For Your Viewing Pleasure

I haven't had a chance to crank out a really good blog post in awhile, but this video will just have to tide you over. This is pretty much the scene at our house every night...the toys are all over the living room, and Edwin attacks daddy on the floor...oh yeah, and I laugh the whole time! Happy New Year everybody!!

Edwin Singing

It's Almost Here!

It's almost Christmas!!!! I have so many thoughts swirling around in my head right now, it's hard to make them cooperate so you'll have something coherent to read. I'm just so excited for Christmas....for so many different reasons. Some of the more obvious reasons include watching my son unwrap his presents, spending time with family, getting to see David (my little bro) and Jenny (his wife)....they're flying in from freezing MN tomorrow!, umm..what else? Oh yeah, the food...definitely looking forward to the tasty treats we'll have. But I keep going back to a cd...some of you are familiar with Todd Agnew's Christmas cd....he goes through the whole christmas story and tries to imagine what it was like for all those involved...what was going through their minds? How could they know what was happening? Did they understand the magnitude of a tiny child being born? My favorite song on the album relates to the angels. At his concert, Todd explains his thinking behind the song. When the angels were in heaven, they must have been looking down on the earth, knowing what was about to happen...they must have been so excited - can't you just imagine it? Like a kid on Christmas morning waking up knowing that Santa brought them presents...only this was real!! The angels must have had all they could do to hold back their excitement - "Can we sing yet? Can we shout yet? "...and then the song erupts as they sing "Glory, glory to God. Glory in the Highest!!" I know I'm not doing it justice. But that's how I feel lately. Like I know this secret and can't wait to yell it at the top of my lungs! I just want everyone to know how truly miraculous it is that GOD sent His ONLY SON to DIE for US!!! It's not enough to just go to church, to know intellectually who God is, or who Jesus is....but you have to know Jesus, have a real relationship with him. And since that finally happened for me, I just want it so bad for the rest of the world! I listened to a sermon from Perry Noble today...it was from the Christmas service at New Spring church in south carolina....it was probably one of the most powerful messages I've ever heard. It was definitely not your typical Christmas isn't-it-nice-that-sweet-baby-was-born kind of story. It was in your face, it asked the tough question - what is it going to take for God to get your attention? It looked at Christmas from King Herod's perspective. God did so many things to get his attention....Jesus was born mere miles from where he was, but Herod eventually died never knowing Jesus. And he'll spend eternity in hell because of it. God was merciful and gave Herod chance after chance after chance...but he never got it. I pray all the time for people I know (and people I don't know) that don't know Jesus. I pray that they'll stop putting Him to the side, stop putting Him off until "later"....

....see I told you I had all these thoughts in my head. I could go on and on, but maybe I'll save it for another time. I found the Todd Agnew song I was talking about and added it on the right. Check it out :)

Merry Christmas everybody!!!!

Games anyone??

This is going to be a quick post (I'm trying to get out of work and go get my baby!!), but since I can't access internet again until Monday, I have to get it out there.

My darling little brother David (now that he's a grown up he has people call him Dave, but I just can't bring myself to change) and his wife Jenny are coming to NC for Christmas!!! They'll be here for a week. Since we're cutting waaaay back on the gifts this year, we're trying to find different ways to spend time together and just enjoy each other's company. So....I'm on a mission to find board games (or something similar) that we can borrow. We have Scattergories and Cranium....but are open to new games. Does anyone have something we can borrow? I promise we'll take really good care of your stuff and it'll only be for a week.

Thanks!!!!!!!

Many Thanks

You guys rock! Thank you sooooo much to all of you who commented on my last post. I've gotten a lot of great ideas for our date nights and I'm excited to give some of them a try. I have to admit I cracked up at the thought of going roller-skating with Ed, but hey, he lived through the 80's, I'm sure he's an old pro!


One other update on a recent post....the Operation Pretty Things deadline has been extended to next Wednesday, December 17th. So if anybody has something to donate, let me know and I'd be more than happy to include it in the giant stash of stuff I've collected so far.


Tonight is our final class in the Financial Peace University series. Ed & I talked about this a little last night and we both agreed that it was the best $90 ever spent. We're communicating about money, we're sticking to our budget, we're slowly but surely climbing out of debt...it's such a wonderful feeling! God has truly blessed our family - and I'm grateful for the kick in the butt it took for me to realize that!


One more thing and then I've got some online shopping to do before my lunch break is over. A friend of mine (from Financial Peace) emailed me this morning to tell me about this awesome deal at Chick-fil-A (the Mayfaire location only). Check this out!!

Ideas Anyone??

Okay people, I need your help. Put on your thinking caps and let's get creative!!!!

I'm trying to come up with some new ideas for date-night with the hubby. Yes, there's the standard dinner & a movie, or even bowling. Those nights have their place, but I don't want to always do the same thing. Our budget is somewhat limited, but thanks to Grandparents (seriously, what would we do without you??) we don't have to worry about child-care costs in general.

Any thoughts? Really, throw them out there...be bold...leave a comment!! Do you have any funny stories of places you've gone, activities you've tried? Now that Ed isn't working a billion hours a week and we actually have time to spend together, I'm trying to inject a little more fun and adventure into our rare evenings out.

Come on people!!!

Operation Pretty Things

I received this email last week from a friend of mine...her small group is doing something pretty amazing this holiday season. Read on:


hello ladies!!

so, in the spirit of the holidays (and tradition)...my small group is doing our 2nd annual "operation pretty things" (OPT) - we collect all the "pretty things" that we have poking around our medicine cabinets (the never-been-used/un-opened things), make little gift bags and bring them to a woman's shelter here in town. last year was our first time doing this. the bags were received with so much gratitude and appreciation. it was awesome!! so, we are at it again...

this year we wanted to give our friends and families an opportunity to join us!
Ps 9:9-10 says..."The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you." another version says... "God is a safe-house for the battered, a sanctuary during bad times."

some of these women are facing some pretty bad times. our hope is that we can show the love of Jesus, by simply reminding these ladies that they are beautiful in God's eyes, and worth every drop of His unfailing love. In each bag, we place our favorite verses from the Bible, to encourage them with truth.

along with your favorite verses, we are looking to fill these bags with the usual cosmetic fare (make-up, lotions, nail polish, cosmetics, etc)...
things that you are not using and wouldn't mind giving to these woman - some of whom have had to leave all their pretty things behind.

this year, we are gonna kick it up a notch, too!! if anyone has jewelry they are not wearing, or little accessories and/or extras (like scarves or hair brushes or, I don't know...extras) that you are not using/have never been used/new!...let's collect those too!! and feel free to purchase pretty things too...no one is gonna stop you :) the more pretty things, the better! and if you have little gift bags or tissue paper you want to donate as well, that would be awesome!!

if you have any questions, please shoot me an email. i need to collect everything by Thursday, December 10th...which will give my small group time to assemble, and deliver the bags before Christmas! if you've got "pretty things" bring them to church or let's set up a time to rendezvous!! just collect what you can, and email me or call!

also, please pass this on to anyone that might be interested in joining us.
I don't have a lot of email addresses, so maybe you all can help me on that front. ok, that's it for me!
Missy Boneske

If you'd like to help out, you can either email Missy directly (missy@abbafirst.com), or you can email me (sunshinegrl243@aol.com). I just think this is an awesome way to help in a way that is often overlooked. Happy hunting!!

