Bye Bye Mr. Computer and a few pictures

A few pictures of this summer/fall (none of Scott, I just realized, as he took all of them!)

July 2009 Katie wrote this note to us (when she was supposed to be sleeping). It says, "Dear Mom and Dad, I hope that you buy that car." We didn't buy that one, but we did buy one shortly thereafter.
Katie loses her first top tooth!
Scott captured this amazing sunrise from our backyard.
July 2009: Visiting my nephew in the NICU. Welcome to the family, baby Luke!
Our house is protected by superheroes!

Well, we've managed to kill another laptop somehow, so the blog posts will be fewer and farther between. I will only be posting about once a week, as we do not have the money to buy a new computer at this time (and probably won't until I return to work). So at this time, please pray for me as I have my tilt table test tomorrow morning and am on my third round of antibiotics, as well as the Floor family. Troy, the father, has colon cancer at the age of 27. His wife is pregnant with their second child and is due the month he is having surgery (chemo and/or radiation in the mean time). Also, please pray for my discipleship mentor, Judy, as she has stage 4 breast cancer and goes in for another scan soon. One more to mention quickly, Larry (a close friend of Scott's parents) has been told he only has two more months to live, as he is losing his battle with cancer in several organs. My heart is so heavy for all of these families. As I was trying to sleep the other night, I found the following verses and they just brought such comfort to me so I thought I'd share them with you: Psalm 73:2-6, 16-17 "But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills. When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny." What a comfort to know that I know where my final destiny is and some day ALL of those listed above will be pain-free for eternity. Karin

Wii and Grocery

I'm getting ready to head to Kroger and WOW there are some good deals! I will post them all when I get home, but in case you are getting ready to go shopping, too, make sure you go to shortcuts.com to put e-coupons on your Kroger card, then go to smartsource.com to get printable coupons to go with it.
I also will be heading to the doctor today in hopes of getting a 3rd antibiotic. I just can't seem to kick this sinus infection/ear infections!

From EngineerADebtFreeLife.com:

Nintendo Wii deal + FREE Amazon $25 gift card
Posted by Money Savin' Momma | 9/28/2009 09:25:00 AM | amazon, popular | 0 comments »
Amazon is having a hot deal on the Nintendo Wii right now. They are selling the Wii for $199, PLUS you get a FREE $25 Amazon gift card! This means the price after gift card is really like $175. If you are considering purchasing the Nintendo Wii as a gift this year, you will definitely want to take advantage of this hot offer before it's gone! If you use the FREE Amazon gift cards you get from searching online with Swagbucks and rating websites with iRazoo, the Wii can be totally FREE!


Get the Nintendo Wii for $199 + FREE $25 Amazon gift card

Here are the details from Amazon: Get a $25 gift card with a Nintendo Wii purchase. To qualify, add a Wii console to your cart from September 27, 2009 to October 3, 2009, and you will get a $25 Gift Card in the mail up to 10 business days after your purchase. Must be sold and shipped by Amazon.com

GREAT DEALS!!!

"Oh, the Lord's been good to me and so I thank the Lord for giving me the things I need like the sun and the rain and the apple trees the Lord's been good to me, amen!" Yep, Scott's favorite song from camp applies today; everyday, actually, but especially feeling it today.
1) Walgreens has some spectacular deals! They are clearancing several items to get ready for re-vamping the stores. Some deals I got today:

backpacks~$2.59 each
Cottonelle TP ~4pk $0.89-$0.50 coupon from cottonelle.com/coupons=39 cents!
Walgreens 180 ct facial tissues~$0.50
Aussie products, Herbal Essence products and Bic Soliel razors with coupons and
register rewards CHEAP (don't recall the exact prices)
Domino 5 lb sugar~$0.80 some coupons out there for 50 cents, I didn't have any, but that is still a great deal, especially with holiday baking coming up!
Total spent:$21 for 21 items
Total saved: $52!! Whoo hoo!!

ALSO: go right this minute to www.childrensplace.com if you ever buy clothes for kids! They are having a fall sale, and some of the items are only $0.99! Add coupon code V4989 when you check out for 15% off. I spent $18.83 INCLUDING shipping for 15 items: 2 dresses, 9 shirts and 4 pairs of shorts. Some I plan on keeping and some are for gifts. Remember, Christmas is not too far away! :-) Happy shopping! Karin

CVS Prescription coupon

CVS prescription transfer = $25 gift card! I recently filled all of mine at Target (for the $10 gift cards), so I'll be transferring several next week! Coupon expires 10/4/09.
http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/images/promotions/landingpages/rx/rx09027_triple_adv/coupon.html#

