Extreme Couponing?

In the past few months, I've started reading a few blogs that teach you how to grocery shop using coupons. It doesn't seem like something that would be that hard, but it does take some strategy!

My desire in using coupons is to steward our resources well and be thoughtful about how we spend our money. I am by no means incredibly skilled at using coupons, and I read some blogs where the women are AMAZING! They go to the grocery store and get most of their groceries for free. One of the blogs has a writer whose grocery budget for a family of five is $100 a month. That is impressive.

There is a new show on TLC that is all about extreme couponing...multiple transactions, buying many of the items on sale, clearing the shelves of all 50 jars of mustard, etc. I am not interested in that.

I have a few things I think about as I go to the store:

• What is on sale? I make my meal plan based on what I already have or what is on sale that week.
• Do not buy any item just because I have a coupon for it.
• Don't buy more of any one item than we could use before the expiration date.
• One rule I almost always break is...only buy what can fit in the freezer. Usually what happens is we have to do the "freezer puzzle" once I get home from the store. Good thing Cliff is so good at it!

Today, without much planning, I grabbed my coupon envelope and the weekly store ad and headed to Safeway. I bought everything pictured below for a little more than $9. I saved 67%! It was my most successful shopping trip yet! It was actually fun!

My $9.50 Safeway purchase today!

Field Trip

Yesterday the sun was shining and the weather was the nicest it has been in months, so I decided to let the girls experience the great outdoors for the first time.

At first, they were quite reticent to leave the cardboard box I brought them out in, but after I put Blanche in the grass, the rest followed suit. They were nervous to be sure, and understandably so as all they've experienced is our guest bedroom! Apparently, they found me to be comforting, which means we've "bonded" and they saw me as a safe place. They all sat in my lap for quite a few minutes until I forced them out into the wild.

Once they realized they could eat the grass, dig in the dirt, and run around, they were off. They chose a small garden to scamper about in, but did not stray from one another or from me.

They are going to LOVE being outside. Once the temperatures will allow, we'll move them out to the coop. We have probably about 3 weeks until that can happen.

Struggling to leave the safety of the cardboard box...

Seeking safety on my lap...my jeans were a bit of a mess after this "snuggle time."

Outside for the first time!

Happy Birthday!

Today is Cliff's birthday! I am so thankful that I have been able to spend the last 10 birthdays with this amazing man. I am immensely grateful that I get to be his wife. We celebrated today with a breakfast on Alki and then worked in the yard for a few hours. 

Happy Birthday! I love you, babe!

Cliff and his new drill

Chick Update: Week 4

We're nearly a month into chicken ownership...can you believe that?! It has been really fun and completely amazing to watch them grow and change. Considering how big they already are, it is hard to imagine them living in our guest room for another month. Maybe by some miraculous turn of events, we'll have consistently warm weather and they can go out earlier...a girl can dream.

Check out their growth progress:



Blanche Katherine



Amelia Estelle



Bethula Jo

Delaney Elizabeth

All the girls!

Coop Update

At this point the coop is about 90% complete. I just need to install the doors on the far side where the nesting boxes are, as well as the storage space beneath them. It looks like we might actually have a few sunny days in a row this week (finally!), so hopefully I'll get a chance to finish the coop this week. The chicks are getting big so fast, they might need to move in ahead of schedule.

(side weather note: We've yet to break 60 degrees this month and if that remains the case, it'll be the first time in history for the month of April.)

added cedar siding

faithful "helper"

side view (Can you spot Gunner's friend in the pic?)

one more side to complete

nearly complete

Chick Update: Week 3

Okay, so by now, we know most of you are sick of hearing about chickens...but we just can't help ourselves! We really are having a great time with them.

Right now, they're approaching an "awkward stage" much like we all experienced in middle school. Their feathers are coming in and replacing their beautiful, soft down. At this point, they're all able to fly up to the ledge of the brooder. Sometimes they'll overestimate their strength and come flying out of the brooder all together. Such fun!

Here are the pictures of them at the end of their third week.

Blanche

Amelia

Delaney

Bethula

 

All the girls!

Commissioned at MHC West Seattle

About a month ago, I had the honor and privilege of being installed as a pastor of Mars Hill Church at our Ballard campus. As Pastor Bill shares in the video, I was then sent out to serve as the Pastor of Biblical Living at our West Seattle campus.

Two weeks ago, I was officially commissioned at the West Seattle campus, and prayed over by the other elders there. In the video below I had the opportunity to share my heart for West Seattle, my call to this particular role, and how the people at the West Seattle campus can be praying for Mackenzie and me as we pursue adoption.


Pastor Cliff Ellis Commissioned from Mars Hill Church | West Seattle on Vimeo.

