Absent February 1, 2010

As you can tell by looking at our family blog, I’ve been absent from the blogging world for a month now.  January was blog post free…not because of any New Year’s resolution, but because January has been one of the most crazy busy months we’ve had in a while.  I’ve accepted that we apparently love living a fast paced life because I always find myself talking about how busy things are…and rarely find myself saying, “wow, I wish we had more to do.”  So here is a brief update on the Slavich Family’s January 2010 Shenanigans:

• This month we celebrated both of my parents birthdays, Dad’s on January 16th and Mom’s on January 24th.  We celebrated their birthdays by spending time together as a family and we enjoyed wonderful birthday dinners at Longhorn Steakhouse and J Alexander’s.  (sorry I don’t have any pics…I’ve been a photo slacker lately!)

• On January 20th we welcomed our newest little cousin, Kamdon Joseph Farrell, to the family.  Congratulations to my cousin Kelly, her husband John (our favorite realtor who helped us find out new home) and Jack (the new big brother)!  We actually got to meet and hold the little guy on Mom’s birthday…he’s so sweet!

Jack & Kamdon

• We kicked off Thursday January 21st by heading to the Fort Lauderdale airport and taking a direct flight on Virgin America Airlines to San Francisco…yes, we made a quick weekend trip (okay, we were there less than 48 hours) to California to visit the Slavich/Richter clan.  Before I tell you about our time there, I’ll fill you in on our travel experience.  While the plane itself was super cool, including touch screen tv monitors with movies, games (yes…there was Mahjong on the plane!) tv, and music, there were frustrating delays because of crazy rain and wind in SFO.  So here’s the dish on our cool plane…. We could also order our food and drink through the touch screen and the flight attendants would deliver it.  Plus, it had a quite modern decor: the plastic parts of all the seats were white, black leather cushions on the actual seat, neon purple plexi dividers between the cabins, neon pink lighting on the edges, neon green and neon orange lighted signs, and neon purple lighting above the isles…I’m not gonna lie, it felt like we were either rock stars….or we were in a club.

Mahjong!

• Once we FINALLY made it in to SFO, we joined the rest of the family in celebrating Jeff & CeCe’s 32nd Wedding Anniversary!  Jeff and CeCe renewed their vows with just the immediate family and their pastor present.  It was a sweet and meaningful ceremony, and we are so glad we were there to share that special time with the family.  We then enjoyed a fabulous meal and some great hang out time as a family.
• January 22nd, was a day of celebrating as well, just in a different way…we celebrated the life of Danny’s grandfather, Boppie…more formally known as Nicholas James Slavich.  He was 93 years old when he died.  Because of travel arrangements the memorial service was held on the 22nd so Danny and I could be there.   There was a lovely memorial service full of joy, shared memories, laughter, and tears.  It was truly a celebration of Boppie’s life and his love for God.  We spent time as a family sharing, remembering, and discovering things about Boppie’s life and the family in general as we spent time at Boppie’s home with Jeff’s cousin Mary and her husband Simeon.  So many wonderful memories were shared.  Then we had some low-key family time, including Jack In the Box/In-N-Out for dinner (we each had our fav).  We loved getting to play with our sweet little niece Grace and spend time with everyone.  Plus, Danny got to take his dad’s new, very cool and sporty car for a drive.

Thanksgiving Time with Boppie...our last time together.

• January 23rd was another travel day…yes, we headed back to South Florida after a packed day and a half.  We hated to leave, but we’re looking forward to seeing Sarah, Justin and little Gracie girl in February, and the rest of the family in April.  (Yes Nick…for a WHOLE week…..okay, maybe 5 days…just know we appreciate you giving up your Spring Break!)

