James and Julie stayed home from school today. It was not a good day for them to fake being sick. I was swamped with homework (mostly because I hadn't done enough yesterday) and I had to get things ready for my grocery shopping tomorrow. Grocery shopping is a huge chore around here. First I have to balance the checkbook and pay bills so I know how much money I can spend. Then I go through the kitchen and bathrooms to determine what is needed. After that, I make a list of everything we need and add up how much it will cost, then go through the list again to make it match our budget. I then go through coupons. Cut and sort, and then match them up with my shopping list to find the best deals. Of course I will find deals that are not on my list that I have to make room for so I end up having to negotiate the list to make it fit the budget again. Keep in mind that I have a very small budget. There are 10 people in our family and my budget is $400 per month. Yes, that is $400 per month NOT per week. So it takes a bit of work to get my list to match up with our budget.
Anyway, James and Julie faked being sick this morning and since I was too busy, I could not take them to school late. I even ended up taking so much time working on Spanish (my hardest subject right now) that I didn't even have time to make a decent grocery list or get any coupons ready for my shopping trip for after school tomorrow. Luckily Alex got home early again and was able to tend to the kids while I spent all my time working on Spanish homework. Yuck! I wish I were able to spend more time on my favorite subject-Microbiology instead. Finally I got so sick of staring at the computer and getting frustrated with it, I quit my Spanish at 3pm and worked out on the WiiFit for a while. Yes, more homework, but at least that one was fun and I was able to get some of my frustrations out.
I didn't get all the homework done that I had scheduled for today, but I hope it works out. It usually does. And for my shopping trip tomorrow, I will just have to wing it and try to get some good deals while not going over budget and making sure I get everything we need for the week. Goodness, that is a tall order for me to fill. I hope I can remember all that. Guess I will just have to make another list so I don't forget anything. I hope I don't forget my list again.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Sunday, October 7, 2012
General Conference
I missed the first General Conference session on Saturday, along with most of the second session. I wish I had watched it then because it is so hard to watch it any other time. We were spending family time at the corn maze instead. We love going to the corn maze every year. It has become one tradition that we all enjoy. It gets our fall and winter celebrations started. We don't usually do a lot for any of the other holidays, including Christmas, but we have our autumn celebrations at the corn maze. Because of that, we missed most of Saturday's General Conference and I wish I hadn't because they all seemed to be talking about keeping the family strong and I needed to hear that. My family can always use a reminder about togetherness and staying strong as a family. But when I say it that way and remember what we were doing, I think that instead of listening to the word, we were practicing the word. And that is always a good thing to do.
I did get to listen to Sunday's sessions on serving others. I have been contemplating how I need to serve others more. I have never been really good at serving others, but the desire has been there. So this last month I have been trying to make an effort to serve at least one person each day and have been making some progress. President Monson's comments about never ignoring or postponing a prompting from the Holy Ghost was also something I needed to hear. Listening to the Holy Ghost needs to be more of a priority. Along with spending time and energy on my family more. Going to school has taken my focus away from my family and placed it on achieving the best grades in school. Something I read today reminded me that my family is more important than anything in this world, so I need to place more of my time and effort on them instead of on other things. Managing my time better, serving others, listening to the Holy Ghost, and investing more of my time toward my family are all goals that I will be working on. I sure hope I am up to the challenge.
I did get to listen to Sunday's sessions on serving others. I have been contemplating how I need to serve others more. I have never been really good at serving others, but the desire has been there. So this last month I have been trying to make an effort to serve at least one person each day and have been making some progress. President Monson's comments about never ignoring or postponing a prompting from the Holy Ghost was also something I needed to hear. Listening to the Holy Ghost needs to be more of a priority. Along with spending time and energy on my family more. Going to school has taken my focus away from my family and placed it on achieving the best grades in school. Something I read today reminded me that my family is more important than anything in this world, so I need to place more of my time and effort on them instead of on other things. Managing my time better, serving others, listening to the Holy Ghost, and investing more of my time toward my family are all goals that I will be working on. I sure hope I am up to the challenge.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
A Trip To The Park,
After that huge snowstorm and freeze, we got 70-80 degree weather. So we decided to enjoy the weather and go to the park. No one else was there and it was great because the kids could go on the swings-the favorite of all. And as you can see, there was still a little bit of snow left over, but it was so warm we didn't care.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
I know, I haven't posted in a while. But with being sick and trying to get my priorities straight, the blog has been on the back-burner. So, I am going to try and make an effort to post a few things that we have been doing lately. But for today, I am sick again and don't really feel like doing much. I don't know why, but just downloading pictures is such an effort. A few things to note is that we finished our taxes a month ago and got our refund. Wow! It was a lot, so we paid off our new van. Now we just have one more loan that needs paid off before we will be completely debt free! That will probably have to wait until next year. But when that day comes, you can bet that I will be dancing the happy dance!
