Evy's Tree Giveaway

And yes, there is another fantastic giveaway going on over at Evy's Tree. Be ready for any patriotic moment with this Independence Day hoodie!

Click on the link to go to the giveaway site and be sure to follow her for more opportunities to win one of her awesome designs!

http://evystree.blogspot.com/2011/05/share-love-website-prepand-giveaway.html

A Child Lost

Have you ever lost your child in a store or somewhere else? My friend Amy told me once about her son Jake and how he got lost in Barnes & Noble when he was just a toddler. She related how panicked she was, running around yelling his name and probably looking like a crazy mom! But she didn't care how she looked; she just ran and yelled and finally found him. Oh what relief she felt!

I took her story to heart and have probably been a bit over-cautious about my kids when we've gone to the stores. I'm only now beginning to let my 4-year old son walk beside me instead of riding in the cart with his 2-year old sister! I know, I know, that's a little extreme maybe. But he does have high-functioning autism and I know he can get absorbed in something he sees and not pay any attention to where I am or that I'm moving to the next aisle. Or he might think of something he wants to see somewhere else in the store, and off he goes. He's finally getting to the age where he understands to stay near so I'm trying to be more lenient.

I also have great ID tags for Samuel and Olivia, with their names and the phone numbers for both myself and my husband on them. Hey, don't laugh! Seriously, losing one of my kids in a big crowd is such a nightmare scenario that I want to avoid. I love these tags and slap them on a belt loop or clothes tag any time we are in a big crowd like at air shows, museums, the mall, etc. or when Samuel goes on a field trip. If my kid wanders off, I want someone to be able to call me ASAP!

However, a few weeks ago IT finally happened; we lost him in Target. I was shopping with the cart and the two younger kids, and my son went to the bathroom with my husband. I'm not sure what happened but somehow Samuel got done and left and was gone. Just like that. I happened to look up and see my husband fast-walking past the aisle where I was and I could tell from his face and his actions that he was looking for Samuel!

My heart thudded. In that moment, you freeze physically but your mind races. How many exits were there in the store? How many crazy pedophiles looking for an unattended child? Would he go outside and try to find our car? Should I scream and start running around too? I couldn't do that with my other two kids, so I pushed the cart around a few aisles and looked everywhere for a Target employee so I could ask for a Code Adam to be called. I mentally built a complete description of everything Samuel was wearing, from head to toe. And yes, I prayed. Hard and quickly! "Jesus, please let him be OK. Let us find him quickly. Don't let anything happen to him or for anyone evil to touch him."

Those are breath taking, heart stopping, nerve wracking moments, aren't they?

Thankfully, my husband remembered how fascinated Samuel had been with a certain toy they had just been looking at, and he headed to the Toy Department. Sure enough, there was Samuel. Than you, Jesus!

If you've ever had a child run off or disappear in seconds like that, you know exactly how this felt.

So yesterday while I was trying to get things in my home finished up for the night, I put on the "Hero" album by Kirk Franklin. The song "Without You" came on and just really grabbed my attention with its lyrics, especially the line...'like a child that's lost his way'....

It occurred to me once again that we are God's children. How He loves us so much, more than we can imagine. If we as parents get so completely freaked out when we lose sight of our kids, imagine how He must feel when we lose our way. When we don't know Him fully or trust Him completely. When we get caught up in our worries and life's problems and in the confusion of the world. When we feel overburdened by sadness and fear.

Like a parent trying to find our child, imagine Him reaching for us. Trying to guide us, clasp us closely, and wanting to set us on the right path and seeing us reach our full potential. Imagine Him calling your name and holding out His hand, just waiting for you to take it.

I encourage you to take a moment today and remember that He is more than we can imagine. He is reaching for you...yes even you...and for some reason He led you to read this blog at this very moment. If you feel like you've lost your way a little...strayed somehow from the path He has ordained for you...He wants nothing more but to hold you close and help you find your way. Without Him, we can't make it. Without Him, life is meaningless. But WITH Him, everything has meaning and we can live joyously.

Saving $$ in Hawaii with Coupons

Maybe some of you grew up using coupons or knowing how to combine coupons for ultimate savings, but I've never really used them. I would see them and think; "$.35 off? That's not such a big deal. Forget it." Other than using coupons occasionally for eating out, I'm ashamed to admit that they have not been a big part of my life. And I live in one of the most expensive states in the US, too! I've had friends on the mainland saving major buck$ over the past year or so by couponing, but it seemed too complicated even though one friend in particular, Kari, has been patiently responding to my many texts/emails begging for help. Kari and I go waaaaayyy back (ok maybe not waaaaay back since we both admit to only being in our late 20's), so I feel like I know her ways of thinking pretty well, and seeing how much money she's been saving blows my mind! She has a great website (Northshore Mama) that you should check out if you want to save money. It specializes in the northshore area above New Orleans, but a huge majority of her site content features ways anyone can save regardless of where they live.

