tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296136432024-03-07T03:35:43.450-05:00A Mommy's Worldwhere God's grace prevails, even when I failHeather Newberryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327513278723426205noreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29613643.post-32523122946492023952015-03-12T17:35:00.001-04:002015-03-12T17:35:29.072-04:00hello again, again!<div dir="ltr">
If you are friends with Jeff or I on Facebook, then you likely know what we have been up to for the last five months. But here's a recap! </div>
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On October 8, 2014 Jeff and I went to Atlanta. The next day we got to the hospital and I quickly went to pre-op. After
pre-op (where I passed out when they gave me my epidural) Jeff and I went to the OR. Our baby girl, Virginia Madison "Madi" was born at 1:20 pm on October 9 via cesarean at
Northside Hospital. She weighed 7 lbs 4
oz and was 18 1/2 inches long. The doctors and Jeff saw immediate movement in her legs
(we were so dang excited!!) and I got to see her, talk to her, and kiss her cheek before they whisked her away to the NICU.</div>
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As soon as Madi was gone they had a serious bleeding complication with
me related to the way I healed from my previous c-section. My 25 minute
ceserean turned into a 5 hour ordeal. I got 4 units of blood and
platelets and who knows what else. It was kind of crazy and very scary. I
was supposed to be able to see Madi again before she left my hospital
and went to Children's at Scottish Rite, but when they got her packed up
and ready to move, I was not in the recovery room where I belonged, I
was still in surgery. <br />
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Madi, on the other hand, was doing awesome! They got her
settled into the NICU at Children's and she was really just showing
out. :-) She was
moving all over the place in her your little isolette. In fact, they had to
keep moving her back into the middle of her bed because she was moving
and squirming so much that she kept bumping her head against the top
wall.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Madi's NICU space. She has a deluxe penthouse space with a window! :-)</td></tr>
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Madi had her spina bifida closure surgery at 9 a.m. Friday morning,
October 10th. Dr. Reisner had previously told us the surgery might take
up to 4 hours. After only 2 hours Jeff was surprised to get a call from
him that he was done. The doc said that on a spina bifida scale from 1
to 10 with 10 being the best possible situation regarding her nerves
and feeling et cetera below her lesion, she was a 20! He said that he
had not had an SB closure surgery that easy in years. We were amazed at
her and SO grateful to God. :-)</div>
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I was able to go from my hospital to hers on Sunday and see her again for the first time since she was born. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was her first bed space. She moved to the penthouse space the next day.</td></tr>
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It took what seemed like forever (14 days), several head
ultrasounds, and finally a CT scan to determine that her hydrocephalus
required a shunt. She got her vp shunt when she was 15 days old on
Friday, October 24th. It was a hard day. She reacted poorly to the pain
meds after her back closure so
they were trying to manage her pain after shunt surgery with only
Tylenol. That didn't work at all so for several hours I tried to sooth
her by holding, giving a paci, sucrose, feeding....but
that was all a no go. They eventually gave her some morphine (a very
small amount) which helped her finally nod off and me relax.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me holding my girl one day in the 2 weeks between surgeries.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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We finally got to bring Madi home the following Tuesday! That was a GREAT day! We were welcomed with balloons and posters form our friends and Ben got to meet his little sister! :')</div>
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Madi is now 5 months old (I can't believe it!)
and has grown so much. She is wiggling her toes, kicking her legs, and even likes to try to stand. She just woke up from her nap so I don't
have time to fill you in on the last four months of fun right now, but I
promise to soon. I am so glad to say that while her spina bifida
(and related conditions) was very much our focus those first few weeks,
it has had minimal impact on the majority of her life thus far. She is
a wonderful girl. She brightens up the lives of all who know her and
even those who just get to see her beautiful smile at the grocery
store. :-) I am so proud to be her Mom and give all the glory to God
for her<br />
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Heather Newberryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327513278723426205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29613643.post-91285641804152884792014-09-29T09:36:00.000-04:002014-09-29T09:37:51.868-04:00madi's birthday is coming soon!I am 37 weeks and 4 days pregnant with my sweet girl today. As long as she and my body continue to cooperate, she will be arriving on October 9th (just 10 days!!) via cesarean. I will be 39 weeks that day and it will be precisely 20 weeks since we found out our girl has spina bifida. Looking back to May 22nd I am amazed by how far we have come...emotionally especially.<br />
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While there is still fear of the unknown (Madi's surgery(ies), my ceserean recovery, transitioning from the NICU to home, adjusting to life with 2 kiddos) and worry for what certain aspects of Madison's future holds (i.e.: motor ability, potty concerns), I know that she is going to be one amazing girl and I am just so dang excited to meet her!<br />
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We have every confidence in the doctors and nurses that will be attending to Madison and in the hospitals where she and I will be in Atlanta. We are grateful that my parents are able to come help us there and are willing to stick around for however long we need them. We know Ben is going to be a great big brother and are thankful to the folks that will be caring for him while we are in ATL with Madi. We have been blessed over and over again by our friends and our community and we know that they will love our girl (almost) as much as we do!<br />
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And most importantly we know that God has this. He has Madi. He has me. He has Jeff and Ben. He has ALL OF IT. There is no greater peace than resting in that knowledge, so even though there are times when my fear gets the better of me, I keep trying to come back to that - God has this.<br />
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So, we have been focused on the awesomeness of what it will be like to see this cute face in real life...<br />
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...and on getting ready for her arrival!<br />
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All of Madison's clothes are clean and ready. The changing table is stocked, the Diaper Genie is ready to go, the pack n' play is up, the swing and rocker chair thing are assembled (...not the crib so much, but we'll get there eventually!), and she has diapers and blankets and onesies to last a lifetime (or at least a few months). My house is still a bit of a disaster, but I have 10 days, right. No biggie! <br />
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I cannot wait to meet my girl! And you better watch out Madison, because there is nothing better than being a Coth-berry....and your BIG brother, Ben, is super excited to tell you all about it. :-)<br />
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<br />Heather Newberryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327513278723426205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29613643.post-62115083435204899592014-06-12T17:40:00.002-04:002014-06-12T17:40:22.503-04:00rollercoaster dayBen is in Port. St. Joe with his Nina this week enjoying some super awesome times with her each day and at her church's VBS each evening. Jeff and I have enjoyed the quiet around the house, but I have missed Ben something fierce. I don't think I had realized how much having him around to love on and to care for and entertain had kept me from getting in my own head too much.<br />
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Today has been rough for me. I have been on the phone quite a bit scheduling appointments to meet my doctors in Atlanta (an OB and a Maternal Fetal Medicine doc [MFM]) who will provide my care in Atlanta and deliver Madison when the time comes. I also scheduled an appointment for Jeff and I to see a pediatric neurosurgeon for the first time on that same day. This will be the doc that will perform Madi's initial surgery on the defect in her back after she is born and will also provide follow-up care throughout her childhood and adolescence. After he reviews my ultrasounds and reports for our MFM in Albany, we will learn from him more about what we can expect for Madison after she is born.<br />
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So we will spend all day, July 2nd, in ATL going to doctors appointments. I suppose this is a routine we might become accustomed to once we have little Madi to care for.<br />
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I also called the insurance company today because, of course, their website indicated that our ped. neurosurgeon was not covered under our policy. Thankfully, upon calling, I learned that he is, indeed, covered as an in-network provider, but I was stressing for a while on that one. I imagine that I will eventually build up a thick skin or some kind immunity to these anxieties...if you know me I am not much for being an anxious person...but those defenses are not yet in place.<br />
