One blessing after another

I've mentioned our friends Jim & Jaime to you a few times, but I wanted to give you a little history. We met them a couple years ago when they moved to the area. They visited our church and I ran after them into the parking lot (literally - they were halfway to their car) and told them that they needed to be in our Life Group. It worked (in other words, I didn't scare them), and we became fast friends. They are one of those couples that we just hit it off with immediately. Jim is in the firework business, although I really thought he was kidding at first. He is the big marketing guy for a national fireworks company and is a great guy to know during the 4th of July. I'm still upset with him for not letting me be in his commercials, but anyways. He is fantastic with children and Levi would literally walk off with him and forget about us - Jim is a big kid. Jaime is a nurse and I am convinced nurses (almost) all have a genuine gift of helping others. Jaime is no exception. She is a great listener and we had a fun time rooming together at a women's retreat and also hauling laminate flooring through Lowe's (sorry Jim, had to throw that one in there).

For the past year and a half, they have been on a journey to adopt a sibling group from Columbia. There have been lots of mountain top and valley experiences along the way, but today they finally got their travel date - and it's only two weeks away!! Jaime was able to post pictures of their three (yes, three!) kids now. Go show them some blogging love - I know they are on cloud nine!!! We love you Jim & Jaime and can't wait to see a picture of the 5 of you together! You are going to make great parents!

When I thought the day couldn't get any better, Bill & Melodie were finally able to post this. So exciting!!!

Keep praying for both of these families as they persevere through what is undoubtedly a stressful time.

Knock Knock

Levi: Knock, Knock, Who's There?
Alison: Daddy?
Levi: Daddy Who....Garet!

They pick up on everything! I love it...most of the time.

Warehouse Junkie

For those of you who have been around me anytime in the last few years, know that I am a self proclaimed "Warehouse Junkie". I just can't help myself. It all started at Sam's and then on to Costco (an "executive" member I might add). Why I am drawn to these stores, I do not know, but let me tell you about some of the best deals we have had and why you should check them out yourself.

1. Milk. In our house, we drink milk like water. At its peak, we were drinking 4 gallons a week (you read that right). We are down to just over 2 gallons a week now. At typically $1 less a gallon than most grocery stores, this easily pays for our (OK, my) warehouse habit.
2. Clothing. I can not resist the children's clothing at these fine establishments. At $5 - $7 for Carters outfits and pajamas compared to $10-$12 at other stores, who can pass up the opportunity to buy a new one every time you go to the store? As long as I don't buy twice as many, I'm saving money, right?
3. Costco diapers. Easily the best "store-brand" diapers out there. If you haven't tried them, do. You can thank me later.
4. Gas. While occasionally under-cut by our local Kangaroos, consistently the cheapest in town.
5. Flooring. You might have recalled me mentioning our 3 month flooring expedition. It is still-ongoing (although the last pieces were clicked in last night!) - updates soon. Anyway, we got an amazing deal on laminate for $23/box (including foam). We were crazy not to give this flooring a try - by the way, we love it.
6. Tires. I must admit that we did not shop around on this, but we got a new set of tires on my CR-V for what seemed like a reasonable price. A few months later, we got a flat on the way to Nashville. We took the car in to Sam's and they replaced the tire free of charge. WOW! This might happen other places, but it impressed me.
7. Pictures. If you are willing to stand in the store and order your pictures, Sam's has the best price - I've shopped around. However, their on-line program stinks and I don't have time to stand in the store with two kids. So, I recently switched to Snapfish because they store your pictures indefinitely. It was a hard break-up though.
8. Weight Benches. I know nothing about this other than Garet said we got a great deal on this.
9. Books & Cd's - Rarely can you find a better deal if they have what you are looking for.
10. Camera. I blink in almost every picture I take. So, this past Christmas, we were on a quest to find a camera where I wouldn't blink. We searched and searched and finally found one. It was a little more than we wanted to spend, but at least we would have a memory that I existed with my eyes open (seriously). Sam's camera was $70 cheaper than the closest competitor! I thought it had to be a different camera, but it wasn't!
11. Prescriptions. If you haven't tried out the pharmacy, you are spending too much money.
12. Food Court. $2 buys you pizza and a drink. Enough said.
13. Shampoo & Soap. Sure it takes up half of the shower in the extra-large containers, but oh, what a deal!
14. Grapes. Love those Sam's Grapes! Really, fruit in general.
15. Costco Cakes. Mmmmmm
16. Beach umbrella. If you have been to the beach with us in the past few years, you know this is the best umbrella out there...and only $15 I might add.
17. Formula. As long as your kids don't need special stuff, Sam's formula is sooooo cheap. ($20 for a double can!) I just bought some Costco formula (same price) for Kara as we are transitioning to formula. I'll have to let you know my thoughts on this later.
18. Extra-large carts. If you have 2 or more children, this is self-explanatory. You can contain them and still have room to put things!
19. Fertilizer. Again, I know nothing about this, but apparently we save money here.
20. Flowers. Men, you have no excuse here. Flowers are dirt cheap (and amazingly beautiful) - bring your wife home some tonight. It will make your house (and your wife) happy.
21. UPDATE: How could I forget the amazing deal I got on a rental car last month?!?! My mom decided to rent a mini van for our recent 13 hour trip up to Maryland. I shopped around and they ran from $500 - $600 for the week (yikes). At the last minute, I thought to try Costco's travel department. We got the exact same mini van from the exact same supplier (Alamo) for only $300. Can you believe that? $200+ saved. Sweet. Before you go on your next trip, shop Costco Travel.
22. One last one. We used Sam's car buying program to find our used (1 year old) CR-V. We were able to get an extra $500 off the price because we were members. Very nice.

