I'm A Coupon-a-holic!

I love saving money, which is why I love coupons so much! Some shopping trips aren't as successful as others, but I always save something. Every week I buy the Sunday paper. It's only $2 and I always make up for the cost of the paper and then some. I also get coupons online. Some of my favorite websites are:

www.couponcravings.com
www.coupons.com
www.afullcup.com
www.redplum.com
www.commonsensewithmoney.com
www.stretchingabuck.com
www.imommies.com

Some grocery stores, like Thriftway and Safeway, have double coupons, which is where you can really save money. Just make sure your manufacturer coupons don't say "DO NOT DOUBLE OR TRIPLE". Also, a lot of stores are seeing fake coupons, so if you print coupons, make sure to print them in color. I don't quite understand that logic because people can make color copies of coupons, but whatever... I'm just trying to obey the rules. :) Anyway, I hope some of these hints help!

Valentine's Weekend

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite days. Not because of all the chocolate, flowers, and gifts, but because it's my love's birthday! Luke turned 26 this year. He's closer to 30 than he is to 20 now-- yikes! We went to Tierra del Mar (near Pacific City) for a 3-day weekend. The picture below is the gorgeous view from the house. (This picture was taken a couple of years ago when we were there. We forgot our camera last weekend and the weather wasn't clear anyway.) We went up Saturday morning and spent the day relaxing, reading, and playing Wii. We went to dinner at Hawk Creek Cafe in Neskowin. Great pizza, but a little spendy! Then we went back to the house and watched two chick flicks-- "The Proposal" and "Four Christmases". I'm not sure how I talked Luke into watching them but he did. What a great husband! Then we gave each other our Valentine's gifts. He bought me some beautiful earrings and I bought him tickets to a Blazers game.

Sunday, Luke made pancakes and then we went to Lincoln City for a few hours. We went to the outlet mall and took advantage of some great deals then met our friends, Stephen, Emily, and their son, Dakota, for lunch at Jasmine Thai. (If you ever go to Lincoln City and like Thai food, you should definitely go to Jasmine Thai! Great food!) Then Luke and I met my parents at the beach house and we spent the rest of the day/evening playing Wii and Hand & Foot. I gave Luke his present that night, which were tickets to see the Harlem Globetrotters this coming weekend.

We didn't do much on Monday, except went for a short walk on the beach, cleaned up the house, and went to McMenamins for lunch. We had a great weekend, although it was too short!

Going Back on the Market

So we decided after having the house off the market for a few months that it's time to put it back on. Yesterday a realtor (not our realtor) called Luke and wanted to come to our house to tell us why it hasn't sold yet. We figured it couldn't hurt! Well she came to our house but didn't have any answers. She told Luke it's the nicest house in that price range. The only thing we can figure is that there are similar houses near us that are in foreclosure, so they are WAY cheap. Our house was worth $10,000 more just last summer. CRAZY! Anyway, Luke and I are both really at peace despite how long it is taking to sell our house. There's a house in Aurora that we're interested in and it's still on the market-- AND it's $15,000 less than it was last year. Maybe it's just waiting for us to sell! Please pray for us as we continue to trust God and His perfect timing.

2 Years!

Luke and I celebrated our two-year anniversary on December 15th. We went to Eagle Crest to enjoy a 4-day vacation. It was wonderful! The only thing that would have made it better was if it had snowed. It's amazing how quickly time goes by. God has blessed me incredibly with Luke. He is my best friend. Luke's brother and his wife sang a song on our wedding day called "This Day" by Jadon Lavik and I want to share the lyrics with you. I hope these words encourage you in your marriage.

This day two lives become one
This day a new journey has begun
Our hearts full of lasting love
Brought together by the hand above

To share a life that draws us closer
To the one that we live for

And I will give you my heart
And all of who I am
And I will give more than vows
And words could ever say
Yes I’ll give you my all on this day
On this day

On the cross his love was shown
And this love will build our home
Standing now in front of you
We profess a love we know is true

To share a life that draws us closer
To the one that we live for

And I will give you my heart
And all of who I am
And I will give more than vows
And words could ever say
Yes I’ll give you my all on this day
And I’ll give you my all on this day

And I will give you my heart
And all of who I am
And I will give more than vows
And words could ever say
Yes I’ll give you my all (on this day)

And I will give you my heart
And all of who I am
And I will give more than vows
And words could ever say
Yes I’ll give you my all on this day
And I’ll give you my all on this day

Disappointed

So we had a realtor call last Monday night wanting to show a couple our house. And yes, this was after we took it off the market. We thought maybe this could be the miracle we were praying for. Thank goodness we keep our house clean because they wanted to see it the next morning at 10:30. We prayed that night that if it was God's will that the couple would put an offer on our house, but it has been more than a week now and we still haven't heard anything. Talk about playing with our emotions! I know one day I'll look back on this and not think much of it, but right now it's really putting a damper on things. Despite the frustrations I'm still trusting God in all of this and frankly, that's all I have the energy for!

Off the Market

Our house is officially off the market. I just don't understand what buyers are looking for. We've been praying about this before we even put it on the market and we really felt like we were following what God wanted. Now, 11 1/2 months later, we are just confused. We never even got one offer. A couple people looked at it 2 or 3 times but in the end they chose the "other" house. We heard a lot of reasons for why people didn't want to buy our house but the goofiest one was that our driveway was "too short". Not too steep, but too short. Apparently they drive a limo or something!

I'm actually looking forward to a few months of not having to have our house immaculate 24/7. Last year we had it on the market during December and it was awful. We couldn't have presents under the tree, our stockings were hidden, and we didn't have much decor up. This year is going to be the complete opposite!

Even though we're bummed that our house hasn't sold yet, there is a blessing that has come out of all of this. Wells Fargo called Luke last week and offered to lower our interest rate by 1%. We figured it wouldn't be worth it because of closing costs but after talking to our realtor and doing some research, we found that they would be lowering our interest rate for FREE! Apparently mortgage companies are lowering interest rates for some of those that have good credit and pay their house payments on time. I don't know how they choose but PRAISE GOD we were one of them! I'm not sure when this will take effect but I am so grateful that God is rewarding us for having patience and trusting in Him.

A NIECE!

Luke and I found out last Thursday that we are going to have a niece! My sister-in-law/cousin, Erin, is due sometime in April. Nathan is going to be a GREAT big brother!