Satan's Meeting

Hola, all! I don't normally read forwarded e-mails.............but a friend from my home church sent this to me today, and I found it quite challenging. Although a work of fiction, I found that it addresses many issues facing the modern follower of Christ. Satan is working hard to steal our souls away from our Lord. Please read and be challenged.

Manda

Satan called a worldwide convention of demons.

In his opening address he said, "We can't keep Christians from going to church."

"We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth."

"We can't even keep them from forming an intimate relationship with their saviour."

"Once they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken."

"So let them go to their churches; let them have their covered dish

dinners, BUT steal their time, so they don't have time to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ.."

"This is what I want you to do ," said the devil:

"Distract them from gaining hold of their Saviour and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!"

"How shall we do this?" his demons shouted.

"Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds,"

he answered.

"Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow."

"Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to

work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles."

"Keep them from spending time with their children."

"As their families fragment, soon, their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work!"

"Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice."

"Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they

drive." To keep the TV, VCR, CDs and their PCs going constantly in their

home and see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly."

"This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ."

"Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers."

"Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day."

"Invade their driving moments with billboards."

"Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs,

sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes.."

"Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines and TV so their
husbands will believe that outward beauty is what's important, and they'll become dissatisfied with their wives."

"Keep the wives too tired to love their husbands at night."

"Give them headaches too!"

"If they don't give their husbands the love they need, they will begin to look elsewhere."

"That will fragment their families quickly!"

"Give them Santa Claus to distract them from teaching their children the real meaning of Christmas."

"Give them an Easter bunny so they won't talk about his resurrection and power over sin and death."

"Even in their recreation, let them be excessive."

"Have them return from their recreation exhausted."

"Keep them too busy to go out in nature and reflect on God's creation.

Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, plays, concerts, and movies instead."

"Keep them busy, busy, busy!"

"And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences."

"Crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus."

"Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause."

"It will work!"

"It will work!"

It was quite a plan!

The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians

everywhere to get busier and more rushed, going here and there.

Having little time for their God or their families.

Having no time to tell others about the power of Jesus to change lives.

I guess the question is, has the devil been successful in his schemes?

You be the judge!!!!!

Does "BUSY" mean: B-eing U-nder S-atan's Y-oke?

You might have a coupon addiction................

When your 2 1/2 year old asks:

Where's some coupons?
I need some coupons?
Mommy, can I have some coupons?

(Sigh) My chest swells with pride...................................

The Holidays on a Budget

You know, living on a budget has new significance at Christmas. First, our goal this year has been to pay off debt. Therefore, most of our "extra" money each month is spent to achieve that goal. So where does Christmas shopping fall into this great plan??? Well, for us it has meant decide on an amount we can spend and send the rest to VISA!

Our Christmas, as far as gifts are concerned, will be humble this year..........(well, I guess that is relative to what you are accustomed to at Christmas. I realize many families struggle to feed their families and Christmas gift giving is a luxury they can't afford.)

This year's "humble Christmas" has been a lot of fun. I have been busy making several "gifts" for my friends and co-workers. Today, my team of teachers provided a soup luncheon for our principals, office staff, and other school workers. It seemed to have accomplished its intended purpose and I was thrilled that I was able to spread some holiday cheer.

Tonight, I have been baking pumpkin bread for my friends at school. We all decided to do "homemade" gifts this year.............I can't wait to see what everyone made! For my math department, I am folding origami boxes and filling them with chocolate I got on sale through the Grocery Game............don't worry, it is Hershey's chocolate!

I hope they all know how much I love and appreciate them. And.............I am finding that sometimes more love goes into something made by hands!

Happy Holidays!

Are you an Anti-Racist Parent?

Did my title catch your attention?

I have been following a blog called Anti-Racist Parent, and I wanted to share it with the hopes that you will check it out. You don't have to have a child who is a minority to be concerned with teaching your children about racism. I love this quote from Anti-Racist Parent,

"There are no quick and easy shortcuts to becoming anti-racist – not for myself, and not for my kids. For our family, becoming anti-racist is a journey, not a destination."

Please join my family on our journey to becoming anti-racist.

