God's my strength

This has been one of "those" weeks.

One of those weeks when I can't get out of bed without crying and hurting.

Source: etsy.com via Kristin on Pinterest

Monday, Michael had off, so we went to eat supper with my daddy, sister & CJ. I was having problems with my left leg and by the time we'd eaten, I knew I needed a hot bath to loosen up the muscles for the ride home. Except -- it just made me sick. So Michael headed back home and the girls & I stayed with Allie. It's been an awful few days. I couldn't dress myself, couldn't walk by myself (even with crutches), it was probably the second worst episode I've had since the first week of September.

But late yesterday morning, we had some really bad weather pass through. There were tornados all around us (thank God everyone I know is okay). I laid in the bed with June while it stormed, ready to take cover, and used the time to pray. I fell on my face before God and begged him for strength to deal with it and grace to not complain. No, I wasn't literally on my face in the physical -- but in my heart, in my soul -- I was face down at His feet. Even as I sit here and remember that time, I'm tearing up. I like to say that sometimes we have to be totally broken before God before we can accept His healing, His help, or even just His mercy & peace of mind. I was there.

Source: thoughts-of-a-jesus-freak.tumblr.com via Kristin on Pinterest

My body was weak. Probably the weakest it's been yet. Yesterday morning I needed a grown man to help me out of the bed. I couldn't even lift my leg a centimeter for my sister to slip my clothes on for me. Yep -- I couldn't even dress myself. After the storm broke (and I prayed), I got up from the bed and used crutches to get me to the living room. Yeah, it took me 10 minutes. Yeah, I was shaking and exhausted by the time I got to the rocking chair. But I did it. And then -- I actually made it into a vehicle, to town, ATE LUNCH (I've had NO appetite lately), kept it down, and came to my cousins house. That all doesn't sound big to you, but it was to me! I texted a good friend last night & asked for her to keep me in prayer. Somebody touched Heaven for me because this morning at 5 am, Sara came and asked me to turn the bathroom light on for her. I didn't even think -- I just got out of bed and walked right into the bathroom to turn it on.

No big deal, right? But yesterday morning, I could barely walk!

I thought, "that's God. He's doing what He does best!"

I still have some pain, but it's just a little bit.

Just a reminder of all I have to be thankful for.

Now, friends, I'm off to enjoy my pain-free day and play with my girls!

Source: pinterest.com via Heidi on Pinterest

oh, how pinteresting!



Head on over to The Vintage Apple to link up!

Peanut butter fudge brownie trifle....making this for Thanksgiving & can't WAIT to try it!

Source: howsweeteats.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Tomato sandwich -- this looks DELICIOUS!

Source: luxefinds.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

I think this is so cool. I want to do it in my hallway.

Source: salvagedior.blogspot.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

This would be great in my laundry room this winter. Definitely would come in handy!

Source: centsationalgirl.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

happy tuesday!

Last week we had a few big milestones in our family. June and Sara both had their first dentist appointments:

(I apologize for the poor cell phone camera quality!)

I was pretty sick that day, so Michael took them. Sara has perfect teeth (thank you, Jesus!) and will probably never need braces. The dentist told us that only about 2% of children who come in his office have teeth like hers. Awesome!

June, of course, is still way too little to have a "real" dentist appointment, but I thought that it would be comforting for Sara to have her sister there. And also for June to have Sara there. June has six teeth in and is cutting another one.

We also had another "first" -- June wore her first ponytail!

 I think she is too cute! Love her sweet little dimple.

Do you remember a few weeks ago I posted how my little sister, Allie, lost her sweet Duke. She was (and still is) heartbroken over that little puppy. But....this past week, she decided it was time to get another dog. She chose a Red Bone (???) hunting dog...or something like that. I'm not for sure on the name. But anyway -- she named him Cooter (notice the trend here??) and he is the PRETTIEST dog I have laid eyes on in a long time. He has a coat like velvet. Here they are (don't I have the prettiest sister ever??)

I hope ya'll are having a great Tuesday! We are just hanging out at home, catching up some learning to write our alphabet & cleaning. A good rest day!

hello again....and menu plan monday!

Some sick bugs just WON'T go away! For the past 2-3 weeks, we have been so sick. Stomach viruses, regular viruses, I've had a severe ear infection, and I started PT which is killer. My house looks like a train wreck hit it, and we're scrounging to find clean clothes (hey, just being honest here!) but one day we'll feel better. Right? I hope so.

A long time ago, I did a Menu Plan Monday. I think I'm going to get started back with doing it. I NEED to so that we can get back on track with grocery spending & not being wasteful. So starting today, I will be posting our weekly menus every Monday. I can't promise they'll be fun...sometimes they might even (gasp) say something like "frozen pizza" or "hamburger helper".....the horror! The truth is, that even though I'm a SAHM, we ARE a busy family & sometimes it's just better to eat easy things than cook a full blown meal.

Monday: grilled cheese with celery sticks & ranch.

Tuesday: chicken & dumplings

Wednesday: turkey burgers, roasted cauliflower & sweet potato fries

Thursday: hamburger helper, green beans, & crescent rolls

Friday: lasagna

Saturday: spaghetti & garlic bread

Sunday: pancakes & bacon

My goal is to NOT eat out at all any night this week. Cross your fingers for us!