Sunday, January 31, 2010

La Tee Da Tea with Reece

Reecey got a tea set for Christmas.  She loves having parties with me and her baby dolls.  Here's our "brunch" from the other day complete with a fruit bowl, donuts, brownies, and cookies. 

Her date with "Ferdinand"...he may look younger but this babe was born in 1985 (see last picture)

My future's so bright...I gotta wear shades...

The last couple of mornings, Brody has woke up with his arm out like this...It would have happened only during a 3 hour period between 5am and 8am. 
The first day I met Mr Ferdinand Sheldon in 1985

Saturday, January 30, 2010

New Baby

Announcing....our new baby...okay, suckas...it's just couponing.  But I do have to brag on her.  She's awesome and I just have to show you what she did for me this weekend.  Everything pictured below cost me under $18!!! 
The wipes alone would have cost $25!  Walgreens had a deal that when you bought $25 of certain products that you got $5 back.  So 10 packages of wipes equaled $25.  But then, Walgreens had a coupon for $1 off Huggies wipes.  Here's the kicker...the coupon said "limit 2" but what I have recently discovered at Walgreens is that those limits don't matter.  It takes the amount off of how many you buy...resulting in $10 off.  So that results in the wipes being at $15 but then I got $5 back.  $1 a pack!!  I only paid for one of the creamers in this picture.  No, I did not steal the other 3.  They were buy one get one free and I had 2 coupons - one for 1.5 off and one for 1.00 off.  The Pert I got for .50 due to a 1.50 and 1.00 coupon and 2 register rewards back.  I could go on and on about all her tricks you see here, but I know it's just boastful...
You've got to start "trying" if you're not...don't you want results as good as these?  Get in the coupon gene pool!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

A Purposeful Life

I've often read or heard that when you see or hear things repeatedly for an uncomfortable length of time, that it means that God is wanting you to move in this area. I feel for the past year, God has been telling me to do something with the talents/skills that he has graciously given me. So for the past year, I have been trying to sort out what that all means. What skills did God exactly give me and how does he want me to use them? It is amazing to see how God strategically places you...in situations...in jobs...with certain people in your life...all to be used to reveal something to you...to learn...to share...to glorify Him. My passion for as long as I can remember has been communciation...I love to write, public speak, even sing...not that I am any good at any of them (especially the latter), but I feel God leading me in the direction of all these things. About 10 months ago, I gave my testimony at the MOMS group (Moms Offering Moms Support) at our church. As a result, I spoke again in November and will be speaking again on March 6th at the "Beauty from the Inside Out" conference. I am thrilled to have this opportunity. It is very humbling to think that God is choosing me to speak and glorify Him based on experiences He has given me in my own life...some pretty tough ones I might add.

So where I am going with this is....THE BLOG. It's all fine and dandy that I have been posting updates and pictures of the kids the past couple of years (which I will continue doing), but I also feel this is an avenue where I can minister to others...especially all you amazing women in my life which is where my passion lies - encouraging women with hope...with hope that when you see and hear some of the things I have done in my life - some really dumb things along with some surprisingly decent things (there might be a few of these in there)...that maybe you can learn from my mistakes or at least laugh at me. Let's face it...women struggle with lots of the same things and we can really learn alot from each other. So, I'm committed to sharing my struggles in hopes that it brings God glory through what He teaches me each day.

It's amazing to me how I can struggle with something, pray over it, then open my bible or devotion and read on the same very topic! That is how God speaks! For example, I continue to struggle with patience and gentleness with my children. It is so hard when they are so young...you can't reason with them...you say "no" 50 times a day until you cave or lose it. I pray every day for this - patience, strength, gentleness, kindness. But sometimes I just lose it...and I think..."how did I get to that point?". I am sad to see myself act this way and I certainly don't want my children to model me in that behavior. I need God's help to change me. Nothing else has worked!! So I prayed over it this morning thinking it was impossible for me to change this behavior that has been engraved in me since I was just a child myself. Then I opened my devotion to read this "Nothing is impossible for God" along with this verse "that you will be strengthened with his glorious power so that you will have all the patience and endurance you need" ~Col 1:11. I thank God for his reassurance!

