Family News

We stopped by the airport to meet up with Dave's parents on a layover! It was so neat to see them for a few hours! The boys had a blast!

Mom Mom and Landon

Logan likes to be the comedian and balance things in between his toes. Here he is balancing a pen.

" Do you want to try it too?"

We went to see my friend Sybil who moved to the country. Here is a picture of Landon and his friend Sariose trying out her new tire swing.

The Bargain Shopper Lady

I am excited to write that God has blessed me beyond belief and I had the privilege of writing a bargain and saving money column in our local Today Newspaper. It came out today! If the column gets great reviews, it will actually turn into a pretty permanent thing. This is what the editor wrote " Let us know what you think of these deals, and we'll see if Granniss will send you more!" YEAH!
This is one of those "dream jobs" for me. One that takes almost no effort and I can rattle off a column on my computer during a nap period while the boys are sleeping. The paper also posted a link to my website, http://www.bargainshopperlady.com/ were people can come and very soon take an online coupon class that I wrote.
There is something about helping another person save money. It blesses my heart. Most bargain shoppers are like this. We shop at the grocery store and we know we are going to take a little (okay a lot) of extra time checking out while the cashier scans our coupons. We always want to share the experience of the total price going down with others. So we check the basket of the lady in front and back of us. Then we calculate and pull out coupons to give them. Why? Well, we feel bad about how long it is going to take us, but mainly we want to share the thrill of saving money. Quick tip, did you know when you use a $1 coupon, you usually save anywhere from $1.35-$1.50! Why? Well you weren't taxed. You were not taxed on your salary by the government and you weren't taxed on your grocery bill. So if I saved $50 on my grocery bill say out of $100, I actually saved around $75. I do need a few more moms to take a test online coupon class that I am trying out. It is free and I would like feedback on the material to see if you understood it.
So now to sign off with my new signature!
Every penny counts with the Bargain Shopper Lady!
Blessings,
Lori

5 Things I Dig About Jesus!

This is my first time to be tagged! I got tagged from Maia and Lauren!
Between typing up mystery shop reports, playing with two boys who are full of energy, and writing an article for my new job (which I will spill the beans about on Thursday when the time is right) I finally finished!
Here are the rules:

1. those tagged will share 5 things they dig about Jesus…

2. those tagged will tag 5 other bloggers…

3. those tagged will post a comment here with their name and a link to their “dig” Jesus list…

5 Things I Dig About Jesus:

I went ahead and deleted these because I kinda felt like they were private thoughts. Sorry if you didn't get to read them!!

Our Baby Logan Made The Newspaper!

My friend Angel from the Today Newspaper emailed me yesterday and told me to make sure to get a paper today. It turns out Logan made the first page! So that's what it feels like to be a proud mama!

Loving Your Neighbor Award

When I was in 5th grade a friend of mine always had HUGE parties. Everyone always wanted to be invited to her great parties. She had valentine's day parties, birthday parties, the works.
Well one year at a Halloween party a boy dressed as a gorilla threw grapes at me. I was not about to let him get away with it, so I pelted them right back at him. The only problem was that the only thing that everyone saw was me throwing grapes. So I was labeled the "grape thrower" and in turn, I was not invited to the next party.
I sat at home the evening of the big end of the year party that my friend had, crying wondering why my friend no longer liked me, or at least that is what I thought. Everyone that I knew was at her party (including my 5th grade crush). I learned the pain of what it felt like to be left out. I asked God why this had happened to me. He held me close and told me to learn from this by making sure I do my best to include others. My dad ended up taking me out on date to The Red Lobster and we had a great evening. (My Heavenly Father and my earthy father sure know how to mend a girls heart!)

Looking back, I am so glad that I was uninvited. I made a vow on that day that I would go out of my way to always try to make everyone feel welcome. I'm sure there are people that I have overlooked or left out at times, but I learn to love my neighbor more as I experience life. I thank God for teaching me that lesson. I have found that I can always find a real friend in a shy face or a hurt heart that was maybe not as outgoing. Since that day, I would still have random dreams about missing that party. Each one a reminder of the lesson God taught me.

Have you done your best to include others in your life? Do you go out of your way to hug a new face? You never know, you could actually save a person from a godless life. They might take your welcoming gesture and want to know what it is you have that is so special.
I pray that God will guide you to love on someone new this week!

