Baking Night

Ok, so I read a couple of posts lately about setting aside a baking day to prepare food for freezing so the kids could heat and eat easily. Well, I did my shopping last night and was ready to bake. I love to bake so for me is truely isn't a chore but a joy. My DH was at church and my kids were otherwise occupied so I got a lot done. See my progress below:




Chocolate Chip Pancakes




Oatmeal cookies without oatmeal (I substituted special K cereal)




Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

You should hear my kids tonight. They are so excited about morning and are telling me they are going to have a continental breakfast - one of everything!

Enjoy your baking time :)

Menu Plan Monday

Ok, I am going to try to keep up with this as it is very popular in the bloggy world and a very good idea I might add! I am still having trouble keeping my grocery budget down but am working on it. I don't need to get much for my dinners this week but I find I need to purchase a lot for breakfast and the kids lunches. I am hoping to try making snacks from scratch and weighing if the savings is worth the time.

My DH gets paid on Tuesday's so my menu goes from Tuesday to Monday:

Tuesday - Tuna Melts, Potato Wedges & Fruit
Wednesday - Smothered Pork Chops, Sweet Potatoes & Corn
Thursday - Ravoli, Salad & Bread
Friday - Crockpot Pork Roast, Rice & Broccli
Saturday - Sloppy Joe's, Mac N Cheese & Beans
Sunday - Oven Baked Drum Sticks, Potato Patties & Corn on the Cob
Monday - Burrito Casserole (new)

I tried to come up with 7 days of different breakfasts and here they are:
Muffins
Pancakes
Microwave Omelets
Cereal
Cinnamon Sugar Toast & Fruit
Egg and Cheese Sandwich
Cinnamon Rolls

I also tried to come up with some lunch box snacks:

Granola Bars
Cookies
Chips
Crackers & Cheese
Dried Cereal
Fruit Roll-Ups/Snacks
Veggies (carrots)
Fruit (apples, grapes)
Applesauce
Yogurt

Well, this is what I've come up with for this week. See you again next week (hopefully)

Reflection

I was unsure what I should post today and then I read the entry over at http://undergraceovercoffee.typepad.com/andrea/ and realized this is what I should talk about.

My walk with God has been less than productive over the past few months and I don't like it!! Discipline from God is necessary but very unpleasant. I thank Him for a wonderful husband who loves me dispite how I treat him and our boys. I want to feel fulfilled again, to experience joy and to be able to live out my faith with great enthusiasm. But I feel uncontent and unhappy. I know my major battle is selfishness and this is a hard one to break. I have recently decided to drop out of my weekly women's group because the subject matter made me feel worse than I already do on my own. Withdrawal is my specialty and I'm not sure this was my best decision.

On a positive note, I prayed desperately for godly women to come into my life so I would have someone to talk to and He has answered my prayer. I am SO thankful for these women who listen to me and are available even if I just need to know they are there! They will help me get through this season, even if they don't know how important they are to my journey!

So what is my plan? Well, I want to find a good Bible study to dig into God's Word. I love God's Word and learning from it. I plan on making sure I wake up early enough to spend time with God in the mornings. I plan on attending church every Sunday and really surrendering myself to Jesus in worship. It's not perfect, but it's a start. Ultimately, I would like to get back into a women's group for accountability and support and increase my prayer life as it has become almost null and void. I want Jesus to know how much I truely love Him and how thankful I am for all He has done for me and my family!

Thanks for listening! I hope to update my blog in the future with praise for battles won and prayer for those I face.

Snow in January

It finally snowed! My DH should be happy since he is jealous of the amount of snow South Louisiana received last month (that is where we moved from) but this doesn't even compare! It wasn't much snow, but it was pretty. It wasn't cold enough for the snow to accumulate, much to the dismay of the boys who were ready to go and buy a sled.







You can "almost" see the snow flakes!!!

What I love to do....

I was so excited to be able to do what I love to do on my day off yesterday - sew. I love to sew and my dream would be to make a living doing it! But I am satisfied by being able to endulge once in a while. I wanted to show you what I "created" yesterday!





This bag has a denim bottom with two large black pockets.





This bag has a black bottom, straps and two large pockets inside.

Just to let you know, if you are interested in a handbag like this, I can custom make one for you! The cost is $20 and it will include a magnetic closure.