Shopping Trip at Publix

I wanted to post about my great shopping trip at Publix.

Spent $18.17

Saved $64.o4

Purchased most things with Rain Checks I had from when the items were on sale, and they were out of the product.

I bought:
10 Pillsbury Toaster Strudels
Had Buy One Get One Free Rain check

6 Bottles of Fantastic Cleaner
Had Buy One Get One Free Rain Check

4 Huggies Bath Products
Had Buy One Get One Free Rain Check

4 Yoplait Kids Yogurt
Had Buy One Get One Free Rain Check

That's all the rain check items
this is the rest of the items I purchased:

4 Bags of Ore-Ida Steam and Mash potatoes
on sale Buy one Get one Free

12 Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamer Vegetables
on sale 50% off

1 Jello Pudding mix Cookies and Cream
Regular price $2.00

1 Totino's Pizza Rolls 40 count
on sale $2.10

2 Chef Boyardee Forkables
on sale $1.00

Green Giant can Green Beans
on sale .79 cents


That's all the items I purchased. I had coupons on everything I purchased except the pudding and the green beans.

Break down of the savings:

Manufacture Coupons: saved $32.34
Store Coupons: saved $6.35
Advertised Special Savings: $25.35
Total Savings: $64.04

Update on Rhianna

Rhianna was able to go back to school today. I was kind of unsure whether to send her or not, because she has been very whiny and gets upset easy. We finally decided since she isn't running a fever anymore we would go ahead and send her.

She seems to be getting better, at least she isn't running a fever anymore. The infected lymph node doesn't seem to be a lot better. She still has a few more days of antibiotics, so I'm hoping it will clear it up.

I'm hoping she will feel great tomorrow for trick or treating.

I wanted to say how thankful I am to all my new friends at Ridge Pointe!
Thanks everyone for your prayers!

Saturday

The last couple of days have been pretty crazy. I'll just start with Saturday: Saturday Rhianna and I left the house by 10 o'clock to go by Target; to pick her up some shoes to go with her Halloween costume. We checked a week earlier, and they didn't have her size. They were suppose to be getting a shipment of shoes, and we were hoping they would get her size. We had already checked Wal-mart, and they didn't have a "pink sparkly" shoe in her size, lol. Rhianna had to have the pink ones to match her dress. Well we got to Target, and of course they didn't have the shoes we were looking for. So Rhianna started crying and wanted to go to another Target.
I explained to her that if she wanted to make it to Old Navy in time for the promotion they were having we couldn't go to another Target. She still wasn't happy, but I was finally able to convince her that it would be o.k. to wear her tennis shoes with her dress in Old Navy. In case you are wondering Old Navy was giving away a free T-shirt, and Candy to the kids wearing a costume. So we made it to Old Navy in time for the promotion.
We left there and went by Michael's to pick her up a sand art kit that she wanted to spend her money on. We were also going to stop in the shoe store beside Michael's, but it was closed down. So then we decided to go by the mall and look for shoes there, and pick up something to eat. We didn't find any shoes she wanted, but we did find food. So you could say we went home shoeless.

We were finally able to rectify the shoe problem later that day at a Wal-Mart in Greer. Well anyway I know I'm rambling. As you can tell we had a really busy day. Rhianna was going to a fall carnival that evening, that's the reason we were searching for shoes.
So after the Carnival, I was so thankful to be home. I was so tired, and I was ready for bed.
I was quite literally jolted back into awareness when I was helping Rhainna for bed. I was helping her with her pajamas and noticed a large knot on her leg, her leg was also considerably swollen. Because of the knot and her temperature was climbing we decided to take her to the ER. I was trying to reassure Rhianna telling her everything was going to be o.k., when I was scared out of my mind.
We arrived safely at the ER. We got her checked in and a nurse looked at Rhianna's leg. The nurse told us the Doctor would be in a minute. Well, I figured by there time it would be at least an hour. So I was scared yet again when the Doctor did arrive in about a minute. He examined her and order an ultrasound. The results came back, and we had good news. The Doctor told us it was an infected lymph node, and he prescribed her some antibiotics.
He also told us to have it checked by her family doctor in a few days.

