A Deo Amati

Stellan

2009-03-25T13:48:00.000-05:00

Playtime

2009-02-27T16:31:00.012-06:00

First signs of spring

2009-02-27T16:30:00.005-06:00

The other half of the story

2009-02-27T12:56:00.001-06:00

Total: ~11.00

This post was originally intended to be a follow up to one of my Dillons posts. It's just taken me so long to get around to writing it that I can't remember which one. This honey was accidentally left out of the shopping picture that day which conveniently reminded me of a point I'd been meaning to make.

I've been showing you the good deals I've been getting lately, but you would be much mistaken if you assumed we have a minuscule grocery budget or bought everything dirt cheap. As much as I like to save money, I also like to splurge on certain things. Some of these have to do with taste: real butter and high quality tea and coffee. Others are health decisions. I buy whole wheat pasta which costs about twice as much as regular.

The honey falls into a very special category of splurge: the ones that make my husband happy. I would be perfectly happy with the store brand honey bear. But Kurt's been reading a lot about health foods lately and believes that raw and unfiltered is the way to go.

It's all too easy to plunge ahead with my own ideas about what is good and helpful for our family without ever pausing to consider what would please my husband. And he's the one I'm supposed to be helping! So I'm learning to cheerfully buy the $11 honey.

Check out Crystal Paine's excellent post on this very topic over at Biblical Womanhood.

Free download

2009-02-24T15:47:00.002-06:00

Go read Money Saving Mom's most recent post to see how you can get a free download of The Best of the 2006 Entrepreneurial Bootcamp (22 lectures), a $100 value.

Walmart

2009-02-23T11:43:00.000-06:00

Total: 43.45

Walmart is where I do my staple shopping. I use the Walmart price to gauge how good a sale is.

Dillons

2009-02-21T11:34:00.000-06:00

I paid: 20.90

Highlights:
1/2 gallon of buttermilk marked down to .99.
Made .25 on the toilet paper.
Marked down yogurt made it .49 after coupon.

Walgreens

2009-02-19T15:38:00.004-06:00

I paid: 5.24

I also picked up sunscreen on clearance for 1.75, but I forgot to put it in the picture!

Dillons (updated)

2009-02-19T11:48:00.002-06:00

Regular price: 37.70
I paid: 12.59

Just so you know, all amounts I list are before tax. Keeps things simpler.

Also, I had issues with my e-coupons this week. I contacted the coupon people and have received credit for several of them.

Yesterday and today and forever

2009-02-18T11:42:00.000-06:00

Life is good. Really good. For the first time in a very long time we are not sick or injured, moving, pregnant, or grieving. It seems as though we have been at least one of those things, and sometimes more than one, almost constantly for the past 3 1/2 years. To be sure we have normal, everyday sorts of struggles. I do have to tackle potty training in the near future, after all! But overall life is easy right now.

I'm in a season now of reaping the sweet fruit of hard lessons. The "break" I begged for so often God has finally seen fit to give. I'll take it thankfully, but I don't want to forget the lessons. I have no doubt the hard times will return in God's perfect time.

But though my circumstances have changed God's purposes haven't. He is still in the business of conforming me to his image. God did not cease to be good when my circumstances were bad, and I have not stopped being dependent on him because my circumstances are good.

Not that much has changed.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8 ESV

WOW

2009-02-17T18:52:00.003-06:00

This is the best everyday bread I know of. I make it quite often. I tweaked the whole wheat recipe from my bread machine book to come up with something that would have all the desired qualities: healthy, hearty, but not like a rock. I find whole wheat is too strong for my taste. This has a fabulous mild flavor, soft chewy texture, and turns out great every time.

Wonderful Oatmeal Wheat Bread (WOW Bread)

1 2/3 c water
2 T butter
1/3 c brown sugar
2 t salt
2 c wheat flour
2 c oats
2/3 c bread flour
3 t bread machine yeast

Kohls clearance

2009-02-17T11:45:00.015-06:00

Practice, practice, practice

2009-02-17T11:45:00.010-06:00

I should clarify that she fell over several times between all these pictures. She actually did best the first time and tired pretty quickly.

