1st Birthday Part 2

Justus loved the cake but he was a little more methodical about eating it than his sister was. It was wonderful to watch. He was very excited, and very serious about his cake eating.

Look at this. He even shared. How sweet!

1st Birthday Part 1

The Birthday Boy!The Decorations.
Hannah picked out the BIG balloon.
Mom made the cutie banner.

The Cakes!
Justus got the round one all to himself.
The rest of us ate up the Lion!
Thank You Thank You Elizabeth!!

Our Sunday Pictures

Menu Plan Monday

This week we spent about $39.00. I threw away the receipts and I paid cash - oops! Anyway, I was very pleased.

Monday - Turkey Burgers, Mac-n-Cheese
Tuesday - Eggs, Waffles
Wednesday - Pork Chops, Rice
Thursday - Grilled Cheese, Ramen Noodles
Friday - Hamburger Helper, Greenbeans
Saturday - Steak (hopefully cooked on the grill by my hubby), potatoes
Sunday - Sandwiches and Leftovers

To see other's menu plans check out Org Junkie! (There are lots of ideas there!)

Our Birthday Boy

Happy Happy Birthday to our sweet boy.

We love you so so much.

(look at those pretty top teeth.)

Angel Food Ministries

Have you ever heard of it?

If you are looking to help your budget then you should look into it. I have a link on the right side of the page.

Here is the deal...
If you pay - you get it. It does not matter your income. It does not matter your age. It does not matter how many children you have. You can get this. They put out a menu every month. You have a date that you must pay by ($30) and then you have a date that you have to go pick it up. There you have it. Food at a great price. The food is not about to go bad. (The shelf stable milk I got this time does not expire until next year). The food is not reject food.

Anyway, we were very pleased. We have meat for at least 7 meals from this. Chris looked at it all and said we had over $30 worth of just meat there. Crazy. We have to drive 6 miles to the nearest pick up point - that is it. They also offer a $28 package of 10 convenience meals, all fully cooked; a $25 allergen-free food box where they have eliminated 8 of the top food allergens; a $36 special Thanksgiving box; and then 4 $20-$23 special boxes, some being a fruit and veggie package, an assorted steak package, and an assorted Grill box.

ANGEL FOOD MINISTRIES! Check it out.

Menu Plan Monday

We did something a little different this week so budget is a little out the window. Tell you about it later. Here is the Menu...

Monday - Hamburgers, Mac-n-Cheese
Tuesday - Eggs and Waffles
Wednesday - Grilled Cheese, Ramen Noodles
Thursday - ?Going to be a crazy night?
Friday - Chicken, Greenbeans
Saturday - Leftovers, Sandwiches
Sunday - Roast and Mashed Potatoes

To see other's menu plans check out Org Junkie! (There are lots of ideas there!)

Our Sunday Pictures

And this is the famous tie.
Hannah picked it out for Chris at a Yard Sale last weekend. $.0.25!

Yard Sale

Last Saturday we had a yard sale. It was pretty fun. There are a couple of good things about yard sales. (By the way, do you call it yard sale? Or do you call it garage sale? Or something else?)

First, you simply can not get any house work done because you MUST be outside in case a few customers come. Too Bad.

Second, you get to eat outside and most of the time you get to snack. You can see here that Justus is not the happiest about being finished with his food.

There are, however, a couple of not so great things about yard sales.

First, you have to plan and prepare so much before hand. Craziness.

Second, (especially in our case where it was a neighborhood yard sale and my AW and Mollie brought stuff to sale too) you may end up finding things you want to keep or buy from another yard sale. You can see here that Hannah found one of Mollie's old hats that I would not let her have because, after all, we were suppose to be getting rid of stuff - not bring more stuff in.

Third, when your aunt and your daughter go yard saleing together while you man your own yard sale you have no control over what comes home. (more stuff) Chris got a great tie out of the deal that Hannah picked out for him, though. Maybe it will show up in a Sunday picture some time soon... Hummmm.... not sure if this is an altogether bad thing or not.... oh well..

