Thursday, May 29, 2008

True Story

This is the rosary that hangs on my bedpost. My mother sent it to me per my request when I found out my uncle, who is a priest in Thailand, would be visiting her. He is getting up there in age and I wanted something, anything, blessed by him before his call home. She chose a rosary, had it blessed by him during his visit and then sent it to me. It stayed wrapped up in a velvet bag, nestled in a box in my nightstand drawer for many years. It wasn't until roughly six or seven years ago that I took it out of the drawer and hung it on my bedpost for a very good reason. A much needed reason. I'll tell you why in a minute, but first a bit of back story:

When I was ten years old, I discovered that I can control portions of my dreams. This little trick comes in handy from time to time. I can get out of nasty dream situations - being chased, showing up to school naked - once I realize I'm dreaming. I just decide what I'd rather being doing in my dream and, *poof* I'm doing it. Neat, huh?

Many years ago, I had a negative experience with several members of a church (another post entirely) and, after several months, decided that there must be something more than "just God" out there, so I began searching. My search lead me far and wide but also left me quite vulnerable. Because of my area of interest at the time, I began having what I would call satanic dreams. In these dreams, evil and invisible entities would attack me. I often woke up scared and shaken. More than once, I woke up screaming - much to the delight of my husband, I can assure you. Usually, I would try to stay awake after one of these dreams for fear I would be attacked again.

Even though these attacks carried on for years, these dreams were not every night or even every week, but often enough that I became annoyed. Having a nightmare and being afraid to fall asleep again afterwards does not make for productive time at work the next day. About this time, my search was steering me back toward Christ. I was beginning to realize that He was the only one who really provided any security and a true promise. Also about this time, I remembered my handy trick about controlling my dreams.

The next two or three times that I had a dream where I was attacked by an evil force, I simply remembered to shout, "JESUS CHRIST IS MY SAVIOR!" in my dream and the evil force would quickly disappear leaving me to either continue with a more pleasant dream or wake up feeling more like a conqueror than a scaredy-cat.

The unfortunate part was that despite my success in fighting off the evil that came to attack me in my sleep, I was still having the dreams. While my little trick worked to fight these nightmarish dreams it didn't prevent me from having them. I wanted them to STOP!

That's when I remembered my blessed rosary in my nightstand drawer. I simply took it out of the little velvet bag, hung it over the bedpost so that it rested right above my head, said this small prayer, "Lord, please protect me while I sleep" and crawled into bed.

And I have not been attacked by a single evil spirit in my dreams ever since.

I did this even before fully returning to Christ. Because of this, I do believe that even faith as small as a mustard seed can, indeed, move mountains. I think God saw me in the distance coming toward Him and rushed out to welcome me back. Even though I had not fully returned, He knew I was coming home and did for me what I needed Him to do - then as well as now.

Fight for me. Protect me. And give me rest. I'm going to bed now.

Thankful Thursday




I went to bed last night thinking I did not have anything to post about this Thankful Thursday then God work me up this morning with this song in my head:



I remembered this video immediately. It's just over two minutes and so worth your time.

Thank you, Lord, for this awesome reminder that I live in a wonderful world and I have You to thank for it!

Have a great day everyone and check out Sting My Heart for more Thankful Thursdays.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Product Review

I'm going to talk to you today about fiber!

Hey! Where is everyone going?

I know! I know! When someone says fiber, you think cardboard or hay or wood chips. But I'm going to talk to you about yummy fiber? You've never heard of yummy fiber? Well, listen up my fiber challenged friend because yummy is on the way!

First up: All Bran Crackers.
They come in two flavors - multi-grain and garlic. Garlic is by far my favorite but as far as I'm concerned, you could sprinkle garlic on a shoe and I'd eat it. You get 5 grams of fiber for 18 crackers (they are the same size as Wheat Thins). Now 18 crackers sounds like a lot but I can down half the box without even realizing it. You can find these along side the other "mediocre" crackers in the snack aisle.