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All in all, I am ready for this day to be over and I am MORE than ready for my Ben Bear to be back home. He is my best medicine right now. :-)Heather Newberryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327513278723426205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29613643.post-3679722394467915982014-06-05T08:56:00.002-04:002014-06-05T08:56:31.658-04:00it's a GIRL!! ...and other surprisesWe found out several weeks ago that our little baby is a GIRL! Her name will be Virginia Madison (after her Greatmother and her Nina) and we will call her Madison or Madi. :-)<br />
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Ben really wants to have a little sister - he has been talking about it A LOT - so we are super thrilled that he is getting one! I can't believe that I will have to learn to deal with hair(!) and girl drama (which my sis-in-law tells me begins in infancy!). I bet Jeff is going to turn out to be the world's best pony tail maker or something crazy. :-) We are so thrilled to meet her sweet self in the fall - to count her fingers and toes, to see how much hair she is born with, what color her eye are, and all those other wonderful new baby things we get to experience again. She is going to rock our world, that is for sure!<br />
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On top of learning that Madi is, indeed, a Madi, we have also recently learned that she has <a href="http://www.spinabifidaassociation.org/site/c.evKRI7OXIoJ8H/b.8277225/k.5A79/What_is_Spina_Bifida.htm" target="_blank">Spina Bifida</a>. This is a serious, incurable, but manageable condition. We were completely taken aback to receive this diagnosis for our girl, but we know that our God was not....and Madi won't be either. This birth defect and the toll that it may take on her body will be a part of her, but it will not define her.<br />
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So, while we have cried and grieved for the "normal" life we had expected for her and for our family since getting this diagnosis on May 22, we know that God has bigger plans for her (and for us) than we had ever imagined.<br />
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My pregnancy has been such a breeze thus far, and that has been a blessing. We ask that you pray for me and for Madi over the next several months - that my pregnancy continues smoothly and that we learn more and get as prepared as possible for little Madison's arrival. We're excited and nervous, like all expectant parents would be, with just a little extra anxiety of the unknown thrown in to the mix. But like I said before, Madison is going to be more (much more!) than her Spina Bifida and we cannot wait to see what all God has in store for her. :-)Heather Newberryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327513278723426205noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29613643.post-6632768063039273792014-03-26T12:06:00.001-04:002014-03-26T12:06:52.561-04:00baby on boardIn my first trimester of bring pregnant with Ben I was non-stop nauseous for weeks and TIRED all the time (like, going to bed at 8 p.m. or earlier tired). So far, this baby has been much kinder to me. :-) I have had a few moments of nausea and I have certainly been much less energetic than before but no early bed times yet and there has not been anything or anyplace I have patently refused to eat because it sounded so awful. I have been, however exceedingly hungry, especially the last few days. Yesterday, I satisfied my hunger like a champ with peanut butter pretzel sandwiches topped with toasted marshmallows, some almonds topped with toasted marshmallows, some more peanut butter pretzel sandwiches topped with toasted marshmallows, and about half a bag of Doritos. That was all consumed between lunch and dinner. Ah well! You win some, you lose some, right? :-) With any luck, today will be better!<br />
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In other news, our family spent a recent weekend in Port St. Joe with Jeff's mom and had a fantastic time, as always. We ate seafood every night (we all had fried scallops, oysters, shrimp, mullet, and boiled shrimp over the course of the weekend) and it was AMAZING! Ben, yet again, enjoyed a few raw oysters when we went to Boss Oyster in Appalach. That boy can sometimes be a very adventurous eater. His favorite part of that meal though....the peanut butter pie for dessert. :-)</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhES89ybZVB2jbWzDropyt4ZFW9OP9UUw5cwiihz0U04EALQ26O4XoAUI_tq6WVdcjcTUy1Xvj-N0CZ9uOaFi79pUAhBnGH3_WW3ASyb4aiJlLS8SXSKoqybzwhqdXI33lTzrZH/s1600/1913287_10103068261581040_3496834_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhES89ybZVB2jbWzDropyt4ZFW9OP9UUw5cwiihz0U04EALQ26O4XoAUI_tq6WVdcjcTUy1Xvj-N0CZ9uOaFi79pUAhBnGH3_WW3ASyb4aiJlLS8SXSKoqybzwhqdXI33lTzrZH/s1600/1913287_10103068261581040_3496834_o.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nina, Ben, and Jeff at Boss Oyster in Appalach. It was delicious!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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We had a fun time hanging out with Nina, walking along the beach each night with Scout, and breathing in the cool, salty air. There is nothing like the Gulf Coast. Can't wait 'til we go back in June!</div>
Heather Newberryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327513278723426205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29613643.post-62302898000286132102014-02-26T15:10:00.000-05:002014-02-26T15:10:02.757-05:00weight loss and a pregnancy surpriseJeff, Ben, and I are super duper crazy excited to share with everyone that we are expecting Baby Berry #2 in October of this year!! As many of you know, we have always wanted more children, but did not think that I would be able to have any more. You can read more about my thoughts on that <a href="http://ordinarygirlsworld.blogspot.com/2011/09/sweet.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://ordinarygirlsworld.blogspot.com/2010/11/life-ever-just-get-you-down.html" target="_blank">here</a>. But despite what we thought...we are so thankful that we were wrong and that God is so good!!<br />
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Also, it turns out if you lose 80 or 90 lbs, your body is more cooperative! :-) That's right, since last April (the 9th to be exact, Ben's 6th birthday) I have been watching calories and doing my best to become healthier and, frankly, lighter....and it has been going great. So here are before and (since I am not done yet, just taking a 9 month pause, we will call this one) in-progress photos:<br />
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Jeff has lost about 30 lbs in an effort to make healthier choices as well and he is totally rocking it! Suffice it to say, we have had a lot to be excited about around here.<br />
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So let me back up and tell the 'how we found out story' here: Around the first week of February I was expecting certain things to happen that did not happen. I went out town to work at a conference on February 8th. I should have been home on the 12th, but got stuck in Charlotte because of a major ice and snowstorm that blew through, so I was not able to head home until the 14th, Valentine's Day. The entire time I was in Charlotte I kept expecting things to happen (that obviously never happened) and starting to become quite suspicious, to say the least! As I drove home on Valentine's Day, I decided around Atlanta (3 hours from home) that I would get on home and then just grab a pregnancy test the next day when I was out running the millions of errands I knew would need running since I had been gone for a week. However, by the time I got to Macon (1 1/2 hours from home) I needed to pee and I was dang well going to do it on a test! I found an exit with a Target, bought and took the test there, and drove home in a daze while half giggling and half crying! :-) After we put Ben to bed that night, I told Jeff I had some good news to share with him, but first I wanted to give him the mug I had gotten him while I was out of town. I slipped the test under the mug in the bag and handed the whole thing to him. He pulled out the mug and rejoiced over it (appropriately, of course). BTW: I feel the need to point out that the mug was not Jeff's Valentine's present. I gave him an iphone, he just got it early cause I had no will power! :-) As he was about to toss the bag off his lap he realized there was something else in it. He pulled out the test and flipped it over and over in his hands trying to figure out what it was. It was funny to watch to say the least! :-) Finally he focused on the only part of the entire thing that was not made of white plastic and saw...<br />
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He was flabbergasted and speechless and I was giggling uncontrollably at his astonishment. Then he cried and it was all over for both of us! We immediately called Nina, Grandma and Granddaddy, and all our siblings to share the news. Excitement abounded that night. When I pointed out to Jeff later that night that he had not gotten me anything for Valentine's Day he smiled and said, "Yes I did. ....a baby." That stinker! ...but I guess I could not argue with that one! :-)<br />
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We told Ben about the baby on Saturday night. He was so funny. Not only was he very happy and very excited, but he was also very inquisitive, specifically about "How old will I be when the baby is x?" and "How old will the baby be when I am x?" We asked him if he thought he could keep this news a secret for a few days or weeks and he said "Ummmmmmm.....I don't think so!. :-)"So that night we decided that even though we had only known for a day and it is kind of outside of protocol to tell so soon, we were going to do it anyway! We decided we wanted all our family and friends to share in our joy, and, should something happen, to share in sorrow. So, starting that night and continuing through Monday night when it became "Facebook official" we shared our news and hugged and laughed and cried and it was awesome. :-)<br />
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So, now you know how all that went down... :-)<br />
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Ben is VERY excited to be a big brother. He wants the baby to be a girl, but says it would be okay if it were a boy. :-) Ben will be turning 7 in April, so he will be 7 1/2 years older than his sibling.
