Beach

Mom, Dad, Andy, Aubrey & I all went to the beach a few weekends ago.... we have been so busy ever since that I have not had a chance to share any of my pictures with you! I was so hoping to get some beautiful beach pictures of aubrey and some great family shots, aubrey had other plans :) She HATED the beach! She would literally have to be carried from her beach chair to her towel. Needless to say I did not get beautiful beach pictures, maybe next time! We did have a great relaxing time and it was well needed for us all.

Aubrey has been a very scheduled baby from the very beginning.... Andy and I learned very quickly after bringing her home from the hospital that she required the same routine every night before bed time or bed time did not go very smoothe at all. So at the beach she was all off of her routine and by the last day she was literally home sick and ready to get back on her routine. When we walked back in our house she was the happiest kid you have ever seen! I could just picture Dorothy and To-To "There's no place like home, There's no place like home!"

I got some really fun pictures of her while we were there though, we tried pig-tails out for the first time ever.... her hair still isn't quite long enough but it was cute, my baby is looking more and more like a little girl and less like a baby every day!

Galleries

My galleries are finally up on my website, check them out when you get a chance!
www.jeniferstewart.com

Saving...

Andy and I have just purchased the book
America's Cheapest Family By: Steve and Annette Economides
I am only on the second chapter and I have already learned TONS of ideas on how to save money.... so this blog is to ask everyone for a favor..... My first favor I am going to ask of everyone is to comment back with your favorite recipe that you cook. One of the things that the family in the book does is only shop at the grocery store once a month, I know I feel like this is impossible also but I am going to give it a shot!! Since I am not a plan ahead type of person it is going to be difficult but I am supposed to put together a menu .... I am going to just start with a menu for 2 weeks and work my way up, but for now since I harldy ever cook at all I need to build my recipe book so I figured what better way then to ask all of my blogging buddies :)

The second thing I was wanting to ask about is would anyone be interested in coupon swapping? The lady in the book talks about how her and her friends pass around the sunday coupons each week.... What they do is each person gets the sunday paper and cuts out whatever coupons they want and then passes them along.... not everyone wants the same coupons so it all works out and if everyone buys the paper then everyone gets the first choice and then if someone leaves a coupon that you really like or that you want doubles of then you get the chance to cut that one out also! I can not believe I am even asking this because I am not good at coupons and spending the time to make out a menu but I figured if I was ever going to be able to stay home with aubrey I better start making some changes..... so if anyone is interested in coupon swapping then leave me a comment and we will get that started next week!

Two

My little girl is two today....

I can not believe how fast it has gone by,

it seems like yesterday I was getting my bag packed,

trying to get in bed early for one more good night of sleep.

I never dreamed that my life would have changed so much,

I never imagined that one sweet little girl

would rock my world as much as she has!

She is a joy to have and a blessing from the Lord,

I love her beautiful blue eyes,

and her sweet little mouth that loves to sing about Jesus.

Psalm 139:13-14

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

As it's been said many times before,

the days may be long, but the years are short.

A little girl.... one of the most beatiful miracles in life,

one of the greatest joys we can ever know,

and one of the reasons why there is alittle extra sunshine,

laughter and happiness in our world today.

This is a picture of me on mothers day and my precious little girl on her birthday

and as my mom would say...

It is not terrible two's but terrific two's.

God will make a way....

Proverbs 3:6

"In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. "

God will make a way,
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me
He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength for each new day
He will make a way, He will make a way.

By a roadway in the wilderness,
He'll lead me
And rivers in the desert will I see
Heaven and earth will fade
But His Word will still remain
He will do something new today.

God will make a way,
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me
He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength for each new day
He will make a way, He will make a way

This particular song has been on my mind today.... just thought I would share!
Have a happy friday!!!

Vaccinations

What I am about to blog about is a very controversial subject to many but I am just going to put my point of view out there.... you do not have to agree with me!!

