A Halloween Treat!

He's here! Braegan Patrick Brennan was born this Halloween morning to my cousin, Chris Brennan, and his wife, Brandy! He weighed 6 lbs 8 oz and is 20 inches long. I haven't gotten to go visit him yet, but I do know is he is precious and looks like Chris to me :) Here's a picture of this beautiful blessing!They knew he was a boy, b/c he had a Halloweenie!... hahaha... :o)

Congratulations, Ashley and Devin!

Our friends, Ashley and Devin got engaged last night! Devin did such a sweet job planning everything out. In a nut shell, here's the story! The day before, he treated her to a mani/pedi and to get her hair done. (Good thinking, Devin, her nails looked great for all of the pics!) Then, last night, he had some friends get her up to Vulcan (God blessed them with a beautiful sunset!), where they secretly took pics while he proposed- pictures they will cherish forever! Devin had gotten "I dream of what a blessing from God it would be to spend the rest of my days by your side. Will you spend yours by my side as my wife? I love you Ash!" put on the marquis on a building downtown. As you'll see in the pictures, when she turned around, he was on his knee, proposing. Afterward, they went to a celebratory dinner at Jackson's and then to his parents house for champagne and cake with his and her parents. It was all thoughtful and planned-great job, Devin! They make each other so happy, and isn't that exactly what you hope the most for your sweet friends!!? :) We are excited for y'all and pray for many happy years! You are going to adore being married :) Oh, and the ring is beautiful! It is an antique style setting with diamonds on the top and sides of the band, as well as surrounding the center stone. (What gal doesn't love diamonds!?) They are planning a beach wedding at the end of May, which will be lovely! Congratulations, y'all!

Party, Puppies, and Playtime.

We had a great weekend and hope that all of you did, too! Our weekend was filled with family and friends! Friday night, we went to the Hendrix home for Adrienne C.'s engagement party. I finally got to meet Caleb, her finace', and really liked him. They are a precious couple! It was great to see them and to catch up with a bunch of other guys/girls who also went to Vestavia.

Saturday, Josh and I grabbed Miley and ran out to Dr. Okin's to get her some flea and heartworm prevention pills and for them to cut her nails, aka: talons. We found out that our friends, The Jacksons had been in there with their new puppy, Samson, that morning and had been given the "go ahead" for him and Miley to play at one of our houses! VERY EXCITING! Apparently he's going to be a hoss b/c he was 10 lbs at 7 weeks and is now 13 lbs at 8 weeks! (At 9 weeks, Miley was a little over 8 lbs and was not 13 lbs until she was 13 weeks old!) Afterward, we went by the pet supplies place to pick up some oatmeal shampoo and a new toy for our gal. I wish I'd known that Josh anad I were going to end up at World Market Sunday b/c I would've waited and checked out the shampoo the Keevers use on Buck and apparently love... but alas, I did not know. Guess we'll have to wait until the next bottle of shampoo! While we were there, we weighed Miley on the scale by the doggy salon and she is a whopping 26 lbs herself at 20 weeks. I'm guessing she'll end up around 50-60 lbs full-grown... but she's a Heinz 57, so we'll see! We are working on getting ourselves and Miley more exercise, so we went to the Samford University Intramural field to run around and play with Miley. It was kinda hot on Saturday afternoon, so she didn't last too long. Once we got home, Miley sacked OUT! At about 4:30, we went with my family to the Carvers' house to visit and eat dinner with my dad's childhood bestfriend, Bobby, and his precious wife, Rhoda, who were in town keeping their adorable grandbabies, Cate and Emory. They have 2 dogs, a Bull Mastiff, Elvis, and an Austrailian Shepherd puppy, Alice, so we got to bring Miley over for some play time! (YESSS!) Alice had a reputation for not liking dogs other than Elvis, but our sweet Miley charmed her and they got along well! See pics! I was surprised at how bold Miley was to chew on Elvis' tail and head, b/c he's a biiiig boy! If he didn't like something she was doing, he'd just let out one huge bark and that was it. lol... Miley praying Emory will drop a goldfish. Ha ha.Sweet Cate enjoying her fudge brownie!Don't you just want to kiss those cheeks!?These kids get me excited for babies... One day...Outside watching the pup-kids and Cate play in the sandbox.
Cate was SO sweet to Miley... here she is making her some "food."
My bold little one...
Seriously, Miley... lol. You're a brave girl!
What a cutie!
Riding in the car...
Playing fetch with mom in the house
"High five!"
More indoor fetch.. lol those ears!She used to have to reach for the water thing when it hung off of the cabinet knobs... she's getting so big!

