Mama don't do drama...

In our family, while we place a high value on being confident enough to speak up for yourself when the need arises, we also place a high value on mercy, kindness and love. We strive to see and love people as we believe that Christ does, and the fact is that some folks require a little more effort in doing this than others.  

I have always held the belief that when it came time for my sweet, impressionable little girl to start creating friendships on her own that I would not "forbid" her to play with this or that child, but rather walk with her in teaching her to navigate difficult people and the situations that often come with befriending difficult people. It's preparation for the rest of her life.  

Doesn't that sound so smart?

I surely thought so, but I wasn't counting on first grade girl drama.

Oh, the drama! The kind of drama that my 6 year old started dealing with in first grade has been the kind of stuff that creates successful soap opera script writers and memorable Jerry Springer guests. Has anybody rocked their child in the quiet of the wee morning hours during those first few months of infancy and dreamed of how their sweet little angel would one day shake her finger as though there's something stuck on it at another human being, wagging their head around while strings of bleeped out obscenities pour out of her heavily painted face on national television? No one? Okay, so now you know why I had a change of heart. 

In kindergarten, Abby befriended a little girl who seemed perfectly fine, and she talked about her everyday. She never complained about arguing with this child, and I was so happy that she was having fun with other kids at school, and navigating the beginning of outside-of-the-home relationships with ease. 

But something happened with this little friend over the summer that changed their relationship the following school year. (We'll call this child "Sue" for the sake of simplicity and protecting this child.) 

Almost as soon as first grade began, the Sue drama started. Abby would come home crying because she couldn't make Sue happy. Abby is a people pleaser, and failing to please is just miserable for her. Sue would also forbid Abby to play with anyone else in the class, which sounded pretty typical of drama-heavy little girls, until Sue started using phrases like "you hate me," and "you just want me to be sad," and my favorites, "I wish I were dead/ never born." Sue would also hold her friendship status with Abby hostage to get her to do whatever she wanted, even when Abby was afraid for her own safety.

Whoa! I was not ready for this in first grade. I mean, seriously not ready.

Now, I need to make it clear that I made Abby's teacher aware of what Abby was telling me about Sue, and her teacher was aware of the situation, and was doing what she could to be fair and helpful, and in the interest of both girls. Obviously, my primary concern was for my own child, but working with children in the mental health field for four years made me sensitive to what may be going on with Sue as well. She is still a child, clearly seeking some kind of attention in all the wrong ways, and someone in her every day life needed to be aware of her outcry.

Once I had done my due diligence for Sue, what was I going to do about my own child? 

Have her change classes? No. They would still see each other on the playground every day.

Tell her not to talk to that child at all? No, but I seriously considered this one. That would hardly be the demonstration of love, mercy and kindness that we want to instill into her heart.

What started out as tears after school was turning into her echoing those same statements in our home to her brother and to me. There was a growing hatefulness and emotional manipulation that I had never seen in her before, and that we DO NOT encourage or condone in our home, and I knew where it was coming from. It was clear that she was too young to deal with this kind of friendship successfully, and that had me on high alert.

There was this internal struggle between the desire to "let" some things happen to her so that she can grow and learn, and the knowledge that she is still a very young child, and not quite developmentally ready to deal with the kind of tension and stress that highly manipulative friendships bring to the table.

So I prayed, I corrected, and took every opportunity to talk about how to be a friend. I told her about the girls that I was friends with all through life, and the way that we treated each other.

I told her about my childhood best friend, Rhonda. Rhonda and I met in first grade, and were glued at the hip for most of our young lives. Rhonda never told me that she wasn't going to be my friend because I did something that she didn't like, and the biggest argument that we ever had as children was about the existence of Santa Claus. (She was a firm believer, and I was not, which became a source of tension every December.)

Rhonda and I all ready to go to the Snowball Dance our senior year in high school.

 I told her about my girlfriends/ roommates in college that stuck with me even when I wasn't always there for them. The young women who loved me, and prayed for and with me, and encouraged me to grow in my relationship with God. I told her about how we believed in each other's dreams, and how they played a part in my becoming the wife and mother that I am now. 

