Free!

Are you in a rut when it comes to Christmas cards? Have NO idea how you are going to afford getting out nice and attractive Christmas pictures/cards to your friends and family?

I know that I am VERY particular about our Christmas cards. We have done it all- cards, photos and family letters. It all leaves me feeling exhausted. I was especially exhausted and weary about the whole Christmas card tradition this year due to being so pregnant. How will I get Christmas cards or letters or photos out at all with having a small baby?

Enter Shutterfly!

Over at Fancy Farm, my good friend, Courtney, blogged about this opportunity. Not only are there GREAT cards for what I think are reasonably priced, there is a chance to get 50 cards free! Did you hear me?! I said 50 cards free!! I don't know about you, but free gets me all excited!

We are planning on using shutterfly for not only our Holiday cards but also birth announcements. I really liked this card because with having a baby, I'm not sure that we will get them out in time for Christmas. I also liked it because there are three places for photos on the right  (my soon to be three little angels) and then a larger photo on left in which we can try to squeeze in a family shot or a picture of all three boys together.

While I really like the options of photo gifts and calendars (and I wish I had the time or energy to have a party and send out these), the idea of choosing speical Holiday gift tags is just too cute to me!

What do you think? Out of all those neat little options, what would you choose?! I am starting to second guess my decision. Some of those photo gifts are too cute- especially this ornament!

If you are interested in your 50 FREE cards from Shutterfly and you are a blogger, take a gander here!

The Beginning of a Spiritual Battle

The beginning of my spiritual battle. I feel spiritual warfare waging in my heart and my mind but I have vowed to conquer it; to reach for and grasp the Light.

I began reading The Prayer That Changes Everything by Stormie O'Martian. Now to be honest, in two days, I made it through the introduction. It seems to be one of those books that you have to take in bites and then take a moment to digest.

Stormie begans by explaining her reasoning for her books and then she moves into her personal life. While all of that was intriguing to me, the part that hit me the most was her recent story.

Stormie then enters into writing about a recent time in her life in which she felt lost. She felt abandoned. She felt all the feelings I have been feeling.

She was speaking to me.

She was speaking to me because it was revealed to me that I am normal. Spiritual warfare is a normal part of many Christian's walks.

There were times when Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, was tempted. Someone who was PERFECT fought off evil spirits and the devil.

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:


‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”


Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”


Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”


Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”


Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
- Matthew 4:1-11

If Jesus went through this, why should I expect to be exempt? The devil is smart. He is cunning. He knows when I am at my weakest and he knows when to pounce. The stronger my faith became, the more I became whole in my relationship with Jesus, the more I felt unworthy. The more the devil edged his way into my mind and my heart.

I have been feeling so guilty because there are no outward storms in my life. I am blessed. I should quit whining but I have been doing an injustice to what is really going on inside of me. I might not be enduring a storm in life, but I am enduring a storm in my faith. A spiritual battle. Spirital warfare. This is the fight of my life. The fight of my first love, Jesus. I am not going to give in easily. I am going to fight. Please join me as I continue to journey. I look forward to sharing this with you.

Searching, Starving, Stagnant, and Scared...

Where have you been, Jodi?

Where has your emotional health and mind been, Jodi?

What is one of your greatest talents, Jodi?

I am so glad y'all asked. I've been formulating this post for a while. Rolling ideas, thoughts and worries in my mind. What will y'all think of me? Will you boo me out of the blogging county? Will you leave dirty comments and make me feel little and insignficant? Just what should I share? How honest should I be?

I am still dealing with all of these thoughts in my mind even as I type... I am worried of being judged and hurt. I am worried that if I reveal that I am one messed up human, you won't want to visit anymore.

Where have I been? In my home, taking care of my husband and kids, talking to my friends and pretending everything is honky dorrie in my faith, life and mind. Honestly, nothing can be further from the truth. I am the queen of allowing people to see what I want them to see and what I think they want to see.

First and foremost, my faith... What faith? I am grasping for any straw I can possibly grab and if I achieve in grabbing one, they slip out of my hand and fall to the floor. Who is my God? A superior authority who can and will choose to squish you at any time. Is that the right attitude? No way! And the worst part is I know in my head that I want to gain a full understanding of the loving Father so many people in my life know. But there comes in, how do I get there? How do I achieve that full understanding? How can I praise Him for who He is in the bad times, when I cannot seem to find Him or grab on in the good? I feel like I am starving for His presence yet have NO idea where to begin to look. The Bible no longer seeems like a wealth of knowledge but a continual reminder that I am unworthy. I am so stagnant, I even want to spit me out. Where do I begin? How do I find my way? How can I find Him?

My marriage... I am only going to say this once... Poor Andy. It seems when I am pregnant, the feelings and thoughts and happening of my pregnancy with Dylan come to a head. It is almost like I am waiting to go into the Dr.'s office and meet a lady that was too impregnanted by my husband. Andy has and would NEVER do anything but it HAS happened to me before. I have dreams where Andy abandons me, saying I am not worthy. That I deserve all that comes to me. I am NOTHING but a whore and a loser. Now I know that all of those things are not true and Andy would never say any of them or even think them, but I can feel them in the back of my mind. I can feel them in my attitude every time I reply to him. I feel the tension I feel when he comes home. I hate it. I don't know how to change it. I don't know how to just love myself and the parts of the past that made me who I am.

These are just a couple of the biggies going on. I am searching, starving, stagnant and scared. I am trying. I am praying. I am reading. I am hoping.