• Throughout the month of January we had been renovating and remodeling our new home…it is very close to being done.  So yes, there will be a post coming soon of the before & after photos.  I knew I would never keep up with posting during the renovations, so as things are winding down I’m going to do a blog post dedicated to the before & after photos of each room of the house.  If I had just shown you the “before”s you might not have believed that we would ever finish remodeling (more like gutting) the house.  Trust me, we’re getting down to the last details.  This month we (with TONS of help from family and friends) finished demo, textured walls, painted, laid tile, added new lighting, installed new baseboard, trim and door casings, got our kitchen cabinets and installed them, bought our new lighting features, and completed a hundred different little things that needed to be done.  So watch out for the “reveal” coming soon!

Workin' Hard!

That’s our January in a large nutshell…and I’m sure I have forgotten something important, but those are some of the major events of our month.  2010 is off to a BUSY start, and I’m sure it will continue that way.  But it’s also been a great year so far, and I think that will continue as well…Lord willing!

A Great Light! December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!  Let us celebrate today, Christmas Day, that the Light has come…Jesus…Emmanuel….God with us!

Isaiah 9

9:1 But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

2  The people who walked in darkness

have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shined.
3 You have multiplied the nation;
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest,
as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
4 For the yoke of his burden,
and the staff for his shoulder,
the rod of his oppressor,
you have broken as on the day of Midian.
5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
and every garment rolled in blood
will be burned as fuel for the fire.
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon  his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Signed, sealed, delivered December 17, 2009

It’s official… this afternoon Danny & I signed all the paperwork to close on our house!  The deal is sealed and the key has been delivered!  We are once again homeowners!!!!  It is hard to believe that it was almost a year ago that Danny interviewed with Pembroke Road Baptist Church and we started the process of selling our house in Louisville.  God has clearly provided for us along the way, including providing the “Wright” people to buy the house at the right time for the right price (Yes, that is what Danny & I prayed for…well were praying for the right people at the right time for the right price and God showed us some of His sense of humor in that they were the Wright family who bought the house!)  He also provided us with a home to live in while we searched for a house down here.  We are so thankful for my parents and their generosity in allowing us to live with them while we searched for, and now begin to prepare, our new home!   We feel so blessed!  We have found a home we could afford, in a neighborhood we like, that is close to the church and not too far from family and friends. Now there is still a lot to be done in preparing the home before we will be able to move in, but we are excited about the adventure ahead!  Our plan is to take plenty of before and after photos to share with you, our family and friends, so you can join us on the adventure…we may even give you a call and ask for a helping hand along the way as begin the renovation process.  As far as renovations I would say the possibilities are endless……except we do have a budget, so let’s be honest, there are bound to be some limits….but the creative possibilities are tremendous!  It is time to make use of Danny’s construction skills and my many years of watching HGTV and TLC renovation shows!

Our House!!!

Thank you to all of you who have been praying with us and encouraging us in this process.  We thought selling our home in Louisville would be the difficult part and it turns out that was relatively easy compared to finding and buying a home.  We really have appreciated your prayers!  So no more complaints here…we’re excited and so thankful to own our own home again!

We’ll keep you posted on the progress!

Third & Two Firsts December 5, 2009

This year Danny and I celebrated our third Thanksgiving together as a married couple, and our first Thanksgiving with his family in California (which of course is my family too!).  Now I know, Thanksgiving was a week ago, but I figure it is never to late to share about any of the Slavich Family Shenanigans , especially when we’re having fun with and/or visiting family and friends around the country!  Now when you return home from traveling people always ask: “Did you have a good time?”  ”How were your flights?” “How was the weather?,”  etc, and when you’ve been gone over Thanksgiving they ask, “How was your Thanksgiving?” “Did you have a lot of good food?” “Who prepared the meal? Did you have to cook?”  and on and on. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind the questions, especially when you had pretty nice flights and a fabulous time with family as we did this trip, but sometimes it is difficult to express in words how wonderful a trip was.  I could write a lengthy post detailing our trip (which was SO MUCH FUN!!!!) but I think sharing some photos will tell the story better.  They don’t capture every moment…including the countless hours of fun the “kids” (that’s us) had playing Nertz, or the guys playing disc golf, or visiting my father-in-law’s new store that recently opened, or our numerous trips to the grocery store, or learning more about friends Nathan & Christiana (and baby Ava) plans as they head to Cambodia to serve as missionaries, or just the general fun we had doing nothing but hanging out and talking, but the photos do capture quite a few.  So enjoy!

