Aunt Lola

Last week we received word that my Great Aunt Lola passed away. She is the youngest sister of my grandfather on my mother's side. I traveled with my parents to Alabama to attend the funeral this weekend. It was nice to see so many family members and to honor Aunt Lola's memory.

Every summer we would visit her when visiting family in the area. Here are some of our favorite memories of Aunt Lola that I will always remember...

The first visit with the girls...



Watching us play in the pool...



This summer...









Aunt Lola and my Aunt Mary...



I have other pictures of her with our family, but I can't get them posted correctly. If I figure it out I will add them at a later date.

A Big Deal

So, I've been on the hunt the last few days for clothes for our little guy. We have sold just about everything that the other four kids wore, except for the special outfits that are in their keepsake boxes, so when I'm in a store, I will check out the baby boy section and see what there is to offer. I have to admit, the pickins are pretty slim compared to dressing two girls the last 5 1/2 years, so when I find something I like, I pick it up. Here are the first two outfits that I found for our newest arrival. I think they are adorable...



I especially like the blue outfit with the elephant, as this totally describes what everyone in this house thinks right now about the new baby...

Boy, oh Boy....It's A Boy!!

Today we had our ultrasound to check on the baby and to determine if we are having a boy or a girl. Everyone was able to go for the exciting announcement, even Aunt Sylvie who happened to be here visiting...



And here is our little boy...all 13 oz. of him. The ultrasound showed that everything is normal to this point and that he is very active. I guess it's now time to work on names...

Weekend With Aunt Sylvie

This weekend, Aunt Sylvie came for a visit. We did many things, like work a cool puzzle that she brought to put together...



She also camped out in the basement (on the floor) with all four kids for three nights!!! By the way, we do have a perfectly good bed within 10 feet of this picture!



We also did fun things like play the Wii, watch movies, play games, and eat....but the highlight of the weekend was going to Slayter Hill to go sledding. I know, I probably shouldn't be sledding down a hill at 20 weeks and counting, but I figured I had the doctor with me and she said if I could jump around in the living room doing all those exercises, I would be fine. So, with a little trepidation, I decided to give it a try. I'm happy to report that all went well and I had no wipe outs. I can't say that for Aunt Sylvie. Here we are before the sledding adventure...



Aunt Sylvie wiping out...



Back on the sled...



And wiping out again...



The girls...



The boys...



Emma and mommy before a run...



Sean with Aunt Sylvie...



Daddy and Justin...



Emma and Justin...



Emma...



Erin...



Aunt Sylvie, Daddy, Emma, and the boys coming down together...





Hopefully Aunt Sylvie can come back and visit again soon! Thanks for all the fun!

I'm On a Roll!!

This week is an awesome week for coupons at my local grocery store. I just happen to have lots of multiple coupons(many thanks to my savvy neighbor that's just like me) and the store is having a lot of great sales....this equals me saving A LOT of money to feed my family. The other great plus is that many of these are items I would not normally purchase for my family because they fall into the "too expensive" category. This is just from my grocery trip I made today....I still have another trip to make on Thursday too! So, here's what I was able to stock up on today...

Chex Mix(5)
Betty Crocker Potatoes(17) (I love these because you can just throw in extra ham or
chicken and it cooks fast!)Hint...baby on the way!
Fiber One Pop Tarts(5) (watching the weight :)
Kashi Cereal Bars(5)
Fiber One Bars(13)
Nature Valley Bars (13)
Bisquick (3)
Fruit Rollups(10)
Fruit Rollup Stackers(6) (the kids LOVE these!)
Sugar Cookie Mix(3)
Betty Crocker Frosting(3)
Betty Crocker Muffin Mixes(3)
Huggie Baby Wipes(7)
A Christmas Baby Bib(1) - For one baby :)

So, that's a total of 94 items. I saved $79.98 using coupons and $86.87 by purchasing items on sale...that's a total of $161.85 in savings.

My total bill was $73.83. That equals about $.79 per item...not bad...plus, the majority of the food does not expire until late this year - BONUS!

Plus, I received coupons worth $14.00 in Box Tops for the kid's school, and did I mention that many of the items have Box Tops on them too?

Emma wanted to pose with the groceries....hopefully she will inherit my hobby.



I really enjoy this hobby, not only because it is fun, but it also helps feed my family. This is just one of the ways that we see God's provision for us. Sometimes it takes a little work and patience, but in the end, the harvest is plentiful.

I Just Love Days Like This

Today the girls and I decided to do a little "bargain" shopping at three of our favorite grocery stores. I used to do this all the time when stores would have triple coupons....It's a little harder these days without the "triple" incentive, but none the less, we ventured out to pick up what we thought would be some pretty good deals...

This is what we found...

Luden's cough drops for $.09 a bag (30 count)...we only purchased 4 today because the coupon is good until April and we were running short on time.

Suave deodorant....$.45 for the small size

Suave conditioner...$.50 each

Colgate Toothpaste...$.50 each

Softsoap dispensers with soap...FREE....we only paid the tax!

And the best deal of the deal by far......

Reese's Whipped Candy Bars (and they are YUMMY!)...FREE...with only the tax to pay!

So here's the rundown:

Cough drops (4): $.37
Deodorant (5): $2.39
Conditioner (4): $2.12
Toothpaste (12) : $6.36
Softsoap (11) : $.39
Candy Bars (26) : $.91


GRAND TOTAL = $12.54




And to top it all off, we received a dozen donuts from Krispy Kreme for all the A's on the report card for FREE too! Whoo...Hoo...I just love days like this!

Week 18: Almost Half-Way There

So, being that this is baby #5, I'm trying very hard to remember all the things you are supposed to do while pregnant with your new bundle of joy. Today I remembered that we should probably get a pregnant mommy picture soon.

When I look back through all the baby books, it's obvious which child appeared on the scene first. Justin's book is full of everything you can think of, even baby firsts that we just came up with on our own. Caleb's isn't too bad...I think I only omitted the less important things. Emma and Erin have the most incomplete books...I confess that I really don't know when about 95% of their teeth broke through the surface or how many first times they did, well anything, but I managed to keep up on all the major milestones, like what order they ate baby food (I saved all the first labels of each food...OK, so I had a lot of time on my hands), the order of states traveled, and everyone's first holidays, complete with pictures and cards, and a monthly picture from month one to twelve. I also am proud to say that everyone's books are complete with their little dried nubbies (umbilical cords...I know...), pacifiers and coming home from the hospital outfits...and many more other things. I guess I haven't done too badly.

I'm much more busy now then ever, and I'm a little concerned that this child will grow up to find that his/her mommy slighted him in his pre and post arrival history. Well, I guess I'm off to a good start today.

Happy New Year!

We had some serious fun hanging out with friends this week while off of work. We stayed up entirely too late too many nights, slept in way too many mornings, and ate,well....a lot. After eating, we decided to give the new Wii Fit a try...







OK, so don't laugh too hard!! I had to quit on the "Hoola Hoop" exercise....the belly couldn't take it, but yoga might be the way to go for awhile. Here is the fun group we hung out with for New Year's Eve, and then in the morning...pancakes...yum!





And when we got home, this pretty much describes how everyone felt!



We hope you are having a great new year with friends and family.

Pretty Pretty Princess, or NOT!!

The kids received several games for Christmas, but I think one of Emma and Erin's favorites is Pretty Pretty Princess. Did I mention that they have the best daddy in the world. They would say that, for sure...see what I mean....



But, I do have to let you know that daddy didn't win....Mommy did, and everyone thought she made a very pretty, pretty princess!!