I started a book today by Stormie O'Martin. So far, I totally identify and have felt a connect with her and this book. I think I am going to try to do a chapter every few days to make myself really connect and learn from this book. Today, I barely made it through the intro without crying so I am not making any promises but I will say that I will try my best. I will read, learn and then come and open my heart to many strangers who have somehow become the only few that I can open up to. I appreciate you. I really do. I am sorry it took this long to come out of the dark "closet" I was living in.

I don't know how but I will get past this. I will embrace God's love and I will find out what it truly is. This and this only is the most important step in my journey. There is NO use in healthy eating or frugal living when there are such more important things to grow in.

Menu Plan

Howdy y'all! Am I back up and running? Why yes for right now, I can say that I am... Am I going to make any promises or such? Nope, but I can tell you that when I get all the thoughts in my head together, YOU will be the first to know!

I am going to start out on an easy note and post the menu plan for the week! I am just going to begin with main meals and then we'll take it from there.

Sunday, November 7
Meeting the in-laws for lunch

Monday, November 8
Courtney's Multitude of Yummy Meatloaf, green beans, corn

Tuesday, November 9
Chicken and broccoli alfredo, salad

Wednesday, November 10
Pizza, carrot sticks, vegetable dip

Thursday, November 11
Chicken quesadillas, salsa, rice

Friday, November 12
Cheesy sausage stromboli, fruit

Saturday, November 13
Chicken and dumplings, green beans, biscuits, gravy

I Really Want to Apologize...

but after much prayer and soul searching, One Blessed Mama of Boys will be out of commission for a while.

If you actually care about the happenings of the Davis Family, you can click here.

Slow and Steady

We are working slow and steady towards organic/natural/whole living and financial freedom. We are taking the slow and steady approach.

The few areas in which we are concentrating on working towards those goals are:

1. eating at home instead of out at restaurants or drive-thru options.
2. turning off our air.
3. not using our clothes dryer.
4. becoming a paperless house.
5. reusing items we need that we already have at our house.
6. going to the grocery store the least amount possible.

These goals are all going fairly well.

We ate out this past weekend more than we should have. I was tired and had worked hard and I didn't want to go to the kitchen and work more. However, we are getting back on the horse this week.

Turning off our air. It cooled down and then on Monday, it went back up to 90*. We made it through and now I feel as if we are in the the home stretch of the summer heat.

We are doing lots better at using the clothes line and not the dryer. It is actually going really well!

Besides toilet paper, we are now a paperless house. Once the paper arrives, I hope we are in the habit of using all cloth products so that cloth diapering will just come as second nature.

Working on the nursery last weekend was a great time and I am so excited that we are using items we already have around the house. We had to clean them up and give them a little TLC but they fit right in and we spent NO money! Exciting stuff!

We have not been going to the grocery store as much. That one is simple.

How is your adventure in frugal and natural living going?

Gratituesday: A Quiet Weekend

Do I have any snappy pictures to show of this weekend?

 Nope.

Do I have any exciting stories of what happened this weekend?

Nope.

Do you know what I DO have?

I have a grateful heart. That's what I DO have.

This weekend was just what I needed. Nothing exciting happened. The phone didn't ring all that much. There was no one demanding our attention. Everyone knew we were busy and that we wanted to spend time together as a family. Our families honored our request.

We got a few things done (the biggest thing was the baby's nursery!). We played games. Rested and relaxed. It was great. It was marvelous. It was just what we needed.

I feel so refreshed and so blessed. I am so thankful!

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

MPM #4

This week Dylan starts school. I can honestly say that I am more terrified than he is! :)

After a weekend of working hard and busting the budget by going out to eat, I am vowing to get back on the horse! So here is the menu plan for this week:

Monday: salmon patties and baked potatoes

Tuesday: pizza and carrot sticks

Wednesday: chicken stir-fry

Thursday: spaghetti and salad greens

Friday: egg burrito casserole and fried apples

Saturday: chicken quesadillas, refried beans, chips and salsa

Sunday: chicken alfredo and bread sticks

If you read last weeks post, you probably know things did not go as planned. This week, I plan on just getting myself and my house back on track.

What will you be serving at your table this week?

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Holy Baby! 26 weeks

This has been my easiest, healthiest pregnancy yet. I am so blessed!

However, I am the biggest I have ever been also. I am now bigger at 26 weeks than I was when I gave birth to my others.

Even larger, I would do nothing to change this pregnancy. He is so healthy and I am amazed and in awe of God's goodness!

Thanks so much for your friendship and prayers. They are much appreciated! After a couple nights of good sleep and time to digest, I feel much better. Thanks again!

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Simple Living: It's Just Easier to be Truthful and Transparent

A few weeks ago, I introduced a new series on Living Simple. Last week, I wrote about how my ideal simple life would look.  This week I was going to talk about what the dictionary says "simple" means and the negative connotation that some put with the word.

However, I have promised this blog to be full of transparency and real life.

If you have not noticed, I will make you aware of the fact that I promised to begin a writing schedule and would do my best to follow through with it unless real life happened and yet I have NOT been on here the past two days.

Well my friends... Real life happened and real life is kicking my tail end.

Today I want to write about how having an open, honest and transparent attitude and life can make things a little more simple. There is NO pretending, no comparing and usually no hurt feelings.

I can tell you honestly that this is one of the situations going on in my life. I was the one that was left out with hurt feelings, an aching heart and feeling left out and unwanted. I wish I can describe that heart felt pain I have in areas that I never knew could hurt but it is slow in healing.

I wish friends I could  assure you that this is all of what is going on, the worst, the extent, but dear friends, it's only the beginning...

We have been thrust into a life that can only be described as an HBO movie. There has been drugs, violence, sex and pain (not on our end). We have tried and tried to get those the Lord has brought to us out of it and it has caused hurt and pain. We are still searching for God's calling and direction but we are terribly confused.

