Happy Monday Y'all

This is what happens when a certain very busy little one year old decides to "kiss" the fireplace screen.



Note: This is post-fire. He was in no danger.

I love coupons!!!!!

I'm pretty new to using coupons, so you'll have to forgive me for being excited enough about those tiny little slips of paper to actually devoted a whole blog post to them. But, I am! I used to never clip coupons. Ever. Seemed like a waste of time to me. And back then when we were a two income family and had more money that brains, I never cared how much I could be saving if I did use coupons. But now that we are happily a one income family, I love how using coupons stretches our budget even further. And I also love knowing that the money we are saving can be put away into our savings, saved for a vacation, put into an emergency fund, or anything else worthwhile. It makes me sad when I think about how much money I used to spend needlessly because I didn't use them.

You would be amazed at the things that you can get for free or very inexpensively using coupons and a little planning. There are tons of websites out there that basically track coupons and sales for you and tell you exactly how to get the best deals. One of the best sites I have found by far is Money Saving Mom. It has been such a valuable tool as I am learning how to be a better steward of what God has given us.

Tonight my sweet hubby took me out to my favorite restaurant and then to Walgreens because he knew I was feeling kind of yucky and thought getting out of the house would make me feel better. He was right, too. What a guy! I had some coupons for makeup and Walgreens was having a sale, so I ended up getting: a blush, a lipstick, 2 foundations, and 2 pencils for a total of 17 cents. I had to throw the 2 pencils in because I actually had a negative balance after the coupons.

Also in the past few months I have gotten about 5 things of free shampoo, a $12 razor for hubby for about 50 cents, tons of free candy after Christmas, free candles, free jewelry, and tons of other stuff.

I plan on writing more about our budget and financial goals for 2008 very soon. Why? Not because I think all of you are terribly interested. Who knows, maybe you are. Mostly because I'm so happy that we have finally made a plan (a huge step) and are taking huge steps towards making our long-term goals happen.

So, tell me. How many of you out there are coupon clippers? What is the best deal you've ever gotten? If you don't use them, why not? Would you consider using them if you knew they would save you a certain amount each month? Just curious.

Update:
I went back to Walgreens today because I had more coupons and got some more stuff for free using sales and coupons. The picture below is what I have gotten over the past two days. Grand total=-$24, that is I made $24 by buying it. If anyone is interested in exactly how I did this, leave me a comment and I would be glad to share with you.

I also just wanted to quickly mention that I hope no one considers this bragging. I certainly do not mean it that way at all. There is nothing special about me or what I am doing. This is something that anybody can do using a Sunday paper providing you have a store nearby. I am just very excited about learning how to get the things that my family needs for free or cheap and sometimes making money in the process. I know it is certainly a tremendous blessing to our family and I want to share that blessing with anybody who is interested.

My Sweet Man

Finally wearing shoes. And it only took 15 months!
Winking
Ummm, I think you're supposed to push it

I got the blues!
Hey Mom! Whatcha doin?

Studs!


Okay Mom, I'm ready.

Look at that hair!
Me and my baby

Not very happy to be at KFC

I'm Still Here

Seems like I haven't had much to say here lately. Really, I have but I just haven't been able to organize my thoughts enough to write a coherent blog post. The death of sweet little baby Jacob last week really affected me. I've been trying to spend more quality time with my hubby and my sweet baby. I've also been trying to address some training issues we've been having. So, I'm still here. Plodding along I guess you could say.

I've also decided to add a section on my sidebar for current prayer requests. It seems there are so many situations right now that really could use extra prayers. If you feel inclined to pray for any or all of these situations, please do.

Prayers Needed

Update: This precious baby boy is now in heaven. Please keep this family in your prayers.

Dear praying friends,
My dear friend Lisa's 5 month old baby cousin is in need of prayer. He had open heart surgery on Monday and is suffering some pretty serious complications. Below are the updates posted on his Carepage today. If you could please pray for this precious little boy and his family.