I'm going to time warp to present and tell how she is doing. She has been running a fever the last couple of days. It spiked up to around 103 degrees last night and finally came down. She plays o.k. during the day, and is eating some. So I will be praying that the medication works soon. I don't think I will stop worrying about her until she stops running a fever, and the knot goes away.

I am so thankful for Rhianna. She is my precious daughter and I love her with all my heart.

I'm thankful for Steven I don't know what I would do without him. He keeps me sane.

I'm thankful for Kristy, she has been a great friend.

I'm thankful for my Mom and my MIL for listening to me on the phone, and worrying about Rhianna.

Things I'm thankful for today

Lunch at Kristy's house! I had a great time, and I hope we can many more lunches in the future.
I just hope I didn't scare her off by telling her a couple of the crazy dreams I've had. lol

Thankful for cell phones, without mine I would never make it anywhere.
I had to call Kristy and tell her I made a wrong turn somewhere. I am really going to have to look into buying a navigation system.

Thankful for my animals, they always keep me entertained.

Thankful that Rhianna kept her fish in the ocean. lol That just means she was well behaved in school today.

Thankful that my Mother in law is able to watch Rhianna while I go to training classes tonight.

Thankful for my Mom and brother. I haven't spoken with them in a couple of days. I will have to head over to there house tomorrow and check in on them.

Finishing up my thoughts

I'm going to finish up my thoughts from yesterday, actually the day before yesterday.

So basically I have been doubting myself. I have been wandering if I will be strong enough to do this type of work. I worry whether or not I will get too attached. I worry if I will remain objective or not. I have already told them that I will not be able to handle any cases where it involves a child the same age as Rhianna. I just feel that I wouldn't be able to remain objective in those cases. I worry about a ton of other things as well. If I get called to testify in court, I worry that I might mess it up completely by saying the wrong thing, etc.. So the list goes on.
The good thing I guess is that the two coordinators feel that I will be a really good guardian. So that makes me feel a little better.

So all the worries basically boils down to: I need to have more faith
I have to believe that God will give me the strength. Then I will be capable of doing what needs to be done.
Having blind faith when going into the unknown is always hard.
I have to have faith in God, and know that everything is going to be o.k.
I don't know the purpose. Let me say, I don't know what difference I will make as a Guardian yet.
I know I was moved me to do this. I just now have to have the faith and know that God knows how it will end.
He also knows why I need to do this, and that is enough.

man I know I have a bunch of typos I missed in my last post....

Have you felt the Holy Spirit move you to do something, and then you feel lost?

I don't know how much time I will have to write today, so if I don't get all my thoughts down today I'll write some more tomorrow. I always have a hard time putting my thoughts down in a way that are understandable.

So let me begin by saying that I felt the Holy Spirit move me to do volunteer work as a Guardian Ad Litem. If you asked me two months ago what I would be doing in the next months I wouldn't have had a clue that I would be going to training classes to be a Guardian ad Litem. I didn't really know what a Guardian ad Litem was. I felt moved to look for volunteer work, that's when I came across an ad saying they needed volunteers in our community. I called that Monday, and they were starting the training classes that very night. That was a confirmation that everything seemed to be falling in to place, that I was meant to be doing this. Then my faith was tested by me getting lost. I actually prayed, "God is this what you really want me to do? " I really was very frustrated and ready to call it quits and head back home. That's when I got my second confirmation, when my prayer was answered. As soon as I got finished with my prayer a lady walks up to the car and gives me directions that led me straight to where I wanted to be.

Let's talk about now.. I have been attending the training classes, and I have been struggling with some of the things that I have been hearing. I had to watch a video one night in training that made me cry. Actually I have cried a couple of nights after and during the training classes. Let me get around to why I cried. I heard things, unspeakable abuse towards children that I can't fathom. I was thinking how could anyone do these things. I can't go into specifics, it's just to hard. It's better I leave it at unspeakable abuse, torture is what I consider it.

