LIVE from NEW YORK - It's MENU PLAN MONDAY!!!!

Yep - we're going to do my menu planning live right now.  :)  I have no clue yet what I'm going to do. 

First let me think of what's going on this week.  Tonight is my 17 year old's senior concert so I know we'll need to eat a little early and since I'm horseback riding too, I need something quick.  I think tonight will be our "good salad" which is greens, grilled chicken, craisins, mandarin oranges, walnuts, blue cheese and a homemade dressing made from one part honey to two parts balsamic vinegar.

OK - Tomorrow I think is pretty normal.  I'll be home and I think it's supposed to be cooler and kind of lousy weather so I'll make something that takes a bit longer to make and includes the oven.  I think that will be meatloaf with mashed potatoes and .... green beans?  Since I'm home, I'm also going to be sure I have the ingredients to make up 2 batches of lasagna sauce so I can make lasagnas for our homeschool presentation night.  I won't be able to be there but I will make the lasagnas and someone else can cook them up for me.

Wednesday we have ballet until 6 and then we need to be at church at 7 so again I need something fast.  Hmmmm - we haven't done pizza in a very long time and there's a great pizza place near church that has a deal where you get a large pizza, meatball parmesan hero, large ziti and a dozen garlic knots for $20 which is an amazing deal so we'll do that.  I can have hubby bring it home with him so I will just have a salad ready to go earlier in the day and we're set.

Thursday looks to be a nicer day and since I'll be riding again, I need something quick to prepare.  I think I have a steak in the freezer and think I'll use that to do grilled stead and then I'll pick up the ingredients to make potato salad and we'll have that with frozen corn.

Friday is a very busy day for me.  I'm still not sure how I'm going to work it all out because we have field day, I need to get my work at church done and that evening is our new church's first event.  So I think I'll be sure there is leftovers for the children to eat and then I'll make sandwiches for DH and I to take with us.  I think we need to be at the hotel around 6 or possibly even earlier so there are not a ton of choices for us.

Saturday - At this point, the weekend doesn't look that great weather-wise but of course we can't be sure.  I think I'll make something chicken - Hmmmm - how about chicken enchiladas?  We love those!  I'll do chicken enchiladas and salad.  YUM!

Sunday is usually just DH and I and the two little ones.  Hmmm - IF the weather is nice, I know DH will want to BBQ on the boat so I think I'll pick up boneless chicken thighs.  If it's nice, we can grill those and have it with the leftover potato salad.  If it's not nice, I can cook them in the oven pretty much the same way as on the grill.  So we'll do thighs, potato salad and green salad.  Yeah, that works.

Monday - I try to get to Monday since with me riding on Mondays, there's not much time to shop or anything so if I'm not prepared for Monday, then we don't do well.  I think we'll do a cranberry pork roast to finish out the pork roasts I have in the freezer.  It's a crockpot meal, so nice and easy for me to come home from riding and finish the prep work.  I'll serve it with rice and peas. 

OK - DONE!  :)

Monday - "good salad", rolls
Tuesday - meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans
Wednesday - pizza, hero, ziti, salad
Thursday - steak, potato salad, corn
Friday - kids: leftovers, adults: sandwiches
Saturday - chicken enchiladas, salad
Sunday - chicken thighs, potato salad, green salad
Monday - cranberry pork roast, rice, peas

Menu plan for this week

MAN was today a work day!  I convinced hubby to get the garage cleaned out so I could get my car in there and after working about 4 hours, no car can fit in there yet.  However, we have 8 bags of trash at the curb, along with a broken table, a broken door and a broken dog gate.  We have a huge box of books for the library, another box of books for the church library, another box of children's books for Freecycle, and about 3 boxes for us to keep.  Then there's the huge section of the garage that's holding all of the other Freecyle stuff that I need to list and then the few things that will need to go into the shed....when we get the shed cleaned out.   Oh - and 5 bikes in various stages of disrepair.  LOL  We need to now go to the shed next week and empty that which will add a ton more trash to the curb, more Freecycle finds - and will give us enough room to put away everything so that we should be able to not just get one but both cars back into the garage for the first time in about 4 years!!  Woo-hoo!!

So hubby and I were just sitting comatose at the kitchen table having a cup of tea and I figured I'd think about dinner this week.  Because of circumstances last week, I had 4 meals that I planned for that we didn't use so I'll recycle them to this week and I just needed to fill in a few more days with leftovers/freezer stuff/take-out because of busy days and we're all planned!  Woo-hoo!!  When I planned last week, it was still only in the 40s/50s during the day and yesterday and today were pushing 90 so these things are not typical summer fare but need to be eaten to use up the ingredients.  Next week will reflect the weather a bit more.  So, this week, we have:

Monday:  Chicken Supreme, rice, broccoli (Chicken Supreme is basically browned chicken breasts put into a casserole pan, mushrooms sauteed with white wine put on top and Monterey Jack cheese over all - very yummy!)

