ipod

This was my "big" (haha, get it?) Christmas present this year....

A 3rd generation ipod nano that Anthony got from craigslist for $35. Yeah! Go Anthony! I am so proud of my hubby. He did good.

I am SO enjoying it (minus Nelly Furtado) and can't believe I didn't have one of these sooner! So, what's on your ipod that I NEED to have on mine?

Bailey "Stats"

I realized I haven't given an update on what Bailey is saying and doing these days, so I thought I would do that, since I am still in "birthday mode".

* She started really walking, basically full-time about a week and a half ago, at 11 1/2 months old. We thought it was funny because she kind of went from just taking a few steps here and there to full-out walking in one day. No transition really, she just decided she was going to walk, and she did. She was the same way when she started crawling. I wonder if these kind of things are indicative of her personality?

*She says duck, mama, dada, cheese, night-night, tickle, no (she is VERY good at this one, ha), hi, la-la, elmo, mmm (like yummy). Of course, a couple of these are her own version of the word, and only Anthony or I know what she is trying to say. I'm sure you know what I mean if you are a parent. :)

*She has no fear. She likes to stand on her riding toys and throw herself around on our bed, nearly falling. Thank goodness for parents who are quick. :)

*She is definitely a mama's girl, but LOVES to horseplay and play rough with her daddy.

* We are always getting comments on what a good baby she is, and generally she is, especially when we are out somewhere, or if she is with someone else besides me. Not that she is bad when she is with me, but she's just more needy when she is with me. But like I said, she is SUCH a good girl when I leave her with anyone.

* She is nursing less these days, but it is still definitely her main source of nutrition. I'm currently debating on if/when I want to start weaning her, or just let her do it on her own timetable (don't misread that, I'm not going to be one of those mothers who breastfeed their four year old!).

* She still does not sleep through the night. A normal night right now for her involves waking and nursing twice. It would be nice if she would learn to sleep through the night, but I'm not concerned or pushing the issue with her. I know she will eventually.

* She goes to bed around 8:00 pm and gets up between 7:00 and 8:00 am.

* She loves other kids and babies. She just grins from ear to ear whenever she sees one.

* She normally takes 2 naps a day and has gotten MUCH better with naps than she used to be. A typical nap for her is usually around 1 1/2 hours I would say, but sometimes is more, sometimes less.

* She has two teeth on top, and three on bottom, one of which JUST popped through.

* We are using up the last of our size 3 diapers and then she'll be in size 4's. Most mothers probably would have put her in size 4's a while ago, but she has a frugal mother who pushed size 3's as far as they could go since diapers get more expensive the bigger they get! :)

* She wears some 12-18 month clothes and some 18-24 month, depending on the brand.

* She is the light of our lives and we are just head over heels in love with her. I am so proud to be her mama. I look forward to every day with this precious little gift from God.

One Year Old

Dear Bailey Anne,

How is it possible that we are here, one year from the moment you took your first breath and forever changed our lives by entering this world?



I anticipated your arrival for so long, and sometimes, even now, I wish I could go back and replay the entire day of your birth, pain and all! Somehow, the intensity of the pain, the nervousness about having a c-section, and the sheer exhaustion from laboring for 18 hours have all diminished in my mind.



But the sound of your first cry, the tear of joy that ran down my cheek, and the feeling of a tiny baby cradled in my arms are forever imprinted in my mind.



I naively had no clue what I was getting myself into when I had you. The first days and weeks were hard, but my heart just overflowed with love for you. I never knew love like this until I had you. You, Bailey, I would give my very life for.

You have grown and changed so much over the past year. I see you becoming a beautiful, happy, obedient, charming, loving, wonderful little person. I could not have picked a child more perfectly suited to myself. You have taught me so much about life, patience, and unconditional love. You have most definitely changed my life for the better.

I am so glad that God chose you for our family. I love you, Bailey Anne.

Love,

Mama

Happy Birthday Bailey!