So I'm thinking yet again, will I be able to do this. In the back of my mind I have a little voice saying look you can't even bear to hear these things or watch a video about it. The little voice is saying what must it have been like for these children. I am very insecure and I think how would I be able to help.

I'm going to have to finish my thoughts up later.. Even now thinking about it is making my chest tight and my thoughts jumble.

A few things I'm thankful for

I am thankful for my beautiful daughter Rhianna. She has had a really hard week. She got stung by a bee, and lost one of her animals in the same day. The animal she lost was her dog Maggie that stays at her Nannies and Papa's. It breaks my heart to see how much she is hurting. At times like these you wish so much you could protect her from the hurt by lying to her. I wish we could have said that Maggie was o.k., and she would be back home in a couple of days. Rhianna feels everything so deeply.

I am thankful for Rhianna's great teacher Mrs. Bridges. She has really helped Rhianna out a lot this year. She has figured out that when Rhianna gets bored, she won't stay in her seat. So she has been sending home higher level books, and worksheets home for Rhianna to do. I think that it's amazing that Mrs. Bridges takes the time to do this. By the time the first graders leave 1st grade they have to be at a level 7 in there reading, and Mrs. Bridges said Rhianna was at that level back in August. So it's been a challenge for her finding out what work to give Rhianna. I know the challenge Rhianna can be when she is bored. She gets in to everything, she is constantly on the go. So I am really thankful that Mrs. Bridges is taking the time to work with her. We had a hard time last year with her behavior it seemed everyday she was getting her light moved, which meant she wasn't following the rules.

I am thankful I get to hang around the house today! Nothing to do, it feels wonderful!

I am also thankful I have gone two days without having to wear high heels. For those of you who don't know I'm short. That leaves most of my nicer pants being at least 2-3 inches too long. So I wear heels to keep from walking on the bottoms all the time. I know I should just have the pants hemmed, lol, but heels are always a quick fix.

I am also thankful for all the wonderful people at Ridge Pointe Church. I am so thankful I found Ridge Pointe Church. I don't know where I would be right now without it.

Today I'm Thankful....

Today I'm thankful it's Fall!
I know it's been fall for a little while now, but the leaves really hadn't started falling off the trees yet. I love driving down the road, and driving through the leaves. I love looking in the rear view mirror and see them flying up off the road.

It's a feeling of serendipity. A feeling that all is right in the world. I have these feelings every now and then. Not neccesairly at times when all is right in my world. I could be very busy and bogged down with all different kinds of things. I could be running around the house, but then look over and see Rhianna eating at the table or looking at a book. The image of her at that moment just seems to freeze in my mind, like a still frame picture. I will remember these moments forever.

I wasn't looking for these precious moments at the time. They just come out of the blue unexcpected. I thank God for these precious moments, they are gifts from him.

Are God is a awesome God!

Things I'm thankful for today

I am Thankful that my Mom and brother brought the lawn mower over the other day.
Hopefully my DH will be able to get the grass cut in the next couple of days.

I'm again Thankful to everyone in my family for being there for me. My in-laws and Mom have been watching Rhianna while I finish my training to be a GAL.

Thankful for my Husband for being such a good Dad.

Thankful for my great Daughter who is growing up way too fast for my comfort, LoL.

I am Thankful to God for everything. For all the people in my life, and for all the things in my life.

I know have to go to my training class.
I really want to write some more in-depth things on my blog. I just haven't had the time that I will need to do so. With my fibromyalgia I have a really irregular sleep schedule. So I get up to get Rhianna ready for school, then I go back to sleep. Then I get back up, and get ready to pick her up from school. So I always feel I am in a hurry for the rest of the day. Hopefully I will find the time soon to write the things that have been on my mind.

