The latest happenings

Our little boy is growing so fast. He will be going into nursery very soon. We are super excited about that. Usually we end up leaving church early b/c Levi just runs in the halls and wants to play in the water fountain. Levi knows how to push open all of the doors so he can very easily escape to the parking lot. Matt took him in nursery for the first time last week just to see how he would do. He actually did very well. We thought we would take him in a few times before he officially starts in June just to get used to it. Maybe in June we can start to feel spiritual again. Levi's nose has healed very well. If you saw my previous post you know that Levi broke his nose in our backyard. He does have a little scar on the right side of his nostril but it will get lighter over time. You can see where the brick he hit took off a chunk of skin (I know that is gross) but it is much better. Having a broken nose did not slow him down at all. We are so proud of him for handling everything so well.

Last week Matt took the CHES exam. That means Certified Health Education Specialist. He studied hard for this 150 question test. On the practice exam he scored very well. We have to wait 8 weeks for the scores to come back. I am sure that Matt passed with flying colors. If he did pass he can put a few more letters behind his name. Out of 12 people taking the test last week, Matt was the only guy. This test is very difficult and very expensive. So we are keeping our fingers crossed for good news.

We hope all of our family and friends are doing well. I think that is just about enough of an update for now. Here are a few random pictures from Easter and playing outside in the nice weather.

If you are thirsty, get a drink!

1st turn on the faucet

2nd drink the water.

3rd get upset b/c I am all wet.

Happy Easter!

Every penny counts

Since January I have been trying so hard to lower our monthly grocery bill. When I was working it was so simple and easy to just go to Walmart and buy everything in just one shot. I never really felt like cooking meals after working all day. It was always usually something frozen and I could just pop it in the oven. You don't realize how much you are spending on all of that "convenience" food. On top of the fact that it is just not healthy.

I decided that I would start cooking more meals. I looked for new ideas and combinations of food. I'm no chef but I'm pretty darn close to Paula Dean or Rachel Ray. Yeah right! I started putting together a menu plan. I planned out our meals 2 weeks at at time. I asked Matt for ideas on what he wanted to try or things that maybe his mom made that he liked. Once I had my 2 week plan I started looking in the weekly grocery ads for deals. I always had the notion that Walmart was the best place and had the best prices. And I have discovered that while Walmart does have good prices on some things, they are not always the best deal. I now shop at Brookshires, Albertsons, Walmart, CVS, and Walgreens. Don't count out CVS and Walgreens b/c you can find good deals on cereal, pizza, and toiletries.

I have been doing this now for several months. The first month I lowered our bill by about $20-$30. I was bummed b/c I thought I could do better but I kept going. The second month I lowered our bill by about $50-$70. Much better. This last month I lowered our bill by $150! Can you believe it? Let me just clarify too that when I use the word "groceries" that includes diapers, wipes, jar food for Levi (which now he is finally getting his molars so he can eat more normal food), toiletries, and of course food for us. What a difference it makes to save money. I wish I had only done this sooner.

On our blog you will see the links to some of my favorite blogs to look at and follow. You may think that it takes so much time to clip coupons and look at blogs. But it really doesn't once you have a system down. Now, I am still learning all the tricks and rules but if you ever want to know how you can save please feel free to ask me. Every penny counts!