Friday, December 25, 2009

A Portis White Christmas

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6 Month Comparison

Here is a photo comparison of Selah and Rinnah at 6 months. The really cool thing is that they both had a white 1st Christmas! Rinnah's is first.



Monday, November 9, 2009

Train up a child...




We are taking Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University at our church and are loving it. It has already made such an impact in our life and family. Since we started, our debt has been cut in half just from us making decisions to get "gazelle intense!"
One of the things Dave teaches is to train your children young to handle money correctly. We are starting Selah on the jar technique. Any time she is to be rewarded we give her a dollar to put in the see through jar, and she gets to watch it grow and decide how it will be spent wisely. Seeing as I love doing crafts with her, I saw this as an opportunity to "dress up" her jar. She loves it and so do I! And as you can see she already has a dollar in it, because she decide she wanted to help me dust the house and did her room and the guest room.
Moral of this story... allow your children to take ownership of something, they will be more responsible with it.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Good Grief...

From Charlie Brown but I was def. saying that when I walked out of Kroger and Wal-Mart earlier this week. I left these two stores with some great deals! I was so excited I turned around to Selah in the car and held my hand up for a high-five and was hooting and hollering...it scared her and she gave me a really freaked out look.



These are the great buys I got at Kroger. Total retail on these items was over $30, but with sales and coupons my OOP was only about $8! And that includes almost 5 lbs of ground beef!



This is a picture of my Wal-Mart buys. Now I usually don't go to Wal-Mart because I think their policies are too difficult and their employees don't get it, but I couldn't pass up these free items.
Retail for all of this (in my estimation) is roughly $34, plus I got a double Sunday paper. My total OOP was $5.76!!!! Yes, Maam! I got a good deal! That means I only paid .76 for all the items excluding the newspaper....Awesome!

I want to leave this post with a picture of my baby girl taking her first few bites of cereal,she is one of the reasons I take the time to search out these big deals.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Grandma Lori....

Here is a post by my sister-in-law about my mother-in-law who died 12 years ago. She just has a way with words, and I love to honor Lori, but since I never met her, I will do it through PJ. Thanks PJ for always sharing with us. Click on the title of this post to go to PJ's.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Blessings in my Life!






I just thought I would take minute and tell everyone about my favorite people. Of course, God is my number one, but i didn't have a picture of Him! lol.
But, a close second is the love of my life, my husband James "Bubba" Portis. He is the most faithful, patient, loving, intentional, strongest, and serving man. I couldn't have built a better partner in life for myself. I praise God and give Him all the glory for getting us together.
Next come my girls. Selah and Rinnah already show some significant differences in their personalities. However, I love both of them so much. When it was just Selah, I always thought there was no way I could ever love another child as much as I lover her. Then Rinnah came along! I am so blessed to have an example from the ultimate parent who loves every one of his children equally....

I guess this whole post is just to say that my life is blessed by nothing more than the love God has given me through first his son Jesus Christ and then those he placed in my life.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Go Cowboys!



Last Monday, we had the privilege of attending the Cowboy game at the new stadium. My name was drawn at our church's Rally day.... we got 4 tickets and a parking ticket! Awesome!
The stadium was beautiful and HUGE! I just kept looking around in awe. I can't believe someone can imagine that in their head and then create it with their hands.
It makes me think about how creative God is, and how He thought of this whole world and then created it all!
We serve an awesome God!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Target and Walgreens



I had my little helper pose with the great deals I got today...
Walgreens-
I had $3 RR that I really wanted to spend, so I took advantage of the Johnson and Johnson body wash BOGO (especially since i was almost out at home) and I had tow $1 Qs. I had to add two more piddly things that were $.24 each that will end up being part of a birthday gift for this weekend.
The total OOP was $1.59!!!

