saving money

I know many of us are looking for ways to save money. well, i've been wanting to figure out a way to take these classes, at first i thought about it for enrichment in our ward, but i also think if we ever get into a house, maybe i could just get a couple of ladies together and have them come to my house.

SO, I was wondering if anyone is interested if i got a class scheduled and we could really learn how to save money and stock up for food storage at the grocery store!!

Check out these two websites!

http://buyingsmart.blogspot.com/

http://shopsmartinvegas.blogspot.com/


they save SO much money and makes shopping a challenge to see how much you can save.

no house yet

we were supposed to be signing and getting the keys to our house tonight, but as i felt, something went wrong... of course. hopefully, all the paperwork will be done by the end of the month, if not, we will see. Patience. i know.

my little bro, Luke finally got together and did part of his eagle project tonight and I love all the wonderful people who helped!! i will upload a picture of all the blankets they received, both from church people and knocking on doors! they are helping the homeless people in las vegas! so wonderful!

yay! and oh

We have had so many blessings! some sweet people in our ward heard that we were moving and needing furniture, and so he cleaned out his garage a little and we were able to get a little night stand and small cabinet/stand from him! every little thing helps. a while back, someone gave us his old couches (which still have to be cleaned) but so we have a bed for us, two couches, a dresser for Craig and a kitchen table! Plus a small nightstand and a little drawer or tv stand. i love when people are so willing to share things they are getting rid of anyway.

we are closing on our house on Tuesday night... most likely. we ended up not going with the HUGS prgram, because of difficulties and it would also raise out interest rate from 5.5% to 6.6%!!! that's a good $150 at least a month! so we have saved as many pennies as possible and we renegotiated and got the price for the house down a little also.

We went and bought a stove, dishwasher, and fridge last night. we have been watching craig's list and saw ones for cheapo! they are not the best, but for $350 for all, we couldn't beat that.

I am feeling a little overwhelmed! we still need to find a washer and dryer, looking on craigslist and then get all the little fixing ups to the house and hopefully be able to paint before we get to live in a house of our own!! plus fixing the yard some and tearing out some trees and bushes.

went from flustered to peaceful

For some reason, i am always a bit flustered when going to work. and it is usually a bit more the first day of a week. I just am not sure if I have everything ready and usually i might be leaving later than i would have liked to.

Well, yesterday was one of those days. and since there was no school Monday, it was the first day back (even though i spent a good couple of hours at school on Monday). PLUS, i was upset about interest rates (6.6% with the HUGS program). luckily, Heavenly Father prompted me to listen to some good music and i found some hymns to listen (actually sing along with VERY loudly in my car... it was just me and passing strangers). I was so happy I did. by the time i got to school, i was a little calmer and ready to face the day. then, i got some maybe good news that they might continue to have part-time teachers next year! and that made me happy to think there was a chance.

Long story short- Heavenly Father blessed me yesterday and I wanted to make a note of it. I LOVE the beautiful hymns and music we have.

pictures

A while back, we went out and got some ice cream cones. Craig enjoyed his.


Then, we got some donuts and that night, craig found one and in the middle of eating it, fell asleep! this is how we found him. silly boy!

Our stake has started up men's basketball again and Trevor went to our ward's first game on thursday. it was nice, they invited families out and we were able to watch and there were other kids there for Craig to play with. i hope next time is just as fun.

well, we are doing pretty good. tomorrow, hopefully we will be able to find out some info about the HUGS program and find out whether or not we will get help with a down payment or not.

school is going kinda crazy! my kids are just very very VERY talkative! i figured out that i really need to be strict and consistent about the rules! kids need consistency and so i really need to make i give them that to help us all out.

we went and hung out with a friend of ours through trevor's work and his girlfriend on Saturday. that was nice. we tried palying some games, but we didn't know each other well enough for catch phrase (and two of the ladies speak another language and so there was a little difficulty for them explaining things in english for us) and then a LONG game of uno. we played it with drawing until you could play and we all had a handful of cards. finally we changed to draw only one card. it ended a lot sooner because of that. but it was nice and craig was pretty good too.

inspection

yes, we have a pinkish house. we have to look into the hoa's to make sure that can change!!! but, we had our home inspection today and it looked pretty good. there's some issues with all of the windows, but it should be covered under warranty and we will check it out before the 10 days is up. if not, the windows could be a little pricey. but yay!!! now i'm really excited!


This is the kitchen and the breakfast nook! all the walls are white so we have some painting to do.

we're still waiting for the hugs program, but we are just praying and having faith that whatever happens will be right.

check out our picasa webs for more pics http://picasaweb.google.com/marilene.ross/House#

Such a sad yet glorious experience

I feel a desire to also write about my love for some very special people in our lives. We were able to go to a beautiful and very spiritual funeral on Saturday for Baby Jack Alexander Johanson.