He is going to be a fantastic helper, and he is looking forward to
getting to move into a bigger room (our current office/guest room) over
the summer as we make room for baby. <br />
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I got my first look at Baby Berry today at the doctor. It's heartbeat was very strong and was so cool to hear. I think it made it even more real for me to see and hear it and know that, so far, it is doing great.<br />
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So far I have very minimum symptoms but we will see how things so from here. Thanks for praying for us for a healthy baby and for this big transition in our lives. I will do my best to keep my blog updated. I have to admit it has been quite fun to go back and read my entries from when I was pregnant with Ben. Perhaps this little one will provided equal amounts of entertainment. :-)Heather Newberryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327513278723426205noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29613643.post-39740251017133280502013-12-27T19:37:00.001-05:002013-12-28T08:01:00.084-05:00growing up before my eyesRarely as a mom do you get to literally, within a short span of time, see your child grow up. But tonight, I had one of those moments. A moment that was sweet and was so precious to me even though to many it may seem quite silly....Ben called his friends Nick & Noah (ten year old twins that Ben just LOVES). It was the first time he has ever placed a call. He <i>wanted</i> to call them (as in mom and dad were not MAKING him talk on the phone), he dialed the number, and we even went over what he should say when someone other than Nick or Noah answered the phone. Unfortunately we did not discuss how to leave a message should that be necessary so I had to talk him through that in the moment. It went something like: Me and then Ben repeating "This is Ben Newberry" "Can Nick or Noah call me back?" "My number is XXX-8421" "Bye!"<br />
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About three minutes later Suzanne, Nick and Noah's mom, called us back. Ben answered the phone "Hi this is Ben" and he asked to speak to Nick or Noah. After that he and his friends spent 15-20 minutes on the phone talking about their Christmas presents, specifically Skylander's Swap Force, which they all got for Christmas. I stood in the kitchen watching him and listening to him as he described in detail and with much enthusiasm all the levels he had played through so far and as he asked his friends how their Christmas was and what level they had gotten to on the game and I thought: "Wow. He is literally growing up right in front of me - in this very moment." Jeff was working on his novel and did not seem to appreciate the moment the way I was, but I knew someone else who would, my mom. She loved it and thought it was so sweet and so grown-up just like I did. :-) She told me I should write it down so I didn't forget, so here we are.<br />
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I love that boy and cannot believe that in a few short months he will be seven. I am so blessed. :-)<br />
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<br />Heather Newberryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327513278723426205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29613643.post-9981018672725190362012-11-11T20:10:00.002-05:002012-11-11T20:15:51.520-05:00long time no post!Well, I see it has been over a year since I blogged. Too many things have happened since then to really completely fill in the black hole my laziness has created, but maybe if I hit the high points, I can build a bridge across the year. :-)<br />
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Halloween happened! Ben went as Indiana Jones and I have to say, he was an awesome Indy!<br />
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I am sure we celebrated Thanksgiving...I think...no I am sure. Just fuzzy on the details, sad to say.<br />
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On December 22 our nephew Jackson was born and he is a cutie!! <br />
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We went to my parent's house for Christmas with the Cothrans. Is was an exhausting, yet fun time with everyone despite a few hiccups. Here are some pics to prove it!<br />
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We handily survived the rest of December and entered the new year unscathed. January and February passed and in March Jeff and I got a to go to NYC! Chip and Shannon (and the kiddos!) were awesome enough to come down from Boston to be my tour guides while Jeff was in meetings. The city was amazing. I have to say that the TV shows and movies set in NY do it justice. I felt as if I had been there before and I truly loved every minute of it. I rode the subway several times. Twice by myself and it was way easier and nicer than I expected. Goes to show you can teach an ol' southern chick new tricks!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs1IG_VJYO6_-Umpfw9B1e0_LjNnPiHIuaWrBSjnAyuev9U8ZKTvn87KDxK072Y7bwwkUddyzjrAFTWsYVMLom7MT3ys3aEPID-lpBEc6DBJ4upncd9zXlZD-Q3USZyCYtNXUp/s1600/Spring+2012+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs1IG_VJYO6_-Umpfw9B1e0_LjNnPiHIuaWrBSjnAyuev9U8ZKTvn87KDxK072Y7bwwkUddyzjrAFTWsYVMLom7MT3ys3aEPID-lpBEc6DBJ4upncd9zXlZD-Q3USZyCYtNXUp/s320/Spring+2012+001.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NYC Public Library</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzfTl2vsYuYwywd3vKD6rM8v3FKiNc_h36I3zBfg0xjvWloJer8COyDbs4SOq_dX8zUr9lpUvTO-HWQIWmy_WSupmZhhR-UTT-r101zSelPvdrXXf7d79eaRyhpoqKmqRG3Koy/s1600/Spring+2012+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzfTl2vsYuYwywd3vKD6rM8v3FKiNc_h36I3zBfg0xjvWloJer8COyDbs4SOq_dX8zUr9lpUvTO-HWQIWmy_WSupmZhhR-UTT-r101zSelPvdrXXf7d79eaRyhpoqKmqRG3Koy/s320/Spring+2012+003.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Had to go to the LEGO store!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-L_FhTVUG5VKIGT4sRH0lBoz9FnooYGg8WaClnjObqo2ES8XbOSPeD8oPJGeEU01KNo8nGx2MsSXPXMkrwZy-lOsYxvB1x85pp3laeyUNSxY3iOotTCRFMzlbxfO6pEgx3q2e/s1600/Spring+2012+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-L_FhTVUG5VKIGT4sRH0lBoz9FnooYGg8WaClnjObqo2ES8XbOSPeD8oPJGeEU01KNo8nGx2MsSXPXMkrwZy-lOsYxvB1x85pp3laeyUNSxY3iOotTCRFMzlbxfO6pEgx3q2e/s320/Spring+2012+006.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Took a carriage ride in Central park with the Cothrans!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaqGoY_kCutEOZIRKBaJMjSMy5UXMvOM_35ewfobPfD6bUNN3BAyg0vOTIflI_v52JoeZnFhd_jylU7JH5QTR-LC5CreIA8ddY352R9PrSLqfS2-8mTpMfKj0sGwkkqpMLyBia/s1600/Spring+2012+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaqGoY_kCutEOZIRKBaJMjSMy5UXMvOM_35ewfobPfD6bUNN3BAyg0vOTIflI_v52JoeZnFhd_jylU7JH5QTR-LC5CreIA8ddY352R9PrSLqfS2-8mTpMfKj0sGwkkqpMLyBia/s320/Spring+2012+015.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Made it down to Battery Park that day too! If you squint, you can see the Statue of Liberty behind our heads.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqucbSNH3nQlFWrvT0AqCDS6OOvSSvjo6EB3Og9Vh7OkYxqQmznqtMM10nDLQAJlqsCuQwApV8PXci4Rjvd4zUxQxaRKIn1S7accvPqiKWN5p46IQXcD0meYT9YUbjwnLT-Iqm/s1600/Spring+2012+018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqucbSNH3nQlFWrvT0AqCDS6OOvSSvjo6EB3Og9Vh7OkYxqQmznqtMM10nDLQAJlqsCuQwApV8PXci4Rjvd4zUxQxaRKIn1S7accvPqiKWN5p46IQXcD0meYT9YUbjwnLT-Iqm/s320/Spring+2012+018.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jeff and went down to Times Square that night. It was AMAZING!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuE8Far1qO1c6Qmg2va3Tcu2EzTcpqhcir0isXUAw6By7ljV0IdlMQc_ZVKWfMGtSQIA3-yFPoVhK2saPe8anOifnWM9lVK2QqXN28L_BypDUJCG761RJ24jaZqm43O81U-pkk/s1600/Spring+2012+022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuE8Far1qO1c6Qmg2va3Tcu2EzTcpqhcir0isXUAw6By7ljV0IdlMQc_ZVKWfMGtSQIA3-yFPoVhK2saPe8anOifnWM9lVK2QqXN28L_BypDUJCG761RJ24jaZqm43O81U-pkk/s320/Spring+2012+022.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Of course, we had to go into the Times Square Toys R Us. :-)</td></tr>
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In April, Ben turned 5! We celebrated several times, but his main "party" was his very first sleep over with his bestest buds, Nick and Noah.<br />
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In May, my little boy graduated from First Methodist Preschool. That place did more to shape his future than I will ever know and I am so grateful for the wonderful teachers he had. After the ceremony he still had a few days of school and he and his classmates got to celebrate with a last day party.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZXeB-NGISq904C9rd7QpuSJTyrf5z7VKy_6DskxzU6uOLpT_naszWS6EjdIwthAXcfaxMiGW-_6C7deEWluTInrPInIA2ApoO_ze2d8EEjC6ON4A2Ob1FaS71DIaHVfVFVXsc/s1600/Spring+2012+047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZXeB-NGISq904C9rd7QpuSJTyrf5z7VKy_6DskxzU6uOLpT_naszWS6EjdIwthAXcfaxMiGW-_6C7deEWluTInrPInIA2ApoO_ze2d8EEjC6ON4A2Ob1FaS71DIaHVfVFVXsc/s320/Spring+2012+047.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abe, Grady, Ben</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(old mom brain is not working - I'll have to ask Ben his friend's name!), Sophie Claire, Ben</td></tr>
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We had a FANTASTIC summer! Ben and I went to the pool at the YMCA at least 4 times a week and we essentially swam the summer away. We met up with the Smiths and the Mayfields a lot and had way more fun that one summer should legally be allowed to hold!<br />
