Kept for the Master's Use

A few Deals :)

2008-05-06T22:22:00.004-04:00

It seems not having a photo to post of my deals is keeping me from blogging at all... So no photos but here are some deals I'm crazy about right now:
Target:
In the Travel/Trial size section look for a 2 oz bottle of "All Small and Mighty 3X Detergent" it is priced at $1.00 use the $1.50/1 coupon from the 4/20 Red Plum insert or the $1.00/1 Hangtag Coupon (I've found these on bottles of ALL at Wal-Mart and Food Lion). The Target I bought mine at marked the coupon down to $1.00, so no overage, but still free :)

Food Lion:
I recently found out about the Food Lion printable coupons... ever since I did we've been eating lots of free cookies at our house. Go to this link to print coupons for free cookies ("Free 12 Count Fresh in Store Baked Cookies" expires May13th) and free baby wipes($1.50/1, Expires 7/1)! The Food Lion Baby Wipes are regularly priced at $1.49 - so the coupon will peep and either be pushed through, or will be marked down to $1.49. Two other favorites: the $1.00 off Food Lion Ice Cream (Expires 5/27) is a great coupon- you can get Ice Cream for about $2, and the $1.00 Food Lion Chicken Breasts (Expires 5/27) is a great deal when they are marked down or on sale- I've gotten Chicken for about $2 several times!

I love Overage!

2008-04-21T21:19:00.004-04:00

These KY's have lots of overage at Wal-Mart- they are in the travel/trial size section at select stores! I am excited I finally found them at the 3rd Wal-Mart I tried. They are priced at $1.67 and there are coupons in the 3/9 Red Plums for $3.00 off any KY product... lots of overage! :)

I LOVE Kroger! Saved $105.20, Spent $13.22

2008-04-03T20:48:00.011-04:00

I have been having so much fun at Kroger this week! I went on Monday and got tons of the deals- went back again today and bought all of this (see photos below) for a total of $13.22! ...I'm starting to make friends with the cashiers at Kroger, as I go once or twice week. As I handed my coupons to the male cashier I told him that my total was going to be a dollar plus tax (my first transaction) and he said, "I bet the total is going to be at least $5"... and my total (on the first transaction) was $1.88! I mostly paid taxes, $o.91 was tax. He told me, he checked out a lady once, who got her total down to one cent...I have a bit more to learn to get that good! ~~~ I had coupons for just about everything I bought! The pizza crust was free after coupons, as was the cookie mix, the crescent rolls, and the Buddies bars!

Here are the totals for each item, after the buy 10 get $5 off promotion & coupons:
First Transaction:

8 Cookie Mixes (free)
3 J&J Buddies bars (free)
1 Dawn Detergent ($0.50) (Used a $1.50 off coupon)
8 Pizza crusts (free)
13 Cresant rolls (free)

Total: $1.88

Second Transaction:

10 Cottenelle ($0.49)
2 Ziplock ($1.20)
1 Grape Juice ($1.00)
5 Sweet Rolls (-$0.10 each) (These were the best deal: overage! Too bad they only had 5 left!)
2 Crescent Rolls (free)
3 J&J Buddies Bars (free)
1)Butter ($2.59) (we needed some to make the free cookies!)

(note: my math is off by +$0.03 ;-) )
Pre-Total: $10.36
Tax: $0.98
Total: $11.34

~~Want to learn how to do deals like these? Visit moneysavingmom.com and hotcouponworld.com! I love my new hobby! Couponing is so much fun!

Tony's organ comes in handy for displaying my deals!

A closer look... lots of rolls, cookies and pizza crust!

Yea for $.49 Cottonelle! Stocking up!

I LOVE long receipts! The coupons are the longest part of the receipts :)

Totals! First Receipt: total savings: $65 ~~ Second Receipt: $40.20

Super Savings Saturday ~Walgreens~

2008-03-07T22:54:00.007-05:00

Well another week, another reason to hit all the Walgreen stores in town! I got lots of the Olay soap deal! I pretty much got all of this for free/ got paid to buy these items when you factor in the $24 I got in Register Rewards for the soap! ~ On the way to deals there are road blocks sometimes...
I had a confrontation with a Walgreens manager yesterday... She confronted me- what a mess! The manager would only let me buy 4 of the Maybeline lip glosses on my third transaction at her store (they were on clearance and FREE after using a coupon, she was mad that I had so many coupons and limited how many I could buy, which was not fair, because managers usually want people to buy items that are on clearance so the store is not "stuck" with an item they no longer carry). I tried to explain this to her, but she would have none of it... So I contacted the 1-800 Walgreens number this morning and made my case to them, and then later today the Head store manager of the Walgreens store called me and told me that yes, I was right- I could buy as many lip glosses as I wanted, they are on clearance and she wants to get rid of them... so she said she would hold the rest for me and I could come and buy them all! So I went in later today bought the remaining 13 lip glosses for a total of $1, which was tax. Sweet! :) ~It is so crazy that because of my studying/ reading on Hotcouponworld I know more about Walgreens policies than a Walgreens manager does! :-P

All this for pennies, my friends :)

Totals: 16 cents and 9 cents.... (I love the negative subtotals: -39 cents and -41 cents! -Had to toss in a filler!)

Totals: 69 cents and $2.66 (TP and Jackson's Meds)

13 lip glosses for a total of $1.00 (I only paid for tax, they were FREE baby, yea!)