Playing with Daddy

Or was Daddy playing with Hannah?

Here's A Tip

When you are trying your hardest to save money....

Cheap paper towels are
ABSOLUTELY
HORRIBLE!

Do You Think He Likes It?

This past weekend Justus tried some spaghetti o's canned spaghetti. He liked it.He then got word that Mommy made spaghetti some times. He also got word that on 12/20/07 it was documented that his sister liked spaghetti. It was also documented on 07/18/08 and on 03/31/09. He felt he needed to try some real spaghetti after that!

This is how the meal started.

This is in the middle of the meal.

This is the end of the meal.
(He had to make sure he sucked down that very last bit.)

I think I have a WHOLE family who loves spaghetti!

Hallelujah!

"Man of Sorrows," what a name
For the Son of God who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim!
HALLELUJAH! WHAT A SAVIOR!

Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood,
Sealed my pardon with His blood;
HALLELUJAH! WHAT A SAVIOR!

Guilty vile and helpless we;
Spotless Lamb of God was He;
"Full atonement!" Can it be?
HALLELUJAH! WHAT A SAVIOR!

Lifted up was He to die,
"It is finished," was His cry;
Now in heav'n exalted high,
HALLELUJAH! WHAT A SAVIOR!

When He comes, our glorious King,
All His ransomed home to bring,
Then anew this song we'll sing,
HALLELUJAH! WHAT A SAVIOR!


How dare I think we can't get thru any troubles with Him by our side.
How dare I not give it all to Him.
How dare I sing this song without shouting it to the mountain tops!

HALLELUJAH!
HALLELUJAH!
HALLELUJAH!

What A Savior!!

Menu Plan Monday

This week we spent $49.66. Not too bad but I was definitely hoping for lower. Next week should be better - I am already starting my menu with what we didn't eat this past week!! Here is the menu....

Monday - Roast, Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Tuesday - Spaghetti, Garlic Bread
Wednesday - Breakfast: Waffles, Eggs, Cinnamon Rolls
Thursday - Chicken, Mac-n-cheese
Friday - Pizza Chips
Saturday - Fish Fry at the church building
Sunday - Sandwiches and Leftovers

To see other's menu plans check out Org Junkie! (There are lots of ideas there!)

Our Sunday Pictures

Featuring:
A New Hair Do.

Excitement

This may not look like excitement to you but .... let me tell you ...... it is!! This is what Hannah does when she is excited about someone coming to the house. (Classic end-of-the-day event when Chris is on his way home!)

She goes to get her chair and she sits at the front door to wait. It is so sweet.

So, if you ever come over and are frustrated that you can not get in the door very easily, please be flattered and not upset. It means that Hannah has been anxiously awaiting you!

AND, yes, for all you Roll Tide fans out there, that is Big Al sitting next to her!

Book Update

I was talking to my Aunt yesterday and it dawned on me that I have not told you about a couple of books I have read.

5 girls within the congregation that I worship with get together every week for "coffee" (or for me, it is diet coke) and a Bible study. I have only been a part of the group for a short amount of time but it has been so wonderful.

The first book I studied with them was A Woman's Pilgrimage of Faith by Shelia Cragg. This book is about suffering. I loved reading it but I felt a little out of my element with it. Reading it made me realize how little I have suffered in my life. This book helped me to thank God for my "small" struggles in life and it also gave me some insight as to how to help someone else during their suffering. One of my favorite things about this book were the prayers she wrote out for us to pray. They were powerful and full full full of scripture.

We are now reading Celebration of Discipline by Richard J Foster. This book is great. It talks about the inward disciplines of Meditation, Prayer, Fasting and Study; the outward disciplines of Simplicity, Solitude, Submission, and Service; and the corporate disciplines of Confession, Worship, Guidance, and Celebration. I am very very excited about this. We have completed the chapter on Meditation and are now on Prayer. I will let you know how it goes.