halloween pictures :)

Here is a view of our week so far! Happy Halloween everyone :)

my yummy birthday cake :)

our little helper

Syd "helping" daddy with the leaves

our jack-o-lanterns!!

and our cute little halloween kitty :)

week in photos...

we went to a pumpkin patch to pick
out pumpkins

and painted a little pumpkin
(going to carve the big pumpkins tomorrow)

Syd picked out a blanket and outfit
for her baby brother but decided
to use them for her baby doll for now :)

and then she had fun playing with our camera :)

thankful friday :)

well, I'm thankful on Fridays too :).....

1. Dental insurance!! I haven't had it in a while and only have it with the insurance I'm on during the pregnancy but I had to get a tooth pulled (yuck!) on Monday and I'm so glad I had the coverage to do it. I'm still pretty sore from it...so I guess I'm thankful for Tylenol too :)
2. Halloween time!! I know that sounds funny to some but Halloween has lots of fond memories for me...of the traditional dressing up and getting candy as a kid, but also as fun family time. Halloween is my dad and sister's birthday and mine is the day after so it's a time of celebrating with my family. Wish I could be with Dad and Holly this year!!
3. Chocolate cake :) I'm making myself a dark chocolate cake with dark chocolate icing for my birthday...it's my present to myself and let me just tell you I'm pretty excited for it!!
4. Apple season! I love the fall because apples are on sale every where you look and I LOVE apples! Just made some Apple Butter in the Crockpot this morning and boy is it yummy!! Probably going to make these again later next week too!!
5. for possibly finding a home church! One thing we have not had since we left Arkansas was a real home church. We hopped around from church to church the whole time we were in SC and have tried a few here as well but we think we may have found a church to call home here. We know that is so essential to Ohio being home so pray with us that this is the one or that God will guide us to the right one soon!!
6. for Josh and Sydney (and the little guy growing in my belly). I am so very thankful for my little family. They mean so much to me, more as each day passes!!

Enjoy the weekend and carve a pumpkin (that's what we're doing anyway :)!!

thrifty tip tuesday

Here are a few deals I've found this week....

80% off Restaurant.com Gift Certificates with code PUMPKIN at check out   (code expires 10/31)

12 FREE $1 DVD rentals at Blockbuster Express Kiosks with the codes 22MAYB2, 52ABDP8, 22KRFT9, 33WHZS5, 63JRTW5, 53BPSP5, 64KJRD4, 33JBHG4, 73SGLM3, 37CDJS2, 73KWMR8. Codes expire on 10/28. You can also use the code 39HLG2 that expires on 11/4/11. Click here to find a location near you.    (from The Freebie Blogger)

 and 9 FREE $1 DVD rentals at Blockbuster Express Kiosks with the codes 56WHZS3, 58JRTW6, 68BPSP6, 74JBHG9, 23SGLM4, 74CDJS8, 34KWMR7, 75DABC2, 73CEHW9. Codes expire on 10/31/11. Click here to find a location near you  (from The Freebie Blogger)

Possibly free nail polish at CVS   (from Deal Seeking Mom)

Best deals at CVS this week    (from Deal Seeking Mom)

Best deals at Walgreens this week    (from Deal Seeking Mom)

what we're eating this week...

Well, our menu from last week didn't really happen due to changes of plans here and there so that left me with some repeats this week...

Monday: Beef Stew (from freezer)
Tuesday: Chicken and Noodles with Mashed Potatoes with Heavenly Rolls
Wednesday: Pork Tenderloin with Apricot Preserves
Thursday: Spaghetti
Friday: Crescent Wrapped Lasagna

Nothing exciting to try this week...maybe next week I'll be more inspires :)

thankful thursday

We are so thankful this week for the little one that will join our family in just 20 short weeks. We had the privelage of seeing the baby on an ultrasound on Tuesday morning and found out that we are having a BOY!!!!! We are all so excited to meet this little guy in March and the planner in me is pretty excited to be able to plan a bit now that we know and start to think about some names :) Below are a couple pictures of our baby boy :)!!

it's a boy!!

his legs stretched out

his face (slightly creepy picture :)

this is a view looking down on his head, he's sucking
his thumb :) You can see his fingers and the round to the left is the
top of his head. We got to see him put his hand in his mouth
and suck his thumb during the ultrasound!

thrifty tip tuesday

Here are a few deals for this week....