Think that is a lot (maybe not by some of your standards but we live a relatively quiet life)? Well guess what!! The best is yet to come...

A few weeks ago, Dylan was complaining that his finger was really "squallen" (swollen). With all the rough-housing and craziness that goes along with a house full of boys, I thought nothing of it. After a couple of weeks, I had decided to call the Dr. but had never gotten around to it.

Tuesday morning, he came down and was complaining that it felt funny. We didn't have anything to do that day so I thought I'd run up the street to the pediatrician and have the splinter lanced and then he'd have the afternoon to re coop.

Getting to the Dr., it was quickly announced that it wasn't just a splinter that had gotten infected but that we needed to head to Children's Hospital for an x-ray and ultrasound. I was in disbelief. IT WAS JUST A SPLINTER!

After a long day of problems, testing and worried anticipation... The diagnosis was a desmoid tumor. A rare, rare, rare, rare (like 9 out of a million) tumor. It is still hard to read, to type, to believe.

 Do I believe and even KNOW that God is going to deliver us? ABSO-STINKIN-LUTELY! But as a mother that cries when her babies have runny noses (and who is 25 weeks pregnant! Hormones make you so irrational sometimes!), this is almost too much to bear...

The surgeon called this morning and we are going in for a consult in a couple of weeks. It is looking like surgery is the going to be the course of action.

On behalf of our family, Andy and I truly covet and beg of your prayers!

And for the love of a simple of life, be honest and open about what's going on in your lives! :)

MPM: #3 and An Outlook for the Week

This is the last week before school starts for Dylan. I am hoping this is a week where I can get a lot done and good "end of the summer" memories can be made. Here is the menu plan and a "wish list" of things to get done around the humble abode. I am only going to be listing what we will be having for dinner because when I try to get a lot accomplished, I tend to just grab and throw together. I don't think that "grab and throw together" on a menu plan really helps... :)

Monday:
Sloppy Joes, oven fries, green beans

Tuesday:
Chicken quesadillas, chips, salsa

Wednesday:
Pizza

Thursday:
Slow cooker cream cheese chicken, noodles, broccoli

Friday:
Reruns

Saturday:
Potato soup and sandwiches

*For more menu plans- Organized Junkie is the place to find them!*
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So as I said above, this is a week that I really want to get things together. I feel like the beginning of a school year is the beginning of the year, not January 1st. I don't know why, the school year just brings I new schedule, slate and routine. Just call me crazy...

We have worked really hard around here and have gotten our house cleaned out, taken the clutter to Goodwill and now we just need to maintain. Maintain... That would be the issue. I am not a good maintainer.. So this week around my home is dedicated to maintaining and getting things back in order around here.

Shouldn't be too hard... Just. Need. To. Find. The. Energy... That is the difficult issue....

How about you? What does your week have in store? What is going to be on your dinner table?! Whatever it is or your week brings, I praying that it is blessed!

Why I Think It's Cool to Obey the Limits, Even When I Get Evil Looks

I used to be "heck on wheels" and "drive like a bat outta heck" but I have changed my driving ways.

Since I am a 25 year old, mother of almost three, wife, soccer mom and mini van driver- all things I vowed I would NEVER be- I thought I'd throw people's opinions to the wind.

Here is a list of why I think driving the speed limit is cool regardless of what other's (mainly other drivers on the road with me) think:

• Your car will get better gas mileage. Therefore, you will save money on gas!
• You are more able to pay attention and view what others around you are doing.
• Driving faster gives you less time to react to those in front of you, if something darts in front of you, etc.
• I full more in control and less "road ragey".
• You will avoid accidents and tickets. This saves a ton of headache, sanity and $$!

These are just a few examples of why driving slow saves me and my sanity money.

Here are a few more ways to save money on your car:

• As above says, drive slower.
• Try to avoid breaking quickly.
• Properly maintain cars according to manufacturers recommendations.
• Combine errands and other running around duties.
• "Lighten the Load" - Take things out of your car and trunk. That extra stuff is holding you and your $$ back.

Those are just a few ways I can think of to save money on your car. Do you have any good tips or ideas? If so, share in the comments. I would love to hear!

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This post is linked to Frugal Fridays over at Life As Mom.

What Blogging Means to Me

What does Blogging mean to you?

I wish I could express how much sharing with all of you means to me. I have missed writing and being a part of your lives.

I was reading through a blog that I read daily and she was talking about beginning a writing schedule.

I really like this idea and I am thinking about trying to put one in place. The schedule I am looking at trying is this:
* Monday- From around the house. This will include menu plans, weekly plans and happenings from around our home.
* Tuesday- I love taking part in Gratituesday and will continue to do so.
* Wednesday- As you all know, we are slowly (slow and steady wins the race) migrating towards natural, organic living. I will write about an area we are working on and how that is going/went.
*Thursday- The Simple Living series
*Friday- Financial Fridays: We, along with most others, are trying to reach financial freedom and be good stewards with the resources God has given us. I will focus on this topic on Fridays.

If I post on the weekends, which is not likely, they will be about random topics.

Please be patient as I try to implement this new schedule and please remember that life happens. I am a very pregnant wife and mother of two young children and things come up unexpectedly.

I cannot wait to begin this new journey!

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What is Simple? What is Living a Simple Life?

Simple living... What is simple living?

I believe that simple living is an individual thing. For one person, simple living is not wearing make-up and to another it is wearing make-up. It's all individual...

One thing I know for sure though is that we are grasping for simple and simple life. We are exhausted with the fast pace, always cluttered, always running and never having any time for ourselves kind of life. We are tired, over worked, and under paid. We are at our wits end!

