Caesar and Rufus Love Their Gifts

My cousin Jeremy bought Rufus and Caesar gifts for Christmas.  Can you tell they loved them? ;)  Caesar has now devoured his "bones" but Rufus continues to toss his toy mice all over the place!  Rufus and Caesar say thank you Jeremy!

Lessons Learned and People Appreciated in 2015

   The year 2015 is quickly coming to a close and I am wondering where it all went.  It seems like someone just pressed the fast forward button on a remote control on our lives and everything just sped on by.  

    One of the things I like to do at the close of each year is look back on how things went, both the good and the bad, and what lessons I learned.  I think it is good to look back, learn from our mistakes but most of all, focus on all our blessings.  So here it goes...

   Our grandsons have grown by leaps and bounds.  Bradley has developed a very keen sense of humor and sometimes it takes the adults a few minutes to figure it out. ;)  Bradley started preschool at home with Heather and is doing amazing.  The kid blows me away with all he knows. Isaiah has gone from speaking a few words to full sentences and asking some very interesting questions.  He is a sponge that soaks everything around him in.  He has also proven to be quit the imp and can hold his own with his older brother Bradley.  They have both found exactly which "buttons" to push to irritate one another. While they seen to enjoy bugging each other, they are also fiercely protective of one another if anyone else dares to do anything to hurt one of them.  They are sure keeping their parents (and us) on our toes.

   Our adult children have gone through challenges of their own and have come out stronger for it.  Chris and Josh are now both on the SWAT teams for their law enforcement agencies and have gone through lots of training this year.  Chris continues to try to figure out how the minds of his 2 young sons work while Heather for the most part holds down the fort at home with Chris being gone so much.  Heather is homeschooling Bradley and also teaching Preschool to one of her friend's daughters at the same time.  She has also taken up sewing and has made some truly beautiful things.  Josh and his girlfriend broke up, but remain friends and for that we are thankful.  They are both strong and amazing people going down different paths in life and I love that they continue to support one another.  Jaysn loves the company he and Rachel work for and is looking at different job options within the company.  Rachel has been working on a big project at work that could lead to new opportunities for her also.  Their big accomplishment this year was saving up for and buying their first home!  We are so happy for them. :)

   This year proved to be one of reconnecting or even connecting and meeting for the first time with our cousins.  My cousin Jeremy came up for a visit in late June to check the area out and stayed with us.  We all got along so well and he quickly took his place within our family.  He has now moved up to our area and we are thoroughly enjoying all our time together.  We were even able to bring the joy of Christmas back to him again. :)  I also met my cousins Marisa and Mike and their spouses at the end of the Summer and it was a dream come true for me.  I had always wanted a close relationship with more of my cousins since we all did not grow up together and this Summer, I got that chance to start the process of doing just that.  Jeff's cousin Steve, whom we had not seen for years, surprised us with a visit and it was wonderful to get caught up with him and share some memories, laugh and to just be there for one another.  My husband and I both feel so blessed to have all these cousins in our lives.

   I have had multiple health struggles over the years and this year it all seemed to come to a head.  Between what was already going on in my body and then the stress in our lives that caused further problems for me, it has been a rough one.  I stopped subbing in April hoping to give myself time to heal from it all but it seemed to just get worse.  I hit my breaking point mentally due to an ongoing extended family situation and went to a very dark place in my mind and it scared me to death.  I decided there and then that I would never allow anyone to ever "rent space in my head" like that again.  My body reacted very badly physically to all the stress and I struggled health wise for months.  I then had more female health issues come to light once again and underwent yet another ultrasound and painful biopsy before finally having a total hysterectomy, which was one of the best decisions I have ever made to have done in my entire life!  What a difference it has made.  I feel so much better now and based on all that was going on in there, I can see why I have been having all those ongoing issues since my early teens. It has also helped lessen my horrible year round allergies and my asthma is no where near as bad now.  Oh and the stressful situation in our extended family...well let's just say that the truth always has a way of coming out, even if it does take years and years to do so.  One of the best thing to come out of that is that I got to hug and talk to one of my nieces for the first time in about 4 years and tell her I love her.  Even though she lives about 25 miles away, we have been unable to see her due to the ugly family situation.  I have been praying for that moment for years now...I love that girl so much and it broke my heart not being able to be part of her life.

   I have also learned about the power of forgiveness, and of not giving up on someone when you can still see a glimmer of hope there.  Relationships that I thought might be lost for good have been restored.  I have learned the depth of the love that our family shares and once again, how awesome my parents are in coming to visit multiple times this year, including after my surgery and helping to take care of me and again, being so wonderful and generous to us when we came to visit them in Montana.  My girls, Heather and Rachel, have gone above and beyond in pitching in and helping me after my surgery and my boys were there supporting me and checking on me and reminding me to behave myself while I healed.  My hanai sister Shannon and her hubby Harold blessed our socks off time and time again with their love and support and with Shannon even coming to the hospital with Jeff and I the day of my surgery and taking such good care of us.  Heather's family, who has become our family now also, are always there to support us and we love being able to do so many things with them...they are all very caring and kind people and we love them dearly.

   Every year, when I look back, my husband is right there at the top of the list of my blessings.  When life and my health took a turn for the worse, he was the one who was constantly there, holding me up, supporting me and praying for me.  He encouraged me to step away from several situations and take the time that I needed to heal and then again encouraged me to have my surgery and take additional time to heal from that.  He held my hand while I had my biopsy, was right there with me during my ultrasound and the day of my surgery and took such good care of me.  He did all the things that I normally do around the house so I could heal, all the while still working his full time job and continuing to work on projects around our home to make it nicer for us all.  He took me to get a new fur baby to love after our Daisy cat passed away and he puts up with the antics of our new kitty Rufus who has multiple health issues and is still learning to play nice with our dog Caesar. ;)
My Jeff amazes me with the depth of his love for me and for our family and friends.  He willingly and selflessly sacrifices, without a complaint, for all of us.  I love him with everything within me and I do realize just how blessed I am to be his wife.