Jackson Turns 1!

2008-03-07T21:05:00.003-05:00

Our little baby turned 1 today! My friends the McNiffs sent Jackson a beautiful Steiff Penguin for his birthday! ...Jackson enjoyed his cake... he got his face covered in icing in a matter of seconds! :) ~We love our Jackson-Boy!

All This for 11 Cents!?!?! Thank you Walgreens!

2008-02-22T17:29:00.007-05:00

Wow! I had a very successful trip to Walgreens today! My total for my first transaction came up negative eight cents! (Because of overage from the combining of Jane online coupons and Walgreens EasySaver in store coupons) I had to quickly toss in a "filler" - a chapstick. I was amazed at this deal my self... With the "filler" my total was 11 cents! What a blessing! I was able to get all the items the nurse from the pediatrician's office told me to get for Jackson's cough. After only paying 11 cents I decided I should spend some money at Walgreens (!!!), so I used my remaining Jane coupons and used the overage from the mascaras to get a humidifier for Jackson's room (another item the nurse recommended). The humidifier retailed for $30, but with the Jane overage (from the ES mascara coupons) I only paid $18.17! Sweet! :) I'm getting pretty good at this! Thanks HotCouponWorld and MoneySavingMom! (P.S. On these two transactions I saved $159.91)

All This for 11 Cents!?! Awesome!

Proof! I love an 11 cent total!

The Jane deal helped me get overage to buy a humidifier for Jackson's room!

Homemade Bread!

2008-02-22T17:24:00.003-05:00

I told Tony about this receipt... and he made the bread today... It was so good! I covered my slices with butter! So good!

Super Saving Saturday! Lots of Deals: CVS, Walgreens, Target and More!

2008-02-09T14:03:00.000-05:00

CVS: On Monday I made my first trip to CVS, the nearest store is 23 miles away in Smithfield (VA). Sadly, they were out of the Maybelline Eyeshadows and the Excedrin!

CVS:
M&Ms: $2 each - $1 off coupon on two = $0.50 each, received $2.00 EBCs
Fruc Shampoo: $3.99 - $1 off coupon = $2.00, earned $3.99 EBCs
Dove Proage Body Wash: Clearance $2.65 -$1 off coupon = $1.65

Spent $7.67, received $5.99 in EBCs.

Walgreens:
I did much better at Walgreens than CVS! There were a few items in the clearance section!

Walgreens: I forget all the ins and outs! This one was tricky, and it's been 5 days since I pulled this deal! Here's what I can remember: one of the hair gels was on clearance for $1.24 and I had -$1 coupon = $0.24. The other gel was on clearance for $.99, I had a -$1.00 coupon, they marked it down to $0.99, so it was Free!!! The makeup was clearanced to $3.29, had a -$3.00 store coupon and a $1 off coupon, so overage/Free!

FAR(Free After Rebate): Frucuits shampoo, Clear Care, Speed Stick ($0.75 overage because I had a coupon!) and Softsoap ($1.00 overage because I had a coupon!).

Earned (once my rebates go through!): $2.05

Target: Softsoap on clearance for $1.77, - $1 off coupon= $0.77 cents
Head and Shoulders Conditioner on clearance for $3.81 -$3 off coupon = $0.81 cents!

Target also had just what I was looking for, for 50% off! Red King Sized shams! We received the matching sheets for a wedding gift back in 2005 and I've wanted these shams for years! :) They were $12.48 each!

LandsEnd.com : Beautiful Comforter cover on clearance for $39.99, used a gift card from my Mom= free for me :)

Hotcouponworld.com: Sold five Enfamil checks for $16.80!!!

Super Savings Saturday ~ My First Rite Aid Run ~ $0.81!!!

2008-02-02T14:05:00.000-05:00

On January 31st I did my first Rite Aid run... I'm new at this so I'm starting off small, as is recommended by Crystal. I think I did pretty good for my first time at Rite Aid!

I paid $3.80 out of pocket and I will receive $2.99 back from the rebate on the Fructis Shampoo, so my true OOP total was 81 cents! Here's how I did it:

Crest Toothpaste: 2 on sale for $0.99 - two $0.50 coupons = $0.98 for two

Colgate Toothpaste: 2 on sale for $1.99 -two $1.00 instore coupons - two $0.75 coupons = $0.48 for two!

Fructis Shampoo: 1 on sale for $2.99 - $1.00 off coupon= $1.99 ($1.00 overage after rebate!)

Visit moneysavingmom.com for more on how to save! :)

Look What I Bought at Walgreens for $24.22!

2008-01-27T23:07:00.000-05:00

Well, I admit it... maybe I went a bit overboard on this deal... but I love makeup and at this price why resist?! All Jane Cosmetics were buy-one-get-one-free, and I had $2 off coupons for every item! I did 5 different transactions- buying over 100 Jane cosmetic items, six packages of Valentine's Day stickers and a bottle of mouthwash and my total was $24.22, if you don't include the mouthwash and the stickers, I only paid $16.22 for over 100 items of makeup! It could have been even cheaper if I had only bought items under $4 (all Jane items under $4 turned out to be free), but I wanted to try some of the newer stuff! Anyone need some makeup? I'm stocked! Guess how much I saved? Oh, only $307.93!!! I bought all this in three days at two Walgreens stores. Thank you moneysavingmom.com - that's where I found out about this super deal! (P.S. In the photos below I used the pens to hold down the receipts, as the receipts were curling up were curling up.) (P.S.S. The store still makes money off my transactions as I used manufacturer's coupons- the store sends these in to Jane Cosmetics and is reimbursed. Also, no, these are not all for myself, I am going to be giving much of this away as gifts for birthdays this year. Gotta bless others when you find such a great deal! I heartily agree that couponing should be done correctly and that it is important that the store makes money off of my transactions. Please read Crystal's post about the ethical use of couponing here.)

