My dear friend Toni

I had my first baby back in 1995. When I found out I was pregnant I was petrified. I was a single woman of 22 with no chance for a boyfriend let alone a husband. I had no idea what to do. I went to a Dr to find out what would be next and if the home test was accurate. Well, it was accurate, without a doubt. The other bad thing was that the Dr was mean and rude. I was scared and I didn't know what to do. At the same time, my sister-in-law was pregnant and she was going to a midwife. Well, I finally told my family and I went to see Toni. I will tell you that Toni took what was a terrifying and tragic time to me and turned it into a wonderful experience of motherhood. Each time I went to my appointments she greeted me with a hug and a kiss. I was accepted and forgiven by a woman I now consider a huge part of my family. She has been with me through so much with my children. She has been a shoulder to cry on when my two babies passed away and even took the time to come to my little Timothy's funeral. She has laughed at my silliness and didn't bat an eye at my words when the pain would be so intense I wanted to die. She has delivered all 5 of my babies, I count the last one even though I went to the hospital because she did all the work not the doctors or nurses. She loves my children as though they were her own. I will never forget going to her 50th anniversary with her husband and the children at her feet while they danced together. This is exactly how I have always thought of Toni. She loves people and especially children. She has the kindest heart of anyone I have ever met. If you don't know my midwife Toni then you are missing out on a heart of gold.
I am telling you all of this because my dear friend has been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig disease and it is progressing very quickly. Please pray for her that she will not suffer too much pain and that she would give her final days and weeks to Christ. She loves the Lord, I know this much to be true. But please pray for her and for her family. She has 10 children herself and many grandchildren and great grandchildren. She has an abundance of friends and loved ones who have been touched by her in all different ways.
I love you miss Toni, your in my thoughts and my prayers daily.

Finding the cheapest deals

Yesterday was a one day sale on Spiral ham at Safeway. We are having Christmas at our new house this year, so we're expecting about 16 people (mostly Rob, me and the kids). The sale was for half hams or whole. I didn't see any whole ones so I thought I would get a half and then my parents could get a half for me, but I talked to the meat guys and I got a whole ham for .99 a pound. I'm so thrilled. The thing is huge.
I think Amy will be proud of me. I also went to Albertsons and bought $26 worth of stuff for $6. I even got two items for free without using the double dollars. I plan to go back for more today. My Albertsons only let's you do a couple of transactions at a time.
I think I did pretty good. I do have to say though, we have spent way more this week than I had planned on but it all goes to Christmas and I have to think of it that way.

Less diapers

Alainna has been doing so good, now we just have to train Logan to use the upstairs bathroom. It seems that every time he's in there she wets her pants.
She went with only two pull ups today. One because we had to go out for a few hours, but she held it for most of the time then told us she peed. Then the next time Logan was in the bathroom and she couldn't wait, so really, I think she is doing great.

Surgery

Well, I'm on the calendar now. I've decided, along with my family, that it is time for me to stop having babies.
Don't get me wrong, If God wanted me to have 20 more kids I will. But I have prayed about this for awhile and have listened to my body and well, my body says I'm done. So I will be going under on January 14th. Happy birthday to me. When this happens I will be almost 39.
I love my children so much and if I were to have more I would love them too. But I am getting older and the last birth was very painful and we ended up in the hospital.
So, I'm asking for prayer. This is surgery and I've never been in surgery except to get my wisdom teeth out. Even though this surgery is done daily you still have to be put under. I'm not thrilled about this but I see no other way. I'm allergic to about 90% of birth control that is out there. The other stuff I either don't agree with or I'm too afraid to try. Please keep me in prayer and I'll let you know if I wake up. :)

Hello?

Does anyone read my blog?

I was only wondering. Sometimes, I'm sure everyone feels this way, I feel completely alone even with a house full of kids. I have a ton to do all the time, but when I sit down to be alone for a bit I struggle with getting my focus on God and I start to feel alone. I know that God is ever present and is always with me but there are those times when He is quiet. And that is when I need to be quiet and learn once again to settle down and focus. My favorite verse is "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
I do miss My church very much. I just feel that it is too far away for me to be involved and I really want to be involved with other believers.
So, if anyone is going to Ikea, jot up the hill and see me. My door is always open.

Confession time

I have to confess, I thought I was saving money. But I found out that I forgot to enter a check in the registry. This is rare for me. I am usually right on top of things with the checking account. So, with that, I feel like I'm back to square one. Yuko! Its not that bad but its still an error on my part. Shopping every other week is so nice. It really has freed up some time. I still have to run to the store for milk once more each week because we don't have a freezer for me to store extra but its still not two hours of shopping, now its only 15 minutes or so. I run in and run out, so I'm not looking around at other things. This helps me not to overspend. WooHoo. I really love the thought of getting out of debt.

Another Day of Potty Training

Well, yesterday did not go as planned. Does it ever? My dear sweet Alainna decided to take a break from her potty training and would sit on the toilet but waited for her diaper to go pee. Finally at night she was caught sitting on the toilet and actually going potty. WOW, I am so proud of her.

Diapers beware

One of the many money hungry things that are a need right now in our house are diapers. We have three, beautiful, little love bugs still in them. One is acceptable because he is only 2 months. The other two on the other hand.... One is almost two so we have begun to get her used to the toilet. The other is 3 and a half. Yes, I said 3 1/2. Who said girls are easier never met my daughter Alainna. She refuses to pee in the toilet. Don't get me wrong, she sits on the potty just fine. Every 15 minutes as a matter of fact. But to pee is whole nother thing. She will sit there and hold it until I put her panties back on then she lets loose. This has been going on for almost a year now. I have taken breaks from the potty training during the year. I will work with her for 3 to 4 weeks then take a month off, this is for my sanity. Now I have resorted to taking away her favorite toy; her doll, her baby, her love. This is only day one, but so far so BAD. She is not going to give in. The doll is not as loved as I thought. Her first love is her diaper. Her $48 a month diaper. Ugggg.
When our children decide to take the road of freedom from sitting in waste we put the money used for diapers into an account for them. This money goes towards activities they will eventually want to do, extra luxury clothes or camps that they will attend when they are older. This is a great way to pay for the extras they want without breaking the bank of the parents.
Everyone has something they need to give up or something that is costing them money that they don't need; smoking, drinking, food binges, too many purses or shoes or even just diapers are some examples. Where could you better use the money?? Vacation, a new car, a down payment on a house. How great would it be to do these things with cash instead of on credit.
Keep checking back to find out if the baby gets to go home or if Alainna really does love her diapers more.

Attempting to be frugal

We have always struggled with money like everyone else. But now with owning our first home and having 5 children to raise, we are now trying to pinch pennies as much as possible. We have always had debt in some since or another, with car loans and student loans and credit cards we are pouring out more money to banks than to our own pockets. We're not hurting in the billfold but we also don't have much of a savings.

This month I am determined to save our family money in ways I have only dreamed of. Of course this is a good month to start. We have a large check coming to us from the VA and will use that to pay off one of two credit cards we have. But with that aside I want to see how far we can stretch an average paycheck. My husband gets paid weekly and I get paid monthly so we have come up with a budget to fit our needs. I hope you have the ambition as we do to stretch the dollar and see where you can save and how you can become debt free.