There is some buzz in the news about the consistent increase in food prices (see “Shoppers warned bigger bills on way“). I have been predicting the increase of grocery prices for some time now, primarily because of the impact of high gas prices and the increase in minimum wage. Both directly affect our grocery markets because, as any economist will tell you, minimum wage earners are common in the food industry and, of course, it takes fuel to ship the goods. The result of these two economic changes in the country are, inevitably, higher grocery bills.

One of our most popular FAQs is “How do you keep your grocery bill below $600/month?” In 2006 when we appeared on TLC and announced that we did keep within this budget, our website traffic went through the roof. Our online survey tagged “shopping tips” as the most interesting feature of the “Kids by the Dozen” show, even above the Birthday Bash and the story on Alicia, which were more central to the show.

Do we still keep that budget? Yes, we do, but we are definitely feeling the crunch. It is becoming more and more difficult to find the deals. Food is a growing budget concern for families, and, especially with our growing boys, we’re having to get more creative.

Wendy and I are scheduled to speak on this at the Minnesota Association of Christian Home Educators Conference. I hope our Minnesota friends will be able to make it to our workshop, “Cheaper by the Baker’s Dozen” on Friday, April 18, in Duluth. For our friends who aren’t able to make it, Wendy and I will be creating two new products to meet this need. First, we have received permission to resell this audio on a CD ROM immediately after the conference (we may even offer it as a download). Second, we are releasing a cookbook titled Love in the Kitchen due out in April. The cookbook has a ton of ideas for families to serve up a ton of food on a limited budget.

Wendy wants you all to know that it is still possible to find those deals! In fact, when prices go up, they are often more frequent. This is how: when prices go up, people get more picky about their food. They will naturally spend the same, but will buy less. Stock of items still come into the stores, but several items will go bad or be reduced in price to get off the shelf. When prices go up, “deal shelves” are more stuffed.

She experienced this at Sam’s Club on the way home from church this morning. Typically, we’ve found Sam’s Club to seldom have bargains in the back of the store. Not today! Wendy found 1200 restaurant napkins for $8, a two-pack of salsa for $2.50, a case of Wheat Thins for $2.50, five dozen grade B eggs for $1.52/doz., and she figured out that 5# of shredded cheese was actually cheaper than our 5# block of cheese. See, the deals can still be found!

Over 600 speeches took place at the NCFCA Open Tournament in Colorado (one of three in the nation). Approximately 300 students gathered at Colorado College for a chance to qualify to the National Tournament in June.

Lydia earned an invitation to Region 3 Qualifier by breaking to semi-finals in expository speech. Her speech on amateur video making was “risky” in the respect that she depends on a video camera and our Macbook to operate correctly. She even films the judges at one point, an impressive feat.

We are very proud of Lydia and her hard work perfecting this speech. We were somewhat disappointed when she didn’t break to finals, but then we watched the final round together. There were phenomenal! We were very impressed, and we took notes for improvement. Lydia will be working hard to improve the speech in time for Regionals in Seattle. Go Lydia!

Wendy was sort of bumbed that we didn’t have a big bash, but we simply said, “Well, maybe we’ll so something next week,” just to tie her over. She was a good sport about it. Of all the kids, everyone down to Tabitha knew of the surprise we had awaiting her.

We made plans for Wendy to come into the office for some “alone time” to get the kinds of things done that a mother of 14 never seems to find the time for at home. She came, but little did she know that the Jeubs invited friends to come and surprise her! They arrived at 6:30 on the other side of the office building. She hammered away at her work while we got refreshments, gifts, cake, and people to throw her a bash!

Watch the 4-minute video below and see how successful the surprise was. It is quite exciting! Happy birthday, Wendy, we love you!

Wendy is 40 years old….YESTERDAY. She hung low and was a good sport about not having a big party. Things are super busy right now, so we’ll be celebrating next week. For now, post a note of congratulations in the post area. Here’s some pics of Wendy…from 18 to 40!!!

1986 – H.S. Grad                      2008 – Mom of 14 Kids