My Birthday

Well.... I must say turning 33 was not as painful as I thought it would be.... I have had a great day! I have had so many Birthday wishes that is has really warmed my heart. I was shocked by all my phone calls, special visit by my 22 yr. old brother , e-mails, and cards, and all my FB messages ( I had so many, I could not believe it)! I FEEL SOOOO LOVED!!!! THANKS EVERYONE!




Here is my little personal cake. When I ordered it I thought I had ordered a bigger one, but it was still good and cute!

It got a little smashed by my kids trying to get it out of the package.

The kids surprised me by having my cake ready and was singing Happy B/D as soon as I walked through the door from running. Please excuse this picture,I did not know Josiah was taking it.(my MP3 was still in and the kids were in their pjs, ready for bed.)

I spent most of my day playing beauty shop with Lilee while she fixed my hair , I painted toe nails and finger nails , other then doing laundry I pretty much chilled today. We did go eat at Tony Roma's for my dinner. So all in all.... I had a great day!!!!

My New Running Shoes

Here are my (much needed) new running shoes. Sooo....... what do you think? Aren't they just the cutest! After my sole fell of my last pair ( that were almost 9 yrs old ), I was in need of a new pair. I was not happy about it either because my last pair were soooo comfy and plus we really did not need to be spending the money! So How did I get these??

Well .....after saving money from groceries for a couple of weeks (from couponing), I had enough to buy these. I looked everywhere for 3 weeks until I finally found a pair that was comfortable enough and that I loved! I was giving up hope there for a while, because all the running shoes I was trying on were not comfortable at all.

When I found these they were on sale for $59.95 (from $92). But then I realized they were kids. ugh. They had a chart beside them that showed the size of children's and women's and I found out that I can were a 6 in kids. (I wear a 7.5 in Nike's, the womens were $95 - $130.) Plus.... they were the most comfortable shoes that I had tried on!

I have been running in them for a few weeks now and I love them, plus my knee and ankle do not hurt anymore while I run! Ya!!! The shocks give a lot of spring and absorb the jolt while running. I never feel my heels touch the ground.

Here is a little visual for ya....... Karlton always tells me I look like a little bunny hopping down the road. Well at least he did not say a dog, horse , or a cow. At least bunnies are cute! Right?!Ha! Ha!

Some Lilee Cuteness & FFF

I am finally getting some quality one -on -one time with Miss Lilee, since Sara Ava is in school now. She follows me around all day long doing what ever I am doing. If I am folding clothes, she has too. If I am sitting at my vanity putting on my makeup she pulls a stool up beside me. If I am at the computer or doing dishes here she comes with that stool. It is sooo funny because she has never done this before. Her sister always played with her and she order her around. So this is all new for Lilee and I. But I LOVE EVERY Minute of it too!

I will start to home school her (pre-school) after Labor day. She is so smart and loves to learn , she is a fast learner too!

The picture above shows you a new face that she has been making when she gets really tickled. The first time I saw this face was when I played the Cheeseburger song from Veggie Tales. She absolutely thinks that song is a hoot! She is always asking me to play the Hamburger song (that is what she calls it). So, the other night I finally caught this face on camera while she was getting ready for bed. I asked her did she want to go eat at Sticky Fingers for lunch the next day and she thought I said "Stinky Fingers." Silly girl!!!! She thought that was hilarious!

Another cute Lilee story .....
We were in CVS the other day to pick up my pictures and she wanted to look at them. All of the sudden she screams out "There's My Home Dog!" I asked her who her home dog was and she said, "Jordan!!". I said ,"why is Jordan you home dog" and she replied ,"because he made me his." Well.....OK then!

Then yesterday Lilee was in the kitchen while Jordan was coming in the house from Cross Country and she yells out " here comes my home dog." All EXCITED!!!! Sara Ava thought that was soooo funny! So I guess you all can tell how much she loves her big brother!!!

Lilee is quite the funny little girl and loves to laugh. She can make her brother Josiah cackle he laughs so hard at her!

PLEASE Keep Praying!

I missed the Wed. Prayer list. Better late then never.... right!

