Monthly Menu Plan

I figured since I was doing it up anyway I would show you how I do my monthly menu plan.
Here is an example of this month.

 This is my amazing calendar. I write everything down on it and it even has some pretty cool stickers so we just have to look at a quick glance to know what is up for the month.

 Next I take a piece of paper and write down meals that we normally would like to eat. We have a few favourites that we make every month. Such as crock pot roast beef, spaghetti, lasagna, meatloaf, steak (because we bought a cow a year and a half ago and we are trying to use it all up), etc...

 Then I look up recipes. As of late I have been pulling a lot of inspiration off of Pinterest. So off to my computer I go to try and find new recipes.

 Once I figure I have enough recipes I head back to my trusty calendar and figure out what meals go on what day. Certain days such as Tuesdays, when she dances from 2 till 8:30 I know supper has to be either made early or is leftovers from the night before. On the weeks that it is just Sarah and myself, I often cook a normal meal every other night and then the next night it is leftovers.

 Then I write down my grocery list. I write down everything that is needed in the recipes that I do not have. When I add it to my phone I then add things like milk, eggs, fruit, etc...

Here is a close up view of March's menu plan. As you can see my baby is turning 14 and she requested pizza.

I don't know if this helps anyone but there it is.
I love doing a month at a time. I would never stay dedicated if I did it every week. I am pretty flexible as well. Sometimes we eat out so then the food that I would normally make that day is open to make a different day if I am not feeling in the particular mood for something.

It has drastically cut down my grocery bill to do this and I find I am not struggling at 4 trying to figure out something to make for supper. We are also eating way more healthier as it is not junk, because I never defrosted anything. :)

What a day.

So last week I lost another Uncle. One that although I was not close to still was close to my parents.
Now I must admit that I was tossed up about going. It is a 2 hour trip one way and to be honest I was being a bit lazy. However I decided that I should take my daughter. She had never been to a funeral before and with the age of my family I figure it is only a matter of time before she will be put in that spot.
I figured that the funeral of a family member that she really never knew was a good one to begin.

So we dash around this morning getting ready, ironing pants, picking out shirts and shoes, grabbing a large travel mug of coffee for this tired Momma and away we go.

I am really glad we went. I am super glad that I could be there to support my parents as well as my Aunt and cousins.

I am also really happy I brought Sarah. They did have an open casket at the front of the church so she also was able to see a body without it being someone really close to her.

Afterwards we went back to Mom and Dad's and visited for a while and then they insisted they take Sarah and I out for supper.

The drive home was also a lot of fun. We spent the time talking and singing songs. Ranging from country to gospel and back again. We took turns picking the song from my phone and away we would sing. Sometimes acting crazy and sometimes lost in the rejoicing of His word.

Halfway home when the sun was setting so pretty we pulled over and grabbed a few shots with my phone.

As always I was amazed at how God provides and works in my life.
I hope you are all having a glorious week so far. :)

Randomness

I started the evening actually updating my blog. Actually following the blogs that I have been already reading and putting them on my dashboard so that it makes life a whole lot easier. So here I am adding blogs and catching up on some that I have not read in a while. Then I added Here I am.... I read her most recent post and I stopped adding. I then spent the next few hours lost here.
I so badly want to be able to help each and everyone of these beautiful children. My heart is hurting tonight.
The really ironic part is that lately I have been feeling that God is moving me away from adopting. I actually have stopped reading most of my adoption blogs that I was scouring and settling into my new life. (The life where we actually do not adopt any children that is). Then I find this site and I am lost again.
How can I not want to help at least one of these beautiful children? How can I not want to be able to make at least one life somewhere somehow better.
I realize that financially right now that this is possibly out of the question. I also realize that neither my hubby nor I are spring chickens. However that doesn't stop my heart.
So now I ask for prayer.
Prayer that God leads myself and my hubby in the direction that we are supposed to go and that whichever way it is he helps prepare our hearts for what lies ahead.

3 in 30 update

I had a kind of a lazy week here this week.
Nothing major happening.
School is going actually really well. She is settling down into a great routine and seems to be able to focus a lot better. We are doing our morning devotions before she does school work and then I started a Lent reading plan on my YouVersion App. (I love this app!!)

