Embarking on a new journey into the life of a law enforcement family

        Roughly 9 years ago, I said I Do to a Navy Submariner.  As of yesterday night I am now married to a Police Officer.  Looking back I never thought that I would eventually be married to some one in law enforcement.  When I met my husband he had actually told me that he was going to be a career sailor.  I thought ok that's fine, that seemed like a good plan for his life.  I was only 18 at the time and didn't think that I would marry him anyway so if that was what he wanted for his life that was fine.  4 years later we were married and on our way overseas.  At that point in my life, I never thought I would get to go Europe let alone live in Europe.  But I had accepted the fact that my husband wanted to be a career sailor.  I eventually even got use to being a Navy wife.  We were lucky to have been stationed in Italy where he didn't have to go out to sea like he had to when we were dating.  Then in 2007 we had our first daughter and things started to change.  We were looking at the end of my husband's contract and seeking God's will on whether he should re-enlist or not.  Then we had our daughter and we thought do we really want to raise a family knowing he would be gone half the year?  God showed us His will that we do not re enlist and that we should re-enter the civilian world.  Once we made the decision to separate from the military, my husband started looking for work.  He got hired by a company where one of its branches operated out of Las Vegas.  After another 4 years, I was looking at my life and wondering how did we get here?  How we are actually moving to Las Vegas?  But God has funny ways of revealing His plans.  Las Vegas had a lot of ups and downs.  We faced financial trouble when my husband got laid off and we faced emotional trouble when things didn't go as planned with our church.  But through it all God had his hand upon our family and he guided us out.  And then another 4 years later, we moved back to my husband's hometown where he got hired on by the local police department.  After 18 weeks of mental and physical hard work, my husband graduated on June 7th and got swore in as a police officer.  And yet again I am asking how did we get here?
           After 13 and half years with this man, my life had changed more than it has ever had.  I know a lot of my friends haven't even left the town they were born and grew up in.  Change can be bad or good depending on how you choose to accept it.  When I met my husband I never dreamed that I would get to live in Italy and Las Vegas.  I never thought that I would have two of the most beautiful, rambunctious, and intelligent daughters anyone could have.  I never thought that I would find the ultimate love of God and grow in my faith and trust in Him.  I never thought that I would have gotten the chance to serve in a ministry that would plant a church in the heart of Las Vegas and watch it grow from a church of 5 families to a church of a hundred.  And I never thought that I would be able to become the proud wife of a police officer.
        I have noticed that my life tends to change in cycles of 4 years.  Every 4 years seems to bring some kind of change that is life altering for my family and I.  I don't know if that means in 4 years, my life will be changing again.  I actually hope not.  I never liked and will probably never like change.  But God always brings about growth when He does bring about change.  I don't know what the next 4 years will be like as we embark on another new adventure.  What I am sure of is that I am ready with whatever God has for us.
This post actually went in a totally different direction then I had planned.  Oh well, that's life.  Here are some pictures from my husband's graduation.

Receiving his certificate 

Getting sworn in

Me pinning on his badge

Signing his oath of office

My husband and his dad

Our family

My husband and his mom

My husband and his younger brother

Celebrating with a fellow officer

Great Kroger Finds

I had to make a quick run to Kroger the other day and noticed some greats deals that could be had.

There's a Maruchan coupon for .50/1 Maruchan bowl or Maruchan Yakisoba in the 2/10 SS and the 5/19 SS.  This makes it free since my Kroger doubles. 

Maruchan Yakisoba any variety .89

use .50/1 Maruchan bowl or Maruchan Yakisoba SS 2/10 (exp. 5/31)

or .50/1 Maruchan bowl or Maruchan Yakisoba SS 5/19 (exp.7/15)

Final cost: free (if your Kroger doubles)  I thought it would be a money maker for me but the register only doubles up to the actual cost.  So the coupon value was .50 and I got an extra .39 bonus coupon making the item free.

 This week Kroger has a deal for Heinz Ketchup 32 oz bottle 2/$4.  That is what I went to buy.  While I was there I noticed this shelf tag for the Heinz Stand Up Pouch which is regularly priced at $1.00.  The coupon I had was .50/1 Heinz Ketchup no size or variety limit.  With Kroger doubling coupons, this would have made this item free.  As you can see I probably was not the only one that figured this out.  The shelf was completely empty.

Heinz Stand Up Pouch $1.00
use .50/1 Heinz Ketchup SS 5/19 (regional coupon, some inserts only had .25/1)
Final Cost: free (if your store doubles).

There is an Ibotta offer that gives you back $1.00 for the purchase of 1 Capri Sun.  My kids go through juice like crazy so I feel like paying 1.18 for a pack of 10 is a good price.  

Capri Sun Original $2.18

redeem $1.00 Ibotta offer

Final Cost: $1.18

Free Redbox Movie Today Only at Kroger

Redbox and Kroger has teamed up to give us a free movie today May 26th.  Just enter code KROGERFREE at Redbox locations located at Krogers.  This may work at Kroger affiliates such as Smiths.  (found this on Krazy Kroger).  This code will only work today.

.50 Corn Dogs at Sonic

I know is this a little late in the day but I just found out that Sonic, in honor of National End of School Day (who knew there was such a thing.), has .50 corn dogs all day today.  There is still time to go for dinner and for those of you on the West Coast you can also take part in their happy hour where drinks are 1/2 price.  I am pretty sure happy hour is everyday from 2pm-4pm .  So go and get a 1/2 price cherry limeade and a corn dog for .50.  For those of us that missed happy hour, at least there is still .50 corn dogs.

Kroger 2x points Fri-Sun thru June 30th

Kroger has this promotion going on that allows you to earn double fuel points when you shop on the weekends.  This only works Friday through Sunday and end June 30th.  All you have to do is load this coupon onto your Kroger card.

Overload of Freebies

I subscribe to what I feel like is the best freebie blog out there.  The owner of the site is a college student and a guy at that.  He posts freebies as soon as they are available and if you can even get texts letting you know when a new freebie is available.  The site is called FreebieSharks.com.

So this is what I got today in the mail.  I honestly can remember where I got some of these so you will have to forgive me since I won't be able to tell you where or how to get them.  The one thing that stinks about freebies is that many of the better ones are limited, ie only 500 samples are being given away which also means they are only available for a limited time.  But I thought that I would post this up so that you can see the things that you can get for free.  All you have to do is fill out a form.  So make sure to sign up or like a freebie website and start getting your own free stuff.

