Break my heart for what breaks yours.

So apparently God making us more like Him can be an ugly process on the outside. ::sigh::

It's been a very humbling week and quite frankly I'm stuffed from humble pie. Be careful what you pray for, that's for sure. It's actually been 2 weeks of some serious answers to prayer. Sometimes the answers don't come wrapped in a pretty little box and necessarily the way I'd deliver, but I'm not God and his ways are sovereign so that's that. Definitely just taking the days one at a time and coming to terms with the stuff the Lord is revealing my life that has to be dealt with. I am surrounded by some seriously godly women who have been such encouragements in my life. I watch them as wives, mothers, friends, mentors and I so desire to be that kind of godly woman, but it's going to take some work to get there, but I'm in for the long haul. I'm thankful God loves us enough to not leave us where we are at and he gives us the tools we need to move forward. God has been so faithful the last few weeks to send some specific women into my life to give me constructive criticism, encouragement and reminders of what God's word says. Two of which stood out were Psalms 27 & Proverbs 29. Psalms 27's theme is God offering hope for today and hope for the future. Unwavering confidence in God is our antidote for fear and loneliness. Proverbs 29 also spoke so much to me and raised questions like "What kind of climate are you setting for the people you lead?" & "What significant adjustments have been on hold in your life for too long?" ~ Definitely some serious thoughts to ponder there. I hope I can read this in a year and be able to say I'm not where I was then by the Grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. Tomorrow is going to be hard, but my desire is to please the Lord and do what he calls me to do no matter what.

Break my heart for what breaks yours.

Back to school & Crafts

Today we had the girls' friend, Faith over. We went to the nursery and picked out some plants, then did some baking at home. Strawberry Rhubarb pie that is! Yummo! After that we had some lunch, we headed to chick-fil-a for an Icedream Cone and then to Michael's. At Michael's we picked up some terra cotta pots and patio paint. When we got home and Madison and Faith painted their pots. They turned out so adorable. We got out the hot glue gun and glued some buttons on them, too. I wish I had gotten a picture of Faith's, she drew a vine with blue flowers, it was precious! We filled it with soil and put some grape tomato seeds in it. Madison painted a flower and we put a red button for the pollen in the middle and then she did a butterfly and we used 2 black buttons at the antennae. She loves to do crafts!

Later in the evening we ran some errands and we ended up getting Madison her backpack for school. It's adorable and she was stoked, too! So much peace about the choice we've made about education. Tomorrow we go to turn in all the rest of the paperwork to finish up the enrollment process. Eeek!!

Millsap Haps

Idk why, but for the most part I have just lost the zest to blog lately and I LOVE writing. I really do have lots to write about and I think that's part of the problem - I get overwhelmed.

God has been doing some amazings things in our life, that's for sure. He's definitely blessing our business. That's been really exciting to see doors opened and for it to grow. I def give all the credit to the Lord because he has opened doors that could have def never been opened by us.

We're so blessed to be at the church we are at. I love love love my Lakeshore family. We've made amazing friends, grown in our walk with the Lord, watched our kids get nurtured, been surrounded by love and support. They truly are our family.

Madison is getting ready to start Kindergarten, I got her all registered online a few minutes ago actually. CAN NOT believe she is starting Kindergarten. Wow. I've also been planning a bridal shower and bachelorette part for my seester who is getting married in October. Ohmygoodness. Can't believe that's happening either! Bridal shower is hawaiian themed and the Bachelorette party is an overnighter in Palm Springs, poolside.

We're still crankin' down on our debt! This week we've put a little over $900 towards one of the student loans! About $600 more to go and we'll be under $20k for that one! I feel like that's a milestone! We are actually going to see Dave Ramsey this fall! We are more than stoked! And today my friend, Erika, bought her ticket and she is coming with. I can't tell you how much I love having friends that love Dave as much as I do and actually apply his principles. It's such a warm and fuzzy feeling I can't explain. It honestly blows my mind when people don't love Dave as much as I do. What's not to love?! haha

It's been an interesting few months. I've def had some moments where I've been "If I could just have this (insert material item that will make life all better), I'd be stoked" mostly that blank spot is a house AND a 2nd vehicle, preferably a truck. We're still sharing a car and it's not easy trying to get your kids involved but having to coordinate with the husby who is crankin out work like it's nobody's business. Summer is extremely busy for us, praise God, but's crazy with one car. And I'm sure our own home is an easy one to understand, but I know God's plans are wayyy bigger than our own and he has been so ridiculously good to us, I have no room to question his how's or why's.

