Couponing

I have been researching and talking to friends who coupon for a couple of months. I have been trying to wrap my mind around all involved....it seemed overwhelming to me. Recently I came across a show on TLC called "Extreme Couponing." Those people on the show are serious about the coupon thing....I was amazed! Realizing after viewing the show, I am a visual person and until I actually saw someone go from start to finish and grocery shop. I could not put all the pieces together. Once I saw the show and had the basis knowledge of research the practices really started to click for me.

I began a couple of weeks ago to follow the coupon strategy of buying a couple of Sunday papers (I buy them Saturday night), cut and organize coupons (Sat night), check out the grocery store sale flyers and only buy items that are on sale and I have a coupon. I bought a large binder with baseball card holders to house all my coupons in an organized manner. I've had to be disciplined to buy only the sale/coupon items and those essential items I need that typically do not go on sale - meat, chicken, milk, eggs, veggies and fruit.

Couponing is definitely worth it if you are considering it. Make no mistake it is time consuming, requires one to be very organized and not for the faint of heart. I would not consider myself to be the most organized, however, it is possible. Time consuming plays on the front and back end. Front end - clipping and organizing the coupons, back end - to get the BEST deals you have to shop at 2-3 grocery stores. There are valuable websites that share where you can get the best deal. Sometimes it is easier for me to just read the weekly sales paper from the grocery stores and plan my grocery list before I walk in and go right down the line.

For example, today I went to Kroger paid $34.40, between Kroger Plus card, manufacturing coupons and the coupon doubles I saved $29.48....not bad when I could have paid $63.88. Next to Publix paid $40.75, between Publix B1G1, Publix coupons and manufactures coupons I saved $29.13...not bad when I could have paid $70.08. Grand total spent - $75.15. This can last us close to two weeks and we can eat at home most every night.

I hope to stick with it. I am a competitive person by nature so I always attempt to save more. I desire to be a wise steward of what the Lord has entrusted to us. As I think of being a wise steward in the role of being a wife and mother, I am reminded of Proverbs 31 (Virtuous Wife).

As I have couponed I realize it is more than just saving for my household....couponing allows you to buy items for free or at very low costs so in turn you can give to others. The Lord has challenged Eric and I to give even more in 2011 and one way we plan to do so in our church food pantry. There is such a need!  Another idea a friend gave me is for people in the church who coupon to cut extra coupons, give them to the church food pantry and someone who is passionate and willing to organize the coupons on behalf of the church can make the church's coupon binder and buy those items for the food pantry at great deals as well!

As 2011 kicks off....my prayer is that the Lord teaches me how to be the Virtuous Wife and Mother and that I listen and obey!

Proverbs 31:10 - 31
10 Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. 11 The heart of her husband safely trusts her; So he will have no lack of gain. 12 She does him good and not evil All the days of her life.
13 She seeks wool and flax, And willingly works with her hands. 14 She is like the merchant ships,
She brings her food from afar. 15 She also rises while it is yet night, And provides food for her household, And a portion for her maidservants. 16 She considers a field and buys it; From her profits she plants a vineyard. 17 She girds herself with strength, And strengthens her arms. 18 She perceives that her merchandise is good, And her lamp does not go out by night. 19 She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hand holds the spindle. 20 She extends her hand to the poor, Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy. 21 She is not afraid of snow for her household, For all her household is clothed with scarlet. 22 She makes tapestry for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple. 23 Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land. 24 She makes linen garments and sells them,And supplies sashes for the merchants. 25 Strength and honor are her clothing; She shall rejoice in time to come. 26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the law of kindness. 27 She watches over the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness. 28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her: 29 “ Many daughters have done well, But you excel them all.” 30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised. 31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, And let her own works praise her in the gates.

Grace is #1

December 28th marked Grace's 1st birthday and we celebrated that evening with family and close friends. I am going to post an a paragraph of what we wrote to Grace's birthmother updating her on our month. It really covers everything and it is so neat to recall the month, put it in letters to her birthmother and one day we will give Grace a copy of those letters and incorporate them in her baby book.

