born again

this is one of the songs kelly and i are learning for italy. i absolutely love it. its a good thing i do, because i have already listened to it a thousand times and probably will have to a million times more to get it right.

i heart heart heart publix.

why, you ask??? numerous reasons.

publix...

1. has the nicest clerks.

2. is clean and they have antibacterial wipes to use on the cart.

3. has the best sales.

4. has great store coupons.

5. takes any competitor's coupons.

6. doubles coupons everyday up to $0.50.

7. allows you to stack a ton of coupons.

8. has a baby club just for mommies so they can make every penny count.

9. has the best deli meat and cheeses.

10. has a good pharmacy and if you're lucky, once in a while they will give you a $25 gift card to fill your prescription there.

11. should pay me for saying such nice things about them : ).

i guess i am in an especially lovey mood over publix because yesterday i went and made some baby supply purchases. i spent $51 and saved $58. for $51 i got: two (20% more free size) cans of enfamil lipil, one box of pampers cruisers (78 diaper count), huggies natural wipes, pampers sensitive wipes refill, & 20 jars of earth's best organic baby food. that means i got $109 worth of baby stuff for $51. that makes me smile.

maybe, i'll spare you from some coupon talk for awhile now. not likely though.

lucy's story

next time you're at the grocery store, don't complain if the line is going much slower than you'd like. i heard this story today and if i am ever being impatient in a store, i hope i will rememeber this...

lucy (i can't remember her real name. so, for the sake of the story her name is lucy.) was standing in line at the grocery store. the only problem was that the line was taking forever to get anywhere. her baby was crying. not just fussing. crying like he hadn't had any food his whole life.

meanwhile, at the register, there was an elderly woman sorting through a stack of a bajillion coupons. and no, the elderly woman is not a disguise for myself. although i do hold up the line a lot these days with all my coupons...i feel so bad.

lucy's baby continued to wail... and then, the elderly woman dropped those darn coupons all on the ground. at this point, any mom in their right mind would've moved their cart to a different aisle. i suppose someone else in their right mind would be really annoyed and start thinking really mean mean things in their head about coupons and ladies with them.

not lucy. even with her baby screaming in the cart, she bent down and helped pick up every single one of the coupons.. then the cashier began to scan them and informed the elderly woman of her total. she seemed a bit panicked when she realized she didn't have enough money to pay for her groceries. you'd think after using all those coupons she would walk out of the store with money back. not so. she was short. lucy decided to pay for her groceries.

wow, for lucy. what a demonstration of the love of Christ! next time i am impatient or annoyed, i will think of lucy's story. you should too.

first year scrapbook.

i promised my cali family i would put up these pics of hunter's first year scrapbook. i also promise you that the scrapbook looks better in person. i made this while i was pregant so that once hunter was here i would just have to fill it with pictures. this was super smart and considering i had a severe case of mommy brain, meaning i all of a sudden lost my mind (still waiting for it to come back...) while i was pregnant; it is surprising i came up with anything smart! -i'm sure lots of mommies can relate!?!? i am so glad its already made because i have hardly been able to keep up with filling in the pictures. thank goodness i don't have a whole scrapbook to still make. if you are a preggers, i highly recommend making a scrapbook now, rather than waiting for your babe to arrive. trust me, you won't do it once they're here (unless you want to wait until they're in college...you'd probably have time then).


page 1: john hunter graham with all his arrival stats. the pics that are strewn everywhere to the left are waiting to find their place in the book. i have work to do!

pages 2 & 3: daddy & mommy page. young and old pics of us with a story about each of us as kiddos and where we grew up.

pages 4 & 5: another daddy & mommy page. a wedding pic of us so that hunter can see how in love we are. : ) and then pics from the day we found out we were prego.

pages 6 & 7: my growing belly & first glimpses of hunter.

pages 8 & 9: baby shower, nursery & hunter's arrival. this is where you begin to see all the blank spots for me to fill with pictures.

pages 10 & 11: coming home & the first month.

pages 12 & 13: 2nd & 3rd month happenings.

pages 14 & 15: 4-6 mos. happenings and 7-9 mos. happenings. hunter will be 8 months in a few days...i can't believe i have enough pictures now to fill up the scrapbook all the way to this page. wow, this boy is growing too fast!