He has been answering so many little prayers lately. Such a great reminder that a big God still cares about our little day to day things. And these have been very specific prayers. I have a friend that has recently started seeing a counselor while they are working through some tough times and I prayed specifically that this counselor would be a godly person and influence on them. Few days later, we were talking and they shared that they discovered their counselor was Christian and gave them scriptures to encourage them. "He loves us, oh how he loves us..." Thanks Lord for hearing the prayers of your children. He is so good! Also gives me the strength and encouragement to continue praying for requests that haven't been answered yet.

If you are praying for us, please do keep the 2nd vehicle in prayer. We are just trusting God will make a way and we can still continue to be faithful in paying down our debt.

10 things that make me Happy the past week

(I've never done one of these posts, but I'm quite fond of reading others so why not!)

1. Salvation

2. Short road trips w/good friends

3. Craigslist sales

4. New Clients

5. Creme Brulee Coffeemate

6. 1.49 for Silk Almond Milk

7. Owl City's new song: In Christ Alone

8. Another $520 to the student loan

9. Beach with my family and some godly women and their awesome kids

10. Finally ordering my daughter's birth certificates. I'm not behind or anything LOL

#438

That number is where this blog falls on my list of things to do! haha!! However, there was a popular demand for it! So after getting the ads in the mail on Tuesday I decided that I def needed to take a trip to Ralph's. The sale was too good to pass up. So this morning I still had PILES of coupons to go thru and clip so I took a couple hours to do that. Then I pulled out the ones I had that matched up with the Ralph's ad. I don't typically shop at Ralph's, but every once in a while I can go in there and get a STEAL if you plan right. So the big deal at Ralphs this week was the buy 10 item's get an extra $5 off all 10. There wasn't anything I needed right this second, but it was all things I use and stocking up at this sale price was a good idea! I had coupons for EVERY item I went in for. Before you go make sure you have your Ralph's card, coupons, list, reusable bags (5 pts a bag) AND you SHELL gas receipt! yes, Shell gas! You get double the points, more points = more coupons. ALSO, you can take your Ralph's receipt to select shell stations and get .10 off each gallon. So when I went in, they didnt have the quantity of items I needed, I meticulously planned my list to buy exactly 40 of the super sale items. So I had to restructure my game plan a little. I also needed to make sure I hit $75 AFTER I put my card thru to be able to use my $5 off $75 purchase Ralph's coupon. REMEMBER: It ONLY has to be $75 with your card PRE-Coupons, not after. ps. Ralph's doubles ALL coupons UP TO $1.

So I walked out with the following with the final price PER item after coupon:

3 Loreal Shampoo's (.99)

2 Loreal Conditioners(.99)

3 half gallons of Silk Almond Milk (1.49)

5 Sunny Delights (.99, no coupon tho)

9 cans of Pringles (.66)

1 bag of Kettle Chips (1.49)

4 Bottles of Wisk (1.49)

4 Tic-Tacs (FREE)

5 Three Muskateers Bars (.33)

11 tubes of toothpaste (FREE)

Scotch Brite sponges (1.49)

Lloyd's Bbq Chicken (2.99)

Ground Turkey (3.99)

There really are no tricks. I have access to quite a few coupons. I have 5 Sunday papers delivered to my door and I collect coupons from about 6-8 other individuals. I also print some coupons Once I have all my coupons, I just pay attention to the ads. Obviously I don't use coupons on EVERYTHING! There's seems to be a huge misunderstanding of couponing out there. Just because you don't see any fresh produce in this list doesn't mean we don't eat it! We have our own garden in our backyard with tomatoes, eggplant, artichokes, spices, etc. and we go to Henry's for other produce. What you are seeing here is the fact that I pay NOTHING for toothpaste, don't you brush your teeth? And do you wash your clothes? Now, I don't usually buy that many chips, but since it's summer Pringle's are a crowd favorite for beach trips! Ok, well I'm sure there are other questions. Feel free to post your questions about anything couponing and I will do my best to answer with what I've learned thus far in my next blog which will be a Q&A blog about it!

Oh my total was $37.96; my savings overall was $152!! =]