My baby is ONE today!

Here is the link to her birth story if anyone cares to go back and read it again. :) I sure do!

One Year Ago

Please ignore the enormously fat face, but focus on the wonderful baby bump! This was one year ago on Christmas day, two days before Bailey was born. :) I am reminiscing a lot this weekend.

Vanilla Sugar's Poor Man's Toffee

So I came across this recipe somehow, I can't even remember how anymore, but, boy oh boy, was it YUMMY and easy to make. You can go here to get the recipe and see her pics, but I just had to take some pics while I was making it, cause it was just so darn fun.

It starts with Cheez-It's.... I know, sounds weird, but trust Dawn on this one... once it's all done, you really can't specifically taste the Cheez-It's, just mainly the saltiness, which is just perfect.




The butter and brown sugar thickening...




Toasting the pecans....




The melty ooey gooeyness of pure milk chocolate...




The finished product...




Okay, now go get a tissue to wipe your drool off the keyboard, and please, go to the website and get started on your own batch of this, cause goodness knows, ours is all gone!

Wordless Wednesday

Last Week's Deals

I don't think I shared about my 2 great deals I got last week, and I am still so excited about them I just had to share!

Martin's had Nestle morsels on sale for $1.69, which is the lowest price I've seen them at, and I had $1.00 off coupons, so I got 4 bags for 69 cents a piece! With all the baking I've been doing, it was great to get these so cheap.




And Kroger had basic Lunchables on sale for $1.00 a piece, and I had 55 cents off coupons, so I got quite a few lunchables for only 45 cents! I am eating these for lunches.... can't get much cheaper for a lunch than that!

Money Saving Mom Giveaway

Money Saving Mom is doing a giveaway of 5 $100 gift cards and you get to pick your own gift card. Wouldn't this be fantastic to win?! Go enter here if you are interested, though I don't mind if you don't enter so it would be more chances for me to win. :) Haha.

Busy Weekend

Well, here we are, week before Christmas! I can't believe how fast time seems to fly now. I just read, maybe on facebook, today where someone said "The days are long, but the years are short". How true that is.

I had a super busy weekend. Friday I was babysitting Marcy's girls all day. While Bailey took her morning nap, Elli, Karly, and I made cookies. :) We had a fun day together, but wow, is 3 little girls so much more work than one little girl! I am exhausted when I leave there.

After babysitting I headed straight to church for our Trek Christmas Party. We had a good turnout and there was lots of yummy food and fun. I stayed there till close to 8, when I headed to Mom's so I could get Bailey to bed. The two of us stayed over at Mom's on Friday night because I had to be to the church at 8:00 am to supervise detention.

So detention was from 8:00 to 1:00.... ugh. I really don't enjoy doing it too much, but it's a good way for me to make a little money, so I do it anyways! It's a good reminder of why I quit teaching! Haha. Whenever I start to miss it, I just need to hang out with some pre-teens/teenagers for a little while! :)

After detention, I headed back to Mom's to grab some lunch and get Bailey. We had a couple of down time hours at home and then Saturday evening, Mom, Ashley, James, and Zoe came over and brought pizza and the Wii. So we ate, played, and had fun!

Sunday was church of course. Then lunch at Mom's. After lunch Mom's SS class had their Christmas Party/gift exchange, which they invite anyone to, so Ashley and I went as well. Then at 5:00 we went to the Christmas get-together for the SS class which we would attend if we didn't help in youth group on Sunday mornings. We ate at Massaki.. yum!

Whew! I am tired just from talking about my busy weekend. I have a couple things planned for this week but also planning to do some baking, hopefully cleaning (if I can get motivated), and just hanging out at home with Bailey. I think I'm mostly done with my Christmas shopping, now I just need to get wrapping.

Kelly Giveaway

Just found out Kelly is giving away one of the HP Touchsmarts as well. I wish these companies would contact me to do giveaways! :) Anyways, you can enter her giveaway here.

