Thursday, December 23, 2010

Thanks!

There are so many things to be thankful for but I just wanted to post a few that i am most grateful for this Christmas season!!

My Partner in crime. My LOVE! Mark!!!

My Perfect and energetic baby boy!!!

And my sweet little Gracie(who I really started to feel this week and last)

What a more perfect time to be thankful for the gift of our families than during the Christmas season! Merry Christmas to everyone! We love you all and are so grateful that you are apart of our lives!


P>S - I wanted to post pictures but it wasn't working so check back maybe later:)

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Eldon's Babies

Eldon has a deep love for all of his babies! He loves to get them out of his frog storage unit and love and role and hug and kiss all of them, and when he is all done he will of course throw them across the room. Here is the latest picture of Eldon showing off his new "CHEESE" smile. ( By the way El has learned to smile on command when we say cheeeeeese! Who would guess his mom takes pictures :))))


How can you not give this little guy anything he wants! He is for sure spoiled


 Below are just a few more pictures from the past of Eldon Loving his favorite baby, his Frog Pittle, given to him by his uncle Pat!




Sunday, November 28, 2010

April Showers bring May flowers but what do May-flowers bring??

April Showers bring May flowers but what do May-flowers bring..... Well for us it bring a baby girl!!
Me Mark and Eldon will be adding another member to our family come May 18th. We found out yesterday that we are having a little..........GIRL... We are so super excited. I think we both were really hoping for a girl, even though either would be a blessing. Now we get to buy bows, and everything PINK. Not quite sure that having a girl is good for our budget :) Mark is a little scared I will go overboard. But she will be very spoiled from both of us for sure.
We are 16 weeks now and were able to get our first ultrasound yesterday on 11/27. She was so perfect, and it was so amazing watching her. She was so much the opposite of Eldon. Eldon would move and flip and turn and kick every which way. And he was not shy about showing he was a boy. This time our little bug just stayed curled up in t tight ball with her hands by her nose and both femurs tight together and tucked in close by her little tummy.
She had a perfect little button nose and cute little kissable lips just like her daddy. My favorite part was just watching how sweet she looked, she made this soft little movements (very opposite of Eldon). What i mean to say by all this is that, Eldon turned out just like he was in utero- wild and full of energy, and it was so cool to see how different our little girl was in the womb. We are thinking she may be a little calmer that her big brother, more like her dad is: content.
We are so grateful for this little blessing that has come into our lives, in a time when school, and work, and life is so crazy, it is nice to remember and be reminded by our heavenly father what matters most- Our Eternal family, and our family has grown by one!

Enjoy some pictures:







Meet our baby girl

Gracie






Friday, October 22, 2010

life is good

Today is likely to be one of the most disappointing days our family has had in a while, nothing serious really, but a real wake up call. Mark decided we needed to get out of the house and get our minds off things, so we decided to go to the Halloween store and look around. Eldon sure had fun looking at all the scary things there. On a side note when did Halloween get to be this major slutty holiday, half the costumes in there covered like 1 tenth of your body or they were dirty and degrading! Whatever I'm just saying we always dressed up in something we wanted to be, or something fun.. like a pumpkin, or a clown, or my usually favorite: the princess which my dad made for me almost every year.... anyway back to subject.
We didn't find anything there so we went to Chick-fi-la.. .my favorite by the why, and had a perfect lunch and then we headed for home. We of course hit traffic because of u-dot!!!!!! and I laughed so hard Mark was making a funny noise every time we passed an orange cone, and after we had passed a few, Eldon was laughing too, and he started making the funny noises too! What a fun ride home, but none the less that doesn't take my mind away from the fact of earlier today, but it does put things in perspective. I love my family and at the end of the day that is all that matters to me!