pages 16 & 17: 10-11 mos. & 12 mos. (he will be 10 mos. at christmas!) the christmas page is my favorite.

pages 18 & 19: firsts = tooth, laugh, crawl, steps, birthday!

page 20: (not pictured) reserved for a big family photo!

the end!

i promise to post pictures of the completed scrapbook.

groceries and headbands

here are my totals from publix. it was a great week with lots of good sales. click here to see the list from southern savers that i used to make my list. i got $153 worth of groceries for $65 which equals a savings of $83. considering last week was a triple coupon week (i got $228 worth of groceries for $47) and i heard a story from a lady who got $1,016 worth of groceries for only $83, this hardly seems like a good deal. but, i stayed within our budget and got a lot of good things - healthy things too! i get a bit nervous sometimes because i hear stories of people gaining 20 lbs once they start couponing. yikes! i think you just have to be wise about what you buy...and, if you buy some unhealthy stuff, just don't eat it all in one week.

our grocery budget is $50/week, but the diapers come out of our baby budget. the diapers were $9.99 per box - what a deal!!! so, i really spent $45 from our grocery budget. yippee - came in under budget!!!

freebies this week: spray 'n wash, ore ida steam and mash potatoes (2 bags!)

highlights: campbell's healthy harvest soup - they were b1g1 free, plus i had coupons. they ended up being $0.84, which is a meal for me! the hummus was on sale for $2.50 and i had a $1.50 off coupon so it ended up being $1.00! eggo waffles were $0.70 per box! birds eye frozen veggies were $0.29!

let me also mention that this week starting wednesday is super doubles at harris teeter. super doubles means they will double any coupon that is $1.98 or less. i am excited for that!!! to stay within our budget, i will plan on not going to the grocery store at all the following week. can't wait to tell you about the harris teeter deals!

now, on to headbands. problem = a rainy saturday. solution = headband. when it rains, there is no sense in doing your hair, especially if your hair is curly and gets extremely frizzy in the rain. headbands somehow hide a bad hair day really well. besides earrings, they are my fave accessory. my gold one below is my best friend. it matches everything. if its raining where you live, go put on a headband and have a great saturday!

show us your life - desserts

this week on kelly's korner, show us your life, it is all about desserts. so, i just have to share my recipe for the best-ever chocolate chip cheesecake. thank you to my husband's family for passing this on to me! it is a favorite at our house! warning: this may be addicting and it is definitely fattening.

chocolate chip cheesecake

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup cocoa

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted

3 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened

1 can sweetened condensed milk

3 eggs

2 tbsp vanilla extract

1 cup mini chocolate chips

1 tsp all purpose flour

heat oven to 300 degrees. in bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, cocoa, sugar, and butter; press evenly on bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. in large mixer bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. gradually add sweetened condensed milk, beating until smooth. add eggs and vanilla; mix well. in small bowl, toss 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips with flour to coat; stir into cheese mixture. pour into springform pan. sprinkle remaining chips evenly over the top. bake 1 hour. turn oven off; allow to cool in oven 1 hour. remove from oven; cool to room temp. refrigerate. enjoy!

this is what you get:

i fell for fall

a long time ago, i don't know exactly when, i fell in love with fall. especially it's colors. can you tell?

pretty much every room in my house is green, brown...well that's pretty much it. we do have one blue room and two yellowish rooms. but, i am in love with greens and browns.

i don't really decorate for fall. my house is already fall. i just add a fallish wreath to the door and a fallfull dishtowel-

now, if it could only feel like fall outside. i guess that is asking too much when you live in south carolina and its still september.

how do you decorate for fall?

sun and rain

psalm 112:7 - he will have no fear of bad news.

right now, the skies are sunny in our life. things have been going well, we are enjoying our little boy and are entirely grateful for the Lord's provision in our lives. i have to admit, its been one of those months that have made me think that things are just too good to be true and bad news must be waiting around the corner. isn't that terrible? we all have had those bad news days that change our lives forever. my heart is heavy as i type because i know that many dear people who i am close to are dealing with rain. and lots of it.

i really want to be fully content in sun and rain and not afraid of what may or may not be waiting around the corner. God is sovereign over all, He knows what has been, what is, and what will be. in order to have no fear of bad news i really have to grasp the truth of God's word and His promises. God will never give us more than we can handle. we have Christ as our advocate before the Father and there is great comfort in that...comfort that can get you through the strongest storms of life.