MckMama Giveaway

If you haven't already done so, go here to enter MckMama's giveaway for an HP Touchsmart. This thing looks awesome!

Wordless Wednesday

Tyson

As many of you already know, Tyson went home to be with Jesus on Friday (November 27) after his 17 month long battle with a brain tumor.

He was diagnosed when he was only 9 months old. I remember 2 months ago, when Bailey turned 9 months old, and thinking that she was the same age as he was when they found out about the tumor. Of course, I was around when he was first diagnosed, but I just can't remember him very well at that age for some reason, and it absolutely broke my heart to think about such a little baby being handed such a hard lot in life.

So many times throughout this entire year, I have wondered "Why Tyson? Why Summer and Jeremy? Why not Bailey? Why not us?". How does God decide who these things happen to? Did He give this trial to them because He knew they could handle it so beautifully and even point others to Him in the process? Or was it just random that Summer & Jeremy were given this trial? I don't have the answer to any of these questions and I think it's probably better that way.

However, I do know that I am thankful, that today, I have a healthy, happy 11 month old. I don't know what the next months and years, or even tomorrow will hold, but I will choose to be thankful that I have today with my husband and my daughter. I will choose to love deeper, forgive easily, hug tighter, and kiss more frequently so that I will please God and honor Tyson with my life.

I also know that I am a better mother because of Tyson. In those early days of Bailey's life, when the only way she would sleep was for me to hold her, instead of getting frustrated and angry, I chose to be thankful that I had a baby to hold. Even now, when she still wakes up twice a night to nurse, I choose to be appreciative that I have a baby to comfort and nourish.

And finally, I know that God is good. Even when I cannot comprehend His ways; even when it makes no sense to me to take a child from his mother; even when so many hearts are breaking, God is still good. Good and bad are not determined to be so by my interpretation of the circumstances around me. God IS the definition of all that is good and right. Whatever HE chooses to do, THAT is the good thing, the right thing.

Tyson's celebration of life service was Saturday evening. Since then, when thinking or talking about it, several times I have started to call it a "funeral" but I just can't call it that. A funeral, to me, is a time of sadness and mourning, and Tyson's service didn't really quite fit that definition. While there was definitely sadness, it was an amazing time of worship and celebration. I really have never been to a "funeral" quite like this one before. The grace and peace of God was so amazingly evident in the family; from Tyler's (Tyson's uncle) Gospel presentation, to Jeremy's (Tyson's daddy) charge to us to honor Tyson, to Summer (Tyson's mommy) raising her hands in praise to God.

I can't understand the kind of grace that God has poured out on this family, because I have never had the need to experience it. However, I know this grace and peace straight from God do exist because of the evidence in this family's life. We sing "Amazing Grace" but I really think that most of us (including myself) don't fully understand the depths and scope of God's amazing grace, until we experience something that has the potential to be life-shattering. God, in His great love and mercy, has faithfully chosen to walk with this family through this valley and make Himself so evident to them, even in times of tribulation. I am so glad I serve this God.

Even though we do not need to pray for Tyson anymore, as he is far better than any of us now, his precious family still needs our prayers in the coming day and months. The pain of losing a child does not end when the child's life does. I'm sure Summer and Jeremy, though they are walking in God's grace, will face some dark days in the coming months. And Carson and Kaylynn, being so young, will need understanding that comes from the Lord as to why they cannot play with their little brother anymore. So I encourage you to continue to pray with me for the Woody family.

Tyson, as a 2 year old precious little boy, has made more of an impact than most people make in a lifetime.

To see all the updates and emails about Tyson, during his entire journey, click here.

And be sure to check out Thinking of Tyson, which has been set up for people to honor Tyson by sharing their stories about how he impacted their lives.

Kroger

I also went to Kroger today and here are the deals I got there...

