Photo Book

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I love the photobooks you can order from Shutterfly!  If you haven't ordered one before, you are missing out!!  It's easy!!

Stephens Fam 9?!?

Have you ever had one of those weeks that rocked your world and one of those days that changed your life?  Well, I've had mine... all at once.  I'll try to give you the short version, but the Stephens Fam 8 is now the Stephens Fam 9!!

No, I'm not pregnant.  No, I didn't have another baby, and no I didn't adopt another kid.  How is this possible you ask?  We'll I've been given temporary custody of an amazing young man that will now be part of the Stephens Fam!  It may be a few months or it may be longer... Only God knows the long term outlook.

I'm amazed at how he puts things together for HIS glory!  We have been thinking and praying about helping this young man out for a few weeks.  In fact, we asked our Sunday School class to pray for us on Sunday about it.  We thought we would have to get an attorney and spend some money in legal fees for it to be official and for us to get power of attorney or guardianship or something.  I spoke with an attorney friend of mine for advice and we were waiting to proceed.  Well, that was all on Sunday and Monday. 

Yesterday evening, this young man came home from school and told us he was supposed to go to court tomorrow (meaning this morning) with his mom.  Long story short... she is not able to take care of him and asked if we would be willing to.  The judge ordered him into our custody, no questions asked!!  No attorney fees, no looking for a lawyer, no waiting months for papers to get signed.   It's over and done!!  Months before we even knew about this situation, God had worked out every single detail in order for this happen without a problem at all!!

So, we are excited to have a new member of the Stephens Fam.  You'll all get to meet him soon if you haven't already.  We're always excited about the adventures that God gives us and the life he has for us.  We've always considered reaching out to children in need as part of our family ministry.  I never dreamed I would be raising 7 children.  I'm not sure how I do it.  Only God gives me the strength, wisdom, and patience to persevere.  

We are asking for prayer for our house to sell quickly!  If you remember it at any time, please say a special prayer that God would send a buyer our way.  When we moved into this house, I had one precious baby girl.  Now, 6 years later, I have 6 more kids!!  And they are all big!!  We have outgrown this space.  We have a house in mind to buy, but need to sell ours first.  Any prayers would be appreciated.  I thought I'd give you the details before you start wondering who that big kid is with us all the time!  I love you all and thanks for sharing in our excitement with us!

God Bless!!

Glade Expressions - Product Review

I thought I'd give you a little update on the newest scent in my life.  It comes from Glade... and it's heavenly!!  

Thanks to BzzAgent, I was able to try out a new product from Glade called Glade Expressions.  They make a mist spray and also an oil diffuser.  I was given a coupon to try each product for free as well as coupons to share with my friends.  If you ask me nicely, I may share one with you!   I was given a free product, but all opinions in this blog are my own.

First, I thought I would like the fragrance mist the best.  And I do love it... With 5 guys in this house, trust me... any type of fragrance is great!!  I put the bottle in the bathroom and so far I've been very happy with the results.  It eliminates the odor instead of just covering it up.  I bought the Pineapple and Mango and the Fuji Apple scent in the spray and I love it!  It's not too strong or overpowering.

I have to admit, though... my FAVORITE product and scent is the Pineapple and Mango Oil Diffuser.  Oh, it's awesome!!  I also bought the Fuji Apple scent in the diffuser, but the Mango was my favorite!  I placed it in my dining room on a shelf near some pictures.  It's very classy and pretty and doesn't look like you have a big air freshener sitting on your shelf.  I loved the scent immediately!  The true test came, though, when my mom came in the house a few days later and the first thing she mentioned was how nice the house smelled.  I must have already become accustomed to the scent by then, because I didn't notice it much.  I always want a product that lasts!!  If she was smelling it, then it must still be working!

If you haven't signed up for BzzAgent yet, you need to!!  Go here to sign up!  You'll be writing your own reviews for your own free products before you know it!!

 

Shopping Day

I love getting bargains.  I just can't help it.  Today, we spent most of the day in Branson.  I did sneak away to Walgreens this morning before we left.  I just thought I'd give you an update of all of the freebies and deals I scored today!!  Now, please be warned, this was a GREAT day!  Not ever day is like this, obviously, but I am LOVING all of the awesome deals!

Walgreens:
6 bottles of mouth wash 
4 Mitchum Deoderant
3 bags Chex
3 bags Ghardetto
4 bags of Brach's Candy
4 boxes of Hawaiian Punch drop ins
2 packs of ensure for my grandfather
1 Glade refill
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Total Cost:  Roughly $8.00 after coupons and Register Rewards
Savings:  $44.00

If you haven't sign up for their new program yet, go sign up now!!  It's called Balance Rewards and it starts next week.  Trust me, it's going to save you even more money!!
Sign up HERE.