"The month of December ended with her birthday. This little girl knows how to have a 1^st birthday party, a lot of it thanks to mom. Grace’s party had an Owl Theme with owl party hats, owl balloons, owl party horns, owl napkins, owl plates, and an owl piñata. Many people came out to celebrate her 1^st birthday; the grand total was over thirty people.  Grace again made out like a bandit being overwhelmed with many thoughtful gifts. We now have a room at the front of the house that is dedicated strictly for all of her new toys.  The highlight of the birthday party was when Grace got to taste birthday cake for the first time. She started off by just nibbling at the cake, but once daddy helped her a little the cake was everywhere and we had one happy little girl."

A couple of people played a key role in our "Owl Themed 1st birthday." Aunt Sarah made Grace's beautiful birthday cake and it tasted wonderful too. My mom was down for Christmas and Grace's birthday and was a huge help with food and decor. Our friend Wendy Arnold is super talented and put together a dvd of pictures and short video clips with music of Grace 1st year. If you are interested in checking it out, here is the link - http://www.vimeo.com/18019924

What a blessing sweet Hannah Grace to us! Happy birthday baby girl!

What A Difference A Year Makes....

As I reflect on this time last year....December 22, 2009 (my brother's birthday), we were in VA visitng with my family for Christmas. We arrived December 19th or 20th and VA received record snow fall - 36 inches!! It was absolutely CrAzY! I was in a panic because the plan was to meet for lunch with Grace's birthmother for her to interview us December 22nd. How are we going to make it with that amount of snow?

Fortunately, VA DOT got their job done and we made it to Lynchburg for the interview; however, along the way I kid you not we saw 57 cars in the ditch. We made it to the Mexican restaurant where I was as nervous as I could be. This was the most important interview of our life! Eric and I were overwhelmed with a sense of peace and did not even review how we would answer questions. We knew God was in control and brought us to this point. We really did not know what to expect since this was the first interview we ever had with a birthmother. At that point we had our album in with our adoption agency about 15 months.

I wish I could recall every question asked or each detail about that 3 hour lunch. All I can say is that it was a divine appointment and it was evident God drew our hearts together during that time. Grace's birthmother directed alot of her questions towards Eric and it was clear she wanted a godly, involved, loving father to her baby. As I have mentioned in an earlier post, one of the only questions she asked me was what girls names did we like. I told her I did not know why but in the past month the name Grace kept popping up and it was not a name we had planned on. I was sure God had this name reoccuring for a reason and we both like it. Grace's birthmother began crying and said when she found out she was having a girl she named her - Hannah Grace and asked if we would be willing to name her that. We of course agreed and left the meeting with feelings of peace, anxiousness and excitement.

We received a phone call from our adoption caseworker - December 24th that Grace's birthmother told her caseworker as soon as she left lunch she told her that we were to be Grace's parents and she was sure of it. They asked her to think and pray about it a couple of days. Grace's birthmother insisted that Eric and I know she chose us before Christmas. We received the most incredible news and best gift ever that we were going to be parents! Grace is nothing short of a miracle....she has brought us so much joy and love! Grace is more than we could have ever dreamed of....and we are blessed to call her ours. We are eternally thankful to God's provision and Grace's birthmother decision. We will be especially fervent in praying for Grace's birthmother this week. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort." 2 Corinthians 1:3

We praise the Lord for hearing our cries and answering our prayers. "I will turn their mourning into gladness;

I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow." Jeremiah 31:13

As I reflect on the gift of my child - Hannah Grace, I am once again reminded of the ULTIMATE gift....God's Son - Jesus Christ who was born to a virgin, lived a sinless, perfect life and died by way of death on the cross to save my life and those who repent and accept Him as Savior and Lord of their life. As Grace has changed our lives, Jesus Christ has forever changed my life forever. I am so thankful he loves me and accepts me for who He created me to be and challenges me in my daily life to more like Him. A baby really does change everything! Merry Christmas!

Sneak Peek of our Christmas Pictures

Isn't She Lovely?



Cheese!



Spending time with Mom Mom & Pop

Silly girl face

Grace waving to say "hi"

With Love & Appreciation for Mommy Cheryl and Daddy Gary

As many of you know Grace was in foster care for the first four months of her life. I know many people think of the "foster care" term in a negative light, however, Grace had the most incredible foster parents we lovingly call Mommy Cheryl and Daddy Gary.

First let me give you a little background on Mommy Cheryl and Daddy Gary. They are a wonderful Christian couple who love the Lord and it is very evident. Gary and Cheryl have three adopted children themselves Becca, Jason and Debbie. Becca and Jason are in college and Debbie is a high school senior. Gary and Cheryl have been fostering, I believe for 8 - 10 years. They only foster babies from the adoption agency (Family Life Services) we received Grace from. Needless to say they have LOTS of experience and it shows!