Frugal Friday - Free Heat/ Free Fire Wood!

2008-01-25T22:37:00.000-05:00

When thinking of what to post as my very first Frugal Friday post, I decided on telling the story of how we came to have completely FREE HEAT in our house. The year we moved into our c. 1919 built home, the winter of 2005, our heating costs brought us (well, me) to tears! Tony thought the heating system in the house (circulating hot water) was really neat, unfortunately we found out it was very expensive to run! So near the end of our first winter Tony said he wanted to buy a wood stove. I was very apprehensive, as $400 seemed like a lot to spend all at once! Tony was just starting a new job at this time, so money was very tight. But he found a nice wood stove on ebay. (Gotta LOVE ebay!) He won the bid and he drove all the way out to Buchanan, VA to pick up the wood stove. Thankfully I was working for SeniorCorps that Saturday and I didn't see him bring the wood stove into the house. He said he backed the truck up to the front of the porch... um, yikes! Let’s not think about it! ...Our house already had a chimney, which was walled over, so Tony made a whole in the wall, bought the needed pipes at Lowe's, installed them from the stove to the chimney, and he made a hearth for the stove to sit on, and within a few days we were using our wood stove! ~ And we have never spent one cent on wood. Tony works second shift at the shipyard and every few days on his drives home from work (around 1 am) he scavenges for wood. Sometimes he picks up discarded palates behind stores, sometimes he finds wood from downed trees at new home building cites. Last week a friend of his from work gave him as much free wood as he could fit in his truck! ~ Each afternoon before Tony goes to work he chops enough wood for me to keep the fire going through the day and night. ~ I'm getting better at starting fires in the stove! I use to pour cooking oil on the wood, but now I rarely need to "cheat". :) Most mornings I start the fire right after I feed Jackson. ~ I've not always been in love with the free heat though! When Jackson was two days old my Mom and I came home from the hospital to a very cold house... I had to build a fire after giving birth! Let me tell you! -Tending a fire all day long and taking care of a newborn baby is HARD... The only way I managed was I tried to pretend I was a pioneer woman! ~ Thankfully things aren't quite as tight money-wise now and when we have a very, very cold night (in the 20s) we turn on the old heating system for a few hours overnight. ~ All in all, I love having a wood stove! Our house gets REALLY warm! When I burn palette wood I have to be careful not to put too much wood in at a time, because it can get up to 90 degrees in the front room (the room where the wood stove is located)! I have melted the candles out of the sconces twice! [ P.S. I haven't had any trouble keeping Jackson away from the wood stove- I have taught him not to touch it and he just looks at it and then crawls away. Jackson is not allowed to play in the front room (where the wood stove is located) for other reasons as well... mainly he likes to take the books out of the bookcase and get into the tv remotes. I have learned somethings cannot be baby-proofed, so we have a few rooms that are Jackson-proofed: the kitchen, the area below the stairs/dining room, and his bedroom. I always wonder how the Pilgrims and the pioneers kept their babies safe (you'll understand what I mean if you've had the chance to see PBS's "Colonial House" and "Pioneer House") ... I mean how do you baby-proof an open fire!?!]

Amazing Deal at Walgreens This Week!

2008-01-23T17:02:00.000-05:00

I've been enjoying reading Crystal's Blog (www.moneysavingmom.com) for awhile now- but today was the first day I went out and took advantage of one of the deals she posted. All Jane cosmetic items are buy-one-get-one-free this week at Walgreens. And at this link you can print out a $2 off coupon, good for one item. http://www.janecosmetics.com/coupons/coupon%20only.pdf (You can make them smaller, and print out as many as you want, only one prints per page, though!) Most Jane Cosmetic items sell for around $4, so ummm, they are free! I went to two different Walgreens today. At the first one I used 8 coupons on 8 Jane items and paid $1.60! At the second Walgreens I used 12 coupons on 12 Jane items, tossing in 2 of the Valentine's Day stickers (at $1 each ---I did this so that my total would be more than $2!) My grand total at the second store: $3.96! At both stores the cashiers called the manager, and both times they got the okay to enter in the coupons. At the second store I had quite a line behind me.... as I had 12 coupons and it took awhile for them to enter them all in... I wonder what the people behind me thought when my total before coupons was near $30 and then after they were all entered in my total was less than $4!!!! The cashier quietly said, "Wow, that was a good deal." I whispered "I found out about it online." :) My receipt from the 2nd store says "Your total savings: $54.44 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) -Print the coupons and RUN to your nearest Walgreens! I got lipsticks, eyeshadows, eye pencils, concealers, mascaras... all nearly for free!

Jackson in January - Our Active 10 Month Old!

2008-01-14T18:54:00.000-05:00

Jackson talking Babytalk!
Lovin' Daddy's Keys~

His two favorite "toys"! Keys and a plastic cup!
J on the train the McNiffs gave him for Christmas :)
Jackson stood up for the first time on Jan 13th! (This was taken on the 13th)
Jackson enjoying Daddy's keys and organ!
Future Organist Jackson!
Just wait until the pipes are put in, babe!

