The Car ~ We spent the week with my husband's car in the repair shop for the second time this month. This time it is still there and they still don't know exactly what is wrong. The electrical system has a short, but no one can yet figure where the short. The car is 16 years old and I fear this may be the end of it. On the bright side, we only live a few miles from dear husband's work, so taking him back and forth is not really that hard.
The Groceries ~ We kept the groceries to $143.00 this week. That is a little higher than the goal of $125.00, but not bad considering that I was $30 under last week. I shopped at the regional supermarket, Ingles, Walmart and the local scratch and dent store.
A Gift Card ~ Toward the end of the week we were feeling disheartened by the broken car, issues with the public school system and how it relates to Goldilocks (our daughter that is in an out-of-the-home placement because of her mental health issues), the loss of our son Timothy's favorite staff worker at his day program and dear husband having an extra hard week at work. We had been given a gift card to Olive Garden for Christmas. So we purchased two adult meals and a kid meal for takeout. The meals came with salad and bread sticks. It was plenty of food for all of us and reminded us of the many blessings that surround us, even in the midst of a storm.
Geography ~ For years Anne has struggled with geography. This subject does not come easily to her. I knew that she usually learns easily from games but hadn't found the right one. This Christmas we received the game, 10 Days in Asia. Anne is in love with this game and is quickly picking up geography. She is retaining the countries and where they are. We have played this game every night for a week. I can't wait to get the other games in the series.
Snow Tubing ~ We had a very special treat this weekend. We promised Dean that he could have a friend for a sleepover and snow tubing in lieu of going on the youth church retreat (for which we felt he was too young at this time). The weekend finally arrived and one of his friends came over. They had a blast playing computer games, staying up late at night and going out for pizza and snow tubing. It was a fantastic weekend for all.
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| I loved this sign at the snow tubing place. |
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| They allowed trains, which was a highlight! |
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| Dean loved it! |
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| Dean and his friend J on the slope |
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| Dear husband really got into it! |
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| We were so hungry that we forgot to take a picture of the pizzas. The five of us finished off two large pizzas! |
Blessings, Dawn
With a challenging week, sometimes it's hard to see all the wonderful blessings we DO have! It truly is the "little things" that get overlooked that are so awesome. Hopefully the car will get figured out. I have had vehicle issues for 2 years now, putting in a great deal of money (with frustration). And groceries? :sigh: I am losing the battle! LOL I'd like to stay under $150 per week. I think I may put the money in an envelope and when it's gone it's gone. I am feeding 5 BIG eaters (and we all should eat smaller portions). Have a wonderful week!
ReplyDeleteAwesome to be able to see the blessings in spite of the hard stuff. I'm checking out the 10 Days in Asia game-- it looks great!
ReplyDeleteYou're so lucky to have your game, btw! Right now it's selling for $128 on amazon! I'm ordering the US edition and hoping the others come down in price!
DeleteI'm sorry it was such a rough week. I pray the car gets sorted out soon. For some reason car issues really stress me out, even just the regular maitenance.
ReplyDeleteLooks like the kids did have a lot of fun snow tubing. I agree about the youth retreats. We have other issues to deal with besides age, but I often feel our daughter is too young for the event being offered.
I hope this week is better. You have a great attitude to carry you over.
I'm sorry you had a rough week. We had the same problem with my car but it was going to cost more to fix it than it was worth so we dumped it. Now we're a one car family, too. It looks like we eat very similarly, too! Anyway, I'm glad you all had some fun and blessings mixed in with your challenges. That always makes life a little happier!
ReplyDeleteI'm finally catching up with your blog! I wish for calmness this year, too.
ReplyDeleteI'm in awe of how well you do with your groceries. Tubing looks like so much fun. I'm glad that you were able to have some fun during a tough week.
I read your update on Goldilocks several posts back, and I'm sorry that things haven't improved. I'm so sad for kids who have dealt with trauma.
My little guy is doing much better. It's still a challenge, but he's able to sit still to play a board game or read a book, which has never happened before. We still have rough spots, but those are to be expected.
I had emergency surgery in October and have had all sorts of complications, which is why I haven't been around. My lungs partially collapsed during surgery, and for some reason, are still compromised, so I'm on oxygen. An interesting twist to this busy household...
I'm glad that I caught up with you a bit; I missed hearing about your family!
Denise, If you see this comment. I no longer can visit your blog. It says I need permission from you. But, I don't see how to ask for it. Also do you have a face book page? Email me at rumpod@gmail.com. Praying for you!
DeleteBlessings, Dawn
So sensible to count your blessings - and there looked like there were many this week :)
ReplyDeleteI will be praying for a calm week this week for you all.
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