My Babies

Here is a photo I took of Livvie and my nephew, Grant over the Thanksgiving holiday.  They are so sweet.

Thankful for them.

I hate that Livvie’s hair is all the place!  She had some crazy hair, but it’s kinda cute.

Whew!

It’s been a while. . . I have barely had time to catch my breath lately!  I hope all of my friends and readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I spent some valuable time with my family in Montgomery, and ate waaaay too much.  I love the Thanksgiving meal.  I look forward to it all year long.  My grandmother is the most awesome cook.

This year I have so much for which to be thankful including, Livvie, Jonathan, my parents, sisters, nephews, grandmother, other family, my wonderful church, my home, my car, my jobs, my health.  It’s important among the stresses of daily life, to take time out to think about the blessings in our lives.  One of our Crosspoint life groups actually spent the day handing out meals to families in our community.  I am amazed by their selflessness.  That’s the love of Jesus in action.

On another note, I have been trying to learn some photography skills as of late.  With Jonathan as my boyfriend, and Amber as my friend and employer, I figure it will serve me well to learn their trade so that I can participate in that part of the business.  I don’t know much yet; I am just getting my feet wet.   I really love photography though.  It’s so much fun, and really lets me explore my creative side!  Here’s a picture of Livvie that I shot when we were in Montgomery:

Beautiful Livvie

I’ve got some great Premier specials coming down the pipes to help you with your Christmas shopping needs.  Stay tuned for those!

Target Toy Holiday Coupons

Target Toy Holiday Coupons

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On My Way to Being Coupon Queen

Recently, I have become quite the bargain shopper.  I am addicted to clipping coupons and researching sales, mostly for groceries.  Some people have expressed interest in learning what I’m doing to save money on groceries, so I thought I’d post what I’ve learned so far.  Keep in mind, I’m new at this, and I’m sure there are more experienced coupon queens who are saving way more than I am, so take this for what it’s worth.

1.) Coupon circulars in your Sunday paper are your best friend!  Even if you don’t subscribe to the newspaper, pick up the Sunday edition.  Clip coupons and research sales.  The paper will cost you $1.25, but you will save much more.

2.) Do your research.  If you have a computer, an internet connection, and a printer, you can print coupons from the internet that will save you even more money.  Here are some of the websites that I use for coupons:

• Coupon Mom
• Coupon Divas
• Smartsource
• Redplum
• Cellfire (this one loads coupons straight to your store shoppers card, so no coupon clipping required!)

Two Thrifty Sisters and Coupon Mom also have done all the researh for you.  You can see ALL the sales at all the major stores.  Coupon Mom even gives you line-by-line listings of the item, sale price, coupon value, quantity required, final price, etc.  It is an awesome site! Coupon Mom and Coupon Divas link to sites such as Coupon.com and Smartsource and pull in printable grocery coupons.  I get a ton of coupons here.

3.) Think outside the grocery store box.  Drug stores such as CVS, Walgreens, and Rite-Aid have great sales!  They also have rewards programs that can save you tons of money.  CVS has the Extra Care program that gives you Extra Care Bucks toward your purchases, some for certain items, some off your general grocery or pharmaceutical bill.  The amount of savings you take advantage of depends on your willingness to run from store to store.  I have chosen one grocery store and one drug store and I just focus on those two stores.  Last week, I used an advertised special and Extra Care Bucks to purchase a $10 bottle of hairspray for $4.99 at CVS.

4.) Take your time!  Do this both in the store and in preparation to go grocery shopping.  Don’t shop in a hurry.  Saving money through couponing can be very time consuming, but it is well worth the time spent.  The savings are so rewarding, it’s sick!

5.) Buy the items for which you have coupons.  This is important.  I bought shampoo and conditioner yesterday at Kroger because Dove hair products were 2 for $6.00 and I had $3.50 in coupons, so I paid $2.50 total for Dove shampoo and conditioner.  If you have a coupon for an item for which the grocery store has an advertised special, buy it!  You want to take advantage of those savings while the advertised sale is on and before the coupon expires.  I was gonna need shampoo and conditioner eventually!  Also, if you have a coupon for something you don’t normally buy, but can save money by buying it to replace another item you normally buy, you should buy it.  You might find something new that you love, and you’ve saved money in the process!

