DEALS!!!!

Okay, I promise the next post will have pictures (we went to the zoo today for the first time), but I have to tell you about all the latest ways I've learned to get great deals! SOOOO many of my friends and I from church have jumped on board with the coupon frenzy and I am always looking online for the cheapest way to order baby items, presents, etc. Therefore, I decided to share with you! I've learned lots of great ideas from blogs and it could be from some of yours, so ignore if this is all old news to you! I'll give you my list of favorites! By the way, my family thinks I'm crazy, but they are also super impressed with my deals! Here you go:

1) http://www.diapers.com/ - This website is phenomenal as they will take diaper coupons , it is tax free, and right now have 20% off most of their pampers! The best part is that when you order 49 dollars or more, shipping is free and it comes in 2 days!! So it's WAY easier than running out and spending tons on diapers when you run out, plus you are saving on tax and can still use coupons! Also, if you put in my code DANA8344, you will get $10 off your first order of 49 or more. I am so excited because I just saved 30 dollars by buying a double umbrella stroller there instead of babies r us (it was cheaper and had no tax)!!! Trust me, this is the way to buy diapers, formula, baby needs!!!

2) http://www.beatmyprice.com/- whenever you are looking for a particular item, go here and put in the item, lowest price you have seen and the website where you found that price. Then hit enter and this search engine will find the website that can beat that price!! I've saved TONS of money this way on birthday, christmas, etc.

3) http://www.retailmenot.com/- look here before you purchase anything online and you can usually find coupons for it. It's great! I saved 70 dollars by buying things at annetaylorloft.com instead of buying them in the store because I used coupons from this site.

4) Publix- let the fun begin!! Here they will take competitor coupons, they will double any coupon .50 cents and under automatically, Buy one get one free just means half price items...you don't have to buy two of things to get the deal, and you can use a manufactor's coupon PLUS a competitor's coupon (not ad from paper...it has to be a cut out coupon) on the same item so sometimes items are free after this! I LOVE seeing how much I save every week and Publix is so much more enjoyable than other stores. It's cheaper than walmart I promise!

5) http://www.slickdeals.net/ and http://www.fatwallet.com/ - it will give you the best deals going on online at the moment. Sometimes you can get MAJOR deals on this. I got Chris' guitar Hero for Christmas off of this and saved 60 dollars. So fun!

6) http://www.babycheapskate.com/ - great deals on anything that has to do with babies and lots of times there are printable coupons for baby items. Great, great, great!

Can you tell I love deals? I'll fill you in on more as I find them and I know i've forgotten some things! Next post will have pictures! Go get you some deals! :)

Why were we created?

Well, if you have been a regular blog reader you will know that I am doing a study right now called "Lord, I want to Know You" by Kay Arthur. It is short each day, but so powerful. I was glad to hear so many people are either doing this now or had done it in the past. It is seriously such a motivator and just really challenging when you let your mind focus. And because my life as a mom is so different from the past, it is hard to know what the Lord has for me right now and am I doing all He wants me to do. It really doesn't feel like it. So, today was all about being created and why. I could always give the sunday school answer of "For His Glory" but did I really know what it meant? I just have to share this because it is so profound to me right now. In Hebrew, glory means "to give the correct opinion or estimate of". Therefore, if we are created for His pleasure, His Will and His Glory, then we are to "live in such a way as to give all of creation a correct opinion or estimate of who God is." Pretty convicting huh? Here is more of her words that I want to share..."Your life is to be lived in such a way as to reflect Him, to show the world the character of God- His love, His peace, His mercy, His gentleness. You are to live for Him, to accomplish His will. " (here is my favorite part) "To miss this purpose is to miss fulfillment. It is to have existed rather than to have lived." Wow, is all I can think and say. I have heard all of this many times before (except for the meaning of glory), but it is sinking in way more than ever before. Here are the questions to ask yourself if you are also challenged by these words, What does this mean to me as a child of God who is called by His name?
How would I live if I were to really live for His glory (to make all creation see Him)
Am I fulfilling the purpose of my creation?
What is keeping me from being or doing what I was created for?
I'm telling you...if you don't have anything to study right now, get this book and she will take you to the Bible and not just give her opinions. Plus I really believe it will change us.
(there is a Wells post below that I also did today)