I know our society wants to portray and believe that racism is largely a thing of our past.........but as the mother of a now minority family, racism is alive in many subtle and major ways. I encounter it every day in some form or fashion. Not directed at me or my family (most of the time), but in comments made about others who are different either physically or socially. Another quote that caught my attention,

"So much about race and racism intersects with other types of
diversity, including class, culture, religion, gender and sexuality.
Racism doesn’t exist in a bubble and it isn’t a problem to be
“solved.” Parents need to be able to address diversity in all its forms."

I know that I personally have a lot to learn about people who are different from me. Anti-Racist Parent has challenged my thinking and opened my eyes to so many difficult realities. I pray that God will bless our society and lead us to a more "anti-racist" existence. I pray that teaching and modeling to our children how anti-racism looks, talks, and lives will develop a society that embraces diversity and eliminates injustice.

Anti-racism is OUR fight. Not just the fight of minorities. But, OUR fight. When we ALL do our part to fight racism, we will ALL win.

I don't know what prompted the comment made to me by one of my students today. We were walking down the hall on our way to PE and he said to me, "My mom is Hispanic." Inwardly I was surprised because his appearance would never lead me to conclude that his parents are not both black. I asked him, "What about your father?" He replied a little sheepishly, "Black." I said with a smile, "Cool! I did not know that about you!", and I then shared with him about my diverse family.

Our world is changing. Families are changing. I hope we are ready to change.

"27God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28God blessed them................." Genesis 1:27, 28

Let's Jam & Deck the Halls...................

Who needs a guitar when you have a perfectly good frying pan???

Cheese!

Let's see how many ornaments I can fit on this one branch..........

Christmas Meme!

(Copied from my BFF's blog, except with my answers instead of hers.)

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper
2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial
3. When do you put up the tree? Soon after Thanksgiving. This year we had the tree up on Dec. 1, but didn't get it decorated until Dec. 8th!
5. Do you like egg nog? nope. I like diet coke!
6. Favorite gift received as a child? hmmm.......Glo-Worm, Fisher Price Record Player, Earphones with built in radio (and a long antenna)
7. Do you have a nativity scene? no
8. Hardest person to buy for? All men! Their stuff is too expensive!
9. Easiest person to buy for? Jacob!
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? mail (Yea!!! Me and Ryan are on the card this year!)
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? A gift set of Mary Kay stuff that someone regifted and it had been wrapped in tin foil (but the person didn't bother rewrapping it! How thoughtful.)
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation ("Hit it Russ............Fa La La La Laaa La La La La"
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Middle of December............FOR REAL!
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Of course! Would you like some Mary Kay?
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Granny's Pigs-in-the-blankets and her sausage balls, all the yummy cookies (PTA has cookies in the lounge every other day until Christmas), spinach artichoke dip.......sigh
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? both
17. Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night and Jingle Bell Rock (Jacob's fav, too!)
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We love to be home, and we love to be in Michigan with the Julys
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers? Let's see.............Rudolph, Prancer, Donner, uh, hmmm, er.....................
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Red Bow
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? both; at my mom's on Christmas Eve and at home on Christmas Day
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Materialism
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Traditional bright reds and greens; I love my Wicked Witch of the East Ornament
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? This year it will be Fajitas and the Works!
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? To see Jacob's joy and excitement..................and a Nikon D80 or equivalent!

Eating Tips for the Holidays........

Ryan's mom sent me these great Holiday eating tips that I wanted share. I opened the e-mail tonight just before leaving for my Weight Watchers meeting and thought they couldn't be more appropriate! I hope they help you as much as I know they are going to help me.

Manda

Eating Tips for the Holidays

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can and quickly. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an 'eggnog-aholic' or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it! Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think.

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand-alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple, pumpkin and mincemeat - have a slice of each. Or, if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert -- Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread tips: Start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

Remember:

"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body. But rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming 'WOO-HOO what a ride!"