Let me introduce you to the biggest highlight of our trip….

Gracie Girl

…our niece…her name is Grace Elizabeth Richter.  You’ll see her in quite a few photos…she’s very photogenic

Uncle Dan & Grace

Uncle Dan & Auntie Lo (that’s Danny & I) were thrilled to get to hold, play with, love on, and even change/clean up the spit up of, our precious little niece Grace!  We love her!

Auntie Lo & Grace

Gracie loves her Uncle Dan…

I think she likes him

We were also able to be there for Grace’s baby dedication…Justin & Sarah will do a great job of raising her in a home that seeks to teach her about Jesus and demonstrate his love toward her!

Baby Dedication

Beki, Nicky, Danny & Laura

It was a very big day for little Gracie girl…all sorts of family came to support Sarah & Justin, and to see Grace!

Taking a Nap after her big day...it's hard being the center of attention!

As if you couldn’t tell, we all love her very much!

The Uncles having fun!

We can’t leave out Auntie B….who Gracie loves to talk to!

Smiling at Auntie B

Auntie B & Uncle Nicky

Now on to the Thanksgiving day festivities.  The sisters (Sarah, Beki & I) had a baking day the day before Thanksgiving and did a lot of prep work for our Thanksgiving meal, including baking my Grandma Worden’s pumpkin pie (my personal favorite), pumpkin spice scones (YUM!), pumpkin cream cheese bars (so delicious).  A huge thank you to Sarah for doing most of the grocery shopping, and to the rest of the fam who ran to the store as needed!  We were not at a shortage for delicious things to eat!  We also made a cheese ball (Thank you goes out to my friend Elizabeth Yeiser for the recipe that keeps on giving!) and as mentioned before, did prep work for the other “day of” recipes.  Including this yummy sausage-cranberry stuffing….

The Richters (Danny’s sister Sarah, her husband Justin & our niece Grace) spent the night so we could all wake up and spend the day together as a family.  Then Thanksgiving day we had all sorts of munchies as we prepared the Thanksgiving dinner including, for Danny and Justin, crackers and Easy Cheese…oh the memories that snack brings of the first time they bonded

Aunti Lo has the touch!

While the sisters prepared the munchies and Thanksgiving meal, Gracie and the guys hung out….

Gracie playing poker with the guys

Sarah, Beki & I were cooking, baking, and turkey basting machines!

Baking Beki

It was a fun family day….

Justin and Gracie enjoying a nap during the football game!

Did I mention there was Pecan Pie? And these amazing Feta Fold Overs that Sarah made!?!

Now I have to introduce you to the only *named* star of the show, Franklin Walter….we were very proud of him!

Sisters

Yes…one of the Slavich family traditions is Sarah naming the Thanksgiving turkey.  Franklin Walter was a great (and delicious) addition to that tradition!

Danny helping in the kitchen (this included taste testing of course!)

CeCe made the green bean casserole and sweet potato casserole….so yummy!  Jeff did the honor of carving the turkey.  And a big thank you goes out to them for supplying the groceries used to prepare all of the Thanksgiving goodies!

There was much fun to be had in the kitchen…

…and out of it….

Auntie B & Grace

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner!  The food was fabulous and the company even more so!  We had good time drawing letters out of a basket and sharing things we were thankful for that began with those letters…some more or less serious than others  There may have been mention of tutus on a certain type of animal…

A Slavich/Richter Family Thanksgiving

We also visited Danny’s grandpa, Boppie…he’s very sweet and made us laugh a lot!  Better behave Nicky or Boppie will get on to you

Laura, Danny & Boppie

The Men of the Family

And a few more photos from the day’s outing, including a stop at Starbucks…

Isn't she cute and stylish?

