Operation Christmas Child

My friend Kim has two of the most giving children I know. (I can say that because they're my "adopted" nieces). This past year for her birthday, the oldest daughter asked not for gifts, but money so she could buy ducks or geese from Samaritans Purse for a family in Africa. Isn't she great?? And she's only 5. I aspire to be a totally rocking mom like Kim. She challenges me in many ways. The girls also put together Shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child every year. So I've been thinking that the Shoe boxes are one of the most effective ways to teach my children about the true Spirit of Christmas....Sharing the Love of Jesus. This evening as I checked my facebook, I noticed that Laura @ HeavenlyHomemakers had recently posted about Operation Christmas Child. Her post was a link to Oxana's post, which has strengthened my resolve to have the 4b's (all 5 of them) participate this year, and as Oxana shared we will include one of the treasured letters in each of our boxes. So, please, go check out Oxana's Story and pass on the word.

Gratituesday: And the angels are rejoicing in Heaven

Being a parent is such a hard job. You never know if you're doing it right and it takes years to see the fruits of your labors. I think being a Godly parent is even harder. I try to teach my children about God's love and His plan of salvation through Jesus. My greatest desire is to see them join their baby brother and sister in heaven, but you can never really know what goes on in the hearts and minds of a child can you? So, I try to diligently plant seeds of faith and water them. I try to keep all the influences positive and ones that would nurture Godly characteristics within them.

Last week, I was able to see the harvest of some of the seeds I've been planting and watering. I was putting Bean to bed Tuesday night and she was her normal chatty-trying-to-stay-awake self. But as I listened to her chatter, all of the sudden, a very important question popped out of her mouth...."Mommy is God and Jesus in our hearts?" "Well Baby, do you want them to be in your heart?" "Yes, Mommy." "Then all you have to do is ask them to be in your hearts and obey what God teaches us." "Jesus, will you be in my heart?" Beanie prayed. And then she promptly passed out for the night. I delightedly rushed down stairs to share with Dh the miricle that had just occured. I must say I've struggled with pride thinking "I" did such a great job, but i know that I could never have done anything so miraculous as cause a little child's heart to turn to God...only God could do that, along with the help of parents, and a very outspoken 5 year old who Loves God. I only watered and planted but God in His awesomeness brought about the fruit. And the assurance that my 3 year old has a desire to have a relationship with God that I pray I will properly nurture during the remainder of her life under my roof so that she will cherish and serve God all of her days.

As if having this experience with Beanie wasn't great enough, Wednesday, when I was hanging out clothes, Rich called me in because he had just been asked the same question by the Boy. We talked to him about it, and he too decided to make the same step as Bean. I will now do my best to nurture him to become the man God desires for him. I hope and pray that Belle will make the same decision as her older siblings have and will not turn from it.

This post part ofGratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers.

Weekly Menu 8/22

All good things must come to an end. Summer as we know it in our house is coming to an end this week. Monday is DH's last day of vacation and the school year starts with in-service days Tuesday.

Our menu plan for the week is as follows:

Monday:

Breakfast: Oatmeal with sliced peaches

Lunch: Peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches, pears and raisins

Dinner: Meatloaf Packets (recipe at the end of the post) and broccoli

Tuesday:

Breakfast: Peach Muffins

Lunch: Noodle soup and peanut butter pinwheels, peaches

Dinner: Pork Chop Hamburger helper and broccoli

Wednesday, Pasta Day:

Breakfast: English Muffins and fruit

Lunch: Quesadillas and mixed fruit

Dinner: Butternut Squash Ravioli

Fishy Thursday:

Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs, toast w/ jam

Lunch: Bologna or Salami Sandwiches

Dinner: Salmon Burgers (patties to the rest of the world), rice, sauteed summer squash and zucchini

Meatless Friday:

Breakfast: Oatmeal and fruit

Lunch: English Muffin Pizzas, veggie sticks

Dinner:Lentil & Rice Burritos

Saturday:

Breakfast: Pancakes or Waffles (Triple batch for the freezer and quick breakfasts another day)
Lunch: Leftovers

Dinner: Hot Dogs, Mac or potato salad, fruit or veggie stix

Crock Pot Sunday:

Breakfast: Bacon, Eggs & toast

Lunch: Stuffed Peppers (main meal)

Dinner: noodle soup, quesadillas, leftovers

Meatloaf Packets

1 1/2 lb ground beef (80%)

1 Package onion soup mix

1 egg

3/4 C milk

1/2 C bread crumbs

1 lb potatoes skin on, cut into wedges

3 C carrot sticks

1. Heat gas or charcoal grill. Cut 6 (18x10-inch) sheets of heavy-duty foil; spray with cooking spray. In medium bowl, mix beef, dry soup mix, egg, milk and bread crumbs. Shape into 6 loaves, 4x2 1/2x1 inch. Place 1 loaf on each foil sheet. Microwave potatoes for 4 -6 min. Place about 1/2 cup potatoes and 1/2 cup carrots around each loaf.

