PUBLIX TRIP

I made a quick trip to Publix after work today before the new sale begins tomorrow. I had coupons for everything other than the bag of potatoes and onions. If you notice I bought 2 pints of Star Bucks Ice Cream, 6 John Frieda Hair products, Bengay, 6 Eggo Waffles, 6 SoBe Waters, 2 Baily's Creamers, bag of potatoes, bag of onions. Look below at my savings and out of pocket money .................

I saved $73.49 and only spent $10.35 out of pocket for all these items. Tell me that couponing is not worth it!!!!!

THIS FATHER'S JOY

"Children's children are a crown to the aged" Proverbs 17: 6a

How true!! See these six "crowns" above? They bring us so much joy. Yesterday was Father's Day and we spent the afternoon by the pool. After church we stopped by KFC and bought a bucket of chicken and sides to make it easy on this mom. By the time we got home the three boys above were already in the pool with their dad, but we had no trouble getting them out to eat. Having the three girls here would have made it even better. However, we did spend some time with them a few weeks ago. After swimming most of the afternoon, our daughter and her family left and it was just us. It sure was quiet, but we both spent time expressing how blessed we are. Children (and grandchildren) are a blessing. Hope your day was wonderful too!

CRAWFISH BOIL

See this yummy crawfish/boiled potatoes, corn, smoked sausage, mushrooms, etc.? Our son and his family brought crawfish when they came up this week and he did a crawfish boil for some of his high school friends and their families last night.

Here's the chef. I caught him with his mouth full.
The highlight of the night for the little kids was the slide. It was SO SCARY from the top....but with "swimmys" & tubes.....they mastered the slide. This is Mattson about to hit the water.

So many of the guys have children about the same age. Ella, Taylor, Maddie, Mattson, & Griffin are having a little chat.

The best behaved little ladies of the night were Sophie & Natalee. No trouble at all.....didn't have to worry about them jumping in the pool.

I loved seeing the guys together again and hearing them talk about their days back in school. SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!!

BEAUTY IN BLOOM

As you look around our yard you see flowers in full bloom. The hanging basket above is a geranium that has so many blooms until I'm afraid they are about to break. It hangs between two pots of white petunias.

This is one of the beds at the corner of the pool area. It has just an assortment of flowers. The red ones above have been transplanted several times and originally came from my mother's yard.

I believe the white petunias might be my favorite right now. They are loaded with blooms and will continue throughout the summer as long as I pull the dead blooms off daily. I've always had colored petunias but love the white ones. These baskets are hanging on my side porch by the pool. It's nice to see all the beautiful colors as all of my flowers are blooming now.

TODAY

Today was a beautiful day and this is what you found us doing after the boys got home from school. There was no baseball games tonight so all three headed over to our house and we had a great time. Griffin is about to do a cannonball, but my camera skills are not too good. As you can tell I snapped the picture too quickly.

I did much better taking this one of Keith. Maybe it's because he jumped higher in the air.

I got Zack just as he was hitting the water. Granddaddy & Gigi had a good time with the boys in the pool. I already know that we will spend most of our time this summer right here.

MOTHER'S DAY

Sunday is Mother's Day......such a special day. I remember 1996 and dreading this day. It was the first Mother's Day without my mother. It was so difficult sitting in church that day knowing that there would not be a visit that afternoon with my mother. When I sat down after praise and worship there was a card on top of my Bible from a sweet lady in church. It just said that she was thinking about me today. Hope she knows what that meant to me. Mother's Day is much easier for me now. Sure I still miss my sweet mother so much. There are days when I want to pick up the phone and talk to her and almost find myself reaching for the phone. Then I am reminded that she is in a much better place. I am so thankful for precious memories and the things she taught me. I am also very grateful for the gift of my children. Being a mother has definitely been the greatest joy in the world. I thank God for my children and grandchildren. Mother's Day is a time that I can now celebrate having a daughter AND daughter-in-law who are wonderful mothers. These two have given me six precious grandchildren. I will be wishing both of these young mothers a HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY. I love you both...... Amy (my daughter) and Amy (my daughter-in-law).

I'M ADDICTED

I have an addiction....just got hooked this week.....I'm going to blame my daughter.....It's her fault......She took me with her on a trip last Saturday night.....That's all it took.....I've been hooked ever since. I've tried couponing before but was never organized enough I guess. I also couldn't see any good in buying an item I didn't use.....that is...until last Saturday night. She educated me on Walgreen's and CVS sales and their reward bucks. That was either a mistake....or the best thing that could have happened. I have spent this week searching for coupons and visiting other blogs that are experts at shopping at these two stores. In fact, some will even give you exactly what to buy and what coupons to use. You have to know that you can't buy it all in one transaction to get the most "bucks" back. Patience is necessary in this addiction....but it does pay off. I have been to CVS & Walgreens a couple of times this week and never spent much out of pocket. Today I visited Walgreens and CVS and got all the items pictured above. My out of pocket cost was $12.38 and I got $9.00 back in Reward Bucks to spend at Walgreens. I am so excited. It's so much fun looking for ways to save!