Extreme Couponing

Well, Extreme Coupon Ladies are very popular. If you have seen the shows on the new series on TLC, I'm sure you are blown away! I can't help but ask how do you do that?!! I was introduced to this idea while I was in Tennessee by Madison. She seemed to have it down to a science. That is exactly it. Super organized and money smart women are saving alot and even making money sometimes. Some of them appear to go too far. They buy things they don't need. For instance,diapers when they do not have children, or 77 bottles of mustard ( I mean, really?) But I give them credit for saving and being prepared.

So, I'm gonna give it a shot. I've done alot of reading and watched videos on how to do it. I clipped 3 newspapers in coupons (which is only a small start from what I understand). I'm printing coupons from online, Read and circled all the sales and created a list based on what is on sale. I gotta test it myself. It's not costing more if I'm getting cereal and plenty of other things free just for shopping smart. I will keep you updated on how I do.:)

Oh NO!

It is 1:15 a.m. and my night is still not over. As I am typing we have men in our home sucking out water, ripping carpet out, and pounding on the walls to get the baseboards out. As we were watching TV tonight our toilet was busy pouring water all over the floor. I went to our room and first stepped on the soggy carpet with my barefeet! I looked up to see my room flooded! The water was up just over my feet. I assumed the toilet was the problem. I waded over to the water line and turned it off. Derek and I just looked at each other with really no expression. What do you say? We have been through much worse water damage before (in a different house), so I knew we needed to start moving everything on the floor.

Aaron couldn't do much to help. Most of you probably know about Aaron's accident. Last Friday, while at a concert, he slipped on a wet floor. He messed up his knee pretty bad. We have spent the last 5 days at the E.R., then a specialist, an MRI, and physical therapy. He sprained his MCL and completely tore his ACL. He will need surgery in a few weeks. So, he had to stay on the couch and keep his knee propped up. He was in charge of immediately calling the insurance company.

This has been a tough week. The kids have been great. Derek has been very helpful. Our family is very thankful for your prayers. We are praying that God will place a hedge around us, protecting us from further disasters.

The Open Bible

Not long ago, I attended a youth event. Each child that was there had different reasons for being there. Some were there to socialize. Some to seek out God's heart. With teenagers it is very hard to tell. God was definitely working in their hearts whether they realized it or not. Each were told to bring a bible. The ones that did took a look around to see who actually brought them and would it be cool if they actually brought it to the sessions. We insisted they bring them.

Even though we insisted, they are teenagers and found ways of "forgetting it in the room". In one of those searches for "lost bibles" I came across a sight that sparked curiosity. In the courtyard was a bible left on a table. It wasn't just closed and left there. It was left open. I paused a moment. I waited to see if the owner had just stepped away. After a few minutes passed I approached the table. I have a strict personal rule to not read someone else's bible. I write notes in my bible that are intended for my eyes only, pertain to my relationship and conversations with God. That is personal. I don't read other people's bible either. So I just left it at that and walked away. I did not pick it up to see who it belonged to. I believe it was left there for a reason.

Getting the kids to truly open up about how they understood the lessons and how to apply it was tricky. Some were more vocal about it than others. The rest of the night I couldn't help but think about the bible open and alone. What was going on in the heart of the reader? What kind of issues were they dealing with? Were they believers? Were they seeking God's Word for a sense of encouragement? Were they just curious if it was in fact true? Was it left to be a ministry for anyone else who was searching?

I couldn't help but be encouraged. An open bible is still speaking God's unconditional love for us. During this time of Lent we are called to repentance. We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We have much to repent, not just in Lent. I am so thankful that we have a happy ending to the life God has set before us. I hope and pray that the open bible spoke loud and clear to the reader. I don't need to know who it was. It was a tool God used to speak to me. God is good, faithful and just.

Try one day to lay your Bible open and on the coffee table of kitchen table, where ever you see it. See what God has to say to you. It could change your life.

Spring Break!

This last week was filled to the brim. My brother Alex came to visit us for the week. This is his Senior year and he wanted to do some fun stuff for Spring Break. Ian, my nephew, was with us for the first 2 days.

Monday, we went to Fiesta Texas. Keeping up with 5 kids at a theme park was something else... Alex was much more adventurous this time than a couple of years ago. The park was super crowded so we didn't get to ride as much as we would have liked to but, we each got to go on a few. I would say that Alex and Georgia got to do a little more because he was an awesome uncle and went on all the little rides with her.

Tuesday, Derek and Alex decided to take a ride on the Via bus to see downtown. Neither of them had ever taken the bus before. With lunch money in hand they set off to find downtown all by themselves. Derek tried to play a trick on me by calling to tell me they were lost in a terrible part of town. My heart dropped! Then he said he was kidding. Hey! That's not funny!