Crystal, Amy & Stephanie in the front, and Amanda, myself & Alisha in the back after a reunion weekend a few years after college graduation. I love and miss these ladies so much!

Alisha, Jill, Joann, Stephanie, Crystal, myself & Amanda following Steph's Senior Recital. She's holding daisies because we corporately decided that they were her favorite flower, although she would have picked lilies. We were awesome friends like that. :)

And then I told her about the women that I am friends with now, and how we interact. I reminded her of how Miss Stephaney is so sweet and generous to our whole family, and will make the hour long trek to see us as often as possible. And also of Miss Kara and Mr. Justin, who love her and her brother to pieces, and who love our company almost as much as we love theirs. We've talked about Miss Michele and how she has always loved our family, and has invested in our dreams anytime the opportunity presents itself. We are blessed to have so many amazing people in our lives, that there have been opportunities to discuss healthy relationships at every turn. 

The point of telling her about these relationships is so that she not only sees those relationships, but also hears us acknowledge why they are good. I do not want her very first friendships to be so full of manipulation, guilt and selfishness that she begins to settle into the idea that that's how all relationships operate. My philosophy is this: If my children can learn how to have and identify healthy relationships in life, everything else will follow. 

They will have the confidence that they need to speak up for themselves in a respectful way because healthy people in their lives have made them feel that they are worth being heard.

They will know who and when to ask for help without fear of rejection or judgment because healthy relationships have taught them that true love and acceptance is unconditional.

The security that comes with healthy relationships will give them the space that they need to take leaps of faith because they are surrounded by those that believe in their dreams.

These are the kinds of things that I dream of for my sweet little fresh-faced girl. 

In the beginning of this post, I had stated that I had a change of heart in regards to forbidding my children to be friends with certain children, but I am happy to report that things have gotten better with Sue. Had they not gotten better, the solution to the problem would have resulted in a compete severing of the relationship in one way or another. I will never allow my kids to try to tread water for long periods of time when they are just learning to swim, and I will not allow them to remain in relationships that they are not ready to handle. There are still some issues with Sue from time to time, but no more tears.

After we started talking about what was going on with Sue on a regular basis, Abby started standing up for herself. When Sue would say, "If you want to be my friend, you will...", Abby would respond with, "If you were really my friend, you wouldn't ask me to do that." She started coming home and telling me about how she would talk with Sue about what it means to really be a friend, and that she would let Sue know that if she had never been born, Abby would be really sad. As much as I love seeing a great report card come walking through the door, this is the kind of thing that really makes this mama proud!

More Than Just A Job...

Being pushed around the house in a laundry basket train is on of our their favorite activities.

Being a stay-at-home mom has its fair share of perks and challenges. The greatest perk is job security. No one else wants to do what I do in my house, so if the laundry doesn't get touched for, oh, say, a week, I'm not going to get fired or written up. Life will move on, and I'll get to it when I get to it.

On the other hand, if I don't ever do the laundry, it REALLY won't get done. There is no delegating most of my responsibilities. There is no on call backup system in place for when I get sick or need a personal day. Perhaps when the kids get older, they can pick up some chores, but for right now, this is mostly a one woman show.

Allow me to stop the train right here for a moment to clarify that, yes, my husband also lives here, and yes, he could do a little more, but I, personally, don't ask that of him...often. He holds down jobs (plural) outside of our home, and works very hard all day long, just like me. When he has time off, I don't usually do anymore than is absolutely necessary so that we can spend that time together, and we wouldn't be able to spend that time together if he had to walk in the door and start yet another task. Yes, we may have to sometimes clear away a space on the couch to snuggle for the evening, and by the end of a weekend off we look like we're living in an episode of hoarders, but this is our home. Not a to-do list. We do a really good job of living in it. Anyone who doesn't like that...Tough. Noogies.

Back on track...