I wanted to thank the Irving Bunco Girls for Loving Their Neighbor and inviting me to play Bunco with them on Monday night. Amanda did a great job hosting and it was really nice of her to invite me even if that meant they might have had too many players. As it turned out, God saw that we had exactly 12, which was perfect. I am giving Amanda, Sunni, Janelle and the 8 other girls the LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AWARD.

Blessings,
Lori

Looking Back at Bluebonnets

There were a few pictures that I wanted to go back and post from before I started this blog last month. Bluebonnets with Daddy and the Boys!

Hang on Boys!
Matching Shirts, $5 Crocs, $17
Two brothers in bluebonnets, PRICELESS!

The Splash Factory

Our playgroup to the SPLASH FACTORY!

The boys had a blast. Logan squeeled for the first 10 minutes, he was SO excited to play there!



Landon getting "dumped" on!

Landon shooting the water gun!

Landon has been here before, but this was Logan's first time.

Gig' em!

Here is Logan's 16 month picture!

It is scanned so look closely.

If you look at his right hand, he is giving a Gig' em Aggies!

We did not prep him, we think he is trying to tell us he wants to be an Aggie someday.

So in honor of the fact that I painted my room (Lori) maroon and white during my childhood and I loved the Aggies, we dedicate this picture to all the Aggies !

I remember the day that I knew God called me to go to college at DBU (to eventually meet my husband!)

It was a bitter sweet moment. My dad almost cried when I told him, he was so happy I chose a private Christian school and so sad that he would not be going to any Aggie football games.

So in memory of all the childhood bonfires we attended, the games we got to go to and the Breakaway Road Trips,

Gig 'em Aggies from baby Logan!

A Little Info About Us

I thought you might want to know a little more about us!

David:
Dad and Husband
Fisherman
Great cook!
Very handy around the house - carpenter type guy
soccer coach
Can wake up, get dressed and ready in 0.8 seconds (I love this!)
Loves dogs, especially our black labs
Built a solid wood canoe with his two bear hands.
Reads books to the boys every night before bed!
Has a fitness center at work and gets to work out most days!
Loves to read
Serves us daily, even when he is tired.
Loves Swiss Army Knives and has quite a collection.
Loves to make his own knives in his shop.
Has a garden and a composter.
Will immediately change Logan's poopy diaper if I give him this "Please help me sweetie look."
Loves Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Loves the beach!

Lori:
Mom and wife
Likes to fish!
Loves her boys - David, Landon and Logan
Loves to take hot baths
Loves a great bargain and saves over 60% on our grocery bill!
Former math teacher
Wakes up at 6 am to clean (7am on weekends)
Enjoys using the computer when she gets done cleaning in the morning.
Works at home for a coupon fundraising company
Coupon Queen, gets tons of stuff for free
Loves taking family vacations to Connecticut
Favorite store is Coldwater Creek, especially when the outlet has their $70 shirts for $1.99
Loves Dr. Pepper
Works 24-7 as MOM and has the best JOB in the WORLD!

Landon: age 3
Big Brother
Loves Swimming
Loves Playing baseball in our backyard.
Enjoys anything related to being outside.
Has a Diego zip line that daddy built and a Diego bike.
Loves Dogs.
Seeks out bugs - has a Caterpillar collection.
Usually takes a noon bath. Mommy throws me in to get all the mud off.
Loves his Grandma and Duke and his Mom Mom and Pop Pop.
Loves Sonic.

Logan: age 1
Little Brother
Class clown, loves making everyone laugh.
Enjoys cuddling and hugging.
Loves ham and cheese.
Enjoys being outside.
Will attempt to do anything that my big brother does at any time.
Crawled up a huge playground slide and slid down head first singing "WEEEE!"
Takes a noon bath with big brother.
Nickname "Scooter"

Our little baseball STAR!

My son LOVES baseball! He played a little tee-ball this year. He played in only one FABULOUS game where he got a huge hit and it felt like we won the lottery, we screamed so loud for him!

At home Landon is the Babe Ruth of the house. He practices baseball for hours. He won't hit off the tee anymore, he wants us to pitch it to him. He hits them over the fence in our pool and all over. I am so proud of his ability! He begs me not to go in and cook dinner because he wants to keep playing, or maybe he does't like my cooking, I'm not sure. :) Today he hit about 10 buckets of balls and then we would retrieve them all and start over again. So I may be a little over the top when I say that one day when you go to the store you just might find a Landon Granniss candy bar. And we are still debating if he should play for the Yankees or the Stros.

With love,
Lori