Our Realtor showed the guy who was interested in the land (for his daughter) the second time on Monday. She says he is very interested, but I guess he is trying to see if he can get a loan. We have not heard anything back since Tues. I thought for sure we would have had an offer by now. See, I am trying to be positive!

Please keep praying for us! Karlton has a meeting with the Bankrupt attorney (the day after my B/D) on Sept. 1. What a way to start my 33rd yr. of life. Just turning 33 is depressing enough for me.

We NEED to sale this land!!!! Time is running out fast!

Have any prayer request you would like us to be praying for? Please leave me a comment.

A Fun Summer Treat

Watermelon Bomb





I got this from my friend Jenny's blog. I would have shown you the picture of how the whole thing turned out, but.... mine wasn't as pretty. I know how to make it now and I know what I will do differently next time. This is kind of an expensive dessert to make ( it cost me around $10 because I did not have any of the ingredients already) , but it is soooo yummy and worth it. When you are finished it will look like a half of a watermelon.

There are only 4 ingredients:
~ Pint of Lime Sherbet
~ Pint. of Raspberry Sherbet
~ 1 Pint. or qt. of Vanilla Ice Cream
~ 1/2 cup of miniature Chocolate Chips ( or add as much as you desire)

You will need a bowl big enough that all the ingredients will fit in ,and a bowl that will nest in it.

1. First set the Lime Sherbet out to thaw for about 15 min. ,then put it into your largest bowl.
Try to spread it up the side with a large spoon. Then Take the nesting bowl and press down on the sherbet to get it spread out more evenly. Then put in the freezer until it hardens. 30-60 min.

2.Next repeat the same step with the Vanilla Ice cream.

3. Then mix your Choc. Chips in with your Raspberry Sherbet . Let the Rasp. sit out too before you do, it will stir in a lot easier. Then poor into the middle of the vanilla. Shape it up with the spoon and put it back in to the freezer for at least 8 hrs.

4. To get this out of the bowl let it thaw for a few minutes. Then Flip it over on a Plate. If it has a hard time coming out after a few thumps then you can use a hairdryer to warms the out side of the bowl up.

5. Then cut into it and enjoy!

My FAV. flavors are the Rasp. and Choc. together!!! Yummmm!!!! ALL the kids loved it!

Alot Of First For Sara Ava

Sara Ava came home from her 2nd day of school today with home work. She was so excited about having it too! I guess that makes you a big girl when you have home work. Ha!



Then.......... everything went down hill for her. She had 2 loose bottom teeth and 1 of them was hurting her and was ready to come out. I gave it a pull but her teeth are sooo tiny that I was grabbing 2 of them so I told her to keep twisting it and then we heard a pop and saw blood. Well.... lets just she just fell apart!!!! So did poor Lilee, this was as painful for Lilee as it was to Sara Ava. She was crying too, but wiping the tears off her big sisters face, the whole time until the tooth finally came out after my second pull.

So guess who is coming tonight!?! The Tooth Fairy!!!! This is Sara Ava first loose tooth that we pulled. The first tooth she lost on top was pulled last August by the dentist because it had abscessed. She had really bad teeth when she came home from Guatemala almost 3 yrs ago.

My boys did not loose their first tooth until they were 6 (in the 1st grade). She just started Kindergarten and is only 5. Is this normal or is this because her teeth were so unhealthy from being malnourished at the start of her life?( She just went to the dentist and she never said anything.!?!)

UPDATE- A HUGE PRAYER REQUEST

UPDATE- Karlton spoke with our Realtor this morning. She told him she had called the guy back yesterday to tell him our new price. He is meeting her out there again today! This is the 2nd time he has looked at it Since Sat. Ya! So this is a positive ...... Keep praying everyone it is working!!!!!!!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Karlton just called our Realtor to ask her to drop the price of the land. She told him that it was funny that he called because she had just shown it to a father whom loved it and wants to buy it for his daughter. He wanted to know what the least we would take for it. Karlton told her to drop it $15,000. So..... she is calling him today to let him know the price. Please PRAY this is s good enough deal that he can snatch it up!!!! PLEASE, DEAR HEAVENLY FATHER LET US SALE THIS!!!!!




