amberherron

~ Lovin' Kids' music! ~

One of Josiah's Christmas presents was Volume 5 of Seeds.  I had heard some samples of songs online before buying it.  I turned it on to listen to about a half hour ago and I am lovin' it!  It is Bible verses put to music for kids and it is NOT dorky or hokey!  It is something I would actually want to listen to also.  Josiah ran off and now it is just me.  LOL.  I will definitely be buying more volumes of this in the future!  The best part?  They give you a second full cd to share with someone.  I am still contemplating who in my life would really appreciate it and listen to it...

~ Josiah's 1st Peformance - Pt. 1 ~

Tonight was the Children's Christmas program at our church.  This was Josiah's stage debut.  I think Jonathan and I were more excited than he was!  We were hoping he wouldn't freeze on stage and our hopes were granted.  He hammed it up just like he would if no one was watching.  We were so proud of him doing all the moves (jump, clap and dance).  This kid has some serious dance moves too!  I hope to have the video to share with you in the next day or so (still trying to find cords in boxes to hook up to upload).  Here are a few pics for you in the mean time...

Waving to Daddy...

He likes to jump!

He likes to clap!

 

Bustin' some moves!

But the VERY BEST part of his whole performance came at the end.  He literally froze a pose at the end of the song and took, not one, but TWO bows!  LOL.  And no, the whole class was not taking a bow, it was just our little man.  Can't wait to share the video!

~ Happy Thanksgiving! ~

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!

Psalm 118:1

Since we are not physically close to family today, I will bring some family to you!

Josiah says,"Happy Thanksgiving!"

~ Poor Juliet ~

It seems Josiah confiscated her bones for Polka Dots and Stretchy. :-(

~ Josiah Says - Birthday Edition ~

Josiah:  Happy Birthday Mom!  You have a present?

Me: No, I don't have a present isn't that sad? (I am going out Thursday evening w/ Jon for a date and shopping instead)

Josiah:  Oh, I have a present for you mom.  Hungry Hippos! (he's begging to have this for Christmas and it just may have already been purchased...)

Me:  Wow, thanks.

Josiah:  Oh, I get you a little kid named PT.

Me:  Ok...?

Josiah:  Oh, mom, I have a surprise for you (in high pitched voice)...it's a present...it's not real (in a whisper)...it's a toy...here - my spoon! (this was at the dinner table)

OH - and he didn't even actually let me have the spoon!  LOL.

~ Frugal Funding for Christmas ~

The countdown to Christmas has long begun!  This means that people are frazzled about spending and where to find great gifts without breaking the bank (unless you are a super smart person who buys all year long).  I don't believe in Christmas being an excuse to add to your debt.  I also don't believe that Christmas is an emergency (thanks Dave Ramsey).  This leaves three choices - 1) budget all year long for a gift fund 2) don't buy gifts or 3) find creative ways to give gifts that doesn't come out of your regular income. 

We certainly are in a position to choose option #1, however we have not had the stability long enough to really accumulate much and we have gazelle intensity to put that extra towards debt or an e-fund (we are selling & buying a house after all).  Jonathan and I have chosen option #2 more times in our marriage than we have to buy gifts!  It is refreshing to have the focus on the material removed from the holidays.  I think this year, however, we are going for option #3.  Here are a few frugal tips that I am using this holiday season...

1) I am setting aside any extraneous income in the form of cash in an envelope for a gift fund.  This income has been from mileage reimbursements, rebates and unexpected financial gifts (i.e. pastor's appreciation in October).  I have also ebayed a ton of stuff in the past couple of years to fund my gifts - a great option!

2) Swagbucks - need I say more?  I almost have enough Amazon credits to pick up yet another special gift for a certain 3 year old little boy...just because I search the internet!

3) Online surveys - this option really is only if you have enough time.  Some sites are kind of a waste or take a long time to build up points.  Two of my favorites are Lightspeed and Daily Survey Panel.  Sometimes you stumble onto a great opportunity.  For example, I am participating in a study on snack foods right now.  I was sent a palm pilot to record my snacks each day for 2 weeks.  Pretty harmless.  I already got a $10 visa gift card and will receive another $55 when I am done - PLUS - points for the surveys which can be redeemed for gift cards.  Not too shabby!