What I've been up to the last couple of days

I don't have much time to write right now, because I have to leave in a few minutes to go to a parent Teacher conference. I really looking forward to it, to see how Rhianna is doing this year.

Over the weekend my in laws watched Rhianna. So, Steven and I were able to go out and eat, and watch a movie at home. We watched 27 dresses, which was a really great movie. We also played some board games. We played scrabble, and Steven won. We played connect 4 and I won.
I had a really great weekend, which was surprising, seeing how Steven and me both had a cold. One of the funniest things that happened this weekend, was when Steven and I were talking. I was telling him how I ran across a bunch of Ken and Barbie dolls, while I was helping my Mom clear out some of the things out of storage. All the Ken dolls were missing limbs. I was telling him how all the Ken dolls were falling apart, and all the Barbie's were fine. Steven said no wonder Ken's falling apart, he said look at all the things Barbie makes him do. He said she's not only a Doctor, but also a Vet. He went on and on about all the things Barbie does. I am only going to list a few: Pilot, cheerleader, horse trainer, etc. etc.... and she also travels all over the world.
He said that if he had to keep up with Barbie, that he would fall apart to. I thought this was so funny, and I laughed so hard. I just had to share. My Husbands wit is one of the many reasons why I love him so much. So all in all we had an amazing weekend.

I also helped out in the pre-school are at Ridge Pointe church this weekend. I really enjoyed working with Kristy. The kids were amazing. It has been a couple of years since Rhianna was a pre-schooler, so I really enjoyed working with the kids.

I will try to post things I am thankful for later today. If I can't I will post tomorrow. I really what to thank God for all the amazing things in my life.

People I'm Thankful for

I am thankful for my daughter Rhianna. She is wonderful, and can always make me feel better.
I am thankful for my Husband Steven. He is so smart, and can always make me laugh.
I am thankful for my Mom. She has always been there for me. I can always talk to her.
I am thankful for my in-laws. Sherry and Roger they have helped us a great deal with everything.
I am thankful for my Sister in law Tosha. For riding places with me, that I'm sure she didn't want to go.

I am thankful for such a great Church Ridepointe, and all the People who go to church there.
I have met some spectacular people there, and I want to get to know them better.

Brief Autobiography

I said earlier I would try to post why I wanted to be a volunteer Guardian ad Litem. I feel I was called to do this. This will probably be pretty long. This is what I turned in as my auto biography at the Guardian ad Litem office.

My name is Teresa Smith, and I'm a Stay-at-Home Mom to my very wonderful daughter, ___. I was married six years ago to my childhood sweetheart____. Due to medical reasons I had to stop my work of eight years as a Pharmacy Technician.
I had a pretty tough childhood. My Mother and Father were divorced before I was a year old. My Mother often worked two jobs to support my brother and myself. We were often criticized, or shunned because of my Father. Even though we had nothing to do with the wrong decisions he made.
So that brings me around to why I want to be a volunteer Guardian ad Litem. I want to help children who are in horrible situations, and who have lost hope. I want them to know that someone still cares about them and is willing to go to bat for them, and to fight for their best interest. I had my Mom and my childhood sweetheart, (now my husband) help me pull through the tough spots. I was lucky, some or most of these kids have no one. I want to be someone for them.
For the last couple of years that I have been out of work. I have been thinking now what am I suppose to do. I started volunteering at church, and still felt it wasn't enough. I knew I wanted to do something to help children because of my childhood. So I decided to look online to see what volunteers were needed in the community. That's when I came across an ad on a volunteer website that said, volunteer Guardian ad litems needed, free training. I read more about the program and decided that this was something I really wanted to do.
It was the weekend so I couldn't call until Monday. I called Monday and found out that they were starting the classes that afternoon. So that afternoon I start off for the class. Unfortunately I am horrible at directions, and had problems finding where I needed to go. I had to ask several different people for directions. I had even spoken several times with a very nice and understanding lady from the Guardian ad Litem office who was helping instruct the class. At this point I was already thirty minutes late and ready to give up. I didn't want to hold the class up any later. I was thinking is this what I'm really meant to do? When out walks this lady with her baby asking if I was looking for the shelter. I had been driving around in the same area for a while, and she had heard I was looking for the shelter where the classes where being held. I think I will always remember her as my messenger. She will never know how much she helped me that day, just by being nice and giving directions. I was ready to give up hope, then she appeared and guided the way for me to make it to the training.
That's what I want to be for these kids, just a little bit of hope. Someone to help guide their way in such a hectic time. I know it's going to be tough, and I will probably make mistakes. I only hope I will learn from those mistakes.
I will try my absolute best to make sure the children I'm a guardian to are safe and protected. The greatest reward for me will be to see them happy, or become happy in whatever situation they find themselves in.