So yeah, I get crabby. I get resentful and negligent of my responsibilities when it feels like I'm up to my neck in dirty dishes, and demands for snack time and bath time and playtime, and the plumber needs to be called again, and the car is due for an oil change, and and and...

I have the right to be crabby, right? Right?

Well, no, actually. I don't. It doesn't mean that it won't happen anyway, but it's not my right to let my emotions rule my day.

A few days ago, the Lord brought this verse to my attention...again:

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." -Colossians 3:23-24 NIV

I've read it a million times. I know this one. Got it. Moving on.

(Oh, how God must roll His eyes and sigh at me when I treat His Word in this way. Much the same way that I roll my eyes at my kids when they insist they know how to do something that I know they have not yet mastered.)

Tuckered out after a day at Dollywood.

As I was putting my son down for his nap this afternoon, he asked me to sit and sing to him before leaving the room. Sounds like a sweet little request, right? Well, I know better than that. What started out a few weeks ago as a sweet little request has become another way to delay the inevitable commencement of the afternoon nap. Sneaky little monkey.

I was feeling generous (not to mention that he's just so darn cute, sneaky monkey or not), so I sat down in the rocking chair beside his crib, and promised him one song. As I was choosing the most soothing song from our sleepy time repertoire, Colossians 3:23-24 came roaring into my mind.

God was telling me in the way that only He can, 

"Sing to him like it is the a job that I gave you to do...because in this moment, it is the job that I am giving you to do. And, please, do this for your son as though you care what I think."

That stung a bit, but in the very sweetest way.

I sang to him.

Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus...

And when I sang to him, I felt joy that He notices, and that He cares. I felt joy knowing that I am not just doing a job that no one else wants to do, but I am doing the thing that He made me to do in this season of life. No one can do this the way that I can. If I'm really honest, this was the first time that I can remember truly being humbled that God would choose me to mother my two little turtles over anyone else in the world. 

Wow.

It's so easy to fall into self-pity when no one seems to see or notice what you do, day in and day out. But the truth is that God sees, and He wants to reward us for a job well done. For me, it is so much easier to find joy in the seemingly mundane when I know that it puts a smile upon my Daddy's face.

I don't ever want to forget this sweet correction from my Heavenly Father, but I no doubt will. Perhaps it will be the day that my little feller stuffs the toilet full of toilet paper...again.

Or when he tears apart my brand new bag of potting soil all over the deck.

Or when my little lady gets into my craft supplies and makes an irreparable mess of my yarn because she just wanted one little piece for her craft project. 

Or when she pushes a snowball into her brother's face just as I snap the picture.

It takes daily reminding that in raising, serving and investing in my children, these little treasures that He has given me stewardship over, it is for Him. He has wonderful plans and purposes for their lives, and He wants ME, of all people, to be the first on the ground to help prepare them for all that He has for them. The reality of that is enough to bring a person to their knees, as it well should.

I'm back!

...with a new blog name, a new focus, and hopefully a more regular schedule. :)

My good friend, Jenny, over at Rediscovering Yesterday has graciously invited me to be a guest blogger as part of her "Share the Love" series, and has put a fire under my butt to get back on the writing/ blogging wagon. Thank you so much, Jenny! Check it out!

If you've never read anything on Rediscovering Yesterday, I encourage you to do so. Jenny is a very talented lady with some great things to say.

Songs That Sing My Life

If you know me at all, you know I love music. I've always loved music. In every stage and season of life I take on different interests, different hobbies, focus on different causes, but music has always been the one constant all throughout my life. 

There's something about a good song with meaningful lyrics that can make you feel like you're not alone. Someone else thinks like you do, feels like you do. 

When I became a Christ-follower, music took on a whole new meaning. It became a new way to worship my Creator and share Him with others. Notes and lyrics became infinitely more meaningful when they became prayers and love songs to my Savior. It makes my heart beat faster just thinking about it!

So in this post, I wanted to try something different...