Next comes Fiber One Yogurt.
There is not ONE detectable difference between Fiber One Yogurt and any other yogurt out there. It's smooth and creamy and, oh-so yummy! If you are needing to get more fiber into your kids diet, here's your chance. London loves this yogurt. It's one of the few things I don't have to fight with her to eat. Well, that and chocolate! Five grams of fiber per cup. The easiest five grams you'll ever down.

Last but not least, Fiber One Breakfast Bars.

Oh.My.Gosh! Seriously! These are soooooo good! And a whopping 9 grams of fiber per bar. They come in three flavors: Yummy, Way Yummy and Super Yummy! Okay, those aren't really the flavors, it's just that I can only remember two right now: Chocolate & Oats and Peanut butter. I'm sure the third is just as delectable. Check these babies out next time you're in the cereal aisle and give them a try. Admittedly, I don't know the sugar content of these. I could run downstairs and look at the box, but I'm comfy and not about to move. I trust you can look this information up for yourself.

Forget what you thought about fiber. Fiber is yummy thanks to the good people at Fiber One and All Bran. Remember: fiber is our friend. Say it with me now -

Fiber is our friend!

Good, good. Now go eat!

Monday, May 26, 2008

Mommy Tip Tuesday



Hey, it's that time again! Time to share your tried and true mommy tips and pick up some tried and true mommy tips as well.

Are you like me and sometimes find yourself late in the evening wondering what on earth you are going to blog about the next day? I do this often. Or sometimes, I will get up in the morning and have something in mind to blog but then remember I have somewhere I need to be and, therefore, no time to blog.

You'd be amazed at how many times I've gone to bed on a Monday night and, just after climbing into my comfy bed, thought, "Oh no! I have no tip for tomorrow!" You would think that I would have accumulated tons of them before even beginning this meme, but not so.

Well, here's my little mommy/blogger tip for you today: Did you know that Blogger now lets you schedule your blog posts? Yep, you can write several at once but have them post to your blog at different times. Times you've set up in advance. I've already done this with my Meyer Mondays and am looking to do it with my Mommy Tip Tuesdays.

This is what you do. When you are finished writing your blog post, click on the blue "Post Options" link in the bottom left-hand corner of the compose box. This will bring up your options directly below. Off to the right, you'll see "Post date and time". Just change the info in each box to the date and time you want your post to be published and that's it. It's so easy!

So if you find yourself trying to decide between two or three different mommy tips and can't pick just one, you can write about them all separately and schedule them over the next few weeks. Then each week, you can just sit back & relax come Tuesday morning knowing that your tip has already been shared with the rest of us thanks to scheduled posting!

Do you have a Mommy Tip you'd like to share? Post about it on your blog then return here and add your name and web address to the Mr. Linky below. We'd love to learn something new from you. Just please remember to link back to The Stumbling Christian in your Mommy Tip blog post so that your readers know where to find other great Mommy Tips and also join in on the fun as well.

Meyer Monday

When love takes charge of us (which is another way of saying, when God takes charge of us), we cannot think bad things about people. We don't even want to.

We are not really living the life of the Spirit until we allow the Holy Spirit to control every area of our life. He will certainly never get control of our life until He has control of our thoughts and words.

Being led by the Spirit is central to a victorious Christian life. As long as we think our own thoughts and speak our own words, we will never experience victory.

Our life is a reflection of our thoughts. It is impossible to have a good life unless we have trained ourselves to have good thoughts. If we want others to see Jesus reflected in our life, then His mind must be reflected in us. We must be led by the Spirit in our thinking; that is where all Spirit-led living begins.

Be determined to love God, yourself, and others with your thoughts. Let God's love take charge in your life.

~ Joyce Meyer, Being The Person God Made You To Be

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...you are living the life of the Spirit, if the [Holy] Spirit of God [really] dwells within you [directs and controls you]. ~ Romans 8:9

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Seek The Lord Sunday

But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness
and self-control.
Against such things there is no law.

~ Galatians 5:22,23

Daiquiri over at Call Her Blessed has asked her readers what bible verse speaks to us lately.

