~~SHOPPING DEALS~~

Ok guys~ as promised, I am going to start sharing some of my shopping deals with you. So, now better time to start than NOW!!!!  

KOHL.COM has a lot of awesome deals in their clearance section & you can also get FREE SHIPPING! Yep, you got that right ;) Just type in "NOCHARGE" during checkout.

And, here is a deal that I came across~ I think it is beautiful & an awesome deal. Originally $38.00, now $11.40!! And, free shipping!

There are a lot of good deals on pj's~ separates from $8.00-$10.00. CUTE! CUTE! CUTE!

As for the women's clothes~ check out the following:

Embroidered Christmas T's~ $8.00

This absolutely adorable dress is only $12.40!!! Now, we all know that I'm a little too fluffy for it, but I have some cousins that would look GREAT in it!!

Guys, there are a lot of deals out there....shop them! Don't waste money. Tomorrow is the start of a new year....shop smart and save. If there is a birthday coming up, think about those people, buy and store the gift until you need it!!!

Until next time~~ have a wonderful, safe & blessed New Years!!!

~Merry Christmas~

I hope you all had a wonderful & blessed Christmas!! I know I did!!

We are now back in Florida~ we arrived at 4am on Sunday morning. Long drive, but we arrived safely. I am still trying to recoup from last week...I had a very tiring week: 2 very excited kids, a migraine (my 1st) that lasted 3 days, lots of traveling & visiting, a long drive home, a very messy condo thanks to all of our new gifts and now a little bit of vertigo issues to deal with.  I also have a VERY ill 3 year little girl that is causing a lot of drama for me today. So, as I'm sure you can tell....I'm ready for Matt to be home from work & Calgon!!! 

Here are a few photos from our week in SC. Hope you enjoy!

Cole & Taylor were waiting so patiently for gift time!!

This is me with my sister, Jennifer and Taylor.

Loo Loo (my mom) with Cole & Taylor.

I was finally able to get a picture of me and Matt with our best friends~ Chip & Heather. We had a great time visiting them and their beautiful girls (below)!

I just love this picture! How could you not??!! This is my kids with Chip & Heathers ~ Kiersten, Taylor, Kylie & then Cole. They have so much fun together!!

Matt with his precious Nanny, Lucille. She has alzheimers, so she doesn't know who we are normally....but, Matt got a wonderful Christmas gift this year. After her just smiling at us for a few hours, she was blessed with a brief moment of clarity. She knew who Matt was and was so excited to see him. It was just awesome to watch that wonderful moment.

This picture was taken in Lake Norman at the Jarrett Family Christmas. Boyd & Erin with their daughters Emersyn & Presley ~ Presley is the newest Jarrett family baby and she is beautiful just like her sister. And, holding Emersyn is Emily and then Lacey. Emily is Lacey's step daughter and she is such a wonderful, beautiful little girl. I am so glad that we were able to see her!

This picture was taken at my grandmothers house~ Christmas Eve. Apparently, one of my cousins received a scarf as a gift, but Taylor decided to try it on and model it for us. She put on quite the show!!

This is my sister Jennifer with our bundles of joy~I unfortunately was on the "wrong" side of the camera ;) But, we are so proud of our kids!!!

Matt & I are so blessed to have such wonderful (and huge) families. Our family gatherings are all perfect~ wild and noisy!!! Just the way we like it.

Unfortunately, we were not able to get together with the Franklin family group this year. The is Ruby's family ~ Matt's mother who passed away 5 years ago.  Morganton was blessed with 12 inches of snow, so our gathering there was cancelled due to weather. So, even though we know they all enjoyed the snow, we sure are sad that we weren't able to enjoy them this year.

And, as always, Matt & I had grief to deal with this Christmas season as I know many people do. We miss my Dad, Kenny & his Mom, Ruby very much. My dad passed away 6 years ago and his mom, 5 years. We miss them so much, but are so thankful that they are no longer in pain. We love you Daddy & Ruby!

With Love & Blessings

We have been BUSY!!!!!

Okay, before we leave to go to SC for the holidays, I figured I would post some pictures!! This is what we have been busy doing over the last week!!!

~ORNAMENTS~

I have had fun being a little crafty this year....haven't had time to do much, but these were a lot of fun!

~"Winterfest" in Seminole Florida~

Last Saturday evening was the town "Winterfest". We had a great, relaxing time. The town of Seminole really puts a lot of time & money into the community. The Winterfest came complete with Santa, bounce houses, crafts, games & they even brought in a snow blower so that the Florida kids could sled!!! How awesome is that???!!!

As you can see from the photos, we don't do hot chocolate like we did in SC. In Flordia, we do slushies!!!

~Beach Time~

This past Sunday, we decided to have an afternoon on the beach....yes, it's still that warm here!!! But, it was strange weather...as you can see from the pics below, we did have some fog!

~KARATE~

Cole has still been taking Karate & he LOVES it!!!! And, he just earned his GOLD BELT!!!!! We are so proud of him!!!!

