With so many parts of the world experiencing either lack of rain or flooding, we feel very blessed to be in an area where, at this point, we seem to be just right. Our gardens (and weeds) are growing just fine. I thought you might enjoy seeing some updated pictures. The last time I posted any pictures, we only had a tiny bit of lettuce and nothing else. We still haven’t been eating much that we’ve grown, but we’re getting close!

Here are our bush beans…full of little purple flowers!! By the end of the week, we should be picking and eating!!! fresh green beans. I can’t wait!

Here is our raised garden bed of pepper plants. Matt’s actually picked a few hot peppers last week. I’ll be letting him deal with the hot peppers this year. I’m a little bit nervous – go figure. :)

We planted a few okra plants just for fun and are excited to see them doing so well. They like the hot sun, and finally, they are getting their fair share of it.

Corn! Isn’t it all so pretty?

We obviously have more than one tomato plant (so that we can make and can our own tomato sauce and tomato soup and salsa for the year), but I just did a close up picture of one plant to show you the little yellow flowers that will soon be making juicy tomatoes for my tacos!

If you have a garden, please share how it’s doing! I always enjoy hearing about the differences of what grows at what rate in different parts of the world. What are you eating out of your gardens??

Here’s our menu plan this week:

Sunday, July 10
Oatmeal, fruit
Creamy mac and cheese, peas, cantaloupe
Popcorn chicken, potato wedges, green beans

Monday, July 11
Homemade donuts, applesauce
Grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches, carrots sticks and sweet peppers
Cheddar ranch burgers, creamy cole slaw, watermelon

Tuesday, July 12
Cinnamon swirl bread, cantaloupe
Turkey ranch pinwheels, smoothies
Pizza casserole, tossed salad, zucchini

Wednesday, July 13
Coconut flour muffins, plums
Cheesy beef and rice, green beans, steamed carrots
Pizza, strawberry-peach slushies, raw veggies with ranch dip

Thursday, July 14
Whole wheat waffles, blueberries
Sweet bean bake, watermelon
Grilled chicken, corn on the cob, tossed salad

Friday, July 15
Peanut butter honey toast, pears
Taco potatoes, peaches
Chicken fajitas with homemade tortillas

Saturday, July 16
Scrambled egg sandwiches, nectarines
Leftovers
Tuna salad on crackers, fresh pineapple

Here’s our menu for the week!

Sunday, June 26
Banana muffins, applesauce
Italian roast, potatoes, gravy, carrots
Cheese, crackers, watermelon

Monday, June 27
Crepes with jelly, bananas
Sloppy joes, carrots with ranch dressing, strawberry-peach slushies
Tacos with homemade tortillas, fruit salad, homemade ice cream with hot fudge sauce (company coming for dinner!)

Tuesday, June 28
Fruit-kefir smoothies, toast
Grilled cheese and turkey sandwiches, green beans
Teriyaki chicken and veggies with rice

Wednesday, June 29
Apricot breakfast bars, applesauce
Chicken veggie quesadillas, strawberry-orange smoothies
Lamb chops, tossed salad, asparagus

Thursday, June 30
Coconut flour muffins, pears
Cheeseburger zucchini boats, carrot sticks
Black bean salsa with chips, watermelon

Friday, July 1
Giant breakfast cookies, oranges
Hoagie sandwiches, fruit, carrots
Pasta dinner with family

Saturday, July 2
Big brunch with family
Leftovers

What’s on your menu this week?

If you’ve been wondering if I really was going to plant a garden this year like I said I was, I’d have to say, “You and me both.” Never has the weather been so uncooperative with our schedules like this year. I really was beginning to wonder if we’d have any kind of garden at all since it’s been so cool and rainy this spring, making it very difficult to get anything into the ground. Finally we have now had the chance to get most of our garden planted.

