Menu Plan Monday~ March 30- April 5

I truly hope that things get back to normal around here. We did not leave the house hardly at all this past week due to horribly ill children. I hope to get things going back around here. No more TV constantly on! So here is a quick menu plan. Many blessings to you this week!

Monday March 30th – Steak and Veggie Stir-fry over rice
Tuesday March 31st - Leftovers
Wednesday April 1st- Friends and Family Meal
Thursday April 2nd – Grilled Chicken with Sweet potatoes and green beans
Friday April 3rd – Grilled Pork Chops with corn and carrots
Saturday April 4th- BBQ Chicken Pizza
Sunday April 5th- Taco Bar

For more menu plans had over to Organized Junkie!

Struggles...

So here friends are a couple struggles I am dealing with spiritually and internally...

1. 3 friends commited suicide in a week.... Did they go to Heaven or Hell?
2. Did God speak to me in my dreams last night? Does he speak to us in dreams?
3. Why do elder Christians have such problems with being held accountable?

Help me dear friends... Comments appreciated.. Phone calls appreciated... Prayers much needed...!

Frugal Friday- Staying Home

The Month of March I decided that my goal was to only fill up my gas tank one time. This shouldn't seem so hard since I live in a suburb of a big city that has every need I could possibly come up with in a 10 mile radius. There is only one kink, my son's school is 30 mi away. He only goes two times a week but the gas adds up.

I combined trips to stores, used what I had at the house and only drove to Clayton to Dylan's school. It is possible to only fill your gas tank once a month. I am excited that next year I will be homeschooling and will not have to make that 30 mi trek. How long could I go without putting gas in my car? I am also toying with the thoughts of walking to stores this summer and fall (I know I am spoiled but I am also overweight, have to asthmatic kids, and I am afraidy cat.)

I am learning that the more things I implement into being frugal, the more other areas in my life are changing- example, we started making food from scratch and started eating at home more, not only are our financial goals more obtainable but we are also seeing our waist size go down!

So I encourage you to combine your trips, walk instead of drive, carpool or any other idea you can come up with to help your finances. Those things also will help our environment! It's a two for one deal!

Fore More Frugal Tips visit Life as Mom.

Real Quick Before Bed

I just love these pictures of Andy and the baby. Andy is the apple of Lincoln's eye. When Andy walks in- Lincoln sprint crawls to see him. It is so adorable. He follows Andy around everywhere. This is from the other night when we were grilling out. Linc worked so long to get Andy's attention but when he did it was soo worth it to him.





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Dylan really wanted to learn to use the vacuum while we have been stuck at home fighting off sickness. So here are some pictures of my big boy, who also dressed himself. :)

Here is my bedroom when he is done.
In case you're wondering there is a pack and play on my side of the bed for Lincoln with all the sickness we wanted the boys in our room to make sure they were close when the fevers spiked.
Dylan has a make-shift bed floor bed on Andy's side. Andy and I have gotten very little sleep as you can imagine.

Nightstand Reads

So as promised here are all the books on my "To-Read on the Nightstand" list:

• Learning to Live Financially Free by Marybeth and Curt Whalen
• Plan B by Lester R. Brown
• School Starts at Home by Cheri Fuller
• Family Power by Karen Miller- Kovach
• Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
• Homeschooling and the Voyage of Self-Discovery by David H. Albert
• Have Fun. Learn Stuff. Grow. by David H. Albert
• What Happens When Women Walk in Faith by Lysa TerKeurst
• Faith Driven Family by Voddie Baucham Jr.
• The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama (Please don't judge me. I am just truly intriged.)
• Simple Secrets of a Great Marriage by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend
• Prayer by Phillip Yancey

Woohoo! Now everyone grab a cup of coffee and a good book! The next book I will be going through is Marybeth and Curt Whalen's Learning to Live Financially Free! I have just gotten through the first few chapters and it is truly an inspiration and a great read!

Frustration

I follow the Motivated Moms Daily Planner, everyday. Yesterday we had to take our oldest to the ER. He was really sick with an extremely high fever. So the day was pretty much shot as we sat down there for four hours, had errands to run, food to make, and messes to clean up.