Friday, October 15, 2010

A great day

what a long time it seems it has been. I need to keep up with this so I don't forget all the wonderful memories our family has together.I have too say that having a husband who is going into firefighting is so amazing, yeah he will be working 24 hour shifts but only a few times a week, and the rest of the time will be spent with us! Me and Eldon love him so much, and I hate to admit it but Eldon gets most of the attention from him. They are really best buddies! El lights up every time dad comes back, and he cries every time he leaves. Right now Mark is doing tub time with Eldon, and I can't help but stand back and laugh at all the good times they have together. Eldon sure does know how to have fun with his daddy.
We were able to go to a play place for lunch, which is El's new favorite thing to do. we ordered a thing of fries to share and Eldon ate them all up. He also enjoyed sticking his hand in the fry saucee and licking it up, but he always made a gross face after he licked it. We played and trust me those play places were not meant for adults the little tubes just are too small for me and mark. It was funny watching mark go through the tubs, and I bet he had just as much fun watching me fit through the piping.
Eldon is our perfect little guy, and he is getting so much fun. He loves to say balloon, baba, mama, uh-oh, and I think he calls mark duhdo. but we will just wait and see if that sticks. He is out little ball of energy. He runs around ALL day from when he wakes up till he go to bed, and when he goes to bed at night he crashed from 6:30 til 8 or 9 usually. Mark has been the lucky one to be home when he doesn't wake till 11am!!! He sleeps so good, and I couldn't ask for a better baby, and we definitely didn't do any of this night time routine ourselves, Eldon is the one who drags us into the bathroom to start tub time, and ever since he could he has insisted his bed time be earlier, and he was right. Sorry if this post seems to be bragging I just wanted to write about how much I love the little things my son does!

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Time is Flying

Me and Mark were talking today about how the past 2 weeks seems to have flown by. On one hand it's a good thing, but when it comes to studying for anatomy it is a very very very bad thing. Last week in anatomy has been hard, but this week is a good break.
Me and Mark, and Eldon have been busy running here and there. This week we went to "This is the Place" with mom, Kristen, and Ella. We had a picnic, and then took a train ride around the park. It was okay, although nothing in that park is really original, everything has been restored and moved to this park, or it is a replica, but it is a good view into what life was like during those times.
Me and Mom canned peaches.... this is no easy task. It took us almost half the day and after peeling and processing 2 bushels of peaches, we ended up with about 30 or so Quart size jars of peaches: 15 a piece. So now we have salsa and peaches canned. We are thinking about making apple pie filling sometime next week, but we are taking a little break: The Peaches wore us out.
Eldon is still weighing in at a sturdy 25lbs, and he grows more and more every day. It's weird how he has been the same weight for months not but he keeps getting taller. Me and mark comment everyday> "do you think he looks taller than yesterday?" But other than that we are still teething, Tooth # 10 is making his way down, Eldon sure lets us know when they hurt. He will rub his gums or point to his toothbrush and he just rubs away. He is great at brushing his teeth if I forget to brush them at night he will point to the sink, very demanding for a 15 month old!
Eldon also is on the verge of talking every day! although most of the words he wants to say all start with a "B". He loves to point and say ba, or baaaall, or buuuu, and baba. I then have to interpret that to mean Baba-bottle, balloon(he is obsessed- we cant pass a car lot without him freaking out), and book. i would even go as far as to say that bottles, balloons, and books are his favorite things in the world! I have been trying to get him to drink from a sippy cup, but he just is very insistent, he will keep saying baba and increasing volumes until I switch, but I am determined to win :) I wonder where he gets his stubbornness from???
El is a big ball of energy and is so happy to be playing at the time, from 7:30 til 11 and then from 1/2ish pm till 6pm he is all  business and all about playing. He is not one to sit still and play with a toy he has to drag, or run around the house with said toy.
We love out little man and we are really so blessed. Eldon is such a sweet little guy and you can't help but be in a good mood when your around him.
Oh and speaking of time flying... Mark is 25!!!! This is a little late, he turned 25 on September 16th. 25.... that is just crazy to me to think how much has changed in the past years: he was 16 when we met, 17 when we first kissed, and he took me to my sophomore homecoming, 19  when he came back to GA from Utah before his mission and took me to my junior homecoming, and I feel for him for the first time. 21 when we were reunited in Utah after his mission to CT and RI, and became fast friends, 22 when we started dating seriously and when we got married In April of 2008( I was only 19!!! Wow I was young!)  23 when we were married for one year and when he became a dad in July of 2009. 24 for year 2 of marriage and the graduation from UFRA- fire academy, and now here we are after all that has gone on in the last almost 10 years (9 but close enough) He is still that fun loving perfect boy I fell in love with at 19, except for now he is the man I love and the one I am going to spend the rest of eternity with! I love you Marky!! Happy birthday!

