Dinner with Laurie

We got to have dinner with Laurie tonight and had such a good time. We had great seats thanks to Scott at Scotty's Brewhouse!!

Amanda and Curt got married!!

We had such a wonderful weekend. Amanda and Curt are now Mr. and Mrs. Glover!! There are a LOT of pictures on facebook and our shutterfly site: www.mjaj4.shutterfly.com . Be sure to check them out. Here are a few of my favorites:

State Fair 2010

Today was our first visit to the 2010 Indiana State Fair. Steven and I have a lot more visits planned, but this is one of our favorite things to do with Joe, Kim, and the boys. It so funny to see the boys reaction to the animals. We went into the hog barn today during the show and to my surprise they didn't freak out when a pig walked by them! They also had a good time "driving" the tractors and hitting up he midway. Overall I think today was a great day AND we had beautiful weather!!

Williams Family Reunion

Saturday was the Williams Family reunion down in Scottsville, KY. Steven and I drove down with Mom, Dad, and Amanda. We had a chance to see lots of Dad's cousins and their families. Dad offered a historical tour of old homes in the area:). Joe and the boys were there too and they got to ride in a dune buggy, see a real horse and buggy, and hang out with some chickens and a miniature horse!!

CVS--this is how I make my blog return??

I just love Proctor & Gamble weeks at CVS! All this for $32.92! Don't
forget to scan your CVS extracare card when you get in the store...I
saved extra $$ with 2 in store coupons!

Hello There

Long time, no post, right? Well, we will have lots of photos to share soon from our trip to South Carolina and the annual Race Day party:) I just need to get the photos from the camera to the laptop. In the meantime, remember the true meaning of Memorial Day. We got to see some of the newest soldiers, thanks to Brian who has just recently graduated from Basic Training. Thank God for our servicemen and women who fight for our freedoms everyday.

Uncle Don's Memorial

I know many of you follow Uncle Don's Caringbridge page, but in case any of you would like information. You are all invited to a Memorial Mass on Saturday, April 24, 2010 at Noon at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church (1530 South Union Street, Indianapolis, IN 46225. A celebration of Don's life will follow the mass at the Parish Hall (1925 S. Meridian Street, Corner of Morris & Meridian). At the reception, we will show a DVD of some of Don's greatest moments and we will have many pictures on display.

There are many other things going on for Steven and I...selling the house, then not selling the house; spending time with family, baby showers for Laura, and most importantly Steven and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary on the 12th.

I'll post more about the fun stuff later, but for now, I want to keep Uncle Don and his memorial at the top. I love you Uncle Don and I miss you!

Uncle Don

The day has finally come that we knew would come too soon. My dear, dear, dear Uncle Don passed away this morning. He has battled cancer for too long and today the good Lord decided it was his time to come Home. I couldn't be there, in Phoenix, with him, but I know that Uncle Don knew that I loved him.
I have so many wonderful memories of my Uncle Don. He was a wonderful man. I was so happy that he made it home for my wedding. He had always promised me a dance at my wedding. He was so caring. And, Boy was he funny. Uncle Don was always good for a laugh. I remember the time that he came home to Indy in 2006. We all went out to Steak and Ale for dinner then back to Aunt Barb's. We sat and told story after story about growing up. I shared some great stories about Granny that he had never heard and he laughed so hard. I remember Barbara Joy telling me later that she hadn't seen him laugh that hard in a long time.
Then I think back a little farther to Las Vegas when Uncle Don and Barbara had their Vegas wedding in the chapel. Minutes before they walked down the aisle, Uncle Don asked me to sing, so of course I said yes...I couldn't say no to Uncle Don. Later that trip Uncle Don and Barbara Joy showed off their matching (fake) tattoos...they were so cute!
Before that I think of the countless Pampered Chef shows that Uncle Don hosted for my mom or went to because someone he knew booked a show with my mom. He loved to cook and even more loved to make those cheesecakes for my mom. I was so pleased that he could enjoy Steven's cheesecake when he was home for New Year's this year. Thinking about Don's love of cooking makes me think of all the times we would visit him in the restaurants...Grandma Goode's...remember that one, in Union Station?? Steak and Ale, and my favorite still to this day: The Old Spaghetti Factory. I loved when we would go downtown to visit Uncle Don at work!!
I even remember when Uncle Don took me to the Girl Scouts Father/Daughter dance when my dad had to work 2nd shift.
Remember Grandma and Grandpa Baker's 50th wedding anniversary? How fun was that day? I can still see us Polka-ing (is that a word) to the Beer Barrel Polka!
There are SOOOO many more memories that could be shared and maybe someday I will, but for now, I invite anyone to leave there own memories if they would like.
Uncle Don, I love you, but I'm so glad you aren't suffering here any more. Watch over all of us, just like you would do anyway. I'm really, really going to miss you.

Jackson Windford Williams

Steven and I got a new nephew on Friday, February 26, 2010. Jackson Windford decided to make his debut at 8pm!! James and Malari called everyone on Friday evening when Malari's water broke. We were all so surprised because Jackson (aka Putt-Putt) wasn't scheduled to arrive until March 6th via c-section! Malari still went in for a c-section because he was breech. Everything seemed to go pretty smooth for Malari and when we went back to see them, she looked great. When Steven and I went back on Saturday for another visit and Jackson was just as cute as can be! According to Malari, he's eating like a champ too! Here are just a few of the MANY pictures we have to share. There are also more on our shutterfly site: http://www.mjaj4.shutterfly.com/.