We skipped the potatoes this year – I know…sad! We just didn’t get to it in time. We used our extra garden space to instead plant a few more rows of corn. And, as normal, we have lots of green beans, tomatoes, several different kinds of peppers, okra and lettuce. Here’s our first bit of lettuce that’s almost ready to be eaten:

Matt and the boys worked very hard this week putting a fence around our garden areas to keep out the adorable, but not at all cute, bunny rabbits. I know it’s “just a fence”, but I’m so excited about it that I had to take a picture. There’s nothing I love more than watching my boys work with their daddy (unless it’s eating chocolate while I watch my boys work with their daddy.)

I thought you’d also like to see the volunteer onions I pulled up yesterday. They smell SO good.

In other news, we have a little surprise planned for our boys early this week. I am so excited (even though really, it’s not that extravagant of a plan)!!! The beauty of not frequently taking vacations or not eating out much is that when we do some of these things it is special. I think the boys will be pretty thrilled, especially tonight when we tell them to “pack a backpack and put it by the door to take with you in the morning – and don’t forget your swimming trunks”. ?????!!!

I’ll be filling you in on the surprise too, not to worry. But it just wouldn’t be fair to tell you now since the boys don’t even know yet, would it?!

Here’s our somewhat vague menu plan for the week:

Sunday, June 5
Strawberry orange smoothies, toast
Breakfast for lunch – fundraiser for church youth group
Taco salad, watermelon

Monday, June 6 – Tuesday, June 7
Well, I’m not exactly sure  :)

Wednesday, June 8 (Asa’s birthday, which has nothing to do with the surprise, it just coincided with his birthday!)
Homemade donuts
Grilled burgers and homemade fries, watermelon
Cheesy turkey sausage stromboli, fruit salad, birthday cake

Thursday, June 9
Simple soaked pancakes, blueberries
Chef salad with chicken
Salmon, steamed broccoli and carrots, mock frozen yogurt

Friday, June 10
Fried eggs on toast, oranges
Cheddar ranch burgers, potato wedges, peas
Nacho bar

Saturday, June 11
Whole wheat cinnamon rolls, cantaloupe
Leftovers
Grilled steak, baked potatoes, corn, tossed salad

If you have a garden, fill us in on how it’s doing!

Matt and I had a lovely time at the Nebraska Home School Conference this weekend…and we were so excited that we were able to meet several of you!! Thanks for taking the time to come say hello in the middle of your busy weekend. We loved it!!

Now…how can we figure out ways to meet all of the rest of you??? Hmmmm……..

Speaking of the conference, here are some interesting things that occurred that really have nothing to do with much of anything, but which you may or may not find interesting or boring. :)

One is that because we were at our little vendor booth, talking to people and sharing about our curriculum and telling people what HeavenlyHomemakers.com is all about….we were standing on our feet on a hard floor for two solid days. Our legs got tired, but eh…no biggy. It was a great time. 

It wasn’t until about two hours after the conference ended and we were home unloading our gear that suddenly we both realized how sore we were. By bedtime, I was gimping around like I’d sustained an injury and Matt had to run me a bath to soak in. 

This morning, I was scooting around like a little old lady. Every move hurts as I’m trying to work my kinks out. If you saw me, you’d likely say, “What happened to you? Did you fall? Were you hit by a moving vehicle? Did the boys’ wrestling matches finally get the best of you?” And I’d have to reply, “I did absolutely nothing. I simply stood in the same spot for two days and now I can’t seem to walk or move.”

Matt said that this is normal (he knows these things from his work at the restaurant). I’m so glad he thinks I’m normal.

Anyway…the other thing that isn’t relevant to anything and that you may not care about is:

On Friday of the conference, because there were people coming by the booth almost constantly all day long…we didn’t find much time to eat the lunch we had packed. We were able to sneak a bite in here and there, but by 6:30 that evening when the vendor booths closed, we were both quite hungry. We got in the van to head home for the night and while this was very unlike us, we decided on fast food because we needed food…fast. So, we went to Culvers because if you’re going to eat fast food, it should at least taste really good.