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Eldon has been super fun the last few days! He has been exploring and laughing and has just been great. He loves jumping on our soft down comforter, but most of all he likes running back and forth on the couch! He is definitely a summer baby! He loves the outdoors and always makes us keep the screen sliding door open! he runs in and out all day. I can't wait to have a home and just leave the door open so he can run outside and play whenever he wants. living 3 stories up definitely is a downer for going on walks with a stroller and going outside a lot. Here are a couple videos of El being silly and running around growling and laughing at Dad!




Thursday, September 2, 2010

Free Coupon Winner

By a random device, the winner of 20 Sunday 8/22 Smart Source inserts is...... Drum role please....
Mistie Boully!!!!
Congratulation! Make sure to cliam your prize by emailing me your information by Sunday so I can send you your inserts! Email me Here
If you didn't win, don't worry I plan to give away one freeebie a month. Be sure to check back it could be even greater next month!
Thanks to all who participated!
Steph

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Smith's deals rap-up and freebees!!

The new week of couponing started today, I don't know about you but I am tired after the amazing deals at Smith's this week. I hope everyone else was able to get some amazing deals also.
I was able to get free Colgate toothpaste and tooth brushes, I got 30 of each... I think I may put together a humanitarian aid package with all of them. I may not have use for 30 things of tooth paste but someone does and when it is FREE I am all for passing on the word!!! Another sweet deal that I was stoked about was my bounty paper towels. I ended up with 55 by the end of the week.
Random Percentage: Did you know that only roughly 5% of all coupons are used in Utah.... that mean there are another 95% of Sunday inserts being thrown out every week!!! trust me that just makes me mad : -/
OH well all we can worry about is ourselves! :)
Just a friendly reminder to get some awesome Walmart freebies and great deals:

Shout Wipes .97 (trial size)
use (8/8 SS) save $2.00/2
Final Price FREE

Schick Disposable Razors $1.97

use (8/22 SS) save $2.00
Final Price FREE
( these are hard to find... they sell quick! Good luck let me know if you have any!)

Clean and Clear .97 (trial size)

use (8/1 SS) save $1.00
Final Price FREE

Post-its $1.00 (Back to School section)
use (8/15 SS) save $1.00
Final Price FREE
( plus I believe there is a rebate for this one also!)

Huggies Wipes 40ct $1.24
use (8/22 SS) save .50
Final Price .74

Maruchan Yakisoba $.48

Use the .50¢/1 Coupon from the 8-29 SS
FREE Item


These are just a few that I have managed to bring home... I really enjoy these little travel sized they are great for on the go, and of course traveling but they work perfect for 72 hour kits also!

All right that's it for today! hope you have been inspired to coupon!
Happy couponing
*Steph*

Monday, August 30, 2010

Giveaway... 20 sunday SS inserts!!!

Many of you that read know that I have really started to dive head first in couponing! I am really excited to see if I can start updating my blog with some of the amazing deals I find, and to kick off the whole thing I am giving away 20 Smart Source inserts from 8/22!!! How amazing is that! All you have to do is follow my blog and then leave a comment  and on Friday I will randomly choose a winner! It doesn't matter where you live, just follow then comment and you are instantly in the running it is that easy. Happy couponing!!

*Stephanie*

Friday, August 27, 2010

July and August update

Wow this summer has flown by and it seems I havent really posted much of anything. I forgot to post pictures from El's birthday. He had a blast and thank you so much to everyone who showed up you all made it just perfect! I wouldnt of had it any other way! Thank you everyone for spoiling my son way too much.
Right after Els b-day me and him left pappa to finish up school and we headed to charleton and Atlanta, we went with grandma love and we were gone for 18 days! we had a blast and we went to the beach and the coke factory and the market and a braves game and the aquarium... pretty much we had a blast!
When we got back mark graduated and now we are waiting to hear back from jobs he has applied for... we are really crossing our fingers.
Here are a few pictures from out summer adventures:

Ella knows how to party!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Are you married to a fireman??

I AM!!!!!!!
Don't be too jeleous! Seriously though I am so so so excited Marky man graduated today and I am seriously the most proud wife ever! I am a fireman's wife!!! Yeah, this has been a long time coming and I seriously never thought this day would come. But it has and Yeah is all I can say!