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We also got to take a trip to Atlanta with our friends Joe, Theresa, and their Ben to go to the ATL Zoo and the Renaissance Festival.<br />
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In August, Ben started kindergarten. We were (and are) so proud of him!<br />
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In October we went back to the Pumpkin Patch and had, of course, a wonderful time just like last year. Alas, the only pics I took are on my phone and I have done nothing to get them off of there yet. I will have to edit this post later to add them. </div>
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We are looking forward to Thanksgiving in Port St. Joe, Christmas at home, and post-Christmas time with some of the Cothrans in Alabama this year. </div>
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I hope that your families have fared as well as mine in the last 13 months and I hope your 2012 holiday season is bright, your time with friends and family merry, and your new year happy!</div>
Heather Newberryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327513278723426205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29613643.post-40806366955250747212011-10-11T16:19:00.003-04:002011-10-11T16:19:51.362-04:00weekend funOn Saturday we decided to have a double dose of fun! Fist we took our little pumpkin to the Pumpkin Patch at the Agrirama (huh-hem, excuse me, the Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village) here in Tifton.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSCMKPZwFUA1cd8lCPdbYY1CFIxgge4yxBzRSfp6OhFvt_YUw_3r9qgbrFwjGnokP-Qr6VGM5fGl37FaWuBHhrCo34R3QwB0S9px_zJRLHNloE98dlNB7KofkKzPsl8-S94aaV/s1600/DSCF3529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSCMKPZwFUA1cd8lCPdbYY1CFIxgge4yxBzRSfp6OhFvt_YUw_3r9qgbrFwjGnokP-Qr6VGM5fGl37FaWuBHhrCo34R3QwB0S9px_zJRLHNloE98dlNB7KofkKzPsl8-S94aaV/s320/DSCF3529.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfj-fo3bdqFmJXOX7yCzIH3b8Hb1EbJQ4lZmIOxp1VyS1heooR1_Xo0_zFMkb9_iVFi5zCP6tgNWxopYadl9hkOJEJtD7x1A6jpXHBxexcealyiJoi4xfwxPHPJGxMqdI0rPyc/s1600/DSCF3517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfj-fo3bdqFmJXOX7yCzIH3b8Hb1EbJQ4lZmIOxp1VyS1heooR1_Xo0_zFMkb9_iVFi5zCP6tgNWxopYadl9hkOJEJtD7x1A6jpXHBxexcealyiJoi4xfwxPHPJGxMqdI0rPyc/s320/DSCF3517.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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We had a good time...mostly (to be explained in a moment). Ben loves
riding the train there and he had a fantastic time playing in the
corn box (like a sandbox, but filled with dried corn kernels). <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0DPLd3K9bNDczGZ_aiGNYivMGZhikQLecG9fwMUy8FaeGEMoEkvsW1l7lo7wt_mDOHqIzbtJqsOafewQtPYTbxNpNgeaNHbLowtZum16MCqctLUGqeSphnLe8RWHdYhwaD4N_/s1600/DSCF3531.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0DPLd3K9bNDczGZ_aiGNYivMGZhikQLecG9fwMUy8FaeGEMoEkvsW1l7lo7wt_mDOHqIzbtJqsOafewQtPYTbxNpNgeaNHbLowtZum16MCqctLUGqeSphnLe8RWHdYhwaD4N_/s320/DSCF3531.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXTV68wR_aeRo7J0tMecwIId0Tiu0LivTaYKpjurEdgsQXh2TjswpQq1FdE-GyNT_Q5naeyrjSngn9iJL2hfX1DM6bf_TxK-dt3YjL73FG-SvTfEYLGNUwBhZurP3vodu1rOcE/s1600/DSCF3530.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXTV68wR_aeRo7J0tMecwIId0Tiu0LivTaYKpjurEdgsQXh2TjswpQq1FdE-GyNT_Q5naeyrjSngn9iJL2hfX1DM6bf_TxK-dt3YjL73FG-SvTfEYLGNUwBhZurP3vodu1rOcE/s320/DSCF3530.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRkv1-qA4_Tcl8TKc3Okld2FkVhLq5hcxFd4Da86SfhQTf5OimpXI7t9hcY8Isvt5MTCEo3mfBB9AEaRvXc4jvo7Qtl1B72xGvXj3yTr_sWUQGBokw-Mwz09x0UYzsN3uIkQau/s1600/DSCF3522.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRkv1-qA4_Tcl8TKc3Okld2FkVhLq5hcxFd4Da86SfhQTf5OimpXI7t9hcY8Isvt5MTCEo3mfBB9AEaRvXc4jvo7Qtl1B72xGvXj3yTr_sWUQGBokw-Mwz09x0UYzsN3uIkQau/s320/DSCF3522.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In case you can't see it, and who could really, Ben is making a corn angel here.<br />Happily the sand sifter he's laying on looks just like his halo! (Totally unplanned!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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He completely covered in corn and corn dust when he got out of there!! Also on the P-Patch menu - a big tractor that was AMAZING and a huge seesaw!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDrLCBCJVrkBp8nIxulYGqI7uDmJBKp_7eU40apsLbNgT67C-DDB1zHU6Ux8nhL50UIFxEJkmb0a0XfEElQc3SiQXZIHymmBmdwKp_DPc7p33ACXYIpeICm_6Z-azpRoT6FH_p/s1600/DSCF3518.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDrLCBCJVrkBp8nIxulYGqI7uDmJBKp_7eU40apsLbNgT67C-DDB1zHU6Ux8nhL50UIFxEJkmb0a0XfEElQc3SiQXZIHymmBmdwKp_DPc7p33ACXYIpeICm_6Z-azpRoT6FH_p/s320/DSCF3518.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdTvqDwjXerhCEHNxjsxERaQT7Rlvkn9c0UUoGP3S2EWIrRuv8Nfh3nP2qfe7E7hG7yB_oKg_-BB1xYNIBS-WhIsAA-qsL2uUDHekHzDjur3wrK6f5EBsmk7bq9JHi5ppKSq04/s1600/DSCF3527.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdTvqDwjXerhCEHNxjsxERaQT7Rlvkn9c0UUoGP3S2EWIrRuv8Nfh3nP2qfe7E7hG7yB_oKg_-BB1xYNIBS-WhIsAA-qsL2uUDHekHzDjur3wrK6f5EBsmk7bq9JHi5ppKSq04/s320/DSCF3527.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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So now to the not so much fun part - we were headed to the corn maze when I took a spill on a sandy, pebble infested downhill slope. I landed on my knee and, of course, injured my poor self. My scrape had bits of gravel and sand in it and still hurts even now, three days later. But I mommed-up (which, by the way should totally be the phrase, not manned-up, because if Jeff or Ben had fallen and gotten my kind of injury, no way would we have stayed) and we enjoyed the train ride and more corn box time even though I was bleeding and hobbled. Ben didn't really want to do the corn maze anyway, so, no big loss there. :-)</div>
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Later that evening we went to a friend's new home to watch the LSU / FL game. We enjoyed good food (Jeff made some fabulous chili for chili dogs) and our Ben got play with our friends' son, Ben (we call him 'little Ben'). They had fun with the alphabet magnets on the fridge and going up and down the stairs in the backyard!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6CHZ29u9YdQOJDx8Kdrh8bssvPYn8551z-9VrpDvwgsX5IM5IW9n_VnKtibIJSXRc-HOFe7e_0XR8ChgliZ_xPoRjFTY8EyloBwsihgO5cG1h_rkwwIQ5JvZX2xveDWWPJLCE/s1600/DSCF3538.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6CHZ29u9YdQOJDx8Kdrh8bssvPYn8551z-9VrpDvwgsX5IM5IW9n_VnKtibIJSXRc-HOFe7e_0XR8ChgliZ_xPoRjFTY8EyloBwsihgO5cG1h_rkwwIQ5JvZX2xveDWWPJLCE/s320/DSCF3538.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-R8fw1FPGZ5Flu5U_wNmc5fSKoFmNv_cjAAXf6CqhQN-DC8tNkPQcItH15N6ZcszW0glLs7MUHYiX_hbcd24ZgIBQB9gXkJ56ZLfwqzpEOzM-RnDu52PGTkpDbcKoJqxvI5W/s1600/DSCF3539.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-R8fw1FPGZ5Flu5U_wNmc5fSKoFmNv_cjAAXf6CqhQN-DC8tNkPQcItH15N6ZcszW0glLs7MUHYiX_hbcd24ZgIBQB9gXkJ56ZLfwqzpEOzM-RnDu52PGTkpDbcKoJqxvI5W/s320/DSCF3539.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Sunday we worshiped and relaxed and our weekend came to a close in a peaceful and wonderful way. It's so nice to have an enjoyable and truly relaxing weekend every once and while! :-)Heather Newberryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327513278723426205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29613643.post-91813413520684355902011-10-07T10:20:00.001-04:002011-10-07T11:14:59.101-04:00how can sick be so cute?So Ben has had a super crazy cold for the last week now. It all started with a fever early Saturday morning and then a cough and sore throat developed on Sunday. His fever finally went away so he could go back to school on Tuesday - which was very important because his class was taking a field trip to the fire station and it simply would not have done for Ben to have missed that trip! Anyway, his sore throat and cough persisted a few more days, but it is pretty much gone now. Where is the cuteness in all of this you ask? Well, as a result of the sore throat and heinous cough, Ben pretty much lost his voice. Everytime he spoke he sounded like the tiniest most adorable child sound you can think of. It was deliciously wonderful to hear. I know that sound was a result of illness, which is never fun, but it was such a cute, cuddly, adorable sound that it was almost worth it! Ben even enjoyed his "funny voice" as he kept calling it. Ahhh, these are the days I hope we will remember. :-)Heather Newberryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327513278723426205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29613643.post-84858350515850862392011-09-17T08:13:00.003-04:002011-09-17T08:13:56.293-04:00sweetBen climbed into bed with me this morning carrying this little travel pillow he has. He told me the pillow was his baby, a boy, and asked me to hold him. He made me so happy with his cuteness and so sad, cause I really would love to have a baby to hold, almost as much as Ben wants a sibling. Then he went and got another small pillow from his room and brought it to me and told me it was my baby, a girl. We named her Gracie. Ben's pillow baby, by the way, was baby daddy. I'm thinking he might be missing Jeff! ;-)<br />
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Both babies were abandoned after about 20 minutes so Ben could have some breakfast. Ah well, I guess parental nurturing only goes so far in a male 4 year old who's hungry. :-)Heather Newberryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327513278723426205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29613643.post-69907530993965492242011-09-16T10:19:00.001-04:002011-09-16T10:19:05.283-04:00randomBen's Pre-K4 class took a field trip yesterday to the bowling alley. They are learning about the Netherlands and guess where bowling was invented... :-) He had a great time and want Meff and I to take him again soon!<br />