With Jackson's arrival, we can now call them Aunt Kim and Uncle Joe!!

Dominic is ready to teach his new cousin all kinds of things!

CVS deal

I had $10 ECB to start with tonight. Went to CVS, spent $.04-out of
pocket AND got $9.99 ECB for next time:)
Not bad, huh? The best part was when I scanned my card when I walked
in the store I got $5/$15 coupon:)

redbox

A surprising post for those of you that know Steven and I don't watch a lot of movies...but, we do want to rent movies every know and then. Since there's a redbox on just about any corner now, we decided that would work well for us. We like that you can rent from one location and return to any other redbox location! Naturally I went looking for FREEBIES and there are plenty to be had!

How can you rent FREE movies?? Try some of these steps:

1. Visit redbox and create an account. Once there, you can sign up to receive a FREE code via text message.

2. Click HERE and enter your email address. You'll receive a FREE code in your inbox.

3. Visit this blog...when I know a code, I'll be sure to post it. If you know a code, I'd be happy to share it here:)

4. You can also search the web for promotional codes. I found this one: v7j6d4v at one of my favorite blogs, ingoodcents. Thanks Beth! If you haven't been here, she's sharing some wonderful deals!!

A couple things to remember about the promo codes:

~ They don't work if you reserve your movie online, only when you "rent" directly at the redbox location.

~ The promo code will work once per credit card...so, if you have more than one credit/debit card then that would mean more than one use of the code=More Free Movies!

~Be sure to pay attention to expiration dates and locations. Some codes are only good at Walgreen's, McDonald's etc.

~ Be sure to select "Rent with promo code". Even though you will still need a credit card, it is only charged if you don't return the movie by the stated time. Remember the promo codes are for ONE NIGHT per movie (unless otherwise stated)!

SUPERBOWL SUNDAY!!

Steven and I started dating the same season the COLTS won the Superbowl. In fact, our second date was a Colts game with several of my coworkers. We've gone to many games at the RCA Dome & Lucas Oil since that time... and we're pretty sure we've never been to a game they've lost! So in honor of the Superbowl bound COLTS, here's a little trip down Colts memory lane:)

Swagbucks

by Melissa

As I might have mentioned before, my new goal for 2010 is to save money on our grocery/drugstore items. Thanks to some VERY good blogs out there (MoneySavingMom & InGoodCents are two of the ones I follow regularly...if you haven't been, swing by), we've actually been able to save a significant amount. I've learned new ways to use coupons, store promotions, and rebates. I'm reading now about "CVSing". I'm going to make those ExtraCareBucks work for me...and I'll share with you too!

The newest thing I'm learning about is SWAGBUCKS. If you search the Internet at all, YOU can earn Swagbucks...which equal FREE Giftcards! I haven't been using it much, but I'm going to commit to searching with Swagbucks this month. If you want to try, you can click on the image above or right here: Swagbucks . The more you search, the more you earn. I'll be sure to update you as soon as I earn my first gift card!

Also, be sure to tell your friends about Swagbucks, because when you refer and they search...you earn! That's a WIN-WIN for both of you. Just think if you started searching with Swagbucks today, you could cut your Christmas shopping budget by using FREE giftcards!

Do you have a favorite saving blog or store you want to save at? Leave a comment and I'll do some investigating for my friends:)

Thanks to MoneySavingMom & InGoodCents for helping us on our journey!!

AFC Champions!!

The Friday before the Colts AFC Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium I got a thank you note from a Sr. VP at work. (Thank you Mr. S.) Imagine my surprise when I opened it and it had 2 tickets to the game!!! I was truly shocked and so was Steven!! The other awesome thing about the tickets...they were in the Club level...section 412 (our anniversary is 4/12). When Sunday arrived, we headed downtown early because we wanted to take in all the hoopla.

The game was great, but it was a little scary in the beginning. We were also surprised how many Jets fans were there. Needless to say, they were pretty quiet in the second half. The Colts fans were definitely loud though...the loudest I've ever heard a football game for sure! We stayed for the trophy presentation. It was so neat to see the trophy and hear some of the comments...of course in true Colts style, they were humble and gave so much credit to God. Just look at the scene right after the game...

The AFC Championship Trophy

So many updates and a deal too!

Sorry it's been so long since I did an update, but I'm catching up now.

For those of you that have caught a glimpse at my COUPONING obsession, you'll be happy to know that I won a prize tonight at a Twitter party, while updating the blog! Yea!

If you are interested in specific products and you would like to find good deals, please leave a comment and I'll search for deals that I can find.

ALSO...some exciting news that Steven and I are owners of a new website that will be up and running soon. The blog will stay here for now, until I figure out how to move it without losing it, but the template is up at http://www.sextonstory.com/

Have a good night!!

My prize, a gift card from:

Happy New Year!

Steven and I decided to host a little shindig for New Year's Eve! We had lots of yummy food, good friends and family over, and the Wii! We enjoyed the karaoke American Idol and some Mario Bros. before time for the big countdown.

Happy New Year 2010!!

Stayin' Alive!! The Big JK!!Isn't Lauren just a SUPER CUTIE!?!?

Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, TWO, ONE!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!