This is my first post on my Blog!

I am very excited about my Blog. I now have a place where I can write all my thoughts. One day my daughter might want to know what her crazy mom thought about this or that. I hope that if anyone reads this they might find a little bit of inspiration. Well so I guess I need to right down what has been on my mind today.
Well first for those of you who don't know me I have started volunteering as a Guardian ad Litem. I am currently going through the 30 hour training program. I am so excited I am able to be a part in this wonderful program. For those of you who don't know what a GAL is, it's a court appointed guardian over children who have been taken from there home. A GAL works to make sure that the child's best interest are being met. Most importantly you make sure the child is safe. You also recommend to the court what you think should happen for the child. Let me give an example: Say if a child gets taken from his parents, you have to determine whether you think it would be best for the child to go home to his parents, or should be put in foster care, live with another family member besides the parents, or be permanently adopted by someone. I know I'm giving a bad description as to what we will be doing, it's hard to right down all the things we will have to handle. We have to do a thorough investigation. That means from talking to the parents, foster parents, teachers, doctors, counselors, other relatives, basically anyone who has important information about the child. The investigation gives you a starting point that helps you determine what your decision will be, and what to report in court to the judge. I can go on and on about what a GAL does, but the most important thing is seeing that your child is safe and all his best interest are being met. You even have to put in your report what the child wishes, even if you recommend something different. Say the child wants to go home to his parents, (they say most of the time that will be the child's wish, even if he was abused, because that is all the child has know) I have to put that in my report, even if I recommend something different. O.K. I did my best to explain maybe that gives you an idea what I will be doing.

What I have been thinking about today is the wonderful women I am taking the training with. These women are from all walks of life, from age 21 or 22 to age 66. I have had a chance to talk briefly with some of these women, and they are inspiring. I already respect all of these women, they deserve my respect. I am going to tell you about to of these women I find really inspiring I want use there names.

The first woman I want to tell you about, I think she is around my age late twenties. She was valedictorian of her High School, and has two college degrees. She is worried that she will be unable to do the job, she doesn't want to fail these kids. I bet you are thinking "why is she worried she want do a good job." Well she is worried because she had a surgery on her brain that was a mistake. They thought she had a brain aneurysm, and she didn't. Well after the surgery she now has problems with her speech, and writing. She finds it hard to string thoughts together. She also said she also can't drive home without her navigation system telling her the directions. I don't know about you, but I respect the heck out of her. She was embarrassed to admit these things in front of us, but she wanted to make sure she could do the best job for the kids. I can't imagine how hard it was for her to swallow her pride, and say do you think I will still be able to do the right thing for these kids. I feel she will do a great job, because she really wants to help. I can't wait to get to know her better.

The other lady I would like to tell you about she is 66 years old. She said she has had a full life. Her children are grown, and now is starting to have great grand kids. Her husband died a couple of years ago, and it has been hard on her. She is really excited about the program and being able to help. She has other reasons for wanting to help, but it's not my story to tell.
These women are so inspiring to me. I hope to get to know them better, and be able to call them friends.

Well I bet you are wandering what my story is. I will have to post later, because I feel like my brain isn't functioning correctly right now.