Free Starburst at CVS     (from Deal Seeking Mom)

Free photo shoot and $30 worth of portraits at Sears

Best deals at CVS this week    (from Deal Seeking Mom)

11 FREE $1 DVD rentals at Blockbuster Express Kiosks with the codes 9850BW2, 87DWTM2, 64MAYB4, 46ABDP6, 46KRFT7, 64WHZS9, 47NCCC3, 47KJRD8, 34BPSP3, 86JRTW3, 42JBHG6. Codes expire on 10/20. Click here to find a location near you.   (from The Freebie Blogger)

Free sample of Nescafe Peppermint Mocha   (Facebook sample: "like" them and fill out form)

20 free photo prints from Kodak  (Facebook offer: "like" them and upload 20 prints from facebook to print for free)

what we're eating this week...

So you know you're pregnant when you make a trip to the grocery store at 7 p.m. just for some cinnamon rolls :) I just watched a show called Top Secret Recipe where they were trying to unlock the recipe for Cinnabon and well, I had no other option but to go to the store. I was about to make some from scratch but that would take 2 hours and I couldn't see driving 25 minutes to the closest Cinnabon tonight (but that's now on my to do list for this week :) so store bought will have to do for now!

On to what we're enjoying this week.....
Monday: Creamy Tortellini (minus the sausage)
Tuesday: Taco night!
Wednesday: Crock Pot Rotisserie Style Chicken with baked sweet potatoes
Thursday: Beef Stew (from freezer) and biscuits
Friday: Easy Chicken and Noodles with mashed Potatoes  (recipe below)

And going to take a stab at this homemade apple butter in the crockpot!

Chicken and Noodles recipe (adapted from my sister Holly's recipe)
Leftover chicken from Rotisserie Style Crockpot Chicken, shredded (watch for bones!)
1 bag frozen Egg Noodles (must be the frozen kind, not dry egg noodles!)
2 cans chicken broth
Boil Egg Noodles as directed but use chicken broth instead of water. Half way through the boiling time, add shredded chicken. Add salt and pepper to taste. Eat over mashed potatoes and be prepared to be amazed :)

week in photos...

Here is a little of what we were up to last weekend in PA....

Corn maze!

all the cousins (plus Amber!) standing on a bridge
over the corn maze

a fun "sand box" filled with corn

a slide at the corn maze

Josh and his brother Tim
(the big kids had fun too!)

face paint from Apple Fest

Josh and his brothers with Grandma Boozell

Josh and Syd with Rich

thankful thursday

I'm so very thankful....

1. for fall!!! Wherever we go, it is just a wonderland of colors around here and I love it! Leaves don't change as dramatically in the south (at least where we were) and I have greatly missed all the colors of this season the last couple falls.
2. for a great trip back to PA this past weekend. We got to spend the weekend with Josh's family and spend some time with his brother Rich who lives in FL and it was a jam packed fun weekend (pics tomorrow!) and so glad we live close enough to make a weekend trip!
3.  for decaf coffee :) Now, if I had to go 9 months without coffee I probably could but I'm just so glad I don't have to! Nothing goes with a cool fall day like a hot latte :)
4. for BSF (Bible Study Fellowship). I have loved studying Acts with BSF. I love that my class is so diverse, being in Columbus. And I love that Sydney gets to come and have a bible study of her own. BSF has been such an encouragement to me and I'm so thankful for it!!
5. for Sydney's imagination. She can pretend about anything for long periods of time whether by herself or with other kids.  For instance she just played "face paint" with ten of her stuffed animals for about 30 minutes and then described each design to me :)  (she just got her face painted at a festival in PA)
6. that we have an ultrasound on Tuesday and might get to find out the gender of our baby!! I say might because it took 3 ultrasounds to find out Syd was a girl so hopefully this one is in a prime position because the three of us are dying to know!! :)

thrifty tips and recipes...

Well, below are some good deals and some good recipes I'm using this week. Enjoy :)

Freebies/Deals:
Free subscription to Good Housekeeping for 1 yr  (Just register for American Family website)

80% off Food Gift Certificates at Restaurant.com using promo code TOUCHDOWN at checkout (exp 10/16)

Free Hallmark cards at CVS (see post on Money Saving Mom for details)

Best CVS deals this week       (from Deal Seeking Mom)

Best Walgreens deals this week       (from Deal Seeking Mom)

*Tip: if a freebie requires an email address (and most do) it can be a good idea to create a "junk mail" email address just for that purpose (and it's free if you use something like Gmail or Yahoo) . I have done that so that I can minimize the spam I get in my regular email inbox.