2 cans of Grand's biscuits: 55 cents each

2 cans of Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls: $1.07 each

2 bottles of Coffeemate Creamer: $1.50 each

2 tubes of Crest Toothpaste: 38 cents each

Half Gallon of Milk: $1.50

2 packs of Tyson Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast: $7.14 (1.88/lb)

And my favorite deal... 1 package of Buitoni Rivera pasta that was on Manager's Clearance for $1.50 and I had $1.00 off coupon, so I got it for 50 cents... regular price was $4 something!

Total for everything: $17.77

That doesn't seem like it's very good, but if I take away the chicken, then I feel better about myself. :)

Martin's

Got some great deals at Martin's today....

2 boxes of Betty Crocker cake mix: $1.00 each

2 cans of Betty Crocker frosting: 39 cents each

2 jars of Ragu pasta sauce: $1.07 each

3 bottles of Wish Bone Ranch Dressing: FREE!

4 Bags of Lipton Sides: 50 cents each

2 boxes of Maruchan noodle dinners: FREE! (I actually made 10 cents on these!)

2 jars of Hellman's Light Mayo: $2.39 each

Total for all this and tax, plus $1 for Children's Miracle Network (I thought of Tyson when the girl asked, so I couldn't say no!): $14.90

I was especially proud of my free stuff. :) And speaking of Tyson, I am working on a post about him, processing my thoughts and how he has changed me. Stay tuned for that.

Meal Plan Monday

Monday
Poppyseed Chicken

Tuesday
Slow Cooker Tortilla Soup

Wednesday
English Muffin Pizzas

Thursday
Girl's Night Out @ El Gran Puerto!!!

Friday
Tacos

Saturday
Terriyaki Meatballs

An Exercise in Thanksgiving

1. Think back over the fast 10 years. What are you the most grateful for during that time period?
The chance to finish my high school career at Ridgeview, the opportunity to go to Liberty University, and parents that were able to pay for my college, Zoe being born, finding the love of my life, getting pregnant without a problem, beautiful and healthy Bailey Anne, and also the learning and growth that has come about because of the trials in my family

2. Now think back over the past year. What are you most grateful for during that time period?
the birth of my beautiful baby girl.... I don't think one day has gone by this year where I have not thanked God for her

3. Now what about the past week? What are you most grateful for?
having a husband who is a teacher so he gets great holiday breaks from work! And my vibrant niece Zoe who just turned 5!

4. The following verse says "O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good; for His mercy endureth forever. 1 Chronicles 16:34. Name a way that God has been good to you lately.
What way HASN'T He been good to me? This past year, with my friend Malisa losing her baby to a genetic disorder, and Tyson battling brain cancer, I have asked myself so many times, "Why did God allow this to happen to them, and not me? What's the difference?" and obviously I don't know the answer to that question, but I am thankful, that for now, it is NOT me in those shoes. So God has been good to me by sparing me the personal heartache of situations such as these during this season in my life.

5. Name 2 physical or monetary blessings you've received lately.
It was a financial blessing to get to babysit for Marcy the other day. Obviously one day of babysitting doesn't amount to a great deal of money, but every little bit helps, and it was just another way of God showing me the He will provide for us. Also, I have been losing weight, rather effortlessly really, so that is a physical blessing.

6. Name 2 spiritual blessings you've received lately.
I have felt a renewed love for and desire to be in God's Word. Also, during my times with God recently, He has really been addressing issues that are very relevant in my life right now. I love it when that happens.

7. How often do you give praise to God?
I don't think that I could ever praise Him enough, but I do think the tragedies I have seen in others' lives has given me a renewed sense of thankfulness. Even just last night, in the middle of the night, when I was up nursing Bailey, I just sat there staring at her and could only thank God for the blessing she is in my life.

