It's been too long....

Well hello there blogger friends! It seems like I have been missing forever... but then again a week does sometime feel like forever. This past week has been a crazy one for sure. As you know last week was my husbands last week at his job. That has been kinda hard on me because I am not sure how things are going to turn out and uncertinty scares me.

I still have not got my hair cut yet. I have been waiting until we have some money comming in before I do anything and I have a few more pics of not so short hair to post and see what you guys think. We helped my SIL and her family move into their new house and I got some good freebies out of the deal too :) I got a new china cabnit for my kitchen and I got a dresser for the boys room that is very needed. We dedicated Tyler at the baby dedication at church on Sunday. I am so happy we did! After church on Sunday we left and went to San Angelo to help out cousins and to pick up a welding truck for Michael to borrow until he can get his other truck up and running. We had fun while we were there. It rained the whole time which was kinda nice. We don't get that too often here in West Texas. We didn't get back into town until midnight Monday. It was a long drive...atleast it seemed like it. But all in all it was a good weekend.

Yesterday and today I have been dealing with all the business things. And boy is it a lot of work. I had to get our DBA and tax id number... and it is all in my name. So I am the proud new owner of a small business. Yesterday we ordered business cards that I designed and I have to say they look pretty good! And Michael has been doing contract work since yesterday...YAY! That is an answered prayer. God is Good!

I am off to do some grocery shopping and finish cleaning on the house :)

Anyone seen my pot of gold?!?

In need of a mommy makeover!

The other day at the Olive Garden (I crave their soup and salad) I was carded by the waitress who proclaimed I looked very young! I know I am young... I mean I am only 24 but I guess I feel older than I am because I do have 2 kids. I just hate being reminded that I am so young and for people to make a big deal about it.

When I got home I realized that 99% of my clothes were from when I was in high school and before I had Jacob. Then I realized I do dress young! I need a serious change!!

I am on a mission to dress more age appropriate and to get a new hairstyle. I am not sure where I am going to start or how I am going to fund it... but will eventually get it accomplished.

Would love to hear ideas :-)

God is Good

I posted earlier this week that Michael was loosing his job as of yesterday. We started praying immediately about what God wanted us to do and where he wanted us to be. In a matter of 2 days he got called out 6 times and he got overtime! That is really good since no one has been drilling since oil started dropping. His boss decided that things may be picking up and decided to keep him on one more week just to see how it pans out. The Lord has provided for us in so many ways. We are still praying that He shows us where he wants us to be and what job path to take.

Thank you to everyone who kept us in your thoughts and prayers :-)

Trust in the Lord

Today Michael called me and told me that Friday was more than likely his last day at work. Of course my first reaction is to panic... which I have been doing most of the day. But I have to remember that I am not the one in control (and I am a huge control freak). I trust in the Lord that he has a perfect plan for my family. Whether it be here starting our own company or somwhere else. We want to be where GOD wants us to be! I am doing my best not to worry... even though it is very hard... and let Him sort it all out.

And since we are out of a job I am needing to learn how to be super frugal super fast. When they cut his hours Michael kinda started a lawn care service and has been doing that after work... now he is going to be doing more of that to supplement the loss of income. The kids and I will be going on a walk around our neighborhood putting the flyers I created on peoples door hoping to get more business. Also I will be going through the house tomorrow rounding up things that we don'e need or use anymore for another garage sale. It gets me some extra cash and it gets rid of junk I don't need anymore.

If anyone has any super frugal tips I would love to know them!

Easter Sunday Fun

We started out Easter Sunday by getting up and going to church. I have really come to enjoy getting up (and wearing somthing nicer than I usually do) and going to church. We have a really wonderful Sunday School class and I love our pastor. It is the part I look forward to most during the week. After church we headed over to our friends house ( I swear we live there half the time). We were only going to stay a short time but it ended up being all day!

Here is Tyler in his little suite. (I now know to take pictures before church)

This is Courtney!

We played in the rhino most of the day. The rain the day before made great spots to go muddin'!

Here is the kids after their Easter egg hunt. My son was very dissapointed that he did not get to hunt down and shoot the eater bunny. It was way too funny...

Storm and tornado aftermath pics!

These pictures are from April 11th 2009 @ around 7pm

I am still in shock that an actual tornado touched down not too far from my house. Luckily it was a small tornado that did minimal damage, but the houses it did damage too were in the not so nice neighborhood and the houses don't seem to be constructed very well. *Note the aftermath photos are taken just south of my house in another subdivision.*

The day started out so pretty...

Here come the clouds...

This was right before the we saw the funnel cloud

We hung out in the garage the whole time cooking... how smart are we?!?

Golf Ball sized hail

Airplane hanger south of my house

This was a funny picture

Coming Soon...

I have to let you know that tomorrow I will be posting pictures of our wild weather and the aftermath of a tornado that hit 1 block away from my house! I didn't get any pictures of the tornado itself becuase we had to get the kids inside (they were playing outside). I have never seen one before and everyone told me I was crazy...it's a funny story.

Post all pics and story tomorrow! Good night everyone!

Blush Topless Undershirt Giveaway

My fab frugal friend Lindsay over at Frugal and Fabulous is hosting a giveaway! She is giving away a Blush Topless Undershirt to one lucky blogger. I am super excited becuase I always love getting free clothes!

To enter go here to the Blush Topless Undershirt Giveaway and while you are there check out all of Lindsay's fab frugal ideas, shopping trips, recipes and the tons of other things she has to offer!

Good Luck!!!

Help: Frugal Ideas Needed

Hello to all my fab frugal friends out there...