4) Frugal shopping - using coupons and sales, many stores offer promotions where you can get $5 or $10 gift cards with certain purchases.  I save those g.c.'s to use for buying gifts.  This is a great option - particularly if the promotion is on products you buy anyway AND even better if you stack coupons with it!

5) Creative use of internet resources.  This is an area I am just tapping into.  I have recently discovered a couple reputable sites that sell gift cards at a discount (plasticjungle and ABC Gift Cards).  I then can use the gift cards I purchased to make an online purchase through Ebates and earn cash back on my purchase.  This gives me a discount before I have even shopped sales or used a coupon code!  For example - I purchased an Old Navy g.c. for 10% off and I am planning on shopping online through ebates to use it.  Ebates will give me 10% cash back on my purchase.  I have already saved 20%!  I then take that rebate money and throw it back into my gift fund!  You could also use these sites to get that perfect gift card for someone on your list for a little discount rather than full price!

Another great internet resource is contests and giveaways!  I have won things just from leaving a comment or looking at a company's website several times - in fact a couple of Josiah's gifts last Christmas were items I won!  My two favorite places to do this are Muse Reviews and 5 Minutes for Mom.

6) Coupons (of course!).  There are a lot of coupons out this time of year for clothing and toys.  Always search the internet for possible printable coupons to use towards an item you are planning to purchase.

7) The last, but probably my favorite, is make gifts!  I love spending time on making something for someone.  It could be baked goods, bath salts, candles or photo calendars for the grandparents.  I have turned to this option nearly every year!  I know I always appreciate when someone took the time and love to make something for me - regardless of what it is.

So there is my ever so humble advice on how to have frugal funding of your Christmas!  I look forward to seeing how much I can come up with once I have spent a whole year with this intensity!  I just may never take money out of my regular budget for gifts again...  :-)

How about you?  What are your tips or tricks for Christmas spending?  What homemade gifts have you conjured up in recent Christmases past?  I'd love to hear or see!

~ 5 Minutes for Mom - Christmas Giveaway 2009 ~

I have been following the blog for 5 Minutes for Mom for a couple of years now.  It is refreshing, resourceful and uplifting.  I love all the giveaways they host as well - particularly that I have been lucky enough to be a winner!  :-) 

5 Minutes for Mom begins their Christmas Giveaway today!  It's fun to check each day and find what goodies are up for grabs simply by leaving comments.  You can find all the details here or click the button to take you!

~ Pumpkin Patch 2009 ~

Each year we travel to the pumpkin patch in the fall.  I was afraid we weren't going to make it this year, but we squeezed it in today before they close for the season!  I have to admit that I miss the patch we went to in Ohio - it had so many family events and was lots of fun.  We did find a near-by patch in Michigan which had some neat things too!  It was kind of cold and VERY windy, so we didn't stay too long.  We still had fun, though.  The hot "apple spider" (as Josiah calls it) and home made doughnuts sure helped put smiles on our faces!

 

 

 

~ Wordless Wednesday ~

A glimpse of what Josiah and I are up to during the day...

~ Family Fun ~

We spent most of the day together as a family - which unfortunately does not happen as often as we like during this season of transition!  I did have a work appointment this morning, but was back by lunch.  Josiah always enjoys Daddy time anyway.  :-) 

We all took nice naps in the afternoon.  We awoke and headed off to the mall to "Inflatable Insanity" for Josiah to have some active fun.  He had fun playing in the various bouncers.  He even grew in courage and ability and by the end could climb up to the big slide! 

We took a break to go to the mall and use some coupons and $10 g.c. to The Children's Place.  Josiah actually enjoyed trying on the clothes!  We got him a jacket for the fall and an adorable knit hat.  I am a sucker for kids and hats!  We decided to totally splurge and got ice cream afterwards.  Josiah had one last round on the bouncers before we left the mall. 

Jon and I decided it was time to seriously consider some new tennis shoes.  Both of us have shoes we bought before Josiah was even around!  This is a great time to do that since most stores have a buy one get one 50% off deal.  Josiah loved "helping" us too.  :-) 

We got in the car to drive home to hear that there was a tornado warning by our house.  We weren't about to drive over into that, so we ended up eating dinner at Chick-Fil-A (or what Josiah calls the Chicken Playground).  The rain stopped by the end of dinner and we drove home looking for rainbows in the sky. 

All in all - a great day!