Coupons are awesome!!

Our goal for 2009 is to save as much money as possible. One way for us to do that is by using coupons. In the past I would use coupons just whenever I saw a great deal. But oh no...not anymore. Now that I am at home I can really shop around for great deals on food and other necessities. This last week I found a coupon for $3 off any CVS brand item. That is how it all began. For my first purchase I went to CVS and they had kids body wash on sale for $1.50 each. I got 2. I used my coupon and the final price was FREE! I was so excited. With this coupon there was no limit to the number of times you could use it. So I went home and printed off more copies of this coupon. Then the real fun for me started. Here is what I scored:

2 kids body wash=FREE
2 adult boy wash=FREE
1 box gallon size storage bags=FREE
2 toothbrushes=FREE
1 baby shampoo=FREE
1 roll of travel wipes (fits in your cup holder)=FREE
1 aloe body wash (for when babies or kids have a cold)=FREE
2 tubes of lotion=FREE
2 bars of soap=FREE
1 pack of wipes=FREE
1 dental floss=FREE
1 roll of 140 wipes=$.31 (price $3.29)
2 packs of wipes=$1.08 (on sale 2 for $4)
1 shaving cream=$1.07 (price $3.99)
1 box of 20 trash bags=$2.15 (price 4.99)
2 bags of peanut butter filled pretzels to enjoy our savings=FREE

Our total savings was $55.27. We were able to get 23 items total. This was a great way for us to get a start on storage items. These were all things that we needed and we were able to get them for free. How awesome is that! It is totally a rush to walk out of a store with free stuff.

The day before I started my CVS trips I went to Walgreens. With all of my coupons I used at Walgreens I saved $37.19. Again, I was able to get items we needed like paper towels, shampoo and conditioner, toilet paper, toothpaste, and cleaning supplies.

I hope that I can stick to this and really save us money. It's kind of like a puzzle to me to see what coupons I can combine and get super cheap or free stuff. Happy savings to everyone!



Our loot from CVS. The only thing not pictured is the pretzels b/c we ate those of course.

Boys will be boys

Levi is now 13 months and we think he is going through his destruction phase. After we put Levi to bed we always clean up his toys. We have turned our dining room into his play room so every night all the toys go back in the dining room. Before we cleaned up all of his toys we noticed that everything is upside down. As soon as we turn something right side up, Levi will come right behind us and turn it over. Maybe it's just a game but it makes us laugh.

The Holidays Are Over

For Christmas this year we went to my parents house. We weren't sure if we were going to go home or stay here. Levi doesn't travel very well, which is kinda to be expected for a 1 year old. It takes about 2 1/2 - 3 hours to get to my parents house. I ended up holding Levi for the last hour b/c he wanted out of his car seat so bad. Levi wouldn't take any of his toys or food. He just wanted to be out. So I crawled in the back with Levi and Macey and held him. It was good to be home although my parents house is very loud! There is not a quite place at all. We had a good Christmas all around. Levi doesn't get the whole present thing so he would start to open one and then get distracted. We put up our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. We had to figure out a way to keep Levi away from it or the tree would come crashing down. Along with all my pretty glass ornaments! So Matt and I put our heads together and came up with the Christmas tree fence. Our neighbor thought it looked like a Macy's display and told all of our neighbors about it. We hope everyone had a good holiday.

2008 is almost over!!

This year has been an amazing year for us. We truely feel so blessed and lucky for everything we have received. I just wanted to do a year in review for some of the exciting things that have happened in our family.

First off, I was on maternity leave from November 2007 through March 2008. This was possible thanks to saved up paid time off and personal days at work. It was the most wonderful time that I could have ever asked for. I was able to spend just about the first 4 months of Levi's life with him before heading back to work at the end of March. I will cherish every moment that I spent with him. During my materinity leave, Matt finished up his internship for college. That was a challenge b/c from January through March Matt was not working and then in the March we had no income at all. But somehow everything worked out. In May Matt graduated from UNT and he was finally done with everything. But the problem was he still didn't have a job. I started applying for jobs for Matt back in January while I was on leave. Nothing solid was coming through. Matt had some interviews but the jobs were all just stupid jobs. Through many prayers we finally found a possible career. Well, I should say my mom found a possible career! In May, I applied for a job for Matt. We didn't hear back on the job until the beginning of July. Talk about a test of patience and faith! Matt started his new career in July. Then in October we found out that at the end of December or beginning of January I would be able to stay home full time with Levi. Wow! It is amazing how prayers are answered. Last Monday was my last day of work. I feel so free!

