My Menu Plan for Two Weeks.

Potato pancake with egg and avocado and mango smoothies.
Bacon, Kale and sweet potato breakfast burritos with fruit salad.
2-Taco Tuesdays with all the fixins.
2-Pizza Fridays with wings. (and a soda.... can't wait!)
Bean and rice bowls with pico, guac and cheese.
Sweet Carolina pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw and sweet potato fries.
Leftover pulled pork on baguettes with apple harvest salad.
Nachos with beans and rice.
Spicy veggie fajitas with black beans.
Cream of mushroom soup with oatmeal molasses bread.
Garden Chowder with honey buckwheat bread.
Sourdough burgers with sweet potato fries and marinated kale salad.

Extras:
Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. (allergy-free)
Cranberry-orange muffins.
Sweet potato cranberry muffins. (allergy-free)
Granola bars. (allergy-free)
Oatmeal jammy bars. (allergy-free)
Kettle corn. (allergy-free)
Coconut brown rice pudding. (allergy-free)
Black bean brownies. (allergy-free)
Sunbutter greenie cookies. (allergy-free)

Answers!

Not 10 minutes after my last post the Lord answered our prayers on where to move! Thank you God for your love for us and your patience and your answers!!!! 

Waiting on the Lord.

Waiting is such a hard thing to do. We have been waiting on the Lord for what seems like forever for direction in His will for us. It has been over a year of pleading, yearning, bargaining, begging, seeking and frustration. I am so impatient when I want answers I want them now. This is an area the Lord has taught me that not everything happens when I want. How I want it.  I don't like feeling like I don't know what is going to happen. What a journey this has been. When we first moved to Canada, we were sure the Lord brought us here. What an adventure this was going to be. Shortly after we got here and the snow was never ending, the job my husband was doing was a horrible place for him to be, Kaleb was sick for 2 weeks, I have never felt so lonely in all my life. I had put so much happiness in other people, expecting them to make me happy and they did! When we came here, there was no one to "make" me happy. How could this be what the Lord wanted? Loneliness? Sickness? Frustration? This could not have been the Lords will. This is the first thing the Lord showed me. First to find my joy in Him and second to find my joy in my husband and third to find my joy in my children and my home. This move here was certainly an adventure but not the kind I thought it would be, but much better. What a spiritual journey this has been. So much I have learned and am still learning and will continue to learn when we leave. The Lord has worked all of this bad for HIS good. We are about to come to an end on this journey in Canada and one of the very things we have been seeking the Lord to direct us in and what peace I have. What joy I have. I know the Lord isn't leaving me out to dry, He isn't forgetting about me or laughing at my pleas. The Lord cares for me and my life and my pleas. He cares for my sanity, my happiness and my character. He cares for my JOY! I thank God for not giving me what I want when I want it for if He had James and I would not have become so close on this journey, would not have been so eager to seek the Lord's will for us and our family. We would not have been open to what the Lord had in mind for us. We would not have listened to where the Lord was directing us, being the very place we said we would NEVER move to. We would not be reaping the blessings we have been and are sowing. We would not have joy in our hearts. We would not love with a love that comes from somewhere so deep and pure. I thank God for His timing, even though it is not my timing. For His timing is perfect and just. I am choosing to love, to serve, to worship, to seek and to enjoy life while I am waiting.

These lyrics touch a place in my Spirit that is so full of understanding. I understand this song. This song describes my life right now and I thank God He is so patient with me while I wait and remind myself that God's timing is best.


While I am waiting by: John Waller

I'm waiting

I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

Manners.

I thought these were adorable! The girls and I had fun learning our Hoops and Yo-yo manners. :D

http://www.hallmark.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/article%7C10001%7C10051%7C/HallmarkSite/hoops_yoyohome/Animations/HYY_MANNERS

My Menu plan for 2 weeks.

Bean and rice bowls topped with cheese, salsa, guacamole, chopped onions and cilantro.
Asian lettuce wraps with brown rice.
Chicken souvlaki in a pita with marinated kale salad and grapes.
Homemade chicken and cheese calzones with layered salad.
Tacos with beans and Mexican brown rice.
Lemon chicken topped with dried honeyed dates with quinoa and honey balsamic salad.
Turkey sloppy joes on brown rice with steamed broccoli.
Black bean and green chile quesadillas on gluten free tortillas with chips and pico and guac.
Oven turkey sammies with sweet potato fries and broccoli salad.
Pizza Friday with a movie and hot wings. ( 2 meals )
Black bean, sweet potato soup with oatmeal molasses bread.
Grilled zucchini and chipolte hummus panini with spinach strawberry salad.