6.)  Throw brand loyalty out the window.  Keep in mind, I’m a newbie, and more experienced savers may have a way around this, but I have found that if I don’t worry about brand loyalty, I can save a ton of money!  I buy whatever bread is one sale.  Yesterday I bought a 12 roll package of Quilted Northern bath tissue for $4.49 while taking advantage of an advertised special and a coupon.  I don’t normally buy Quilted Northern, but something tells me it’ll get the job done.

7.)  Brush up on your math skills cause you’re gonna be using them when you get in that grocery store!  Sometimes, the store brand cost less than the national brand with your coupon.  You gotta be able to do the math and compare prices to really spend less.

Feel free to add to this post via comments and tell me what you have learned about couponing. I am a captive audience.  I wanna be one of those people that pays like $20 for $140 in groceries.  Some grocery stores have coupon policies so check your store’s website and obtain their policy first.  Some stores will let you combine their advertised special with a store coupon and a manufacturer’s coupon.  Some will let you stack up as many coupons as you can find for one item.  Be careful on the coupon printing websites.  You log in by email address and they track how many of each coupon you print.  They will tell you when your print limit is reached.

I hope this information is helpful.  I will share more as I learn more.

Souled Out Pantry Party

The Souled Out lifegroup restocks another church’s food pantry ministry then prepares hundreds of bags to be used to provide food for families in need during the upcoming holidays. – created at htt…

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Full Throttle Servolution

Crosspoint finished out Full Throttle in a huge way today!  The service was AMAZING!  The message that God sent through Dave was life changing.  Dave ruined my eye makeup. I am so blessed to be a part of what God is doing through Crosspoint.

Full Throttle has changed my way of thinking.  I now have a totally different direction for my life.  I always knew I wanted God to use me to do something big.  Now, I think He is doing just that!

Last Sunday, Crosspoint life groups took part in Servolution Sunday.  It was a day that we got out and served our community, showing people God’s love, and acting as the hands and feet of Jesus Christ.  My group, Souled Out, collected food and filled up a local food pantry that was seriously depleted due to the poor economy.  Above, I have posted a video from Servolution Sunday.

Here is a photo of the food pantry when we arrived:

Before

Here is the food pantry after we stocked all the food we brought:

After

I was so proud of my life group!  Due to their generosity, many hungry mouths will be fed!  This is what Full Throttle living for Jesus is all about!

Underground Experience

Last week Livvie was out of school on Monday and Tuesday for Fall Break, so on Tuesday, we decided to do something fun for the day.  Livvie, Jonathan, and I headed over to Grant, AL to Cathedral Caverns.  Ironically, I’ve been in almost every show cave in the state, but never Cathedral, and it’s right in our back yard!  Cathedral Caverns holds four world records including the largest cave opening and the largest stalagmite column in a commercial show cave.  It was Livvie’s first visit to a cave.  On the way in the car she asked, “Is a cave underground?”  I think she figured it out.  Here are a few pictures:

Livvie and Jonathan standing in front of Goliath, the world's largest column in a show cave.

Heartburn

Well, I had planned to write about my recent success in couponing tonight.  I saved HUGE at the grocery store on Friday, and I was so excited about sharing what I’ve learned.  However, my heart is burdened with other more important issues tonight.  I feel compelled to share those thoughts, so my couponing post will have to wait.

My heart literally hurts (like, I’ve had chest pains all night) due to the pain in the lives of people around me.  It’s everywhere, and I feel totally helpless.  There’s nothing I can do to change it.  Today was a hard day.  Every time I talked to someone, I heard another story of pain.

