The cold finally caught up...

Tea time for a sick baby.


We managed to fight for a couple of weeks against the runny nose and hacking cough everyone around us seemed to have. This week, it finally caught up to us. Steven's weekend is CRAZY when it comes to work so I knew I would need to call in reinforcements. Four kids 6 and under crying and whining at the same time didn't sound all too exciting. So, I called Nana and Papa for crowd control. Thankfully they came to my rescue and helped ease us through what would have been a much more difficult evening. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Swagbucks: A Christmas Resource

I got this idea from another blog I frequent. She was talking about earning swagbucks throughout the year and then turning them in for gift cards and gifts to use for Christmas. Brilliant!!! I have earned a few since I signed up and have been able to get some amazon gift cards and other fun stuff. I posted about swag bucks a while back but I am posting again because I think that you too can use this site to save your self some money next Christmas.

First, go here if you would like to read my original post about swagbucks.

Then go here to sign up. Do it now and start saving up those points for christmas gifts. What do you have to lose? Nothing!!! So sign up now! Plus, they will give you 30 points to start just for registering!

Dinner tonight

Sausage potato soup, Olive Garden style, is what's on the menu tonight. I pulled together leftover bbq'd italian sausage, used up all my potatoes, some bouillon, onions, garlic, two cans of cream of mushroom soup, a pound of bacon and a bunch of kale. Add a salad and some buttery garlic bread and I think I've got something to serve up to the masses tonight.

The bread of coarse is a $0.99 loaf from sprouts. I also spent $0.49 on the romaine( I'll combine that with some other romaine leftover in the fridge), $0.99 on the kale, the cream of mushroom I stocked up on a couple of months ago at $0.49 per can at Target and the bacon was clearanced to $1.79. The rest is just what I had on hand, mostly basics. I also bought another pound of sausage for the soup but ended up not needing it so it sits in my freezer for a later meal. I think this will be a crowd pleaser. Steven already had a bowl, and said I had almost exactly recreated the soup from the restaurant. I think that means it's good! :)

Life lately...

I am terrible about taking pictures of the newest little Zuniga. Here are a few. He is filling out quickly, as all our babies seem to do. He has a check up on Monday so we will see how much he weighs. He will be just shy of 8 weeks. My guess is 14lbs.

Here we have the brood, minus two cute pups. The kids always refer to the dogs as if they are their brothers. According to Sydney I have 6 children, she thinks it is just great!

We had to capture this cute little grin.

Jaclynn's birthday this month was stretched for about a two week period. She didn't mind celebrating with all of the different family members though. Here she is enjoying part of her new baby doll set. She has on her baby carrier, just like mommy's. Oh, and I can't for get the new hairband. That was part of her gifts from Nana and Papa. We all try so hard to help the poor little thing with her lack of hair, but nothing seems to cut it!

Sydney with one of her favorite animal friends.

Calvin and mama

Dogs enjoying a nap inside on a rainy day.

A very proud big sister.

Since they are considered "kids" I had to put some cute dog pics in too.

Last mega rain fall, Steven and the kids worked on a building project. They made the dogs their own little dog pen inside the garage. It has worked out perfectly for their house. Big kudos to Steven who successfully built an awesome space for the dogs all the while actually letting the kids help. I am proud of my man, what can I say!?!

Ballet practice with instructor Sydney and student Jaclynn.

February has been a great month so far, full of birthday celebrations with family. We have at least 10 (But I think there's more)birthdays in the month of February.

I celebrated my 29th yesterday and it was wonderful! Lunch with friends, a walk to the park, gorgeous flowers from my hubby and a special dinner date just he and I (thanks to my dear friend Bethany who braved 6 kids 6 and under and is pregnant too!). It was a great way to start my new year. Thank you to everyone for all the special birthday wishes!

Feeding Fifteen

Since August, every Monday night we have the privilege of hosting our home group from church for a bible study. After about a month of our group meeting we realized we had no problem getting together each week, we all enjoyed each others company and we sure could spend hours upon upon hours talking and encouraging each other. So, back in September Steven and I decided to commit to feeding everyone before our bible study to extend our time of fellowship and build even deeper relationships. Now we all know I LOVE to save money and most of you know I have a big heart for serving and entertaining just about anyone. ( ok, I admit it, it's actually anyone!) The problem is, feeding lots of people, lots of food, lots of times is difficult to do when on a tight budget. But alas, the Lord does provide. And each week He provides again. We have taken a huge leap of faith as far as incorporating a meal for many every Monday night without increasing our grocery budget. It has been a fun journey for me to trust that somehow God will use me to provide a delicious dinner for usually 15 but anywhere from 12 to 20 people. Sometimes it is a challenge and I have to dig deep, literally in my freezer and pantry, to come up with something but so far I haven't heard any complaints(thank you for not complaining directly to me!) and no one has gotten sick! Each week I am going to try and post about what is being served up and how God has faithfully met our need once again.
This week we are having BBQ chicken salad with some sort of bread I pulled out of the freezer. I score bread for usually about $0.75 - $1.49 a loaf in the clearance section at Ralphs and Sprouts. I NEVER pay full price for bread( unless I see sourdough on sale and it is not in the clearance basket, I am completely addicted). I bet since all the grocery stores I have been to have a clearance basket or shelf, yours does too. Look for it and see what you can find.

Babies

This photo is heart wrenching. These precious little ones are napping on a tarp void of a mothers care and even basic necessities. They are housed outside, on the grass near the collapsed orphanage they once called home in Haiti. How in the world can groups like UNICEF and The Red Cross say that closing all adoptions in Haiti right now is the best option? Please pray for the children in Haiti, and throughout the world, that the right doors would open so that they would be placed in the homes of loving families.


CLICK ON PHOTO FOR FULL VIEW

Today...

Jaclynn was looking at a book about the ocean and I asked her what her favorite kind of fish was. Her response, " A peanut butter fish!" I paused for a moment and thought about it. Then said, " Oh, a jelly fish?" "Yes" she said. It made me laugh.