When I'm singing for the Savior, I focus very hard on the words that are coming out my mouth. I once heard a preacher tell a gymnasium full of people that if they did not mean the words that they were singing then they were essentially lying, so they should just not sing at all. Something about that stuck with me...big time. I think about that statement everyday, and I don't want to be a liar. 

This is my little experiment. A transparent look into what the lyrics of a song mean to me. 

One of my very favorite songs out there and one that has spoken to me in so many ways is "The Real Me" by Natalie Grant. This one is found on her Awakening album, and tugs my heart in so many directions every time I hear it.

Here goes the experiment! The words in italics are the song lyrics, and my commentary is in bold. I've also posted a YouTube video of Natalie performing this song live on this post. (Really hoping that it works!)  Let's see what happens, shall we? :) 

The Real Me
Artist: Natalie Grant
Album: Awakening


Foolish heart looks like we're here again
Same old game of plastic smile
Don't let anybody in
Hiding my heartache, will this glass house break 
(How many times have I tried so hard to hide how I'm really feeling? What's the worst that could happen if they knew how I really felt about what they just said or did? No doubt about it, it would make them and me completely uncomfortable. It's just not fair to keep this to myself while expecting them to change, but I just can't say it. Just can't risk it.)
How much will they take before I'm empty
Do I let it show, does anybody know? 
(I'm just so tired. Sometimes I wonder if I have anything else left to give. Everyone just wants and wants and wants, and I just want to give up! If I gave up, what would that do to my witness? To my ministry? I can't give up, but how much longer can I keep this up?)
Chorus:
But you see the real me
(Thank you, Father.)
Hiding in my skin, broken from within
(It is such a relief to know that I can't hide from You.)
Unveil me completely
I'm loosening my grasp
There's no need to mask my frailty
Cause you see the real me
(Oh Father, explode in all that I am. Cover my imperfection with Your perfection. Give me the strength that I need to continue giving of myself. You know that I am no good on my own. Use the broken parts of me to help make others whole. When it seems that my purpose in this life is running out, re-purpose me. You will not discard me just because I am broken. It hurts, Lord. It hurts so much, but I know that I can be myself completely, and fall apart completely in Your hands. )
 
Painted on, life is behind a mask
Self-inflicted circus clown
I'm tired of the song and dance.
(I'm tired of doing it my way/ their way. I want to do it Your way.)
Living a charade, always on parade
(This way of life is unforgiving. Exhausting.)
What a mess I've made of my existence
(What made me think that this was better? This is all my fault.)
But you love me even now
(Amazing.)
And still I see somehow
 
You see the real me
(What a relief! I can breathe!)
Hiding in my skin, broken from within
Unveil me completely
I'm loosening my grasp
(It's all Yours, God.)
There's no need to mask my frailty
Cause you see the real me

Wonderful, beautiful is what you see
When you look at me
(Your unconditional love brings me to tears.)
You're turning the tattered fabric of my life into
A perfect tapestry
(You've given me blessings beyond number, and I have done nothing to deserve them. I praise You for taking someone so broken and small as myself, and transforming my life into something that has meaning. You give me meaning whether anyone else sees it or not. My worth is in You, and nothing else matters.)
I just wanna be me

(I just want to be what You want me to be.) 

You see the real me
(No one else on the planet may see value in the "real me," but that doesn't matter as long as I matter to You.)
Hiding in my skin, broken from within
Unveil me completely
(I don't have to hide anything from You...not like I could hide anything from You!)
I'm loosening my grasp
There's no need to mask my frailty
Cause you see the real me
And you love me just as I am
Wonderful, beautiful is what you see
When you look at me

(Incredible.)

What makes a mom?

NOTE: This entry is not intended to be a commentary on the state of our culture, or to spur on a sociological debate. These are only thoughts from someone who has limited authority to have thoughts on anything at all, so please put away any and all soapboxes for another day and go hug your mother. Thank you.

With this being the week of Mother's Day, I've been thinking a lot about my continuing journey as a mom, and what makes a mom. 

How does someone become a mother? Where do mothers come from? 

