Menu Plan Monday

No real plan this week, girls! That's the beauty of Spring Break!

The kids and I will head to Missouri tomorrow evening to spend a few days with my parents. We'll be back for the weekend. Rick will be here all week, but when I'm gone he just wants easy stuff like sandwiches, ramen, frozen burritos, etc.

Tonight I'm going to make salmon patties and fried potatoes. That just sounds good! Then I'll pull together some plans for next weekend, probably some of the kids' favorites like easy chicken cordon bleu sandwiches and chicken fettucine.

That's it for us this week in the menu department. Hope you have a great week!

Nicole and Brynne ~ How Does Your Garden Grow?

Last year Brynne and I planted herb and vegetable seeds in our little inside greenhouse. Our oregano and basil and marigolds grew. But, our green beans, peppers, tomatoes and rosemary were duds. We bought tomato and rosemary plants later in the spring, transferred our herbs and planted a container garden. It was a good first attempt!

This afternoon she and I started our herb seeds. We decided to skip doing vegetables from seeds this year, and will just plant them as plants. We'll transplant our herbs to containers on our back patio, and are going to plant the rest of our garden in our garden box that Rick built for us last year.

We planted cilantro, basil, oregano, sweet savory, rosemary and sage.

Really, we just have fun doing it.

If we actually end up with some fresh herbs to use, that's just bonus.

Spring Break Plans

Today marks the first day of our Spring Break.

We were certainly ready for a break!

Kyndal left right after school to go spend some time with her dad and grandparents in Missouri (and to go on a double date with her boyfriend Kevin and his parents -- she's not allowed to go on dates alone with him yet).

Dawson went to his best friend's lakehouse with their family. He'll be back later today.

Rick and I took the little kids to Chick-fil-a for dinner last night. He and I were able to sit and have a really great talk while they were playing. We talked about how our roles as parents is changing now that we have teenagers. He is such a good encouragement to me in my perception of myself as "mom". He provides me with much-needed balance of thought.

This morning Rick got up and went to play a round of golf. The little kids and I are enjoying a lazy morning in our jammies with the puppies and watching cartoons. Later today we are going to run into town to replenish Brynne's "school teacher" supplies.

Rick and I are hoping to get in a date night tonight. Dinner out with him alone would be so nice, specially since the kids and I are all leaving on Tuesday evening to spend a few days in Missouri with my parents.

We always have such a great time on our Spring Break visit! My grandma's birthday is on St. Patrick's Day, so we always dress in our green and celebrate with her. I'm going to get my hair done (which is WAY overdue), and even go with my mom to play cards with her card group at their local Country Club. My mom is also in a church group that is responsible for the annual Mother/Daughter Banquet this year. She has asked me to help with a theme idea. And, I may even be leading their devotional at the end of the banquet. I would love to do that, and feel honored and privileged to be able to share some of my testimony with my childhood church. We'll be meeting on Wednesday night to make some of those plans.

We usually spend the entire Spring Break in Missouri, but this year we didn't want to leave our puppies for a full week. While Rick is at work they will all have to stay in their rooms. They aren't used to having to do that all day. He's planning to come home for lunch every day to let them out for a bit. We will miss them so much!

I will miss Rick so much, too!

Rick Rocks ~ Because He Dares to Dream!

Don't fall in love with a dreamer .... Remember that song? I've always been a fan of that song. Mostly, it's because I'm a control freak. I have this little overriding need called stability. So, unless my dreams, or anyone else's, coincide with a guarantee of complete success, they get shot down.

Rick is a dreamer, and I am in love with him.

I strongly drill into the heads of my children that they should have constant consideration for what they are passionate about, and move in that direction when looking for a life career. That's because if they are passionate about it, it will drive them to get out of bed every morning and strive for excellence. And, they will be happy and fulfilled. Money and prestige mean absolutely nothing.

And I want the same for Rick and I, but I also want financial stability, a nice house, a running car, a closet full of fashionable clothes for both me and the kids, and food.

Rick has a real talent in engineering. In fact, I think he is quite revered in his industry. He's good at it, he's respected and he makes a better-than-good income.

But, he doesn't wake up in the morning with a hoot-and-a-holler, ready to take on the world with his engineering skills. He doesn't feel purpose in his career as an engineer, although he {gladly} does it as a way to challenge his mind and provide for his family (both of which I am eternally grateful.)

Rick has a dream. It's always bubbled on the surface. He tries to do something with it, it doesn't go "as planned", so he stuffs it.

And it rises to the surface again.

Rick loves golf.

He is passionate about it.

But, he's not just passionate about playing it (although he loves to). He's also passionate about the technical side of it. In fact, he has often said that he isn't sure he would want to really play on a tour, because he's not sure if he could handle being on the road all the time and away from family.

But he can't get golf out of his blood. And, he just doesn't feel that it's intended to only be an area of recreation for him.

