Weekend Update

I can't believe it's Monday already! We had one of those whirlwind weekends, but it was so worth it!

Friday Night--Blake spent the night with a friend and Mallorye had a volleyball recruiting "thingy" to go to, so hubby and I went out for a nice dinner. We'd been given a gift certificate to eat The Candlelite Steakhouse (local restaurant, very classy), so it seemed the perfect opportunity to enjoy it. Q had steak and I had the grilled chicken and it was absolutely the best...either that, or I'm just way tired of Hamburger Helper and fish sticks..lol!

Saturday--busy! I worked till noon and then we all went to Blake's baseball game. My mom and Jack came and cheered him on. Unfortunately, the game went up as a loss, but the boys played well. Mom and Jack came back to the house and we just hung out for a little while. Mal babysat for us (Blake would kill me if he knew I said that!) while we went to see Sugarland and Little Big Town in concert with some friends from church. It was awesome!! I'd seen both of them in concert separately while Q was in Iraq, but together was just incredible. The highlight was the end, after the encore, this curtain came down and when it lifted there were these 2 huge clear beach balls...and they were in them!! They rolled themselves across the audience that had floor seats...which was us!...we were on the 7th row! Oh, it was just way too kewl! I wish I had pictures!!

Sunday--I was up bright and early...had to be at church at 6:30am for sound check and warm up...it was my weekend to sing. I was 10 minutes late, but we managed to run through all of the songs even with me being late. whew! I visited my friend Sydney and her daughter Kyleigh after church. I haven't seen them much since the guys got back from Iraq and I MISS HER! We became really close during the deployment and I just miss the comraderie that we shared. We promised to get together more often. I hope we stick to that!

Sunday Night--small group at our house. I'm really enjoying getting to know the Turner's. We're starting a new book in about 3 weeks..."Defending the Military Marriage." Please pray for us as we lead this discussion. Satan is already attacking and I don't want to give him the satisfaction of distracting us.

Well, that sums up the weekend. Today is a crazy Monday for us...busy, busy. Hope you all have had a wonderful weekend! Welcome to the work week!!

Creative Block

Ok, I need some help for those willing to tackle it! I really want a new blog design and title. Hubby has said that I can get a new web design for my Mother's Day gift!

The problem. I can't seem to come up with anything catchy that I like. The best title I've come up with is "Life....it's what I do." I really want something that better reflects my life and who I am...as for design, I'm thinking on the fun, whimsy, funky side.

So, any suggestions?! I'm thinkin' there's a prize in it for the person that has the most creative suggestion! ;)

What Will You Do?

Crystal over at Money Saving Mom was talking today about how long you'll wait to turn on the AC and it prompted me to think about the ways our family is lowering our expenses.

For one, we're planning on not turning on our AC until May 10th...we'd really like to hold out till June, but we're starting with a small goal and then we'll take it a day at a time from there. 16 days to go!! I'm hoping this will be a significant boost in our savings.

Another thing we've done is disconnect our home phone (actually did this today...been talking about it for months!). We rarely used the house phone and I honestly can't remember the last time I actually talked on our "land line." We all four have cell phones and most people we talk to are in our network of free mobile-to-mobile. This one step is going to save us $65 a month...woo hoo!!

We've been eating at home and have only ate out twice this month. Huge improvement! Even at McDonald's, our bill is around $20, so another big way to save...and I'm actually enjoying cooking and planning meals frugally. Baseball season has started, so it's a little challenging on game days to get supper on the table and get to the game on time...but so far we've done pretty well. I've also been taking snacks from home to work. Another way I'm saving on our food expense is byalso taking part in Krystal's May Grocery Budget Challenge. My goal is $100/week for a $400 total for the month of May spent on groceries. That's about a $50/week cut from what I normally spend and a savings of $200 for the month of May.

A few small "changes" equals a little more "change" in the pocket! So, how about you? Are you feeling the economic crunch? What are you doing to "save for the rainy day" or just make it to the next month?

View From My Front Porch

Every morning the first thing I do is look out my bedroom window....to check the gas prices! Is this pathetic or what?? If this is a "slow down" in the economy, I don't even want to think what a recession would look like.

The Camera Dilemma

Blake's Latest Ballgame...Record 4-1...Go Kiwanis!!

I think that might've been a strike!

Way to watch!!

Ok, here's the thing...I really need a digital camera!! I'm using Mal's P&S Kodak with 5.1 megapixel because it's instant "gratification." I can get the pix to my blog quickly, but the quality stinks!! My sports pictures especially! They're either too fuzzy or too dark! I have a camera that I love...my 35mm...but I have to wait until I've taken the entire roll, have it developed, and then scan the pix to the computer. Very frustrating!!!

So, does anyone have any suggestions on what I need to purchase?? I'm saving for this purchase and hope to be able to at least have camera in hand by the kids birthdays in July!

Just Because I Need A Happy Post...and a PICTURE

This is Caleb. My little nephew.

He is so adorable and funny...most mornings, he just has to come in and see Aunt GinGin when mommy drops brother off (he catches the bus here at our house) but then acts all shy. I love that! I love that he wants to see me in the mornings.

He has a very vivid imagination and vocabulary to match. He's all boy...and then some, but somehow...can't stand to have his hands dirty.

He knows right where I keep the basket of toys reserved just for him...and helps himself!

He has a smile that just makes me melt and beautiful eyes to boot!

This picture was taken one afternoon while he was hanging out with Aunt GinGin and Uncle Q...having a little juice and snack (sitting at the "big boy bar").

Three?

I've heard that tragedy comes in three's, but this is just too much. I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around what is going on with our youth. For the 3rd time in a week, the life of one of our teenagers was snuffed out early. Last night, another teenager was killed...this time as he was walking he was struck by a vehicle and killed. Both schools in Paragould have been affected by the weeks sadness.

In trying to process it all and find meaning in what seems a senseless death, I have found God's hand at work.

(1) the Pastor's of this community have been allowed into the schools to help with the grieving process, thus allowing God in!!

(2) there was a city-wide Memorial service held this past Wednesday at one of the schools. Over 400 students attended and 10 gave their life to Christ.

(3) our students are being challenged to live their faith out loud, not knowing what tomorrow may bring.

Those of you that are prayer warriors, I'm begging you to keep our community in your prayers. To experience three deaths of our teenagers in one week, all unrelated incidents, is just more that one can fathom. I know nothing else to do, but to pray and ask God what He wants to show us in the midst of all this pain.