The Christmas Tree is Up!

Tonight for FHE we decorated our Christmas tree. The kids had lots of fun once we got Kelsey settled down and the ornaments ready to hang. They were soooooo anxious to get started! Kelsey had her 2 month well check today along with her first round of shots. She was quite the angry little princess this evening and it took me a while to get her calmed down and fed. That's why she's not in the photo...she was resting in her swing while we decorated. While the kids had fun and were super excited, I just wasn't feeling into it this year. This is normally my absolute favorite FHE of the year. I usually love putting up the tree and decorating it, but I think having Dustin gone is draining my enthusiasm. We met at Christmastime and I am thinking it's gonna be a little rougher than I thought...but I am hoping for the best! The excitement of the kids is going to be my buoy. Here's wishing all of you a wonderful Christmas season!

Happy Babies = Happy Mommies

Here are a few pictures we've taken recently. She is a smiley little thing now. She's also started making those adorable little baby noises and coos. She's settling into a schedule, too, which I love. She's usually in bed by ten and stays there until she needs me again at around three. I am getting a pretty good night's sleep and that is good for everyone, especially with Dad gone. Now I am just waiting for that first laugh...

Contact info for Dustin...

I now have both email and snail mail addresses for Dustin. For security reasons I can't post them here but you can call me and I can give them to you over the phone. My mom also has them and can give them to you. I have been instructed not throw anything with the address written on it into the trash without being shredded first. I'm sure he'd love to get something fun in the mail!

Safe & Sound

Dustin has arrived and has settled into his new digs at Al Udeid Air Base outside Doha, Qatar. He has a roommate for now, but that may change when he makes rank in December. He was able to hit the gym today as well as eat lobster for dinner. There are lots of fun things to do there and I am excited about some of his future adventures. He can go to the beach, he can go snorkeling and sailing in the Persian Gulf, there's a pearl market to visit, and he mentioned he can go to a mall bigger than the mall of America. Does is sound like Dustin is on vacation? It kinda does, doesn't it? Well, he's not really. He still has to go to work 6 days a week and has to be away from us for a very long time. I just hope he makes the most of it. It's hard on both of us but after the trials come the blessings, right? I sure hope so. I am already seeing how much I really do love Dustin and how much I need him everyday. Not so much I need him to help me work, but that I need him as my best friend. Anyways, I am getting all mushy here and should probably stop. :) I'll keep you posted as I learn more about how he's doing. I don't have an address yet, but I should have one soon. I do know that Christmas packages have to be mailed by the 10th of December in order to arrive on time. Good Night!

I can check that off of my Goals for 2009 list!

Since by the grace of God I have all 4 kids asleep and it's not yet 9pm, I took the quiet opportunity to balance the checkbook and enter my latest coupon savings into my excel worksheet (the one my lovely mother created for me, the Amish one). Drumroll please..........

One of my goals for 2009 was to save $1000 with manufacturers coupons (like the kind you find in Sunday's paper). It's official. As of right now I have saved $1003.38. Now, in total coupons I past the $1000 mark a while ago. That's counting store coupons like at JoAnns and Michaels as well as Target receipt coupons and online coupon codes, etc. With all coupons combined my savings sits at $1327.45! I've also kept track of what I have spent obtaining the coupons (aside from the ones people have shared with me and the ones I print off the internet) and that comes to less than $100.

Now, you might say, "But what junk did you buy with all those coupons?" I only buy things I need and will use. I just love to get a good deal on things we need all the time. It's like a game to me. It helps me keep my other goals of saving for our next house (we should have a very nice down payment ready when Dustin returns) and our retirement.

So get out there and buy that Sunday paper! Since I don't shop or ask others to work on Sunday by bringing me my paper, I buy it Monday morning at Wal-Mart. In bigger cities there is often a Early Edition of the Sunday paper available after 4 on Saturday afternoon. It's like free money, folks! Run out and get you some! Oh, and don't forget your online printables- that's like printing your own money!

Loose Lips Sink Ships

Yeah, Loose Lips Sink Ships...

...so all I am telling you is that my Dustin, our Daddy, took off today from Great Falls. He'll be gone for a little more than a little while, he'll be in a place with more sand than dirt, and we will definitely be missing him. Please think of him this coming November 11th (Veteran's Day) and pray for his, and all other's, safe returns.

3, 2, 1, Blastoff!

This past Monday we built a rocket! Actually Dustin and the boys built a rocket. It wasn't until Wednesday that we had time to shoot it off. We had fuel enough for each of us to take a turn hitting the launch button. I must admit I was very impressed and it was pretty cool to watch it shoot off into the sky. We had a little laugh when a Great Falls policeman drove by really slow. I didn't know if we were going to get into any trouble but he just kept driving. The boys are really into rockets right now and I think there will be many more launches in our family's future.
I'm sorry the video is so short...I left home with my camera but no memory card and I couldn't delete all the images that were on there already so this is what we got. I think it's still pretty cool. Enjoy!

Can we say, "Unsupervised"?

Can you believe it, my daughter was unsupervised long enough to unwrap all those treats? :) Last Sunday night I caught the little princess raiding the Halloween candy that obviously wasn't put up high enough for her to stay out of it. She had about 8 dumdum lollipops unwrapped and looked pretty pleased with herself. They were all either pink, red, or orange and made a lovely little candy bouquet. As you might have guessed they all found their way to the garbage can. I guess I should watch my kids a little bit better...I'll let you know how that goes.