October

October is one of my favorite months of the year and always has been! The leaves start to turn colors, the air gets crisp, the windows are open more..and there are pumpkins, bright colors, and beautiful sunshine that fill my days.  I feel we always make more trips to the farmer's market, decorate the house for fall, and just enjoy being outside in NC!  We attend State football games, visit the pumpkin patch, finish up soccer games for the boys, the State Fair comes to town...just a ton of FUN family events! And on TOP of that list is Brayden's Birthday! Our first born son turns FIVE this month, actually in 9 days! I can't believe it and my eyes swell up with tears of joy every time I think of it.  Save those emotions for another post (if I post again anytime soon). 

Tonight I just redid our kitchen calendar and this month as I look at our calendar I feel a range of emotions.  All that happy stuff is there but along with it this year comes some heavy stuff as well.

On our calendar for this month...

* we have a visit from the CDSA for Colton.  Actually this will take place tomorrow morning.
* I go back to Duke for another assessment of my elbow and am pretty sure they are going to say I need outpatient surgery again this month.
* I am getting another Dexascan done again for the first time in years and then meet with my endocrinologist again to make a plan for my health.
* Colton goes back to Duke and we meet with an orthopedist for the first time and he will get more xrays.

But besides all the medical stuff we have going on this month...my brother-in-law is packing his bags and moving to South Korea for 3 years on October 21st.  We are excited for his new adventure and know we will get to see him from time to time, but also with the excitement comes lots of sadness.  I honestly haven't even begun to process how this will affect our family.  I know our boys will miss Uncle Jeremy a ton and so will Daniel.  I will miss having him over for dinner, feeding him, and chatting about life.  

Part of me just wants time to SLOW down because I am afraid I will miss out on taking in every moment of these joyful and emotional memories we will make this month.  I want to be in the moment and savor it all so I don't look back and wonder where the month went. 

Lord...help me to live in the moments this month.  Help me to not worry about tomorrow but just enjoy the moments you give me each day.  Help me to savor the times with family, friends, and our boys! Help us to begin to process Jeremy moving across the world and I pray you watch over him as he moves.   Lord help me give all our doctor appointments over to you, knowing you already know the outcome of each and every one of them.  Lord I pray you watch over Colton as he begins to move and enjoy all he is learning.

Couponing

So this week is Super Doubles at Harris Teeter! For those of you who don't know what that means...it means Harris Teeter will double all coupons $2.00 and less! So if you have a $2.00 coupon for something you could save $4.00 on that item! They use to only double coupons $1.99 and less but they have recently changed their rules!

We are on this new budget by Dave Ramsey so honestly the last couple of times Harris Teeter has had triple coupons or super doubles I have barely shopped. It has always fell at the end of a month when our grocery funds were low. I knew we had everything we needed to eat and I would have been going to just stock up on some things we would use later on! But now a few of our stock piles are getting low and some of the deals this week are just TOO good to pass up!

I know some of you would debate with me about other grocery stores being cheaper! And I would never tell you Harris Teeter is the cheapest grocery store around! It is most likely the MOST expensive store around but I think Lowes Foods is pretty darn expensive as well! :) But I got all of these items pictured for $13 and some odd change! THIRTEEN DOLLARS!!!! My bill was $64.00 with my Vic Card and then I gave the lady 18 coupons and my bill was $13.00!!!!!

And I know the next question will be...well will you really use all that stuff? I always here "when I use coupons I have to buy stuff I won't use"! Well guess what then - don't buy it even if it is cheap!! All of this will most definitely get used! The only item I splurged on was the Wholly Guac but come on...they were each 79 cents after coupons and we like it but just don't NEED it. :)

We use laundry detergent, soap, milk, butter, shave gel, feminine products, baby snacks, and baby food now that we have an 8 month old! So YES it will all get used!

* The Gillette body washes - on sale for 3.99 and I had a $2 coupon - so it doubled to $4 so they were fre

* Yogurt Melts for Colton - on sale for $2.00 and I had a $1.00 coupon that doubled so they were free

* All Laundry Detergent - on sale for $3.99 and I had a $1.00 coupon that doubled so they were each $2.00!

* Gillette Shave Gel - on sale for $2.99 and I had a $1.00 coupon that doubles so it was $1.00 for shave gel


So do I ALWAYS shop at Harris Teeter NO! Honestly one of my new favorite places to grocery shop is Kroger in Garner! Their prices lately have been great! But during Super Doubles you bet I will be at Harris Teeter multiple times this week! Ziploc bags, more baby snacks, and other items are on the list to check out!

And all this to say...try couponing at least for weeks like this! I know it takes time and is hard to keep organized at times! But give it a try and then all the money you save use to pay off debt, give to a good cause or use it to do something nice for someone you love!

Wishbone Day

Colton wearing his Wishbone Day Shirt!

Every year on May 6th the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation (OIF) recognizes and celebrates Wishbone Day. It is a day to raise awareness for OI around the world and help people learn and understand what it is. With awareness emergency doctors will learn how to handle a child with OI. With awareness they will be able to raise more money to do research on OI. With awareness we will be able to diagnosis more kids properly and what treatments to use!

Most of you know what OI is because of our family but OI is still categorized as a very rare genetic disorder. Most doctors in different fields still do not know much about OI or how to care properly for a patient with OI when they come into the ER, need x-rays, or other specific care. When I have to meet with different doctors I still get looks of "what are you talking about?" or I get comments like "I have heard of OI but don't know anything else about it".

So please wear YELLOW on Sunday May 6th in support of Colton, myself, and all others affected with OI. :)

Please if you do wear yellow, send me pictures via email or text messages so I can see your yellow shirts! Thanks for your support.

Some random facts about OI

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a genetic disorder characterized by fragile bones that break easily. It is also known as “brittle bone disease.” A person is born with this disorder and is affected throughout his or her life time.

• In addition to fractures people with OI often have muscle weakness, hearing loss, fatigue, joint laxity, curved bones, scoliosis, blue sclerae, dentinogenesis imperfecta (brittle teeth), and short stature. Restrictive pulmonary disease occurs in more severely affected people.
• OI is caused by an error called a mutation on a gene that affects the body’s production of the collagen found in bones, and other tissues.
• OI is variable with 8 different types described in medical literature.
• The types range in severity from a lethal form to a milder form with few visible symptoms.
• The specific medical problems a person will encounter will depend on the degree of severity.
• A person with mild OI may experience a few fractures while those with the severe forms may have hundreds in a lifetime.
• The number of Americans affected with OI is thought to be 25,000-50,000. 
• The range is so wide because mild OI often goes undiagnosed.