Money Maker

Colgate Sensitive Toothpaste $3.49
Get $3.50 RR
Use $1/1 Coupon (10/10 SS) or Printable Coupon HERE 
Final Price = FREE + $1 Money Maker

Mentos (15 pc) $.99 with In Ad Coupon
Use $1/1 Coupon (10/3 SS)
(Hand over Manufacturer Coupon first to avoid beeps)
Final Price = FREE
Pill Glide Swallowing Spray (1 oz) $5.99
Submit $5.99 Mail-In Rebate (Rebate Form prints at Register)
Final Price = FREE

Children’s Mucinex Syrup (4 oz) $6.99
Submit $6.99 Mail In Rebate (Rebate Form prints at Register)
Final Price = FREE

Chestal Adult Cough Syrup $6
Submit $6 Mail In Rebate (Rebate Form prints at Register)
Final Price = FREE
Accu-Chk Aviva Bllod Glucose Monitor $14.99
Submit $14.99 Mail In Rebate (in the box)
Final Price = FREE

-Kroger:
Pillsbury Sweet Moments $2.50
Use $1.50/1 Printable HERE or
$1/1 Printable Coupons.com and
Use $1/1  Cellfire Coupons
Final Price= as low as FREE

-Shop n Save:
Del Monte Fruit Smoothies $1
Use $1/1 Coupon (8/15 RP)
Final Price = FREE

 -Target:
Coffeemate Creamers (16oz) $1.50
Use $1.50/1 Printable Coupon HERE or
Use $.75/1 Printable Coupon HERE
Final Price = as low as FREE

 -CVS:
Bayer Contour $14.99
Get $5 ECBs (Limit 1)
Use $10/1 Coupon (8/8 RP)
Final Price = FREE

-There is a new rebate for $3.50 wyb one qualifying Dingo Jerky Chewz Chicken Strips between 10/20/10 – 12/20/10.  Go HERE to see the list of qualifying products and to print the rebate form.  You will need to submit the form along with the original UPC code within 30 days of purchase!  Limit one per household. 
The 3.2 oz size may be right around $3.29 at Target and Walmart, so they would be free...check your store.

Free Events

-Get the kids dressed up in their costumes and head over to Borders on Saturday (10/30) for a Halloween Party at 11 am.  They will be having storytime, a fun parade and more.

-Put the kids in the car and take them over to Toys R Us on Saturday, (10/30) between noon and 3 pm so they can participate in the Toys R Us Halloween Festivities, sponsored by Crayola.
They will be able to personalize their Halloween bag with Crayola’s Glow Explosion, make a Safety Pledge get a FREE giveaway!

-Michaels: 10 am – 2 pm Free Family Halloween Event – Free Make It Take It (10 am – noon), Free Face Painting (noon – 1:30 pm) and Halloween Parade (1:30 pm – 2 pm)

-Bass Pro Great Pumpkin Fri 4-8, Sat 12-5, Sun 12-5.
Free things include: crafts, photo download, Peanuts coloring sheets, Trick or Treating and a costume parade on Friday night, marshmallow roast and apple dessert free samples on Saturday and Sunday.

Restraunt Deals

-This Halloween weekend, kids can eat FREE at Qdoba Mexican Grill with the purchase of an entree! No coupon necessary!

-October 29th, over at IHOP, kids 12 and under can get a Free Scary Face Pancake!

-Get the kids dressed up in their costume and take them into Chili’s on October 30th and October 31st, they will eat FREE!
One FREE Kid’s Meal per Adult Entree Purchased! Kid’s must be 12 and under and accompanied by adult and in costume!

-Head to Boston market with THIS COUPON, (10/28 – 10/31) to get a free kids meal with any adult  meal purchase!

-On Sunday, 10/31…Participating Applebee’s Restaurants will be offering a FREE Kid’s Meal to children age 12 and under who are in costume!
One FREE Kids Meal with the purchase of each adult meal! Dine-in only!
Also, kids 12 and under will receive an Applebee’s Halloween Coupon Treat Sheet which will get you 10 FREE Kid’s Meals (11/1 – 11/25)
Each coupon from the TREAT SHEET is valid for one free kid’s meal with an adult entrée purchase at participating Applebee’s

-T.G.I. Friday’s is offering FREE appetizers and kids meals Halloween Weekend (10/29 – 10/31) from 5pm – close each day!  Go HERE to get all the details and what’s free on which days!

