Announcement!

Although I might like to show to the picture that assures us she is indeed a GIRL, I will use my better judgement and not post a picture of our sweet girl's private areas.  

As you can probably guess, I am elated and Jadie is as well (although we show it in very different ways)!  We will be working on naming Baby Girl in the coming weeks.  I hope we come to a conclusion sooner than later because I want to start calling her by name!

Caleb was allowed to accompany us to the ultrasound.  He seemed to really understand what the ultrasound tech was telling us in terms of the body parts Caleb is familiar with.  He was amazed at her yawning, moving her legs, and "waving" (at him, of course).  He wasn't as interested as the tech showed us the 4 heart chambers, bladder, and spine.  It amazed me at how much I had forgotten, but also at how easy it was to "see" the baby clearly this time.  I remember being very confused at Caleb's ultrasound and having a hard time seeing what the tech was talking about.

So, today we continue to rejoice over God's blessing of a baby girl.  We had both been hoping for a girl, and this time, the desires of our heart were granted.  We continue to ask for a healthy pregnancy for me and baby.  We are specifically praying against the high blood pressure issues I faced during the pregnancy with Caleb.

Weekend Trip

We haven't seen my grandparents since Christmastime, so we made our "Easter" trip to Van this past weekend.  Before having Caleb (and on Caleb's first Easter), we would go to my grandparents for family time and Easter egg hunting.  The last three years, we have decided to stay home for Easter and visit my grandparents either the weekend before or after Easter.  We have been doing our own smaller family egg hunt and we plan to go to church on Easter Sunday at our home church.  This year, we were able to go to our home church, but we had childcare duty and missed the sermon.  The person who coordinates the childcare volunteers promised we would not have duty on Easter Sunday next year.  I hope not!

Anyhow, that's what we did this weekend...we drove to Van Saturday morning and back home Sunday afternoon.

Tomorrow's the big day to find out baby's gender!

More Bang For My Buck

Of course, I really mean our buck.  As always, I want to acknowledge and be thankful that Jadie works hard to provide for our family.  Thank you, honey! 

This is my way of making that income stretch a little farther (and hopefully as I become more experienced at couponing, a lot farther!).

Target!

I paid $49.61 for all of this.

Regular prices with no coupons and no clearance discounts would have made my total $94.63.

Yeah!  That's about 50% off!

Here's the breakdown:

Palmolive Dish Soap (13 oz.), reg. $1.47

-$1.00 Target coupon from mailer

-$0.25 coupon from newspaper insert

=$0.22

Cascade 2in1 Action Packs (qty. 20), reg. $4.04

-$0.50 Target coupon from mailer

-$0.50 coupon from newspaper insert

=$3.04

Downy Dryer Sheets (120 sheets), sale $4.50

-$0.75 Target coupon from mailer

-$0.25 coupon from newspaper  insert

=$3.50

Hanes Extra Low Cut Socks for Jadie (qty. 7), reg. $8.99

-$1.00 Target Coupon from mailer

-$1.00 coupon from package

=$6.99

5 pkg. Peanut Butter M&Ms Easter Candy (9.9 oz), reg. $2.79 ea

-$2.10 ea clearance discount

=$0.69 ea/$3.45 total

2 pkg. Nature Valley Granola Bars (qty. 4), reg. $0.99 ea

-$0.31 ea clearance discount

-$.60 ea coupon printed from coupons.com

=$0.08 ea/ $0.16 total

3 pkg. Crystal Light individual drink mix packets (qty. 10), reg. $3.79 ea

-$2.05 clearance discount

-Buy 2, Get 1 Free coupon from newspaper insert

=$1.16 ea/$3.48 total

3 pkg. Vitamin Water (20  oz.), reg. $1.02 ea

-$1.00 coupon from newspaper insert

=$0.02 ea/$0.06 total

2 pkg. Clean & Clear Face Cleanser (5.5 oz), reg. $4.29 ea

-$2.00 coupon printed from coupons.com

=$2.29 ea/$4.58 total

SoftSoap Body Wash, sale $3.04

-$1.00 Target coupon from mailer

-$1.00 coupon from All You Magazine

=$1.04

Target Brand Kitchen Trash Bags (qty. 136), reg. $8.49

Multi Grain Cheerios (12.8 oz), reg. $2.99

Honey Nut Cheerios (12.8 oz),  reg. $2.99

-$1.00 off 2 Target coupon from mailer

-$0.60 coupon from newspaper insert

-$0.75 coupon from newspaper insert

=$1.89 & $1.74/$3.63 total

Kleenex value pack (qty. 710), reg. $4.49

-$1.00 Target coupon from mailer

-$0.50 coupon from newspaper insert

=$2.99

Pantene Pro-V Shampoo & Conditioner (375 mL), reg. $3.79 ea

-$0.57 clearance discount

-$2.00 off 2 Target coupon from mailer

=$2.22 ea/$4.44 total

One of my Pantene coupons was hiding in my envelope and I didn't use it.  I noticed it as I was checking my receipt in the car.  I walked back into the store and to the service counter to ask what I should do (this was a $3.00 coupon).  The associate scanned my receipt, then my coupon, then handed me $3.00 cash.  So knock another $3.00 off of my receipt total :-)

Takes Me Back

You know how food can take you back?  I made one of my childhood favorites for dinner last night.  I knew it called for Velveeta and Rotel, so I had not even attempted it for our family since Jadie doesn't like cheese.  

I tackled it for the first time last night.  I made it without the cheese and tomatoes, poured out half for Jadie and then added the cheese and tomatoes for myself!  Jadie said his half was "not bad," which is not my desired response.  However, I have asked him to decode that phrase in the past and he says it means it's good.  A success, I suppose.

Here's the recipe (from my mom):

Chicken Spaghetti

• 4 boneless chicken breasts, cooked (I used a whole cut up chicken to save a little money/ breasts are more expensive)
  
• 1 8 oz pkg spaghetti, cooked
  
• 1 medium onion, chopped (I have to do this extremely fine so that Jadie doesn't notice the onion)
  
• 1/2 stick margarine/butter
  
• 3 Tablespoons flour
  
• 1 can chicken broth
  
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
  
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
  
• garlic powder, salt, pepper to taste
  
• 1/2 cubed Velveeta cheese
  
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes
  
• 1 cup cheddar cheese

1. In a LARGE skillet or deep pot, cook onion in margarine/butter.
   
2. When tender, add flour and brown lightly.
   
3. Add broth and both cans of soup.
   
4. Add seasonings and Velveeta cheese.  Stir until cheese is melted.
   
5. Add diced chicken and tomatoes.  Simmer.
   
6. Pour over cooked spaghetti and top with grated cheddar cheese.
   

One More Week!

We are so excited about our new little one!  Only one more week until our sonogram appointment to find out the gender of Baby Freeman!

We have been thinking of names, but are kind of at a standstill until we know if it's a boy or a girl.  I feel a little on the fence about the girl name that we had picked out.  Jadie is still pretty solid in his opinion of it though.  I really like the idea of another hard "C" sound at the beginning of the baby's name (to compliment Caleb's name), but I haven't heard too many that have really swept me off of my feet.  Any suggestions?

Strike

No strike yet.  Still waiting...

Philippians 4:6 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but by prayer and petition, present your requests to God.  And he peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  

Praise God that we can claim this verse!

I would ask that you would also claim this verse for us and pray it over us in the coming weeks.  As is the case every 4 years, Jadie's union contract is up with the company he works for.  As usual, the things that he hears through the grapevine are troublesome and could lead to worry if we are not guarding ourselves.  The contract is officially expired on April 5th, so be praying starting today!

In addition to praying for God's peace and guidance for our family during this time, we are also specifically praying for a quick, but fair resolution to any and all of the disagreements over healthcare coverage, home garaging of the work vehicles, etc.   Our family's most immediate concern is healthcare, as we are expecting the baby in August.

Thank you for listening and for any prayers on our behalf.