Hello World!

I have been away from blogging for quite a while. Please pardon the dust. I will be revamping this blog over the next few days and attempt to catch you up on our daily activities. Life is but a vapor. Make the most of every minute!

Tomorrow

Wow! Have you seen the flooding in Nashville and the surrounding area? We see flooding footage and photos in the news quite regularly. Always in places that we've never been and probably will not ever be. But tonight... Nashville... the Opryland Hotel. WOW!

I never fully comprehended the total devastation that raging flood waters can pose until tonight. I know the Opryland Hotel. We were just there last month for our Lads to Leaders Convention. Jessica was just there with the youth group TWO days ago. WOW!

I'm reminded of one VERY important fact.

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.  (Pro 27:1)

yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.  (Jas 4:14)

Music

We love music. DH and I were in a variety of bands in high school:.polka band, jazz band, marching band, concert band. Now Jessica is playing piano, Kristen plays guitar and Michael is about to start music lessons too. His instrument of choice... THE DRUMS. This is looking like the beginning of a new kind of band. This is gonna be fun.

Time Flies

Wow! I can't believe it's been almost two months since my last entry. As always there is a lot going on. Right now it's after midnight and I've just finished a wonderful evening with my son. We took advantage of some quality time together and went to dinner then putt-putt followed by a scoop of peanut butter fudge ice cream at Kaleidoscoops. He's sound asleep now with a big smile on his face knowing he's a very special young man. Especially to his mom.

New Website, Blog and FB Fan Page

There's a lot going on around here. Back in December I purchased a new embroidery machine and embarked on a home-based business. The name of my new business is Common Threads.

Here's a small sampling of our work so far. Of course, more photos to come as orders are filled.

Please follow the link below to view my new Website. New products uploaded as time permits. Currently, I'm in the process of filling orders and taking new photos. In the works, I have an Adult t-shirt, Adult Dress Shirt, diaper wipe case, newborn knit hats (x2), I'm the Little Sister (x2) onesies, I'm the Big Brother T-shirt, Burp Cloths, and a blue Chenille Baby Blanket. New orders coming in every day.

Also, I'm excited to announce our upcoming events. February 1st we will begin selling at the Homestead Hand Crafts Mall in San Antonio, Texas and on March 27th we will be featured at the first Buckhorn High School Arts & Crafts show/fundraiser event from 4-8 p.m.

Daily Trials

Raising godly children today is not an easy task. At times it feels like I'm kicking against the goads. However, there are also moments where I see glimmers of affirmation that I'm doing the right thing. Those glimmers of affirmation are what I live for.

Recently, one of my daughters gave a modesty class for some girls at church. Afterwards, while talking about how it went, she said "Momma, in the past we dressed modestly because you gave us rules and we obeyed them. Now I can understand why you gave me those rules and they are now my standard. Thank you!"

Pro 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it."

I have had a few of those glimmers of affirmation in the past few weeks however I know I cannot let my guard down because satan is ever present. We still have our daily trials and struggles but my husband and I are trying to handle each one with the eternity of our precious gifts (our children) in mind.

Gal 6:9  "And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." 

Saving Money

Let me start by saying that I'm definitely not an expert on saving money by any means. For years we have done several things to help stretch every dollar. We buy beef directly from the farmer, produce from the farmers market, we cook mostly from scratch and make our own laundry detergent. I have recently taken saving money a step further. With the help and encouragement of a friend, I have started couponing seriously. Last week she purchased $200 in groceries for $54 using coupons. I know I still have a lot of room for improvement but here are a few helpful tips and websites to help you save money too.

• First check out the money saving blogs on the right hand side of my blog. You will find a lot of cool tips and deals on a daily basis.
  
• Bing - Bing is an online rebate website. Last xmas I purchased two ipod touches for $145 ea. It takes about three months to get your cashback payment but it is well worth the wait.
• We have a Publix grocery store here. In the past I avoided Publix because I considered it too expensive. That is until I found out that every Wed a sales circular comes out with buy-one-get-one free ads. On top of that, Publix stacks store coupons, competator coupons and manufacturer coupons and doubles anything 50 cents and less. That adds up. To view the Publix Ad on Monday I go to I Heart Publix you will also find links to various coupon sites from there.
• The following is a site that was recommended by my friend but I have not used it yet. However, I did purchase a coupon notebook from them today and received a $10 credit. On this site you will find coupons that you can purchase for a very small fee. The Coupon Clippers 
• Hot Coupon World has a bunch of links and tips that you will find helpful.
  

New Projects

I'm thrilled to have a few new projects in the works. You'll see on the right that I have a new icon on my blog called "Bless Your Heart". Today I created a blog for a dear friend and sister in Christ. I had so much fun making it I hope you'll subscribe (follow) and link it to your blog or FB if you have one.
I'm also creating an ecommerce website for our jewelry and crafts. Kristen is the driving force behind this project. I'll post the link as soon as I'm a little farther along with it. My third project is super exciting but I'm not able to announce it quite yet. I'll just tell you its another website. But I think it's my favorite so far. I can't wait to show all of you. 
On a different note, we are trying to implement a schedule: schools schedule and chore schedule. I started last week and it went well. Not perfect but well. Last week I also started couponing seriously. I saved 45% on my grocery bill last week. Hopefully I can top that this week. I have a deal with my DH; for every dollar I save, 50 cents goes into my craft savings account. Woohoo!

Here's a photo of a cake Kristen made for the fall fest last weekend. It is so cute. I thought you'd like to see it.

Much Needed Vacation

We have just returned from a much needed vacation. I hadn't realized how crazy life had been until we had time to sit back and just have fun together. We arrived back to reality Saturday evening. Actually we hit the ground running.

Sunday was our first area bible bowl on the book of Hebrews. Our kids did very well. Jessica's team came in third. Woohoo! I am looking forward to teaching the jr team Sunday. I've been away for three weeks so they've had a sub.

Sunday evening was the Area wide devo. Overall we had a good time and the kids learned some valuable lessons. This morning the girls had an orthodontic appointment. They have an appointment to have the bottom braces installed (is that the right term?) next month. They are so excited because they can see obvious improvements on the top already.

Tonight is DH's first class for the new term. 9 weeks... Yeah! Only three classes left on his MSM.

19 Years and Counting!

19 years ago today I married my schweety! It feels like yesterday. Well, maybe not yesterday but not 19 years. God has blessed us greatly in so many different ways. I pray it's all to His glory.