-Print and take THIS COUPON (scroll down to the bottom) over to Denny’s and get a FREE Cheese Quesadilla when you buy an entree of $2.50 or more!

Facebook Deals

-“LIKE” Playtex Sport on Facebook , and you will be able to request a FREE sample pack of Playtex Sport and a coupon.

-If you want to snag a FREE sample of Fancy Fortune Cookies today, 10/29, then be sure to head over to the Fancy Fortune Cookie Facebook page and “like” them. They have already promised free samples of their fortune cookies today (10/29)… BUT if they reach 10,000 Facebook fans, then they will also give away free samples of their chocolate dipped fortune cookies.

-The FREE NeilMed Neti Pot with two packets offer is back, so if you missed out on this freebie previously, now is your chance to snag one! Just head on over here and “Like” NeilMed Neti Pot on Facebook to score a FREE NeilMed NasaFlo Neti Pot with two packets! Click on the “Free Neti Pot” tab and then click on the top link that states, “Click here for FREE NeilMed Neti Pot”! You’ll then be redirected to a new page where you’ll have to fill out a form to request this awesome freebie!
Please note: This FREE offer is limited to one per address and is only valid for new fans; repeat entries will be discarded.

-Here’s a yummy new coupon for ya! Head over to the A&W Facebook page, “like” them, and you’ll be able to print a coupon good for a FREE Big Taste Meal with the purchase of a 32 oz. drink at regular price (valid through November 1st). Each meal consists of a sandwich and a regular fry.

(For these deals and many more awesome ones check out the saving sites on the sidebar of this blog: special thanks to Carrie at Clippin' with Carrie, and Collin at Hip2Save)

The State of Things

The following was the Scripture passage from my devotions this morning. I realize that this passage will be highly unpopular to some of my friends, so I will refrain from adding any of my own thoughts to it at all. I will simply put the Scripture itself out there and you can see for yourself.

Romans 1:18-2:6

For God's [holy] wrath and indignation are revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who in their wickedness repress and hinder the truth and make it inoperative.
For that which is known about God is evident to them and made plain in their inner consciousness, because God [Himself] has shown it to them.
For ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernable in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks). So [men] are without excuse [altogether without any defense or justification], [Ps. 19:1-4.]
Because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him thanks. But instead they became futile and godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened.
Claiming to be wise, they became fools [professing to be smart, they made simpletons of themselves].
And by them the glory and majesty and excellence of the immortal God were exchanged for and represented by images, resembling mortal man and birds and beasts and reptiles.
Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their [own] hearts to sexual impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves [abandoning them to the degrading power of sin],
Because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, Who is blessed forever! Amen (so be it). [Jer. 2:11.]
For this reason God gave them over and abandoned them to vile affections and degrading passions. For their women exchanged their natural function for an unnatural and abnormal one,
And the men also turned from natural relations with women and were set ablaze (burning out, consumed) with lust for one another- men committing shameful acts with men and suffering in their own bodies and personalities the inevitable consequences and penalty of their wrong-doing and going astray, which was [their] fitting retribution.
And so, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God or approve of Him or consider Him worth the knowing, God gave them over to a base and condemned mind to do things not proper or decent but loathsome,
Until they were filled (permeated and saturated) with every kind of unrighteousness, iniquity, grasping and coveteous greed, and malice. [They were] full of envy and jealous, murder, strife, deceit and treachery, ill will and cruel ways. [They were] secret backbiters and gossipers,
Slanderers, hateful to and hating God, full of insolence, arrogance, [and] boasting; inventors for new forms of evil, disobedient and undutiful to parents.
[They were] without understanding, conscienceless and faithless, heartless and loveless [and] merciless.
Though they are fully aware of God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them themselves but approve and applaud others who practice them.

Therefore you have no excuse or defense or justification, O man, whoever you are who judges and condemns another. For in posing as judge and passing sentence on another, you condemn yourself, because you who judge are habitually practicing the very same things [that you censure and denounce].
[But] we know that the judgement (adverse verdict, sentence) of God falls justly and in accordance with truth upon those who practice such things.
And do you think or imagine, O man, when you judge and condemn those who practice such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape God's judgement and elude His sentence and adverse verdict?
Or are you [so blind as to] trifle with and presume upon and despise and underestimate the wealth of His kindness and forbearance and long-suffering patience? Are you unmindful or actually ignorant [of the fact] that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repent (to change your mind and inner man to accept God's will)?
But by your callous stubbornness and impenitence of heart you are storing up wrath and indignation for yourself on the day of wrath and indignation, when God's righteous judgement (just doom) will be revealed.
For He will render to every man according to his works [justly, as his deeds deserve]: [Ps. 62:12.]



