It doesnt get this cheap even at Wal-Mart!

I just had to blog about these great deals I got this weekend!! Carters is one of my favorite places to shop for my kiddos because they have such cute and comfy stuff but also because I always have a coupon and they run such great sales!! I got a coupon in my email last week for 25% off a purchase of at least $40. Usually the coupons they send are 20% off a purchase of $50, so the coupon they sent this week was even better than usual! Plus they were having their Memorial Day sale and everything already clearanced was an additional 30% the clearance price.
I was planning on just picking up some outfits for Audrey since shes FINALLY starting to outgrow her 6-12 month clothes. (Yes, you read that right. My 19 month old is just now outgrowing her 6-12 month clothes...but thats a whole other topic in itself.) So, she needed some summer outfits that fit. I guess I had already sold all of Ava's old 12-18 mo Summer stuff because we just *knew* we weren't going to have any more girls.....hardy har har. Anyways, so there were no hand-me-downs waiting to unload from a bin.
As I was checking out I noticed a boys diaper bag marked down to $7.99!!!! A brand new Carters diaper bag for $7.99! Even if it wasnt exactly what I wanted or envisioned for my first BOY diaper bag...for $8 I was getting it!!! Then, since it was on clearance it was an additional 30% off plus my coupon brought it down another 25% off. After all the discounts I paid $4.47 for a brand new Carters diaper bag!!! Did you read that?!?!

$4.47 for this NEW diaper bag!!
I dont think I could get that great of a deal at a garage sale or at Wal-Mart!

Then, while I'm still looking at the diaper bag Derek and the girls start going through a bin of boys shirts marked down to $3.99 with an aditional 30% off. After seeing those 2 great deals we asked her to suspend our transaction and headed to the boys clearance racks.

This is what we ended up snagging for $26.78!!

3 pairs of pants

5 shirts

3 jackets

The total cost of these pieces from the same "collection": $8.92!!!

This complete outfit total cost: $7.81

I can say I'm mighty proud and excited about these awesome deals!!! I didn't pay more than $4.47 for anything!
I think its pretty cool at how the Lord blessed us with these great deals! If you knew me even 2-3 years ago you would know how OBSESSED with kids clothes I was. Gymboree was my FAVORITE place to shop and actually pretty much the only place I shopped for the girls. I can't really say we could afford it but I would justify it because I only ever bought stuff on sale, always took advantage of Gymbucks and then re-sold the clothes when they outgrew them. There were several seasons that I made MORE money back on their used clothes than I actually spent on them. I got really good at making great looking ebay listings that would make good money. BUT...then the Lord started dealing with my heart on materialism and my literal addiction to Gymboree. So I prayed and prayed he would take away my desire for their clothes. I know that sounds silly but I literally had an awful Gymboree addiction. I would day dream about outfits and wouldn't be settled until I got to buy them for the girls. So, I finally got a job there to recieve the discount and low and behold thats what God used to break my addiction! I got so sick of their clothes and lines that I stopped shopping there almost altogether! I used to not be able to go in there without spending money and now I can walk in there and if its not say under like 10 bucks....I'm not buying it! That is a HUGE change for me! I still think the quality of their clothes far surpasses most brands. And Ava still wears the hand-me-downs from Elisa and they still look brand new. But Ive been delivered from that addiction and learned to be a better steward of the funds that the Lord has entrusted to us.
So now I can get super excited about great deals like I find at Carters and save LOTS of money!

1 Dozen Donuts for only .99 at Krispy Kreme!!!!

When I saw this I was just so excited I had to share with anyone who doesn't read the frugal blogs out there. (Since this was posted on most of them)
Tomorrow, May 23, Krispy Kreme is offering 1 dozen donuts for only .99!!!!!! The closest Krispy Kreme is 45 mins away so we wont be taking advantage of the deal :( But I know lots of my friends live close to one so I really think you should indulge!!!!
ENJOY and eat a few for me! :)

Can I tell you what drives me crazy?

It drives me crazy when people who have done NO research and made NO attempt to educate themselves on the subject of VBACs try and tell me how "dangerous" it is. And to "be careful". Or respond with "well I never attempted a VBAC bc its just too risky". I want to say...oh really? And you base this on what information? You've read what studies and books to base your fears on?? The response is oh well my Dr wouldnt let me do one bc its too dangerous. Well my friend, did you bother asking your Dr what information s/he is basing that on??? Has your Dr even educated her/himself on VBACs or is there fear based solely on legal fears??
I'm in the middle of reading Silent Knife and I am constantly stopping and having to read excerpts to Derek bc I am/was sooooo clueless on all of this! I have spent the past yr or so (give or take a few months) educating myself on this subject so I can be totally prepared and make an educated and informed decision on how Owen makes his entrance into the world.
I learned this week that having repeat c-sections are MORE dangerous than a VBAC!! Get that?! MORE dangerous! The risks associated with repeat c/s are far greater than those associated with VBACs. That the current stats we have on the risk of uterine rupture (which is what most Drs will tell you you have a HUGE chance of happening) are actually incorrect bc they're based on studies where instances were classified as uterine rupture but were actually not uterine rupture at all. And that women who have NEVER had a c/s also have a risk of uterine rupture. There was also one study I was reading about that pointed out that of all the women participating in the study NONE, let me repeat that...NONE of the women having or attempting a VBAC suffered uterine rupture but 2, yes 2, women who had never had a c/s experienced uterine rupture. Interesting. And since the risk of uterine rupture with a repeat c/s LESS than 2%....Im willing to take that risk over the risks associated to me and the baby with having a repeat c/s.
My mother in law had an OB she used to work for tell her I had this HUGE chance of uterine rupture and it was so dangerous and if it happened there would only be 14 mins to save mine and the babies lives. Again....UNTRUE!! And this is an OB!??!?! Ugh, just sickening how these people we trust to help us bring our babies into the world are they themselves so uneducated!
It drives me absolutely crazy when people just buy into information without doing the research themselves!!!!!
So, before you try and let me know how dangerous attempting a VBAC is.....please be prepared to show me what you base that on. :)