So on Mondays, you are supposed to go through our refrigerator and plan your weekly menu around what leftovers you have. I, however, normally do this on Sunday so I can figure out what we will need to get from the grocery on Monday. So instead of inventorying the refrigerator, I wrote down that I wanted to go through my inside freezer that was attached to the refrigerator.

Now let me give you a little history about me, I used to hate left-overs- Couldn't stand them!! Now I have really gotten better as we are trying to save money and, believe it or not!, I cannot stand waste. I believe that the Lord calls us to be good stewards with our money and when we just waste what He has given us, it is just a big ol' slap in his face. So, needless to say, I hate waste.

Well guess what!! I cannot tell you how much food I through away out of that freezer. I would have to say about 3-4 lbs at least- chicken, cubed steak, ground chuck.... I was so FRUSTRATED!

But you see, it was my fault because the last time I rotated our freezer contents and went through it was about a year ago. So today I am vowing to go through my inside freezer every month or two.

Now to attack the chest freezer in the garage! How about you? Anyone have any ideas on how to waste less and use more? Anyone have any ideas on organizing freezers or maybe any ideas on leftovers?

Menu Play - March 23

This is a busy week here at the Davis' house. So we are going to be eating a lot of quick family dinners and left-overs. We are also getting back on the healthy eating/lose weight kick. So here goes the menu for this week.

Breakfasts:
Cereal, muffins, toast, eggs, pancakes

Lunches:
Leftovers, Jelly Sandwiches, Cheese sandwiches, and Macaroni Cheese

Dinners:
Monday: Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and green beans

Tuesday: Chicken Alfredo with bread and salad

Wednesday: Steaks with carrots and sweet potatoes

Thursday: Potato Soup with sandwiches

Friday: Left-over Tex Mex with left-over spanish rice

Saturday: Chicken and Noodles with mashed potatoes

Sunday: Left-overs

Happy Menu Planning! For more menus head over to organized junkie!

Random Thoughts

My mind is just going a hundred miles an hour right now and Andy is asleep so y'all get to hear the crazy madness..

• We went to the seed store this afternoon and it was closed for the afternoon. I was so bummed out. I was really excited to get the seeds I needed, but not in the cards for today.
• We went out to the farm and staked out our plot for the garden. I am praying that God gives me the strength to properly maintain what I have been so graciously been allowed to us.
  
• I really want to do good on our Debt Reduction plan because I really want to build my house in the country some day soon. It is so hard because there are so many temptations. I am praying that God brings me the discipline I need.
• I feel guilty because we went out to dinner tonight. I know that sounds stupid but we have s much food here, no money, and are on diets. BUT, it just sounded so good at the time.
  
• I am excited that we have church tomorrow. It is always my recharging time.
• I started my running plan today. I was on the treadmill. I was starting to get really tired. So I started reciting "With God all things are possible." Then I started having serious doubts about myself and running right then. I knew it was the Devil playing games with my head so I said "in the name of Jesus, Devil be gone". The thoughts were immediately gone, but the treadmill stopped. Goodness gracious. Those demons and evil spirits will do anything.
• I am getting tired so I am going to go to bed. Have a blessed day as you worship our incredible Lord and spend time with our families! :)
  

Spring Is Here!!

In the words of Little Bill --- Spring is here. Spring is here. It's the best time of the year!



I am so excited that spring is here! I love to see all of God's creation bloom after a long winter and come back to life. Winters in Ohio are crazy. Last year at this time we still had snow, but this week has been beautiful!



As I sit here while Andy is on a run, Dylan is with my parents, and Lincoln is taking a nap I can hear the birds chirping, balls bouncing, and kids laughing. Some of my favorite sounds. Here is a verse that I found today that just melted my heart and expressed just how I feel-


'For behold, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.The flowers have already appeared in the land;the time has arrived for pruning the vines,and the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land. The fig tree has ripened its figs, and the vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance. Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come along!'
Song 2:11-13 (NASB)



Okay so I didn't call Andy "my beautiful one" (maybe I should have? :D) but that explained how incredible I felt inside. So we are headed to the seed store and then out to the family farm to stake claim on our land for the garden. :) I am so excited. I know myself, and I always get so excited this time of the year and by the middle of summer I am burned out, but this year with all the recalls and money prices going up, I am pumped and ready!! Another added plus is that Dylan is really excited about helping out. He is getting to such a fun age. Lincoln can just sit and eat the dirt and have a good 'ol time.

This is especially exciting because I am going to start homeschooling this year and this can be very useful knowledge. So hi ho hi ho it's off to Saunders I go!! Hope y'all are getting out and enjoying the Spring !!

The Ultimate Blog Party!

WELCOME!!!

I am Jodi at one blessed mama of boys. I am so excited that you visited from The Ultimate Blog Party! Here are just a few quick things about me:

• Praise God I am a sinner who has been washed in His blood and I am FORGIVEN!


• I am a Bible believing, Christ follower who loves to be a part of church ministries.


• I am married to a wonderful man, who I am thankful to be a helpmate and companion to. God has truly blessed me.


• We have two wonderful children, Dylan who is 3 yo and Lincoln who is going to be 1 yo in two weeks (My little baby!!! tear...).


• I am 24 yo.


• I was sexually assaulted and my dream is to tell young girls of how Jesus can help you overcome it all.


• I am an only child to two great Christian parents.


• I am blessed with many friends who encourage and minister to me every day.


• I am going to be starting homeschooling this fall and I am very much excited and looking forward to that adventure!


• I love being frugal. We follow Dave Ramsey's financial plan and we are very excited to be doing what God would want us to do with our money.


• I love spending the summer growing, harvesting, and preserving our own foods.


• We are trying to go totally homemade and organic with our food and it is proving to be an adventure!


• I want to learn to get into sewing and making our clothes.


• We live in beautiful (haha!) Ohio where the weather always keeps you guessing, but I love it anyway.


• My dream is to have 6 or 7 children but I suffer from a bad cervical conization and PCOS.

My goal in this blog is bring you the real musings of a woman who is living a life she never expected, but LOVES every minute of it. I want to bring encouragement and Jesus to women who read this blog and I want you to feel my love for my Sweet Jesus, family and friends. I want to teach you some of my ideas on how to get past these hard times and become debt free. I want to bring you along with me as I begin the highs and lows of homeschooling and also on my quest to get my family health physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I am so excited to meet you all!

Things I Love Thursday- Free At Last...

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. -Isaiah 41:10

When I read this verse on a blog today, I thought about how it was just what I needed. I am fearful about so many things right now. So here is a quick list so all of you can be praying for me to remember this verse.

• I am afraid of the dark and being home at home at night. I am really paralyzingly afraid. I pray for God's protection but often don't hold tight to Him after I ask.
• I am afraid that I am not teaching my family enough about the Lord. Another paralyzing fear I have is not seeing anyone in my family and friends or ANYONE for that matter in Heaven. I know that I do not quite understand Heaven but I do not know how it could be a perfect place if someone I care about it not there.
• I am terrified that I am a bad mother. That I am making mistakes in how I am raising my children, how I am teaching them about the great, miraculous, loving Lord that I hold so dear. I fear that they will make some of the same mistakes I made. I know that they will have to learn for themselves but I am scared that they will turn away and not turn back.
  
• I am fearful that I am making the wrong decision about homeschooling my children. I feel the Lord's gentle push but is it the right thing?
• I fear that I am always going to be overweight and unhealthy.
• I fear that I will have no more children.
• I fear that I am not a good helpmate and companion for my husband and that I don't make him proud.
• I fear that something is going to happen to my children, husband, parents, family, etc.
• I fear that I am not the woman and following that my Sweet Jesus wants.
• I fear that I am inadequate, a failure, and too stupid to do the task that God has in place for me.
• I fear... I fear... I fear...

Now that we have all of those out of the way and I pictured myself handing each one of those to God, I want to share a great post with you. You can find it here. In this post she is talking about bringing things to the Lord that we just feel are too much for us. This was just what I needed today.

So friends, fear not. We have a wonderful God who knows our futures, loves us, takes care of us, and has us in the palm of his hand. So what I love is a God who takes care of me and cherishes me and watches over me.

For more Things I Love Thursday head over to Diaper Diaries.