8. Do you think God is pleased with how you praise Him?
The quality, yes. The quantity, no.

9. Name someone that God has placed in your life to be a blessing to you.
Trying to think outside the box, aside from the obvious people... I do have to say Summer, and how graciously and beautifully she has handled the unfavorable lot in life that God has chosen to place on her right now. I only hope that if I were ever to deal with a terminally ill child, that I could handle it with the same grace and attitude that she has shown. Also, (and I don't say this just because I know she will read it) Courtney. She coordinated meals for me when I had Bailey and basically went grocery shopping for me and brought all kinds of great stuff. I know she is someone I could ask for help or anything I needed and she would be willing to do whatever she could. She's just been a great friend and example.

10. Now that you have reflected on how God has blessed you, choose a person this week(even during the busy holiday season) and be a blessing to that person.

Here are a few ideas:

Send someone a card to encourage them
Take someone a batch of cookies or fresh baked bread
Make dinner for someone
Visit a lonely or elderly person
Send someone flowers just for the fun of it

Wordless Wednesday

Target Deals

Just wanted to share some of my Target deals from this week.

I got everything pictured for $8.36.



4- 77 count Up & Up wipes for 54 cents a piece (Target has a $1 off wipes or diapers coupon)
4 - Ocean Spray juices for 98 cents a piece - I originally got these for my mom cause she uses them, but then I decided I should keep 2 of them for us since they were such a good deal! :)
2 - Swanson chicken broth
4 - Campbell's Cream of Chicken
1 - Betty Crocker scalloped potatoes

I don't remember exactly how much the last 3 were and I'm too lazy to go get my receipt. :) But they were great deals. I had really wanted to get Cream of Mushroom instead of chicken, but they were plumb out of mushroom. Luckily, I went back today, while they are still doing that sale and got some Cream of Mushroom. We use both of them frequently.

This week has been good so far. Yesterday was my birthday and it was a good day. Just spent the day at home and Anthony made dinner and cake and gave me a nice foot rub, so that was nice. :)

I have started to listen to Christmas music, despite Anthony's wishes. Haha. But only when he's not here so it's not like I'm forcing him to listen to it. He is firm on his stance of waiting till after Thanksgiving. I cannot wait to put up our tree and decorations next week. We are also planning on painting the living room next week, so I'm not sure what our timeline will be, but we'll get it figured out.

Looking forward to an evening of eating leftover soups, playing with Bailey (who I believe is getting more fun by the day), and catching up on our DVR'd shows. :)

Meal Plan Mond.... err Wednesday

So I kind of forgot to post my meal plan till today. At least John Parker will only had to be hungry the first half of the week, right Courtney?? ;)

Monday
Anthony gone - went to Mom & Dad's

Tuesday
Mexican Chicken
Vegetable

Wednesday
Taco Bean Soup

Thursday
Easy Italian Stew (the plan right now but subject to change since it's my BIRTHDAY!)

Friday
Baked Potatoes w/ Chili

Saturday
Chuck E. Cheese's for Zoe's birthday

Awesome Freebie

I just had to share this freebie with you guys!

Check out this post from Freebies 4 Mom to get 50 free (totally free, even shipping!) photo cards. This is a great idea for Christmas cards if you have not done that already. It's good till the end of November so make sure you get it done before then.

I just finished making my photo card and can't wait to get them so I can hand/send them out! I would not have done a Christmas card if it wasn't for this, so I was so excited to find this! :)

Holidays

Well, we have reached the end of another week... one week closer to Thanksgiving, Christmas, and all the wonderfulness that comes with those! And I am so excited to be celebrating these holidays with Bailey this year. I just can't wait to see her curiousity of the Christmas tree, excitement of opening presents (though she'll probably be more excited about the boxes and wrapping paper!), and the opportunity to teach her about the true meaning of Christmas (though she won't understand this year).



I think I'm about done Christmas/birthday shopping for Bailey. Since she is too young to understand this year, and since we are pretty broke, we haven't gotten her a lot. But then again, maybe that's how it should be every year anyways. We'd probably be better off to teach her about generousity and giving to others instead of having a case of the "gimmees".



Anyways, I wanted to share what I have found as far as gifts for Bailey this year.