Our Life in Cradock; An Update

2008-01-12T16:19:00.000-05:00

Hello All!
Here is our recent news :

Jackson turned 10 months old this week... He is one active little guy! He wakes up at about 6 am, takes ONE NAP around noon for an hour or two and then goes to bed around 8pm. He has been going to sleep earlier recently and when I stay up until midnight each night, I start to miss him! Over Christmas Jackson mastered stair climbing (Tony installed gates at the top and the bottom of our stairs when we returned home from Burke!) ~Jackson is a VERY FAST crawler and is into Everything! The other day he crawled under my desk, unplugged the lamp cord and put the plug prongs of the cord into his mouth! Thankfully I took that away from him as quickly as I could! ~Jackson's favorite "toys" are plastic cups and keys. His Grandma (my Mom) gave him measuring spoons and measuring cups as apart of his Christmas gifts - he loves them! Whenever Jackson sees Tony's "Virginia is for Lovers" Heart shaped key chain hanging out of his pocket Jackson grabs for it-and Tony gives him his keys and Jackson happily plays with them for quite some time :)

~Tony continues to work second shift at the Shipyard, working a weekend or two each month as well... The poor dear does nothing but work and sleep! We are so thankful he has a good job as a machinist at NGNN!... On Tony's weekends off he enjoys working on his organ. The organ is slowly coming together again! It looks beautiful- but the pipes are not in it yet! :) He is greatly looking forward to playing it again in the months ahead!

~I enjoy caring for Jackson and my new favorite outing is my weekly visit to my local thrift store. I usually spend $20 or less each time I visit... nearly all of our clothes are from there now :). They have great prices and they are getting "new" items in all the time! I also enjoy finding books there- I found "My Utmost for His Highest" yesterday for 45 cents! ~~~ I am also very excited to be getting closer to weening Jackson... I am now down to 4 pumps a day and Jackson has 3-4 bottles of milk a day... It is wonderful to start to have A LIFE again! I am excited that I am going to make it to a year on exclusively feeding him Momma Milk :)! What a roller coaster ride of emotions EPing has been! I now understand verses on "dying to self" MUCH better!!!! ~~Now that I have some free time I am getting involved in our community. I am a block captain for the Neighborhood Watch and I am making friends in the neighborhood! I am good friends with Officer B---(our NIO :Neighborhood Enforcement Officer) and he often stops his police car and has a chat with me. He calls me, "Smiley!" ~~ Also, I've been cleaning up our street weekly for a few months now (picking up all the litter!) and people are starting to notice! Ted L--- (head of the Neighborhood Watch) told me that over Christmas (when we were in NOVA) people asked him, "Where is that girl who picks up the trash?" :) The street was quite a mess when we got home, so I got right on it and picked up two large bags worth of trash! I love seeing the looks on peoples' faces --- of utter shock when they see me on my knees picking up trash ;). I am so thankful for our little home and I am excited to see what our neighborhood will be like in the years and months ahead. There are so many sweet people who live here... the others are slowly on their way out ;)! ~K~

Our Day After Christmas Visit to Longwood Gardens!

2007-12-30T14:10:00.000-05:00

Tony caring Jackson in the Ergo, Jackson reaching out to touch a leaf :)
Jackson crawling on the floor of the Organ exhibit!

Tony, Jackson and Grandma Ceije!

Jackson loved playing with the water in the Children's Garden! The Organ! Tony was drooling! Too bad only the string division was playable! Me helping Jackson reach for a pitcher plant!

We went up to Burke (Northern, VA, my hometown) for Christmas. Jackson enjoyed his first Christmas. While we were at my Mom's house Jackson mastered climbing the stairs! On the day after Christmas we went up to Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA! It was a rainy day, but we had fun looking at the lovely flowers and Tony drooled over the organ! :)

Christmas In Cradock '07

2007-12-01T22:48:00.000-05:00

Lights in Afton Square
Singing Christmas Songs at the Gazebo
Santa arriving in the Cradock Fire Engine!
Our little home decked out for Christmas!
Close up of our door
Jackson crying on Santa's lap in the Gazebo
Nervous baba on Santa's lap!
Kissing Jackson in the Ergo :)

Saturday December 1st: Christmas in Cradock! Tony worked this weekend, but Jackson and I walked down to Afton Square for Christmas in Cradock '07! Jackson cried when I handed him to Santa, but overall he was so good... it was cold in the 40s!

November 17th - Day Before My Birthday Visit to Williamsburg

2007-11-28T21:28:00.000-05:00

Me and my sweet baba!

Had to get a photo on this bench... Tony took a photo
of me sitting on it four days before Jackson was born! :)

Tony ADORES his Son... Awww! Momma and baby again... it's great to be

thin again and have him on the outside... hehe!
Jackson is such a sweet, happy baby!
The Little Family in the Stocks!