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I have been teaching two computer classes for the homeschool co-op at my church (4th-6th and 7th-12th). My primary foci for each class have been keyboarding, Microsoft Word, and internet safety. I only have two classes left and I cannot believe that the entire 6 weeks have almost flown by already!<br />
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Jeff is going out of town this afternoon for a conference he in speaking at in Panama City, FL. He gets the adeded bonus of seeing his mom and his St. Joe buds while he is there. I know he is going to do great and have a great time to boot! Ben and I are staying in Tifton to accomodate Ben's thriving social schedule. He has a pirate themed birthday party to go to tomrrow as well as the public library's celebration of International Talk Like A Pirate Day, which is next week. Tomorrow is going to be a very piratey day (aaaarrrggghhh!) and if Ben doesn't behave, he may just have to walk the plank!!<br />
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So, does anyone else enjoy the totally awful programming that is BRAVO. It's awful, I know, but I just eat it up! Rachel Zoe, the Jersey and NY housewives, Betheny, and on and on... I know I shouldn't watch, but its just so awful...its like a train wreck you can't help but wrench around to see and then you cannot tear your eyes away from! Someone help me! :-)<br />
Heather Newberryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327513278723426205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29613643.post-7289649359377734542011-09-12T16:17:00.002-04:002011-09-12T16:17:59.250-04:00parentingI have been doing a lot of thinking about, praying about, reading about and actually living out some serious parenting recently. Ben is growing up - fast. I am amazed everyday by how much he has changed/grown and how quickly it is happening. When he was an infant I could always sense when things were about to change (i.e.: nap schedule adjustments, changing the amount formula or food he needed at each feeding, etc.) and could almost stay one step ahead so that transitions were practically seamless and he, because he was a great baby, pretty much always responded well to my adjustments to his life and we all kept moving forward - happy and satisfied. We are not so far removed from those days, but I already find myself yearning for the simplicity of those "problems." :-)<br />
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It's obvious to me that Ben is making a pretty big transition right now from being a toddler to being a school-age kid whose starting to see and interact with the world and me in a whole new way. While I guess I knew this time would come, it's kind of snuck up on me and I find I am not as prepared to deal with the challenges as readily as would like. Perhaps you experienced parents out there would tell me that this is only the beginning of many, many years of being unprepared for what my child is going to throw at me! :-) <br />
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Through talking with other parents, talking with Jeff, reading most of "Shepherding A Child's Heart" by Tedd Tripp (like my awesome sis-in-law, <a href="http://nolacothran.blogspot.com/">Kim</a>), and, strangely enough, studying the book of Jonah in Sunday School at church, I have learned quite a lot about what I think the goal of my parenting should be. I believe that my job as Ben's mother is to, as Dr. Tripp put it, shepherd Ben's heart. I am supposed to love him, teach him, guide him, protect him, care for him - yes, all of that - but even more so I am supposed to guide him using the Word and the daily example of my word and deeds to live a godly life. When he does wrong I am supposed to do more thank correct his outward behavior - his heart must be penetrated with God's truth so that he not only sees that WHAT he did was wrong but that his HEART'S MOTIVATIONS for doing it was wrong too.<br />
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So what does that look like day in and day out? I am still parsing that out. On the one hand I have in the past been very strict, almost heavy handed when it comes to discipline and God does compel parents to discipline their children. On other hand God is gracious and merciful where I am often angry and unforgiving. So the result thus far has been a lot more and certainly deeper conversations with Ben about God - about His ways, His Word, His expectations - and a whole lot of me apologizing for being cruel where I should be gentle, being permissive where I should stand firm, and being honest with Ben about my own shortcomings so that he knows its okay to fail and to seek forgiveness. Is it working? I don't know. Yes? Maybe? Perhaps only time will tell. I just pray that God can use me in spite of myself to raise Ben up to be a godly man who loves Him with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength.Heather Newberryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327513278723426205noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29613643.post-76871517791332984042011-08-28T17:47:00.000-04:002011-08-28T17:47:03.927-04:00wanna learn a requiem mass with me?So I am a member of the Tifton Choral Society and we are doing a Sept 11 Memorial Concert. We are going to sing Saint Saens' Requiem Mass and Bach's Dona Nobis. I just found out today that I am singing the alto solos in the Mass and I am freaking out a bit.<br />
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So, no promises about the quality of my performance two weeks from now, but if you are in Tifton and available, you should totally come to St. Anne's Episcopal on Sunday afternoon, Sept 11th for our concert. It should be (mostly) great! :-) I think the concert begins at 3, but I may not be remembering that right. I wlil have to get back to you....Heather Newberryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327513278723426205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29613643.post-87812601417915821262011-08-22T15:35:00.000-04:002011-08-22T15:35:43.482-04:00blahEver just wake up in a bad mood? Perhaps something that happened right before you went to bed or even something you dreamed about put you in a bad frame of mind and you wake up feeling emotions that you, frankly, can't really explain and can't seem to shake? Well, that's today for me. Things have been so unbelievably busy recently that I feel like I have had no down time. No time for me and Jeff, no time to really play with Ben. No time to get all my work and/or housework done. I'm overwhelmed with crap I should be doing and completely underwhelmed by my desire to actually do it. So, all that to say -- Pity Party at my house!.....ughh, but then I would have to do all that stuff I am too overwhelmed to do, so, never mind.<br />
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Ben started his Pre-K year at First Methodist Preschool and I am so excited for him! He has really enjoyed his class so far and seems to be making friends (not that I was worried about that) with some of the 10 kids he did not already know. There are 14 kids in Ben's class total and he already knew three of them from last year, which is always nice - makes the transition a little easier, I think. He is excited about going to Kindergarten next year and, although it's a year away, he talks about it almost every day. He has decided that he is very grown up. :-)<br />
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My parents moved to Alabama over the summer into my Great Grandmother's old house. It's a great house and great property and I know they will be happy there. We are bummed that they went from being only 2 hours away to now being about 7 hours away, though. (it's really only a 5 1/2 hr drive, but by the time you make a few stops and eat a meal, its seems like 7 is what to expect for total trip time). We have already had a fun visit to Greensboro and hope to go again in the next couple of months. With it being such a long trip now, it seems like we need at least four days in order to have enough time there and to make the drive worth it, you know?<br />
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Yesterday we went to a Farewell Party for our friend Knox Brown who will be leaving next week to go to grad school at UCLA. Jeff and he are great buds - kindred intellectual spirits, so to speak - and he will be missed. I think Jeff wishes he could go to. This is such an exciting time in Knox's life and its easy to think about how great its going to be and wish for that time back in your own life. Once you are married and have kids, life changes, whether you like it or not....mostly you do like it, but there are always those moments..... <span style="background-color: white; color: white;">like when you hate your house, your job, yourself, and your life in general.</span><br />
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My coupons are a disaster from being out of town so much this summer, but my goal this week is to get them back in shape. I got a new binder to inspire me. We'll see.....Heather Newberryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327513278723426205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29613643.post-9013340611266445182011-06-12T17:55:00.000-04:002011-06-12T17:55:55.536-04:006/12 couponing reduxBusy, busy! But I had to share my success today! I will try to post more "real" information soon!! :-)<br />
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</u></b><br />