When I first read her topic for this week's Seek The Lord Sunday, I thought, "Hmm, well I've had bible versus speak to me before but nothing is really speaking to me as of late." I honestly thought I wasn't going to have anything to contribute this week. But yesterday morning, Galatians 5:22 & 23 spoke to me. Loudly.

I have been piling the duties, responsibilities and "busy work" on myself quite a bit lately. I have a much larger responsibility with my church's moms group this coming year. I've decided to rev up my Tupperware business and start booking parties. I've created and organized a Tot Swap with seven other moms one day a week starting this Wednesday. We are trying to get the house ready to put up for sale. I'm trying to organize a sort of "coupon club" with some friends. I'm preparing for a garage sale for next weekend and I've been hitting garage sales in hopes of finding great deals on kids stuff so that I can turn around and sell it for a profit at a large semi-annual kids consignment sale that takes place in the fall. Those great finds need to be cleaned, ironed, tagged and inventoried. In addition to that I have FOUR blogs to maintain plus I'm working on starting a fifth for my church moms group. All the while, trying to maintain a home, spend time with the kids, time with hubby, time with friends and time for me.

Oh, and time with God. That would be nice.

Whew! I'm tired just reading that.

But it was yesterday morning that I had my priorities put in order for me. You see, when I realize I haven't spent anytime with God lately, it's usually right after I've crawled into bed. I can't tell you how many times I've almost fallen asleep while in prayer. Nice, huh? How would you like it if someone you loved deeply and DIED FOR could barely squeeze a minute into her day for you and then when she FINALLY did, she falls asleep on you!

Realizing that I need to include God in more of my day, I decided to have an on-going conversation with Him throughout the day - since I pretty much have an on-going conversation with myself anyway, why not let God in on it! So I was outside, hosing the dust & dirt off my daughter's princess slide and telling God how I would simply like to enjoy my day today and asking for His help in this area. I started talking about how I'm just so busy lately and admitted that I often forget to just enjoy the "now" of it. That was when the above bible verse hit me between the eyes.

You see, nowhere in the bible does God tell us to be busy. God tells us to be fruitful! He even tells us how. That is different! I'm not being fruitful when I am too busy cleaning my kitchen to sit down and read a book to my little girl. I am not being fruitful when I am too busy to spend some quality time in conversation with just my husband. I am not being fruitful when I am too busy to call a friend I know is having some difficulty right now and talk to her about the healing power of Jesus.

And I certainly am not being fruitful when I so busy that strengthening my walk with Christ is something I hurriedly try to squeeze in at the end of the day because I feel I "have to". God doesn't want us to reach out to Him out of obligation or for fear we might get in trouble. He wants us to yearn for Him, to seek Him eagerly, to enjoy our time with Him and to make Him our #1 priority because we love Him so much we just can't stand to be away from Him.

Being busy is a great trick the enemy uses to keep us from God and I'm embarrassed to say, the enemy gets me with this one almost everytime.

If I'm not actively working on the things listed in Galatians 5:22 & 23, the what on earth am I working on? Or, more precisely, who am I working for?

I haven't an answer for my mix-up in priorities right now. I have no real plan of action. Though I do know I need to do something. I cannot continue to allow the enemy to use the lie of "too busy" to keep me from my Father any longer.

I will call upon the Lord to lead me out of my current darkness and into His light. To slow me down and cause me to catch a breath. To lie in green pastures, if you will. He's done it before, I completely trust He'll do it again.

And I know this as well - HE will not fall asleep on me.

Friday, May 23, 2008

My Not So Super Savings Saturday

Normally, I would be bragging today about my exploits in the couponing and thrift store world but, alas, today I bring you no such exploits.

No, today I bring you a hard lesson learned. Okay, maybe I'm being a bit melodramatic. Maybe it's not such a hard lesson. Maybe I've just been waiting for the chance to use a big word like melodramatic. Maybe.

Okay, so it's not a hard lesson learned but it still stinks nonetheless.

