My week

It's been a quiet week. I saw pictures of Joshua on Tuesday and he had a smile on his face. That made me feel good. This morning I looked and found a new picture of him. It looks like he is having fun.
I've also had a quiet week because Jacob and Jenna went to VBS at night. I had the house to myself for a couple of hours on Monday night. Tuesday and Wednesday Jack and I ate dinner alone and had a few moments to ourselves. I've enjoyed this so much and the kids have been enjoying going to Bible school.
Jacob and Jenna have played so well together (twos company, threes a crowd). I've been able to do some cleaning and re-arranging. Stay tuned for pictures. Also, my "patio" is finally done so I can't wait to show you the final product!!!

Pre-church pictures......

Jenna had this cute dress with an adorable hat. She has never been a hat person. Even as a baby she hated anything on her head. I thought she looked adorable but she didn't want to wear the hat. She was afraid the other kids would laugh and make fun of her, and in her words "no one wears a hat to church". I let her take it off because I didn't want her to be so uncomfortable about it. I hope she doesn't get as self conscious as I do.

He's getting so big

We sent Joshua off to the Wilds camp this morning. As a mom, I have so many emotions. I'm sad to see my little boy growing up so fast, but yet I love to see his independence. I love to see how excited he can get about doing something like this, and I know it shows him that he can start handling more things. I'm thankful he has his buddy Wes. I'll try not to worry about him.....about the 5 hour trip on a bus with no AC, etc. It's sad, scary and exciting at the same time. I would love to be a fly on a wall and spy on him for just a day. I'm hoping to hear updates during the week and pass them along if I hear any.

Jack's B-day

The kids had so much fun for Jack's b-day. We got him a cake. They couldn't do it in black because of the whipped icing so they did gray. We put 40 candles on it instead of a 4-0. I wanted to see him blow that many out, and he did it in one breath (he's full of hot air). We got some black balloons and some signs at the party store. My original plan was to have a big 4-0 surprise party tonight for him, but with us trying to save more money for an uncertain future and the fact that his patio is almost finished, I decided not to do that. We had a lot of fun as a family though. Who knows, maybe for his 50th I'll throw that surprise party for him!!

Fabulous at Forty........

Our last birthday in the house. Jack turns the big 4-0 today!!!! Happy Birthday, sweetheart. I love you so very much! I hope you have a very special day even though you have to work. The kids and I got him a birthday donut and made him his favorite cookies. Stay tuned for all the big 40th b-day celebrations!!!

Spending the day with friends.......

Yesterday we went to see Traci and Travis. The kids got to play in the pool. The boys enjoyed playing "tackle football" in the pool. We ate pizza at the pool and then went back to Traci's house for a couple of hours. The boys were so happy to see each other again and have time together, and I enjoyed jut sitting and talking to my special friend. I really needed that yesterday. I'm so thankful for friends that God gives us.

Jenna and Kit

Jenna loves her American girl doll, Kit. She wanted me to take this picture of her the other day with her doll. I'd love to be able to afford matching outfits.....maybe I can check Craigs List around Christmas and find her one.

Weekend Update

We had a wonderful weekend. I dropped the kids off at the Mashburns Friday afternoon. I met Jack and we had a wonderful dinner followed by a movie. We haven't been to movie alone since.....well, I couldn't even tell you that. It was so nice to come home and relax. There is something about not having to cut someones food, argue about bedtime, find the pj's etc. Wow, to come home to total peace was just incredible. Saturday we woke up and went to some yard sales and then did something we haven't done in a long time......had breakfast out together. What a nice treat. We ran a couple of errands and then picked up the kids. They had a great time, and I feel refreshed. I wonder how long that will feel?
Yesterday was church and then we worked at the Kids Exchange sale. I think I did pretty good. I didn't come home with a lot of stuff, so that is a good thing. I'll find out in about 3 weeks. I hope I made enough to buy the kids some new shoes for school plus school supplies. Jenna also needs a new jumper for school.
My freebies for the week......(no pictures) include two free pantyliners (yes I am well stocked) one box of rice krispie treats, one pocket hand sanitizer. So even though it was a "slow" week, I'm still doing pretty good. How was your weekend?

My Little Helper

Jenna is my little helper. She loves to go around the house and help me clean, but she especially loves to come help me in the kitchen. I'm trying to do a little more baking so that she can gain experience. I hope to make something at least once a week. Sunday we made some peanut butter chocolate chip bars. Although I didn't like the flavor to much (they were still good, I just won't make them again) we did have a fun time in the kitchen together. I love it when she goes and gets her apron on. Oh, if I could just keep her little like this forever!

Family Fun Fest

Saturday our church put on their annual family fun fest. As always, I enjoyed working with other members of our church. Jack and I worked in the food tent again, and we kept very busy dishing out hot dogs to everyone. I must admit I hated looking at the red hot dogs as everyone knows how I feel about red hot dogs, but it was still fun. Sarah took the pictures of Jenna when she took her group around, and Lauren took some of Jacob while she took that group around. Joshua worked with us and got to play around a lot too.

Money Saving Madness

Here are my free things for the week. It was a pretty good week, and this week seems to be a slow week, but things can always change. I got 4 free pantyliners, two sobe waters, two contact solutions, and two candy bars.....absolutely free, plus I earned money for my next visits!! Thanks CVS and Walgreens!! (oh, and Target)

More Swimming

Rudine asked us to the pool again this week. I've really enjoyed doing this as it keeps my kids busy with fun activities. I'm so amazed that every time we go, we have the pool to ourselves. They also enjoyed playing with Sarah and Daniel.

God's Provisions

I changed my title from "money saving Monday" to this for the week. (plus I had to throw Jack off because he said "guess it's time for Money saving monday" God has richly blessed this family. First of all I have my regular free things for the week thanks to CVS and Walgreens.....furniture polish, Windex, ibuprofen, and chap stick, all for free. Next was something that happened a couple of weeks. After 15+ years my microwave fried. I certainly didn't want the added expense of buying a new one. My brother sweetly let us borrow his until we get a new one (we know what will be on my Christmas list). Next, our gas grill died. (our weed eater and push mower have also died) I realize this is not a necessity, but we do use it a lot. I was thinking about trying to find Jack one for his b-day, and he found one at a yard sale that had only been used once or twice. He was able to snag that up for $50. Finally we wanted to see Toy Story, but I am not paying $40+ for a movie. My mom asked us yesterday if we would like to go, and she is paying, so off we go today for a 4th of July event.

I can see God taking care of us and providing our needs, but I still find myself very scared about the future. It's not easy for me to "tighten up" and I find our family starting to do that. I can cut corners and I can snag bargains, but why do I find myself even worrying about what will happen to us in a few months? I still feel like I treat this like a death sentence and I hate acting like this or even wondering what will happen.

Fun With Friends......

Tuesday my friend Rudine invited us over to use the pool. This was such a treat for us. My kids had so much fun and didn't want to leave! It was good to see Rudine, Sarah, and Daniel. Thanks for having us!! Jacob and Jenna had a lot of fun going off the diving board. Joshua did too but he was over with Daniel when I was taking pictures and shooting the video.