There is so much in that passage...what stands out to you today?

Monday, Monday...

Sorry I haven't been around to post anything for a few days. My grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary party was this weekend and we were out of town. We had a wonderful time, but were very busy. So hopefully tomorrow things will wind back down a bit and I can get back into the swing of things. :) Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

New Store!!!

Well, after much tweaking, the new blog store is now open! Just click on the "shop my store" tab at the top of the page to see some of my favorite books, movies, etc. You can purchase them directly from this site through Amazon (love amazon!) I'm so excited to be able to bring these good deals to you all in time for the holidays! There's tons more work to be done on it, but I thought it had enough for now to open shop. :) If you can think of something you'd like to see in the store, please let me know either by email, facebook comment, or a comment on here and I'd be happy to add it! Happy Shopping!!!

Free Baby Sling! Just pay S&H

I have a ton of friends who've just had babies or are expecting soon, so I thought I'd pass this deal along. I use my baby sling on a regular basis (actually I'm not sure how I'd survive without it with two other little ones) So if you were thinking of getting one anyway, here's an opportunity to save a bit of money on it. Go to http://www.sevenslings.com/ Shop for the sling you like and add it to your cart. (Be patient with the site, there's a ton of volume on it right now so it's kind of slow.) Then add the promo code "Halloween" at checkout to take 100% off the purchase price. It does add an exchange insurance which you can remove from your cart. Just pay the shipping and handling. You can use this deal more than once (think gift giving...hello Christmas) if you open another browser window. But quantities are limited, so if you're interested I'd suggest getting over there pretty quick! Happy shopping!

Having Eyes to See

Have you ever noticed how very little we see with the eyes God gave us? In fact, many days we think we see the exact same things and, in fact, miss so very much that we could- and should- be seeing. We see the sun streaming in the window and shut our eyes tighter wishing the darkness back for a few more minutes of sleep. We see ourselves in the mirror and immediately critique all the things we dislike. We see chaos and miss the beauty of life in action. We see the bills and miss the blessings. We see the gas tank near empty and miss the gift of having a vehicle to drive. We see kids getting dirty and see extra laundry and the extra effort of yet another bath, and we miss the wonder in their eyes as they discover the world around them. We see the toys scattered around the floor and miss the evidence of their active little imaginations at work.

What would happen if we woke up in the morning and saw the wonder of a day where God's mercies were new and having been given the gift of a day we weren't promised? What if we looked in the mirror and saw the smiles that made the lines, the blessing of a body that carried our children, the arms that hold our loved ones. What if we realized that we aren't really running out of money? We have so very much in comparison with most of the rest of the world. We could always adjust our way of living and be just fine if we were willing to make a few "sacrifices?" What if we saw the world through our babies' wonder-filled eyes?

The problem is focus. We tend to let life spin our heads around. We need to be focused. "Be sober. Be vigilant." Life takes on a whole new light when we hone our abilties to focus on the important and eternal. I've found we can endure and thrive in nearly any situation when we can focus on something more significant than what's being flashed before our eyes by our latest distraction.

My devotional yesterday was on the story of the stoning of Stephen. Stephen was in a horrible situation. He was hated for speaking the truth to those who didn't want to hear it. They had decided to kill him. We tend to separate ourselves from the realities of these stories as we read them, but imagine what it must have felt like to Stephen. Put yourself in his shoes for a minute. He had simply obeyed. He had not said a single thing that was untrue. Yet, he had no one to help him and he was at the mercy of an angry crowd. Or so you would think. But it says in Acts 7:55 "But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily upward into heaven and saw the glory of God..."

There is no sugar-coating what happened to Stephen. He was brutally and viciously murdered. He felt those blows just as we would have. He felt the pain of rejection, desperation, the physical and emotional wounds that would have been inflicted on anyone in that circumstance. Stephen was human just like you and I. But he had something playing in his favor. He "gazed steadily upward into heaven and saw the glory of God." Yes, he was still killed, but as he breathed his last he shouted "Lord, don't charge them with this sin!" His final, agonizing moment a testimony to his Savior. Oh, to have that kind of focus in our trials!