I had gone to only a handful of funerals that I actually knew the deceased. My paternal grandfather, a man in our ward and then a teenager in high school. However, this one is the most difficult I have ever gone to. I felt for the Johanson family so very much. I know that Jack is with Heavenly Father, but I know that this must be extremely difficult for Adam, Elizabeth and little Megan! I still don't know Adam and Elizabeth as much as others, but they have a little girl a little older than Craig. We were married about 6 months after them, had our first baby about 6 months after them.

Through Trevor, I was able to meet this wonderful family. and their entire family truly is wonderful! both the Johansons and Marshalls. I have spent time with a few of their various family members, all along with Adam, Elizabeth and Megan.

At the funeral, a beautiful and perfect song was sung for the occasion. I can't imagine the pain, but there were many pictures and even a recording of the sister singing the song and Elizabeth was able to post it all on her blog. I have cried many tears just reading and re-reading all the events starting from the labor for little Jack.

I am grateful for the strong testimonies that this wonderful family has. my testimony has been strengthened from this experience. I am so very grateful for the blessings that Heavenly Father has given me, that I have a healthy son and that I can cherish my time with him. I know that through our prayers, this family will be comforted. Heavenly Father is so very aware of each of us.

Adam gave Craig this pillow case. He came over Monday night and Trevor and he talked for a little while. This is a pillow case that the hospital gave to precious little Jack. Every time I have seen it, I am reminded of how precious our lives are and of the glorious plan of Happiness. I only hope to be able to see Jack one day in heaven and know that I am worthy to be in his presence along with our Father in Heaven.

new baby

guess what! well, you could guess from the title. we are going to have another baby! i was going to wait until i saw a doctor to tell everyone, but my dad was spreading the word last night when he picked up Heidi from YW. the baby will be due around September.

well, we still have not gotten the papers signed on the counter offer from the seller, which means we can't have an inspection. they are the ones who wrote the counteroffer so i don't know why it is taking them so long!!
but we got some possibly bad news yesterday about the HUGS program helping us with our down payment. so we will see if it works out, or we don't know what will happen. if not, we have to come up with the entire down payment and will have no left over savings for the stove and appliances that we SO badly need(i know... we should have waited to get a house and just saved, but we need a place of our own so bad). which means we might not buy this house and lose it! uggh. but we are praying that things will work out. whatever that means. and praying for more patience.

school is back in session for me and we are sharing a car. which means i get up, drive trevor to work by 7, get back home, usually take a brief 5-10 minute sleep and shower before craig wakes up. there are some things that i will miss. for instance, just asking my mom to listen for craig while he is sleeping and we run and do an errand, or drop trevor at work.

trevor doesn't start school until next week, i think. then, he will have to meet with his group to get his project all finished by the end of the semester.

house offer

guess what! we made an offer on a house and it was accepted!! AAHHH! i can't even believe it!

we have an inspection on the house next week and will make sure that there aren't too many things wrong with it... no hidden damage due to foreclosure. we are very excited... of course!!!

it is a good size house, a good sized yard and a good price. i'm so glad that it worked in our favor that the housing market and prices have gone down. we will let you know more details later! yay!!

What have we been up to?

We went caroling and it was wonderful! we didn't get much time to go to too many places, but it was enjoyable singing with my family! i love being to harmonize at times and just sing out loud. Megan, Anne, Mom and I took turns singing the alto parts and the melody. my mom knows a couple of the songs on the alto part and does a good job with Anne or someone else. Anne, Megan and I can do whatever part we want, so we would make sure someone was singing the melody and take turns! it was fun.

Craig even can sing a little of Jingle bells! (hey and ha ha ha) :)

Then, we got done a little early and we headed over to the Ross gathering at Curtis and Heather's. On the way, Craig got to listen to his little mp3 player with Trevor's big headphones. He ended up taking a nap with them on. silly boy!

For Christmas, aunt nene gave Craig a pillow, and he loves to sleep with nene! that and read his books and listen to music to fall asleep. however, we've had to stop letting him listen to the music. he would fall asleep to it, but then wake up in the night and not be able to fall back asleep on his own.

Anne made her first wedding cake!! it turned out wonderful! it was so fun watching her and talking to her about what she was doing in order to make it. I am so proud of her!

Craig also got popcorn from grandma and grandpa Ross and was relaxing watching the movie, with his feet on his new pillow and eating a little snack. there are some cute pics from just driving in the car with him and his sunglasses on.

then, Christmas eve,when he fell asleep with the headphones on. this week, he found some pacifiers and really wanted them, so we ended up cutting the tip off, because he kept digging in the trash. what a cutie!

he was jumping on the trampoline with aunt Heidi and was playing by my old rose bushes in my parents garden plants and got his glove stuck on the prickery rose.