If we do get the new asking price for the land we will not get all of the business debt taken care of but we will not have to go BANKRUPT , if the land does not sale by Sept. 1 we will !





PLEASE PRAY AND KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED!

Some Sweet Deals

Yesterday ( Sat. only) Old Navy had their kids socks for $1 , even for the 3 pks. So here is what I bought. The deal even got sweeter because I had a 10% off coupon.


Me (yes I can wear kid socks , ha) 2 -3 pks = $2 I paid =$1.80
Lilee 2 -single pr. triple roll = $2 I paid= $1.80
Sara Ava 3 - 3 pks and 1 single pr. = $4 I paid $3.60
Joel 5 - 3 pks = $5 I paid = $4.50
Josiah 5 - 3 pks = $5 I paid = $4.50
Jordan 5 - 3 pks = $5 I paid = $4.50

I bought 63 prs. of socks for $ 20.70 before tax that equals out to be about .33 cents for a pr. of socks. Can't beat that!!!!! Each 3 pk of socks are $6.50/1 or $10/2.

I also bought 2- $3 tee's and a $5 3/4 sleeve tee, plus I got my 10% off those. I spent $32.00 total after tax and it said I saved $122. Not bad huh!!!!



I LOVE TARGET!!!! This is the girls and my Fav. store to go and shop, esp since the have Starbucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is what I bought on trip #1 : (I bought 18 items)

~ 2 bags of Combos - price $1.79 ea. - I paid .79 cents ea.
~ 2 pks of Bic Grip pens - sale price $1 ea. - I got them FREE
~ 4 pks of Skittle Crazy Cores - price .52 - I paid .48 cents for 4 pks. , that is .12 cents ea.
~ Travel Size Hungry Hippos - price $4.99 - I paid .99 cents
~ Scrabble Slam card game - price $5.24 - I paid . 24 cents
~ cup of Lucky Charms cereal - price $1 - I got FREE
~Clean and Clear Morning Burst face cleanser - price $4.54 - I paid $2.54
~ Renuzit Aroma - price .97 cents - I got FREE
~ Renuzit Neutralizer - price $1.97- I got FREE
~ Dove Ultimate Deo. - price $3.29 - I paid .29 cents
~ Poptarts - price $ 1.52 - I paid .22 cents
~ Cinnabon bars - price $2 - I paid .50 cents

Total before Coupons w/ tax- $36.01
I PAID - $8.42 w/ tax
I Saved - $27.59 that is a 74.5 % savings

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Target Trip #2 : (I bought 26 items) NO PICTURE

~ 2 Renuzit Air Fresheners - .97 cents ea. - I got both FREE
~ Renuzit Air Neutralizer - $1.97 ea. - I got FREE
~ Airwick Hidden Pleasures - $ 1.84 ea. - I got FREE
~ Airwick Scented Oil - $3.19 ea. - I paid 2.19
~ Madeline movie - $5 ea. - I paid $3
~ 2 pks. Starburst - .67 cent ea. - I got FREE
~ 4 pks. of Skittle Crazy Cores - .67 cent ea. - I paid . 68 for all. that is .17 cents ea.
~ 2 pks of Combos - $1.79 ea. - I paid .79 ea.
~ 2 pks. of Chex Mix - .99 ea. - I paid .50 cents for both, thats .25 cents ea.
~ Hillshire Turkey Beast lunch meat - $3.04 - I paid $1.54
~ Honey Bunches of Oats Cereal - $3.29 - I paid $1.19
~ 4 cups of General Mills cereal - $1 ea. - I got all 4 FREE
~ 2 pks. of Starkist Tuna - $1.47 ea. - I paid .94 cents for both , or .47 ea.
~ Travel Size Axe Shower gel - $.97 - I got Free
~ Travel Size Clean and Clear Morning Burst - .97 cents - I got Free

Total before Coupons - $ 43.94

I PAID w/ tax - $ 11.55

I SAVED - $32.39 that is a 73.5 % savings

Sara Ava's Big Day

" Yes, my backpack is as big as I am!"