 I'm not talking about the birds and the bees of life, but rather matters of the heart. In turning this over and over in my head, I've come to the conclusion that there are lots of different types of moms, and they all come from different places. 

Now I've only been a mother for a little over 4 years now, but the journey started a long, long time ago. When I was still a girl, God placed it in my heart to be a mother. Sometimes I wonder if I wasn't born with the desire to be a mother since I don't ever remember picturing my future without children! 

On the other end of the spectrum, I have known women who have no burning desire for children, and even some that seem to be completely turned off to having children altogether. I have also known women who want children more than anything else but cannot have a biological child, and women/ girls who have reluctantly become mothers in a moment of unplanned passion. (Oops!)

Mothers are made out of all kinds of different cloth, but the one common thread that can be found is this: they have been chosen by God to play some part in the next generation.

Whether reluctantly or intentionally, new life is no accident. There is a Creator that fashions each one of us together, and he uses a mother as the vessel. 

For the reluctant mother who makes the very difficult decision to put her baby up for adoption...For whatever reason, you made a decision to carry that child to full term in a world that says that there are other options. You took that child's best interest at heart in giving him/her over to a family that has the heart, desire, and means to raise them up to adulthood. What else but love would drive someone to do such a thing? One of the most agonizing things that I have ever bore witness to was watching a 13 year old girl hand her newborn daughter over for adoption. She sobbed for days, but she knew that it was the best thing for her baby. This perspective gave me a whole new respect for that side of the adoption process. At 13 years old, she had a mother's heart.

For the mother who cannot bear children...God has a special call for you. A call to raise children to which you did not give birth. He has given you the heart and desire to raise a child, and there are children and reluctant mothers that need you! God made you a mother when He placed that desire within you. He can turn anything that the enemy would intend to use for evil into a great blessing. That child will always know that you chose them, and you should always know that God chose you. 

For the grieving mother...I cannot imagine any greater loss than the loss of a child. Whether the loss happened in the womb, at birth, or when the child was 30 years old, there's so much pain in knowing that everything that you could do as that child's mother was not enough to keep them here on this earth. As moms, we would like to think that from the moment that child is conceived, there is nothing that we can't and won't do to protect them, but it's just not true. We simply do not hold that kind of power. The good news is that there is a Father who holds all of the power, and He can and will sustain us in the most unimaginable circumstances if we let Him. Grieving mother, don't grieve alone. Find someone to talk to, to remember with, to hold you up or just to hold your hand. Please don't walk this one alone.

For the stepmom...When you met the man of your dreams, it probably didn't occur to you that you were taking on a bigger role than you initially realized. Maybe you had children when you met him and his brood, and maybe you didn't. Either way, you now have an important role in the lives of his children whether you wanted it or not, so now what? You have the opportunity to prove every negative thing that anyone has ever said about stepmoms wrong. If you truly believe that God placed you with this man, then it's very likely that God knew he had children from a previous relationship, and He's going to expect you to step up. If the children's mother is still living, then it can really add a twist to the dynamics of the whole situation! Let's not beat around the bush. Two mothers on the scene rarely ever make for days filled with sunshine and roses, but that is no excuse for not trying to make it work with the kids. They can see in you that God is the God of second chances, and that they are worthy of great love from someone other than their birth parents. That is a great responsibility!

For the single mom...Perhaps you are in the reluctant mom category but grew to love it over time, or perhaps you started out with a dad in the picture but then things took a turn for the worse. However it came about, you are now doing the job of two parents, and there probably isn't anyone around most of the time to take notice of just how hard you work. Your children may not fully appreciate all that you do for them, but that doesn't mean that they never will. Keep hanging there. They may be ungrateful, selfish, and inconsiderate sometimes, but after all, they are just kids. They need you whether they know it or not! Someday they will realize that when other people were walking in and out of their lives, mom stood firm. Teach them about their Heavenly Father, and that He will never leave them nor forsake them...and don't forget that He will never leave or forsake you either. 