Well I can say that is true for my husband and I. We are tired. We are worn down. We are ready for change.

Next week I am going to get more in depth on what the definition of simple is and how it relates or does not relate to our life. This week, though, I want us to spend some time doing an inventory and trying to find what simple living means for us and our lives and families.

I would love it if you would share simplicity of your life in your view. I will begin...

When I think of a simple life for my family and me, it:

• has a simple and committed faith and relationship with the Lord.
• has a close knit family that loves to do "simple" things in life such as playing a game.
• isn't so hard to submit to my husband and we spend time doing things together such as planting a garden or taking a walk down a country road.
• has NO debt.
• involves us gardening and being self-sustaining.
• involves us spending more time together and less money.
• involves us doing less silly things and spending time doing more important.

I am sure there are many more but those are ones that stand out to me right this very second. How about you? What do you see as simple in your future or even the way you are migrating now?

How Harsh is YOUR Toothpaste?

Do you have any idea just how harsh toothpaste is?

In my quest to find the best natural products for my family, I have found out JUST how harsh my toothpaste was.

Do you think it's kind of scary all the bleaching and whitening products out there? I had never really thought of it but decided to begin researching the ingredients in toothpaste.

Many toothpaste and mouth cleaning agents contain very harmful ingredients that get into your blood stream and can build up and even destroy your liver, kidneys, heart, lungs and tissues.

According to OraMD, here are just a few ingredients used in the leading toothpaste that can be dangerous:

• Hydrated silica is made from a crystallized compound found in quartz, sand, and flint and is primarily used as an abrasive in toothpaste.
• Sorbitol and sodium saccharin are both sweeteners and used as carriers and sweeteners in toothpaste.
• Titanium dioxide is a pigment used for providing brightness and whiteness to such products as paint, plastics, paper, inks, fibers, food, and cosmetics; and is used as a stain remover/whitener in toothpaste.
• Glycerin is a syrupy, sweet, colorless or yellowish liquid obtained from fats and oils and used as a solvent, antifreeze, plasticizer, and sweetener in the manufacture of dynamite, cosmetics, liquid soaps, inks, and lubricants. Glycerin prevents toothpaste from drying out and helps maintain product consistency.
• Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) is a powerful surfactant (wetting agents) and detergent. It has industrial and cosmetic uses and is used around the world in clinically studies as a skin irritant. The molecule is small enough to penetrate the skin and can enter the blood stream being carried to every organ of the body. SLS is used in toothpaste as a foaming and cleansing agent.
• Sodium fluoride is a colorless crystalline salt used in fluoridation of water, in treatment of tooth decay, and as an insecticide and disinfectant. Sodium fluoride is used in toothpaste to harden the enamel of the teeth to prevent tooth decay. (Sodium fluoride is also one of the main ingredients in rat poison.)

After researching toothpaste, I decided that I wanted to go to a more natural and organic type of toothpaste. I was then faced with the dilemma of what to do with all the extra toothpaste from around the house.

I can now tell you that without a doubt in my mind, toothpaste is extremely harsh. My mother-in-law recommended using it to clean. There were some hard water stains in our shower grout which the professional cleaners could not get out when we moved in. I had tried EVERY other shower cleaner out there.

So... Why not try the toothpaste?

In seconds, my grout was bleached back to white. Andy came home and couldn't believe it. He didn't even know the grout was that color!

With all the harsh cleaners I had used, CLR and KaBoom was just a couple, the toothpaste that I was putting in my child's mouth cleaned it off in seconds!

Don't believe me? Try it with your toothpaste. You will be amazed!!

A Simple Life

I hear many, many moms asking how they can achieve a more simple life. Less stress, less mess and a little more simplicity...

Do you believe a more simple life is achievable? Or do you believe that the fast pace of this world is just inevitable?

For the past few weeks and looking forward to a season of more babies in our home, my husband and I have been searching and even yearning for a slower paced, more simple life...

Over the next few weeks, I want to take a look at how we can simplify our lives as women, mothers, wives and most of all, servants of an awesome amazing Lord.

So, therefore... Drum roll please..... I would like to announce my official jump back into my little corner of the web universe with a new series -

This series will discuss many areas in our lives as women and mothers. I will discuss how my family and I have simplified these areas and how we can do better.

Some future topics include:
* What is simple? What is a simple life?
* Why is Webster so mean? Simple vs. Plain
* Is it a ridiculous notion that we can get back to the basics?
* A simple faith - Searching for and Serving God with a child- like faith
* A simple wife - Is simply submitting to our husbands unheard of?
* A simple mother - What is REALLY important to plant in those little minds?
* A simple home - What NO TV?!
* Simply Clean - I need to smell the bleach and the White Glove test!
* Simply Cook - But I ordered a five course meal!
* A Simple Diet - Bring on the McHeartAttack!

I hope that you will join my each Thursday for a look at the Simple Life! Now y'all just simply must come back! :)
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I feel so blessed to be starting this series and for the Lord opening my heart and my eyes to this series. I hope you enjoy it. For more blessings and thanksgiving - Heavenly Homemakers is the place to look!

MPM: #2

We have had a week and weekend of getting things done around here. I cannot wait to share with you later in the week. Stop by and take a gander!

