Our New Neighborhood Critter

For about two weeks, our cat food had been getting tipped over and spilled on our deck, every night. I assumed it was our completely annoying neighbor MinPin wanna-be, so Gabe was ready with his paintball gun to take him out- when and if we caught him.

But New Years Eve, we were up and heard a crash on the porch. We had placed our leaky cast iron teapot on top of the food bucket; this was the noise. Gabe jumped and grabbed his gun, only to open the door and shout, "IT'S a RACCOON!" I made it to the door in time to see "something" run around the corner of the house. Gabe said that he did definitely hit it, so he probably won't be back.

But he was. Every night, like clockwork. One night, we arrived home especially late (after 11pm) in separate cars. Gabe pulled in first, as I had stopped to get the mail. When I pulled in and got out, he asked if I had seen it. Nope- I had missed him again. Bummer. I really wanted to see it!

I had my hopes up for Monday night, as when Gabe is working when I get off, I go get the girls and normally don't get home until at least after 10:30, more like 11. But, I picked up the mail, pulled in slowly, walked sneaky-like to the front porch, and....

didn't spook anything out of anywhere....

However, I finished doing my Genesis copy for the night, and peaked out the window as a last chance before heading to bed, and he had just arrived! I watched him pull the bucket over, move the pot out of the way, turn the bucket towards himself with one paw (we're talking five gal bucket here!) and start in on his nightly treat.... Then I thought, I wonder if I can get some pictures through the window.... grabbed (quietly) the camera, and shot. Total flashback from the window. And he saw me. He moved to the stairs, and we proceeded to have a little showdown- but he never left, and I took several pictures, flash off w/ manual focus. Now, I just don't have the mental capacity for remembering ISO and all that stuff... so be gracious, but here are two that I did get. First one is during our showdown through the window....

and second is after I left him alone to his meal. :-)

He came Tuesday night during the storm, and the next night the food was tipped over but not opened, and now he has not come for two nights. Maybe he only comes when there is lots of snow.... At least now Leo feels it is safe enough to come home...

Just Too Good Not to Share...Albies!

Ok, so I really wasn't going to take pictures of all this stuff I am buying, because it will probably look the same--- but I just finished my second trip, and it even suprised me at how little OOP we spent!

All this- a savings of $47 and pennies- Out of pocket $5.15! I only used coupons I printed online, plus the double coupon in-ad at Albies. What a blessing, especially for food that can still be here after baby comes, so provision for future needs! Thank you Lord!

Question for Fellow Couponers...

What is the best way that you have found to store and take with you your load of coupons? I am still using the envelope system- I have them basically sorted, but still end up spending quite a bit of time in-store sorting and finding the ones I want.

I am wondering if anyone has tried the baseball-card sorting, or anything similar. I especially would like to get them out of my purse, but easy/big enough that I won't lose them either.

Thanks!!!

Albertsons- Another $15/30 week

I have completely taken the holidays off from any large amount of bargain shopping, but over the last two days, with a little toddler help, we got my expired coupons expunged from the stash (Some from OCT!) and caught up with the clipping.

And this came in handy, as Albies started another pretty good deal for the "Get $15 off your next order when you spend $30 on selected items." Boy, they aren't kidding by selected items! Like "only the one in the picture!" selected! But I still have plenty of coupons to do several trips, and lots of decent items like Progresso soups, cereals, yogurt for good prices after coupons and 1/2 off in the way of $ back.

Also, pay attention in the ad: They have two "Double Manufacture Coupons x3" coupons- you can only use one per transaction, but this netted me an extra $3 off my total! Note: Albie's brand cheese, eggs, and butter are good deals with the in ad coupons.

Hope this helps some of you stretch His money He's entrusted to us! Happy Couponing!

What a Night!

Wow, if you have heard about the crazy weather we had last night in Wenatchee, you know it was pretty wild. I had no idea how wild until Gabe came home this morning and started rattling off stats to me... like "we hit a record high at 9pm last night of 60*, winds of 98 mph on Wenatchee Heights, and oh, yea, by the way, all the snow is gone..." Which really made my morning. I am one of those few people who enjoy the snow and appreciate it while it is here. (I say few because most of the conversations you hear in winter are from those who can't wait for the snow to go away, while I wish for more...) What I hate in the winter is mud and slush. And that's what we have this morning! Especially since our house is in a low spot, we get lots of standing water where we park our cars, and our walkway turns to slush-city.