Results of Shopping Trip

So here is what I ended up buying and paying at CVS and Target. I am actually pretty happy with how the trip turned out.  CVS and Target had plenty of stock.  I think this is the first trip in a long time where I have been able to find everything that I needed.  The prices for the Band Aid and the Sally Hansen Nail Polish was a little higher than I expected but still pretty good overall.


CVS:

Transaction 1:
2 Sally Hansen Nail Polish $5.79
Spend $10 on any Sally Hansen Cosmetics Get $5 Extra Bucks limit 1
use (2) 4.00/1 Sally Hansen Nail Color min. $4.99 excludes Hard as Nails Nail Color and Hard as Nail Xtreme RP 5/5 (exp.6/5)
4 Hellmann's Mayonnaise $3.00
2 Ragu Pasta $1.67
Spend $15 Get $5 Extra Bucks limit 1
use (2) 1.00/1 Hellmann's Mayonnaise 22oz or larger limit 2 identical coupons in same transaction (you need to sign up and earn points to get this coupon.)
and (2) 1.00/1 Hellmann's Mayonnaise 22oz or larger limit 2 identical coupons in same transaction
2 Band Aid Brand Bandages $3.99 
1 Neosporin Ointment $5.79
1 First Aid Case $4.99
Buy 3 Band Aid Bandages, Get $5 Extra Bucks limit 1
Buy 3 Get Free First Aid Case
use (1) $2.00/1 Neosporin Product 
and (1) .75/2 Band Aid Adhesive Bandages RP 4/7 (exp. 5/24)
used $5/$30 CVS coupon that was email to me.
Total: $20.94 used $6 Extra Bucks from last week =
Paid $14.94 got $15 Extra Bucks

Transaction 2:

2 Clear Scalp & Hair Beauty Hair Shampoo $5.00
2 Clear Scalp & Hair Beauty Hair Conditioner $5.00
Spend $15, Get $5 Extra Bucks limit 1
use (2) Free Clear Conditioner or Mask up to $5.99 when buy Clear Shampoo limit 2 identical coupons in same transaction RP 5/19 (exp. 6/2)
2 Crest 3D White Arctic Fresh Toothpaste $4.99
Spend $10, Get $5 Extra Bucks limit 2
use (2) .50/1 Crest Toothpaste 4 oz or larger excludes Cavity, Tartar, Control, Baking Soda and trial/travel sizes)
Final: 1.49 ea
2 Wet n Wild Nail Polish $1.99
Buy 1 Get 1 50% off Wet N Wild Cosmetics
use (2) $1.00/1 Wet N Wild or Fergie Eye, Lip or Nail Product RP 5/19 (exp.6/1)
used $2/2 Crest Toothpaste CVS coupon and a $2/$10 Hair Care CVS coupon (both of these are from the red coupon machine inside of CVS.  Always scan your card here before you shop!!)
Total: 15.96 used $15 Extra Bucks from previous transaction =
Paid: .96 got back $10 Extra Bucks

Target:

Transaction 1:
2 Banana Boat Kids SPF 50 8 oz $6.49
Buy 2, Get $5 Target Gift Card
use $3.25/2 Banana Boat Sun Care Product 3 oz or larger excludes lip balm and trial sizes
and $2.00/2 Banana Boat Kids sunscreen 4 oz or larger
and 5% off Banana Boat Kids 
Total: $7.07 got back $5 Target Gift Card and submitted for .75 Banana Boat Ibotta credit

Transaction 2:
2 Motts for Tots $1.99
use (2) $1.00/1 Motts for Tots any size or variety 
or (2) $1.00/1 Motts for Tots any size or variety 
Final Cost: .99 ea
2 Market Pantry Penne Pasta $1.17 (I thought these were 1.07 and I forgot to show my phone to the cashier for a 1.00/2 Market Pantry Pasta Product Target Mobile coupon which would have made these .57)
1 Kool Aid Jammer 10pk $1.79
Total: $6.11 use $5 gift card from previous transaction
Paid: $1.11 submit for .50 Kool Aid Jammer Ibotta credit =
Final Cost: .61

Total OOP: $24.08 and have $10 Extra Bucks plus .75 and .50 Ibotta credit so $12.83 for $119.29
That's an 89% savings!!!!!!!!!!  If I had only used the mobile coupon I would have only ended up paying $11.83 for everything and that would have made it an 90% savings.

Shopping Plan for week of 5/19

There are some good CVS and Target deals out there.  Here is what I plan to buy.

CVS:

2 Sally Hansen Nail Polish $5.49
Spend $10 on any Sally Hansen Cosmetics Get $5 Extra Bucks limit 1
use (2) 4.00/1 Sally Hansen Nail Color min. $4.99 excludes Hard as Nails Nail Color and Hard as Nail Xtreme RP 5/5 (exp.6/5)
Final cost: $2.02 mm

4 Hellmann's Mayonnaise $3.00
2 Ragu Pasta $1.67
Spend $15 Get $5 Extra Bucks limit 1
use (2) 1.00/1 Hellmann's Mayonnaise 22oz or larger limit 2 identical coupons in same transaction (you need to sign up and earn points to get this coupon.)
and (2) 1.00/1 Hellmann's Mayonnaise 22oz or larger limit 2 identical coupons in same transaction
Final cost: 1.06 ea

2 Band Aid Brand Bandages $2.99 
1 Neosporin Ointment $6.29
1 First Aid Case $4.99
Buy 3 Band Aid Bandages, Get $5 Extra Bucks limit 1
Buy 3 Get Free First Aid Case
use (1) $2.00/1 Neosporin Product 
and (1) .75/2 Band Aid Adhesive Bandages RP 4/7 (exp. 5/24)
Final Cost: 1.13 ea

2 Clear Scalp & Hair Beauty Hair Shampoo $5.00
2 Clear Scalp & Hair Beauty Hair Conditioner $5.00
Spend $15, Get $5 Extra Bucks limit 1
use (2) Free Clear Conditioner or Mask up to $5.99 when buy Clear Shampoo limit 2 identical coupons in same transaction RP 5/19 (exp. 6/2)
Final Cost: $1.25 ea

2 Crest 3D White Arctic Fresh Toothpaste $4.99
Spend $10, Get $5 Extra Bucks limit 2
use .50/1 Crest Toothpaste 4 oz or larger excludes Cavity, Tartar, Control, Baking Soda and trial/travel sizes)
or 1.00/1  Crest 4 oz or larger Toothpaste
Final: 1.49 ea