This is the Fisher Price Busy Ball Popper. I got this for about $5.99 by price matching and with a coupon. I've heard it's a pretty entertaining toy for the little ones so hopefully she will enjoy it!


I ordered the Fisher Price Nativity set from www.familychristian.com last night and with a sale and a 30% off code I got it for a little over $20, which is a great deal on this. Thanks to Jen @ Thrifty NW Mom for pointing this deal out!






And then probably my favorite purchase is this Pottery Barn Kids Oversized Anywhere Chair that I got off craigslist for $50! To buy it new from PBK, it would have cost at least $140. The only thing is that it has the name "Alexis" embroidered on it, but I plan to have a cute patch made to put over "Alexis" with Bailey's name embroidered on it. I think it should turn out cute and jazz up the chair a little bit.



We may find a few more small things for Bailey, but that's all of our big purchases for her. Oh, actually I just remembered that I did order a Veggie Tales DVD that I got for free and only had to pay shipping for. So she'll also get that. :)

We'll be spending Thanksgiving with my family and Christmas with Anthony's family this year, and ALL of the brothers and families will be there! So it should be a crazy, wonderful, hysterical Christmas this year. Especially crazy-- with all 4 brothers reunited for Christmas and 6 little ones running/walking/crawling around! I can hardly wait for all the baking and food, though I'm not so excited about the pounds I am sure to gain! :)

Meal Plan Monday

Well, I have been slacking with posting my meal plans lately, but don't worry, I've still been planning. And, in order for John Parker not to starve this week (wink wink Courtney!), I am posting my meal plan for this week! Oh, and while I'm thinking of Courtney, she told me at church yesterday that she dreamed that I was pregnant and wanted to have the baby at church! Haha! What did you eat before bed Courtney??

Monday
Anthony gone, going to Mom's

Tuesday
Baked Potatoes w/ Broccoli

Wednesday
Tortellini
Peas

Thursday
Baked Ziti
Green Beans

Friday
Stromboli

Saturday
Chicken Patties


What are you having for dinner this week? Feel free to share any great recipe ideas you have... I'm always looking for new ideas!

Fun Friday (a little late) & Catch Up

A few weeks ago we went to the pumpkin patch. We got a few pumpkins and got to take a horse carriage thing type ride to the patch which was a lot of fun. Though I can't wait till next year when Bailey can really enjoy herself and know what we are doing at the pumpkin patch. Here are a couple of pics...








Then two weeks ago on Friday we ventured out and met Ashley and James at Target. I wanted to go just to see if I could find any deals, and just for something to do. Well am I sure glad I went! I found two cute little pairs of striped leggings (red & white, dark blue & light blue) for Bailey to wear. I have been wanting to get her some because she needs something to keep her legs warm when she wears dresses and I am not a big fan of tights.

Also, they had Pampers Cruisers size 3 diapers on clearance for $14.48 and I had a couple of coupons so I got Pampers for 12 cents a diaper!!!

After Target we went to Petsmart which is always a fun, free activity! Then I stopped in Bed Bath and Beyond because I have been wanting a little hook thing to hang by our back door to hang keys on. So I got one of those there and also found a cell phone charging station on the clearance shelf that I got. I was excited about that because I have been wanting one of those! I used my gift card and only had to pay 35 cents out of my pocket. :)

Finally we went to Kroger and I got some great deals there! I have a picture of my purchases but I haven't uploaded it yet and it's been too long now so I can't remember what all I got, so I'll just let it suffice to say that Kroger has really been paying off for me lately! I love their Buy 10 Get $5 off sale.

My absolute best deal lately that I can remember right now was cans of Hormel chili w/ beans for 12 cents a can! We make a meal out of baked potatoes with this chili on them and we actually ate that last night (and it was so yummy!). So I want to see if I can try to break down how much this meal actually cost me. It was me, Anthony, and my Dad eating, so here we go....