Mark made the movie for graduation and it was so so amazing. He is so talented and I am so glad I am blessed with him as my partner in life, in crime, and in fun!!! He is so my other half and I love him.
During his graduation The instructors talked about a "brotherhood" and a "bond" and then Marks Class officer came up and talked about some of their time in RCA this summer. He ended with a quote from the bible and it really hit me and made me so happy to have Mark. He said that Their bond will carry them through and it will grow when they get on their own departments. " Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend." John 15:13
Then Mark put this prayer up on his video
This Prayer holds so much meaning in my heart and I am so blessed to have a husband who wants to go out their and help others... all though I know half the reason may be that he reall just loves to play piro like the little 15 year old boy that is inside, but either way he is my hero!
Thankyou to everyone involved in the UFRA program and congrats class 57!!!!

Thursday, August 5, 2010

I am inspired...COUPONS!!!

Most of y'all know that I went on a vay-kay this July with momma and my son! well for the first week we stayed at my Aunt Kim and Uncle Pat's home in Charleston. Let me tell you my Aunt Kim is amazing she does it all, mom, wife, and homemaker, along with crazy coupon lady. She was seriously a kick in my butt, she did so much and I really learned a lot, but what she did is she bit me with the coupon bug! I did something that I never thought I would ever ever do..... drum roll please... I dumpster dove for Sunday paper coupon inserts, not once, but 3 times, and I scored on my last dumpster and got over 90 Sunday papers each with 4 inserts a piece... it was freakin fantastic... okay so my aunt Kim planted the seed and now I have just been having so much fun, I scored my first deal... I got 29 sticks of deodorant for $10!!! Crazy I saved Like 85% I would have gotten them free but I missed double coupon seriously by only 1 day... oh well. I an so excited for more.

How to coupon- What I have learned!
Step one- dumpster dive for newspapers
Step 2- bring them up 3 flights of stairs

step 3-separate inserts from all the stacks of papers


step 4- stack all inserts, step back marvel and take a picture!!




step 5- separate P&G, RP, RP #2 and SS

Step 6- find a sweet deal and cut the coupon and go get 30 of whatever it is

Step 7- this is my amazing deal with $10 spent on 29 speed sticks!!!! Yeah I'm not a coupon virgin anymore

Thanks so much for inspiring me Aunt Kim
I hope I can be as great at couponing as you!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Inspiration for my Kitchen

Please Let me know what u think of my inspiration Kitchen???
I have been living in my same apartment for a year and a half and it is about time I start making it feel like a home. This picture inspired the I love the yellow and I have a lighter cabnet that I think plays well with tthe yellow. I LOVE the tile on the backsplash but I cant do that or near afford it so instead I am doing 3 walls yellow and one that teal bluish green color, and I am using accents of red like you see in the tile with black furnature to bring in some warmth. I finished painting and I will post pictures later, now I just need to paint my furnature!!! hope u love it when I'm done

Friday, July 9, 2010

One year older and wiser too..

...Happy Birthday to Eldon!!!
We had an early birthday celebration for eldon since Me and him are going to GA, SA, and TN on saturday and because Mark had school and work, so we had a party for him on Saturday the 3rd of July. It was a Green party.. maybe not what you are thinking about, but I had everyone wear as much green and the person who wore the most got a prize. All the food was green... well most of it. I had a green Veggie platter with kiwi, green apples, green grapes, melon, green pepper, celery, broccoli. We also had grilled burger.. thanks Dad. Green ballons were everywhere which Eldon loved, and streemers. It was great, and boy did everyone spoil my little man!!! I felt really loved. I just want to thank everyone who came to be with us on El's special day!

Thursday, July 8, 2010

First hair Cut!!!

My Baby boy went to Cookie Cutters on July 3rd and he got his first ever hair cut. He was getting ready for his birthday party on the 3rd. Me and Eldon Got to cookie cutters about 5:30 pm. He got to sit in a big blue truck while a sweet lady cut his hair. Eldon was so great, not a tear at all. he actually kept trying to take the girls sissors, as if to say... give me that I know what I'm doing! he was so cute the whole time and after he was done he got a balloon and a sucker and he loved that most of all I think! he is so cute and Me and Mark have really enjoyed watching him grow. Mark was saying the other day that his favorite thing is watching El learn and do new things and become more of a person and individual. I agree. I love watching him grow and becoming my little MAN!Go here to see Eldons first hair cut Certificate