My extras for the week:

allergy free cookies
orange rolls (for James breakfast for the 1st week)
allergy free pumpkin cranberry bread
allergy free oatmeal jammy bars
allergy free granola bars
protein lemon bars
kettle corn sweetened with maple syrup
allergy free hot chocolate
allergy free black bean brownies

Our Most Nutritious Breakfast.

This is one of those breakfasts that gets you going in the morning. That you think about it's yumminess the night before. And that you always make more than you can eat. OATMEAL. But this kind of oatmeal is loaded.

Loaded Oatmeal

-2/3 c oats (fiber, potassium, calcium, loaded with minerals, protein, loaded with amino acids)

-1/2 banana sliced (potassium, fiber, vitamin B6, Vitamin C, magnesium)

-1 TBLS. chia seeds (calcium, omega-3, fiber, protein, iron, magnesium) - on this not chia seeds have 7 times the amount of calcium than a small cup of milk.

-1 TBLS. organic flax seeds (protein, vitamin B6, potassium, omega-3)

-1 TBLS. organic pumpkin seeds (protein, iron, vitamin A, good fats)

-1 handful walnut pieces (protein, good fats)

-1 tsp. cinnamon ( good for your blood, your heart, stops yeast infections, helps relieve arthritis, studies have shown it fights certain cancer cells, fiber, iron and calcium)

- 1 small spoonful of coconut oil (helps aid digestion, good fats, helps with weight loss)

- pinch of Redmond's real salt

-sweeten with maple syrup or raw honey ( raw honey is loaded with over 23 amino acids and minerals, over 5,000 live enzymes, fights diseases, boosts immune and digestive systems)

Some of these ingredients are so good for you it seems to good to be true. To make sure we are getting everything we can out of our breakfast I soak the oats, seeds, nuts and flax in organic kefir the night before. I also soak my kids' oats in lemon juice and water to break down the phytic acid so our bodies accept all of its nutrition.

Jax is smiling.

Yummy. I love it. I love him. And his cheeks. And his gums. And his giggle. The end.

Movie Review: Come What May.

James and I watched Come What May last night. This film was made by a handful of home schooled kids now attending Patrick Henry College. Basically the whole idea behind the movie is when does life really begin? In the Mother's womb or the minute the baby is born? And why should a young girl have to tell her parents she is getting abortion? The main character Caleb struggles between his Dad who is a believer, his Mom who is career driven woman about to embark on a huge case pro-choice and what he truly believes. We really enjoyed this movie, alot of awesome points made. The end left James and I cheering for the truth Caleb spoke during his debate. Now keep in mind this film is alot like Flywheel in its production, this is no Hollywood film, but then again that makes it even better. This movie isn't rated but aside from the parents arguing a couple of times there wasn't anything wrong. James and I are choosing to let our older girls watch it with us tonight. I am interested to see Aislyn's reaction, she gets very fired up about abortion. For all of you who know me for me to let my kids see it, it's gotta be clean. Come What May is a vivid reminder that choosing what's right is never easy... but it's always worth the cost.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my Mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in that secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
Psalm 139:13-16

Our Morning Board

This is our morning board. It is such a time saver for me. Especially when using Saxon Math. Every morning the girls write the day, month, year and then the abbreviated dates (i.e. 9-16-10). Then they do the outside/inside temperature and graph it on the thermometer. Next Bee does the weather for the day and then marks how many school days we have done above the the place where the older girls record the date. Liberty also uses the 100 number chart to count to 100 by 1's, 5's and 10's. Our weekly memorization verse (from My Father's World curriculum) is on the top in the middle. I just cut a page protector in half and slip the new verse in weekly. The older girls also make the date using coins in the upper right hand corner with the coins stored directly below it. For example if it is the 23rd they would need to find the right coins to make 23 cents. All three girls will be given a time to show me on the clock, Liberty's obviously being fairly easy :). Then in between the temperature and the date is where we will put 5 Spanish words to learn for the week for all 4 kiddos and then right next to the Spanish words is Kaleb's letter for the week, since he is working on his ABC's. Now all around the morning board are our flashcards. We have a 20 min. "drill time" with these daily. The skip counting and the multiplication/division flashcards are done daily. Then we alternate between the others which are fractions, telling time (for Bee), states and capitols, counting money (for all 3 girls) and then our artist flashcards. We are studying 2 artists a year. This year we are studying Mary Cassatt and Vincent VanGogh. The girls name the painting and the artist who painted it. Liberty and Kaleb also do sight word flashcards and I am amazed at how many sight words they know, I do think the pre-school prep sight word DVD's have played a huge part in this. I love them. I really do. So.... this is our morning board, it is sooo nice to have everything right there and its a good reminder to do all of this. So many times we get busy and these "little" things get pushed aside. Plus we can use dry erase markers, write it, erase it and start new every morning, no mess and no excessive papers to throw out!

