Sunday, December 27, 2009

Dog Beach

We treated our little pups to a day at dog beach in Huntington. We had a blast and couldn't beleive how well they did. Steven even let them off the leash to run around with the kids and other dogs. It was tons of fun for all of us and I got to take a great nap on the beach! What more could you ask for?

This is the pre trip preparation that Steven had to attempt shortly after we took off due to the free for all the dogs were having in the car.

Calvin and Sydney were hysterical.

Jaclynn was laughing in between attempts to push the dogs back. Apparently a dog sitting on her head is not what she had in mind for the ride to the beach!

Our little rock climbers. They were so proud of themselves!







Wednesday, December 23, 2009

A lot to be thankful for...Just a little late.

This year we were able to open our new home to a large group of our family for Thanksgiving, We had a blast! This could never have been pulled off without the help of everyone from bringing dishes to share and decorating to cleaning and organizing. Filling up our home at Thanksgiving time reminded us even more of the blessings the Lord has poured out on us. We are truly thankful for our new home and loved sharing it with everyone.


Steven's side of the family that were able to join us.



The dessert spread...Thanks to Angela for her 5 homemade pies. WOW!







The guys were even able to give Steven's Grandmother a tour of the upstairs. Posing for a special shot while resting to make it back down. :)



The spread for dinner. Everything was delicious! Thanks to all the chefs!



After dinner winding down playing video games.







Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Halloween


Even adults can be super silly at times...
From Left to right: A baker, An oven with a bun in it, Tennis player Ken, Tennis player Barbie, Beth and Dog the bounty hunters!


And now my sweet little candy fiends!
Jaclynn was a Jack-o-lantern
Sydney, a bunny
Calvin, a pirate









Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Catching up

So much has been happening around here lately. We made it through our move and have been in the new place for three weeks now. But that will have to be a whole other post , eventually.

Here are just a few shots over the course of the last week or so. Enjoying our October. Getting settled in the new house. Preparing for a new baby. And so on...

We did add another little one to our brood. His name is Josh and he is Jakes brother. From day one of getting Jake, Steven and I had said we wished we would have just gone for two. Then, about a week before we moved the sign was back up that there were more puppies for sale. So, I quickly flipped a u-turn, and went to just ask some questions. Was it the same litter? How many do they have left? And, we already bought one will you give us a deal for another one? =) After a quick call to Steven, we had another puppy to care for! It has been great! They LOVE each other and get along really well and fit in with the rest of us just fine. It's been an adventure but completely worth it.


Sydney put on this old costume in hopes she would convince them she is their "dog mom"


All three of them napping poolside



Visiting the Pumpkin Patch

I LOVE the beach in October. It always seems warm enough to still get in our suits and enjoy the water and on top of that, we usually have the beach all to ourselves. Last Tuesday the waves were huge and the sun was shining. It was a great day to just sit and soak up God's glorious creation.










Friday, October 23, 2009

Only 62 Days Left Until Christmas!!!!

This is my friendly reminder to all my beloved friends and family that you can have an organized Holiday season! For the last four years, with many thanks to a dear friend, I have used this system without fail. I am strongly urging you to check out Organizedchristmas.com. It is so simple and easy to use, and best of all, it's FREE! Everything is divided up over the next six weeks to help you ease through the Holidays instead of stress out come mid-December. I love this site and think you should give it a shot. The christmas countdown starts this Sunday October 25th so be sure to check it out before then! Enjoy!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Snuggle for $0.41!!!

Quickly go here to Alice.com and sign up for a free account. Then quickly go here to get your snuggle shipped to you for a total cost of $0.41. No kidding. I say quickly because who knows how long this will last!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

A post to save you money.

