Thomas the Train Birthday Party

Today we had a family birthday party for Brayden. He picked the theme, "Thomas the Train." He is such a big boy! He loved all his presents he received. This picture of him blowing out the candles is priceless!
Gran and Popa got him a train table. I think we all have had fun playing with it!
Last night we let him open his gift from us since it was so big. We got him a Little Tikes Water/Sand table (construction theme). It came with a boat, trailer, trucks, crane, etc. We have left it in the house for him to play with it since it so hot outside to enjoy. He likes to play with it even if we haven't put sand and water in it yet.
His cousin Lane got him a "Cars" bicycle helmet and my dad had to try it on. Now I know what I can get him for Christmas. LOL!

Happy Birthday, Brayden!

My baby boy will be 3 tomorrow! I am so happy and sad! Where did the time go? He is growing so fast! He is my energetic, handsome, fun-loving boy! He has changed so much from when he was born! Here are some milestone pictures...

And many, many, more years of fun to come! I pray that you will grow up to be a strong Christian husband one day! I love you, Brayden!

Summer Fun

One week left of summer vacation until we get back into the grind of school! Where did the summer go? Ashton relaxing in the pool and Brayden staying cool with a popsicle!

Thursday Thirteen: Blessed

Thirteen ways how I am blessed...

1. God's grace... He died for me and then saved me!
2. I have a husband that loves and supports me (married almost 13 years!).
3. I am blessed with 2 beautiful children that I adore.
4. I have a great friends and family that I love.
5. I have godly parents that love me no matter what!
6. I have the choice to homeschool my kids (and I am loving it!).
7. I have the freedom to worship the One and Only God!
8. God has provided for all my needs.
9. God has also provided for some of my wants.
10. I have a roof over my head.
11. I am able to stay home with my kids.
12. My husband has a job that provides for all our needs.
13. God loves me and will never forsake me!

Neopod

My brother is one those Apple Geeks (still love ya little bro!) that has to have the newest Mac gadget. Yes, he has the Mac computer, laptop, ipod, iphone, (am I leaving anything out?)etc. Well I am proud to annouce I beat him to the Neopod for the blog. I can hear him now... it is not made by Apple... blah...blah...blah...it looks like it though. It is pretty cool.. it keeps track of all you stats on your blog!

My Walgreens Deal of the Week

I went to Walgreens before church this morning to get my great deals! I got all this for $9.82!


Transaction #1
· Walgreens Training Pants $5.99 x 3= $17.97 - $7.50 (coupon from
Easy Saver) = $10.47+$1.66(tax) = $12.13

Paid $12.13 and received $5RR for next transaction.

Transaction #2
· Pilot G2 Gel Ink Pen $1- $1 rebate= FREE
· Crayola Washable Markers $2-$2 rebate= FREE
· 3- 5pk Bic Brite Highlighters $.39 x 3 = $1.17
· 3-5 pk Paper Mate Mechanical Pencils $.05 x 3 = $.15
· 5 White Poster board $.10 x 5 = $.50
· 2 Pantene Pro-V Beautiful Lengths 2/$8-$4 rebate- (2) $2cpns= FREE
· 2 Reynolds Foil $.89 x 2 – (2) $.75cpn= $.28
· Nature Made Rx Essentials $9.99-$9.99rebate=FREE

Paid $24.59-$5.50 coupons-$5RR = $14.09 + $2.28(tax) =$16.37

Total paid out of pocket $28.50
Rebate payback =$16.99 +$1.69(10% on gift card)=$18.68
All this for $9.82!

(Usually a package of generic diapers is about $10.00)

Prayer Request

Prayer Request

• Please pray for my grandfather, Jack Shelton. He is currently in the hospital with pneumonia. He has not been feeling well lately and started having problems breathing. My son Jack "Brayden" was named after him.Papaw at Brayden's 2nd Birthday Party. The theme was construction, so he was wearing his yellow hard hat.

• My brother, Stephen, who left last Thursday for missionary work in Kosova. He should be coming back home next Sunday. He will then leave for Uganda on July 31st and stay for 4 months. Please pray for his safety! Also, check out his blog!

Evening at the barn

We went to the barn to feed Maverick and Linda. Here are some of the photos I took. Brayden loves to help get the food and water for the horses.

Ashton with Linda.

Hank cooling Maverick off.

Brayden the Builder

This morning the City Drain Maintance came out to fix a crack in a street drain. They had their big trucks with a back hoe. I knew this would be an excitement for Brayden to see. We opened the blinds in Ashton's room and took some photos of Brayden's reaction. He started asking if that was daddy's truck. He thinks every big white truck he sees is daddy's bucket truck he drives for work.

Wordless Wednesday- Future Basketball Player

Menu Plan Monday

I am trying to get back in the routine of cooking every night before school starts back. This summer I have been so lazy! Here is my plan:

Monday: Homemade Chicken Nuggets with curly french fries and a side salad (for the adults)

Tuesday: Cube steak with mashed potatoes and gravy and Italian green beans

Wednesday: Spaghetti, Garlic bread, and apple sauce

Thursday: Red beans and rice with smoked sausage (hope the kids will eat this, if not soup and sandwichs for them)

Friday: Homemade stew in the crockpot with cornbread

Saturday: Chicken quesadillas

Sunday: Lasagna, corn on the cob, salad

Frugal Friday

I love to be frugal! That is one of my goals especially being a one-income family. That is hard these days. I am always looking for deals on my favorite websites (http://www.hotcouponworld.com/, http://www.couponmom.com/, http://www.moneysavingmom.com/).

Since my goal for July is potty train Brayden, I found a great deal at Walgreens. By the way, Brayden is doing great with potty training... we do have accidents but he is doing better. Back to the Walgreens deal...

Buy 3 pack of training packs at $5.99 each and recieve a $5 Register Rewards* and then there is a coupon in Walgreen's July Rebate book for $5 off when you buy 2 packs. When the register scans the coupon, it takes off $2.50 for each pack instead of $5 so I actually got $7.50 off. Lets do the math...

$5.99 x 3 packs= $17.97- $7.50 (coupon)=$10.47-$5RR= $5.47 ($1.82 a pack or $.02 for each pull-up)

Not a bad deal!

*For the people who don't know what Register Rewards (RR) are, they are coupons that print off along with your reciept that you use as cash on your next purchase.

Through the Lens - Digital Photography 101

I have recently joined the group "Through the Lens - Digital Photography 101" led by Hallie at http://www.fromtherubberroom.com/ to learn how to take better photos with my DSLR. I am so excited! My goal is to get out of auto mode and into manual mode experimenting with the shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. We will have assignments to complete and I will be posting them on a new blog http://snapshotnovice.blogspot.com/. I would love to hear everyone's comments.

Here is a photo I took at the Memphis Zoo's Butterfly exhibit about a month ago. I think the zoo is one of my favorite places to take pics!

Wordless Wednesday: Wanna be like Dad

Haircut

I truly dislike my hair! Always have! It is fine, thin, frizzes, never dries straight, always a kinky curl. I needed a haircut bad from straightening and blow drying. I had a lot of split ends. Yesterday I went to get a haircut and it is pretty short. Shorter than I usually get it cut. I asked Ashton if I look like a mushroom and she just smiled real big and said, "of course not, mom." That girl can't lie! I could tell she was giggling inside! I have to admit my hair looks thicker but not in a good way! Here is a photo... now you can decide.

July: My Monthly Goal

My goal for this month is to potty train Brayden before his 3rd birthday which is the end of this month! Wish me luck! Here are some past photos... how he has grown!