Marking a Moment

One year ago today I was baptized as a Christian. That night was absolutely incredible. I was excited, I was a little bit nervous, and I was thrilled that so many people had come to share the moment with me. I wish I had words to describe it, but I could just feel God’s presence so clearly…it was a moment that I specifically recall wanting to tuck away…for those days when things don’t seem so clear.

Right before everything got started, Mike met with all of us (12 or 13 I think) that were going to be baptized. He made sure we understood what would happen, and then we all prayed together. One by one, we made our way to the edge of the pool. I took off my glasses and waded into the water where Mike was waiting. My wonderful friend Cindy read the testimony that I had prepared ahead of time. She started crying just a few sentences in, so of course I was crying! As she finished, Mike said “it is upon your declaration of faith that I now baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”. With that, he leaned me back and dunked me under the water. As I came up out of the water, everyone in the room was clapping and cheering (my small group was the loudest!!!)

For the rest of the night I swear it didn’t feel like my feet even hit the ground. The whole thing was just so powerful – publicly declaring as an adult the fact that my life belongs to Jesus Christ. A bunch of us went to O’Charleys afterwards to continue the celebration and even Edwin joined in the festivities.

A couple of weeks ago I was listening to a sermon given by Perry Noble (pastor of New Spring Church in Greenville, SC) about baptism. He was saying that adult baptism is not a denial of your past, not a denial of any ceremony during your childhood. It’s affirming what your parents prayed for when you were sprinkled as an infant. Then he said this (and it was so good I listened a couple of times to get the quote right). “Baptism comes after salvation. It doesn’t matter how many times you got baptized before you became a Christian – all you were was a wet sinner.” I totally agree. That night was not me denying how I was raised…in fact, I’m grateful for growing up knowing about God. However, it wasn’t until the past few years that I’ve had a personal relationship with Jesus, and that’s why I got baptized.

Happy November 18th!!

Something New

I was sick of looking at the picture of random coupons, so I decided it was time for a new post.

I went to the dentist yesterday. I haven't gone since before Edwin was born. I have 8 cavities. If that's not incentive enough to go brush and floss your teeth right now...you're hopeless! (in my feeble defense, let me just say that I never used to go to the dentist. I can't remember having a filling past the age of about 6. So this is a big number yes, but that's considerably better than it could have been when you take into account that I obviously neglect my dental health).

I brushed and flossed this morning!!! (don't worry, I always brush my teeth..just not so much on the flossing)

Ok, I have surprisingly little to say right now. Hope everyone's having a great day :)

Harris Teeter Triple Coupons!

This was just a quick trip to get a few things that we'll need around the house....

4 cans Swanson broth (14oz each)
3 boxes Fiber One chewy bars (5 ct each)
3 bags Domino sugar (5lb each)
1 can Folgers coffee (the normal size, not the cheapo size)
1 Crisco Extra Virgin Olive Oil (16.9 oz)
3 pkgs Keebler Sandies cookies
3 Reynolds cut-rite wax paper (75 sq ft)
1 Always pads (18 ct)
1 Always pantiliners (60 ct)
1 Mr Clean Magic Eraser (2 ct)
2 Colgate Total Toothpaste

Total # of items: 23
Original Total: $77.20
Paid: $28.44

Savings: $48.76

I'll admit, this trip wasn't as exciting as my trip to Lowe's for their triple coupons a few weeks back, but it's still nothing to complain about. After all, one can never have too much free toothpaste, right?

God's Word

Romans 13: 1-7

1Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. 6This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. 7Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

1 Timothy 2: 1-4

1 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Does It Really Need to be Said?

VOTE!!!

(Duh).

Having said that, I also want to share a scripture that Mike (pastor at PC3) referenced on Sunday. It's Proverbs 21:1 "The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes. "

Basically, we all need to remember that God is in charge here. Yes, we have been given an amazing opportunity and privilege to vote...and I believe we should take full advantage of that. Ultimately, God is the One who decides which man will become the next president. And once that decision has been made, God also is the one who has absolute control over that man's heart. Keep that in mind as you're watching the results come in...

Happy Voting!!

Trunk-or-Treat 2008

As I mentioned earlier, tonight was the annual Trunk-or-Treat put on by Port City Community Church. Here are some pics from the evening (in no particular order because I can't figure out how the heck to do it on blogger!!). Enjoy :)

Aren't my boys the cutest?

(Thanks to my friend Amber for letting us borrow her son's monkey costume!)

Rebecca & Cindy decorated one of the "trunks". Rebecca's Mazda was transformed into a beautiful fishy! Aren't they gorgeous?

Edwin had a blast!

My friend Brittany was there with her man Brad and their super sweet daughter Ella. What an adorable pumpkin!! This was actually Brittany's costume when she was little :)

Edwin and Ella are so cute together!

We just thought this guy was soooo cool. Can you say Pirates of the Carribbean??

Rebecca and her lovely daughter Maggie

Look closely at his eyes...can you tell this was taken moments before we left? The paci was in, the blanket was being snuggled...Edwin fell asleep halfway to mom & dad's house. He wore himself out!

Ok, this was the funniest costume idea in my opinion. "Sarah Palin" had two dog leashes...one held "Bark Obama" and the other held "John McCanine". Awesome!!

Another clever trunk (and its designers)

I wish you could see this better, but they even had the Bat Mobile! I can't remember which number for sure, but I know they took either 2nd or 3rd in the contest.

I'm telling you...people go all out for this event!

Ed enjoyed the trunks so much that he decided we need to decorate one next year. Should be interesting! I hope everybody had a great Halloween.

(P.S. I have no idea why our internet is still working. The cable and phone have both been cut off. Oh well...I'm not complaining! I just don't want to see it on our bill! haha)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

We're going to Trunk-or-Treat tonight with the whole fam. Hopefully I'll have some great pictures to post here in a couple of days. My little monkey is going to be so cute!!!