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Today's Top 10 List

1. Singing with Jacob in the car......."Je-sus, Je-sus, Jesus in the morning, Jesus at the noon-time. Je-sus, Je-sus, Jesus when the sun goes down.
2. Going to Christmas on the Square to see Grammy, Chelsey, Aunt Amey, and Nana.
3. Shopping around the craft booths with Mom, Jacob, and Chelsey.
4. Watching Jacob ride the "train" (a small tractor with huge barrels turned on their sides as the cars) with a HUGE grin on his face.
5. Hearing Jacob say, "Mommy, Daddy, and Jesus take care of me."
6. Hearing about Ryan's trip to Impact Church of Christ in Houston. The Bay Area youth groups made 500 sack lunches to pass out to the men and women who are homeless near downtown and they also prayed with them.
7. Getting a knock on the door and finding two neighbor children there with a box of cookies they wanted to give us with a Christmas card.
8. Watching Jacob push his new rolling stick penguin around the house that I bought for him at the craft booth.
9. Going to the Christmas parade with Ryan and Jacob.
10. Getting the Christmas tree out of the attic. Jacob asking, "Where's my ornaments that go on the tree?"

My cup runneth over..................

Toddler Wisdom

On the way to school this morning..........

Toddler: Mom, where is Jesus?

Me: He is in heaven with God.

Toddler: Where is God?

Me: He is in heaven, too.

Toddler: I want to go to heaven!

Amen!

No title comes to mind???

Okay, I know I am the worlds worst blogger........but, hey, its MY blog and I'll blog if I want to!

No, really, I have just had so much on my mind. Work has been a challenge lately....I think I bit off a little more than I can chew there: dept. chair, textbook adoption committee rep, curriculum writer, CEIC committee member, and teach all of my classes. I only signed up for one of these posts...........the rest just happened to me! Anyway, stress continued to build, so I talked (and cried a little:() to my principal and assist. principal (2 great ladies), and they took one of the jobs off of my list and it was a great relief. Really, I just want to teach my students and spend time focusing on things directly related to them...........but that is not always possible in public ed. Not to mention, my first and most important job........Ryan's wife and Jacob's mommy........I really pray that one day I will be able to stay at home and be a professional homemaker!

Also, as you know, Ryan has applied and been accepted to Harding's school of preaching. We have a major move and life change in our near future. We will be leaving our church, my bestest friend (Uh huh, Kevin!) Laura, my wonderful work friends, and hardest of all, our families. Pray for us! I am most nervous about moving Jacob to a less (in my opinion) diverse part of the country.

The last week has been a great time off from school to be with Ryan and Jacob. We spent a lot of time at HOME! We spent Thanksgiving at my mom's house and went for a short visit to Ryan's mom's house. On Friday, we took Jacob to the Sesame Street exhibit at a museum in Houston. See Ryan's blog for the details.......... and today, we went to worship, had a great bible class and sermon, went to lunch with Laura's family........I love her girls! Jacob and I went grocery shopping while Ryan worked on tonight's sermon. As I write, I am stewing a chicken for chicken-n-dumplings and homemade granola bars are baking! YUM!

One thing I'd like to share........I have been compelled lately to seek comfort when I am struggling from the Bible (wow! what a great idea!). Yes, I study the Bible, but lately, it is when I am having a hard time that I just HAVE to end my day in the WORD. Last night, I was reading in Mark (I think) about people coming to Jesus and him healing them. I always struggle reading the events in the gospels and making application to my life.........but last night I was, like, OH! I get it! Jesus heals sick people when they come to him. I am "sick" and he heals me, too, when I come to him! Don't know why I am sharing with you (whoever "you" are reading this).....I don't normally share my private thoughts with just anyone......but, I just wanted to share. Jesus is the great healer and he comforts and heals us of our struggles when we come to him and obey his word. There.....thats it.

Manda

Bloggin for money

Ryan must have gone crazy. He is now blogging for money. You should go check out his new blog.

http://lifeslittlecommentary.blogspot.com/

Manda Elf................

Click on the following for a Holiday treat!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9552411754

So Handsome!

Last Saturday, Jacob, Grammy and I went to the pumpkin patch near Grammy's house. He wore us out trying to get a good picture.............but we prevailed! I can't get over how big and handsome he is!

Up-tight and Proud!

This post is dedicated to a good friend from church who labeled me the "up-tight" parent this evening! Love ya, Stephanie!

So, the following Top 10 list is in response to her observation...........and, yes, if I'm really honest, I AM an uptight parent. But, I chalk it all up to being a FIRST time parent who is a little bit of a worrier already.........parenting just magnifies it! So, here goes........