On Saturday November 17th, the day before my birthday, Tony, Jackson and I went to Colonial Williamsburg :) It's my favorite place to visit in the area. ~ Before I was married, my family went to Williamsburg almost every Thanksgiving. Every few years my birthday falls in the same week as Thanksgiving (as it did this year), so I spent quite a few of my birthdays in Williamsburg. ~~ I love that we now live within driving distance to Williamsburg! I enjoy caring Jackson around in the Ergo Carrier around the old streets.... Tony even took a turn with Jackson in it at the end of our visit. We always end our visits to Colonial Williamsburg by a visit to Pierce's Pitt BBQ for dinner... another place my family went when I was growing up. I remember having BBQ there with my family and my Grandma (who passed away in 2001) and also once with my Aunt (who passed away October 2006). Williamsburg has so many old memories for me... and I look forward to creating new ones with my husband and son! ...Oh! And when we were in the Williamsburg Toy Shop we saw our first fellow Ergo Baby! A lady had her daughter on her back, in a cream-colored Ergo and I said, "Another Ergo Baby!" :) It was great!

Jackson and Kitty Toy/ Feather

2007-11-05T22:00:00.000-05:00

Katie took this video of me and Jackson... too bad she took it sideways! It is very funny though, Jackson laughed so much when we tickled him with Tiffany's Kitty Toy. :) What a great weekend! ~~Video taken at Katie's apartment on 6th Street on Capitol Hill :)~~

Weekend Trip to DC to Visit Katie!

2007-11-05T20:16:00.000-05:00

The National Gallery of Art

Better Photo of Me and Jackson taken by a stranger :)

Jackson enjoying the Mall

Me and my Sweet Baby!

Two lovely Captiol Hill Homes

Loved the Purple and Red Mixture! Barak's House (Red Shutters)

Dancing Queen!

Tiffany, Rebecca, Katie and Me at Glen Echo!
Union Station

The view from Katie's Bedroom! So amazing!!!

This past weekend (November 1st- 4th) Jackson and I went to DC to visit my friend Katie who lives on 6th Street on Capitol Hill. It was a MUCH NEEDED visit/ break for me… I kept thanking Katie over and over again. I was able to have quite a few breaks. (Jackson is all over the place right now, he crawls and pulls himself up to standing… he goes non-stop. He takes ONE nap a day now! All I do these days is chase Jackson around the house, it's good for losing baby weight (I did it, I'm back to 133!), but it’s not so good for having "a life"! = I don’t get out of the house much.) So needless to say, I was so thankful for all the baby sisters I had this weekend! : Katie’s sister Allison watched Jackson Friday night, her roommate Tiffany watched Jackson Saturday afternoon and my Mom watched Jackson Saturday night! Thank you all!

~Highlights of the trip:~

~Friday I enjoyed walking to the Smithsonian while Katie and Tiffany were at work. Sadly, my visit to the National Gallery of Art was very short, as they would only allow me to take my camera and wallet in, I had to check in my backpack/baby bag... arggg! (?!?!) I went through the Tuner exhibit very quickly, as I was so afraid Jackson would start crying for his bottle of Mommie Milk and it was all the way at the other end and basement of the museum! Not a baby friendly place! So we left and enjoyed the afternoon sun on the Mall. I fed Jackson some Cheerios and then took some photos. It was such a beautiful day!

~ Saturday Katie and I had a late lunch at Union Station and that night we went Swing Dancing at Glen Echo… that was the BEST… I could have danced every dance (I was asked to dance every dance!)… I finally had to turn a man down so I could get a drink of water! What an encouraging evening it was for me! I loved telling a few of my partners, "Guess what? ...I have a eight month old baby at home."… The look of utter shock on their faces was priceless!!!

~ Sunday morning we walked to Capitol Hill Baptist Church! Afterwards Jackson fell asleep in Tiffany’s arms… my Mom told me he had been up since 4:30 am! Sunday afternoon after I took a nap, Katie and I took a short walk around Capitol Hill and then we packed up my car and said our goodbyes…. Ohhh, it was such a wonderful visit! Katie told me she is recuperating from the weekend… but she has already extended an invitation for my next visit…hopefully I’ll be back in February! Hoo-ray!!!

(P.S. Sorry these photos are not in order, I don’t know how to upload more than five at a time, and they get all out of order every time I add five more!)

Katie's Too Short Overnight Visit!

2007-10-13T22:48:00.001-04:00

For the second time this year my good friend Katie came to visit me! For those of you who don't know, Katie is my good friend from Northern Virginia... actually she loves in an Capitol Hill apartment at the moment... Too Cool! ~ Katie arrived Friday night, slept, and then had breakfast with us Saturday morning... Tony made us pancakes! :) ~ Right before Katie left Saturday afternoon to go to a friends' wedding in Poquoson (the real reason she came to Southern Virginia.) we took these photos. ~ These photos were taken in front of our little c.1919 home... Can you believe Jackson is not in any of these photos? He was taking a little nap. ~~~I Love you Katie! Your visit was much too short! (P.S. Katie is a proud VT Alum and she brought Jackson a little gift from her last visit to Tech : a Virginia Tech onesie! :) Thanks, Katie!) ~~~~K~

Beach Week/ Neptune Fest!

2007-10-02T13:13:00.000-04:00

Last week my Mom came down and stayed at Turtle Cay between 6th and 7th streets at Virginia Beach! I drove out Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, returning home each night to sleep and then kiss Tony good bye before I left mid-morning. Mom and I had a great time together! She would play with Jackson in the pool and I'd soak in the hot tub... it was great! We also LOVED the sand sculptures! The artists worked on them all week. It was so interesting to see how they totally changed their on Wednesdays when most of the sculptures collapsed. My Mom and I both liked the sandcastles with the arches the best. :) It was such a beautiful beach week!

