Family Fun Day 2008

We decided we were way over due for some family fun! Although HC, JB and I have seen many different fun spots around town, Daddy is always left out. He has to work. We decided that since Daddy's schedule could now allow for some fun - we should take the kids to the zoo. It is half price on Tuesday's so that is what led our plans! (The zoo is WAY more expensive here than it is in BR!)

We've never made it to the sea lion show and we finally had that first with Daddy! It was fun watching all of the tricks this sea lion could do! Here are JB and Daddy near the sleeping crock... SHHH. Be very quiet! No sudden movements!
A look at JB now and then - he slept through his first trip to the zoo with Daddy. We saw a spotted owl.
A resting Rhino, the kids were disappointed that the Elephants were not around. They were renovating their home.
Can you guess what HC and I are doing?? I will give you a hint - we are riding something...
It is this cool Camel - DUDE. Yep, we were told his name is Dude.
JB and Dad with the giraffes.
HC and Daddy 3 years ago at the zoo - giraffes must be our family animal! :) HC and I re-creating a pose we took when she was not even 2 years old. Here we are yesterday:

And here we are 3 years ago! Not an exact reproduction - but it seems to be a silly tradition we now have. I believe this was Daddy's last zoo trip with us too. Butterflies everywhere!!
HC asked if she could bring her baby stroller and Sydney along and we obliged. The only rule was she could not complain about having to push the stroller.
Ducks and ducklings resting in the shade!! It was such a beautiful day! The highs were in the upper 60's - perfect zoo weather.
HC and JB HAD to splash their feet in the water. We've been to the zoo on scorching hot days and have had to leave, due to tantrums/general meltdowns, before they've gotten their tootsie's wet. So they ran and played without getting soaked! Quite an accomplishment!
Turtle swimming!
As many times as we've been to this zoo, I never went past the food court to this other area. I never found the petting zoo - not that I'm complaining. But this part was fun to see! The kids loved posing with this ginormous tractor!!
JB didn't want to get down!
At some point HC could not bear to push Sydney another minute. I was proud of her, she made it the whole day - until the last 10 minutes without a bit of complaining. JB was glad to help her. He was pretending to be daddy for a little bit. He had fun crashing Sydney into many things.
Here is HC explaining to me that we should spend $100 by eating at the zoo rather than the $20 outside of the zoo (Of course my sarcasm is inserting the $ figures. HC just wanted to eat!). She was TOO tired to go any further and we needed to listen to her. She was quite convincing. :) But not enough!
We left and Daddy and I came up with a better idea!
Chuck E Cheese anyone?? We never do things like this. If we go to Chuck E Cheese, it is usually with a birthday party and Daddy is at work. The kids wanted pizza and we were passing Chuck's and we decided to make today the most super family fun day ever! I must say that when Daddy's along for the fun we collect WAY more tickets with our tokens! Another rare event was that Chuck E Cheese was there in person. Usually he is not seen walking around, so I took a shot of him with some random people I do not know.
Here is Daddy winning some tickets and having some fun too! :)
HC and JB didn't do too bad collecting tickets on this machine themselves.
All in all, I think our day was a blast! The kids traded their 100 tickets in for 2 fun dips and 2 tootsie roll suckers. I would say this was the best family fun day ever, and the first of many more to come I hope!

Coupon Suggestion

After speaking to my sweet friend Hope the other day, I realized I left out a great bit of advice on coupons. If you do buy multiple papers - layer your coupons so you are cutting each page of coupons once. So if you have two papers - layer two pages of each coupon on top of one another so you are not cutting coupons ALL THE LIVE LONG DAY! One week I bought 4 papers because the coupons were good and I cut coupons for hours! If you put all the page 1's together and all the page 2's, etc then you will only be cutting once on every coupon. I hope this makes sense! :) Happy cutting and even happier saving!

Riddle Me This!

At any random moment around my house you will hear "Hey MOM! Wook at dis! Come take a picture of my lines!" So proud of his work!


Last night, I came home after the kids were fast asleep and found this:


Anyone have insight as to what this could mean for JB's future in the job market?? It isn't clear to us! :) He cracks me up with his lines and piles though! He loves to do this ALL the time! We love you JB!