Teaching Grace to appreciate coffee at an early age

Sarah took family Christmas photos for Danny & I….

We had a really great trip, but as you know all good things must come to an end…at least this side of heaven, so we said a hug-filled goodbye with our traditional breakfast out as a family at Denny’s…

Sleeping Beauty

Saying goodbye

If you look closely you can see how Gracie felt about us leaving!

After looking through all of the photos of our trip, I hope you get the answers to all of those questions about how our trip to California was!  We really did have a fun and relaxing time.  And, if it wasn’t clear already, we love out little niece!

Everything Under $1…almost! December 2, 2009

After a fabulous vacation (BLOG POST COMING SOON!!!), including a vacation from clipping, organizing, and shopping with coupons I’m back to reality. (ok, I have to admit I actually ended up using a coupon at CVS once while we were out of town but there were no major couponing/shopping adventures)  I did however plan a shopping list and leave out coupons for my mom to help in her shopping while I was out of town. It’s good to delegate   Anyway, my point is that it was nice to have a breather from the planning and organizing of couponing, but being back in the real world has me at it again!  I spent a chunk of my Tuesday clipping, sorting, and organizing coupons that were stacking up, and as well as some time Wednesday figuring out any last minute deals I wanted at Publix before the new ad came out for Thursday.  Everything this trip was under $1 except for the chuck roast and ice cream bars!

Here’s my short list of deals for the week:

(2) McCormick Pure Ground Black Pepper  4 oz, Originally $2.79

• Buy 1 Get 1 Free, (making it $1.39/box)
• (1) -$1.00 Any McCormick Spice or Extract, printable limit reached (making it $0.89/box)
• (1) -$0.50 Any McCormick Spice or Extract, RedPlum 11/1/09 (making it $0.65/box)

(2) Shedd’s Spread Country Crock Regular or Churn Style 15 oz, Originally $1.99

• Buy 1 Get 1 Free, (making it $0.99/tub)
• (2) -$.50 Any Shedd’s product, printable (making it $0.49/tub)

(2) Dreamfields Pasta 13.25 oz, Originally $1.99

• Advantage Buy Savings 3 for $5, (making it $1.67/box)
• (2) -$1.00 Any Dreamfield Pasta, printable, (making it $0.67/box)

(2) Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta 14.5 oz, Originally $1.50

• Advantage Buy Savings 4 for $5, (making it $1.25/box)
• (1) -$1.00/2 Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta, printable limit reached, (making it $0.75/box)

(2) Green Giant Boxed Frozen Vegetables 7-10 oz, Originally $1.67

• Ad Special Savings price, (making it $0.99/box)
• (1) -$0.50/2 Any Green Giant Boxed Vegetable, printable, (making it $0.74/box)

My Two Non-Coupon Items:

(1) Boneless Chuck Pot Roast, Originally $4.31/lb,  making it $8.57

• Ad Special Savings price of $2.99/lb, (making it $5.95)

(2) Weight Watchers Cookies & Cream Ice Cream Bars, Originally $5.29

• Ad Special Savings 2 for $7.00, (making it $3.50/box)

Groceries should have cost: $39.39

My Actual cost: $19.97

= a   51 %  Savings!!!!!!

Answers November 20, 2009

A brief update

I’m writing this post from the living room couch of my in-laws’ home in California. We arrived in town late last night and met our cute and cuddly niece Grace for the first time.  She’s is so much fun! I have to say that I am so thankful for the wonderful families my husband and I have.  I am grateful for parents who love the Lord and  in-laws that love the Lord.  I am also thankful for my wonderful husband who loves the Lord and loves me. I am so blessed!

