Super Deal on Diapers!!!!

For those of you who wanted more details from my post on Facebook, here you go!!

Amazon.com is having a promotion right now for their Subscribe and Save program which automatically gives you 15% off certain products and free shipping. They are offering an extra 15% off select diaper and wipe products for a limited time. That is a total of 30% off!!! This program allows you to lock in the current price(15% off) and have your order shipped to you on a set schedule. You can cancel your subscription at any point.

I combined this with a coupon for 20% off any Amazon diaper purchase from the current Parents Magazine. (It was also in last months' issue, so you may be able to find more than one of these coupons to score two boxes of diapers!!!)

My total came to $12.54. I used two $5 Amazon gift cards I won through using Swagbucks and brought my total to $2.54 out of pocket.

Item(s) Subtotal: $25.08
Shipping & Handling: $0.00
Promotion Applied: -$7.52
Promotion Applied: -$5.02
-----
Total Before Tax: $12.54
Sales Tax: $0.00
Gift Certificate/Card Amount: $10.00
-----
Total for This Shipment: $2.54

BUT, I also use Ebates on a semi-regular basis! They just sent my my quarterly earnings, and I am transferring that to my bank account to cover the $2.54. That way, I essentially just bought a 76-ct box of Huggies diapers for FREE!!!!!

Here's a bit of info on Swagbucks and Ebates for those of you who may not know about these websites.

Swagbucks is a search engine that gives you points, or Swagbucks, for simply using their search bar. There are other ways you can earn these points, like taking surveys or getting referrals. Once you reach 450 Swagbucks, you can purchase a $5 Amazon e-gift card from the Swag Store. This is what I always buy with my SB's, but they a large variety of other items to choose from.

Ebates is a site that pays you a percentage of your purchase when you shop through their site. For example, I regularly buy from JcPenney online. Instead of going directly to JcPenney's website I go first to Ebates and click through to JcPenney. I then get a small percentage cash back from my purchase. Obviously, it's not a huge amount, but for me, every penny saved is a penny earned, and therefore, worth the few extra seconds it takes to me to go to Ebates first!!

Between this Amazon deal, the great deal CVS had last week, and scoring super cheap wipes at Walgreens yesterday, I am stocked to the ceiling (literally!!!) with diapers and wipes for my little guy. It's been neat to see how the Lord has provided for us by allowing to me to learn to bargain shop and use LOTS of coupons. He must get all the praise for being our Great Sustainer!!

For those of you who are just beginning, or wanting to begin to learn more about how to save on your grocery bill and never have to pay full price ever again for things like diapers, shampoo, toothpaste, even laundry soap, take a few minutes and check out my favorite frugal website, Money Saving Mom or find her on Facebook. She offers itemized lists each week for your local stores that includes what coupons you will need and where to find them, as well as a myriad of other posts on everything from homeschooling to starting your own business and everything in between!! I highly recommend that you sign up to receive her emails or RSS feed. It'll save you money and be worth every minute you invest to read her posts!!!

Jesus, I am Resting

Our dear sweet sister in the Lord, Vivian Risse, passed into His presence during the night. How our hearts break for her family, but are at the same time filled with joy in the knowledge that she is resting in the arms of our Saviour Jesus Christ. I miss you already, my friend!!
She always loved the lyrics to this hymn and said many times she wanted it used at her funeral.

Jesus, I am Resting, Resting


Jesus I am resting, resting
In the Joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart.
Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee,
And Thy beauty fills my soul,
For by Thy transforming power
Thou hast made me whole.

Chorus:

Jesus, I am resting, resting
In the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart.

O how great Thy loving kindness.
Vaster, broader than the sea!
O how marvellous Thy goodness,
Lavished all on me!
Yes, I rest in Thee, Beloved,
Know Thy certainty of promise,
And have made it mine.


Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus,
I behold Thee as Thou art,
And Thy love, so pure, so changeless,
Satisfies my heart;
Satisfies its deepest longings,
Meets supplies its every need,
Compasseth me round with blessings;
Thine is love indeed!


Ever lift Thy face upon me,
As I work and wait for Thee;
Resting 'neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus,
Earth's dark shadows flee.
Brightness of my Father's glory,
Sunshine of my Father's face,
Keep me ever trusting, resting;
Fill me with Thy grace.

Search and WIN BIG!!!!

Do you search the internet??? Why not get rewarded for what you're doing anyways???