Gratituesday- Forgiveness

Today I am thankful for a God that forgives. At our St. Patrick's Day Party we played a game where we wrote a secret about ourselves and then we had to guess whose it was. My friend Renee is one awesome person and her secret was: I have broken all ten commandments. PRAISE GOD I AM FORGIVEN!. Now she didn't break them all physically but some mentally and some physically. I began thinking of how true this is especially for me. I have always considered my sins bigger than everyone else's. I have never stopped to consider that our Good Lord has forgiven them all- your's, mine, everyone's. I feel so blessed to have a Savior who died on the Cross with my name on His mind.



Today I am thankful today that I am indeed FORGIVEN. Amen and Amen.



And here is a quick picture from the St. Patricks's Day Party- it is me and my friend Sara.






For more stories of Gratitude head on over to Heavenly Homemakers.

Menu Plan Monday 3-16 through 3-22

So this weekend was a great but busy weekend. We had lots of time with friends and family. We are blessed to have such a good support group close to us. I also got a lot of things accomplished. I moved all the toys out of different rooms and cleaned out our spare room and made a play room for the kids. I also started all of my vegetable and herb starts. The ones that I started a couple of days ago have already have sprouted. So here are a couple of pictures and my menu plan for the week. You will see a lot of repeats due to an extremely crazy week last week- mostly at breakfast and lunch.

I am also going to be baking on Monday. My baking list includes:

• Pumpkin Muffins
• Bread
  
• Tortillas
• Pizza Dough
• Waffles

Monday:
Oatmeal
Green Beans, Cheese, and Fruit
Roast with carrots and potatoes

Tuesday:
Pancakes
Jelly Sandwiches, Carrots Sticks, and Fruit
Pork and Veggie Stir-fry with rice

Wednesday:
Biscuits
Hotdogs, Cheese, and Fruit
Grilled Chicken, Green beans, and Sweet potatoes

Thursday:
Cereal
Cheese Tortillas
Tex-Mex Dip with Salsa with tortillas and chips

Friday:
Eggs and cheese
Leftovers
Ham and Cheese or BLT Sandwiches with potato wedges

Saturday:
Biscuits and Gravy
BBQ Pizza
Beefy Enchilada Bake

Sunday:
Pumpkin Muffins
Lunch at my SIL's house
Leftovers or sandwiches



For more Menu Plan ideas $5 Dinners is hosting this week.

Heavy Heart

Friends- I come to you tonight with a heavy heart. We had a great sermon today in church about how while on the Cross, Jesus asked that his mother be taken care of one of his disciples. He showed compassion to them both. In today's times, with all the money problem and such, we should be welcoming people into the church and not judging.

We should be saying, "Come in we have someone who will ALWAYS be there for you and his name is Jesus. He is with you always."

I was really exciting about this message. I get passionate when the church gets into touching others lives and outreach.

But friends I come to you with heavy hearts because just in the past week I know or someone I care about knows someone who has taken their lives. I'm saddens my heart. Did they know my Jesus? Did they know that he can heal all hurts and troubles, we just have to reach for him and ask? Did they know that He loves them? Did they know that I love them? Could I have shown them Jesus or brought His message to them?

I pray for their families and I pray that I have the strength to tell the Devil to get behind Jesus when the pain and the memories take over. Please pray with me also.

Saturday Smiles- Getting Together With Friends

I am not sure why this is underlined but I don't know how to change it. These are pictures of our Halloween Party last Fall. Tomorrow, we will be going to a friend's home for lunch and then we will be having a St. Patrick's Day Party. This makes me smile when I think of all the fun we have and all the memories we are going to make. So when I look at these pictures I think of the great friendships I have in my life and how blessed I am.


So- what memories or pictures make you smile when you see them? What memories or pictures remind you of how blessed you are to spend the weekends with family and friends that God has blessed you with?

Gratituesday- A Godly Husband

Today I am extremely gratitful for a Godly Husband. I have dated a lot of different guys and I am so glad that God had my best interest at heart. He knew what I needed and what he wanted for me. See, Andy was the first Christ-loving/following man I ever dated. I always thought that I could "teach" them to become Christians. What I didn't know was they were "unteaching" me. I was being brought down by Satan using them.

