Car Seat Safety

Several people have asked why Jackson's car seat is still rear-facing. This video explains why better than I ever could.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8gU9zzCGA8

It's fall, y'all!

It irritates me that my pictures uploaded out of order and Blogger won't let me move them around. Oh, well.

We are having a ball and enjoying this beautiful weather. Jackson is fourteen months old and so much fun. I am loving this age! He is running all over the place. His vocabulary seems to grow each day and he says about 25 words. He still uses sign language to express his needs and he amazes us daily. He's such a little sponge. After singing our ABC's the other day he picked up the "P" on his alphabet puzzle and said "p-p-p-p" and picked up the "J" and said "J....Jack". I was so proud! I love watching him learn and discover new things!

I have a wonderful play group of other stay at home moms. We do weekly play dates. This week we went to the petting zoo. We had so much fun! Here is Jackson with some of his friends.
While cleaning Jackson's room I put all his books in his crib so I could vacuum. He insisted on staying with them the entire time. I left to vacuum other rooms and kept returning to see if he wanted to get out. His response- "No, no, no, no....books!".
Jackson is a great little helper between playing with his kitchen set, vacuuming with his vacuum and helping me sweep- I am trying to train him right. ;o) I have two words for his future wife: "you're welcome".

Nonny (my mother-in-law) is SUCH a blessing to me. She is always willing to come and play if I need to run some errands (or like this week prepare for a dinner party of twelve).

Jackson adores her and I think she's pretty special too!

Jackson LOVES to slide!

Smelling the flowers.

Jackson's first horse ride. He was a pro!

Thought I'd share...

I don't often reference other blogs, but I thought this post was a good one and I thought I'd share.

http://itsalmostnaptime.blogspot.com/2010/02/i-dont-want-my-children-to-be-happy.html

Happy Halloween!

Couponing

I laughed at myself upon the realization that I had become one of "those" people who take pictures of their groceries. :) Those of you who are coupon experts may not be impressed with my savings, but for a beginner...I'm proud. Since this was my first big coupon adventure, I had to share my savings!

Spent: $38.03

Saved: $96.14

Cutie Pie!

90 days have passed...

My journey through the bible in ninety days is complete, and what an awesome experience it has been. All my life reading the bible has seemed like such an overwhelming task. It has been hanging out and gathering dust on my “To Do” list for years.

I am shocked at how doable it was. I finished in eighty-nine days and my average reading time was around thirty minutes a day. Forty six hours of reading later- I am completely changed, encouraged, convicted, challenged, and humbled. This has been a life changing experience that I would highly encourage you to undertake. Whether you have read the bible, haven’t read the bible, are a Christian or are not a Christian…if you stick to it, I believe you will be changed.

The Old Testament can be difficult at times and I won’t even pretend that I understood it all. On days that you are reading about genealogy or the dimensions of the temple it is difficult-but stick with it. Before reading the bible in its entirety, I thought it was many different stories. Now I see that it is one story, and it all fits together. I cannot wait to learn more!

I have only begun to scratch at the surface of God’s word. There is so much I don’t understand and I long to grow in wisdom and understanding. There are a few things I do know. I know that my God is real. I know that he loves me. I know that he loves you. “I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” Ephesians 3:16-20 I think that if I had to choose one thing I have learned it would be the overwhelming love of God. No matter where you are, no matter what you’ve done…he longs to have a relationship with you. (“Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.” Romans 10:13)

At the beginning of this experience I feared standing before God having never taken the time to read his word. I imagined disappointment and condemnation. Now, I picture my heavenly father smiling- arms extended. He’s had this for me (for you) all along. The bible contains the answers to every question we could have and instructions as to how we should live our lives.

It is so easy to get bogged down with our day to day lives that we forget what’s important…why we’re here. I have been reminded. I want to make a difference, to show others His love. I am SO undeserving of his grace, but so thankful to receive it!

Now that I have scratched the surface of God’s word, I am ready to dive in! Thank you for your prayers and encouragement. If you’re interested in taking the “Bible in 90 Days” challenge, visit www.biblein90days.org.