Saturday... April 23, 2011

Well.. it has been a while hasn't it. I have been wanting to post again for a while but just never seem to get around to it or seemed to have anything that really inspired me enough to share. However, recently we have had a tragedy in our family. Over Easter Weekend my beautiful and dear sister went to her eternal home.

I am not posting so that you can say, "Oh dear, poor Beth and her family." I am posting to encourage you. You see, I have always known how special my sister was. I would often say of her that she was the best mother I knew. I would often comment that she was one of the sweetest people I knew. And it was all true... you know it must be if a sister says it... for we know the deepest and darkest parts of our sibling! But over the course of the last few days I have heard countless stories of how my sister touched peoples lives. I would like to say that she was just naturally that way but I can't. She was changed.... given a new heart. A heart that loved the Lord more than anything therefore causing that love to spill out to all those around her.

I have heard stories of her giving people a home for a few nights, buying a college student clothes, giving her personal journal to a wife that was going through a struggle that Tonya knew much about, taking meals to a family, cleaning the house of a woman who wasn't able to at the time, taking food to the homeless shelter, letting someone borrow her car, and the list goes on and on. I have been in awe over the last few days of all the lives that my sister has touched. One might say... well Beth if you really knew your sister wouldn't you already know these things about her? I think it is because Tonya truly knew our Lord and Savior that I didn't.

So today I just want to encourage you to live your life for the Lord each day. I have been reminded over the last week that our lives are so fleeting. My sister has inspired me to really live my life for Christ each day, loving and serving others and boasting only of Christ.

Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Matthew 6:2-4

Can I get a witness...

For those of you savvy shoppers out there you probably already know about the great deals at Harris Teeter using coupons but I am just finding out the benefits. My mom has been using coupons for about 3 months now and is always telling me about her savings. And so I decided to give it a try... I mean free food, what could it hurt. (And those of you who know me well know that I love, I mean LOVE, a good deal).

So this endeavor started off with buying a Sunday paper, printing off some coupons from the internet and "borrowing" a few coupons from my mom. Then I visited a site online called Southern Savers and the Harris Teeter site. This lady at Southern Savers will tell you what coupons to use with specific deals at Harris Teeter to get items free (that's right I said "F-R-E-E) or extremely cheap... I am talking cents. However, I did find that the prices at her store (wherever she may be) didn't always match our prices here. So what might have been a good deal for her wasn't a great deal for me. I did find though that there were deals at our store that she didn't mention on her site. So, I organized my coupons in my little 3 ring binder (don't laugh) and went into the store and walked the isles looking for deals. This week happened to be triple coupon week. Harris Teeter will triple any coupon up to 99 cents. That means if you have a 75 cent coupon then you can get $2.25 off of that item! I did find that because the prices at Harris Teeter are usually more than say Walmart that most of the items needed to be on sale already at Harris Teeter plus my coupons.

Example: I bought an item that is usually $4.68 but this week was on sale 4 for $10. So, individually each one cost $2.50 (you don't have to get 4 to get the sale price). With my 75 cent coupon (tripled to $2.25) I paid 25 cents! I mean really, WOW!!!

Another great thing about getting these savings is that my family has decided to start a "food box" where we will put some of our free or low cost deals to use for ministry opportunities. I am super excited about being able to do that! Adele and I have already set aside a few of our items for this purpose.

Here is the breakdown of my 2 visits to Harris Teeter:

FREE ITEMS

2 bags of mahatma rice - 10 oz. each

3 bags of Wacky Mac pasta (the tri colored spiral pasta) 10 oz. each

Starkist Tuna pouch

Example:

Starkist Tuna reg. $1.99

coupon for .75 cents off (tripled) - $2.25

FREE

Great Deal Items:

Ortega Taco Season Pack - 2 for .13 cents

French's Mustard - .05 cent

Franks Hot sauce - .09 cents

3 Betty Crocker Warm delights -2 pack (mini cakes you cook in the microwave) - .16 cents each

Zatarain's long grain and wild rice - 2 boxes for .75 cents

Breyer's yo-crunch - 4 pack for .75 cents

Marie Callender's Fettuccini Chicken Balsamico (reg. $4.39) - .25 cents

Here is a picture for those of you who are visual learners!