Strange

This is weird. I called ATMC today and dropped our house phone, our internet, and our fancy cable...we now get 13 channels (only about 5 of them are "real" channels).

I knew this day was coming. In fact, I've felt for a couple of months that this is something I needed to do....sort of 'unplug' from the television and spend my time doing other things. Ed & I both agreed that this was the best decision for our family. We're working on getting out of debt, and by cancelling all of this, we'll be throwing an extra $100 a month on our debt snowball. That's $1200 a year!!

I'm almost embarassed to admit how dependent I've become on tv...I'd venture to say probably to the point of being sinful. I have been making the television my idol and the Bible clearly states we are to have no other gods besides God.

So like I've said before, my blog posts will slow down a bit. I can still post from work (on my lunch hour of course) so that's not a big deal. If anyone reading this is also friends with me on Facebook, most likely I won't be on there very much at all. It's blocked from work (with very good reason), so I'll have to settle for checking stuff at mom & dad's house...which is actually where I am now.

Anyway, after the initial shock wore off, and I got some great tips from a fabulous friend (you know who you are!), I am looking forward to this change in my life. I'm looking forward to spending more quality time with my husband and my son, I'm looking forward to reading more, I'm looking forward to having more intentional quiet time with God.

I'll let you know how it goes :)

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Exodus 20: 1-4

1 And God spoke all these words:
2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 "You shall have no other gods before me.
4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Camera Happy

I didn't realize how much I missed having my camera...or how much I take it for granted...until I left it with Katie for about a week. Suddenly I have the urge to take pictures of anything and everything! Lucky for you, right?


I took this one this morning...just before we left the house...he still has bed-head! (and yes, I still give my child a bottle in the morning. I love our snuggle time!)


He did NOT want to get up this morning!



Self portraits are so much fun, don't you think? (although I must say, my head looks HUGE in this picture!)

Grandma Jeanie sent a package to "Dewey" yesterday, and I couldn't resist putting him in the pj's she sent. He wasn't being as cooperative with pics as he was the other night, but you get the idea.

He's Gotta Work For It!

Since our son eats more than the average 6 year old, we've decided that he needs to earn his keep. So we've put him to work doing some light housekeeping.

Check out this video of him using the vaccuum (he gets soooo mad when we turn it off!! It's quite amusing actually).

Thoughts?

Please click HERE to read a very interesting article. It may make some of you angry, it may make some of you roll your eyes... What I do hope though is that it makes everyone who reads it think.

I know how I'm voting.

Here's the link again. Any thoughts?

Stylin'

I just had to share these adorable pictures with you. I found some cute new pj's for Edwin today...and he actually cooperated for the camera!!

Angels

Today was the first time we picked up food from Angel Food Ministries. I talked about it in a previous post, but basically, we got all of this food pictured for only $30!!!! I'm not sure if you can see everything...but there's spaghetti, meatballs, sauce, frozen veggies, steaks, pork chops, hot dogs, chicken, tortillas, eggs, milk, Hawaiian punch, cookies... That's a TON of food! I think they have their November menu posted, so go check it out. Only $30 for a whole box of food that can last quite awhile.

I finally got around to posting some more pictures of Edwin. Sorry it's been so long. This afternoon when Ed got home from work (and Edwin got up from his nap) we were hanging out in the living room. Edwin kept trying to climb on top of his toy "bin", so to solve that, I dumped all the toys out so he'd have nothing to stand on. Anyway, he discovered (not for the first time) how much he loves to just play in the empty tub. That kid cracks me up!

The other night at Mom's bday celebration, Katie took some adorable pictures of Edwin. You can check them out on her blog. We also went to Hugh McRae park last night for our official photo shoot with her. However, my son decided that he wanted to go IN THE POND. Thankfully I kept him from diving head-first in the water, but let's just say his toddler temper flared big time. He threw an absolute fit because I wouldn't let him run free...but silly me...I didn't want my child to drown. Anyway, I think she eventually got some more pics of him, so as soon as she sends them to me, I'll post them here. We also went to the pumpkin patch, but it wasn't so successful. Everyone was hungry, a little tired, and on the verge of a meltdown. We'll just have to see how those pics turn out.

Ok, so the more I type, the more I realize this is pretty boring. Sorry 'bout that. I haven't quite felt myself the last couple of days...just really tired. I'm looking forward to church tomorrow morning, and a hopefully relaxing afternoon with Edwin.

Oh yeah, I forgot. This morning was the JDRF walk!! The weather was less than stellar, but thanks to Pappy, we (mom, Janet, and I) stayed dry and stylish in our bright yellow rain gear. I exceeded my fundraising goal, so thank you again to all who donated!!!

I Can't Resist!

This picture was sent to me in a forward...if you don't laugh, you have absolutely NO SENSE OF HUMOR!!! Enjoy. (P.S. Please see the post from yesterday about JDRF)

Getting Closer...

This Saturday, October 25th is the JDRF Walk (Juvenile Diabetes). I know I posted about this once before (see here), but since this is my blog…I’m posting about it again!

Thank you SO MUCH to those of you who have donated $$ to help me reach my goal of at least $100. I’m getting close, but I still need a few more people to help!

I’m asking you to consider donating $5.00. That’s it. Just five bucks. If you’ve been reading this blog lately, you know that I’ve been talking a lot about saving money and I hope you’ve been using some of my tips! That’s why I’m only asking for $5.00. Hopefully this wouldn’t break your budget (although there have been times when I swear it would have messed mine up!!) and it always feels good doing something nice for others.

Remember, I’m not collecting money for me…it’s going to help children who are affected by this disease. So please, go to my donation page (HERE) to use a debit card or you can contact me if you’d rather do a check. (I definitely don’t advocate using a credit card. No more debt!!!)

Anyway, like I said before, thank you to those of you who have already contributed either electronically or otherwise. I truly appreciate it!

My Baby!

Every day at Edwin’s daycare, they fill out a little report with what he’s done…what he ate…how long his nap was, etc.

It’s usually pretty standard – in fact, you can tell most of the time they photocopy the activities and just customize the food/nap portion for each kid.

Well yesterday, they added a note about Edwin. I just now had a chance to read it…and it was so sweet I had to share.

“Edwin is a very smart kid, he’s always smiling! He’s talking a lot more and he’s just a joy to our classroom.”

I think our decision to switch daycares was a wise one. If I can’t be the one taking care of him all day, I’m so thrilled that he’s having a good time.