My Hubby Caught the Savings Fever

I wasn't interested in getting out of the house last night but I had a few coupons that expired and if we were going to use them... that meant I had to go. One specific coupon was $10 reward bucks from Walgreens. That one alone motivated Hubby to go for me. I gave him his list and I showed him what he was going to buy and I gave him his coupons. He went without much enthusiasm. He brought the products on our list to the register, and he also found a coupon stuck to the tapes. The lady scanned his products, he handed her his coupons and he said he almost busted out laughing when she told him what he owed. He was smiling from ear to ear in amazement as he looked for a dollar. He spent seventy cents.

NOW he has experienced the fun of savings! It is so exhilarating!!!! He's been bitten by the bug for himself now. He is still amazed at his accomplishment! :) YAY Hubby! See the receipt below: Saved $27.04 and spent 70 cents. His total, before tax, was negative 10 cents. haha

Faith Builder Friday

I have been looking for a more meaningful way to use my blog and I have found a couple of new ideas. My blog will not change. It will be the same, except I wanted to be more intentional about either worshipping or sharing nuggets of God moments on a regular basis.

I noticed the new CWO icon on someone's blog and decided to update mine and found some great ideas people have for sharing the things of God. I do not know which direction I am being drawn yet but here are two ideas that I've found that look pretty interesting: One is God Stop Fridays and the other is Psalm Friday. After I found both these ideas, I did have something jump out at me during my Bible time. I do not know which avenue suits me yet but I think I will figure that out over time.

Here is what God stirred in me this week:

Judges 2:10 - 3:31 - This passage mentions how after Joshua and his generation died - another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things HE had done for Israel.
WOW! I feel like in many ways that could describe America now. Many do not acknowledge the Lord nor do they remember the mighty things HE did for the UNITED States of America many many years ago. Today, they want God to be removed from so many avenues of our world. They think the God factor is optional. They think it is weak to love and serve a Saviour.

Judges 2:17 "...How quickly they turned away from the path of their ancestors, who had walked in obedience to the Lord's commands."

Judges 3:1-2 "The Lord left certain nations in the land to test those Israelites who had not participated in the wars of Canaan. He did this to teach warfare to generations of Israelites who had no experience in battle."

Verse 4 "These people were left to test the Israelites - to see whether they would obey the commands the Lord had given to their ancestors through Moses."

Verse 7 "The Israelites did what was evil in the Lord's sight."

verse 8-9 "...And the Israelites were subject to Cushan for eight years. But when Israel cried out to the LORD for help, the LORD raised up a man to rescue them."

Verse 11 - 12 "So there was peace in the land for forty years. Once again the Israelites did what was evil in the LORD's sight, so the LORD gave Moab control over Israel."

Verse 14-15 "And the Israelites were subject to Moab for 18 years. But when Israel cried out to the LORD for help, the LORD raised up a man to rescue them.:

Verse 30 "So Moab was conquered by Israel that day, and the land was at peace for 80 years."

WOW. Does that amaze you like it does me?? God cares so much about us that He wants to be sure we are strong enough for warfare. He doesn't want us to be limited in our walk. He lets us choose our own way and when we cry out - even if it is over and over - He rescues us AGAIN! He used one man to do the job of setting the people free - one willing vessel was all that was needed to start the freedom track!!!

Do you see the numbers?? They were oppressed for 8 years, free for 40, oppressed again for 18 and then freed for another 80 years. God gave them such grace. They were free longer than they suffered. He wants the best for us, we often reject ALL the goodness HE has set aside for us! Thankfully He is our Saviour, because I know there are times I find I have no more grace left to give when I feel pulled upon by someone repeatedly. I am so glad He doesn't refuse to give grace again and again and again!

That is what God showed me this week. Any thoughts?? I would love to hear from you too!

BO-BO Head

After HC's stitches were complete, they came home tired and drained from the 4 hour adventure. I took the picture of her and she said, in a meek voice, "Mom. Now everyone is going to call me BO-BO head or band aid head. I am not pretty anymore." We told her that wasn't the case but I was so surprised that she had that on her mind already. She is only 4.

I then asked her if any of her friends have said those things to friends when they had owies and she said no. We told her no one would call her that. We told her that her friends would be worried that she was OK. She seemed fine.

That evening Hubby took the kids on a few errands while I continued to recover and HC was frantic looking for a hat. She said "I don't want people to ask me about my head Mom. Dad, if someone asks me about my head, will you answer them? I just don't want to talk about it." Of course he agreed to handle it for her but we reminded her that God had really protected her from being hurt worse and that we are thankful she only has a tiny little cut.