Top 10 Reasons Why You Might be an Up-tight Parent

10. You still cut up your 2 1/2 year olds food before serving it

9. You still change his clothes on a changing table

8. You don't allow him to eat snacks during worship.......although he can bring a sippy cup to drink from

7. You don't allow him to bring toys to play with during worship

6. Your very tall for his age 2 1/2 year old still sleeps in his baby bed

5. You still let him watch Baby Einstein DVD's

4. You still sleep with a baby monitor next to your bed

3. You steal your child's Chicken Little Pez dispenser because you don't want him eating all that candy, give it to some teenager, who then gives it back to your child after they have eaten all the Pez

2. Spank, sternly reprimand, and place in time out your child's Chicken Little Pez dispenser after your toddler informs you that, "Chicken Little pushed Abbie"

1. You forbid your child from taking any toys to bed (Fred the pet fish "babysits" all special toys like the little Big Red Car, Toad, and Chicken Little each night while toddler is in bed)

Dear Lord,

Please help my child grow into a well-rounded human being despite his up-tight parents!

Who are you?

Take the 100 Acre Personality Quiz!
Take this quiz to see who you are in the One Hundred Acre Wood..........I was Winnie-the-Pooh!

Grammy's House

On Tuesday, Jacob and I went for a visit to Grammy's house. Jacob loves Grammy's house because of all the spoiling he gets. He loves to play with Nick, Allie, Maggie and Mikey (mom's 4 Maltese dogs) and he always has about 10 boxes of Animal Crackers waiting for him when we get there. My pantry, needless to say, is always well stocked with his favorite snack! Grammy had a mission for this visit. She took us to target in search of some Little People toys for Jacob to have when he is visiting. (She had already purchased a dump truck with legos for him) We were very successful, and we even found some wooden cars for him. I bought 4 to take home to Pearland, and Grammy HAD to buy the same four for Jacob to play with at her house! I call that S-P-O-I-L-E-D! So now Jacob has a basket of toys to play with at Grammy's house. Not that he needed any.......Grammy keeps him plenty entertained all by herself! We love you, Grammy! Here are some pics:

And, while Jacob rested, Grammy and I "shopped" around in her house for goodies (she has lots of cool stuff that she sells in her Ebay store). See the pretty earrings!

My Blog................boring!

According to my good friend Natalie, my blog is a place to visit when you are..........BORED! Thanks Natalie. I am going to assume she is just telling me gently (hah!) that I don't update my really cool and interesting blog as often as she would like......so here's the Manda update:

1. Hubby is out of town with teenagers from church.
2. I am doing my best to stay busy 'cause I miss him.
3. I have found a recipe for homemade laundry soap that I am going to try..........I know. I am soo cool.
4. Ryan, Jacob and I went on a mini vacation to Sea World San Antonio, but it stormed the whole time and we were stuck in the hotel.
5. Jacob told me to "be patient mommy" at the restaurant today.
6. My best friend Laura, after us arguing about why I thought she shouldn't waste here time organizing her girls' toys, explained to me that if she didn't, they wouldn't play with them ...............CORRECTLY!
7. I have been trying to go to the YMCA to exercise (because I have realized there is no excuse for not going.......child care, AC, a cable TV on every cardio machine!), and have reaffirmed my original reason for not wanting to exercise..............it HURTS!

Okay, now a few pics:

Jacob and Daddy in the pool.















Jacob helping mommy with her coupons.















Making a tent on the couch.

30 Secrets About Yourself

1. Is that your natural hair colour?
Yep

2. where was your default pic taken?
It is a picture I got from photobucket

3. What's your middle name?
Leigh
4. Your current relationship status?
Married

5. Honestly, does your crush like you back?
Ryan.......most of the time!

6. What is your current mood?
Lazy

7. What colour underwear are you wearing?
uh..........not telling

8.What makes you happy?
Watching Jacob play, Ryan's face when he is talking about the new iPhone, carbohydrates, Girl's night out minus husbands and children

9. Are you musically inclined?
Yes

10. If you could go back in time and change something, what would it be?
I would have had a theme at my wedding, like tropical or something.........and Laura would have been my photographer!

