MENU: 2/26/15 - 3/4/15

I already shared these new recipes on Facebook, but I want to make sure friends who aren't on Facebook get to check them out. We also tried on other new recipe last week, a ham and potato soup, but it wasn't particularly amazing and I doubt we'll make it again.

* chipotle sweet potato nachos - These were absolutely delicious and I can't wait to have them again!

* tuna & veggie green salad - This was a random concoction we made for lunch one day when I pulled various things out of the fridge and cupboards, Devon got some chives from the yard, and Silas requested water chestnuts.

Here's what we have scheduled for the next week.

ADVANCED COOKING (These aren't always planned, so they'll often be things I did the previous week.)
* I'm going to chop and freeze a couple bunches of parsley.
* I'll make peanut butter and crockpot beans, just like I do once or twice every week.

BREAKFASTS
* scrambled eggs & spinach/toast
* doughnuts at church
* oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon, milk, homemade peanut butter, maple almond butter, raisins, dried cranberries, fresh or frozen fruit, huh-koe-pee milk, and/or energy mix as optional toppings x5

DINNERS
* rice, kale, & eggs
* Greek chicken (in herbs in the freezer)/rice/frozen peas & corn
* salmon/rice/roasted broccoli
* bean & rice soup from a mix with a ham bone/toast
* pasta with store-bought sauce/lemon garlic cukes
* tacos - seasoned meat, crockpot beans from the freezer, and some other toppings served in a tortilla, bowl, as a salad over a pile of greens, or with mound of rice

* leftovers 

SNACKS & DESSERTS
* banana spice cookies
* Crunchy Flax cereal (We scored a case of 12 for $4.99 at a local discount store, so we've been using it as a snack.)
* produce 

* popcorn (kernels from the Winco bulk department that get popped in my Lodge Dutch oven, but you can see my thoughts on both the wonderful Dutch oven and the fantastic West Bend Stir Crazy in this post. )

(This post contains affiliate links.)

2/26/15 - THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for bulbs in bloom and trees that are blossoming.

What is something that you are thankful for?

MY CHURCH FAMILY

Mortgage brokers, emergency responders, secretaries, construction. Kids educated in public and private schools, home, and online. Accountants, garbage men, professional athletes and coaches, landscapers. Administrators, teachers, and other school staff. Old, young, and middle-aged, small families and large ones, various religious backgrounds and political opinions. Health coaches, engineers, realtors, lawyers.  Retired, working, unemployed. Counselors, UPS drivers, professional musicians, nannies, pilots.

People who only speak English and those who are fluent in more than one language. American citizens, foreign nobility, and exchange students. Just married, divorced, married once, multiple marriages, widowed, and never married. Dentists, animal and plant farmers, bank tellers, hair dressers. Past and present battles with addiction, travelers and homebodies. Web designers, aestheticians, cake bakers, project managers, mammography techs. People who love to read, create art, and/or listen to music. 

Marketing, advertising, and technology development. Every skin tone and hair texture, outgoing and shy, poor and wealthy. Electricians, HVAC professionals, human resources, stay-at-home parents, baristas and coffee shop owners. Store clerks, mechanics, police officers, librarians, doulas. Women, men, children. Multi-level marketing businesses, daycare workers, speech therapists, jet boat owners, paving crews. Parents with adopted, biological, foster, and/or step-children and childless couples. Military, manufacturing, wedding coordinators, car dealers.

Those who enjoy outdoor recreation and those who prefer to be indoors, people consumed by fashion and those who are oblivious to it. Insurance agents, plumbers, massage therapists, tackle stores, florists. Mental illness, neurotypical, special needs, disabled, healthy, chronic and/or terminal illness.Veterinarians, photographers, caterers, pharmacists, correctional officers and other jail employees. People who make and sell cookie dough, home decor, purses and totes, leather Bible covers, skin care products. 

I could go on, but the point is that I love how our church family is made up of radically different people who are united in their love for Jesus and desire to be more like him, who regularly meet to sing praise songs, study their Bibles, and take communion together.

Would everyone be content at our church? No, which is why it's great that there are a variety of church sizes and styles. Does everyone in our church love every aspect of it? Of course not. No two people will have the same preferences and beliefs about everything. Is our group free of conflict? Nope. We're definitely a bunch of normal human beings, which means there are hurt feelings, misunderstandings, irritations, and sometimes the need for a little space. Do we, whether the corporate church or the individuals that comprise our church family, get everything right all the time? No, we don't. That's just not possible. 

Those things, however, are far outweighed by the myriad of ways our church family supports each other. Sometimes it's practical support, like the church office paying someone's bills and making sure they have gas to get to work, groups of people rallying together to keep food on the table of a family whose finances are tight, or individuals providing money, services, or other resources to those in need, either directly or anonymously. 