Last week, I went to Walgreen's and donated $5 to breast cancer research and received a $5 register reward toward a Revlon purchase in return. This week, Walgreen's had Revlon products on sale B1G1 1/2 off. So I trotted my little self on down to Walgreen's with my RR and two $2 Revlon coupons in hand hoping to make a thrifty little make-up purchase.

Ah, but the powers that be had other plans!

Dum-dum-dum!

I decided a mascara and some eye shadow were exactly what I needed and proceeded to the counter (after hitting the candy aisle and getting two Crunch bars for .50 cents each. What? You do it too!) The cashier was very friendly and helpful and we got to chatting about couponing, good deals and saving money. She rang up my total and a teeny-tiny little voice in my head said, "That's too much" but it was so teeny-tiny and I was so engrossed in my conversation that I ignored it and went on my merry way.

It wasn't until after I got home and double-checked my receipt that I realized that I did not receive my second Revlon purchase at 50% off. I decided to double check the add before I headed on back and that's when I realized my mistake! Yes, MY mistake!

Dum-dum-dum!

The Revlon mascara and eye shadow that I purchased were NOT a part of the B1G1 1/2 off deal! Had I taken more time and looked over the ad and read the details, I would have known what was exactly on sale but I was so hurried to get out of the house and back again that I did not slow down to make sure I was making a responsible and sensible choice.

So let my suffering be a warning to you: Slow down and read the ads!

Oh, and when that teeny-tiny little voice is trying to tell you something, LISTEN!

The cashier did give me the two tubs of body cream for free though, so that was nice.

Check out some people who DID make some awesome purchases and great deals over at Money Saving Mom.

Just a thing or two...

I'm feeling a bit grumpy today. I think it's because I have deep-rooted issues with starting the day at 6 a.m. Before kids, I didn't know there was a 6 a.m. Okay, that's not entirely true. I did know there was a 6 a.m. It's just that the people I was responsible to for getting up and going to work at that hour were bigger and more powerful than I and therefore had a bit of control over my life.

Now the people that I'm responsible for are much smaller than I and, based on size alone, you'd think were less powerful than I was and therefore would have almost no control over my life.

You'd think.

Joyce Meyer says that spiritual maturity comes when you do the things you know you are supposed to do and not the things you want to do. Well, plop me in a ballpit and call me Punkin 'cause I DON'T WANNA! I have nothing against starting the day at a decent hour. I'm not one for sleeping in until 9:00 or so - I really never have been - but I do believe that 7:30 is a perfectly respectable hour. I see nothing wrong or lazy or spiritually immature about getting my buns out of bed at 7:30 a.m.

Now if only I could get my 16 month old to agree with me.

And another thing:

It's raining. It rained yesterday. It's going to rain today and looks like it's going to rain tomorrow, too. Now normally, I would not mind this at all. Heck, most of the time I welcome the rain. It does a great job of cleaning the crud out of the air. However, I was planning a garage sale. A much needed garage sale. And I was planning it with a few friends. History has shown that rain does not make for a successful garage sale and I much prefer successful garage sales.

Looks like I'll be canceling. Phooey!

Just one more thing:

While searching Google for a picture of Grumpy I came across an interesting site. Apparently, there is a market for this. Yeah, I'm a little bowled over, too (pun oh, so very much intended).

Fitting, since my day seems to be headed in that direction.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Thankful Thursday




For an interesting twist, I thought I would make a list of what I'm thankful I don't have:


Cable TV
bothersome in-laws
serious health issues
a child with serious health issues
a boat
a swimming pool
a blue tooth cell phone
a debilitating addiction
an unhealthy relationship with a family member
a gas guzzling vehicle
the urge to watch American Idol
a huge ego
the belief that Oprah and Dr. Phil know it all
the answers to LOST
satin sheets
annoying neighbors
a minister who condemns us for our failures
doubt about my faith

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Raindrops On Roses And Whiskers On Kittens

These are a few of my favorite things.

My Pampered Chef knives. Paul still says they are one of the best things I've ever bought.


Pride and Prejudice, the A&E/BBC version. For reasons quite obvious. Colin Firth is the ONLY Mr. Darcy if you ask me!