How to Be Rich

Yesterday, I stumbled across a sermon series that Andy Stanley did last year. It's called How to Be Rich. I've only listened to the first part (there are four), but it completely blew me away.

He talks about a survey that was done…asking people what they thought it takes to be rich. If you ask someone who makes $20,000 a year what it means to be rich, they might say you have to earn $50,000 a year. Well ask someone who makes $50,000 if they are rich and the answer is usually no. That person might say if they made $75,000 a year, they’d be rich. Again, ask someone who makes $75,000 if they are rich and you’ll probably hear no. On average, if you ask most Americans what they think it means to be rich, they’ll say you need to make $120,000 per year. Once again, ask the person who makes $120,000…are you rich? Generally they say no.

On and on this goes. Even the person who makes a million dollars might not think they are rich! So what’s his point? His point is that “rich” is a moving target. There’s no line that you cross one day and suddenly say I’M RICH!! I can finally stop worrying about money!! That doesn’t happen. So instead of trying to figure out how to GET rich, let’s try to figure out how to BE rich. All the books and gurus and tape sets tell you is how to get more money, how to get rich. They don’t tell you how to behave once you are rich.

Let me just pause here and say I realize I’m not doing this message justice. But it was so powerful when I listened to it that I couldn’t help but share. Just this one time, take a chance…click on the link…listen to the message. It’s only about 45 minutes-it’s free! Listen.

Okay, moving on. Did you know that if you make over $30,000 per year you are in the top 4% of earners in the world???!! FOUR PERCENT.

If you can go to your closet and stare at a rack of clothes trying to decide what to wear….

If you can go to your cupboards or your refrigerator and make an actual decision about what to eat…

If you have to plan what to do with your leftover money…

If you have a house for your car…(yes, this is called a garage)…

I’m sure you see where this is going. Andy Stanley had everyone repeat this phrase. “I have more than I need. I’m rich.” Then he took it a step further for the Christians. “God has blessed me with more than I need. I’m rich.”

Try it for yourself. Actually say the words out loud. Yes our country is going through an economic “crisis”. But we are rich beyond measure. You don’t have to feel guilty about it either. God has placed you where you are, God has given you opportunities, talents, etc. God has blessed me with more than I need. I am rich. Now my goal is to learn how to be rich the way God wants me to be.

The Sunday Soup

You might be thinking...what's with the title? Well, I read (okay, stalk) quite a few blogs. One of them does a "Sunday Sound-Out" and another does "Miscellaneous Monday". They're just posts to dump a whole lot of information. So here's my version. The Sunday Soup.

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Ed has to take Edwin to the doctor tomorrow. According to the nurse-line, we've done everything we can do at home. His diaper rash (from the antibiotics to help cure the double ear infection) has morphed into something completely immune to balmex. Perhaps a yeast infection? By the way, I had NO idea little boys could get yeast infections. Anyway, we've tried everything. We haven't used wipes (they can leave a film of bacteria on the hiney), we've washed him with mild soap, changed his diapers as frequently as possible, soaked him in a tub of warm water and baking soda...and the list goes on. Nothing is budging the super red presence on his little butt. I feel so bad for him. So please pray that the docs can figure out how the heck to fix it!!
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On Friday, I gave a presentation at work based on the info we've learned at Financial Peace University. Oh my gosh, what a RUSH!!! I don't mind getting up in front of groups to give a presentation...at the beginning of the year, I presented info about Time Management to about 5 groups at work. No biggie. But this one....oh man. I guess it's because I've become so passionate about getting out of debt...I had a blast! And I received a TON of great feedback from everyone. In fact, it might become something even bigger at work...we'll see. I even brought a visual aid from my grocery game "winnings". The night before, Ed, Edwin & I went to Lowe's foods for triple coupon sales. My original total was $83.20, but we only paid $13.98!!! So I packed up all the food, brought it to the presentation, and made the point that you CAN save a lot of money just by clipping coupons. Very effective.
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I feel bad about this next one... I meant to write about it sooner, but just kept putting off the whole blogging thing. It's called Angel Food Ministries. It's a non-profit organization dedicated to helping families stretch their grocery dollars. You can go to their website to get all the details, but here's the main idea. They take orders several weeks in advance, and are able to get fantastic prices from vendors. You order a standard box of food for $30 which has enough food to feed a family of four for a week!! And this is top-quality food! We learned about it at Financial Peace University...one of the couples told everyone about it. They said the food was fantastic and they couldn't believe how easy the process was. There's no financial qualification, and you're not taking from others who need the service. In fact, their hope is that you'll save so much on your own grocery bill, that eventually you can buy boxes of food for other families in need. Trust me, check out their website! Ed & I ordered the standard box this month (there are add-on boxes, but we're just trying it out first)...I'll let you know how it turns out. Delivery date is October 25th.
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Here's another website you might want to check out. It's called StuckOnWords. I just think it's such a cute idea!! It's vinyl lettering that you can have customized for your walls, your car, gifts, etc. Check out the photo gallery. They have super cute ideas for nurseries, for bathrooms...really for any room in your house. I'd love to do this in our dining room. Currently, we have a giant pic of Edwin hanging up...but we need something else. Anyway, thought I'd pass this one along.
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Have I mentioned Financial Peace University?? Haha! Well, in case you haven't noticed, we are LOVING IT!! This past week, the lesson was all about "Credit Sharks in Suits"...how to handle credit collectors and other related topics. Wow. Listening to the stories of people's experiences with collectors was intense. I've had plenty of my own run-ins with these folks and it is not fun. It's embarassing, it's depressing, it's all kinds of awful things. But we don't have to worry about that anymore. We're current on everything, and actually making quite a bit of progress towards getting rid of all debt for good!!!!!
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One thing I found most interesting in this week's lesson was about the FICO score. Everybody thinks it's your "credit" score, but I think Dave Ramsey has it right. It's your "I love debt score." It's totally based on how much debt you carry, how long you've carried it, etc. In fact, since he (Dave Ramsey) has no debt and hasn't for a looooong time, he no longer has a FICO score. That's my goal!!!
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Halloween is coming!!!! And this means Trunk-or-Treat is coming too. Every year, Port City Community Church has a trunk-or-treat down at Veterans Park (near Ashley High School). Last year was the first time I went...and oh my gosh. I could not believe how much work went into the whole production. It was HUGE! There were giant inflatables for the kids to play on, and the trunks. Um...insane? Yes, that's a good word. I swear, they looked like movie sets!!! I'm looking forward to going again this year. And I'm especially excited because all the fam is coming along for the fun! Edwin is going to be....Wait. Maybe I should make people guess. What do you think Edwin will be this year? (For those of you who know...keep your traps shut. haha)
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Facebook. I've actually enjoyed "running into" old friends on Facebook. But tonight, I got requests from two people that I either don't know, or don't remember. Even after looking at their pictures, I have NO IDEA who the heck they are. Is it rude to decline the friend request?
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Drumroll please........................
Here's my biggest announcement in The Sunday Soup. WE'RE GETTING RID OF CABLE, PHONE, AND INTERNET!!!! Yes people, you read that correctly. In an effort to put an extra $100 towards our debt snowball every month, Ed and I have agreed to ditch the technology. Well, almost ditch it. We're keeping the $12 cable. But other than that....zip, zero, nada. WOO HOO!!!! There are several reasons I'm so excited, but I don't need to go into all of that. But let this be a lesson to all of you out there. Okay, not a lesson. But let it be a giant sign to all of you that we are SERIOUS about getting out of debt!!!!!! This also means that the blogs will slow down. If I want to blog, I'll either have to go somewhere with free wi-fi, or fit it in on my lunchbreak. Either way, there's a good reason for me to go M-I-A. Once we get out of debt, we can have all the luxury items back...but for now, we're going old-school. (sort of)
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Okay, I think that's enough for this Sunday. Have a great week! I'll try my hardest to not be lazy with my blog this week. I'll at least try to keep you updated on Edwin's butt. (Okay that sounded weird)