Yesterday was a big day. We went to see friends at a play group. She was crying because everyone would see her and she wasn't pretty anymore. I talked her through it all and I explained that her friends may see it and worry about her but they wouldn't laugh at her. I told her not to worry, everyone would be looking at her beautiful bow and not her band aid. Then she began to cry. "If no one sees my band aid then how will they want to pray for me??" (Do female hormones begin at 4 anyone?) :) I told her they would see her band aid but her friends would not laugh at her.

On our way home from our play group HC says, enthusiastically, "MOM! My friends did NOT call me BO-BO head or band aid head! They didn't say anything at all!!! Can you believe it Mom?" I was glad all went well, but I had no doubt. We have some pretty great friends! I was more amazed at how conscious HC was of her injury and how she felt she wasn't beautiful anymore. I thought this thought process would begin much later in life. It is funny how this event triggered her to care about her appearance already.

The Family Pet

I mentioned how the kids got a pet for Easter this year, enter Goldie - the Betta fish. HC is determined Goldie is a she and so all mentions of Goldie require feminine references. Here is Goldie on the day we brought her home. Seems like great conditions. Very sunny spot of the house. Cheery even. What more could a fish want? Well, obviously more than that! Goldie gave us a little scare at first. She would not eat for days. She would take the food in her mouth and try to eat it but then spit it out. Steve and I did NOT want the kid's first pet to die within 2 days of purchase! Fish are not a big investment but.. to our kids she was a part of the family. I went online to see if there were any bits of advice on how we could restore Goldie to her fun loving self. (Of course, we aren't sure she was ever fun loving but - we could hope.)

My investigation led me to two tools. A mirror and a lamp. Goal of the project - to see a plethora of bubbles on top of the water. Bubbles = HAPPY Goldie! I added a lamp - Goldie clearly needs a spotlight. Then I found a mirror. Goldie is clearly vain - see the results!
A well lit fish with a mirror is a happy fish! She perked right up as if she was like 'FINALLY, you people get it!'
Goldie's appetite picked up and we've been happy ever since. Umm.. that is until I was sick and no one cared to feed her. She is still alive and kicking but.. it's been a while since we've seen bubbles like this.

A fish. They DO have personality! :)

A time to pray

Hello all! I am finally feeling my strength return from my stomach bug episode. I despise being sick and I am beyond thankful that my family is usually well.

There are two issues that are on my heart today. A co-worker of my husbands is going through a battle. Her husband had back surgery 3 weeks ago and since the surgery he has not been the same. He forgets common things like how to drive home. He seems as though he is not himself. The examples can be so misunderstood that I won't share anymore but it seems like her husband of many years has disappeared before her eyes.

I cannot imagine the weight of the world she must feel. I am sure not many can understand the levels of warfare she is facing. She is a woman of faith and I know she must war with the thought that this could be forever. She trusts that God is her deliverer but I know she must war with the how will this change?

I pray for Linda now. I pray for Benny now.
Abba Father,
We come to you right now and lift up Linda and Benny. They are in a war zone for Benny right now and we know you see the details that we cannot. I ask you to surround Linda right now with your supernatural comforter. I pray that you will continue to envelope her in the times that seem to be too much. I pray that you will give her discernment and show her the secrets of what is going on. Let her ask questions or answer the questions of the Doctors in such a way as to provoke them to see what is glaring everyone in the face.

We know that Jesus died on the cross and that by His stripes we are healed. We call Benny healed. We know that with You Abba healing is perfection. You can bring Benny's body into complete alignment with Your Word and that includes a fully restored mind! We call Benny healed in the mighty name of Jesus! Amen and Amen!

Another area that has really troubled me lately is the anger of the youth. Seeing the videos of those girls attacking one another on the news is crazy. In the past when I've seen such acts of violence I immediately felt a sort of fear for my kids. This time I know we are in warfare for the youth of this country. There is a rage among them. We need to call out to Father God for their souls. Hurting people hurt people.

Father God,
We come to you on behalf of the youth of America. We repent for their rage. We take responsibility for letting them down. We do as Daniel did and we repent for their sin. We ask you to deliver the youth of America from this rage and from the pain that follows when someone is attacked. We pray that you would draw these kids by your Holy Spirit to You! We pray that you would continue to reveal attempts to cause massive deaths among our schools. We pray that you protect our kids. The ones who are ours and the ones who are not. They are ALL ours! We claim their lives for Your Kingdom. We claim their hearts for Your purposes. We call them the head and not the tail. We say that the ripple affects of pain would end today! That the victim would not become the attacker. We claim that the cycle of anger and fear and isolation would end and that these experiences would be replaced with the very peace of God. We ask for the peace of God to rule and reign and we see Satan fall like lightning from heaven! We see this cycle end today! You are victorious and you cause us to be victorious! We thank you and praise you for ending this cycle of rage in America! In the mighty name of Jesus! Amen!