Target- Paired their sales with their coupons plus Manufacturer Qs.
Bounce bars $3.74- 1.50 Q- 1 Q
Tide Stain release $3.24- 1.50 Q- 1.00 Q
All Small & Mighty travel size $1.02 - $1 Q
Tide travel size $.97 - $.75 Q
Crystal Light travel size by checkout $.68 Clearanced- $2/2 Q
Total OOP $4.50
So excited about all these items. The travel laundry soap will be great for when we are out of town or vacations. These are things I would love to buy, but never for the price they usually are!
So much fun, as I took the change from the guy at Target I told Selah "Momma did good today!" he just looked at me and grinned almost in shock of what he had just seen.... and heard!
lol

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Late Kroger trip...

After our first Financial Peace class last night, we made a quick trip to kroger for some ilk, fruit, and bread. I also saw a good deal on purex detergent that I wanted to take advantage of.



Purex- 2 for $5, plus a free Clorox Bleach
2 Qs for .35 ( they actually tripled both)
.50 Q for bleach
made them .95 each!!!

Who gets liquid laundry detergent for $.95!!! And it smells like linen and lillies!! haha

Friday, September 11, 2009

Great Deal

Just thought i would fill some of you in on a great deal, not sure how long this will last, but i definitely took advantage of it with our anniversary coming up! Click the title of this post to go to the website, it's for very reduced prices on restaurant gift cards.
Enjoy!

Today...

is a rainy Friday, kinda lazy. I snapped this quick photo this morning of my girls enjoying some sister time while they watched a movie together.
So sweet.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Fun Friday!





Last Friday we had quite an exciting day. We first had a very invigorating time taking cousin pictures with Faith Ann and Penney's.... and yes Ashley and I made fools of ourselves! And yes, we bribed with Chuck E. Cheese. At least we got one good picture from it all.
So, we headed down the street to visit the big mouse.... the pics above are some of Selah's favorite things to do there.
After that, we headed out to my parent's place. The High School was having their first pep rally and Heatherle (my brother's girlfriend) was singing the national anthem.... She did awesome and brought tears to my eyes.





We then went home, because I was pooped!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Converstion with Selah...


Me: Selah, I'm going to take a shower. Rinnah is laying on the floor in the living room. She's fine right now, but if she starts fussing just put her toy over her and turn it on. Okay?
Selah: (while in her room playing with play-doh) Sure, Mom.
Took my shower and got dressed. Walked out to the living room and see Rinnah contently playing with her toy. She saw me and fussed a little, and here comes Selah running out of her room.
Me: Did you give Rinnah her toy?
Selah: Yes, you take a shower and her fus and I wook at her. Her okay now. I pway wif pway-doh now.

Just amazes me that she can listen to those instructions and follow through, but the process of putting a toy away just gets her lost.
Some have called me brave, but I believe in trust leading to bigger and better behavior. And I know she loves her baby sister and would never let her lay there and cry... She is so sweet!

Monday, August 17, 2009

Crazy Kroger Sale!!!



DOubling up to $1 coupons... CRAZINESS!!!!
Kroger was packed and by the time I was able to get up there, many of my items were gone, but I roamed around and found some other great deals. Here's is a general run-down.

yogurt
Buitoni pasta
Kraft Cheese
Pillsbury
COmet
True Lemon
Keebler cookies
popcorn
Degree and Dove deodorant
Tyson box chicken nuggets
Eggo waffles
Suave for kids
Suddenly Salad
Wipes
Wet ones
Pasta sides

This is two transactions together. My Total OOP was $39.37 for 39 items that's retail was $103.33. I saved a total of $63.96!!!!
Basically, I spent $1.01 per item, which when you figure some of the things I bought, that's pretty good.

Praise God! He has given us a mind to use wisely to glorify Him, and I believe he was glorified and pleased with this stewardship of his money!

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Shopping trips this past week!

Some great shopping this past week. Went to Tom Thumb and Kroger last Wednesday and got some good deals... here's a few of them.


Tom Thumb:
In ad coupons are the best!
Skippy for only $1.50 each.
Tortillas for the same.
18 eggs for $.99.
They also had small watermelons for 1.99, I think.
I hit their Pepsi deal as well, buy 2 get 3 and chips for free. We were going to a party that we needed to take sodas to, so I thought this would be good.

