Family, Fun, & Feasts

A couple weeks a year stand out as super special -- and this is one of them.  Awesome Hubby who works so hard to provide for us takes a vacation and we just spend time together.  On those weeks weeks, we spend a little more on the grocery budget (probably still less than is average for a family our size; frugality is just too much fun *wink, wink*) and enjoy our meals around the table together.  So here is what this special week is going to look like for us (try not to be too jealous of all this delicious food!):

Breakfast:

• Eggs, toast, bacon
• Cereal with fruit (blueberries, bananas, strawberries)
• Bagels and cream cheese

Lunch:

• Turkey and Cheese on homemade whole wheat bread, chips
• Quesadillas
• Tortilla Roll Ups

Dinner:

• Monday Night Movie (since we can't do it on Saturday this week!) - finger foods: chicken fingers, pizza, veggies and hummus, fruit
• Tuesday (following a day out and about) - salad, Sausage & Peppers on rolls with marinara and mozzarella baked on ... mmm mmm good!
• Wednesday - Hubby & I are going on a date; the kiddos will be having fried egg and cheese sandwiches with chips and fruit on the side
• Thursday - BBQ ribs and corn on the cob
• Friday - Leftovers ... gotta finish up what's left so we don't waste it :)

Dreaming About Someday: A Vision and A Choice

I often like to simply enjoy what I have; I don't believe in being anything other than content because it just makes you miserable and you miss out on so many opportunities to enjoy and be thankful for what you have.  But lately I've had a dream running through the back of my mind.

In it, we are debt free.  We have paid for our home and everything else in our lives.  And so we begin the start of the next stage.  In the next stage, we have 5 or so acres of land and a 6 bedroom house -- teeming with children, animals, trees and plants that provide food, and the sound of laughter coming from every corner.  We have chickens, a horse or two, maybe a few goats for milk, and eventually a couple of cows (milk and meat).  We have a small orchard and a large garden.  We homeschool on our wraparound porch or in our library.  We all crowd around a large dining room table framed by a lovely picture window.  The faces around the table don't share much in common; they represent all different nations.  The only thing they share is the bond of family because we have brought our children home from every corner of the earth.  We stay debt free, living simply and well within our means.  We have space, but we work hard to maintain it.  Everything we do is done with intention.  And we love each other and God more than anything else.

Do you ever dream?  I find that when I cast a vision, I begin to align my choices today with my hopes for tomorrow.  I can ask myself questions like: does spending money on that fit in with your dream?  Does this choice take you closer or farther from your ultimate goal?  In ten years, will this matter?  It helps -- it curbs spending, makes actions and choices much more dependable and intentional, and leaves a legacy of wisdom for coming generations as well.

I Love Muffins ... A Lot

We like muffins around here.  Quite a lot actually.  Why, you ask?  I'm going to tell you in just a moment.  I'm also going to tell you that I couldn't decide which muffin recipe to share, so I've linked to our two favorites in 2011 ... they were both amazingly decadent and oh-so-delectable.

For one, every time I bite into a blueberry muffin I am reminded to pray.  Really pray.  Does that confuse you?  Go read HERE and you'll get it; it would take way too long for me to explain in this post.  But really ... blueberry muffins = prayer.  I promise!

Muffins give me quality time with my children.  Delicious quality time, at that.  Some of our favorite muffin moments were baking Cinnamon Streusel Orange Muffins (pictured above) with my Lil Man (click the link or the pic and you can see the recipe ... so delish!).  Baking muffins is simple, fun, and allows me to nourish my family (click link for Banana Mocha Chip Muffin recipe) in more ways than on.

Lastly (for today anyhow), muffins and a nice cup of tea can make for a beautiful and simple way to enjoy company.  Hospitality is so important and we need to cultivate it.  One thing I do to always be ready is have a couple of cute cups, some interesting tea, and some muffins on hand pretty much every day.  Whether I enjoy them alone in my quiet time with God, have a tea party with the Princess, or open the door to a neighbor to enjoy them with me ... muffins help that hospitality right along!

So I'm off to brew a cup of Chai (bought from Teavana ... the coolest store in the whole mall - a tea lover's paradise!), whip up some muffins (I had planned to make cranberry, but it's just going to have to be those streusel muffins because who can resist?) and enjoy my morning.  I hope you do the same!