11. If you MUST be an animal for ONE day?
A flamingo.........I would LOVE to be pink!

12. Ever had a near death experience?
Yes, I almost drowned in a swimming pool when I was a young child......until the lifegaurd save me!

13. Something you do a lot?
Clean the kitchen............sigh.

14. What's the name of the song that's stuck in your head right now ?
Toot toot, chugga chugga, Big Red Car!

15. Who did you copy and paste this from?
Laura
16. Name someone with the same b-day as you?
The grand daughter of my granny's next door neighbor

17. When was the last time you cried?
After harsh words with Ryan a week ago.

18. Have you ever sang in front of a large audience?
With other teenagers (when I was one......sigh), in front of a few golden agers

19. If you could have one super power what would it be?
Make salad taste like a Sonic Burger

20. What do you notice first off in a guy/girl?
How friendly they are

21. What do you usually order from Starbucks?
When I am bad=Cafe Mocha...........When I am good=Cafe Latte w/nonfat milk, sweet-n-low and a sprinkle of cinnamon

22. What's your biggest secret?
That I am really shy and have a hard time seeking people out

23. What's your favorite color?
Hot Pink and Black..........duh!

24. When was the last time you lied?
I am not sure...........hopefully I said I was sorry!

25. Do you still watch kiddy movies or TV shows?
Constantly...........w/Jacob

26. Do you have braces?
Nope, but I need them.

27. If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?
I would love exercise

28. What are you eating or drinking atm?
Nothing.........but I am hungry????

29. Do you speak any other language?
Jacob language

30. What's your favorite smell?
Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion..........it reminds me of my Grandma

Yahtzee!

When you talk to Ryan.............ask him who the QUEEN of Yahtzee is???

My New Do

Today was pamper mommy day with a new do.........I also spent a small fortune on overpriced hair products! They were definately NOT on my grocery game list.........but all moms need to splurge every once in a while! Take a look.....

Drum roll, please!

Jacob pee pee'd on the potty tonight for the first time!!! He was dry when I was putting his pajammies on, so I asked him if he wanted to go to the potty......and he did! Yea, Jacob!

Cousins

Jacob and Cousin Chelsey read a book......aren't they cute!

Baby Fever........

I have found myself in the last few weeks stricken with baby fever. My desire has always been to have a "few" children, and now more than ever, I am wanting Jacob to have a brother or sister to call his own. I know that God has blessed me more than I could ever have hoped for through Jacob, and it is with mixed emotions that I even allow myself to think about another child. First, I know that if we never add another little one to this family, it will be okay. Second, I am so intimidated by the adoption process and going through it again. We had the most amazing experience with Jacob's adoption, but I also know that the process can be very difficult. I pray that the Lord will bless us with another child and I ask for strength and wisdom for Ryan, Jacob, and I. And..........I pray for the children who need a mom, dad, and a brother. I pray for the parents of these children, that they will seek the Lord and that whatever they decide is best for their family, that it will be the Lord's will. My best friend Laura (photographer), did Daddy and Me sessions last week. Click here to see a slideshow of the sessions. I cried when I saw the 3rd or 4th dad with his family. He had 3 little children on his lap.........all very small. They were all his foster/adopted children. They were a diverse family like Ryan, Jacob, and I. When I saw them, my heart jumped and tears came to my eyes. Pray for our family. We want to GROW!

Jacob..............In Concert!

It has been a long time since my last post. I found it very difficult to add a new post which would replace the previous one about Grandma. But, my precious 2 year old has rejuvinated my blogging spirit.........what mom can resist telling stories about her little angel???

Here is Jacob, standing on his "stage" strumming his Wiggles guitar. Nope, the Wiggles Mania has not left our house yet...........I am hoping by the time he is 16, we will have left that phase. Summer is upon us, and I am enjoying being a stay at home mom (well, mostly, with the exception of a few teacher workshops which I look forward to because of the adult contact!)

Stay tuned............

Grandma

Today was a very sad day for our family. My precious Grandma left us for heaven this afternoon. My heart aches for her, but I am also proud of the life she lived and for the reward that is now hers. I thank God for her faithfulness because I know that my knowledge of Jesus started with her teaching my dad.

Grandma loved the song "My God and I." The last verse of that song is now hers.

"My God and I
will go for aye together.

