couponing...

I'm still deal shopping. The other day in Target we got a Connect Four game free using 2 different coupons and another game $8 off (birthday present for someone). My total bill was $31 with a savings of $30. I also got 6 more packages of diapers for about $4 a package! A very good deal. I love when I get a really, really good deal, like free! I'm working on buying only those things which are nearly free or over 1/2 off. After church some Sundays I stop in the grocery store to pick up sandwich fixings for lunch, especially when I have nothing ready at home. Yesterday, one grocery store had these new Lays potato chips on sale for $1.99 (regular $3.99) and I had $1 off. ($0.99 each). I bought three. Tonight I got 4 bags of Tostitos at Wal-mart for $0.98 each. Again, regular price $3.99, on sale for $1.98, coupon on the bag for $1 off. We don't eat many chips but really like to make taco salads with crushed chips. Check out www.valleydealseekers.com for some great ideas on how to save a dollar or more. They have some ideas at Walgreen's that will be free or get you cash back! My favorite part of coupon shopping is giving them away. If I see someone with something I have a coupon for I get it out for them. A smile every time :)

I can't believe it's done...

This junk was a thorn in my side. I hated going in the basement because it taunted me as I let day after day go by without making progress. I decided to just do it last night and with the help of my family we threw away and put away all of this stuff. It is soothing to my already cluttered up soul to walk down there and breath deeply again.

Kev...

Update on my hubby... He is doing well. He's at work everyday. He had a doctor appointment Tuesday and they took his large cast-like thing off and replaced it with a splint. I saw the pin sticking out of his finger (ick) and in about 4 weeks it will loosen and they will pull it out. His finger looked "smashed". I had a hard time looking. His medication was making him "loopy" and I was able to mention it to the doc and they lowered his dose drastically and after that Kev has felt normal. He hardly wants to take the pills because of how they made him feel. He's not really in any pain. Praying God will heal it in a way that it will be usable.

Sharing...

It is better to give than to receive. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Love one another. All these show how we are to extend our hand to others in need. No-one would like to think of themselves as the one in need. I would venture to guess most people would love to be the givers. I know I get a special thrill at Christmas and birthdays when I've found something special for one of the kids. We like to give to our sponsored child in Ecuador, knowing that she is provided for. In the same way we provide for our children and feel a sense of accomplishment our Heavenly Father likes to provide for us. Matthew 7:11 If ye then, being evil (natural) know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

God in His ever reaching hand of grace and mercy blessed us this week with a sum of money given by a couple local churches for the care of Isaac. We are humbled and thankful for this blessing and give the glory to God. Praise God! It couldn't have come at a better time. Thank you to those who give to others in need. You don't always know what impact you have when you give and those on the receiving end can't always thank everyone who gives.

Impatience...

Kevin calls this picture impatience because that is what he feels caused his accident. He was hooking up the trailer without help thinking he could do it. Here he is with Jordan today, Sunday. When the doctors went in to operate on his finger the damage they found was worse than they originally thought. He has a pin sticking out the end of his finger going all they way down past the second knuckle. It sounds like it will be a few weeks like this. He is having trouble sleeping and is resting today off and on. The pain is less except when he lays down. Thank you again for your thoughts and prayers.

Vision...

We returned from our third day of home school activities. As always it was a fulfilling experience. Seeing people is by far my favorite part of the convention and catching up with friends and meeting new ones. It is also encouraging to see the many new home schoolers with young children just starting the journey. They have a vision of the future for their children and are pursuing this vision by coming to the convention before their children have even entered school age. I am reminded of our home school journey that began 14 years ago when we made the decision to home school Jordan, she was our only child then, three years old. The vision we had then changed over time and now we are near finishing our journey with her. Yet, if you think of the vision, the journey isn't nearly over yet. We do not get to the end of high school and say, "There! We are done! We've done our job and we have no more to do."

Jordan just came to me and is telling me about the purity conference she attended today and says (she did not read my blog post) "She told us about vision; if you don't know what your looking for, you won't know when you find it." I find this funny that she said vision when I was writing about it.

At www.kevinswanson.com you can find more about vision. He was the speaker of the convention and was dynamic, incredible and full of truth, love for the Lord and he has a vision for the future of our country and a future for our children. He has a heart for turning fathers back to their children and putting families back together.

By the way, Kevin is doing well after his surgery yesterday. He was in a lot of pain yesterday and is doing better today. He is supposed to lay down for two days but he finds it hard to do it. It also causes pain for his arm to be flat. It is better to stand up with his arm against his chest. He keeps on cleaning, picking up Lena, helping, etc. I can't get him to stop!

Update...

We have had a busy week so far and I haven't been on the computer once since Sunday. Kevin is doing well. He is at work each day, mostly doing office things. His surgery will be Friday if all things work out for the hospital's busy, busy schedule. They are just swamped there and can't fit him in sooner. He's been in some pain and did hurt his finger yesterday and once today. He has some good pain killers. I can't wait until his finger is correctly together.

We have the busiest week by far this year. As you know we have to leave our van at the end of the drive-way. The sun was out today and it was windy but, we still have an impassable spot and will walk another week or so. Monday, the kids sang at the nursing home for Great-Grandma Gretchen and the other residents. It was real nice. Jordan organized the songs and sang a solo that was beautiful, made me cry. She sang a duet with Em, played guitar with all kids singing, played piano with kids singing, played a couple mandolin songs, played the violin and ended with some piano solos. It was a long day for her. She got real nervous right before we got there. We left there to drop boys off at home and run to the house and get my purse and camera (you know, running to the house meant 1 total mile!!!) and drove to Moorhead for a bridal shower for a dear friend, then walked home in the pitch dark (forgot a flashlight).

