Terry Family

I don't think I have ever really blogged about Sadie's personality. She is the funniest little girl! She is very particular about things and can spend an hour easy stacking and unstacking her princess foam puzzle pieces, coasters, markers (from end to end), kitchen spices, and anything else that can be stacked! She loves "organizing" my recipes and helping me cook also. (If you count dipping her little fingers in the flour and sugar containers repeatedly as helping.) She LOVES to pretend to be a doggy and most of the day manages to be one. A daily request of hers is to, "Carry me like a doggy" which means to wrap her in a blanket and carry her around in our arms. She loves playing with her Daddy, watching Clifford The Big Red Dog, and helping me do laundry and wipe down the wood floors. (Those are her favorite jobs to help with.) When wiping down the floors, she runs back and forth from the bathroom faucet with a VERY wet rag and washes the floor with intense concentration! I keep a towel on hand as the floor turns into a swimming pool every time! :) Her favorite food is baby carrots, ranch, and chocolate milk. She loves her tiny blanky I made her and loves to take it everywhere! Most importantly, she has to have it at bedtime or she will not sleep well! Replacements will not work!!! She loves to hide with Mommy from Daddy when he gets home from work (most of the time in the pantry) and cannot stop herself from telling him where she is prematurely every time! She loves to be outside and go to the park so she can go down the slide. She also loves checking on the daily progress of the tulips that are growing out front and will touch each plant with her little fingers while saying, "Oh! It's so cute!"

My awesome cousin Amy took these sweet family pictures of us in October 2011. I have been wanting a big family picture in our house forever!!! They are so expensive though! I found this neat tutorial the other day on how to make and frame a big print for cheap. Here's the link: http://www.sugarbeecrafts.com/2012/01/giant-picture-tutorial.html. I am in the process of making it and will post a picture of the finished project as soon as I get everything done! Here are some of my favorite family pictures in the meantime though:

Honestly, this year has been one of the hardest years for me in so many ways. It's interesting though, how when things get hard and we go through our variety of trials, we often become more grateful for all the things that go right in our lives. This is the case for me. I feel accutely aware of all the challenges I have faced lately, yet also very aware of how much Heavenly Father has blessed my life.

I am thankful for:
Sadie-To kiss her, to hear her laugh, to teach her new things, to cuddle with her, to have her here with us today. Whenever I am feeling grouchy because she is being a little stinker, I am reminded how blessed Nick and I are to even have her here with us today after her difficult start in life. I love you so much Sadie girl.
Friends-I remember in high school hanging out with people who I liked and had fun with but who weren't people I could really rely on. I look at my life now, and see how Heavenly Father has blessed me by placing the most amazing people all around me. I love who I surround myself with because everyone I know and associate with makes me a better person in one way or another. I am very blessed to be able to say that.
Family- Growing up second oldest in a family of nine definitely had it's challenges for sure, but I am grateful that my parents raised me to have high morals and standards. From a young age I was taught to say no to drugs, cigarettes, drinking, and anything that might take away my agency and cloud my judgement. Because of my parent's wisdom, I was able to avoid bad situations and make good decisions with assurity that I was doing what I was supposed to. (Not to say I didn't make bad decisions because, yes of course, I did. When it came to the important decisions though, I felt I made the right ones.) Thanks Mom and Dad.
Nick- (Who pooped out on me tonight...We were supposed to watch Captain America but he passed out from exhaustion before we even started it. :) ) He is flopped over on the couch next to me right now as I write this. I am grateful for his patience and for his optimistic attitude towards everything and everyone. He is a very kind and funny person and doesn't have a temper in the slightest degree. So grateful for that. He is smart and helps me figure out math/numbers when couponing. (Without him I would probably smash my calculator to smithereens! Ha Ha. Smithereens. Cool word.) He supports me in all of my hobbies and never yells at me when I make us late to church every Sunday. Love you Nick.
My sister Tara- She is my confidant. My shoulder to cry on. The person I call to share a good laugh with. The person I love to tease. :) My best friend. Who would know that after years of her pinning me down and bouncing up and down on my stomach making farts come out, I would feel this way. :) I didn't then...Do now. Love you sis. Thanks for everything.

Oh man, I have so many more things I could go on about. This can be part 1 because it is super duper late and Nick woke up, ready to go to bed.
TO BE CONTINUED...

Okay well not quite yet...I would like to though! I need your guys' advice. Any of you coupon? I mean, not just using the occasional coupon but have ordered 5 Sunday newspapers, put together a coupon binder, know the grocery store's truck schedule, and go to the store at random times of the day in hopes certain items will be in stock? This is me. Am I any good at couponing yet? No. I just started. BUT, I did get a free pack of Dan nino yogurt the other day thanks to coupons (and not to mention wit). :)
Here's my problem. Every time I hear about a free or money making deal, I rush to the store only to find the shelves completely empty!!! Argh!!! So frustrating! So, for those of you who coupon, when is the best time to go stock up on items? I got up and went to Albertsons early Monday morning while Nick and Sadie were still sleeping and STILL could not get the items I was looking for! Any advice? And if you guys have any other advice regarding couponing, I will happily take that as well!
THX!