Casting Crowns

I bought tickets back in November for this concert, and finally Friday we got to go. I love this group. I love how every song is a sermon. I love how they are all youth workers/leaders in their churches, I love how the walk the talk. I love how he stops and tells about why he wrote the song and then the song becomes more precious. I loved how he told how God sees our beginning and our end and everything in between, even though we can't seem to fit the puzzle pieces together. I love how he wrote The Voice of Truth even though he had dyslexia and ADD and listened to the Voice of Truth instead of all the other voices. I just loved this concert. I loved the girl that opened....such a sweet, soft, gentle voice. I loved Matthew West. I knew a lot of his songs (even though I didn't realize it was him singing it). I might buy a CD of him. I loved to watch Jenna singing:) It was just a great night.

Prices

Am I the only one who is getting discouraged at prices? Everything is going up. Every time I pass the gas station the price has gone back up!! I can't even imagine how much it would cost to fill my van all the way up. It's bad when your little Toyota Corolla costs over $45 to fill up!! Another thing that has gotten me is the price of food. I know partly that is because gas prices have gone up....but seriously? I usually could get out of the store for $80-85 a week......not any more! Last week I spent $101 at HT and I even had some coupons. Today I went to Walmart to get groceries and still spent $69 and still have to go to get my meat. It's discouraging because Jack has this house on a TIGHT budget and I try to be very very wise when it comes to buying food and necessities for our family, so it's killing me to see that I'm not in budget anymore. Thankfully I have a wonderful husband who recognizes that I'm trying to stick to budget and realizes that the grocery budget will have to be revamped. So now I guess I will be excited if stay at $100 and I'll jump for joy if I can come below the $100 mark. I'm curious though......how much do you spend on groceries? Are we spending too much??

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

I try to do one craft a week with Hannah. I found out today was Dr. Suess day (I knew it was coming but forgot when it actually was). I was going to paint her hands and make thing 1 and thing 2, but I didn't have any blue paint, so I traced her hands and did one fish two fish. I still need to take a white crayon and make some bubbles, but otherwise it is done.

Fabulous February

Ok, so I couldn't think of another "F" word to go with February, so that will have to do. It's been a good month. We've been passing around colds back and forth to each other, the science fair has come and gone, and we've had a lot of other adventures. I started keeping Hannah on February 10th. It's been working good so far. I love having a little girl around, however I think it cured my baby longings. I forgot how much working getting a young one in and out of the car was and how I have to keep a hold of her wherever I go. I've grown very attached to her in the short time. The kids ADORE her. They fight over her....who will sit by her in the van, who sits by her at the table etc. I think they would love another little one, but thankfully that isn't happening.

I still haven't done my "happy dance". Yes, that last 1/2 pound just won't come off. I'm still working out and have started the couch to 5k thing. I have done my first week and hope I can continue on the program. Wouldn't it be fun if I could actually run a race with Jack after being together for 16 years?

We still have decisions to make, but are taking one day at a time and seeing how God leads and how doors open and shut for us.

Overall, it's been a good February and I'm looking forward to a Marvelous March!!

Science Fair 2012

It's been a crazy weekend and week at the McLean house. We had three science fair projects due for the 2012 SCS science fair. Jenna's topic was biomes. She chose the ocean. She typed her paper (with help with the research) and made an ocean scene from a shoe box. Jack and her made a whale that could move, used sea shells, and also used sweedish fish. It was cute. Jake and Josh could pick anything. Jacob picked "Video games with a beat"......does your heart rate go up when you play video games. I must admit it was a fun little project and his was not a lot of work:). Joshua could also pick anything, so we did "Can you blame your burnt cookies on the pan?" We tested cookies on several different pans and kept everything the same. We set the dough out for 30 minutes each time, preheated the oven for 10 minutes each time, used an ice cream scooper to measure the cookies and also only baked them for 12 minutes. He also had to make a log book and write a paper!! (Jacob also wrote a paper). They both also had to state the problem, form a hypothesis, chart the results and write a conclusion. All of them were very interesting but I am so glad to have them done!!!

The Biggest Loser

It's no secret that one of my favorite shows is The Biggest Loser. If I am home on a Tuesday night, I will be watching it. Although I do not like some of the contestants, I love to watch their stories and their transformations. I must admit, I feel like one of the contestants on TBL. Although I don't eat tiny meals like they do, I know how they feel to step on the scale and only lose 1 pound.
Have you ever seen the show in the first week? The contestants usually lose double digits on the scale, but yet they are so large, you can't even tell they lost weight. It is usually week 4-5 before you can start to see the transformation begin. This week I feel like the biggest loser. I am one half pound away from losing 10 pounds. I am so excited to see a new middle number on the scale and I am so happy that in two months I have done this (especially since I'm not really dieting) but yet, I am a little sad that I'm still so heavy that you can't tell that I have lost 10 pounds. There is still not a change in the way my clothes feel, but maybe when I hit 20 pounds that will happen. There is only one area of my body where I can see the difference. I guess I just have to wait for the rest of my body to catch up. So I am proud and excited, but still wanting a "transformation" of my own:) If you hear a big scream this week it's because I finally lost that half pound (which is stubborn) and have hit the 10 pound mark!!

Jenna

If this won't get you to smile on a Wednesday, I don't know what will. I caught her like this studying with her dad when I got back from the gym. If you will notice, she lost ANOTHER tooth (3 in two weeks). We are going broke!!

Also, I figured out how to put my menu back on the side bar. Happy Wednesday!