Not Me Monday

A Blogger I know does something called Not Me Mondays. It's something I've come to enjoy every week, but I haven't been brave enough to write my own, until today. Here we go. If you'd like to contribute, go to her blog. She's awesome. She can get you started better than I can.

This past week Nathan started a second job. He's gone from early in the morning until about 11pm. It's been very busy at the homestead, and I've been trying to keep them - the children - entertained and have some teachable moments too. In the middle of "keeping up", I did NOT set my children in front of the TV so that I could take a shower. I would never do such a thing! And I did not put a bunch of toys and a baby (not a baby!) in a laundry basket so that said baby wouldn't get into anything crazy while I took said shower. That's just a crazy idea!

And I'm learning new things lately. Like yesterday, I did NOT get out my haircut kit and proceed to butcher my son's head. No, a nice mom wouldn't do that. And I did not do the same thing to my daughter's beautiful, long hair. Hey, she asked for it! My thoughts are, I'd better learn how to do it now while they're young and don't get embarrassed easily! The kids really look, okay. The cuts aren't great, but they're not awful either! Well, I'll get some pics up here and you can decide for yourself!

I also did not take all three to the playground by myself multiple times during the week, sometimes right smack dab in the middle of mealtimes. I did NOT pull some, maybe strawberry, waffles out of the toaster, grab some fruit, and let them eat their "dinner" at the playground. And I also did NOT keep them at the playground past their bedtime. That's just not me. I'm a schedule momma, and I am always on time, even for lunch time! However, with Daddy gone, I'm learning to flex and I'm just trying to enjoy time with these kids. It's much easier to let the little things frustrate me, so we're trying new things and some will stick, and some will NOT.

That was fun. Thanks for reading my Not Me Monday report. Stay tuned in for next week. I have a feeling this will be a regular thing. It's a nice release from some difficult seasons.

Baby Food at Publix!

Just last week I said that I was having a hard time finding baby food on sale! Well this week I found some great deals at Publix!

One of the great things about Publix is that they will match competitor coupons! I found out today that they do not consider pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS to be competitors, so they don't match their prices, but most stores like Food Lion or even Target can have their coupons honored at Publix. This works out really well when you have a Publix sale on top of a Food Lion coupon! It's great!

Another great thing about Publix is that all coupons .50 and under are automatically doubled (unless the coupons specifies that it doesn't double). So even more savings! Don't throw away that .25 coupon thinking that it won't add up. It will!

Here are just two of the deals that I found at Publix. Maybe one day I'll be so fast that I can post pictures and list the whole thing, but right now this is the best I can do!

6 Kid Cuisines at 1.99/2, 3 Blinkie coupons for .55/2, total cost: 0.72 per item
16 Earth's Best Baby Food. 2 for .99 and Buy One Get One Free and These coupons and these too! Total cost: 0.29 per jar

There are more to list, but time is of the essence my dear!

We Will Wait for Him!

Today is a good day. Today we wait in hope for what God will do, how He will claim his fame, how He will continue to prove His outstanding, unending, gracious love and power to a people who do not know Him. Today we experience hardship and anguish. Today our heart pangs for resolution to a deep conflict in which there seems no hope. Someday, I'll write more. Someday, I'll lay out every detail on the line in joyful thanks. But the chapter to this story isn't over yet, and I want more than anything to be able to tell this story with the resolution because our struggles are not in vain. God is doing something in our family, and, even as I don't know what, and, even as I stand tear-stained with no answers, I know that these struggles are fleeting and that they are light and momentary. I know that God is doing things greater than our small family. It is so exciting to hope for what He has in store for us. I'll admit that I'm writing this knowing that I'll have to go back and re-read this for some of my "weaker moments", when I may give in to fear and lose hope, but I have no good reason to do that! We know that there will be a day that He will wipe every tear from [our] eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. And we wait with hope. I will tell you the story soon, and you will be amazed. I will be amazed because I know this:
the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!

So I don't know what His resolution is. But if it has anything to do with being closer to Him, I'm in. I know that He will feed and clothe our family. I know that He will give us our daily bread. That doesn't mean that it will be easy or luxurious. Jesus said that His bread was to do the will of His father. Not merely for the sake of righteousness, but because He loved His father, and His father loved Him, and His father's will was the best thing for Him. Our pastor said in his sermon the other day, "Whenever scripture says, "Don't", see it as God saying, "Don't hurt yourself." I love that! We have a protective father who pleads with His children to pursue what is best for them: Himself!

So no matter what, we're here, waiting on the Lord. It makes me even more excited to be at home with the Lord, without the struggle. But it makes the struggle worth it because I know there is much gained through hardship.

Come soon, Lord Jesus, and show your power once again!

Here is our song:
We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.

Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.

I wait for you, O LORD; you will answer, O Lord my God.

I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.

I wait for your salvation, O LORD, and I follow your commands.

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.

My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.

He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon."
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.


Again, a baby waking interrupts this post. So I'll end here. Please excuse the unedited version. That's all I can offer right now!

Food and Water that does not satisfy

I'm not very good at updating this blog frequently, and a part of me thinks that's probably a really good thing. It's good that my kids get my attention. They need it, especially as they're all so young and have very basic needs that can really only be met by mommy. Food. Clothing. Diapers. The essentials. It's also good that my home gets some attention. It needs it also! But we'll save homemaking tips for another day. I still have much to learn there.

