Making Money with Surveys

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****I was asked if I make money doing this, and yes I've made a few dollars here and there. Nothing astronomical but $3-$4 every once in a while. It just takes a few minutes, and it doesn't cost me anything. ****

Aldi's

Our Aldi's finally opened on Saturday, March 7! They started teasing us before Christmas when they put up the big sign, but finally it opened! I had my first opportunity to visit yesterday after church. The biggest problem with the first Aldi's in Knoxville is that it is across town from where I live. It is very close to where I go to church though, so in an effort not to waste gas, we went yesterday between church services. Of course, I forgot to bring my own grocery bags, and I didn't have a quarter for the buggy. Luckily, Trevlyn had a quarter, and I was able to snag a couple of boxes to bring home my goodies! Charlie & the kids weren't very impressed with the store, but why would they be? They aren't the ones struggling to meet the grocery budget every week.

A few of the items that I was impressed with:

$1.99 for 1 gallon of Skim Milk
$2.19 for 1 gallon of 2% Milk
$0.49 for 1 dozen large eggs
$0.99 for 1lb of slicing tomatoes
$0.99 12oz. Salad Mix
$1.49 5-7 oz Spring Mix
$1.49 12oz Baby Spinach

The other items that I bought I could have probably purchased at Kroger's with a coupon for about the same price. The store claims to have different items every week as "store specials". I didn't get to look around much because the entire family was with me, but I hope to go back and take more time! I plan to make Aldi's one of my weekly stops and I'll let you know what I get next week. I feel more and more like my grandmother everyday. She would go from store to store to get the best prices! I remember...Pruetts, then Red Food Store, and then the farmer's market for vegetables. I always hated going with her on grocery day because it literally took the entire day! Now, I remember those times fondly. I wish I could recall them more vividly. Memories...

For Our Children

I found a beautiful poem written by Amy Carmichael. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Father, hear us, we are praying,

Hear the words our hearts are saying,

We are praying for our children.

Keep them from the powers of evil,

From the secret, hidden peril,

From the whirlpool that would suck them,

From the treacherous quicksand, pluck them.

From the worlding's hollow gladness,

From the sting of faithless sadness,

Holy Father, save our children.

Through life's troubled water steer them,

Through life's bitter battle cheer them,

Father, Father, be Thou near them.

Read the language of our longing,

Read the wordless pleadings thronging,

Holy Father, for our children.

And wherever they may abide,

Lead them Home at eventide.

By Amy Carmichael

I've Been Out of Pocket

Have you heard that saying before? My mom uses it all the time, and it means simply I've not been available. She also says "back of this..." but that is a whole different story. True southern woman!

Anyway...my point to this title is that I've been unavailable for the last week and a half. It all started with jury duty last Monday, and then it just hasn't stopped. I've just been extremely busy, you know how it is, nothing important just one thing after another! To make a long story short...I'm back!

I have been reading your blog posts, here and there, but I've not had time to sit down and write one. I have so much that has happened over the last week that I want to share (starting with jury duty) but I still don't have time to share today. I wanted to drop in and say Hi and tell you all that I am not dead, as some of you have sent me emails wondering... Things should be back to normal by Monday, and I'll post about the "goins' on of the Singleton family"!

Have a great weekend, and enjoy the spring like weather! You know warm, then rain, then it is cold again, and then it starts all over!

I'll leave you with a picture of Hannah & her quilt!

Opening Up

Since my 1 year anniversary just passed, I have been thinking about the direction that I've taken this blog in. I was going through many trials when I first started the blog, both financial & health issues. I wanted a place that I could share my feelings & struggles without condemnation. I needed friends that would lift me up when I was down, and pray for me when I needed it. I've realized that I haven't opened up very much about my feelings, and as things in life became harder I actually closed up! I want to share something with you that happened this weekend. Believe me it shows how human that I am. I was reading this blog today and it encouraged me to open up.

So, here goes. First a little background...Charlie & I have decided that we are going to try the Dave Ramsey plan, again. Yes, we've done this before but it never works. For one reason or another we just can't do it. For instance, we have decided we are going to go through with the envelope system, snowballing our debts, etc, but we are still planning our vacation this year. Actually our vacation is already almost paid for. Now, Dave Ramsey would have said to take that money and pay off some of your bills, right? Yes, that is right, but we justified in our minds that we need a vacation. Okay, so next we also said we'd only go out to eat on Sunday afternoons after church. That way we can go with our church family and spend time with them. Okay so here's the story. This past weekend we went out as a family on Saturday so we decided we wouldn't go out on Sunday. Now, in my head I knew this, but my heart wasn't going along with it. Sunday afternoon comes and my son mentions going to Ci-Ci's pizza to eat lunch. It would be cheap, he says, and it has been a long time since we've been there. My wonderful head of the household says No, we've already decided. Yes, when I say we, I mean we, We try to make this a family decision so everyone knows the reason why and no one can argue. Well, my belly thought it sounded good too. I didn't really want to go home and eat leftovers. I wanted something different, and I didn't want to cook. Needless to say the discussion became heated. Yes, it was in front of our children. There was a lot of you don't stand behind me, and well you don't care what I want... It was horrible. Even as I am writing this, I am ashamed. We made it home. Charlie told the kids to go in the house, and we stayed in the truck to "talk". It ended rather blandly. Charlie just said this discussion is over, and got out of the truck. I being upset, went where I always go when I'm upset, WALMART. I ran away. I couldn't even look at him. I was ashamed, hurt, and mad. I felt like such a kid, I mean why couldn't we go to Ci-Ci's!

I came back home after a couple of hours, and then around 4:30 we went back to church for choir practice & evening service. Charlie & I are good fakers. We still hadn't spoken and I don't guess anyone knew any difference. Our kids were just being quiet, and watching. I'm sure they were thinking a volcano was going to erupt at any minute. We had a wonderful service, and I began to feel absolutely horrible about the things I had said. I knew in my heart that I had been disrespectful to my husband, and my children. What a stupid argument!?!? I am the one who wanted to do the financial makeover in the first place, and he was just making sure that I followed through. At church that night we went to the alter together, our entire family. I could hear Charlie praying about uniting our hearts, and not letting Satan destroy what God had given us. See we've not always had a perfect marriage. When we have arguments we tend to bring up things from the past, and if you've ever been to marriage counseling than you know that is a no-no! I knew that I was the one that was wrong, and I owed my husband an apology. But more than that, I needed his forgiveness. On our way home from church I asked him to forgive me, and I asked the kids to forgive me too. I wanted them to understand that what I had done was not right, and it was silly & stupid. Of course, Charlie said he would forgive me but then he did something I'll never forget. He asked me to forgive him for being dramatic. You may think that is funny or odd, but if you knew my husband you'd understand. He said he blew it out of proportion, and we were both at fault.

So the moral of the story is just like the picture says at top, it may be hard, but the Husband is the Head of the House! Don't let your children come between you! Stand united together!