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I adore this baby, and long for the day when (s)he will be in my arms, rather than in my womb. Time is going by at an astronomical rate! It’s hard to believe this, my very first pregnancy, is a third of the way over. This time 6 months from now if my baby has not come already, I will be within days of delivery!

God has been so good to my husband and I, in spite of all our sin and shame. Not only has He saved us from the doom we so deserved and given us the privilege of knowing and serving the risen Savior, but He has blessed us both with godly families, a wonderful marriage, and a precious child who we will do our best, by God’s grace, to raise for His glory and the furtherance of His Kingdom.

I personally have read almost all of the eBooks that are part of this sale and they really are wonderful. Specifically, the Super Market Savings Course (which alone sells for about triple the entire sale price regularly) worked wonders with helping me learn how to grocery shop frugally. I have also enjoyed reading an applying the tips in the Simple Tips for Home Management eBook! It has been very helpful in keeping things organized, simply. And those are just to name a few.

So, head over HERE and partake of the great deal. :)

1) Plan your menu. Having a menu plan will cut down your grocery spending immediately. Knowing what you are going to prepare and having the ingredients on hand prevents extra trips to the store, which inevitably results in buying more than just the single item you headed out for. Having a menu plan will also prevent those last minute take out orders and runs through the drive-thru. They seem insignificant, but surely add up!

2) Shop once a week (or less), and use cash. The less frequently you go to the store, the less money you will spend. If you only bring the budgeted amount of money with you into the store, you will be forced to stay within your budget. Using a calculator as you shop is particularly helpful!

3) Have a plan, and stick to it. Make a list, and don’t buy anything impulsively. Include on your list all the items you need for your week’s menu plan, and don’t forget any of them. If you do, substitute something rather than returning to the store. Set a realistic budget. It can be discouraging to repeatedly go over the budget, so start with a higher one, and slowly work your way down.

Once you have those tips down, consider these as well:

4) Plan your menu around what is on sale, and stock up. If chicken is on sale for .79/lb at your local grocery store, incorporate chicken into your menu that week, and buy some extra. By planning your menu around what is on sale, you save more. Stock up when items are on sale. When an item you frequently use in on sale, buy enough to last you until the next sale. That way, you don’t have to pay full price for it again!

5) Use coupons. If an item you use is on sale, and you combine that sale with a coupon you save even more.  I have not had to subscribe to the newspaper myself yet, but if I were to stop getting coupons from my mom (who does not use them), I would subscribe to the Sunday paper in a heartbeat. If you save more than $1 each week with the coupons (which is not a difficult task), it more than pays for itself!

There are many more ways to save money on groceries, but these are some basic ones to get you started.

Blessings,

Mrs. Murch

Breakfasts:

Monday~1/2 bagel and eggs with kielbasa & cream cheese; Tuesday~cereal; Wednesday~bagel with cream cheese; Thursday~sausage and scrambled eggs; Friday~Cereal; Saturday~bagel sandwich (fried eggs, ham, and cheese served on a bagel); Sunday~Toaster Scramblers

Lunches:

Monday~cottage cheese and an apple; Tuesday~cheese and multi grain crackers, baby carrots; Wednesday~bean and cheese quesadillas; Thursday~cheese & multi grain crackers, baby carrots; Friday~cottage cheese and an apple; Saturday~quesadillas

Dinners:

Monday~Pizza

Tuesday~Ben has dinner at men’s group & I eat something snack-ish for dinner

Wednesday~hot dogs on the grill with homemade macaroni and cheese

Thursday~leftovers

Friday~Peppy Pizza Pasta and salad

Saturday~We’ll be at the wedding reception of some close friends! (Congrats, Kim & Kyle!!)

~Mrs. Murch

Here are the before photos:

It was quite a disaster…and to think my poor sweet hubby was trying to work in this mess! I’m thankful I had the time and energy today to get the mess taken care of. :) Without further adieu…

My Kitchen now!

Now, to tackle the living room…

Today, I feel a tad bit queezy, but far better than I did yesterday (when I spent the entire day laying down, feeling nauseous), so I want to try to tackle some of the mess. Not to mention, the family who owns the house we live in is coming back for a few weeks starting next Friday (not this coming, but the one after), and I want to have it spotless for their return.

So, I’m going to jump in this week for Tackle-It Tuesday and try and get as much done as I can, without overdoing it. Here is my to-do list, room by room. It may take a few days to complete. I think I’ll work in increments of half an hour to an hour at a time, and then take a break.

