Heavy

I spent Wednesday and Thursday of this week up north with E.

Our time was spent shopping (which brought some much needed laughter...the kind that occurs between close friends when you talk about things with each other that you'd never admit to anyone else...except maybe your spouse! :)), running errands, picture taking, crazy out of the way driving to calm food cravings (on my behalf), tears, hugs, etc.

My heart is soooo heavy for her right now, and I would give anything to take away her pain.

I know most of you that follow along here know very well the special place that E holds in my heart and in my life.  But for those of you that don't....E and I met in Chem Lab in college some MANY years ago.  We still to this day laugh about all the mishaps that occurred in that lab.  And yes, only two people who are very much in a sense 'dorky smart' would find those things funny. 

While E and I spent hours upon hours together in that class, we never really hung out outside of class until both of us started dating guys that were in the same program and were friends.  Then our little group (of about 10 people) all became inseparable during our college years. 

E went through a tremendously terrible time and it only brought us closer together....until circumstances caused her to cut all connection to the life she knew.  None of which had anything to do with me.

Fast forward about 3 years (in which both of us had had life changes/name changes/etc...where we couldn't find each other again even though we had both tried).  One day I was in the check-out line at Wal-Mart (in a town three hours from my hometown that I had only moved to because my ex C's family lived there), and I hear someone say my name.  At first, I thought surely someone else with the same name was close by, because I didn't know anyone except C's family in that town, so surely no one would be talking to me.  Then out of the corner of my eye I see E.

We spent a lot of time standing in the middle of the aisle, both in disbelief that we had both moved and we now only lived 15 minutes away from each other.  We exchanged numbers and decided the next week we'd go Christmas shopping.

Needless to say, that was 5 years ago, and we're closer today than ever.  There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that that (us running back into each other) was a God thing.  I have no doubt that that was His intention all along.

Over the course of the 8 out of 11 years since we've known each other, we've been by each other's side through every thing we've walked through as individuals. The good, the bad, and the ugly!  Divorce, bad relationships, births of our children, marriage, sickness, surgeries, and death.  As you know from my previous post, she's a second mother to my children.  She was there, holding my hand when my own child was clinging to life, and she was there to be my voice and run my household when I underwent my mastectomy several months back.

She's more than a friend....

She's the fifth sister that God intended me to have! (And we always joke that one day we'll be Mother-in-laws together, because our kids (my girls and her boys) are all the best friends, and we're convinced at least two of them will end up dating and getting married.  ha ha)

This week my heart is breaking for her as she is, undoubtedly, going through one of the hardest transitions she's ever faced in her life. 

Luckily, she has a pretty fantastic husband and some pretty sweet boys to lean on during this hard time, and I know in her heart she knows her granny is now at peace, but that doesn't mean her heart isn't hurting more than she ever thought it could.

I wish I could take it all away, and in a perfect world I would be able to. 

But since I can't...I'll spend every day, on my knees, praying that God allows each and every day to get a little easier.  And that when she thinks of granny, only happy thoughts will fill her mind.  That she realizes in those moments of weakness and uncertainty, that granny will be there with her, giving her the strength and courage to go forward.

Will you all please pray with me for her?!  I know she'd really appreciate it.

Love As a Verb - Kinsey style

Gosh, I am such a blog slacker here lately.

I did post last weeks food menu to schedule post at midnight....or at least I thought I did, but realized on Thursday that it hadn't posted.  Geez!!!

Between the kids music lessons, trying to help mom get all the painting done at her new house before they lay flooring, cleaning/cooking, and 5489784544987 other things, I've passed out every night this past week within 30 minutes after we put the kids to bed.

I'm exhausted!

Saturday we had a fun-filled family day in Owensboro....unfortunately we didn't get to see Aunt Lisa because she was out of town.

We ran Chris's errands at R.M.R., took the kids to Chick-fil-A, to Books-A-Million for new books, and finally onto Champion Mazda to test drive a new vehicle we're planning on purchasing very soon!

After painting all afternoon on Sunday, my lungs are SUPER TIGHT!

After I folded and put away 10 loads of laundry today.....

....okay, so maybe it wasn't that many....more like six,

and got supper fixed, I was starting to feel even worse.

I told Kinsey to load the dishwasher while I went to soak in the tub.

About 5 minutes later Chris came up to talk to me (he had just got home), and he told me that Kinsey asked if he needed his separated container.

He said, 'Yes', not really sure why she was asking.

He said he heated up his dinner plate and turned around and she was making his lunch for work tomorrow.

He, of course, told her 'Thank you' and gave lovies and then came up and told me about it.

When I got out of the bath and went downstairs, I told her how thoughtful that was of her, gave her a hug and kiss.

She said, 'You're welcome, Mommy.  I know you don't feel very well today and I just wanted to help so you could rest.'

MELT...MY...HEART!!!

She's just so thoughtful and helpful for an 8 year old.

And I have to say, I'm VERY proud to call her my daughter.

Where I Grew Up

Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu and Veggies

You know it's good when there are NO leftovers!

These little chicken cordon bleu wraps were soooo easy to make.

I dethawed three large chicken breasts.  Sliced them in half both length and width wise.

Pound until very thin.  Top with your choice of cheese.  I used S*rgento's Parmesan.

Big A may or may not have been jumping around the kitchen at this point, because he saw all that CHEESE! lol

Top with a piece of thinly sliced ham.

Roll and coat with bread crumbs.

Bake for 20 minutes.

I turned the broiler on the last few minutes, just to give them a little crunch!

We also had roasted Asparagus, blanched broccoli, Mac-N-Cheese, and white corn.



Meal Planning Tuesday

Tuesday

Breakfast: Toast/Hashbrowns

Lunch: Grab lunch on the way to violin

Supper: Chicken Cordon Bleu

Mashed Potatoes

Steamed Veggies

Wednesday

Breakfast: Toaster Strudel's

Lunch: Left-overs

Supper: Hobo Stew

Thursday

Breakfast:Toast/Bacon

Lunch: Sandwiches/Chips/Goldfish

Supper: Spaghetti

Friday

Breakfast: Cereal

Lunch: Chicken Viola

Supper:  BLT's 

Country Potatoes

Saturday

Breakfast: Eggs/Hashbrowns

Lunch: Pizza

Supper: Smothered Chicken Breasts

Mac N Cheese

Cheddar Biscuits

Sunday

Breakfast: Cinnamon Rolls

Lunch: Family Lunch Date

Supper: Pasta w/Browned Butter and Mizithra

Steamed Veggies

Garlic Roasted Potatoes

Monday

Breakfast:  Toast/Yogurt

Lunch: Chicken Salad

Supper:  Poppy Seed Chicken

On the Grocery List

-Long Grain and Wild Rice

-Sour Cream

-Cream of Chicken Soup

-Mizithra Cheese

-Bread

-Thinly Sliced Ham

-Swiss Cheese

- Toaster Strudel's

-Potatoes

-Green Beans

-Smoked Sausage

-Shaved Turkey

-Spaghetti Sauce

-Texas Toast

-Three Cheese Chicken Viola

-Lettuce

-Tomatoes

-Stuffed Crust Pizza

-Chicken

-Gold Fish

-Broccoli

-Asparagus

-Carrots

-Yogurt

-Buns