Thoughts

A few weeks ago, I attended a conference called more4orphans at Vineyard Church of Columbus. Prior to attending the conference, I could sense that God was causing a stirring and longing in my heart and soul for a deeper sense of who he is and what he desires from us. The main speaker was Wess Stafford the CEO of Compassion International. His thought provoking message brought to light, through scriptures, how truly significant and important children are to God and that we as adults are called to protect and love them as Christ loves us. God is continuing to work in my heart and in my husband's heart regarding what he is calling us to do and how he wants us to live out our lives through the verse of James 1:27: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." Needless to say, there were many tears shed as my heart broke for the lost, hurting children of this world. I could spend hours talking about this topic because it is something I am very compassionate about. I would encourage you to watch these video's if you have some time: 

This first video is a promotion of the book Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis but her thoughts are profoundly inspiring~

The next 2 videos are regarding adoption and great need for parents willing to fulfill the call of Christ to look after the orphans

My continued prayer is that God will not allow me to get complacent and content with my "American Dream" life and that he would continue to (as the song by Big Daddy Weave says) "break my heart until it moves my hands and feet, for the broken and the hopeless, for the ones that don't know You love them. Bring Your love to life inside of me!"

Meal Plan Monday

Monday:  meatball sandwiches and sweet potato fries

Tuesday:  Baked chicken with Dijon and lime 

Wednesday: Shrimp and veggie stir-fry with brown rice

Thursday: Tacos

Friday:  Dinner at my sis-in-laws house :)

Saturday: Baked Chicken Parmesan with broccoli and mashed potatoes

Sunday: Steaks on the grill with broccoli

I am looking forward to some nice weather and being able to start grilling out again! Happy meal planning! If you are looking for meal planning ideas head over here.

Meal Plan Monday

We have been doing much better at sticking to our menu for the week especially last week. (It helps when you plan to eat out a few times during the week :) I have found a new website with some deliciously healthy recipes and so I am branching out and try a few new things. So here is the plan for this week:

Sunday: Chicken rollatini with spinach alla parmigiana, sweet potatoes and green beans

Monday: Stuffed peppers and steamed broccoli and carrots (Patrick actually made this without a recipe and is was awesome) we use ground deer meat, rice, and veggies as the filler YUMO!

Tuesday: Chicken and white bean enchiladas with creamy verde salsa

Wednesday: Spagetti and meatballs, salad

Thursday: Venison steak casserole

Friday: chicken parmigiana with egg noodles

Saturday: Leftovers

Pinteresting things

Thanks to Pinterest I have found many crafty things to do this winter that have been me keeping busy:

For our anniversary this year I made the following:

 52 reasons I Love you using a deck of cards, paper, a hole punch and red ribbon

 A few reasons I love my husband :)

I also attempted to make Carmel Delights aka Somoas Gril Scout cookies from scratch! Lets just say I will gladly pay $4 a box for these babies. They were good but not worth the time investment.

And finally, I got 6 balloons and wrote a memory from each year attached to the balloons

Here are some other things I have made, mostly from Pinterest:

This is a Happy Birthday Calendar to remind me of when birthdays are coming up so I ca be prepared. A goal of mine this year is to make sure I remember and celebrate in some way each birthday! I hung it in my kitchen and every time a birthday passes I remove and save for next year. The next birthday coming up is then visible. No more forgetting birthdays! :)

A Prayer Pail. We have put this in Mia's room and every night before she goes to bed we pull out 3 sticks and pray for the names on the stick!

Super hero cape! I made three of these for Christmas presents and they were a big hit and I loved making them! This idea I did not get from Pinterest but from another blog I follow. 

Now if I can just finish Mia's quilt for her big bed before she starts climbing out of her crib we will be set!

Meal Plan Monday

I have been planning out my meals the past few months, I just don't always make it to post on here. But here it is for this week:

Monday: homemade chili and corn chips

Tuesday: Papa Murphy's heart shaped pizza (we have been doing this just about every year we have been married). If I don't make it to Papa Murphy's after work we will substitute with Tacos

Wednesday: Benny's Cheesesteaks (I have a BOGO coupon). We are planning to drop of a meal to some friends, the Loechler's in Hilliard and then head to Benny's since it too is in Hilliard and is one of our favorite places to dine.  I am making Potato soup (Outback style) which I have NEVER done before so I am hoping that it turns out ok :) You can read about the Loechler's and their story and learn more about 22q11 here.

Thursday: Bucky and brocoli (aka venison) This was a staple growing up and thanks to my cousin Matt who supplied my mom with some venison we will be enjoying this delicacy. Hopefully my mom will be joining us for dinner :)

Friday: Crock pot roast, potatoes and carrots

Saturday: Thurman's located in German Village and movie night :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

If you are looking for more menu planning ideas head over here.

Mia's card table playhouse

I have to admit, I was very nervous about how this project would turn out, but I am very pleased with it! And Mia has spent many hours in it already! It made completely out of felt with multiple pieces that can be removed and reattached by Velcro. The total project cost me about $35 and took roughly 24 hours to complete. I looked into buying one but they were upwards of $150! I now know why, due to the massive amount of time it took to complete! I worked on it in the evenings after Mia had gone to bed. This is a great concept for us since we don't have alot of storage or open available play space. So whenever Mis (or mommy) is done with it we just fold up the playhouse and the card table and put them away! and I love how it turned out!

 All the flowers and leaves are removable for endless play. I put mesh on the window so that air would circulate but I didn't want Mia or the cats thinking they could use it as a door. By the way, the cats think I made this hideout for them :)

 The front: the mailbox has a flap with storage for mail and the door is attached at the top only for easy access for big and little people inside. Good thing too, because Patrick spent about 3 hours inside on Saturday playing house.

 The garden has 4 ears of corn (they were in Mia's room during naptime when this photo was taken) 2 carrots and 2 beets that can be placed in pouches in the dirt

 The apple tree has removable apples and leaves, Mia loves to 'pick the apples'

She also loves to read books to her babies in the playhouse, so much so, that she thought she needed to bring her chair into the playhouse!

I hope that you Christmas brings you much JOY and lots of LOVE as we celebrate JESUS' birthday!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Mia's 2nd Christmas

Mia got a kitchen from Gramie! She loves it and I am afraid that it is nicer then ours!

  Before the Chaos

 The only picture I got of Mia looking at the camera the whole morning! 

 A vacuum so she can start pulling her weight around the house!

 Veggies to cut and cook in the new kitchen

 Stocking stuffers

Aqua doodle, she kept asking us to draw circles!

As you begin your Christmas celebrations I hope you have a wonderful memory filled time with you family and loved ones! Merry Christmas!