Grace was in town this weekend, which I loved. She came over Saturday night after visiting with Bobby and Rhoda to watch a movie. Then, Sunday morning after church, we went over for leftovers lunch with mom, dad, grace, and paige. I always love having the whole family together :)

Let's save some money honey!

Yesterday's Oprah was about families that had found ways to cut back on their spending. Some of them had done so out of necessity b/c of losing a job, others, it had been a way of life for years. One mom, the "coupon mom," thoroughly enjoys grocery shopping and wowed all of us when she saved 71% on her cart of groceries at Kroger. Her total was originally $127.00 and with her coupons and other tips, it was reduced to $37.16!!! AMAZING! With the economic trouble we're all experiencing these days, it's nice to get some tips on how to save money. Josh and I are always looking for ways to save or cutback, so I thought I'd share her website (click on "coupon mom" above) as well as her tips from Oprah's website with you! Although I'm always looking for a deal, especially at the grocery store, I've never been much of a coupon clipper. Her tips and money saving abilities inspire me to get to clipping!
We are hoping to put some of her advice to good use and save some money honey!:

5 Ways to Save Money on Groceries

By Stephanie Nelson

Stephanie Nelson, founder of CouponMom.com, says it's possible to fight the rising cost of groceries without sacrificing your favorite foods. Try her simple coupon saving strategies the next time you go to the grocery store:
Plan your meals and shopping lists around featured sale items.

• Use your store's weekly sales ad flier to plan your menus for the week. Then, write your shopping list around the items and brands that are on sale.
• Taking a few minutes to make a detailed plan will save you the time of making unplanned trips to the store during the week—which can ruin your budget.
• Planning ahead also helps you avoid impulse shopping during your trip.

Know how your stores' savings programs work.

• Do they have "buy one, get one free" deals?
• Do they double coupons?
• Do they offer a store discount cards that gives you automatic discounts?
• Do they have special store coupons?
• Once you know your stores' rules, you can combine them to pay the lowest possible prices for your items, such as using two coupons with a "buy one, get one free" deal. Combining strategies can result in free items.

Use grocery coupons, ideally when the item is on sale.

• Buy the Sunday newspaper—75 percent of grocery coupons come from the newspaper. Buy two to three copies per week to save dramatically.
• Go online—grocery stores often have their best deals and printable coupons on their websites.
• Many stores offer electronic coupons that go directly on your store discount card.

Stock up on common items when they hit their lowest price.

• Don't buy a year's supply, just enough to last until the next sale (two to three weeks).
• Boneless chicken is on sale every other week at Stephanie's grocery store, so she buys two weeks of boneless chicken every other week to store in her freezer. This habit saves her family of four $325 a year on this one item.

Be flexible about brands and stores.

• Buy the brand that's on sale with a coupon, or get the store brand if it's less expensive.
• Shop at the store with the best prices for your items that week.

Darling Wyatt

Sorry I haven't posted sooner... I've been kind of at a loss for what to say lately, although, oddly enough, I've actually had a good bit on my mind. Huh. Funny how that works. :) Last weekend, the Keevers came to town and I got to get me some Wyatt lovin', which I adore! He is a beautiful baby and is getting so big. I can hardly believe he's already closing in on 3 months old! Tonight, I got an e-mail from Eden with a picture of Wyatt's new fave sleeping position attached... so I had to share! OH I could just kiss him all over!