Today I sent Sara Ava off to her first day of Kindergarten. Waaaa! This is not something I was looking forward to at all! I taught her pre-school at home, so she has never really been away from me that much in the almost 3 yrs that she has been home. In about 4 more weeks we will celebrate her 3rd Gotcha Day. It doesn't seem all that long ago that we brought her home and now I am sending her to school. Like me dad said yesterday, " She's not old enough to go to school" , doesn't seem like it! Well, I am afraid she is....... she is 5 yrs and 7 mo. old.

Lilee will be lost without Sara Ava during the day. Sara Ava is Lilee's personal slave...... literally. She orders her around all day, but Sara Ava does it for her. I am saying ,"Say Please Lilee" all day long!!!! Those 2 are best buddies and play great together.

I thought today would be mine and Lilee's first day home by ourselves, but Josiah is home from his 6th day of school with a really high fever. So no movies for Lilee and I today. Looks like we will be at the Dr. instead. Ugh! That is the problem with school ..... it keeps kids sick! We have been well all summer long and the first week of school we have a sick one. So much for perfect attendance. Please pray this does not go through our family like a wild fire, but like school I am sure it will since we have so many people in our house.

PLEASE PRAY

~ Wednesday Prayer List~

Well this week is a week were we need your prayers the most! Karlton's land has not sold and the business debts are not waiting on us any longer. We need a miracle for our land to sale in the next week or we have to go Bankrupt and it will be taken from us. All Karlton's hard work will be lost.

Know anyone who wants to buy 4 acres of land with a 2 stall garage mostly built in the Buford SC area? Send them our way! I'm sure we can give you a great deal!

By selling the land it would pay off a lot of his business debts. Karlton bought this land and was building a garage with and office over top for his company. Now that work has been at a stand still for a long time now everything has gone down the tubes.

Work is NOT picking up and we are behind a month on our paychecks. Karlton has a meeting with a Bankruptcy lawyer in another week or two. The bad news is it is not just the business going Bankrupt. Everything was in his name, so that will take us under with it. We don't have anything to loose other then maybe my Yukan XL, which we desperately need.

Hopelessness, Anxiety, Depression, Panic, are just a few of the things I am feeling right now. I have truly tried to check out the last couple of weeks by keeping myself so busy that I didn't have time to think about it. Well now that school is back in and I only have 2 little girls at home right now ,the house is quiet. Karlton just called me to tell me we have a meeting with the lawyer and I will have to make an asset list of everything that we own (nice huh), it has hit me like a ton of brinks. I have always had great credit and have kept our personal finances really well for what little there is, but at last there is nothing more that I can do.

Please Pray for US, for me especially because I am crumbling! We have been praying as a family, as a couple, the kids pray every time they eat and before bed. I truly don't know why this is happening!? We need a miracle!!!! I believe in miracles, but I must say my faith and hope is waining. I believed the Lord would take care of all this and I was not worrying about it for a long time, but now it is time to be worrying.

Sorry to be a downer!!!! The last time I felt like this was when we were adopting the girls but that was more of a craziness then anything! I know some of you remember or know that feeling all to well.

Please.... if you have any prayer request please leave them here. We will be praying for you too!

Here are a few things to keep praying for:

~ Jodi's friend who is pregnant after a long time of trying. Pray for health and safety for mother and babies.
~Jodi's mom and dad's church.
~ The Azhderian Family lost the referrals of 2 little girls from Africa . Thia is the family that had adopted Josi and before they picked her up in Guatemala she was murdered.

Its Back To School Time......

Jordan and Joel started started school on Monday. Jordan is in the 8th grade this year. That means he will start High School next year!!!!!!! (Ugh!Not looking forward to that!) Joel is in the 3rd grade! Can you believe how big they are getting !?! Joel went out the door at 6:55 for school and Jordan left at 7:40. The pictures are not the greatest ..... oh well. It was too early in the morning for me to try and take a decent picture as you can tell! lol!