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Donuts

Yogurt, fruit

Monday, August 23, 2010

Yogurt, fruit, granola

Macaroni and cheese, carrot sticks, dip

Chicken salad sandwiches, oven baked cheese fries

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Creamy orange coolers, fruit, toast

RR chicken salad sandwiches, green beans, grapes

Tex mex dip, salsa, refried beans

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Applesauce bread, yogurt, fruit

Grilled cheese, carrot sticks, fruit

Crock-Pot Brown Sugar "candy" Chicken, broccoli, steamed rice

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Kefir smoothies, toast
RRs
Spaghetti, salad, garlic bread

Friday, August 27, 2010
Boy's choice (where boys can pick from any of the breakfasts from the week)
Quesadillas, salsa, chips
Sloppy cornbread, peas, salad and carrot sticks

Saturday, August 28, 2010
(I am actually, honestly going to make this this week!!) Egg burrito casserole and fried cinnamon apples
Baked potatoes, cheese and broccoli sauce
Steaks on the grill, potatoes and green beans, salad

GratiTuesday - Miracles

For more GratiTuesday, click here!

Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth..

 1 Chronicles 16:12

Do y'all know that we serve a Lord that is still in the miracle business?

What? Y'all need a good example?!? I am so glad you asked!!

As y'all know, my little bun in the oven is a little over half-baked. Well about 11 weeks ago, it was one of those mornings- you know the one where if y'all can just get down the stairs and stuff breakfast in the kids mouth, the morning might be okay? Well it was one of those mornings...

I had just walked out of my bedroom and Lincoln was screaming, wanting carried down the stairs. Dylan was already downstairs. I scooped up Lincoln, all the while hearing a voice in my head say.. "Don't do it!".

I was down to the second step and felt it... there was some kind of rolly (like my BIG words) toy (car, tractor, etc.) under my foot. That's when I felt myself fly backward.

For those of you that have not seen my home... I am going to attempt to "draw" how my stairs are...

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Okay... So that's not really a good "drawing" but I hope you get the idea... Our stairs go down (about 7 stairs) one way and down the opposite way (about 7 stairs). I slipped on the top 2nd down step. (I really hope that makes sense!)

After falling down the top flight of stairs, I felt myself hit the wall with so much force that it flipped me down the next flight. At that point, I realized I had dropped Lincoln. I freaked out! I started twisting and turning and screaming down the final set. That was NOT a good thing!

I found myself at the bottom of the stairs, unable to move. I couldn't find Lincoln, but Dylan was quickly at my side. I ordered Dylan to bring me the phone and find Lincoln. He did both without a word of backtalk (that my friends is a miracle right there!). I quickly called Andy, who works 40 minutes away and Dylan came to tell me that Lincoln was okay.

As I got off the phone with Andy, I realized that I was sitting in a puddle of fluid. Talk about freaking out!

I quickly dialed my doctor who informed me that the worst might possibly have just  happened. (Now for some of you IRL friends. I know you don't like my doctor, I just had to add that info... ) She informed to that I was to come straight to her office and not go to the hospital. In the meantime, Andy had called my father-in-law and he had shown up, found Lincoln was fine and was looking at me as if saying, no pleading.. "please, please don't ask me to come near you... ". It's actually quite funny now but at the time, it was horrible.

When the call with the doctor ended, I have NEVER heard such a sound as came from my heart. It was a sound of anger, sadness, heart-breaking urging and yearning with God. It scared me. I didn't know where it came from...

Andy finally came in and loaded me in the car. As we drove to the doctor, I can't even begin to tell you the bargains I began making with God. Praying that he would spare the little life inside of me. BEGGING!

After checking and an ultrasound, it was deemed a miracle by me. My doctor, not so much. She had some crazy scientific "maybe" explanation.

Now... Did I pee myself? Did I break something? It's all speculation. Right now the doctor is saying that I had an extra sac of water that ruptured...

Want to know how I feel? The Lord was with me. He saved my life, Lincoln's life and my unborn son's life.

TO GOD BE THE GLORY! I don't need science to explain because I know my Heavenly Father is still today, this very day in the miracle business...

MPM: #1

I kind of feel like this is a brand new start to my blog. I feel as if I've been gone so long, we should re-introduce! Goodness...

This pregnancy is really got me exhausted. My heart goes to those who have multiple young children during pregnancies. This time around, I have not been able to cook or eat. Any time I see raw meat, I start barfing. It's ugly, yucky, horrible... So here is my menu plan in hopes that it helps me husband know what he's coming home to make! :) Love you, hunny!!

Sunday:
toast, eggs
Italian sausage in marinara sauce, pasta

Monday:
baked oatmeal
grilled shrimp, baked potatoes, corn on the cob

Tuesday:
cinnamon toast
roast, potatoes, carrots and gravy

Wednesday:
oatmeal
white chicken chili, cornbread

Thursday:

toast, eggs

Tex Mex dip (I will be adding pictures as I make this! It is delicious!!!)

Friday:

applesauce bread, fruit

chicken noodles, mashed potatoes, green beans

Saturday:

egg burrito casserole, simple apples

sandwiches

For more great menu ideas click here!

I'm Alive!!!

So... You know it's been way too long when people start deleting you off their blog that they read you! Goodness... Well here I am again... Seems like I am barely hanging on but I am here... 22 weeks pregnant and all!!

Anyone wanna take a guess at what the gender is? I'm going to give you a huge hint! I apparently can only have one type! :)

That's right! Welcome baby boy #3 in December! Now I have got to be completely honest with y'all, we are having an extremely hard time coming up with a boys name. I have some, well, rules about naming....

1. The first name has to end in "n"... Dylan, Lincoln... etc... I come from a family of ALL "J" beginning names and while it seems like a good idea, it wasn't. If anyone looks our way (or we think they are) and says a word that begins with "J", we answer!
2. There has to be a family name in there somewhere. I want family legacy to continue.
3. It can't start with an already used letter in our little family unit. So... No "J", "A", "D" or "L".