Kroger:
Buy 4 items, get $4 off- Oxy, bounce, and Puffs... got Oxy for $1 each, bounce for basically free, puffs for $1.
Herbal essences sale $1.99 with buy shampoo or conditioner, get product free coupon.
Then i got produce and milk, bread (Sarah Lee BOGO sale)...
Final ticket price was about $35.



Walgreens tonight:
1st transaction-
3 Listerine 3/$9 with $3 off 2 and $1 off coupons, plus $6 RR...FREE
Claritin with $2 coupon, plus $3 RR... about $10.
2nd transaction-
Coffee- 2/$5
Raisins- $1.99
Lysol-2/$3 with 2 $.75 coupons
Mentos- $.99 with $.55 coupons.. got 4.
Total spent out of pocket at Walgreens was $22.

I was so excited when I got in the car... I couldn't wait to share my deals with my hubby. His response-- "I'll never run out of Listerine!"

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Random moments...


I have a beautiful daughter, but, my goodness, when she wakes up in the morning......




Rinnah sleeping soundly.


Sisters enjoying time together.


Selah having a blast flying her new kite with Daddy.

The Birthday "Kids"...
Happy Birthday to two of my favorites in the world. Love you guys!

Saturday, July 18, 2009

kroger this week...


This week at kroger they are having a pretty good sale. You buy 10 participating items and get $5 off your total.
I bought 20 items, so received $10 off my total, plus had lots of coupons.
As you can see, there is a lot of good stuff here... cereal, bars, planters, kraft dressings (4), listerine, desserts, tyson chicken... all of this stuff came out to less than $30 dollars.
Then I had to buy some things for our groceries for the week. i got the Grande tortilla chips which i had coupons for and one of them was buy 2 bags, get $2 off ground beef... so I got the chips for $1 a bag and the beef was only $1.80.
My trip was successful, my first real one since Rinnah was born. i am finally getting back into the swing of things.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Our Little Weed!


My two girls this morning... caught Selah in the moment, and she caught me. She has really gotten to be so big since Rinnah was born.

Today we had Rinnah's two week old appointment, I can't believe it's already been two weeks since she was born.
Her numbers were really impressive! She grew over an inch since she was born, and is now 7 lbs 11.5 oz. that's a few ounces over her birth weight! i was very glad that she had grown so much already!
It was very encouraging, I am sure now that I have plenty of good milk to give to my precious girl!

Friday, July 3, 2009

Today we had a nice relaxing day at home and I was able to catch some special moments on video. I wasn't able to add both videos to one post, so be sure you check out the following post for the second video of Selah dancing.
Enjoy my little girls!
Here is the second of today's videos. Selah had a good time dancing first thing this morning.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Almost one week over due---

that would be this post, not my delivery.
Rinnah Lorraine Portis was born June 25 at 1:22 pm, only a day past her due date.
I am just not getting to let everyone in cyberspace know because that day our hard drive also crashed... isn't that typical of how things go.

I wanted to share a little of this birth story because it was such and blessing and answer to our prayers.
We have been praying this whole pregnancy for God to allow my body to work as He designed it and that I would have a successful, natural VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean). i knew in my heart that God could do what needed to be done to allow this to happen.

We started by using a doctor that would support these desires and beliefs...Check.
Then we decided to use a doula (support person and extra coach during entire labor and delivery) and we just happen to be good friends with a wonderful doula... Check.
Next was to get as educated as possible, so we took a Bradley Method class... Check.

I know God did his part in everything that happened this pregnancy and delivery, but i also believe that it was our effort and energy that we put into it as well that brought us to the wonderful conclusion we experienced.

I woke up at 2 am Thursday morning with some pretty strong contractions. By 4:30 they were stronger and seemed to be getting more regular, and I decided I needed support so I woke my sleeping husband. We both showered and got ready, finished packing our bags... and by this time the contractions were closer, stronger, and longer... I was ready to call our list.
First was my mom to tell her to prepare to meet us at the hospital, next was my sister to come get Selah, then we called Rose Marie (our doula) and she said she was on her way.
Once she got here and listened to Rinnah's heartbeat to make sure everything was good, we decided it was a good time to head in to the hospital. It was about 8:45 am at this point.