Healthy gluten, egg, refined sugar, dairy free YET yummy cookies!!

1 T ground flax seed

3 T warm filtered water

1/4 c. coconut oil, melted

2/3 c. organic sugar or honey (I do a combination of both)

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. aluminum free baking powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/4 c. gluten free flour (or 3/4c buckwheat or oat flour, 1/8c rice flour, 3/8c non-GMO cornstarch)

1 tsp. xathan gum

1/2 c unsweetened organic applesauce

2 T chia seeds

1 1/4 c. gluten free oats or regular if no gluten allergy

1/2 c. carob or chocolate chips if no dairy allergy

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix flax and warm water in bowl and set aside. Beat melted coconut oil and sugar/honey together in kitchen aid. Add the baking soda, baking powder, chia seeds, cinnamon, applesauce, xathan gum and gluten free flour. Mix well. Mix oats and carob/chocolate chips in by hand. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto greased cookie sheets. You don't need to spread them far apart since they don't spread as you bake them. Bake on 375 degree for approx. 10-12 mins. Remove cookies immediately and cool. Yummy!

It's not all about me.

Ever have one of those eye opening experiences where you realize everything isn't about you and isn't always going to go your way? This happened to me this weekend. I have had such a bee in my bonnet this weekend, putting summer clothes away, organizing all the closets with the winter clothes, making a new schooling schedule (which has now taken me 4 hours and I am still not done), finishing 7 loads of laundry, organizing all the toys and such in every room of the house and cleaning all of the messes I have made trying to "clean" up! I am the type of person that when I want to do something or an idea pops in my head I want to do it now and without interruption. The Lord has been so patient with me. Showing me that even though all of the organizing and cleaning seems like high priority on my "job" list it's not all about me. It might not be what He had for me that day, or in the way I wanted it. I was on a roll organizing our busy boxes, preparing to start school up again, and I was so frustrated when I heard my sweet baby Jaxon wake up to nurse. I wanted to finish my job and he was just interrupting me! How dare a helpless baby get hungry, right? Well I huffed and puffed my way upstairs and picked him up, when I sat down to nurse him he looked up at me and gave me the sweetest, biggest smile, ya know the ones where you can see their whole gums? As if he were saying "thank you Mama for coming to nurse me". The guilt set in quickly. I sat there looking at my precious gift from God and wondered how could I have ever been upset about having to feed him? Upset that "my" wants weren't going to be met before his. The Lord showed me right there that now matter how many times I organize our busy boxes or do my chores there's always going to be more to do. I am sure I will rearrange the busy boxes 20 times, there will always be laundry, my floor wont always be clean, my school schedule is going to change constantly, but my sweet baby won't always nurse. He won't always want to snuggle me. He won't always coo at me with the sweetest face and he won't always need me like he does now. A good friend of mine told me "The days are long but the years are short". Its so true. It is my prayer that I be the type of Mama who stops to smells the roses, that always chooses to do the Lord's will for my life first and that sees the blessings Jesus gives me everyday.

Jaxon is 1 month old!

I can't believe my sweet, loud, opinionated, snuggly boy is 1 month old! He is such a blessing to our family.

It has been a while..

Wow. It's been a long time since I have posted. I am going to try and keep up with this blog.... TRY being the key word. I have recently been blessed by a good friends new blog and decided to try and start mine up again. Alot has happened in the long months of not posting. Most importantly we have a sweet new baby boy. Jaxon Courage Steng. Our whole family is thoroughly enjoying him. My new goal for this blog is to share what Christ is doing in our lives, meal plans and recipes, homeschooling tips, any type of natural/healthy living tip I have learned in the past few years, tidbits on Eosinophilic Esophagitis and just everyday normal things that we go through. Right now I am ending this post at this. No tips yet.... sorry :)