Personal Retreat - Reflections

I had my first ever "Personal Retreat" this morning. I enjoyed about two hours down at the Tully's on Alki in front of the fireplace with an americano, listening to Mumford & Sons on Pandora, watching the ferries go by, and writing. To begin, I created a document based on the questions and verses listed in Shopping for Time: How to Do It All and NOT Be Overwhelmed. This helped guide my prayer and reflection.

It was an amazing time to reflect on my life and assess how I'm doing in the following areas:

• Growing in Godliness
• Loving my family
• Serving in my church
• Building relationships
• Attending to my work
• Caring for my physical health

I not only spent time praying and thinking about what God would have me see that is and isn't working in my life, but also putting a few plans in place to grow in each of the areas above. I was blessed by my time this morning and look forward to a quarterly personal retreat. As I'm not inclined to regular times of reflection, I pray this intentionality will help me grow in this area.

Have you ever done anything like this? I'd encourage you to give it a try!

Personal Retreat

Today I read a book by Carolyn Mahaney and her daughters called Shopping for Time: How to Do It All and NOT be Overwhelmed. It was an extremely quick read, but contained some very helpful suggestions and opportunities for reflection.

Like many people, I feel as though I have to do it all...I definitely have my days where I sinfully attempt to be all things to all people. The reality is, I can't be. In fact, that desire is rooted in sinful pride and self-sufficiency. This book was a good reminder that God has called me to very specific priorities, and helped me see the benefit of periodically checking in to see if I'm living in light of those.

The most significant "take away" I had after reading this book, was the concept of a personal retreat. I am not good at taking a focused time to reflect, journal, assess, and seek God's plan my life. Cliff and I do this with our calendars and our finances, but I haven't taken time to do this individually; to pray over the past few months, assess specific areas of life related to my priorities, and plan for the coming months.

In the book, Carolyn Mahaney and her daughters suggest taking a few hours, a day, or even an overnight to get away, pray, plan, journal, reflect, and set specific goals and next steps. I can't remember the last time I did something like this, and to be honest, I'm not sure I ever really have. Conveniently, this is my spring break, so I'm planning to get away tomorrow morning. I'm going to get up early, head to a local coffee shop, and spend some time with a journal and my Bible. 

I pray this time is helpful and beneficial for me and honoring to God. I'm excited to see how He will use this to grow and develop me.

"Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."
2 Corinthians 3:5-6

Chick Update: Week 2

Our chicks are now two weeks old. Thankfully we've yet to identify any of our lovely hens as roosters!

At this point, I'd estimate they've pretty much all doubled in size in the past two weeks and are losing their soft, fluffy down and gaining their feathers. You can see Blanche and Amelia are developing much faster than Delaney and Bethula. It is amazing to go to bed and then wake up and be able to notice differences in their feathers, size, and personalities. At this point, they're all attempting to fly...some with more success than others.

Here are some updated pictures...


Amelia...becoming bolder as the days go by!

Blanche...her feathers are amazing.



Bethula...little girl, but starting to give her wings a try.





Delaney...developing slowly, but is as pretty as ever.



All the girls! You can see who rules the roost.

Gunner and the Girls

Gunner is VERY interested in the chicks. He's not agressive, just fascinated. I think they'll be good friends, but right now he and Blanche are just beginning their relationship. Take a look at this video from the other night...the last few seconds are our favorite!

Coop Update

The chicken coop is really starting to come together. Here are some pictures of the progress I've made the last two weeks.

door

nesting boxes

roost

frame for the chicken run

side view

coming together

The Chicks: 1 Week Old

The girls are now one week old, with the exception of Bethula who is a day behind her sisters. They're thriving, full of energy, and each have a VERY different personality. It is fun to get to know the uniqueness of each chick.

Blanche is by far the feistiest and is ruling this roost! I'm sure that will continue as they grow. She is already able to fly out of the brooder and is the largest of the four.

Delaney is very calm and mellow. She and Bethula are small and more docile.

Bethula has yet to be formally introduced on the blog. She arrived a day after the others and has beautiful coloring. She is a great addition to the crew.

Amelia has quite a personality and will give Blanche a run for her money in terms of dominance. She is currently trying to fly out of the brooder as well, but she isn't having any success yet.

Here are all the girls together in their brooder. They enjoy taking a nice, long nap under the heat lamp. They're getting bigger by the day!

The Girls Arrive

Since marrying Cliff, I've never lived with girls. In fact, we've brought two more boys (dogs that is) into this small home of ours. Today that all changed...girls became the majority in the Ellis home.

We now have three lovely chicks who will become hens! Well, we hope they'll be hens. We'll see if the feed supply store where we bought them made any errors in the next few weeks.

