Forever Changed by Grace

Moving Again!!!

Wed, 3 Sep 2008 15:12:16 -0500

We are moving again. This time though I am happy to say that it is not our house that is moving it is just our blog. We are moving back to www.foreverchangedbygrace.blogspot.com . Ever since mac changed the format of the .mac accounts noone can make comments on my blog. Not to mention that ever since I changed to this blog, several of my treasured friends have express dislike for the new site. So, to make it easier for my friends to find me and for me to able to get your comments I am going back to blogspot. I will still post pictures here at times and link them to my blogspot blog. See you there!!!!

An Angel In Our Midst

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:04:49 -0500

You don’t have to be poor to feel the financial pinch these days. With rising gas and food prices it is barely possible to make the same salary as two years ago and maintain the same way of life. Michael and I have been doing everything we can to lower our standard of living, not only because we’ve had to but also because we have been implementing Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace principle’s into our family. one of the first things we did when starting this new way of life was to get on a budget and start paying cash for everything. Michael and I have never been on a budget, at least not a workable one, but after tracking our expenses for three months we got a better idea of how our money is spent and finally got on a much needed workable budget.

One thing that shocked me when I tracked our expenses was the amount of money that we spend on food every month. 95% of our food budget is groceries. We rarely eat out, maybe once a week if that. We eat left-overs, I use coupons, and bargain shop, and yet the $$ amount surprised me. So, I started talking to people and realized that we were in “normal” range for a family our size and that with the rising food costs it would only get worse. So, I got even more serious. No eating out at all, comparison shopping, coupons, sales, you name I did it and even with all that work I still could only get the grocery budget down about $100 a month.

Then I decided to check out something that I heard about about three years ago when we were living in Texas. I heard about a nationwide ministry called Angel Food Ministries. It is non-profit ministry that provides high-quality food products for about half the cost. Churches around the country team up with the ministry as host sites where you can place your orders and pick them up. When I first heard about them I didn’t get involved, mainly because I didn’t feel that I qualified, even though on their website they say, “If you eat, you qualify.” So, when we moved here I found a church near us that is a host site and I decided to try it. I ordered enough food for dinners for a month for $110. I want to share with you what I got, because I believe that we are not alone and many of you reading this are trying to find ways to make your budget work without having to get a raise or another job. Here is what I got with this months menu:

1.5 lb. Ribeye Steaks (4 x 6 oz.) 10 ct. Frozen Waffles 5 lb. Chicken Leg Quarters 16 oz. Bean Soup Mix 28 oz. Chicken Breast Nuggets 1 lb. Rice 28 oz. Salisbury Steak Dinner Entrée 9 oz. Instant Potatoes (14 servings) 32 oz. Breaded Chicken Breast Filets 15 oz. Sliced Peaches 1 lb. Smoked Sausage 32 oz. Borden Shelf Stable Milk 16 oz. California Blend Frozen Vegetables 1 Dozen Eggs 16 oz. Frozen Carrots 1 Dessert Item 16 oz. Frozen Chopped Spinach ALL THIS FOR THE LOW COST OF JUST…….. $30.00
I ordered three of these menu’s and then ordered a grill special for $20 that had
1.5 lb. Baseball Cut Sirloin Filet (4 x 6 oz. – Thick Cut),
2 lbs. Juicy Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast,
2 lbs. St. Louis-Style Ribs,
1.5 lb. Hamburger Patties (4 x 6 oz.)

We have been eating the food and it is no different than food would buy at the store. And I expect that doing this will cut our grocery bill in half. I still have to buy milk, eggs, lunch meat, condiments, etc but this is saving bundles on the bulk of our grocery bill which is dinner. I encourage you to check them out. See if there is a church near you that is a host site. Go to the website (www.angelfoodministries.com) and read about them and how they are able to do what they do. God bless!!!