This is where engineering and golf merge. He has been working on an idea for a long time, something that he can turn into a side business (and maybe even a full-time business someday with God's blessing). It's something he can do while still providing for his family in a conventional way. He can take his analytical and technical engineering skills into the field of golf, and provide a valuable service!

And, it's got him excited!

It's got him very excited!

And I am excited for him! I'm glad he hasn't let my fear and lack of ability to dream hold him back from moving forward with something he really, really wants to do. I am so proud of him for stepping outside the box to take something he's passionate about and find a way to mold it into his life. I am excited to see where this leads him!

Rick Rocks ~ Because he dares to dream!

Lost in Transition

What a strange place to be .. in a state of transition in almost every area of your life.

Although nothing drastic is going on, you can almost feel the changes boiling on the surface of your soul.

That's how I feel right now. I don't feel bad. I just feel strange. I feel like I should be worried, but I have an overwhelming sense of peace.

Nothing is moving along the way that we want, so that just means that God is in control. That means things are moving along in the way that He wants.

It puts me in a state of expectation, and excitement! But, if I'm not careful, I can get anxious and impatient.

It's funny how God will allow you to make certain decisions in your life and go a certain way. But, then there are those things that He is just going to control, and He prevents you from making any decisions in your own power. That's because He has you in His power, going in the direction where He wants you to go. He probably knows that in your own power you will likely screw it up.

Rick's job is in a constant state of flux. But, an excitement is there because it feels like something is happening for him. We just don't know what. So, we wait.

Our house isn't selling. But, an excitement is there because we know that God will sell it when He's ready for it to sell. So, we wait.

We have no church home. But an excitement is there because we are learning to just love and rely on God, instead of looking to a fallen Church to get us there. We don't feel any pulling to do anything but what we are doing. So, we wait.

Our children are growing and changing and all moving from one major stage to another. There is fear and excitement there, even though we don't know what to expect next. So, we wait.

Rick and my marriage feels stronger than it ever has. I don't know about him, but I feel an excitement because I know He has great things in store for us as a married couple. I know that He is using us to break generational bondages and heal our families for generations to come. We don't know what He wants us to do specifically. So, we wait.

Although we wait, we know He is here. He is working things out for our good, and for the furtherance of His Kingdom.

Lord, give us patience to experience what you have in store for us. Help us while we wait.

... but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength ... Isaiah 40:31 (ESV)

Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it ... Luke 17:33 (ESV)

An Honor to Serve

Last weekend I volunteered at the Extraordinary Women Conference in Tulsa. I blogged about it here.

I worked at one of the products tables. I was honored to sell materials for Lysa TerKeurst, a woman I have come to really admire. (I don't want it to appear that I am idolizing Lysa, because I have mentioned her and quoted her many times lately. She just happens to be someone real who is working God's purposes through her, and I admire that.)

Lysa and me (not the greatest picture of me, but the light from the window in the good one erased half my face.)

It was a really great time! Honestly, I only sat in on a couple of speakers because I was having such a good time doing my job and talking with the other ladies God put at my station to work with me. Tracy and Terri were so great! And Holly, Lysa's partner, was right there making sure everything ran smoothly. I wish I would have had more time to spend with all of these ladies.

Lysa TerKeurst, Tracy, Terri, me and Holly Good

On my way to the conference the first morning, I wondered how significant a products table worker could be. I mean, it's not like I was praying over someone at the altar, or greeting a lady with a smile as she walked into the auditorium. But I just felt like God said, "Nicole, what if you hand just one book of Lysa's to a lady who desperately needs to hear what God has to say through her? What if that one book changes that lady's life forever and brings her closer to the Lord? If you weren't there at that products table, she might never have received the one word she needed. You are significant!" And, I felt significant the entire time I was there.

I helped many, many women find what they were looking for. I particularly remember one young girl who had me help her pick out the materials she wanted to buy. She told me that she is a newly single mother, and is having trouble being obedient to God right now. Hmmmm .... sounds like someone I used to know very intimately. (Heck, other than the fact that she's not still a single mother, I still know her too intimately.) It felt amazing to help her find some encouragement through Lysa's materials.

Another thing I did a lot of, that I feel extremely passionate about, was hand out postcards that had Lysa's blog address on it, to anyone and everyone I could. I have been extremely blessed by her blog, and I wanted the world to know about her and her Proverbs 31 ministry.

I also had the opportunity to meet Mary R. Snyder who writes the EWomen blog. She was a hoot and such a sweet spirit! I loved her, and I think her and I would be really great friends if we spent any amount of time together.

Mary R. Snyder and me

I know for me, I have had a hard time lately in the area of "service" because we are not attending a church. We are in a time of transition, very disillusioned with the local church right now. I know that my primary area of serving God is in my family, and in those opportunities He puts in my path on a daily basis. If you know my relationship with God, you know that just getting me to obey in the small things is a real daily challenge for God. So having an opportunity to serve God outside of a local church was a great thing. In fact, I saw more of "church" going on this past weekend than I have seen in any local church in a very, very long time. Women, and some men, came from many places to join together to work out God's purposes and further His Kingdom.