Josiah's First Day Of Middle School

Josiah went to his first day of Middle School today. He was pretty excited. Only the 6th graders went today so they could get a good feel of the school, changing classes, and learning to use their locks for their lockers before the 7th and 8th graders come on Monday. Siah was really pumped up about his first day, but....... today was called fun day. I bet when next week rolls around he changes his mind. He is the underdog at the school this year and his big brother (Jordan) is the big dog being in the 8th grade. I am not to thrilled to have two hormonal boys in Middle School!

Last year they were offering a new program for this year for an all gender class. Josiah at the time begged me to sign him up. I wasn't real sure about it because Josiah gets to cocky and feeds on other boys. The girls keep him in check and ........he does a lot better around girls. So when he was excepted into the all boys class this year he is not to happy. He misses all the girls! LOL! If his teachers ever had any trouble with Josiah talking they would put him at an all girls table and he would do great the rest of the year. The only bad to that was I had to hear of a new girlfriend every single week.

Just so you know he already made a new one today. GREAT HUH!!!! ?????

Y'all just pray for me! There are lots of hormone flying in this house and I don't just mean with/about the girls. We are in full fledged attitudes and male testosterone,fights and mouth. I always heard that boys are easier, well they never stepped into the Shrum house of boys. Whew! Glad I am a girl! And I am happy to have two little girls here on my side, I would have been in trouble with out them! Ha!

Wordless Wednesday (No Words Needed)

Cheap Summer Fun and Cheap Toys

On Mondays I have been taking the kids (4 of them ) to the movies about 50 min from where we live. Mondays their movies are only .50 cents if you have more then 3 people. So all 5 of us get in for $2.50. We have been to see Hannah Montana, The 2nd Night of the Museum, and this week we plan to see Imagine That. We bring our drink in and I buy a refillable large popcorn for $6.50. So for $9.00 , 5 of us get to go see a really cute movie and beat the heat. That is less then $2.00 per person. I also make the most out of my drive up there. I consign with a children's clothing store about 5 min. away, so I take a load up every week of things the kids have grown out of. Also, the good school supply places are around it too so we have gotten a lot of great deals on school supplies. This is our last week for the movies because Josiah starts middle school on Friday and the other 3 kids start school the next Monday. It will just be me and Lilee everyday until 2pm. YA! Now I can get caught up on all my painting projects.

We have gotten some really great toy buys at Target over the last few weeks. Most of them were 75% off or more. So I already have a small head start for Christmas. Yes people that time of the year is coming quickly! Here are some of the buys we got.

~ Cranium for adults org. $28.89 - was $7.22 - I paid $2.22
(I had a $5 off coupons so it made it $2.22)

~ I Carly board game org. $11.99 - I paid $2.98

~ Rousers MP3 Electronic Dog Clock Radio 0rg. $19.99 - I paid $ 4.98

~ I Dog MP3 Electronic Dog org. $15.48 - I paid $3.72

~ Geo Tracks org. 16.99 - I paid $4.24

~ Teck Deck Tony Hawk Ramp w/ skateboard org. $19.99 - I paid $4.24

~ Teck Deck Skate Board org. $3.99- I paid $1.24

~ Monopoly Deal Card Game org. $5.99- I got it Free
(I have a $5 off coupons)

Total original cost of toys $117.32

I PAID $ 24.36 (for 8 toys)

= 5 Christmas gifts

Wednesdays Prayer List

First of all I really want to thank everyone for praying for us! We truly can feel it!

We have a praise report..... Our land has been showing really well! I think it has been shown 3 times in the last week, that is really good with this market right now. Everyone who see it loves it!!! But we just need that one person to buy it....

Here are the prayer request for this week:

~ Jodi asks prayer for her friend who has been trying to get pregnant for a while now and is pregnant with twins. Pray for the safety and health of the babies and mother throughout the pregnancy.

~ Jodi also asks prayer for her parents church who is waiting upon an important report for their church.

~ My sister Kristine is having problems again with an infection in her C-section from where she had her baby 8 weeks ago. She may be going back in the hospital again this week.

~ Please remember to pray for Karlton to have plenty of work! He has been working almost everyday, but we are still no where were we need to be.

~ Last but not least we need to get rid of that land/garage in order to pay off a lot or all of Karlton's business debts.

