Joyfully Thriving

Grace-Filled Frugal Living

Summer Travels and Grocery Shopping

What a summer it has been in our household! I was amazed when I counted up the days from our various trips and realized we traveled 27 days out of the 61 in June and July. Needless to say, our family had a busy - and memorable - summer. It started when Andy and I took a cruise for our 10th anniversary to Alaska. For the first time ever, we took a trip without our kids! We had been saving since our wedding for a someday cruise to Alaska, and Andy convinced me that this was the year to do it. This allowed him to check off his 50th state - in his 40th year! We left the 3 kids with Andy's … Read More...

My Favorite Things Printable for Teachers

15 years ago this August, I began my teaching career. I will always remember my first class of Kindergarteners at St. Mark's Lutheran School in Milford, Ohio. It was a small class, but they were so precious! The children and their parents made me feel so welcome. It wasn't usually the big gestures but it was the small ones I remember most. I remember a mom taking the time to ask me what kind of soda I liked and bringing me a drink at the beginning of my afternoon session. I remember homemade goodies appearing on my desk more than once. And I still have the handwritten notes of appreciation … Read More...

Free Printable Summer Bucket List for Kids

With summer upon us, we are all looking for simple and fun ideas to do with our kids. This is one of the reasons I love bucket lists - especially printable summer bucket lists that are easy to use with kids of all ages! Last year, I shared a simple printable summer bucket list for families. You can download the free summer bucket list I created or download a blank checklist to create your own family summer bucket list. Both summer bucket lists are available in one download here. Now that Nathan is getting older (and starting Kindergarten in the fall), he has some definite ideas of what … Read More...

A Month of May Groceries

It's taken me longer than I anticipated to wrap up my month of shopping in May. There were so many deals this month - especially on diapers! I am happy to say that I stayed $5 under my monthly $400 budget in May. For those of you who love seeing how I shop, here are the pictures and highlights from my shopping trips in May. Remember that I stock up when there are sales so my trips don't always look balanced - but we eat well! :-) I'll start with one of the last trips of the month but one of my favorite ones deal wise! Meijer had hamburger on sale for $1.79/lb around Memorial Day. I … Read More...

How to Apply for a Thrivent Action Grant

Have you ever applied for a Thrivent grant? Yes? Good for you! I am so glad you are taking advantage of this seed money for special projects. No? Well, then, I am here to explain how easy it is for all Thrivent members to apply for a Thrivent action grant. Let me preface this by saying - I am not a Thrivent representative nor am I receiving any compensation for writing this post. This is my personal understanding of how the process works, after having applied for and received several grants.  I am simply a frugal Lutheran who hates to see free grant money go to waste by the many Thrivent … Read More...

Free Summer Reading Programs

It's that time of year! Summer is here and the kids are finishing up school. One of my favorite parts of summer as a kid was working through all the reading programs we could find. Free summer reading programs are a frugal source of fun while encouraging reading. Really, what's not to love about free summer reading programs? I love that so many of the free summer reading programs are available for babies and toddlers now because creating a good reader starts long before they enter school. As an avid reader myself, I am also glad that several of the book programs include adults now. Yes, the … Read More...

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