But anyhoo...back to my update.
1. Clean one room thoroughly and completely, purged, window washed (if have any) ceiling and walls washed. Lights washed, bulbs changed. If have curtains, them washed, iron or replaced if need be.


Well I definitely slowed down on this one. I have wiped down some walls, organised my container drawers and organised our electronic box, but other than normal house cleaning I have stalled a bit in this area.


2. Keep up with making a new recipe every week.


This is still going great. I am loving trying out new recipes and scouring the web or more ones that appeal to us. I have even started to get more adventurous and try to create my own. 
This week in addition to making more of my version of granola energy balls, these delicious german chocolate bites and lemon chicken (which by the way I was out of lemons so I used limes and just as delicious), I also made this Reese's Peanut Butter Banana Bread (which my hubby loved!!), Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Larabars (which are in the fridge setting up), and these amazing Flourless Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. They made 7 cookies and I ate all of them in one day. So good and so easy to make. Highly recommend these!!


3. Take more pictures.


So I am totally going to write this one off for the month. I can never remember to bring my camera. I need to check out a blog somewhere that has take this picture for each particular day of the month.


Well not the best of weeks as far as 1 and 3 go but hey I rocked out 2. Hahahahaha
I hope the rest of you had much better weeks!! 


I am linking up this week with the 3 in 30 challenge update.
Pop on over and see what others are up to in their monthly challenges. 

Thankful Thursday

I am so thankful for my parents. They have truely been a blessing to me. I thank God daily for having me born to this particular set of people, into this crazy family.
I know I have said this before but my parents are not young anymore. My Dad (Pappa as I call him) is 87 and my Mom is 83.
We are seeing more and more memory loss in Dad. He still remembers us all and all our children, but he sometimes forgets where to turn to go to the grocery store. (They have lived in town for the last 28 years) He now lives like what happened 50 years ago is happening now.
I just found out last night that Dad just had a minor heart attack. He is in complete denial and it scares me. He was always my rock growing up. Dad only had 1 boy in the midst of all us girls. 5 in total. My brother is 13 years older than me. Needless to say growing up on a farm I did my fair share. I often went out to lay the bedding down for the cows or feed them. Milk them when I was much younger. Feed the chickens and gather the eggs. ( I must say I am petrified of those darn birds) I even went out to "feed" the gophers with my Daddy.
Now the thought of losing him freaks me out. I have always know that the chances that I will continue to walk this side of heaven without my parents is great but to have it almost tangible takes my breathe away.

OK OK I know that now all of you are saying 'I thought that this was supposed to be Thankful Thursday?' and it is.
I am thankful that I was given these two beautiful individuals to be my parents.
I am thankful that I was raised the way that I was.
I am thankful that my parents thought that it was important to take me to church and to instill that in me.
I am thankful that although my parents are elderly they are still with me.
I am thankful that I have been blessed with at least 40 years of love and wisdom from these two.
I am so thankful that my children all got to know my parents and that they have amazing memories of grandparents, that tend to spoil them rotten while loving them unconditionally.
I am so thankful...

A trip back in time..., and some musings from this chick.

My handsome hubby managed to get my printer/copier/scanner/fax machine working again so I decided to try and scan my first picture in. Please bear with my as I never realised that when my lovely daughter sent her fax to her teacher today that she never removed it from the machine so when I scanned the picture in it now appears to be on lined paper. But... oh well...

This is Brandon. When we lived on Vancouver Island our boys were very young. In fact when we first moved there Brandon was only 6 months old. It was a great game that when Daddy came home they went and hid and Daddy had to find them. However they had no real concept of time so sometimes they would go to 'hide' way to early and Brandon almost always fell asleep waiting for Daddy to come find him. This was one of his favorites, another one was in his closet. I have tons of pictures of him like this. I have ones when he fell asleep reading and the book is still in his hands over his face. They are priceless.
My how time flies.

I just also wanted to let you know that the things that are happening are not live threatening. We are all healthy and happy. Just a touch stressed. It has stuff to do with the community we are living in and the house that we are trying to purchase. I will have more on this on a later date.

Have a great night everyone!

Truth Tuesday

It has been one of those days.
A day of discoveries.
A day that makes you sit back and wish you could take a holiday.
There are some things that I am not ready to share just yet. However I do ask for prayers for my family and myself.

I hope everyone's day was much less stressful than ours.