GOD KNEW...

Amanda did not know that purple is my favorite color, but God did! Amanda did not know how much I could use a bouquet of flowers today, but God did! Our hearts ache, our marriages fail, we fail, our kids disobey...BUT GOD!

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

Delighting in Him,

VOTE NOW!

All of the beautiful stamped projects that I have shared here have been the ideas of Amanda. I try my best whenever she has a class to attend because I know it is going to be AWESOME. When she announced a "name her blog" contest I knew I had to join in the fun.

Years ago before I was a "Tea Lady" I was a crafty lady and sold Stampin' Up and held classes in my home. I really wanted to have my own stamp store and the name I chose was "The Stamp Pad" with a frog on a lily pad (stamp pad) holding a rubber stamp. Since I am on to other things I decided to share that name with Amanda for her blog, little did I know I would be a front runner. It is exciting to see that the name chosen so many years ago may still be used for "stamping purposes".

Anyway, I am in the lead to name her blog, please vote for "Amanda's Stamp Pad" on the top of her side bar. Must vote by tomorrow, July 17th. Click here to vote

FAMILY DEVOTIONS

On the Fourth of July Isabella handed me a piece of paper with this verse on it…

I will surely bless you … because you have obeyed me. Genesis 22:17-18

This was in her Adventure Bible in a small box at the top of the page that they call “Words to Treasure”

She said she was going to memorize it. A short time later she had handwritten a verse for everyone and said this was their memory verse and we would have family devotions later that night (led by her) and we would each recite our verse followed by some worship time. Sure enough she called us together in the den, we all recited our verses (mine was “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”). She said she gave me an easy one – thanks Isabella!

After everyone said their verse she played songs from her Crocodile Dock VBS CD and we did the motions. I would highly recommend this CD for children, it has wonderful songs on it. Check out some of the videos with hand motions on Youtube (just type in Crocodile Dock). It was truly a blessing! She has been hiding God’s Word in her heart since she was little, I cannot wait to see what God has in store for her.

NEW GROCERY BUDGET

Total cost $49.00

This was my first week actually withdrawing grocery "cash" and setting a "grocery budget" - it was $50. Everything in this picture was $49, so realistically I think I will increase it to $60 because I still have to get milk $1.99, eggs $.99 and bread (buy one get one free) at Publix $3.49 for two. I include personal items and cleaners in my budget, this week I bought Infusium Leave-In Conditioner for Isabella which ate up (ha! ha!) $5.

Some of my purchases were cherries, grapes, broccoli, and a HUGE watermelon. I bought two boxes of dishwasher tabs and toilet paper. Had to get stain remover and Clorox (I love me some Clorox). Toothpaste for Annais, band-aids for the car (let's see if I remember to take them back to the car). Free sample of Banana Boat sunscreen (perfect for the diaper bag). My best deal of the day - two packs of razors pictured here for $.50 (used a rain check from Publix for BOGO for $5.49 and had $5.00 in coupons).

Before Judah was born we were spending $150 a week buying these same kinds of things, so I have actually reduced our groceries 60%.

Many of you have emailed and said you wanted to do this too? Do you have specific questions that I could answer here? Anything you would like to see explained in more detail?

WORKS FOR ME WEDNESDAY

This is my first time participating in Works For Me Wednesday and I know today is the day because I had an AWESOME experience last night.

My baby is four months old and is sleeping between 11-13 hours a night (I know I'm blessed), but his diaper cannot handle it. He wakes up every morning with a soaked sleeper and sheets, so last night I decided to put a pantiliner in his diaper...crazy you say? Well he slept 15 hours last night and woke up with a dry sleeper and sheets! Hooray for pantiliners it Worked For Me this Wednesday! If you are thinking I should just buy overnight diapers, they do not make them in the smaller sizes and after this trick worked I may never buy an overnight again.


To read other AWESOME tips check out We Are That Family!

FREE COFFEE

I love free stuff, but I LOVE fellowship even more, so I am using this free coffee offer from McDonald's to get together with some other moms and let my kids have some play time. Is there an old friend you would like to catch up with? Someone who could just use some company? What are some creative ways you could use this promotion to extend hospitality or fellowship with others? I'll let you know how my idea works out.

Through August 3, stop by participating McDonald’s on Mondays from 7:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. for a free sample of iced or hot mocha. The sample isn’t a shot, either: It’s an 8 oz. hot mocha or a 7 oz. iced mocha. Limit one per person while supplies last.

OUR NEW FAVORITE GAME

This card game is on the end cap at Target and sells (at my store) for $6.99 you can print a $5 coupon on coupons.com, so your out of pocket is $1.99. We have had a blast playing it! There are four games you can play, we have not moved past game #1. Would make a great party gift.

There is some more encouragement for you and your family! Makes a great addition to family game night.