Search as you normally would, and win points from Swag Bucks to buy special prices, including my favorite, a $5 Amazon gift card. I know it doesn't seem like a lot, but it adds up quickly, especially when you get others to join and start earning from referrals! Head over to Swag Bucks and sign up.

Right now is the best time to get started because this week Swag Bucks they will be highlighting a different high value Swag Buck bill, starting today with the 25. Every 7th searching win on Swag Bucks will be awarded that big bill, meaning that more people will have big wins next week! Don't wait!!! Go now!!!

Plus, if you sign up with Swag Bucks today, be sure to add SUMMEROFSWAG (case sensitive!!!) in the “Enter Your Swagcode” box on your homepage, and you’ll get 20 additional points added to your account!

Come join me in the fun of WINNING!!!

Fun giveaway from my friend Nichole!!!

TidbitsParenting is hosting a giveaway for one of these super cute, handmade balls for little ones made by Nichole Jordan at Handmade by Cole

Just follow the links and check out this cool toy for your little one!!!

I sell AVON!!!

Check out my website if you'd like. I like the laid back atmosphere of being able to sale at my own pace. Of course, I hope that this will turn into a true business to help my family, but for now, I'm learning about the company and the products and enjoying getting started. Help me out with some orders!!

:)


Note: I don't know what happened, but the links are fixed now!

The Walker Boys

Still here...

Wow! I can't believe it's been so long since I've been able to post something on my blog. I miss it, but I have been so incredibly busy that to have been blogging all this time would have taken away from much more important and necessary tasks.

We are moved into our new home and still trying to settle in, even though it's been nearly five months now. It's so great to have our own place though! With so much space! I'm still working to decorate and learning to use all this space for something other than clutter!

My boys are doing well. Motherhood has definitely thrown me for some loops the last six months, but the Lord is helping to make it through each day by His grace and with lots and lots of help from my dear husband.

Ryan, who is five now, is starting to do some homeschooling. He loves learning new things, especially about math and reading. He's doing really well with spelling words and sounding out enough to read a bit. It's fun to watch him catch on to all these new things and move into this new world of SCHOOL!

Brandon is two and busy being all boy! He loves tools and anything to do with helping his Grandpa. Curious George is his favorite cartoon and shooting "bad guys" or wrestling with Daddy and Ryan are his favorite pastimes. We're working on potty training--NOT my strong suit--hopefully, we'll be past this milestone very SOON! He is still small enough that he enjoys cuddling with me. I'll be sad to see him outgrow that!

Matthew is six months old, nearly seven actually. He's very mobile! Keeping up with my floors is becoming a priority I need to be better at accomplishing since he is cleaning my floors with his tummy every day! He hasn't quite mastered actual crawling, but he does a mean army crawl! Oh, and he cut his first tooth this past week. It past with seemingly no ordeal. I didn't even realize it was coming in until I felt it when I was feeding him. He has started on lots of solids and seems to be handling it really well as long as there isn't any milk products in his diet or mine. He's still not the best sleeper, but I usually get at least six hours of rest, so I'm pretty thankful for that after months of only two or three hours for one part of the night!!

Our family is settling in after over a year of major upsets and changes. I've been through some serious emotional, mental and spiritual struggles, but I feel like there's light at the end of this tunnel. The Lord has remained faithful though I have failed in so many ways, so many times. It's been hard to be without a church family, but just this past week, I joined Calvary Baptist Church, a new work just beginning in the small town where we live now. I'm thankful that the Lord is moving us forward, and in time, I am confident that God will work in and through us to become a light in this community and a witness of His great love to those around us.

I suppose that is all for now. I don't know if anyone even stops by here anymore, but it's good for me to share some of what is going on in my life. It keeps me from becoming too focused solely on my four walls. :)

Our family-2009

Matthew Casey

My newest son

Matthew Casey Walker
Born July 23, 2009
11:25 AM
6 lbs, 14 oz
19 1/2 in long

Mommy and baby are doing well and resting comfortably.
More details (and pics) to come later!!

Almost time--

We have only a few more days before we meet our littlest boy. I have my 38 week check-ups tomorrow, then I'm scheduled to be induced Thursday morning. Lord willing, I'll be holding my baby before 2 that afternoon, or sooner!!

Please pray for me. I'm very excited that the time has come, but I'm also nervous. You'd think that after giving birth three times, that the fourth time around wouldn't cause me to be nervous, but that's just me I guess!! I'm just looking forward to getting it over with! :)

For Stephen

The Lord is great and greatly to be praised!

