Kicking Satan to the Curb After Moms' Night Out

Last night my good friend, Amber, invited me to a Mom's event at her church.  It was so cute!  They had an adorable popcorn bar and little bottles of water.  It was such a neat idea.  



This is the movie we watched. If you haven't watched it or heard of it allow me to congratulate you for finally coming out from under your rock.  This was the second time I've watched it and it is so, so funny.  If you ever want to feel like someone else just get's you then you need to see this movie. Go.now.  I'll wait...
 Growing up as a Pastor's Kid I totally related to the Pastor's Daughter.  And I can totally get the main character.  I mean,the woman homeschool's for pete's sake...it's like she's a friend of mine and doesn't know it yet!  
One of my favorite scenes from the movie is the one in jail.  I love the quote below said by Trace Adkins' character: 
On the way home I was thinking of how great and how sad this event was.  I mean, about 100 mother's came together who all have at one time or another (or every single day) felt like a complete and utter failure in this job of motherhood God has given us to do.  

How sad is that?  

I got to thinking of why we find ourselves beating ourselves up, unable to find satisfaction in our "job performance".  Unable to feel happy in this life we wanted for ourselves.  

At first I thought it was society.  And to an extent it is...pinterest, facebook, instagram...we moms need look no further than our phones and laptops to find other moms seemingly doing this journey through motherhood better dressed, smarter, cleaner, and more organized.  

What a world this is.  But even more than that I think there is an underlying cause.  He's always there...it's Satan.  

When I realized that it was kind of a "duh" moment for me. 

 After all John 10:10 says " The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." 

 I read this blog a while ago which had spoken of this, but somehow over time I had forgotten how it happens.  (It's a wonderful read and all moms should read it! Go now.  I'll wait... :) )

And there it is.  So clear.  With the press of facebook when I feel imperfect and lonely throughout the day, I am opening the door to let Satan come on in and take my joy.  He steals from me and destroys my confidence and kills and thought that I could ever do this mom thing right in the first place.  He gets me right where he wants me.  

But here's a thought... what if I can fend him off?  What if my children could just have me do what God made me to do and see joy on my face as I live life as their Momma?  Well that would be living out the promise God gives in the second part of the verse...I would have life and would be living abundantly. And I wouldn't be living just for me but my daughter would be seeing how much joy motherhood brings.  

 And so with the help of movie night my sweet friend invited me to, I've come to realize what I need to do...I need to be more vigilant in watching for Satan's attacks.  I need to show joy in being a Mom.  I need to serve the Lord through scrubbing toilets, changing under-jams, and making beds.  And I want to encourage you too.  Just think, if we could stop the devil in his tracks with this, we might spare our girls from growing up feeling these same crummy thoughts of not being good enough. Not being able to get in front of it. Always being a failure.

That is something I will gladly do.  In Jesus' name!

Love you all!  :)

The Nina and the Pinta!

Well, this past week we officially started homeschooling for the year!  And we survived!  Just barely but we survived.  Two days in both of the kids were sick...colds.  By the end of that day I was sick.  Like, I can't survive, just hold me while I die, sick.  

But we got through, we're only a little behind so I guess I just need to cut myself some slack and breathe!  

Anyway, for those of you paying attention we are doing Classical Conversations curriculum this year.  We don't have a group we are meeting with as our schedule with Cal at his Autism school does not permit it so we are just winging it and doing it at home, alone.  Which by the way, so far, I am loving!  We may not get a group because we are plugged in in other areas.  But we will see :)  

Anywho, the first week of Classical Conversation (this year CC is in cycle 3 where we are studying American History) was about Christopher Columbus.  We studied, we read, we memorized.  And at the end of the week we drove for a field trip to a neighboring county where replica's of the Nina and the Pinta were docked for tours.  How awesome of God was that?  To have them here just when we were studying??? Awesomeness!  

So off we went...it was a gorgeous day.  
 Hi!  I'm your teacher for the year...  :)
 Here we are!
 Hi Daddy!


 Okay so these boats are tiny!  I mean, TEENY tiny!  There were 26 men crammed on these boats when they took off in 1492.  And they had to take so much cargo that the men all had to sleep up on the deck.  Seriously, I could not imagine going through that.  No memory foam there, folks.

So we've survived our first week, we've had our first field trip, and all is well in our little neck of the woods.  Hope you had a great weekend and are enjoying school too!

September's Monthly Meal Plan

September's one of those weird wonky months.

I'm all in the mood for Fall but the weather just ain't having it.

So...what's a woman to do then combine summer and fall recipes?  Chowder one day, grilling out the next.  So's life in the great Hoosier state :)

Here's my plan for feeding the family this month:

Week 1:
Monday: Little Caesar's new pretzel pizza.  This was so gross and so yummy at the same time.  I feel like I should be telling you this under some cloak of darkness or something.
Tuesday: Oven Chicken Fajitas
Wednesday: Northern Beans and Ham and Jalapeno Cornbread
Thursday: Pork Loin, coleslaw, green beans, and biscuits
Friday: Carbonara
Saturday: White Chicken Chili
Sunday: Pot Roast with root vegetables and mashed potatoes

Week 2:
Monday: Grilled Cheese with Ham
Tuesday: Grilled Chicken and Summer Squash
Wednesday: Spaghetti Bolognese
Thursday: Cheeseburgers, Homegrown Tomatoes, and Sweet Potato Fries
Friday: Calzones (I use this pizza dough for the crust)
Saturday: Fettuccine Alfredo with homemade pasta
Sunday: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, peas

Week 3:
Monday: Homemade corn dogs...don't judge :)
Tuesday: Chicken Fried Rice
Wednesday: Cream of Potato Soup and Cheddar Bay Biscuits
Thursday: Biscuits and Gravy
Friday: Orzo Salad and Grilled Chicken
Saturday: Quesadillas
Sunday: Roast Chicken with root vegetables and mashed potatoes

Week 4:
Monday:  Tater Tot Casserole
Tuesday: Chicken Pot Pie made with leftover roast chicken
Wednesday: Chili
Thursday: Grilled Brats and Oven Fried Zucchini Fries
Friday: Homemade Pizza
Saturday:  Chicken Tortilla Stack
Sunday: apple picking trip...picnic lunch :)

Ta-da!  Sorry it's a few days into Sepetember and here I am finishing up my Sepetember menu but such is life :)  Hope this gives you some ideas to add to your meal planning.  I'd love to know some of your recipes too!