A Little Bit of Everything

What a week! So much to catch everyone up on:
After spending 5 days planted on the couch, I was ready to get out and about on Tuesday. In fact, I was so ready that I totally over-did it. You would think after 6 months of continually overdoing it and then paying for it that I would learn my lesson. Apparently not! Ryan and I went to visit my brother's wife, Jenny, and their four boys. I tell you, those four boys just bring me so much joy!! Any day I can see them is a good day. They are all so very different from each other, yet I just love them all. I am so blessed to be their aunt. Moving on, after that I took Ryan to the eye doctor for his first check-up. He was a little scared, but did a great job. Best of all, he doesn't need glasses! He is a bit color-blind, which was a surprise as we don't know anyone on either side who has that, but so far it doesn't seem to hinder him at all. After that, we met up with Katie and Scott at his parents' house for dinner. I was tuckered out by that time, but it was worth it. I am very fortunate to actually like my in-laws and enjoy spending time with them! As my reward for doing to much Tuesday, I had trouble breathing and hardly slept that night. Since I wasn't sleeping and didn't feel like watching TV, I spent the hours praying for several families who are dealing with cancer, job situations, our pastor and his family, and just thanking God for His protection and provision for our entire family.
Wednesday, I went back to my cardiac EP, Dr. Devecchi. In case I haven't mentioned it before, I think he is really great. He is thinking that perhaps my IST is being caused by my blood pressure dropping quickly when I stand up, which would cause the heart to beat rapidly to compensate. Next Thursday, I will do a tilt-table test to see if that is the case or not. There are some other tests he'd like to run but I have to get rid of this infection before we can do that. Unfortunately, the second antibiotic is not working and I am waiting to hear back from my family dr. for a stronger one. Wednesday also brought a pleasant surprise from a friend: dinner and clothes for Katie to borrow! I'm not sure she realizes what a HUGE blessing that was! Scott has two tests this week, so that gave him extra time to study.
Many of you have sent me great ideas for trimming our budget, for which I am very thankful! Jenny mentioned a great blog that she reads for saving money, so I thought I'd share that with you all as well. It is www.hip2save.blogspot.com I've looked it over and it looks like a great one! Oh, and have you seen the latest Kroger ad? I see some great bargains heading my way on Monday! Don't forget to use shortcuts.com along with your printed coupons for extra savings! Have a great weekend! Karin
PS Katie lost her first top tooth this week! If I can get our computer and camera to be friends, I will post a picture.

Swag bucks link

Whoops! Almost forgot, you can also join swagbucks here:

http://swagbucks.com/refer/krmom

A few more money tips

Ooh, I am so excited to share these few tips with all of you! First, if you have a Kroger near you and you use coupons, listen up! A long time ago, I remember using coupons that go on your Kroger card and I was wondering if they still did that. Sure enough, they do! Not only can you put e-coupons on your card, but you can use them WITH paper coupons! I tried it yesterday, not knowing if they would let me, but sure enough they did and I bought $100 worth of groceries for $50! It has been a long time since I've saved 50%, especially since we started eating healthier. You can find those e-coupons at shortcuts.com (they allow other shopper cards as well, so if you don't shop at Kroger, check the website and see if your store participates). You can find printable coupons at smartsource.com and redplum.com to go with many of those e-coupons (Kroger triples coupons under $0.50, which is how I got so many things for free). Also, I am going to start making my own laundry soap soon. From what I've heard, it is very easy and only $0.75 for 2 gallons. Gotta like that!
A few people have asked about Swagbucks, so I will go into a little more detail. It is very simple to use. Basically, you get paid swagbucks for doing your internet searches at swagbucks.com (they use google and ask.com so the search engines are very thorough). You also get paid when you enter swag codes they are hidden in their blog, swidget (the thing at the top of my blog), or toolbar, as well as when people sign up under you. For example, if Susie Q. signs up through my referral link, every time she gets a swag buck for a search, so will I. Yippee! They have all kinds of prizes you can "purchase" but personally I am going to use mine to buy amazon.com gift certificates. A $5 one costs 45 swagbucks, and I've earned that many in just 2-3 weeks with no referrals. Very easy! I often check www.engineeradebtfreelife.com to see if a swag code is out, as they always keep track and there is one or two codes posted each day (in addition to the swag bucks I earn for my searches). So yes, it does work and it is very very easy! If you are interested, click the "sign up" button on the Swag Bucks box.
I also highly recommend reading any book by Ellie Kay. She is a fantastic Christian author who writes books about saving money. She has 6 teenagers, but manages to live off of one military salary, amazing! I am going to re-read a few books to help us trim the budget. Thanks to Ellie, I haven't paid more than a few cents for deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, toothpaste or cleaning supplies since Katie was a baby!
Tomorrow is my second appointment with the cardiac EP, so please pray that he has some great ideas. The new med doesn't have the side effects the other one did, but it doesn't seem to be working any better either. Thanks and happy saving!