on september 15th's morning from charles spurgeon's morning and evening, he speaks of this-

"trust in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. your wisest course is to do as moses did at the red sea, 'stand still and see the salvation of God.' for if you give way to fear when you hear of bad news, you will be unable to meet the trouble with calm composure which nerves for duty, and sustains under adversity. how can you glorify God if you play coward? saints have often sung God's high praises in the fires, but will your doubting and hopelessness, as if you had no one to help you, magnify the most high? then take courage, and relying in sure confidence upon the faithfulness of your covenant God, 'do not let your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.'"

they say...

...that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. i say "they" are right. so, in honor of kelly's 28th birthday (his birthday is really tomorrow but he has to work and its just a busy day; so we celebrated today!) i made him some specialness. i like to call it fattening he likes to call it happiness.

happiness #1: chocolate chip pancakes, poached eggs and bacon. (disclaimer: food tasted better than it appears in this picture.) kelly said it was the best breakfast i have ever made - i am glad it worked out to be on his birthday celebration day. considering we only ever eat cereal or soy milk for breakfast i guess it was an easy task to make the best breakfast i have ever made.

happiness #2: chocolate chip cheesecake. this has been what i have always made kelly on his birthday. he loves it and would love it if i made it more than once a year. i say "no way" because i have discovered something even better than chocolate chip cheesecake...chocolate chip cheesecake batter...and when i am alone in the kitchen making it...well, lets just say that there's not enough will-power in the whole human race combined to say "no." so, kelly only gets it on his birthday. trust me, i am doing him a favor too. there are as many calories in that as the entire mcdonald's menu combined.

the best happiness of all: celebrating your first birthday as a dad! hunter wore his "my dad is rad" shirt to help celebrate!

we love you so so so much kelly. you are a lovingly kind, humble, and caring husband and father. this is the 6th birthday i have celebrated with you and the 7th age we have been together. every year is a blessing...i love making memories with you! (sorry, that keith urban song we are learning for the wedding is in my head...). i love sharing life with you. you are the husband of my dreams and hunter says that you are a dad that is out of this world! it was so much fun celebrating YOU today! hunter and i are blessed everyday by your life. we praise God for you!

a shower cap for shoes

oh my goodness! thanks to my friend suzanne, (oh yeah, and Real Simple for coming up with the ideas!) i just came across the coolest and most brilliantly simple ideas. seriously, look here at all these great ways to repurpose old things that you probably don't use or are even considering throwing out. you will think twice before you trash these things. if you're like me, you hate clutter and throw everything out that even remotely resembles messy. but, i love love love these ideas...definitely worth keeping these things around!

here are some of my faves:

use an old shower cap for shoes in your suitcase. then you don't have to worry about dirtying your clothes!

use an old twister game as a tablecloth for a kid's party!

use a lifesaver as a candle holder on a cupcake!

thanks Real Simple...we love your ideas!!!

wednesday wrap-up

today was a money saving day! as i mentioned in the last post, i went to harris teeter early early early this morning where i had a not so fun time with a cashier who was less than thrilled to scan all my coupons. after i got home from that trip, i got an email from my sweet friend who said that i could use her harris teeter card for another trip (you can only use 20 coupons/day/harris teeter card). so, back i went. only this time, i went to a different harris teeter. this harris teeter was fantastic. the customer service was outstanding. they tripled every single one of my coupons without any hassle. i even called the manager to tell him how impressed i was with the cashier i had. she rocked.

apparently i take terrible pictures. its partly me (because i am flat out bad at picture taking) and partly my camera (lets face it, it was only $100).

spent: $26

saved: $98

harris teeter totals:

spent: $47

saved: $181

if you are wondering how this all works, go visit southern savers.

i also had to visit publix because they had enfamil on sale. plus, i was able to use three different coupons for it: $5 off manufacturers coupon, $3 off publix coupon, $3 off competitor's coupon. which made the price of the 23 oz. can $11 something. that is a great deal! why am i buying formula??? i am weaning myself off the pump...kelly and i think its best for me to quit now since we will be gone in italy for 9 days away from hunter. if you are wondering why i had to pump and not nurse, its a long story. anyways, it just would not be fun pumping in italy.