For moms in general....Don't forget how blessed you are. When you notice that things are hanging lower this year than they did last year, or that your last pregnancy left your stretch marks with stretch marks, or that there's a pacifier in your purse where your lip gloss used to be, remember that you were chosen.  Your job is never ending, leaving little time for yourself or anyone else, including the kids. To borrow a phrase from a friend of mine, "Sometimes all I can do is keep my children alive." Moms, we can't get so busy doing the job that we forget to enjoy the ones that we are doing the job for in the first place. I have another friend that will remind me that "the monster is always hungry," meaning that there's always something to be done. We are chosen to be moms, but we are not chosen to be perfect. That job was only given out to one human being in the history of the world, and His perfection covered the imperfections of the rest of us. 

It is an incredible thing to be chosen to be a mother, regardless of the logistics of how it happens. 

When I'm standing in the middle of a puddle of spilled milk and cheerios with one child climbing the pantry shelves and the other chewing on the business end of an extension cord while my eggs burn on the stove and my coffee gets cold, I have to remind myself that this is a blessing...over and over again. 

But then when I see those same kids playing together on the floor or greeting their daddy with big smiles when he walks in the door, or feel their little arms around my neck, I know that this is a blessing.

Couponing Resources

After so many requests from friends and family, here are some links and downloads of different couponing resources that I use and text from some handouts that I put together. I've also included a link for meal planner print outs since meal planning can help stretch your grocery dollar even further. Have fun!

Coupon Basics courtesy of Colin from www.Hip2Save.com
Meal Planner Downloads


Couponing: Putting On Your Game Face

Before clipping the first coupon, the game face is a must! Getting in a good mindset can be key to coupon success. Complete transparency: this can be a stressful game, but it can also be incredibly enjoyable!

PRE-GAME
•    Drop your pride! If you’re afraid of how you might look to other people when you pull out your binder full of coupons in the check out lane, decide right now that you don’t care. Other people are not going to work to save money for your family!
•    Be ready to work on it! The more money you want to save, the more you have to work at it. It’s all about what you want to put into it.
•    Know what you need and what you don’t. When you start uncovering one deal after another, it can get overwhelming. Before you know it, you’re buried and you haven’t saved a thing. Have a plan, stick to it. As you get more comfortable with couponing, add a little here and a little there as it makes sense for your life.

GAMETIME!
•    Smile! This is where the rubber meets the road. Smile the moment you hit the door of the store. It really makes a difference in your attitude!
•    Cashier having a bad day and taking it out on you? Be the bigger person. “People are more important than things.” We are Christ-followers first, and $1 off Cheerios is not worth blowing your witness. Continue to be friendly, educate your cashier as they will allow you to do so, but at the end of the day, any store can turn down any coupon at their discretion. Arguing with them just makes them dislike you, everybody gets their blood pressure up, and it’s a mess! Bottom line: go home happy. Your family deserves it!

POST-GAME
•    Celebrate! Do a little dance, call a friend to brag about your shopping trip, put it on facebook, frame your receipt…whatever thrills you!
•    After the celebration, find some way to track what you’re spending and what you’re saving. Are you being effective? Do you have what you need? Are you using what you’re buying? It’s even a good idea to track frequently purchased items and come up with a “price point” for each item. How cheap does something have to be for it to be worth it to stockpile that item?

DEAL SITES TO CHECK OUT
www.Hip2Save.com
My favorite site, and one of the most popular ones out there! There are lots of giveaways, online freebie deals, and tips and tricks to save even more money.

www.CouponKatarina.com
This site has a lot of the same stuff has Hip2Save, but there often different deals. In addition, Katarina posts Kroger deals while Hip2Save does not.

www.mojosavings.com
Again, a lot of the same deals as the other sites, but sometimes you hit the jackpot!

www.southernsavers.com
This one is great! Kroger deals, CVS deals, Walgreens…hits them all! Also, you can print out customized lists of the items that you’d like to get on your shopping trip. Anything that makes it easier is worth it!

www.organicdeals.com
Who doesn’t want to give their family the best? We don’t have to feed our families a meal in a box every night to save a buck! Check this one out if you’re looking to go the organic/ whole foods route.