People often ask us how we are able to grow a family in southern california and be able to have me stay at home. Of course there are many facets to this explanation but over the course of the last year coupon shopping has become one of the driving forces behind making ends meet. Now, first I want to start by saying that without a doubt God has called me to be at home managing and overseeing all that goes on within these walls. He grew a strong passion in me for fulfilling His call to mother my children and serve my husband ( ooohh, some of you cringed, I know :) ) Don't judge, just here me out. Proverbs 31 is very lengthy and goes into detail about a woman who fears the Lord.
Verse 11 "The heart of her Husband trusts in her , and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not harm all the days of her life.
15 -20 She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens.
She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong.
She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night.
She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.
She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.
25-31 Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.
She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, he praises her:
"Many women have done excellently, but you exceed them all."
Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Give her the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates."
Everything I do as a wife and mother is my attempt to emulate the woman described above. Not only does my attempt bring glory to God but it blesses my family. Even when I completely mess it all up , the foundation is there. That is what I am shooting for and they know it. They can forgive me , learn from me, help me and essentially serve me in my quest to be more servant like to them.
Also, Titus 2 reaffirms the position I hold about what I am to be when it describes what the older women in the church are to teach the younger women.
Verse 3-5 "Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so, train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled."
It is so clear to me when I make an attempt to be these things God has called me to be that I am insufficient. Who in this world could possibly ever come close to the descriptions above without the grace of God? No one. This is only possible when Christ intercedes on our behalf.
Philippians 4:13 " I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

So.......

As part of my job, I have an opportunity to bless my husband and children by saving as much of our money as possible using coupons.
This is my attempt to encourage you to try it out for a while and see what changes you can make.




This week at Rite aid you can purchase Johnson's baby products for $ 2.99 each. You can also find links to $1 off coupons for countless baby products on the Johnson's website. And a link for a $5 off $25 purchase at Rite aid coupon here. If you purchase 10 products at $2.99 your total with tax is $32.52. Use your $15.00 in coupons and pay $17.52 out of pocket. Then, to make this deal even sweeter you can submit for an easy saver rebate of $15.00 for purchasing 10 Johnson's baby products. So, needless to say I paid $2.52 to stock up on baby wash, shampoo and powder. Oh! I forgot! Also from now until October 17th if you save your receipts and submit them you get $5 back per $25 spent at rite aid in the form of a gift card. So, actually Rite aid PAID ME $ 2.48 to replenish my baby product stockpile. Thank you Rite aid!
The rest of the products in the picture above are also from Rite aid or Walgreens and at the end of the shopping trip after adding everything up I realized that each store paid me about three dollars in the form of a Rite Aid gift card or Walgreen's Register Rewards to take these products from their store. I think Stevens still not quite convinced that he is not living with a shoplifter! He always looks at me in disbelief and says "how is this possible?!?" But ultimately he loves it.


Here I went to CVS and saved $57.78 using coupons. I used the remainder of a gift card I had for transferring a prescription to CVS which totaled $7.71 then spent $2.47 out of pocket. CVS is a great place to start. It is complicated to learn all the different programs at the different stores but CVS is definitely the easiest system to learn and work well.


Again a CVS trip where I paid $0.86 just using coupons and their Extra Bucks program.

Feel free to call me, bombard me with questions, send me an e-mail. I am truly committed to seeing Gods word at work in the lives of the people around me and in my own life. I know that committing to that is the only way I have a chance of coming close to what I desire to be. Keeping His word close and constant is the only way for consistent auto-correction in my life. God's word is the only right, true , pure, holy, consistent, completely trustworthy thing in this world. I am camping out right there with it for as long as I live, It's the only way to survive.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Of Babies And Dogs

As I head into my sixth month of pregnancy life is flowing well. I had an ultrasound a few weeks ago and the guess on the sex was a boy ( the ultrasound tech made sure we knew it was merely a guess). I was thinking boy. I feel like I can tell based on the way the pregnancy progresses and the way I gain weight. Who knows maybe I am clueless but I think I am right. We will see. It was about this time in my pregnancy with Jaclynn that contractions and complications started up. I am thrilled to be moving through this pregnancy with relative ease. Can there be ease when you are 6 months pregnant, have three littles age 5 and under, a 7 week old puppy, the biggest move of our life 2 1/2 weeks away and homeschooling a 1st grader? And the list goes on. Most think I have lost my mind. Sometimes I do too.
But, I know, without a doubt that it is by Gods amazing grace that I can even swing my big old belly out of bed each morning.

"Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found; was blind but now I see. "Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed!"

He is enough.

Enough to accomplish anything. Be anything. Do anything. Endure ANYTHING. I can't thank Him enough for that. How would one survive without that truth buried in their hearts?

On to the little ones....

