$14 score!!!

Just a little brag so I at least have something to blog about...
Yesterday, $14 bought me.....

40pouches of tuna
6 jars of Prego spaghetti sauce
4 vitamin bottles
3 sudafed packs
vitamin water
bag of light potato chips
loaf of honey wheat bread
8 bags of shredded Kraft cheese
4 tubs of promise butter
pack of 12 string cheese
chow mein noodles
box of rice crispies cereal (those new jumbo ones.. yum)
5 pouches of Buddig lunch meat
3 bags of coconut m&ms
2 cans of Hormel chili

And I *think* thats it.. not bad for less than what we spend on eating out. I heart coupons!!!
I'll blog about something exciting soon.. I promise. Just nothing really going on lately!

Weigh in for week 7

Jon -4lbs
Shannon -3lbs

Grand total so far...

Jon has lost 21lbs
Shannon has lost 11lbs

Vacation plans

We decided that we had such a great time last yr on our summer vacation to try for another one this yr....

Jon got a bonus at work which helped us be able to pay off our credit card as well as put some money into savings so we decided to use our tax return and just have fun... and so we are.


The plans????



Jon and I are taking a 4night cruise back to the Bahamas!!!





And so we're not too selfish, as soon as we get back, we got a 4 night/ 3 day package to be able to take the kids to....

The package deal was pretty sweet... includes the hotel (w/free breakfast), 3 day pass to the parks, a breakfast at the 3 Broomsticks, free transportation, etc. Plus the Harry Potter stuff will have just opened up so my kids will be in heaven!!!

Very excited about this! Kind of having remorse over the money but with our house still not selling and everything else going on with the economy and hopefully have another baby on the way next yr (no I'm not pregnant yet), we may not have this chance again in awhile.

May 31st can't come fast enough!!!!!

Coupon/Sales totals for last week of Feb.....

A pretty good coupon week I must say.... soup or cereal anyone?

Publix:
spent 12.11
saved 189.50

Harris Teeter:
spent 6.49
saved 38.00

Target:
spent 18.03
saved 56.45

GRAND TOTAL:
spent 36.63
saved 283.95

Learning to forgive

This week has been a wake up call for Jon and I in terms of learning to forgive. Not just learning how but getting to the point where we actually WANT to forgive the offender and then making the steps to do so. Our situations were different but equally important because neither of us could truely be happy until we dealt with our issues. I feel Jon is a lot stronger than I when it comes to letting go but I know it was a struggle for him and I am truely glad he was able to have that change of heart. I have a tendancy to hold on to things longer and have a tendancy to hold grudges but I want to let go and forgive so it's something I am working really hard on. It's been nice to have an amazing husband willing to listen and work through these feelings with me. I am blessed!!!

While reading up on forgiveness and trying to help myself, I came across this article that I really enjoyed and if you are struggling with this sort of thing, maybe it will help you too.


"When a deep injury is done to us, we never recover
until we forgive." -Alan Paton


Depending on your circumstances, forgiveness may seem impossible
to you right now. You've probably endured a lot of heartache and
pain while going through this process and the blame and or guilt
that you may be experiencing can keep you stuck from moving forward.

Whether you blame the other person or have guilt and you beat
yourself up over it, learning to forgive will put you on the right path.
It will be a gift you give to yourself.

Even though you may not feel capable of forgiveness right now; the
sooner you do this...the sooner you will...let go for good. You have to learn how to forgive the other person. But...first...you have to forgive yourself!

If you've made mistakes, forgive yourself and go on. There is nothing you can do now to change the past, but you can affect your future.

Forgiving yourself takes the pressure off of you for not being perfect.
And, it gets rid of guilt. You must learn to forgive yourself before you can forgive others.

We are all on a journey through life. Sometimes we make mistakes, which is part of a normal process on this journey. The mistakes that we make can result in painful experiences; these are the "lessons of life." But, it is through these trials that we learn the most.

The key is learning something from what has caused you pain so as not to repeat the same mistakes again. Walk away from this situation with the knowledge that you are stronger and smarter. Forgiving will open that door.

Second, forgive him or her. If you don't, you will be holding onto the past.
You may carry anger and resentment around with you which will hurt you...more than them.

Harboring negative emotions can make you bitter and resentful. It can and will permeate all areas of your life and it makes it more difficult to enjoy today.