I could go on and on, but those are the first things that came to my mind. In closing, there are a few things that I have not been impressed with in all fairness. They can't seem to keep fresh bread and their Pampers and Cokes are not discounted. Also, as mentioned above, Sam's online photo program stinks. I've only met one other person with a love for Sam's and Costco like myself. Thanks Dustin for defending my love of what might arguably be the best places to shop in the world! Although, IKEA is a challenger.

Could I be any more happy?

Our beloved Carr has started a blog as well. She is sure not to disappoint with useless facts. Although we never lived together in college, everyone thought we did. Along with Joy, she was my maid of honor and has always been my "fun" friend.

Go check out her blog: Carmen's Blog.

Condolences from the Elliptical

Today I went to the gym for the 2nd time since Kara has been born. I learned after I had Levi that it just takes that long, so I haven't felt too bad about my lack of aerobic activity these last 6 months. (Actually, if you are/have been a BFing mommy, you know why - it's just uncomfortable!!)



So, there I am at my favorite machine (the elliptical WITH "arms" - I feel that if I'm going to be in one place for 30 minutes, than I might as well get an arm work-out too!) I quickly type in my info - time, weight, age (30, yikes, there it is again) and get started. Having spent many hours on these machines, I pretty much can tell you where I am as far as calories burned. Up until today, I usually averaged around 200 calories for every 30 minutes (not that I necessarily believe that, but anyways). You can imagine my surprise when I was pushing 150 calories about halfway. Hmmm... Sure enough, I finished the workout at 300 calories. Granted, so I know that I have about 5 more pounds to lose, but do these machines take pity on you when you turn 30?!?!?! Is it there way of saying, "I'm sorry you are getting older, we'll make you feel better by letting you believe you are burning more calories than you really are?" Well, for whatever it's worth, it made me feel better today. Now, if I could just give up chocolate....



One last thing - it had been a while since I'd listened to my MP3 player and so I hadn't looked at my playlist in awhile. I almost shed a little tear when my cousins former band (Hope Dialect) started blasting away....RIP. Any chance for a reunion tour? I put on my HD t-shirt when I got home :).

My Happiness continues!

Another great friend from Auburn, Josh (aka: Norm), has started a blog with his fantastic wife Holly. Josh and Garet roomed together for two years, was his best man, and ate meat like a savage beast. I still can't believe he's a dad!!

Check out their blog: Gibson Groupies

Happy!

My BFF 4-ev from Auburn, twin, and roomate for 3 great years has started a blog!!

Check it out: Joy's Blog

Multi-Tasking Mom

I went to Wal-mart late this afternoon because the kids woke up from their naps early. I often times break my own rule of "never carrying a child through the store" with Kara, because she is, well, Kara. So there I am with Kara in tow, discussing yogurt with Levi and reading the back of a Chili packet. This lady stopped me and said, "I just don't know how you mom's do it". Truthfully, I don't either. I am convinced that God gives mom's supernatural abilities - there is just no other way to explain it.

Actually, today at the store was nothing. Normally, I'm reading my favorite blogs, while feeding Kara, while watching my favorite show on TIVO, while having a discussion with Levi and/or Garet. And somehow, I can keep all those things straight! Whew!