A Gift From

I got an e-mail from Old Orchard this week and thought others would like this gift also.

Fill out your address and they'll mail you $5 in Free Coupons for Old Orchard Juices. Use the coupons to try out two new Healthy Balance flavors Pomegranate and Pomegranate Cranberry. Limit one per household.

Reindeer Facts

A one day reindeer can run faster than a man.
Reindeer make a popping or a clicking noise as they walk.
The sound is produced by a tendon sliding over a bone in the foot.
Some reindeer in the wild eat Reindeer moss.
A velvet coating peels away from the reindeer's antlers(male & female) every year after adulthood is reached.
This velvet is prized by the Oriental Culture.
Caribou & reindeer are the only deer in which the doe also bears antlers.
Reindeers snort when alarmed; males roar in rutting season.
The males have an inflatable pouch of skin under their throats
which amplifies their roar.
Reindeer are good swimmers.
Their coats are thick, with a heavy, dense coat of wholly under fur.
Trapping air, their coat gives them buoyancy in the water; it also is waterproofed by stiff guard hairs on top.

These facts come from Santa & Co.

Book Review

Moon Shines Down by Margaret Wise Brown.

This would be a great book to give to a child or adult for Christmas this year.

Margaret Wise Brown wrote a very interesting children's book,
that reminds us about other children in the world.
I think children and adults will enjoy reading this book.
The pictures are very colorful and interesting to look at,
Linda Bleck is a very good artist.
The main character is a cute koala bear who travels
to different places in the world asking God to bless him and them.
The book starts off with blessing a dutch boy.
Then it is off to Switzerland, the far East, Mexico, France, Australia,
and many more places asking God for blessings.
The koala bear also asks for blessings for animals, fish and for Christmas.

If your looking for a book this year to give to someone, this is the one.
I enjoyed reading this book and it reminded me to pray for others around the world.
I am giving this book to my nephew, I am pretty sure he will also enjoy reading this book or having his mom read to him. So pick one up this year for a great gift to give this year.

Coupon for Toys

Today KB Toys emailed me a special savings and
encouraged me to share with everyone.

This is what it said:

Come to KB Toys November 17th and/or Monday
November 24th during normal buisness hours
and shop the buy 3 get the 4th free Sale
on everything in the store and enjoy an additional
20% off your entire purchase when you present your invitation.

You must present your invitation to recieve the additional 20% off.

Free Gift

I just got this in an email from Right@Home about
a Home & Holiday Gift Pack. This is limited to the
first 20,000 to register, this may sound like a lot
but they go by fast. So go to Right@Home and get your gift today.

Give A Meal

How exciting we get to help give a meal to
someone that is hungry by using coupons.
For every coupon you redeem from the November 2, 2008,
P&GbrandSAVER coupon booklet, you actively help P&G
donate a meal through Feeding America™.*
That's up to 16 million meals to after-school programs,
emergency shelters, food pantries and soup kitchens
during the holidays.
So use those coupons and feed America.

Free Dinner

I signed up with Old Country Buffet awhile ago.
Today they emailed me about a promotion they are
having this week. On October 31st kids 11 and
under can eat free if they come dressed up.
This is limited to two kids.
So if you don't want to cook this
Friday check your local restaurant.

Omaha Steak Burgers

I just got 8(5oz) & 12(4oz) burgers from Omaha Steaks.
All I spent was $1.98. I can't till they come to my door.
A big thanks to Catherine.

Windows

The window guys are here today putting in 13 new windows.
I am so excited I will be able to open any window in my
house when I want to. We also will be saving a lot in
heating costs this winter. I will post some before and
after photos later when they get done.

The night off...

Tonight it's pretty quiet around here.

My husband and oldest son are at a teen retreat called The Summit.
This is my sons first time going to a teen retreat, I'm sure he will have a great time.
Sometimes I can't believe how old he is getting.

My younger son is staying the night at his cousins and then going to his cousins soccer game tomorrow.

So I'm sure wondering what I did tonight. Well I had to drive the students to the retreat and then take my son to his cousins house, so I didn't get home until 11:00pm.
Your probably saying that's not much of a night off, but I have been due for a little quiet.

I let the dogs outside when I got home and then I cleaned my bathroom, it really needed a good cleaning.
Now I am just relaxing watching a show and blogging.

My Kmart Trip

Kmart is doubling coupons up to and including $2.00,
so I went to see what kind of deals I could find.
Here is the list of items I purchased tonight.

