With Easter approaching tomorrow I have been thinking about my cousin Matthew. For many years our families spent this day together. Everyone would come over to my house and we often had Easter egg hunts when we were younger. My Mom made a bunny cake that we waited all year for! It was always fun being with my cousins.

This past February was very sad time for our family. My cousin Matthew passed away on Sunday February 14^th. The whole family gathered in South Carolina to be with him. On Valentines Day we each told matt how much we loved him. Matt was 22 years old. When he was 15 he came down with a sickness called Transverse Myelitis. At the same time he also had seizures, which caused brain damage. Because of these two things, he was left a paraplegic – not able to move anything except turn his head a little. He was also suffered intellectual disabilities. So he could not communicate. We were never sure during the past years what he could understand. He was also on a ventilator to breathe.

He lived at home with 24 hour nursing care and was not able to leave his house very often and participate in life’s activities. His life had changed dramatically, and so did his family’s. It was very sad. He is my Aunt Dona’s and Uncle Stu’s Son. He has one younger brother Ryan, who is now 20.  It has been very difficult for their family. Earlier in February Matt was sick and had to be admitted to the hospital. He was too sick to get better.

Matthew had a fun energetic personality. He loved telling jokes and pranking people. He had the best laugh. When he lived in New Jersey we spent many holidays & birthdays and visits together. When he was older, he loved music and concerts. He always had his earphones in and ipod on! I am happy I had the chance to know Matthew for 15 years before he moved away.

I think his spirit is now free after being trapped for seven long years. I will always have good memories of our time together and will always love my cousin Matthew. Here is a link to a sideshow of Matthew ~ If you would like to see it. You can copy & paste to your search bar.  http://play.smilebox.com/SpreadMoreHappy/4e444d344e5441314e7a493d0d0a 

In January I went shopping at H&M clothing. It made me think about how my mom taught me to shop. She loves bargains and paying the lowest price possible for clothing and most anything she buys. Everyone knows about Black Friday. This year my mom found boots for me. Regular $190 for $48 and some glitter shoes regular $44 for $14, both at DSW on their 30% off sale. But other times can be good too. A great time to shop is in January. Most items are marked down once or twice and clearance racks have a percentage off. H&M was offering 30% off of all the clearance items…. and did we find some good bargains! The stores were ready for their spring and summer clothing. So they try    to clear the winter stuff. You can also find great buys at the end of July and August, when the stores are trying to clear all the summer stuff. I brought a skirt, dress, a top and PJ’s. My mom picked up a cute sweatshirt for Brooke. And PJ’s for herself. The items were regularly from $17.99 to $59.99. We paid $ 4.90-$7 each! It was Jackpot. We also found some foaming hand soap at Bath and Body for 50% off for $3.25!!

Another great way to save money is to sign up on websites for store emails. I received a coupon for Vera Bradley during my birthday month for 25% off. Some will text you the coupons, like Joann Crafts and Lord & Taylor. When you add those to the clearance prices. You can really save. So have fun shopping ~ and be sure to look for those Bargains!