Good friends. Twenty-five years and counting!


Mmm...Rubio's! I ONLY ever get their shrimp burrito! Try it!


Scrapbooking stuff. Though scrapbooking itself can drive me nuts, the "stuff" is awesome!


My modular mates from Tupperware.
Feel free to come over and check out my pantry anytime!


Sunflowers - my absolute favorite. They are such happy flowers, don't you think?

Wrapping gifts. I simply LOVE wrapping a gift up all pretty!

Don't get me wrong. I like receiving them too!



Joyce Meyer

The woman KNOWS what she is talking about!

Jeremy Camp.

One listen and you'll love him, too!

Foot massages. Believe it or not, I actually like giving them too!

Tortoise shell calico cats. Cute and fiesty little buggers, they are. I'd love to have another one.



My favorite Bible verse.

It all starts with a good foundation!


Monday, May 19, 2008

Mommy Tip Tuesday


Happy Mommy Tip Tuesday to everyone! Got a Mommy tip to share? Blog about it and then come back here and add it to the Mr. Linky at the end of this post. Please, remember to link back to me so that others reading your blog will know where to join in the fun!

My Mommy Tip for this week really isn't mine at all. I'm totally stealing this one right out of a Martha Stewart magazine. Hey, if you're going to steal a tip you may as well steal from the best, don't you think?

Here are some cute little piggy banks you and your own little piggies can make in the time it take to huff and puff and blow a house down!

Here are the exact instructions from Martha Stewart:

Have a parent use a utility knife to cut a slit in a mini water bottle; make sure it's large enough to get a quarter in. Cut a hole in bottom of bottle for removing money. Wrap a long, wide strip of colored paper around middle of bottle; mark slit and cut out. Use double-sided tape to secure paper to bottle, lining up slits. Use two colors of paper for ears; cut small sections for insides of ears, then glue on larger pieces. Bend back bottoms of ears; glue to bottle. Use a hole punch to cut eyes from black paper and nostrils from pink. Glue in place. For legs, glue beads to bottom of bank on paper band.


Seriously, aren't those too cute? *oink* *oink* You can find more great Martha Stewart kid crafts here.

Meyer Monday

First John 4:16 is key scripture for me because it says that we should be conscious and aware of God's love and put faith in it. I was unconscious and unaware of God's love for a long time; therefore, I was not putting faith in His love for me.

When the Holy Spirit convicted me, I did not know how to say, "Yes, I made a mistake," and go to God, ask for His forgiveness, receive His love, and press on. Instead, I would spend hours and even days feeling guilty about each little thing I did wrong. I was literally tormented! John tell us that fear has torment, but that the perfect love of God casts out fear (1 John 4:18). God's love for me was perfect because it was based on Him, not on me. So even when I failed, He kept loving me.

God's love for you is perfect. When you fail, do you stop receiving God's love and start punishing yourself by feeling guilty and condemned? Don't listen to the devil's lie. Understand and believe God's intense love for you. Don't carry the enemy's burden of guilt. Believe and receive God's yoke of love.

~ Joyce Meyer, Being The Person God Made You to Be

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And we know (understand, recognize, are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe (adhere to and put faith in and rely on) the love God cherishes for us. God is love, and he who dwells and continues in love dwells and continues in God, and God dwells and continues in him. ~ 1 John 4:16

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Seek The Lord Sunday

I thought I'd participate in a new carnival I found. It's called "Seek The Lord Sunday" and it's hosted by Daiquiri at Call Her Blessed . She gives the topic earlier in the week for us to share our thoughts on. Check out her blog and her topic for next Sunday, perhaps you'd like to join us.

The topic this week is: Keeping the Sabbath Holy.

Seeing that this is one of the Ten Commandments, I think it ought to be taken seriously. What I don't know is how does one keep the Sabbath holy? It's my understanding that we are not to work on Sundays. To that I would say, define "work".

To me, "work" is anything that is not enjoyable. Cooking, for instance, is work to me. Decorating my house, scrapbooking or even blogging, to me, is not work. It's enjoyable. It's relaxing. It de-stresses me. It helps me find my "happy place".