Our Family's First Stitches

10:50 AM - Hear the most awful scream ever from HC. She comes in screaming "I'm baleeding. I'm baleeding." I see blood pouring down her face and it looks as though it will never stop. Hubby sweeps her up and carries her to the bathroom while I get a wet washcloth and some ice. She is wailing and I am on the verge of losing my lunch from two days ago (because I am still not up to eating yet).

I tell HC that she needs to stop crying so her head will stop bleeding and as Steve removed the washcloth I see this DEEP gash the size of a dime (Steve says it was the size of sunflower seed). I about lost it. I rinsed the washcloth and realized it was best that I leave the room while Steve handled things.

We put a large bandaid on the injury and I dressed HC for her trip to Children's Hospital. Knowing that my strength hasn't fully returned and that the process of being seen at the Hospital can be time consuming, we quickly realized Steve would be taking HC on this journey. I called the doctor and Steve was on his way.

I feel awful that I am not with my baby on this traumatic event. I called about 5 minutes after they left to see how HC was feeling. She wanted to talk to me and asked "Mommy, why did Daddy bring me to the Hospital and not you? You always bring me to the Doctor." I told her I was still not well yet and she said "OH, you didn't want to make all these kids sick did you Mom? That's a great idea Mom. Bye!" She handed the phone to Hubby and their waiting began.

HC is such a trooper. Steve told me HC was giggling and asking questions. She was so brave. She always amazes me in situations like this. She is so easy to reason with. Once she understands what to expect and what is going on she is fine.

I felt so bad that I could not handle the gore of the situation better than I did! I know I am NOT good in the gushing blood scenarios. I try to compose myself but that is my baby bleeding everywhere! I can't stand the sight of it! Thankfully Hubby can manage to overcome it, although it kills him too! He just handles it better!

I remember about 2 years ago we had our first bleeding injury with JB. He finished eating lunch and ran through the living room and hit the recliner in a very padded spot but must have hit his head just right because it cut his forehead. He didn't require stitches but it still was a crazy moment - and Daddy took him to the Doctor too! My baby was scarred! Now you can't even tell, unless you really look carefully at his head but... I guess it was bound to happen.
Now my sweet girl has been marked with a cut on her forehead! She was so brave and so precious. I know of all places for her to have injured herself, near the hairline is about the best place you could choose. So, now we've had yet another day of excitement and adrenalin. I am ready for things to settle down again.

The injury was made by HC jumping off of the chair in her room onto the diaper change mat. We gave her the diaper change mat for her to play with her babies and she was using it as a jumping mat. She hit her head on the toy chest instead and she was quick to confess her mistake. Even though the chest has rounded corners it really did some damage! I am so glad it was rounded - I cannot even imagine if it had been pointed! ICK!

When the doctor asked her "Did your Mommy and Daddy tell you not to jump off of chairs?" My precious girl says "No, not before I jumped." OH, OK. I see. We didn't tell her the millisecond BEFORE she jumped but the other 1000 times didn't count! :) They know how to make you proud don't they? :) So HC wins the prize for having stitches first! I thought JB would have won that prize but thankfully he has not! I pray this will be the last of gashes and gushing in our house for quite a while!
Finally at 3:25 PM - Daddy and HC arrived home, with 6 stitches in tow. I still cannot bear to look at the stitches. I still see the gushing wound when I look at it, and the creepy stitches are hard to look at. So Daddy is on cleaning and neosporin duty! Sorry that I cannot be a big girl Mommy on this one HC! I am usually good at handling Mommy duty but this one is too much for me. JB was so worried about HC. He asked her "HC does your hurt feel better?" I love that they care about one another so much!

All is Well

Today is a new day! I have a new perspective. Yesterday was a minor nightmare and I felt like everything was sooo difficult. It is easy to forget the impact a week of illness can have on us Moms, by Friday I was done!

Last Friday afternoon HC woke, from her nap, with a stomach bug but by that evening she was fine. Then Tuesday morning JB had his episode and that was followed by Hubby having his on Wednesday. Even though HC and JB had their major symptoms on the day of the bug - the days that followed were filled with whining, complaining, and wanting my attention. It was draining.

