Menu Plan Monday

Yesterday Kristen and Andrew arrived home safely after their trip, so we are back to our normal summer routine. I missed them terribly while they were gone, but they had a great time performing and ministering at different churches throughout the state.

Anyway, I'd better get to the menu plan!

Monday - Bacon Swiss Meatloaf
green beans
homemade bread

Tuesday - Tacos

Wednesday - Spaghetti
Salad
Bread sticks

Thursday - Beef Stew in the crock pot

Friday - 4th of July- we will be eating corn dogs, cheese curds and funnel cakes at the carnival!

Saturday - Grilled Pizza

For more great menu plans, head over to Heavenly Homemakers!

Sunday Scripture

I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up

and have not let my foes rejoice over me

O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,

and you have healed me.

O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol;

you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,

and give thanks to His holy name.

For His anger is but for a moment,

and His favor is for a lifetime.

Weeping may tarry for the night,

but joy comes with the morning.

As for me, I said in my prosperity,

"I shall never be moved."

By your favor, O Lord,

you made my mountain stand strong;

you hid your face;

I was dismayed.

To you, O Lord, I cry,

and to the Lord I plead for mercy:

"What profit is there in my death,

if I go down to the pit:

Will the dust praise you?

Will it tell of your faithfulness?

Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!

O Lord, be my helper!"

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;

you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,

that my glory may sin your praise and not be silent.

O Lord my God I will give thanks to you forever!

Psalm 30

Because You Can't Have Too Many Memes...

Another new meme, this one is from Karen!

The ABCs of Me

A) Age-43

B) Burger of choice-Whiskey River BBQ Burger at Red Robin

C) Car-2005 red Chrysler minivan

D) Dog's name-Mugsy

E) Essential item you use every day-Reading glasses (They should issue these to you when you turn 40)

F) Favorite TV show-Robin Hood


G) Favorite Game to play-Boggle (It's the one game I can consistently win, although Kristen is getting really good at it too.)

H) Hometown-I grew up in Mount Prospect Illinois

I) Instruments I play-I played the flute and piccolo in high school. I took a few years of piano, but I was never any good at it. (Karen, we have a lot in common!)

J) Favorite Juice-OJ I guess, I'm not a big juice drinker.

K) Whose whatnots would I love to kick? I am not a whatnot kicker.

L) Last restaurant I ate at-Georgio's on my anniversary

M) Favorite Muppet-Kermit. Peter can do a killer Kermit impersonation.


N) Number of piercings-I have three piercings in my left earlobe, one on my right. I did two of them myself when I was in high school. I wasn't very bright when I was in high school.

O) Overnight hospital stays-Yes, when I was about 18months, when I was 12, and with all four kids.

P) People I was with today-So far, Peter, John and Spencer.

Q) What do I do in my quiet time-READ!

R) Biggest regret-Having my tubes tied after Spencer was born. I would love to have had more kids.

S) Status-Does that mean marital status? If so, I've been happily married for twenty years and two days!

T) Time I woke up-6:00am

U) What I consider unique-My kids. They all have such different personalities!

V) Vegetables I love-Corn on the Cob. Yum!

W) Worst habit-I don't always think before I speak.

X) X-rays I have had-I had x-rays of my legs when I was in the hospital when I was 12.

Y) Yummy food I ate today-Banana Muffin

Z) Zodiac sign-Well, I don't believe in zodiac signs, but I would be a Taurus.

If you are reading this, consider yourself tagged! Don't forget to leave me a comment if you play along!

A New Meme!

Misty tagged me for a new meme, and as I love memes, I'm playing along!

Eight Things I Say A Lot:


Hi Honey! (to Peter and kids)
Stupid dog (To dog. Because he's stupid.)
You're so cute! (Also to dog.)
Crap (A bad habit I'm trying to break.)
Where are my_____ ?(glasses, keys, purse, ipod, book, etc.)
What time are you coming home? (To Peter when he's at work)
Is the garage door closed and the doors locked? (At night)
Exactly (when I agree with someone)



Eight Books I Have Read Lately:

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (I'm trying to re-read some classic lit.)
The Grapes or Wrath (another Classic)
Ladybird (A nice old-fashioned Christian novel)
The Hidden Art of Homemaking
Shopping For Time (I've read this one through 3 times!)
Feather Your Nest
Practicing Hospitality ( I'm on my second reading of this one.)
Apples For Jam (I haven't made anything yet from this book, but the pictures are gorgeous!)


