Weekly Menu Plan {30 December}

(I am excited about taking photos in and around our new home. This is a shot of part of the backyard.)

Well, hello, friends, and a late Merry Christmas to you! I skipped all blogging last week. I didn't even post a menu plan, although I assure you we did eat. Four wonderful friends made supper for us while we were sick, so we had quite a few leftovers, as well as leftovers from the Chinese meal I made on Christmas Day. We saved our Mexican meal, normally enjoyed on Christmas Eve for later in the week, which was fun because friends had come to see our new house, so they were able to enjoy our Mexican feast with us. 

Thankfully, the horrible virus we have all (except Bob) had is mostly over. There are still a couple of coughs here and there, but we were all able to go to church yesterday for the first time in a few weeks. We are so thankful and back to unpacking boxes and making this house our home. 

Here is what I am thinking for this week:

Monday - still enjoying the leftovers

Tuesday - Creamy Tomato Soup, Parmesan Crisps

Wednesday - Black-eyed peas, cornbread (traditional, of course) and maybe some appetizers, like Spinach Artichoke Dip with pita chips and a veggie tray

Thursday - Thai Chicken Salad with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Friday - Pizza (possibly homemade, but possibly from a pizza place in our new town)

Saturday - Leftovers

Sunday - Snack-y supper

Happy last two days of this year! xo

I'm linking up with Laura at Org Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

Weekly Menu Plan {16 December}

(Here's a peek into my new, cute farm kitchen!)

Greetings, my friends! 

My blog is feeling a little neglected, but moving is hard and exhausting and consuming. We moved into our new house on Thursday (thank You, God!!!) and things are slowly coming together. I am eager to get it all Christmas-y, but due to sick kiddos, we still do not have a tree. Hopefully, we'll be able to get one in the next few days. I have done absolutely no shopping and haven't even ordered my Christmas cards yet. Yikes. I'm thinking Happy New Year cards might be in order instead. Flexibility is one of the keys to life, right?! And I'll be back to blogging more soon. 


Here is the meal plan for this week:

Monday - I made a big pot of comforting Chicken Chili. It really hit the spot on this cold night.

Tuesday - Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry, rice

Wednesday - Rustic Lasagna, salad

Thursday - Leftovers

Friday - Pizza night (homemade or take out, we shall see)

Saturday - Grilled cheese sandwiches, veggie tray

Sunday - Snack-y supper 


I hope you are enjoying this wonderful season of Christmas! 

Love and blessings. xo


I'm linking up with Menu Plan Monday.

Weekly Menu Plan {9 December}

(We celebrated Bob's birthday tonight with supper out at a Mexican restaurant!)

Hello Friends! I hope you are staying warm, if the December cold has come to your neck of the woods. We have snow and ice and are expecting more snow in the morning. We love, love, love the snow and the kids have had a wonderful time playing out in it, but we do want it to stop by Thursday, as that will be moving day for us. Praise God for His provision of a new house! We were able to get the keys to it tonight and the three older kids finally had the opportunity to walk through it. We have two more days to finish packing and then on to new adventures!

I am kind of flying by the seat of my pants with the menu, since this is moving week, but here is a tentative plan:

Monday - Bob's birthday dinner at a local Mexican restaurant!

Tuesday - Baked potatoes and salad

Wednesday - Some kind of chicken in the crock pot, maybe BBQ or taco (???)

Thursday - Grilled cheese or something easy, as we will be moving in all day

Friday - Roast, mashed potatoes, green beans

Saturday - Penny Pinching Pasta, salad

Sunday - Snack-y supper

We would appreciate your prayers this week as we finalize everything with our packing and move. We are moving to a new town, not just a new house, so there will be quite a few adjustments. The kids are excited for the most part, but a couple of them seemed a little anxious or unsure tonight. I know we'll all be fine and will adjust, but I want to be sensitive to their needs/fears/etc. as we walk through this together. Thank you!

Love and blessings. xo

As always, I'm linking up with Menu Plan Monday!

Tropical Traditions - FREE Shipping is back!

First up, FREE Shipping is back from Tropical Traditions! Use coupon code 91312 at checkout and you will receive FREE ground shipping on orders of $12.99 or more! Also, please note that this applies to all 50 United States. This the perfect time to order heavier items, like coconut oil, non-toxic household cleaning supplies, and more! FREE Shipping ends Monday (12/9)! 

Through Sunday (12/8), you can purchase one quart of the Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil and get a second quart for FREE! Almost all "virgin" coconut oils sold on the market today are mass-produced by machine. But Tropical Traditions is committed to time-honored traditional practices that have produced healthy coconut oil for hundreds, if not thousands of years. The Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is still produced by hand, using the wet-milling process of extracting the oil from fresh coconuts. Independent laboratory analysis shows this to be one of the highest quality coconut oils on the market, having the highest levels of antioxidants. This is a great deal!

If you are new to coconut oil, and specifically to Tropical Traditions, watch this video:



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Love and blessings. xo


Disclaimer: This post contains referral links. Thank you for your support.

The Passion of Mary: An Untold Story of Advent

The Passion of Mary: an Untold Story of Advent is a 14-day journey to prepare your heart for the coming of Jesus through a fictional tale based on Biblical and historical accounts with daily reflections and meditations.

Come, take the journey with us…

As the world rushes through the holiday season, let’s dare to take a detour.