2. Bring up 2 sides of foil so edges meet. Seal edges, making tight 1/2-inch fold; fold again, allowing space for heat circulation and expansion. Fold other sides to seal.

3. Place packets on grill. Cover grill; cook over medium heat 25 to 30 minutes, rotating packets 1/2 turn after 15 minutes, until vegetables are tender and meat thermometer inserted in center of loaves reads 160ºF. To serve, cut large X across top of each packet; carefully fold back foil to allow steam to escape. Garnish with parsley.

I may just try to bake these in the oven depending on the weather. i will probably start cooking them at 350 degrees for a half hour. I will try to remember to include the oven baking instructions if that is what i do.

Menu Plan 8-15 to 8-21

It’s Back to School time again, and time for me to get back into my routines. The biggest one I have missed is my Menu Planning. I’m tired of pulling something frozen out of the freezer and thawing it 30 minutes before I want to eat. I have drawn up a monthly game plan and have decided to add themed days. ..Crock Pot Sunday, Meatless Friday (because I can’t do it on Monday like the rest of the world lest I make something that would trigger DH’s stomach issues), Pasta Wednesday, Pizza Night, and Fish Thursday. I also would like to send the kids off to school with a warm breakfast daily, so will be researching some recipes for that to keep some variety. And I’m sorely in need of lunch inspiration. We’ll see what I can come up with for that. Here’s what I‘ve Planned for this week.

Monday:

Dinner: Spaghetti, Italian Sausage, and Salad

Tuesday:

Lunch: English Muffin Pizzas, fruit

Dinner: Mediterranean Quinoa Skillet derived from this recipe from the $5 Dollar Dinner Mom ( for my meatless meal of the week)

Wednesday:

Lunch: Peanut butter and Jelly, fruit or veggie sticks

Dinner: Steak with all the trimmings…baked potatoes, Salad,

Thursday:

Lunch :Quesidillas, veggies

Dinner:

Friday:

Lunch:Salami Sandwiches, fruit or veggie stix

Dinner: Whatever my mom makes…we’ll be going down home for the weekend.

Saturday:

Lunch: Bug’s Birthday Party.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches, coleslaw, rolls

Hot Dogs, Buns

Broccoli Salad

Jello Salad

Chips and pretzels

Grandma Eva’s Baked Beans

Fruit

Cake & Ice Cream

Dinner: Green beans & Potatoes & Lunch leftovers

Next week I’ll try to plan a Breakfast schedule to and practice that with dh being off to school again.

More Belle Pictures

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one month ago...

One month ago, I announced on my facebook that i would have my little girl by 6:00am the next day...boy was I wrong... I've decided though that since Marielle is a month old, I should get around to blogging about her. So, without further ado, I'd like to introduce you to Marielle Elizabeth Thompson. She joined us at 4:49pm on March 16, weighing 7 pounds 2 ounces (the exact same weight as her cousin born just 3 days earlier...I think that's so cool.)

Marielle is the fifth "B". Part of the reason waited so long to blog about her is because I was searching for the perfect "B". I tried several references to the size of her feet, as they're sweet, but quite large for a little tiny girl.

As you recall, we've know for quite some time that she would have firm grounding.

I finally decided on "Belle" as it rhymes with her name.

Belle's pregnancy was a difficult one for me. Not overly difficult by standards, but compared to my others my most difficult by far. First it was the worst case of morning sickness to date. And it lasted well into my second trimester. I didn't mind too terribly much though because I knew that the hormones causing my morning sickness were the same ones that meant my baby was growing strong and the likely hood of miscarrying her was low. Then there was the issue with my blood sugar being too high. Thankfully it stopped short of being gestational diabetes, but i did have to cut back on my sweets and carbs. Then at our 34 week ultrasound, the doctor declared my amniotic fluid level borderline on being too low, and Belle's heart rate too high. Off I went to OB for a non-stress test on her. She passed, but for my next several appointments, Dr. said he would monitor my fluid level. If he thought it was too low, well we'd be having a baby.

As luck would have it, a week later I caught a bad cold. i coughed and coughed. So much so that Istarted spotting, and felt like i might've been leaking amniotic fluid too. The worst part...Dr. was out of town. So I called the office to see what they recommended. I was told to call OB and get their opinion. They wanted me to come up for observation. The verdict...I had an upper respiratory infection but was not leaking fluid. So I was put on bed rest by the on call Dr. I wasn't happy. The nurses told me I just had to make it to Monday when Dr. would be back, and Belle would be 37 weeks. I had big plans for the weekend after all...Rich was taking me out for my birthday. Except for my cough, I felt perfectly fine. Thankfully, Rich had a long weekend as I was put on bed rest Thursday and he was off Friday.