Eight Movies I Have Seen Eight Times: (at least...)


The Princess Bride
Grease
Pride and Prejudice (Colin Firth version, of course)
Star Wars
Muppets Treasure Island
A Christmas Story
The Wizard of Oz
Overboard (it's my guilty pleasure)


If you're reading this, you're tagged to play along!

My New Favorite Show

My new favorite show is Robin Hood on BBC America.

It has cheesy plots with holes a mile wide, but it has no swearing, no nudity, and minimal fight scenes, (the fighting isn't bloody or gory.) Robin Hood is an entertaining, old fashioned, good guy vs. bad guy action show.

And I love it, cheesy plots and all!

Please Pray

Please be praying for those people here in the Midwest who have been affected by the devastating floods.

Our family has not been directly impacted by these floods, but many people in our community are suffering. The amount of flooding around our rivers and lakes is so astonishing I've never seen anything like it. Many homes, businesses, and farmlands are flooded

Thank you.

Happy Anniversary!

Twenty years ago today, on an unbelievably hot Chicago morning, I married my true love.

Happy Anniversary Peter!

Why It's Important For Schedules To Be Flexible

My first day on my Summer Schedule was yesterday and all went well. I was able to get almost all of my chores done in the morning, the only thing I didn't get to was vacuuming the living room. BTW, the schedule I try to follow for housework is Motivated Moms.

Today I am rescheduling most of my chores to tomorrow as Spencer, John and I will be spending the day with my parents and my nephew.

Wait a minute, tomorrow is our anniversary and Peter will be home.

OK, I will be rescheduling most of today's and tomorrow's chores to Thursday.

I will have a free day on Thursday to catch up on housework, but in the meantime I will be spending today and tomorrow being with family. And isn't that more important than being too rigid with my schedule?

Sunday Scripture

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for you are with me;

your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23

My Summer Schedule.

When the kids were in school I was very good about getting up at 5:00am, doing my devotions, and making the family breakfast. But since school has been out, I have been waking up when my husband gets up to go to work (around 6:30.) I go down to the kitchen to make Peter's breakfast, and watch the news with him. Then I check my email, update my pod casts, and end up reading a lot of blogs, and maybe writing a post on my own blog ;). By then Spencer is usually up so I feed him breakfast. By now it's after 9:00am and I haven't done my devotions, showered, or even eaten breakfast, and the kitchen is already a mess.

It's not the best start to my day. I end up feeling behind the whole rest of the day!

So, I am instituting a new Summer Schedule for myself. I am not planning on waking up at 5:00am this summer, (I'll start that again in September) but I am going to get up at 6:00am.

Here is what my new Summer Schedule looks like:

9:00pm - (the night before) Program coffee pot to start at 5:50am. VERY IMPORTANT!


6:00 - Wake up
Pour myself first cup of coffee
Spend time reading Bible and praying

6:45 - Make Peter and myself breakfast
Spend a few minutes with Peter before he leaves for work

7:00 - Put away dry dishes from the previous night
load dishwasher

7:15 - Exercise

7:45 - Shower and get dressed

8:15 - Do daily chores

9:00 - Computer time.

I am thinking that this will be a much better start to my day, and I will be much more productive. (Don't worry, Spencer will still be fed breakfast when he wakes up, the older kids usually make their own breakfast in the summer) I am leaving the rest of my day open because I don't want to over schedule myself when the kids are home.

Now it's your turn! Do you change your schedule for the summer? If so, leave me a comment and tell me what works for you! :)

It's Gonna Be Quiet At Our House!

I haven't been posting much lately, mostly because I haven't had much to say. I've really got to bet better at this whole blogging thing.

Anyway, tomorrow Andrew and Kristen are going away for nine days. Our local Campus Life group puts together a production each year where the kids sing and do skits and give a wonderful presentation of the Gospel. They then go on a tour of different churches.

It just hit me today that they're really going tomorrow and how much I'm going to miss them! It's going to be very quiet around here until they get back.