In 1980, the Lord in His sovereignty, merged the lives of two families, the Horners and the Walkers. When Pat and Dianne Horner met Casey and Cindi Walker, Dianne was pregnant with their third child, a baby girl, and Cindy was pregnant with their first child, a son. In January 1981 Steven Walker was born. Two months later, in March, Rebekah Horner was born. Little did they know that 19 years later, God would unite them, not just as friends, but as family!

For years, Steven was just a part of my life. I would see him and the rest of his family when they would come to visit from Houston, and eventually they moved to San Antonio. He was just always there. Sure, I had my girly crushes on him through the years, but in all honestly, we did become simply friends.

It was not until we were both 18 that Steven finally "noticed" me as more than his sister's friend, or so he says! :) By May of 1999, when we graduated from high school, we were inseparable. We spent the next months just enjoying being around each other and hanging out with family and friends. Everyone expected a proposal at Christmas time, but Steven had other plans! He never has been one to just do what others expect of him!

At the end of January, Steven and I, along with all my brothers and his brother and sister, went to an outdoor concert. A DJ from the local radio station got up on stage and in front of a couple thousand people, announced that Steven Walker wanted to know if Rebekah Horner would marry him!!! Yep, it was definitely memorable and of course I said yes!!

So, that brings us to the big day-- June 17, 2000

Nine years ago, today, we stood before all our family and lots of friends(about 250 people altogether!) and committed our lives and our love to each other. The Lord has brought us through so much since that day! There have been times that we were angry, times that we were devastated, times that we were boundlessly happy, and lots of just normal, everyday times. Whatever the test, God has preserved our marriage and our increased our love for each other.

Today we celebrate nine years of marriage and over ten years of being together. It's amazing to see what we've come through, and know that whatever the future might hold for us, there's a God in heaven Whose hand is guiding and directing our steps.

I love you, Steven and am looking forward to our future and just being with you each day, living and loving together.

GREAT NEWS!!!!!

Happy birthday, Ryan!!

Oh, how he's grown!!!! I cannot believe that five years ago, I was in labor at this very moment and waiting to meet my first baby boy!!! Time has flown by since that day, and I'm now the mommy to a wonderful, active, imaginative five year old!

Ryan has been such a blessing to our family from the minute we found out that I was expecting him. The Lord gave him to us and healed our hearts throughout my pregnancy with him and through his birth and life over the last five years. How thankful I am for my firstborn son!! I love you, Ryan!

(I wish I had some baby pictures of Ryan on my computer, but I don't!! I'll have to find all my CD's and download them some other time! The last picture is shortly before his second birthday...)

Can it be? An actual post!!

It's way past time for a new update, but I am having serious problems trying to figure out what to share. There is SO much going on in our lives, in so many different areas!

The pregnancy is still going well. This little guy is moving enough to keep me awake a lot of nights. After last night, I'm thinking he may be born hyperactive!! It literally felt like he was bouncing off the sides of his little world just for the fun of it--kinda like a kid in a bathtub, when they discover they can slide on their belly in the tub! But it's such a comfort that he is active now!! My next check-up is on Tuesday, so maybe I'll have more to share then.

In other news, we (my parents and Steven and I) finally settled on some land and the closing was last week. After months(years, really!!) of looking, the Lord has provided for our family in such an awesome way!! For Steven and I, this is the place that we're hoping will be our home for the rest of our lives and an inheritance that we can leave for our children. I'm so looking forward to being able to get my own home again, especially knowing that, the Lord willing, this will be the LAST TIME I have to move! That's a crazy thought considering we've lived seven different places in the last nine years. I know that's not a lot compared to military families, but I'm certainly tired of the whole packing/unpacking cycles when I'm pregnant and have little ones in tow!

Well, there's so much more than this going on, but I don't have time to share right now. Just keep praying for us! The Lord has many changes in store for us over the next 6-9 months and I often feel that I'm barely keeping my head above water, so to speak. I need LOTS of grace!

Until next time...

:)

Happy Memorial Day!

DEFINITION OF A VETERAN

A Veteran - whether active duty, retired, national guard or reserve - is someone who, at one point in their life, wrote a check made payable to "The United States of America", for an amount of "up to and including my life."
Author Unknown


Thank you to all who have given so much to insure that our freedoms are secure.

David, thank you for all you gave up over the last six years to serve your country and keep us safe.

Stephen and John, thank you for every day that you go to do your job in the midst of extreme and dangerous environments. You sacrifice every day for me and my boys. I love you and pray for your safety always!

"Always"--Building 429

For the so many I know right now who are hurting in one way or another--