2 Wet n Wild Nail Polish $1.99
Buy 1 Get 1 50% off Wet N Wild Cosmetics
use (2) Wet N Wild or Fergie Eye, Lip or Nail Product RP 5/19 (exp.6/1)
Final Cost: .49 ea

Target:

2 Banana Boat Kids SPF 50 8 oz $6.49
Buy 2, Get $5 Target Gift Card
use $3.25/2 Banana Boat Sun Care Product 3 oz or larger excludes lip balm and trial sizes
and $2.00/2 Banana Boat Kids sunscreen 4 oz or larger
and 5% off Banana Boat Kids 
Final Price: 1.04 ea submit .75 Ibotta = .66 ea

2 Motts for Tots $1.99
use (2) $1.00/1 Motts for Tots any size or variety 
or (2) $1.00/1 Motts for Tots any size or variety 
Final Cost: .99 ea

Amazing Deal on Banana Boat Kids Sunscreen

There is a high value coupon for Banana Boat Sun Care Product.  The coupon is $3.25/2 Banana Boat Sun Care.  There is also a Target coupon valued at $2.00/2 Banana Boat Kids sunscreen 4 oz or larger.  And the new Cartwheel Target has a 5% off.  And you can redeem .75 from Ibotta. Lastly, Target is running a promotion where when you buy 2 you get a $5 gift card.  This is a 89% savings.  Since summer is coming up on us, I know I will be stocking up on sunscreen because we will be spending a lot of time at the pool this year.



Buy 2 Banana Boat Kids or Baby Sunscreen SPF 50 $6.49 sale price
use $3.25/2 Banana Boat Sun Care
and $2.00/2 Banana Boat Kids sunscreen 4 oz or larger
and 5 % off Banana Boat Kids Target Cartwheel 
Pay: $7.34 get $5 Target Gift Card and redeem .75 Ibotta
Final Price = .80 ea.

I have read some posts saying some couponers were having trouble with the deal at various Targets.  I would go with the weekly ad in hand to make sure you get the sale price and the gift card.

Super Easy Suppers

So my cousin just came down to visit me last week.  It was really great to see her since she is pretty much my sister and my best friend rolled into one.  One night we got to watching the tv show Chopped on the Food Network.  For those who don't know this show takes 4 chefs and takes the most random ingredients and puts them in one basket.  The chefs then have to take those ingredients and make them into an  edible gourmet dish.  Well, this got us talking about what makes you a good cook.  Most of us use recipes to help us cook but some of use have been cooking so long that we don't need recipes to make delicious dishes.  However, there are those who can like those chefs on Chopped, open their fridge look at the random ingredients in there and whip up an amazing and delicious meal.  Needless to say, I am not one of those chefs.  I still use recipes to help me cook but since I got married 9 years ago, I have definitely improved and there are certain things that I can make from memory.  Well this week, I got thinking about what makes a great cook and by accident had to come up with a meal from what was already in my fridge and pantry.  And then tonight I did the same thing.  I thought I would share what I made.

Thursday Night:
Johnsonville Apple Chicken Sausages with green peppers & onion served with a salad.
I actually was going to make pasta and sausages but when I went to the pantry realized I didn't have enough pasta or sauce to feed all four of us.  So I had to think on my feet and this is what I came up with.  I didn't take a picture of this so you will just have to believe me when I say that it came out pretty decent.  I cooked the sausages in a pan with some water and then put them under the broiler while I sauteed the green peppers and onion in butter.  The family had the sausages in buns while I decided to skip the bun since I am on a diet.  Pretty decent meal for just throwing stuff together.

Friday Night:  Shredded Chicken Tacos with Spanish Rice and Corn:
Again I just wanted to see if I could come up with an easy meal without a recipe.  Its also getting pretty hot here in Texas soI wanted to make something in the slow cooker.  Here is what I ended up making.

Shredded Chicken in Slow Cooker

Spanish Rice with Corn

All I did for the chicken was put three chicken breast into the slow cooker and pour salsa and a packet of taco seasoning on top.  I turned it on low and cooked for 8 hours.  I kind cheated on the spanish rice.  I had 2 Uncle Ben's Ready Rice in my pantry.  So all I did was heat them up in the microwave and added corn in a skillet to heat up.  I then dumped the rice into the skillet and mixed it all together.  I served the chicken and rice in tortillas with avocado, lettuce and tomato.  You can use whatever taco toppings that you like.  Super easy and super quick.  I realize that I used packaged food items but you can always make your own taco seasonings and your own spanish rice.  I was just feeling pretty lazy.

Well, I hope you try these recipes or are inspired to try and see what you can make just from the ingredients in your fridge and pantry and your imagination.

Shopping Trip 5/16/2013

So I didn't take a pic of everything that I bought yesterday but I thought some of the deals were worth mentioning.  I went to two different Target and Krogers.  There are some high value coupons out there that are bringing items that aren't necessarily on sale to less than a dollar.  Here is what I bought:

Krogers:
Less than $1

Pull Ups Big Kid Flushable Wipes 1.69
1.25/1 Pull Ups Big Kid Flushable Wipes
Final Price: .44 ea.

Hawaiian Punch Aloha Morning Gallon 1.92
1.10/1 Hawaiian Punch Aloha Morning 10oz 6-pack or Gallon sizes
1.00/1 Hawaiian Punch Aloha Morning 10oz 6-pack or Gallon sizes
1.00/1 Hawaiian Punch Aloha Morning 10oz 6-pack or Gallon sizes SS 4/14 (exp. 5/26)
Final Price: as low as .82 ea

Pure Protein Bars 10/$10 or 1.00 ea
1.00/2 Pure Protein Bar RP 5/5 (exp.6/23)
Final Price: .50 ea

Kroger has a Buy 3 Kellogg Special K products Save 3 sale going on this week.  You have to buy 3 items for the savings to qualify.  The prices already reflect the sale price.