And here is my basic muffin recipe that you can personalize for your own delectable concoction:

• 4 cups flour (we always use fresh ground; 1/2 soft white and 1/2 hard white wheat)
• 1 TB baking powder
• Dash of salt (maybe a teaspoon; I'm a glance and dash kind of gal when it comes to spices)
• 1/3 cup honey (or 1/2 cup sugar)
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (you can use butter if you'd prefer) -- I cut this in
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups liquid (I often use orange juice, but milk and water are other options, depending on my muffin flavor)
•  1 1/2 cup add ins (cranberries, blueberries, chocolate chips, or anything else you think sounds yummy!  If I use a dray add in, I'll add a drop more honey or liquid to the batter)
• OPTIONAL: extra spice (perhaps a teaspoon of almond extract or cinnamon or something to give it extra "oomph")

Bake at 400 for 22 minutes in a non stick pan (I use silicone) or spray your metal tins.  Make 2 dozen treats!

Linked up with  Family Time Tuesday, Growing Home, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tuesdays at the Table, Tasty Tuesday, Titus2sday

Weekly Plan

This is a very busy week for our family, but I have an important goal: no pulling from the freezer or pantry (and of course doing take out or buying more groceries are a no-no this month!) .... I want to finish using up what we have on hand, but my more immediate goal is finishing up what is in the fridge/perishable. 

I'd like to just about empty it out.  Why?  Well, practically it will make it easier to deep clean it.  But more importantly, we are moving to whole, traditional foods as a family.  We have already chosen to throw away or give away some foods (the ones that had ingredients we have discovered allergies or intolerance to), but there are some we have kept that aren't so bad for us because we're also very frugal folks.  But I want to start the month of February with a clean slate for our new lifestyle.  We've seen huge differences already (read about them here and here) ... and I can't wait to see what happens when we're all on board with all of our food.

So my menu might not be all that exciting to you, but I'm very excited to see what a difference it's made by week's end!

Breakfasts will remain eggs, muffins, or oatmeal.

Lunches will remain ham and cheese sandwiches or pasta, with either veggies or fruit.

Dinners will be:

• Monday: BBQ Nachos Supreme (in honor of my friend Heather!): Chips baked with BBQ sauce, taco meat, cheese and then topped with lettuce, sour cream, jalapenos, and salsa (all as desired)
• Tuesday: Dinner at a friend's home
• Wednesday:  Grilled Cheese, tomato, and bacon with side salad and oven baked fries
• Thursday:  Loaded baked potato and salad
• Friday: Quiche and side salad
• Saturday:  Leftovers ??  {It'll be a whatever is left in the fridge night!}

What are you doing this week?  Anyone else join in on the pantry challenge and doing some major clean out?  Our big success is that our hallway pantry is so empty we were able to use it for storage!!!  WOW :)  I hope you all have a great week and that you enjoy dinners with your family.  The best part -to me- about the plan is that it allows me to enjoy meal time at the table with all of the family ... together.

PART OF MENU PLAN MONDAY

The #1 Gift for Your Children This Year (and it has a lifetime guarantee!)

One of my favorite moments in this new year is one that has continued on for 8 days now.  On January 3, my children and I began reading the book of Acts.  The goal in this is to consistently read one chapter each day, this completing the entire book before the advent of the next month.

We started out the holiday season memorizing the mandate of Jesus to love God with all we have and then to love people wholly.  We talked about how the only way to really love God is to know Him (you can't love a perfect stranger intimately, after all).  And the best way to know Him is to listen to His words and read the love letter He has sent.  So we have been working on doing just that.

And it's been awesome!  We read a chapter each day and the Princess will actually narrate a few salient points back to us.  Lil Man is starting to pay attention more so that he can do the same.  And reading so consistently is allowing us to see patterns we haven't always noticed in other readings of these stories.   We've noticed how Jesus promised them power through the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) and in every single chapter Peter or another God-Lover has been able to boldly proclaim the Truth in a situation that would otherwise be very overwhelming.

And my children are taking that to heart and walking in that same boldness.  Just yesterday the Princess prayed for a lady at Walmart who was sick; she asked God for total healing!  On the way home, we talked about how the Holy Spirit prompts us and equips us ... but we have to move forward.