Puppies, like babies sleep a lot. It's great. Right when I am just about done with three kids chasing a crazy little puppy around our house, he crashes. Usually under the couch or ottoman where the kids can't get to him.

Or, next to one of his favorite humans.

This puppy is quite the cute little guy. I am thrilled we got him and have no regrets thus far. He is free entertainment. It's great!

Another little baby that lives among us is quickly growing out of her title as "The Baby". Usually the title doesn't go away until the day the next one is born. Jaclynn is talking up a storm and will say anything if prompted. She is a fun and boisterous one. She fits right in and has no problem being just as loud, known and heard as the rest of us. She is not a quiet third child who lets her older siblings speak up for her. She loudly says "Hi!" to anyone within earshot.

Jaclynn seen here attempting to take care of her sleeping brother. She too, in typical Zuniga woman fashion has adopted the bug for mothering and "helping" anyone or anything around her. Possibly a little overwhelming at times but that seems to fall in line with the rest of us too!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Getting back into the swing of things.



Although my super coupon shopping has continued throughout the beginning "difficult" stages of this pregnancy I couldn't find it in myself to muster up the energy for blogging about it. But as my beloved second trimester energy has returned and I am burdened by the fact that there may actually be a few of you out their trying to understand how to frequently get something for nothing, I will be making an attempt at Super Savings Saturday posts again. Here is just a teaser, all this stuff came from Walgreens and CVS they were quick trips without a lot of planning and I only paid a whopping total of $1.47! If you are still trying to figure this out and have read the links on Moneysavingmom.com, don't worry! It takes a good 3 to 4 months to get the hang of it then you will be well on your way to saving your family a lot of money in the grocery budget. If you haven't checked out this great site click on it in the section to the right and go to her section where it says CVS 101 and Walgreens 101. you'll be glad you did!

Introducing.....




Jake!!! Our 6 week old Cocker Spaniel! He is the cutest little thing ever and we are all smitten! This is the only photo I have for now but I'll be sure to take more soon with the kids.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

And The Winner Is......

heathergayer@!!!!!

The winner has been notified by e-mail. Thanks a lot for participating!
Heather, I hope your kids like your new fuzzy friend as much as mine have!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Another Giveaway!





Sydney has been carefully detailing to her ability to care for a pet just about everyday for months. She is desperate for any small creature to snuggle and mother. A dog is her first choice but everything else you can imagine has been laid out on the table by this very eager five year old. Just a little while back I received an e-mail from my Momselect group saying they had selected me for a new toy giveaway. I was thrilled to find out that it is a cute fuzzy little hamster called a Zhu Zhu Pet. Complete with an entire city to live in! The kids tore into the packages, including the parents, and we set it up right away! It talks, drives it's car, rides a skateboard, sleeps, runs in its little hamster wheel and best of all doesn't poop! I love it! The kids think it is great and are fully convinced they have a pet to care for. It seems Jaclynn is even convinced that it is real! It is a great little toy that came at just the right time. In addition to our new addition, Zhu Zhu pets has been kind enough to offer one reader a Hamster and slide/ramp! Just leave a comment and make sure you include your e-mail. One winner will be chosen at random. The giveaway ends Sunday August 30th 2009.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

A Gronewold Wedding

We were so happy to celebrate the marriage of our friends Peter and Melody Gronewold last Saturday July 25th. Steven had the honor of being the Best Man. Sydney and Calvin were asked to be the Flower Girl and Ring Bearer. We had a great time. Everything was gorgeous and all the little glichs, that every wedding has, worked themselves out (some with the help of a shout pen). The kids even stood up front by the wedding party during the whole ceremony! I was SHOCKED!!! I was strategically positioned at the front row with candy in hand in case of emergency.
Peter and Melody:
Thank you for making us a part of your very special day. God has given you the gift of each other. It is evident that you are humbled and thankful. Our prayer for your new family is that you will grow strong in Christ to lead the future generations in humble service to our King. We love you and CONGRATULATIONS!


The Zuniga Family
I think this is our only photo all together. I need to get better about these things.



Thanks to Angela for taking the great photos. Again I need to get better about this. I didn't pull my camera out once. I knew I could count on you Ang!


The Happy Couples


Half monkey half flower girl