Completing Him Challenge: Week Six

Now onto week six of the Completing Him Challenge! Head on over to Women Living Well to catch up or join in : )

This weeks challenge is to:

Make your husband a priority. Ask him what his favorite dinner, dessert and drink are. Be sure to serve him all three one night this week. Bonus: cook his favorite dishes all week long!

We're having family visit the second half of this week so Thurs and Fri needed to be frugal meals that could be made for a larger group. 

The first three days are all hubby though! : ) I even found out that he really likes meals that I didn't know he did.

Tonight - bbq chicken and steamed rice (one of my most frugal!)

Tuesday - spinach lasagna (had no idea he loved it - it's vegetarian) and zucchini bread for dessert

Wednesday - breakfast burritos

Not included in the challenge, for my hub's birthday, is buffalo wings and baked potatoes... and a german chocolate cake with whipped frosting and mini chocolate chips.


I already put a lot of emphasis on cooking for my husband and don't really cater to the kids (they eat anything like a bunch of goats!) : ) but I think he enjoyed being asked what he wanted specifically - I'll have to start doing that more often... anything to put a smile on his face!

Menu Plan Monday

Coming up, we have family visiting (Grandad and Gigi!), a LONG three-week meal plan, my husband and sister's birthday (they share one) and as part of the Completing Him Challenge I'm making some of my husband's favorite dishes. Whew... I'm already worn out.

Head on over to www.orgjunkie.com to see tons of other great meal plans!

Monday - bbq chicken, steamed rice, vegetables (chicken quarters and bbq sauce baked for 45min)

Tuesday - spinach lasagna, salad

Wednesday - potato, egg and cheese breakfast burritos

Thursday - spaghetti, garlic bread, salad

Friday - homemade pizza

Saturday - mini meatloaves, twice-baked potatoes, vegetables

Sunday - leftovers

Monday - wings, baked potatoes, salad

Tuesday - chili cheese dogs

Wednesday - hard-boiled eggs, toast, bacon

Thursday - blt's & chips

Friday - tacos

Saturday - bbq ribs/chicken, potato salad, corn on the cob

Sunday - leftovers

Monday - sloppy joes, potato wedges

Tuesday - quesadillas, spanish rice

Wednesday - pancakes

Thursday - tostadas

Friday - hamburgers, fries

Saturday - cheese tortellini, french bread, vegetables

Sunday - leftovers

VERY simple BBQ ribs or chicken

Shhh... don't tell my husband I'm giving away his secret. : )

 When we first got married, he had me prepare everything this way and I thought it was just nuts (I'm a vegetarian) and other people came over to eat some and they LOVED it.

So here's the SUPER simple secret...

 

 Image Credit

1. Liberally apply Lemon Pepper
2. Sprinkle with Seasoning Salt
3. Grill to perfection

Told you it was easy : )

Oh, and (per Julia Child) make sure you completely pat the meat dry before seasoning or it won't brown properly.

Swing Set Giveaway

Head on over to Shopping with Cents to enter to win a Flexible Flyer Swing Set! 

The swing set is from HayNeedle, valued at $339.98 and comes with an anchor kit.

Completing Him Challenge: Week Five

This week over at Women Living Well the Completing Him Challenge is to make a list of your priorities and then have your husband show you how he would prioritize them. 

This is actually great timing because we were just having a conversation about where things should fall on the priority list... and now I have a reason to corner him on the subject. : ) No, really, he doesn't mind helping and I'm sure he loves that I'm trying to change the focus of my priorities (what husband wouldn't???).

So... the list I came up with looks like this:

• Homeschooling the kids
• Keeping the house clean
• Menu-planning/coupon-clipping
• Cooking homemade meals
• Making improvements on the house

And here is the list that we worked out:

1. Time with the Lord each day. This often gets worked in whenever I get a few seconds (normally eating lunch or during naptime), instead of having a set QUIET time. After talking with the hubby, I can see how everything else will fall out of place if this is not priority #1 with it's very own time. I'm going to start getting up earlier each morning to have some quiet time with God now... THANKS to my hubs for pointing this out! And while time alone with my husband or intimate time should be a high priority, we both think that it already is a high priority and, like all other things, it will continue to be one if this priority is met.
   
   
2. Homeschooling the kids. An obvious priority and one that I need to get back into planning mode for, with the school year looming.
   
   
3. Cooking homemade meals. You would think this is obvious but I often get sidetracked with doing a million other things (hello blog!) and usually have dinner on the table late.
   
   
4. Planning activities for the kids. Another one I need to put more effort into... I get so wound up into projects I have going on that I forget they need outside time or playdates arranged.
   
