Adventures at the water park with Zachary

The first picture in this blog is where we THOUGHT zach would spend most of his time when we went to Discovery Island Water Park in Simpsonville, SC today. Looks like fun, right?Well Zach wasn't very interested. He wanted to head straight to the big kid water slide the second he laid his eyes on it. He LOVED it too. He is a little fish! Got a little video of the landing. :)

He also loved eating DipNDots with Daddy while we waited for the thunder to pass. We had a great time!

Awesome Hotel Deal!

Okay, so when Chris and I got married my wonderful aunt and uncle gave us an amazing gift and that is where this story begins. In the process of arranging this gift my aunt let us know that since the hotels we would be staying in on our honeymoon were Marriott brand hotels, we should apply for the Marriott Rewards Program.
No charge, just a member number where points add up for each stay at a Marriott hotel which eventually earns you free nights (and actually our honeymoon stays earned us a couple of free nights in themselves). So we did it!
There were several times over the next year when the program would offer special incentives (in the form of bonus points) which we would try to apply. I mean, you have to stay in hotels sometimes so we figured we might as well be building up free nights for it - not to mention that Marriott beds and pillows are amazzzing!
At some point, through the rewards program we were offered a Marriott Visa Card. We are not big credit card people - in fact the ones we do use we pay off each month and only keep for the incentives and cash back. This particular card would have no annual fee the first year and would add points to our rewards card for every dollar spent on it as well as automatically depositing several thousand points into that account. So we took the bait.
And it was GREAT!
We have probably stayed free 7 or 8 times in the last 4 years. Who could ask for more! Even if its just getting away to Charleston for the night - nothing is better than free (and if you do your research you can find a place that serves free hot breakfast). :)

ANYWAY - the purpose of this blog is to fill you all in on the deal we just got this month. Cause YOU can get it too!!

There is now a NEW Marriott Visa (shocking, right). It's called the Marriott Rewards PREMIER Visa and I wanted to share the info with you all so you can enjoy the benefits that we have.
(assuming you qualify)
NOTE: We in no way encourage anyone we know (or don't know) to get a credit card if they are not able to limit their spending and pay off what they spend each month, its just not a good idea so if you fall in that boat, please stop reading. :)

This new card has no annual fee the first year.
You get a free night stay at a category 1-4 hotel automatically when approved.
You also get 30,000 rewards points put into your rewards account when you make your first purchase.
When you use the card at a marriott location you get 5 points for every dollar spent.
Any other purchase on your card gets you 1 point for every dollar.

Let me make that more clear:
A category 1 hotel (some Fairfield Inns and Townplace Suites) costs you 7500 points per night. A category 2 hotel (Some Fairfield Inns, Townplace Suites, Springhill Suites, and Courtyards) costs you 10,000 points.
Category 3's (Some above listed and Residence Inns and Marriotts) cost you 15,000.
And so on with category 4s-8s increasing by 5000 points each.

So if you get 30,000 points with your first purchase on the credit card you automatically have enough for at least 3 FREE nights in a marriott hotel. PLUS the free night stay you get when you qualify for the card.

Here is a list of the different types of Marriott hotels:
Don't be fooled by the listings above - we have stayed at some fairfield inns that are nicer than courtyards - it just depends. Usually the category 1s are a little farther from big cities. (for example, Charleston, SC doesn't have any but they have a category 2 that is right by the outlets off I26 about 15 minutes from downtown).

Ok so that sounds pretty good right? Well, theres more.

After the first year there IS a fee for the card. It's $65 a year. Normally we would cancel a card if it has any annual fee, BUT with this one you automatically get ANOTHER free stay at ANY hotel (Category 1 through 5!) put into your account on the anniversary of when you got the card. Since it gives you a night at a category 5 hotel, to us, that is worth the fee. We would pay more than that for some budget hotels so it still sounds like a great deal to us.

And this free night you continue to get EVERY year as long as you have the card!

Those of you who know me well know that I am always looking out for a good deal and this one was too good to not share. I mean, can't afford a vacation this year??? - well this could cover a few days lodging for you for free and free breakfast if you pick your hotel wisely.

Just don't plan anything before the points and everything are credited to your account or the timing might not work out.

If you decide to give this a try STEP ONE is to register for the Marriott Rewards Program (remember its free and always is) *DO THIS BEFORE YOU APPLY FOR THE CC.
From there you should see a link to apply for the Premier credit card. They will notify you by mail if you got it (by sending your card).

So its up to you, please be careful!! Don't go for the deals they offer if they are not really worth it, but the ones I have mentioned are (in my opinion).