On Wednesday I felt like I may be on the stomach bug to-do list but I kept saying "I can't be sick - we have family photos on Friday and we can't miss them." We had already paid our deposit and would not get our money back. At the very least we could have made the picture day a Mommy/Daddy picture day. So, I held it together.

By Friday morning I was exhausted from the weeks events. The morning was full of one thing after another going down hill. The little things were wearing me down. Friday afternoon I began feeling the symptoms of the stomach bug and by that evening it was evident that it was now my turn to be sick. I know this isn't the most interesting topic for posting but this is more of a journaling post than entertaining. This was our first illness we've passed to everyone in our home. Thankfully it is a 24 hour bug, but I think JB and I take a little more time to recover than Steve and HC. They seem to bounce back a lot sooner than we do! Anyway, I think it is good to have a little bug every 10 years or so. It helps us remember the affects these bugs can have on us and to realize the recovery can last longer than it appears on the surface. Even when we appear to have recovered, there can still be little rumblings going on.

Thankfully, Steve was home Friday night by the time I was waning and JB was finally back to full strength. So, once I feel 100% again we are all done with the ickies! Another good thing is that, since I was the last one to be sick, everyone else knew to give me space. In the past, when I've had a headache or something the kids just did not get the fact that I needed to be alone. All that to say, I realize today that yesterday wasn't nearly as devastating as it seemed to be. I was just falling apart a teeny bit! :)

Family Pictures Day

As you can see, I've updated my header. Hubby's friend gave me the Photo Shop software a few months ago. My header is the first photo I've worked on. I really am clueless about the program and I can't wait to learn many more tricks! Thanks Eric!! :) Here is the picture I edited as my header. I was so tired of my blog description falling in the weirdest places and now "I've got the power!!!" to put it where I like! I would like to say that my head was tilted trying to see past HC's bow... but all the pics of me (that we took ourselves) my head is tilted. I PRAY my head is normal in the pictures that matter! HoHum!
Hubby always takes a great picture. He smiles the same in every picture.
Exploring the Gardens.
JB wasn't feeling well but he sure was a trooper! He smiled and cooperated as best he could. He has the best attitude!
HC! She was having fun being with the family. Anytime Daddy tags along on events she is beyond thrilled!!

Today was one of those days I was praying would get here and all would be well. Our photographer would not reschedule our photo session because we were going as a part of our Home School group. Tuesday morning JB awoke vomiting. He hasn't been the same since. He is fine now - just regaining his strength. I was upset, for a little while, that she was not more considerate but then I just decided to not go there! I let it go!

This morning was hectic, to say the least. Seeing my head leaning to the side, as if I had some sort of string pulling me to my right just makes it more disappointing. Hubby had the perfect shirt to compliment HC's dress but that ended up becoming a no go! I tried to not let that get to me but I was really excited to see the way they would photograph together! Oh well. This morning both of the kids were grumpy bugs. HC was devastated that she didn't match us all. She wanted to wear white too. JB was just not up for getting out and I just wanted to go on vacation far away from everyone! :)

Now, it is all done. The pictures have been taken and I will see our results in a month or so! I have a feeling the pictures will be less than I hoped they would be. There is nothing worse than your kids not being themselves when you want to take pictures. I hate when they are sick! I am thankful 1000 times that they are well 360 days out of the year. I suppose I had high expectations and it is one day. We have many chances to take a family picture. I am sure all will be well and I am still recovering from my disappointments but... today I don't feel so optimistic! :) I will be better tomorrow. After this past week of needy kids - I am mentally and physically exhausted! I look forward to HC and JB being back to their normal fun loving selves. They've both been sick while Hubby finished a busy week at work. This was followed by hubby being sick and me praying I wouldn't catch it too! I will gladly pass on the whiny, complaining, irritable ones I've had in my house this week! :) But I love them both to pieces anyway!

A walk down memory lane...

Thanks to my sweet friend Annie, I have been tagged. I will answer some questions about myself and hopefully you will enjoy getting to know me a little better! Then, I tag 5 people to do the same! Here goes......

What was I doing 10 years ago......
I was four months away from celebrating my first year of marriage. Hubby and I were adjusting to married life. Decorating our home, planting flowers in the flower beds, planting Bradford Pear Trees and Magnolia trees. Dreaming of what our future would hold. Thinking of what it would be like to take on the next role of parenting. Life was so full of possibility! Painting any and every room in our house. Steve and I are both, thank God, the kind of people who like a project finished. We spent many nights finishing rooms we began painting earlier in the day. We ate dinner around 9 pm, rather than the new 5-6 pm we do now. Life was truly different than it is today!