Somehow I made it through the boredom of the weekend and made it to Monday when I had an appointment with my doctor. He started me off with a non stress test. It wasn't good. Belle's heart rate was high until I turned on my side and it went down to "normal". Then came an ultrasound to check my fluid levels. Even more bad news. I could tell from the start Dr. was not happy. He wore a seriously concerned look and didn't say too much. He asked if I felt like I was leaking, which I thought I might've been over the weekend, but I wasn't going back to OB after being told it was all in my head on Thursday. He checked, lo and behold I was. Back to the hospital for observation and another ultrasound at the end of the day. If my levels had dropped at all I was going to be induced. They did. My nurse came in at 6:00 (right after I'd sent rich home to eat dinner) and asked how I felt about having a baby. Of course I was ready, so I was started on pitocin. I HAVE to remember to ask to be induced by having my water broken if there is a next time. Five hours of pitocin later and i'd barely started having contractions. I was certain once we started things that i would have Belle here in 12 hours or less. I know Aunt B was hoping that it would take 6 hours or less so Belle would share her birthday. I did my best, but Belle just wasn't going anywhere.

After Rich and I had a fitful night's sleep, I sent him home to help Mom get the big kids off to school. While he was gone, Dr came in and broke my water. Okay, now I was uncomfortable. I still hadn't dilated much more than 3 cm. I was a little discouraged. She was supposed to be there by now and I was still in labor. What had I done to deserve such a long labor...About noon I was only 5-6 cm and things were really starting to hurt. I told the nurse I was ready for some pain meds. I was greatly opposed to having an epidural. That needle just freaks me out. Something that big should be nowhere near my spinal cord. Two doses of Stadol later I was nearly in tears. I was so exhausted and i just couldn't take the pain any more. I told rich it was time to find a nurse...I was going to have an epidural. That was about 1:30. Rich was watching "The Great Escape" on TMC. The anesthesiologist came in and was explaining side effects and all....I didn't care...I was ready to do whatever it took to make the pain go away. I did get a glimpse of that huge needle when I was being prepped and almost chickened out. But the pain and need for relief was greater than that. Let me just say that until Belle got out it was heaven not to feel anything.

About two hours later, I was fully dilated and felt quite a bit more relaxed and a tiny bit rested. I did still feel my contractions some what but no pain. The Doctor came in and we were ready to start pushing. A few minutes in, my doctor exclaimed "Boy that's a big head!" Let me tell you (as all you mom's know) that is the last thing anyone wants to hear as you're squeezing a human out your...well you know. After 5 minutes of pushing, I stopped long enough to ask if her head was out yet. Nope she was stuck. Another 5 minutes later (10 minutes total of nonstop no waiting for contractions) pushing, Belle was here. A few hours later, I decided my epidural was not worth it. I have had headaches for 3 weeks because of leaking spinal fluid, but they've finally gone away. I won't ever have another epidural again and i've really got to remember to tell the doctors to lay off the pitocin and just break my water already.

Everyone loves their little sister and seems to be adjusting well to her presence. She has continued to be the most difficult child to date (since i have 5 and counting). She came home and immediately had newborn jaundice. It took 2 weeks on the light belt to cure her of that. The second day she was on it, we almost ended up with her hospitalized because she just wasn't pooping and there was no way for her to get rid of the biliruben. But all's well that ends well.

She's Just Like Me

And it drives me absolutely bananas. I know. Which "She" you ask. Bug. Bug is just like me. She would rather dawdle than do her homework. Doesn't like to ask for permission before doing a craft because she's doing it as a gift for someone she loves. She's scatterbrained. Tonight, she forgot her spelling list for the 2nd night in a row because...?? Well I really don't know. But she did give me a good laugh tonight.

DH had ordered Girl Scout Cookies at work and they arrived. Bug and I sit across the table from each other. We were both eating a Tagalong (you know the chocolate peanut butter kind). I was nibbling the chocolate layer off my cookie edges first. DH started to laugh because Bug was sitting across the table from me doing the exact same thing. We had a good laugh. Usually when I see myself in Bug it drives me bananas. I'm not my biggest fan. But I've known so few people that eat cookies or pick the chocolate layer off of candy bars before eating the filling that it gave me a good laugh. I was able to enjoy that facet of her personality. I guess I need to focus less on how much our similarities drive me bananas to find the things about Bug that I can appreciate.

After all, she is my Bug and I do love her even if she drives me bananas.