150 January 15, 2008 at 09:15 AM EST
UPDATE: Things went ok last night, I guess. We were awakened this morning to inform us that Jacob isn't clotting the way he should (he will naturaly have trouble clotting because he is on anti-coagulants aka blood thinners). But, he was even worse than he should be on thinners. They gave him over 8 units of blood last night, and that is a lot. They decided to open his chest back up and try to find the source of bleeding. After opening him back up and washing his thoracic cavity out very good, they were unable to find a true source of bleeding. But, things look better right now. His bleeding has slowed down and his pressures are looking a little better. The biggest concern right now is getting his kidneys to function a little better than they are currently doing. And, getting Jacob to start twitching a little to show movement. He should be starting to move a little by now and he isn't moving at all. The perfusion to Jacob's brain and kidneys looks good, according to the monitor...so that is a good thing. They just performed a cerebral ultrasound to look for any sign of hemorrhaging around the brain. It is a possibility for that to occur on ECMO, as well as on blood thinners. The results of that ultrasound will be posted when I receive them. Jacob is doing better, but has a long way to go. Keep praying, please. Thanks for the prayers thus far, for not only Jacob but Amber and myself as well. We could feel the peace of God throughout the surgery yesterday, thanks to prayers. God bless you all and thanks again.
151 January 15, 2008 at 10:15 AM EST
PRAISE GOD...Jacob has wiggled his toes a little as well as his hands!!! The cerebral ultrasound looks fine, so no hemorrhaging! Now, he needs to start some urine output...thats the hurdle right now (as far as I know). Thank you all so much for your prayers...God bless you all!!!
152 January 15, 2008 at 03:07 PM EST
Still trying to get all the med's and everything just right so that Jacob's numbers look better. Jacob is still out, wiggles his toes only a little with stimulation. Nothing coming from the kidney's as of yet, but from what other's have posted about their experiences this is pretty normal. It just takes a while for a body to recover from such an extensive procedure. Everything, as far as I can tell, is going as it should. Thanks again for everyone that has come by or called, but more importantly...thank you all for your prayers. Crying out to God is what is needed right now, thank you all! We will be posting some pictures of the ECMO (life support) machine as well as Jacob post-operation shortly. Just so everyone can see what I am talking about with the tubes and everything. God bless you all.
153 January 15, 2008 at 03:47 PM EST
Jacob is starting to move around a little more as the sedation wears off more and more. His kidney's still haven't started producing urine yet, but that's ok...God is in control of that too. Just posted a couple of pictures of him post-op (be aware, it is pretty graphic, just to warn you). Thank God for his blessings...thank you all for your prayers.
154 January 15, 2008 at 08:26 PM EST
Jacob just had a seizure...this was sort-of expected. With all the fluid, swelling, surgery, ECMO and everything else combined it is pretty common for a patient to begin seizing at some point. As long as it is treatable, we're good. They are going to begin him on medication for the seizures and consult with neurology tomorrow. Most like an EEG will be ordered and possibly a head CT or ultrasound again, just to ensure there is no bleeding. As of right now Jacob's kidney function still hasn't begun. Beyond all of that, he is doing as expected. His numbers look a lot better than they previously were. Just please don't stop praying now. The road to recovery in some cases is more crucial than the surgery itself. While you are in the operating room everything is controlled. Outside of the OR the body has to begin regulating itself. So, please pray for Jacob... Thank you all for your prayers thus far, God bless you.
155 January 15, 2008 at 09:11 PM EST
Praise the Lord... Jacob just had 5cc's of urine! Thank you Lord! Sorry for sending out so many updates but we had to give Praise! Seems like a silly thing to be happy about, but it is a big step towards recovery. Please take a moment to remember another family in here (in PICU) with us. They have been here just a little longer than us and their daughter is only a little older than Jacob. She, too, is a heart baby and things have taken a drastic turn for the worse. God IS the great physician and His will shall be done. Just pray for their strength right now, they desperately need it. Thank you all for your faithfulness in prayer. God bless you.
156 January 16, 2008 at 09:39 AM EST
UPDATE: Specific prayer requests needed right now... They are getting ready to place a Tenckhoff catheter into Jacob to drain some fluid. They are getting a little concerned about the fluid on Jacob because it is causing Jacob to seize and is also going to begin causing more liver and kidney damage. Jacob's liver looks pretty bad right now, fortunately a liver is great at regenerating itself though. Jacob has continued to have seizures throughout the night, which really isn't uncommon. The lack of urine output is really starting to be a cause for concern. If he doesn't start putting out urine they will need to begin him on dialysis (which can be done through the Tenckhoff catheter is needed). Please pray for these three things specifically...among his overall healing: 1) Jacob's liver to heal 2) Jacob's kidneys to function 3) Jacob to stop seizing God bless you all and thanks.
157 January 16, 2008 at 11:40 AM EST
The Tenckhoff catheter has been put in. Now just hope that it will drain fluid and Jacob's kidneys will begin to function. Please continue to pray for those specific requests mentioned on the last update. Kidney and liver function are critical right now. Just an update about the other family mentioned last night. Their little girl did not make it, so please keep that family in your prayers as they are facing a very difficult time. Thank you all and God bless.

