Menu Plan Monday

Well, this week will be another simple meal week with some dinners out. DH is away on business all week and it's just lonely little me. I usually go out with friends on weeks like this so I'm not eating alone. DH and I are trying not to eat out as much so I think I'll work on eating small meals at home.

• Monday - Chicken Salad Sandwich from Jodi at Deputy Domain. I had some of this over at Mary's home last week and got some delicious apples from her so I will have a sandwich and have leftovers for a tossed salad for lunch tomorrow.
• Tuesday - Seafood night at the local bar and grille. I might head over there with a friend for all you can eat crab legs. So fun to have a girls' night out. If not, I will probably have some Vegetable soup my Mother gave to me and some hot biscuits. DH won't eat vegetable soup so if I want to have it I have to eat it while he's gone. :)
• Wednesday - Chicken Cheese Quesadillas with salsa. I have my bible fellowship tonight so I need something quick.
• Thursday - Beef stew with biscuits. I love walking into a yummy smelling home. I can throw that together in the morning and have it ready when I get home.
• Friday - DH gets home tonight but I'm not sure when. I will probably do a cheeseburger quiche because it's one of his favorites and it is easily reheated for when he arrives. Throw a salad with it and you have a well rounded meal.
• Saturday - DH and I are going to a minor league baseball game tonight so it will be grilled food that comes with our ticket price. I love going to the AAA games because these guys are playing with some real heart and you can get a great picnic package with all you can eat food and great seats for $17.00! We are meeting some people from our bible fellowship there and it should be a GREAT time.
• Sunday - We are having some manly men over to spend the night so I think we may do steak and potatos potatoes with broccoli. Of course some kind of chocolate dessert. I'm not sure yet.

Sure seems like a lot of dialog for a simple list of meals! LOL, I guess that's what blogging is all about. Last week's menus turned out great. We switched a couple of days around but I'm all about being flexible. DH was so proud of me for having dinner planned and not flailing around at the last minute until we ordered pizza! I was proud of me too!

YEA ME!!

For more wonderful menu plans (some with recipes) head over to I'm an Organizing Junkie and check out the great ideas.

Thankful Thursday

Wow, this one is going to be tough. I had a rough day yesterday and it has been a difficult few months. I know that writing down those things I'm thankful for will help me handle life in the best way I know how.

I am thankful for:

• A minister with great insight who lets the love of God show through all he does. His sharing last night really hit home;
• A wonderful group of friends and fellow believers to fellowship with and learn with;
• A sweet and loving husband who is willing to hear my fears and address them with the Word, no matter how much I resist (I tend to want to mope);
• Scriptures that are deep inside my heart that only need a quick reminder (from DH or myself) "Romans 8:1, darling;"
• A mother who will take the time to pray with me when DH is in a meeting and God seems so far away;
• Fresh peaches, ripe for eating;
• A cat who, despite his faults, entertains and snuggles when he senses I need it;
• Lungs to take deep breaths;
• A reliable car with a radio that blasts when I need to stay alert and awake;
• Golden Oldies to sing really loud to;
• Thankful Thursday to remind me to breath with those lungs and pray with my understanding and leave the rest in His hands.

Wow, so much deeper than I thought it would be. I think it's just what I needed. Thanks to Sting My Heart for hosting Thankful Thursday.

My Passion to be a SAHW and a Request for Help at the End

For a very long time I have longed to be a wife and mother. I have never had an intense desire to have a career. I attended college for 2 semesters and the best thing that came from my college experience was meeting my DH online.

DH proposed about 4 years later and I accepted. We were married in 2002.

Before our wedding, we learned DH had the opportunity to take a job in SW Pennsylvania, close to where his family lives.

We were moving! We moved almost one month after we were wed. I was raised in a military home and was used to moving. I was truly excited about the prospect of a new, fresh start as husband and wife in a new town.

DH had a good job and financially I didn’t need to work. FINALLY my time had come. I was going to be a SAHW and certainly, within a couple of years, we would be bringing our first child into the world.

