Ash Getting Some Love

My friend, Ashley, sent this picture to me this morning. It's a shot of her precious little man giving Ash some love at our church's big 4th of July Event last night. Ashley and I both have boys the same age. She has a four year old and a one year old just like I do. Her little man, pictured above, is only five weeks older than Asher, but he has been walking (and running, for that matter) since he was like 10 months old. He's also a good bit taller than Asher. It's always so much fun watching them together. Asher usually just gets as still as a statue when Baby N comes around. I LOVE it!!!

My Prayer

Guide me in Your truth and teach me, my God, my Savior.
Psalm 25:5

Can A Boy Get Some Sleep Around Here?!

Poor Tristan! He fell asleep at the office today...right on the floor...in the patient traction area (Fashionista, he totally dressed himself today. Don't get on me about those RED crocs ;)).

For some reason, Asher loves to poke, pull, and jump on Tristan when he's sleeping. Most of the time when Tristan is awake, Asher doesn't pay him much attention. But let him try to get a little rest, and Asher is all over him. Oh the joys of being/having a baby brother.

Our Saturday

Saturday was an extra fun day for Tristan and Asher. They both love being outside, and it just so happened there was a HUGE event going on in the shopping center where our practice is located (ok, maybe HUGE is kind of overstating it a bit...maybe overstating it a lot). Nevertheless, my boys had a blast! As you can see in the picture above, Tristan had his face painted like his favorite thing...a dinosaur! Isn't he scary? :)

What made his day even more special was having his good buddy, Josiah, to play games with. As you can see, we had two dinosaurs running around!
These boys really do love each other!Ash took advantage of his time outdoors by doing LOTS of walking, his new favorite trick.
All that walking makes a boy thirsty!Look at that face! How could anyone ever be upset with such a sweet little man?And here's a picture of my three favorite guys. How blessed I am!!! I love you boys!!!

The CVS $5.00 Challenge

Alyssa is hosting a $5 CVS challenge each week. Visit her site to check out all the great scenarios people have worked out for $5 or less! It's always cool to see what everyone is getting. I LOVE deals!

Here's what I got on Sunday:I did three transactions. On the first transaction, I got:
Accu-Check Compact Plus Kit Price: $9.99
Used: $9 in ECB, Paid $1.09 Out of Pocket
Earned: $9.99 in ECB!!!
On this transaction, I paid $1.09 out of pocket and saved $75.99!!!

On the second transaction, I got:
1 Clairol Natural Instincts Hair Color, $5.99; I had a coupon for $4 off
1 O.B. tampons$4.49; I had a coupon for $1.50 off
1 Rightguard Professional Strength Deodorant and Antiperspirant $6.99; I had a coupon for $1 off
1 pkg of Gummi Savers $2.19, on sale B1G1 FREE, I had a coupon for B1G1 Free; thus FREE
1 pkg Lifesavers Mints (see above); FREE
I used my $9.99 ECB from the first transaction; paid $1.85 out of pocket, and earned $7.50 in ECB!!!
I spent $1.85 out of pocket and saved $30.17!!!

For my third transaction, I had to go to another store. My CVS was out of what I was looking for...MASCARA!
1 Physicians Formula Mineral Mascara $7.99
I used $7.50 in ECB and paid $.53 out of pocket.
I spent $.53, saved $7.50, and earned $7.99 in ECB

So for this challenge, I spent a total of $3.47 cash and saved $113.66!!!

My next visit to CVS is NOT part of the challenge, but I want to share anyway. I read online that since the Lifesavers packages were on sale B1G1 Free at CVS, and I had coupons for B1G1 free from the newspaper, the packages would be totally free. It seemed a little too good to be true, so I tested it on the challenge. Guess what?! It worked! So I went back on Monday and loaded up on Lifesavers. Check out what I got:

I got:
1 24 pack of CVS waters (reverse osmosis, our favorite) for $2.99
2 Softsoap Shower Gels $4.49 and B1G1 Free; I had 2 $.75 off coupons
6 packs of Lifesavers B1G1 Free, plus 3 coupons for B1G1 free

For this trip, I opted not to use any ECBs because none of these products earned ECBs. So I spent $9.63 out of pocket and saved $18.94!!!

