This is the beginning of a new day. God has given me this day to use as I will. I can waste it or I can use it for good. What I do today is very important because I am exchanging a day of my life for it. When tomorrow comes this day will be gone forever, leaving something in its place I have traded for it. I want it to be gain not loss, good not evil, success not failure, in order that I shall not forget the price I paid for it.

Jul 23 / Casey

Update…

Well Chris found out to day that he will be going to an orientation on the 2nd of August. That’s good news! It’s actually with the company that he wanted to go with originally but they were so overbooked with new drivers, the wait time was over 3 months. We just couldn’t wait that long.

So a but of good news today from me!

We are enjoying having him home. We haven’t done a thing! My van is still at the collision center getting fixed. Going on 2 weeks now and it’s supposed to be even longer! Good thing we got a rental. :)

Have a fabulous weekend and God bless!!

Jul 11 / Casey

Nervous and relieved

I shared on Twitter the other day that Chris lost his job. So here we are. Back at square one.

He was let go Thursday morning and he still isn’t home. They are keeping him on the truck for as long as possible because his co-driver isn’t experienced enough to drive alone. Oh and he isn’t getting paid. Yeah. I am NOT a happy camper right now.

He is in VA at the moment on his way to Nashville. I will probably go either tonight or tomorrow and get him off the truck. I just want him to get a little close to home first.

I am still in shock. Confused about what to do.

But you know what else I am? Relieved. Excited.

I can’t wait to see my husband. I can’t wait for the kids to see their Dad. I can’t wait to do all the things that we have no been able to do since he has been gone. 6 months is a long time to be away from your family. Even though he wasn’t gone for a continuous 6 months, it sure seemed like it. 5 days here and 6 days there goes by too quickly.

So there ya have it. Prayers for our family will be most appreciated. I am 100% certain that this is Gods will. Another opportunity will arise, and it will be bigger and better than the previous one.

Proverbs 3

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.

Jun 28 / Casey

Sick. Bleh.

Well last week and this week has been pretty boring. Everyone in the house is sick, including me. I sure hope I get better. I really don’t feel like doing much of anything while I am sick, but I am still having to take care of 3 other people that are sick. Ugh.

This post probably makes no sense. My head is cloudy. Yuck.

Sick, sick, sick. Bleh.

Since I have been MIA all last week and now this week, here’s a look at one of the cuties I am trying to take care of while sick.

Jun 20 / Casey

Menu Plan Monday

Week 2 of summer break! It’s been really busy around here. I’ve been getting all of Caitlin’s paperwork filled out and turned in for her schooling for next year. We have decided to go back to homeschooling her this coming year. I wanted to try the public schools here again and not to my surprise, they are still pretty much the same. They teach to pass tests, not to learn. They spend half of the school day trying to get their class in order and discipline the out of control children. My child wants to learn and she can’t in that sort of environment, so it’s back to homeschooling we go!

Monday - Barley Breakfast Hash, oranges and biscuits

Tuesday – Cubed steak with onions and tomatoes over rice, broccoli

Wednesday – Enchilada chicken, rice and salad

Thursday – Tuna noodle casserole, bread

Friday – Homemade pizza

Saturday – Pigs in a blanket, chips

Sunday – Sandwiches or leftovers

Jun 15 / Casey

Not gonna let this keep me down!

Did ‘ya have a good Monday??

Are ‘ya having a good Tuesday?

So far this week for me is going pretty horrible.

Yesterday, a guy backed up his big ‘ole truck into the side of our van as I was driving behind him in the bank parking lot. I didn’t see him and he didn’t see me. It was simply an accident. Thankfully it wasn’t out on the interstate or on the highway at a faster rate of speed, but it still did quite a bit of damage.

004-resized

The point of impact. The door gaps at the bottom. You can literally see the road as it passes by.

007-resized

Kinda hard to see the dent on the sliding door, but I can assure you, it goes all. the. way. down. The black streak starts on the front quarter panel where there is a small dent and then continues to the back bumper.