4 Potatoes - 40 cents
Can of Chili - 12 cents
Cheese - 50 cents (at the max)
Butter - let's go with 5 cents (haha)
Sour Cream - 50 cents
Steam Fresh Lightly Sauced Brocolli - 50 cents

$2.07 to feed 3 people!!! It can't get much better than that. :)

Well, Bailey and I are just staying at home today. I feel like we've been running around a lot this week so we're just chilling today. Then later this evening I am going to go play Bunco! I think it has been before Bailey was born that I last played, so I'm really excited about it.

Then tomorrow we are headed to Lynchburg for the Awana conference. Bailey is going to go with us and stay with her Auntie Vicky for the day! Then after the conference is over we are going to have dinner at Tokyo (yummmm) and hopefully see some friends. We are ready for a great weekend!

Wordless Wednesday

Quiksilver Sheet Set

A couple weeks ago I stopped in Bed Bath & Beyond just browsing and happened across this sheet set on the clearance shelf...

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=117509&RN=17

It's definitely not a sheet set that I would normally buy just to buy them.... however, please notice the price of the queen set is $69.99, and I got the set for a mere $11.48 because it was their display set! Oh, and I had a gift card, so I didn't really pay anything out of my pocket. I was SO thrilled with my find! :)

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Martin's Trip

So today, in addition to my Walmart trip, I ran over to Martin's (which is right next door to Walmart) to get just a couple things that were on sale that I had coupons for. I was happy with the deals I got, and Bailey was happy too, although for a different reason.... :)

Here's my "loot"...



I got:
5 cans of tomato soup for 44 cents a piece
2 cans Cream of Mushroom & 2 cans Cream of Chicken for 58 cents a piece
2 bags Steamfresh Meals for Two for $2.25 a piece

Total: $10.42
Savings of 51%

I'm going to hit up Kroger either Thursday or Friday. They have good deals this week on Michelina's Frozen Entrees and Nature Valley Granola Bar products and Post cereal.

Painting Ideas

Okay, so you people (except for Sheree, thanks for the advice!) either love my house the way it is, or are just as clueless and inept about decorating as I am! :)

So here is what I've come up with....

I have several lighter green/olive color swatches that I am leaning towards for in the living room. And I think I want to paint the wall with the windows and loveseat and probably the wall with the Starry Night painting and the chaise lounge. Possibly the wall with the couch, but I want to start with the other two first. I don't want to do the wall with the wedding pictures and TV because that wall extends into the kitchen as well, and I don't want it green in there.

Then, I am thinking of putting chair rail in the dining area and painting blue on the bottom (to match my blue French Toille curtain in the kitchen). Then I'll either just leave the top the same that it is, or I'm going to have to find a neutral color that goes well with the blue in the dining room and the green in the living room, since the top color in the dining room and the TV wall/kitchen wall will be the same.

Does all that make sense?? I think I might try to edit these pictures in paint shop just show I can show what I mean. It makes me really nervous to do all this, but I really need to spice things up so I think I just need to go for it. Even if it looks bad, it's just paint, it can be fixed. So tell me what you think! Any ideas or suggestions are welcome!

American Scholar

Meet Cameron - He is a great young man that is in our youth group. We also work with his parents (who are also Liberty grads) in Trek on Wednesday nights and we just love this family! They have 2 daughters, Paige, who just got married this summer and is living in Lynchburg with her husband Stephen, and Elle, who is a freshman at Virginia Tech. So, I'm sure you can imagine, as they will have 2 kids in college next year, life is getting more expensive for them!

So, it would be great if Cameron could win the Spirit FM Liberty University American Scholar contest. It would be a 4 year full tuition scholarship to LU for Cameron. He is very deserving for the scholarship and I have no doubt that he is going to go on to do great things, during and after college, and would make excellent use of this scholarship.

So if you have not already, and wouldn't mind just taking about a minute out of your schedule, would you go vote for Cameron? Just click on the link and fill out the information. You have to enter your email so they can send you a confirmation link, which you have to click to finalize your vote. Don't worry, they won't add you to their email list unless you ask them to. Thanks so much for your help! I know I speak for Cameron and his family when I say that they appreciate your vote!

