true beauty

there is so much that i could say about these pictures.  i could tell you about abs wanting me to cut apart one of her princess dresses so that she could make her own.  i could tell you about our trip to the mailbox to deliver the letter that she had written (and pleaded with me to mail soon) to our compassion child.  i could tell you about our long conversation or should i say abs' monologue with my affirmations about modesty on the way to the aforementioned mailbox.  i could even share about how we got to this spontaneous photo shoot of sorts with her talking in her princess voice about her imaginary friends, elana being the one i remember.  

but really, i just look at these pictures and think, "she is beautiful."  and by God's grace and our diligence and dependence, she is becoming more beautiful every day.  He is softening her heart and teaching her to submit and obey.  He is teaching her self-control and for this little passionate girl, that's no small lesson.  i'm so thankful he has entrusted this fireball to us, and i pray that she will come to know Him intimately very soon.

thrifty thursdays-shop around

have i mentioned the value of comparison shopping?  it cannot be overemphasized people.

i have been shopping around today via the phone for car and home insurance.  with just ONE estimate, i am already $400 less per year than what i am currently paying.  and that's with AMICA, rated #1 for customer service by jd power and associates.  

i also saw a commercial for bundling services with my phone company.  yes, i was on hold for 10 minutes or so, but by the end of the conversation, i wound up paying 5 cents less per month AND getting caller ID added.  it was not the deal of the century i had hoped for, but now, let the screening of calls begin!!  and don't think that means that you don't have to leave a message when you call...because we need a phone that screens calls first.  HA!

and props to brett for the great comparison shopping tip for books.  you saved me at least $10 on the last book i bought when i checked out www.betterworldbooks.com!

and the winner of the $5 target gift card is...

JAWAN! congrats to you.

now can someone tell me how i am supposed to mail this to jawan without giving away her or my personal info on the great world wide web??
(got it! thanks, beck!)

supernanny

today has been a day of training.  my rediscovered friend from berry days, cathlyn z., came over to give me some insight and help in training my girls.  so not only were they receiving counsel, so was i!  it was a good day.  an exhausting day, but a good one.  thanks, cathlyn for loving me and my family so well.

so all you peeps out there that love kiddos...is it just me, or is the hardest part being consistent regardless of your circumstances?

another giveaway!!

editor's note (that's me)...we don't need a name after all.  so, just consider this interesting info about our lives.

well, giveaway might be a bit of a stretch...how about an exchange?  jon and i have decided to partcipate in a local craft festival called lilburn daze.  he is going to sell his children's paintings... 

and i am going to try and sell some of these baggie bolsters.
i have also thought about selling cloth napkins in kid and adult fabrics.

so here's where you come in.  we need a name for our "organization or business."  and both of us are fresh out of creative ideas.  give me a name that we choose, i'll give you a prize.  and it will be good.  promise.

my first giveaway!

remember this?  one lucky reader will soon be using it at their local target.  just leave a comment about what excites you most about this fall by midnight on wednesday, and somehow, randomly, we'll pick a winner.  have fun!

a blueberry road trip

while i was at a kay arthur leadership training seminar all day, jon took the girls to dublin, georgia to see his grandmother and to pick blueberries which he and the girls LOVE. 

he is my super hero.  at least 7 hours in the car in one day with two munchkins, and everyone made it home alive and happy.  very impressive.

america's next top model

brace yourself.  this is the outfit that abs designed herself this morning.  panties on the head and all...

and this is the photo shoot that followed.  tyra banks would be proud.

isn't she fierce?

these are the toes that i was begged to please please paint tonight!  and yes, she chose the color.

yes, we have a diva in our midst. 

thrifty thursdays-cheap treats

we are quite the consumers of all things sweet and cold.  for abby's birthday, grammy bought us, i mean her, some tupperware popsicle molds.  yes, they are pricey compared to the ones that you get for $2-3 at the grocery store.  however, we believe they were worth every penny.  i can make healthy sweet treats for my kids at a fraction of the cost of buying the junk.  and they both love whatever i put in there.  last week i put yogurt that was about to go bad in the molds.  they thought it was ice cream.  so yes, the initial cost is yucky, but instead of purchasing tons of the cheap molds that break easily and are hard to clean, i recommend these.  in the long run, i think it is quite a thrifty purchase and much healthier too! 

summer fun

is there anything better than homemade fresh-squeezed lemonade on a hot summer day?

...maybe eating some of daddy's ice cream.

the target saga continues...

read here and here if you need the back story of my target drama.

i got this in the mail yesterday.

yes ma'am.  that's a $5 gift card from target's corporate headquarters.  are they sending out gift cards to the masses at large?  somehow, i don't think so.

i feel like i am being bribed.  they can't refund my $6.99, but they can send me a "random" gift card for five bucks.  no apology.  no acknowledgment of wrongdoing.

would this be the final nail in their coffin if you were me, or would it be "hello target"?

sick girls

the girls are sick. juju has had a fever and now has a rash. diagnosis, random virus, potentially coxsackie (aka hand, foot and mouth disease). abby has a fever and was complaining of a stomach ache, specifically on the right sight. i was fully prepared to take a trip to the ER last night. however, she made it until we went and saw our beloved dr. yoder this morning. she has strep throat. no complaints of a sore throat. random!

so here's the thing, while most kids are unbearable when they are sick, here are mine.
can you tell that they are sick? they are sitting and watching the movie cars. (that's a good indicator that something is amiss for my never still julia.)

both girls have a really high threshhold for pain. abby especially. she seems to be sweeter than normal when she is sick. it's like all the extra energy she has which normally pours into arguing, drama and complaining is gone. and all that is left is the sweetness. it's a nice perk of several nights of getting no sleep. because while she is sweet, she still is needy!