The drive was horrible and seemed like we would never make it there in time. The pains seemed worse when I was lying or sitting, so that made the ride very painful.

Once checked in to the hospital, they checked everything out and said I was already 6 cm and 80% effaced, and it seemed like it was moving quickly.

We also found out that Dr. Inzer was in surgery all morning, and they weren't sure when he would make it in... That was a little disheartening at the time.

A few hours after arriving they checked again and I was 8 cm and with the next contraction my water broke.... projectile, hilarious if I hadn't been in so much pain.
In 15 minutes I was fully dilated and effaced and ready to push!
This was the most glorious news, I had the urge to do just that for some time now. And with that, I began pushing with all my heart...I think it was shortly after this that James says I yelled that I wanted that baby out!
This was probably the easiest part for me... I felt like I was just pushing the pain right out of my body along with the baby.
In the process of all this Dr. Inzer arrived and i was relieved! He knew my heart and desire, the residents they had in there didn't know me from the lady down the hall.

After about an hour and a half, Rinnah's head was delivered and it seemed like the rest of her body just slid right out all by itself with the next contraction. I couldn't believe it! She was here, and God had made a wonderful miracle happen in the Portis family! Praise God!

Enjoy a few photos of her first moments!


Rinnah Lorraine Portis born June 25 at 1:22 pm. 7 lbs, 9 oz. 20.5 inches.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Almost Here!

Modeling tutus at the baby shower! Too Cute!!!!


I am now just days away from 40 weeks and can't wait to hold this baby girl. We have finished preparations that needed to be done (in my mind) and I feel more at ease with her arrival. The nursery is painted and the furniture is put together and placed inside the room. I haven't gotten stuff to decorate the walls and stuff yet, but trust me it will be done soon!
Today has been the first day that I can actually feel the delivery coming soon... I have had contractions throughout the day, but nothing regular that can be kept track of.
Things for Selah are pretty much ready to go as well. I am so glad she and I have had a few chances this week to hang out and have fun. One of my biggest prayers is for her to make this transition well.... it would break my heart to feel left out or replaced, or any of those things you hear about the first child having issues with when a new baby arrives.
So, I will end this post with a new belly photo and some pictures of the nursery.... keep in mind that all we have is the furniture and bedding, no decor yet, but it will be there soon... she won't be in there for a while anyway.



Selah has loved helping get Rinnah's room ready.


Thursday, June 4, 2009

Tom Thumb today!!!

Today was a very successful day for me... shopping-wise!
I got all this for only $16. Total savings was over $40.



I was completely out of cereal and bars in my stash, so I have been watching for a good deal.
Well, I got one this week at Tom Thumb!
I brought home 8 boxes of cereal, 4 boxes of nature Valley bars, 3 10-packs of Capri Suns, 2 boxes of gallon sized hefty bags, and a package of cottonelle wipes.

When we got home, one of our neighbors was outside and my hubby shared my success with him, like he was so proud! It made me smile!

I didn't get a picture, but I got some good stuff for FREE at Walgreens yesterday. Apricot Scrub face-wash, chapstick (3-pack), 2 packs of Extra gum... and they made me get some candy so I would be spending money on more than just tax....Got all that for $.71!!! Too Cool!

Over all, I saved $75.09 and my Out-of-pocket was $64.02! Woohoo.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

37 Weeks!

We are in the safe zone.... Rinnah can make her appearance at any time and we are very excited. Although our house is a mess and nothing is ready in her room, I would welcome her at any time.

I have an appointment tomorrow with my doctor, so we will know more then and I will update afterwards.

Here is my 37 weeks belly picture, bigger and dropped a bit.
And I couldn't leave this post without mentioning and showing Selah in her first showing as a flower girl. Last night's wedding for our friends Jonathan and Bethany Ferguson was beautiful... and Selah did her best as the "perfect" flower girl. Before we left the house, she asked to look in the mirror and as she was looking at herself I asked her what she thought and she said "I'm perfect!"

She is perfect.