Recipes we're enjoying this week....
Glazed Meatloaf

Heavenly Rolls

Peanut Butter Cereal Bars (I didn't use specified cereals, just whatever I had :) And I didn't have corn syrup, so I made my own with this recipe!)

Tortellini with creamy sauce  (didn't get to this last week)

Chicken Divan

Iced Coffee

what's standing in my way?

I was reading My Utmost for His Highest earlier this week and this particular day was talking about how ministry is only effective if we are concentrating on Jesus. A simple enough principle right? Then why do we fail at it so easily? Not just us, even the disciples struggled with this (when Peter attempts to walk on the water with Jesus but is distracted by his own doubt Matthew 14:30-31). I found this part to be particularly challenging...

"When you are brought face to face with a difficult situation and nothing happens externally, you can still know that freedom and release will be given because of your continued concentration on Jesus Christ. Your duty in service and ministry is to see that there is nothing between Jesus and yourself. Is there anything between you and Jesus even now? If there is, you must get through it, not by ignoring it as an irritation, or by going up and over it, but by facing it and getting through it into the presence of Jesus Christ. Then that very problem itself, and all that you have been through in connection with it, will glorify Jesus Christ in a way that you will never know until you see Him face to face." my utmost for His highest, October 3

This is something I wish I would have read (really read) about 10 years ago and been reminded of daily. I can look back on about every ministry opportunity I've been in and see (now) that there was always something (whether mundane or really serious) between Jesus and I during that ministry. Sometimes it was something as small as my own pride of just wanting to do my job well, or fear of being rejected, or the distraction of daily mundane life. And I would try to get through it typically by ignoring it or pushing it aside....not dealing with it totally, not facing it completely. It breaks my heart to look back and see what all I must have missed by not walking through that tough, annoying, heartbreaking, big or small thing. It's only now, with it all behind me, that I see what it would have taken and the possibilities I might have missed. I'm not going to live in regretting all of that, but boy does it open my eyes for today and days to come. I can live in the hope that peace will come in any situation as I concentrate on Jesus alone and I can know that he will walk through whatever and help me face whatever and in the end, whatever the "thing" was...it will bring glory to Jesus, what greater thing is there?

Father God, please help me to see if there is ANYTHING standing between you and I....any sin, any distraction, any temptation, any task, any to do list, any desire, any emotion, any doubt, anything...help me to see it, name it, recognize it....and help me to have the strength and perseverance to walk through it because whatever it is and whatever it's connected to I want all things in my life to glorify you. So show me the ugly and give me the courage to face it. In Jesus name, Amen.

a week of no deals :(

So I'm scouring all the blogs I follow or the freebie emails I typically get and this is a slow week I guess or I'm just missing the good deals. Below are the few I found....

Free Scary Face Pancake for kids on Oct 28 at IHOP

Free $2 Extra Care Bucks for taking CVS pledge  (click on link and it will take you to facebook and form to fill out)

Free Carmex Moisture Plus Lip Gloss from CVS (after Rebate)

Best deals at CVS this week

what we're eating this week...

One of the down sides to pregnancy this time around is that it is turning me into a very picky eater (which typically I like everything). This means I don't eat leftovers (which used to be my lunch every day) and I can't have the same thing again for a few weeks. Now I know the internet is full of recipes but I am running out of ideas....NOTHING sounds good to me anymore. Well let me re-phrase that...nothing HEALTHY sounds good to me. I would love to fill my meals with bowls of sugary cereal, cookies, bagels loaded with cream cheese and endless mugs of hot chocolate :) But...I should probably try to provide my growing little one with SOME nutrition right :) So, below is my attempt to find things that sound good and have some nutritional value. Any recipe ideas? Please pass them my way!

Sunday: French Onion Soup  (made a version of this recipe, took some short cuts though)
Monday: Pork Chops with Caramelized Apples and Onions and Mashed Potatoes
Tuesday: Beef Stew in the Crock Pot (no recipe, just going to wing it....I'll write the recipe later if it turns out ok :)
Wednesday: Yummy Tortellini (minus the sausage)
Thursday-Sunday: We'll be out of town, headed to PA to see Josh's fam!!

Share your recipes or what you're eating this week...I need ideas!!! :)