Wednesday, April 20th at 6pm
at
Nooksack Reformed Church
If you are planning to attend, please email shannonvandalen@hotmail.com to RSVP! It should be a fabulous night full of fun, laughter, and COUPONING! :-)
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Next Coupon Class: Wednesday, April 20th at 6pm
My good friends and I have been asked to teach another coupon class! We will be teaching a "Coupon 101" class on:
If you are planning to attend, please email shannonvandalen@hotmail.com to RSVP! It should be a fabulous night full of fun, laughter, and COUPONING! :-)
If you are planning to attend, please email shannonvandalen@hotmail.com to RSVP! It should be a fabulous night full of fun, laughter, and COUPONING! :-)
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
It's been awhile...sorry!
I'm feeling bad that I have left you hanging with our van situation. God has been so amazing through this process and has blessed us immensely.
On February 10th, our van was hauled away. It was a sad day, however, we knew God had something in store for us and it was just a matter of time. Little did we know that two days later we would be going to Edmonds to look at van and end up driving it home.
Yes, we bought a van but not without the help of some very special people. You see, we were not, and still are not, in the financial situation to replace our van. God knew that when all of this happened and he was already working out the details and working in the hearts of some very special people. To this day, we do not even know the names of most of those involved but I hope that they know just how much we appreciate them and how loved we feel. We had committed to a $$ amount with our income tax return but knew that wouldn't be enough. God provided the overage of that amount and we were able to purchase a 2001 Chrysler Voyager van. WE LOVE IT! I have a picture to share, it's not the best. I keep forgetting to take a picture for the blog and so I just went out to the garage to take one. (Nevermind the shelves full behind it. That's a work in progress!)
Every time I get in the van I am reminded of how God really is taking care of us!
Other things happening... We've just been going along with life. Jason is starting to get busy at work again so that is always a good thing. This is the time of year when he has special projects to take care of in order to get things ready for the new orders that will be coming in. He has a week of furlough coming up so he is trying to get most of these projects completed or as close to completed as he can before that week. It will be nice to have him home during the week of spring break with the kids and we are hoping that we can maybe do at least a one night get-away as a family.
I've been keeping busy with running "Mom's Taxi", working a few hours a week between the bakery and helping out some friends with their business, and then "Auntie Day" with my nephews 1-2 days a week. "Auntie Day"s are my favorite!! I get all three nephews and we just play all day. I love that they get excited to come and see Auntie! I've also been involved in Women's Bible Study at church. We are doing a 10-week Beth Moore study, "A Woman's Heart - God's Dwelling Place". This study has been absolutely amazing and the group I am in is a wonderful group of women! We have been studying the Tabernacle and every detail about it and the things in it. What a blessing this study has been! I have learned so much and it has really applied to so many different things that we are going through. Each week I am reminded of God's grace and how much he really does love us and that he really is caring for us. Things may not be happening in our time and we just need to trust him.
Brenna is loving 6th grade and is really doing well. She just started 3rd trimester today. Hard to believe that we are on the homestretch of finishing her first year of middle school. She has a birthday coming up in a couple of weeks, April 5th. She is going to be 12 and mom and dad are feeling old. We are officially pre-teen stage...AAGH!
Alyssa is also loving school however, right now, she is really enjoying her art class that she has been taking the past couple of months. We have a very talented 9-year old...yes this mommy is bragging a little! I love it when she brings her projects home at the end of each month. Her art teacher is Brenda Calvert and I highly recommend her! She has a love for art and a passion for teaching these kids. Alyssa looks forward to every Thursday afternoon!
On February 10th, our van was hauled away. It was a sad day, however, we knew God had something in store for us and it was just a matter of time. Little did we know that two days later we would be going to Edmonds to look at van and end up driving it home.
Yes, we bought a van but not without the help of some very special people. You see, we were not, and still are not, in the financial situation to replace our van. God knew that when all of this happened and he was already working out the details and working in the hearts of some very special people. To this day, we do not even know the names of most of those involved but I hope that they know just how much we appreciate them and how loved we feel. We had committed to a $$ amount with our income tax return but knew that wouldn't be enough. God provided the overage of that amount and we were able to purchase a 2001 Chrysler Voyager van. WE LOVE IT! I have a picture to share, it's not the best. I keep forgetting to take a picture for the blog and so I just went out to the garage to take one. (Nevermind the shelves full behind it. That's a work in progress!)