Time Marches On

Last night, I had a super long blog post rolling around in my head. I was going to write about our crazy weekend, about Edwin being sick, about all the little things that piled up making me feel like a giant ball of stress. But I was too tired to write.

This morning, I realized that it doesn't matter. Time keeps moving. We made it through the weekend. Edwin still isn't 100% healthy, but it's ok. We're getting through. I was reminded many many times over just a couple of days how I can't rely on my own strength. I NEED GOD. For those of you who are walking with God, do you notice that we go through seasons of explosive growth, and seasons of just getting by? Just a few weeks ago, I'd say I was in the former category. I was in the Word daily, I was journaling, I was focused on Jesus. But lately, I've felt myself slip. It's easier to turn off the light early and go to sleep rather than spend time reading my bible. It's easier to just pray in the car rather than have intentional quiet time (there's nothing wrong with praying in the car...but that can't be the only time I spend with God). I realize that doing or not doing these things doesn't make me a better or worse person. But I have noticed how I react to the world is a lot different when I forget why I'm here.

Wow...this isn't how I intended this post to go at all. But I guess it needed to get out...Anyway, Edwin is on the road to recovery from a double ear infection, my husband's back is causing him a lot of pain, and I think I'm going to go read my bible. I hope everyone has a great night. I'll be praying for you and if you think of us, please pray for our family as well.

Love,
Diana

JDRF

Today at work, we had the kickoff meeting for the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes. A co-worker of mine is leading one of the teams, so Mom & I decided to participate. The walk will take place on Saturday, October 25th at Greenfield Lake/Legion Stadium.

If you didn’t already know, JDRF stands for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. I’ll admit, I didn’t think diabetes was that big of a deal. When I was in elementary school, one of my classmates had diabetes—I just thought it meant he had to test his blood sugar, and make sure to always have a snack. But it’s so much more than that. Jon Evans (local TV anchor) spoke to us about his father’s fight with diabetes, which eventually took his life. My grandmother has diabetes. A friend of mine in Ohio has diabetes. One of the ladies that I work with has a daughter with diabetes. It’s almost a “common” disease…one that I personally don’t think about because I’m not affected by it. But a LOT of people deal with this day by day, minute by minute and it is a big deal.

There was a little boy, 9 years old, that spoke to our group. He was diagnosed with Type I diabetes when he was just five years old. That really hit home for me because my sweet nephew is only five. This little boy talked about his parents having to learn to give him insulin shots, pricking his own finger to test his blood sugar, having to stop playing with his friends when his sugar drops because he gets weak, having an insulin pump attached to his body. Then of course, I started thinking of Edwin. What would I do if he got diagnosed with diabetes? I had tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat as I heard this 9 year old talk about his dream of going to college with no insulin pump and no more diabetes. We also watched a video with several children explaining how it affects their lives. (Seriously, I think they were trying to make us cry the whole time!!!).

What’s my point? I’m participating in this walk in just a few weeks. I’m asking anyone and everyone that reads this post to please consider donating just $10. That’s the cost of two cups of coffee…a movie ticket…lunch at a restaurant… You may not know someone with diabetes, you may not be directly affected by it. But imagine if your child got sick. Again, please consider donating $10. You can go online and use a debit card, or you can contact me about a cash or check donation. If you are unable to donate, I understand. Regardless, please keep this cause in your prayers.

Here’s a direct link to my donation page. Thank you :)
http://walk.jdrf.org/walker.cfm?id=87112989

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Some Facts About Diabetes

• Today more than 24 million Americans (adults and children) live with diabetes in the U.S. That's 7% of the population
• Diabetes kills one American every 3 minutes and is the sixth leading cause of death reported in the U.S.
• One of every three Americans born in the year 2000 is predicted to devlop some form of diabetes during his/her lifetime
• Insulin is not a cure for diabetes
• Kids with juvenile diabetes must take daily insulin injections, frequent blood sugar tests (as many as six per day) by pricking a finger, and maintain a strictly controlled diet
• Juvenile diabetes often produces serious, even life-threatening complications, such as blindness, vascular damage, and kidney failure
• You cannot outgrow the disease. On average, diabetes will shorten life spans by 15 years

Teeter Totter

Tomorrow at 8am, the new Harris Teeter store in Leland, NC opens its doors for the first time to the public!! Ed doesn't have to work until 10am so I guess he'll miss all the hoopla, or whatever else happens during a new store opening...

Last night they had an open house for the employees, family & friends. It was actually quite nice. The weather was gorgeous, they had a huge tent in the parking lot with tables & chairs, food catered by Parchi's, TONS of doorprizes, a DJ, and a clown for the kids. Edwin even got a balloon sword! (Yes, mommy had something to do with the selection). Grandma took a couple of pics including this one of my adorable baby and his Pappy:

So go check out the new store. We got a sneak peek at all the sales, and let me tell you...I can't wait to bust out my coupon organizer and go to town!! haha.

Craigslist

****EDITED*****

The art sold!!!! Woo hoo!! Now if I can just get rid of that tv stand....

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Last night was my first attempt at Craigslist. We're trying to sell a few things around the house (Dave Ramsey says everything goes!)... If you know anyone in the market for a tv stand or some art for the house...send 'em our way

http://wilmington.craigslist.org/fuo/849923525.html

http://wilmington.craigslist.org/hsh/849929462.html

Thanks!