One thing that I do make a concerted effort toward on Sundays is slowing down, spending more time with my kids on the floor, reading to them or napping with them. I will make more of an effort to get together with family or call a friend on Sunday. I don't think anyone would argue that those things are not work but I do have to make an effort to do these things or the day will go by just like any other.

I spoke with a friend of mine just minutes ago on this topic. She said that her family not only makes an effort not to work but are conscientious not to do things that cause others to work - like go grocery shopping or eat at a restaurant. I like that idea. I don't think I've put much thought into how I may be affecting others on that day. That is something I'll be paying more attention to in the near future.

One thing that I don't really do, ironically enough, is spend more of that day just with God, Himself. Although I go to church in the morning, I often forget to bring Him home for lunch or for much of the day after that. Like a lot of parents out there, I think I just get right back into mommy-mode as soon as I walk through the door. I put the focus back on me. What do I need to do? What do I need to get done? Who do I need to take care of? Since we get home at 12:30, I have one child who needs to go immediately down for a nap and another who is hungry for lunch so, BOOM, church is over and it's right back to "real life".

As you can probably ascertain by now, keeping the Sabbath Holy is an area I need a bit of work in. I guess, really, I need to "work" on that on Sundays. Hmm...I wonder if that's okay?

Saturday, May 17, 2008

We Have a Winner!

CONGRATS TO KARI!!!

You have won the Fondue for Two from Tupperware. Yay!
Email me @ stumblingchristian@yahoo.com to claim your prize and let me know where to send it.

Thank you to everyone who participated! I would suggest befriending Kari in the next week or two and maybe she'll invite you over for some yummy chocolate! Otherwise, be sure to be here next month when I have something else FABULOUS to give away!

Friday, May 16, 2008

Super Savings Saturday

This week, I took a stroll down the aisles of a couple of thrift stores looking for some good finds. And, boy howdy, did I find them! The Boy was the lucky recipient this week as I found for him four shirts, a pair of brand-spankin'-new shoes and a few toys.

Four shirts all in excellent condition from Goodwill for $2.46 using a $5 off coupon. The shoes are from Savers: $2.99. They are brand-new! I can't see, for the life of me, any indication that they were worn at all! They are a Walmart brand that I have priced before. Walmart sells this type of shoe for around $13.00! Yeah, baby!
I found the above plus a few other toys at Savers this week, also. I have a Weebit of a Weebles addiction and find it hard to pass up a village piece. I found this one for $2.99. It just needed a little cleaning which I am well-versed in (well, except for my house). I also found the Thomas the Train mountain for $2.99 as well. I think everyone knows how much the Thomas stuff goes for. It ain't cheap! However, take note: one should make sure that what they buy is actually compatible with the train set they already own at home. Eh-hem! Someone (not saying that it was me, but she may have looked like me) wasn't paying attention so someone will be putting this in her garage sale next Saturday hoping to get her money back. Lesson learned.

Hey, you know what? You can find a lot more great posts about some great savings over at MoneySavingMom.com . Whaddya waitin' for?

Funk-a-delic!

If you couldn't tell already, I've been in a bit of a blogging funk. I think I've put too much on my plate again and the need to get better organized is looming large.

However, I am working on a few writings: a confession and call for support, an interesting snippet drawn from the 1939 baby book of my Dad's that I recently rediscovered, more of my 100 Things, a product review and more of my usual ramblings about the struggle with motherhood and my often interrupted walk with Christ. I hope you stick around to share these with me.

In the meantime, head over to my other blog, The Bubble In My Head and read about this week's attempt at learning to live as a better steward of our money.

Be back soon!

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Bloggy Giveaway!

WooHoo! It's that time of the month again! (No, not that time of the month!)


It's Bloggy Giveaway time! *happy dance* Come on! Happy dance with me - you know you wanna! This month up for grabs is Tupperware's Fondue for Two:

This petite thing is just the right size for you and that someone special. It comes complete with everything you see here except the chocolate and strawberries. The yummy stuff you have to supply yourself.

