God is Faithful

I have been burning myself out lately as some of you may know.  Working, being a mom, pregnant, looking for work, Danny's been in school full time (he finished his last final today) and has been looking for work himself (we're hoping to here this week on a job that we think would be a perfect fit for him).  We've been struggling but scraping by and it's just a world of stress. 
We decided that this year we were both going to try and carve out time for ourselves to have some alone time before the baby comes.  Our church has an annual Women's Retreat that has really kept me from going over the edge the last two years that I attended (courtesy of some lovely ladies that gave me anonymous scholarships).  I was beyond grateful. 
This year Danny and I decided that no matter what I would go and we would trust God to come up with whatever funds were needed to make that happen.  Then two weeks ago, all hell broke lose with our finances and we still felt like God meant for me to go but we now had less than what we needed in our bank account and my unemployment was under review and our utilities were cut off and Social Security threaten to pull Danny's SSI due to our bank changing names.  UGH, right? 
So, we've been trusting God with it and been honest with the people around us.  Our church blessed us by paying a god portion of our rent after we had to use the money we had for it to get our lights turned back on.  I've been on the phone with Unemployment everyday for nearly two weeks to make sure that they aren't cutting me off.  The ladies had a last minute scholarship open up for half of the cost of the retreat for me.  But we still had only $2 in our bank account and no gas in the car.  I had to decided for the final count yesterday whether I would go or not, even though nothing had come through yet.  We still felt like it was something that I needed and that I should go.  So, I told them that I was going and made arrangements to pay the weekend afterwards. 
Today, I finally hear that Unemployment is back on track and according to my balance I'm getting all of my back weeks benefits that I've been waiting on, deposited in our account, TOMORROW!  Yay!  I can pay to go to the retreat.  Danny's done with finals.  My in-laws gave us a little gas money to hold us over.  Hopefully, Danny will be able to get to a clinic today after his other dr's appointment (he's not been feeling well).  I should now be able to get things worked out with SSI this week now that I know what I'll be receiving from Unemployment.  Then hopefully, I'll be able to get things in order to file for hardship with the utility company once I have my paperwork from Unemployment and SSI so that they can't shut us off again. 
Things plummeted very fast and now they're back on the upswing.  God is good and faithful!  And sometimes we just have to take that leap of faith and trust Him before we can see what's coming.

Boo, no sewing! SO, on to baking!

So, Joey's up from her nap and my sewing machine's out for delivery but not here yet.  I've gotten the living room cleaned up(Joey helped).  I got Joey's room a bit more organized.  I finished one load of dishes and my second load is going now.  I finished my meal plan for the week in my post earlier today (BONUS: all my menu items use things in my pantry and require no further shopping until Friday). 
I still need to change the sheets on our bed and in turn make the bed and take out the trash but I figured I'd hold off until my sewing machine got here and I'd take out all the trash at once.  I also waited until after Danny came home from class to change the sheets and make the bed since he tends to snack/nap in there on Monday afternoons while things are fresh in his head from class. 
So, now my morning activities are done(Yay Me!).  I've planned my afternoon quite loosely since I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with Joey when she woke up be we decided to bake cookies for Care Group tonight.  Joey's been really into helping me cook & bake lately, which is super fun for me.  I love having her help count out measurements and learn what's in things.  This morning she decided that our oatmeal pancakes needed some apple in them, so we added some grated apple and she got to eat the apple nubs. 
I think she eats more knowing that she had a hand in creating her meals.  She also helps pick what fruits go into her yogurt blends, and her yogurt popsicles that we make.  She loves to watch the berries and things ooze into purees in the top of the baby food grinder.  Yep, she's nearly 3 and I'm still using the thing.  It's the same baby food grinder that my mom bought when I was little, way back in the early 80's.  Who needs modern gadgets when the older ones are way cooler anyhow.  I may need to get a new 'O'-ring for it soon though since it'll be getting double use once our newest little is ready for real food.  I've already put some little 4oz. mason jars on my wish-list for the canning season.
The only modern gadget I'm still lusting after is a Kitchen Aid mixer.  *drool*  I can't seem to kick that one, even though I know I don't need one. 
I'd like an ice cream maker too but I deem that want rational since it would save us money and I don't really care as much about it. 
Ok, enough from me, that cookie dough should have softened enough to handle by now.  I had made a really big batch of cookie dough a while back and I froze what I couldn't make right away.  I've had it in the fridge to thaw for a few days now but it was still a little hard so I left it out on top of the running dish washer and I'm hoping it's soft enough to scoop by now. 

Happy Easter

Today was nearly the perfect Easter.  I got to have a bit of a mellow wake up followed by some quick breakfast while getting ready for church which Danny and I both got to enjoy and not 'have to' do stuff for.  Joey woke up and got to open her Easter basket.  She was very excited about that pink crown in there.  

We got to enjoy worship & most of the service with Joey with only one serious meltdown.  Woo Hoo!!  We had a lovely Easter Potluck luncheon with our wonderful church family.  The kids had a fun little Easter Egg hunt and the Sun came out for it just in time.  

We got to enjoy some nice warm sunshine (for me) and now it's raining and soon to be storming (for Danny).  Joey woke up happy from her nap.  Danny brought home dinner so I didn't have to cook, which was super awesome since I'm having a little trouble breathing with the high humidity and high pollen count today.  Now, Danny and Joey are listening to their 'crunchy grooves' and dancing.
What a lovely day it was!  The only thing that would have made it better would have been if my folks could have come down.  GOD IS GOOD!