Thursday, November 25, 2010

TOP 5 MOST THANKFUL FOR...

5- Missy O'Malley. What a true blessing she is. I am SO thankful the Lord provided her to watch and love and care for Everett while I'm at work. She has made him part of her family and it is evident that she simply loves him. What a relief for me, for Aaron. Being a working mom is hard, but Missy makes it bearable. She sends me pictures and email updates of what's going on and what I'm missing while at work. She loves Jesus and is constantly showing that to her kids (mine included) in the way that she lives. Thank you Missy for being such an incredible friend and amazing second mama to Everett!

4- Our Providence Church Family. What an incredible blessing to be a part of the body of believers there. I am so thankful for pastors who preach the word and convict my heart, friends that love my family, invest in our lives, challenge me, speak truth when I need to hear it, and the privelage to be a involved with a group of believers that reaches out to the community of West Chester and worldwide to spread the truth and grace of Jesus Christ.

3- Andersons and Windles. We have incredible parents and siblings. Our parents have raised us up in the truth of Jesus and have encouraged us in it. They have been amazing examples to us in life, marriage, and parenting and we couldn't love them more. Our brothers and sisters are awesome. We have grown up together fighting, loving, and laughing with each other and we really wouldn't be the people we are today without them. Near or far, we love you all so very much.

2- Our little family. Life is crazy and busy, but perfect with each other. We are so in love with each other and with our darling little boy. That doesn't mean we've always got it together or don't fight or get tired of all the jobs we juggle, BUT we recognize the blessings that the Lord has given us in each other. We recognize that life wouldn't be complete without the other. And, we recognize that the Lord has blesssed us beyond measure with Everett.

1- Jesus Christ. He gives reason and purpose to my life. He has saved me from myself. He gives me peace and comfort and the swift kick of conviction when I need it. What an amazing God that I serve!


HAPPY THANKSGIVING!



*Disclaimer: there are so many more people that I could add to this list... family and friends. Know that if you're reading this today, I am grateful for you and your place in my life!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

inspired

I am completely technologically illiterate. Okay, not really, but I feel like it sometimes. Problem being, my husband knows EVERYTHING there is to know about computers... so I always just default to him. Hence, my technological illiteracy issues. So, despite my inability to to advanced things like edit my html settings (is that even the right terminology? probably not... haha), I wanted to change to look of my blog. I was inspired by my blogger pal Katie Balla. So, here's my best attempt at an upgrade. I still can't figure out how to do half the stuff I want to, but at least I'm working on that illiteracy issue ;)

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Assistance Requested

Well, after hours of scouring cards, creating cards, trying to find cards with the message we wanted, number/size/format of pictures, we've narrowed it to 2! I am feeling incredibly indecisive, so I need some help. I liked that Shutterfly allowed you to personalize them so that you could see exactly what the card looks like; however, I wish there were options for mixing and matching formats, # of pictures, etc. So here are the options:

Choice #1- This is Aaron's choice. He likes the simplicity of the message and all of the pictures. I'm not sold on it because there are so many pictures! Is it picture overload?




Choice #2- I like the wording more on this one, and like that there are 3 pictures. BUT there were pictures that I wanted to add that didn't fit correctly because they were short and fat instead of long and tall.






So, what do you think? #1. #2. Get 25 of each? Tell me what you think.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

you know i love a good deal...

so, add christmas cards to the list. a fellow blogger friend had this deal posted and i'm snatching it up! every year i use shutterfly to make our christmas cards. this year i also made a couple of photo books to commemorate everett's arrival. i love them and shutterfly, so i have no problem sending them some free advertising their way! i went through the 2.4 million possible christmas cards and finally narrowed it down to a few.


choice #1: simple and i can already picture everett's adorable face there!






choice #2:  i love the plaid and detailing. and again... everett's adorable face would look perfect on it!





choice #3: this is fun and different and gives the option of 2 pictures. 




so, opinions anyone? 1,2, or 3?


*and if you're a blogger- cash in on this shutterfly deal! Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly… sign up: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Monday, November 1, 2010

picture perfect

My husband is a sweet man and he humors me in most of my requests. For my birthday, he promised me a family photo session. This is a big deal because 1) I have been wanting some pictures of the 3 of us and 2) Aaron would probably rather be shoveling manure than getting pictures taken... haha. So, yes, my sweet husband gave me a perfect gift. We were so lucky to have Denise DeBolt take some family pictures for us. (You may remember she took some maternity shots of us a few weeks before Everett made his arrival). I couldn't love these photos more or the two men in them!
























a girl who loves a good deal...

I can't help it. This post has been a long time coming. Seriously. It's like deals just call my name. I have more fun finding a good deal than just about anything else. As Aaron and I work toward the day that I can eventually stay at home with the kiddos, I try to find more and more ways to save us the moolah. I've found that it's definitely possible to find the things that you want at a great price. Example: I try to buy Everett organic formula (for his while I'm at work meals) and cereal as much as possible; however, sometimes it just gets pricey. BUT I have an AMAZING grocery store near me. It's called BB's, which is short for bent and broken. Basically, it's a store that purchases overstocked groceries or groceries that the packaging has been messed up in some way. And, if you're like me, I'm not really that worried about what the packaging looks like if I can get stuff for HALF off. Yeah, that's right, 50% off. There are a few things that I always look for there: dog food/treats, baby formula, diapers, toiletries, and coffee. A few tips- always check to make sure the packages aren't open and check the expiration date!  Back to my example- I really try to buy Everett organic products when I can, and today I hit the jackpot. Seriously- I was about the do the happy dance in aisle 3!



I was able to get a canister of organic earth's best formula for $7 (retails @ $45), 6 canisters of happy bellies organic cereal for $1 each (retails at $3.99 each), and 2  boxes of earth's best organic oatmeal for $1 each (retails @ $3.59). That means I spent $15 and saved... $60!!!  So there's my deals for the week. Maybe next week I'll share my favorite deals and love for goodwill. happy shopping!