Sunday - snacky foods, pizza
Monday - apples (got up way too late for regular breakfast!)
Sauteed chicken tenders with kidney beans and corn, brown rice
Tuesday - oatmeal
Sloppy Jalopies
Wednesday - French Toast
Pork tacos, rice, beans
Thursday - Smoothies (this could change if it's really cold in the morning)
Steak, baked potatoes, grilled veggies
Friday - Oatmeal
Spaghetti
Saturday - TBA
Monday, October 27, 2008
Weekend Thoughts
Hi there! It seems like Monday mornings are the time to get my thoughts down. Some Mondays, my thoughts are on what's ahead, like meal plan, schedules, and so on, but today, I want to share a little bit about my weekend. Meal plan hasn't been done yet, so that will be posted a little later.
We had a pretty busy yet low-key weekend. In other words, we faced the same craziness, yet nothing terribly exciting like an ER trip (like last weekend for Sophia's foot, no break, thank God) or anything like that.
Sadly, I was a first hand witness to anti-missional living on a few accounts. At the grocery store, as we were pulling out, this big guy in a big truck aggressively zipped past us to hurry and get the spot designated for pregnant women. I could see DH's mouth wanting to open, I looked at him, the kind of look that says, remember your children are here! He looked out the window and smiled at the guy and said, "Congratulations!" He looked at DH and said "There ain't no d%*m pregnant women here!" It was sad, but I loved DH's humorous chiding.
Then at the soccer fields.....sigh. This broke my heart. At the end of the game, when the coaches, siblings, parents and friends are to gather together to create a tunnel for the young stars to run through, something happened that was so unnecessary. ****disclaimer - the uses of the words attractive and unattractive will be used here, according to culturally and worldly expectations of attractiveness, and I do not wish to offend anyone by the use of the words - they are to give you, the reader, an idea of how things transpired **** a young-ish, "attractive" woman was approaching the tunnel line up with her hands up ready to form a tunnel. She looked up and saw that the person with which she would have had contact was an "unattractive" man so sidestepped and had contact with no one and left the man to have contact with no one. I tried to dash across to form the tunnel with him, to show him some grace and acceptance, but the children were running through and I couldn't get across, then it was over.
I saw how an action that lasted maybe 5 seconds could have possibly crushed another human being's spirit! Ugh! I felt so sad when I left. So sad.
A thought to ponder....was this woman, a mother of two, raised with unconditional love? Or was she raised to believe that she would be accepted only if she was attractive enough? Skinny enough? Was she raised to accept others primarily because of their physical appearance?
God has been really speaking to me lately about the power of our words and actions. I was able to see a strong example of the hurt that one simple decision (to act or speak) can hurt another person.
After all this, our church service was beautifully set up with an open mic. We were first given three questions to discuss amongst ourselves. They were about reaching out to others. The questions were a follow up to last weeks' sermon, which I didn't make it to because of Sophia's ER visit. Following that, three more questions were given to us and the mic was made available. What has God been doing in your life? How has He been at work? (this is so not verbatim, hehe) and How has God challenged you this week? One by one, people got up in front. They bared their souls and shared some very deep hurts and some praises and some encouragements. We were able to collectively pray for our church family members. It was a very intimate hour.
I shared how He has been at work in my life this week, and I was unable to come up with a way that He has challenged me (don't know why nothing came to mind because He challenges me all the time!) I did walk away feeling very challenged, though. All in the essence of this post. To actively pay attention to my thoughts and actions - to only speak words of encouragement to others. To live a life of loving others and making them feel loved and not condemned or discouraged.
We had a pretty busy yet low-key weekend. In other words, we faced the same craziness, yet nothing terribly exciting like an ER trip (like last weekend for Sophia's foot, no break, thank God) or anything like that.
Sadly, I was a first hand witness to anti-missional living on a few accounts. At the grocery store, as we were pulling out, this big guy in a big truck aggressively zipped past us to hurry and get the spot designated for pregnant women. I could see DH's mouth wanting to open, I looked at him, the kind of look that says, remember your children are here! He looked out the window and smiled at the guy and said, "Congratulations!" He looked at DH and said "There ain't no d%*m pregnant women here!" It was sad, but I loved DH's humorous chiding.
