retraction....we'll sort of!

So, I thought about just deleting my last "pity party" post, but I have decided to state the facts about my school schedule. I tend to be a little dramatic at times.

1. I actually should be able to be home in time to greet Maddie as she gets off the bus at Mel's house. There are only two days a week that I will get home 1 hour after Maddie does.

2. I actually should be able to pick up Britt 3 days out of the week from school.

3. There is only one day that I have to go to school at night. When I was working, there were several nights I would work.

4. Radlee's preschool does want him there by 8 (they have this strict academic program), but I can pick him up early most days of the week. I may talk to the director and see if he can come in a little later a few days of the week so we can have some mommy & Rad time a few mornings.

5. 1 day a week I only have school for one hour!

It is really not that bad. I know that many moms have to work full time jobs and I am just acting like a baby. So, just love me guys......... :)

Mourning?

Yesterday, I attempted to write a blog about going back to school but just didn't have the right words. To be honest, I had a horrible day. It seemed like I was in a dream or something and literally everything I tried to do was a mess! Today was much better, and I can somewhat get a handle of the range of emotions I have felt the past few days! The word that keeps coming to mind is MOURNING!

I use to think I was a girl that handled change well, but the more I learn about myself, I realize that is not the case! I am not one of those mommy's who jumps at the chance to send their kids off to school. As a matter of fact, I always feel this same sense of mourning when our kids go back to school after a fun-filled summer. I love lazy mornings, days at the pool, couch-potato days, traveling, and all of the fun stuff that goes along with summer. So, now that I am back in school also, it is just that same sense of sadness. I am mourning the losses I feel right now! I want my kids!!!! I want to be able to pick up Britt from school so she doesn't have to get on the bus. I want to be here when Maddie gets off the bus and watch her hug her friends. I don't want to take Radlee to school at 8 in the morning. I don't want to be gone from 5-8 on Wednesday nights. I don't want to rely on other people to take my kids to and fro and keep them for 30 minutes in between. O.k. crying now!!!!

Then I stop and remember..........You may be thinking, well why are you choosing this? Yes, it is a choice, but in many ways it is not. Neither one of us want to end up as Walmart greeters in our 60's......not that there is anything wrong with that if that is what you choose, but we don't want that. When we began to think about me going back to school, we both felt sure this was the direction God was taking us! We spent lots of time praying about this decision. We both knew there would be times when it would be hard. Yes, this semester is going to be a little hard, but it is only a little over three months. I have blogged before about how it is all about planning. I need to be disciplined in this area now more than ever. I need to take full advantage of time during the day to get my studying done so I don't have to do it at night. I can do this......in the long run it will be worth it for our family.......I know Jeff can't do his current job forever....(it is very hard on his body)...... I know I can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens me......I know my family supports me.....I know I have the most amazing friends in the world who would do anything for me.....I know it is the first week and that is why I am more overwhelmed. O.k. I am done now...I am not going to proofread this because I don't care....This is my time to write freely and not be graded on it!! This is where I am today!

Sunday morning worship at home!!

We were so excited to go and watch a friend preach at another church this morning, but when Maddie woke up feeling bad, Jeff and Brittany headed to church without me. I decided to make the best of our morning at home and listen to worship songs via you tube at home. I often forget that I can worship God in all things...even while doing dishes! I had this song turned up and was having some time with God when .... Maddie came in and said "You are praising God in the kitchen??" :) I told her we can and should praise Him everywhere! Isn't this song powerful?

PRAISE YOU FATHER IN HEAVEN FOR PAYING MY DEBT! ALL TO YOU I OWE!!!!

Money saved!!

We have been making a real effort to be better stewards with our money and honestly we have been having a great time trying to figure out how to save money in different areas. With lots of planning, we set out to stock up on many items we were running out of. We have been making a weekly menu and even planned for dining out...with a coupon of course. We are learning that as much as we want to be spontaneous, we do much better financially with a plan. It is all about planning! Here are a few ways we "saved" money today!

1. We headed out to lunch with our coupons....we knew we would do better grocery shopping with full stomachs! We headed to Sonic and used some coupons we purchased from a friend to help her school...it was only $5. and well worth it since we still have lots of coupons left on the card. Jeff, Britt, Radlee, and I ordered buy one get one free route 44 drink, "bogo" chicken strip dinner, "bogo" chicken wrap. I believe our total was around $10, so that equals $10 saved. oops....she forgot to take our coupons, so I guess we will have to use them again sometime!!! (I know that is borderline dishonest....ok it is dishonest..next time I will hand over the coupons)

2. We already had our list made of all of the things we were out of such as shampoo, conditioner,& deodorant. I had some Walgreens plus Manufacturers coupons, so figured Walgreens would be the best place to purchase these items. We also had a $5. off $20 purchase coupon that I found at bargainshopperlady.com ( sorry I can't figure out how to put this as a link..for some reason my computer is not letting me do this) Here are just a few of the deals I found at Walgreens.

