Super Savings

I took a very unorganized, very speedy trip through Harris Teeter today for triple coupons. I felt like I did a pretty good job until I saw Donna's loot. Mike wondered if this is the suburban mom version of hunting. You know, we hunt, gather and then put our prizes on display.

Anyway - so here it is - my deals all for $35:



All of the above cost $70 before coupons. I'd like to give props to Nancy for inspiring me in the ways of triple couponing. I know I will never achieve her greatness, but she is an inspiration. I'd also like to give another shout out to my friend Donna who bought (are you ready for this?):

Baby Wipes, Toothpaste, Cough Drops, Dish Soap, Panty Liners, Pretzels, Tea Bags and Mandarin Oranges......All for $.09.

I think I didn't have the same unbelievable savings as Donna, because I bought several things that I didn't have coupons for. I should have taken them out and done the math that way. Harris Teeter is having triple coupons through March 31. Happy couponing!

44 Days and Counting

We only have 44 more days of school. I absolutely cannot believe it. For my children, those 44 days also include multiple half days, Easter and grandparent's day programs, field days, several field trips and more. I bet they only have 38ish actual instructional days left. For Taylor, that is it for ALL OF LOWER SCHOOL. I will save the sap for May when we celebrate fifth grade promotion, but needless to say, the time has flown by faster than I ever imagined it would.

I think once your children go to school, the time really starts flying. I wonder if it is because that is when they start spending so much time away from you. There have been days when I have picked up my children from school and thought they have grown an inch. Those first few years of their lives they certainly change so dramatically and quickly, but since the days can be LONG - time sometimes drags when you are looking for the light at the end of the tunnel.

I think these past few years have been my favorite as a mom. My kids are still young enough to be cute, sweet and, for the most part, lacking in attitude (ha)! At the same time they are old enough that we can really interact with them and make some fun memories. Changes are coming, though. I feel like with Taylor, we are teetering on the edge of some moodiness. Also - for a while now, his social schedule has been busier than mine. I am savoring these last days of lower school with him and looking forward to a fun summer of many memories!

P.S. Did anyone see the story about the komodo dragon that ate the Indonesian fisherman? FREAKY!!!!!!!!!

Spring Break Part 2

Spring Break Part 2 was awesome! Once we got back from D.C. we still had half of spring break left and we were able to really relax and just hang out. We slept in (and stayed up late!), played with friends, saw family and enjoyed the week. I saw a REALLY stupid movie - New in Town. It has Renee Zelwegger (not my favorite) and Harry Connick, Jr. (I do like him!) in it, and I kept thinking the whole time I was watching it that I can't believe people actually paid to make this movie. Although I had fun with my friend, I DO NOT recommend the movie.

The highlight of Spring Break Part 2 was the weekend. Claire got to go with Mike to Bristol for the Nascar race, and I got to spend the weekend with just Taylor. I was so excited for all of us and it turned out to be fun for everyone. Taylor had a friend sleep over Friday night. They had a ball, and I got to lay in my bed upstairs and watch movies. HEAVEN!! The best part of the weekend for Taylor and I was seeing the Tarheels play in Greensboro Sat. night in the NCAA tournament. We had a great time together cheering for the Tarheels and then later AGAINST the Dukies. Sunday we went to early church and then came home because he didn't feel good. I laid on the couch with him and watched three movies in one day - Made of Honor (cute), The Secret Life of Bees (good), and Kitt Kittredge (cute).

Claire and Mike had fun, too. Mike is on occasion able to take the kids with him when he travels for work. This is made possible by MRO (Motor Racing Outreach) which holds a special place in my heart. MRO's mission is to introduce the racing community to a personal faith in Christ, to growth in Christlikeness, and to active involvement in the church through relationships that provide care in times of stress, knowledge of God's word, and assistance in the development of leadership skills. They hold chapels and bible studies for members of the racing community. They also provide, and this is where my children are impacted, childcare for children of drivers, pit crew members, and etc. during race weekends. They have an awesome RV they drive from track to track, and they park it in the drivers' lot. This RV is outfitted with tons of games, crafts, toys and more. Children can be dropped off while their parents are working and they are loved on and well taken care of.
This is such an outreach to members of the racing community. These men and women travel 36 or more weekends out of the year and are separated from their families. The Community Center (MRO's name for the RV) provides the option for families to travel together and not have to be separated. The took such good care of Claire and she has a ball when she goes. She always meets new friends and comes home full of stories. This was Claire's first time to go by herself with her daddy, because Taylor has gone with her in the past, and I know they made sweet memories!

Here is a picture of the two of them together somewhere at the track:



Today was our first day back to school. It is always a tough transition, however we only have 44 days of school left. I can't believe it! There is always so much jam packed into the last few months, in fact - Taylor will be missing two days of school this week alone for a field trip to the Billy Graham Library and to the Math Olympics. Summer will be here before I know it!