<b><u>Walgreens</u></b><br />
2 bottles Osteo Biflex<br />
2 boxes (5ct) Wal-fex (Walgreens brand Allegra)<br />
3 Nestle Crunch bars<br />
6 Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner<br />
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Total Retail: $71.07<br />
Total Spent: $15.37<br />
79% Saved!!<br />
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<u><b>CVS</b></u><br />
4pk Charmin TP<br />
2 boxes (20ct) Motrin PM<br />
1 Shick Hydro 5 razor<br />
1 bottle Nyquil<br />
6 boxes TicTacs<br />
2 Off! Mosquito Repellent Clip ons<br />
2 12-packs Diet Dr. Pepper<br />
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Total Retail: $71.73<br />
Total Spent: $10.48<br />
85% Saved!!!Heather Newberryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327513278723426205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29613643.post-1261255810877457122011-06-06T14:17:00.000-04:002011-06-06T14:17:25.577-04:00send me your old, your new. your huddled masses of COUPONS waiting to be used!And no, I am not even kidding. If you get a paper on Sundays and you don't use the coupons, I totally want you to mail them to me! I have become what some might call addicted to couponing. However, I will try not to talk only about that so...<br />
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First let me tell you what Ben has become addicted to: Star Wars. He cracks me up. Half the time he walks around like C3P0 the other half he talks about Darth Vader and the Death Star and Ewoks and Han Solo. He has seen movies 1, 2, 4, and 6, has the Lego Star Wars Wii game, and has a Star Wars book that we read before bed almost every night. He doesn't know it yet, but I even bought him some Star Wars bandages at Target yesterday - and yes I had a coupon!...2 actually, (a Target one for a $1 off and a manufacturer one for $1 off) so I only paid $.46 for the box. Woot! But, getting back to Ben, he has what I like to call, an obsession. Jeff frames it in a much nicer way by saying that, like him, Star Wars has captured Ben's imagination. All I know is my son walks around constantly humming Darth Vador's theme music - dun dun dun duh da dun duh da dun! It's hilarious to hear him humming that in the background of everything he does. He even tries to get other people to play Star Wars with him. I am always Princes Leia (because I'm a girl, as Ben says). Sometimes though, I do get to have gun so I can help shoot the bad guys! :-) Lol! My little man, he is just growing up so fast.<br />
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Ok, back to my addiction! Yesterday morning I woke up at 6 a.m. Now for those of you who know me well, you know that is beyond crazy and there must have been an extrememly good reason for it, right? And the reason is - shopping. No, I am not kidding. Me, who 10 years ago hated shopping so much that Jeff did all of our grocery shopping. I know. It's crazy. Well, our Walgreen's opens at 7 a.m., and I was determined to be the first customer through the doors so that I could get all the deals I was hoping to score. And I so did!!!! So here is the break down of my Walgreen's awesomeness:<br />
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4 Gillette Body Wash<br />
2 Gillette Deodorant<br />
1 Gillette Fusion ProGlide Razor w/ 2 cartridges<br />
1 bag of peppermints $.49<br />
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Total retail price: $39.83<br />
After coupons and RR I paid: $11.35<br />
Register Rewards (RR) I got back: $15.00<br />
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<br />
So essentially they paid me $3.65 to take those items out of their store. Crazy, huh? I ended up using $10 in Register Rewards to buy 4 12-packs of A&W root beer and 7up since they had them on sale 4 for $10. So I got those for FREE! And I still have $5 RR for my next trip to Walgreen's! Overall my numbers at Walgreens are: Retail $51.83 / Paid $11.35 / Saved 78%<br />
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At 7:30 a.m. I floated out of Walgreen's in a haze of couponing glory and headed on over to CVS for my next battle. :-) I'm pretty sure I won, but here is the break down of all the action.<br />
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<b>Transaction #1 - using Jeff's card</b><br />
5 Vitaminwaters<br />
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Total retail: $8.45<br />
After coupons I paid $2.25<br />
Extra Care Bucks (ECBs) I got back: $2<br />
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<b>Transaction #2</b><b> - using my card</b><br />
2 gallons milk<br />
1 8ct Excedrin Migraine<br />
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Total retail: $8.57<br />
No coupons<br />
ECBs I got back: $2.99<br />
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<b>Transaction #3 - using my card</b><br />
2 Vitaminwaters<br />
3 Honest Tea<br />
2 Oral-B Pulsar toothbrushes<br />
1 Giant Bottle Crest Mouthwash<br />
1 jumbo pack of Huggies<br />
1 Rimmel Lip Gloss <br />
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Total retail: $40.83<br />
After coupons & ECBs I paid: $4.52<br />
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ECBs I got back: $12.50<br />
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<b>Transaction #4</b><b> - using my card</b><br />
30 ct Allegra 24 hour<br />
3 snack packs of peanuts<br />
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Total retail: $24.49<br />
After coupons & Ecbs I paid: -$1.01<br />
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So overall I did great at CVS! Retail: $82.34 / Paid: $14.33 / Saved 82% That is just crazy. Its like I went in to buy Jeff's Allegra and came out with all the other items for free!!!<br />
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Man do I love coupons!! I have to give a big shout out to Jenny at <a href="http://www.southernsavers.com/">www.southernsavers.com</a> and Collin at <a href="http://www.hip2save.com/">www.hip2save.com</a>. I could not do all this without their super awesome blogs and all their helpful advice. Also, to my friends Nicole and Missy, without whom I would never have even begun this crazy coupling journey. In fact Missy likes to remind me that a little more than a year ago I was scoffing and laughing at her for being so coupon obsessed. Ha! look at me now. Now I am the crazy coupon lady. Oh my! :-)<br />
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So, anyway, by the time I got to church at 8:45 a.m., I was already tired, but I had a big day ahead of me. Thankfully being at church, worshiping God, fellowship with my family and friends, that always brings refreshment. So by the time our potluck lunch at church was over, I was ready for the second half of my shopping marathon! My friend Heather Mayfield and I loaded up in my van and we headed down to Valdosta to shop at Target and Publix. We left Tifton about 1:15p.m. and got back at about 5:45 p.m. Not too bad considering we spent 1.5 hours driving.<br />
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I had great success at both stores and I am sure you don't really care what I bought, but here are the totals:<br />
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Target retail: $40.39 / paid: $10.54 / saved 74%<br />
Publix retail: $195.53 / paid: $75.04 / saved 62%<br />
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Well, I am exhausted just looking at all these numbers, but yesterday, while tiring, was truly fun and exhilarating. Not only did I buy $370.09 worth of stuff for only $111.26 out of pocket (a 70% savings overall!), but I also had a fantastic time with my friend. And you know, girl time, really is priceless. Thanks for coming withe me, Mayfield! :-)Heather Newberryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327513278723426205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29613643.post-67355582299331671522011-05-25T13:50:00.000-04:002011-05-25T13:50:46.391-04:00time fliesMay has come and almost gone in a blink! I cannot believe it is almost June. As is typical with our family, things have been a bit crazy. We just got home from a visit with Nina (Jeff's mom) in Port St. Joe. Jeff and Ben went down on Sunday and spent several days fishing and hanging out with Nina while I worked and ran around like a crazy person up here in Tifton. Both my boys caught fish and Ben even hooked a blue crab with his tiny Lightning McQueen fishing pole! :-)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP3zTg-IHhSHKbpxzsnZg2PXgcnor4nHBP0ZFQ_bzw2Py4yjy5LQKkgtafER_XYBdyDzr3DSSf7a1aLIyUuavB0N7Jyz7anM4eQlj_Rhk-7ngzN_WAD9U5Ctuv2PKaTuS-A8-x/s1600/benfish-may2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP3zTg-IHhSHKbpxzsnZg2PXgcnor4nHBP0ZFQ_bzw2Py4yjy5LQKkgtafER_XYBdyDzr3DSSf7a1aLIyUuavB0N7Jyz7anM4eQlj_Rhk-7ngzN_WAD9U5Ctuv2PKaTuS-A8-x/s320/benfish-may2011.jpg" t8="true" width="240" /></a></div><br />
On Thursday I left to join them in PSJ. On my way I stopped in Tallahassee to shop at Target and Publix. I scored great deals at both places! At Target I got Jeff's favorite deoderant for $.73 each, I got my favorite Glade room sprays for $1 each and I got two boxes of Zantac for $.21 each! Woot! But my best couponing experience ever was at Publix. I got 6 bags of Pedigree Dentastix, two bottles of Wishbone salad dressing, and 4 boxes of Ronzoni pasta for...wait for it...$0.00! It was awesome!! You just can't do better than free, so I was very, very excited!<br />
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Jeff boiled us some shrimp, corn and potatoes for dinner after I got into town. It was AWSOME! On Friday, we spent all day in Panama City with the Colravy family. We had a great time with them at their house and at the beach and then wrapped up our evening at Olive Garden. It was so great to catch up with our dear friends! Oh how we love and miss them!<br />