1. Yardley Lavender soap .69 each with Walgreens coupon.
2. Dove shampoo and conditioner 4.99 each but buy one get one free and
a manufacturer's coupon of $2.00 off.....so that makes each $1.50.
3. Sunsilk shampoo and conditioner....1.49 each with manufacturer coupon.
4. Also, I had the $5. off coupon on the entire purchase.

3. After or Walgreens shopping, we headed over to the new Kroger in LaVergne. We planned our menu from the sale add, and incorporated a lot of the 10 for $10 items into our menu. We also used a few coupons, but we have decided that it is cheapest to buy the store brand or what is already on sale. Also,the biggest money saver is planning a menu and purchasing only necessary items. Next, we headed over to Smith's grocery to purchase all of our meat. They usually have the best deals on meat.

5. To finish off our night we went out to dinner....this was a planned event that was on our menu. We went to Restaurant.com and purchased a $25. gift card for $5. That saved us $20 on our meal. There are limited restaurants to choose from. We decided to go to the restaurant inside the Hilton hotel in Smyrna. The food was fairly good....not excellent. The good things was there was no one in the restaurant, so the kids had a little bit of freedom. This made us more relaxed; therefore, our overall dining experience was more fun. We will definitely be purchasing some more gift cards from this website.....it is a good deal!

Anyway, those are the deals of the day. This kind of lifestyle takes lots of planning.....I am sure I will get the hang of it and learn how to do all of this a little quicker in the future. I am starting to think I never want to do anything without having coupons....why pay full price??

Friends....

I am blessed to have these girls in my life and so many others. You all know who you are.......I couldn't make it through this crazy life without you!

Music

I have decided to match my music with whatever mood I am in when I type new posts. Since my mood changes on the hour (sometimes minutes) my song may also frequently change.

Tonight, I am just in awe of how God works in unique ways!! Although it is not always easy enduring "earthly" struggles, I am so thankful for what God teaches me through each and every one of them. Tonight, I humbly proclaim YOU ARE AMAZING GOD!

Could it be?

Oh my word....
What just occurred?
Is that Christy's laundry room I see?
Are my eyes playing tricks on me?
Nope, the laundry is all done.
Now, it's time for fun!






Oh........wait....what is that I see?
Mounds of clean, folded laundry waiting for me
I know if I put them up I'd be all through
But, there are so many things I'd rather do!!!



***O.k. it may really be time for me to go back to school. I have either gone mad or have waaayyyyyy too much time on my hands!

Love one another

This morning I was able to capture this rare event......Maddie and Radlee loving on one another as they woke up. Too bad this love for one another never lasts!!!

How our family avoids boredom!

I know I have some misspelled words.....I can't figure out how to go into this slideshow & fix them.....ugh!!!

Yummy breakfast!

Here I go again.....attempting radically change the way our family eats. I have had great success in the past losing weight with weight watchers. Since I already have all of the material, I decided to start counting points again. I am trying to do it without going to the weekly meetings because of limited time and money! I am still hoping to have success though. This morning I decided to get a bit creative with how I was going to use my points for breakfast. Here is what I came up with......whole wheat toast, cheese, tomato (fresh out of Pa Pa's garden), 1 boiled egg, and horseradish instead of mayo. (I was surprised to see horseradish only had 10 calories per serving). I wasn't sure how this combination would taste, but it was delicious. This will definitely be a keeper!!! May not sound good or look good for that matter, but it was very tasty. Give it a try!

Waiting........

About a year ago, I went to work for a local restaurant as a "server"....I prefer the term "server", because "waitress" just sounds tacky! :-) The ten months spent at this restaurant were full of many eye opening experiences. For instance, I had completely underestimated what is involved in serving. It actually requires a good memory and can be physically exhausting. Also, in order to make good money, it is necessary to have exemplary interpersonal skills. During this time, I developed a new respect for anyone who deals with the general public!

There were those days which certain customers drove me crazy! I compiled a list of just a few of the many things that drive servers insane............

1. If you know a restaurant closes at 10.......then please don't come in at 9:59! Also, all consumption of food and useless chatting should come to an end upon closing time! Servers have lives too!

2. Is it really necessary to know the exact amount of ounces in every food item.....can't you see the other tables waiting?