Kellogg Special K cereal 1.99
1.00/2 Kelloggs Cinnamon Jacks , Frosted Mini-Wheats Crunch , Scooby-Doo and/or Special K Chocolately Strawberry (the chocolately strawberry one was one of the items on sale.)
Final Price: 1.49 ea

Kellogg Special K Bars or Crisps 1.99
1.00/3 Special K Cereal Bars, Pastry Crisps or Granola Bars RP 5/5 (exp. 6/30)
1.00/2  Kellogg's FiberPlus® Bars and/or Kellogg's® Special K® Bars
1.00/2 Kellogg's Fiber Plus Bars and/or Kellogg's Special K Bars (Kroger digital coupon)
Final Price: as low as 1.49 ea

Kellog's Special K Chips or Crackers 1.99
.70/1 Special K® Crackers, Cracker Chips and-or Popcorn Chips (4 oz or Larger)
1.00/2 Kellogg's Special K Cracks or Chips RP 5/5 (exp. 6/30)
Final Price: as low as 1.29 ea

Kellogg's Special K Breakfast Flat Breads 4.49

Kellogg's Special K Protein Bars or Shakes 4.49
1.50/2 Special K Protein™ Products (4 ct. or Larger, Any Flavor, Mix
1.50/2 Special K Protein Meals/Snack Bars, Shakes or Water Mixes RP 5/5 (exp. 6/16)
Final Price: as low as 3.74 ea

Here are the other items I bought that I felt were a good price.


Sargento Natural Cheese Blend Slices 7.5oz 2.50 close out price
.50/1 Sargento® Natural Blends® Sliced or Snack Cheese
.50/1 Sargento Natural Blends Sliced or Snack Cheese SS 4/14 (exp 5/26)
.50/1 Sargento Natural Blends Sliced or Snack Cheese May AY (exp 7/31)
Final price: 1.50 ea if store doubles or 2.00 ea

Weight Watcher Smart Ones Frozen Entrees 2.00 (I found some that were 1.77)
2.00/5 Weight Watcher Smart One Product
3.00/10 Weight Watcher Smart One Product RP 5/5 (exp. 6/16)
Final Price: as low as 1.37 ea or 1.60ea if you can't find the 1.77 ones.

Target:

Windex Touch Up Cleaner Sale Price 3.50 until 5/18
1.50/1 Windex Touch Up Cleaner
and 1.00/1 Windex Touch Up Cleaner Target Mobile Coupon text PICNIC to 827438.
Final Price: 1.00 ea

Brita Water Bottle for Kids 7.89 
3.00/1 Brita Soft Squeeze Bottle for Kids
and 3.00/1 Brita Water Bottle Filtration System Target Coupon
Final Price: 1.89 ea
I bought two of these from two seperate Targets because the Target coupons says limit one per guest but the website lets you print two.  So to avoid trouble, I just went to two different ones.

How to coupon

So I have actually been pretty lazy lately with the whole blogging thing.  I just don't seem to have time for it the way I want to.  Hopefully things will change in the fall since my older daughter will be starting school.  So I know that some of you may be wondering how I go about getting the deals and coupons that I do get.
Step 1: Finding coupons
The first step is of course getting the coupons themselves.  Most of the fancier couponing  sites don't really go into all this.  They just seem to assume everyone has a stack of coupons laying around.  Well, I have looked into trying to get coupons free and I still don't have a clue how those extreme couponers have a stack of 200 coupons for the same item.  I will tell you how I get my coupons.  I buy newspapers.  That's it.  I am not an extreme couponer where I need to buy 100 of an item.  I buy 4-5 newspapers a week which costs me $12-$15.  I know some of you may not have that in your weekly budget so I will give out some ideas on how to get free coupons.
One way to get free coupons is printing them from the internet.  For every computer that you have you can print 2 of the same coupon.  I only have one computer so I can only print two coupons for an item.  However for those of you who have multiple computers this is a great way to get free coupons. I know someone who has 5 computers in there house, that is 10 coupons for them.  These printable coupons are not the exact same as the ones that are in the Sunday inserts.  You can find all kinds of coupons from children dvds to brita filter coupons.  These coupons also update all the time so there are always new coupons coming out.  Also don't forget to like facebook pages of products that you love and also check out the manufacturers website.  These places will frequently have coupons to draw consumers to buy their products. Some websites to check out are www.coupons.com, www.redplum.com and www.smartsource.com.
Another way to see go to a gas station or convenience store and find out what they do with left over Sunday newspapers.  I haven't had a lot of luck with this one.  I usually get "We send them back for credit."  I read from other bloggers that this works but again I haven't had that luck.  But its worth a try.
A third way to get free coupons is to write or email manufacturers.  Tell them that you love their product or that you want to try their product.  Supposedly they will send product coupons to you.  I haven't tried this one either but I don't see why this wouldn't work.  Of course don't just come out and say you want coupons, apparently this doesn't work.
And finally, always sign up for your store's loyalty card or program.  I have 5 different loyalty cards in my wallet.  Signing up for these programs will allow you to access their coupons on line.  My main grocery store, Kroger's has digital coupons that can be automatically loaded onto my shopper card.  The coupon will come off at the register once I buy the qualifying item.
So these are just some of the ways you can get free coupons.  Of course there are other ways which I may not have mentioned (ie. dumpster diving which isn't really an option) but I feel these are probably the best options out there.
Step 2: Getting Organized
The second thing I do is once I get my coupon inserts, I write the date of when I got them on the first page.  This is way less work than cutting out all the coupons.  Of course of you choose to do the binder thing that works really well too.  Here is a link to my favorite couponing site which will explain more about coupon binders http://thekrazycouponlady.com/beginners/.  Go to day three for how to organize your binder.  I feel like I should mention that having the binder allows you to save on items that you find on clearance once you get to the store.  Since the idea of having the binder is you bring it to the store every time you shop.  This allows you to have every single coupon at the reach of your fingertips if you were to find a sale in store.  I just find this is not an option for me because I seriously do not want to carry a 40 lb binder with me to the store along with my girls and purse and whatever else I need to bring to entertain my kids so I can actually shop.
Step 3: Getting ready to shop
First things first, I wish I could take all the credit for actually finding the deals and matching all the coupons but I can't.  I use several different couponing sites to help me find the deals that I do.  I still spend a good amount of time getting ready and clipping, printing and organizing once I have found the deals that I found.  As I mentioned above my absolute favorite, favorite, favorite couponing site is Krazy Coupon Lady.com.  One of the ladies that runs the site was featured on the show Extreme Couponers (she might actually be the one that went dumpster diving.)  This website posts deals every single day to all the major retailers ie. CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid.  Once a week on Saturday, there will be a match up on the new weeks deals along with the coupons to use to get the best deals.  I check the website at least 3-4 times a day to see what has been posted (I know, its a little obsessive.)  So here is what I do:
                 Saturday:  I check the website to see the new deals for the week.  CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid and Target have their new sales week start on Sunday.  So the sale goes from Sunday to Saturday.  I then write down all the items that I feel my family will need or use.  I mostly only look at the items that have this symbol on them

or this one 

This denotes that the price is a stock up price.  Of course if my family needs a certain item and its on sale I will buy those items too.  For example my post from yesterday was a prime example.  After writing down the sales, I go to my bag of coupons and look for the inserts the coupons are from.  Or I print them from the link.  That's pretty much all there is to getting ready to shop.