Cloth diapers

2009-02-14T11:40:00.000-06:00

Walgreens Deals

2009-02-12T11:52:00.006-06:00

Total after sales, coupons, register rewards, and rebates: 1.84.

However, I confused a couple of deals, so I have several things to return next week. And I was especially disappointed not to be able to get the Gillette razor deals because both Walgreens were out. Still, not bad overall.

Dillons Deals

2009-02-12T11:51:00.002-06:00

My best deal of the week was definitely the yogurt I picked up at Dillons.

Yoplait packs were on sale 2/4. I had 1.50 off printables (if I knew what I was doing "printables" would send you straight to the coupon so you could get some yourself--but I don't), so I went expecting to pick up 5 packs for .50 each. A good deal.

But when I got there I found one pack that was marked down to .50 for quick sale!

Then at checkout an e-coupon came off that I didn't think was working.

So...

22 4oz cups of yogurt
10.00 on sale
8.50 with the markdown
-1.50 (5) printables
-1.00 e-coupon
FREE

I also found a half-gallon of milk marked down to .99 for quick sale.

Apparently Krogers (which go by many names) are known for these sorts of unexpected deals.

Dillons Deals

2009-02-03T19:03:00.006-06:00

This is what I bought at Dillon's today.

Regular price for all this: 102.88
I paid: 37.32

Dillon's was having a special sale for the second week. In addition to the regular sale prices there were a certain set of items that if you bought 10 (mix and match) you would get $5 off the order. Also there is a new thing call e-coupons that you load onto your store card and they come off automatically if you buy the item. Dillon's doubles coupons up to .50 and raises those above .50 to 1.00.

So here's how I did it:

3 Armour meatballs 14oz, 3.79 each
-1.29 sale
-.50 buy 10
-.55 mc (3)
-.45 raised (3)
paid 1.00 each

3 Ghiradelli Brownie Mix, 2.99 (my new favorite brownie mix)
-.80 sale
-.50 buy 10
paid 1.69 each

4 Triscuts, 2.75
-.36 sale
-.50 buy 10
-2/2 mc (2)
paid .89 each

4 Kleenex 184ct, 2.39
-.89 sale
-.5o buy 10
paid 1.00 each

1 Kraft Cheese Block 8oz, 3.95
-1.96 sale
-.50 buy 10
paid 1.49 each

2 Kraft Singles 2% 12 oz, 4.19
-2.20 sale
-.50 buy 10
-.75 mc I found these in a dispenser by the cheese!
-.25 raised
paid .49 each

3 Kraft Shredded 2% 8oz, 4.29
-2.30 sale
-.50 buy 10
-.75 mc
-.25 raised
paid .49 each

Bananas for .49/lb.

2 Fleishmann's Yeast Jars 8oz for the price of 4, 7.49
-.45 mc
-.45 raised
paid 6.59 (3.30 for 4 oz.--better than I could do at Walmart, I think)

1 Crest Pro-Health, 2.29 on clearance
-1.50 e-coupon
-1.50 mc
made .71

1 Colgate Max Fresh, 1.44 on clearance
-1.00 mc
paid .44

1 Gillette Shampoo, 4.29
-2.00 e-coupon
-2.00 mc
paid .29

1 Cottonelle 4pk, .99
-.25 e-coupon
-.50 mc
-.49 raised
made .25

2 Sundown Vitamin D 1000 100ct, 5.49
-2.75 sale
-2/2 Catelina
paid 1.74 each

Our little man

2009-02-03T18:51:00.004-06:00

Walgreens Deals

2009-01-31T11:03:00.008-06:00

So, here's what I got at Walgreens this week:

1 Colgate Total, sale 2.99
-1.50 manufacturers coupon
-2.00 register rewards
made .51

1 Foil 20ft, 1.69
-.80 walgreens coupon
paid .89

1 Puffs w/lotion 60ct, 1.79
-.25 mc
-.90 wgc
paid .64

3 Campbell's Tomato Soup, 3/4
-.40/3 mc
-1.93 wgc
paid 3/1.67

2 Listerine 1L, sale 2/9
-2.00 (2) mc
-4.50 rr
paid 2/.50

1 Revlon blush, 9.99
-9.99 easy saver rebate
free

6 Hershey's dark chocolate bars 1.45 oz, .89 each
- B1G1 (3) mc
-B1G1 wgc
6/.47
I don't quite understand why this one worked out the way it did--I figured it would be free. Still a deal!

