Good DEALS!

Okay...so I may never get around to blogging about Christmas and New Years....but I had to share with you the great deals to got this past week! Sorry...there are no pictures to go along with it.

SO! I had mentioned to a few of you about how Kaitlyn totally grew like 2 inches over Christmas break...all her pants are "high waters"....and after the holidays...I am not in a spending mood...not to mention the fact that I just bought the girl new jeans not to long ago. So I decided to go thrift store shopping...which I love to do and they have a new thrift store here in Taylor that is clean...unlike the other the one I have gone to a few times here in Snowflake...I leave there feeling like I need to be de-loused....anyhow....so at the new thrift store I found 2 pairs of jeans in perfect condition...I paid $5 for both. Then I went to the little thrift shop they have at the Senior Center and found another pair for 50 cents! 3 pair of good fitting jeans would be a miraculous blessing if they were for me...and I was grateful to find them for Kaitlyn...but I knew she'd need a few more pair to make it through the winter so I called and enlisted my sister in Mesa who was a SUPER SHOPPER! She found three pair at a yard sell...her total spending??? 75 cents!...so that would have been enough jeans but I had gotten the deal finding bug and had already bid on a few pair (okay...4 pair) on eBay...and won them all....not the BEST deals...but I still got all 4 pair for $21.....let's do a little math here.....that makes 10 pairs of jeans (now we have a surplus)...and the cost was....$27.25...I saved over $75 by buying second hand!

My other great deal was found at the before mentioned new thrift shop. I got a baby bassinet for my sister for $14! What I love is that this thrift store (Kidz Kloset) will give you store credit for your gently used kid items...so I got a $6 credit for the things I look in...but even at $20...the bassinet would have been a steal...it's in great condition and I was tempted for a second to tell Tiff that I bought it for myself and would loan it to her...but that was just the "green eyed monster" side of me coming out!

ANYHOW! I just had to share that...I love thrift store shopping! It's in my blood! My Grandma Barrett used to take me "junking" (aka thrift store shopping and yard selling) with her when I was a kid and I loved it...still do!

Another 'season' is upon us...."TAX SEASON!"

I am having "bloggers-block"....I just really haven't felt like blogging about anything even though I do want to catch things up for the past few weeks....it's the uploading of pictures and the fact that I have things around the house that need to get done that are holding me back, I think. Hopefully I can everything caught up by the end of this week!

....one thing I want to write about because I thought it was cute.
....On the way home from school today Kaitlyn told me to "please drive faster because i need to use the bathroom really bad!"....I asked her if she used the bathroom at school today and she said, "No, the bathrooms are really yucky...I have to be very brave to go use them and I wasn't feeling so brave today." Then when we got home and she went potty she said,

"You don't feel that everyday."

I said, "What?"

"Like you need to go to the bathroom REALLY bad."

I don't know why I thought all that was cute and worth writing about but I did. The fact that she thinks the bathrooms at school are too gross to use is concerning...but honestly...I'd be more surprised if the bathrooms were actually clean.

A little shout out....

I just wanted to tell people about a new link on my blog.

Brandon's sister and brother in law have started a new business. It is a weight loss clinic called, "Vital Solutions". They use the same "technique" there that helped them to collectively lose over 100 pounds! It is crazy how fast they lost weight without having surgery! It's definitely worth checking out just to see how amazing they look!

Look for the link to: "Vital Solutions" or go HERE!

A Merry ChRiStMaS Greeting!

*disclaimer: (I really hate to be doing this. I don't want you to think I am a "cop-out" so...let me explain! I made a list of who we would send a Christmas card to, another list of who we'd send a picture to and yet another list of who we'd be giving a goodie plate to....all on the same piece of paper. Well...I got half way through with the "Christmas card" list and then got distracted by other equally worthy tasks...and then I lost the paper...not only do I not remember who was on what list, I don't remember who the "lucky few" were who got a card...and now I am out of time....SO...call me a "cop-out" if you must but this online Christmas greeting comes from the bottom of our hearts!)

I starting typing a "family news letter"...but deleted it because anyone who has the time or cares enough to read it probably keeps up on what is going on in our family through our blog...so I will spare you!

We are so blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family members. Each of you has a different influence over our lives and we have a different relationship with each of you. Because of that we have been given the great gift of learning from your example through sharing in your joys and sorrows and in sharing ours with you.

We hope that this Christmas season you will feel a renewal of hope and peace as you pause to recall our Savior Jesus Christ and the significance of his humble birth. We know He lives. We know that through Him the heavens and earth were created. We know that He is "the way, the truth and the light". Through the scriptures, we have studied about Him and gained a sure knowledge that He is who He proclaimed to be, the Son of God and the Savior of all mankind. We pray that each of us will come to know Him better and be able to have His spirit with us not only during this magical Christmas season...but always.

Merry Christmas!

Love,
The Brandon Flake family

Am I gonna get it ALL done!?

Let me tell you! We're getting down to the wire folks! I am feeling the pressure! I have been baking my buns off today so that we can have some yummy cookies to take to our family and friends...I still need to make the frosting for them then package them up...I also need to go through the gifts I have bought and make sure I have everyone covered, I need to make a trip to Show Low to get a few last minute items, not to mention the fact that I haven't wrapped any gifts yet or cleaned my house.......I want to make cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning because that's what we always had for breakfast growing up on Christmas morning and my two older brothers are coming up with their wife and fiance so I want to do that for them...I still need to make dinner for tonight and I haven't had a shower today...or brushed my teeth! (I did chew some minty gum...does that count even a little?) I am feeling like I am not going to be able to get everything done! I know that when I feel this way I tend to go into panic mode and turn into a crazed woman. I am hoping that doesn't happen! Maybe I need to just let a few things "go".....I don't know.

Just needed to vent for a second! Thanks for listening!

Oh....and one funny thing!

Kaitlyn just told Addie, "I think you're going to be on Santa's naughty list!" And Addie said, "No I not! I'll "poof" myself off!".... Addie likes to pretend that she has, "powers" To utilize them all the has to do it point her finger and say "poof"!

A little update...

I just got an email from Angela today. She told me that they have raised enough money to cover all of Kaiya's funeral expenses! And, as of right now, it looks like their insurance company is going to be covering all the other monstrous bills! What a BLESSING that would be!

I just want to tell everyone who has donated to their family, "Thank you". I have NO idea who has donated but I know that many of you have and I am just so grateful for you generous people! I know that having the means to pay for Kaiya's funeral has helped to bring some peace to Angie and her family.

To learn more about the heart condition that Kaiya was born with, go HERE.