How different would your current circumstance look if you took this page from Stephen's playbook? What if you spent your days gazing steading upward and seeing the glory of God? Does not all else pale in comparison? If we measure the events in our lives up next to the glory of God we see which things are important and which are not. We see the immense gifts we have been given by a merciful God. God is absolute perfection. He cannot be improved upon. And He cares enough about you to orchestrate the events of your life. Can you not trust him to lead you through the valleys?

And so, my precious friends, "fix your eyes on what is unseen"- make those around you wonder what on earth you could be looking at- and watch your life become a beautiful account of the glory of God.

Channeling my inner Martha Stewart

Ok, so there is absolutely no part of me that slightly resembles Martha Stewart, but hey, what's life without ambition. ;-) I do, however, enjoy spending time doing some fun little crafty things. And I loooove looking at fun crafty things that other (more crafty) people do. So I thought I'd share some of my latest creations and maybe someone will be inspired to create some fun things of their own.

I've been having tons of fun with my new Silhouette...here are a few things I've made with it recently...

The little child silhouette frams above the windows in the sunroom
are perfect since that's where my kids play most often

Here's an up-close of one of them

This is on the mirror in Kaytie's room

This is one of my favorite projects. I bought some cheap glass canisters
at Michaels and used my Silhouette to etch the glass with labels. So fun!

I've also done a few things that you can do if you don't have a Silhouette (or you're welcome to come over and use mine! hmm...hot chocolate, cookies, crafting...sounds like a GIRLS NIGHT!)

I found a lampshade I really liked from Pottery Barn Kids awhile back for Kaytie's room, but I didn't want to pay what they were asking...call me cheap. So I bought some flowers from Michaels and an inexpensive lamp on clearance at Target and viola!

A cute litte flower lamp! Honestly, I think I like it better than
the expensive one!

Here it is all lit up. Perfect!

While we're in Kaytie's room, I'll show you her new favorite thing...the "flowers" hanging from her ceiling. I made these sweet little deals using a package of tissue paper in the Dollar Zone at Target and twist ties (like you find with your garbage bags). They're hung with fishing line and thumb tacks. We're high class, what can I say. ;-)



Cost about a dollar for all of them. She loves them!

So there you have it. My attempt at creativity for the week. Hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed week!

The Weekend Wrap-Up

It has been an incredibly busy week in the Schweitzer household. My sweet husband left Monday morning for Georgia on business. So I loaded up the three kids and two dogs (I gave cute little McGee a ride back to his family after their visit last weekend) into the minivan and headed to Decatur. The kids were excited to see everyone.

We arrived at my parents' house early afternoon on Monday. My dad stopped by in his big brown truck to see the kids.

Then we loaded back into the van and headed to Argenta to my in-laws house to have an early dinner. My father-in-law made a yummy turkey dinner (yes, I know, I'm spoiled). Then we headed to their neighbors to visit the horses. (I'm seriously hoping my mother-in-law took pictures because I didn't have my camera with me.) The kids LOVED seeing the horses and feeing them apples. Kai especially liked "Ed" the horse.

When the kids all hit meltdown mode, I loaded mine back into the van and we went back to my parents' house. The next morning we were all set to go get lunch and go to the pumpkin patch in Arthur. Unfortunately, I locked my keys in my van and we were not going anywhere. So I had to call someone to come get into my van. (Found out later that the neighbor had a kit to open cars...sigh.)

So after a rough start to the morning we headed to lunch at Culvers with my grandparents and parents.

Kaesen with his great grandma



My babies with their great grampy and grammy





Then we headed to the Great Pumpkin Patch! It was amazing! We had such a wonderful time!

Kai's getting big!

Little Pumkin Princess



Yummy cookie!



Checking out the animals

By the time we left the kids were pretty tired, but they still managed to help Papa shoot his bow, take some target practice with the BB gun and play a game of hide and seek before it got too dark. Then we went to Monicals for pizza! Yum!





Kaytie shooting with Papa



Kai shooting with Papa



Kaesen was up all night Tuesday night for some unknown reason. So a tired and bedraggled mommy loaded up the children Wednesday morning and drove back home. We got home just in time for the kids to take quick naps while I unloaded the car then to pile back in the car and head to Warrenton for Cubbies.



Kaytie, Kaesen and I did some shopping while Kai was at Cubbies then we picked him up and headed home. I collapsed into bed Wednesday night only to be awakened several times by a screaming little girl who had thrown up all over her bed. She did finally fall asleep but when she woke up Thursday morning, she had had an accident all over her bed that took me an hour to clean up.