5 Things on my to-do list today......
1.Select our clothes for family pictures tomorrow.
2.Feed the kiddo's!
3.Laundry - I've never done so much laundry ever ever ever! 10 years ago I could do all of our laundry in one 3 hour period per week. Today - another load appears before the clothes are out of the dryer.
4.Buy Pepperoni for a small group meeting tonight. Yes, pepperoni - we are making pizza! :)
5.Praying I will overcome the temptation to speak any idle words today. I want my words to be life giving and not random words just for the sake of speaking! (this is a daily prayer!!)

5 Snacks I enjoy......
1.Blue Bell ice cream....although this isn't my #1 vice it is the best ice cream ever!!!
2.Chips and Salsa, Chips and Salsa, and Chips and Salsa - homemade salsa my hubby makes! The best! I could eat this all day long!
3.Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Icing!
4.Strawberries!!!!
5.Cheddar Chex Mix - it is not a super fave but it is what I can think of at the moment.

5 Things I would do if I were a billionaire.....
1.Tithe and give to ministries.
2.Buy the home we've dreamt of - not talking super lavish but the one that suits our needs.
3.Follow God's nudge as to who to bless and how!
4.Save and Invest.
5.Have fun living life and following God's nudge of His plan for the $!

5 Bad habits.......
1.Doubting myself.
2. Due to lack of organized space (yes I am blaming space and not me) - I have piles. I know exactly where everything is but this drives my hubby CaRAZY!!!!!
3.It takes me at least a year to read through any book, unless it is a current study with a group. I start book A then hear about how great book B is and while I haven't finished A, I get mid-way through B and have the nerve to start book C. This goes on for sometime and then I won't allow myself to read anything else until I finish them all.
4.I want to be spoiled by hubby but I don't always want to return the favor. I think I have occasional princess-itis. I think this is a bad habit I only display with hubby but I still like to feel like a princess from time to time.
5.I want to create the perfect connections and the perfect environment for my kids - sometimes I take this on as my sole job and forget that God has a much bigger and much better plan than I could ever imagine. I forget to consider that He IS in control and I can rest in that and before I know it I find myself busy striving with this area. This is a big issue I role in and out of on a regular basis. I pray I will let God have full control and take my hands off before I really get in the way!

5 Places I've lived...... I will list states randomly.
1.Ohio
2.Tennessee
3.Kentucky
4.Alabama
5. Louisiana

5 Jobs I've had......
1.Retail! What adult hasn't at some point?!
2.Marketing Director
3.Accounts Payable
4.Babysitter - although as a Mom, I am shocked that people trusted me considering the things I now KNOW I didn't know then!! :)
5. Mommy and Helpmate to Hubby (CEO of our household)

TAG!Now YOU are it......
1.Shirley of Alabama Times
2.Stephanie of The Drew Family
3.Ole Miss Mom of Ole Miss :) - I had to repeat the obvious, there is a theme here!
4.Mary of Not Before 7
5.Happi of Berger Buzz

Ladies, now it is your turn to share and pass on the fun to others. I know how busy life can be so play along if you can but if you cannot - no worries!

One Year Blog-oversary!!

One year ago today I stepped into blog-land with my first post. It all began when I was feeling homesick for friends and family. I visited my former Pastor's blog, my brother's blog and several of my former co-workers blogs at HPC. Reading about their lives and seeing someone familiar, even if via a blog, refreshed me. Through my peeking into their worlds I came across my friend Aimee's blog. Aimee was the first female I knew in blog-land, the other HPC blogs were all guys. I felt the need to reach out to another stay at home Mom in the world.

The process of reading blogs of friends took a week or two until I found Aimee's blog. When I found her blog I wanted to comment but she did not allow anonymous comments at the time. I created a blogger identity and was NOT sure if I had created a blog or not. I found out how to create a blog and then I DID create a blog.