Tuesday:  Beef and pepper stir fry, rice (eat early because of National Day of Prayer worship practice)

Wednesday:  Italian Wedding Soup, homemade bread

Thursday:  Pulled pork sandwiches, leftovers or fend-for-yourself (it's the National Day of Prayer gathering at our church for all of the county evangelical churches and hubby is doing sound and I'm doing the computer/projector so we need to be there early)

Friday:  Three Amigos (a local Mexican restaurant that has a GREAT family meal that consists of 1 lb. beef or chicken grilled with seasonings, 1 lb. grilled peppers and onions, 2 c. pico de gallo, 2 c. beans (refried, black or pinto), 2 c. rice, 1 c. guacamole, 1 c. sour cream, 12 tortillas and chips along with all the homemade salsas you want for just $20 - it easily feeds my hungry family of 6!) (We're doing this because I'll be at church at 9 am and not get home until after 5 because of work/homeschool group)

Saturday:  Coq Au Vin or chicken thighs on the grill (dependent on the weather - both will use the chicken thighs)

Sunday:  Mother's Day - we'll be going to see my ILs so we'll eat there.

Danger of Drifting

This week my hubby had a chance to preach at our church.  While he's been a pastor for a number of years, he's not had the opportunity to preach the sermon too often since we have quite a number of pastors and hubby is usually either leading worship or doing sound.  But this week he was up.  And boy was he good, if I do say so myself.  His parents came and his mother was speechless - "That was my son???"  LOL  The message is just 30 minutes long but filled with glorious truth.  Please listen if you have the chance!  I promise you'll be blessed.

Danger of Drifting

Two contrasts in theology

In reading my blogs and boards today, I came upon two very different theologies.  One was encouraging, instructive and worthy of reading, studying and praising.  The other?  It saddens my heart so much that someone who can claim to be a "reverend" can be so heretical. Judge for yourself:

 "Without Christ, there’s no bridge between God and man, there’s no hope for a personal relationship with God, there’s no chance of being forgiven."

“We don’t need a savior,” Spong said. “If Jesus died for your sins, you are one wretched human being. I don’t think that’s good news.”

My son's baptism

I never did get to post about this! My son was baptized a couple of months ago and it just warms my heart to know that my child walks with the Lord. Here is his testimony that was read just before he was baptized:

Name: Robert
Age: 9

How I came to faith in Christ:

A few years ago we saw the movie “Narnia.” After we got home I asked my Dad “Why did Aslan have to die?” He explained why, and then told me how Jesus died on the Cross for our sins. I asked Jesus to forgive my sins and come into my life. Since then I understand more about God through Promise Land [our Sunday School program] and Bible Memory Verses.

Why I am being baptized:

Jesus told us to be baptized because it shows everybody that I’m a follower of Jesus. I want to do what Jesus tells me to do in the Bible.

Here are some photos (edited to add that this is my husband who's baptizing him):

American College of Pediatrics speak out on teen homosexuality and schools.

I found this amazing:

A news release from the American College of Pediatrics:

The American College of Pediatricians cautions educators about the management of students experiencing same-sex attraction or exhibiting symptoms of gender confusion. These concerns are outlined in a letter and fact sheet sent by College president Thomas Benton, MD, to all 14, 800 school district superintendents in the U.S. Dr. Benton also alerts them to a new Web resource, FactsAboutYouth.com, which was created by a coalition of health professionals to provide factual information to educators, parents, and students about sexual development.

“As pediatricians, our primary interest is in the health and well-being of children and youth,” Dr. Den Trumbull, Vice President of the College explains. “We are increasingly concerned that in too many instances, misinformation or incorrect assumptions are guiding well-intentioned educators to adopt policies that are actually harmful to those youth dealing with sexual confusion.”

The College reminds school superintendents that it is not uncommon for adolescents to experience transient confusion about their sexual orientation and that most students will ultimately adopt a heterosexual orientation if not otherwise encouraged. For this reason, schools should not seek to develop policy which “affirms” or encourages these non-heterosexual attractions among students who may merely be experimenting or experiencing temporary sexual confusion. Such premature labeling can lead some adolescents to engage in homosexual behaviors that carry serious physical and mental health risks.

There is no scientific evidence that anyone is born gay or transgendered. Therefore, the College further advises that schools should not teach or imply to students that homosexual attraction is innate, always life-long and unchangeable. Research has shown that therapy to restore heterosexual attraction can be effective for many people.

Optimal health and respect for all students can only be achieved within a school by first respecting the rights of students and parents to accurate information and to self-determination. It is the school’s legitimate role to provide a safe environment for respectful self-expression for all students. It is not the school’s role to diagnose or attempt to treat any student’s medical condition, and certainly not the school’s role to “affirm” a student’s perceived personal sexual orientation.

From a letter to all superintendents of schools in the US:

In light of these facts, it is clear that when well-intentioned but misinformed school personnel encourage students to “come
out as gay” and be “affirmed,” 8 there is a serious risk of erroneously labeling students (who may merely be experiencing
transient sexual confusion and/or engaging in sexual experimentation). Premature labeling may then lead some
adolescents into harmful homosexual behaviors that they otherwise would not pursue.

Finally, you can see a Fact Sheet about this subject.


What amazing information to fight the "Homosexuality is normal and genetic and we need to affirm those who feel attracted to their own gender." Praise God!

Cardboard Testimonies

Our church had our annual dinner/business meeting and at the end, we had something called Cardboard Testimonies. What an incredible thing. Knowing these families and individuals and their stories - I cried as the first couple walked out on stage. SIGH

So to share this with you, you can watch it here: