We Have EXCITING News...

Drumroll, please... Baby #2 is on the way!! We are very happy to announce that we are expecting another little blessing from the Lord!! Our due date is September 11, 2008, which makes us about seven weeks along now! We had an ultrasound yesterday and were able to see the baby and hear the heart beating. We are very excited about what God has in store for our family. Elliana has no idea what she is in for! We've been telling her that Mommy has a baby in her tummy and talking about baby brother or sister. After her bath a few nights ago, she looked down at her tummy and said "Baby in dare (there!)!" Hmmm... I think we've confused her!! :) Just wanted to share the wonderful news. We are praying that the Lord will prepare us and strengthen us for another little one. So, what's your guess... a boy or a girl? Comment and let us know!!

Psalm 127:3-5
Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

Bi-Lo Shopping Trips!!

I know... you guys are going to think I'm crazy for putting a picture of groceries on our website!! I just wanted to share what great deals we received at Bi-Lo last week. They were having a triple coupon special - I rarely shop at Bi-Lo, but this was too good to resist. This meant that any coupon up to $.99 they would triple. I am a coupon saver, and had many coupons to use for this. Many items that we got were free, because the trippled coupon was the same or more than the cost of the item. For many products, there was an overage - they paid us to buy it! We bought this in two different trips. The second trip I wanted to have a $40 budget. I didn't bring the calculator in, so I couldn't keep up with my totals. While the cashier was ringing up the stuff, I kept watching the totals creeping up and up.... I kept thinking, "I know this will be more than $40. Lord, please let all those coupons bring it down to $40." Just about three seconds later a lady from another line walked over and gives me a $10 off $100 purchase coupon. She said she didn't need it and thought I could use it!! Well, the final total was... $39.40!!! I was so excited - Praise the Lord!! Isn't it neat how He cares about even the small details of our lives! We got over $280.00 worth of groceries for less than $80.00!! We're stocked up on many things for a really long time! Now if you think this is crazy, just wait until I tell you about the 10 huge bags or free M&Ms that we got at CVS!! If you've had a craving for M&Ms, come on over, we've got them!!

It's a Pizza Party!

Ellie had a blast helping me make pizza last weekend. She also thought that pizza dough was not just fun to play with, but also to eat!! I knew there was a reason why I haven't gotten any playdough for her yet!! Our finished product was quite tasty!!

Yummy Soy Joys!

We had a whole bunch of Soy Joy bars after one of my CVS runs where I was practically paid to purchase them. After trying them, we quickly discovered that Ellie is the only one that likes them. Oh well - at least she will eat them! I'll post about my CVS run and my HUGE triple coupon Bi-Lo run in the next few days. I'm hooked on this bargain shopping thing, thanks to Crystal at www.moneysavingmom.com

Aquarium Fun!

We had blast at the Aquarium last weekend!! Thanks to Mimi and Papa John for giving us a season pass! I think we'll be going quite often. Chris and I especially loved the penguins and butterflies. Ellie loved the fish and talked about them for the rest of the day! Chris has decided that she needs a fishtank for her new big girl room. We'll have to work on that one!

Elliana's First Ponytail!!

After much effort on Mommy's part - Ellie sported a new hair style (for a few minutes anyway!) I think it's going to be a little longer before we can get her to wear a ponytail and not pull it out!:)

Sharing With Ellie!

Ellie was so impressed with Mama's water from McDonald's that she decided to share it with her baby doll. By the way, the doll's name is...(what else but?)... Ellie!

Reading Library Books

We have really enjoyed making a trip to the Library every other week! I love Libraries so much, and it has been a blessing to introduce Ellie to books and the Library. Elliana loves to sit on the reading cushions they have and look at books. We're still working on our Library manners, though!! Last time we went Ellie walked in and screamed "Wow - Books!" to the top of her lungs!!

Cleaning Up the Kitchen!

How exciting it is to watch as Ellie learns to enjoy helping Mama around the house. We pray that we can help cultivate her helpful spirit.

"Mmmmm... I Like Spoon!"

Elliana LOVED licking the spoon after we made cookies one day. She thinks that all spoons have cookie dough on them now, though!

Helping Mimi in the Kitchen

Ellie loves to be a helper - and she is especially likes "helping" in the kitchen! It is a blessing to see her interested in doing what mommy does throughout the day. What a joy it will be to see her grow up and become a wife and mother one day.