Lately, I've been really trying to work with our food budget, and we've found some successes there. I'm still working out some kinks, but I start to get excited when I find out a store is tripling coupons or if I see some great BOGO sales. This couponing thing is really starting to work for us, and that part is exciting, but it's also exhausting. Last week, I was so happy to go triple couponing, and I did great. Spent $5, saved $45. That's awesome for a beginner, but truth be told, by the end of it, I wasn't really that satisfied. And the other day, I went to Krogers, spent $25 to save $45. That's good too, but it didn't feel like enough. I know that in a few days, I'll be looking at the store ads that come in with the paper again, checking online for the latest coupons, clipping and organizing away so that our family will have what it needs. Food is one of our basic physical needs. We use it every day for nourishment, and every day, we seek out ways to get it. Every day, we exhaust our bodies' intake of food and water. It perishes. We need more. It does not really satisfy.

Jesus spoke to a woman one day about this. He was sitting at a well, full of water, saying, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again." and we know this to be true. We see evidence of it in our monthly bank statements, and not just in food but the other things we pursue for some sort of satisfaction; entertainment, books, sports, whatever.
And Jesus said even more "but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. " Have you experienced this? Do you know what he is talking about? This isn't water at all that Jesus was talking about. He is talking about how He has given himself for the forgiveness of your and my sins, about how there is no more condemnation and there is complete sanctification and satisfaction in Jesus alone. This is eternal and not momentary or fleeting. This is beautiful and completely free. "Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

And I must stop here. Noah is calling to me from his crib. A 15 minute nap!?! Well, the words don't need my help anyway. I'll let them be as they are. It's better that way!
"Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

Saving at the Supermarket

I've been trying my hand at couponing for about 2 months now, and it has been an increaingly timely blessing to our family. In the future I may choose to use this blog as a way to share with other ladies who are all seeking to bless their families in how they spend their dollars. Today, I didn't use coupons, but I found some great sales at Kroger that I wanted to share on.

We got:
5lbs chicken leg quarters at .79/lb
8lbs of Whole Boneless Sirloin Tip at 1.99/lb
7lbs of Whole Boston Buttat 1.29/lb
2 Cartons of Strawberries, 2 for $3.00
2 Cartons of Blueberries, $1.50 for 5oz carton
2 cartons of Blackberries, $1.50 for 5oz carton
4 ears white corn, .28/ear (I've found better at Publix, but this was still good)

The rest weren't really great sales, just typical prices.

I've had a hard time finding good sales on fresh fruit and vegetables and meats, so this was quite a treasure for me as our refrigerator was starting to ask me what I was making for dinner every night.

If anyone reads this, I'm still looking for ways to save on the diaper stash and the baby food items. Those are the most expensive on our list. Right now, I'm making baby food with our food processor and hoping that he's on to the next stage soon, but we do need to keep some jarred food on the shelf for when we go out of the house or for days when my water's turned off (like today) because the complex is working on it!

She will not fall

Weary but joyful
Empty but full

I think that's the best way to describe things right now. There is a battle against a dark sense of hopelessness in our home right now, mostly surrounding very substantial, visible difficulties for us. It's been a struggle for months on top of months, and my heart is heavy and tired from the battle. I've asked God so many questions during this time, and I'll admit that even the darkest questions were asked because everything tangible was crumbling beneath us and I didn't understand how a God who loved us and promised to care for His children would let us live in such a desolate, fear filled situation.

And I asked Him where He was.

And I asked Him if He was here.

Was He really here?

And then he showed me everything He had made. It is so true that even the rocks cry out that God is alive! The ocean and the mountains and the skies reveal His glory. It becomes clear to me again and again that all of this came from God and so we have renewed hope.

And we still wait, trembling at times, but confident that He who began a good work in us will complete it, confident that He is not finished with us yet. Even as I describe that everything was crumbling beneath us and how dire and huge it seems to us, I am comforted by my God who tells me that our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

That is all I can say today. We are here today:

the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.
its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

And we wait for His rescue!

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.

God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.

Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come and see the works of the LORD,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.

He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
he burns the shields with fire.

"Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."

The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

And we wait for Him! Are you thrilled for His rescue? I know I am!

A long trip.Part 2

It's a rainy Monday morning. Happy Memorial Day, and I'm listening to the cartoons running in the background. Grace and Ben are playing a ladybug board game (obviously not Ben's initial idea, but he rolls with the punches), and Noah is crawling, YES CRAWLING around the living room floor. A week ago yesterday, we returned home from basically a four week vacation for me and the kids. Dad was not so lucky! He did meet up with us on the tail end in Myrtle Beach, though. In the last four weeks, we've stayed in several different places across the map:
Bristol, VA
Silver Springs, MD
Richmond, VA
Wilmington, SC
Myrtle Beach, NC
Gainesville, GA
and finally home!
We experienced a very scary apartment fire while in Silver Springs, MD that caused us to be outside in our jammies from 7:30am until about 1pm. Some people were never able to return to their homes because they were utterly destroyed.
In Richmond, we visited with old friends and family and celebrated a marriage. Grace now wants to marry her brother. I told her it's really not okay to marry family. So she decided she'll marry her cousin instead. We're working on this.
Wilmington met us with a hospital visit on Mother's Day and a very tired and heavily medicated Nathan. He is doing well now, thankfully!
Myrtle Beach was too short! We spent a week in the glorious fresh ocean breeze and enjoyed the sand and shores every day with every sibling I have. It was the best week of 2009 so far!
We cut our trip home into two parts and visited more family along the way. It was a great closing to our trip and so sweet to be able to visit some that we don't often get to see because of the great distance.

It's been a week now since our long excursion, and it's taken an entire week to catch up and find our normal. I think we're almost there now.

I'll post some pictures from our trip soon.