Step 4:  Shopping Time

When I have gathered all my coupons, I go shopping.  I have to warn you that you are not always going to find every deal that you want.  About 90% of the time, I have to readjust my strategy in the store.  Please don't let this discourage you from couponing.  There are people who are at the store at crazy hours on Sunday and they will clear the shelves.  I want to say that I do not advocate doing this.  There is no need to take 30 of the same item so there is nothing left for other people.  Of course if its the last two or three, I have no problem taking those.  Its the ones that feel they need 100 bottles of lotion who I get made at.  Seriously who needs 100 bottles of lotion or 200 things of chap stick?  I have found that if I go after Thursday the store will have had time to restock their shelves.  I like to go on Saturdays because I feel that the store will have to have stocked their shelves for the next week's sale.  I haven't actually done research on this theory, I just have found that most of the time, the items I want to purchase are available.  Again this is not a fact, this is just a theory.  So that's pretty much it to how to coupon.  I will do individual posts on how to shop at each store since every store has their own rules on couponing.  But the basics are the same.  So get out there and start saving!!

Side note: If a store is out of a sale item, most stores do rain checks.  Rain checks allow you to purchase the item after the sale has ended at the sale price.  So for example, about a month ago Kroger's was having an amazing deal on Bailey's coffee creamer.  When I went to the store they were sold out.  I went to customer service and asked for a rain check.  The CS rep gave me a slip of paper with the item and the sale price written on it.  The rain check was good for 30 days.  This allowed me to go back to the store anytime within 30 days and get the item once it was back in stock at the sale price.  So that is always an option too if the store doesn't have the item you want.  However, if the deal involves getting Extra Bucks, Register Rewards or Balance Reward Points, I don't think that they will be given out once the sale is over.  You can still get the item at sale price you just won't get the extra.  

Only $5.98 for 2 boxes of 30 ct Claritin.

My husband ran out of allergy medicine today and he actually texted me from work letting me know that allergies were kicking his you know what, so that meant I had to run to CVS when I hadn't planned on going until later this week.  Good thing I got an email for $6.00/$30.00 worth of beauty products.  Side note, if you haven't already sign up for CVS's Beauty Club.  Not only do you get occasional emails with coupons but for every $50 you spend you get $5 extra bucks.  And that $50 is before coupons so you don't actually have to spend $50 to get the $5 EB.  Your total just has to equal $50 before coupons. So here is a break down on what I bought and the coupons I used.  I you can see signing up for the beauty club totally helped me save big.  

Transaction 1:
L'oreal Ideal Clean towels $4.99
L'oreal Ideal Daily Foaming gel $4.99
L'oreal Revitalift Cream Cleanser $7.29
L'oreal Collagen Day/Night cream $14.49 (they only had the 3 cleansing items so I had to get something else to make the total $30.)
 1  $2.00/1 – L’Oreal Paris Revitalift, Youth Code or Age Perfect, Excludes Trial Size – (coupons.com)
 2  $2.00/1 – Any L’Oreal Paris Skin Care Product – (lorealparis.com) must complete consultation
 1  $1.00/1 – Any L’Oreal Paris Product – (lorealparis.com)
  $6/$30 Beauty Club coupon 
Paid: 18.76 got 10 EB

Transaction 2: 
2 Claritin 30 ct allergy medicine $19.99 x 2 = 39.98
1 $5.00/1 – Claritin Non-Drowsy, 24ct or Larger – (coupons.com)
1 $4.00/1 Claritin-D Non-Drowsy, 15 ct or larger from SS 5/5 (exp 6/2)
10 EB from previous transaction and 10 EB from last week and 5 EB from beauty club. 
Total: 5.98 
So OOP: $24.74 plus 6 EB = $18.74 for $83.54 worth of stuff.  Thats a 78% savings.
I was just super excited to only pay $5.98 for really expensive allergy medicine.  Overall not a bad haul, just small.

Sleepless night ramblings

So my family and I have officially been in Texas for two months.  I would say that we are relatively settled.  The four of us have a down a daily routine which consists of the hubs going to work, and the girls and I sleeping to 8 am.  We have really been able to to catch up on school work because of the lack of social life that we have here.  I did not realize how much we had going on back in Vegas until the first month we were here I did not have to put gas in my car.  I have also noticed that Baby has started to play with imaginary friends with names of people she knew in Vegas.  Its actually quite sad.
Part of the reason for the lack of social life is that for the past 8 years, my life revolved around my church and my church family.  For the first 4 years that hubby and I were married, we were overseas in Italy.  Well, being so far away from family, we had to make friends that would become our family.  That was what happened at our church their.  Then when we moved to Vegas, we did the same thing.  We both were extremely active in the churches.  All my friends were members of those churches.  Because of that, my girls' friends were the children in the churches.  They never had friends outside of church.
This is presently quite a problem here in Texas because after two months we still have not found a church to call home.  At this point in time, I am extremely discouraged and the problem is not the lack of churches here.  As we are in Texas, there are tons and tons of churches to choose from.  We have visited 4 churches in the area and none of them have truly felt like the Lord is telling us that is where we belong.  The first two churches were just not what we were looking for in a church.  The third church showed potential.  My husband liked it the first time we went.  And we continued to go for a month.  And after a month, I still did not know the name of the people in the church (this was not a very big church at all.  There were roughly 30 adults that would show up.)  Not even that after a month, I had no idea who the Pastor's wife or family was. Being part of a church plant has taught me a lot about making guests feel welcome.  I realize that gong to church should not be purely social.  We are to go to learn God's word but we are also to go to fellowship with other Christians.  And I was not getting that and still am not getting that.  It is so important as a Christian to fellowship with other Christians.  Having a brother or sister in Christ to lean on, to encourage each other and just to have a good time with, and to grow with is so important.  Yes we are to have our daily time alone with Christ but we are to also fellowship with fellow believers.  Because of this lack of fellowship, I still do not feel like this is home.  My church home and church family is back in Vegas and miss them dearly every Sunday.  I have gone off on a tangent.  But because of this feeling of not really belonging even after a month of attending, we decided to try a new church today.  Well, the church we attended today was huge compared to what we are use to.  Several hundred people in just the service we attended.  They had two services at two different locations.  I actually really enjoyed the worship time and the teaching.  The church took communion today since it was the Sunday before Easter, which was fine.  Well, when the plates came around our entire row was skipped when it came to the juice.  So my husband and I had our bread but no wine.  And in a room of over a hundred people, it is kind of hard to get someone's attention to correct this situation.
I know that I may be judging these churches too harshly but I truly am discouraged over the fact that after two months of looking, we still have not found a church home.  I know that the Lord has the place for us and I need to wait for His timing.  It might even be at one of the places that we have already visited and I am not allowing His will to work.  I guess I am ready to find a place that we can serve and continue to grow.