I have tried being frugal in the past and it has not worked out so well...so here I am in desperate need of some help. With everything the way it is I am hoping someone can tell me the secret(s) on how to shop on a serious budget. I need to know how to plan out weekly meals that are somewhat healthy but won't break the bank.

And my most important dilema right now is storage for my kids clothes! Here are the pictures then I will explain...

All those clothes you see are clothes that my kids can still wear. (I need to put up winter clothes and all but there are not many of those.) The problem I am having is one dresser is about go in the trash because my son used it as a ladder and it fell over on top of him and broke it. They have another dresser but it isn't that great shape either.

I was wondering if anyone had any cute and inexpensive ideas on how I could store the kids clothes so they aren't all over the place and so they are easy to get too. A friend of mine suggested the wicker baskets under the bed and in the closet, but I am not sure!?!

Any help is welcomed :-) I will post more pics of the closet and room when they wake up from naptime.

Want to win a wireless printer?!?!

Thanks to BlogHer and HP, My friend over at Southern Hospitality was given a fantastic opportunity to share with all of us AND one of us lucky readers will win a wonderful prize. Click on the link to her blog above to find out all the details. Be sure to read it all, so you can enhance your chances to win!

Contest will run for 1 week and if you'd like to share it on YOUR blog, you can win extra chances at the prize. I can't wait to see who wins this one!

Birthday BBQ Ideas...

I am planning a birthday bbq for Michael's 25th birthday that is comming up in May. So far I have the invitations which I made with Microsoft Word I couldn't figure out how to download it so here is what the invitation says (and it has a cute little grill in the background):

Come join us for
A BBQ celebrating Michael’s 25th birthday

Friday May 29th
@ 7pm

Our House

RSVP

Hope to see y’all there!

I wasn't going to do anything real big but I invited family and a few friends. The biggest part for me is going to be keeping it a secret. I am horrible at keeping things from him!

I figured we could serve hamburgers and hot dogs and then I would make a birthday cake for him. Do you have any other ideas for the food?!? I will have a variety of things to drink and and some chips and stuff. I don't want to go overboard but I want him to have a good time too!

If you have any suggestions or anything I would love to hear them!!!

*PurpleTrail Giveaway*

My wonderful and crafty friend Katie is doing her very first giveaway and it is featuring Purple Trail. I've never posted about a giveaway before so I am not sure what to do!?!

PurpleTrail is a great site and it has so many great ideas!

So head over to Katie's blog and check out her giveaway!!!

*Hope this is good enough Katie!*

Wanted: Comfy Summer Clothes

Living in West Texas the summers come early and tend to be hotter and last longer every year so I am always on the lookout for comfy summer clothes that are not too heavy and are a little more than tube tops and daisy dukes. Here are some of my favorites...

Victorias Secret
The Beach Pant in Linen
$29.50
Crochet Halter Bra Top
$38.50

Victorias Secret
Marisa Fit Belted Linen Trouser
$39.50
And I love the shirt I just can;t find it on the website.

Date Night and Family Visit

The weekend started out so wonderful! Our church held the monthly parents night out for 3 hours on Friday so we were able to drop the kids off for a much needed break. After we dropped the kids off we drove around for a little bit because we weren't sure what to do. We decided we were hungry and we decided to grab some mexican food. I was thinking outside the box and got somthing I had never had before: Chile Verde....and it was awsome! After dinner we still had lots of time so we decided to get a heath blizzard. Yummy! It was so nice to be able to talk and not be interrupted by screaming and crying. I can't wait for the next night out...were going to play miniture golf!

Saturday our cousin came to town so Michael could work on his welding machine and truck. It was so nice because I did not have to cook for entire day. And I played on the computer for most of the day. Twords the middle of the day I started feeling bad and it just got worse throughout the rest of the day. The worst part was Michael's mom came into town and we had to go over to his sisters house and spend time with her and the rest of his family. After that was all donw we came home and put the kids to bed...and boy did they need it. We ordered Body of Lies on PPV and tried to watch it and the movie wouldn't play so we spent the night watching Cheaters on WB. Gotta love a good reality show.

Sunday neither one of us felt good and decided to sleep in. We didnt even get out of bed till almost 10am. We made waffles and then lounged around till the kids went down for a nap...then took one ourselves. We did decide to get up and go buy some steaks for dinner. All in all I have to say that it was a good weekend. It's not very often we get to lounge around all day with Michael. We sure do love having him around....even if he is on the phone alot.

Herbs, Peppers and Tomatoes OH MY!

The mesquite bushes are in full bloom and my wonderful husband made my garden perfect for me to transplant my plants. He really worked hard making sure he ground was soft enough and fertalized right. I don't know what I would do without him!!! Here are some pictures of my garden...

These are my herbs: Rosemary, Tarragon, Basil, Dill, Thyme Oregeno, Stevia and Mint. The Stevia is great as a natural sweetener!

I also have bell pepper, anaheim peppers, and jalepeno peppers. And you can't see them but I also have some cucumber plants.

And lastly are my tomato plants. I have 3 or 4 different kinds ranging from big to small.

Here is a look at my entire garden. I know it is not perfect but I absolutly love it!!!

Refrigerator-rator!

Here is my new refigerator. I absolutly love it! There is so much more room in it than there was in my last one. But it's also nice because we kept the old one and put it in the garage so we would have room for other stuff (like the 5 gallons of milk we buy every 2 weeks). I also love the ice machine! It makes the really good soft crunchy ice. I feel like I have to buy more food just to fill it...lol. And the best part was we got it on sale. They ordered one too many and this was the floor model that they marked down. But, I will warn everyone if you guy somthing like this be sure to measure your doorways first! Our front door was barely big enough to accomodate it and we even had to take the door off it's hinges. Needless to say it was a hassel but well worth it in the end.