What? I had a blog? What in the WORLD would I talk about? Would anyone read this? Would I keep up with this? Do I have ANYTHING to say? This map represents 24,074 visits to my blog in one year alone! Not to mention all the different countries where people decided to come visit more than once! My map is about to reset to zero and start again. I am amazed at the number of people I've never heard from who make my blog a regular stop. My blog has been seen in countries I've never seen myself! So funny to me (and hard to wrap my brain around - that so many countries are represented as repeat readers. That is hard to believe)

One year later and 367 posts later (one being removed due to unwanted traffic) I guess I had some things to say! :) I've shared parenting tips, our homeschool journey, and things that stirred my faith. I've been encouraged by the many friends I've made along the way, as well as my local friends who now have blogs of their own. Such an unexpected avenue of contact.

As a stay at home Mom it is easy to find yourself feeling isolated. Once my husband and I felt drawn to the Home School world this Blog became way more meaningful than I ever expected! Touching base with other Moms like me has kept me going on bad days! So today I thank you all for coming into my life. I thank you for sharing life with me. I know there have been days, if not weeks, where your comment alone made me feel a connection to another human being in this world. Knowing I wasn't alone in the potty training woes (which by the way I forgot to update you all on. we've been diaper free since before Christmas - completely diaper free for all members of this household!!!)

I want to personally thank Aimee for being in blog land! Without her being there, I don't know if I would have jumped on board. And it is clear this venue has fed me in more ways than I could have known!

All of you ladies have brought fellow bloggers and words of life to me through your blogs and your friendship! I value all of you dearly, every comment, every friendship - no matter if in the early stage or what - it is valued here. Thank you all for making blog-land fun!

Friends and Mocha

Last night was a much needed refreshment for me! I was able to gather with some great ladies and be refreshed. To be in the company of so many who've gone before me as well as those in the same stage as me! It was great! I needed that fix!

Our day was a full one. I counted down the day in phases to keep me going. As each phase passed, I was keeping phase 3 in my mind. Phase 1 done. Phase 2 done. Time for Phase 3 YIPPEE!! We gathered together over coffee. Sounds normal enough except I am no coffee drinker. I was one who drank Cokes in the morning as my kick start of the morning (and yes - I do mean Coca Cola specifically Momma Roar. No icky Pepsi!) and now I am a morning Tea drinker. On many girl's nights out, when all around me are enjoying the buzz of coffee or Mocha grande lattie da, I consume hot chocolate. Not very exciting. I know! But - coffee is so strong to me.

I was fine with my ailment - my dislike for coffee - until last night when everyone was having special lattie da's being served by the barista (aka hubby to one of my friends). I went into my schpeel (sp?) of my lame need for hot chocolate and he whipped up a Mocha something or other for me. I tasted it and although the coffee taste WAS there - I liked it. The mocha-ness covered up the coffee-ness. So, we felt it necessary to photograph me with my first Mocha coffee concoction. The day was long and the day was coming to a close and I was in need of the caffeine kick. Excuse the fatigued look! :) Anywho, so I partook and it was good! I then asked "what do I ask for when I order this?" I had no idea if I took cream or sugar or what. I was told "you don't! you will not find anyone who will take the time to make what you need." I guess I am still on the low side of the coffee portion which most consumers crave. It would be like asking for a cup of chocolate mocha-ness with a touch of coffee. So although I am still not drinking the hard stuff, I am a big girl now. I can say I've had a Mocha. Something I've never been able to say until today!

Words of Wisdom

Several weeks ago I began reading the book "My ABC Bible Verses" by Susan Hunt to HC. We do it first thing on our school days. The very first verse discussed is "A soft answer turns away wrath." Proverbs 15:1. HC has been great in remembering the verses and the stories really do help her understand the meaning better.

The other day we were going somewhere that HC was not sure about. She was concerned that someone would be mean to her. I told her I thought everything would be OK and I began to talk more when HC said "I know Mom. I know! If so and so is mean to me then I will give them a soft answer. Right Mom? It turns away wrath right?" I love it when she gets it! :)

A few days ago we were at a play date with a friend HC hasn't seen in awhile (this IS a different story) and the little girl came running to her Mom saying "HC took my treasure. HC took my treasure Mom. SEE." When the little one opened her hand she revealed gravel rocks. Her mom (without missing a beat) said to her darling, in the most gentle tone ever, "B you really shouldn't treasure rocks. It is just a rock." Her daughter dumped the rocks and said "OK". I was shocked! What a BRILLIANT answer. How many times have I said, in a similar situation, "HC, why don't you share your 'treasure' with your friend?" I totally missed the bigger picture! That is why I LOVE interacting with Mom's and their kiddo's. Another persons perspective can be so eye opening! I will be remembering this answer, I hope!