Long Time No Post

It has been way too long since I have posted, so this will be a random all-about-what-has-been-going-on in the last two weeks post. Last week was super crazy. I left my house most days when (or shortly after) the kids went to school and didn't walk back in until supper time or after. On top of the normal work/school/family stuff, I was running around getting things ready for our trip to Washington, DC, getting haircuts and taking to kids to the doctor, etc.

Last Wednesday Claire had an allergy doctor appointment She has struggled with allergies and asthma for years and seemed to have developed some food allergies lately. We wanted to switch doctors and have some more extensive testing done. We found out that she still had all the same allergies we have known about, but she also is allergic to dust, mold, carrots, cherries, nuts, dogs, cats and the list goes on. This bothers me because dust is a new allergy. When she was tested years ago she wasn't allergic to dust. I remember being relieved because it meant I didn't have to be super vigilant about dusting all the time. BUMMER! We were there for three hours. It was not fun.

As I mentioned above, a lot of the running around last week was getting ready for our spring break trip to Washington, DC. Mike's good friend from college's son was having a bar mitzvah, so we decided to go up for an extra long weekend and add some sight-seeing on to the end. Despite the weather, which was the same cold rain as Charlotte was getting, we had a great time. The main part of the weekend was spent at the bar mitzvah, after parties and with our friends. I LOVED the ceremony. It was so beautiful. The history and heritage were awesome. My kids thought it was a little long, but they enjoyed it, too. One of the things I had to do last week was buy Taylor his first sport coat. He wore it to the ceremony and looked very handsome.



That night our friends hosted a "kid party" for Sam and his friends. It was something else. They had a DJ, great food, caricature artists, T-shirts as party favors, and more. Taylor said he wants a party just like that. Here is a picture of Claire and her "bling" from the party. I wish you could see it, but inside her mouth she has this light-up fake teeth thing. It looked so funny in the dark room when her mouth was lit up.



On Sunday afternoon, all day Monday and Tuesday morning before we left we crammed in as much sight seeing as we could. We went to the International Spy Museum and the National Portrait Gallery on Sunday. The spy museum was so crowded so it was hard to really see everything, I LOVED the Portrait Gallery. We kind of breezed through it but were able to see all the official portraits of the presidents. On Monday we went to the Museum of American History. I loved this museum, too. This is the bicentennial year of the birth of Abraham Lincoln so there were a lot of special exhibits dedicated to him. Here is a picture of one of his top hats.



We walked from the museum to the Capitol where we had a tour scheduled. I think the Capitol is such a beautiful building. I love visiting it. We happened to be in the right place at the right time and were able to get passes to go into the House of Representatives. We were a little disappointed because there were only two reps in there. They were discussing re-naming post offices in different states for soldiers who had died. Here is a picture of us outside the Capitol.



On Tuesday morning before we left we went to the White House and to the Monuments. Again - I think they are all so beautiful. For the first time in history they turned the fountain in front of the White House green in honor of St. Patrick's Day. It looked really cool.



Here is a picture of Taylor pretending like he is holding up the Washington Monument.



We had such a great time, and I can't wait to go back. There were so many things we wanted to do but didn't have time to do. I am so happy because my kids don't mind doing the museum/historical thing. They enjoy it as much as I do.

Tomorrow I will write about the second half of Spring Break that we are enjoying right now. This week has been a perfect balance of fun/activity and rest.

Childlike Faith

I went to step/sculpt class at the ROC this morning and got way more than a physical workout. The class could be a whole post in and of itself, especially the part where I fell off the step - but that is a whole other story.

The devotion at the end of class was about having a childlike faith. For some reason I have really stopped to ponder this today. What does that mean? How does that look and manifest itself? How do we go from having that type of faith as children or as a new believer in Christ to becoming more "hardened" as adults.

Children approach things so quizzically and with wide eyes. They believe in and hope for the best. Even when they get hurt by someone they are quick to forgive and forget. They are excited about everything, even the little things. They are not cynical - and probably wouldn't even know how to be.

I think for a while now I have been feeling like I have become way too cynical. I think cynicism and sarcasm are defense mechanisms that are not healthy. I feel like when I act that way it is almost out of a desire to protect myself from something. Life's twists, turns and curve balls are part of the process of moving us into self-protection. There is a lot going on in the world that is scary. People can let you down and plans don't go the way you want them to. We think there is too much to "worry" about which results in not allowing ourselves to get excited about things.

God doesn't desire that we live that way. He wants us to live life full of hope and faith. He doesn't want us to expect the worst to happen or to always be looking for the shoe to drop. I really enjoyed that reminder today in a place where I wasn't looking for it. Thanks, Jenny!!

