Mary's Moments

Wahoo...I don't know if I've ever been more excited about a coupon before! Lately, I've been following a lot of neat money-saving blogs to see if I could cut our grocery budget down from about $1,000 a month and I'm proud to say that I've done that this month and cut it down to $400...more than HALF! That's partially why I haven't posted blogs in a while because this definitely keeps me busy, but I guess is well worth it! I use to just clip a few coupons, head to the store, and be so excited when I'd save $15-20 in one trip. (If you're interested in knowing the money-saving blogs I follow, let me know and I'll forward them to you!) Anyways, OldNavyWeekly.com hides several coupons on there each week (usually reloads on Thursdays) and a big coupon on there is $75 off $100 purchase. I tried last week to get it and even stayed up til 2 a.m. trying, but no luck (I really enjoy the challenge:). Last night, I tried at 8 p.m. and found they reloaded...

The past few weeks have been kinda crazy since Katherine and I both came down with the flu. She missed a week of school and then LISD was out of school this past M-Wed. for teacher holiday, so she practically had a mini vacation! We are blessed that the boys didn't catch it! Fortunately, we were all feeling better by the time the teacher holiday rolled around so we were able to get out of the house...and boy was I ready to get out!! Since the weather was so nice, we decided to venture out to the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco. It was so fun and well worth the 1.5 hour drive out there. We were so lucky in our timing because we practically had the whole zoo to ourselves and the animals were all out and we got to see them up close and personal that day. This was definitely my favorite zoo that I've been to since it was very interactive for the kids and the animals were all close together so we didn't have to walk for miles before seeing the next animal. The tiger was the first anima...

Today, January 19th, we celebrate 7 wonderful years of marriage! We've been through a lot together, learned some valuable lessons, and gathered an abundance of memories along the way. If riches could be totaled in blessings, we are wealthy indeed! You bless my life, and you give so much. I treasure and thank God for you! We had fun celebrating by going out to dinner together and just reflecting on the past 7 years of marriage. We went through each year and wrote down seven of the greatest memories we could recall from each year during dinner. It was great! I highly recommend it. Things I had forgotten, he reminded me of. Things he had forgotten, I was quick to laugh about. It was a great time to reflect and thank God for the blessings He has poured out on us and to ponder what things are yet to come. Proverbs 10:22 - The blessing of the Lord makes one rich...

Well this past week while I was taking a quick shower, I let Christopher feed himself some oatmeal to keep him busy while I got ready. I came out and he was waving his spoon around and just talking to Katherine. I looked over and he had the oatmeal bowl on his head and was not trying to move it or anything...he was very content with it staying right on his head like a hat. Stinker...time for bath after that! Katherine had her Christmas party on Friday at school and had a great time. She had a substitute teacher that day and I felt sorry for him...partly because he seemed like he wasn't very assertive (which you need with 1st graders on a party day!) and just because the kids were having all sorts of fun snacks on their non-routine day. Overall it was a fun day and I'm glad she'll be home for a couple weeks. (Sorry the picture doesn't relate). Matthew dressed up for Awanas last Sunday as a Wise Man for the Live Nativity week, but of course by the time we got to church, ...

Oh, I love this time of year! I personally don't care for the cold weather, but I love this time of year and all the fun, family, and parties it brings. I love decorating our Christmas tree, and every year I try to add some new aspect to the tree, whether it's jut a new ornament or a whole new theme. This year we don't have money to go with an entirely new theme, so I chose to just use the new "adds" I had gotten from last year. And I usually find my new "adds" after Christmas from the huge After-Christmas sales which are always so much fun. This year, I added red beaded garland, a few new ornaments, and white snowflake ribbon (last year I only had gold). I always love just staring at the tree:)!! Last night we had our annual Ladies Christmas event at our Church and it was spectacular! I'm always so impressed at how the ladies in our church come up with so many creative themes for their tables. This event is an outreach event where women from the chu...

Sorry this post and these pictures are so late, but we've been busy the past 1 1/2 weeks. On Halloween night, we actually took the kids trick-or-treating around the neighborhood, which we haven't been able to do in the past due to other activities that have gone on that night. The kids, especially Matthew, could not get enough! He wanted to keep going all night long! And somehow, he managed to sweet talk his way into getting more candy from everyone...I promise that boy is going to be a business salesman someday! Watch out! Here are some pictures of their costumes....Katherine was a Snow Princess, Matt was Batman, and Christopher was a Farmer (although he also dressed up as Darth Vader on the actual Halloween night). I'll never forget this Halloween night as it seemed like our minds were filled with Great Grandpa as he was in his last hours as we were going back and forth with relatives on our cell phone getting updates and praying for him as we went door-to-door getting ca...

Romans 8:38-39 - "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. " Today Grandpa Farmer went home to be with Jesus. He was 92 years young and an amazing man that was an example to us all. A few weeks back when we went to visit, I asked him what his favorite hymn was and he said Blessed Assurance. Isn't it wonderful that today he is in Paradise and is able to praise HIS Savior ALL DAY LONG!! Hallelujah! We will miss hearing your voice, Grandpa, but look forward to seeing you again soon. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! O what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior, all the day long; This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savi...