   So here is to saying goodbye and thank you to 2015 for lessons learned, the start to being healthier both mentally and physically and for wrapping up the year on a positive note.  I'm looking forward to what 2016 has in store for us, starting with a visit from our son Josh!  I can't wait to have all my kids together again and for Josh and my cousin Jeremy to finally get to meet.  Onward and upwards!


   

   

Frugal Doings In December

In an effort to really see how much I can save by living frugally, I have once again started to track my savings by making things myself, shopping deals and shopping at the thrift stores.  I have to say that it really has been eye opening for me.  Here is a list of some of the ways I have saved:

~my hubby and I cut each others hair, savings of at least $35

~we went out to lunch at Olive Garden using gift cards I earned through Swagbucks and MyPoints...cost to us $4 to help cover part of the tip that was not covered by the gift card

~found a pair of new Carhartt heavy duty jeans for $15 at the thrift store for my hubby

~bought some dvd sets, That Girl Season 1 and Mary Tyler Moore Season 1 for $3 each, some crystal glassware for .25 each, and some more nice clothing at the thrift stores

~pineapples were on sale for .99 each (that is a steal) and I got 4 of them, I cut up and froze 2, ate 1 fresh and gave the other one to our Heather who loves pineapple and so do the munchkins

~found some great deals on fabric

~used a B1G1F coupon to get Blizzards at Dairy Queen as a treat for Jeff and I

~made many loaves of sourdough bread in our breadmaker

~made 12 loaves of banana bread, 8 loaves of cranberry orange bread and 3 batches of Peppermint Bark candy to give as Christmas gifts

~I bought 2 books and 3 dvds from the library books sale, 2 of the dvds were brand new double feature Harry Potter movies...all of this for a grand total of $3.50

~we got some free groceries while doing our volunteer work

~I found mushrooms on sale and sauteed them and then froze them for future meals

~made a huge batch of homemade pancake mix

~free magazines came in the mail

~bought a bunch of marked down meats (1/2 price) and froze them

~watching movies and reading books we borrowed from the library

~found a brand new Rick Steves DVD boxed set for $5.50 that I will be giving to my hubby as a Christmas gift

~made some homemade maple pancake syrup

~used up the odds and ends of bread to make more croutons

~bought Prosecco on sale for $5.99 a bottle (regular price $18.99 each)

~organizing our chest freezer with milk crates I bought for $1.99 each at Goodwill and small bins I bought for $1 each at the Dollar Tree store

~trying my best to plan our meals around what we have on hand and using things up before they go bad

~doing my different points programs and cashing in for gift cards (so far I have cashed in for about $180 this month alone)

~we went out to eat with the kids the other night and each family bought one of their "box" meals for $10...it included a pizza, breadsticks and cinnamon dessert breadsticks, one of the cheapest meals we have had in a long time eating out

~sending out Christmas cards that I bought on clearance in bulk years ago at .25 a box

~using out hot tub more now that I am healed up from surgery...it is like taking a mini vacation
~using SKYPE to chat with our son Josh
~watching shows online that we do not get with our current DISH package or ones we have missed
~learning new skills by watching tutorial videos on YouTube

I'm currently looking forward to the after Christmas clearance sales where I will be using some of my gift cards to purchase things we need or gift worthy items to add to our gift closet.  Another thing I look forward to is shopping the thrift stores in late December and early January as people clean out their closets and homes and donate things so they can get the tax write off.  I am always amazed at how many new with tag things I find during that time and I suspect some were Christmas gifts that did not fit or that someone did not care for.

Happy Frugal Days!

Getting Ready for a White Christmas

Baby it's Blizzard like and Blustery Outside

  The weather outside is frightful...and no, I am not singing "let it snow, let it snow, let is snow", although I am dreaming of a White Christmas. 

   Right now the winds are howling and the snow is coming down sideways.  We had quite a bit of snow earlier and then it rained and a lot of it melted off.  The everything froze again and now we are getting more snow on top of that making for very treacherous roads.  Since my husband is a freight delivery driver and has to be out on these roads at night, I am worried.  Oh, and did I mention our son Chris is a police officer in the next county over and is out working on these roads tonight as well.  Double the worry. 

   I really enjoy the snow as long as I know that my loved ones are safe, and home, an have power so we don't all freeze.  Is this to much to ask?

Bowling with the Grandbabies!

   Jeff was on vacation last week so we decided at the last minute to call Chris and Heather and see if they wanted to go bowling on Friday afternoon.  Everyone, including the grandsons, loves to bowl and Grammie, well I enjoy watching! ;)  We were so happy they said yes and we all got ready quickly and met at the bowling alley for some fun!

Isaiah using the ramp and getting some encouragement from his daddy.

Heather, Isaiah and G-pa watching Bradley bowl.

Isaiah sitting on his daddy's lap and checking out the scores...hmmm, looks like Isaiah is beating Daddy. :)

Don't worry, despite the drunken look on his face, it was only water.  LOL!

Bradley was thrilled that he was beating Daddy at bowling!

This talented kid can turn anything into a jungle gym, including the swivel chairs.

Please forgive the red eyes in this. Grammie forgot to edit the pictures before sharing.

The final score...the grandsons beat their Daddy and I will bet they are not going to let him forget it for a very long time. ;)

Elk Farm