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Saturday was hang out with Nina day! We went to the Farmer's market and to the Piggly Wiggly where I scored some great couponing deals on Crackerfuls and Chex Mix! Then we hung out at the house. Jeff made us burgers, onoin rings, and fried green tomatoes for dinner - can you say YUM?!<br />
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On Sunday I got to do all my CVS-ing at the brand new CVS in PSJ. It opened that day! It was so cool to shop in a brand new fully stocked store! I got every single deal I was looking for! I spent $46 for about $200 worth of stuff which included 4 Coke 12 packs, 5 bottles of spray sunscreen, 4 bottles of body wash, two deoderants, 2 bottles of fingernail polish, 2 cans of shaving gel, a box of Advil, a box of Thermacare heat wraps, a pack of gum, a box of q-tips, a box of Always, and other stuff I can't remeber right now! It was a pretty great trip even if I did do 5 transactions! Then we all enjoyed Sunday woship at Highland View Baptist Church with Nina. It was a nice, relaxing day.<br />
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We came home on Monday and after unpacking the car for what seemed like an hour, we finally got settled into the house. Scout welcomes us home with much tail wagging and heavy breathing!! Thanks to our frined Sheri for feeding her and watering our tomatoes, squash, bell peppers, and cucumbers whole we were gone!<br />
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Now that Ben is out of school and Jeff is between semesters we are taking our schedule day-by-day as far as when we work/write, who has Ben when, etc. Soon, though Jeff will start teaching again for the summer and we will fall back into some sort of rythym. Poor Ben is likely to go stir crazy if we don't figure out some cool things to do, however. Any suggestions?Heather Newberryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327513278723426205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29613643.post-19788922438331216162011-04-24T17:05:00.000-04:002011-04-24T17:05:17.887-04:00happy easter!The Lord is risen! He is risen indeed!<br />
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Hope you all have a fantastic day and take time to give glory to the creator, sustainer, and redeemer of all thingsHeather Newberryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327513278723426205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29613643.post-91212704668200641602011-03-25T14:07:00.000-04:002011-03-25T14:07:16.228-04:00$aving the greenSo my crazy couponing friends at church gave a little Couponing 101 workshop to the ladies of New Life (and anyone else from the community that wanted to attend). It was great and I have to say that each week, they seem less and less crazy... :-)<br />
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I have begun by getting coupons from the Sunday paper for the last two weeks and printing off coupons from the internet. If you, like me, are thinking about starting to coupon, then the most important thing is to begin collecting your coupons. I have mine organized in a binder using baseball card holders (thanks Nicole and Missy!) and separated into sections like breakfast, freezer section, dairy case, medication, cleaning supplies, hair & beauty, etc., etc...<br />
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I have also begun CVS-ing. At CVS you can earn extra care bucks(ecbs) back on certain purchases. last week, for example I used some coupons and shopped at CVS specifially targeting the items I could get ECBs for and then simply buying some items that we need and that they had on sale and I had a coupon for. I bought $120 worth of stuff (regular price retail value) and spent $36. My friend Missy actually told me that once I get really good at this, I will spend more like $4 for a $100 worth of stuff. Can't wait for that day! :-)<br />
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So there is a fantastic website that anyone (but especially those of us in the South) can use to help manage the couponing chaos - <a href="http://www.southernsavers.com/">www.southernsavers.com</a> Go there. It is awesome and totally worth your time to look through. <br />
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Anyway, all that to say, that if you get the Sunday paper and don't want your coupons, feel free to mail them to me! I can totally put them to good use! :-)Heather Newberryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327513278723426205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29613643.post-27758752320595644772011-02-22T08:14:00.000-05:002011-02-22T08:14:18.835-05:00frustrationThat word just about sums up my attitude toward Ben right now. It has been a hellashious week and I don't think he could possibly frustrate and push my buttons more. I am sure he will give it a go, however. So, to all you moms and dads who have, <b>not acting on this impulse, of course,</b> but have felt the impulse to punch your kid in the face....I am so with you.Heather Newberryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327513278723426205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29613643.post-57050883449789441962011-02-01T18:30:00.002-05:002011-02-01T18:30:40.969-05:00supper timeThe lasagna I made for dinner just got done and is now cooling! I can barely contain myself! It's gonna be so good. :-)Heather Newberryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327513278723426205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29613643.post-21062086293882409192011-01-28T15:05:00.001-05:002011-01-28T15:09:26.756-05:00playing catch-upWow. Am I super behind with my blogging or what?! Well here is what has been keeping me busy for the last two months:<br />
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<b>Jeff's Graduation:</b> That's right, folks. My PhD earning husband got hooded! The whole family headed up to Athens for Jeff's graduation in mid-December. I am so proud of him!! All the Newberrys came as well as my mom, Ted, Kim, and Jonah, Grandmother, and Uncle John. It was craziness and super awesome fun! My super cute nephew Jonah is getting so big and he is such a great baby! It was fun to see him before he is not a baby anymore. :-)<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS_BIqgN5Dh1H9HCQFLCfPtUYsJl9tYEtWzQRKBpeC3Gc2PunO55t5YdrkhxlHQCiux8Dcm7Wh_ggAD_T_sd1qcV-dEgLKd84USg75Cj-nGYl90SUUjnIUxRv-1tVT6WinPLgB/s1600/DSC_4950.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS_BIqgN5Dh1H9HCQFLCfPtUYsJl9tYEtWzQRKBpeC3Gc2PunO55t5YdrkhxlHQCiux8Dcm7Wh_ggAD_T_sd1qcV-dEgLKd84USg75Cj-nGYl90SUUjnIUxRv-1tVT6WinPLgB/s320/DSC_4950.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIwmIvg7xVINH6FsCjuf_g8AJYCgQWTq7LyXS67vF7LpUwf6Rhx4iGF7qJstCnAR3pmxnKg5OBMAzgwPARW8VkGbzO7DNtqvx9F0dhTX3A9m1cYm44EVQWY-Ou1LwF13WGM9q9/s1600/DSC_4993-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIwmIvg7xVINH6FsCjuf_g8AJYCgQWTq7LyXS67vF7LpUwf6Rhx4iGF7qJstCnAR3pmxnKg5OBMAzgwPARW8VkGbzO7DNtqvx9F0dhTX3A9m1cYm44EVQWY-Ou1LwF13WGM9q9/s320/DSC_4993-1.JPG" width="320" /> </a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg_w_F_BUM23-ZmtaKCu19ALo44_7fTe82NF332KWFUqkQFl0D_GBXPNrDaJzQ0NBB6OQ2Ttm_9FuzkcHrvt2yVugnR3TnawSdxVI4MPWV1TNAA_mydcTm5KHErEqlDwrZ2eAi/s1600/DSC_5001-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg_w_F_BUM23-ZmtaKCu19ALo44_7fTe82NF332KWFUqkQFl0D_GBXPNrDaJzQ0NBB6OQ2Ttm_9FuzkcHrvt2yVugnR3TnawSdxVI4MPWV1TNAA_mydcTm5KHErEqlDwrZ2eAi/s320/DSC_5001-1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<b>Pre-Christmas: </b>After Jeff's graduation we had an early Newberry family Christmas It was great to hang with the family and have a great time eating and exchanging gifts! Also, Joe and Ashley came to my Tifton Choral Society Christmas concert, so that was super special!<br />
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<b>Mourning The Loss of A Friend: </b> Our friend Eric Cash passed away on the 18th, the day we came home from Athens, after an 8 month battle with lung cancer. His funeral was on December 22. We are still missing him very much and grieving for Erin, Elizabeth and Eliot. On a wonderful note, Jeff and I became Eliot's godparents on the 19th when he and Elizabeth were baptized at St. Anne's Episcopal.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Onl050riUQ4kgUx7FoPO6uuip0zwT-k3kfhFkYYmKsZ-U_8_uNIwt40TDBdHd8s2bArdaQdU-AjiwtP7X2l7dqDtSIWQQvoh0FDoV-aGf0v-1a8byjTKruz6TSEPCh77dSvT/s1600/FourEs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Onl050riUQ4kgUx7FoPO6uuip0zwT-k3kfhFkYYmKsZ-U_8_uNIwt40TDBdHd8s2bArdaQdU-AjiwtP7X2l7dqDtSIWQQvoh0FDoV-aGf0v-1a8byjTKruz6TSEPCh77dSvT/s320/FourEs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<b>Illness:</b> I began what ended up being an 8 day long stomach illness the day we left Athens that continued until Christmas day. It was awful. Blech!<br />
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<b>Christmas Eve:</b> On Christmas Eve we went to our church's service and it was great. I love our church family!<br />