As is so often the case, life did not go as planned. That first year I stayed home and expected to know EVERYTHING I need to take care of DH and our home. I expected to become my mother when that ring went on my finger. I was disappointed in my inability to focus on our home and our inability to have a child. I was unable to take care of my home, uncaring about my appearance, and downright FRUMPY.

It was hard not knowing anyone nearby. It was hard only having one vehicle, which husband took to work. That first year at his job he was working 80 hours a week. He was exhausted when he came home and I was miserable. After talking it through we decided I should try to find a part-time job, just to help me get out of the house and the ever present funk I was in. We bought a second vehicle and I put in for any part-time secretarial position I could find.

Flash forward 4 years. I am working 40 hours a week. We have our own home now and I have matured greatly from where I was 5 years ago. And now…

I WANT TO COME HOME!!! I want to be a SAHW. We understand it will take more financial and emotional effort to have a child (due to fertility problems). We understand it may never happen. I am willing to accept that (for now). I don’t have the empty feeling inside anymore. I know I am to be FIRST AND FOREMOST a helpmeet to my husband.

I am anxious and I need to be sure about my decision. DH will support me either way. He understands my desire to be at home and truly, I think he would prefer it. He does not, however, want the old frumpy wife again. Thus, I need to be sure about my decision.

We talked about it about a month ago and DH had some valid points. This is what I am working on right now.

These are the components DH has witnessed I need in my life to be happy and productive.

• Social interaction;
• Sense of purpose;
• Accountability;
• Being a contributing member of society; and
• Being challenged by my work.

I have all these things at my job and DH wants me to figure out how I will be able to find them at home or, if I can't find them, how will I supplement them.

I need to reason it through and identify where these components will come from. DH can’t provide a lot of them because he works ~ 12 hours a day.

I need to study each component in the Word to see where biblical women got these things.

Thanks so much for reading this. It was more about putting it in writing than anything.

I am not looking for counsel. I want to make that clear. I know that this is our family’s decision.

I am simply looking for the right avenues to research. I want to be able to make a decision on this by summer of this year and I just thought I could get some good resources from you all.

I have a wonderful woman who is our Fellowship Coordinator’s wife. She is wonderful to bounce thoughts off of. I just thought I would take advantage of the on-line community and any input you might have about books or simply records to look at in the Bible. I am currently reading through Ruth and noting (where I can) where Ruth received her support and all of those things listed.

Thanks so very much.

A Change of Scenery

The title obviously refers to the changes I have made to my Blog layout. The rest of this post is titled:

A SWEET REMINDER OF WHAT IT IS TO BE LOVED

This past weekend I was really blessed to be a part of the “Couples Advance” with my Bible fellowship. There were 8 couples at different stages of their relationships (some just dating, some engaged, some married under 5 years, and some over 20). It was really fun learning about what the Bible says about the marriage relationship.

I think the best part of the Advance was the activities we did. I received permission from DH to share some of our findings.

One activity was to Write down 5 things you would like to do with your spouse. This was an eye-opener for both of us because we really agreed on these five things:

• Focus on activities/attractions available in our area during “date night” (instead of just meals and movies)
• Visit/fellowship more with friends
• Focus on healthy meals/exercise together
• Spend more time with family – build stronger relationships
• Spend more time on home improvement projects together

This was cool because when we got to the third one DH suggested it. I am so excited that he would like to do this together. I have been talking about walking together after dinner or on the weekends. Just being more physical in our activities instead of just “dinner and a movie.”

That activity we worked on together and got the five things together. This next activity was one we did individually and then shared what we wrote. This was so awesome because DH and I got the exact same answers in the exact same order!!!! Talk about being like-minded.

List 3 things you are thankful to God for in your relationship.

• Our communication
• Our true FRIENDSHIP
• Our family ties, the fact that we have great relationships with our families.

Isn’t that AWESOME!?

DH and I had a really fun time. It really opened up a lot of opportunity for discussion in our marriage. We truly love each other and most importantly we love God and His Word above all else.

Truly I am a blessed woman.