**Notice I didn't state what the interest rates and late fees are - thats because you shouldn't use them!! Haha, if you can't pay your card off each month, as I said before, don't get it!! Some people really can't handle that - they convince themselves that it will be ok to overdo it "just this once". If you are one of those people please don't tempt yourself. :)

If this was too confusing or you have any questions you want to ask me, feel free!

Why I Love My Garden

Last spring I pioneered a small veggie garden in our backyard. It was an all new experience for me (and Chris). That being said I was pretty excited when things ACTUALLY started to grow. We ended up with tomatoes and banana peppers and cucumbers and some teenie green bell peppers. We planted a few other things but....they decided not to make it. :)
This year I decided to try, try again and I ventured into further unknown territory by planting some things from SEEDS (last year we started with all small plants).

Guess what....I can grow things! Well, I can manage to "not kill" things anyway. :) And so far this year everything is blossoming and growing - very exciting for me!

Here's some of what we have now:

Spinach
Tomatoes (these are cherry tomatoes - we also have reg. size)BrocolliSquashString beans

And we also have hot and green peppers again and lettuce and cucumbers.

I am pretty excited about having a garden that actually produces everything you hoped it would. I have learned a few things about fertilizing and watering that I think has helped. I knew that in some respects this would be a "learn as you go" type thing so I'm glad it has started to pay off in only the 2nd year cause I'm not sure I could have justified spending money on plants/seeds/soil/etc. for a 3rd year without decent results (after all, the goal is to save money by growing it ourselves, among other things).

So here are 3 reasons why I love my garden:

1- I know what I'm eating and where its been.

2- I can wear whatever I want when picking out my veggies cause no one else has to see me. For example, the other day I grabbed the 2 flip flops closest to me and went to pick some goodies....did it matter that 1 flip flop was zebra print and 1 was black- NOPE! ;) Better than getting dressed properly to head to the grocery store again! (and yes I realize this is a very silly example and no its not meant to be taken seriously.)

3- Zach LOVES to help me water the garden and I love to see him getting involved in growing things from such a young age.

4- There's nothing like a spinach salad fresh picked from your own garden! (I won't lie - it was a little thicker than spinach I have bought at the grocery store, but that did not damper my enthusiasm one bit - cause I grew it! And it still tasted like spinach salad to me.)

I think the fact that God gave us the ability to eat things grown from the earth is pretty sweet and I can't think of a better way to get myself and my family to eat more veggies than to keep them right on hand in our own backyard.

On a side note - I have also ventured into the flower garden world this year and I'm pretty excited about that too. I love flowers and I love watching them grow from nothing but a seed.

So despite the itchy eyes, drainage, and pollen covered everything that comes along with spring, I'd say its a pretty great season!

Booksneeze - Andy Stanley

Read Andy Stanley's new Book called "The Principle of the Path" and I really like it. It references the way that we often blame God or fate on situations we find ourselves in when in reality it is the position we have put ourselves in that causes them. In other words, life decisions we make have consequences because it is natural. For example: If you jump off a roof....you are going to land on the ground and the height of the building (not God) determines the pain it will cause. His point is that we can decide what type of principles will govern our lives and we can choose ones that take is in positive direction rather than a self destructive one. Its not a fix all for ever having tough things to deal with in life because tough things happen to everyones, but it a good gauge for managing your own actions and decisions to help yourself rather than hurt yourself in the future.

Re-cap

Ok, back in December...before Zach's birthday party, we had some pictures taken with Danielle Buol Photography. We had planned to go somewhere nice to take them outside but it was freezing that day and Zach had been sick so we stuck to the house. Not as many options for nice backgrounds, but we got some cute ones anyway. Some were Christmas themed but some weren't. I'm glad to have them...its so weird though because Zach already looks a little different than he did when they were taken - it was only a month ago!! :(

Here are a few:I love that little hat - doesn't fit now!

Ok I do love this picture BUT I hate that you can see our missing base boards at the bottom...oh well. (We have FINALLY purchased the base boards...step 2 is putting them up, but hey its progress people!)

We ventured into the backyard for a few minutes. He wasn't very smiley then though because he was "exploring" which is apparently a very serious endeavor. ;)

Not sure what to do with all these leaves....

The best present ever!!

He is getting bigger every day. I don't even know where to start with the "new" stages but I feel like I talk about them too much anyway so I will spare you this time and only say this - I don't know how anyone gets anything done with a toddler around. I'm so not going to put a leash on my child, but I'll admit I can understand the temptation! ;)

Lets see...

We are currently busy, busy with the Upward Basketball and Cheerleading season at church. Zach loves to "go to practice" (no hes not on a team but I think he thinks he is).