Other things happening... We've just been going along with life. Jason is starting to get busy at work again so that is always a good thing. This is the time of year when he has special projects to take care of in order to get things ready for the new orders that will be coming in. He has a week of furlough coming up so he is trying to get most of these projects completed or as close to completed as he can before that week. It will be nice to have him home during the week of spring break with the kids and we are hoping that we can maybe do at least a one night get-away as a family.
I've been keeping busy with running "Mom's Taxi", working a few hours a week between the bakery and helping out some friends with their business, and then "Auntie Day" with my nephews 1-2 days a week. "Auntie Day"s are my favorite!! I get all three nephews and we just play all day. I love that they get excited to come and see Auntie! I've also been involved in Women's Bible Study at church. We are doing a 10-week Beth Moore study, "A Woman's Heart - God's Dwelling Place". This study has been absolutely amazing and the group I am in is a wonderful group of women! We have been studying the Tabernacle and every detail about it and the things in it. What a blessing this study has been! I have learned so much and it has really applied to so many different things that we are going through. Each week I am reminded of God's grace and how much he really does love us and that he really is caring for us. Things may not be happening in our time and we just need to trust him.
Brenna is loving 6th grade and is really doing well. She just started 3rd trimester today. Hard to believe that we are on the homestretch of finishing her first year of middle school. She has a birthday coming up in a couple of weeks, April 5th. She is going to be 12 and mom and dad are feeling old. We are officially pre-teen stage...AAGH!
Alyssa is also loving school however, right now, she is really enjoying her art class that she has been taking the past couple of months. We have a very talented 9-year old...yes this mommy is bragging a little! I love it when she brings her projects home at the end of each month. Her art teacher is Brenda Calvert and I highly recommend her! She has a love for art and a passion for teaching these kids. Alyssa looks forward to every Thursday afternoon!
Ethan...this boy is growing so fast and has really become a sweet boy! His favorite days are when he gets to spend time with his cousins and loves them like they were his own brothers! He also loves going to preschool. This week has been pretty special!! Our baby has started to read. YES...READ!! He is so proud of himself. We started him the "Dick and Jane" books that the girls started with. It's been fun to listen to him! Today we got a pack of "sight" words from his preschool teacher to start working on. Below is a video that we took tonight of him reading...be sure to pause the music before playing the video.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
A conversation to remember!
Today is an "Auntie" day! This is when Wayne, Weston, and Wyatt get to come play while their mommy and daddy are at work. We don't like to call it day care because it's a play date for the big boys and I get lots of snuggles with Wyatt!
Our morning started out with the big boys at the piano. I knew this meant LOUD but hey, they were happy! The "noise" stopped and I began to listen to Wayne and Ethan as they were talking.
Ethan: "Wayne, I'm going to play a song for Jesus now."
Wayne: "But Ethan, I want to play a song for God. We just need to play our songs together."
Ethan: "Wayne, Jesus and God are the same person."
Wayne: "Huh?" (the music continued.......)
I love it! I love that the boys want to do things for Jesus! I love that they, already at this young age, are wanting to do things that please him. At this point, I was not going to stop the "music". I wanted them to be proud of that "joyful" noise they were making for their Jesus, their God!!
Our morning started out with the big boys at the piano. I knew this meant LOUD but hey, they were happy! The "noise" stopped and I began to listen to Wayne and Ethan as they were talking.
Ethan: "Wayne, I'm going to play a song for Jesus now."
Wayne: "But Ethan, I want to play a song for God. We just need to play our songs together."
Ethan: "Wayne, Jesus and God are the same person."
Wayne: "Huh?" (the music continued.......)
I love it! I love that the boys want to do things for Jesus! I love that they, already at this young age, are wanting to do things that please him. At this point, I was not going to stop the "music". I wanted them to be proud of that "joyful" noise they were making for their Jesus, their God!!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
The final goodbye
This morning we said our final goodbye to the van. It is being hauled away as we speak and never to be seen again. Ethan is pretty sad that the van will be smashed. He wasn't thrilled that Wayne's grandpa was going to smash our van...at least that's what Wayne kept telling him as they watched the van being loaded. I had to sit the boys down to explain that Wayne's grandpa would not be smashing the van that he was just taking it to it's "new home". That seemed to stop the debate and I now have a happier 5 year old.
I think the weirdest part for me was driving it up on to the ramp of the truck. I didn't think I would have to be involved with this process, or was hoping I wouldn't have to be. However, there was nobody else around to help so I had to do the job.
As I was getting ready to start the van, I began to question our decision. However, once the van was started and I was listening to it run I quickly realized that it did not sound "healthy". We have been babying this van along for a couple of years and it really is time to stop pouring money into something that is going to have continual problems.