Big Savings is Contagious

Friday evening I checked for comments on my blog and found the following comment:

"Anonymous said...
Dear MorningSong,Thank you! Thank you!! Thank you!!! I used your grocery shopping tips, planned, prepared, prayed, and took a deep breath and ventured to Walgreens today. My daughters went with me and we had so much fun! I'm not on your level yet, but I hope to be one of these days. I just had to share what God did for me today. Armed with my coupons and flyers, I filled a cart full of things that I needed. I spent $ 51.37 and saved $27.71 and they gave me a coupon for $3 to use the next time. I was praising Jesus all the way to the car. The elderly couple seemed a bit impatient with all of my purchases and coupons but seemed surprised by the savings too. With a little confidence and cheers from my husband and our daughters, we ventured to Albertsons. I spent $63.27 and saved $30.80 and they gave me more coupons! Incredible! I may never meet you this side of glory but I just wanted to thank you for your generosity in sharing the gifts and knowledge God has blessed you with. I'm worn out so I'm going to tackle HEB tomorrow.

Joyfully,
Kristi

P.S. I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around the easy saver catalog at Walgreens. Do you always buy the free items even if you don't need them?"

WOOHOO!!!!!!!! YAY Kristi! I know the feeling of wanting to save but not sure if it would work. Is it worth the effort?! What if I can't use the coupon or what if I forget something!? I am so glad to hear your story! It is so exciting to hear how you are applying this life giving skill!

I felt this comment may encourage some of you too, so I decided to share her savings with you! I hope you will begin to save on your purchases and when you do - let us celebrate with you! It is amazing. The more you pay attention to what you are buying and have your coupons handy... things begin to make more sense... and savings begins to happen! I have found that the Holy Spirit never fails! When I put my hand to something and give it my all - He ALWAYS fills in the blanks. If you do not fully understand all of this but you want to - just try it. Put your hand to it and let the Holy Spirit make sense of what is unclear!

My response to Kristi's question -"Do you always buy the free items even if you don't need them?" My answer is yes and no. I do buy things like lotion, deodorant, cleaners, toothpaste, etc if it is free after rebate. It may be a different brand than I am accustomed to using but at the price of free I can try another brand. I do not purchase things I have no real use for. Such as this month they are offering a Men's Hair color for free after rebate. My hubby does have a few brushes of grey in his temple area - but I like it so... we are not buying this product.

We also buy things on the rebate list if we will not use them but we could give them as a gift. (You can not get away with 'giving' hair color as a gift.) So if there were baby products or something else unique like that for free - I could give the baby product at the next baby shower I attend. Think in terms of how you can bless someone else with what you do not use. That is the ultimate goal after we get our savings in order. Prepare your gift giving stash. Once the pantry is stocked, the cleaners/bathroom items/freezer/fridge are all stocked with more than enough - then you can build your gift giving items.

This is so fun! I love hearing from you! There are several others of you who are preparing for your next trip to the grocery store! I hope you will keep these stories coming! How fun is it to encourage one another!?! I love this!

Savings Correction

I need to correct this post. I made a savings mistake. I used my 50 cent off coupons on the Lysol wipes that were BOGO and I also used the $1 off coupon that was on the product. I asked my shopping mentor about that incident. I didn't understand why I was able to use 2 manufacture coupons on one item. It is okay to use the two 50 cent off coupons OR the $1 off coupon for buying 2 products but the computer should not have let me use both.

Since this is a mistake I shared with you as a win - I needed to let you know it was a mistake. I wondered if I could use the 2 coupons or not and when it did I didn't know why it worked. I found out that it was a computer glitch. The goal of savings is to maintain your integrity and NOT to try to take advantage. So please make note of the error I shared and do not take my example on that one incident.

I do not have any savings stories to share this week. I am currently awaiting the arrival of my Walgreens giftcard. I do not want to overspend my budget to save on things I can really wait to purchase later. Saving money can easily become addictive and so I have remained out of the stores this week - in an effort to not go savings crazy. I have my list and my coupons ready in hopes that my gift card will arrive soon.

PICTURES!!!!!!

What a moment! My brother's SIL took this shot! What a true moment! My baby brother is a Daddy now! :) "Hello there Mom! Sorry I made you wait, but.... somethings are just beyond my control!"
"Ah, being born takes a lot of work!"
Their first family picture! Love it!
To my brother and SIL I say welcome to parenthood and to BMG - welcome to the world! We cannot wait to meet you!