You know how this works - leave me a comment (on this post), any comment at all and on Saturday morning, I'll print them all out, cut them into individual bite-size pieces and have my oh-so-beautiful yet impartial daughter pick one from out of a bowl. I'll announce the winner that morning. Be on the lookie-loo!

Have at it. Keep it clean. No cutsies. And, as much as I like it, the sucking up to me really doesn't help you any.

Okay, maybe just a little. *wink*

Monday, May 12, 2008

Mommy Tip Tuesday

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My Mommy Tip this week is of the "what NOT to do" sort. Scroll down a little and you will see my experience in this matter first hand.

I'm always interested in buying London artsy-craftsy things. I love encouraging her imagination and creativity. I would encourage all parents to do so with their kids. However, I would add to that encouragement a word on restraint and "age appropriate" art supplies.

For example:

I don't have anything against washable markers, per se. It's just that just because they are washable doesn't mean I want to wash marker off of stuff. Particularly my toddler:

Repeatedly. Yes, I said repeatedly because strangely enough I couldn't figure out the first 5-6 times that I put them in London's chubby little hands that she would keep putting them in her sweet little mouth!

But I finally learned and the washable markers went "bye-bye" at least until one of us can figure out how to use them properly. They'll be back, I'm sure. And when they are I may just allow London to use them to fill out her college applications.

Do you have a Mommy Tip you'd like to share? Please blog about it and then add your name and URL to the Mr. Linky below. Be sure to link back to me so your readers know where to find Mommy Tip Tuesday and join in on the fun!

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Thankful Thursday




Since my daughter has turned four, she has been...um...shall we say, challenging. The Birthday Fairy sprinkled her with about a pound of sassy glitter and it seems to be getting all over the rest of us. I do not like sassy glitter. Or attitude glitter. Or "Humphf! I don't like your answer" stomp stomp stomp glitter. The glitter needs to go.

But, you know what? Deep down, I like the little pistol in her. She's a tough little cookie and she's not putting up with much gruff from me or her Daddy. And if she's not putting up with gruff from us, then I'm pretty confident she's not going to put up with much from the little boys on the playground either. I'm okay with that.
And she's a determined little thing. Someone, somewhere has taught my daughter the art of the negotiation. She will attempt to negotiate a "snack deal" just about everyday. Or work out some kind of offer regarding just how many toys she has to pick up compared to how many I have to pick up. And when she very reluctantly agrees to whatever rule Mommy and/or Daddy have put their foot down on, you can clearly see a I'll-be-back-to-fight-another-day look upon her face.
And the drama. Do I have to even go there? Words cannot express how teensy-tiny something can be yet the tears, the pouting, the collapsing on the floor...Ugh!...it wears me out just thinking about it.
God love her. And so do I. Because, if anything set this wayward ship on the right course, it was this mighty gust of wind. I have been thankful for this little burr under my saddle for the last four years now. While I was pregnant with her, my husband and I often said we wanted a fighter. File Miss London under "Careful What You Wish For - You Might Just Get It".

Thank you for challenging me to be a better mother.
A better woman. A better wife. A better role model. A better example.

A better fighter, myself.

And a better Christian.

Thank you, Lord, for the pound of sassy glitter. Amen.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Tim Hawkins

I have a group of ladies coming over today and simply don't have the time to blog today. Please enjoy this hilarious video by Tim Hawkins:

Monday, May 5, 2008

Mommy Tip Tuesday

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Today's Mommy Tip is a bit of a product review as well. I recentlydiscovered Johnson's Bath Buddies for kids and I just LOVE their bar soap.

The bar of soap comes wrapped in a non-slip pouch that makes it easy for little hands to grasp. London has reached one more level of independence now that she can wash herself without my help. She even gets a kick out of washing her baby brother.

Another plus - it retails for roughly .99 cents. I've seen it for a bit less at Wal-mart, as well. But the best part is often times you can find coupons for Johnson's bath products at $1.00 off. So, if you keep your eye out, you can get this soap for absolutely FREE! And who doesn't like FREE?