Jaclyn Smith satin tee 9.99(marked down to 2.99)
Basic Edition layered tee 10.99(marked down to 2.99)
Friut of the Loom mens pocket tee 4.49(6)=26.94(on sale 5 for 10 & 3 1.00 coupon)
(the kids asked for these)2 bananas .53
1 dozen eggs 1.00
Sobe lifewater 1.00(2)=2.00 (.50 coupon)
salt (needed this) .69
Oust air freshener 2.99(2)=5.98 (2 1.50 coupon)
Beggin strips for the dogs 2.79(3)=8.37 (3 1.00 coupon)
Sauve mousse 1.49(2)=2.98 (1.50/2 coupon)
Sunsilk mousse 3.00(2)=6.00 (2 1.50 coupon)
Sunsilk shampoo 3.00(2)=6.00 (2 1.50 coupon)
Dove shampoo 3.99 (2.00 coupon)
Dove conditioner 4.49 (2.00 coupn)
Glade warmer 4.19(4)=16.76 (2 B1G1 & 2 2.00 coupons)
Glade fabric spray 3.79(2)=7.58 (2 1.50 coupon)
Tropicana Light 2 liter 1.00+ deposit
Diet wild cherry Pepsi 2 liter 1.00+ deposit
Carpet freshner 2.49(2)=4.98 (2 1.00 coupon)
Trident gum 1.19(2)=2.38 (1 B1G1 coupon)
Frosted Mini Wheats blueberry 3.99 (1.00 coupon)
Milkbone steak chews 3.49 (1.00 coupon)
Sierra Mist cranberry 1.79+ deposit

41 items
Total 133.22+ tax
Paid 31.58

Fall Gift Pack

The first 20,000† people to respond will receive a free Ziploc® Brand Vacuum Freezer System Starter Kit, plus $14.10 in coupons.

To get your gift pack go here

Brainteaser

Scrabble
From Braingle.com

Mike and Dave like to play Scrabble. Mike never cheats. He always plays valid words and never plays out of turn. Dave, however, cheats. Sometimes he plays invalid words, but Mike never challenges. Sometimes he makes two plays in one turn. Mike never notices. Today, Mike and Dave have started playing a game. Mike played first. After 7 plays, the board looked like this:

SPUD
PORE
OPEN
TEAT

As usual, Dave has already cheated one time. How has Dave cheated?

For the answer go here

Double Coupons

I got home tonight and found in my mailbox a flyer for Kmart.
They are doubling coupons upto $2.00 October 1st-5th.
I am hoping to come up with some good deals this week.

P&G also sent me $74 in coupons, isn 't that so nice of them?

Just to sum it up...

It's been busy around here lately.

We started school on Monday September 8th.
It's taking sometime to get back into our routine.

My boys are in a pilot program called U.S. Made Leaders.
They are meeting on Monday and Thursday evenings for the
next couple of weeks.

Today they start Art Class and a couple of weeks ago they started piano
lessons again. I'm excited because my boys dedcided to play a duet
this year during their recital.

Upwards basketball also starts soon, well not too soon.
In October they go for evaluations and then practice and games start in January.

My brother-in-law was married on Sunday evening it was a very nice ceremony. My husband had the honor of helping perform the ceremony.

We are in the process of getting new windows this October.
We had two yard sales to raise money for insulation. Looks like this year will be warmer than last years.

My husband jokes around and tells people we were gonna go on a cruise but now the cruise will be in our home.

Wal-Mart Trip

I stopped at Wal-Mart tonight and found a few good deals.

Here is what I found...

6 rolls of toilet paper
Cascade rinse
3 pk. paper towel
2 amps plus deposit
4 glade oil warmers
crystal lite
3 pk. kool aid
2 pk. green giant steamers
__________
Subtotal $31.66

After coupons I spent
$3.69

South Carolina

Here are a few pictures from our Mission Trip to the Children's Home.


This is the town where the children's home is located, this picture is of the older boys and the youth that went on the trip. While we were there we spent most of the time with the older boys at the home. They helped us with the yard work they had us do and the boys took us on a bike ride around the town which is not that big so it took about 45 minutes, during the ride we stopped twice that probably took up about 15 to 20 minutes of the time. Before going on the bike ride we had to get bikes for everyone, this took longer than the actual bike ride. Wal-mart donates bikes to the home that are not always in great shape. So we had to go through the bikes to figure out which ones would actually work, I wound up with a bike that reminded me of Wizard of Oz, the lady in the beginning of the movie's bike. It took me a little while to get used to the handle bars because they were so awkward.


Here are a couple pictures from Myrtle Beach





And of course I had to get a picture of palm trees.











These are pictures of a fountain that was in a gift shop.





This picture below was taken by Kalene of my son Chris on the way home sleeping.

Quick stop...

