New beginnings...

For the past 6-7 months, I had been meeting, once a week, with a group of ladies from my church to study a book we'd been reading and spend time in the Word. The book we read was by Susan Heck, called With the Master in the School of Tested Faith, and it took us through the book of James. We read a chapter a week and at the end of each chapter there were 8-9 questions, some of which required us to dig into other books of the Bible. I loved the study. It took me a little while to get used to reading, I hadn't read in years (shame on me) and I had not done a study like this since college. But alas, now it's over. We finished the book and all decided that we should continue doing a form of study and discipling, but with other ladies... I'm excited to see what's next. I'm excited at the opportunity to get to know another group of ladies from my church. I will miss our Tuesday night study, but we can still see each other at church and stuff.
As for now, I'm looking for a new book to get into. I'd like to read something that will help me grow spiritually. Someone suggested The Attributes of God by AW Pink. I'm thinking of getting into that.. I picked up a book I had at home by John Piper, Life as a Vapor. So far I like it. Do you have any suggestions!? :) Are you getting into the Word daily? Is there a book that has helped you grow, other than the Bible?

broken

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
-Romans 8:28

There is so much heartache in our broken world. I sometimes have to remind myself that we live in a sinful world. I am surrounded by bad news and my heart aches for so many... Some people who I don't even know, but can relate to. At these times I am thankful to have a Father to cling to. We have HIS Word filled with His truth and promises.
A verse I've come across this week is Romans 8:28. I love this verse. It's a great reminder that everything that happens, good or bad, is for HIS purpose. We may never know why some things happen, they just do. God is control of all things and it's comforting to be reminded of that.

20 months!

oooopps I forgot to post for her 20 months!
She turned 20 months on July 3rd. I can hardly believe it. She has been so fun! She is learning so FAST! She loves to talk. A lot! I wish I could understand her :) She knows a lot of real words, but still does a lot of her own language. :) She is very into the alphabet lately. She loves letters and learning letter sounds. She recognizes a lot of the letters and knows a lot of the sounds. when we go out, she points out all the letters she knows.
At 20 months:
-Wear 18-24 months clothes
-Wear 5-6 shoes
-Wear size 4 diapers
-Love to play with your baby dolls
-Love to wear jewelry
-Love to talk...
-Most days you go around the house saying "daddy where are you"
-You are soaking everything up, like a little sponge
-You are learning new words daily. :)
-You are so curious and want to learn as much as possible.
-You like to watch mommy cook

This has by far been the most fun age. I love teaching you new things!

New toys!

My little princess has a few favorite tv shows. Right now we don't have cable, so we stick with PBS. She LOVES Super Why. I like it because it teaches her the alphabet and she's learning it at a fast rate. Super Why has 4 kids that are super heroes, the main one being Whyatt, or Super Why. :) Anyways, baby girl's cousin has a sketch doodle thing that she loves. He has a Toy Story one and I wanted a different one. I found a Super Why one at Toys r Us, on SALE (my favorite way to shop). I bought it 2 days ago, she has yet to let go of it. :) Totally worth the $3.73. I plan on going back to get another one to hide in case this one breaks.

This week also brought another new toy. I was planning on buying legos b/c she also loves to play with it at her cousin's house. I wanted a pink set, but they were not on sale. A friend of mine who has 3 girls, had an extra bag of blocks and just gave it to me. Isn't she awesome! I constantly tell her she's such a blessing! And they are pink!!! :) Baby girl loves building with them and I love watching her.
Both of her new toys are an instant favorite and keeps her entertained for hours! I really think she was bored with her old toys.

BTW the girl loves jewelry. As you can see in the pictures, part of our getting dressed routine means getting one of her "pretty's" or necklaces to put on. :)

BEACH Day!

There's a little girl in this house that loves the beach! It's a lot of fun and it's so great to watch her. She has such a blast and also gets worn out, which is perfect for bedtime :)
Last week we went at sunset, it was a beautiful day. I took over 100 pictures, but I'll spare you... Here are a few.

The water...

Daddy and his little princess

Me and my girl!

Coupons

I LOVE coupons... Love making my grocery list and finding as many coupons as I can possibly find. And love our BOGO sale at our local grocery store.
Publix is having some great sales. I use this blog a lot in helping me find coupons.
I also go to Publix' website to see what else is BOGO and go on the hunt for more coupons. My grocery list today consists entirely of just BOGO items and they all have coupons... :)

Here are some I found:
Breakstone sour cream is BOGO. Click here for a $.55 coupon, which you can print twice. That means you get 2 tubs of sour cream for $.79

Kraft salad dressing is also BOGO. Click here for a $.55 coupon, which you can print twice. Making your total $2.17 for 2 jars of salad dressing. Not bad!

Reynold's Aluminum foil is also BOGO. Click here for $1 coupon, print twice. Makes 2 containers of foil at $2.29.

These were my favorite deals of the week. There are more to find... Hope it helps. If you visit that blog I posted above, she updates it weekly with lots of great BOGO deals!