On another note, I am thinking of starting a new blog.  This blog would only be about couponing.  I haven't decided if I want to do that or not.  I was thinking of creating a couponing blog that targeted the area that I live because there is not one right now.  I have noticed that the grocery circulars do not match completely with the ones I am finding on line.  I thought it might be cool to start one for the weekly deals for the Kroger, HEB and also Village Foods which is a local grocery store.  And of course it would have the national retail stores on there as well.  Please let me know what you guys think in the comments.

Shopping week of 3/17

Here is my shopping results for this week.  I have been fighting a cold since Tuesday so I feel that I didn't do as good as I could have.  I also had planned on going to Walgreens but didn't make it.  They have a new system of Balance Rewards that I haven't quite figured out yet.  But for this week I just went to Target and CVS.

CVS:
Bought:
     Transaction 1:
          Buy $20  Glade products get $10 Extra Bucks
          3 Glade Expression starter kits   reg. $5.79 on sale for $2.89
          2 Glade sprays   reg. $1.99
          1 Glade oil warmer reg. $2.49
          1 Glade twin pk refill    $7.29
           used:
              (2) 2.00/1 Glade expression starter kit
              (1) .55/1   Glade room spray or Glade Expression starter kit
              (1) 1.00/1 Glade plugin twin refill or two refills
              (1) 2.00/2 Glade Spring Collection items
              (1) 1.00/1 Glade Plugin Scented Oil warmer
       Total: $13.88 + taxes got $10 EB
     Transaction 2:
         Buy $15 of select candy and get $5 Extra Bucks
         6 Whopper Robin Eggs  reg. $2.99 on sale for $2.00
         2 Jolly Rancher Jelly Beans  reg. $2.99 on sale for $2.00
         4 Dentyne gum reg. 1.57 on sale B1G1 free
         2 20 pk CVS brand AA batteries  reg. 10.49 on sale for B1G1 free
         used:
           (2) 1.00/2 Dentyne or Trident gum SS3/17
           (2) 2.00/3 Whoppers, Hershey's kisses, Reeses, SS3/17
           (1) 1.00/2 Jolly Ranchers SS1/27
     Total: $22.63 used $10 EB from Trans 1 and $4 EB from last week = $8.63 + taxes

Target:
Bought:
    12 Bounce Sheets 34 ct     reg. $1.97
    4  L'Oreal SH 1.7oz  reg. .99
    2 Lean Cuisine Salad Additions reg. $2.99 on sale for $2.39
    1 Disney Princess toy keys  reg. $2.55
    1 Speedo swim googles 3 pairs reg $14.99 on sale for $13.49
     used:
         (4) $3.00/3 Tide, Tide Boost, Downy or Bounce   P&G 3/3
         (4) $3.00/3 Laundry care items Target coupon
         (4) $1.00/4 L'oreal advanced hair care treatment  RP3/17
         (2) .75/1 Lean Cuisine Salad Additions
         (1) 1.00/2 Lean Cuisine Target coupon
         (1) 30% Disney Princess toy
      Total: $17.15 used $5 GC from previous trip = $12.15

Total OOP: $34.66 - $5 EB = $29.66 + taxes
Retail value: $133.43
Savings: 78%

I could have done better if I hadn't bought the googles or the batteries.  I didn't have coupons for them but that is what happens when you bring children on the shopping trips with you.

Here is a break down of what I would have spent and saved if I didn't buy those two extra items.
CVS:
    Trans 1: $13.88 used $4 EB from last week = $9.88 get $10 EB
    Trans 2: $12.14 use $10 EB from Trans 1 = $2.14 get $5 EB
Target:
     Total: $3.66 used $5 GC. No OOP money.  $1.34 left on GC.
Total OOP: $7.02
Retail value: $97.46
Savings: 93% !!!!!!!  (This would have been a first for me to save that much.  Oh well kids will be kids.)

I also will be writing a post that explains how I get my coupons and where I go to match the deals with the coupons for maximum savings.  I will also include the different store policies and rules that go along with couponing.  Let me know in the comments what other questions you guys have.  Also let me know if you guys would like a shopping list in the beginning of the week so you know what I plan to buy.

My two goofballs with their new goo goo goggles.

 
                 

Couponing Again

Its been a long time since I have seriously couponed.  Before we moved I just felt there was no need to stock up and then have to move everything.  It would have costed us more to move all of it then what I saved.  Since the move, I have found a lot more time to get back to couponing.  Here are the shopping details of the past week.  I went to CVS, Walgreens, Target and Dollar Tree on 2 different days.

CVS and Walgreens trip

Here is the break down of that trip.  

Walgreens:

Bought:

    6 Kraft Mac & Cheese      $.79 sale price 

       used (2) 1.00/3 printable coupon = .46 ea

    4 2 ct Lever 2000 bar soap $2.49 B1G1 free sale

       used (2) 1.00/1 wash or bar soap  = .75ea or .37 per bar.  (I should have only bought 2 and used 2        coupons.  This would have made it .25 ea or .06 per bar.)

    4 Nivea Shave Gel  $3.59 B1G1 free sale

       used (2) 2.00/2 shave gel = .80 ea

    10 packs ID gum  .99 sale price

        used (5) 1.00/2 from SS 2/10(exp 3/24) = .49 ea

Total: $13.80 for $44.57 worth of stuff.  That's a 69% savings.  

