D2D Update Week 11

We saved $33.44 this week.

-We usually pay $12 every October to have our yard waste picked up. This year we decided to mulch our leaves, burn the twigs in our fire pit, and compost the rest.

This saved us $12!

-Coupons: $3.00

-Andrew's school is now participating in the Script program. We order/purchase gift cards, and the school gets a portion of the amount sold. The school then credits our account with a small portion of the money. This saved us $1.44 this week!

Every penny counts....right?

-I LOVE my quesadilla maker, and it played out last week. I almost bought one on Monday, but I just so happened to find one at a thrift store for $3.00. This saved us $17.00!

Made with Love

A and O are always wanting me to come up with a craft project. I decided to let them help me create a piece of artwork using a canvas that I picked up at a garage sale, scrap burlap, and antique buttons that I have been saving for a few months.I stapled the burlap to the canvas and then used buttons to make the outline of a heart.

A and O then filled in the heart with more colorful buttons.This is artwork that I will treasure for a lifetime!

It was crafted with lots of love!

Be An Encourager

It may come as a shock to most of you, but I have struggled with extreme anxiety for many years. I have recently decided to stand against Satan's lies, and to live the life that God has planned for me. I have come to realize that I will never be great at everything, and that I am bound to fail at many things. However, I have also decided to give 100% and live life to the fullest.

I have the great privilege of working closely with a woman that I have admired from a far for over a year. She is a great teacher, friend, mother, and encourager. Today, she mentioned being overwhelmed and anxious about her to-do list and her short comings. She shared that she really doesn't think that she has any true "gifts". I was astounded because I didn't even have to think about it to come up with a lengthy list of her "gifts". Of course...I didn't share that list with her! In that moment, I realized that Satan lies to the majority of women in exactly the same way. He isn't even that creative, but he has been really effective. We always compare ourselves, and we struggle to understand that God created each one of us with different talents and gifts for different purposes.

Women....we need to be encouragers instead of competitors!

Our words are POWERFUL!

I am so very thankful for all of the great women that God has strategically placed in my path.

Women who encouraged:

- the teenager who was struggling to find her place and live up to the expectations of others

-the new wife who was clueless about managing a home

-the woman who found herself in a strange city with no friends or family (with the exception of Scott)

-the new mother who was exhausted and overwhelmed

-the survivor of a house fire

-the woman who once again found herself at a crossroads in this adventure called LIFE

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

What woman will you encourage today?

Hair Bow Storage

I needed a way to store O's brand new collection of hair bows that I purchased for $2 at a garage sale a few weeks ago. I wanted to make something cute without spending a dime. I used a dated welcome sign that I purchased at a garage sale for $.50. I painted it white with polka dots that matched this fun ribbon that was in my craft closet. I then used my $2.99 stencils.

She loves it.

Celebrating 12 Years at the Nashville Flea Market

To celebrate anniversaries, some men buy their ladies nice jewelry or flowers.
How lucky am I?
I buy a bunch of junk for her and make her day.

For once, I had all the attention a man can dream of from the local chicks (ladies)
As I carried this special find (chicken feeder) back to the truck, I was getting
an abundance of attention. I even overheard one lady say, "wow, that's cute."
I was on top of the world.
She was talking about me, right????

Michelle, thanks for letting me write about our special weekend.
SAH

Last week, I visited a local thrift store. I paid $2.80 for this heap of good fortune.I wasn't feeling well this week, but I did manage to transform this basket into an art caddy for my kiddos.
I spray painted these letters which spell DEAR, READ, EAR, and DARE!

D2D Update-Week 10

We saved/earned an extra $158.99 this week.

Photo Money: $100

Coupons: 8.99

I took our own family photos: $50

Five Thrifty Ideas

I have been asked by several people to share a few "thrifty" ideas that work for my family.

It is all common sense, and probably most of you are doing most of them already. I am going to start with a few basic ones, and I will add other ideas later.

1.) Shop for the bulk of your groceries at Aldi or Save-A-Lot. Of course, you have to bag your own groceries and nothing is name-brand, but it will save you a lot of money guaranteed. Our family actually prefers a number of the Aldi brand products.

2.) GARAGE SALE and become familiar with your local thrift stores. I very seldom purchase anything new!

3.) Be more creative. Before buying anything, think about if you can reuse something that you already have. For example, I wanted new curtains. I rummaged through my linens and found an antique tablecloth that worked perfectly.

4.) Budget EVERYTHING.

5.) Learn to value and be content with what you already have.....difficult, but true.

Yard Sale Finds

This Saturday, I managed to get out of my warm, snugly bed, and garage sale in the cold rain.

Here are a few of my finds which made it all worth it!

I just fell in love with this old, rusty yellow shelf which is in fact missing the shelves. The nice owner of this treasure gave it to me....

I am pretty sure that no one had even given it a second look, and he wasn't about to take it back into his garage. Yeah for me! I payed $4.00 for this mini wagon. It will be perfect for photos. In fact, I just might use it this afternoon!

I already own 2 great old scales. I paid $1.00 for each of these beauties...now I officially have a collection.
I read a "thrifty" mom's blog a month or so ago. She referenced this book A LOT! I actually searched for it on Amazon, but it was $15. So...I decided to pass.
Scott found it in a box of books for $.50. I have read it front to back, and let's just say that I will NEVER refer to myself as a "Tightwad". This is HARD-CORE...let me say that again.....HARD-CORE money saving strategies! I am obviously not HARD-CORE! I am just a novice. However, I did find a few ideas that just might fit our lifestyle.

I think that I am going to come up with my own "idea" list for saving money.

Strategies that work for our family.....yet wouldn't make it into this book.

Maybe tomorrow's post.....?

I just found out that Karen is truly resting in the arms of her Heavenly Father this morning!

Please pray for her family as they are grieving this enormous loss.

Dear Heavenly Father,

I thank you for this wonderful sister that touched so many lives, including mine, with her love for You. I delight in the fact that she is no longer in pain, but resting comfortably in Your Presence. I pray for her family....her husband, children, parents, brother, sister, nieces, nephews, and friends. May they continue to rest in the fact that You know better than we do. Give them peace and comfort during the many dark days that follow!

Honoring Karen

The Most Difficult Family For Me to Photograph

It took all day, lots of idle threats, and a trip to Incredible Pizza!

Here are the memories that I managed to capture.

Boy against Squirrel!

Brother and Sister

Here are some photos that I took today of this brother and sister!So sweet....
Even sweeter.....

Can you feel the love?

You are the best!

Isn't that GREAT! I bet their momma loved this!

This is raw photography people!

More photos to come of these cuties and their parents.....

D2D Update-Week 9

We saved/earned $67.80 this week.

Photo Money: $50.00

Coupons: $8.80

Pumpkins: $9.00

I budgeted $13.00 for pumpkins. Someone mentioned that Aldi had pumpkins on sale for $1.99. Scott and I were SHOCKED when we saw the size of the $1.99 pumpkins. Woo Hoo! He tried to convince me to buy 3, but I thought of Disney.

Here are our "thrifty" pumpkins!If you haven't bought your pumpkins, I would check your local Aldi!

The Beautiful "C" Family

The Many Faces of "A"

I have photographed MANY adorable children lately....but this little girl might just have been my favorite to photograph. She had such a desire to do her VERY best, and that she did. I love the many faces of this sweet girl. I hope that she approaches every situation that comes along in her life with this much determination and dedication!

Seriously....don't you just want to snuggle her?

Thanks E and B for sharing your precious treasures with me on Sunday!

I will post some of this entire family tomorrow.

I just thought that A deserved her very own post!