what do you (or your kids) like to do when you're sick?

home sweet buggy home

we are back home. the kitchen is operable, but still not finished. and our house...well, it's a nightmare for someone who is allergic to dust. (have i mentioned that jon forgot to cover things up before he started mixing concrete and tearing out old flooring...) here are a few of the hundreds-i'm not exaggerating on that number-flies that i have been daily vacuuming. not to mention that i got stung by a wasp in abby's bedroom. whatever! don't you wish you were here??


nevertheless, it is good to be home. good for my husband to be done with working nights. good to sleep in my own bed. it's nasty, but it's my home.

small world

one of my friends was surfing and found this blog and asked if this was me and my daddy. yes it is. and i had no idea this picture was out there, but i love it.

the library

winnie the pooh made a guest appearance at the library yesterday. so, we went on the spur of the moment. it was a great way to keep the girls out of our "still in process" house for an hour or so. abby was super excited. julia was excited until we got close.


this moment lasted for maybe 15 seconds until julia was crawling in one direction, abby was off in another and i was trying to keep up with them both while carrying the jumbo camera, their books and my purse. why didn't i bring the stroller in??


we then saw our great friends and neighbors. abby and sophia went and read together for a few minutes.

free entertainment. some happy little girls. one tired momma.

bye-bye baby mullet

we didn't have the baby mullet issue with abs. she had curls. julia, however, has been steadily getting closer and closer to having her very own mullet. so today, it was time. we got it cut.
before.

during. she did great. the key for my kids and haircuts when they are little is food. she ate animal crackers the whole time. and mandy (who also cuts my hair) is fabulous and fast!

after. my baby girl has bangs and a cute bob. she looks so different!

we appreciate you, chick-fil-a!

today is cow appreciation day. which means if you dress up like a cow, you get free food. i would normally be all about it, but with life being so crazy right now, i was just going to pass this year. however, when jon learned about it, he and abby got excited. so last night, i stopped by our house to pick up odds and ends to put together 4 cow costumes at my parents' house. (yes, we are still not home.) but it was fun. hopefully a good memory for the girls in years to come.

oh, and the hour of work will yield 8 free combos!!! 4 for my family at lunch, and 4 for my friends family at dinner. :)

and yes, julia discovered the wonders of freshly squeezed lemonade today.

thrifty thursday part 7-book bargains

okay, for those of you who don't know me, i love to read. love it. i used to buy books constantly--thus our well stocked bookshelf covering one wall of our living room.

however, in the past few years, buying every book i want to read is no longer practical or economical. heck, it's not really an option. so here's how i'm saving some cash on books.

1. the library. now every system is different, i know, but ours is fabulous. we can request books on-line. then i get an e-mail when the book i want has come in. also, any book i want that my library doesn't have, i can request easily on-line using the interlibrary loan request form. and it's all free. way to go tax dollars!

2. if there is a book that i want to own, i go to paperback swap. such a great concept. you request books from other members. they request books that you have listed. for every book you ship out, you get a credit. for every book you receive, you use a credit. so, on average, i'm spending about $2.50 per book (the cost of shipping). i have loved this for often checked out library books for the girls, books for me that i know i will want to reread and cookbooks. they have a great selection.

3. my third stop if i need something immediately for my own collection is this website. it searches the web and gives me the prices of books plus shipping for both new and used books. i also check out half.com. sometimes they aren't listed in the comparisons.

so how do you save money on books, cds or music?

"it's magical"

this is what my 4 year old loudly proclaimed as she watched the fireworks in downtown decatur, "IT'S MAGICAL!" watching her reaction to it all was just that. i honestly delighted more in her enjoyment than i did the fireworks...although they were beautiful. makes me wonder if God takes more delight in our delight of the wonders he performs and creates than in the actual creation. what do you think?

back to blogging

i haven't been the most consistent lately. could it be because we were moving back and forth from my parents house (whose air conditioning went out this weekend) to our STILL unfixed kitchen? probably. but here are some fun shots from the past week or so.

since this picture was taken, the island and all the flooring have been removed (there was dreaded black mold underneath our lovely bamboo flooring) and the pipes are now covered with concrete. one small step for mankind, one giant leap toward moving back home.

julia is beginning to learn how to use a spoon.
or just turn it up...

abby and her cousin went to the carnival at grace to celebrate the end of a fun week at backyard bible club (a concept that i am a big fan of vs. the whole vbs concept i grew up with). and yes, i wound up climbing up the slide to help jack.
abby wanted to be like her nana. so the curly haired girl curled her hair.

and she wanted to help her papa make hamburgers...until she realized how nasty handling raw meat truly is. no amount of telling her it was like play-doh would convince her otherwise. like mother, like daughter.

NoiseTrade--an even better thrifty thursday!

so this is even BETTER! free music. just choose one of these indie bands (more options to choose from at NoiseTrade), and then send an e-mail to 3 friends recommending that they check it out. and poof-you get a whole free album to download on your computer! i feel like i'm getting back into the music loop once more.

thrifty thursday part 6

here it is. don't pour grease down your drain. because maybe not today and maybe not tomorrow, but some day in the future your drains will get clogged. and if they get clogged and you pour the wrong thing down the drain, your pipes will corrode. they will completely be eaten away by the nastiness. and if that happens, and your pipes are in a slab foundation, your foundation will become mush, muck, muddy yuck. and that mess will start to spread away from the kitchen into the rest of your house. and if THAT happens, you will spend thousands digging up your foundation, replacing your pipes, repouring your foundation and redoing your flooring. not to mention the cost of having to evacuate your house for several weeks.

this one thrifty thursday tip, is saving you thousands. and if it doesn't save you thousands personally, it will save the people who own your house next.

i testify.

bedhead

yes. he's a rock star. my rock star. :)