So overall my bill would have been $34.68 and I paid $2.76. (So even though the prices at Harris Teeter are higher than other places it can still be a HUGE benefit to shop there for deals)

I was and still am really excited about the deals I got. I am just getting started and I know that there are people out there whose grocery bill is cut by 80% just from using coupons. I hope to get there.... but until then I will just go into the kitchen and fix myself an .08 cent snack!

10 year anniversary

August 14th was mine and Jason's 10 year anniversary. We took a weekend trip to Charleston, SC (post about that soon to follow... or if you have been to my blog lately you know it may not be soon to follow). We left around lunch time on Friday and around 2:35 pm Jason quickly pulled into a rest area (if you have ever been to South Carolina you know that there is a rest area about every 15 minutes!). Once we stopped he turned to me and said, "Ten years ago today about this time we were married." So, we walk over to a shady spot under some large trees and sat down at a picnic table and at 2:41 pm (the exact moment Mr. Porter pronounced us husband and wife) we kissed. Isn't that romantic! Also we exchanged rings that Jason had purchased and had engraved on the inside. He had written me a poem as well and he read that to me. That evening we went on a dinner cruise in Charleston which was so much fun and then later in the hotel we looked through a box of wedding memorabilia that I had brought from home. It contained items like our wedding planner, napkins, wedding invitation, pictures and etc. It was sweet to look through it all and remember our wedding day.

The inscription on the inside of the rings is:

Sg. 8:6-7. That verse reads... "Set as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it."

This is the poem:

Flashes of Fire

The lines on these rings are jagged and strong

much like the lines of a fire.

We made our vows and sang our song

once awakened, our love so desired.

Taken us through seasons where easy to stand

other times so out of breath.

Now setting this seal on our hearts and hands

for love is strong as death.

Its flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord

jealousy fierce as the grave.

I've been given this flower to protect with the sword

and that I will all my days.

Many waters cannot quench love

though at times I've made it easy to doubt.

No amount of rain, no amount of floods

will overcome or drown it out.

I am thankful for my marriage and my husband. I am glad love so desires...

Plug for a friend...

My friend Kay is embarking on 2 new adventures...getting ready for a new addition to her family (baby boy #2 on the way) and starting up a new online business called Sew So Sweet (click the link to see her cool creations for kids). I have seen first hand the so cute baby gifts she has made for her many nieces and nephews over the last few years so I can give her creations a FULL endorsement! Also if you would like to visit her personal blog you can find that here! If you know Kay and have seen or received any of her great homemade baby gifts then leave a comment as to how great they are! I hope that you will visit her store (you will not be sorry) and Kay... I wish you all the best!

Garden

Well... it has been awhile since I posted last and boy has our garden been growing. I am sure for all of you out there who are garden savvy that you aren't surprised or even really impressed by this news. However for those of us garden newbies this is sheer excitement!

We have watched the sunflowers grow larger and larger almost everyday. It seems like each time we look out the kitchen window they have grown even taller. All the other veggies have grown quite nicely as well. We have had a few casualties (it took Jason a few days to learn to use the hoe) but for the most part our garden has been a great success.

For mother's day I received a potted herb garden and it has been fabulous. The herbs included basil, thyme, oregano, chives, cilantro, parsley and sage. Since mother's day we have added rosemary and a citronella plant (it really is suppose to rid off mosquitos). I have already used several of the herbs for cooking (recipe to follow shortly... OK well maybe not shortly).

Jason also started a compost pile. I don't really have a lot to say about that except... I save all the leftover scraps for it. I know you might be thinking WOW those Sessoms sure have gone green or healthy or something. Let me be the first to inform you that ALL of this growing and decomposing is because we are cheap not because we are trying to save the planet (although that is a nice plus).

It has been really interesting and quite honestly fascinating to watch our garden grow. It is not a lie when I tell you that we go outside every day to look and see what is new in the garden and it is also not a lie when I tell you that certain grown people in this house (who shall remain unnamed) have actually jumped up and down in excitement when the "veggies" started appearing.

So, it goes without saying that I think if you don't have a garden you should start one. It has honestly been a learning and bonding experience for our family. Isn't that precious...

Enjoy the pics!

And God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth."

And it was so. Genesis 1:11