I started my day in the Peace Retreat with Jesus Calling and my Bible. The verse I appreciated the most and have been thinking about through the day is Isaiah 61:10:
"I delight greatly in the Lord;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."
I had a Crystal day in shopping today - I was just saying yesterday to my Mom that I can't seem to get my things to work out as low as she does - but today I take it all back!my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."
I love to start my day by reading/praying through Ann's 10 Point Manifesto to Joyful Mothering. Good, good, good reminders.
After this, it was time for breakfast! I had a pan full of leftover cinnamon rolls from a brunch on Saturday - that seemed perfect for today! It was a lovely spring morning and the birds were chirping and we enjoyed a nice breakfast on our screened in porch!
We read some new books and I had to walk over to the fence and take some pictures of this gorgeous tree in our neighbors yard!
Next it was time for chores and school! After all of that, we did our errands.
After this, it was time for breakfast! I had a pan full of leftover cinnamon rolls from a brunch on Saturday - that seemed perfect for today! It was a lovely spring morning and the birds were chirping and we enjoyed a nice breakfast on our screened in porch!
We read some new books and I had to walk over to the fence and take some pictures of this gorgeous tree in our neighbors yard!
Next it was time for chores and school! After all of that, we did our errands.
First, I went to Walgreens - I stopped at the checkout first because I noticed in the ad that if you bought $15 in Coke products you got $15 in coupons. But, I wondered what kind of coupons? After checking with two managers, they agreed that I would qualify for $15 in Register Rewards. Um, that is $15 in free Coke - I'll take it! The RR did not print, but they gave me the $15 on a gift card that I can use next time. If you go, I can't promise your store will give the same deal - but it would sure be worth checking out!
Transaction one:
3 - 12 pack Coca Cola 3/$13
3 - 2 Liters Coca Cola 4/$5 ($3.75)
Total: $16.92 - $15 back on gift card = $1.92
Transaction two:
Huggies Diapers - $8.99 sale price; $2.00 mfr. coupon and $2 back in RR = $4.99
Baby Magic Body Wash - $3 sale price; $3 back in RR = free
Aquaphor Lip Care - $4.99 sale price; $1.00 mfr. coupon and $4 back in RR = free
Colgate toothpaste - $2.99 sale price; $0.75 mfr. coupon and $3 back in RR = made 0.75
Storage Bags - 99 cents sale this week
TUF Trash Bags - $2.99 sale this week
Kleenex four pack - $4; $2.00 Walgreens coupon = $2
Total out of pocket: $10.22
Transaction three:
Huggies Diapers - $8.99 sale price; $2.00 mfr. coupon and $2 back in RR = $4.99
Then, to Publix - I wanted to get the Green Giant Veggies while they were on sale with coupons and as if that Coke deal wasn't good enough - this turned out even better! I had some Publix store coupons that were for $1 off of four cans of Green Giant veggies and I wasn't sure if they would allow me to use five of those - so I just asked before she rang up my order and she said I could use all of them!
Green Giant Veggies: on sale B1G1 (.66 or .67 each sale price) - buy 20 and use $5/20 coupon from the Italian Days booklet; also use 5 $1/4 GG veggie coupons from the Italian Days coupon
I also bought the Brownies for Ellie's birthday party and used a $4 RR from Walgreens (our Publix allows shoppers to use one RR on their purchase)
Total out of pocket: $1
Lunch and then Quiet Time! Last night Rachel informed me that today was Ellie's birthday. Ellie is her pink elephant that she sleeps with and loves to pieces. So, after QT - they began setting up Ellie's party. Balloons from the grocery store, lego letters spelling her name and a box of brownies with sprinkles made it all special! And, a new puzzle was fun too - though a bit challenging for our little girls!
When we had that all cleaned up - it was time to leave for dance classes which got us home at dinner time. I had gotten a free rotisserie chicken which I saved for tonight and we had corn and fresh strawberries too!
Things are ready to go for our day at CC tomorrow and I'm tired! I really enjoyed reading your posts this evening, and pray that God will bless each of our homes as we create them into havens for our families!
Challenge for tomorrow:
We'll be away from home for a lot of the day - so I'm going to have to get more creative with my Haven challenges! But, here are a few thoughts:
* Write a note to someone - handwritten! Pray and ask God who would be blessed by a note of encouragement and then follow through!
* Pick one space to tidy up in my home - for me, this will be my kitchen counters.
* Pray for my home to be a haven.
* Take a few pictures of things that catch your eye - His beauty around you!
One last thing - as if this post isn't already enormous enough! If you'd like to win a set of the books I showed above - please leave a comment sharing something about how you made your home a haven and I'll draw a winner on Wednesday night!