Olive Garden:
Free appetizer- coupon
5 kids meals
2 adult meals
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Total Cost: FREE using gift card :)
Savings: $75

Lowes:
3 furnace filters
1 pack of  screwdrivers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Total Cost: $1.00
Savings: $17.00- with coupon and sale
 
Old Navy:
Family Photo Shopping-
3 Henleys
2 girls sweaters
2 Men's sweaters
1 Women's shirt
1 Women's sweater

 8 shirts on Clearance for Duane (Dry fit shirts for 97 cents!!!!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Total Cost: $150- This is a lot, but not for 17 items and dressing a family of 8 for pictures!!
Savings: $200



Bath and Body Works:
4 trial sized lotions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Total Cost: $0
Savings: $8.00

 

Krispy Kreme:
Hot now sign was on!!!  7 hot donuts!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Total Cost:  $0
Savings: ??$5.00



Finish Line: 
2 pairs of Skeletoes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Total Cost:  $26.00
Savings:  $54.00 

 
Target: 
I don't think there is any possible way to list everything, so just look at the pictures.

Lots of great deals in the dollar section that were 70% off!

Also,  great deals on meds, cleaning supplies, and food!  Oh, and tons of free Glade products!!  Some of those were thanks to BzzAgent.  If you haven't sign up yet, you can sign up here.

BzzAgent



Total Cost:  $35.00
Savings:  $140 

Lowes: (again)   
Duane can't resist clearance.  He found a few things he wanted to go back and check out, so he headed back home with the kids while I stayed at Target and finished shopping with my Mom!

This is what he scored!  
1 straight edge razor
2 rugs
4 rolls black flower bed liner 
1 light switch cover

AND.... 
Because he's such an amazing Dad and had all the kids with him, a man in the store decided to hook him up with a few FREE building kits!  How awesome is that?
He gave the kids each a kit of 3 different building projects for a total of 15 FREE kits!

Total Cost:  $16
Savings:  $20 + 8 free building kits!
 
  
 
Hot Air Balloons:
A FREE evening out with the kids.  The night glow of Hot Air Balloon event is awesome!!  The kids loved it!
~~~~~~~~~~
Total Cost: $0 
Experience: Priceless

 
 
Grand Finale:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Total Cost:  $236 

Savings: $563!!

  Now, that is an awesome day out on the town!!

Then, we came home to find more freebies in the mailbox!! 

Free Magazines!!

Free Coasters!!

5 Free bags of Kettle Chips

FREE Photo Book from Shutterfly!
Go sign up now and use the code SUMMERBOOK to score your own free 8X8 book!  Shipping is around 8 dollars!!  You can check out my album from our vacation!
Sign up HERE!



This was NOT a typical day in our house, but I'm always amazed at how God blesses us!!  I should also mention that I am shopping for a family of 8, so the amounts of things I buy may be extreme if you have a small family!  I also donate a lot of things through my church, so I tend to buy a few extras when I find a really good deal!  I love blessing others because I KNOW that God has blessed me!

I hope you don't think I'm bragging by posting all of this and we did spend quite a bit of money today.  That's more than we would normally spend in a week.  But, I did find everything that I NEEDED and the other things on my list, were just a little extra!  I was completely in my budget! (A HUGE part of living debt free is staying within your budget.)  Even if it's a great deal... if you can't afford it, DO NOT BUY IT!!!  That's a hard lesson to learn, but it's the best way to save money!

I'll be glad to teach you any tricks.  Feel free to ask questions!  God is so good to us!

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Walgreens Balance Rewards!

Are you a Walgreens shopper?  I am!  It's  a little confusing using their register rewards program, but once you figure it all out, it's an amazing way to save tons of money!!  I have received so many free items from Walgreens using their Register Reward program and coupons, I've lost count!!

Oh, and did I mention that if you are a college student, you can get a 15% discount?  And a 20% discount on Walgreens brand products?  The deals in this store just keep getting better and better!!

Now, they're starting a new program called Balance Rewards.  I'm not sure of all of the exact details with this program, because it hasn't officially launched yet.  You can sign up early, though, and you have a chance at winning 10 million points on your card!!  I registered online and it was very easy.  Use this link.

Walgreens Balance Rewards

What I do know is that you earn points for every purchase that you make at Walgreens.  You earn points for every prescription that you have filled.  I don't currently get my prescriptions filled at Walgreens, but knowing that I can get 500 points for every prescription might change my mind!  With 6 kids, I am constantly filling meds.

Here's what the website says about redeeming points!!

Redeeming Points:
When purchasing items and/or services at a Participating Store, Member may choose
to either redeem earned Points or continue saving Points to use on a future purchase
of items and/or services. If Member elects to redeem earned Points, the Points will
be converted into Redemption Dollars and the value of the Redemption Dollars will be
deducted from the total price of the Member’s purchase of items and/or services from a
Participating Store. Earned Points are converted into Redemption Dollars in five (5) tiers:
(1) 5,000 points = $5
(2) 10,000 points = $10
(3) 18,000 points = $20
(4) 30,000 points = $35
(5) 40,000 points = $50

As much as I shop there, it doesn't seem like it would take long to earn a lot of points.
Register now!!  You can take a chance at winning 10 million points!


Sign up for Walgreen Balance Rewards.