Our Stance on Halloween

We don't celebrate Halloween. We don't even really acknowledge it, to be honest.  I get that there are plenty of people who disagree with our decision. I've examined the issue a few times and read various opinions on why it might be okay, why it's not okay, maybe some of it's okay, etc. When I examine what the Bible says about these kinds of issues, our family is convinced that it is not okay for us to partake in, and it cannot be sugar-coated.

This article is one of the best articles I've read regarding the subject:

10 Reasons I Kissed Halloween Goodbye

You may disagree with the article's reasons (though be sure you are disagreeing with the article rather than Scripture :-) ). I hesitate to even post anything about it as I'd kind of rather ignore it in some ways as it is so controversial and touchy for most people, but I decided to post it anyway because the article's reasons are so closely aligned to our family's reasons. I don't really want to get into a huge debate over it, but this is our view in case you are interested. And if you disagree....I'll still love you, anyway :-).

Funny Things Toddlers Say

Nathanael shared a tender moment with the vacuum cleaner today. After I finished vacuuming and was getting ready to put it away, he went up to the vacuum cleaner, hugged it and whispered,  "I love you. Goodbye."

Love that little monkey :-)

Menu Plan & Weekly Goals

Thank you all for your kind words & prayers. They are much appreciated :-). I am feeling significantly better now since being on antibiotics, which I don't love to be on, but are sometimes necessary.

Here's what we plan on eating this week:

Monday: Crockpot Ginger Beef & Veggies (NEW) over Rice

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday: Fluffy Meatloaf (NEW meatloaf recipe I'm trying) & Mashed Potatoes, Mixed Veggies

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Chili & Cornbread

Saturday: Homemade Pizza Night (NEW copy cat Pizza Hut Pizza recipe), Salad

Sunday: Leftovers

A few goals for the week:

1) No-TV Week for the Kiddos. Since we have been sick so much lately, the kids have been watching far more tv than I prefer. We are aiming for a completely tv-free week for them, at least from Monday through Friday. Hubby & I will still watch some tv...we hardly watch any tv as it is, so I don't think a no-tv week is really necessary for us.

2) Get to Bed on Time! This is one we really need to work on...we are night owls, but the lack of sleep is catching up with us in a nasty way. The goal is in bed by 10:30, which could be a challenge since lately our bedtime has been more around 12:30 to 1 am the past few weeks. Yikes.

 3) "Tomato Stake" the kids....aka....spend more time with them rather than shooing them off to do their own thing.

4) Bake 6 Loaves of Bread

5) Plan Menu & Grocery List for November. This is a huge monthly task that takes almost a day to complete since I'm building up my monthly menus and ingredient lists slowly. Doing this is definitely saving us money, though, so the time is worth it.

And....

Bronchitis.

I decided I needed to see a doctor today because I was feeling so much worse again last night and couldn't sleep due to coughing so much and feeling miserable, crashed on the couch all day today. Thankfully, I did go in this evening and will hopefully feel better soon now that I'm on antibiotics.

I probably shouldn't be writing this blog post right about now... mainly because I have been feeling incredibly discouraged and frustrated lately. I'm having a hard time seeing how everything will work out...trying to trust the Lord that it WILL, but honestly my faith is weak right now and my body feels like it's been through the ringer these past several weeks. It feels like one thing after another, and the stress just keeps multiplying. It's all getting to be a bit much.

Prayer is appreciated. For health, strength, and most of all, for greater faith.

Paul's secret to contentment in every circumstance? Christ strengthening him, thus allowing Paul to do all things, including being content, come what may.

11Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 13I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.…



P.S. Sorry to be such a pessimist, but I'm trying to keep it real without laying it all out there. Yep, feeling a little rough today. 

Menu Plan

Sickness hit us again this weekend when I came down with a nasty virus of some sort. Sore throat, all over body aches, exhaustion, etc. So, I ended up spending most of Sunday and today sleeping and  recovering in bed. I'm pretty sure I'm on my way to feeling better now, though. I think both the kids also have it, but it doesn't seem to have affected them too badly yet. I'm pretty thankful for having some freezer meals on hand for times like this when I have no energy to cook.

Here's the meal plan for this week:

Monday: Hamburger Vegetable Soup from the freezer
              : Picked up fast food for supper since I was still feeling pretty crummy

Tuesday: Lasagna (from freezer) & Caesar Salad

Wednesday:  Leftovers

Thursday: Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup, Mennonite Style.  (This should hopefully boost our immune systems a bit. So tired of all this sickness in our house.)

Friday:  Pizza Hut Copycat Pizza, Veggies & Dip, Salad

Saturday:  Leftovers

Sunday:  Simple Sunday...sandwiches & soup

Menu Plan and Today's Plan

After Elianna came down with a  sore throat and fever (again!) last Friday (and at a birthday party with a bunch of kids, too ), I think we are finally all fever-free and relatively healthy, at least for this morning. HA.

Yep, it was 3 weeks straight of illness for our family. Glad we're getting a break from sickness at the moment. Immediately after realizing she was sick again on Friday, I booked her a doctor's appointment for today, just in case it was strep or something nasty setting in after her nasty 2 week virus. Thankfully, it seems to be just a minor cold or something, so no doctor's visit necessary today:-).