When Aubrey was almost 9 months I had a patient at my office come in, I think she had a tooth ache or something. I am not normally a big talker when it comes to hanging around in the opperatory and chatting it up with my patients. I get the room ready for the Dr. hand my patient the remote to the tv and tell them I will go get the Dr. For some reason on this day I hung around and talked and SOMEHOW we got on the subject of autism. I don't know if there was something on tv about it or what but that is beside the point. She had 3 children her oldest two were both severly autistic and she had followed the recommended vaccination schedule. She trusted her pediatrician like we all do. Her third child she had decided to have NO vaccinations until she was two years old and she was perfectly healthy. At first I looked at her like she was CRAZY! but then she began to really share her heart with me and I saw a lady who was hurting because she did not feel like she had been told the truth from her Dr. I became VERY mad that no Dr. had ever shared the statistics with me that this lady who was a STRANGER was telling me. Dr. Stricklin came in the room and the conversation stopped but my brain was going 100 miles an hour. I could not concentrate the rest of the day. I immediatly came home and got on my computer and started looking up Autism and vaccinations and side effects..... WOW! My mom had shared some with me on this subject back before I had Aubrey and I decided against the Vaccination in the hospital but I had really not thought anything else about it until this day. I dont know if I had to hear it from someone who had experienced it first hand or what but this hit my right square between the eyes and I was not allowing my pediatrician to give my child one more shot before she explained to me the possibilites of Autism. Aubrey's 9 month check up rolled around and I took my mom with me :) We got to the end of the appt. and she told me the nurse would come in to give aubrey the shots that she was due for and I spoke up, for some reason my heart was pounding, I was SOOO nervous. I guess I thought she was going to take my baby from me.... which she didn't but she did become VERY defensive and didn't answer my question all the way and told me I could do whatever I wanted to but she was NOT very friendly.... so I told her we would be having no vaccinations that day and I would call her when I was ready. The next day I started searching for a new pediatrican and I decided that day if I had to go through 50 Dr's I would. I wanted answers and I wanted a Dr. who would be patient with me and not push me. I wanted a Dr. who cared about my child! Ever since I met that lady at my office it is like God has put people in my path or shows on tv or even websites that I have just run up on that have opened my eyes to the possibility of vaccinations being a cause of Autism. He EVEN used Jenny McCarthy, WHO KNEW!

Check this out... the rest of this paragraph comes from www.mercola.com.... In 1976, children received 10 vaccines before attending school. Today they will receive over 36 injections. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Center for Disease Control assured parents that it was safe to not only give these vaccines, but that they could be given at one time with complete safety. In the early 1980s, the incidence of autism was 1 in 10,000 births. By 2005, the incidence had leaped to 1 in 250 births, and today it is 1 in 150 births and still climbing. One of the strongest links to this terrible set of disorders was a drastic change in the vaccine programs of the United States and many other countries, which included a dramatic increase in the number of vaccines being given at a very early age. No other explanation has been forthcoming from the medical elite.

That is from a Dr. who has studied this topic and came to the conclusion that there are cases where autism stemmed from a child being vaccinated. I am NOT against having aubrey vacinnated but why does she have to have 6 shots in the same visit when she is 2 months old? Why did they want me to give her 4 shots when she was 15 months old? Why am I looked down up on and get smirks from people because I choose to not allow this? I am not saying she will NEVER get these shots. I am just choosing to spread things out and take my time.

If anyone is wondering where this is all coming from, I had a chicken pox scare today.... Aubrey woke up this morning and she had what looked to me like bug bites on her legs and stomache.... I didn't think much of it she plays outside ALL the time and I just figured she got into some mosquitos or something.... It was mine and andys day to keep the 1 year old class during church so after sunday school I went in there and aubrey looked awful! I pretty much freaked out and thought I had exposed every child in the room to chicken pox!! Andy and I immediatly went to walmart we bought calamine lotion and oatmeal bath stuff and took aubrey home and soaked her in the bathtub and drenched her with calamine lotion and gave her a dose of benadryal! I began to doubt my decision to not have her vacinnated for chicken pox, I have said for over a year now... I had the chicken pox and lived through it... if aubrey gets the chicken pox she will make it. I began to question myself.... and a couple of hours later the bumps began to disappear and aubrey was acting fine.... so I was right this morning when I thought it was bug bites and apparently she scratched them like crazy during sunday school and had it all irritated. Mom gave me the website that I mentioned earlier and I have been on there all afternoon and it has made me feel much better and I know I am doing the right thing for Aubrey. I realize this is not right for everyone and other people have other opinions and I am ok with that. I will do what I think is right for my child and you will do what you think is right for yours and we will agree to disagree :) I hope after everyone reads this (if you make it all the way to the end) that you dont think I am an awful parent. I am just trying to learn as I go..... and I am trusting God to lead me and guide me.

It is time to go now, I may add more later!

The Zoo

Andy and I thought that it would be a good idea to take aubrey to the free zoo day last sunday. Aubrey had never been to the zoo and she loves animals! The rest of alabama thought it would be a good idea also and all of their kids must love animals also!!!! It was PACKED! We still had a great time and aubrey seemed to enjoy watching all of the people just as much as seeing the animals. Her favorite part of the whole zoo was seeing the ducks! Oh well! It was a good family day and next time we will just pay to go on a weekday so that it will not be as crowded.