We stopped by Meijer's last night and spent $7.97 on...

12 packets of kool-aid(my kids want to have a kool-aid stand this weekend)
1 Kraft dressing
a loaf of bread
1 12 oz. kraft cheese slices
1 8 pk. hotdogs
1 box of wheat thins
6 boxes of cereal

My savings total was 29.19.

Yard Sale

We bought a fixer upper and it is gradually coming together.
This past weekend we had a yard sale,
were trying raise money to insulate our attic.
We are having another yard sale this weekend and
I was wondering if anyone has any good tips for a successful sale.

Why We Started Homeschooling

It all started about six years ago, God put on my heart and my husbands to teach our boys at home. I tend to not always listen, that would be my stubborn side, so we did not start homeschooling my boys then. Throughout that year He kept on pressing on my heart to teach my boys, so at the end of the school year I told the school that my boys would not be coming back the following year, that was five years ago.
That first year was so hard with Christopher. He would always say to me my teacher didn't do it that way. He only went to preschool, if I would've started schooling my boys at home the year before I think it would've been a little easier for us but my stubborn side had to get in the way.
My oldest son Anthony is in 8th grade this year and Christopher is in the 6th grade.

Splink is a FREE weekly email packed with ideas to help connect your family by passing along spiritual truths, teachable moments, making memories, or just have fun together.

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Team Hoyt

I watched this video and it was very encouraging to me.
I am getting Anthony & Chris's schooling togehter for the year
and I always feel I am not equiped enough to teach them
what they need to know. But after watching this video I know
I am very much equiped with God's help and direction.
Phillipians 4:13 is a great reminder if we just look to Him
he will give us the strength for the big things and for the
little things that we face everyday.
During the school year I need that extra strength
to continue teaching my boys.

Also I love this song.

I'm Back...

Well I am back from South Carolina and
enjoying the weather here.

We left on Thursday at 8pm and got to the
Children's Home about 12:30pm.
They had lunch ready for us, Chicken sandwiches and french fries.
They put us up in what they call the Little People's Dorm.
This dorm can house 12 little kids and a set of house parents.

The duty's they gave us were to clean up the dorm we were in,
Spray weed killer around the pool, playground, and the flower beds and pull the weeds in the flower beds.
Also they had us spread pine straw around the trees, bushes and flowers. Pine straw is pine needles that fall from the pine trees that they use as mulch. The boys there said this task usually takes them about 3 days to complete, it took use about 5 hours.

There were 5 girls there, two of them are dorm parents kids(DK=Dorm Kids)
the other three girls had visits with family that weekend so we only saw them for a brief time. There were about 8 boys there, two of them went on visits while the other 6 were there with us all weekend. The 4 older boys helped us with the yard work.

I will post more about this experience when I get the pictures downloaded.

Now you will Understand Life…

God created the dog and said:

“Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks by. For this, I will give you a life span of 20 years.”

The dog said:

“That’s a long time to be barking. How about only 10 years and I’ll give you back the other 10?”

Then God created the monkey and said:.

“Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this I’ll give you a 20 year life span.”

The monkey said:

“Monkey tricks for 20 years? That’s a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back 10 like the dog did?”

And God agreed.
Next God created the cow and said:

“You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer’s family. For this, I will give you a life span of 60 years.”

The cow said:
“That’s kind of a tough life you want me to live for 60 years. How about 20 and I’ll give back the other 40?”

And God agreed.
Finally God made man and said:

“Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I’ll give you 20 years.”

But man said:

“Only 20 years? Could you possibly give me my 20, the 40 the cow gave back, the 10 the monkey gave back, and the 10 the dog gave back; that makes 80, okay?”

“Okay,” said God, “You asked for it.”

So that is why for our first 20 years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next 40 years we slave in the sun to support our family. For the next 10 years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last 10 years we sit on the porch and bark at everyone.

Teacher Application

After being interviewed by the school administration, the teaching prospect said,

"Let me see if I've got this right:

"You want me to go into that room with all those kids, correct their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse, monitor their dress habits, censor their T-shirt messages, and instill in them a love for learning.

"You want me to check their backpacks for weapons, wage war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, and raise their sense of self esteem and personal pride.

"You want me to teach them patriotism and good citizenship, sportsmanship and fair play, and how to register to vote, balance a checkbook, and apply for a job. You want me to check their heads for lice, recognize signs of antisocial behavior, and make sure that they all pass the state exams.

"You want me to provide them with an equal education regardless of their handicaps, and communicate regularly with their parents by letter, telephone, newsletter, and report card.

"You want me to do all this with a piece of chalk, a blackboard, a bulletin board, a few books, a big smile, and a starting salary that qualifies me for food stamps. You want me to do all this and then you tell me:


I CAN'T PRAY?