THE ANSWER.... (For The School Shoes)

OK you guys did pretty good.... I was right in the middle of Heather and Rhonda's guess. All those shoes cost me $70.00. Terri I wish I was that good!

Here is what I spent on everyones shoes:

Jordan's Nike's - $29.99

Josiah's Asic's - $ 15.48 (after coupon)

Joel's LA Gear's - $ 19.99

Sara Ava's Hannah Montana's - UNDER $5 , Target had these for $4.48 and these were the ones Sara Ava wanted! This was a total score! I wish the other boys were this easy.....

I saved over 52% on all these shoes. YA!

NOW I JUST HAVE TO FIND ME SOME GOOD RUNNING SHOES FOR MYSELF ON SALE!

School Shoes

People do you know how much it cost to get 4 kids ready for back to school ???! A LOT! Man the list and supplies not to mention all the uniforms, clothes, and shoes never end! This is the first yr. that I have 4 in school, since Sara Ava starts Kindergarten.... Waaaa!

Here was my thought; I thought it would cost me around $100-$125 to buy 4 pair of tennis shoes, ON SALE. I have 2 that are in middle school this year so you know that it is hard to please teenagers and they have to have the best , most expensive!!!!!

I found these shoes at a few different stores on sale. I picked Joel's and Jordan up and brought them home hoping they would fit and like them, but knowing I would be bringing Jordan's back because he is so picky! But he loved them! They passed the teenager test .... Ya!!!

My Goal was to only spend $80. How do you think I did??? How much do you think I spent for all 4 pr. of shoes. Here is a little help to know what the shoes are and the original cost.

1. Jordan's Nike's - org. cost $54.99

2. Josiah's Asics - org. cost $45.99

3. Joel's La Gear's - org. cost $29.99

4. Sara Ava's Hannah Montana's- org. cost $16.99 ( she picked these out by herself.)

ORIGINAL TOTAL COST - $ 147.96 before tax.

NOW HOW MUCH DID I PAY ??????

What You Can Buy With A Quarter!

I was pretty amazed that I only spent 0.25 cents for all these school supplies! Some of these I used coupons but most of these items I just hit the sales at Office Max ,Office Depot, and Staples.

Here is what I paid for each item:
~ 3 Crayons - .01 cent each
~ 2 pencils compasses - .05 cent each
~ 4 pks. of mechanical pencils and 2 pencil boxes - .12 cent.
- I did use 2 coupons for the 4 pks. of pencils.

Have you found and good school deals yet?????

THE ANSWER .... PLUS TODAY'S DEALS

Remember this blurry picture I asked you all to guess how much you thought I spent after all my deals and Coupons???? Well..... Jenny you were the closest with the $7 guess. The ANSWER is ...................... $2.30. YES, that is right people. SEE WHY IT PAYS TO USE YOUR COUPONS!! Now do you all want to start couponing and saving money! I did not add up all the money I saved, wish I had.


Now for today's deals. Josiah and I had to make a run to Wal-mart (on a SAT. UGGGGH!) to return some items that we did not need for school and another item. We received $8.07 back , but then we bought the EXPO dry erase markers and the highlighters.

Here is the total cost after 3 coupons:

~ 2 pks. EXPO dry erase markers $1.50 ea. ($3.00)
- 2 $1 off coupons
~ 2 pks. BIC highlighters 0.49 cents ea. ($0.98)
- $1 /2 coupon

Grand Total:
$1.30 (I guess I had to pay the total tax)
SAVED: $3.00

Here is what we bought at Bi-Lo:
1 gallon of milk
1/2 gallon of choc. milk
1 candy bar
1 bottle of cascade dishwasher detergent agent
4 boxes of totino pizza rolls

Total Cost: $0.58
SAVED: $18.07 that is a 96.5 % savings!

I actually made money today. I took back the left over school supplies that we did not need at $8.07 and then spent $1.88 Wal-mart and Bi-Lo. So, it did pay me to brave Wal-mart on a Sat.!


Next up is school shopping post........ Hope you all enjoy my money saving shopping adventures and I am not boring you to badly! Most importantly I hope I am encouraging you! :)