this is the 2nd of the day...
158 January 16, 2008 at 03:33 PM EST
They are now preparing to place a filter on the ECMO and start pulling some fluid off of Jacob manually. Using the pressure of the ECMO machine they can pull fluid off of Jacob. This is not to be confused with dialysis, but that may still be a possibility if this doesn't work as desired. Hopefully by doing this it will speed up the process of draining fluid and therefore assist his kidneys in their function. Like Lisa mentioned in her post, it is critical to start draining some of this fluid before it begins to cause other problems. They are going to have the neurology department come up and take a look at Jacob to ensure they are properly treating his seizures. Most like an EEG (Electro Encephalogram) will be ordered to check his brain activity. This is being done to ensure the pressure on his brain from the fluid isn't causing any damage. Nothing out of his kidneys still and his liver, to my knowledge, still looks the same (bad). I took more pictures of him because he has gotten even more swollen since the last pictures were posted. I will try to upload them at some point today, just so you can see what all I am talking about. I am ready for my baby to look like himself again and not the Michelin man. Please continue to pray for Jacob. For some of this fluid to get off his body, for his kidneys and liver to do their job, for the seizures to stop, for a positivie neurological report, for continued healing...please. Thank you all for your support and prayers thus far...God bless you.
159 January 16, 2008 at 06:10 PM EST
They now have the hemofiltration on the ECMO pump for Jacob. That should at least begin to drain some of the fluid from his body slowly. They placed another chest tube in on the left side of Jacob's chest to try and relieve even more pressure and fluid from his body. The EEG they performed was inconclusive, there were too many things going on around the bed. Also, there was just too much fluid to really determine if he was having seizures or not. Again we were told that seizures are likely with this much fluid being on his body. As long as he doesn't hemorrhage cerebrally they should be abnle to treat it appropriately. It just seems like he keeps swelling up more and more, instead of fluid coming off. I can't even describe what it feels like to see your son in the condition that Jacob is currently in...he looks like a different baby altogether. Thank God for the strength He has provided thus far! Jacob's liver enzyme levels are REALLY bad. Fortunately we keep hearing that the liver is great at self regeneration and can turn itself around no problem. The only catch to that is to get the fluids off his body. It is now becoming more crucial to start draining fluid, hence the reason they have begun hemofiltration. Please pray for fluid drainage, liver and kidney function, decrease in seizure activity and all around recovery. Thank you all for your prayers...God bless you. "Therefore I say unto, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them" -Mark 11:24 The following verse has carried me through all struggles I have ever faced, from school to basic training to Iraq and now through this... "But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." -Job 23:10 It doesn't say "if he tried me", it says "when he hath tried me"...trials of life will come, but we can rest assured that He will NEVER leave us nor forsake us! Job, too, knows that trials will come.

Funny Names

I love to name my future kids in my head. To me it's just really fun to think of really cute name combos. There are also a few names that I would never name my kids for one reason or another. For instance, I would never name my daughter Taylor because what if she fell in love and wanted to marry somebody whose last name was Taylor. Other names that I like I could never name my kids simply because they remind me of somebody.

I used to tell my husband that if we had twin girls I wanted to name them Joy Unspeakable and Fulla Glory. We would call them Joy and Glory of course. Also, if we ever had twin boys my husband wants to name them either Mason and Dixon or Hunter and Fisher.

My mom went to school with two girls who had really funny names. One was Mada Stelle and the other was Anita Mann. True story. My friend whose sister used to teach at Hyles-Anderson had a girl in her class once named Turna Round. I also, first hand, know of a lady named Female (pronounced Fe-mall-e). I heard it was because her mother thought the hospital had already named her when they put Female whatever the last name was on the crib at the nursery. I'm not sure if that's true or not though. Keith went to school with a guy whose last name was Hunt. He said he would make his 1st kid's middle name Easter Egg. Don't know if that actually happened or not though.

So what about you. Are there any funny names you've heard of or is there anything you definitely would not name one of your kids?

God Is Good!

photo from allposters.com

I just wanted to put up a real quick post praising God for some wonderful news we just received from a family member that we have been praying for. We have been praying for this person for several years and honestly at times I would get very discouraged and almost give up. But praise God for His faithfulness!!! Every thing that has happened is a direct answer to specific prayers. I can never say enough, there are never words to express how wonderful the Lord truly is. But today, my heart overflows as I sit here and enjoy not only the blessings of answered prayers but more so the direct impact this is going to have on their life. To God be the glory! Great things He hath done!

Little Stinker

Last night I asked Tyler if he wanted to do something. He said "essss" (translated, yes). I said, say "yes momma". He said "essss dada" with his big toothy, cheesy smile and then started laughing. He is such a little stinker.

Great Deal from Lane Bryant

For all of you who have a Lane Bryant store in your area, you must check out this printable coupon for $15 off any $15 or more purchase. It is for use in stores only and only one coupon per order. So essentially you can get $15 worth of free merchandise. Print one out for every person in your shopping party. I love free!!!! If you think they don't have anything for you, think again. Check out all these great things they have to offer for under $15.

Everybody Loves Freebies

I know I sure do!

Click here for a free Gooseberry Patch Cookbook. They even ship to all my APO/FPO friends! No purchase necessary.

For more freebies, check out these great resources:
Wal-Mart Free Samples
Click here for a sample of Maybelline Silky Foundation (also ships to APO/FPO)
Tightwad.com has tons of other freebies from different companies.


Enjoy!!

Happy Birthday--

To Me!!

And a very Happy New Year to all of you!!