Sometimes it's the emotional support of the person who quietly passes you tissue paper while you're crying in church, the church staff member who meets with you for individual or marriage counseling, those who sit with you and listen when you just need to pour your heart out, those with gentle advice gained from their own experiences, the one who remembers a significant date or event and checks in on you.

Sometimes it's the spiritual support of a pastor who teaches verse by verse, chapter by chapter, and book by book so that we learn all the Bible teaches in the frequency that the Bible addresses each thing, the songs chosen by the worship leaders that help us keep our focus on Christ, the people who pray with and for us.

Are these things unique to the church we attend? Absolutely not. Do many of these things happen outside of church? Definitely. Lately, though, I've been struck by how our church family specifically, a group of people with so many differences, is still a cohesive unit overall.  I love it and am thankful to be a part of it.

FACES OF FAMILY & FRIENDS

Teebs showing the world how strong he is.

Devon burning a sign for us with our street number on it.

Silas assembling a survival kit.

Naomi showing off some of the dress-up shoes Pam got for her on their girly date.

Leighton (and her mom, though I managed to forget getting her on camera because we were too busy chatting) hanging out with us at OMSI.

Melanie joining us at OMSI while she was in town and meeting three Ws for the first time.

MENU: 2/19/15 - 2/25/15

We had two new recipes on the last menu, but only got around to one. It was awesome, though!

* chicken & roasted vegetable soup - Super tasty, nutritious, and safe for anyone with any of the common allergens. A couple of my friends had said good things about it before I tried it and another family is a fan after making it when I linked it on Facebook.

I did make one other new recipe, even though it wasn't on the menu.

* oatmeal, chocolate chip, coconut, and dried cherry bars with M&Ms - I had sugar cookies planned for our dessert last week, leftovers from a party I made them for, but I totally forgot about our traditional post-Bible study treat. I quickly busted out this bar cookie recipe yesterday morning that I'd had saved for a little while and they were tasty.

We also made a double batch of sweet green muffins one afternoon for a snack. They weren't on the menu, but they sounded good and I had a bunch of spinach and bananas to use up.

ADVANCED COOKING (These aren't always planned, so they'll often be things I did the previous week.)
* I'll make peanut butter and crockpot beans, just like I do once or twice every week.

BREAKFASTS
* toasted coconut & pineapple granola (These were on the last menu, but we ended up making a spontaneous triple batch of Barbara's pancakes instead. So we'll make granola this week.)
* doughnuts at church
* oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon, milk, homemade peanut butter, maple almond butter, raisins, dried cranberries, fresh or frozen fruit, huh-koe-pee milk, and/or energy mix as optional toppings x5

DINNERS
* new recipe (This was on the menu last week, but we opted for a second night of leftovers instead.)
* lentils & rice
* pesto chicken green salad/focaccia (our contribution to a potluck)
* egg, spinach, and potato scramble/blueberry & banana smoothies
* new recipes/roasted broccoli
* tacos - seasoned meat, crockpot beans from the freezer, and some other toppings served in a tortilla, bowl, as a salad over a pile of greens, or with mound of rice

* leftovers 

SNACKS & DESSERTS
* Crunchy Flax cereal (We scored a case of 12 for $4.99 at a local discount store, so we've been using it as a snack.)
* oatmeal cookies

* produce 

* popcorn (kernels from the Winco bulk department that get popped in my Lodge Dutch oven, but you can see my thoughts on both the wonderful Dutch oven and the fantastic West Bend Stir Crazy in this post. )

(This post contains affiliate links.)

2/19/15 - THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful that we've always had adequate clothing.

What's something that you're thankful for?

DAHLBERG & DEVON

Last year we discovered that an exterior garage wall was rotting. We didn't have the cash to get it fixed, so it's just sat there in all of its rotten glory. Recently, however, we received a monetary gift intended to meet whatever needs we had at the moment. We contacted Erik, a friend who's a contractor, and he spent the last couple of days putting new siding on the rotten wall. Devon was intrigued by the process, so Erik had him come out to help off and on while he was here.

Erik let Devon whack away at a section of old siding that was going to be torn down. Pretty sure that was the highlight of Devon's week!

He also had to haul some wood out to the truck. Not as cool, but not every task can be as fun as being granted permission to be as destructive as possible.

Here they are, Mr. Dahlberg and Devon (with his cheesy posed smile, of course).

I'll end with some live footage of the best part of Devon's week.

Today I'm thankful for generous people, needs that get met, the chance to support a friend's business, and people who invest time in our kids.

MENU: 2/12/15 - 2/18/15

I haven't tried a new cookie recipe in ages, which is odd when you consider that cookies (and ice cream and pretty much anything edible) is my love language.