By the time Ward made it in the door Thursday afternoon, I was exhausted. He had to go back to work Friday morning, so I tried to catch up on some things here at home. Today we did our grocery shopping and now I'm ALMOST, but not quite caught up. At least operations are up and running around here again. 

That's our week in review. Hoping for a bit more relaxing week this week...but we'll see what's in store!

Framing My Dirty Laundry

Ah, dirty laundry. We all have it. It sits in piles and lurks in dark closets. It hides away from public scrutiny and makes us feel overwhelmed and just generally lousy. It tends to taunt us. It's never ending, never goes away and therefore always makes us feel as though we don't quite have it all together, that our work is never quite accomplished and that we've failed somehow to do our job.

But dirty laundry is there for a reason. It's there because life is happening. It is not a sign of our failure to subdue it, but rather of our continued blessing and growth. I know I go through a ton of laundry in our house because I have a husband and three little ones (one of whom still spits up on himself on a regular basis and is in cloth diapers). My dirty laundry is a sign that I have been blessed and that life has been lived in those clothes.

Here's a laundry room epiphany for you. We all have dirty laundry in a figurative way too. You know, those things that people don't readily see. Things that keep you from appearing to have it all together. Maybe you don't talk about it because it makes you feel shame. Maybe you just don't talk about it because you prefer to focus on the "nicer" things about yourself. And I'm not for any second suggesting you tear yourself apart, much less in public. However, here's something to consider.

In the past few months I have had many people ask me how on earth I have it all together. How do I do all that I do. I've even been called "supermom". If for one second you have thought that I have it all together, please let me ephatically state that this is incredibly untrue! I don't intend to decieve anyone, but I suppose it's only human nature to not immediatly discuss your shortcomings.

However, just as with literal dirty laundry, our figurative dirty laundry serves a purpose as well. Our shortcomings, failures, shame are all a sign of life happening. There isn't a single one of us who doesn't have it. We are continually stumbling, failing, picking ourselves back up, dusting ourselves off just in time to fall flat on our faces again. But each time we fall and pick ourselves back up, we've learned. We've lived one more day of life. We've gained a bit more experience and we're a bit more valuable to the world around us.

This is because God is shown most powerfully in our weaknesses. When we see our "dirty laundry" for what it truely is, a sign of life- a blessing of another day lived and experienced, we are able to better understand God's grace to us in saving us and continually making us more like Him through our struggles.

If we hug our struggles to save ourselves embarrasment we are cheating others and ourselves. For instance, I struggle with getting up in the morning. I am NOT a morning person. I have the best of intentions. I give myself incentives to get up early. I KNOW that it makes life far easier when I do get up early. I know that I could get a lot more accomplished if I started earlier in the day. I have tried different routines, different tactics to pursuade myself to get up. Nothing doing. I hate it.

Oh, the agony of the proverbs about the dangers of sleeping in. Now, mind you, I don't often get to sleep IN. But oh how I want to! There are mornings that I drag myself out of bed only to spend the entire morning looking for an opportunity for a nap, or daydreaming about bedtime. What an awful way to waste your life!
Sometimes I am just downright lazy. I just don't want to put forth the effort to finish cleaning before bed. I'm too tired to workout. My bed is too warm and cozy to put my feet on the floor and make a good breakfast for my family.

Yes, I'm getting better, a little at a time. But only because of God's conviction in my life and my desire to perform my duties to the best of my ability-to bless my family and glorify my God. This desire is the only thing that can possibly drag my sorry rear end out of bed in the morning.

Now, you've seen a teensy tiny portion of my dirty laundry. And chances are, someone reading this also has the same stinking pile in their own closet. Maybe they're seeing getting up early differently since reading about my struggle. Maybe they're seeing some hope. Or maybe they're way past me in overcoming their laundry pile. Maybe they have some valuable insight into conquering my sleepies and would like to share. Or maybe we can just encourage each other in our fight against supercomfybed-itis.

So in hopes of sharing the way that God is working in my life, I will attempt to reveal a piece of my dirty laundry every so often. It won't be easy. No one likes to put themselves out there or make themselves vulnerable. But I truely believe that I'm not the only person in the world that has things they wrestle with. Your struggles may be different from mine, but they are there just the same. Sure some people may think less of me, but that's alright. If you find me to be undeserving of your admiration, respect, love, friendship- at least find my God to be loving, merciful and all the more amazing for His willingness to redeem me. After all, my life is nothing if not in Him.
So if it means His glory, I will frame my dirty laundry and hang it on the wall. May all who see it see the mercy and grace of Him who saved me and sanctifies me a bit more each day.