my publix totals were nothing to shout about - spent $40 and saved $30. i had to buy a bit of extra things this week because kelly's birthday is saturday and i am making him some special things. normally our grocery budget is $50/week. since i went over this week i won't be spending as much next week and i really don't even need anything for next week; we are well stocked!

i am tired of grocery shopping now. harris teeter keeps calling my name but i am sick of it. i will be taking a vacay from groceries for at least a week!

you might be crazy if...

you get up at 5 am to go grocery shopping. who would do such a thing? well, me.

i am crazy.

this is a bad picture. but, here's the bottom line:

total spent: $21

total saved: $83 (i totalled it up wrong earlier... this is way better!)

i went early to harris teeter to get all the best deals before they were gone. couldn't believe they had already run out of something!!!

i should have saved more, but ran into a few obstacles...

i had an extremely coupon-friendlyless cashier (who was stationed at the customer service desk) which made things difficult. she said that the coupon triples didn't start until 7 am. i told her that all the ads say it starts with the new sale which began at midnight. she looked over the ad and then said, "okay, i guess we can do it now." thanks a bunch.

then, she scanned all my coupons (oh, let me mention that i had to use the self check-out because no one was working - but, the customer service cashier who was there told me she'd help with my coupons after i scanned everything) and didn't want to triple any of the coupons that said not to. normally, as long as the barcodes begin with a "5" they will still triple. they were tripling, she just changed it so they wouldn't. i convinced her that in the past, it has ALWAYS been okay. after much grumbling, on her part, she tripled almost all of them. then, she didn't want to give me the instant $5 off from the general mills promotion. finally, i explained it to her and she gave it to me. needless to say, it was not my most favorite triples trip! i will go back tomorrow at a different time to hopefully get a coupon friendly cashier.

sidenote: although the cashier was extremely difficult, she was still kind and never rude. i appreciate that.

notes for my coupon friends: they were out of totino's pizza rolls (15 count). green giant vegetables aren't included in the general mills promotion. a lot of the sale items had not yet been labeled at the time i went.

can't wait to go again!

a must.

if you coupon, this is a must.

you must use the binder system. it may take forever to get it all organized and put together but it takes way less time when you go to make your grocery list.

i used my binder tonight for the first time while preparing my list for harris teeter (they are having triple coupons starting tomorrow - i will be there bright and early to make sure i get what i want before they run out of it!) and it cut down on so much time. normally it can take me 1-2 hours to get my lists together. tonight with the binder it only took about 30 minutes. for you office lovers out there, this is what i call a win-win-win situation!!!

for details on putting together a binder click here.

i can't wait to report my savings from tomorrow.

cheers to saving moolah!

five hours later

ta-da! i have now converted to the binder system for coupons. my binder is about 50 pages full of what you see below. i was using a small accordion file but outgrew it. so, i spent five hours of my day on this. don't worry, i'll get paid for all that later this week...harris teeter is tripling coupons again.

everything separated with tabs:

i labeled the tabs with these categories:

• store coupons
• meat
• dairy
• frozen
• refrigerated
• snacks, bread, pasta, rice, cereal
• misc.
• baby
• home
• toiletries

i had to get a cute binder. i think i'll need a bigger one in no time.

do you coupon, and if so, how do you organize them?

ella's prescription

i came across ella's prescription for contentment in the book i am reading now, calm my anxious heart, by linda dillow (thanks to amanda for suggesting it and letting me borrow it!). i can already say that i recommend this book even though i am only through the first chapter. linda shared about a woman named ella and how no matter what external circumstances faced her - and there were many challenges she faced; ella was a missionary in africa - she always remained content and joyful. years after ella passed away, her daughter came across her journal and found this prescription for ella's contentment:

-never allow yourself to complain about anything - not even the weather.

-never picture yourself in any other circumstances or someplace else.

-never compare your lot with another's.

-never allow yourself to wish this or that had been otherwise.