We welcomed Delaney, Blanche, and Amelia into our home this afternoon. I picked them up from Portage Bay Grange after work today. I wanted different breeds, so that we could really appreciate their different personalities, egg shell colors, and unique looks. When choosing the breeds, we looked for cold hardy birds who have high egg production and who are also known to have docile personalities. I figured they needed to put up with two crazy dogs, so docile would be important! I ended up selecting one of each - Rhode Island Red, Light Brahma, and Golden Sex-Link.

I am going to get an Ameracauna in the next few days. They are very popular breed known for their beautiful colored eggs, so they're harder to find! Her name will be Bethula Jo once she joins the crew.

This is Delaney Elizabeth. She's a Light Brahma:










This is Blanche Katherine. She's a Golden Sex-Link:










This is Amelia Estelle. She's a Rhode Island Red:










We borrowed a brooder from our friend Sarah (my chicken buddy) that the chicks will live in for about 8 weeks. The brooder will stay in our guest room until about May when they'll transition slowly out to their coop.

Come over and meet these sweet girls anytime! We'll keep the pictures coming so you can see how much they grow and change.

Raising the Roof

Coop construction continued this week after we got back from Mark and Michelle's wedding in Kentucky. We've had a few nice days of weather, and with daylight savings finally starting to payoff, I've been able to grab a few hours here and there in the mornings and evenings to continue working.

This morning, I made another trip to Home Depot (I should seriously consider buying stock) for some roofing material, hinges, and other odds and ends. This evening, I was able to attach the roof, which I framed on Monday. I still need to attach the metal roofing, but it was fun to see what it'll eventually look like.

wood frame for roof

metal roofing

my two helpers

Spring

I'm so thankful for the sunshine and the way all of our plants are starting to shoot little green sprouts from beneath the dead debris. I hadn't realized how ready for spring I was until I came home from work on Monday and planted dahlias, cut back my rose bushes, and saw my Hellebore blooming in the backyard. Spring is certainly upon us!

I am extremely excited for all that this spring and summer hold. We're adding chickens to our urban garden as well as continuing to improve and learn how to make our vegetable garden even more productive. In addition to what we've grow in the past we'll be adding: rhubarb, butternut squash, pickling cucumbers, and tomatillos.

I'm anxiously awaiting the first lettuce greens, the crisp red radishes, and the gallons of blueberries we hope to harvest again this year.

Wedding Bells

We had the pleasure of celebrating Mark and Michelle's wedding on Saturday, March 19. What a joy it was to see the two of them get married and commit to spending their lives together. We are so excited to not only have a new sister, but to have a niece, Taylor! She is eight and a complete joy. It was such fun to get to know Michelle's family, meet some of Mark and Michelle's friends, and spend time with the whole Ellis crew.

Here are just a few pictures from the celebration. We're so thankful for the blessing of Michelle and Taylor.

Green Clean

We recently had a good friend jokingly tell us we are turning into West Seattle hippies...I think she might be right. Well, not really about being hippies, but we are becoming more and more aware of the environment and what we can do to be better stewards of the earth God blessed us with. That's why we've become interested in gardening and growing our own vegetables, raising chickens, and I've recently started making my own cleaning products.

I'm certainly not planning to preach at anyone, but I was pretty amazed to learn how many hazardous chemicals I was using in our home and how easy (and cheap!) it is to use less hazardous products. I was really surprised to learn how few regulations there are around household cleaning products and how many of them are highly toxic.

In making this transition to green cleaners, I'm not planning to throw away the cleaners I already have, but to use them up and not replace them. I've found a number of books at the library full of recipes for all-purpose cleaners, laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, and more. It is kind of like the real food movement, which is all about eating like our grandparents ate. In thinking about "green clean" it is really about cleaning like our grandparents cleaned.

A couple of resources that have been very helpful for me are:

• The West Seattle blog did an article on a local group that had a make your own cleaning products class. Click HERE to read the article and have access to their recipes.
• Keeper of the Home: Non Toxic Cleaners You Can Make at Home
• I also checked out a few books from the library. One that was quite helpful was: Do It Gorgeously: How to Make Less Toxic, Less Expensive, and More Beautiful Products

I'm just starting slowly, but am intrigued at how easy it is to make these products and how well they work. The dishwasher detergent is so inexpensive and works so well! Give it a try. Let me know what you think!

Pastor Cliff [video]

The video from this past Sunday is now online. Check it out.

Starting Seeds

Surprisingly amidst coop construction, unbelievable rain, and typical weekend busyness, I was able to get our first round of seeds planted on Saturday. It felt so good to be back out working in the yard and covered in dirt. As Cliff was building the coop for the chickens we're getting at the end of the month, I amended our raised veggie beds by adding fertilizer and compost. Then I sectioned the beds into square feet and planted kale, lettuce, spinach, sugar snap peas, beets, and swiss chard.

I'm excited to see the seeds begin to sprout!