Wednesday, was just a day of running errands. I had a doctor appointment and then we took Alex shopping. We also did a little shopping to get ready for baseball. We closed the day with an evening Lent service at our church.

Thursday, Alex and Derek went to a friend's house to enjoy some time with the guys. Then they had to babysit as I went to Georgia's practice and then my mom's night out. With it being St.Patrick's day, Aaron was gone playing his bagpipes all night.

Friday was alot of laying around. We were all very tired and knew we had a very busy weekend ahead of us. I had alot to do but everyone else got to rest. Then I got to go spend time with Lori(Happy Birthday) and Melissa.

Time went by so fast. Alex got a good taste of how busy we are but it was great to spend time with him. I love spending time with family. We stayed up several times just talking. I love stuff like that.

Strike!

Softball and Baseball season is here! I love this time of year!! Up untill this year all three of the kids were playing. Those were REALLY busy times. This year we will be busy but a new kind of busy. JD decided to sit this season out. Derek has moved on from playing and just began his first real job! Now he is an umpire! That's pretty cool. It was neat to see him as a different part of the game. Of course, I had to take pictures. All of the sudden he looked older.:/ (no tears, no tears)

Georgia started softball. This will be her 4th year(if you include T-ball). Practices have been underway for a few weeks and her first game is Saturday.

Now we will be busy running her to practice and games, Derek to games, me to church activities, plus it is Lent so we will be busy on Wednesday nights for church. JD and Georgia will still do handbells and choir. I won't even go into how busy Aaron's schedule is. I'll be back to buying snacks and gatorade in bulk and making dinner to go. Our van begins to be cluttered with baseball equippment, empty bottles and random sunflower seeds. CRAZY. Can you imagine our schedule when they were all three playing?! Insane.

They enjoy it and we wouldn't do all this if they didn't. The point is to have fun. It really is fun!

Mascot

Last year Derek heard that no one had tried out for mascot. He thought it would be really fun so he asked if he could try out. They said it was too late but he could try out next year. He has a great personality for it. So he worked long and hard on his project. He had to create a skit and music and make his own props. Aaron showed him how to mix his music. I helped him glue things on his props.

His theme was an Ipod. He included four apps and acted them out. Facebook- his status was "Ram Pride", Angry Birds, RockBand, and You Tube. Of course, it just doesn't do it justice if I explain it all. The practice-tryouts are completely closed. I shouldn't have even seen the skit. However, God opened a little window and I saw all I wanted:) It was soo neat to see him all decked out in his costume and doing the skit he rehearsed over and over. Hopefully, I will be able to get a picture and even a video to show off.

The day of the try out he was pretty nervous. There were 5 or 6 trying out for 2 spots. His buddy Matt was trying out too. I prayed that they would both make it.
Sure enough, they DID!!!! He was soo proud.

Today he will be saying good-bye to football. He now begins something new and fun. I'm so proud of you DEREK!!!!

The Farm House

This last weekend we had the pleasure of spending it at an old farm house with Aaron's side of the family. The farm house was located near Lost Maples. We all love to do camping activities and this was a great way for everyone to be together. This was a blessed Christmas gift from Aaron's parents. It is not easy getting everyone together at one time. It was planned way back in December or so. (only Aaron knew, it was a surprise to the rest of us:))

The kids played like crazy. Georgia and Mikayla ran around together. Mikey( oops, Mike) and JD went on adventures together. Justin was just hilarious. He is quite independent and very funny. We had a blast getting to play with him more and get to know him better. He is 3 and like all 3 year olds, they decide whether or not they want to play with you. Aaron showed them all how to swing a golf club. Aaron took the kids on a hiking trip and later took JD fishing. They all tried to swim in the creek. Ya, WAY too cold. They didn't stay long...lol.

Games is just something we Tilts LOVE to do!! There are some that the kids can play and some only adults play. I especially noticed that Derek was part of the adult category. Strange but super fun! Derek and I played Farkle, which is a dice game. When we were done, Justin showed us how he played dice. He would blow on the dice and roll'em then scream, "I win!!!" I would roll and he would shout, "you loosed". So I lost to a pretend game of dice. Maybe I will win next time...lol. After all, I did play against an expert.

The campfire was really neat. It is especially fun because the kids are all old enough to be around it and participate in smores without the help of adults. We can sit back and really enjoy it. While we roasted marshmallows we played Mad Libs. The made up stories we pretty funny.

Soon, we settled in our rooms for the night. All the kids got to sleep in the top floor. It was really neat. They each got there own bed and took turns sleeping in the same room with Derek. That was probably the neatest part of the house.

The weekend ended with a hike at Lost Maples. The park is beautiful with several trails. What I loved most about this trip was the family time. We never get a chance to just visit non-stop. I love trips like this. I hope we can do this more often:)