To Move or Not to Move That is the Question

As the school year comes to an end we have been evaluating our success and failures. Our little prince will have to find a new school next year, and our princess needs a better homeschooling structure. Those are our biggest challenges for the summer.

Do we home school both children, or do we move and put both children into school in a district that we know well??? What a drastic decision this seems to me, but alas it is a thought to contemplate.


Actually, for the first time in years I'm okay with moving. I find it quite funny that for several years we asked the Lord if we could move, and every time we received an emphatic NO!! Just when we would think that moving was our only option, and not excited about it, the Lord always provided a way. So now, I actually have a calm peace and excitement about the prospect of moving.


I know, who in the world would be excited about moving, but I am getting that way. I think this may be the best decision for our family. If nothing else, it will cause us to clean out the entire house and cleanup and repair some places that have been neglected.


In the meantime, we will be praying for the Lord's direction and guidance. Who knows what he has in store for us. I do know that he's not finished with us yet, and we will continue to walk arm and arm with him.

Where Oh Where Have We Been

Ah, our poor blog has been so neglected. Our lives have been such a race lately. I know this is just a season and the Lord will bring us rest soon, but for now....

We have welcomed our newest family member:

Aiden Carl Stanley was born on 4/6. Isn't he just adorable!!!

My sweet prince is plugging away in his new career. He's found a work home for now. God led us down a path we would never have imagined, but we know our God is faithful. We can't fathom what he has in store for Chris here, but we're excited to see. He's already had a few occasions to share his faith and even pray for one of his customers specifically. I find that quite an honor that the Lord would use him so.

Our Princess has gone through the longest spout of illness ever. For our family a month of illness is unheard of. We did find out that she has an allergy to certain medications. Praise the Lord!!! Her reaction could have been very severe, but the Lord knew our needs long before we could have imagined. He provided wisdom and guidance and peace during a pretty scary time.

Our Prince left today for the 5th grade annual Sky Ranch Expedition. We can't wait for his return to tell us all about it.

And last but not least: we have 6 weeks until DISNEY!!! (okay, so I'm just a big kid too)

That's the high points in a nutshell.
Blessings all,

Financial Review

It's the first of the month. That means time to talk bills... I know you all have this marked on your calendar right, because it's always a lively fun topic to discuss.

Well, in our case it actually is. This month we plan to pay off our car !!! YEAH!!!! This is one of the last major milestone to our debt freedom. That will put us in line to still meet our goal to be debt free by June.

So the setback of unemployment hasn't hindered us too much. We are still moving toward cutting back on everything, but I know the Lord has great plans for us and we are just walking with him hand in hand. It's actually quite exciting. I don't recall a time I've been so open and receptive to the Lord's guidance. There is definitely no me,myself, and I mentality here. I know there is absolutely no way to walk through this without him. And as always, our gracious Father is there for us and with us.

Menu Plan Monday

I am so late... It's Wed already. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed this week and had no desire for planning. But alas, it must be done, so here is what I have:

Breakfast:

Sausage Rolls (Sunday breakfast)
Coffee Cake
Cereal x3
Homemade Donuts
Cinnamon Rolls

Lunch:

Calzones x2
Homemade Hot Pockets x3
Grilled cheese
leftovers

Dinner

Chili, homemade rolls
Porcupine Soup
Short Ribs, Beans, Mexican Rice
Taco Salad
Homemade Pizza
Potato Soup bread bowls
Superbowl party with friends

(Next weeks plan)
Pork chops, rice salad
Broccoli cheese potatoes
Turkey meatloaf, corn, homemade rolls
Sweetheart's Birthday...
Homemade Calzones

Eat from the Pantry Challenge Final Results

YEAH!! we made it. We survived one month in our pantry. We actually opted not to go to the grocery store at all last week. And one week's trip to Kroger didn't happen.So the final results of our challenge:

We only spent 111.66 for the month. Can you believe it!!! I am so shocked, and very, VERY proud of my prince. He did most of the leg work and kept me encouraged and excited the whole month. What a guy!!

I will admit I think we may be keeping these goals from now on. I do know we are in desperate need of a BIG shopping trip to restock some staples. But even that I don't foresee as being a huge trip. I'm predicting around $100 total, but my goal is to cut that in half as well.

I was also very surprised to see that we actually ate healthier meals this month than our usual fare. I think one of the biggest things that we need to change is the frequency of our trips. I'm going to try to plan this weeks menu for 2 weeks and see how we do.

Eat From the Pantry Challenge

This is our last week of the pantry challenge. My goal is to not go to the store at all. We'll see

That will put us under $250 for the month for grocery's. I think that's pretty good.

Breakfast:

cereal x2

Cinnamon Rolls x3 (our turn for Sunday breakfast)

Raisin Bread x2

Lunch:

Tuna Salad x2

Calzones

leftovers x2

Grilled Ham and Cheese

lunch with family

Dinner

Ham, frozen veggies, homemade rolls

Baked Beans, cornbread

Chili potato's

Mock Chicken Cordon Blue

Chicken, potato salad, baked beans

Potato soup

leftovers

Sweet Sweet Baby!!!

My newest nephew was born yesterday. Mr. Gabriel Alexander Ojeda!! he was 8lb, 11oz 21 in long, and so handsome.

My sweet sister's first bundle of joy. I'm so excited. and my two sweet peas are anxious to be able to babysit already.

What a sweet blessing