2 Finest Natural One-a-Day Fish Oil 120ct, sale B1G1
paid 16.99 (the cheapest way I've found to buy these)

I also had a Pantene coupon for 2.oo/1 that was about to expire. So I went to Walmart and got:

1 Pantene conditioner (the big size) w/bonus 9 oz hairspray attached, 5.88
-2.oo mc
paid 3.88 for conditioner and hairspray

I wasn't sure whether 3.88 was a good price to pay for Pantene. I got it for 2.50 in a Walgreens deal a few months ago, but I haven't been doing this long enough to know how often that might happen. When I saw the free hairspray though, I decided it was worth it.

Christmas and After

2009-01-28T17:07:00.014-06:00

Esther

2008-11-20T16:51:00.006-06:00

Lunch and the Zoo

2008-10-24T18:22:00.009-05:00

Lunch at Applebees.

Feeding the goats.

Luke loved the turtles.

Komoto Dragon

2008-10-09T19:08:00.004-05:00

Here's the best of the pictures from our ultrasound today. You can see the ear clearly and part of the face. That's an arm down below (showing the muscles), and it looks like the other hand is in the mouth.
This picture was taken at the birth center. They asked us to do a photo shoot for a new brochure.

2008-01-10T13:45:00.000-06:00

Kurt is recovering well from the surgery on his foot and ankle. The doctor took his cast off yesterday and gave him an immobilization boot instead. He is still not allowed to put any weight on it, but he is supposed to take it off a few times a day and point and flex his ankle 50 times. The stitches are supposed to come out next week. Tomorrow he has his first day of school, though he's been there getting ready several days this week.

I'm back to school work myself, hoping to be able to finish up in the next month or so. Tomorrow I should finish up another paper, so that leaves just one short one and one long one to go. I've decided to give up Bible study on Wednesday mornings until I get the school work finished. Also, Kurt will have to use my car (because his is stick shift), so I'll be stuck at home unless I take him to work.

This morning Luke discovered that it hurts your eyes to look at the sun too much. We were taking a walk, and I observed him looking up at the sun through the trees. I pointed to it and said, "sun, sun". He looked at it for a few minutes blinking and squinting. Then he looked at me, pointed to his eye and said, "eye"! His new word of the week is "pocket". In the picture you can see across the bridge of his nose and to the left where he fell off the bed and cut his face on a suitcase.

Luke eating oatmeal

2007-09-18T15:40:00.001-05:00

2007-05-16T09:56:00.000-05:00

Here we are again! We've been pretty distracted lately with many things. Kurt has begun a master's in philosophy. Our apartments are being made into condos, so we've been very busy finding a new place to live. We finally settled on a new apartment and move in a week and a half. We've also taken on the job of running/reviving the children's Sunday School program at church. That's involved lots of planning for the summer and fall.

Luke is growing up rapidly. He's gotten tall and thinned out a lot. He says 'hi'. And he's on the verge of running everywhere. Five steps is the most he's managed so far with out falling down.

A week after moving we'll be leaving for Delaware and later in June flying to Kansas for 10 days. We're looking forward to seeing you all!

Before and After

2007-03-27T17:39:00.000-05:00

2007-03-16T08:29:00.000-05:00

Jo was down for a visit this week, and we took Luke for his first beach experience. We stayed for two and a half hours, and he loved every minute of it! In spite of his face in the picture, he thought the sand was pretty good for eating so we had to discourage that!

2007-02-27T08:53:00.000-06:00

2007-02-05T15:39:00.000-06:00

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!

2007-01-30T14:57:00.000-06:00

We saw the pediatric surgeon today about Luke's belly button. He said that these things normally don't cause any problems. His son has one, and he's thirty and never had it removed. If we had it removed now, they would probably have to put him under for a few minutes, but if he decided to do it when he was older, they might be able to do it with local anesthesia. He said to keep an eye on it for signs of infection or excessive growth, but unless something comes up we can just treat it as a cosmetic issue.

