Grateful

Sometimes I don't think I express my gratitude as much as I should and this week I am definitely grateful.  I'm grateful for a husband who works hard to support his family and loves them more than life itself.  I'm grateful for two sweet little boys that make my life feel so fulfilled and teach me so much.  And I'm grateful for the opportunity to stay home with them and witness every part of their growing up.  I'm grateful for supportive parents who have always been there for me.  I'm grateful for a church calling that helps keep my life in perspective and gives me the opportunity to serve others.  Once you are in the Relief Society Presidency I think it becomes very hard for you to ever feel sorry for yourself as there is always someone who has a greater need or a more difficult trial.  I'm grateful for answered prayers, even when you wish the Lord's timeline was the same as your own.  It is quite a remarkable thing when your finances are slightly more healthy than they were before a job loss.  I'm grateful for great friends who accept me for who I am and are always sure to step in when they can see I need help or just someone to listen.  I'm grateful to be a member of such an incredible church that gives me so much hope and direction in my life. I'm grateful for a dog to help me feel safe when my husband is out of town.  And right now, I'm especially grateful for Tom's new job that he started this week.  What an incredible blessing this was for our family.  And while I know there are many who are unemployed for much longer than we have been, almost 6 months has felt like an eternity and I'm grateful we survived.

Porter

Porter is quite an exceptional child, I must say, although I am his mother which warrants bragging rights, right?  On Sunday he gave his 3rd talk in Primary since January.  The week before in church was magical as he got to fill in for someone to give the scripture and prayer and then his name was chosen for the talk  And to top it off, he got to somehow help lead the primary in singing "Praise to the Man", which in case you didn't know, is his all time FAVORITE song.  Whose kid is this?   Seriously?  He gave a talk about about Ammon who "cut off their arms" and did quite well at memorizing it I must say, especially for a 3 year old.

Cousins Roasting Marshmallows

LeBaron Family Night at the Sundance Cabin

 Porter has fooled me into thinking that I must be this incredibly spiritual mother as he often chooses his bed time stories to be about scripture stories and is constantly asking doctrinal questions that I sometimes feel totally inadequate to answer.  Last night we joined some of the LeBarons up at the Sundance Cabin.  To me, spending time with family and having a nice family prayer counted as Family Night right?  (especially since Tommy is training in California for his new job)  Well, to Porter it did not.  We spent half the car ride home yesterday crying because we didn't get to do our usual FHE with a lesson from our book and song.  Yes, I said CRYING!  I finally got him to settle down with the story of King Benjamin which he had been begging to hear for a few days now.  Again I ask, whose child is this?  Here is one of Porter's more poignant observations to date:

As a precursor, We had a lesson on ways to serve others and one of the ways we came up with was to be a good listener.

Porter:  Mom, why isn't Jillian (his school mate and one of his best friends) listening to me?  That's not being good at service.
Me:  Well, people don't always have to listen to everything you say.  Sometimes people choose not to listen.
Porter:  Like Satan, he wasn't a good listener?
Me:  Well yes, since Satan doesn't choose the right I guess that would make him bad at listening.
Porter:  Who else isn't a good listener and doesn't choose the right?
Me:  I guess people that don't want to follow God's Plan are not good listeners.
Porter:  Oh, so like Traitors and Tyrants, right?  ("Praise to the Man")

I feel grateful for such a sweet boy that keeps me spiritually in check by being the prayer and FHE police.  At least it keeps me doing what I am suppose to.

Did I Mention I LOVE Coupons?

Yesterday was just one of those days.  I feel like I accomplished a lot and really met my goals and I LOVE THOSE DAYS!  Spending time with my kids, exercising, FHE, and some super awesome shopping trips with incredible savings. Since I'm not really doing much on my deal blog anymore, I had to share this somewhere. And more importantly, I want to remind myself how valuable couponing is even when I am not forced to do it for survival.  I don't usually tell people what I spend on things, but again, this is for my own memory since I know I will get early onset Alzheimers and have already been informed by my husband that I will placed in a home if I forget who they are.  No folks, there will be no romantic Notebook reenactment where he comes to tell me our Love Story, quite the opposite!

I got an email for a FREE photobook that I'm doing a scrapbook for Porter for 2010.  That brings me up to date with scrapbooking and you can't beat FREE!

Here's my Rite Aid Score:
3 Pkgs. Huggies= 26.97
4 Pkgs. Scott Bath Tissue (12 Giant Rolls Each)=31.96
1 Pkg. Scott Paper Towel (8 Rolls)= 7.99
2 Pkg. Kotex=7.00
=73.92
After Coupons and +UP Rewards (meaning I have $20 in Rite Aid +Up Rewards to use next time)
$20.42!