My total actually should have been $2.25 lower because I was charged for one of the packs of Lifesavers. I didn't complain, though, because in a course of two days, I got 8 packs for $2.25. Still great in my book. :)

I Asked, and He Delivered

This morning as I prayed, I asked the Lord to show me areas of sin in my life, areas that I may not be aware of. I didn't hear or feel an immediate poke in the ribs, but shortly thereafter, I checked my email. I received an email from a great friend who shared some of the struggles she has had to overcome and thought that maybe I dealt with some of the same things. My first response was that no, those weren't struggles of mine. I emailed her back, thanked her for sharing her wisdom, and kind of left it at that. However, the Holy Spirit didn't quite leave it at that. I just kept thinking about the email. It has been on my mind all morning.

I came upstairs this afternoon to pray, and I felt a nudge to check my email, so I did. There, in my inbox, was another email from my sweet friend who shared more specifically of the struggles she has overcome and an apology for assuming that I dealt with the same struggles. Immediately, I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit and had another "AHA!" moment. I felt the Holy Spirit nudge me and say, "Ah hem...(how do you spell the clearing of a throat?). You asked me to show you areas of sin in your life. Ah hem...".

Oh!!! I got it, Lord!!! You see, with the first email, I was blinded by my own sin, my own pride. It took that second nudge to show me. The blinders came off, and I indeed realized that my friend was right. She showed me an area of sin that I was blinded to.

Thank you, sweet sweet friend (you know who you are). Thank you, LORD, that you haven't given up on me. I asked, and YOU delivered. Praise God!

"I am confident that the good work God has begun in me will be perfected." Philippians 1:6

AHA!

If you read my last post, you saw that God allowed me to sit in on my own trial, and I got to personally hear Jesus take the penalty for each of my sins. It was a powerful, powerful time for me. If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out my last post.

What's even more amazing is that while I was at church on Sunday, God made His great reveal to me. As Channing and I entered the sanctuary, I saw the sacraments. We were going to be taking communion. Immediately, I had the great "AHA!" moment. I realized that on Wednesday, God was directly preparing me for what was to come Sunday. He allowed me to sit in on my trial so that when I took communion on Sunday, I would truly realize the great sacrifice that Jesus made for me. It was SO POWERFUL. It reinforced to me that God is there with me all the time. He hears my every prayer. He knows the struggles I am facing. It was reinforcement that I am going to be ok.

I share this to give you hope. I think we all go through times where we feel disconnected and far from God; times where we think He has much more important things to deal with than whether or not our child gets over his cold, whether or not our work goes well, whether or not He cares that we are hurting. Let me assure you, He does hear, He does care. Last week, He showed me that He hears everything I'm saying to Him. It has increased my faith, and I hope it helps yours. Trust in Him. According to the Psalms, He is:

• The One enthroned in Heaven
• Father
• My King
• a Righteous Judge
• A Refuge for the oppressed
  
• He who avenges blood
• the helper of the fatherless
• the LORD who counsels me
• my rock
• my fortress
• my deliverer
• my shield
• the horn of my salvation
• my stronghold
• the Most High
• God my Savior
• the God of truth
• he who forms the hearts of all
• my loving God
• my honor
• my help
• A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows
• my hope
  
• my confidence

Today, I took the time to pray the names of God, and I could sense the presence of the Holy Spirit. AMAZING! Just in case you don't know them, here they are:

Adonai: Lord, Master
Jehovah-shalom: The Lord is Peace
El Elyon: The God Most High
Jehovah-sabaoth: The Lord of Hosts
Elohim: The Creator
Jehovah-mekoddishkem: The Lord who Sanctifies You
El Olam: The Everlasting God
Jehovah-jireh: The Lord Will Provide
El Shaddai: The All-Sufficient One
Jehovah-raah: The Lord my Shepherd
Yahweh: Lord (Jehovah)
Jehovah-rapha: The Lord who Heals
El Roi: The God who Sees
Jehovah-shammah: The Lord is There
Quanna: Jealous
Jehovah-tsidkenu: The Lord Our Righteousness
Jehovah-nissi: The Lord my Banner

Today, I hope you know that YOU are loved and cherished.