2007-01-24T17:45:00.000-06:00

Laundry is a bit of a struggle sometimes. It's about a 3 or 4 minute walk to the laundry room, so we have this handy little cart to get it there without breaking the back. It takes 3 trips, of course, to get it all done. On Saturdays Kurt often does it for me (hooray!), but my other laundry day is Tuesdays when he doesn't get home till later because of his literature class. It is very hard to hold Luke in one arm and pull the laundry with the other. Normally this basket is full. But yesterday there was less laundry than usual, so I had the brilliant idea of letting Luke ride. After I smashed it down, he fit very nicely on top. Of course after delivering the laundry he had the place to himself! When he starts to stand up we could run into problems, but for now, at least when we don't have too much laundry, I'll be able to save time and my arms.

2007-01-22T13:55:00.001-06:00

Here are some pictures of Luke from the last month or so. The one with the block is the most recent.

We spent about 2 1/2 weeks in Delaware over Christmas where we had a lot of fun visiting, although we all caught colds (a first for Luke). He loved all the attention from his aunts and uncles and thoroughly enjoyed opening presents.

Since we got back I have been trying to get back into my last class and started going to Ladies' Bible Study on Wednesday mornings where we are studying Ephesians. We are also still going to the young couple's study two Sunday nights a month where we are in Galatians. Kurt will be starting a masters program in philosophy soon. He will be taking it from Whitefield College. He is itching for a new project and looking forward to getting started.

Luke went to the doctor this week. He was 18lbs. 10oz. His eyes are currently ok, and the doctor didn't say anything about them, so he seems fine on that front for now. He has a little red bump on his belly button that may be a remnant of the umbilical cord or a small cyst. We are having it evaluated next week to see if it should be removed or not.

2007-01-08T18:06:00.000-06:00

There is nothing to arouse the attention or awaken the feelings, when the only record we have of a man is, that he lived, died, and was buried. But it is otherwise when the times have been the scene of anarchy, civil war, or persecution. Then the calmness and repose of the community is broken up; men are excited and roused by the spirit-stirring events that are passing around them; each must take their side; - it is then that their characters are drawn out and shown in a true light: the weak, the timid and undecided, keep the back ground, while men of courage and daring stand forward in bold relief. (Life of Samuel Rutherford, by Thomas Murray 1827 as found in Lex Rex)
I am so glad that we live in a time of peace and not violence. Though it is those times of violence and threat that men gain glory, I do not want glory. Well, a certain baser part of me does. There is, however, something to be said for being able to show your worth. We can show our worth in the little things, while we are never to be written of or famous. It is in the daily life of the home we do our part before God and family. The people that go to church, do family worship, educate their children, read books that teach the Christian view of the world, laugh together, converse, sing psalms hymns and spiritual songs with one another, it is these people who, when the time of trouble comes, will stand and deliver.

Dr. visit

2006-11-17T13:22:00.000-06:00

I took Luke to the doctor for his four month checkup on Thursday. He weighed 17 pounds, 12 ounces and was 26 1/2 inches long. He only cried a little for his shots, but the nurse commented on how strongly he fought her when she was trying to hold him still. He got a clean bill of health apart from his eye. Ever since he's been tiny his right eye has been watery. It's caused by a blocked tear duct. It will improve for a while and then get worse again. Anyway, normally these things just clear up on their own, but we've tried ointment, and massaging it, and it just keeps coming back. The doctor said if it doesn't clear up by six months they'll send him to have it probed. So we'll just keep massaging it and hope it goes away so that won't be necessary.

Pictures of Luke and the apartment

2006-11-11T17:46:00.001-06:00

These are rather out of order. The one with him in yellow sitting on the floor is the most recent.

Here we are

2006-11-11T16:49:00.000-06:00

Greetings! We have decided to enter the world of blogging as an easy way of keeping in touch and letting you all see how Luke is growing. He's sitting on my lap now after having a major screaming fit in the swing. I think his teeth are bothering him. After I experiment with this a while I'll try to post some pictures and an update on what we've been doing.