I know... I'm a bit crazy! :)

Well this was just a quick "checking in" post. I am really hoping to get back on the blogging wagon. It's amazing how much I enjoy and need it, yet it always seems to take a back burner to everything else around here. But it's important to me that y'all know that I miss you and PUT me back on your lists! (wink!)

Know any good boy names that follow my rules? Feel free to leave them!

A Struggle..

I have a battle with this phase in my life and my blog waging in my mind. My blog is a blog that is to provide encouragement and love to those who are dealing with PCOS.

I know when we were trying to get pregnant this time, every time I read a blog in which the writer became pregnant, I would get mad and stop reading it. "Why is this happening for them and not me?"

I do not want this to be the case with my blog. I want you to know that I have and am still  fighting the battle PCOS and I understand. I don't know whether to just say that I am not going to write about my pregnancy or risk upsetting people that I have grown to care about. Any ideas? Any suggestions? Any pointers?

I would love to write about the steps I took towards conceiving but is that just rubbing salt in the wounds you are carrying? Once again, please let me know...

With the end of this little blubber of words, I will go against all my feelings and show you a picture of the "baby". Keep in mind that the ultrasound picture was taken about five weeks ago. So I am a little further along but man oh man am I big!

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Matthew 19:26

Question of My Life...

Well now that you all know the reason for my absence and exhaustion, maybe you could just help me out with a little question I have.... How do you get back on the horse when you don't know where it ran off to?

I am so behind in everything from cooking to housework to money to spending time with the kids... It's a hot mess around these parts!

I know it is said... "How do you eat  a whole elephant..? One bite at a time..."

But what do you do when you are eating the elephant and with each bite, you have to stop to throw up and then clean it up...? That's how I feel my life is going right now... How can I even begin to think about getting a head when I feel like getting caught up is totally not achieve able?

So all you brilliant mothers there who have it all going on... Can you give me a quick tip?

Am I still Alive?!?

Yes I am still alive and I am doing pretty well! I have been waiting a while to tell you all what was going no in my life but I do believe it is now time! Well, I guess I can just show you....

So I am sure you  can imagine how tired I have been... We are extremely excited and are truly blessed. Please be in prayer as we embark on the journey of baby #3!

*Linked to GratiTuesday!*

Back in Black!

Ok so maybe I am just back in a black t-shirt, but none the less I am back in black!

Lots of new around the home front... Cannot wait to share but right now is just not the time.

I'm sorry that I disappeared. I know I was rude to hide... I was rude to not tell you... One day I hope I can disclose just what I was going through but right now isn't the time either.

This is next weekend I am going to be heading to Columbus with a group of girlfriends. I am super excited. I love Women of Faith. I love the fellowship and the praise and the worship and the meeting of Jesus and living for him.

Last year, Steven Curtis Chapman was there. It was hard to listen to him. They had just lost Maria less than a year before and his heart and story were so touching. It was great.

I'm not real sure about this line-up this year but a couple things that I do know...

1. My friend Nancy and I will be driving and NOT listening to Veggie Tales.
3. I will not only be eating one but FOUR meals without grimy, cute little fingers touching all over it.
4. My food will most probably be hot!
5. I will be able to use the bathroom without little fingers running between the bottom of the door and the top of the carpet, all the while saying "Mama, whatcha doing?"
6. Unless there are some unforeseen problems, I will only have to wake up and dress myself!

I am sure that there are many more but those are enough to make my jump up and down and shout for joy! What about you? What are some of your favorite things to do when you get away for some Mama Time? Wanna see some more things people love? Here you go!

Random Thoughts About Infertility/Miscarriage/Wanting a Large Family

Where have I been you might ask... Well go ahead and ask!

I have been in a horrible, terrible, no-good, very bad attitude of late. I have been hiding. I barely want to be around myself so therefore, I conclude that others probably don't want to listen to me either. But who knows, maybe there is someone who loves a negative, irritated friend? If that's you, please forgive my absence! :)

Anyway, just a quick disclaimer. If you are looking for a light-hearted, go-lucky post, this is not the one today. Stop reading and come back with the RSS feeder indicates I have written a new post..

As many of you know, I recently had my 7th miscarriage. Now please don't start the "oh my, how terrible thoughts." I know this sounds cold, but I am getting used to it. Doesn't that sound cold and horrible?

Well here are some of my random thoughts about it:

• I know that God can do amazing things.. Just take a look at two of my best friends, Courtney and Misty. It has been incredible to see the Lord work and now they are both pregnant. Just looking at them I should know He can make it happen.
• I was talking to my friend Tanya a couple of nights ago and she gave me a new prespective. It sounds a little morbid and wacked but it gives me a little comfort. The Lord has given me the special job of being a vessel to get seven precious babies straight to Him. They are in the best hands of all.
• I keep thinking if I could just be pregnant one more time and relish in being pregnant, I would never ask for anything. As I was sitting here thinking about that, I began to think about how I should be relishing and delighting in Lincoln and Dylan because they could be my last. Why am I wasting the precious seasons of the boy's lives wishing for another? Pretty messed up Jodi, pretty messed up.
• If  two boys is the number for our family, I will do the best by them I can.
• One day, after reciting and telling myself all these things, I will believe them whole heartedly and not question the Lord's plan for my family. One day I pray that my will lines up with His. Until then, I will just fake it until I make it.

"There is hope for your future" declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 31:17

A Rant on Food

Ok... As you read this, please keep in mind that I am NOT losing my mind, I am just a bit overwhelmed with life and please, please, please don't throw tomatoes at me or stop reading my blog. PLEASE. Also, if you haven't had a chance, take a look and please take part in my 300th giveaway!