Travel back 2,000 years and watch as the untold story of Advent unfolds from the point of view of characters including Mary, Joseph, and even the angel Gabriel. In The Passion of Mary, you’ll take a never-before-seen look into how obedience, perseverance, faith, and a mother’s love foreshadow the very Passion of Christ that shook the foundations of history.

Prepare a place and reopen the manger of your heart as you read the story and ponder the 14 daily Advent reflections of The Passion of Mary: An Untold Story of Advent.

This PDF book is on sale for $0.99 today through midnight! Use promo code: intro124. 

You can also get the Kindle version on Amazon for $0.99!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for your support!

Devotions from the Torah {Review}

I have the honour of reviewing some wonderful books by Nicole Vaughn, along with the Devotions from the Torah Launch Team. I have started with Devotions from Genesis which is the first in a series of devotionals that are meant to take their reader on a journey through the Books of the Law, which is the Jewish Torah or the first five books of the Old Testament. Devotions from Genesis will take you on a journey from the garden of Eden to the courts of Pharaoh in Egypt, allowing you to see your own hurts, struggles, and joys through the lives of patriarchs from Adam to Joseph. You will gain insight into your heart and more importantly, insight into the very heart of God. One day at a time, you will be reminded that you are not alone with these Devotions from Genesis. I have not had a chance to read the second book yet, but plan to in the new year.

Devotions From Exodus Part One will take you from the bondage of the children of Israel to their freedom. The children of Israel were set free from their bondage in Egypt, and they had to learn how to live in this new freedom. As you study through these first twenty chapters of Exodus, you will see that after God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt, he still had to get Egypt out of them. Our deliverance in Christ is no different. God delivers us from the world, but he still has to get the world out of us. We, like the Israelites, are learning to live in this freedom.

Author Nicole Vaughn is the Children’s Ministry Director at Shiloh Baptist Church in Somerville, AL. She is the co-administrator of CrossRoads Christian Academy. She is the founder of Proven Path Ministries. She has also lead inductive Precept Upon Precept studies, has served as an advocate for her local crisis pregnancy center and has shared the testimony of Christ throughout her community and abroad. Nicole is a woman who is dedicated in her faith, devoted to her family, and driven to share the truth of God with others. She and her husband, Patrick, currently reside in Decatur, AL with their two youngest children. 

I love God's Word so much and became passionate about reading and immersing myself in it about seven years ago. I started with Genesis and read all the way through. I read it conversationally, taking my time. No schedule, no plan, just reading and listening to my heavenly Father. It was life-changing. I feel so connected with Nicole because I can tell through her writing that she is completely passionate about God and His Word and wants to share that love and passion with her readers. These words on her website were touching to me:

I realized how dangerous this lack of knowledge [of God and His Word] can be after I traveled to Poland with the March of Remembrance and Hope in 2006. As I heard the stories of the Holocaust from actual survivors and stood in the gas chambers of Auschwitz and Majdonek, I fully understood the magnitude of not knowing the whole council of God. I saw how easily people could be swayed by the words of man when they had no sure understanding of the words of God. Colossians 2:8 says, “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the traditions of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.”

I have loved reading through her devotions with fresh eyes for the book of Genesis. She includes the original Hebrew (another very important aspect of studying the Word, in my opinion), as well as the names of God, and her prayers at the end of each section are so heartfelt and pure.

There are no dates on the sections in Devotions in Genesis, which I love. You can go at your own pace, stop and meditate on certain passages and not feel like you are ever "behind". We Americans tend to rush through things to check off a list or because we think everything is a race or just because we are in a hurry all the time. I am so impressed that Nicole didn't assign dates or schedules to these devotions so that they can be savoured and enjoyed slowly. What a blessing!

To buy Devotions from Genesis click HERE for paperback ($12.59) and HERE for Kindle ($8.95).

To buy Devotions from Exodus Part One click HERE for paperback ($12.59) and HERE for Kindle ($8.49).

You can connect with Nicole on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest.

Classical Composers Monthly 40% Off Sale

Go now to Classical Composers Monthly to check out this great deal! Erica is offering this wonderful Christmas Special:

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Fine Art Pages Collections 1 and 2

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Normally $104.65, on sale for just $62.79

You can read more about Classical Composers Monthly HERE.

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Blessings and love! xo


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Weekly Menu Plan {2 December}

(This photo was taken last December.)

Happy December, friends! I really cannot believe 2013 is coming to a close. I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday, for those of you who are American. Our Thanksgiving was fabulous with beautiful friends, scrumptious food and a day of glorious relaxation (meaning no packing, for me anyway). We have been eating Thanksgiving leftovers for days, thanks to the generosity of our friends. What a treat! 

We are coming along with our packing, cleaning and organizing and are on track to move next week. We have found a place to live, which is a huge, huge point of thanksgiving to our Father. I just keep saying "thank You, thank You, thank You!" over and over and over. 

Here is a very flexible plan for this week:

Monday - Baked Sweet Potatoes with black beans

Tuesday - Shrimp Stir Fry

Wednesday - Slow Cooker Roast, mashed potatoes, green beans

Thursday - Spaghetti, salad, garlic bread

Friday - Leftovers

Saturday - Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, veggie tray

Sunday - Snack-y supper

I pray all is well in your home and that you are starting out this new December basking in God's goodness. Love and blessings. xo

Linking up with Menu Plan Monday!