Groupons and Coupons!

I love coupons!

Just got this one this morning.

What a deal!

I found it here

Great site with lots of info. and coupons.

Another site I LOVE!!!!!!!

Groupon

In the last month, I have bought 6 Groupons.

1. paid $10 to get $20 worth of merchendise at Barnes and Nobles

2. Got the Sunday Sun Sentinel for the whole year for $10

3. Paid $5 for $10 worth of treats at a local Frozen Yougurt place that we love.

4. Paid $25 for $50 worth of food at a very nice Italian Restaurant

5. Paid $20 for 4 people to play miniture golf, hit some balls in a batting cage, and end the night with ice-cream

6. Paid $50 for a photography session(and a few prints too) with a very talented, local photographer

Just wanted to share!

Some shots of Lil' Man

Great times!

The last 3 days were full of great fellowhiop, good food, and lots of fun!

I LOVE my homeschool community!

I love the support and fellowship that we share :o) Thanks girls!

We am so blessed with such great relationships!

2 good friends came over with 5 kids each. Made for a fun play group!

Last Football Game & Retirement Party

We had a really fun Saturday!

Football game early in the am, shoe shopping, grocery shopping, and then off to a retirement party in honor of my dad and a few other retiring firefighters.

Last game of the season

I'm so proud of my father for the many years he served

his community as a fire fighter and paramedic!

I'm even more proud of how he has fought so hard and for so long to beat a terrible disease.

I pray that this liver transplnt brings him renewed heatlth and stregnth. May the many years that lay ahead of them be full of good health and good times!

Mom and the girls

Me and my handsome husband!

I LOVE when he dresses up :o)

Pictures from the 1st week in March

Our hip hop crew

I love, love, love watching my kids playing outside together.

I love the nature, the fresh air, and the creative play.

They love to play outside for hours just about every day.

This afternoon, they were outside for about 2 hours playing.

They made a club together, and then played World War 3.

This is what the little man does while his siblings play tennis

English Peas

I love FoodTV. I love to watch the cooking shows, and also love to look through their website for new and interesting things. This evening, I came across a recipe that literally had me crying! Not out of sadness, but because the recipe and the comments that came after it were hysterical. :o)

So, here is the recipe from Paul Deen

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 2 cans (14 1/2-ounces) English peas, drained

Directions

Melt the butter in small pot and add the peas. Cook over medium heat until peas are warm.

Can't get much simpler then that ! I check out the 252 "Users Reviews" next because I was curious how the recipe got that many reviews. This is when the laughing started

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did! Here are some to share with you.

The recipe sounds simple enough, but one question...how the heck do I get the peas out of the can???

Perhaps Paula got this recipe from Martha Stewart, who got it from one of her white collar cell mates, who tried to make decent food out of anything they could find

Ummm....Ok....sounds to me as if these English peas are tired if they're "drained" ?? So how long do I wait 'til I ask them if they're warm enough? I don't want to be too pushy with them before I butter them up.

Screw the middle man! Just grab a stick of butter and dip it into a can of peas.

Can I substitute the butter with margarine?
This recipe is very confusing.

Was I supposed to take the peas out of the can? Cause it didn't work when I put the cans and packaged butter in the pot.

Oh c'mon!! I'm so tired of these recipes that aren't specific. Do I use salted or unsalted butter? How "small" is a small pot? Do I have to cover the pot or can I leave it uncovered? Can somebody who has made this recipe help me out? Also, I have checked every store around and I can't find drained English Peas. All of them come with liquid!!!!

Which half of the 1/2 stick of butter should I melt?

Just a half stick of butter? You're slipping, Deen.

The recipe is complicated. The health benefits make it well worth it though.

I approached this recipe a little differently. I added 2 sticks of butter and only one can of peas. It was the most delicious pea soup I ever ate. Extra butter, is there anything it can't do? Oh, gotta go, the EMT crew is here...

This was a very good way for us to end a long day :o)

I hope this brought you a little smile. If not, at least you got a good recipe from reading it!

For more Reviews

Bowling and 2 Timothy 4:7-10

Fun times bowling with the 3 older kids

Had to share with you Dad's best score.

6 strikes in a row!

The Football player...

...and his audience

2 Timothy 4:7-10

⁷ Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. ⁸ For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. ⁹ This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. ¹⁰ That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.

Our family has been studying the above verses for the past week. "Train yourself to be Godly" has been the main point of our discussions. My sports-minded son has especially connected with this, as did his sister who also trains in a sport. They both take tennis lessons where they spend a lot of time practicing the same movements and steps over and over again. We've had many talks comparing physical training to spiritual training. They are both hard to do no matter what age you are, and they also both require determination. I want my kids to do well in sports, and enjoy themselves as they stay healthy. But, more importantly, I want them to excell in training to be godly. We(hubby and I) are training them to be more patient, loving, and merciful. We have to train to be patient with them as they train lol. Training to be godly is not an easy thing when you are with your siblings 24/7. Spending so much time together provides great bonding time, but also provides time to sharpen your "fruit of the spirit" skills.

These verses have been on my mind lately as I strive to be a more patient, loving, and merciful mom.

One thing that I love about teaching my kids, is that I am learning so much! I've learned a ton while studing history, or doing science work with them. But more then anything, I have really learned so much about the Bible. This is one area of my life that I want to grow leaps and bounds. I am trying to read as much as possible and glean off of other Christians the wisdom and knowledge that they have attained. I also am trying to read the Bible a lot more. I want so much to fill my kids with wisdom and knowledge....to send them off as adults with their minds and hearts so full of the word of God that they can handle anything that comes their way. Sometimes, I feel so ill-equiped for this job. I have 5 souls that I am loving, raising, and teaching. I feel so incredibly blessed to have this job, but I also understand the importance of doing it right. I realize that I only have a short time to do those 3 things well. What I fill them with will have a great effect on the rest of their lives. What I do today will affect their tomorrow.

Lamplighter

Can I please share with you one of my FAVORITE parenting tools that we use in character training. Might I add too, that these "tools" are also VERY entertaining for all!

My family is a HUGE fan of Lamlighter Publishing. We have read a lot of their books and listened to hours and hours of their audio dramas.

This is a wonderful company started by a man named Mark Hamby, who has a passion for great Christian literature. On the Lamplighter site, you will find a wealth of wonderful literature along with some very well done Audio Dramas.

The paragraph below is taken from the "welcome" page.

"Lamplighter stories are much more than good and wholesome reading. The character traits children assimilate during their formative years are the foundation from which a life of faith in God is built. Inspiring role models found in Lamplighter books demonstrate that outward compliance alone will not carry a child through the stresses and disappointments soon to be faced in adolescence and adulthood. Though life isn’t always fair, we can be confident that each disappointment and trial is designed by a loving God for our good"

http://www.lamplighterpublishing.com/

Give them a try, you will not be disappointed!

Walking, walking, and more walking

My studious daughter at her desk

The boys playing Connect Four.

They really were taking turns.

This lil' baker did it all on her own!