Here I go... I am very interested in all the things and opinions on food and nutrition. I have really taken to the whole foods, traditional foods, Weston A. Price, Nourishing Traditions type philosophy about food.

There are so many awesome resources and ideas and blogs out there that deal with foods. Now I have got to be honest, I am struggling when it comes to whole foods the whole time.

I get very overwhelmed if I am busy that morning, look up at the clock and it is lunch time. What am I going to feed my kids?! I know most of you might be saying.. "Peanut butter and jelly, you idiot!" but it's just not that easy for me. My kids have different food allergies and honestly, I get overwhelmed and I shut down. The "simple" answer is often lost to me.

Therefore, I get into this horrible pattern. It goes a little something like this... (This is the conversation in my mind..) "I have NO idea what I am going to make the kids for lunch. It's already past lunch time!" --> "I live a block from 14 different resteraunts, let's just go grab something quick." --> "Tomorrow will be different. I will figure something out tomorrow." I get home, get the kids sat down and we eat the food. I hate how it tastes, but at this point I am so emotionally, metally and physically tired that I just sit in blessed "I didn't have to make lunch" solitude. After a while, it hits me. It hits me that I took part in the dreaded what it takes out and puts in cycle. I took valuable money OUT of my purse and spent our valuable money on putting IN crappy foods in our body. I then begin mentally beating myself down. Do I not care about my heath, my family's health, my wanting a baby? Do I care more about not cooking and being tired more than my family?

On and on it goes... Let me tell you my friends... I am done. I am done with this  vicious cycle of being stressed and overwhelmed about our foods.

I. am. done.!

 I am not going to stress over wheat gluten or not being able to get pregnant due to eating bread (which I was this morning! stressing, totally stressing like crazy over it!).

I am not going to stress over whether my children can eat a peice of cake made from a box for their birthday.

I am not going to stress over feeding them chicken nuggets from a bag or hot dogs once in  a great while (it's got to better than running to a resteraunt for Pete's sake!).

I am not stressing over this anymore. I am going to continue to put the best foods and most natural, whole and nutritional foods into my family but I am not stressing anymore.

I can tell you one thing... If this keeps up, my husband won't have to worry about what he and the kids are eating, he's going to have to worry about finding another wife because I tell you, I am going to have a stroke from high blood pressure due to worrying about what we are eating!

Ok. I am done. Please don't hate me and please don't send hate mail and hate comments. I hope y'all still love me and my crazy psychoness! :)

More ideas of what works for more sane people than me.. click here!

Gratituesday: Just What I Needed

If you haven't had a chance yet, click here for an awesome giveaway opportunity!
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This past weekend was just what I needed. It was relaxing... It was resting... It was a total gift from God.

Friday night, we went over to a game night at a friend's home. It is not normally something we would do but we decided to go anyway. Early that day when I found out this event was happening, I contacted my cousin and she was available to watch our kids ( I am totally weird about who watches my kids but that is a whole different post!).

I fed the kids and Catie came in. Andy and I snuck (is that a word?) off for a dinner date at Panera Bread. We sat and we chatted. We relaxed. And most important, we got on the same page. It was great!

We then went to the game night. It was a lot of fun. We enjoyed getting to meet knew people and play games. We stayed for a while and then headed home. We came home to an quiet house. The boys were asleep!

After a good night's sleep, we all got up gradually and had a yummy huge breakfast. This was the first Saturday in a while that we didn't have to rush off to basketball. After lounging around, we ran a few errands. We decided to have my aunt and uncle over for dinner to eat, play games and let our boys watch the Kids Choice Awards together. Once again, another great evening!

Sunday morning we went to church and praised and worshipped. It was a great service. After, we went to my Grandmother's for family lunch and then home for Sunday rest time.

That evening we went to see the African Children's Choir at our church. It was a great experience! The boys loved and it, as well as Andy and I! Then we went home and had dinner and began to prepare for the week.

God's love and His attention in the details is just amazing to me. He knew the relaxation and rest that I needed and He provided.

We are truly blessed and grateful around here! Have a story of gratitude or just want to read more -- click here!

menu plan Monday

If you haven't had a chance to check it out.... Click here for an AWESOME giveaway!

I was truly blessed this weekend. I have had one of the best weekends that I can remember. I cannot wait to tell y'all about it Tuesday!

For now I have a menu for you!

Monday: hamburgers, oven fries, fried apples

Tuesday: French toast, sausage

Wednesday: homemade pizza, carrot sticks

Thursday: chicken alfredo, salad

Friday: soup, grilled cheeses

Saturday: chicken and dumplings, green beans

For more great menu ideas click here!

Frugal Friday: Groups

If you haven't checked it out yet, I am having an awesome giveaway in honor of my 300ish post! Take a look and take the time to enter!

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photo : Riley Children's Hospital

Have you found a local women's or mom's group? Do you have a play group?

It took my FOREVER to finally take the plunge into groups. I am ALWAYS worried about joining them. I am always wondering if .... I'll get everything that needed to be done, done. Will my kids behave? Will the other kids treat them nice or like them? I have some quirky parenting ideas and some not so popular interests... Will the other moms like me?

A few weeks ago, my friend, Kelly, invited me to a women's group. I was so nervous, but then decided to go. The night of the women's group, Kelly invited me to her play group the next morning. Once again, I was nervous but still went. I had an awesome time! I even met some great ladies (Take a look at Janelle's blog! She is one of the encouraging women I met! She is an inspiration and EVEN a rock climber! Can you say "wow!"?)  and learned that some of the SAHM struggles I am dealing with really aren't as far out crazy as I had thought.

In the past couple of weeks, the groups I have began taking part in have gradually taken over the trips to Targer that I took out of boredom and just wanting to get out of the house. And guess what! When you don't go to Target, you DON'T SPEND MONEY! Isn't that just a novel idea?!?