* Butterfinger cookies - These were my attempt to use up some of the insane amount of candy we got from the Harvest Festival, some of which we stashed in the freezer. They taste similar to a peanut butter cookie, but with a different texture.

ADVANCED COOKING (These aren't always planned, so they'll often be things I did the previous week.)
* I roasted some winter squash, then popped it in the freezer.
* I'll make peanut butter and crockpot beans, just like I do once or twice every week.

BREAKFASTS
* toasted coconut & pineapple granola
* doughnuts at church
* oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon, milk, homemade peanut butter, maple almond butter, raisins, dried cranberries, fresh or frozen fruit, huh-koe-pee milk, and/or energy mix as optional toppings x5

DINNERS
* creamy shells with broccoli & ham (I always use a bunch of extra broccoli and sometimes roast it first)
* crockpot beans & rice
* new recipe
*  sesame honey chicken (raw in marinade from the freezer, crockpot)/rice/frozen peas & corn
* new recipe/whole wheat biscuits
* tacos - seasoned meat, crockpot beans from the freezer, and some other toppings served in a tortilla, bowl, as a salad over a pile of greens, or with mound of rice

* leftovers 

SNACKS & DESSERTS
* sugar cookies (taking to a party, but saving some for our family)

* produce 

* popcorn (kernels from the Winco bulk department that get popped in my Lodge Dutch oven, but you can see my thoughts on both the wonderful Dutch oven and the fantastic West Bend Stir Crazy in this post. )

(This post contains affiliate links.)

2/12/15 - THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for a gift that's allowing us to repair a rotting exterior garage wall and that we can support a friend's business in the process.

What's something that you're thankful for?

BREAD LESSONS

Last year I decided to master yeast bread and this year I decided to teach the bigs how to bake it. I used the same recipe with all three of them, a simple white bread recipe that seemed like a good one for beginners.

Round one was with Devon on 1/18/15 and he chose to make three hand-formed loaves. 

Round two was with Silas on 1/29/15 and he also chose to do hand-formed loaves.

Round three was with Naomi on 2/9/15 and she opted to use two loaf pans.

They all did a great job! Now it's time to start branching out to other yeast breads. I bet they'd be highly motivated to try cinnamon rolls, but we'll also experiment with other regular bread recipes I already use and let them find some new ones that sound good to them.

2/9/15 - MEMORIES ON MONDAY

This picture was taken Memorial Day weekend in 2004. It was my ten year class reunion and I was about 39 weeks pregnant with Devon. Fun times! One of the great things about growing up in a small town is that everyone knows everyone and most of us had known each other all or most of our lives. Our class had 90-something students and I think there are only two or three on the class list whose names I don't recognize today.

MENU: 2/5/15 - 2/11/15

We didn't try anything new last week, but we did skip the burgers and fries that were on the menu and went out to eat for a family celebration instead. I'd actually thought we'd head to Red Robin for that meal, hence the burgers and fries, but I couldn't spill the beans on the menu before we surprised the little Ws ... and we ended up going to Spaghetti Factory anyway.


ADVANCED COOKING (These aren't always planned, so they'll often be things I did the previous week.)
* I'll chop a ton of spinach and put it in the freezer for smoothies or egg, potato, and spinach scrambles.
* I'll make peanut butter and crockpot beans, just like I do once or twice every week.

BREAKFASTS
* baked oatmeal
* doughnuts at church
* oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon, milk, homemade peanut butter, maple almond butter, raisins, dried cranberries, fresh or frozen fruit, huh-koe-pee milk, and/or energy mix as optional toppings x5

DINNERS
* lentils & rice
* teriyaki chicken (raw in marinade from the freezer, crockpot)/rice/coleslaw
* kale & feta casserole/rice
* rice elena/frozen green beans
* ham & lentil soup (crockpot)/simple bread
* tacos - seasoned meat, crockpot beans from the freezer, and some other toppings served in a tortilla, bowl, as a salad over a pile of greens, or with mound of rice

* leftovers 

SNACKS & DESSERTS
* new recipe

* produce 

* popcorn (kernels from the Winco bulk department that get popped in my Lodge Dutch oven, but you can see my thoughts on both the wonderful Dutch oven and the fantastic West Bend Stir Crazy in this post. )

(This post contains affiliate links.)

2/5/14 - THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for the box of books that Rollie dropped off yesterday, some of which we'll keep and some we'll be able to share.

What's something that you're thankful for?

2/4/15 - WORTH REPEATING

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So keep short accounts and love radically.

~ Heidi Chin, a Facebook comment from a friend whose perspective is reinforced by years spent working in the ICU and with cardiovascular patients


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I've always wanted to eat a cloud.