CVS:

Transaction 1:

Bought: 

    1 Suave almond and shea butter shampoo 28oz  2/$6 

    1 Suave almond and shea butter cond. 28oz 2/$6

    1 Suave mango mandrin lotion 18oz 2/$6

        used (1) buy 2 suave professional items get lotion free

    1 Suave deodorant  1.00 sale 

        CVS promotion: Buy $10 of Suave products get $3.00 Extra Bucks = $1.00 ea

    1 Gold Emblem jelly beans .99 

        CVS promotion: Buy 1 get .99 Extra Bucks = free

    1 Di Gel  5.00

       used 3.50/1 SS 1/20 (exp 3/15)

       CVS promotion: Buy 1 get $2.00 Extra Bucks = .50 moneymaker

    1 Almay eyeliner $6.49

    1 Almay concealer $7.79 

       used $5.00/2 Almay cosmetic product

       and $3.00 off any Almay purchase from magic coupon machine

       CVS promotion: Spend $10 on Almay product get $4 Extra Bucks = 1.14 ea

Total: $15.77 plus $9.99 extra bucks

Transaction 2:

Bought:

     2 Edge Shave Gel $3.49

        used (1) B1G1 free up to $3.00.

        CVS promotion: Buy 1 get $2.00 Extra Bucks = .99 ea

     2 Angel Soft 12 ct $5.00

        CVS promotion: Buy 2 get $2.00 Extra Bucks = $4.00 ea (not the best deal but really needed toilet paper.)

Total: $13.98 use $9.99 Extra Bucks = $3.99 plus $4.00 Extra Bucks (so these transaction because free.)

Grand total: $19.76 plus $4.00 Extra Bucks = $15.77 for $58.86 worth of stuff.  That's a 73% savings.

Dollar Tree:

Bought:

   2 Olay bar soap $1.00 

       used $2.00/2 Olay Bath Bars, Body Washes or In-Shower Body Lotions = free

Total: free

Target:

Bought:

    2 Suave Moroccan Infusion Color Care Shampoo $3.49

    2 Suave Morocaan Infusion Color Care Cond.      $3.49

       used (2) B1G1 free Suave Keratin or Moroccan product = .99 ea (the register took $5.00 per coupon so $10 total.)

    2 8x10 photo frame $2.99

       used (2) 2.00/1 photo frame (any photo frame $2.00 and up) Target coupon = .99 ea

    2 PAAS Egg dying kit $1.50

       used $1.00/2 PAAS Easter Kit = $1.00 ea

    2 Market Pantry Pasta Sauce $1.37 

       used $1.50 Target coupon = .62 ea

    4 TGI Friday Honey BBQ Wings 3/$9

       used (2) $1.00/1 TGI Friday snack item

       plus (1) $2.00/3 TGI Friday snal item

       Target promotion: Buy 3 get 1 free = 1.25 ea

    2 2pk Degree Deodorant $3.99

    2 Clear shampoo $4.99

        used (2) B1 degree item get 1 Clear shampoo free

        Target promotion: Buy 4 Unilever product get $5 gift card = 1.02 moneymaker (the register took $6.99 off per coupon so $13.98 total.)

Total: $21.10 plus $5 gift card = $16.10 for $65.10 worth of stuff.  That's a 75% savings.

 

All the totals are before tax.  I know that every states has their own sales tax so your total out of pocket expense is going to be different than mine.  Hope this starts you on your own couponing adventure.  I truly enjoy finding the deals and then coming home and telling my husband about the money that I saved.  If you have any questions feel free to comment below and I will try and answer any questions.  

   

     

       

Recap of 2012

This year has probably been the hardest year of my life.  There has been a lot of downs throughout the year but there has also been some ups.  Through it all I have the Lord to thank for getting me through it all.  He was my rock and my strength.  As long I stayed faithful to Him, I knew that I would get through this rough pack and come out stronger on the other end.
At the beginning of the start of 2012, we were still unemployed and receiving unemployment.  To help supplement that income, my 32 year old hubby decided to go back to school.  This was a tough and scary decision for him, as he hadn't been in school since 1999.  I totally supported his decision to go back to school as I knew that it would benefit us in the future.  At the same time, I picked up a part time job at a local business.  The job schedule allowed me to drop Boo off at school while, my husband stayed at home with Baby.  The extra income from the Montgomery GI Bill and the part time job definitely help relieve the financial strain.
As my family was going through changes, so was my church family.  Our church became an independent church in January. We have been blessed to be part of the leadership team at our church.

Service at Northpointe Community Church

Hubby at his CO academy graduation

All the changes did not stop there.  In April of this year, my hubby got a job with the Nevada Department of Corrections......aka prison guard at a state prison.  We were very excited that he was able to get this job as our 6 months unemployment was coming up and we did not really want to file for an extension.  However, we knew that this job came with a lot of dangers.  He would be working with medium to maximum security prisoners.  But we knew that the Lord provided us with this job and that we should be grateful for the job.  He went through 6 weeks of academy and then started actual work on the yard.  The shift he received was actually a blessing.  He worked 1pm-9pm.  This allowed him to be home in the morning but still came home in time to get a good nights sleep.  This new schedule even allowed him to continue classes in the fall.  I also continued to work during this time.  Life was fairly chaotic at this point in time.  And I decided to take on a second job at this time to continue to supplement our income.
Life continued like this until the end of summer.  At this point in time, I found out that the academy that we had been sending Boo to would be officially closing.  This brought a lot of heartache for our family and for several of our very close friends.  We scrambled at the end of August to find someplace that we could send Boo.  But there was nothing that we could do or change.  I struggled through a lot of anger at this point.  I was deeply sad and hurting.  And this was also the point in time that I decided I wanted to break all ties with Las Vegas. I started looking for jobs for my husband in Texas, where he is from.  And I found two police departments that were hiring in his hometown.  I told him about the jobs and we decided that he should apply.

At the same time I was going through all this emotion, I was blessed to be able to have my mom come visit me.  I only get to see my mom once a year as my parents live in another country.  I love it when my mom comes to visit.  She helps me with the girls, cooks and cleans for me.  She was also able to celebrate Baby's birthday with us.  Since my mom was here, I decided to have a birthday party at McDonald's with some of our closest friends.  Baby wanted a Minnie Mouse themed birthday as that's what she got.