One of these situations in particular, has really affected me greatly.  When did it become a crime to care about people?  When I hear about people in pain, do you know what I do?  I pray.  I don’t gossip, exaggerate, or fabricate.  I just pray.  I have one person to whom I can speak freely; that’s Jonathan.   He’s my safe place.  Otherwise, I am tight-lipped and trustworthy.  However, don’t tell me anything you don’t want him to know unless you are planning a surprise for him.  That’s not fair to me.  If I’m worried about someone, I have the right to an outlet for my concerns.  If I can’t tell him about what’s on my mind, I don’t want to know!  That being said, I don’t want to be involved in any sort of gossip, gross exaggeration, or ad-lib tale about someone’s drama.

My question is, who wouldn’t want a friend that you can rest assured will take your problems to God?  A friend who actually prays when she says, “I’ll keep you in my prayers.”  A friend who actually thinks about you hours and days and weeks after she finds out you have a “situation.”  How much easier would it be to just be selfish??  And, how does all that get misinterpreted for talking about folks?!

My heart is broken tonight, and it just reinforces the importance of the Full Throttle way of life.  Evil and pain are real. As Kevin pointed out today, Full Throttle is not just a sermon series.  We should give everything, every day, to make sure that our communities know the love of Jesus Christ.  This series is changing me.  It has challenged me to define the vision for my life, a vision that is the will of God.  It has taught me that if I obey God, He will put me right where I am supposed to be, and He will indicate my purpose, the reason I was born. . .just like Esther, “for such a time as this.”  I can’t wait to see what God reveals to me through the remaining weeks of the series, and how He uses me to show my community the love of Christ.  I am truly burdened for people in pain, and I know I was put here to do something about it.

The Flu and Mommy/Daughter Day

Well, as most have probably already heard, I was diagnosed with the flu last Tuesday.  THE FLU IS NOT FUN!!  However, I have WONDERFUL family and friends that helped me through it.

Mom and Dad, thank you for letting Livvie come stay with you so that she would not get the flu.  Mom, thanks for helping her with make-up work (Livvie was also sick for three days, but it wasn’t the flu, just some unnamed virus.)

Jonathan, also thanks for letting Livvie come stay with you!  Thanks for coming to get her.  Thanks for making cupcakes with her.  Thanks for making sure she was clean and fed.

Sarah, thanks for the chicken noodle soup and apple juice.

Heather, thanks for calling everyday just to check on me.

Friends, thanks for your thoughts, prayers, and get well wishes.

I am feeling much better now.  I had never had the flu before, and it really takes a toll on the body.  I see now why people take it so seriously.  It makes it’s victim feel horrible, and the decrease in energy lasts many days after all other symptoms are gone.  Right now, just doing laundry wears me out.  Was it swine flu?  I don’t know.  That’s a separate test that has to be sent to Montgomery and I didn’t ask my physician to do that.

Livvie was gone all last week either with Jonathan or my parents so that she would not be infected.  I missed her so bad!!  We really needed some quality time together.  Today we were able to make that happen.  She got straight A’s on her report card for the first six weeks of third grade.  I was very proud of her!  Third grade has been quite an adjustment.  When she earns straight A’s, I usually give her some type of reward.  I don’t pay her for her grades, because I don’t want that to be the expectation or the motivation for hard work, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a special surprise to reward her for a job well done.  I just want to make sure I never put a value on an A.  Her education is priceless.

Today, I took her to Parkway Place Mall in Huntsville.  We went to Build-A-Bear Workshop, Justice, Claire’s, and then to Marble Slab Creamery.  I also let her jump on these trampoline/bungee cord contraptions they have in the food court at the mall.  She wasn’t even scared.  She hopped right up there!  Ironically, to be so shy and cautious, the child loves an adrenaline rush.  It was a day of much needed Mommy-and-Livvie time.

Livvie and Cuddles, her new Build-A-Bear

Livvie flying high

Full Throttle Excitement

Here is a link to Dave’s post “Why I’m PUMPED about Full Throttle:

http://www.blog.moviepastor.com/?p=2082

I’m with Dave….totally PUMPED!!  I can’t wait ’til Sunday!