I heart coupons

So I have been able to get some amazing deals this weekend! Yesterday at Target I scored pretty big in the toy isle for the kids saving 75% off of everything. Christmas is going to be fun this year :) I think I got like 10-12 toys and paid about $4 a toy average. Then I got tons of clothes for rylie at Old Navy and Target. Iwas able to get her 7 bottoms, 8 shirts, 2 pairs of shoes, and 3 ballerina/tumbling class outfits. For all of her stuff I paid $38..not bad. A lot of the clothes are a size up or two.
I really have a love hate relationsip with coupons. I love that I can get soo many things for sooo cheap or free. I love that I never pay for toiletries anymore. I love that it has helped me make friends and that I can share my knowledge with others. I don't like on the other had how much it consumes my life. Couponing is my favorite thing to do now. I love when I can save 80-90% off my grocery bills, but I don't like all the time it takes me to get organized to do so. I don't like how our office is just piles of newspapers and coupons. So just when I think maybe I should just go back to shopping generic and on a very strict budget and menu I have a day like today when I saved over 93% total. Before coupons and savings my bill would have been $233, but out of pocket I paid $31. At walgreens I got the best deal, I got 3 packages of pull-ups and 6 packages of gum for 98 cents!! Crazy, right?!
I know I have hardly any food in these pictures, the truth is I didn't go to shop for food because I have accumulated a decent stock pile of food and I really only shop for that stuff when it's free or practically free...or i'm all out and desperate. We have gotten our groceries down to about $150-$200 a month and that includes baby supplies and cleaning supplies as well.

Honduras

Yesterday marked 5 years from coming home from my mission for my church . Seriously not a day goes by with out thinking about Honduras or someone from my mission. I have a great friend who is also an awesome writer. She has captured Honduras so well that you should just click here if you want to have an ideas what a mission is like in Honduras and what the culture is really like. She really captures it perfectly. Thanks Torgerson..I mean Carly :)
The truth is I will never be the same after serving the Lord. I really found out who I am. I learned to love greater than I ever imagined. I learned to work hard and to serve others. In my Missionary Handbook I have a quote by Ezra Taft Benson that says, "When Obedience becomes my quest and not an irritation, at that moment I am endowed from on high." I can not express in words how much I was blessed for being obedient as a missionary. I can honestly say that I gave my best to the Lord and I know that He accepted my work.
There are so many people that made my mission great that I will never forget. I had amazing companions and a family that supported me so well. There were so many missionaries that I learned from just by their example. Breana, you were the best mom anyone could ever ask for. Janice, I learned so much in the time that we were together, memories that I will never forget. Carly, you know I love your guts and even though we didn't serve as a companionship you taught me so much. Mom, thank you for writing me every single week with out falter you made hard weeks better with your encouraging words. The list could really go on.
The testimony I have today is simple, but helps me to be the person I am today. I know that the Church is true without a Shadow of doubt. I know that our Savior Jesus Christ atoned for our sins and that we can overcome anything through Him. I know that Heavenly Father knows us and our needs and is very mindful of our current situations. I am thankful for the restoration of the gospel and priesthood, because of it I know my family can be together forever.

grammy was in town..

 

My mom came to visit us this week. The kids love when she comes (for obvious reasons) and so do I. She taught me how to use my sewing machine and I am very excited to post pictures of projects that I am working on. Here are some pictures we took of the kids. For whatever reason Ezra decided that he needed glasses everyday. It was cute. Rylie eventually decided it was OK for my mom to sing to her and play with her. What a diva! Can you believe she will be in nurserey in like 2 weeks?!
I hope to post soon with pictures of finished projects..so stay tuned :)