Think on these things...

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.- Phil. 4:8 (NLT)


Those of us raised in church-going families are undoubtedly familiar with this verse. Usually it was used to complement the old saying "garbage in- garbage out." Almost always it was used to instruct us in how to handle media. It always seemed to me a way of "Christian culture." We were commanded to do these things because we were "different" from the world. Of course, this should be true, but I've realized that this command is about far more than that. It's about the love of God and the unneccesary burdens we place on ourselves.

I'm one of those people who cannot watch OR listen to anything remotely violent...not even anything that IMPLIES violence or I have horrible nightmares. I've never really had the desire to watch anything scarey or gorey because I knew I'd be up all night for weeks. I can distinctly remember moments from my childhood when I saw or heard something scarey or violent and never got the image out of my head.

Once when I was at a friend's house her older brother was watching a horror movie. We were playing in a different room, but walked through the room he was in once. I couldn't have been in there more than 30 seconds- the scene that played in front of my eyes is burned into my brain now some 20 years later. Everything from movie trailers to books, news reports to creepy jokes are filed away somewhere in my subconscious.

Now, a little more about me...I'm a total 'fraidy cat. I am the person who lays in bed for hours awake because I heard a little noise. I'm the one who for years could not handle being alone after dark. I can tell you exactly what I'd do if my car ran off a bridge with my babies in it, if someone attacked me in a Target parking lot, if someone broke into my house (for the record: you break into my house, I shoot first and ask questions later- I wouldn't recommend it). I've watched families struggle through the horror of watching their child get very sick and worried myself half to death that it would be my child next. It was bad before I had children, but becoming a mommy gave me a million new things to worry about.

Now I realize that I was never intended to live that way. Yes, bad things do happen. Yes, people suffer unspeakable tragedies on a daily basis. Yes, I should do all I can to sympathize with them and help them in their time of need. But there is no need to borrow trouble where there is none. God is not a God of fear. We don't have to be afraid...of anything.

All those moments of my life I've spent worrying needlessly. Yes, bad things have happened to me. Some things that I worried about did happen. I worried about losing my grandfather. I did. I worried about miscarrying a child. I did. But worrying about it did not keep it from happening, nor did it make it any easier when it actually occurred.

I have realized that I need to step back and look at the big picture. It's so easy to get completely overwhelmed by the death and destruction we are constantly fed in our society. But where I stand, things are good. I have incredible parents who love me unconditionally, gave me a wonderful upbringing and are two of my very best friends. I have an amazing husband whom I adore and can trust completely. I have three beautiful, healthy children. I have an awesome little brother who I could have lost a few years back, but God was merciful. I have amazing family who have always supported me and gave me something wonderful to belong to. I have the most incredible church family. My husband has a great job, we have a beautiful home, I've never been attacked, driven off a bridge or been in a housefire. Maybe someday I will be, but what on earth is the point of worrying about it now? Will it spare me the pain then if I start worrying now?

 Yes, I've felt pain- physical and emotional- agonizing pain. We each experience life a bit differently and no one can completely know your sorrows. But like attracts like. If you focus continually on the negatives in life, you will make yourself miserable, ushering in more negativity. There will always be a sad story that makes your heart hurt. There will always be a situation that makes us wonder why. And if we concentrate on those things the world becomes a dark and scarey place.

But our Creator knows what a scarey place this world can be. He knows we have a tendency to worry about things beyond our control. He knows that we can make ourselves paralyzed by fear. And He wants more than that for us. And so He says, "Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."

Take a look around you. Strive to see the fingerprints of God in your day to day life. Seek them out. They're everywhere. And the more you focus on seeing the works of His hand, the more you can rest in the fact that that Hand will hold you through whatever this world throws at you.

All Aboard!