TUBES

Well, it's officially, Wells is getting tubes! I thought I would dread the moment that I heard this, but I'm actually really ready for them and almost excited. After going to the ENT today (because of his 6 ear infections and never ending fluid in his ears) we were told he has 60% hearing loss right now and lots of fluid. I almost cried when we had to have the hearing screening and as we sat in a sound proof room and a lady talked to wells through different speakers, he would not even turn to look unless she practically yelled at him. It was so sad. She said he was hearing at 35 decibles and should have been 0-15 decibles. With that being said, tubes should clear this up right away and his hearing should be back to normal. We are going April 6th at 5:30 a.m. Please pray with us until then that he would not be in pain, that he would sleep good (he has been great so far) and that the hearing won't delay his speech,etc. As a teacher the delayed speech is a big worry for me. But I trust the doctor's fully and trust that this is what we are supposed to do. Thanks for the prayers all along and hopefully these tubes will end our ear woes and get this sweet boy napping regularly!

Quiet Times

Okay, I decided to do a different type of post because I've been terrible with picture taking lately. I haven't felt great and well, I need to take more pictures! Anyways, this post is about an awesome book I am doing for my quiet times. I was really tired of just doing "books" and really want to study the bible, but needed some direction. I am not great at opening up the bible and inductively studying on my own, so I wanted to find a book to lead me in that direction. Then I remembered doing an inductive bible study in college using one of Kay Arthur's books. If you have never studied with one of her books, she is amazing. She is a great teacher of how to study the Word. Therefore, I looked online and read some of her different titles and summaries and was really struck by Lord I want to Know You. It is all about the different names of God, what they mean, and how if we really knew them, we could truly know God in a more intimate way. I totally needed this. I was worried about the length of time b/c I always try to do my quiet times during Wells' first naps and they are never normally longer than 45 minutes. When I received this in the mail and began doing the study, I was amazed to find that most days take 15 minutes to do each day. Now in saying that, I highly needed to increase my prayer time so I use the rest of my time for that and for digging a little deeper into the scriptures she uses and guides me to. I wanted to post this because I know how hard it is being a mom and trying to find a time when you are coherent enough to do a quiet time and I know how hard it is to find a book that isn't just a "feel good book". So if you are wanting something that is short, but deep and will really teach you, I highly suggest this one! I tried to post a picture of this book, but couldn't get it to work for some reason. If any of you begin this book, let me know what you think. I have loved it!!!

Snow Days and Wells' 7 month birthday!

What an amazing weekend!!! I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face watching the snow fall, and not even caring that Wells woke up at 5:30. That is a first! :) I made Chris wake up and look out the window, but he didn't truly enjoy it until he got up at 8! Poor Chris had to fly out to Ohio in the only snow day we'll probably have all year! Wells, Vedder and I enjoyed every minute of it though! Okay, Wells just enjoyed watching from inside the house! (notice the pictures where we stuck him in the bumbo in the snow...not a happy camper) Vedder loved it though! I couldn't believe we had close to 5 inches! So fun and so beautiful! I drove around taking pictures where I knew it would be beautiful. I LOVED watching all the kids playing in the snow everywhere. God knew we needed some snow in Alabama! It was awesome watching all the families play together. I made sure it wasn't icy before I drove, so don't think I'm crazy! Most of these pictures are from right around our house. I loved that Wells just stared out the window for long periods of time. He knew it was something different and obviously he loved staring at it! Wells turned seven months today! Each month is going by a little bit quicker than the one before. Everything is pretty much the same from 6 months except he is really close to sitting up. We are on our 5th set of ear infections and probably headed towards tubes. I'm just leaving it in God's hands and trying not to worry one way or the other. He is such a champ though that the only way I know he even has them is that his naps are really short and it's hard to get him to sleep at night. He is such a sweet little guy and Chris and I are loving him to death! So we are excited he got to ring in his 7 month birthday with the big snow weekend! I hope you bham folks enjoyed it too!