Another FPU Update

Wednesday night we had our third week of Financial Peace University. This week's lesson was called Relating with Money: Nerds & Free Spirits Unite! Basically, Dave talked about the differences between not only men & women (that could take hours! haha) but also between "nerds" and "free spirits". What does it all come down to? If you're married, no matter which one of you is the nerd or free spirit, you BOTH are responsible for financial decision-making. The nerd tends to try to take over, control things with spreadsheets and budgets. The free spirit tends to say "whatever you want to do honey" assuming that if they don't actually participate in the decision-making process, they don't have to be held accountable. WRONG!!

One thing Dave recommends is called the Budget Committee Meeting. Without going into too many details, the nerd prepares the budget for the meeting. The free spirit has to show up!! When the nerd passes the budget to the free-spirit, he/she needs to shut up and allow the free spirit to make some changes (they must make some changes). Once both parties agree to the budget, they pinkie swear and STICK TO THE BUDGET!!! If something comes up which requires a change to that budget, they call an emergency meeting.

This whole concept sounds so simple, but in our household, it's a new one. I've decided I'm the nerd (anyone object to that?). I love a good spreadsheet, and I definitely try to take control. My darling hubby is more along the lines of the free spirit, at least when it comes to the finances. I think it was just easier to let me take care of things when he was a chef. Poor guy never had time to sleep, let alone deal with the checking account. But that is all changing. Ed's new job has allowed him to be home more (yay!!!) and going through FPU together has forced us to communicate about our finances. I can already tell a difference in our relationship.

During the class, we also learned some stuff for singles, but since I'm no longer in that category, I'll skip it. Finally, we talked about Kids & Money. There were some really great suggestions for how to teach our children to be responsible with their money. Here are a couple from the video:

• Be age appropriate



• Pay commissions, not allowance. This helps them develop the connection between work and money. It takes work to make money! (Certain chores are done just because you're part of the family, but it also helps to have specific tasks associated with a dollar amount. It doesn't have to be a lot.)



• Teach by example! Show them how you live debt free, how saving works, etc.



• For kids age 5-12: Use three envelopes. Giving, Saving and Spending. (If they earn $5 a week, put $1 in the giving envelope and $2 each in the others. Kids' attitudes towards money will change dramatically if they are spending their own!)

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender." -Proverbs 22:6-7 (NKJV)

This week's lesson was extremely helpful. Ed and I already have a basic budget in place for October. I think this coming Wednesday the lesson involves doing a more detailed budget. The nerd in me is so excited! Haha. But seriously, I cannot believe how much my attitude toward money has changed over the past few weeks. I realize that I was being lazy about how I handled our finances. Yes, I made sure our bills were paid, but I never told our money where to go...I just sort of floated along, hoping everything worked out. NO MORE!!! We're developing a specific plan to get out from under all of our debt...slowly (it didn't happen overnight), but God willing, it'll get done.

Remember, you can always go to Dave Ramsey's website for more info and free budgeting forms. He also has a show on at 8pm every night on the Fox Business channel. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!! And leave comments if you have any additional suggestions on cutting down the budget.

She got PAID TO SHOP!!!

Since Ed & I have started Financial Peace University, I’ve been looking for ways to save money. Well, I looked for ways to save money before, but never did much about it. Anyway, there’s this site called TheGroceryGame that totally rocks! Without going into details (because you can look up the specifics on the site or Katie’s blog--she even has pictures) it is a way to save a ton of money at the grocery store. You can save not only on food items, but paper products and toiletries as well.

This weekend was my first attempt. I went to Food Lion on Sunday and when everything was scanned, the total came to $120. I only paid $67!!! Yesterday, I went to Harris Teeter. The original total was $109, but I only paid $54!!! I never realized shopping for groceries could be so exciting. Even the checkout people are thrilled when you save that kind of money!

Ok, so I just had to share this with you (this is the whole reason for my post). Here is an instance when the grocery game will REALLY pay off.

My friend Rebecca has been "playing" the grocery game forever...in fact, I'm pretty sure that's how Katie found out about it. Anyway, Rebecca has a family of 5 (she actually has another son, but he's grown & doesn't live at home). Anyway, she's an awesome steward of her money and is not frivolous when it comes to buying groceries. However, she'll give you everything in her fridge if you needed it.

So…back to my point. She buys 4 Raleigh papers each week just to get the coupons. Today, she headed to Harris Teeter just to pick up a few things she had coupons for and would also use. She bought:

4 16oz Nestle smoothies (essentially, they are just bottles of chocolate milk)
4 boxes of popcorn
2 boxes of toaster strudels
4 boxes of fruit roll-ups (her daughter takes one with her lunch every day)

Grand total???

Negative $1.16!!!!

Yes people, the store PAID HER to shop!! Obviously this isn’t going to feed her family of 5 for the month, but it certainly is a good way to stock up on things! Isn’t that amazing?? Let me know if you've used this site or if you have any other tips for saving money on food!

****Edited to add****

My bad. Apparently Katie told Rebecca about The Grocery Game...not the other way around. Sorry sis!!

It's Gonna Be Awhile

For the past week, I've wanted to sit down and write a "real" blog post, but things have been a little hectic to say the least. So, this might take awhile :)



Last Saturday: Glenn and Jeanie (Ed's parents) arrived from Ohio (see this post). We spent the evening at their condo on Carolina Beach. Lots of fun, but we got home pretty late



Sunday: Edwin & I went to church while Ed stayed home. Jeanie was going to meet me at church, but unfortunately she overslept. Bummer!! Ed eventually joined us in Wilmington and we spent the majority of the day at mom & dad's house. Ed wanted to watch the Nascar race, so mom and I took Edwin and went shopping at Kohl's. That evening, the whole clan (Ed, Edwin, myself, Mom, Dad, Katie, Brian & Anthony) headed down to Carolina Beach. After a yummy dinner, Katie broke out the photog equipment for a family photo shoot!! Hopefully she'll post some of the pics on her blog because they turned out awesome!



Monday: After work, Ed & his parents picked me up so we could go to dinner at San Felipe. YUMMY Mexican food! Edwin was such a good boy at the restaurant...a huge relief considering when we tried to go to dinner on my birthday, he was having none of it (we had to take our food to go).