We are anxiously awaiting warmer weather...the one bout of snow was plenty for me and I am done now thank you! (You try being locked away indoors with a toddler and see if you don't pray for the sunshine to come back too). ;)

Whats new for me?? Oh just doing what every mother does and trying to make a better plan to balance keeping up our house, being with my family, being smart with our money, eating healthier (thank you EatBetterAmerica for helping!), finding time for myself, working a bit, being at church (a lot!, haha), and still seeking the time/motivation to consistently work out.

Side note: I almost added "having a bit of a social life" to that list, but then thought about it and reminded myself that I really don't have one right now, haha! Anyone with young children knows what I'm talking about. Chris and I do try to get out on a date from time to time but that seems like thats as much as we can get for now. Ok, we do have friends that we hang out with when we can but when you all have kids it just changes what a "social life" looks like.

So yeah, I have a lot of plans and good intentions but I gotta be careful cause sometimes I think I have so many "ideas" that I just get overwhelmed with all of them and then I don't end up doing ANY of them.

I don't know - maybe just being content needs to come first...This helps!

Booksneeze

My most recent book from booksneeze.com was a relationship book. I haven't really read many books about relating to my hubby since right after we got married and I honestly wasn't thinking that i would read one anytime soon BUT I love Paula Rinehart's previous books so I decided if I was gonna read one, it would be hers. I love the way she writes, her patient and caring and motherly nature shows through and its very easy to read and understand where she is coming from. Good advice for girls who are willing to accept that they dont already know everything about the men in their lives. Could challenge you to make changes in your actions/responses to him. This is a good read if you are interested.

Hopes We Have

This holiday season has been very different from past holiday seasons. I didn't think about how much it would up the pace to throw a birthday right in the middle of Thanksgiving and Christmas, but Zachary must have thought it would be more exciting that way...and I suppose that is one way to put it. ;)

My son is very blessed. I think about this fact often. There are so many people who love him and show him love on a regular basis. I am so thankful for that. However, I hesitate to call it "blessed" because many children don't have that luxury...and I don't think that they have been less "blessed" by God. I think they have been less taken care of by people. God has the same amount of love and blessing for all children. He is with them always and loves them unconditionally. He is also hoping that we will help display it for Him and unfortunately - we fail a lot.

So have you ever been to a birthday party for a 1 year old?..who is an only child?...who is the 1st grandchild on both sides of the family?...who has a large and loving church family?.... well if you haven't let me just tell you it is quite a sight. :) Zachary has enough toys to last him the next 4 years of his life AT LEAST. Fortunately, we didn't do much for Christmas because it seemed unnecessary and overkill. I'm glad we made that decision because he doesn't need ANY more. Haha! He was more than taken care of on his birthday.

My grandmother recently told me that my mom would have my sister and me pack up toys we didn't play with anymore to take to "children who didn't have many toys." I am glad that she did that and glad to hear about it. Zachary will do the same. This conversation made me think about what I hope Zachary will learn from something like that.

We have discussed it often, and if there is one thing that Chris and I hope to see Zachary embrace and understand it is not "our denomination" or a perfect/acceptable appearance, or the ability to have the right answers or make the best decision all the time.....it is the desire and ability to love - and TRULY love everyone he can. The ability to understand how his actions can and do effect others and the desire to show them hope through love and compassion and empathy.

There are many things that we want for our child, but if he understands and displays that - the love of Jesus, the love that Jesus spent his life giving, the essence and hope of God - then I don't care what it looks like, because it will be glorifying his Father and truly making the world a better place.

Chris and I have experienced this love and the impact that sharing this love has on life and the world around us, and it is our deepest desire to pass this on to our children.

Sometimes I am afraid that we will fail.

We aren't perfect. We mess up.We don't do a perfect job of displaying this love 24/7. As much as it stinks every parent gives their child "issues" in some way. :)

BUT we don't have to be perfect. We have grace just like they do. What better way is there to teach your children about the grace of God than to let them see you experience it, right?

Is that fun?? Nope! But it is real and it is essential. If more parents and adults could let go of pride and say "I messed up" or "I was wrong" or "I need to apologize and ask forgiveness" I think it would make a dramatic difference in the lives of our families. I hope to do this. (big aspirations, I know ;) ..I am sure I will have plenty of opportunities!)

Bottom line, I am thankful for the love that my son is surrounded by, and I hope that it changes his life. I hope that it stands out more than the harshness and pain that he will inevitably feel in his life here. I hope that it causes him to ask questions and to really SEE others - and in turn to give them real love.

I can help with that...but I can't make it happen. What a load off to accept that its not fully my responsibility. God is with him and God is love. What more could I ask for?

Hopefully, as we seek to help Zachary understand what it means to love your neighbor...some of it will rub off on us too. ;) We are still learning! ..and always will be.