Tuesday, Isaac had a computer test for his supplements and all his numbers showed improvement again! Such a praise! His body is really taking over and doing the job again. He still has plenty of supplements but all so good for him; fish oil, digestive enzyme, multi-vitamin, etc. It all helps his body handle the medication and grow and heal. He ran all the way to the van yesterday.

Today was AWANA. Several kids stayed home because most all of us have colds from walking in the cold night weather. Lots of coughing last night and sore throats. Late night and cold walk home again for the rest of us who went.

Tomorrow, transcript boot camp. I'm going to a all day seminar on how to prepare a transcript for Jordan and the rest of the kids so that if they plan to go to college it will be written properly. Then, the home school convention starts tomorrow night with a used book sale. Friday and Saturday the convention is on with sessions all day to listen to and a vendor hall to peruse all the good curriculum out there.

Thanks for praying and thinking of us! God Bless your week friends!

The Good News...

The good news is Kevin will probably keep his finger...bad news is he got his hand caught between our van and the trailer yesterday. Surgery will be Monday or Tuesday.

The good news is they called it a break and not a severed finger...bad news is he is hurt and will be laid up for awhile recuperating.

The good news is he is a very hard working responsible-minded man...bad news is he wanted me to pick up sheet rock on the way home from the emergency room so he could finish the boys' room ceiling (so do you think he will be able to NOT use his hand during recuperation???!!??) I don't think so!

The good news is we met our family deductible already so any other doctor visits won't cost us a thing...bad news is we have a pretty high family deductible and it will take quite awhile to pay off along with our other financial responsibilities. :)

The good news is we are all in the house tonight...bad news is we all had to walk 1/2 mile because our van got stuck up to the running boards at the end of our driveway in mud on the way home from symphony. (Another good note is that Emily put all the kids' water boots in the van this morning.) Kevin and I were the only ones walking in our dress shoes.

The good news is my dad came with his tractor and got us out...bad news is the van is left at the end of the driveway.

The good news is we will all be getting some exercise as we walk 1/2 mile to and from the van each time we go somewhere...bad news is there is more rain forecasted and this could be for awhile.

The good news is we have a really good pastor and he gave a great sermon that I needed to hear (Kevin claims he wrote the sermon just for him but it's not true, it was for me:)...bad news is I'm a sinner and I'm not doing a great job of changing that. I need the Lord to help me with that. Great news is he doesn't mind!

I pray you can find the good news in life. Believe me, I have some challenges in that department of my life but right now I am thankful for many things and am thankful Kevin is doing so well. Please pray for good healing and God's peace upon us in all the twists and turns this life has given us.

100%=$1...

My two boys, Isaac and Caleb get a dollar for any 100% they get on a math lesson. I correct their lesson in anticipation as I sometimes get up to number 12, 13 or 16 even without one wrong (total of 25 problems usually) and then bam, 1, 2, 3 or more wrong in the last half and I'm a little deflated waiting and hoping for it to happen. Today, it happened. I corrected Caleb's lesson from yesterday and he got 100%! He was yelling down the hallway letting everyone know he gets a dollar. He only has 32 lessons left of the year, only 32 more chances to get another dollar. We'll see how many more he can get!?!

A really good book...

Trouble at Timpetill by Henry Winterfield.. This is our new read aloud because we really like the two history books he wrote on Roman times called Detectives in Togas and Mystery of the Roman Ransom. I found this in the library and I don't want to stop reading. It is good. Mr. Winterfield wrote it in 1933 for his son who was sick with scarlet fever. The children of Timpetill are so ill-behaved that the grown-ups just up and leave. Most of the children think this is the greatest and really live it up eating candy and looting the town. It loses its fun and soon the kids are wishing they had their parents and trying to figure out how to get the water and electricity turned on and how to thwart the gang that causes most of the trouble. We started it yesterday and are on chapter 10. It is set in an older time period since it was written back in 1933 and is charming.

We are being rained on here and our driveway is very challenging! It is supposed to rain for two more days! I do not want to go anywhere until it is dry. Next week is just too busy for this kind of driveway so I sure hope it "dries" up some. Home school convention is coming and it's always a welcome reprieve for those mothers who are counting the days until the kids can be outside more. It can be quite rejuvenating to be around others who live your life on a slightly different plane. There is a purity conference this year for the girls to attend, they are looking forward to that! Buddy Davis of the AiG Creation Museum will be giving a concert and sharing in his workshops on how he has sculpted and built more than 60 dinosaur models (life-size). We've had the privilege of seeing him before and look forward to it again. Blessings to all!

Again and again...

She is so adorable and brings so much joy! Unfortunately, Lena is aware of our "Lena" centeredness and can really ham it up during devotions and other "quiet" family times and we all stop and laugh and encourage the distraction! :)

Snowdays...

That's funny....

Riah and Bekah and I were drying dishes. Bekah and I had a bit of a contest; her against me to see if she could dry the bottom rack of the dishwasher before I got the dish drain done and all put away. She actually won! I just thought I'd beat her for sure. I helped them empty the top; the dreaded top, full of glasses, cups, bowls and things that really hold the water in places, plus it holds a lot more dishes than the bottom, right? Well, I commented that I wasn't supposed to be helping them and that I should be taking a nap so I could get my strength up to come back out and tell them what to do next. I said mom's aren't supposed to any work, just tell people what to do. Rebekah laughs and says "I think that would be criminal." :)

Jordan has a good post right now here.