Answers

This morning I read Psalm 20 as a part of my devotional time and it really speaks to me where I am right now…I do pray that the Lord will continue to answer when I call on Him.  In fact, this Psalm is one of those answers from Him.  He is a God who answers. I am thankful for that!

 

Psalm 20

1 May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!
May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
and give you support from Zion!
3 May he remember all your offerings
and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices!

4 May he grant you your heart’s desire
and fulfill all your plans!
5 May we shout for joy over your salvation,
and in the name of our God set up our banners!
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!

6 Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed;
he will answer him from his holy heaven
with the saving might of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
8 They collapse and fall,
but we rise and stand upright.

9 O Lord, save the king!
May he answer us when we call.

The Search is Over! November 12, 2009

After 5 months of searching, viewing, praying, and being disappointed and exhausted by the hunt…I am excited to announce that we have found a house!  Now it isn’t official yet… there are still papers to be signed, but we put in an offer and the offer was accepted!  We have an “executed contract” and have begun the inspection, loan, etc process.  It is a house with a lot of “potential” which means we get to make it out own!  Now we aren’t first time homebuyers, but having only had the brand-new home experience in Louisville, we are excited about our new adventure full of what I am sure will be the good, the bad, and the ugly….and hopefully the beautiful, of demo and remodeling.  We’re really excited about the possibilities!!!!  I’m going to be putting my couponing/savvy shopping efforts into remodeling supplies…watch out Home Depot, Lowes, etc…here I come!

A big thank you to all who have been praying for us in the process of looking for a home.  There are so many little details that are coming together and we can see God working it out.  Once we close on the house we’ll share more about that.  We do ask that you would join with us in praying for a smooth closing process.  If all goes well we could close on the house before Christmas which is an exciting possibility!  Santa may be putting Home Depot cards under the tree this year!

53% Savings on Quick Trip to Publix November 6, 2009

With a busy weekend ahead and a Thursday that had a few other more important things on the to do list, I only did a quick trip to Publix.  I may end up making a second quick trip before next Thursday to pick up last minute things, but since I got my deals/major shopping out of the way with Thursday’s trip I won’t be making any long trips to Publix this week.  Time is sometimes a more important thing to save on!  Here’s what I bought:

**Not pictured: French Bread (already in oven) & Vine Ripe Tomato (already sliced in salad)

$67.93 worth of groceries…for $32.14.  That’s right, I saved 53% off my grocery bill!  Plus, I’m stocked up on a few things I won’t be buying again for a few months!

Here’s how I did it:

(1) Vine Ripe Tomato Originally $1.84/lb (0.31lbs = $0.54)

• Ad Special Savings price $1.49/lb (making it $0.46)

(1) DiGiorno Ultimate Topping Pepperoni Pizza Originally $6.99

• Ad Special Savings Price 2 for $10 (making it $5.00)
• -$1.50/1 DiGiorno Ultimate Topping Pizza printable (making it $3.50)

(2) Welch’s 100% Grape Juice Assort. Varieties (I bought White Grape Peach and Grape) Originally $4.09

• Ad Special Savings Price (making it $2.99)
• (2) -$1.00 Welch’s 100% Grape Juice Any Size, Any Variety printable (making it $1.99)

(2) Peter Pan Peanut Butter 40oz (I bought 1 creamy and 1 crunchy) Originally $5.49

• B1G1 free Peter Pan Peanut Butter 40oz (making it $2.75)
• -$1.00/2 Peter Pan Peanut Butter Any size blinkie @Publix (making it $2.25)

(2) Nestle Toll House Morsels 12oz Originally $2.50/bag

• B1G1 free Nestle Toll House Morsels 11-12oz (making it $1.25)
• (2) -$0.50/1 Nestle Toll House Morsels, RedPlum 11/1/09 (making it $0.75)

(4) Nestle Toll House Refrigerated Cookie Dough Assort. Varieties Originally $3.49