Now, I don’t know if you know this about me or not, but I’m a beef lovin’ girl. I think it’s something about how I tend to feel sick and anemic if I don’t get enough iron…but regardless…there are times that I just need me some cow. This was one of those times.

As we looked at the menu I decided that a “single” just wasn’t going to cut it. I told Matt that I was going to shock us both and order the “double cheddar”.

And I did. And I ate it all.  And I didn’t look back.

I inhaled that double burger and I was very happy and Matt just watched in amusement. Somewhere in between bites and while I had ketchup running down my chin, I said, “Thank you for not judging me for ordering and eating an entire double.”

And then I handed him my fries because really…I was just there for the beef.

Okay…so that’s the end of my random weekend stories. Here’s the menu plan that you really came to see:

(And in case you’re wondering, because of our gluten free experiment, Malachi will be eating the non-gluten parts of these meals, or I’ll adapt part of a meal for him, or whatever. I’m trying not to be a short order chef, but I’ve found that it’s easier to try to cook “normally” and just adjust a few things for him specifically. I’ll probably talk more about this during our Gluten Free Recipe Parade which begins tonight!!)

Sunday, April 3
Easy breakfast casserole, oranges
Roasted chicken, carrots, potatoes, gravy
Cook-out with friends

Monday, April 4
Warm chocolate soother, toast
Tuna topped tomatoes, peaches and cottage cheese
Tacos

Tuesday, April 5
Simple soaked pancakes, scrambled eggs
Homemade chicken strips, ranch potato wedges, peas
Swiss steak over rice, carrots

Wednesday, April 6
Creamy orange cooler, toast
Taco corn fritters (recipe coming this week!), applesauce
Lasagna casserole, tossed salad

Thursday, April 7
Gluten Free-Dairy Free chocolate chip muffins (recipe to be shared this week!!), bananas
Cheddar ranch burgers, roasted asparagus
BBQ meatballs, cream scalloped potatoes, green beans

Friday, April 8
Fried eggs on toast, pears
Meat and cheese burritos, apples
Chicken and rice stew, raw veggies with ranch dip

Saturday, April 9
Turkey sausage, hashbrowns
Leftovers
Lamb chops, baked potatoes, tossed salad

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Be sure to check out Say Mmm to help you get organized in your menu planning!

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Hope you’re planning to join us for the Gluten Free Recipe Parade 
to get lots of fun new recipe ideas!!! 

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Visit Organizing Junkie for more Menu Planning inspiration!

My crew loves it when I make a huge breakfast of biscuits and gravy with the works! I don’t make this big meal very often…but this week I figured I could make it happen. So, here’s what our Saturday morning might look like…

Come on over if you want. :)

Here’s our menu for this week!

Sunday, March 13
Applesauce bread, bananas
Roast, carrots, potatoes, gravy
Grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, carrot sticks

Monday, March 14
Whole wheat waffles, blueberries
Salmon patties, mashed potato pancakes, peas
Chicken tortilla soup, fruit salad

Tuesday, March 15
Scrambled egg sandwiches, clementines
Baked potatoes with cheese and kreme’ fresh, peaches
Beefy vegetable soup, soft pretzels

Wednesday, March 16
Cinnamon swirl bread, applesauce
Chicken veggie quesadillas, oranges
Barbecue brisket, cream scalloped potatoes, green beans

Thursday, March 17
Honey whole wheat bagels, apple slices
Meat and cheese burritos, pears
Beef stroganoff, roasted asparagus

Friday, March 18
Peanut butter honey toast, fruit and yogurt
Cheesy salsa enchiladas, tossed salad
Homemade pizza

Saturday, March 19
Turkey sausage gravy, sourdough biscuits, hashbrowns, scrambled eggs
Leftovers
Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas

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Let Say Mmm help you out with your menu planning…it’s free!

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Got Bricks? Lori can help you learn to make beautiful batches of homemade bread!

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Keeping the Kingdom First Mom…Balancing Faith, Family and Frugality

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