Anyway, back to my night. Gabe calls a little after 8, I had the girls in bed and I was doing some Bible copying (which I am still LOVING, other than Genesis is REALLY long!), slowing down for bed. He warns me that some of the power in E. Wen. had gone down, and to call him on our cells (if they work) if we lose power and he will come home and set up batteries to run the pellet stove. (Alas, heat- still dependent upon power to work...) So I get a little nervous... set up some candles and lighters so I know exactly where everything is if it does go dark. (Flashlights? No idea...) Head to bed around 9:15.

At 10:30 I am absolutely fuming- our house numbers aren't screwed down all the way, and they just happen to be "swinging in the rain," making lovely loud dinging noises everytime they hit the house, keeping me awake. I am ready to call Gabe and ask him to come home and screw those in, because I am sure that I can't reach them to finish screwing them in or yank them off if I did try. But, controlling myself, I get up, get dressed, find a screwdriver (electric even!) and head outside. Thank goodness I could reach them, and with enough frustration and force, screwed them in enough that they at least didn't swing. Funny thing is that Gabe was suprised I was able to when I told him this morning! (That's what emotionally angry prego people are capable of!)

But after experiencing just what was going on outside, when I came back into bed, I spent probably 20 minutes praying because I was so anxious about the storm and what I would be able to accomplish at home- alone, overnight, powerless, and pregnant. However -His peace passes all understanding. I did have to take a melatonin to get to sleep (too much going on, too much noise), but slept good all night. I knew that it rained all night, and that we always had power when I woke up, but it was a good night's sleep compared to normal.

And this morning? Guess what I saw outside? A rainbow. Like God's special reminder to me that He is my Protector, and I need not worry. I am in His hand always. He is sooo good and His special blessings are precious. Amen.

This Morning's Sound Bite

Mommy: Melia, do you think baby brother will look like daddy?
Melia: Hmmmhmmm.
Mommy: Do you think baby brother will have whiskers?
Melia: (giggling) No!
Mommy: Do you think baby brother will have brown hair?
Melia: mmmmmm.....
Mommy: Will brother have hair like you and Kiera?
Melia: NO! Only girls have hair like that!

How Un-Musical am I???

Remember how I love Christmas music on KLove? And how I mentioned Trans-Siberian Orchestra?

Well, I heard this song on KLOVE in the weeks leading up to Christmas, and LOVED it from the first time- Christmas Canon Rock. And I thought- literally, this was my thought-- "Hey! I didn't know that the wedding song was a Christmas song! How cool is that!"

And then..... two days ago, Gabe showed me this funny video, Pachelbel Bedtime. Then I learned that... well, whatever. You know. I don't. And he called me a dork. I won't deny it.

I don't know music. I did take a classical music section of Humanities in college. But apparently Pachelbel wasn't in there. I remember Bach though, and a few others. Woohoo.

But I do know what I like. I like music that gives me goosebumps!

Busy New Year- Or Quiet? Both?

I feel like I'm all messed up with days and weeks, and dates. I think just the rush around of Christmas and New Years in the same week does that to me, then plus I didn't work on my normal days, and Gabe being on and off on different days, and I've got one scrambled calendar.

But we did have a grand New Years gathering at our house, last minute style :-)

Our friends Dan and Lindsey came over with their 3, and Tasha with her daughter and niece, and Mark and Annie. So total, 7 children, +3 in utero, plus us "grown-ups!" I know I just had a nice time, visiting and socializing and sharing our time together. The kids were in bed at a decent hour :-) and Mark and Annie kept me up to celebrate the New Year. (I wasn't planning on staying up, but with good company it's much easier!) We also made a fascinating discovery that I hope to catch pictures of and share with you later.... There's a new critter in the neighborhood....

On New Year's day, we played together out in the snow, tried to make a snowman, ending up with a little one on the porch. Gabe worked in the shop trying to organize to make room for his newest acquisition, a waste oil burner (heater for the shop). I got started painting with my latest color, Chocolate cupcake, for the front interior wall of the family room. I must say, I was quite in the mood for chocolate cake when I was done, but I'm not sure if it had anything to do with the paint :-) After I get the main corner put back together, I will share pictures so you can ooohh and ahhhh and yuck over my weird choices. But I think I will like it alot- it adds another dimension to a supposed-to-be more "formal" gathering room, which is not formal at all. It's more like our dumping ground!