Then at the soccer fields.....sigh. This broke my heart. At the end of the game, when the coaches, siblings, parents and friends are to gather together to create a tunnel for the young stars to run through, something happened that was so unnecessary. ****disclaimer - the uses of the words attractive and unattractive will be used here, according to culturally and worldly expectations of attractiveness, and I do not wish to offend anyone by the use of the words - they are to give you, the reader, an idea of how things transpired **** a young-ish, "attractive" woman was approaching the tunnel line up with her hands up ready to form a tunnel. She looked up and saw that the person with which she would have had contact was an "unattractive" man so sidestepped and had contact with no one and left the man to have contact with no one. I tried to dash across to form the tunnel with him, to show him some grace and acceptance, but the children were running through and I couldn't get across, then it was over.
I saw how an action that lasted maybe 5 seconds could have possibly crushed another human being's spirit! Ugh! I felt so sad when I left. So sad.
A thought to ponder....was this woman, a mother of two, raised with unconditional love? Or was she raised to believe that she would be accepted only if she was attractive enough? Skinny enough? Was she raised to accept others primarily because of their physical appearance?
God has been really speaking to me lately about the power of our words and actions. I was able to see a strong example of the hurt that one simple decision (to act or speak) can hurt another person.
After all this, our church service was beautifully set up with an open mic. We were first given three questions to discuss amongst ourselves. They were about reaching out to others. The questions were a follow up to last weeks' sermon, which I didn't make it to because of Sophia's ER visit. Following that, three more questions were given to us and the mic was made available. What has God been doing in your life? How has He been at work? (this is so not verbatim, hehe) and How has God challenged you this week? One by one, people got up in front. They bared their souls and shared some very deep hurts and some praises and some encouragements. We were able to collectively pray for our church family members. It was a very intimate hour.
I shared how He has been at work in my life this week, and I was unable to come up with a way that He has challenged me (don't know why nothing came to mind because He challenges me all the time!) I did walk away feeling very challenged, though. All in the essence of this post. To actively pay attention to my thoughts and actions - to only speak words of encouragement to others. To live a life of loving others and making them feel loved and not condemned or discouraged.
Ps 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Mortgage in Texas
My husband, Danny is a Loan Officer - he is hard working and honest, he does what it takes to make your home buying experience the best it can be. If you live in South TX and are considering a home loan, please stop by here first. You'll be glad you did. : )
http://www.esquedahomeloans.com/
http://www.esquedahomeloans.com/
Monday, October 20, 2008
Meal Plan Monday
Here's the menu for the week:
Sunday - snacky foods and leftovers
Monday - oatmeal - red beans and rice, ham, and turnip greens
Tuesday - smoothie - chicken enchiladas
Wednesday - baked rice pudding - spaghetti dinner fundraiser for the triplets at church
Thursday - smoothie - meat and beans
Friday - oatmeal - chicken noodle soup and saltines
Sunday - snacky foods and leftovers
Monday - oatmeal - red beans and rice, ham, and turnip greens
Tuesday - smoothie - chicken enchiladas
Wednesday - baked rice pudding - spaghetti dinner fundraiser for the triplets at church
Thursday - smoothie - meat and beans
Friday - oatmeal - chicken noodle soup and saltines
Monday, October 13, 2008
The work...
This morning, taking the kids to school, Shout to the Lord was playing on the radio. I will admit, a lot of the time when a slow paced song comes on the radio, I change it to something a little heavier : ) but today, I din't. I don't know if I blogged about this before, but oh well. It's a story I love to tell.
My father passed away in November of '05. The more time that passes, the more I miss him. We had a very rocky relationship. I had huge steel walls set up around my heart which prevented me from letting my guard down. I learned to do that because when I did let it down, I was hurt. His alcoholism had many terrible effects on me and everyone with who he had relationships.