Origanted from an e-mail I got.

What A Weekend...

Well we sure had a busy weekend here.

My son Anthony's(Tony) 13th birthday party was on Saturday.
We all had a lot of fun.
It was planned for 1-4, but lasted until 7:30pm.
My younger sister whom I have'nt seen since
Easter came with her family, it was great to
see them. I really enjoyed seeing my niece and
nephew, they've gotten so big.

Also this weekend starting on Thursday night to Sunday evening
we were dog sitting for my older sister.

Then on Sunday we had a luncheon after church.
After letting out my sister's dogs we came home
and watched a couple of movies with the boys.
It was nice to just relax and bond a little bit
with my husband and the boys.

Now we are getting ready to go on a mission trip.
We are leaving Thursday night to go to a
Chidren's Home in South Carolina.

In the middle of all of this I am preparing
everthing to start school September 9th.

When Your Huts On Fire

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him.
Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed
forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut
out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his
few possessions. One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home
to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky.
He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was
stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. He cried out, 'God! How
could you do this to me?' Early the next day, he was awakened by the
sound of a ship approaching the island! It had come to rescue him!
'How did you know I was here?' asked the weary man of his rescuers.
'We saw your smoke signal,' they replied.

The Moral of This Story:

It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we
shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in
the midst of our pain and suffering. Remember that the next time
your little hut seems to be burning to the ground. It just may be a
smoke signal that summons the Grace of God.


A friend of mine emailed me this and I thought it was a great encouragement.
I hope this encourages you also.

Trident coupon

http://www.nick.com/ads/tridentforkids/coupon.html

I came across this coupon and thought someone else might like to use it also.

Busy, Busy, Busy...

The next couple of weeks are going to be real busy around here.

My son just turned 13 this month and we are having a party this weekend.
Wow 13 I can't believe it. Oh how time flies.

I am a home school mom so, I am also getting everything organized, we start school on September 8th.

My husband decided on July 27th that we needed to go to South Carolina on a mission trip.
We are going to a Children's Home to help do whatever they need us to do.
We leave August 21st in the evening and driving all night. I get to sleep on the way down while my husband drives, then in the morning I will continue the rest of the drive and my husband will sleep. It will take approximately 15 hours to get there. When we get there we will start working, on Sunday after church service we will head back home. We probably won't get home until Monday early morning around one or so.

Just a minute...

Alright I'm back I just had to take a deep breath.

I will keep ya'll informed so stay tuned.

Household Uses For Lemon Juice

Lemons, originally called “the golden apples” originated in India and were used to trade for many other valuables. This fruit is just as useful to people today, and many don’t realize how many uses there are for the inexpensive lemon.

Do you have blemishes? Mix the juice of one medium lemon with one tablespoon of honey and apply to clean face. Rinse. Your skin will be glowing and future blemishes are greatly reduced.

Need buttermilk for a recipe but don’t have any on hand? Mix one cup of milk with a tablespoon of lemon juice for a buttermilk substitute that works great!

To sanitize your dishwasher and remove mineral deposits and odors, remove all dishes. Place ¼ cup of lemon juice in the soap dispenser and run through the normal cycle. Your dishwasher will be clean and smell wonderful!

To freshen a stinky garbage disposal, slice a medium sized lemon into the disposal and turn on the disposal with running water until the lemon is gone.

To clean grout around tiles, apply lemon juice and water with a toothbrush and scrub.

To clean copper pots, cover the surface of a half lemon with salt and scrub. Rinse and buff with a soft cloth for a beautiful shine.

To clean silver, clean with lemon juice and buff with a soft cloth.

Lemon juice also cleans the tarnish off brass.

To freshen the air, squeeze a few drops of lemon juice into the vacuum cleaner bag before vacuuming.

To clean glass shower doors, apply lemon juice with a sponge. Dry with newspapers for a sparkling shine.

To remove the smell of garlic or onions from your hands, rub with a lemon slice and rinse.

To brighten whites that can't be bleached, just pour a quarter of a cup of lemon juice into the washing machine.

If someone ends up with a small cut or scrape, dab it with some lemon juice to disinfect the wound. It will also take the itch out of poison ivy.

To remove fruit, baby formula stains, or rust on colored clothing, mix a paste of cream of tartar and lemon juice. After checking the fabric for colorfastness, apply the mixture and let it set for 15-30 minutes. When stain is lifted, launder as usual.

Taken from:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/35377/

Hello!

I am just starting this blog,
so I am still just trying to figure out how everything works.
Please be patient as I learn how to blog.