Healing

"Healing" by Mark Mabry, Reflections of Christ

And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.

And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man,

or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath

this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. ~ John 9:1-3

We each have infirmities or trials, some life long some short in passing.
Do we look at these infirmities of body or mind as an opportunity to let God manifest himself in us, in our actions, through our faith?

Definitely a new angle to me on "enduring to the end." Not just suffering through it, or praying for healing or blessings, but to pray to have our Father manifest in me as long as I should endure my infirmity or trial.

Coupon Strikes Again

I can't believe I'm actually doing this. For two years I've resisted the urge to blog about my grocery store/couponing trips.

But today I had to do it.

Grocery prices have been going up (here is the USDA average costs of food at home), I wish I could be specific, but I know our usual foods have been costing more than our usual budget. Darn! So, time to build up the food storage again so I can spend the cash on fresh fruits, veggies, meat, eggs, etc.

What you see:

• 
  
  4 things of olive oil


• 
  
  14 yoplait yogurts


• 
  
  2 Almond Milk (total 1 gallon)


• 
  
  2 McCormick Pepper


• 
  
  Lemon abstract


• 
  
  Almond abstract


• 
  
  Montreal Steak Seasoning


• 
  
  Cinnamon


• 
  
  2 boxes of raspberries


• 
  
  2 80ft Reynolds wrap


• 
  
  In Style Magazine (splurge)


• 
  
  6 Gerber baby food packs

What you don't see:

• 
  
  28 boxes of cereal


• 
  
  (5) 3.99 off your next purchase of milk (which I can use on any type of milk)

Dollars and Cents:

$45 out of pocket (after coupons and sales, including taxes)

-$20 in milk coupons

________________

$25 for all this stuff including 28 boxes of cereal

My comments:

• 
  
  Where do I get coupons: I get 7 Sunday papers a week. Plus online printables.


• 
  
  Where do I find my deals: I use Fabulessly Frugal website. I love them, they are local to me and free. They give me all the info.


• 
  
  How much time did this take: A lot! 2 hours prepping (figuring out what I wanted to buy, clipping coupons, organizing) and 1.5 hours in the store. And yes, Jacob did watch 2 hours of cartoons during my prep. I need to fix that...plan better so I can do it while he sleeps or is with John.


• 
  
  I only buy things I use. I make sure to take notice of expiration dates. Today I broke my rule. I bought cereal I WILL NOT eat. I will give it away, but they were free and I got milk a great price. So extra work there. I don't do that often, but I have some big milk drinking going on at my house....none of which I drink. Go figure!


• 
  
  I DO NOT spend time wandering down isles looking for good deals. Inevitably I'm watching the clock because my kids are at their grandma's house or it is 10pm and I'm TIRED. I let other people find the deals. One day, when I can super extreme couponer, maybe I'll find the deals.


• 
  
  Couponing has a learning curve. The deals wont be this great (or better...some people do so much better) until you've had a little practice. But you'll still be saving on what you normally buy, so I think it is worth the practice.

I know this seems like a lot of time and effort. But since I have the time, my husband is working so hard to provide for us, and I would like to be a provident provider in some ways.....I think it is worth it.

I do NOT coupon every week. Only when the sales are good and for what I use.

I only coupon at 2 stores. I found the best deals for me at Albertson's and Walgreens. Others have different stores. I have found that if you try to coupon at many stores you'll get burned out or you will NOT get good enough deals. There are some power couponers out there who do many stores....but I'm sure their kids are in school and they would rather coupon than sleep :)

I mostly eat WHOLE FOODS, we don't eat too much processed foods. That gets so expensive. But there are processed foods we do eat....nut and soy milks, yogurt, baking stuff, cereal, etc. I'm glad to save where I can...and save money for the produce.

Things I love to coupon for....TOILETRIES. They don't go bad, you'll always use them eventually, and people love them as gifts. I'm not kidding. I know that seems weird...but save someone $10 on a razor then they can spend the $10 on some new nail polish or a book :)

Since I am so particular about my couponing.....I still need to find ways to keep my food costs down and still eat well. I think I may start to meal plan....more hard core....I do meal plan now, but it is loose and open ended in a way.