Please keep them in your prayers, that they will have a safe and fruitful trip.

Thank you!

Mindy

Menu Plan Monday

This is my first time participating in Menu Plan Monday (nothing like a giveaway to get me involved.)

Monday - Parmesan Chicken
Scalloped Potatoes
Salad
Homemade Wheat Bread

Tuesday - WEYW (Whatever You Want. It means the kids fend for themselves for dinner.)

Wednesday - Spaghetti
Salad
Bread

Thursday - Easy Goulash (new recipe)

Friday - Carmen Chicken
Rice
Corn
Bread

Saturday - Homemade Pizza

Sunday - Chicken Italian (new recipe)
Rice Pilaf

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day Peter! You are such a wonderful Father to our kids, and I am so proud to be your wife!

Sunday Scripture

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. the reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.

I John 3:1

Our Family

OK. I'm just tired of using initials instead of names on this blog, and I'm sure it's confusing for all of you reading this blog too! I think I'm going to start using our first names.

First of all, my name is Mindy. Mindy is actually my nickname, but the only one who calls me by my given name is my mother when she is mad (hi mom!)

My husband's name is Peter. We have been married for twenty years this month!

My oldest son is John. He is 18 and just graduated from High School. He is going to a local 2 year college next year with plans to transfer to a 4 year university after that. He is quiet and shy and just a great kid.

My daughter is Kristen. She is 17 and will be a senior in HS next year. Kristen is bubbly and sweet. She is involved in Show Choir at school and you know when she's home because she is always singing!

Next is Andrew. Andrew is 14 and will be a freshman next year. He is outgoing and social and likes to be the center of attention. He will be in Show Choir next year too.

Last but not least is Spencer. Spencer is 9 and will be in 4th grade. Spencer is sweet and funny with a little bit of naughty thrown in for good measure. He's your typical youngest child.

I hope you enjoyed getting to know a little bit more about our family!

Summertime

It's our first real day of summer here at the Momala household. I am spending the day taking A to the orthodontist, and then K, A, and S to get haircuts. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

Anyway, I am looking forward to having my kids home for three months. We don't have any major plans since we went on vacation in March.

My only concern is keeping the three teens occupied. K starts her first job on Thursday (JoAnn Fabrics, I wonder what kind of discount she gets?) A is wanting a job, and J really needs a job.

Do you have teens at home? How do you keep them busy over the summer?

Momala's Favorites

It's been a while since I posted a recipe. Today I made one of our favorite snacks, $100 Salsa, so I thought I'd share the recipe.

We got this salsa recipe many years ago when we lived in Illinois. We started calling it $100 Salsa after my husband won a salsa contest with it last year.

Enjoy!

$100 Salsa

1 large can of crushed tomato (I use Contadina)
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 bunches green onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Serrano peppers, minced
2 jalapeno peppers, minced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 C vinegar
1/4 C water
1/8 C pickled jalapeno juice
1 tsp. cumin
hot sauce to taste( I use Cholula)
salt & pepper to taste

Mix everything together and serve with chips.

Let me know if you try it!

Sunday Scripture

If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

1 John 1:6-10

Walls and Glue

Words of wisdom written by S:


Walls are useful. You put your stuff on it. Without them, we would be squished by the ceiling.

Glue is sticky.

Glue + bricks = walls.

Rubber cement + orange juice = glue.

Walls + glue = 2 walls

The End.

Life Is Changing

Today is J's last day of High School.

Today is A's last day of Middle School.

Today is S's last day of Elementary School (in our district Elementary School is K-3, S is going to Intermediate School next year which is 4-6 grades.)

All three boys are moving on to new schools and new challenges.

Life is changing for us all.

Welcome Home!

My husband is coming home today! He has been on a business trip for the last week and we have missed him so much.

We are celebrating tonight with a trip to Texas Roadhouse.

My honey is coming home and I don't have to cook dinner. Life is good.

Dear Daughter To The Rescue

Yea! I have a cellphone again! My old phone is definitely dead, but I now have my daughter's old phone that happens to be a pink Razor! Yea!

I Drowned My Phone, But At Least It's Clean

Yes I did.

I accidentally washed my cellphone in the washing machine.

I don't think it survived.

Sunday Scripture

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Galatians 2:20