Our Second Anniversary!

2007-09-18T21:47:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Tony and I celebrated our second anniversary! I gave Tony three books, "The Passing of the Armies" By: Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, A book about the Battle of Cold Harbor and a map-book of the Hampton Roads area (so we can figure out the back roads for some Model T drives)! Tony gave me lots of chocolate (Hey, I only have a few more baby pounds to lose, don't mess me up Hon! Hehe!) and three beautiful cards! :) I love you Tone'! ~K-Lo~ (Enjoy these pics from our wedding... Sigh, I was so buff two years ago... notice the photo of me carrying TONY into the reception!?! Yeah! It got a BIG Laugh.....It was Sweeeeet!)

Jackson Baby :)

2007-09-12T11:52:00.000-04:00

More Jackson photos! What can I say? I love my baby! :) Photos: 1. Droolie Boy! 2. Cute Sleeper! 3. Jackson on our scale. It looks like he weighs somewhere around 18-20 pounds. 4. Bath Time 5. Laughing in his Mirror

Silly Post

2007-09-11T01:13:00.000-04:00

After that last serious post I decided I needed to lighten things up here a bit. These are some photos I found on king5.com a while ago of little froggies in Washington State! Aren't they cute? :)

My Marriage Testimony/ Random Thoughts and Advice for My Single Friends

2007-09-10T22:46:00.000-04:00

Well, I guess it’s time for a “real” blog entry. I’ve been thinking quite a bit about the subjects of singleness and marriage recently. I am going to start off this post by giving you a little bit of my own background and testimony that God can and will do whatever it takes if it is His Will for you to be married.

My Marriage Testimony:

I was homeschooled by my Mother from K-12. We went to a small church and I didn’t know many guys who were “potentials”, and the guys I did know (with a few exceptions) always were telling me, “Karen, you are weird!” The only other major male figure in my life was my Dad and he pretty much kept to himself most of the time, and really the only time he ever talked to me he was angry with me, or wanted money --- that coupled with hearing often from guys, that I was “weird” brought me to the conclusion early in my teens that I was unlovable and that I would have to change a lot and wait a long time before a guy could ever love me. There were a few guys that showed interest in me in my teens, but I had high standards, had done a lot of reading on courtship/ Christian relationships and by God’s Grace and the Holy Spirit’s help, I didn’t seek out a guy to make me feel better about myself… I knew that I needed to wait and trust God for my future. When I was 20 years old, in our small little church, all of a sudden, quite a few younger girls got pregnant outside of marriage. In a strange way I was upset, because these girls sinned and got so much attention… and here I was trying to do the right thing and I felt like I was invisible and didn’t get attention at all for being “good”. Fast forward a few years- I went on eharmony.com because I heard the commercials every day at lunch while listening to Rush… I signed up, but soon my free month was over and nothing happened- I just got blocked out by most of the guys that I was matched with that looked promising. Then out of nowhere almost six months later I get an email from one of matches… Of course, it was Tony… We had a long distance relationship with visits every two months or so, for the next year and a half. We got engaged with my parents blessing a little over a year after Tony first emailed me. Nearly another year went by and then Tony moved from his home in Washington State to Virginia... and four months before the wedding my father changed his mind because he could not shame and control Tony. ... My Dad tried to control Tony, as he had done to us- but Tony would have none of it. Two weeks before the wedding I just broke down- the only way I could go through with the wedding was if I could walk down the aisle alone. I had to be "real", I could not walk down with my Dad knowing what he had said and done and what he was still saying and doing! I rejoiced as much as I could under the circumstances on our wedding day. My one thought through it all was, "God has brought us together and satan will not win today!" I could almost feel the Spiritual battle that was going on, on our wedding day. It was a blessing that we were able to celebrate God's faithfulness to us on that day! ~ Soon after our wedding we closed on a house in Portsmouth. We moved to Portsmouth a truck load at a time for the next few months. Tony looked for work for four months… and we go no calls… What hard time that was! I was crying, fasting, wailing and praying for the first few months of our marriage. Thankfully Tony was eventually hired by Northrop Grumman and boy were we thankful! Tony has been working at Northrop Grumman for a little over a year now, and as you know God has blessed us with our dear son, Jackson. God is faithful and He continues to take care of us! To God be the Glory!

My Random Thoughts/ Advice to My Single Friends:

---Please know that God can and will bring you a spouse, if that is His Will for your life. ~ His timing is perfect, He cares for you and the place you are right now is right where He wants you. Wherever you are in your life, God is your Father, He sees you and is caring for you in such a beautiful way. It may not seem so beautiful to you right now, but in time it will all make sense. If not on this earth, then in Heaven you will see He loved you and was working through it all.

---Be thankful for the freedom of singleness, you have so much extra time right now that you can use to serve the Lord. ~ “But, Karen, everyone tells me that! Stop it!” Well, sorry, but it’s so true! I love my husband and I love my baby very much, but I cannot just run out the door to the store anymore! - I have to get the baby changed, fed, strapped in his car seat, get my two bags- lug it all out to my car, put the two huge bags in, put the baby in, and once I get where I’m going I have get the stroller out…etc etc. Going anywhere takes a lot of time. How many times have you thanked the Lord that you can go out quickly, whenever you wish?