Hope you enjoyed sharing my couponing thoughts. Please share with me ways that you save money on your groceries, or ways you keep your groceries in your budget with the increasing costs.

Jessica at LifeAsMom is writing a series on eating well for less. It is an interesting series

p.s. I haven't blogged in so long....Blogger is making me crazy!

Stand As a Witness...

At All Times and In All Places.

How have you been able to share the Good News of Jesus Christ this Christmas season?
We may not all be able to share our feelings at the mall food court like those on this video, but can find many opportunities.

Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Taking a Break

I'm taking a break from my blog. We are doing great, happily looking forward to the arrival of spring and summer. Baby is growing so well, Jacob says awesome things everyday, John is doing great and says pretty funny things himself frequently, and I'm just getting back into the swing of things as a mom of 2.

I'm not taking a break from READING blogs, which I love. I also am NOT taking a break from email. I love email.....it's the kind of letter writing I grew up with. So, send me an email...I love it. I'll write back!






Isn't this picture so precious. Kudos to Fabiana, again.

Hauling Ham

Look what I found this morning, in Jacob's truck under the table. In case you can't figure it out on your own, we had ham for lunch yesterday. WHO NEEDS A DOG!!!

p.s. don't worry, I didn't let him eat that yucky piece of ham!

Ooh Ooh

My kids are so lucky! They know and love their Great-Grandmother, Ooh Ooh. She loves her great grandchildren so much, and there is something very special about her... ALL children love her. We are so glad to have Ooh Ooh in our life.

Ooh Ooh, for many years, thought she and Grandpa couldn't have any children. They were elated and oh so happy when they had one son. What a blessing. When he was born, she never imagined that she would have 5 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren (plus a daughter-in-law and 4 grandchildren-in laws....except she just calls me her granddaughter;). She never lets one day go by that she doesn't express love to her family in one form or another.

Then and Now...March

Jacob

March 11, 2008

Jacob

March 11, 2010

Photo Shoot Notes:

1. Here is what my "studios" looked like. Don't you love digital images?!!!

2. I had to bribe Jacob this morning with a lollipop. I also had to take pictures SUPER fast. No time to look at them on the view finder, I just had to shoot and shoot and shoot and pray I got SOMETHING I could edit.

3. The pictures from 2008 I was using a flash and a light reflector. I think I liked those pics better. I should make a light reflector to use with natural light.

4. I should get into Ironing. That would help my backdrop a million percent!

Hello From Us!

Here are a few pictures for Jacob and Christa's adoring fans!
Even in the last 2 days since these were taken, Christa is losing
her pretty hair....IN FRONT!

I think she is showing solidarity with her cute cousin Andrew.
Oh well, we love hats and headbands!

Jacob continues to be a dutiful brother, and as long as she doesn't
touch his cars.....the world is just right around here!

I {Heart} Phil & Teds

2 years ago I got this stroller and I bought the extra jump seat....so excited for the day I could put my two kids in it. Well, yesterday was that day. We cuddled Christa in the pram and buckled Jacob above in the jump seat.

I love this stroller....although heavy and difficult to travel with in the airport (because it is heavy), I think all the other pro's are worth it to me. When Christa is old enough to sit, she'll sit in the back jump seat, and Jacob will sit in front.

Now with this great design idea...I wish this New Zealand based company would come up with a lighter and easier to set up stroller. But then that would be the perfect stroller.....and since nothing is perfect....guess they can't :)

Snuggle Bug

Thanks for the cute outfit Aunt Natalie.





p.s. Yes, that is the garbage in the background!

Reminiscing

March 1, 2008

March 1, 2010

Look at my busy boy grow!

I Am a Builder

I should have seen this coming!

2 weeks ago Jacob became obsessed with broken things and getting them fixed. Which meant I fixed things, usually replacing batteries.

