About

About Me
I’m Samantha Bradley, blessed to be the wife of Bill and mommy to two wonderful adopted sons.  Coleman born at Christmas in 2008 is the best Christmas gift ever after the birth of my Lord and Savior, Jesus.  And William born the summer of 2010 who is my miracle as he came into our lives within a week (more about our adoption stories and experiences in a later post).In college, I was blessed in two ways… one was when my future husband, Bill, introduced me to the Lord and the Lord then chose me.  The second way was when the Lord introduced me to and chose Bill to be my best friend, my beloved, and my husband.  For the rest of my life, I will praise the Lord for these blessings.  My prayer is that this blog will glorify the Lord. 

From Shop-a-holic to Frugal-iesta
 In 2008, I was a happily married Professional Accountant focused on my career and with the goal of fast tracking up the “Corporate Ladder”… happily married but with no children.  After spending countless dollars, time, and energy on fertility treatment in October of 2008… I finally listened to the Lord.  I had to be broken before I did what I should have done in college… I turned over control of my desire to be a Mom to Him.  It was a humbling experience but after my salvation experience one of the best moments in my life. 

Within sixteen days of turning over control of my most heartfelt desire (to be a Mom) to the Lord, Bill and I were chosen by a birthmother to become the parents of her unborn son.  Within six weeks, my deepest desire was fulfilled when I held my son in my arms for the first time… What a wonderful Christmas gift!!  Yet even then I still was focused on my career… work came first ahead of everything… it was my idol.  Then in 2009 after spending almost a year juggling being a Working Mom and having the majority of my son’s “firsts” take place at daycare; the Lord decided to bless me again.  I was laid off, my idol had not been faithful but the Lord was.  I know to some people this wouldn’t be a blessing but it allowed me to become what I had always wanted to be a Stay at Home Mom.  I spent the first six months, getting adjusted to my new role and to our new reduced income level.  Yet even as I enjoyed my time spent alone with my son, in the back of my mind I still worried about money and held the option of work and daycare as an option. 

In 2010, the Lord spoke very clearly to my husband and I regarding my staying at home when we were once again chosen to be parents by a birth mother.  Our son, William, came to us unexpectedly as we were not looking to adopt again.  But what a wonderful surprise present Will is.  It has taken months to adapt to my new role of being the stay at home Mom of two boys.  During that time, I realized that my family would not be able to survive without some drastic changes to both our lifestyle and to our spending habits or I would have to go back to work and my sons would be raised by day care workers. 

The shop-a-holic lifestyle who never worried about money or need had to be put to rest and an new lifestyle needed to arise… one based on frugal living, spending every penny wisely, minimizing extra expenses, and re-using or re-inventing what we have.  My first step was to turn to the internet and to what my Mom did when I was a little girl... couponing.  But couponing has changed dramatically from my Mom's days.  And even becoming good at couponing did  not meet my goal of becoming like the Noble Wife as stated in Proverbs 31:27 “She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.” I realized that I needed to become frugally minded in all things not just about shopping.

About A Spoonful O Sugar
 As I talked with friends and family, I realized that what I had been experiencing since the birth of my second son was not uncommon.  In these economic times, not only are people worried about their jobs but also about how to use their money more wisely.  I realized that the knowledge I had been acquiring over the last year was known but not commonly put into practice.  Many times when I would go grocery shopping, I would be stopped by the people in line behind me or by the cashier and asked how I was getting so much for so little cash.  I was listening to a sing-a-long song with my son when I heard the song phrase “a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.”  It hit me that what we need is some “sugar” to help people.  God calls for us to be good stewards of all that He gives us and as the “Chief Operating Officer” of our home, my job is to be a good steward of our household expenses.    Thus “A Spoonful O Sugar” was born… the purpose of this blog is to provide tips for those who coupon, take advantage of rebates, participate in giveaways, shop strategically, and focus on frugal living.  My goal is to help my readers to become frugal strategic shoppers and good stewards of all that the Lord has provided them.  And to maybe provide them with a much needed laugh as I detail some of my attempts to economize. 

Many thanks go out to those who came before me
I want to take time to thank all of those bloggers who helped to change my life for the better.  You have done a good work that the Lord has used towards His purpose.  My hope is that I can pay it forward and have an impact on someone’s life so that God will be glorified. 

To my readers
Thank you for joining me on this journey… as I follow this path that the Lord has set before me, I hope you will enjoy walking it with me.  Whether it is walking on the frugal side, trying to lose weight, raising two very active little boys, or when I begin to home school; I hope you are finding this useful in your daily life.