   
5. Keeping the house clean (a LOT lower than I thought it would be!)
   
   
6. Menu-planning/coupon-clipping. Instead of getting shuffled off the list, my hubby kept this one on - mostly because we've seen the money saving effects that this allows us and that definitely is a priority.
   

What DID get a boot off of the list is making improvements to the house... we have several projects going on right now, the most major being that the kitchen is only half-painted and still has a border and linoleum to pull up. This seems like a big deal to me because I don't want to have a half-finished house when guests come over... but I can also see how the "damage" is superficial and that our home is really clean and in order. So I *guess* I can let it slide while I'm putting all of these things first. Certainly there will be times when everything else is taken care of and it can be done : )

Really enjoyed seeing how my husband would prioritize my day... makes me want to start talking to him now. Joking! But I do see that we need to start talking about more basic things instead of praising things that we don't really agree with... Thanks Courtney!

Learning a lesson I already knew

Romans 5:3-5
And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

I have been meditating on this verse since I found it in my Romans study recently... isn't it nice how God gives us things to comfort us?  

We had several things happen to us in the last few months...

It started with everything going much better than it had been - we had some tight finances before and were unable to fly my stepson here for the summer and were generally just breaking even.

Then everything started getting better... we started planning more renovations on our house and even wanted to put our 5-yr old in a taekwondo class. (this was just the week before everything happened)

But our plans aren't God's plans.

This is what June alone looked like for us...

1. My husband's job was bought out by another company and he was given a HUGE demotion and a HUGE pay DEcrease. And it was either take this offer or be out on the curb with no prospects at all...  so we took the awful offer. And it was awful...
   
   
2. To the point that we're going to have to sell his motorcycle.
   
   
3. This happened while we're trying to pay medical bills from having our son...
   
   
   
   
   
4. Then our *almost* 2 yr old daughter falls out of the grocery cart at WalMart and suffers a concussion. (Yes I'm still kicking myself over this) We were in the hospital for two days just praying over her while my sister (who by a great blessing was visiting) stayed with our other kids at home. I really do believe that God answered prayers and made her well again. But her hospital stay made more medical bills... Don't get me wrong - we're still praising God that she's okay - but bills that are more than my husband's paycheck make even us falter.
   
   
5. And just after she recovers from this, all three of our daughters come down with hand, foot and mouth disease. We practically quarantined our daughters from our 6 wk old son... and, of course, it's the same daughter that had a concussion that has it worst.
   
   
   
   
   
6. And THEN, just as we're getting ready to take my sister to the airport to go home, part of our CEILING caves in (from a clogged HVAC unit that ran over into the ductwork and drowned the ceiling). Yes, that was  another bill and there are still repairs to be made. At this point, I was just... "Really?" My husband and I were seeing this for what it was BY NOW and right after it happened we got on our knees and were praying with everything we had. 

 I think that was what God really wanted from all of this... to bring us closer to Him. Isn't that amazing that He works so actively in our lives??? Looking back on it, I bet He was smiling over how our first reaction was to take each other's hands and drop down to the floor.

Before all of this happened, the memorization verse on my fridge was James 1:2-3:

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

But I don't think I was seeing the whole picture... 

Which is why it was like a thunderclap when I read Romans 5:3-5

And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

I have had this hope all along and I just wasn't employing it correctly. When any Christian goes through tribulations, we have the most awesome contender in our corner... and I should have remembered that through everything that happened. I was praying... but it was more of a "woe is me" praying... you know, "Lord, please get us out of this"... instead of "Lord I have faith that you will see us through this."

God will provide for us and He will comfort us.

I have HOPE because of HIM

If you don't know Christ, I pray that you will see that He is the answer to every question. Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (not a one of us is good enough for Him). 24 Being justified freely (because we haven't earned it) by his grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ. 25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation (the price for sins) through faith in his blood (faith in Christ), to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.

Completing Him Challenge: Week Four

I'm a little behind in pretty much everything, to include the Completing Him Challenge over at Women Living Well...

That hasn't stopped me from doing the challenge though - all week long I've been looking at my husband in a new light, taking the time to appreciate every little thing that he does for me.

This week's challenge was to
ADMIRE YOUR  HUSBAND.
So let me tell you a few things about mine...

• He has great ideas. Our finances did not support us celebrating our anniversary the way we wanted to... and when we were going to just look it over altogether, my awesome hubby came up with a great way to celebrate on a VERY tight budget. Often, I'm not able to see a bigger picture and he comes up with very creative ideas.... one of those "complete me" things. : ) I also don't always see things from the right perspective (he says this is because women are emotional and men are practical, lol) like what a particular bible verse means... I love bouncing verses off of him and getting his view - he ALWAYS brings something to the table that I just didn't figure in.
  