Dallas Arboretum

A couple weeks ago my friend Crystal and I took the girls to the Dallas Arboretum to take some pretty Spring pictures. Crystal took her good work camera and got some gorgeous pics but here are some of the ones I got with my point and shoot. This wasnt supposed to be the "Audrey show" but I guess because shes the baby we naturally take more pictures of her. I figure since shes getting the shortest time to be the baby of the family then any of the girls so far, then taking more pictures of her right now is ok. Only 10 more weeks and her role as baby will be taken over by Owen.

Wheres the bird Audrey??

Audrey ran off in the grass and started spinning in circles and singing. Im guessing she was singing Ring Around the Rosies bc she fell down and started cracking up......

........She then did this. Silly girl!

e
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I cant believe how old my biggest little girl is getting. :(

This was Ava's very own pose. She plopped herself right down on the walkway :)

This is Audreys 'official' 18 mo picture. She was 10 days shy of turing 18 months old.

My 3 sweet girls. What a gift to have 3 girls!

On a journey with cancer

A couple months ago our old pastor was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma Cancer. He has been video journaling his journey. Its such an encouragement to watch his faith remain strong through this life changing event. If you have some time I highly recommend taking the time to watch all 7 entries (so far). They can be found at Livingway Church.
Also, will you take some time to lift up these people in our lives currently battling cancer?
My Aunt Gail, my closest aunt, has been battling breast cancer, that has returned and spread, for the past year now. Please pray for peace for her right now and we'll always take complete healing!!
Pastor Ted...mentioned above
Tom Shirey- this is the father of a family in our homeschool group. They have 8 kids, the youngest being Ava's age (4). Their 2 girls are part of a girls group Elisa and Ava attend and although we dont know them all that well they appear to be a family truly serving and following the Lord. He was diagnosed with Lymphoma last week and is undergoing very intense chemo every 12 hours. Yes you read that right, every 12 hours. Pray for complete healing, peace for his wife and kids and for his kidenys to function properly so they can continue the aggressive chemo.
My moms uncle was also diagnosed with cancer about a month ago as well as Dereks moms cousins husband. That sounds like my friends brothers sister in laws dog, but its part of the family even if its not super close. Pray that if they dont know the Lord he would bring them to Him should the cancer win.
Cancer pretty much just stinks!

Ive been sewing lately

I havent blogged in awhile...oops!!! We've been pretty busy lately. It seems between now and when Owen arrives we dont have a spare second. Whether thats good or bad Im not sure. I got a sewing bug this week so the past 2 days Ive been sewing. The house is a disaster but here is what Ive made :)

This fabric is probably some of my favorite Ive ever bought. I had to figure out the perfect outfit for it. Now Elisa wants a skirt and shirt from it and Ava wants a dress! Im excited to go buy some more!!

This is the back of the outfit I was trying to get pics of Audrey modeling above. I LOVE the ruffles on the back of the bloomers.

Elisa didnt want a matching outfit with this fabric. So, here are Audrey and Ava's outfits.

Silly girls!

Audreys dress and bow. It didnt look crooked before the pics...hmm.....
Ava's skirt and bow

8 Years and Counting

Today Derek and I celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary. Guess we made it past the 7 year itch....lol. Actually there was never really an itch, I just wanted to say it. :) Anyways, I look back on the past 8 years and I am just in awe of how amazing God is and how blessed we are. To have started out not on the "right foot" so to say, its so cool so see how God has taken our situation and turned it for good! Just like the Word promises! Its also awesome to sit back and look at the past years and see how far God has taken us in our faith as a family. He's been faithful in giving me the desires of my heart because theyve turned into desires that glorify Him. I'm so blessed to have a husband who sees the importance of me being home with our girls and not working. He's willing to make big sacrifices materially so we are only a single income family. Unlike most guys in our generation who would rather be driving a nice car, living in a nice suburband neighborhood and having lots of "toys" to play with. We're blessed that he sees the importance of keeping our children home and teaching them here, rather then sending them off to a stranger for 8 hours a day. We are blessed because he truly loves being a dad and a husband and finds the value in his role as provider and shepherd to our family! I just thank the Lord for blessing me with the past 8 years with someone like Derek who is the love of my life and my best friend.