~TREASURE ISLAND BOAT PARADE~

After Karate on Monday night, we went down to Treasure Island to meet our awesome friends, The Posti Family. Amy & Scott and their beautiful daughters Reagan & Riley. Reagan is in Cole's class. We all have a WONDERFUL time together!!!

Here are all the kids waiting "patiently" for the boats!!

                                Left to Right- Reagan, Cole, Riley & Taylor                                  

Again, waiting patiently ;)

The boats were hard to get photos of, so sorry for that!! But, we all had such a great time!!!!

~COLE'S SCHOOL WINTER PROGRAM~

And, on Tuesday night, Cole had his first school program. He was so excited & they did such an AWESOME job. I am one proud momma!!!!

Taylor & Riley waiting for the program to start. They are so cute together!

Taylor & Riley~ so cute together!!

Cole & Reagan after the program!! They did such a great job!

This is Cole with Tyler~ they are partners in crime!!

This is Cole's teacher, Ms. Young. She is wonderful! We feel very blessed to have her!

So, as you can see, we have been pretty busy!! Now, today, I'm packing us all up to go home to SC!!!!! We will be leaving tomorrow night (Friday) and will return next Saturday night/ Sunday morning. I will probably be pretty busy while I'm there, so I may not post again until we return. So, MERRY CHRISTMAS to you all! I hope everyone has time to slow the pace a little have time to be thankful for our Saviour, Jesus Christ!!! Thank you Lord for all you do for us~ each and every day!!!!

Merry Christmas to you all!!
Love~ Matt, Joy, Cole & Taylor

Christmas Fun!!

All the fun little Christmas-y things you ever wanted to know about me!!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?

mostly wrapping paper, but some gift bags

2. Real tree or Artificial?

I grew up having a real tree, but due to allergies....we now use fake. But, it is BIG and BEAUTIFUL!!!

3. When do you take the tree down?

about 3-4 days after Christmas~since we are traveling back home this year, I won't make any predictions on how long it will take me to get it down this year!

4. How do you like your eggnog?

Iwill always drink just a little ;) Especially when it's Jim Jim's at the Lake!

5. Do you have a nativity scene?

Yes~ many actually! My mom & I both LOVE nativity scenes, so we seem to have started a nice collection ;)

6. Describe this year's Christmas cards?

Some were picture cards and some were regular w/ a pic inside. And, unforunately some cards are missing pictures this year thanks to Shutterfly. I absolutely love ordering from them, but this year, a stack of pictures came to me very blurry :(  So, if your card doesn't have a picture, then I owe ya' one! Now, we forgot (yes, forgot) to take a family pic this year, so this is the one in the card. It was just the best I could do!

7. Favorite Christmas Movie/Cartoon?

A Christmas Story ~ always been my favorite. Although, I haven't seen it yet this year!!

8. When do you start shopping for Christmas?

usually right around Thanksgiving~ I'm all about getting a deal, so I will be out on Black Friday if there is something in particular that I determined not to pay full price for!!! Remember, I'm a Frugalista!!!

9. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?

yep~ I sure have! And, I am proud to say it. I try not to be wasteful...so, if it's a perfectly good gift that I just won't use, then yes, I will pass it along to you if I think you will use it!

10. Lights on the tree?

I always had colored bubble lights (the BEST) growing up~see pic below. Then, when it was just me and Matt, we did white lights, which I love!!! But, now that we have children, we are back to colored lights. Cole & Taylor love all the colors and it's all about them anyway!!!

11. Favorite Christmas song(s)?

Mary Did You Know

12. Angel on the tree top or a star?

Angel usually, but a star this year - most of our Christmas decorations are "lost" in our storage unit :(

13. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?

Both~now, all of you know what I big family Matt & I both have. So, our gathering schedule this year is CRAZY!!! We drive into SC on Saturday morning, the 19th. We will go to Morganton on Sunday for the Franklin gathering, to Indian Trail on Wednesday to visit our best friends Chip & Heather, back to York on Thursday morning to see my dads family, then that afternoon we go to Lake Norman for the Jarrett gathering, then we will leave there around 6:00 to go to my grandmothers for my moms family gathering. FUN! FUN! FUN! Busy day but FUN!!!

14. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?

Rude behavior....hands down!!

15. Favorite ornament theme or color?

oh, I love all ornaments....I especially like the ones my kids are making me these days!

16. What do you want for Christmas this year?

No family drama~~~I don't really have an item I want for Christmas this year. Except a house!!! I know, I know. But, we just put an offer in on a house, so I'm really hoping that will work out! We are hoping to know by Monday, so I will keep you posted!

17. Favorite thing about Christmas?

Every single bit of it!!!

18. What decoration do you put on your door?

Usually a wreath ~ but, it too is lost in the storage unit!

19. What strange gift have you bought this year?

no strange gifts this year~ at least I don't think so ;)

20. Do you buy Christmas stuff the January following Christmas?

hmm....usually yes~ Christmas decor on sale at Hobby Lobby is the best!

Now it's YOUR turn!!

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If you have a blog, join in on the fun.

Post your answers and leave the link in the comments.

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If you're not a blogger, pick out a few of your favorite questions and answer them in the comments.

