Daddy's Retirement Has Finally Come

Today we had the privilege of doing something very special. Mama, Tracy, Lori, Giny, and I went out to the Army Depot for my Daddy's retirement ceremony. I can only remember going onto the depot one other time when I was very young. It was nice to finally see where Daddy has worked all these years and meet some of his co-workers. They presented him with several certificates, one of which was his certificate of retirement. YAY!! He has been counting down to this day for 2 years. His demeanor has even changed over the past few months. I think retirement is going to be really good for him. His co-workers also gave him some gifts. A sort of gag gift spoke alot about who he is. This bag had different things like duct tape, an empty coke can and water bottle, a rock that they had written the words "dumb as a rock" on( one of his favorite sayings). These items all have a story and would mean nothing to you unless you know him. This was my favorite part of the day. When they presented him with this gag gift I realized that my Daddy has a consistent character. He is the same all the time. He has gone to the Depot for all the years and maintained good integrity and gained respect from his fellow workers. He is not a people pleaser, he is who he is. I liked seeing that today. It was a special day for him and for us.

Sisters

Just when I was beginning to think the girls would fight forever and wondering if they really even like each other, I found this piece of paper in the back seat of the van. Abby spent of couple of days with our family in Talladega and Erin really missed her, especially at bedtime. I guess absence really does make the heart grow fonder.

Abby's Recital

Abby just completed her first year of piano and did a great job at her Spring Recital. I think of Abby as my big girl. She has always been my big girl. Erin was born 2 weeks after Abby turned one. Then came Samuel one year later. So she was always my big helper, and she still is. I call on her to do so much more than I do either Erin or Samuel. I guess because I know she will get it done. I am working on not taking advantage of her and making my little ones do a little more. She has always been compliant and responsible. We use to joke and say that if Abby was with Samuel and Erin when they were playing it was like having the Holy Spirit with them. She is a good big sister and a good daughter. She is my big girl! So the other night at the recital when she was standing on stage with the other students, I could not believe how little she looked. I sometimes forget that she is just 8. She will be nine in a couple of weeks and to hear her talk you would think she is going to 16 and getting a car. Turning nine is a big deal to her for some reason. I loved these pictures of her playing.

Coupons

For the past month or so I have been trying to make the most of my food dollar. I have been clipping coupons and researching couponing online. So far in the past few weeks I have averaged saving $3 dollars a week with coupons. Not really so great. But I am determined to save more. I have signed up online at O Charley's, Chucke Cheese and by doing this you get great online coupons. From O Charley's I got a $5 off coupon which we used. With the fact that kids eat free there, it was a pretty inexpensive meal out for our family. Yesterday I got a coupon from O Charley's for a free appetizer. These are a couple of the sites I use :

Eversave.com

ppgazette.com

http://www.becentsable.net/

I'm always looking for new information if any of you have any wisdom to share. My goal is to be one of those mama's who can go into the store and buy $40 worth of stuff for $5 with my coupons. I'll keep you posted on my savings!

Think On These Things

This semester I have been doing a precept study in Philippians with some ladies from church. This week we focused on chapter 4 verses 8-9.

8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.

9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me practice these things; and the God of peace shall be with you.

These two verses really focus on our mind. Dwell on these things and the God of peace shall be with you. So we have to replace the thoughts of fear, anxiety, worry, etc. with what is true, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, and worthy of praise. So if we obeyed these teaching......how would our lives change? Would it change what we read, watch, listen to, talk about, think about? How can we do this? First we must take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5).

But then we must replace those thoughts with something new. A friend of mine gave a great illustration of this. Imagine you have an empty toilet paper holder. You take some of the toilet tissue and stuff it inside the holder. To get that tissue out you have to replace it with more....something new. That's the way our mind works. We must replace the anxiousness with the peace of God. I love this. If you are like me and struggle with worry this is a great thing to put into practice. Back to the question, how would this change what we watch, etc. I think we have to rely our conscience unless it is obvious sin. Can you watch it etc. and still dwell on whatever is......lovely...etc. I'll finish this post the way Paul ended Philippians.....the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your Spirit.

April Showers Bring May Flowers

Samuel's first soccer game.

Friday we took a field trip to the Space and Rocket Center. The kids favorite part was the rock wall. They had a great time with their friends. It would have been more educational if we had done a guided tour. But you live and learn. Right?

Saturday was Samuel's first soccer game. He did so well. I loved watching him play. He scored once and did a great job blocking. ( I don't really know how to play soccer....so not sure of all the terminology). When we got to the game he asked me if it was too late to cancel the game. They have postponed the games so many times he was afraid they would cancel it again. He was so cute in his uniform. :)

Dave and I had a great date night on Saturday. It was a nice to just hang out with him. We saw the movie The Soloist. I would highly recommend that movie. So a good meal, a movie, Ben and Jerry's ice cream.....and of course a trip to the grocery store. What else could a girl ask for:)

This week is SAT testing for Abby. She was pretty nervous last night. She was OK after we got to the testing center and she saw some of her friends. The other two and I are doing our school work at the library during the test. They like that....anything different.

Its hard to believe its almost May. The weather is beautiful and we just want to be outside. Only 14 more days, then our summer begins!!

Monday

Good news. The air conditioner is working and it was only a small problem that was easy to fix. I always dread calling the repairman, I'm so scared he will tell us we need a new unit. Thankfully not this time.

This is a busy time of year for us. Our life seems to run in semesters. We are on a sprint...then we slow down and have some down time. With Dave teaching again, doing college ministry, us being in school, homegroups at church, everything is really busy during the Fall and Spring and we wait for summer to slow down and relax. We are getting ready for our end of the year school program. Each family chose a person to focus on and study this semester. We chose Martin Luther. We all learned alot about him and how he was such a great leader in the reformation of the church. We have a presentation to do at our open house. So we are working on that. Abby is getting ready for her spring piano recital. She will be finishing her first year of piano. Erin is ready to start playing something. She really wants to play the violin. I for one am ready for this school year to come to an end. It's hard to believe Abby will be in 4th grade, Erin in 3rd and Samuel in 1st. Where does the time go? It really just seems like I blinked my eyes and they were not babies anymore. So no more blinking!