As for the kids...Michael is progressing well with his school work and is about to get his Weblos badge in Cub Scouts. Last night, he was in a little skit that they scouts put on for the Blue and Gold Banquet. He did so great! I am so proud of him! I think he was the only one that remembered his lines too.
Alexis is showing us how smart she is. She has decided that she will learn to read and is progressing very well. She is also catching on to her math very quickly and is about to progress to the next level. She is also very good at helping me take care of the little ones. She is thrilled at the idea of babysitting when she gets older. (Personally I think it is the fact that she can boss everyone around that she is excited about. :))
James is starting to enjoy his school work. He is so cute, but it drives me crazy when he keeps jumping on the furniture. And Julie loves to play with him! So now we have the two of them getting in to mischief all the time now and destroying things. :) I still love them to pieces though.
Let's see....Abigail is a lot more understandable and growing up so quickly. Benjamin is just as cute as ever and makes us all laugh. And Sarah doesn't like laying down all the time and being left out. So she tries to crawl, but whenever we put her on the floor, she just gets doggy-piled from all the 'loves' everyone wants to give her.
Alex is working like crazy. It is hard to see him so exhausted all the time. But it pays the bills. And now, I think I will go try to rest to get over this cold.
As for the kids...Michael is progressing well with his school work and is about to get his Weblos badge in Cub Scouts. Last night, he was in a little skit that they scouts put on for the Blue and Gold Banquet. He did so great! I am so proud of him! I think he was the only one that remembered his lines too.
Alexis is showing us how smart she is. She has decided that she will learn to read and is progressing very well. She is also catching on to her math very quickly and is about to progress to the next level. She is also very good at helping me take care of the little ones. She is thrilled at the idea of babysitting when she gets older. (Personally I think it is the fact that she can boss everyone around that she is excited about. :))
James is starting to enjoy his school work. He is so cute, but it drives me crazy when he keeps jumping on the furniture. And Julie loves to play with him! So now we have the two of them getting in to mischief all the time now and destroying things. :) I still love them to pieces though.
Let's see....Abigail is a lot more understandable and growing up so quickly. Benjamin is just as cute as ever and makes us all laugh. And Sarah doesn't like laying down all the time and being left out. So she tries to crawl, but whenever we put her on the floor, she just gets doggy-piled from all the 'loves' everyone wants to give her.
Alex is working like crazy. It is hard to see him so exhausted all the time. But it pays the bills. And now, I think I will go try to rest to get over this cold.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Alexis Anna Thomas
Happy Birthday! Our Alexis turns 7 today. She is such a sweetheart and loves being one of the oldest. She loves to lead and tell everyone what to do. This last year she has grown a lot, and is counting down the days until she turns 8 when she can go to Activity Days.
Happy New Year!
Wow! It is hard to believe that 2009 is here already! I remember all the fuss when 2000 came and people were really worried about all the technology not converting to the new year. That seemed like it was yesterday. And now we are 9 years later. Wow! Time is flying!
This last year has been a bit different for us. In February we had a bad wind storm that took a tree down behind our house. It landed on the power line and took out a few poles with it. So we ended up with no power for 5 days in the cold of winter. Thankfully we were able to stay with friends until it was fixed. Than in March we went to Washington, DC to see the museums there. That was a lot of fun with the highlight being the dinosaur bones at the Museum of Natural History. The runner up was the Air and Space Museum with all the cool airplanes and space shuttles.
