hard times but trusting HIM

Lately Anthony and I have been going through some very difficult times. We not only lost our first child to a miscarriage but have recently stumbled into some very hard financial times. We are having a hard time right now just getting through each day. Every 24 hours seems like it brings a new set of problems and worries and we are faced with making difficult decisions. We are trying our hardest to depend on Jesus through this and just ask Him to lead our steps.

It is very difficult at times to keep your marriage first when it's so difficult to not get worried and overwhelmed with life's problems. We have been trying to have time each night to just sit together and hold hands or snuggle up so that we are getting our time and remembering what the most important thing is; to stick together. Things are probably going to be hard for awhile but we are pressing on and trying our best to stay focused on God. If you could say a prayer for our little family that would be great. To answer the question that everyone seems to be asking, we are not sure when or if we are going to try to have children again. Right now my body needs to heal and my diabetes is the most important thing to get under control.

I pray that you are all doing well and we would love to know if you are praying for us. Thank you!

Pain and healing

I haven't written on our family blog for some time but I thought tonight might be a good time to update it. Anthony and I have just experienced our first pregnancy and a miscarriage. We are going through so much right now and just really need prayers from family and loved ones. I will be getting back to posting on here regularly soon and hopefully starting some new posts of things that interest Anthony and myself and getting back to our daily topics. I pray all of you are doing well and let us know how you are.

Check out an awesome blog for Mama's

Enjoy!

Thrifty Thursday

Today I am going to share a few of my favorite finds on the internet to save money and enjoy some of my favorite things.

First of all, I love to read and buying books can get expensive. I also love to cook so cookbooks are some of my favorite books to have. Well, those can be extra expensive. I just started an account at a really cool site. I suggest you check it out. It's called Paper Back Swap and it's pretty great. If you have some books laying around that you have already read and don't mind getting rid of you can just input their ISBN numbers onto the site and make them available for other people to order. Once you load 10 books onto the site that you don't mind getting rid of you get 2 credits on the site to get 2 books that someone else has loaded up. I just ordered Rachael Ray's 30 minute meals and 30 minute meals 2 which retail for $22.00 on Amazon.com (total) all for free. I just loaded up 10 books that I was done with and that was it.

You can continue to load books up, purchase book credits (for much cheaper than the book) and you can swap your life away with other readers. When someone orders one of your books, you just mail it to them (usually only $2.00-5.00) and you get more book credits. It's a great way to collect books that you really want or just read and pass on to others. I am keeping my cookbooks but there were plenty little reads I could just read and put back on the site. Also, if you are like me, I pick up a lot of my books at Borders or Barnes & Noble on the Bargain book table and they cost so little it would be worth it to read and them load them up on Paper Back Swap. I will let you know when I receive my first book so I can kind of review the site!

Another thing I recently came across was a site called SwagBucks where you use the site for a search engine and earn points to get great things like music, giftcards, etc... Please check it out and if you join use this link so that I can receive points for referring you....





So far it's been pretty easy to earn points since I normally use Google all the time. This site uses Ask.com and Google to make their search engine and you don't have to download anything. I really like it so far and also, I will update you on it when I receive a reward for using it. I like to make sure and report on how these sites actually operate.

Another place that you can sign up to receive points and get emails is My Points All you do is sign up for an account and receive emails. Each email is worth 5 points and you just click on get points in the email and as you collect points, again...you can cash them in for gift cards. I have been using this service for over 8 years and I have received a lot of gift cards for clothing, restaurants, starbucks, etc... You can also go from the mypoints home site and shop for things you already buy like ink for your printer, groceries, etc... by shopping online and you earn so many points on the dollar. I have used this for books at Borders.com, Clothes that I have ordered online, shoes, etc... and it makes your points add up much faster. Nowdays, I don't have a lot of extra shopping money so all I do is read my emails and click and I still stockpile tons of points. I would suggest that if you don't like a lot of email in your email box, open up a seperate email account for things like this (for example on gmail or hotmail) that way you can go there once every couple of days and deal with these issues. I now use my points to cash in for gift cards for Anthony and I to go out to nice dinners and have date nights. It's nice for neither of us to have to pay. :)

Those are my thrifty tips for today but I promise, I'll keep them coming! Happy Money Saving!!!

Witty Wednesday

I love Family Circus so I put one on today!

Tasty Tuesday

This one is for you Terra....

Creamy Cheddar Soup

This is literally one of my favorite recipes now. I tried this the other night and Anthony and I both were moaning with every bite. It is completely delicious. I hope you'll try it. I served it with crusty french bread and an iceberg wedge blue cheese salad. Delicious.


Ingredients:

1 small onion, diced
2 large pimentos, diced
3 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup chicken stock
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup grated mild cheddar cheese
1/2 cup green onions
Salt and black pepper, to taste
dash of cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions:

In a saucepan, saute onion and pimentos in butter for 5 to 7 minutes. Blend in flour. Add stock and cream. Cook until thick. Add cheese and stir until melted. Add 1/4 cup green onions, salt and pepper to taste, and cayenne if desired. Garnish with remaining green onions.



This recipe was originally taken from Paula Deen however, I did make a few changes by adding 1/4 up more cheese and making it heavy cream as opposed to just cream. I hope you try and enjoy this delicious soup!

P.S. Pictures are coming..Anthony took picture of my actual soup so when you see a picture..it's my soup! :)

Movie Monday

Today's movie is an oldie. I thought I would stick to that this week. Anthony and I curled up the other night and watched old Marilyn Monroe movies and this one was so fun. I think everyone should enjoy it. It's a great one.

Movie: The Seven Year Itch
Made in: 1955

We give it 10 out of 5 stars! HA HA

Here is a picture of everyone's favorite scene...