Yikes, what a month...

Sorry, it has been so long since I posted anything.  Things are incredibly busy in the Harvey household. 

The girls are both starting school this year: Ansley in kindergarten, and Ashlynn in pre-k.  They start on August 12th.  Neither one of them can wait until that day gets here.  I think Brian and I would like to press pause and keep them little for a while longer!  My advice would be go ahead and buy stock in Kleenex now, because I am sure I will be going through them that day!!!

We have been getting school supplies, clothes, etc. bought and ready for the first day.  I think that is adding to the excitement because we haven't ever had to do that before!

I have so much more to blog about but, I don't have time at the moment.  I promise to get another blog up...one of which is going to be about my tremendous savings this weekend at Kroger and CVS!  So proud...

But I want to leave you with a few inspirational quotes that I have seen lately, that I have been reflecting on:

What if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday!

Along those same lines..."If the only friends you had today were the ones you prayed for yesterday, how lonely would you be right now".

And finally, "Enjoy this moment, for this moment is your life"

All of these are very powerful, and remind to be thankful for the things we have (including the people).

Hope everyone has a great day!

Wow, we are already well into June...

I can't believe it is already June!  Can someone please tell me where May went?  Or for that matter it seems like it was JUST New Year's Day.  May was a GREAT month.  We celebrated all kinds of big events...Mother's Day, Our 10 year anniversary, my Granny's 85th birthday, and we even went to the beach for a few days.  I really do wish we could be beach bums, and it could totally happen except for the fact that we like to have a roof over our head, electricity, food, etc.  So I guess it is best that we continue to go to work everyday. 

June is going to be a very busy month for us!  We start swim lessons tonight for 2 weeks, have a family reunion, Father's Day, and then Ashlynn turns 4.  I can't believe we will celebrate our baby's 4th birthday at the end of the month.  Once again can someone please tell me where the time has gone???  She should still be a little baby...not an almost 4 year old. 

Hope things are good for everyone else...I will try to get some pictures uploaded tonight.  Sorry it has been so long since I posted any Happenings with the Harvey's!

10 years...

I can't believe that today is our 10 year anniversary!  It doesn't seem like 10 years, it seems like just yesterday...Brian no comment on that! :)  Lol.

 I remember waking up so nervous and excited...it was a beautiful morning, which later turned into a down pour, and then back to a beautiful night. 

I was surrounded by close friends and family all day.  What a blast it was...from hair appointments, to the "tail gate party" in the church parking lot, to it pouring down rain about 30 minutes before pictures...at that point I kind of freaked out.  The ceremony was wonderful, although it seems like such a blur, and the reception was so much fun.  We didn't want to leave we danced until the LAST possible moment.

Brian and I are so blessed...not only to have found the love we have, but to have 2 amazing girls, and the support and love from so many friends (especially the life long ones), family memebers, co-workers, etc.

I look forward to many, many, many more!

My lunch time trips to Wal-green's and Rite Aid

Just had to share my trips to Wal-greens and Rite Aid over lunch!  I was amazed at the amount of stuff I got for so little of money!

Wal-greens:
Transaction 1:
1- Gilette Pro Fusion Power Glide Razor $9.89 (receive $5 register reward on purchase of one)
1 -EEZ- Thru Flossers 90 count $2.00 (receive $2.00 RR on purchase of one)
2 -Tylenol Precise 3 count

Subtotal before coupons: $27.87

Coupons used:
Walgreens store coupon $3.00 off each Tylenol Precise (took $6.00 off)
2- $5.00 off Tylenol Precise Manufacturer coupons
1 -$5.00 off Gilette Pro Fusion Razor
1- $5.00 register reward from previous shopping trip

Subtotal after Coupons: $1.87
Tax: $1.95
Out of Pocket Cost: $3.82 (with a $2RR, and a $5RR remaining)

Transaction 2:
3- 12 Double Roll Packages of Cottonelle Ultra $5.00 (Buy 3, get $4.00 RR)
2- KitKat Bars on Sale for .44 (had to have 2 fillers items to use all the coupons)

Subtotal before coupons: $15.00

Coupons used:
Wal-greens store coupon for $1.00 off each Cottonelle (took $3.00 off)
3 -$0.50 off Cottonelle Manufacturer coupons
1 -$2.00 RR from Transaction 1
1- $5.00 RR from Transaction 1

Subtotal After Coupons: $4.48
Tax: $1.08
Out of Pocket Cost: $5.56 (have a $4 RR left)