We'll walk and talk
like good friends should and do.

This earth will pass, and with it common trifles,
But God and I will go unendingly.

This earth will pass, and with it common trifles,
But God and I will go unendingly."

Sick baby........

Jacob has been running high fevers since Thursday.........we have been very worried. These things seem to always happen on a weekend when you can't get into see a Dr. We have contemplated the ER, but the on-call Dr. hasn't seemed to worried. He did put him on a different antibiotic today, so hopefully that will do the trick. I hate having my baby sick..........the not knowing is scary. Here are some pitiful sick pictures..............the child loves to have shoes on????

The Laundry Wins!

I was getting ready for bed last night, and it hit me..........."Laundry, I surrender. You win!" No more guilt or empty promises. "I'll fold that tomorrow night after work and after Jacob goes to bed." (Yea, RIGHT!) "If I just complete one load a day; wash, dry, fold, and put away, I can stay caught up." (WHATEVER!) After 10 years, I finally get it: Women who stay caught up on their laundry are FICTIONAL characters. Somebody invented them to make REAL women feel guilty. Well, NO MORE! A few dirty clothes on the floor or a pile of clean clothes the size of Mt. McKinley next to your bed never killed anyone. So, now that I have come to grips with reality and faced my weaknesses, I am going to go push all that clean, wrinkled laundry onto the floor, crawl into bed and read my book club book. Good Night!

Budget Day!

I feel so accomplished tonight. I sat down for a couple of hours and completed our household budget for April and an allocated spending plan for each pay check. Ryan and I have been working so hard to eliminate all of our debt, and we couldn't have done it without Dave Ramsey and his website, www.mytotalmoneymakeover.com. I love not having to figure out what to do on my own......Dave has already figured it out for me. We just have to stick to the plan and get serious. And that is what we are doing! I can't wait to call Dave Ramsey's radio show and yell on the air, "WE'RE DEBT FREE!"

Real Moms.......

Wow, this post was probably the furthest from my mind 5 minutes ago, but after visiting my best friend Laura's blog and reading about her loss of an unborn child...I felt compelled to share, too. We lost our unborn baby almost 6 years ago, only a couple of weeks after finding out we were going to be parents. We were not prepared for the grief of that loss, nor were we expecting to spend several years of our early adult life battling all that goes along with realizing that you will probably never conceive. To this day, Ryan keeps a picture of us in Tortola taken during our very short pregnancy. Those were the hardest years of my life. And, they seem to have taken place a lifetime ago....For today, I am a mom. A REAL mom! Jacob's mom. I didn't know it then, but God had a better plan for us, and I am still in awe of how he brought together our little family of 3. I will never forget the first time I was alone with Jacob.......he was just hours old, and I got to rock him for the first time. And that was just the beginning! Praise God!

Bread Day.......

Well, tonight I embarked on my 3rd baking of Amish Friendship Bread. My bestest friend, Laura, gave me a baggie of starter about a month ago, and I have been squishing, baking, and sharing bread ever since. My latest apprentice, my mom, called tonight as she eagerly waited for her bread to bake in the oven........nevermind that she only made 3 baggies of new starter instead of 4, used a METAL bowl, and used cook and serve pudding mix instead of instant. Needless to say, she hasn't called back to let me know how it all turned out. And, she had big plans for this bread. Poor Don is expecting some WONDERFUL bread to eat for breakfast each morning.........Good Luck, Mom.........I still believe in you. This is all from the same woman who makes THE best fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and a whole bunch of other yummy things. All of which, she has not made for me in quite awhile! So, watch out! YOU might be the next lucky woman to receive a bag of Amish Friendship Bread.............it is more than the joy of baking fresh bread every 10 days for your family. It's the joy of listening to people freak out and gripe about having to squish and use all the ingredients in their house.

My Stockpile.......

These are pics of my Stockpile (groceries I buy at dirt cheap prices)!

75% at Randalls

Spent: $14.04
Saved: $42.72 ($21.90 in coupons from newspaper)

Biggest deal:

2 boxes Playtex Tampons for $0.29 each.......WOW!
Joy dish soap for $0.10
4 Arrid deoderants for $0.50 each

I was very excited! I came home with 15 items including a 10 lb bag of potatoes and 4 boxes of Post cereal @ $1 each!

