My First Blog Award

My friend Kristy sent me this award. Kristy and I have never actually met in person, but I feel like I have known her for ages. We met through the blogosphere (am I using that terminology correctly?). Someone had tagged me for a meme and I had to tag seven people. I think at the time I only had one friend who had a blog so I started randomly clicking on people who had left comments on Beth Moore's blog. Kristy was one of those people and we have been friends ever since. She and I did a Bible study together this summer. You know you put your insides out there when you do an in depth study. That is a sure fire way to get to know someone. Kristy is also a military spouse. Her husband is in the Coast Guard. For those of you who are not military spouses, you should know you have an instant sisterhood of sorts with any other military spouse you meet. She loves her kids and strives to be the best Godly mom and wife she can be. She also has started a new jewelry making hobby. Pop on over here and here to see some of her creations.

Part of accepting the award is:

*displaying the award
*linking back to the person who gave it to you
*paying it forward and nominating 7 blogs
*adding links to those 7 blogs
*leaving comments on their blog telling them you gave them an award
*enjoying the award!!!!

My 7 awards go to...drum roll please...in no particular order

The first award goes to Kari. Kari and I met not too long after we had moved to our previous home. P.K. was geo-batching (lived on base during the week and made the two hour plus commute home on the weekends)and I really needed another adult to talk to. I joined a MOPS group and the Lord put Kari in my path immediately. Our oldest girls were in the same class at school and were already friends. Kari really got me started on this blogging hobby. She had been talking about setting up a blog so I started researching it. Once she got her blog off the ground I jumped right in. I'm so glad I did. I now have memories preserved and since she and I don't get to have our weekly coffee dates, I can keep up with what is going on back at the old homestead. Kari wears many hats. She is a mom, wife, daughter, dance instructor and room parent just to name a few.

The second award is presented to Happi. Happi is actually Kari's sister. Kari's list of actual blogging friends isn't much longer than mine and she should probably get dibs on her sister, but I'm going to give Happi the award anyway. I never actually met Happi, either. I knew of her through Kari before our blogging days. Happi had a blog before us. Once I started blogging it was just a natural progression to check Happi's blog. She is a homeschooling mom of two sweet boys. She is very talented. She teaches voice and piano lessons. I can't carry a tune in a bucket, so you can imagine my envy of her is great. She loves making her house a home and her love for God and her family pours out through her writing.

The third award goes to my cousin Melissa. She has been commenting on my blog for a while and I just found out that she has one. Since our big move, we live a bit closer to Melissa and are waiting for her to come visit. Melissa if you come, I will make that cake with the "bump" again. It has been fun catching up with her via the blogs and email.

The fourth award goes to Marine Wife. Yes, I know her personally and she has a real name. She tries to keep her blog safe for her family as I do mine and I respect that. She and I met when we were stationed in 29 Palms in California. I knew her before Aaron was born so we've been friends for over 7 years. Wow! We were walking buddies and I so miss our morning walks with our babies in their strollers. Those are precious memories to me. If those mountains we passed every day could talk, they would have some very personal things to divulge. Obviously from her screen name, she is married to a marine. Her marine has deployed to Iraq, more than once. She handles his absences with grace and strength. Not to sound too much like a Hallmark card, but I am very proud of this friend. She loves to scrapbook and is very organized.

The fifth award goes to Stephanie at Adventures in Babywearing. I had the pleasure of meeting Stephanie at the park near our previous home. Kari and I had met there for a little coffee, conversation and playdate. We were talking about our blogs and Kari was sharing that she had bumped into a blogger at the library the day before. She glanced up and there was Stephanie. Kari said, "And that's her." Stephanie is a talented writer and posts on several blogs. Hop on over to Adventures in Babywearing and you can find links to her other spots. It would also be worth the trip over to her blog to meet her sweet new baby girl, Ivy. She also has three little boys. She is more techno savvy than I will ever be, so if you really want to learn more about blogging, go to her blog. Amazing!

The sixth award goes to Amanda. I basically lurk around her blog. I've left a comment now and then, but not many. She is a gifted writer. If you read her blog at all you will find out that she loves Jesus, her man and her son. Amanda, please do not feel obligated to play along. I'm a rule follower and the rules say to give the award to 7people. I unfortunately don't know 7 people personally who blog. However, I really do love your blog and you deserve the award!

The seventh award goes to The Thrifty Momma. I don't know her either. Some of you may know I have gotten into using coupons a lot lately and she has a lot of great information on her blog. Thrifty Momma...thanks for sharing all of those great money saving tips. I really do love your blog, so this award is for you!

Clipping Coupons

My latest craze is clipping coupons. I have found some blogs that list the best deals that can be found at stores and even better deals when the sales are combined with coupons. I'm not going to post every deal I find, but since this blog is a record of things happening around our home, I have to do at least one post.

On Sundays, I stop by WalMart on the way home from church and buy a paper. The WalMart here sells a bundle of two papers for $2.50. The money I save more than covers the price of the papers.

When I shop at Target, I often get a store coupon with my receipt. A store specific coupon can be combined with a manufacturer's coupon for extra savings. Yesterday I took the kids by Kohls trying to find some jeans for Rachel that aren't cut to fit a 20 year old (entirely different post). Target is in the same shopping center so we made a quick stop. Here is what I got for a grand total 0f $3.38.