~ Naomi, while reading a library book about clouds that relates to what she's been studying in science


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A workable definition of addiction is 'an ever-increasing desire for something that has an ever-decreasing ability to satisfy.

~ Unknown, quoted by a friend on Facebook


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If you need to buy more stuff to organize all your stuff, maybe you own too much stuff.

~ Courtney Carver from Be More With Less, quoted in 6 Lies that Keep Our Homes and Lives Cluttered on Becoming Minimalist


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Love is inconvenient.

~ Belinda Moffit, a comment made while we were doing our Skyble study


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So many times blessings look like hard work. They don't just fall from the sky in a nice tidy package. They're usually exhausting, irritating, character building gifts. It's messy. But I'm always so thankful and so in awe of how it works out.

~ Catherine Waxenfelter, a reply to one of my Facebook posts on 1/29/15


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CELEBRATION!!

We made our last school debt payment. Last. Final. Done. No more. I can't describe the excitement I feel knowing that monthly payment is gone forever! I've talked about my feelings on school debt before, like here, but I'll give another little reality check now. 

We've been paying $325 a month for a long time. With the exception of a season on food stamps, that's more than I have ever spent on groceries, which includes all food, paper products, toiletries, OTC meds, tampons, and diapers (something we spent more on than people would have assumed for many years). I'm frugal, we've sometimes had food in our cupboards or freezer from friends who share their bounty, and God is good, so it's always worked out. In fact, we even deliver meals to friends from time to time and have dessert regularly. It's not like we've been malnourished or anything. That being said, there have been many times I've resented the fact that school debt is the reason I sometimes have to work hard to stretch our grocery dollar.

It's also money that couldn't go toward other bills, so our thermostat has always been set at 60 degrees from about October through May. Of course, we turn it up when we have guests and I give myself a few degrees once every month or two, particularly on days I'm super stressed and crabby. The rest of the time, though, we keep a cool house. It's just part of living within our means, but there have been plenty of occasions where I would have loved to spend more on heat and less on debt.

I don't share those those details for pity or accolades, as so many people live in equally cool or cooler homes and don't even have heat available or have grocery budgets that make ours seem like millions. Plus, we've lived like that for many years and it's simply not the end of the world. I share them because I know most people would prefer to spend more than $50 a month on all the things I listed earlier for each person in their family and because they want a home that's warmer than 60 degrees for half the year. 

I just really want people to be realistic about what the long-term effects of school debt may look like for them and their families. Will it look like that for everyone? Absolutely not. Some will get it paid off at the speed of light, others will have such high incomes that they'll have more wiggle room in all areas. That's totally fine. It's just important to look at the big picture before sinking yourself into the quicksand of school debt.

Moving on ...

Let's talk about celebrating!  

We've just about settled on what we'll do with the money we're no longer putting toward school debt each month, but we pulled some out this month for a single indulgence to celebrate the milestone.

Tim's in the thick of weekend basketball tournaments, but he had this weekend off. So, like any good parents would, we lied to our kids. We told them on Friday that we were just going to lay low on Saturday so that Tim could enjoy his day off. On Saturday morning we said that we'd changed my grocery shopping trip to a family one so that everyone could get out of the house together for a bit and brought along some lunch because we weren't sure we'd be home by the time that meal rolled around.

Then we passed the exit for the store ... and went to OMSI. We were given a membership in November, so we had several hours of free entertainment there. We opted for a couple of posed pictures instead of "look at this cool thing we're doing" ones this time around.

We got in the car mid-afternoon and the kids thought we were going grocery shopping before we went home ... but we went to Spaghetti Factory. We never eat out as a family, so this was a huge treat and our way of celebrating the end of school debt. Here we are just after we ordered.

And here are some of us after we ate delicious food ... and right about the time a long (even though it was fun) day of being on the go and having people getting tired was starting to take its toll. So, yes, I did tell the little Ws to pretend everything was going great for this picture, even though I was fighting tears and had just catapulted over a ledge I didn't see and sprawled out at the front door of the restaurant because I was looking up while trying to catch someone's runaway balloon that they shouldn't have let go of at the entrance to a business in the first place and certainly not at the busy door of a restaurant at dinner time.

But I, and my bruised shin, digress.

Here are four little Ws, two bows and arrows, one funky hat, and one sword.

We really did go shopping after that, though some family members stayed in the car for the sake of sanity and family harmony.

Once we got home we did one more thing to celebrate, something we haven't done in over two years. We paid the kids. If you're interested, then you can read about how we handle money with the kids and the awesome envelopes that Heidi made based on my description of what I wanted.

So, after many years of regular payments, gift money (like this), chunks of tax refunds, adding an extra five or two hundred bucks whenever we could, and moving for the purpose of making bigger payments, we are done! So awesome!