3. Servers understand that toddlers can be messy, but did you have to order them spaghetti?

4. When ordering tea, can you please either order sweet or unsweet? Is it really necessary to order 1/2 sweet & 1/2 unsweet or 3/4 sweet & 1/4 unsweet? Yes, this is a common request!! Not sure why this one gets on my nerves so bad!?!

5. When taking a large group to a restaurant, expect a delay if all bills are separate tabs and each are paying with a credit card.

6. If you feel like "making out" during your entire meal, why not just eat and then go and get a room?

7. Please control your drinking! The law states servers are responsible for patrons who leave restaurants intoxicated......typical of our society--no one is responsible for their own actions. If you happen to have a little "buzz" cut yourself off......also, if intoxicated.....restaurants do not accept zoo memberships as form of payment. Yep...this actually happened.

8. Married men......with your wife and child present.......Do not leave your phone number on your bill for a cute, young server.........you are gross!!!

Ever waited tables???? Have any complaints to add to the list????

Yard Sale

I am having a yard sale on Saturday and have some really cute clothes that I am willing to sell pretty cheap. I have about 10 pair of boy pants/shirts size 3t. Most of the clothing is either polo, osh kosh, levi, or children's place. Sorry about the picture quality.....I am too lazy to get out my good camera and just took this picture on my cell phone. I also have some girl clothing size 8 including a few really cute jackets. Brittany also has about 4 bags full of adult/junior small-medium clothes! We are also selling our treadmill, small deep freezer, and an entertainment center, and lots of books. This is my first move to show God I am ready to be a better steward & more obedient with our finances. We can both benefit....good deals for you and less debt for me! :) If anyone is interested, give me a call. The yard sale is this Saturday, so I would need to meet up with you sometime tomorrow!

Bunko

I am thinking about starting a bunko group! We will meet once a month and rotate houses!

Who's in?

Restaurant.com

Has anyone ever purchased a gift certificates from http://www.restaurant.com/? I was looking at http://www.bargainshopperlady.com/ website and saw how they recently had a special running for 80% off of the normal $25 gift card for only $10. That made the normal $10 cost only $2. If there are no gimmicks, you could go out to eat for $2. I know there are only a limited selection of restaurants, and I think there is a minimum purchase of $35, but still that is $35 meal for $12. Has anyone ever tried one of these gift cards? I am generally a little leery of stuff like this, but I am really thinking I might check this one out!

Making the grade....

I have started anticipating the amount of time I will spend studying during my upcoming semester. This semester will certainly be the most demanding since I re-entered college almost two years ago; however, I yearn for the opportunity to demonstrate my ability to achieve my desired goals. As each semester begins, Jeff and I both see the reality of our long-term dreams coming an actuality. Obedience, consistency, and faithfulness have been the most important ingredients in determining how successful I have been and will be during my collegiate years. Forgive my boastfulness, but after 34 hours completed, I am proud of having maintained a 4.0......well except for that one B.....gosh darn it!

Maintaining a high GPA has not been easy. It has demanded many hours of studying and required complete devotion from Jeff and the kids. Our entire family has made sacrifices. Someday, we can only hope all of our efforts will grant us the ability to fulfill a vision Jeff and I set our eyes upon a few years ago. (I'll share that dream in another post)

Lately, I have started wondering why I put so much effort into school, yet I often fail miserably at pursuing my relationship with Christ. I use the term relationship, yet my efforts are often non-existent. God tells us in Hebrews, "I will never leave you nor forsake you". I am so thankful that regardless of how many times I goof up, He will always be right there........ready to forgive me and pick me back up.

Many times I have passed tests at school, yet time and time again I fail the same test I have been previously tested on the day before. So, what is the problem???? Ephesians 6:13 says, "Use every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle you will still be standing firm." nlt Once again, it is all about obedience and consistency.

Some of you may be wondering......goodness, what has Christy done???? It is not some kind of LARGE sin.......as if there are differences in the levels of sin. No, I am just tired of always putting God on the back burner and then bringing Him back out when it is convenient for me!! Often, this begins with simple task......like having a quiet time or praying with the kids before bed......then it trickles over to other things in life like finances!

Yes, I am fully aware that ALL sin and fall short of the glory of God; however, I am ready to start passing these small tests. Remaining stagnant in my walk with Christ can be no more. Luke 16:10 says, "he who is faithful in least is also faithful in must; and he who is unjust in least is also unjust in much." Simply put, I am proclaiming for all to see I am ready to show God my obedience in little things and hopefully this will lead to my faithfulness in greater things!!!!!

When I started blogging again, I decided to keep it real.......Perhaps I will fall flat on my face again for all to see, but just maybe...........this will be the time I start to get it.

Spiderman sings ABCs