So what next? I am not sure if I will change the name of my blog to encompass my family and this new adventure, but I am up for suggestions. Please leave me comments - good, bad, or ugly. I also don't know how often I will write. But I do know that as I wake up each day, I put my hands out and say "Lord, please lead me today...wherever you want me to go, I'll follow you". I know that for some of you reading this, it might be confusing to you...I haven't always lived my life like this. In fact, I have lived a double life at times...doing half the time what the world wants me to do (more like 3/4 of the time) and the other part of the time, showing up at church and church activities. But, I am putting it out there in hopes that you will hold me accountable but not judge me. I am a sinner...I sin every day...as hard as I try not to, it just happens...I really don't want it to be an excuse, but it's in my make-up. Each day gets easier as I walk with the Lord and He reveals himself through an intimate, personal relationship with Him...not just a public one by going to church. I have discovered that God wants a personal relationship with each one of us just as his Son did. It's not just for those who are called into ministry...it's not just for "some" of us moms who manage to get out of bed early enough to do their quiet time before the real day starts...it's for all of us. God will never ask something of one person that is not also asked and ultimatley best for everyone. Having the personal relationship with Him spreads to your soul and you start to act more like Him. What a role model He is!! It is really freeing to me to know that "Jesus is the essence of spirtitual, mental and emotional health" (Beth Moore)...more of Him means I am healthier and happier in all those ways and more like Him...it's that easy...Jesus is my "drug" of choice! That's not to say that life won't be hard with Jesus in it...but it certainly will be easier with Him than without Him. I'll leave you with one final thought and quote. It's by Beth Moore from her Bible study "Esther - It's tough being a woman". She says "None of our purposes will be fulfilled easily. All of them will require the most difficult decisions we think we can make. Decisions that we may feel will practically kill us (aka Lindsay deciding to put this on the blog:)). She goes onto say "At some of the hardest times in my life, I have been able to make the more difficult choice out of pure blind-eyed, bent-kneed acceptance that it was somehow part of a great plan. I was beaten by a conviction that throbbed relentlessly against my strong self-centeredness. As much as my flesh wanted relief, I know that when all was said and done, I'd sit on that side of glory having much rather fulfilled my calling than served myself all the way to meaningless. I had to accept that I was not called to an easy life...I was called to a purposeful life".
And now I sit and sweat as I get ready to push the "publish post" button (aka purposeful life) or the "cancel" button (meaningless life). Which will you choose?

***not responsible for typos or other grammatical errors, laughter, tears, or any other emotions brought on by this post or posts there after. You may choose to not read this blog if you have any of the following conditions: pride, sin, a weak stomach, pregnancy, unteachable spirit, watery eyes, or a convicted heart.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Starbucks Rewards Program

I thought I would pass along this deal Starbucks has going on since I have a lot of friends that find theirselves driving through the drive through on their way to work. I personally have not taken part in this because I can only afford it like every 6 months! Read all about the program that results in free drinks by clicking here. (not sure why but this link is not working...go to www.hip2save.com and find her 1/20 posts)

I shared a funny couponing story with a friend and she encouraged me to put it on the blog. So if you're bored and want to read something that is half way amusing, here goes...so I told you about the Neosporin lip balm I got in which Walgreen's paid me $1. I should have shared the conversation that took place between I and the Walgreen's cashier. I put my 2/$8 Neosporin lip balms on the counter and gave him my 2 - $3 off coupons. The deal was, you buy the 2 and you get $3 back on Register Rewards (aka - cash back on your next purchase). As you can see, this would result in me getting a dollar back. The cashier says - "I am not sure the computer will take both of these coupons". I say "Sure, it will...why wouldn't it?"...He says, "Because that means I will owe you a dollar" and I say "Well, yeah, I know..." DUH! He scans it and works and he is surprised and I grin walking out with my 2 free lip balms and $3 RR in my hand!! :)

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Couponing

Some of you may have heard that my new found love and challenge in my life is couponing. Some of you have been asking questions about where I get the info on good deals, where I shop, etc. I cannot take credit for my knowledge in this area. In November, I took a class through a lady in town. You can find her info on www.retirewithcoupons.com. It is well worth the money to learn all the tricks, store policies, etc. I also use several websites that do all the coupon match ups for me...so I really don't do much of the work on my own. For me personally, I want the deals that are the best deals - which to me are free or cost next to nothing. If buying something with a coupon is not cheaper than Aldi, I won't buy it (unless Aldi doesn't carry it or I don't like Aldi's version). Some items I got last week are: 4 FREE cans of Oust air freshner, .25 cent toothpaste (Colgate), .69 cent Juicy Juice, $1.49 hair color, and the best one is Walgreens paid me a $1 by purchasing Neosporin lip balm. So, it is really worth it. Some sites I review daily are www.hip2save.com and www.agentcoupon.com. I also like www.attentiontargetshoppers.com. There are many many sites out there. The sites I use are the ones I feel have prices and stores that closely match ours. If you have any questions, feel free to ask, but I didn't want to recreate the wheel that some "pros" out there have already created. Many people out there have created some great sources/sites for this info.