-never dwell on tomorrow - remember that tomorrow is God's, not ours.

wow...um, please tell me this pierced you like it did me? and to think that this isn't too idealistic, but really what scripture commands which means, i really should strive to follow this prescription. heaven knows i couldn't ever possibly do this on my own...which is why i am thankful to have Christ who strengthens me!

too cute for words!

okay...well maybe a few words...this is that dinosaur costume i bought yesterday for $4. i couldn't possibly wait until our church's fall festival to show it off!

he loves it!

a thrifty thursday!

this evening i went to an area-wide children's consignment sale. it was overwhelming to say the least. there was so much stuff!!! i found some good deals-

i am still amazed at how much hunter enjoys baby einstein dvd's. he's only allowed to watch one/day! this was $5.

halloween costume. i can't wait to see him in it! it looks cuter in person. it really is so stinkin' cute. he is going to be the most adorable dinosaur ever. $4.

finally! he has something he can fit in while taking a bath. i have been using the same bathtub since he was born (he should've been out of it at 3 months...not to mention he is like 22 lbs). this was long overdue! $6.

fun alphabet blocks that he can chew on. that's all he cares about anyway. if it can't go in his mouth, he doesn't want it. i caught him trying to pull over our huge lamp (it stands on the floor) because he was trying to get it in his mouth. silly hunter. lamps are for lighting, not eating. anyways, the blocks were $6.

this is featured on the baby einstein dvd we have so i am sure hunter will love it! $3. (which, i have to say...why didn't i ever think to get video of toys, put music in the background and call them baby einstein??? seriously, the dvd's are not even that good. but for some reason babies are enthralled by them.)

total spent $24. not bad.

no hope in hair.

this morning i was watching the fox news channel and they were interviewing a plus size model. she hardly looked plus size, but i guess that in the world of modeling, size classifications are slightly skewed. anyways, she shared about her struggles with anorexia and how she has now learned to accept herself at a healthy average size. great! i like that part! but, she then went on to share how she dealt with overcoming an eating disorder by focusing on different things...like her hair and how much she loved it. that got me thinking. thank goodness i don't have to look to my hair to overcome things. there is certainly no hope in my hair! especially after today, not having washed it in (yikes!) three days.

as believers, thank God for the hope we have in Him through Christ's work on the cross. and what a grand hope we have thinking about eternity in Heaven! Psalm 130:5 - "I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope..."

thinking on heaven...i read this from Charles Spurgeon's, Morning and Evening, and it nourished my soul!

"let believers on earth imitate the saints in heaven in their nearness to Christ. let's on earth be as the elders are in heaven, sitting around the throne. may Christ be the object of our thoughts, the center of our lives. How can we bear to live at such a distance from our Beloved? Lord Jesus, draw us nearer to Yourself! Say to us, abide in Me, and I in you..."

what a peace and hope we have when we draw near to Christ!

have i mentioned...

that we are going to italy in less than one month??? (no...i am not trying to brag...just want you to share in our fun adventure!)

we are going to venice to sing and play at a wedding. don't worry. i have already pinched myself a thousand times. it's not a dream.

i am super super excited! but, also a wee bit nervous. okay, i lied. a lot nervous. if someone is going to fly you to italy, pay for your hotel,...the music better be absolutely perfect.

so, until we leave, for the next month (wait...actually it is less than a month before we leave), kelly and i will be singing. singing our hearts out. like never before. if we don't answer your calls, you'll know why.

p.s. - the wedding is in a castle. in case you missed it from a previous post, here it is:

meeting precious gracie!

this past week, cindy, libby & gracie were in town and we got to meet our precious new niece! she is oh so beautiful and entirely sweet!!! read the full story of her adoption from ethiopia, here. gracie is a miracle baby and we are so thankful to God for bringing her into our family and blessing her with amazing parents. she was severely malnourished but is doing so well now, has gained weight and is flourishing. we love this girl! gracie is 7 months old (a few days older than hunter). just look at this beauty we call gracie-

uncle kelly with gracie.

aunt carissa with gracie.

hunter got to meet his aunt cindy!

courtesy of libby. she wanted to take a picture of us and then told me to put it on my blog. ha ha!!!!

sisters, sister-in-laws & cousins! cindy holding gracie, becky holding camryn, me holding hunter, & taylor & libby.

uncle kelly & libby.

aunt carissa with libby.

gracie was very interested in hunter. hunter wasn't as interested. he can be a bit lazy sometimes.

hmmm...who's that?

my oldest nieces! taylor and libby!

we so enjoyed spending time with cindy, libby and gracie! can't wait to see them again!!!