I did manage to go to the bank and to Walgreens to get diapers, but it did ruin my trip to the grocery store. I ended up going back to the store later that night and it was a success! No one munched me this time!!

Today… ugh. What a day! I seems like every time I get up to do something, my husband calls me and needs directions or wants to know where the nearest “whatever” store is. Let me just tell you this… trying to find a store when you have no idea where the other person is located is pretty darn difficult. I know it sounds easy, but it’s not. It’s even more difficult when you have 3 kids screaming in your ear and the radio going and the dishwasher going and blah blah blah… you get the picture.

BUT!!! I have managed to get 2 roasts marinated, beans with sausage cooked, every single dish washed and delegated some chores to my oldest. She is on bathroom, floor and trash duty.

So even after a horrible start to the week, I am not gonna let it get me down! We will just keep on trucking along.

Jun 13 / Casey

Menu Plan Monday

Summer is here and I couldn’t be happier! I tend to let things slide in the summer and that includes dinner time. We usually eat later during the summer since the days are so much longer. This year however, I am determined NOT to eat dinner past 7:00 pm. I like to have my free time in the evenings and that means the kids still need to go to bed at a decent hour.

8:30 during school and no later than 9:30 during the summer, although it’s usually a LOT sooner than that. I like to keep things as normal as possible. I’m not one of those parents that lets their kids stay up super late on the weekends and summer vacation. I would go crazy! With Chris being gone so much, the only break I get is when they are sleeping so I LOVE night time. Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids!!! But I do enjoy a little alone time too. It’s only natural.

For this reason I will be starting back up with my menu planning. It’s such a big help to me.

Monday – Beans (slow cooker) and rice with rolls or cornbread

Tuesday – Pot roast, baked potatoes, green beans, leftover rolls

Wednesday – Creamed chicken (double batch) over rice, broccoli

Thursday – Homemade hamburger helper, green beans or salad

Friday – Chicken shepherds pie, sauteed spinach, bread

Saturday – Homemade pizza

Sunday – Pigs in a blanket, sandwiches or leftovers

So there ya have it. Nothing special but hopefully will keep us on schedule this week. Looking for more ideas? Check out orgjunkie.com for LOTS of other menu ideas.

Jun 6 / Casey

When will just being me be good enough?

Warning : RANT ahead

Do you ever feel inadequate? I mean really inadequate. I’m not even sure that is the right word I am trying to get across.

I have had a job ever since I was 15. That is until I became a stay at home mom almost 4 years ago.

And since then, being a mom doesn’t seem to be a good enough job for some people in my family.

People will ask me when will I go back to school and get an education? When am I going to go get a “real” job? When will I get tired of just sitting around all day doing nothing? When are you going to do something with your life?

So I ask you this, when did being a mother become an inadequate job?

I work my butt off 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and on top of that my husband is away for about 90% of the time. And for what? To be told what I am doing is not good enough?

Um. No.

Remember back in the day when being a mother and being home with your children was expected of you? How did we go from that to where we are today? Why isn’t being a mother considered a successful career?

I have always felt like I couldn’t measure up to certain people in my family. Like whatever I did was never good enough. When will just being me be good enough?

I never knew what I wanted “to be” when I grew up. All I ever wanted to do is be a mom and try to raise happy healthy kids. I am doing exactly what I wanted to do my whole life yet that isn’t good enough for some people.

This is something that my husband and I prayed over, thought a long time about and agreed to. We have made LOTS of sacrifices so I can stay home with the kids. We live VERY modestly just to be able to afford our monthly expenses. We are teased and made fun of because of the way we live. I buy in bulk so I don’t have to go shopping every week. I have a pantry full of food and personal hygiene items but for some reason, that is funny or weird to some people. Maybe they don’t mean it the way it comes across, but it hurts still the same.

So to end this completely random rant, I may or may not go back to school. It’s my decision. I will try not to let others bother me about our way of life. It’s their problem, not ours. At least we are drowning in a sea of debt. We actually have none.