Tuesday: I took the day off work, so after spending a morning alone (Edwin was at daycare), I picked up my boy and we went to Carolina Beach to see Grandma and Grandpa. They wanted to go to the NC Aquarium, so that's what we did. I haven't been there since my friend Jeri's wedding last year...It was a slow day which meant no crowds. Whew! Edwin loved seeing all the fish and was very vocal about everything! I brought my camera, but unfortunately, the batteries died after only two pictures! Bummer... Just imagine Glenn & Jeanie holding Edwin in front of a fish tank. Nice picture, huh? After the aquarium, we picked Ed up from work and had dinner with the rest of the fam at Mom & Dad's house.

Wednesday: A second day off work for me...so Edwin and I spent the day with Grandma Jeanie & Grandpa Glenn. The weather in Wilmington was not so nice...very rainy in fact. So we basically just spent the day running errands, but it was fun just to spend time together. That night, Ed and I had our second week of Financial Peace University at church (I'll post more about that at the end). AWESOME!

Thursday: Back to work for both of us. We had everyone over to our house for dinner that night, and gave Jeanie her belated bday present: Pictures from our official KMP photo shoot!!

Friday: After work, Edwin and I went down to Carolina Beach for the final night of Glenn & Jeanie's visit. We enjoyed a nice dinner out on the balcony and basically watched Edwin for entertainment. That child is hillarious! I've posted a couple of pics from that night. It sprinkled for a few minutes and I worried that we'd have to take our dinner inside, but the rain stopped and we saw a huge rainbow!!! It was so amazing...and you could see the entire thing! It was a nice way to end their vacation. As always, it was extremely hard to say goodbye to them. After living across the street from Glenn & Jeanie for three years, I got used to seeing them every day. Some of my favorite times were spent chatting with Jeanie as she did her gardening or cooked dinner. We keep trying to convince them to move to NC, but progress is very slow (guess it has something to do with the rest of their family in OH?). Hopefully we'll be able to see them soon.

Today: RELAXATION! After a loooong night last night trying to get Edwin to sleep, today was a welcome day of sitting around doing absolutely nothing. Ed had to work, so Edwin and I played...he took a 3 1/2 hour nap...and enjoyed having nowhere to be.

So there you have it. As I was typing everything, it didn't sound super exciting, but just know that we had a great week with Glenn & Jeanie. Edwin loved seeing his grandparents...even when Jeanie gave him millions of kisses!! :)

My darling son's dinner consisted of Grandpa's french fries, watermelon, and chicken. Yum.

Playing with Grandpa Glenn

The rainbow was gorgeous!

This is what Edwin looks like when he's saying Please. Only, it comes out as "Pleeth"

Chillin' at the beach

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FPU Update

As promised, here's a little update on Financial Peace University. As a reminder, FPU is a 13-week course being held at church. Each week on Wednesday, we all meet together (70+ people) and watch the hour-long DVD taught by Dave Ramsey. Then, we break into small groups for more discussion. This week's lesson was titled "Super Saving". The first step in Dave Ramsey's plan is $1000 in an emergency fund. This is not an all-inclusive fund, but a baby emergency fund. It might seem strange to save money before you attack debt, but the more we learned, the more it made sense. If you have no emergency fund, as soon as you have something happen (car breaks down, A/C unit goes out, someone gets sick, etc), you end up going back into debt! According to Dave, this is the easiest step (as far as getting the $$ together), but it's also the hardest (because you have to commit to living differently...and recognizing that there is a problem). A lot of us in the group were thinking, yeah, right...it's not easy to come up with $1000. But if you take a look around your house, there's lots of stuff that probably has dust on it that can be sold. Use ebay, craigslist, etc. Sell your cds, dvds, collections, whatever!...if you're serious about changing the way you handle finances, you'll start looking at possessions a lot differently. I personally plan to sell all of our cds (it's all on my ipod anyway), dvds, bridesmaid dresses, we have an entertainment stand we don't use, I'm even thinking of selling my wedding dress (I don't need it anymore! haha).

Think of it another way (this example was used in the video): If your child was terminally ill, but there was a cure that cost $5000, would you be able to save the money? The answer for any parent would be YES. You would do whatever it takes to save that money to save your child. Well, getting out of debt and changing the way you handle finances is that serious. Dave talks about changing your family tree...and that's what Ed & I intend to do. It's not going to be easy. It's going to take years to fix some of this stuff. But our goal is to get out of debt (including the house!), save for Edwin's college so he doesn't leave with thousands of dollars in loans, and save for retirement. We plan to stick to a budget, use cash whenever possible, and STOP using credit cards. The slogan on the front of our workbook is "If you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else!"

I could go on and on about all of this, but I'm sure most of you (whoever "you" are) have stopped reading by now. But I'm just so excited! Ed and I are going to sit down tomorrow afternoon and go over our very first budget together. Key word here is together. Yes, we're communicating better about money already...and that in itself is worth going through this program! Next week's lesson is titled: Relating with Money. Stay tuned!

1 Timothy 6:10

10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Proverbs 21:20

20 In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has.

Official

It's official!! Ed passed his final test at Harris Teeter to become a manager. Yay!!!!! This means his transfer to the Leland store can go through....double-yay!!!! This test was a very big deal and he spent a lot of time studying & preparing for it. Great job honey!! Edwin & I are very proud of you :)

Politics

I'm going to make this a quick post because I'm off to the NC Aquarium with Edwin & His grandparents (Glenn & Jeanie).

Basically, there's obviously a lot in the news right now regarding the presidential race. Yes, I've got an opinion...as does everybody else. But check out this link for a really interesting take on the whole thing. I tend to agree.

More later!!

Yes, I'm Spoiled

Around 4am today, we lost power due to Tropical Storm Hanna. At first, it didn't seem like a huge deal...after all, it was nighttime and was supposed to be dark!! But then Edwin woke up at 5:45am absolutely terrified. Usually, if he wakes up in the middle of the night (or super early morning), he can get himself back to sleep. But I think the lack of a nightlight totally freaked him out. He was crying so hard he was shaking by the time I got to him!! It was quite a production to get him back to sleep...I even had to enlist the help of my very sleepy husband. When Edwin woke up again at 8:30am, our day officially began. However, we still didn't have any power. And since we live in the boonies and have well-water, that meant no running water in the house...and consequently, no toilet flushes!! As the morning progressed, the house gradually started heating up. Yuck.

And now we get to the title of the post. I know I'm spoiled. I know that I would NOT do well in a time/place with no modern utilities. I LIKE air conditioning. I LIKE ceiling fans. I LIKE being able to flush the toilet!! I LIKE having a refrigerator that actually works. Then I started to feel guilty thinking about all of those people in the world that don't have things I would consider basic. I know I'm blessed and I am so grateful for these conveniences. I absolutely don't deserve them, but boy do I enjoy them!!!