SCORE!!!!!!!

Okay........in a previous post I mentioned my passion for couponing. Well, today I went on the mother of all grocery shopping trips, second only to one other time where I saved 67%. This evening at Krogers, I saved a whopping 64%! I spent $50.65 and SAVED $87.45! $48.58 of that savings was from the Kroger card discount, but almost $39 of that was in manufacturer coupons from the Sunday papers (I get the early Sunday Edition on Saturday afternoon)! So, what did I get for only $50.65 you ask................well:

For free:

3 10 packs of gum
2 single serving SPAM
1 box Kleenex
2 4-count packages of O-Celo sponges

And, for dirt cheap:

4 6-packs water
4 12-packs diet coke
2 Pilsbury cookie dough
2 Pilsbury crescent rolls
2 Pilsbury sweet rolls
2 refried beans
6 campbells soup
shredded cheese
Disney Yogurt
Quaker oatmeal bites
2 64-oz apple juice
2 gallons milk
tampons (sorry guys)
2 4-pack of Bic Advance Razors ($0.50 each!!)
3 packages lunch meat
2 zatarans rice
2 3-pack of Ivory soap ($0.25 each!)


And a few other things. Some people are danger junkies.......not me. Standing at the checkout counter while the cashier scans my coupons makes me shake in my shoes. Go check out the grocery game at www.grocerygame.com. Tell them I sent you by giving them my e-mail address: manda_teacher_tx@msn.com

See ya!

Toddler Moments

Well, full blown toddlerhood has been quite an adventure. Jacob is talking non-stop, and we can understand most of what he says. He has started feeding himself with a spoon/fork, and has become a VERY picky eater! He is also the #1 fan of the Australian Superstars.................the WIGGLES! His favorite toys are his Wiggle Car and most recently, his Wiggle Guitar. (Ryan is the #2 fan of the Wiggles!) He LOVES to play "Wake Up Jeff!," which involves someone pretending to be asleep and Jacob yelling, "Wake up, Daddy!" or "Wake up, Mommy!," just like the Wiggles yell at Jeff. He enjoys listening to stories, and will climb into our laps with a book for us to read to him. He loves going to school (daycare), and speaks often of his best friend, Kyle Pugh. Here are some recent pics of Jacob: reading on his "cycle" and feeding himself with a spoon!

We are moving!

Well, after much urging from our downstairs neighbor (beating on his ceiling), we have found a much bigger house to rent! Apparently, our neighbor was bothered by Jacob's constant jumping, running, and driving his Wiggle car on the kitchen floor.......go figure?!? We are very pumped and can't wait to move the first of May. Now Jacob will be able to jump and run whenever he feels moved to.......which is quite often. The house is 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 car garage, a formal dining room which will serve as Jacob's play hangout, and a nice study for Ryan.....what? you are wondering what I get out of the deal??? Well, I get my very own normal sized kitchen, an indoor utility room with...........hook-ups for my FULL size washer and dryer that have been sitting in storage for the past 2 1/2 years!!! Yipee! Now we can move my Grocery Game stockpile out of Jacob's closet and into our new pantry. More on the AWESOME world of couponing later.........Yes, folks, it doesn't take much to get me excited.

My Family

I love this picture..........Jacob was almost 2 weeks old and we had only been home to Texas for 2 days. We were at church, and this was our first Sunday to worship as a family of 3!



Now Jacob is almost 2 years old! He has grown so much.

Hmmm...where to begin???

SPRING BREAK!!! Yes, this week is the long waited for spring break. I haven't done anything special according to the world's idea of what Spring Break should be, but I have enjoyed greatly getting to be a stay-at-home mom for at least a week! Causes me to ponder my Arkansas days when I would listen to Dr. Laura on the way home from teaching in little rock. Those of you who are familiar with Dr. Laura know what I am talking about. So here is a list of the things I have done this week:

scrubbed the shower
washed all the laundry
vacuumed
cooked a yummy pot roast (Thank you Homemade Gourmet)
read a book (WOW)
and most importantly.....took care of my precious son ALL DAY LONG
oh yeah..slept until after 7:00 am for the first time since Jacob was born!!!!