Rite Aid: (only did 1 Transaction because of time)
1 Gillette Pro Fusion Pro Glide Razor $9.99 ($5.00 Up with purchase)
4 Butterfinger Snackerz .50 each
1 Revlon Tweezer $1.80 ($4.00 up reward when you purchase 2 Revlon nail products)
1 Revlon Nail Clippers $1.91
1 Crest w Scope Toothpaste $2.99 ($2.00 Up with purchase)
$12.00 Allure Rebate when you spend $25 on sleect products:
1 Gilette Divine Cartridges $12.49- on sale B1G1 50% off
1 Venus Vibrance Razor $5.99 (half off)
1 Olay AD Renewal Lotion $10.99 -on sale B1G1 50% off
1 Olay Regenerist Daily Cleanser $3.99 (half off)

Subtotal before coupons: $52.15

Coupons Used:
1- $3 off $15.00 Rite Aid Survey Coupon
1- $1.00 off Crest Manufacturer Coupon
2- $1.00/2 Butterfingerz Snackerz Manufacturer Coupons
1- $3.00 off Olay Regenerist Cleanser Manufacturer Coupon
1- $5.00 off Olay Moisturizer when you buy a Venus Cartridge
1- $4.00 off Venus Razor Cartridge 4 pack Manufacturer Coupon
1- $2.00 off Venus Razor Manufacturer Coupon
2- $3.00 Up Rewards from previous visit
1- $1.00 Up Reward from previous visit

Subtotal After coupons: $25.15
Tax: $3.23
Out of Pocket: $28.38 minus $12.00 rebate (have $11.00 in Up Rewards left) = $16.38

Total Cost of items Purchased: $101.28
Total Spent: $25.76
Total Savings: $75.52 or 75%!!!!

I am pretty excited about this!  As you can see if I would have done a couple of transactions at Rite Aid my out of pocket would be less, but I can't complain!  I have a lot of stuff for a small amount of money!

Easter!

Hope everyone had a great Easter, isn't it wonderful that we serve a Risen Savior??  We had a very busy one, we felt like ours was spent on the road (which is how most of our Holidays, go)!  Here are a few pictures from Easter!

My first blog!

Well I have finally decided to start blogging.  I have been thinking about it awhile now, and decided that I should really take the plunge!  I follow several blogs (some from friends, some for sales and coupons, etc), and decided it was past time for me to start blogging.

Let me first start by saying how incredibly blessed the Harvey's are!  God has been so good to us over the past year (and what a year it was), and while we have had many struggles and tests, He has blessed us so much!  God is good ALL the TIME!  Looking back on the past year, I am in awe of how He has worked in our lives.  We are much stronger as a family, our faith is much stronger, and we have such a great group of true friends and family that we know stand beside us through thick and thin!

We just got home from an amazing trip at Disney World.  It was so much fun, and Ansley asks why we can't just live at the castle??  I agree, why can't we??  It was nice to be able to make memories as a family and spend time away from the real world for several days!  Ashlynn loved all the fast rides she was tall enough to ride (Test Track, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, etc.) and as soon as the ride stopped she was asking could we do it again.  There were no crowds, so we were able to ride some of the rides back to back.  It was fun, but after 3 times in a row on Test Track and Big Thunder Mountain, I was ready to walk around for a little while!

I am so excited about a new opportunity God has provided for us.  About 4 months ago, I started couponing and trying to cut the amount of our monthly grocery bill (isn't it insane what things cost right now?)!  I can honestly say that this has been a challenge, but I never realized how just a little research and time could add up to almost a 60-70% savings each month on groceries and household items.  Several people have been asking me to "teach" them how I use coupons.  I always just laughed it off and didn't take it very serious. 

Well about 7 months ago (during what seemed at the time, like one of the worst times in our lives..it has quickly become a blessing in disguise), I felt like God was really laying on my heart that He was going to use me in a ministry, of course He didn't give me what ministry or how I would be involved.  But, He definitely placed this desire on my heart.  I have spent a lot of time praying and asking God for direction because frankly I don't want it if it isn't what He has planned for me. 

Well this past Sunday, my best friend, Sharon,  and I went to CVS.  She wanted to see the whole coupon thing in action.  While I was checking out, my mom and one of her dear friends came in.  I started showing them all the stuff I got and how little the cost was, and my mom's friend was like you really need to teach this to people.  At that moment, it was like God put it in flashing lights (or as another dear friend says "He hit me upside the head with a ton of bricks").  I had this peace, and knew that this was what God had in mind for me at this time.  I will be "teaching" my first couponing class on April 30th.  I am really excited about this opportunity and can't wait to share my passion for couponing along with my passion for Christ with others.  The response so far has been amazing, and I have a feeling where this is going to be one of those things were I get more blessings out of it than those in the class!

I will be using this blog not only as a way of keeping people up to date with the Happenings at the Harvey household, but I will also be sharing coupon tips, deals, and my shopping trips and savings. 

I look forward to many more blog posts!