All The Ways To Spend A Snow Day

Today was a snow day! One of my favorite days of the year. Matt usually will work from home. We get to all be here, a pot of coffee, fire place going, something in the oven baking. Love it!!! Most of us were up early because the school called at 6 am but I have to admit I stayed in bed until a little after 8. It was just too cold to get out.
This was before all the fun began! All bundled up and ready for some cold snowy fun.



Hot chocolate makes us warm and oh so happy!

The redneck way to go sledding. Daddy even went so fast that Maxi fell of the back once. We heard rumors that someone down the road from us pulled their boat down the road a couple of years ago as a form of sledding. Yee haw!
This little girl is our snow bunny. She was outside almost the entire day. She went out in the morning, came in to eat lunch and was then back out until dinner time. It was so cold I don't know how she did it but she was having a blast. She even prayed tonight for more snow!




The school just called. No school tomorrow!!! Hmmm....I wonder what the day will bring?

Saving Money Makes This Momma Happy

It's true! I have a shopping addiction. A bargain shopping addiction. Anything from toys and clothes to groceries. It's almost like a hobby to see how cheap I can get it. Earlier this week I went to Target and got some toys for presents. I could have done much better if I could have been there in the morning when they marked everything 75% off but life didn't let that happen. It was pretty picked over when I got there that night not to mention women with shopping carts heaped full. One thing I had been watching was gone but it's all part of the game. Some times it pays off to wait and it get it cheaper and other times...it's gone. So I got $186.88 worth of toys for $50.87. I'm not posting pics because I'm using the toys for presents for my kids and their friends. Don't want the possibility of ruining a surprise!!!

Yesterday I went to Old Navy. One of my favorite clearance clothes shopping for the kids school clothes. If you work it just right you can't buy used clothes as cheap as these brand new ones. Gap is another of my favorites and there is an outlet not far from us! They will do sales of 40 -50% off clearance prices which you can combine with other coupons which is what I did. I got the clothes 40% off clearance price and then had a coupon for $10 off a $50 purchase.

Here's the goods. 13 shirts, 2 fleece jackets, a coat, and a school bag. Regular price was $225.50 but I paid $44.14. I love saving!!! Not to mention that I have a vary happy 4 year old because mommy bought him a superman shirt. It was cheap so why not.

Oh to be Seven

Yes, guilty as charged. I am posting twice tonight. I plead no contest! It has been so busy but I have so much to share.

New Year's Eve, 3 years and 1 day after Matt and I were married, God gave us the privilege of being parents. Something we did not take lightly after having fertility problems and losing a baby. God blessed us with a 8 pound 11 ounce round face, black haired baby girl and our world was forever changed.

To celebrate we had a mommy daughter day. After having waffles, strawberries, and cool whip for breakfast we headed out for a day of shopping. Mia had a mini shopping spree at Justice and of course I had to do a little shopping for myself also. We went to lunch at one of my favorites, Ruby Tuesday and had planned on going to the movie Tangled but ran out of time with all of our shopping. Since it was chilly I decided it was time to introduce her to another of my favorite places....Starbucks! They have a kids hot chocolate and she loved it. I never get to be with just Mia so we both loved the day dearly. We went home to get the boys and get ready for our night out on the town for our traditional New Year's Eve/birthday celebration trip to Chuck E. Cheese! Oh ya! Do we know how to party or what? It is the best time of year to go. It is so dead there the kids have the run of the place. I will be so sad when they grow out of it and especially when Mia wants to spend her birthday night with her friends instead of us. So for now, I am going to enjoy every last minute of it.
Happy Birthday Sweet Mia! May this year bring you all of life's best. We love you so much and pray that you continue to love learning about God and keep growing towards Him. May you keep being a good friend and a good big sister to your brothers. We know that this year you will keep soaring academically. We cannot even begin to tell you how proud of you we are. May you continue to play with barbies and baby dolls and remember to slow down and not grow up too fast. May you enjoy every minute of the year and make memories to last a lifetime.

The Holidays....They're not for the weak

We started our Christmas marathon at Thanksgiving and wont be done until next weekend. We are blessed with lots of family and Matt and I still have 4 living grandparents who want their time as well. I wouldn't trade it and some day it wont be such a marathon but for now I am going to love every minute and calorie of it! We rotate Christmas between our two sets of parents so this year was my parents year. Matt had a few days off before Christmas so we loaded up and I wish I would have taken a picture because the Clampetts didn't have anything on us.

We had the best time with my parents. It was very relaxing and focused on making memories. Christmas eve mom and I went to a time of song singing by candle light in a small old church in Fairview. It was such a wonderful time to take a moment from the hustle and bustle of what the world has done to this time of year and celebrate the birth of our King. Then we went home and had appetizers for dinner, yum! My kind of dinner. The next day we opened presents, had brunch with my grandma, and then came the 3 hour marathon monopoly game. Poor grandma probably wondered what she got herself into! For dinner we had the traditional fondue dinner.


The traditional reading of "What Jesus Want For Christmas" The kids love it!


GG made gingerbread houses with the kids. Maxi had a hard time refraining from eating his walls before they could be built.




Happy Birthday Jesus!



First thing Christmas morning.


One morning we even went to the doughnut shop for breakfast. The kids were highly excited and it was really kind of fun. The place was packed with lots of people that we knew.

I love the memories that were made for our children. The best thing of it all was when Mia said "Christmas is not about presents it's about Jesus' birthday!" My favorite Christmas song is Mary Did You Know? Just think about being the mother of our King. Did you know that when you kissed your little baby, you kissed the face of God? Amazing! We all have the choice to be given the privilege to someday kiss the face of God. Can you imagine? Wow!