The replacement search has started but nothing has been found up to this point. We are grateful for the vehicle that is being loaned to us to use until we find a replacement. God's timing really is perfect! We could not have planned things to happen as they did. So many people have stepped up to help in any way possible. They will never know how much their help means to us. There are no words that express how we feel. We are completely overwhelmed with the love that has been shown to our family.
Here are a couple of pictures of this morning's event.
Being chained down for the ride it is about to take down the Guide Meridian.
Final safety check happening...I think it's funny that the Lynden Security guys were driving by in their LPD car. As if they knew this was going to be happening and needed to make sure things were going as they should. HA!
I think the weirdest part for me was driving it up on to the ramp of the truck. I didn't think I would have to be involved with this process, or was hoping I wouldn't have to be. However, there was nobody else around to help so I had to do the job.
As I was getting ready to start the van, I began to question our decision. However, once the van was started and I was listening to it run I quickly realized that it did not sound "healthy". We have been babying this van along for a couple of years and it really is time to stop pouring money into something that is going to have continual problems.
The replacement search has started but nothing has been found up to this point. We are grateful for the vehicle that is being loaned to us to use until we find a replacement. God's timing really is perfect! We could not have planned things to happen as they did. So many people have stepped up to help in any way possible. They will never know how much their help means to us. There are no words that express how we feel. We are completely overwhelmed with the love that has been shown to our family.
Here are a couple of pictures of this morning's event.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
A Rite Aid run to share!
Here's the break down of this amazing purchase!
Transaction #1:
4 - 1.5 qt. Dreyer's Ice Cream...reg. price $5.99, on sale for $2.99, receive $2.00 ups for each
2 - Colgate Total Adv. White Toothpaste...reg. price $3.69, on sale for $2.99, receive $2.00 ups for each
...just noticed that my toothpaste actually rang up for $2.95 each...not sure why but I'll take it!
Used $1.75 in coupons for the toothpaste and 6 - $1.99 ups rewards from lightbulb purchase last week.
(coupons were from smartsource...1 - $1.00 off one and 1 - $0.75 off one.)
Total out of pocket - $4.67 (inc. $0.50 tax) and received 6 - $2.00 ups rewards to be used on my next purchase.
Transaction #2:
4 - Lays Stax...reg. price $1.79, on sale for 2/$2 = $1.00 each, receive $1.00 ups for each (unadvertised)
4 - Chex Mix...reg. price $2.99, on sale for 2/$3 = $1.50 each, receive $1.00 ups for each (unadvertised)
6 - Pringles Super Stax...reg. price $2.29, on sale for 2/$3 = $1.50 each
Used $7.50 in coupons for pringles and chex mix and 5 - $2.00 ups rewards from transaction #1.
(coupons for pringles...$1 off two...were from this weeks P&G insert and coupons for chex mix were from Safeway's Joy of Football coupon book...$1 off one...and one was a Rite Aid Video Value...$0.50 off one)
Total out of pocket - $1.50 and received 8 - $1.00 ups reward and a $5 ups rewards for purchasing $15 of participating products...all from from the grocery aisle.
**I tried to be very clear on the coupons used and sales they were applied to from today's shopping trip. Let me know if you have any questions on how I did it.
We were thrilled with how stocked Rite Aid was today. You can tell that their store manager is really working hard on getting a good amount of stock in for us serious couponers!! Now...get out there and save! My husband was thrilled that I profited $11 on today's purchase. Yes, that is all in Ups Rewards for Rite Aid but no doubt that I will be back there for more product! It's my number 1 store that I shop at these days.
Happy Shopping!
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Saying goodbye & a week of blessings
On Tuesday, we said good-bye to our van. We had driven it for the last time. We had been having issues with it and took it in to the shop only to find that fixing it would be more than the van was worth. After having a few consults on the situation we decided that we were better off getting rid of it. We didn't have the money to fix it, we don't have the money to replace it, but we know that God has a plan for this.
So, once Jason got home from work on Tuesday, we headed to the shop to get everything out of the van. The kids had been sad at different times on Monday and Tuesday...Ethan was crying while we were talking to the shop owner. Of course, he chose Tuesday to name the van...bad timing!
We had the kids join in on the clean-out. They had seat pockets to empty...lots of little treasures to be found. It took us about 20 minutes to go through and to make sure we had everything. This would be the last time the kids would be in the van.
We took one last picture before pulling away.
As much of a tragedy as this has been, we have experienced a week of blessings! We have a very dear couple in our Christ Group who has loaned us their car for two weeks. (I'm scared to death to have the kids in it because it is a very new car to them and has more bells and whistles than I would ever dream of in a car. This leads to much curiosity for the kids and I am constantly reminding them to not touch any of the buttons.)
