Summer is almost over

Wow - I can't believe it's been 2 1/2 months since I updated this blog. Needless to say, we've been quite busy.

We moved (three houses down the street) at the end of June and are LOVING our new home. It's 600 square feet bigger, has a fantastic yard, and we have some amazing landlords. We were not actively looking for a new home, but knew our residency in our current home would be coming to an end soon. While outside playing with the kids one Sunday evening our neighbors walked by and asked if we go to Calvary Chapel. Turns out they did too. In fact, our neighbors fiancee took pictures for our directory (small world - small town). About a month later she came by the house and asked us if we'd be interested in renting her house when she moves out to get married. After a brief discussion and much prayer, we said "Yes!" A few weeks later we moved in and have thoroughly enjoyed it. The kids like the fact that they kept their same friends and say our new home feels more like a 'resort.'

We also finished up the homeschool year and I'm happy to report that both girls completed their grades. They both excel at reading but Doodle Bug has still been struggling with math. She's had this "I can't do it! I hate it!" attitude for the past two years- well this school year she worked REALLY hard and her attitude improved dramatically. Unfortunately, she is not up to grade level on math yet - we found out this was mainly due to the curriculum we used. So, with lots of feedback from her evaluator, we're making preparations for next school year and making sure we bring Doodle back up to par with her math.

This will be Little Man's first official year of school and he is SO excited! Ryan even has a Bible class for just the two of them planned out. They're going to learn about the book of Acts first. I'm not sure who's more excited, Little Man or Ryan. :)

It's also Buddy Boy's turn at some more structured schooling as he turns 3 in September. The wonderful thing with him, is that because of his birthday - he'll be turning 6 just weeks after starting Kindergarten (unless we feel the need to put him in early - which as of now, we don't) which means we'll be able to give him three full years of 'structuring' with him before his official education begins. I just LOVE the preschool and early elementary years!

My school has also ended for the summer and I have one class remaining to complete my AA (I hope!). I am WAY excited to finish this long chapter in my life and anxious to see where God leads me after this December.

Ryan and I have been making a point to have more people over to the house, whether it's family or friends. So far we've had four 'entertainings' and are already scheduling more for next month. There's just something wonderful about opening your home to family or friends, breaking bread with them or just talking and watching the kids play. Cherished times.

One thing I am SUPER excited about is how we have been working on being better stewards with the money the Lord has blessed us with. Since March our food bill has been reduced by an average of $76 a week. Our July food and gas averages were reduced by $100 and $25 respecitvely from March. It's wonderful! We've accomplished this savings by better utilzing coupons, sales, and comparison pricing. We've also been reviewing our food purchases and not buying foods that have little or no nutritional value. We still buy the occassional bag of chips, but instad of two or three bags a week, we've reduced it to it will be two or three bags a month. Really helps keep costs down! It has not, however, helped to bring our weights down. But that's another story...