What I have been doing today.

My living room is turning into box city.

Can you tell from the picture what we have been doing today? Yes, we are packing to move.

One thing you need to know about me, I don't like change. My husband makes fun of me because I am a creature of habit. When I was small and my parents would take us to Bob's Big Boy I would always order chili spaghetti. I never tried anything different. I still like things to stay the same.

My husband on the other hand will move furniture around, just because he is tired of the arrangement.

Opposites do attract!

Now that I am moving, I feel like my world is turning upside down. I don't like putting my life in boxes (actually, I am going to be happy to box up all those papers on our desk). But, this is what God has for us and I will face it with a smile. I know God is good and He loves me more than anybody on earth ever could.

Anyways, this is a great time to spring clean as we move.

My empty dish cabinet.

A Shower for Benjamin

A sweet baby that was under the umbrella made of cupcakes.

Yesterday my mother-in-law and I hosted a baby shower for my sister-in-law Heather. Because Heather has been having complications with her pregnancy for two weeks our shower had to be very simple. But, to tell you the truth it was better that way.




Originally, we were going to cook a meal for 60 - 65 people and have a lot of decorations. The plan was scaled down to sandwiches for the meal and shells and boats for decorations.

A good idea, but the kids wanted to play with it.

The great thing was there was no stress and I actually had time to sit down and eat with my family. I was able to visit with family members I hadn't seen in quite a long time. Simple is better.

Aaron, Heather and my nephew Benjamin (tucked away in Mommy's tummy)

CVS Deals

Here are our CVS deals this week. We did 6 transactions, in 5 stores.

Here is what we purchased:

2 bottles Pantene shampoo
2 bottles Pantene Conditioner (1 missing in picture)
1 Fusion Razor
1 tube of Colgate
2 Oral-B toothbrushes
5 Lypsyl Lip moisturizers
1 box facial tissues
4 bags of Russell Stover chocolate
4 packages Mach3 razors
5 CVS heat pads
2 candy bars
2 packs of gum
1 box Mentos (not pictured)
1 bag CVS candy

Here is the awesome part:

Out of Pocket $10.39
EB received $57.94
Saved (per receipt) $127.43

Thank you Money Saving Mom and The "Cent"sible Sawyer

Shepherd's Conference

One of the blessings of living in southern California is the opportunity my husband has the first week of March every year. It is to the attend the Shepherd's conference at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley. This conference is totally designed to train and serve our pastors and lay leaders.

I am always so excited to see my husband go to the Shepherd's conference. It is a time for him to be encouraged and challenged. Also he is able to see friends from seminary and bring home lots of free books.

The staff and volunteers go out of their way to serve the 3,000+ leaders in attendance. There are food tables set up all over, a well stocked bookstore with great discounts, a shoe shine booth, wireless stations for checking email, a concierge desk and many other things that serve the men. They also serve the men lunch Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.


The teaching at this conference is awesome. Not only do they bring in the big names for the main sessions, they also have the staff teaching amazing seminars to help the men in their ministries.

This conference is so important because it rejuvenates our leaders for another year of service to our Lord. Many times our pastors serve us all so well, yet they are not served by us. Grace Community Church has taken this task on and does a superb job of equipping and encouraging our pastors.


As a bonus this year, Grace Community is offering free live audio stream of the main sessions. The sound quality is great. Here is the link: Shepherd's Conference Live Stream

Using the dishwasher for drying

Today I want to share a tip for using your dishwasher. When we used to have a dishwasher and the weather was very hot, I would use the dishwasher as a drying rack. This way I would not use the electricity during the day to do a load of dishes. I would hand wash the dishes and put them in the dishwasher to air dry. It kept my counters clear of a bunch of dishes. This was especially nice when we would have company. It is also helpful when you have limited counter space.

Beautiful Day

We had an opportunity to drive down to the coast today.


Catalina island from Trump International Estates.

Neighborhood Church in Palos Verdes Estates.

The sun setting.

A lighthouse in Rancho Palos Verdes.


What a beautiful day to see all that God has blessed us with in His creation.

One of the Reasons I Love My Church

We had a church workday today. It was so exciting to walk around and see people working hard serving the Lord and their church. What was amazing was that we had kids, adults and seniors all working together. So much was accomplished.

Our church was thoroughly cleaned, including the removal of a foul smelling dead opossum under our church.

The kids cleaned out the nursery and wiped down all the toys.

Our women's restroom faucet was fixed. Yay, two sinks again.

Our driveway wall was repainted by painter Ricky.

The outside lighting and roof were repaired.

Making sure no more opossums come to die under our church.

Making sure the pews were very clean.

My church is a wonderful family, which loves to serve the Lord together. What a blessing God has given me to be able to be a part of this church.