For Sunday School this past Sunday, my hubby was asked to share his testimony of what God has been doing in our family's life lately, especially with regards to him leaving his job in the health care field. It was a bit nerve-wracking as there were A LOT of people in Sunday School this past week, many of whom were guests. We were covering an extremely touchy & controversial subject, so it was a bit difficult. It has only been very recently that we have been ready & willing to go into the entire "why" of him leaving his job, so it was a bit stretching for us as well.

Tuesday's Plan:
*Finish laundry for the week (and put it away!!)  - Kids' laundry & Towels/Bedding
*Do some school with Elianna (this is a review week of A, B, C, & D). This year I'm doing an eclectic mix of a bit from Heart of Dakota's Little Hands to Heaven Book (We did half the book last year, so I'm skipping parts here and there), Easy Peasy Getting Ready 1 (free online curriculum that works well with HOD), and Rod & Staff Preschool Workbooks.
*Make a lasagna to put in the freezer
* Tidy up the  basement (it's disastrous, at the moment)
*Tidy up master bedroom (it's also disastrous and in desperate need of some organizing/purging/cleaning. THIS is my main project for the week...some serious work needed in here. Who am I kidding? My entire house is disastrously unorganized and in need of serious work). I had hopes of one room per day this week, but that's far too lofty of a goal. SO, I'm aiming for 1 room per week now.)
*Find 5 things to either sell or donate
*Spend at least 20 minutes outside playing with the kids
*30 minutes of exercise after kids are in bed
*Go to bed with the house more or less picked up
*Be in bed by 11 pm tonight. Take some time to relax, read my Bible, & read from another book

This week's menu plan is going to be very, very simple. I am hoping to get a few projects accomplished during the week, so I don't want to be spending too much time in the kitchen. Otherwise, it's guaranteed I won't get any of my little projects done.

Here's what we'll be eating this week:

Monday:     Lunch: Hamburger Vegetable Soup (I made a giant pot, so we can eat lots of leftovers this week and freeze some)
                    Supper: Homemade Pizza (Seriously, I cannot get enough pizza this pregnancy. One night at 11 pm I was craving pizza SO badly, but I managed to resist the craving.).

Tuesday:     Lunch:  Leftover Hamburger Vegetable Soup
                   Supper: Asian Salad with Salmon Cakes

Wednesday: Lunch: Greek Salad
                    Supper: Hamburger Vegetable Soup (again!)

Thursday:  Lunch: Omelets & Fruit
                 Supper: Simple Stir Fry Veggies & Rice

Friday:     Lunch: Egg Salad Sandwiches
                Supper: Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

Saturday: Lunch: Mac N' Cheese with Tomatoes
                 Supper: TBD

Sunday: TBD (possibly Potato Soup or picking up some fast food)

Weekly Menu Plan

Monday: Easy Chicken & Rice Tacos

Tuesday: Lazy Cabbage Roll Casserole & Steamed Carrots

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Crockpot Steak & Mushrooms, Mashed Potatoes, Salad

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Homemade Pizza

Sunday: Hamburger Vegetable Soup

Update

After a trip to the ER on Tuesday when Elianna's fever reached 104.7 and she was in lots of pain, we were told she had a bacterial infection, possibly bladder or kidney, though the doctor wasn't sure. On Wednesday, she was still very sick and in lots of pain with a high fever. We took her to her pediatrician on Wednesday evening to follow-up, and he looked at her blood test results and examined her. He disagreed with what the ER doctor told us and thought the blood work pointed to a nasty virus with the small possibility of a bacterial infection (such as strep) just beginning. He advised that we wait until Thursday evening before starting antibiotics, and if she hadn't improved by then, then we would start antibiotics. Turns out that Thursday morning, she woke up with no fever! Today she is still doing well and seems to be over it. Unfortunately, Nathanael's fever started last night and he is now sick :-(. It's been a long 2 weeks of sickness in our house. I'm really hoping and praying that I do not catch this nasty virus as high fevers can be dangerous in pregnancy, and there isn't much you can take in pregnancy. I'm starting to feel nasty again and hoping it's just from being worn out taking care of sick kiddos for the past 2 weeks and not the start of this virus going around here.

Sick Little Girl

Please pray for Elianna. I wasn't planning on taking her to the doctor until today, but yesterday she worsened significantly and spiked a fever of 104.7 F and was in a lot of pain. So, we ended up taking her in yesterday and going through blood tests and things. The doctor couldn't find any visible signs of infection (no throat, ear, chest infection), but her blood tests showed there is definitely a bacterial infection somewhere in her body, along with a few other abnormalities in her blood. There's a small possibility of bladder or kidney infection, but they really don't know for sure. I'm plain old exhausted from the past 10 days of sickness in our household and have been up in the night with my poor sweetie every night. I am also very stressed. Seeing your kids in pain and being very sick is hard. Not having an answer yet and going on day 10 of fevers on and off and day 4 of constant high fevers is fairly concerning. My husband and I are both going on very, very little sleep these days. This evening she will see her pediatrician who will hopefully figure out what's going on with her and where the infection is. This morning, she didn't want to even walk, her legs were hurting so badly. She also is complaining of stomach pain.
Thanks for praying,