I Believe in Miracles

Yesterday in class I asked my students if they really believed that when they prayed they prayed to a God who not only could answer their prayers but to a God who WOULD answer their prayers. I've heard stories from people about miracles they've experienced, and in the back of my mind, I've often thought, "That won't ever happen to me." Abby is a miracle, sure. Two pounds, fifteen ounces and perfect, that's a miracle no doubt, but I've secretly longed for one of those, undeniable miracles. Jason and I got 'purt close (to coin one of my Nannie's phrases) to one on Wednesday.

Like I said, Abby was a miracle, but she was an expensive miracle. Her medical bills were somewhere close to $50,000 and mine were about that as well. Thank God for insurance because we ended up owing only (and I say that with a smile) $9000 when all was said and done.

If your family is anything like ours, $9000 might as well have been the amount of the "stimulus" bill because we couldn't pay it. We used the stimulus check last year to pay off one of her bills, and then my wonderful friend Debra told me about a scholarship the hospital offers.

We jumped on the scholarship. By that point, though, all our medical bills were in collections. We stopped paying them because the hospital said not to pay anything until we knew the outcome. Mid-November we heard that the scholarship had forgiven half of the medical bills. Praise the Lord, a miracle.

When I called the collections agency in December, they said that we needed to wait until January to call back because that was when our bills would go back to them.

Well, calling them went to the bottom of the list because Jason started a new job; I started a new semester. Meanwhile, we turned off our home phone.

Wednesday, Jason told me to call because, according to him, "They're going to track us down and sue us if we don't start paying." So dramatic.

I had to call the hospital to find out the status.

So I called, and the conversation went like this after the lady pulled Abby's bill:

Bill lady: "Abby's bill shows a zero balance."

Me: "What?"

Lady: "It shows a zero balance. Do you have any other accounts?"

"Yes, I was in for three weeks during that time."

"Oh, it's probably that account."

She looks up the account.

Bill lady: "That account shows a zero balance too"

Me - through tears: "Well praise God."

"That's right."

It was a miracle, plain and simple. I'm sure there's an explanation, scholarship covered it, something like that, but for me and Jason and Abby, it's a miracle.

So I ask, do you believe in miracles? I hope so.

We're into S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G

We have entered into a new stage of life with the little princess. I've heard other parents say that their children hear every word they say, and I know that is true. For some reason, I never thought I would be one of those parents who goes around spelling everything to everybody. As a matter of fact, I've often found it very irritating when parents spell.

I know some of you are saying that this doesn't sound right coming from an English teacher. Shouldn't I love to spell? Although I do have a secret love affair with language, I'm not always a fan of spelling because sometimes I'm not very good at it. After all, I never won a spelling bee; heck, I never even placed in a spelling bee.

Now, however, Jason and I have entered the world of letters. There are two words that we must never utter aloud in our house. They are S-T-U-P-I-D and H-A-I-R-B-O-W.

I'll tell you why these two words make up the list so far. Abby learned S----- from my mom. I've mentioned before that Abby loves "But Not The Hippopotamus". Unfortunately, my mom isn't a huge fan, and one day while reading Abby her favorite book, my mom said, "That's stupid." To which Abby replied, "Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid." I think she likes the way it sounds, and I must admit, sometimes it is altogether appropriate. If we say the word now, she says, "Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid."

The other word, though seemingly innocuous, causes big problems. Abby's hair is at that "awkward" stage, falling into her eyes and not staying behind her ears. We use a hairbow to keep the offending locks in place. Abby usually doesn't notice her hairbow, but when it is mentioned, her little hand reaches up and pulls it from her hair, causing all her bangs to come into her face. She also likes hairbows because they make her pretty. What a little girl!

So for now we spell in front of Abby. We'll see how many words are added to the list in the coming months?

Somebody remind me when children start learning to spell? How much longer do we have?

Saving, Saving, Saving

I've had some folks ask me about my couponing prowess. I've decided to put a few of my tricks here for your enjoyment/help. First let me tell you where this skill originated.

When I was a little girl, my mom had what we called the "refunding room". She subscribed to a magazine called Refunding Makes Cents, and she clipped coupons anywhere she could find them. My dad even fixed her a long wooden box to keep all her coupons in. She soaked the labels off of orange juice bottles (back when they were made of glass) so that she could mail them in for the refunding checks.

I never thought much about my mom's obsession, but now that I'm older and poorer, I realize that she is probably the smartest, thriftiest woman I know.

Over the years, I've watched and learned and now I'm pretty adept at saving money on my own. I mentioned in a previous post that I save on average 30-50% on my grocery bills by shopping on sale and with coupons. Here are some tips for saving at the grocery store.

1. ALWAYS buy things on sale. If it's not on sale, don't get it. I rarely purchase anything that isn't marked down.

2. Subscribe to the Sunday paper. This is where you get the really good coupons. It costs us $6.96 a month to have the paper delivered to our house, and on average I save $10-$20 per week couponing. The paper more than pays for itself.

3. Every Sunday I sit down with the sale paper from my grocery store of choice after I have clipped coupons from the inserts, and I look at what is on sale and what I have coupons for. When possible I combine sales and coupons for maximum savings. Let me give you an example. **guys tune out here** Ingles often has their Kotex pantyliners on sale buy one get one free. I almost always have a coupon for $.75 off. I can buy them for $.69 and take off $.75. They are free, and I get $.06 off something else. Make sense?

4. Learn to read the sales papers. Most sales ads tell you how much off the product is. If is is only $.08 off, you aren't getting a good deal. Be aware.

5. Most grocery stores double coupons up to $.50 or $.60. These coupons are the best deals. Use them first!

6. Clip even the coupons you think you might not use. You never know what you'll need.

7. Buy ahead. Don't wait until you are completely out to run to the grocery store to buys something. Keep it in stock. If you guy out of need, you will always spend more. Keep the staples you always use in your cabinet.

8. Organize your coupons. I'm not much on organization. If you've been to my house, you know what I mean, but coupons expire, so you need to have them in order of when they expire. I put mine in envelopes marked for each month and organize them chronologically. That way I know exactly what is about to expire.

9. Keep it fun!! For me couponing is a game. I like to get the best deals, and with a watchful eye, I can many times get things for practically free. It's invigorating.

Please post any tricks you use to save money. I'm always looking for good ideas!