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<b>Christmas: </b> My parents came up from Tally for Christmas and enjoyed present opening and our traditional ribeyes on the grill! Ben played Santa and watching him open his gifts was lots of fun and the steaks were AMAZING!! My hubby is the grill master!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz_FeVpoGtD8fQXyJtPjX7BAYBL3MTUi6OVhsELt3LTdvvf_vaZgVZFG2J8rcQZi2HkZYOzeWMxDqis5lYsLZhO_5HDAhshxIiYkm2eV8RKzTc078qW792J9JS_Xz1hfI7Th2q/s1600/h-b-christmas2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz_FeVpoGtD8fQXyJtPjX7BAYBL3MTUi6OVhsELt3LTdvvf_vaZgVZFG2J8rcQZi2HkZYOzeWMxDqis5lYsLZhO_5HDAhshxIiYkm2eV8RKzTc078qW792J9JS_Xz1hfI7Th2q/s320/h-b-christmas2010.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<b>Boston: </b> From December 29-January 5 I went to visit my super awesome brother and his family in Boston. It was so great to see Chip, Shannon, Aurora, and new baby Escher, especially since it had been so long since the last time I had seen them. Aurora has gotten so big and Escher is such a cutie. I am a blessed Aunt. :-) Boston was super cool - literally. Thankfully I got there post blizzard so while I got to enjoy several feet of snow, it did not actually snow while I was there. Chip and Shan took such good care of me, got me shoes I could wear it the snow, took me to Salem and got me a lobster, and took me into Boston too. It was a great trip!<br />
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<b>Illness:</b> I got a cold while I was in Boston and it took forever for it to go away! Also, I got diagnosed with carpal tunnel (yay! :-( ) so I am wearing a brace on my right hand and getting treatment for that.<br />
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<b>PresWIC: </b>I finished my second term as PresWIC secretary for Central Georgia on January 8th at our meeting in Macon. It was such a great experience and after a couple years of burn-out recovery, I hope to serve on the Council again. Working for the ladies of Central Georgia is truly a blessing.<br />
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<b>Teaching: </b>A few weeks ago I began teaching a website creation class for the home school co-op that meets at our church. I have 15 7th-9th graders and after three classes, I can say that they are doing a great job. We are using a free online website creation site call Weebly.com. I made a site for our class (<a href="http://heathernewberry.weebly.com/">heathernewberry.weebly.com</a>) and after discussing with my kids terminology, good and bad design, elements of design, etc. they are now each making their own sites. In a few weeks they will present their sites to the class. Most of them are really making the most of it and seem to be having a great time. :-)<br />
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<b>Illness:</b> Ben got the flu on MLK day and within a few days gave it to me and Jeff. It was awesome. :-( After a week, we were essentially recovered and have now all gotten back to school and work.<br />
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Well, as you can see the last few months have been crazy. I hope yours were not nearly as busy as mine and that you have been much healthier than us too! Unless providentially hindered, I plan to update a bit more frequently now that things have calmed a bit, but no promises! :-)Heather Newberryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327513278723426205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29613643.post-34727948323649873952010-11-27T10:12:00.000-05:002010-11-27T10:12:13.522-05:00thanksgiving, thanksgiving: yum, yum, yum! turkey, sweet potatoes, pie: give me some!Thanksgiving was wonderful here at the Newberry house this year. We got to play host to Greatmother, Uncle John, Grandma and Granddaddy and our time together was very sweet. Ben was his normal gregarious self and everyone loved him (of course!) and he was super sad to see everyone leave. :-(<br />
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Jeff and I kicked major amounts of booty with our Thanksgiving feast, if I do say so myself. Jeff made the turkey, the dressing, and the gravy, while I made the sweet potato casserole (Greatmother's recipe!), the broccoli casserole (Greatmother's recipe again!), and the green bean casserole. Pillsbury helped us out with some crescent rolls and Ocean Spray provided the cranberry sauce. For dessert Jeff made 2 pumpkin pies and a pecan pie and Uncle John Galyean (who could not join us for dinner becasue he was sick :-( ) made us his version of a Derby pie. Every morsel was supery dupery scrumptious! Yummy, yummy, yummy, yummy, yum, yum, yum!<br />
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Oh! We also began what is sure to become a Thanksgiving tradition - Jeff made the pies on Wednesday night and they smelled so great, that we decided we needed to enjoy one of the pumpkin pies before bed. The pie was still warm from the oven and was so awesome. And honestly, the whole escapade felt just the right amount of naughty. :-) It was fun and we are totally instituting a pie on Thanksgiving-eve tradition around here!<br />
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After dinner on Thanksgiving Day, Ben made a video message for his Nina. It was so cute that I feel the need to share it with you all!<br />
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Also, we got to see some super cute bath time videos of Ben's cousin, Aurora, and Ben was inspired to make her a bath time video as well. Bask in his cuteness!<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">Well, I hope that you and yours had as wonderful a Thanksgiving as we did! Now we are off to the store so we can buy Christmas decorations!!!!!</div>Heather Newberryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327513278723426205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29613643.post-31129705264743754312010-11-11T13:34:00.001-05:002010-11-11T13:37:19.629-05:00life ever just get you down?So this past Monday I got a call from Ben's teacher that he had a 103 degree fever and I needed to come get him. Long story short - he had PNEUMONIA!! Uggghhhhhh! So the nice restful week of recovering from the last several weeks of insanity around here that I had planned suddenly went out the window. Ben and I stayed home all day on Tuesday (BTW: that was hellashious - he was mad he could not go to school, he was mad he could not play outside, etc.). Essentially, he felt fine so in his logic, that meant he wasn't sick anymore. So all these mean mommy rules I was imposing on him were just completely unfair!! Anyway, he is still on oral antibiotics, even though the antibiotic shot he got at the doc on Monday really seems to have done all the heavy lifting with getting him better. Hopefully he will continue to improve and when we finish these antibiotics, he will stay well long enough to be truly healed before getting another cold. Darn cold and allergy season!<br />
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So the PresWIC retreat last weekend in Macon was awesome! Our speaker, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Susan-Hunt/e/B001JRZ89G/ref=sr_tc_img_2_0?qid=1289499183&sr=8-2-ent">Susan Hunt</a>, dealt with the topic of Biblical womanhood from generation to generation. I learned a lot, but I know I already forgot more than I learned. I plan to read a few of her books to keep the truths she spoke fresh in my mind.<br />
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My friend Erin is going to be giving birth to her second child, Eliot, anytime in the next two weeks. I am so excited for her and for the family. Not only do Eric and Erin get to have baby fun all over again, but Elizabeth will have someone that forever will be connected to her in a way that no future friendship can ever replace. It makes me smile...and a little sad that despite our efforts, Ben may not ever have that. Even though at this point he doesn't know what he's missing, I am jealous for him. I love my brothers so much and no one will ever understand parts of the way that we are except for the three of us. I so want that for my boy (not to mention the benefit to me personally of having another baby to love!). So, anyway, you can be praying for us about that if you want...<br />
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And to round out this post and bring a smile back to my face - here is my Ben bear! :-)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnyHmfivi4ufA9uzGUNEQYM6AfywHlyHYK3FlOjEkuiw1UravdRwivR2vRMERGD4NwF49riL6lrnkQH4FITyQ4m6pLyk9YJ73TlkLnT8p1QFcV4LQcyL_2teagVfqscdC-cnWD/s1600/DSC_3026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnyHmfivi4ufA9uzGUNEQYM6AfywHlyHYK3FlOjEkuiw1UravdRwivR2vRMERGD4NwF49riL6lrnkQH4FITyQ4m6pLyk9YJ73TlkLnT8p1QFcV4LQcyL_2teagVfqscdC-cnWD/s320/DSC_3026.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Super lots of fun in NOLA this past September.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiibgS4Ry2HJMni-9L6i2KZJzUz1d-lJdFiA5j62CNP0B8dmFlvNzlTSaH8GRCP4I3JKPPdrJTc_vrHwEi0YbMeWXEFTslKE_zWwfaaEm4-1R17_6xGAKYoMaP7ewa-aFzKz4jE/s1600/DSCF3322.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiibgS4Ry2HJMni-9L6i2KZJzUz1d-lJdFiA5j62CNP0B8dmFlvNzlTSaH8GRCP4I3JKPPdrJTc_vrHwEi0YbMeWXEFTslKE_zWwfaaEm4-1R17_6xGAKYoMaP7ewa-aFzKz4jE/s320/DSCF3322.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ben and his handsome daddy.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTnuFd214fhD9bv2bLduNZcwWjijLHVqTClSZgWlnX_3Hp3pIVdnkV-AWOaJGM_r7G1g2yEo1mSQLpGbFGhlTkvukylsWfaWkfpztboLlPKCih3gs87oCVWV50BXFfDEtDCexV/s1600/DSCF3333.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTnuFd214fhD9bv2bLduNZcwWjijLHVqTClSZgWlnX_3Hp3pIVdnkV-AWOaJGM_r7G1g2yEo1mSQLpGbFGhlTkvukylsWfaWkfpztboLlPKCih3gs87oCVWV50BXFfDEtDCexV/s320/DSCF3333.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coming in for a BIG hug!</td></tr>
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</div>Heather Newberryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327513278723426205noreply@blogger.com0