Alex enlisted with the Army National Guard in Virginia and got out of the Air Force in November of 2007. So this year he had to complete all of his training in order to be up for reenlistment this last November. With that came a lot of time away from home and family. For six weeks, during May and June, he was in Texas and Oklahoma for some refresher basic training. Then for a couple months after that he was stationed in Petersburg, VA for his tech training. Thankfully we were able to see each other on weekends since it was only a three hour drive from home.
In August Michael celebrated his 8th birthday and was baptized. We also took a little vacation at Virginia Beach and got to go over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. We all had a great time at the beach with Alex. Last year me and the kids went with out Alex. So it was a lot of fun having him there this time. Then in September, when Alex finished his training, we went and got a new family van that seats 12 to accommodate our growing family. Things settled down in October and on November 4th, Sarah Hartzell Thomas was born at 8:20 am. She was a bit early, but other than one complication with me, everything went well with her homebirth. She weighed 7lbs 10oz and was 20in long. Everyone loves her. And now all the kids are asking when the next baby is going to come. Oh, my!
In December we celebrated my 30th birthday by going out to a little restaurant that serves bison. I loved it and had a great birthday. Then, of course Christmas. The kids are always excited for Christmas and their gifts. This year was no disappointment even with being a bit sick, they still enjoyed the season.
Overall, we have had a busy year, but exciting with all the changes. Hopefully this next year will bring new, and good, adventures for all of us.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!
This last year has been a bit different for us. In February we had a bad wind storm that took a tree down behind our house. It landed on the power line and took out a few poles with it. So we ended up with no power for 5 days in the cold of winter. Thankfully we were able to stay with friends until it was fixed. Than in March we went to Washington, DC to see the museums there. That was a lot of fun with the highlight being the dinosaur bones at the Museum of Natural History. The runner up was the Air and Space Museum with all the cool airplanes and space shuttles.
Alex enlisted with the Army National Guard in Virginia and got out of the Air Force in November of 2007. So this year he had to complete all of his training in order to be up for reenlistment this last November. With that came a lot of time away from home and family. For six weeks, during May and June, he was in Texas and Oklahoma for some refresher basic training. Then for a couple months after that he was stationed in Petersburg, VA for his tech training. Thankfully we were able to see each other on weekends since it was only a three hour drive from home.
In August Michael celebrated his 8th birthday and was baptized. We also took a little vacation at Virginia Beach and got to go over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. We all had a great time at the beach with Alex. Last year me and the kids went with out Alex. So it was a lot of fun having him there this time. Then in September, when Alex finished his training, we went and got a new family van that seats 12 to accommodate our growing family. Things settled down in October and on November 4th, Sarah Hartzell Thomas was born at 8:20 am. She was a bit early, but other than one complication with me, everything went well with her homebirth. She weighed 7lbs 10oz and was 20in long. Everyone loves her. And now all the kids are asking when the next baby is going to come. Oh, my!
In December we celebrated my 30th birthday by going out to a little restaurant that serves bison. I loved it and had a great birthday. Then, of course Christmas. The kids are always excited for Christmas and their gifts. This year was no disappointment even with being a bit sick, they still enjoyed the season.
Overall, we have had a busy year, but exciting with all the changes. Hopefully this next year will bring new, and good, adventures for all of us.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!
Visiting With Friends
Since we are too far to visit family. We decided to visit some friends a few days after Christmas. We had a lot of fun visiting and playing in the park. Thanks again for the great weekend Bill and Sonya!
Christmas!
Christmas Eve. A tradition we have is going out and looking at all the wonderful lights that people have put up around the city. One place goes all out and decorates a whole acre with lights and decorations. It is wonderful to look at. Then after we come home, we put on our new Christmas PJs and go to sleep so Santa will come.
Wahoo! Christmas Morning! They finally get to open their gifts.
I love this picture. Alex was calling Grandma Manley and Benjamin was trying to call too. Just like Daddy.
And dreading the cleanup.
Wahoo! Christmas Morning! They finally get to open their gifts.
Alex loved the little foos-ball game he got the kids.
Sarah's First Christmas.
I love this picture. Alex was calling Grandma Manley and Benjamin was trying to call too. Just like Daddy.
The mounds of trash.
Relaxing after all the gifts were open.
And dreading the cleanup.
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