Mary and Martha

This week I finished the bible study, "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World." I REALLY liked it. It was such a good reminder of so many fundamentals.



First - God wants us to be sold out for Him, but to also have a heart of service. We are all familiar with the passage in Luke where Jesus comes to the home of Mary and Martha. Martha is running around making preparations like a chicken with her head cut off while Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus. When Martha complained to Jesus that Mary wasn't helping - I LOVE what Jesus said to her- "Mary has chosen what is better..."

Better is Him. How many times do we make that same choice? I confess, more often than not, I don't. I choose anything BUT what is better. I choose family, chores, friends, TV, computer, sleep - you name it.

Yet - the Bible is clear that we are to Love the Lord with all our heart, soul and mind and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Loving our neighbors is where the service part comes is. Plus the Bible is also clear about how as members of the body we are gifted in different ways and for different areas of service. Putting the two together in a BALANCED way is what we should be striving for.

One of the other things I liked about this study was the contrast in Mary and Martha in the story above and then again in John 11 when Jesus is coming to comfort the sisters over the death of their brother Lazarus. The Bible tells us that when they heard Jesus was coming, Mary stayed home but Martha ran to meet Jesus. I think Martha got it this time. This time - she was choosing what was better, Jesus. I find comfort in that. Even though we may lean one way (Mary) or the other way (Martha) - we can change. As believers with the power of the Holy Spirit living inside of us - we can become more balanced in the area we aren't naturally prone to.

That was one of the questions we were supposed to ask ourselves in our study. Do you lean more towards Mary or Martha? Most of us in our group answered Martha. One of us answered Mary - not because she was trying to brag about her time with Jesus. In fact, it was the opposite, she felt guilty that she wasn't doing much in the way of service. Neither way is right. Faith without works is dead, but service for the wrong reason & without knowing the heart of Jesus is wrong, too.

I HIGHLY recommend this book. It can be read and studied alone or in a group. I liked it because it was practical yet it was deep and fundamental at the same time. It has left me striving to choose what is better.

Viva Las Vegas

Mike should be home in a few hours. He has been in Las Vegas this time. These west coast trips are so long. He usually leaves early Thursday and doesn't come home until Monday. Now - I will say first and foremost that I am glad he has a job. However, the weekend travel isn't so great. I don't think I would mind it as much if he was gone during the week. We are so busy with our normal routines. Plus, as I have talked with other women who have husbands that travel, we all seem to agree that when are husbands are gone we are able to get dinner on the table and the kids ready for bed a little earlier. But on the weekends it it a different story. That is when you get caught up on family time, or when you want the extra person around so you can get things done. I also know how much Mike hates missing the kids' weekend games and activities.

The night he got to Vegas he went to see Chris Tomlin and Louie Giglio. He hung out with them backstage and attended an amazing concert. I think that was the night I was holding my crying daughter who was blowing kisses out the window to her dead and buried hermit crab. Friday night - I'll call this one a toss-up. He went to In and Out Burger with Marcus (no big deal to me - In & Out Burger, not Marcus) and I took Taylor and some friends to the Charlotte Christian state semi-final basketball game. We had fun. Saturday night he called to tell me he was waiting on some clients to have dinner at the Japanese restaurant in the Bellagio. I think that was the night we had cereal, frozen pizza and mac & cheese. Then last night he was in bed early after a long day at the race. He was in a cozy hotel bed (however not with the Hilton's Serenity collection bedding) with the TV remote all to himself. I was dealing with power that couldn't decide if it wanted to stay on or go off, a satellite dish that definitely wanted to go off, and children fighting over whether to watch Elf or Cheaper By The Dozen - each for the 100th time.

Mike reminded me that Las Vegas is usually where he is when I have had to deal with some pretty weighty issues. This time it was death of a pet, grief and loss. Another time it was talking to Taylor about how babies are made. I tried and tried to get out of that talk and to wait until Mike came home. Aren't dads the ones supposed to talk to sons about those things? God convinced me, however, that I needed to answer Taylor's questions and have the first "talk" with him. After praying, calling Mike, and searching the Focus on the Family website, we hunkered down and made it through. Without Mike, mind you!

So - that is why I am glad he is coming home. We miss him when he is gone and I don't like dealing with life without him. He is leaving again Friday for a short trip to Atlanta. He'll be back on Sunday. Unfortunately for him, he will miss Claire's first soccer game of the season, and a basketball tournament for Taylor. I am so glad, even with all that goes on, that I am not the one that has to miss out on life around here. I'll take crying children and frozen pizza with a few soccer games thrown in over dinner at the Bellagio and a good night's sleep ANY day.