Meal Plan Monday

Here's the plan for the week....

Also, it's getting to be soup weather, so I'm looking for good, easy soup recipes, if you have any. Let me know!

Monday
Anthony Quiz Bowl Meet/I'm going to Mom's!

Tuesday
Farmhouse Chicken
Green Beans

Wednesday
Grilled Cheese
Tomato Soup

Thursday
Savannah Chicken Salad
Corn

Friday
English Muffin Pizzas

Saturday
Scrambled Eggs
Bacon
Toast

Kroger Won & Painting Suggestions

Yep, I was wrong. The toaster strudels were on a different sale, not the "But 10, Get $5" sale. Bummer. Oh well. I learned my lesson and will be paying much closer attention next time. I still got some decent deals, despite my stupidness! :)

Anyways, we've had a good weekend. Saturday Anthony had SAT's at school so Bailey and I headed over to Mom's and then when Zoe got home, we went to the pumpkin patch at Country Connections. We had such a fun time. We took a horse wagon ride to the pumpkin patch, picked our pumpkins (which we really cheap, price, not quality, by the way!), and browsed around the store. I love going to that store and wish I was rich so I could buy lots of stuff! I got some majorly cute pics of Bailey and Zoe at the pumpkin patch and hopefully I'll get them uploaded soon.

Then today we had church and was at Mom's for the afternoon and then had our lifegroup fellowship at church this evening. Lots of yummy food and of course it's always fun to fellowship with friends from church.

Tomorrow evening Anthony has a quiz bowl match so I am going to go to Mom's for dinner and see a volleyball game at Ridgeview. I've been wanting to go to a game, so this is a good chance for me to do that. The rest of the week holds some grocery shopping (hopefully I won't need very much this week) and I'm thinking about browsing paint colors at Lowe's and/or Home Depot. I really want to do some painting in our house but I feel like I am so bad at decorating choices. I'm also not sure if I want to do every wall, or maybe just two walls. So take a look at the pictures and give me any suggestions you have! I'm open to anything! :)

Showdown with Kroger

So I went to Kroger yesterday to get some things on their "Buy 10, Get $5 off" sale, and unfortunately I can't read and made a booboo causing me to not get the $5, or Kroger's computer made a booboo. I'm hoping it was the computer, but I'm guessing it was probably me. However, I am going to make the trek back over to Kroger today to go find those darn Toaster Strudels and see what the tag says. I'll let you know who wins the battle. :) I think I did pretty good with or without the $5, but it would be really good with the $5.

I'm also going to drop by Walmart to look for something I am wanting for the house. And I must say that I am excited to go to Walmart for a non-grocery purpose. I'll probably also hit up the toy section to look at the Cabbage Patch dolls and see if any of them have Bailey's birthday by chance.

Then, as long as Bailey is still in a good mood, I think we may go to the park for a little while. I know the nice days are numbered, so I feel like we need to enjoy the great outdoors while we still can.

Now, on to my cooking/baking I did yesterday. I made the Roasted Chicken & Veggies that you no doubt saw on my Meal Plan Monday. It was good and fairly easy, but if you put Lemon Pepper seasoning on it, like Kelly does in her recipe, I would go easy on that. I put it on mine, and the green beans turned out too lemony for my taste. I think I'll make it again, but with less seasoning.

And then, I made The Pioneer Woman's Apple Cake in an Iron Skillet minus the iron skillet - I don't have one so I used my stainless steel skillet. Thanks for the suggestion, Courtney! Anyways, this is really good and I highly recommend it. I think it is best when it is warm out of the oven, but still delicious even not warm. I am looking forward to having some of this for a snack later tonight. :)

Okay, that's all for now. Just waiting for Bailey to wake up so we can run our errands.

Wordless Wednesday