Another MUST website for coupon deals: The Krazy Koupon Lady

And if you're here in Hawaii with me, you'll want to connect to: My Aloha Deals

So anyway, living here in Hawaii with 3 young kids (2 in diapers) is a little difficult. My husband has a good job and I am able to stay home, which is a huge blessing that I am thankful for every day. But things can be tight. So I decided that I wanted to give this couponing thing a try and see if I could actually save significant money doing it.

About a month ago, I saved $5 with coupons at Foodland. The next week, we saved about $30 between the grocery store and Target. It's gotten easier to figure stuff out and although I still consider myself a novice couponer, I am learning the ropes and having FUN!

Today I saved $54.18 and am SO excited about it that I wanted to share my couponing adventures a little, and hopefully it will encourage some of you to start couponing as well. Especially my local friends because I know how tough it is here in Paradise.

Note to Hawaii people: many mainland stores have days where they double your coupon values, so a $.50 coupon will turn into a $1 coupon. To my knowledge, there are NO stores in Hawaii that double. So don't get your hopes up too much and think that you will see the kind of savings that the "Extreme Couponing" people see. However, don't give up...every little bit helps, right? Also keep this important fact in mind: as you know, here in Hawaii space is limited. This goes for stores too! They are always getting new inventory in and so they need to sell what they have to make room! So we may not get 'doubling' but we do get good sales. Read on....

Today's little 3-bag haul from Long's would have cost me over $100 if I had paid what I normally pay for the items purchased. Up until now, we've just made bi-monthly (paycheck days) trips to Wal-Mart and bought everything needed, not using coupons. We just assumed that Wal-Mart had the best prices. UGH I cannot believe how much money we've wasted doing this! So after my shopping trip today, I figured up how much money I saved by taking what we normally would pay for the item full price, then subtracting what I actually paid. Here are the amazing results, with the best saved for last!

Popcorn Normally would have paid $2.39 - Actually paid $1 = $1 savings

Dawn dishwashing soap Regular price $2 - Paid $.94 each = $1.06 savings (times 2)

Mr. Clean Magic Erasers Regular price $3.47 - Paid $1.41 each = $2.06 savings (times 2)

Glad trash bags Regular price $6.84 - Paid $3.40 = $3.44 savings

Huggies Diapers Regular price $15 - Paid $6.99 each - $8.01 savings (times 2)

Huggies wipes Regular price $6.50 - Paid $1.09 each = $5.41 savings (times 2)

Pantene Regular price - $5.84 each - Paid $0.79 each = $5.05 savings (times 2)

Oral B toothbrushes Regular price - $3.47 - Paid $0.19 each = $3.28 savings (times 5) I actaully had 5 coupons and yes, I bought 5 because they have no expiration date, are small, and were only nineteen cents each!!!!

Crazy, huh?

I still have alot to learn, but this is what I am doing so far...

1) buy two Sunday papers and clip all the coupons from the inserts (spent an hour on this Sunday night)

2) Organize coupons; food/non-food, then by type such as drinks, toothpaste, etc. (spent 1/2 hour on this Monday)

3) Look through the sale papers and announcements that came in the Sunday paper. Write down all the matches you find for your coupons (I saw that toothbrushes were on sale and knew that I had a toothbrush coupon that matched). Many stores have sales on similar items so read your coupon 'fine print' carefully and note which stores have the best sale so you'll get a better deal. (Spent 45 min on this Monday).

4) Tuck all your coupons and store lists away into a handy organizer and take it to the store when you go shopping.

5) It's also a good idea to check the above mentioned coupon sites and see if there are additional coupons you can print that match up with things you need that are also on sale.

6) If you don't match coupons up to sales, don't worry. The coupons usually don't expire for awhile and I'm learning to be patient because the sales DO come up eventually.

7) Carry the coupons with you! Check the 'clearance' racks at all stores. If the item is steeply discounted AND you have a coupon, you can get it for free or even get paid to take it out of the store! A few weeks ago I got a Duncan Hines cake AND the icing for a grand total of...twenty five cents!

It seems overwhelming at first, but I promise that you get the hang of it.

My initial hesitations about doing this...

1) "This takes a lot of time!" Not really. I am a full-time 'stay at home mom', after all...so I feel like I can find a few hours out of the week to devote to finding ways to save money. This is part of my job as a wife/mom!

2) "This is confusing to figure out how to do." Yeah a little, but I remind myself that I'm a college graduate and I have a brain! I can figure it out! And practice makes perfect, so get started!

3) "I don't have space to stockpile a bunch of stuff." Space is limited here so I don't plan to stockpile huge amounts of items. If I get a surplus of items I have PLENTY of friends who would love to be blessed with extras. But it's nice to get a small stockpile of frequently used items while they are on sale so I don't pay full price for them later...

So this is just the beginning of my coupon journey, but I'm excited about it so far! My husband is super excited about the savings...and how we will probably save a bunch in the future. Who knows, maybe we'll even be able to afford to have another baby!

HAHAHAHAHAHA yeah right...lol....