Last week this is what I found him doing....he had figured out where I kept a screwdriver and decided he was going to change the batteries on his robot "man" himself. Of course he had fun but couldn't figure out how to unscrew anything.



Last night he ran and got the screwdriver to "bix" his truck because he saw Jason using a screw driver.





Than the inevitable happened. He figured out how to take stuff apart! It was great for me and him because it kept him occupied for HOURS today, and he was so happy to be occupied. Because he'd keep taking the tires and hub caps off than "bixing" them, OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

But this means I have to make a trip to the toy store tonight, empty out the "real" tools from the drawer, and replace them with toy tools......or else he'll start figuring out how to take apart everything in the house.

Of course taking things apart, and eventually figuring out how to put them all back together is so great for his development....I wonder how I can make this a constructive thing?! Ideas?

Time Marches On

Today John turned 33. Happy Birthday Hun!

Today Christa is 4 weeks old. This morning, after a busy night of feeding, Christa was laying on the bed next to me, I opened my eyes to see her staring at me. In that second I realized my newborn is "waking up" to the world. She could see me so clearly, she was watching my face, and I could tell she was learning and taking in so much more. All day today her little eyes seem to be taking in so much more, and she has been so much more interactive with me. Love this little Sugar Plum!

The Olympics are over. I've cried every night over them. Usually cause they are so fun and exciting, I'm so happy for the winners. But then nights where I'm sad, for Joannie Rochette, Nodar Kumaritashvili, and other's who lost dreams. It has mostly been great to watch, and Jacob will ask for Skiing, Ice skating (speed skating), or "dancing" (figure skating). When we watched the short track speed skating races (currently my favorite winter sport) he would hoot and holler and cheer. So CUTE!

So, time keeps marching on. We have good days, and some great days. Each day trying to be better than the last, some days failing and other days succeeding. I don't know why we have these 2 beautiful children in our home, but we are SOOOO happy for them to be with us.








p.s. I call John "hun" a lot. Not long ago Jacob went to the door that leads to the garage and stuck his head out to talk to John.....he yelled, "Hun! Hun! John! John!" This kid KILLS me! :)

Focus

I just downloaded these pictures and realized I caught both kiddos focusing on something. Jacob on his Oatmeal with Blueberries (his request) and Christa on the mobile of her swing.

Someone Help My Mother!

"Someone please help my mother! A simple innocent diaper change turned into an outfit change and then into a photo shoot.....WHAT HAPPENED TO LUNCH!" ~ Christa

p.s. My daughter watches Persuasion with me!

First 3 weeks

Tummy Time with Dad. Oops. Dad doesn't realize she needs to be on a blanket

and not the dirty hard carpet. Poor thing. I found out about this when I was

looking through the pics on the camera. Oh well, she's learning young what fun

she has to look forward to with her dad.

First 3 weeks. So in the spirit of keeping it real....here's how my last 3 weeks have gone. GREAT.

I'm not kidding. I'm also not saying that I haven't been tired or that I haven't called my mom on a couple of occasions (mostly the first and second week) and told her to come right over. I have finally started washing my own dishes and picking up a little bit around the house. I finally went to the store last week. I've enjoyed the weeks of meals my friends, family, and church have brought me. I've loved PJ days. Who wants to wear maternity clothes when you're not pregnant anyway!

But things have been and could in the future be much worse. I haven't had any baby blues, I get a nap most days, I'm physically healing very well, and I don't feel pressured to clean the house. John is so compassionate. The baby eats great. Jacob is a good boy, even on hard days. If all my postpartum recoveries could be this great I could be the next TLC special 20 kids and counting;) I also must say, I attribute it a lot to me CLEARING my plate and calender of all commitments. That way it leaves all my energy (which is small) and patience for my babies and John....oh ya and me. I keep telling myself to relax, soon I'll be able to wear pants with waistbands again (since I cut the waistbands off a lot of pants during my pregnancy ;).