Ed had to work at noon today, so Edwin & I decided to escape the stuffy house and drive up to Wilmington with him. We spent the day hanging out at Mom & Dad's house...it was such a relief! (I told you I'm spoiled!). Here's the best part of the day though. Glenn & Jeanie are here!!!! Yup, Ed's parents came down from Ohio today. Even a tropical storm wasn't enough to keep them from their adorable grandson that they haven't seen since LAST OCTOBER! They're staying in a condo on Carolina Beach and we hung out there this evening. It was so much fun to watch them with Edwin. They were surprised at how much energy he has! The entire drive home tonight, I kept wondering if the power would be back on. I ran through different scenarios in my head of what we'd do if it was still out. Thank GOD it was on!!!!!!!!!!! So here we are, back in our nice cool house, Edwin is asleep (with the nightlight on), Ed is watching tv, and I'm on the computer. I am so spoiled.

Hurricane

I received this email today regarding any possible hurricane closures/procedures for work:

Office Procedures Concerning Storm and Office Closings

As we watch the progress of the storm, the following are the firm's guidelines based upon the hurricane's intensity:

Hurricane Category #1

No excuse for being late. Leave earlier to give extra time to avoid fallen trees and limbs.

Hurricane Category #2

Due to the horizontal rain, you may wear jeans.

Hurricane Category #3

Whereas most of the area will be flooded we suggest you avoid wearing open toe sandals when coming to work. Canoes will be provided to get to the building safely without getting wet.

Hurricane Category #4

More than likely there will be no electricity. Given that, we will have manual typewriters available to all staff members. Please take extra caution and wear water-proof make-up if Category 4 or above.

Hurricane Category #5

Velcro will be provided to keep you attached to your chairs when the windows blow out. For those that survive, we will have chocolatecake at 3:00 pm in the kitchen.

Word

I love Wednesday nights. That's the night I have my small group. Some of you out there in blog world (like I have sooo many people reading this blog) might not know what a small group is, but basically, it's a group of us that meet on a regular basis for Bible study. This is the only small group I've been a part of, and we've been meeting for about 2 1/2 years!! It hasn't all been sunshine & roses...in fact, there were several times I just needed a break. But these last 13 weeks have been so fantastic, I don't really have an adequate way to describe it. There's just something so special about getting together with friends to learn about Jesus. When you have a relationship with people that is rooted in Christ, somehow it feels stronger than any other friendship. I am just so grateful for each and every one of them and all the things we've gone through together.

Tonight we finished up our study on the book of Daniel. Wow. Have you read it? This was the first time for me and I was blown away. Did you know that every piece of prophecy in the Bible fits into Daniel? Incredible!! I think the major thing I took away from this study (there were several big lessons) is about God's sovereignty. He has absolute control over everything at all times...and it doesn't matter when "the end" comes. Our job right now is to prepare and to walk with Jesus.

To celebrate tonight, we went to one of our favorite restaurants, Indochine. It's a mix of Thai and Vietnamese and heaven!! Haha. Delicious. We sat out back in the garden area. They have little huts that you can sit in...and ours had a much-needed ceiling fan to help with the humidity and bugs. And boy was that food delicious!! My favorite part of the night was when we prayed. It wasn't formal...in fact, we all had our eyes open and took turns speaking our prayers aloud. Thank you God for my small group, and thank You that we are still meeting after 2 1/2 years.

Susan, Rebecca, Me, Cat, Cindy

Cat & David

Me & Rebecca (she was trying to get the menu out of the way, that's why her hand looks so weird!)

Susan & Her hubby James (who decided to tag along for dinner)

Announcement & Dangerous Weapons

I can't believe I forgot to make this announcement on here the other day...but better late than never, right? Here goes: When the new store opens at the end of September, Ed will be transferring to the Leland Harris Teeter!!!!!!! Yup, that's right. He'll be about 2 minutes from Edwin's daycare and about 10 minutes from where I work. We should be able to carpool more (hello, gas is still ridiculously expensive) and hopefully sometime in the next year or two, move closer to Wilmington!!!! Thank You God for another answer to prayer!

Okay, here's the Dangerous Weapons part of the post. Did you know fingernails on a toddler can cause a LOT of damage?? When I picked Edwin up from daycare today, the computer (where I check him in/out) said there was an accident report at the front desk. No biggie, right? It stated that he had been scratched by another child. So I sign the thing, go into his room to pick him up, and am a little shocked....he wasn't just scratched...his poor face was gouged by some crazed toddler!!! As you can see from the pictures, he's not particularly bothered by it now, but at the time, I guess he was crying pretty bad. My poor baby. Now, I understand that kids will be kids and things like this are going to happen. But it doesn't help the fact that I already don't like having to drop him off for 9 hours a day...

Don't Let the Monkeys Pull You Down!

I'm sure that seems like a strange title, but hang in there. A couple posts ago, I wrote about a book called "The Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey. I got the book on a Thursday afternoon, and by Friday at 10:30pm, I had already read it cover-to-cover. Well then I let another friend of mine borrow it, and she happened to have it with her at work today. Since I didn't have anything else to do on my lunch break, I decided to take another look at it...I knew that I blew through it so fast the first time in my excitement that I probably missed a few things. Long story short, I wanted to share this piece about Debt (taken directly from the book):

"Debt has been sold to us so aggressively, so loudly, and so often that to imagine living without debt requires myth-busting. We have to systematically destroy the inner workings of the myths. Debt is so ingrained into our culture that most Americans can't even envision a car without a payment, a house without a mortgage, a student without a loan, and credit without a card. We have been sold debt with such repetition and with such fervor that most folks cannot conceive what it would be like to have no payments."

Is that not so true??? Up until a couple of weeks ago, I was the same way....thinking that I'd forever be in debt in one form or another. But God is showing me that that is a lie. I'm not going through all of this in order to get rich. That's not the point. Jesus was poor and that's ok. But I am trying to learn how to be a better steward of everything God has entrusted to me...not just my finances, but my time, spiritual gifts, etc.

Next week, Ed & I are going to the orientation at church for Financial Peace University. It's a 13 week class taught by Dave Ramsey via video. Then we break up into small groups for more detailed learning and discussion. I am ridiculously excited about this!! Since my lunch break is almost over, I don't have time right now to explain the whole story, but the way this has worked out shows that God had His hands all over this! Now I'm just praying that Ed's schedule will allow him to join me every Wednesday night for the classes.

Okay, enough yammering. But seriously, I highly recommend Total Money Makeover...or any of Dave Ramsey's other materials. Even if you just check out his website, you'll find tons of information and free budgeting forms.

Have a great day :)