Kitchen

• Wash & dry all dirty dishes & put them away
• Get rid of clutter (mail, etc) from the counter tops
• Move the kitchen items I don’t use daily to the downstairs to make the transition into the basement apartment easier next week
• Thoroughly clean the counters with All-Purpose Cleaner
• Clean the floor with Swiffer

Living Room

• Clear off table
• Take our stuff downstairs & put away
• Dust
• Vacuum

Basement (our room & personal living area)

• Make the bed
• Put away clean clothes
• Put dirty clothes in hamper
• Clear off table & desk
• Straighten up our closet & get rid of my excess clothes–if I don’t wear it (unless it’s something Ben loves–then I should incorporate it into my everyday wardrobe), get rid of it
• Get rid of other clutter
• Dust
• Vacuum

Bathrooms

• Clean toilets thoroughly
• Clean counters
• Clean sinks
• Put toiletry items away in an organized fashion

I think that’s it for now…I’m hoping to get it done in as little time as possible & still have it look spick-n-span. Then the goal would be to keep it that way. I’ll try to post before & after pictures as I go along. But…no laughing at my before pictures. They are indeed quite pitiful.

Monday: Hamburgers

Tuesday: Ben eats at men’s group, so I just snack

Wednesday: Leftovers for Ben…I’m eating out with my mom. :)

Thursday: Roasted Chicken with steamed veggies

Friday: Chicken & Brown Rice

Saturday: Chicken & Dumplings

Should I get to feeling well later, I would like to join in Crystal’s Making Your Home a Haven Monday. Stay tuned (and…no laughing at my before pictures).

This morning, I came up to the kitchen to brew Ben some coffee. I headed to the sink to wash his thermos and immediately began gagging when I saw the bowl that had the refried beans in it. I have not actually thrown up yet during this pregnancy, but after gagging about 5 times over the bowl of beans that was left to soak, I thought it was a serious possibility. Thankfully, my husband is quite sweet and took care of the bowl for me while I gathered my composure.

Another food item I have been quite averse to is salad. Normally, I really enjoy salad and eat it quite frequently. Not this week. I bought a bag of salad when I went grocery shopping on Tuesday. Wednesday, I went to open it and serve myself some at dinner, and the smell (who would have known lettuce has such a strong smell?!) made me decide I definitely was not going to eat salad. So, the bag sits in our fridge unused. It’s a shame…about $3.00 worth of salad. Ah, well…

So, last night we had dinner with Mom & Dad and my mom served steaks, potatoes, and salad. I served myself a big pile of salad, and then decided there was no way I could stomach that much, so I a lot of it to Ben, who had yet to serve himself any. It’s a good thing I did, because I barely choked down the four bites I had. On the other hand, the steak was amazing. Don’t get me wrong; I usually enjoy a steak, but I don’t usually just ooooh and aaaah over your typical $3.99/lb sirloins from Publix, but I sure did last night. I even had seconds (yours truly, who has hardly been eating this week had a steak & a half…in my defense, they weren’t very big). And the potato…whoosh. It was amazing too. Due to food sensitivities, I didn’t eat a whole one; I just had a few bites of my mom’s, but it was simply amazing. And it was just a potato.

So, being pregnant makes me weird. But, that’s fine. It’s definitely worth it. I am already completely in love with this little baby, and utterly in awe of the amazing work God is doing right inside my own body. I’m sure strange side effects are nothing compared to the joy of holding this little one in my arms in just 7 months.

Today, my husband & I are going out of town for a funeral; it will be interesting to see how I react to the foods I’m served while we’re gone. Favorably, I hope. Otherwise, we might have to make a secret trip to the grocery store to buy whatever I feel like I can stomach at the given time. :)

And then there are the strange pregnancy hormones (just ask Ben), but I guess we’ll save that for another post…

Our Heavenly Father has seen fit to bless us with a little one due in late February. I am still very early in pregnancy–only 6 weeks (from the first day of my last period) tomorrow. We are aware that our sweet baby’s life is still quite fragile at this point, but are so thankful to serve a Sovereign King and rejoice in this precious gift from Him. It really does strike awe and wonder in this happy mama’s heart to know that there is a tiny person inside of me who will, Lord willing, be in my arms in just 7 and a half months. We pray that God will keep our baby strong and growing in my womb and give us wisdom as we seek to raise this child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord over the next years. May he or she be the first of many arrows in our Murch family quiver!

-Mary Jo, for Ben & Baby Murch

A Baby at 6 Weeks Gestation