Take a look around  your area. Are you in a mom's group or women's group? If not, I encourage you to find one. Most groups are free or minimal cost and they save a ton of money by taking your time away from Target!

For more money saving advice visit Frugal Fridays over at Life as Mom.

Around my 300th!

300 POSTS!

That is just unbelieveable to me... I have written 300 (ish!) posts! AND.... Many of you have read my 300 posts!

I have lots of things to share with you all but I wanted this to be an upbeat and not so serious post, therefore I wanted to throw a few things out there!

I wrote 150 things about myself a while back and TRUST ME, that was something else! Therefore, I will not try to attempt that again!

So instead of writing a list of crazy facts about myself, I am going to give y'all a chance to ask ME the questions and I will answer them. I think this could be a lot of fun! AND I am also doing another giveaway!

I started an Etsy business and I love to crochet dish clothes/wash clothes, so let's give them away!

Here's what they look like:

If you want to check out the details, here is my Etsy page. Take a look! Also, when I contact you to let you know you have won, we can discuss your color choice!

Now I haven't decided how many I am going to give away yet so enter as many chances as you can! (Please leave me a comment with each thing  you do.) Here's how!!

1. 
   
   Write me a comment welcoming me back to the wonderful world of blogging!
2. 
   
   Go to my Etsy site and tell me what you like, what suggestions you have, or just well... Go! :)
3. 
   
   Follow One Blessed Mama.
4. 
   
   Follow me on Facebook.
5. 
   
   Follow me on Twitter.
6. 
   
   Tweet and/or Facebook about the giveaway.
7. 
   
   Post on your blog about it!
8. 
   
   AND here's the biggest one... For every friend you get to come and check out my blog, if they visit and comment (with a comment that they found my site from yours), or do ANY of the above from learning about this from you, you will get an extra entry with every entry they do! (WOW! Does that make sense?!?)

So let me reiterate... I have NO idea how many I am giving away so enter as many times as you can! I know you want to!!!

On your marks... Get set! BLOG!!!

Oh... and you have until TAX DAY to enter... April 15th, right?!? :S

I feel...

like an extremely bad friend.

Times are tough around here (I am certain every where) and, honestly blogging is coming up last.

My apologies friends. I pray and hope to be back very soon.

Much love and prayers...

Menu Plan: March 14-20

I am getting back in the eating at home saddle. It's for sure now! I have a story and I will be sharing soon. Eat at home. It's better for you!

Sunday: eat with my parents

Monday:
applesauce bread
LO nuggets, salad
chicken alfredo, green beans

Tuesday:
applesauce bread
grilled cheese, tomato soup
cheesey beef and rice, broccoli

Wednesday (St. Patty's Day!):
big breakfast cookies
LO cheesey beef and rice
Irish stew and beer bread

Thursday:
baked oatmeal
LO Irish stew
soup, salad

Friday:
LO breakfast foods
creamy macaroni and cheese, green beans
egg burrito casserole, fruit

Saturday:
Daddy's in charge (Mommy- "Lifted" Prayer Breakfast)
chicken salad, fruit
chicken noodles, mashed potatoes, green beans

Preparing to Prepare

Preparing to prepare... Sounds a little crazy doesn't it?

Well it is a little crazy... because... I'm a little crazy!

First things first...

I always look into buying seeds and plants first thing. I have got to be comepletely honest with you... It took me a LONG time to be able to grow plants which actually lived and produced fruits... A. Really. Long. Time.

So here are a few questions/suggestions when preparing to buy seeds or plants:

• What kind of climate is your garden going to be in? Is it sunny or maybe shady? Is the area where you are going to put your garden the collector of rain water and will flood out? Where is the best part of your yard to garden or plant?
• Are you a lot like me and really wanted to start plants from seeds but they always died? I wasted a TON of money on seed before I realized that I just needed to master on type of seed at a time. I wasn't a "green thumb" so I had to recognize and not overwhelm or set myself up for failing.
• What kind of seeds do you want? For our family, non-GMO seeds are VERY important to us. We like to know that our food is in it's most natural state. We buy our seeds from Baker's seeds.
• How much do you have budget for gardening? Every year, I do a gardening budget. I like to make sure that growing our own food isn't going to break the bank. It is also nice to see how much you spent compared to how much you saved. It is also important to remember how nice it is in the winter time when you don't have to leave your house if you don't want to because food is already available. So keep track of what you spend in seeds and time.
• READ, READ, READ! There are tons of reviews and sources our there. Read up on plants and planting times.
• Finally, how much time and attention are the plants going to take? If you are a busy person who works a ton of hours and barely has time to take a shower, you are probably not going to want a big garden. Maybe look into container gardening or raised bed gardening.

The challenge for this week is to think about and research what size and type of garden you want and if you want to try and start plants from seeds. Then, look into what seeds you are interested in. Come back Wednesday for the next step I take in preparing to prepare!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Do you know what I am actually good at and REALLY enjoy? Gardening and perserving our food through the summer.

It's hard to believe that it is time to start prepping already, but it is!

I am going to spend a lot of time bringing you ideas that have helped me in various areas of my adventure in gardening and being a good steward of what the Lord gives us from it.

Join me in discussing these five areas:

Preparing: Your home, Your kitchen and Your garden for the planting.

Gardening: All the tips and tricks I have learned.

Harvesting: What's worked for me and my family?

Giving: In my personal opinion, the most important part of the garden.

Preserving: We are going to be trying some new things as well as sharing same old family tricks and secrets.

Come on back and learn some of the joys and defeats of growing your own food!