I really see God's work in my life, especially because He drew me to him at a time when life was really hard, dealing with Dad. God knew that for me to forgive dad, I needed Him first. End of story. Or beginning??? I was still a very immature Christian when Dad passed away, and I never made it to give him the love and compassion and approval that he so desperately desired. It wasn't till the Christmas that followed his death that I came to true forgiveness.
Christmas Eve happened to fall on a Sunday that year. I was pretty emotional going in, a combination of hormones and grief (not good). We had a big day ahead of us, Danny's family has a very large celebration on Christmas Eve, steeped in tradition and family. I was extra tired that morning, too. Anyways, to make a long story short, during the music portion of the service, the song Shout to the Lord came along. I was once told to envision our children when we came to the part that goes...I sing for joy at the work of your hands...and I was doing just that - thinking of my babies - when a beautiful voice, loud and quiet at the same time, spoke directly into my heart, "Your father was the work of my hands, too, Melanie." I was stunned and joyful, all at once. I couldn't accurately express the range of emotions that swept over me at the time, but I can tell you that relief and love and forgiveness came in to replace the regret, anger, unforgiveness, and sadness in me.
That year, I received the best gift of all, God spoke directly to my heart and enabled me to forgive Dad, once and for all. From that point forward, I have been able to remember the good things and love him like he needed to be loved. I hope he knows that.
My father passed away in November of '05. The more time that passes, the more I miss him. We had a very rocky relationship. I had huge steel walls set up around my heart which prevented me from letting my guard down. I learned to do that because when I did let it down, I was hurt. His alcoholism had many terrible effects on me and everyone with who he had relationships.
I really see God's work in my life, especially because He drew me to him at a time when life was really hard, dealing with Dad. God knew that for me to forgive dad, I needed Him first. End of story. Or beginning??? I was still a very immature Christian when Dad passed away, and I never made it to give him the love and compassion and approval that he so desperately desired. It wasn't till the Christmas that followed his death that I came to true forgiveness.
Christmas Eve happened to fall on a Sunday that year. I was pretty emotional going in, a combination of hormones and grief (not good). We had a big day ahead of us, Danny's family has a very large celebration on Christmas Eve, steeped in tradition and family. I was extra tired that morning, too. Anyways, to make a long story short, during the music portion of the service, the song Shout to the Lord came along. I was once told to envision our children when we came to the part that goes...I sing for joy at the work of your hands...and I was doing just that - thinking of my babies - when a beautiful voice, loud and quiet at the same time, spoke directly into my heart, "Your father was the work of my hands, too, Melanie." I was stunned and joyful, all at once. I couldn't accurately express the range of emotions that swept over me at the time, but I can tell you that relief and love and forgiveness came in to replace the regret, anger, unforgiveness, and sadness in me.
That year, I received the best gift of all, God spoke directly to my heart and enabled me to forgive Dad, once and for all. From that point forward, I have been able to remember the good things and love him like he needed to be loved. I hope he knows that.
Monday Meal Planning
Here's the plan for the week:
Sunday - leftovers and snacky foods
Monday - oatmeal
Roast beef with potatoes and carrots
Tuesday - smoothies
Burgers and chips
Wednesday - sausage biscuit sandwiches
Tacos (with leftover beef roast) rice and beans
Thursday -smoothies
Sloppy Jalopies (renamed, thanks J.R.)
Friday - oatmeal
Sausage and ribs, corn, mashed potatoes
Saturday - TBD
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Catching up on pictures
Sunny
Oliv, peering into the distance.....
Sophia, chilling on the swing...
Icees - these were Danny and Sophia's first ever!
Our morning coffee...our propane tank was empty this morning so we made our breakfast outside. It was so fun!!!!!!!
Bacon and eggs
The kids eating their breakfast...
Moon and Star
Midnight and Moon (no picture, but we still have Eddie!)
Last Sunday's baking - bread and peanut butter cookies
Homemade breakfast sandwiches.
We made sushi for lunch Monday. It's D Jr's favorite lunch.
Here are the babies. Final head count is ELEVEN!
Oliv holding a baby. Awwwwwww.
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