In the midst of all this, I'm trying to become an expert at losing at Memory to a 2 year old. It is not easy. She thinks they all should match- but it's building my patience! And at Bingo, Kiera almost always beats Melia- just the luck of the draw, as we play four-in-a-row followed by blackout, but it is pretty funny. I think maybe I should get some more games for them, because we play several games of just these two each day- which I find exhausting :-) And for Animal Scramble? Kiera is a little too rough- she breaks the little animals off their stands when she tags them w/ the giraffe, so we get about one game, then I have to hot glue some little guy back on for the next day's abuse.... Fun stuff :-)

Whew- moving forward :-)

With KI, we started our Revelation part 1 course at the beginning of December. But with Christmas, I prioritized getting the quizzes done on time, and leaving the discussion boards until I was through the holiday season because of the amount of time they take. Of course, as with all procrastinating, the pressure was building to get back in there and get those done. I only have to do two posts and one response per week, but as of this morning that meant 7 posts and 4 responses.... no light load!

Thankfully, He was gracious during nap time today and I was able to complete 5 posts and 4 responses! AND it was a blessed time! New treasures and everything!

Check this one out-- I love it-- I understood it a little before, now more fully today.

Adam is a type (model) of Christ, in that not being deceived, he gave his life for Eve, his wife...
I had never before considered this verse:
1Ti 2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

I found KJV to be a little hard to understand, so I looked at a few other translations:
NKJV: And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.
NIV: And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.
NASB: And {it was} not Adam {who} was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.
"Eve was taken from Adam's body. Instead of allowing Eve to remain in sin alone, Adam sacrificed himself for the one he loved. As a result they had children and the Savior came to redeem the world. This type matches Jesus who was not deceived when He gave His life for all sinners. Christ chose to live with His Bride instead of separating Himself and not taking on the sins of the world at the Cross. His Bride is also taken from His Body, the Church. The Bride of Christ is the rib of the Church." KI post

Previously, any teaching I heard or held seemed to hang onto the whole Adam vs Eve conflict; who really was at fault for all our sin? Even the best one I remember put Adam "at fault" for possibly not teaching Eve all she needed to know to not fall into sin, as instructed... she was deceived, but he willingly sinned- but if you look at it through the lens of the above verse, NIV style- it says that she was the one who became the sinner.
Now, I know this whole passage is so huge and can be dissected/discussed as long as we sojourn here, but I just wanted to mention it because it was one of those truths that just rang so clear when it lined up in my mind. It is different because it looks at the underlying "why" things happened the way they happened-not just whose fault it is. Christ decided to die before Adam even sinned. From the beginning, never being deceived, He chose to become sin so that we could be with Him. A truth we are told over and over, but which becomes even more evident the more we know Him, primarily through His Word.

I hope you find this profound as well! :-)

Sound bites from the past few days...

Auntie Darcy: Melia, when Mommy has baby brother, are you going to be a big helper for her?
Melia: Yep.
Auntie Darcy: Because Mommy will need lots of help when brother comes.
Melia: I know she will need lots of help getting him out.
*************************************************

Kiera was sick overnight Christmas Eve, but was better on Christmas- tossed her cookies once/twice-ish (not sure, as we were sleeping, and apparently so was she). Melia got sick last night, and then threw up again today as I was driving her from church to Gramps house. (I thought she would be better like Kiera, but failed to consider the time span/hours passed. Whoops.)

I was driving across the bridge as this happened, but had handed her my "garbage bucket" to use, just in case. (It's actually one of their toys, but fit the van better...) By the time I got across the bridge to a parking lot to pull over, she was done. I scooted my seat back and turned around, and the first thing she says is
"There's some on the back of your seat."
Me: "wooowww."
Kiera: (clapping) "Yea Sissy!"

Yea. I know.

And yes, she seems completely fine now. I am soooo grateful she is a good puker. So unbelievably grateful. Maybe Kiera can take lessons since she thinks it's so impressive.