So today I want to encourage you: delve into the Word of God.  Know Him.  Seek Him tenaciously.  Crave Him desperately.  And teach your children to do the same!

Linked up with Raising Homemakers

Game Day

My kids love to play games!  It doesn't even really matter what the game is; as long as you play it with them they are happy.  A few favorites in the last two years (they are 5 and nearly 8 now) have been Blokus, Uno, SkipBo, Sorry, Trouble, Slamwich, Chess, and CandyLand.  Out of those, I think Blokus and Slamwich are my two faves.  But mostly I just enjoy watching how they think and work their way through the games ... and how they enjoy playing with us.  I also cherish knowing that they know I am enjoying them.

I used to be this uber productive mom who was so busy doing things for her family that sometimes I forgot to be with them.  I'd cook, clean, pay bills, shop, fix things around the house ... and be too tired to answer correctly when I was asked to play.  Then God gave me a clue.  He showed me just how loaded of a question it is when our children say, "Mommy, will you play with me?"  Thank goodness I've learned a lot more about the importance of being a mom and what it really is.  I'm so thankful that I now take time to play cards, roll dice, or move around a board game with my children; some day we will have these memories to look back on.  But more importantly, we will be walking firmly on the foundation laid during those times.

Do your kids enjoy games?  If not, do you think they might if you did?  I have found (at least in our family) that children (younger ones especially) just want to be with Mommy and Daddy and be enjoyed by them.  They are so eager to please!  And they love it when you take time out of your routine to play with them.  My family came all the way to Dixie from New York to visit.  They offered to take us places and do some pretty awesome things with us.  My kids very favorite part of their visit?  The day they came to the house and played games with them. 

We are starting a weekly game night, but I am also trying to play games randomly throughout the week.  I am declaring today to be game day.  Why?  Because I can!  Really, it's that simple.  I am choosing to step out of our routine and play games with my kids today during the time they would normally play on their own so I can clean.  I'm setting my house in order by putting first things first.  What are you playing with your kids?

Linking up with Titus2sdays

Planning The Week

Well, we survived the first week of 2012.  I'm pretty excited about all we have done, actually.  We started reading the book of Acts -1 chapter each day so that we finish by the end of the month- together each morning, Lil Man kicked up to 1st grade, I've renewed my determination to take at least one photo a week that expresses something about our family, and I kicked off our homeschooling blog.

This coming week is a full one with school and family fun -- we're going to try to build a model of the solar system in science, learn math with the #9 this week, and cook two things we've never made before (a new granola recipe and home made poptarts).  I'm excited!  I'm also enjoying joining up with Menu Plan Monday @ I'm An Organizing Junkie each week for the accountability and all the fantastic meal ideas.  Now that we've about cleaned out the pantry and we're into our season {lifestyle!} of eating nutritious whole foods, I'm always on the prowl for recipes.  For those of you who are new to Graceful Abandon, you can get to know me HERE a little bit better ... and be sure and introduce yourself :)

Breakfasts:

• Eggs, Wheat Honey Oatmeal Bread
• Orange Cranberry Muffins (I need to share my recipe one of these days; I've totally made my own recipe and it's a family favorite!)
• Oatmeal (we flavor it up - honey berry, apple cinnamon, banana raisin, strawberry, maple raisin - and it's quite good!)
• Greek yogurt (I'm not making it myself yet, but I certainly plan to start) topped with granola (honey bunches of oats with almonds flavored)

Lunches:

• PB&J
• Ham & Cheese
• Pasta
• Salad with Bread (maybe homemade croutons?)

Dinners:

• Monday: Pancakes (we love a good breakfast for dinner meal!) and Pineapples
• Tuesday: Western Skillet (a spoof off of THIS recipe)
• Wednesday: Grilled Cheese and Salad (maybe quesadillas, if I can get my tortilas to turn out well!)
• Thursday: Spaghetti and Garlic Knots and Salad
• Friday: Pizza Night (homemade pizza ... I'm thinking BBQ Chicken)
• Saturday: Loaded Baked Potatoes
• Sunday: Baked French Toast (coated in egg and granola then baked till crisp and topped with peaches and cream) and Home Fries

See you tomorrow for some encouragement and next week for another healthy menu plan; I challenge you to not just make great food to nourish your bodies, but to nourish family with life affirming words this week!