Everyone knows how much of a gift Grace is to Eric and I, but she started out as unexpected gift to the Sumner family. In December Gary lost his job where he had been employed for many years. The Sumner kiddos were home for Christmas break and after Christmas they got a call that they would be fostering a baby girl until her forever family could get her. Grace entered the world....December 28 and from what the Sumners have explained to us she was an angel from the beginning. A couple of weeks later, Becca and Jason headed back to college and Grace had the privilege of getting undivided attention from Daddy Gary and Mommy Cheryl. They took her everywhere church (never missed a Sunday, even her first week of life), out to eat, errands, and high school events. Debbie was able to spend alot of time with her and it was evident even at four months they had a special bond. Grace adored Daddy Gary and would always give him big smiles. In just the little time we spent with Gary and Cheryl after our placement ceremony (a day and a night) Mommy Cheryl had the touch to calm Grace and soothe her.

I had many people tell me once we got her home, we received an angel baby. Eric and I never had to endure sleepless nights and we pretty much have a happy camper all the time! I attribute alot of Grace's transition and easy goingness to Mommy Cheryl and Daddy Gary. They will not take credit for it. They say Grace was blessed with a wonderful temperment. It is clear to me they played a big part in it all!

A couple of weeks ago we went home (my folks home) and had the privilege of spending some time with Daddy Gary and Mommy Cheryl. We had dinner at our favorite place, Cracker Barrel. Apparently Grace had been there quite a few times in the first four months of her life. As we were drving to VA I realized we had had Grace for four months the same amount of time the Sumners had Grace. I realized how much love Eric and I have for the precious little one God entrusted to us. It made me realize once again how difficult it must have been for them to put her in our car (April 24) that last time and watch us drive off.

I remember speaking to Cheryl the day she was handing Grace over to us. Cheryl said, "we love and get attached to our babies if we didn't we wouldn't be doing our job." Gary and Cheryl, thank you for being obedient in your call to be foster parents and loving our Hannah Grace as she was one of your own. We will never forget and will continue to visit this incredible family who loved and guarded our little girl until it was God's timing for us to come and make her our own.

We love you!

Eric, Heidi and Grace

P.S. - God provided Daddy Gary a new job soon after Grace came to live us.

Friday Family Date Night, a new tradition!

Fun with Pooh!

Look whose brushing her teeth!

Love that face! She is pulling up on us, couch, & ottoman!

Summer Time Fun

Blue eyed beauty!

First time eating cereal

Swimming with the Barnard girls

Posing in the church nursery

Stuffed animal fun!

Date night with daddy

Pictures

Long Overdue Update

I found out recently more people follow our blog than just family and close friends. It is neat to hear about others who are following our blog as a source of encouragement as they endure their own adoption journies. For those of you who do not know we finally made it home after having to wait 3 weeks after our placement day/Gotcha Day - April 23rd. What a glorious day! It will be forever ingrained in our hearts and minds!

Thankfully duing our three week wait we were fortunate to stay with my parents and spend time with my family in VA. Everyone enjoyed their "Grace Time." Grace had a "graceful," incredible adjustment to us. We were so blessed to have a wonderful foster family that showered much love and care on Grace. It was evident that they love Grace like their own children. The foster parents shared that Grace was one of the best foster babies they have had in 10 years! :)

We were able to get our first family photo shoot in Lynchburg by a local photgrapher who did an incredible job! Grace sailed smoothly through an hour of picture taking and was entranced by the cars and trucks driving by.

We have been home almost three weeks. Grace has been an absolute angel. She wakes up happy and carries that beautiful smile all day long! I have absolutely enjoyed every moment that I have had with her during my leave from work.

New adventures - Grace loves her new jogging stroller cruising through the park with mom. Grace loves her new Exersaucer dad put together over the weekend. Yesterday, Grace had her first visit to the pool and she LOVED it and could not get enough. Looks like we have a water baby on our hands.  :) Grace started rolling over on her 5 month birthday (5/28). Grace loves watching fish. Looks like we will be taking a trip to the aquarium this summer.

Enjoy the pictures.....we are blessed beyond words by Hannah Grace! We thank the Lord daily for hearing our cry and answering our prayer!