The four bags of baby carrots were on sale for $1.29 each. I had four coupons for $1.00 off each bag making them $.29 each. The Kool-Aid singles aren't something I would usually buy. I have some Crystal Light singles that I often use and the kids always want them. The Kool-Aid singles were on clearance for $1.48 and I had a coupon for $.50 off. The Shout was originally $2.29. I had a Target coupon for $1.00 off and a manufacturers coupon for $.75 off. That made the Shout $.54. The Windex was originally $2.25. I had a Target coupon for $1.00 of and a manufacturer's coupon for $.75 off. That made the Windex $.50. After tax, $3.38.

I said I won't post every deal so if you want to know how I got two boxes of Colgate toothpaste for $.12 at CVS, you'll have to ask. We are Crest people in this house, but for that price we'll suffer through it.

Can I Lick the Beaters?

Hannah and I made a cake together on Thursday. The kids' school had a fall carnival last night and needed donations for a cake walk. I usually just go with brownies and always have a mix on hand, but I thought I would put forth a little extra effort. We made Pumpkin Pound Cake with Maple Walnut Sauce. I found it here. Hannah made one for school and I made one for the family.



I guess the pan was a bit full so there is a "bump" at the bottom. This was the one for the family and we were happy with it.

It was a fun activity to do with Hannah.

She especially enjoyed licking both beaters.

Goodbye, Dear Friend

This morning a dear friend who has been with me for over five years decided to bid me farewell.

Last night I talked on the phone with another friend of mine, Christine. She is a military wife and understands what it is like to invest your time and energy into a relationship. When you make frequent moves, you don't have years to invest in friendships. You get to know someone in a matter of weeks on a level it may normally take years to develop. When I meet someone, I can tell within the first few minutes whether or not we will hit it off.

The relationship with the friend who decided to part ways this morning was one of those instant friendships. She has traveled thousands of miles with me. Since we met, I have never taken a trip without this dear friend. She was there for the birth of my last child. We have gotten together for at least a few moments almost every single morning. I thought we had many more mornings and probably even years together.

But in the middle of drying my straight lifeless hair this morning she decided to quit on me. Please join me in a few moments of silence to grieve the loss of this loved one...


Yep, my hairdryer quit on me mid-dry! P.K. isn't quite giving me the sympathy I need, so I thought I would share with all of you. Now I am going to drop Hannah off at preschool and then go to WalMart with my half dried head in search of a new friend.

The Great Debate

As I type, I am watching or listening to McCain and Obama debate their views. I don't like to discuss politics so this is going to be lighthearted. You may be surprised that this is the first presidential debate I have ever watched (at least I'm planning to watch the entire thing). I've seen bits and pieces of previous debates. I especially enjoy the Saturday Night Live skits...check this one out...

http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/vp-debate-open-palin-biden/727421/

The news will without a doubt cover the highlights over and over and over...

I'm actually cracking up because the two of them going at it reminds me of my kids fighting. "I want to do this, but she did this. No, I didn't. He did this. That's not true. Remember when she did this to me? Well, she did it again."

If you didn't notice, Todd Smith from the Christian group Selah is sitting in the front row of spectators. Click here to check out his wife's blog.

I have to pay more attention to the debate, but I'll be back...

O.K. The last question was my favorite. If you missed it, here it is. "What don't you know and how will you learn it?"

The part that made me laugh so hard I almost cried was the very end when both candidates were in the way of Tom Brokaw being able to see his script that was projected on the wall. Too bad we won't see that played over and over and over...

Go, New Girl!

Congratulations are in order for Miss Rachel. She was elected by her class to be their student council representative. I'm very proud of her. Not just for being elected to student council, but for not being afraid to try new things. She has incredible self confidence. She is at a new school and is in the choir and wasn't at all afraid to run for student council. I pray that she maintains that great attitude as she gets older and faces new challenges.

I Write the Songs

Ever since Aaron has been old enough to talk, he has made up songs about anything that was going on in his life. When we lived in California we lived about a three hour drive from SeaWorld so we went several times. Aaron was not quite two on one trip there and almost all the way he sang about the whales he was going to see. Now that he can write, he has been writing some down. You may recall the post where I shared that he woke me up in the middle of the night to inform me he had been burning the midnight oil to finish up his latest work. Kristen asked if I was going to share them. I have no idea how to put a video on here so I am going to share his lyrics. I'll share the one that he finished during the night first.

LAZY BONES

Lazy bones. Don't be a, don't be a lazy bones. Don't be a lazy, don't be a lazy, don't be a lazy bones. Don't get up and go back to sleep again. That's just lazy. So don't be a lazy bones.

GOD IS THE LIGHT

God is the light. God is the sun. He will protect me in all my fear. God, God, God you're the heart of the spirit. O, God. Yeah!

LIFE IS HARD

Sometimes life is hard on you, you, you. You know life will be hard. Like when you're new at school and you meet new teachers. That is just hard. Yeah, life is hard.

I AM A ROCK STAR

I am a rock star. Yes, a rock star. I'm going to rock the house! Rock the house! Rock the house! Rock the house! Yeah! I'm going to rock the house.

YOU ARE MY HEART

I love you. You are my heart. Yeah, yeah. I need you. You are my heart. You are the best one, yeah. You are the one.