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Can't wait to learn some of the fun little Christmas facts about you ...

~~ Deals, Deals & More Deals~~

Ok, I promised to share some of my deals with you, so HERE GOES!!!! Woooohooooo!

1- Earth Fare: FREE POINSETTIA!!
All you need to do is...purchase something gum,bagel whatever and get a free Poinsetta http://www.earthfare.com/HealthySavings/Coupon_BW_12-9.aspx

this information comes from my dear friend, Travise~ AKA "Coupon Mama" www.couponmama.org. If you are in the Ft. Mill, Rock Hill, York area, check out her schedule

2- K-Mart has Playskool toys on sale ~ buy 2, get 1 free. That's a good deal by itself, but if you go to Coupon Mama's website, gather the coupons, you will get them even cheaper. Now, don't forget to print 3 coupons~ not 2!! Just because you are getting 1 free doesn't mean that you can't use the 3rd coupon.....3 items = 3 coupons!!!

HAPPY SHOPPING MY FRIENDS!!!!!

Joy

Christmas Pictures~ Beach Pictures~ Our Family Pictures

Well, as many of you know, I LOVE to include a family photo in our Christmas cards each year. And, even though we have moved and things are just a tad crazy right now, I want this year to be no different!!! So, I decided to ask my friend if she and her husband would go to the beach with us and take our pictures. So, today was the day!!!

And, here are my two ~ they are cute, funny, caring, uncontrollable at times, sassy, smart and absolutely 100% wonderful!!!! They keep my life extremely interesting~let's just leave it at that. :)

The kids found a huge sand pile, so of course they had to have their fun on it before we left. They slid, rolled and jumped down it so many times that I'm sure they had sand in their underwear!!!

I really like this picture~ Cole is such a loving little guy. I am so proud of his sweet nature. He is all boy too.....so, I get shot with the fake guns in the rear end, get told how to spell "poop", can't help but laugh at his precious belly laugh when he says the word "poot" or "fart", am taught daily all about every Star Wars character that has ever existed and have to fight him to brush his teeth.....but, I love him! And, he's mine!

And, this is my sweet little Taylor. She is....well, let's see~ she is the prettiest little thing in the world, independent, outspoken, sassy, loving, she loves to sing & dance, and she is so full of energy! I tell people all the time..."if I could bottle up 1% of her energy, I would be great!!!" And, that is the truth. And one other truth is that she is the most wonderful daughter that I could have ever wished for. We have a relationship that I would have never ever imagined. It is awesome, funny and sometimes hysterical to most. It's great!!!!

And, here is me and my sweetie of over 10 years now. We have been married almost 8 years now. Yeah, just typing that makes me feel old!!

Ok, so by now, have you caught on to the fact that there is no family photo???? Well, there isn't!!! There was so much commotion surrounding the picture taking "event" that apparently we FORGOT to take a picture of all 4 of us!!! Can you believe it???? Well, I can...that's the story of my life!!! But, that's ok~ I'm proud of the ones that we have. So, now~ I have to decide~ find a way to take another picture of us all? Or, put one of just Cole & Taylor in the Christmas card. I don't know! So, I guess we will have to see.

Take care~ Love, Laugh & Love!

Joy

Change, Change, Change!

Well, as you can see, it has been WAY TOO LONG since my last blog. But, I have plans to do better and make it better!!

My goal starting at the first of the year is to make my blog fun, interesting and helpful. Helpful how?? Well, I have started couponing and I LOVE IT!!!! So, I want to share the info with you.

And, I will also do better of keeping you all up on our journeys as a family. We are really enjoying being in Florida and are having a lot of fun!! So, be on the lookout for pics of the holidays, couponing deals, etc!!!!

Fun, Fun, Fun!!!

I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas!!!

New Photos

Well, we have been so busy and we are loving every minute of it!!

Cole started kindergarten last week and he is enjoying it so much. Below are pictures of his first project!!! I knew Loo-Loo, Paco, Aunt Jen-Jen, Uncle Kenley, Aunt Nita, Aunt Julie, Aunt Donna, all the uncles and cousins, MawMaw, PawPaw, PawPaw Chuck & Mimi would love seeing his very first work!!!

This is Coles Humpty Dumpty. But, I had to show the front and back because he came home and told us that "This is Humpty Dumpty and look momma....he even has a rocket pack on his back"!!! Of course he does!!!

And, this is the first book that he put together. He was so proud to show it to me and read it to me!!!

Taylor started preschool yesterday. She had such a great time and can't wait to go back tomorrow. She gets to take her lunch box and she really loves that!!!

Matt & I finally got to experience seeing a space shuttle launch~ and, it was at night. We set our clock twice and got up in the middle of the night to watch it, only for both missions to be scrubbed. But, the third time was a charm! The pictures really don't do it justice. It was amazing. It looked like a huge fireball soaring through the sky!

This past weekend, we went to a different spot on the beach. We went to Sand Key, which is in Clearwater. It is only about a 10 minute drive and we had a lot of fun. Matt was able to fish, we swam and even had a dolphin right near us. We feel so blessed to having so many fun family times!!!