Not forgiving keeps you trapped exactly where you don't want to be...
holding onto memories of the past. Every time you begin to think
of this person; what they did or didn't do, what you said or didn't say, consciously release them from your mind. Let these thoughts go and fill your mind with thoughts of goodness and the things that you are looking forward to experiencing in your life.

Gaining control of your thoughts, releasing all of the negative
memories and releasing all of the imagined confrontations you could have with this person will be the beginning of letting go of what is behind you and moving on to a better future.

You can't change the past but you can make a significant difference in how you approach what's ahead of you. Stay focused on the positive.
Stay focused on what you want, not on what you had that didn't work.

Once you find forgiveness you will regain control of you life. It's your choice!

A pretty good day!

I don't know why but I felt like blogging today! I had a pretty good day with my famdamily today. Started off I went with Reese to a Lowe's free building project where he could put a kit together of a car robot. We got there on time, but all the slots were taken and didn't look like we were going to get a turn at it. So I had them give me the kit to take home.

Then I took Reese and I to get a haircut at SportsClips. It's been the only haircut place around here that has actually done a decent job, and today was no exception! When that was done we came back home to pick up the ladies and went to the movies! Shannon the coupon deal queen found a good deal on tickets. We were able to go pretty much half off at the matinee's and Reese and I saw the Percy Jackson movie and Shannon and Rielly went to see the Tooth Fairy. Mom and Dad weren't so impressed with either movie, but the kids enjoyed it. And now Shannon and I still have tickets left over for our own!

After the movie we came home and Reese and I built the car, here's some pics:

Please go back to being little?!?!?

Being a mommy is hard!
Yesterday I experienced probably the most heart wrenching day I have had as of yet in my motherhood yrs. My heart was broken for my little boy.

He goes to 1st grade at an elementary school here in the metro Nashville school district. I have been happy with them so far but now my mommy emotions have taken over. He rides a bus the mile or so to school which is very convienant for me. But yesterday he gets off the bus very very VERY upset with red marks on his face. Apparently a BIG BOY (a 3rd grader) formed a "club" and the purpose of this club is to beat my son up. WTH?!?!?!? So this 3rd grader sits right across from Reese. Needless to say, there was a little fight and he got hurt. Not bad but some marks on his face. When he told me about this, he was so worried that he was going to get in trouble. And my heart broke in a thousand pieces! Of course some of the kids that were also involved has a great mom that doesn't put up with it one bit either and those kids won't be doing it again but my concern is this 3rd grader and why he wants to hurt my son so bad? And then he was telling me about another kid who was teasing him about his shoes. And I ask you... where was the bus driver?!?!?!? These kids all sit in front and she just ignored this? When I send my kids to school, I am entrusting these adults with his LIFE! And she just ignores fighting like that? So I sent him back on the bus which just about KILLED me. The protector in me wants to grab him, walk him to class and be there by the door when the bell rings but I can't do that. I need to give them a chance to make it right. I wrote a letter to the driver basically explaining what happened and where the heck was she and if Reese continues to sit by these kids, I will pull him off the bus and take the problem to the school administration.
You see... I am ultra sensative about this kind of stuff. I was teased in school so much to the point where it physically pained me to get up in the morning and will myself to go. Because I knew that it was going to happen. My parents did all they could but the teachers weren't helpful at all. And this continued until around my HS yrs. I was teased because of my upturned nose. Now how in the heck is that my fault??!?!? I didn't get to choose what nose I would get so why did i have to suffer day after day because of it? And the sad thing is these kids that didn't probably never thought about how this would affect me throughout my whole life! It has been a struggle to ever truely feel like I can fit in with anyone and I have had to work to gain whatever confidence and self-esteem I have because in the back of my head, I still hear those taunts. I made choices I regret because I wanted to be accepted.

I don't ever want my children to share that same fate.

Reeses prayer this morning was "please don't let (boys name) have his club".

Yes Heavenly Father... please don't.

So I cried. Not in front of him. I am strong with him. But I cried. Because I know it hurts. He's so young but it has to hurt. And I just want to hold him and protect him from the mean harsh world that awaits him. I know I can't.. but oh how I wish I could. Where is this bubble I can put over him to shield him from the bullies? And why are kids bullies anyways? Is it a cry for attention themselves? A way to make them feel better? I guess the good thing that came out of what I went through is that I could never EVER intentionally hurt the feelings of someone else.

Anyways today, I want my babies to just be little. To stay innocent. I want to hold them longer. And will never let a day go by without telling them how special they are. And how much they are loved. I will do everything in my power to make sure they know they are truely Children of God.