One deal I did find this week that I haven't seen on any sites is on hair color at CVS. This is something I use to never do on my own until I saw how easy and cheaper it is to do at home! Of course I didn't start coloring my hair until about 6 months ago when I discovered many gray hairs!! YIKES! Okay...so hair color at CVS. They have Natural Instincts hair color on sale for 5.99...by purchasing it, you get $2.00 off your next purchase (which can be done same day - just separate transactions)...so we're down to 3.99. Then the Sunday paper has a $2.00 off coupon for the same brand bringing it down to $1.99!!!

Happy shopping!!

My Rising Stars

I often try to update you on things we are doing...well, more specifically what the kids are into. I don't go back and read previous posts so I know sometimes I may duplicate things I have already said. That's just a disclaimer to what I will write next.

Reece...Reece is into all sorts of things...her favorite shows are Yo Gabba Gabba and Dora (just this week). Her favorite movie right now is Wizard of Oz (or Busy Boz is the way we understand it)...it took us awhile to figure out what she was saying. We have decided on waiting til she is 4 to put her into a formal preschool, so her and I have been working on things at home to hopefully get her ahead of the game. Each week (sometimes more often) we work on 2 letters of the alphabet. I do not do these in order in hopes that she will recognize them in any order. Letters she knows so far are: G, O, R, B, K, H, I, and M. When she sees the letters she associates them with words we use to describe the letters. So for example when she sees the letter R she says "that's me"...meaning that's the letter that starts her name. She sees K and she says "that's kite" or "Kennedy"...she sees B and immediatley says "that's Brody" and my most favorite is when she sees I...it's "that icky". For each letter, I try to think of a person, animal, color, and shape that starts with the letter. She can say the alphabet but can't pick them all out when she sees them yet. We have 3 sets of flash cards that we use so that she can see them differently. She loves combing my hair and putting lotion on me...and well, I'm not going to argue! Oh, and PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE - we have no more pacis!!! It's been a week and a half and she is doing great. The paci hasn't been able to leave her room for about 8 months and I was okay with that until her mouth always had a nasty rash around it. So we just did it cold turkey and told her we were giving her paci to the "Paci Princess" to give to all the new babies that come into the world. Since she is facinated with new babies, this was okay with her! She also loves her new Sunday school class (which mommy teaches once a month) and learning about all God had done for us! Each night we read a devotional bed time story as well.

Brody is talking more and more. He says things like "what's that" and points and "all aboard" (they both love trains). He is getting into everything...like garbages, pots and pans, etc. He is now tall and strong enough to climb on the couch. So we have learned the hard way to not leave a drink on the end table. Lukily I drink mainly water, but my couch and floor have had their fair share of crystal lite and soda.


I took the kids to Rising Stars Academy for an open "gym" type thing they have occasionally. It was an hour of free reign. Reece LOVED it, Brody HATED it. I can't wait to enroll her in gymnastics hopefully this fall.

She's a dare devil



In the foam pit



Boing, boing, boing...



This was at the end and the only thing Brody would go near...of course - a ball! He's such a boy!


Everything's better in two's

Reecey and her littlest cousin, Gracie.


Saturday mornings...awwwww...melt....



Wednesday, January 13, 2010

A Reecey Taco

My husband says he's not creative enough to have fun with the kids...I think he totally under estimates himself. The kids love the silly things he makes up...Here's the Reecey taco...






And when he's all done, she says "I wanna be a taco again, dad!"


I know I put a pic of Brody up wearing the tiara before, but this I found totally hilarious considering the shirt he was wearing today...


Sacked out...

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Winter Boredom Fun

Made home made brownies thanks to Hershey's...she loves to lick the spoon!



Fun with tents...gotta love tent head

I think B copies off his sister too much. But, hey, bribery a few years down the road, right?



He made up for it later when he decided to use his tools instead.





Friday, January 1, 2010

Christmas

Brody didn't know what to think about opening presents this year. He was only like 10 weeks last year at Christmas.


The Big Santa gift - Geo Trax Train set

Brody loves his green tractors!

All the cousins - Reece, Kennedy, Bo, Tate, Gracie, Brody. Not the best picture but what do you expect? There are 6 of them!

Some fun random times

Here's my little snow angel before church last Sunday. She loves to dress up and I love that she lets me do this kind of stuff to her!



Dress up clothes that she got for Christmas.


Brody fell asleep on the floor right before nap. He's never done that before...he must have been pretty tired.

Rub-a-dub-dub...Reece and Brody in the tub. She loves helping me wash Brody's hair. It actually helps me out too!
He doesn't mind it so much either.