I look at how hard marriage is to a man who has the same beliefs as I do and I cannot imagine how hard it would have been to be married to a man that viewed things differently. I know through these difficult times, Andy is looking to the Lord for guidence and always has our family's best interests at heart.

So today I am gratiful that..

1. God had a man who loved Him picked out for me.
2. I am gratiful that Andy yearns to teach our family about Jesus and the great message He brings.
3. I am thankful that Andy is passionate about being the spiritual leader of the family and holds me accountable.
4. I am gratiful that Andy treats me like a gift from God.
5. I am gratiful that Andy loves our Heavenly Father, our children, and me.

It's a Hard Life for Linc

Menu Plan 3-9 through 3-15

This week turned out horribly. After my last post about how things were looking up- the sky fell. I cannot believe that things can go so horribly in just three hours. So once again my house is still a disaster, though we did get the kitchen and dining room cleaned up, the rose bush pruned, and the Christmas lights finally down. Not only is my house a disaster but it is daylight savings time and I am exhausted and my kids are barely functioning. I also start back to babysitting this week. I think it will be a great thing. It will keep me at home and getting things back to routine. So since I will be feeding 5 kids every meal I am going to map out all we are going to be eating for each meal.

MONDAY:
Oatmeal
Green beans, cheese, and fruit
Grilled Chicken, Sweet Potatoes, and fruit salad

TUESDAY:
Pancakes
Jelly sandwiches, Carrot Sticks, and fruit
The family will be having pizza and I will be going to eat at Red Lobster for LNO (Ladies Night Out)

WEDNESDAY:
Biscuits
Hotdogs, Cheese, and fruit
Pasta with sauce

THURSDAY:
Cereal
Cheese Sandwiches and fruit
Soup and sandwiches

FRIDAY:
Eggs and Bacon
Leftovers
Pork Stir-fry over rice

SATURDAY: (I am looking forward to a fun day with different friends activities)
Biscuits and Gravy
At the English's house for Lunch
At the Hamilton's house for a St. Patty's party!!

Sunday:
Some kind of muffins
Roast with carrots and potatoes with green beans on the side.

It is going to be a fun week of hopefully getting everything back together and routines back in place. Have a great week! For more great menu ideas go to Organized Junkie.

Today Was Much Better

So last night before I went to bed, I jumped into the Word of God. My goodness! That is just what I needed. Right from the start it started to convict me. Don't you just hate it when God knows just what you need to hear?!? So I woke up and started me day in the Word and things just got better from there.

Now let me tell you- today was not perfect. I was called by the school on Dylan due to disobedience. I was not a happy Mama. He really did not like his punishment which was no video or playing. He had to spend the afternoon with me, helping me with whatever task I was doing.

We did not get a whole lot done. We worked for hours in their bedroom and cleaned out their closet and clothes. We still have a lot to do in there but at least we began.

Tomorrow I am going to continue cleaning and continue to climb out of my funk. Hopefully I will persevere and succeed!

Random Things This Wednesday Night

I just have a crazy assortment of ideas running around in my head so I am guess I will just blog them in the way they stir around....

