New Clothes

Anna, in one of her new dresses

God is so good to me.

A few weeks ago I was praying about clothes for Anna.  She just went through a growth spurt and most of her clothes are now too short.  I didn’t have the cash to go buy her a whole new wardrobe, so I prayed that God would provide clothes.  I didn’t tell anyone what I had prayed.

Last week, I got a Facebook message from a friend who lives an hour away.  “A family from church asked if I knew anyone who could use some girls clothes.  I told them you could and will pass them along to your pastor’s wife, because I’m seeing her tonight.”

I finally got the clothes and had a chance to go through them.  It is a garbage bag, absolutely STUFFED full.

Probably 80% of it is all Anna’s size.  Everything is gorgeous.  Sunday dresses.  Skirts, leggings, tshirts (long and short sleeved), cardigans, and more than one winter coat.  Nice brands, ones that hold up well.  Everything was in wonderful condition.

The clothes that aren’t Anna’s size are Esther’s size.  She didn’t need the new clothes as badly as Anna did, but she can definitely still use them.

God provided exactly what we needed, right when we needed it.  All I did was ask that He would provide.  He did.

A Hysterectomy

Six years of infertility.

One adoption.

A surprise pregnancy.

One miscarriage.

Four rainbow babies.

Three home births, one of them being an (unplanned) unassisted home birth.

Our wonderfully, crazy life.  God is so good to me.

And now:  one hysterectomy.

I’ve had health issues my entire life, many of which I’ve mentioned here over the years.  To keep it short and simple, things have gotten so bad since my last two births that my doctors have decided a hysterectomy is the best option to solve everything.  I’ve had test after test, tried many medications, and ended up needing a D&C last December.  Nothing worked.  I’ve dealt with it for twelve years, and sometimes I wonder if that’s how the woman with the issue of blood felt in Matthew 9.  I’ve even had four separate GYN tell me that a hysterectomy is the best course of action.

It’s time.  In October, I’ll take the next step, and I’ll go in for a hysterectomy.  I can’t wait for the relief.

Then, on to the next chapter.

One year’s difference

My sister in law took the picture on the right about a week ago when we were up in Michigan. I couldn’t believe the difference when I put the two pictures side by side. They were taken a year apart, and that’s the same shirt. It surprised me how loose the tee is on me now.

What makes me the happiest is I don’t look pregnant all the time any more. After five pregnancies, I don’t expect my body to be the same as it was before kids, but always looking pregnant did bother me.

27 pounds down. I’m not done yet, but seeing progress is so encouraging!

Menu Plan Monday

Monday – Salmon patties and baked beans

Tuesday – Scrambled eggs in tortillas

Wednesday – Hotdogs and fries for kids, Bratwurst for adults

Thursday – BLT’s and chips

Friday – Spaghetti

Saturday – Grilled chicken, pasta, salads

Sunday – Luke’s birthday!  He requested Papa John’s pizza for supper, so we’ll order that after church.

I only plan the main dish and one side for each meal.  We add additional veggies for each meal based on whatever is in the house at the time.  Our local Aldi is hit and miss on what veggies they have in stock at all times, so it’s easier to just stock up on what they do have and fit that in around the planned meals for the week.

Hubby and I are also following the Keto style of eating.  We take each meal and “keto it” for ourselves.  For example, Monday’s salmon patties will be made with almond flour, and we won’t eat the baked beans.  We’ll eat Tuesday’s eggs without the tortillas, and the BLT’s we’ll make with leaf lettuce instead of bread.

Lunches and breakfasts we also don’t plan specifically.  We have a pre-planned rotating menu on the fridge that we follow every week.

No bake cookies

The boys asked tonight if they could make no bake cookies.  This is the face I got from them when I asked to take a picture.

We used a recipe I had in my binder from a project I did in junior high.  I don’t remember having any trouble with it before, but they sure didn’t turn out tonight.  Oh well, at least there’s Pinterest and Allrecipes to find a better one for next time.  These were dry and crumbly.

The kids liked them anyway, but we’ll definitely look elsewhere next time around.

A trip to Goldsboro

Well, our trip to Goldsboro last weekend was most definitely eventful.  After our church’s youth meeting on Saturday, we headed across the state of NC to Goldsboro, where Stephen was preaching all three services on Sunday.

We made it about halfway there before we had a flat tire.  That was the quickest AAA call we’ve ever had – from the time I called to the time the truck pulled up behind our van, it was 30 minutes.  20 minutes after that and we were back on the road…..in less than an hour and all.  I’m so thankful we have AAA, and even more thankful we were all safe.

We finally arrived to the host family’s house about 9:00.  They had made supper for us, and WOW did they ever make a lot!  We all stayed up late chatting, while the kids ran some of their energy out.  It was so wonderful to meet this family face-to-face.  

Sunday morning started off bright and early.  Stephen and the older boys went with the men early to church, and the kids and I followed later with the lady of the house.  After the morning service, the church had a fellowship dinner.  I couldn’t believe how much food there was!   Then a bit after dinner, they had the afternoon service.  I just love hearing my husband preach.

We left after that to head back home.  It was a long day, but a good one, filled with getting to know new people and forming friendships.

Menu Plan Monday on Thursday

Monday – went to the inlaws.  They ordered pizza, I had a salad.

Tuesday – grilled chicken, green beans, rice

Wednesday – fellowship after church.  Because the kids are so little, we’ll snack before we leave to tide them over.

Thursday – grilled chicken sandwiches for the kids, chicken over salad for hubby and I.

Friday – Pizza Night.  Regular homemade pizza for the kids, low carb pizza for hubby and I. 

Saturday – not sure yet.  NOT chicken.

Sunday – chicken and dumplings for the kids.  I’ll have the chicken and veggies, but not the dumplings

One year

What a difference a year makes.  20 pounds gone.  

June 2017 on the left.  June 2018 on the right. 

I started watching what I ate by reducing calories.  It doesn’t work overly well for me, as I can’t eat more than about 1200 calories a day if I want to lose, and that very slowly.  Thank you PCOS.

I started keto April 3rd.  I lost four pounds the first week, and then discovered fat bombs.  I plateaued for about a month at that point – I didn’t realize my snacks were sabotaging my efforts.  Once I realized that, and cut the snacking back out, I started losing at a good rate again.  I’ve lost 14 pounds since April.

This week I hit two milestones – my first personal goal number, and the 20 pound mark.  What’s fun is I’m only 4 pounds away from the number I wanted to hit by my birthday…..which is still 6 weeks away!  I’m really excited to see what number I’ll be then.

Menu Plan Monday

After a seven year break of posting menu plans, here I am again.  I’ve still been menu planning, but not as intensively as before. There have been a couple of big changes for our family.  There are now 8 of us, so a lot more likes/dislikes to take into consideration.  The other change is that I personally follow a keto and gluten-free way of eating.  Most of the time now we make two separate meals every mealtime.

Monday – Ladies Prayer at church; dinner needs to be early and preferably simple so the girls and I can be there by 6. Ground turkey spaghetti for the kids, I’ll have a salad.

Tuesday – biscuits and sausage gravy.  I’ll eat eggs and some of the sausage.

Wednesday – church night, needs to be fast and easy.  Sloppy joes for the kids, and I’ll eat a salad.

Thursday – Grilled chicken, rice, and green beans

Friday – Pizza Night!  Regular homemade pizza for the kids, low carb pizza for hubby and I.  It’s a cream cheese, mozarella, and egg-based crust.

Saturday – our church has a youth meeting that afternoon.  I believe hamburgers are on the menu. 

Sunday – Stephen is preaching at a church out of town, so we will be eating whatever the church family there has planned.