FREE! FREE! FREE!
Don’t turn your nose up at free samples! Sign up for everything that you would use, or could give to someone else to use.  There are lots of money-saving uses for free samples, and every now and then you’ll get full-sized items. Use toiletry items to give to over night guests, food samples for spare snacks in the car, or use beauty samples to make a “pamper yourself” package for a friend. Lots of times freebies come with coupons, so that alone makes it worth it. Some things in life really are free!

Here are some places to sign up for stuff:
www.kraftfirsttaste.com
Get coupons for 100% free items that Kraft is rolling out. They mail you the coupons, and you redeem them at the store. So easy! This is a great way to try out some of the newest products without paying a thing for them, which is the purpose of the program.

www.pgeverydaysolutions.com
Here you can get great coupons, and sample packs. Again, 100% free!


$$ OTHER GREAT WAYS TO GET STUFF CHEAP, FREE, OR EARN CASH $$
www.ebates.com or www.shopathome.com
If you do any online purchasing at all, they’re worth it! It’s really easy. Use one of their online retailers (there are 1000’s to choose from), go through their site to make a purchase, and get cash back 4 times a year! The more you buy online, the bigger your check. Even if it’s just a couple of dollars, it’s more than you had before!

www.swagbucks.com
Earn swagbucks by simply doing online searches, filling out surveys, shopping online…there are lots of ways to earn! Redeem your swagbucks in the swagstore for stuff or gift cards. My favorite is the $5 Amazon eGift cards. They work just like cash on amazon.com, which leads me to the next thing…

Amazon Mom and Subscribe & Save
Sign up for a trial membership of this service and you get free shipping on hundreds of items that moms need, from groceries to baby products to beauty…you get the picture.  When you place orders using your trial membership, it extends the trial. Combine this with Amazon’s Subscribe & Save service, and the savings just keep adding up. Look it up!

Surveys
This one is a little time consuming, and there are a lot of frauds out there, but there are legit survey sites that can allow you to earn real money.  A couple of the legit ones are www.opinionoutpost.com and www.mysurvey.com. Before you go for any survey site, check them out. If they ask you for card numbers, bank account numbers, social security numbers, DON’T DO IT!!

www.groupon.com, www.livingsocial.com, and www.weshop.com
These are daily deal sites. Each site sends out an email everyday with the daily deal to a retailer local to you. Most of the time the deal are gift cards at 50% off or more, and then sometimes they’re coupon codes for online purchases. These can be great for cheap date nights or gifts!

It's been awhile...

Yes, it has been a good, long time since I last pecked out a blog entry, but hopefully, this is the beginning of more consistent posts. There have been a lot of things going on that have been occupying my time:

• We've been getting ready for the new baby. This little man (whom still doesn't have a name) is due to arrive by September 13th. We have done little to nothing in preparing for his arrival, and the reason for that is...
• We are trying to sell our house...again. There's no use in preparing a baby's room if we're going to be moving! (Those are definitely words of faith!)
• We've been taking advantage of less cluttered schedules in the summer months to spend time together as a family. Abby is loving all of the time with her mommy and daddy, and we love being with her and each other.
• I've become a maniac coupon clipper and bargain shopper! Hi. My name is Debbie, and I'm addicted to saving money. Seriously, this has taken a lot of my time, but has been saving us a ton of money! We are stockpiled and ready to go if there's ever a shortage on men's body wash and deodorant.
• Being in the 7th month of pregnancy, I have the complexion of a 16 year old girl the week before prom, the patience of a 2 ton gorilla with 'roid rage, and the sleeping habits of an 80 year old narcoleptic. Makes it hard to get motivated to do much. :) 

All that said, I am asking for prayer. Prayer for our family in preparation for this baby, both relationally and financially. (How something so small can be so expensive still blows me away!). Prayer that our house would sell. And most of all, prayer that we would find our lives directly in line with God's best. 

How can we pray for you?