For those that don't know, we homeschool. My oldest son, Kai, has been an insatiable learner from the beginning. By the time he was 2 I had to find some way to keep him challeged as he was already far past most of the "baby/toddler" development toys/books/etc. He just cannot get enough and asks a million questions about every little detail of every little thing. So I began using a preschool curriculum with him very early on. He LOVED it. He wanted to do it every single day and was learning like crazy. I'm thankful that he loves learning, but it has presented me with a whole set of challenges that I wasn't planning on when I signed up for this mommyhood thing. By May of this year I realized that he had outgrown his preschool curriculum. There was nothing new in it for him anymore. So I tried a few workbooks and things at a Kindergarten level and found that he did most of them no problem. In fact, when we were trying to find curriculum for him we gave him a math placement test and found that he tested at a 1st grade level.
I had no idea what I was going to do with him. Sure, it was great that he was working at a 1st grade level, but....he's 3. He couldn't even start Kindergarten at a school for two more years. So I either had to ignore his pleading for more, or I was going to have to homeschool him. (This was our initial draw to homeschooling. Since beginning, I have found so very many things that I love about it)
We went with Sonlight Kindergarten Cirriculum and I must say, we love it. It is a literature based curriculum and he looooves books. Kaytie, my 2 year old, also loves reading the books with us. The books are excellent and the teacher's guide gives excellent thought provoking questions and ideas to help him learn. However, I have found that he tends to latch on to one specific thing (i.e. sea animals, horses, dinosaurs) and becomes obsessed with that one thing. It's hard to get him as excited about other things (except math, he could work math problems all day and not get tired), he is, after all, 3 years old.
His current obsession (long standing obsession, I might add) is trains. He cannot get enough trains. And so, I decided we would do a unit study on trains. I found I could teach him nearly everything I was going to anyway, including using the curriculum (not lesson plan, but texts,etc.) we had already purchased, and wrap it all around the idea of trains. There are of course technical terms for all of this, but who wants to be technical? :)
Below is a list of things we have done or will be doing in our quest to learn about trains. So for those of you mommas with little ones who love trains, here are a few ideas. Please keep in mind though, that even though he's 3, this is not preschool level. Use the ideas that work for you, tweak them how you like, throw out what won't work. Only you know your little one.

Train math (counting cars, counting items in cars, number recognition- numbers written on engines) adding/subtracting cars, using ordinal numbers (ie, engine: first, car: second, caboose: third), using money to "purchase" train tickets on a train we make out of boxes and decorate (art/imagination), keeping track of how much money we spend running our train, how much money we make from our "passengers" or "cargo" and whether we lost or made money, using shapes to make pictures of trains, finding "missing" cars in a line of numbered cars, learning about distances and speed, reading Sir Isaac Newton and the Laws of Motion (from his curriculum), studying how steam works, studying solids/liquids/gasses, studying energy (potential/kinetic), forces (direct, distant), machines, heat (movement, expansion, measurement), friction, magnets (maglev trains), sound (train whistle), electricity, how trains work (parts of the train, types of trains, statistics on trains), the history of trains, read about trains in Living Long Ago (from his curriculum), study the American Westward Expansion, Victorian times, how trains were used in war, how trains are used now, how trains have been used for good (carrying people and supplies to help others, etc), how trains have been used for bad (movement of prisoners by Hitler, etc), how we are responsible to use the things we have for good or bad, how God feels about these things, locations of railroads, learning about geography by "destinations" on our train, seeing a steam engine in real life, visiting the caboose downtown, visiting the transportation museum, reading The Boxcar Children (from his curriculum), reading/watching The Polar Express, reading/watching Thomas the Tank Engine, studying character qualities from these books/movies, learning reading using a "phonics train" (ie. in the word CAT "C" is the engine, "A" is the car, "T" is the caboose), and much, much more.

We are loving learning about trains! Hopefully you can have some choo choo fun too!

Easy menu planning

So for the past couple of weeks we've been using e-mealz. I am honestly soooo skeptical about things like this because my family is insanely picky. I always liked the idea of having a ready made "menu plan" but it just didn't seem realistic. However, this one is different and here's why.

When you sign up, you receive several options of menu plans. You can choose ones for families or couples. You also can choose certain kinds of menus such as Weight Watchers compatible and menus for those who can't have certain kinds of foods. You can also choose your meal plan based on which store you typically shop at.

They then make a menu for you based on what deals are going on at your store that week. You get a dinner menu for each night of the week with a list of ingredients and recipes for each item you'll make. Then you also get a grocery list, with items grouped by category for easy shopping and the approximate prices so you can see how it will work for your budget. For my family (four eating table food) the approximate cost according to them is $75/ week for your groceries.

Now, let me tell you why this one works for my family. I am a couponer. I do most of my shopping with coupons and stock up when things are on sale. So to be completely honest, I don't need to spend the $75 that they plan for because I already have many of the items needed which I purchased at a discounted price. Also, they only include dinner which gives me so much flexability because we can have leftovers for lunch or sandwiches and we usually have simple breakfasts. So I don't have to follow a rigorous schedule to stay in my budget.

