Null and Void

I have struggled a lot with loneliness since our move to Illinois almost eight years ago.
It was around that time I married, left Texas with my husband and moved to Illinois and since I have yet to find a girlfriend to do things with. I miss it a great deal, the movies, the pedicures, the hanging out, the go to girl when I need to vent etc. Don't get me wrong I have friends here in Illinois just not the girlfriend, intimate, type I desire. It makes me sad and sometimes mad.
This week as I was praying about it God brought something to mind that I thought was interesting. The fact that I have always longed for the one thing missing in my life and admittedly thought that "if I could just have that it would complete me". When I was single it was a husband, when I was married it was children, and now that I have both husband and children I desire the friendships that God had given me when a husband and children weren't a part of my life. I took two truths away and tucked them inside 1) My relationship with God is what completes me. I think that because there has always been a void of some sort in my life I need to remember HE is the ONE who fills that void whether it be my desire for an intimate friendship, my desire for a husband, my desire for children. 2) My desire for Christ should be just as strong if not more than those desires of my heart.
The best part of it all Christ is my best friend and I am thankful for that.

Ready set find Kroger!

Well we had a little family adventure last night that took us to another town about the size of the one we live in around 3200. Our goal was to check out the Kroger there because they have an awesome coupon policy at Kroger and well I need a grocery store with an awesome coupon policy. The Kroger there was small still we went in and got our Kroger card and then I used the GPS on my cell phone to find other Krogers in the area and found there was another one another 30 minutes down the road with a pharmacy and bakery so we figured it would be larger and it was even with a Gas station! So then the quest to find out their coupon policy began. Rumor had it they doubled coupons up to .50cents and stacked coupons which means you can use a Kroger store coupon with a manufacturer coupon for additional savings. I quickly became aware that the people who work in stores really have no idea what a coupon policy is. I couldn't find a manager to ask and the store was busy so we decided to leave and I'd call them later. We had just stopped by the bathrooms for our pit stop for the hour and 10 minute drive back home but when we got to the van Grace needed to go potty again, it is a kid thing right? So Eric took her in the store again and on his way out he saw the manager stacking water cases and asked the coupon policy for the store. I was so proud! I mean a lot of men would not even consider taking their wife and children to find a store 60 miles away let a long be caught dead asking what their coupon policy was. He found out they double up to .50 1 coupon per item, and accept internet coupons! Score! Around these parts I drive 30 minutes as it is to the nearest Walmart or local grocery store so what is an extra 30 minutes for stacking and double coupons in order to save money for my family. My only problem was I left my coupon binder on my bed at home so we didn't buy anything and I could of gotten some Angel Soft toilet paper FREE :( lol We did enjoy a nice small dinner at Taco Bell and the kids enjoyed the ride and Eric treated us to some frozen cokes at the gas station so it turned out to be some pretty fun family time despite the lack of FREE TP.

Couponing

Yesterday I went into a store to buy cereal at a great price for us. It is so easy for me to impulse buy, I struggle in that area a lot but was happy that I went in the store got my cereal went straight to checkout and only came out with what I had intended to buy :D and this pay period I have saved my family $106 with coupons plus earned another $30 in Target gift cards my husband is very happy I am feeling up to couponing because the last few months of sickness have made our grocery bill crazy!

Wiping the dust off this thing

So much has happened in the last 3 months the biggest is we found out we are expecting again. This news caught us off guard big time back in March but after three months things are finally starting to feel a sense of normal.
We also started finishing our basement the end of March that has led to complete chaos and one busy husband.

My second year garden went in around the second week of April so far the peas and green beans have been successful and from the looks of it the squash and tomatoes will soon follow. The cantaloupe and cucumbers are still in question.