In July we were able to go to a family reunion. This was the first time for most of Matt's family to see Levi. It was in Pine Top, AZ at a resort. We had so much fun just relaxing and sitting by the pool. We can't wait to see the family again in March at Alex's wedding. We love Matt's family so much and wish that we could be closer to them.

This year has flown by for us. What will 2009 bring for our family? We aren't sure but we can't wait to see.

These pictures are Levi's 1 year birthday pictures. He is so beautiful!

Levi and Matt's Birthday

So last Wednesday was Matt's 27th birthday and Thursday was Levi's 1st birthday. I made 2 cakes so they could both have their own. Really I made just one cake but it was double layer so I decorated each layer differently. Anyway, we sang happy birthday to Matt and let Levi have some of Matt's cake. We just laughed the whole time. Levi made such a mess! Levi and I got Matt some new cologne. He loved it. On Thursday we sang happy birthday to Levi and let him open presents. We didn't have time to give Levi some of his own cake before he went to bed. Saturday we took Levi to Chucky Cheese and he loved it. We ate pizza and played games. Then we took Levi to get his one year pictures done. Later that night Matt had his Christmas concert at the stake center. Matt did such an awesome job. The video cuts off right at the end though. I thought I had enough memory on the camera but I didn't. You can still hear how great he is. I cry every time I hear Matt sing. He is my star!

My cake was so good Levi just dove right in!

Heavenly Father protects his children

No matter how old we get we are all children of our Heavenly Father. Thursday was a perfect example. I wanted my family to come to our house this year for Thanksgiving. You picture how you think a day will go or how things will turn out and it is always the exact opposite. My family does not make plans. Pretty much the only guaranteed place they will get to on time is church. Other than that, don't ask b/c they won't know until the day of. As it turns out, my sister Melanie didn't come up from Austin, my sister Jessica went to Oklahoma to be with her fiance, and my brother had plans with his girlfriend. So it was just my parents that ended up coming. I was frustrated b/c Thanksgiving is about being with family and friends together. Matt and I wanted our family to spend time with Levi since they haven't seen him that much. But yet again, things happen for a reason.

Before my sister Jessica left for Oklahoma on Tuesday, she changed out the car seats for her son Joel. Usually he sits in a booster seat but this time he was in a full car seat. He is almost 5. Jessica ended up taking my dad's truck to Oklahoma b/c she was having issues with her car. It is about 5 hours to Oklahoma from Texarkana. So taking a truck is not cheap. On her way home she noticed that there was a diesel that was tailgating her. Before she knew it there was a deer in the road and she hit the deer. The diesel that was tailgating her slammed into the back of the truck doing about 50.

The impact was so hard that Jessica's glasses were found in the bed of the truck. She had them on her face before she was hit! The diesel pinned them against the guardrail. Someone had to pry open the driver's side door to get Jessica out and they had to break a window to get Joel out. Jessica's cell phone was not found. Joel had a plastic cup that he was using and it was shattered. Joel was more concerned about the deer and if it was ok. The deer didn't make it. If Jessica was driving her car, which is a Mustang, my sister and nephew would not be here. They walked away from this whole thing with no injuries.

For some reason, her car would not work. For some reason, Jessica switched car seats. If we follow the promptings that we are given, we will be protected. I have no doubt that Jessica and Joel were watched over by our Heavenly Father. Heavenly Father will lead and guide us where we need to go. I am so grateful that my sister and nephew are alive today.

My nephew looking at what he survived.

Skid marks from the truck. They were dragged about 90 yards by the diesel.

Poor deer!

Grateful for my husband

I have to say that I am so grateful for my wonderful husband. He is such an amazing father. Sunday night Levi had a temperature of 101. He did not sleep well at all. Levi woke up about 2:00 am and would not go back to sleep. I held him and he just felt like he was on fire. We took off his clothes to try to cool him down. When I would put a cold cloth on his head it would instantly turn hot. Then we had the bright idea to give Levi a cold bath. WRONG!! That made Levi cry even more. Matt got dressed and said that we were going to the hospital. I didn't want to go to the hospital b/c they would just poke Levi with needles. I asked Matt to give Levi a blessing. Matt gave him the most beautiful blessing. We gave Levi tylenol to help as well. Finally at 4:30 am Levi fell asleep as I rocked him. By the way, during this whole thing I called my mom at 3:30 crying b/c I was scared and didn't know what to do. Today Levi is much better. You can tell he still doesn't feel well but he doesn't have the high fever. I am so lucky to have a husband that has the power of the priesthood. I really don't know what we would do without it. The priesthood is such an amazing and spiritual blessing to have.