You? You don't like FREE? Well, you're a freak - get off my blog!

For the rest of you, I found a coupon for you at MoneySavingMom.com. Go to this post and click on the third "here" for the $1/1 coupon (last line of the post). The first "here" for the $2/2 coupon will require you to download a coupon printer program that left my computer running in circles, so skip that one.

Do you have a Mommy Tip you'd like to share? Just blog about it and add your info to the Mr. Linky below. Be sure to link back to The Stumbling Christian in your post so others know where to join in on the fun.

Have a great day!



Meyer Monday

Again and again, the Bible speaks of receiving from God. He is always pouring out His blessing, and we should, as empty, thirsty vessels, learn to take in freely all that He offers us.

In the spiritual realm, when you and I believe something, we receive it into our heart. In the world, we are taught to believe what we see. In God's Kingdom, we must learn to believe first, and then we will see manifested what we have believed (received, admitted in our heart).

When Jesus said that whatever we ask of God, believing, will be granted to us, He was saying that we will receive it free.

One of our biggest challenges is that we do not trust the word "free." We quickly find out in the world's system that things really are not free. Even when we are told they are free, there is usually a hidden cost somewhere.

But God's Kingdom of grace and love is not like the world's. God's wondrous love is a gift He freely gives us. All we need to do is open our hearts, believe His Word, and receive it with thankfulness.

~ Joyce Meyer, Being The Person God Made You To Be

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For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received [all had a share and we were all supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift. ~ John 1:16

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Friday, May 2, 2008

Super Savings Saturday

It's my favorite day of the week - Super Savings Saturday! I know! This week it was CVS and Walgreen's for me. I had a $25 ECB that was set to expire so out the door I went. Here's my bounty from CVS:


Retail total for everything: $137.08
In store savings: <$77.19>
Coupons: <$33.00>
ECBs: <$24.95>
Tax: $.08
Total OOP: $2.02 Whoot! Whoot!

The Post-It pads on the left, doogie stairs and blow-dryer were all on the 75%-90% off shelves. I'm hoping to turn those around for a bit of a profit at a garage sale. The other stuff, except the razors, we're B1G1 and I had coupons for everything.

The One Touch Ultra 2 was on sale for $29.99 with a full manufacturer's rebate offer inside. I had a $20 off coupon so I only paid $9.99 for it. I made $20 buying this! Again, I say, Whoot! Whoot!

My bounty from Walgreen's:



First, the gift wrap at .33 cents each (2 sheet pkgs). I LOATHE spending money on gift wrap so I thought this would be a perfect time to stock up a bit.

The Sunsilk shampoo was B2G1 plus I had a B1G1 coupon so I ended up with all three for $4.29. I was extra happy that I was able to get the larger 33% extra sizes.

The plaque revealing rinse and Oral-B toothbrush are both in the Easy Saver catalog for full rebates. That means FREE, baby!

The not-really-needed-but-what-the-hay candy bars were .33 cents each.

The box of seeds: .50 cents. I just bought a large glass bowl at a yard sale for $2. Me and London are going to plant a little flower garden. I think this will be a fun activity for us to do together.

And the vacuum cleaner was on sale for $39.99 with a $20 Easy Saver rebate. I paid the balance with my Walgreen's rebate gift card, so I got a new cordless vacuum with no OOP expense.

One last time, I promise - Whoot! Whoot!

How did you do? I'm looking forward to finding out. I'm heading over to Money Saving Mom right now to read about everyone else's awesome deals this week. Won't you join me?

Thursday, May 1, 2008

A List Of Things I Will Not Say To My Daughter Today.

1. Listen.

2. In a minute.

3. I'm just going to check my email and I'll be right back.

4. Are you listening?

5. I'll read to you in a little bit, okay?

6. You're driving me insane!

7. I need you to stop talking for just a little bit, okay?

8. London, please listen.

9. We are just going to go to ONE store, I promise!

10. You're not listening!

Pray for me, okay?