I’m A Big Kid Now

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:35:33 -0500

Well, it’s official! My baby is not a baby anymore. I can hardly believe it. A few night ago she started throwing fits at bedtime saying she didn’t want to go to bed. When I asked her where she wanted to sleep, she said the futon (which is in her room). We put it there because sometime when she would wake up at night I will go and lay in there on it until she falls back to sleep. So, that night I flattened out the futon, which becomes the size of a full size bed, and put her to bed. Well, she liked it so much that she refused to go to sleep, so back into her baby bed she went. That night I thought about what I should do and decided that this transition would probably be easier if we got her a new bed. I have to say that I had to force myself not to THINK about it to much, I have a tendency to do that but I am working on it. She is very into Princesses so I went on Craiglist and found this bed for a steal. It is a Disney Princess toddler bed and she LOVES it. I don’t know how long she will be able to stay in it seeing at how she is the size of a four year old but we will cross that bridge when we come to it. I have to say though that watching her laying there asleep in a big girl bed makes me proud and sad all at the some time. My baby is growing up...they all are.

And do you see the baby doll? That is Sophie. She loves her baby doll, so when she got the bed the first thing she wanted to do was show Sophie. They have slept in it every night since.

Back to School

Thu, 7 Aug 2008 19:30:21 -0500

Isabella and Micah started school today. I can hardly believe that Isabella is entering the 2nd grade and Micah is in Kindergarten. Micah is totally stoked because his teacher is a guy named Michael Shivers, who was a camp counselor at the YMCA this summer. They were so excited they both got up on their own at 6:30 this morning. It was an exciting day for both of them, although Micah got a little freaked out at the end of the day. Right at the time that school was letting out a very bad thunderstorm moved in. They wouldn’t let the kids out of school because the lightning was so bad. It took an hour for it to move out. As I put him to bed tonight, we were praying and he looked up at me and asked if their was going to be another storm tomorrow. I told him no, that I thought that the weather would be pretty tomorrow. I asked him if the storm scared him today (which would be atypical for him) and he said, “No, the storm didn’t scare me but when you didn’t come I thought you had died in the storm.” I felt so bad. It occurred to me that my little boy had sat inside the school on his very first day for an hour wondering if his mommy was still alive and coming to get him. My heart broke! Note to self, park and get my children the next time that happens. Other than that, their first was great and they are both very excited to make new friends and learn new things.

Nostalgia of my childhood

Sat, 2 Aug 2008 22:03:13 -0500

It is always fun to revisit our childhood. 80’s hair bands were all the rage in my teenage years. Guns n Roses, Bon Jovi, KISS, Motley Crue, Van Halen, Ratt, and, of course, Poison were my favorite bands but i was not allowed to go see any of them in concert. Well last weekend I had the opportunity to go to see Poison in concert with my sister-in-law, Michelle. We had back stage passes, which was fun, and then we were on the fifth row. If you have ever watched Rock of Love with Brett Michael’s (I have to admit that I have never seen the show, I am not that big of a fan) but if you have you have seen Brett’s best friend, Big John, on the show. We didn’t get to meet any of the band members, but we did get our pictures made with Big John. What got me the whole night was the fascination that people have with “stars”. It made me giggle every time I heard a girl go crazy because the got to see Brett’s EMPTY dressing area under the stage or the guys who thought the tour bus was like the greatest thing in the world. And I couldn’t help but laugh when I looked around the crowd and saw nothing but people in their mid-30’s, 40’s, and even early 50’s “rocking out” to the music of our youth. Of course, at our age, if we rock out standing up the whole time it’s a miracle. At our age, gone are the days of mosh pits and head-banging. Now at 35, almost 36, mosh pits make me sweaty and head-banging just gives me a headache. I have to say my favorite part of the whole show was the 10 minute guitar solo by Cici DeVille. He is amazing!!! So Poison was fun, but I would rather go watch US Band at the Iron Horse (a local band at a local bar) and dance to all kinds of 80’s hair band music and play pool if I am not up to dancing. Here are a couple of pictures.

Me and Michelle with Big John

Me and Michelle singing on Brett’s microphone