Its been a while...what I'm reading...

We all know the verse, "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain..." Ph. 1:21 Well in the book it has you fill in the blanks here for yourself.... "For me to live is _____ and to die is _____." I kept thinking about what gives me life? What gives me joy, energy, what get's me going or keeps me waking up every day?? If I'm honest I think I try to find my satisfaction through things, people, being a good mom, making money, making a good dinner, doing the laundry...the list goes on...

For Paul to live was Christ, that's what got him going, that's why he got up every day...and his life showed it.

Another verse this made me think of is "the joy of the Lord is my strength." (from somewhere in the Bible) :) And I think this can also be used like the verse above and can be used very literally. You know that feeling you'd get if you won a million dollars...I doubt you'd be lethargic. I wouldn't be. You would be full of joy and you'd probably jump up and down and go kind of crazy...I so often in life feel lethargic and apathetic toward people and work and life...I don't want to live that way and I know the only true solution to that is finding my joy and satisfaction in Christ....

Solid food, oh my!...

Olentangy Indian Caverns...

Last weekend we went to Olentangy Indian Caverns in Deleware. I love the history and seeing some of the earth's natural beauty. We had fun:).

Ready to go...(our version of sunblock...covering his head with the burp rag)

I guess that hole in the cave went really deep. One of the first explorers went down and the story is that he found an underground river with fish that had no eyes...they didn't need eyes because it was completely dark. They have recently sent people down there, but since people have been in the caves so much there is a layer of rock and dirt covering anything underneath. I think it would be cool to find those fish.

Learning to fly...

Bumbo...

I think this is the cutest little invention... although I'm not sure he totally has the hang of this little chair. Usually he ends up trying to eat his toes and getting stuck. Still cute though!

:)

Starting the good stuff early...ha.

A boring day...free stuff...

What do I do for fun when I'm bored? Stick the little guy in the Baby Bjorn and go next door to Kroger and see how much I can get for free...

Iowa...

Four generation picture. My mom, grandpa, me and Micah taken while we were in Iowa.

The trip out there with Micah went really well. He slept. He had fun being passed around and meeting people all week...the last day and trip home were rough...we were both tired of the car by then!

We're going to Iowa...

This will be our first long car trip with Micah. I don't know when we'll get on the road...sometime after Dusty gets off work today. Hopefully it all goes smoothly....I'm SO nervous!

Still couponing...

I haven't posted a picture of a grocery store visit lately so here ya go...all for around $4. Yay

First father's day...

I was so excited for Dusty's first father's day...I'm not so good with coming up with gifts, but he had mentioned needing coasters so I thought it would be fun to put a message in some photo coasters....

I also was able to make a really sweet personalized card on tinyprints.com....love it:)...

Why I got a new printer...

Thanks to my amazing husband (who researched like crazy) we now have a laser printer!! I have been printing quite a few coupons and because of that have been using up our printer ink pretty quickly. Laser printers use toner which lasts MUCH longer. Yes, we had to pay more for this printer, but long term it should save us a lot of money! Oh...AND its wireless...so we can print from either computer anywhere in the house. :)

Gerber cute baby photo contest...

Here it is...my submission to Gerber's photo contest.
I know I'm biased, but I think its a winner!!

Baby Blanket

Micah's great-aunt Jackie made this super cute baby blanket for him...it is just like one Dusty had when he was a baby...the picture of him cracks me up.

Target trip...

We needed boxes because we're moving next weekend so I thought I'd stop by Target to pick some up (they are always unpacking boxes when I'm there!). Well, they had absolutely no boxes, but I did get a few good deals....I couldn't help myself. I got all of this for $6.57...not too shabby.

Cloth Diapers

I'm loving them so far.

We also got some 'free' 'Baby legs' with our purchase...

Haha, what the heck do you do with these???

Time...

One of my goals lately has been to cut back on the number of trips I take out during the week...getting groceries, coffee, shopping, etc. It has actually been a goal of mine for a while, yet almost daily I 'find myself' out and about. This week I had a thought....what if I actually DID what I had decided I wanted to do....

....day 2 at home (hey that's a long time for me ;)...

It has been SO awesome. I think a big part of me has just wanted something to do so my mind could have a vacation. And vacation it has...lately my time in the Word has been little, my time reading those books I've wanted to read has been little, my time spent in prayer has been little, my quality time with Micah has been less than it should be. I have thought a lot in the last day and a half about how I spend my time and how I fill my days with so many pointless things. I want to (intentionally in the next weeks) simplify my life and spend more time doing things that are worthy of my time....

Hmmm...a title (I can't think of one)...

I don't have a job (ahem...one that pays money) so I challenge myself to save money in different ways. About a week ago we bought a drying rack for our cloth diapers so I decided to try hang drying all of our clothing (most of the way). Maybe we can save a little...

Freebie...

Yay for free things in the mail...

What I'm reading...

Right now I’m reading Shepherding a Child’s Heart. So far this book has really deepened my awareness of my wrong thinking about parenting. This is one of those books that would be good to read again and again…here are a few things I’ve liked reading so far…

“God calls you to exercise authority, not in making your children do what you want, but in being true servants-authorities who lay down your lives.”

“As a wise parent your objective is not simply to discuss, but to demonstrate the freshness and vitality of live lived in integrity toward God and your family.”

“…behavior is not the basic issue. The basic issue is always what is going on in the heart…” (there are so many passages that speak to this…just go to www.biblegateway.com and type in ‘heart.’ It’s so revealing about the human heart….)

….happy reading

In the mail...

I got this in the mail today...(and no, I'm not going on a low carb diet. I just wanted the free bars) :)

A new hobby...

I guess I've dabbled in couponing since I got married, but lately I've taken it a little more seriously. It seems more important to do what I can to save now that we have a baby and I'm not working. It has taken a lot of commitment and time, but I think its worth it now that I'm figuring things out. Here's a picture of one of my latest grocery store trips. Originally this would have been $108.00, but with my Kroger card and coupons it ended up being $9.00...AND I forgot one of my $2.00 coupons.

My first freebie by mail!

I got my first freebie in the mail yesterday! It came with a coupon for $1.00 off any Taster's Choice product...so if I get their instant coffee at Target I'll be paying $.04!

Trash to tasty treat...

I needed hashbrowns for an egg casserole I was making for supper tonight so I peeled my potatoes before shredding them in our food processor.....then I had an idea...chips!!  Here's how I did it...

1) Rinsed off the peels from the potatoes
2) Put some waxed paper on a plate
3) Put a single layer of potato skins on the waxed paper
4) Salt (or not)
5) Put another piece of waxed paper over the skins
6) Microwaved 7-8 minutes or until crispy

I dipped them in ketchup and had myself a yummy snack...which I snarfed half of before I got this picture taken:).

The blog thing

I've never blogged and decided it would be a fun addition to my life.  When I set up my account a few days ago I got confused.  I'm confused about how to change the colors and background and make my blog look amazing like all the others I follow.  Oh well.  Someday maybe I'll figure it out.