2 Years & 26 days and Tom's lunches

Since Tom started at his current job (almost 15 years ago!), he has taken his lunch. Before we knew that they had a microwave, he took sandwiches for months. Once we knew that they had a microwave, that opened up lots of new possibilities. Recently, I decided to get more organized with his lunches and posted a note on the freezer. On the list, I put whatever there is in the freezer for lunches and it gets marked off when he takes it. That way, he knows what's up there and I know if I need to add more. Since I've only got 2-3 kids for lunch most days right now, when I fix something for the kids that I think Tom will like, I fix him a plate and stick it in the freezer. When we have a supper with leftovers, I do the same thing. So far it's been working great and is saving us time and $'s! Always a great combination.

2 Years & Days 23, 24, and 25 and busy weekend

Phew, what a weekend! Saturday, I worked providing child care at the women's retreat here in town (had 7 kids), then we spent the evening at some friend's house having supper and playing Wii. Yesterday was church, long nap, and church again. LOL. I am still fighting with the asthma and a cough. I just keep hoping it does not develop into bronchitis. I have neither the time nor the money to go to the doctor.

Once again, I did not accomplish my goals for last week, so here we go again.
Today, I am going to try to get Josh's and Tasha's taxes done. I'll get Serenity's done when I get her information.

Valentine's Day is coming up next weekend. Tom & I were going to go to the dinner at church on Saturday night, but we decided to stay home alone and watch movies instead. I have a coupon for buy one enchilada dinner, get one free at El Chico's so we could get supper from there for less than $10 and bring it home. Tasha will be gone to BB games so we'll have the house to ourselves.

Have a super week, everyone!

2 Years and 22 Days and wishing my parents a happy anniversary

My parents have been married for 45 years today. Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad. Even though you don't have any power and can't get online to read this.

2 Years & 21 Days and Miracles

Sometimes when you need one the most, God provides a miracle. Tom gets paid on Friday and we need to make our house payment. Next week, our car insurance and house insurance are both due on the 10th. Because Tasha is on the car insurance now and they didn't get her added in time for the January statement, we've got 2 months of that to pay on this statement. No matter how I did the math, I could not figure out how we were going to pay both of those (they are automatically deducted from our account) AND buy groceries this weekend. Yesterday, a lady called me and asked me if I would be willing to be in charge of child care this Saturday for a women's retreat at their church. They were willing to pay me and it was enough to make the difference and put us over the hump and have enough to pay all of the bills and buy groceries. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, my friends for your prayers. Please keep them coming.

2 Years and 20 days and beef stew recipe

Tom found this beef stew recipe that I made for supper tonight. It was really good. The prep work was a little more than I like, but well worth it.

INGREDIENTS
5 Red Potatoes ( 1" Cubes)

1 Minced small Yellow Onion


3 Sliced Carrots


1 Minced Garlic Clove


1 1/2 Lbs. Cubes Stew Beef


2 Stalks Celery, Chopped


2 tsp Salt


1 tsp Black Pepper


2 C Beef Broth


1/4 C Flour


1 Bay Leaf


1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup




COOKWARE

1 Large Frying Pan


Food Processor or Anything that will Mince


Ladle


Dry measuring cups & spoons


Liquid measuring cup


Crock Pot or Slow Cooker





Preparing for my Beef Stew Recipe.



1. Slice 3 carrots.

2. Mince garlic and onions.

3. Chop 2 stalks of celery.

4. Mix 1/4 c flour and 2 tsp salt in a bowl.

5. Mix the can of cream of mushroom soup and 2 cups of beef broth in a bowl and set aside.

6. Cube potatoes and beef into 1" cubes. Set aside in separate bowls.




Cooking the Crock Pot Beef Stew Recipe

Mix the beef chunks in the flour and brown them in a frying pan.

Place the carrots and potatoes in the bottom of the crockpot and around the edges of the crock pot.

Put the browned chunks of beef in the middle and place the onions, garlic and celery on top.

Now pour the cream of mushroom soup and the beef broth over everything until its 2/3's full of liquid.

Cover the crock pot and turn it on high for 1 hour, after one hour turn it on low for 8 hours. DO NOT STIR it until the end. When there is one hour left add the bay leaf and 1 or 2 tsp salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.

When the crock pot beef stew recipe is finished remove the bay leaf, stir and serve.

2 Years and 19 days & What if there's no hope?

What do you do if there is no hope? 13 months of Tom working 32 hour weeks, with still no end in sight. Nothing has come of the Friday cleaning yet. They might be "having a meeting soon". I have openings that I cannot seem to get filled. I have interviews and things don't seem to work out. I had a couple of drop-ins that were supposed to start last Tu/Th, they never showed. At times like this, I have to look to the Lord for support and hope. Sometimes I forget to look to Him and I go a little crazy. So my prayer for today is from Romans 15:13:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

2 Years and 18 days & please keep praying

Please keep praying for us. For Tom's job to get back to 40 hours a week. For my openings to get filled. For us to be encouraged instead of discouraged. Thank you.