• I really like this bullet feature I am new to finding. It makes me feel like what I am saying is presented nicely and I am professional.. (bahhahah! :)).
• We went to a fellowship meal at church tonight before we had our small groups. It was really nice. I used to go to them because it was a time not to cook but I have not been doing good enough being frugal. Group was okay. We are studying a book that I am not too fond of. The first week we go over what we read and answer the discussion questions. The next week we do what the book calls Transition Exercises. I really detest the transition exercises. I know that I should look to the Lord to speak to me through them but I just don't feel like I get anything out of them. I think part of this is because I am dealing with a spiritual warfare within. There are many components to it but lately I feel like the evil is winning. I have continually had things come up so I can't dive into the Word. I have been too busy to go to the Lord in prayer during the day and to be quite honest.... My attitude just sucks in general. I feel like a black cloud is following me around everywhere. Please pray for me.
• I have not been doing as good with frugal self-discipline lately. Once I get become an official "pity party" host I don't do good with anything. My house has gone to pot, I haven't cooked, I haven't worked on making good financial decisions.. I just sit and stew. So needless to say I have not done will with being a good frugal, clean housed, hot meal made wife and mom.
• My house is a crazy mess. I am right in the middle of getting things together for Mom's Mart Sale and so there is just piles of stuff everywhere. And once again, I have not been a good house cleaner of late. I really need to get off my butt and start getting it together. I always feel so much better when my house is clean and I am productive. It's just a matter of actually doing it.
• We were supposed to go out of town this weekend to see my friend Toni and her family but I have been too sick to do so. I feel that I might keep their whole family up while I'm coughing all night. I really need to just get better already!
• I am so sad for that family of the lady who was part of the hit and run last night. She ended up in a pond and everyone watched them pull the car out of the icy pond on the news. She died at the hospital later that night.
• Tomorrow is Dylan's school pics and I have no idea what he is going to wear. That takes me to the point that I am ready for summer. The boys have been tied up in the house too long and are going stir crazy.
• This has been one of the hardest times I have gone through since I have been married. I know this sounds stupid but I really just wish I was at home with my Mama. She always knew how to make me feel better even if I didn't tell her she did.
• Lately I have been feeling like no one really knows me anymore. I feel like I am in a room with all kinds of people but I am still all alone. Am I depressed?!? I don't know.
• I have been really short with my kids the past few days. I feel bad because I know they are feeding off of my mood but I still want to hold them accountable.
• Yuck I am depressing!! Tomorrow I am going to get up and clean, exercise, read my Bible, and take care of my sons and myself. That is where I am going to start. I am going to do something and then just keep moving on to the next thing.
• I really want to implement a Date night with Andy every week. I think that might help us out. So I am going to start planning a cheap date night once a week.
• That is totally enough for now! Tomorrow I will have a much better outlook on life!

But I Really Want To...

When my husband and I first started dating we had the "talks" such as how many kids, goals, dreams, etc. I feel very guilty for lying to him. I told him what I knew he wanted me to say. See I was very insecure and had come out of very crazy relationships so I had no confidence. If I spoke up for what I really wanted and he did not feel the same way then he would not want me.

I did not always know what I wanted. When I had my first son, I begged them to do a full hysterectomy at 19 yo. There was no way I wanted more kids, I did not know if I wanted the one I had and I wanted no chance for more.

Fast forward to Andy and our marriage. Once I calmed down and found that it is okay to stay at home and let someone else provide for you, I have eased into my love of staying home and my love of children. See, before life got hard and I got scared, I always wanted a big family. I would daydream of the day that I could look down the table and see all my beautiful children staring back at me. I know it's not always that rosy, but I cannot imagine life anyway.

I want to have a big family to do my best by in the Lord's eyes. I want to have a little army for Him.

Now this has caused some issues between Andy and I. Andy ALWAYS just wanted 2 kids (now he is open to maybe one more..) and when we were dating I said "More then two kids- me? No way. Two will be just fine! Goodness, gracious, what a lie!

So that is the first thing that I really want that Andy is not too crazy about and the second one would be Homeschooling.

I know people around here look at me like I'm crazy but I just think going to school is a waste! I think it is a waste of time, I think it takes time away from family, I think it does not each all I want it to, I do not think even private school teach as much as I would like them too. I want to bring up my children in the way I see fit and that way is to home school.

So as the days go on Andy and I will keep chatting about our futures and ultimately what God wants of us but until then please be in prayer for us.

Menu Plan Monday

Today was a REALLY great day! I have been feeling very heavy-hearted with a lot of things weighing on me. At church this morning Pastor Hamilton set things straight. There are a lot of tears and painful sharing but forgiveness was given and things were moved past. The Lord was truly there today.

With so much weighing on my mind I haven't been able to sleep lately. So after letting things go, I came home and sleep sound for three hours. I feel like a whole new person. So after those burdens have been lifted, I am ready to begin a new week filled with hope and smiles. So lets begin with a menu. :)

Monday: BBQ Beef Sandwiches, Corn and green beans

Tuesday: Pork chops and Rice

Wednesday: Church Fellowship Meal

Thursday: Homemade Pizza with sliced fruit and carrot sticks

Friday and Saturday: We will be out of town.

It's a pretty easy eating week.

It's hard to make a menu plan when you are stuffed to the gill from dinner at your in-laws but I will try to be more creative next week.

Go to Organized Junkie for more menu plans.