Now, about the pickiness. No, we do not eat every meal that they recommend. BUT, this is another area that e-mealz is amazing in! On your grocery list, they list which meal each item belongs to. So if you aren't going to use a certain meal, you don't have to go through and try to figure out which things you don't need. You just scratch off anything that has the number of the meal you aren't using. So easy!

And I've found that although my family wouldn't eat a dish exactly as they would have me prepare it, I can tweak the recipe a tiny bit and make it something my family would love. Best of all, I didn't have to worry with the menu for the week, or the grocery list. I know I have something planned for each night. I know I have all that I need to make each meal. AND I have freed up my time used for grocery planning to get better deals with my coupons. ;-)

Best of all, it's only a $1.25 per week. SOOOO worth it when you figure that not only are you not having to really think about what to buy, but you know you're only buying what you're going to use and your food isn't going to waste because something looked good, but you never got around to cooking it. Frugal indeed.

If you're interested in seeing what e-mealz is all about click on the button below. (yes, I get moolah if you do- full disclosure here.) But honestly, I'd recommend it even if I didn't. One less thing for the mommy brain to worry about. Because quite frankly, you've got better things to do and let's face it, mac n cheese is only good so many nights in a row. :)

Yummalicious!

We used to be a typical family getting our bread for the week at the grocery store...until I came across this recipe and we fell in love! I now bake our bread every week and it's worth every bit of extra work. (which isn't much) It's made using only whole wheat flour, but it's very soft and sweet. It makes amazing sandwiches, but honestly we most often put some butter on it and eat it plain. Sooo good! I dare you to try it and see if you don't love it.

Gather up your ingredients- whole wheat flour, salt, oil, honey and yeast. In a large bowl mix together 2 cups of the flour, 2 teaspoons of salt, 1/2 cup of oil and 1/2 cup of honey. (tip: add the oil just before the honey, it will make the honey come out of the measuring cup much more easily) Add 2 1/2 cups of warm water (not hot water...we're talking baby bath temp (or slightly warmer) here) This should make a very wet mixture. Add 1 tablespoon of yeast.

Now grab your bag of flour and begin putting the flour into the mixture about a 1/2 cup at a time. There's no exact science here. You'll probably end up with about 4-5 cups but just keep adding flour until you have a nice soft dough that isn't sticky anymore. (try not to over-do it, though, you want it to be soft, not stiff)

Turn out your dough on a floured surface and knead it a few minutes, then put it back in the bowl, cover it with a towel and let it rise in a warm spot for 30 to 40 minutes. After that time, punch it down (for those of you who have not baked bread that means exactly what it sounds like- punch it down into the bowl) Then form it into two loaves and place in greased loaf pans. Use a fork to poke several holes into the dough. (You may want to press down around the edges just to make it look pretty.)

Cover it back up, let it rise again for about an hour. Then bake it at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until lightly golden brown. (tip: I usually turn on the oven to "warm" while I'm mixing the dough, then shut it off and put the bowl into the oven to rise the first time. I put it back in the warm oven the second time and simply turn on the oven to 350 when it's finished rising and remove the towel.)

Let it cool a bit then enjoy! Added bonus- your house will smell AMAZING! :) I already have bread made right now, but the next time I make it, I'll add some pictures. Enjoy!

It's October!!!

The weather is gorgeous, the weekends are getting full...it is definately October! We have so much coming up in the next few months. Tomorrow morning I'll be out at the gate for the tailgate sale. I'll be selling jar mixes, breads, etc. that would make awesome Christmas gifts. :) C'mon out and check it out!

On Tuesday I'll be having my wisdom tooth removed. Not so excited about that, but I'll try to be brave and post a pic of my chipmunk cheek for everyone's amusement. Me and the kiddos will be in Decatur the following week for a few days. I'm hoping to actually get some down time with my parents and grandparents. Seems like it's been forever since I could go up to Decatur and actually just relax.

Towards the end of October we'll be having a party to celebrate my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary! Is that amazing or what!?! And I have the honor of being able to make the cake for them. I'm looking forward to it!

So we're going to be getting very busy now, November and December are even busier for us, as I'm sure they are for everyone. Kai reminds me every day that he's "almost 4" and I booked his birthday party yesterday. It just doesn't seem possible that they're all getting so big. On that note, my sweet little Kaesen is 6 months old today...(he happens to be laying on the floor grinning at me and pooping his pants. i love being a mom. HAHA)

Hope everyone has a wonderful month!!! Happy Fall!!!