  
• He is amazingly selfless. Just last night, I took up too much time getting my daughter's birthday cake decorated - and when it was time to make supper, the baby was hungry... what does my hubby do? Without saying a single word about my misusing my time, he starts peeling potatoes and getting pans out. Speaking of which, I forgot to thank him - I need to call him right now... Also, when he was awarded an Old Navy gift certificate for a workout program his job hosts, did he spend it on himself? Yes. No, just kidding... : ) He handed it over to me and told me to go buy the baby some clothes. When I won a gift card in a giveaway, did he tell me to spend it on the kids or things that we NEED? Nope. He knew I hadn't bought any clothes since before I got pregnant, so he told me to go clothes shopping.
  
  
• He is fiercely protective of our children. He hates the idea of them getting sick (and tries to quarantine them) : ) or being around bad influences. How many people in this world just say "they need to learn what the world is like sometime"... not my hubby - he always has their best interests in mind. Even when I practice home remedies on the kids for things like pink eye, he always has one foot out the door, ready to go to the doctor... : )  (I take it in good humor, I assure you). When my three year old had an allergic reaction to mosquito bites (YES, that can happen!) I was just going to give her benadryl and call it a day, but he took her to the doctor and found out that it was a serious reaction.When that same three year old got a gash on her noggin from falling onto the corner of a chair (if you don't have kids, YES it's like this ALL the time) he drove home from work right away...
  
  
• He is a Command Man. It's really embarrassing to say... but I'm wishy-washy. I was a Staff Sergeant in the Air Force... and I'm wishy-washy. When it comes to directing people around, I'm good. Making decisions... not so good. If you've read Debbie Pearl's Created to be His Helpmeet, you know what a Command Man is. And mine is one. He always has a plan and he knows how to put it in place. He knows how to get somewhere, he knows how to budget for it, he knows how to get us all out the door in time and he's always ready to make a decision on where to go and what to do. If he lets me pick where to eat, it goes something like this... "um... I don't know... maybe here... or there... what do you think?" My standby is usually Sonic when I can't decide. : )
  

Isn't this challenge supposed to be about "Completing Him"?... because all I'm seeing is how he completes me LOL.

Meal Plan.... Muh-Wednesday

I'm SOOO behind. I just now got caught up on housework and birthday prep that I have a few seconds for menu stuff. This is what happens when you sit on your butt for a whole 4-day 4th of July weekend...

Anyhoo - here's what's on the menu. Enjoy!



Monday - homemade pizza

Tuesday - meatball subs  (I did not have bread crumbs or ritz crackers for this... so I used cheezits. And everyone LOVED it. Crazy... I know.)

Wednesday - breakfast burritos

Thursday - chicken kabobs, macaroni, steamed carrots

 Friday - blt & chips

Saturday - bbq ribs, potato salad, corn on the cob

Sunday - leftovers

Monday - loaded baked potatoes, salad

Tuesday - tostados

Wednesday - cinnamon rolls

Thursday - sloppy joes & fries

Friday - spaghetti, garlic bread, salad

Saturday - hot dogs, hamburgers, pasta salad

Sewing a Dora Backpack

I just finished making a Dora backpack for my two year old's birthday and I just have to share!

I looked forever to find one and they don't make soft ones (!) so I tried to find a tutorial and couldn't find one of those either (!)... so I just made it up as I went. That's usually how things go around here. : )

I started by free-handing a pattern on wax paper

Then I cut out the material - four of the pattern above (two in purple and two in the liner material) and one long strip to go in the middle (+ one in the liner material). I also cut out the straps - mine was about four inches wide to have room for folding over so they would be sturdy. The length of the strap will vary by child.


Here's the liner:

Next I sewed the two sides and the middle together, right sides facing. With the liner it's wrong sides facing. Make sure to sew the straps and put them in before sewing the body together. Then I cut out the face pieces from random scraps of fabric - using buttons for the eyes - and sewed them all on with a zig zag stitch. (I'm better at straight lines, so it aint that purty)

Then I put the liner in (right side up), made a small cut on each corner of the backpack, turned down the top of the backpack onto it (folded in once) and sewed all the way around in two lines. The straps may make this thick, depending on fabric, so make sure you're using the right needle... (OPTIONAL: cut a small piece of cardboard to fit in the bottom to stabilize it)

Lastly, I measured the top opening to get the flap dimensions, free-handed the pattern again, cut it out in purple and liner, folded over the purple, sewed, and attached to the backpack.

Voila! (No, it's not ironed - don't judge - I was in a hurry!)