--And now to my favorite reason: when you are married and have a baby you are always doing laundry and housework. ~ I have come to love doing laundry and housework ;-D (Well, I'm still working on it!)! I do one to three loads of laundry every day! When you use cloth diapers you have to laundry at least every other day ;). And there is always housework that needs to be done. We have little c.1919 built little home, but there is always at least one floor that needs to be cleaned. Being a wife and mother involves work... and there's not much glory in most of the work! No one comes to you and gushingly says, "Oh!!!! I just want to thank you so much for cleaning the floors, doing the dishes, caring for the baby, going grocery shopping with the baby and doing three loads of laundry!!!, that was so Christlike and humble of you!" LOL!!! ~You learn to do all these things as unto the Lord, and you learn to die to yourself daily. "Me time" is a thing of the past most of time! But it is a joy when you learn to accept your duties and do them with JOY and not complaining! (I'm preaching to myself here, too!!!)

--Face the fact that even when you get married you will spend time alone, and you will be lonely. Yes, did you see that!?!? When you are married there will be times where you are lonely! ~ Tony works nights (3:30 pm – 12 midnight) and I actually spend more time alone now, than when I was single. His working nights is character building for me! I can get into a pity-party pretty easily, but I try to remember military wives whose husbands are deployed for months at a time… and I realize that I should be thankful that I can at least see my husband for a few hours each day. ~ If your Dad always worked a 9 -5 job be prepared that your husband may not work those same hours. Understand it is not wrong or evil if your husband must work hours that you do not particularly like - Once again, it is God who has given your husband his job and God knows exactly what He is doing. See this as yet another area that you should to submit your will, agenda and expectations to God.

---No matter what season of life we are in, we desire to be in someone else’s! ~ Continually pray that God will help you be content in the season you are in. I have to do this often myself! I long for Tony to get moved to day shift and for Jackson to be weaned...but if/when both of those things happen will I will no longer be in the season I am in! It is okay to cry and feel lonely, but trust God and be thankful for the season He has placed you in... and enjoy it, for it will soon be over!

---Being married does not equal being happy. I know of quite few young women who got married and then they found out that their new husband wasn’t perfect, as they thought he was! ;-D!!! ~ Everyone has sin. Marriage is work. Living with another persons’ sins is hard. It’s hard enough dealing with your own sin, but seeing someone else sin in the same area over and over can be very upsetting! ~ Develop a heart that forgives and is not unrealistic. No matter who you marry they will disappoint you and hurt you, at some point. The beauty is learning to love and forgive and grow closer to Christ. Without the Holy Spirit, I do not know how anyone can stay married!

Labor Day visit to Colonal Williamsburg (Continued)

2007-09-08T01:09:00.000-04:00

We had a great time visiting Colonial Williamsburg on Monday... We both got a good workout... me carrying baby Jackson in the Ergo carrier and Tony caring the baby bag! :) They had reenactors speaking from 2:30 pm till nearly 5 pm (The program was called: "Revolutionary City ~ Nation Builders")! The most memorable part of the day happened right after Patrick Henry's famous "Give me Liberty or Give me Death" speech… I left the speech a little early and went behind the Raleigh Tavern and changed Jackson’s diaper… I had just finished and was walking to the side of the Tavern, back to the main street and the man who played editor of the Virginia Gazette (I cannot remember his name!) and (the man who played) Patrick Henry were exiting out the back of the Tavern and I was in front of them, they saw me, followed me and caught up to me and they started having a conversation between the the two of them about Jackson… As I got to the sidewalk I realized they were somewhat addressing me/ wanted me to hear what they were saying, so I slowed down when I saw Tony waiting for me on the sidewalk… So he got to hear most of the conversation too!

(Patrick Henry is in the 3rd photo from the top and the Editor of the Gazette is in the 4th photo from the top.)

Here’s a gist of how the conversation went between the two men:

Editor of the Gazette: "I was like that once!"

Patrick Henry: "What, you were a little girl once?"

Editor of the Gazette: "No, I was a young boy once, like him, with Argyle socks! I grew up in Scotland you know!

....Editor of the Gazette: "You know God creates all babies…but some babies are just naturally more beautiful than others! And THIS is one of them! This is a Beautiful baby! He takes after his Mother in that way, of course!" "....Mr. Henry, won't you jump in with me? I'm digging a big enough pit for the both of us!"

(Because I was laughing, blushing and kind of walking away a bit)

Patrick Henry: "Indeed you are! …But he IS a beautiful baby!”

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We also had a great time visiting Tony's favorite stop- the Cabinet Maker's Shop! Tony played the harpsichord (again) and talked with the harpsichord makers, the one older gentleman (he is in the last two pictures) made such a do-to over Jackson! It was so much fun! Jackson made many friends throughout the day! :)

Jackson is Six Months Old!

2007-09-08T00:22:00.000-04:00

Jackson turned six months old yesterday! How the time flies! Every month, on the 7th, I take a bunch of photos in honor of Jackson's Month-Day... Here are just a few of the 100 or so photos I took today... gotta love digital!

Labor Day in Colonial Willamsburg

2007-09-07T23:59:00.000-04:00

On Labor Day Tony, Jackson and I went to Colonial Williamsburg. It was quite a day! Jackson had so many admirers! This time Tony managed to get one of these conversations on tape! Tony wasn't looking into the view finder...just taping from the hip, so that is why it is a bit of center. Their was another Colonial lady and Gentleman playing a flute duet behind us, so you cannot hear the conversation perfectly (but the music is lovely), so I have written it out below!:

Lady: You’re looking the other way, aren’t you? Hello! …Ah, I knew there was a smile... You have a bit of a flirt in you too, hmm? …It is a young man, is it not?

