The flu, and praising Him

My heart feels like it is being ripped in half. My four year old has contracted the flu, influenza type a. I havent had the flu or witnessed the effects of the flu in close to 20 years. So, as I watch my child lay listless, breathing shallow, and suffering from a 103 temp, I have a heavy heart knowing this may last for another 5 days. Yesterday, I felt the only thing I could do for him was to kneel by his bed and pray for him. My daily life has been halted, and everything else seem less important.

Yet during this I will praise God! I will praise him for the illness, which has given me focus and drawing me closer to Him, showing me, once again (oh how hard headed I am) just how much I truly need Him. I will praise Him that He has provided financially for the doctors bill and medication. I will praise Him for how much He loves us. I will praise Him for showing me the heart of a child. I will praise Him for healing my child. I will praise Him, in everything.

God sometimes allows trials and heartache, sometimes to bring us back to Him. Pro 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

He created ALL things, so I will praise Him, even for these struggles. Col 1:16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him

I cant help but think about how God gave up his only son, knowing what would happen, but doings it anyway because He loves us. Thats big love. I cant imagine the agony God felt on that day, being separated like that. I know how much I love my child, but it completely fails in comparison to how much He love us. While I am not worthy of His grace, He has adopted me into his family and accepted me as one of His own.

I will praise Him, for showing me just how much He loves me. Jesus is coming back for us soon!

 

 

Coupons should not expire…

Today was 74 degrees! While the high in WV was barely 35, I cant help be thankful for the the warm days ahead. I have never seen so many kids out in the neighborhood, as if they were being held captive all winter long. We had a blast. My husband and I washed the car, while Josh played with the neighborhood kids. He made some new friends, and after the sun had gone down, I was reminded that it is still winter and spring is still 49 days away as I felt that familiar winter cold air. He was so excited, and when we came inside told me that we should play again tomorrow. Guess what the forecast is for tomorrow? Yup. Rain. For the next five days!

Well its the end of the month anyway, which for me means time to clean out the coupons. Usually on the last day of the month or the first of the month, however you look at it, I go through my binder and clean out the expired coupons. I think coupons should not expire. When I first started couponing it agonized me to get rid of good coupons. It still bothers me, but I just keep reminding me that there will be more coupons for the same items, and hopefully next go round they will be a higher value and will have a sale within the coupon expiration.

I have a duplex binder I purchased at staples and it works great for my needs. It still needs some tweaking, but it is evolving with me and our family’s needs. I keep the clipped coupons in baseball holders on one side, and whole inserts on the other, three hole punched (which is where the tweaking is needed). Instead of clipping ALL the coupons, like I used to, I will keep the inserts whole for a period of three months, and at the end of the month, I will clip the oldest month. This way, its much easier to find the coupons when preparing for a trip, and I am not stuck clipping all those coupons every week.

I keep thinking though, if coupons didn’t expire, then I wouldn’t have to clip!

Glass gnomes?

No, I am not talking about the silly knicknack garden gnomes. I am talking about glasses. For drinking.

Maybe its just me, but I like to have complete sets of things. Not odd, mismatched, jumbled together dishes (except for coffee cups love variety). Or missing dishes.  At one point just a year and a half ago, I had 18 glasses in a matching set. I realized today as I was putting the dishes away, that most of the glasses are missing. I know where three went, they were broken. Two, my toddler dropped so we switched him back to plastic cups, and one I dropped. But, that still leaves 11 MIA. Where did they go?

I think the culprit is glass gnomes!

They also like taking my spoons….

TEXAS! Here we come!

I think I cannot controll my excitement! My husband came home and askes my son if he has ever been to San Antonio, TX. Well, Josh is 4 so of course he hasn’t. I ask him are YOU going to Texas? He says, no, we all are! His company is sending him to San Antonio for a whole month of training! I am so psyched! Up until two years ago, South Carolina was the furthest south that I had ever been. Well for me Texas could just be the other side of the world! And I just have ten days to prepare!!! The homeschool mom in me is going nuts with all the opportunity that awaits! I think we will change our unit study next month!

I cannot wait to see what all the big state of Texas has to offer us! Look out, here we come!

 

Update:

So, looks like we are not going in February. Big Bummer. Not everyone was ready so they have postponed. But the boss did ask who had their passports! So who knows! I will be happy if we get to go somewhere! Just hope it really happens.  Deo volente!

 

New blog

I am moving my blog to wordpress.
I dont know how often I will be able to post, with the holidays in full swing, little man being homeschooled. But I will certainly try! My goal is to help my friends (you kind reader) to save money

God tells us to be good stewards. There must be a balance in time invested and money spent

Introduction

Welcome to Cooking With Coupons, a place where recipes and meal planning meet extreme couponing.

about me and the site:

I am a SAHM (stay at home mom, and loving it) and known by my family and friends as the frugal one. Two years ago, my husband and I realized how much money we were spending, and really had nothing to show for it all. We decided to follow God’s prinicples and along with the Crown Financial Money Map coaching techniques have embarked on a journey to become better stewards of God’s blessing.

So, we had to cut back, and start a budget. This was so hard for me, as for years, while I was still what I considered a savvy shopper, I did not know how I would be able to make it on $100 a week. That weekly budget was put to test, ripped apart, glued back together, stompped on, cried over, and now laughed about.

When we first started a budget, the prospect of being able to feed my family, and pay for our outings, gasoline, and clothing, was daunting. I started by reading blogs and articles on how to save money, budgeting, and how other families are frugal. I have learned a great deal during this journey, and I think one of the biggest things for me, was not to beat your self up about not meeting a budget. The first week I spent $150, and so the next week didn’t have enough to buy my favorite shampoo and get milk. Needless to say, the cow won. After that, I saw that if I did not plan out my spending, I was going to be in bad shape. And that is where meal planning started.

I have come a long way from those first few weeks, and now, since I have started coupon this spring it has opened a whole new wave of saving. I cannot stress the importance of meal planning, and how this will save money. Using meal planning and couponing, I have now cut my grocery costs over 75% of my budget!