• B1G1 free Nestle Toll House Refridgerated Cookie Dough Assort. Varieties (making it $1.75)
• (4) -$1.00/1 Nestle Toll House Refridgerated Cookie Dough, (2) RedPlum 11/1, (1) Smart Source 10/11, (1) Publix Family Style Winter 2009 (making it $0.75)

(4) Hunts Petite Diced Tomatoes Originally $1.39

• B1G1 free (making it $0.70)
• (2) -$0.50/2 Hunts Tomatoes printable (making it $0.45)

(2) Ball Park Beef Franks Originally $4.19

• (1) -$1.00/2 Any Ball Park Franks, clipped from the newspaper, but I can’t remember which insert! (making it $3.69)
• (2) -$1.00/1 Any Ball Park Frank, Publix Green Advantage Buy Coupon exp 11/06/09 (making it $2.69)

My no coupon items:

• Publix bakery French Bread Originally $1.99
• Fresh Express Baby Spinach Originally $3.99

With just a little planning I saved $35.79!  Now I have things I won’t need to buy for a few months along with things for today!  It pays (me) to plan!

 

Sweet Ideas Holiday 2009…hidden coupon!!! November 5, 2009

 

I found this insert (Sweet Ideas Holiday 2009) in the Publix Family Style Winter 2009 Magazine, which is FREE (typically found by the entrance on one of the spinning racks or you can subscribe for a free copy).  It has a lot of great holiday cookie and treat ideas…many of which I plan on trying out this season!  But for those who are more interested in coupons…it also contains a coupon for $1.00 off any 1 Nestle Toll House Refrigerated Cookie Dough!  So pick up your free magazine and get a bunch of cute ideas along with a $1.00 off coupon! Pair two of these up with this week’s B1G1 free deal and it will only cost you $0.75 per package!

Noah’s Ark November 4, 2009

For the past 20+ years the church my husband pastors (since 3/1/09), Pembroke Road Baptist Church, opens up its gymnasium on Halloween for the annual Noah’s Ark Carnival.  It is an event that is well attended by those in the neighborhood and offers a safe alternative to trick-or-treating.  It really is like an old fashioned carnival with all sorts of games to play.

Outside music is played and inside the gym is decorated, and booths are set up with games like ring toss, balloon pop, face painting, bean bag toss, etc.

Church members volunteer and run the booths.

The kids and the adults love the games!

Then of course there’s the bounce house…

….cake walk…

…basketball…

…..and even a book walk.

A welcome/info table (a new addition this year) and ticket counter line the entry into the main gym.

The kitchen grills up hot dogs, and serves nachos, pizza and other snacks and drinks.

Free photos are taken in front of a large ark filled with animals.

Everything takes tickets (except the Free Noah’s Ark Photo Booth) and tickets only cost 10¢ a piece. It takes 1 ticket to play a game and candy is won at every game whether you win or lose.  The snacks cost anywhere from 2-10 tickets so as you can tell, it’s meant to be inexpensive and accessible to everyone.

Our hope has been that it would not only be well attended, safe, fun, and accessible, but that it would be a bridge to the gospel in our community…that it would serve as a means of connecting those who don’t know Jesus to a relationship with him…that those who are disconnected from a local church body would connect with out church.  It is just one opportunity, but a great one.

I am happy to report hundreds came through and we had a number of great conversations with those in attendance.

Next week we officially begin “After the Flood,” a new twist on our follow up to Noah’s Ark.  The free photos taken at the carnival are being developed this week and next week we will be sending out teams to deliver the photos to the families.  This provides another opportunity to connect with those who came to the carnival and see how our church can better serve them.  Any opportunity is a good one!

A big thanks to Joyce for coordinating Noah’s Ark and to all of the volunteers who donated candy, books, baked goods, their time and energy to this ministry opportunity!  It was a huge success! Praise the Lord!