It was an honor serving the Lord the past weekend. I definitely plan to look for other opportunities such as this.

You've Got Mail

We received two very important and exciting things in the mail today!

One is that thing that he or she needs in order to do the thing he or she is doing for the first time next month.

Here are a couple more sneak peek photos ...



The other is this ...


It's the homeschool curriculum (minus math) that I will be using to teach Dawson next year. I have browsed through it and am very excited about the potential! You can go to my homeschool blog, Journey to Excellence, to read more about the curriculum.

Nicole's Daybook

Outside my window... it is sunny and warm and is supposed to be 70 degrees today! Hallelujah!

I am thinking... about how alive I feel!

I am thankful ... for the promises that Spring brings.

I am wearing... gray workout sweats, Grand Tetons t-shirt and cap, white/gray/purple zip up hoodie and Nike's.

I am remembering... an event in my life that happened 24 years ago today, and how I wish I could go back and change it.

I am creating... design concept ideas for Rick's new business venture.

I am going... to get some housework done this morning and run some errands this afternoon.

I am reading... True Colors, by Kristin Hannah. I love her books! I want to get it finished by the end of next week so I can loan it to my mom when I'm there for Spring Break.

I am hoping... that the new possibilities in our life come to fruition.

On my mind... is contentment, peace and excitement, all at the same time.

From the learning rooms... the kids are still working hard and staying focused, even though Spring Break is next week. Usually by now we're all about ready to throw in the towel.

Pondering these words ... Never put a period where God has put a comma. ~ spoken by Sherri Rose Shepard at the EWomen Conference this weekend.

From the kitchen... it is slim pickins! We're being especially creative with snacks.

Around the house... are little dry blades of grass, dust and tiny footprints everywhere, now that all of the puppies are going outside to potty (up until now, they have been training on a potty pad by the back door.)

One of my favorite things... is seeing the buds on my bushes and trees. Spring is coming!

A few plans for the rest of the week... today Kyndal has an orthodontist appointment and I have some errands to run. She's leaving on Friday to spend some time with her dad, and the rest of us are staying home. Really, we don't have much going on this week at all, which is Great!!!

From my picture journal.

The little puppies in their new potty cage.

Get to know other special women at The Simple Woman's Daybook.

A Sneak Peek

A first will be happening in our family next month. Well, not actually a first! Two of us have done this in the past. But, for one member of our family, it will be his/her first. And, it's a memorable event.

Here is a very tiny sneak peek! We'll reveal more later.


Can you guess what it is?

Menu Plan Monday

I thought I might take just a moment to share how Rick and I do our finances.

Several years ago I went to a cash-only basis. I had a child support amount that was direct deposited into my account and I immediately cashed it out. I set up a Dave Ramsey-ish system where I use an expandable coupon holder. I have categories of Groceries and Household, Lunches (school lunches and in the summer, lunches out with the kids), Clothing, Activities, Hobbies. I developed a budget for each of those categories. My child support amount was used, and Rick wrote me a check for the difference which I cashed. Then I put the designated amounts into the categories in my expandable. When a certain category was dry, we didn't spend anymore in that category. It worked wonders for me.

Then several months ago the child support pretty much dried up because my ex-husband was unemployed. It has been a real hardship on me.

Now, we do have the money to make up the difference. But, Rick pays all of our other bills and he has things "planned" with that money, typically. Since he has had to make up the difference, he hasn't been able to do what he has planned to do with that extra money, which has set us back somewhat. And I've said, "no" a lot lately (which isn't totally a bad thing). The problem is that one of my children has grown about 6 inches since his school clothes were purchased and he needs new clothes badly!

But, God has provided as he always does and we have made it.

My ex-husband finally has a job and child support should start getting direct deposited again. It will be such a relief to be able to provide for the kids with clothing and activities without having to take it out of our grocery money to do it.

But, this next week is a week that is before getting any child support. We are out of everything when it comes to groceries ... down to the last of it all. So, I'm going to have to be creative. And, this weekend we will be eating out of what's left of our excess in the pantry and freezer. I'll have to be creative. (I could ask for more money from Rick, but I am extremely prideful when it comes to taking care of the parts of the budget I am responsible for, and I choose to take this on as an extreme challenge instead.)

So, here is what's planned for our menu this week ...

Monday ~ Baked chicken breasts with spinach, mushrooms, diced tomatoes and swiss cheese, veggie brown rice

Tuesday ~ Open faced turkey sandwiches with instant mashed potatoes and gravy

Wednesday ~ FFY

Thursday ~ Bacon, egg and cheese biscuits and fruit

Friday ~ Pantry purge (tba)

Saturday ~ Pantry purge (tba)

Sunday ~ Pantry purge (tba)

On next week's Menu Plan Monday, I'll post what I came up with this weekend on the Pantry Purge.

For other menu ideas, head over to The Org Junkie.