Groceries
1 Package Premium Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs and Hot Dog Buns, 1 Package Idahoan Potatoes, 4 Pounds Grapes, Milk, 3-4 PacksYogart, Treats for FHE, 1 Bag Tortilla Chips, 1 Package Wheat Tortillas, 1 Package Rice Cakes, Cinnamon Crackers for Cubbers, Tomatoes, Cilantro, Onions, Potatoes, Peppers

Total after coupons and price match $22.00  (hooray!  that's all I had to spend on groceries for the week thanks to Tommy's new found love of making bread since we needed bread and pita bread for meals this week)

Captain America Giant Action Figure on Clearance $10.00 (regularly $30!!)

1 U-Build-It Monopoly
1 Super Hero Squad Chutes and Ladders
1 Cars Memory Game
1 Disney Princess Chutes and Ladders
=52.00
After Coupons, Clearance and Promotions
$16.99!!

So essentially I snagged $225 worth of stuff I will actually use for $70.00!!  And knocked off some Christmas Presents, a Scrapbook on my To-Do List, my Weekly Groceries and Stocked Up on Toilet Paper and Diapers.  I know so many of you fight the coupons, but seriously the coupon high is AWESOME!

The End of Summer and Big News!

It's been a whirlwind the last few weeks in the LeBaron household.  I left for Las Vegas August 22-24 for a Convention for Shabby Apple.  It was a quick trip and I felt guilty leaving my baby who had had surgery just a few days before, but he fared well (however, he may have almost killed everyone who got near due to the HORRID bad breath which is a side effect of the surgery, thankfully that is cleared up now!)  Lucky for me, Mary is not only my sister in law, but she works with me so we got to have a little retreat!

BEAR LAKE

August 26-28-  Our friends the Jackson's and the Sach's headed up for a quick trip to Bear Lake to watch Ben compete in his Tri there.  We just tagged on for the ride, but it was BEAUTIFUL up there and my kids were in heaven playing with kids outside all day and especially riding the 4 wheeler and Barbie jeep!  Hopefully they will still consider going on trips with us after they had to survive Jack sleepless nights.  Luckily things may be improving on that front.

LAKE POWELL

August 31-September 4-  Tommy and Porter headed down to Lake Powell with the boys on Wednesday and my mom and I joined Thursday after dropping Jack off at my Aunt Jenny's.  Bless her for always being so willing to take him.  Hopefully this was our last time having to leave him as he is a crazy Comanche.  The weather was BEAUTIFULLY PERFECT.  The best I have experienced in Lake Powell in years.  Not deathly hot, decently cool nights, and Friday the water was absolutely perfect all day long!  And I finally got back in the water and wakeboarded after a long hiatus.  And Porter tried surfing with Tommy once again.  He is in Heaven in Lake Powell and has already started counting the days when we will go back next year.

Porter and Tommy Surfing

 Tom and Alan Repelling

Porter Living it Up with the Boucher Girls!

Flag Boy

Words Cannot Begin to Express-Classic Carl is the Best Description

A Lake Powell Bath Sans Swimsuit

1st DAY OF SCHOOL

September 8th- Porter started his first real day of Preschool at Oakwood Elementary with Mrs. Jennifer and Mrs. Natalie and his best friend Jillian Sachs.  He is so happy and excited.  And talk about a nice brand spanking new school and new playground!  I'm sure without a doubt that he will thrive here and it provides a nice little break for me to devote my full attention to Jack.  One of the best things about preschool is that it totally wastes Porter.  He went to an orientation on Tuesday and slept literally 13 hours that night!  (this is HUGE In our house!)  I'm so excited for him to have a structured learning environment that I'm sure can and will give him so much more than I could with our preschool co-op.  Although I feel the co-op did help him adjust flawlessly to being dropped off and listening and following directions and getting along with others.  Porter's feminine side has already shown itself when he found himself playing in the kitchen with all the girls the first day.  But don't worry, the Avenger's backpack keeps him in check!

Free Breakfast at Chick-Fil-A

Porter and Jillian

Lining Up Outside.  Checkout the Avengers backpack!

AND FINALLY THE BEST NEWS OF ALL. . .

AFTER 5 MONTHS

TOM GOT A JOB!

He will start working with Ernst and Young at the end of this month.  No more paying our own insurance and me working like a crazy woman and not having money to buy clothes or the food I want and most important no more STRESS!  Thanks for your prayers, it was a long 5 MONTHS, but surprisingly we survived incredibly well with a small amount of savings still intact!  Here's to saving, budgeting, working odd-jobs, letting Ruth Ann and Becky feed us every once and a while and planning ahead!