After my mom left I faced the daunting realization that I will be homeschooling Boo this year.  When my husband and I discussed what we would do with our children's education, we always wanted them to have a Christian education.  We did not want to subject our daughters to the public school systems.  However, I never wanted to homeschool.  I knew that I did not have the patience to teach my only children.  But I should never have said never because here I was at the end of August searching online for the best Christian homeschool curriculum there was.  I finally settled on 3 different curriculums  one for Boo, one for Baby and the third was a supplement that focused on reading.  At the front of September I started this new adventure. So far, the schooling is going well.  I am not as consistent as I should be and because of the move have fallen behind a little.  But Boo is continuing to learn to read and write this year which she is starting to really get a handle on.  Also Baby is learning her numbers and letters.  (She's not getting a handle on it as much as I thought she would.)  Its a challenge juggling a 5 year old and a 3 year old.  They are on completely different levels and I may have been more ambitious when I selected the curriculum.  I am just praying that Boo will be able to read and write and Baby will know all her numbers and letters by the end of the school year.   

The girls standing next to their desks

When I started homeschooling, I was also working the two jobs and my hubby was going to school and work.  I decided that I would quit my two part time jobs so that I focus on doing school with the girls.  Since my husband was attending school also, we were receiving the Montgomery GI Bill.  This really help supplement our finances.  Around this time, we heard back from both police departments that they would like to interview my husband.  Through the months of September, October and November, Hubby flew back and forth to TX several times for interviews, tests, and background checks.  There were several times in this endeavor that my hubby wanted to pull the plug.  For each trip to Texas, it would cost us roughly $500.00. He felt that we were not financially set up to continue to fly back and forth and also make the move if he was offered the position.  We didn't know if at some point the Lord would close the doors and we would have spent close to $3000 for nothing.  I however, was still in a funk about the many changes that had happened during the year and I persuaded him that we needed to get out of Las Vegas.  And the Lord continued to open the doors and provide for us.  On December 11th, my hubby was offered a position with one of the police departments and we were moving to Texas.  The bad news was that he would be starting work on the 28th of January.  This only gave us 6 weeks to get everything in order.    

But the Lord has been good to us.  We are now leaving in a week and have been able to get almost everything in order.  Not only that but we have been financially blessed throughout this whole adventure.  We have put very little on the credit cards.  Also we are looking at making the move all in cash.  Every obstacle that we thought would slow us down turned out to not be an obstacle at all.  I have to give God the glory for everything that he has provided for us during this time.  I didn't know how we were going to make it when we had no job, I didn't know how we were going to make it when hubby got the new job that paid 1/3 of what were what we were making, and I didn't know how we were going to make it when the Lord told us we had to move in 6 weeks.  I don't know why I ever doubted the Lord.  My pastor's daughter wrote something in her blog that really made a lot of sense, "At the end of a trial we never tell ourselves "Wow, I'm sure glad I stressed my way through that one. It might have had a different outcome if I hadn't!"  So true.  So true.  I actually elaborate more on this in my other post, so I won't go too much into detail here.  

So we have only 8 more days here in Las Vegas.  I have enjoyed the adventure that we have had here.  At the beginning of September, I was itching to escape from here.  But as my time in Las Vegas ends, I find myself realizing all the things that I am going to miss and all the things that I loved about living here.  I know that the Lord has something bigger and better for us in Texas but leaving a place that you have called home for 4 years is always bittersweet.  I look forward to the new adventures that I will be venturing on in Texas but my heart will long for the family that I am leaving behind.  

Ramblings about my devotions

One of the things that I try at the beginning of the new year is to start a bible reading plan and a devotional.  Enviable, as the year goes on, I go off track and just read whatever passage I can.  This year, as a Christmas present, my hubby bought me a Kindle Fire.  I am hoping that with this new tool, I will be able to stay on track better this year.
I love my new Kindle and I subscribe to several email listings that email me free ebooks that are available for that day.  One of them is called Spirit Filled Kindle.  When you subscribe to the emails, you get several emails a day with at less 4 free or discounted ebooks.  You might be wondering what I am rambling on about.  Well I mention all this because one of the books that I bought for free is called Near to the Heart of God: Meditations on 366 Best Loved Hymns.
This book has a short devotional for each day of the year.  The author ties in the day with a hymn that concedes with that date.  Then the author has the lyrics of the hymn and a scipture verse that supports that hymn.  For the 9th and 10th of January, the author has Trusting Jesus and Anywhere with Jesus.  Both of these hymns hit home with me.
As most of you know, my husband found a job in his home town.  We will be moving from Las Vegas to Texas in 8 days.  This is a very hard change for me.  When we moved to Vegas, I thought that this was where God had settled us for good.  However, with the events of the past year and a half, we discovered that is was not the case.  The Lord was just using this as a launching pad for us to move us back to family.  Many of you may be wondering why this is such a hard change for me.  Some of you may even be asking why would you want to live in the Sin City Capital of the World.  Well, the only way I can answer this is by saying that I have come to love this city as my home and I have come to love my church as my family.  My heart is crying on the inside because I am yet again moving and leaving those that I love dearly.  My church family has done more for me and my family than some people's biological family will even consider doing for them.  As the days get closer to moving, my anxieties of starting over and finding people that will love me and my family seems daunting.  However, as I read these two hymns tonight, I realize that I need to trust Jesus and that I would follow Him where ever He leads me.  Below I have the lyrics the hymns:

Trusting Jesus:
Simply trusting every day,
Trusting through a stormy way;
Even when my faith is small,
Trusting Jesus, that is all.
Refrain:
Trusting as the moments fly,
Trusting as the days go by;
Trusting Him whate’er befall,
Trusting Jesus, that is all.
-Psalms 28:7
Anywhere with Jesus:
Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go,
Anywhere He leads me in this world below;
Anywhere without Him dearest joys would fade;
Anywhere with Jesus I am not afraid.
Refrain
Anywhere, anywhere! Fear I cannot know;
Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go.
-Joshua 1:16
I know that the Lord has His will mapped out for my life.  I know that by following His will for my life, my life will be full and I will lack nothing.  However, this does not stop me from worrying and stressing.  But These two hymns and something that I read on my pastor's daughter's blog today has made me realize that I need to completely trust Him and be willing to to follow me anywhere. Because I rather be anxiety and be where Jesus is then unstressed but not have Jesus.  As the lyrics say "Anywhere without Him dearest joys would fade."  Even with all my anxieties of the move, I would never want my joy to fade.  Therefore, I will follow and trust Jesus into Texas.