Today was filled with another blessing, we were blessed with a very special gift and feel very loved! We also got some encouraging news on replacing the van. I don't want to go into any details but I know one thing...THIS IS ALL A GOD THING!
This past week has been nothing but a great week of teaching tools for the kids. Yes, I had my moments of tears over the van but I assured the kids that I 100% trust that God is going to provide for us. What mom wouldn't be upset over losing her wheels for getting the kiddos to and from school, after school activities, etc. Yes, I've been able to borrow a car this week but it's just not the same.
I'm just so thankful for the people that we have in our life and that they love us enough to want to help in the tough times. I'm thankful for a Lord and Savior who has promised to take care of us and is doing so as I type. I'm not sure why we are having to go through these tough times but I do know that they are making us stronger.
I would ask that you continue to pray for us as we are going through this "stuff". We just made our first mortgage payment for the modification process. We continue to try to put together a budget that is going to work. A little tough to do with fluctuating work right now. We did list the van on CraigsList in hopes to get a little more for it than what the scrap yard has to offer so pray that it sells quickly. And, as we begin the search for a "new", to us, van. We want our attitudes to remain positive and be reasonable in what we look for. We don't need all the bells and whistles but yet have some requirements for seating, etc. It's a hard thing to balance.
We will keep you posted on our journey!
So, once Jason got home from work on Tuesday, we headed to the shop to get everything out of the van. The kids had been sad at different times on Monday and Tuesday...Ethan was crying while we were talking to the shop owner. Of course, he chose Tuesday to name the van...bad timing!
We took one last picture before pulling away.
Today was filled with another blessing, we were blessed with a very special gift and feel very loved! We also got some encouraging news on replacing the van. I don't want to go into any details but I know one thing...THIS IS ALL A GOD THING!
This past week has been nothing but a great week of teaching tools for the kids. Yes, I had my moments of tears over the van but I assured the kids that I 100% trust that God is going to provide for us. What mom wouldn't be upset over losing her wheels for getting the kiddos to and from school, after school activities, etc. Yes, I've been able to borrow a car this week but it's just not the same.
I'm just so thankful for the people that we have in our life and that they love us enough to want to help in the tough times. I'm thankful for a Lord and Savior who has promised to take care of us and is doing so as I type. I'm not sure why we are having to go through these tough times but I do know that they are making us stronger.
I would ask that you continue to pray for us as we are going through this "stuff". We just made our first mortgage payment for the modification process. We continue to try to put together a budget that is going to work. A little tough to do with fluctuating work right now. We did list the van on CraigsList in hopes to get a little more for it than what the scrap yard has to offer so pray that it sells quickly. And, as we begin the search for a "new", to us, van. We want our attitudes to remain positive and be reasonable in what we look for. We don't need all the bells and whistles but yet have some requirements for seating, etc. It's a hard thing to balance.
We will keep you posted on our journey!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
FINALLY! Some good news!
Yesterday afternoon, we were out running errands, etc. I mentioned to Jason that I had yet to get the mail for the day. So, before pulling into the driveway, Jason pulled up to the mailboxes. He stood out in the rain going through the mail piece-by-piece. He handed me a pile of mail but I noticed that he had kept a piece of mail. He informed me that it was from GMAC and that he would let me know what it was about after he had read it. In other words, he wanted to be prepared in case he was having to give me bad news.
Well, it definitely was not bad news. Just the opposite! OUR LOAN MODIFICATION HAS STARTED! Nothing is final as we have guidelines to meet over the next three months but we are at least on the right path! This was such a relief to us. It has been a long 4 years. However, we know that this waiting is all a part of God's plan and we continue to trust Him through this process.
We would ask that you continue to pray with us through this "trial period" and that things continue to move forward smoothly. We love our home and would love to be able to keep it. This loan modification will be the only thing that will make that possible.
Thanks to those of you who have already been praying with us through this process.
Well, it definitely was not bad news. Just the opposite! OUR LOAN MODIFICATION HAS STARTED! Nothing is final as we have guidelines to meet over the next three months but we are at least on the right path! This was such a relief to us. It has been a long 4 years. However, we know that this waiting is all a part of God's plan and we continue to trust Him through this process.
We would ask that you continue to pray with us through this "trial period" and that things continue to move forward smoothly. We love our home and would love to be able to keep it. This loan modification will be the only thing that will make that possible.
Thanks to those of you who have already been praying with us through this process.
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