K: “Jackson”

Lady: Why on earth is it that they always have the prettiest eyelashes? Little boys always have the prettiest eyelashes! Something their mothers and sisters would give the world for! ….Yes, you know were talking about you! …And not spoiled one little bit, I’m sure!

2007-09-03T00:03:00.000-04:00

Well, Tony says my Blog is just all photos and not much else... So, how about a video!? :) Sorry, try as I might this is fast becoming an I-love-my-hubby-and-baby-blog! :) This is a video of Jackson laughing right before bedtime.. Eva, do you see your gift in the video!? We thank you for the rattle!!!

Jackson, Baby!

2007-09-02T23:16:00.000-04:00

I was just looking over my Blog and noticing the only pictures of Jackson are when he is sleeping and you cannot see his cute face... so here are a few of the THOUSANDS (it's true folks!) of photos I've taken of Jackson :) He is nearly six months old now! (I took these photos on Sept. 1st and 2nd) ~Photo descriptions: 1. Jackson doing his funny 'snorting laugh' 2. Drooling in the kitchen 3. Bath time! 4. His first time sitting by himself 5. After Bath time, lotion-ed up! 6. Showing his flexibility!

Burning the Midnight Oil!

2007-09-02T21:54:00.000-04:00

Tony worked on re-roofing the second half of the garage roof today (Sunday). He worked from 3 pm... until... 11pm, with only one short break for some pizza! ~ I went outside around 9pm and took these pics, and then held a flashlight for him as he pounded away! ....Like I always say, this man knows what he's doing when it comes to fixing and building things! Way to go Tone! It looks GREAT!!!

Our Little Home... Post One, Jackson's Room/My Craft Room

2007-09-01T19:25:00.000-04:00

Some time ago I thought it would be fun to clean one room of the house at a time and then take photos of it... This is Jackson's Room/My Craft Room. In these photos you will see my rubber stamp collection in the stamp box holder Tony made when we first moved in), two bookcases Tony made (one on the wall and one along the top of the wall, he made them both since Jackson was born), Jackson's borrowed crib (Thank you Mrs. Aron!), our little changing area (no room for a changing table!) and my bookcase full of my cloth diaper stash and Jackson's onesies. ~~~~~The next improvement for this room will be a chest of drawers for Jackson's clothes (right now the closet it full of them)!

Tony Re-Roofs the Garage!

2007-09-01T18:28:00.000-04:00

Today Tony decided it was time to re-roof our garage! He said the back part of the roof was deteriorating and the wood needed to be replaced... and then a new roof put on! So! We went to Lowe's and got all the needed supplies (and then Tony went back two more times later in the afternoon) and once we got home Tony got right to work! This guy is amazing! He knows how fix and build ANYTHING! He works long hours at the Shipyard (second shift!!!) and then on the weekends he does home projects! Pretty cool! Lucky Little KK (me)! ...Well it's about 7:30 pm now and Tony just came in... he got one side done today!

Cute Sleeper

2007-08-31T23:16:00.001-04:00

For a few weeks now Jackson has been sleeping in such funny positions... Every time I walk into his room, it seems, I take a photo while trying not to laugh and wake him :) --- He refuses to sleep on his tummy, he flips to this on-his-knees position as soon as I leave the room... He also likes to have his face in a corner of the crib, his face in the bumper... ;-)

My Blog Title

2007-08-31T18:16:00.000-04:00

The title of my page comes from one of my favorite books, "Kept for the Master's Use" By: Frances Havergal (1836-1879) . She wrote the hymn "Take My Life and Let it Be". She wrote many hymns, poems and devotional books. I have most of her devotional books thanks to bookfinder.com :) I hope to share some of her writings and other writings from my favorite devotional writers on my Blog in the future!

"I Gave My Life for Thee"
(A hymn by Frances Havergal written in 1858)

I gave My life for thee, My precious blood I shed,That thou might ransomed be, and raised up from the dead I gave, I gave My life for thee, what hast thou given for Me? I gave, I gave My life for thee, what hast thou given for Me?

My Father’s house of light, My glory circled throne I left for earthly night, for wanderings sad and lone;I left, I left it all for thee, hast thou left aught for Me? I left, I left it all for thee, hast thou left aught for Me?

I suffered much for thee, more than thy tongue can tell, Of bitterest agony, to rescue thee from hell.I’ve borne, I’ve borne it all for thee, what hast thou borne for Me? I’ve borne, I’ve borne it all for thee, what hast thou borne for Me?

And I have brought to thee, down from My home above, Salvation full and free, My pardon and My love; I bring, I bring rich gifts to thee, what hast thou brought to Me? I bring, I bring rich gifts to thee, what hast thou brought to Me?

Blog Time!

2007-08-31T17:59:00.000-04:00

Welcome to my little Blog! Now that I’ve signed up for one, it’s kind of hard to believe I’ve never had one! Many of my friends know that I love Facebook... I love to know what every one is up to and I love sharing my latest news on there too! Also, Andrew, my brother jokingly said I should start a news page because I was telling him the latest Facebook news, which he had missed… and then my Mom said the other day that she just re-read a nine page letter I wrote last year and she thinks I should write more… so here I go! Welcome to my Blog!!!