Money Saving Mom®

Our older three don’t usually go to church with us (they each have their own church communities they are involved in) so it was a special treat when they told me they were all going to go to church with us for Easter yesterday and then that we got to get a family picture!

Our church gave out donuts — which our younger kids were quite excited about.

David was more excited about the weeds! 🙂

And there were chicks at church, too, which David thought was AMAZING – though we discovered he needed to be watched very carefully so he didn’t squeeze the chick too hard!

Our older three planned an Easter Egg hunt for the younger three!

We had an Easter Brunch after church – Breakfast Casserole, Hashbrown Casserole (this recipe is a winner!!), and Homemade Cinnamon Rolls. I made them all on Saturday night and then stuck them in the fridge to bake in the morning.

After brunch, we played a number of rousing rounds of Bananagrams.

Jesse and I were supposed to go away on an overnight trip for our anniversary in January, but the younger kids got strep so we ended up staying home. The AirBNB was so gracious to bump our reservation to Easter Weekend and so Friday and Saturday, we had the BEST time staying at a dome at Center Hill Lake.

It was SO good to get away! We planned the next few months, we ate yummy food (we brought all our food, we hiked, we sat by the fire, we read, we hung out in the hot tub, and we had a rousing game of Scrabble – that I almost lost because Jesse came up with the word Lyceum but then I came up with the word quelm on a double word square and got 62 points for it!! (Quelm is no longer in use but Jesse said I could use an obsolete word when I asked – and then regretted it after I cleaned up with all those points.

Have you been following along with my 10 Weeks to a 10K journey? I never ever expected to be doing this this year, but Kathrynne (my 21-year-old) asked me if I’d join her for a 10k on May 30 — and when your 21 year old asks you to do something, you say yes!

So I did — and here we are! I have 10 weeks to train. I started by seeing if I could actually still run 2 miles without stopping… I was so excited that I could actually do that!!

Next, I went to Fleet Feet Nashville and got my feet scanned and got a whole education on running shoes, socks, and insoles (please do yourself a favorite and sign up for a free appointment if you are considering running and haven’t done so — it was incredibly helpful!). I bought a pair of ASICS, Feetures socks, and insoles.

After that, I made a training plan based upon lots of feedback you all gave me on Instagram stories. I decided to run 4 days a week, strength train 2 days, and have one rest day. I may tweak that down the road, but we’ll see!

And finally, I changed my macros to 50% carbs and upped my calorie intake to make sure I’m fueling my body well!

I finished off last week with running 2.4 miles outside in 27:47. My goal is to hit 3 miles without stopping this next week!

See a video recapping week one of running here.

I’m excited to be doing the Function Health testing again this year! This week I went in for my first round of lab tests of the year.

Function Health is a program that provides 160+ lab tests (from heart to hormones to cancer signals) and gives you a whole body picture of your health.

I’ve found Function Health to be so insightful and it’s WAY less expensive than if you paid out of pocket for these tests!

If you are interested in lot more details, click here for my podcast with my full review of my experience.

We planted our two raised beds this past week – and now I want to buy another because we didn’t have room for flowers!! This is our first time in our marriage to plant a garden!

We planted strawberries, three kinds of lettuce, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes. The kids were SO excited and it makes me feel badly we didn’t do this with our older kids! But then I remember that I can’t live in guilt and there are many wonderful memories with them!

And yes, please don’t look closely — we probably made all sorts of mistakes, but this is a learning experience!

So many of you loved my Can I Feed 7 People for $10? series — and I’ve had so many requests for more ideas like that! If you are interested, I have a list of 60 simple meals to help you skip takeout and still keep things easy.

This past week, I came up with this super easy build-your-own bowl recipe — and it’s been such a win on busy week nights!

You can grab my free cheatsheet with 60 meal ideas for nights when you’re tempted to grab takeout!

I shared this on Instagram this past week and I thought it might encourage some of you:

We never planned to adopt a child with significant disabilities. In fact, the idea really scared me…

When the case worker dropped David off in the middle of the night five years ago, we assumed we would just foster him for a few months. But God had other plans…

Another family had been planning to adopt him and we were just caring for him in the interim until everything was worked out for him to move to their home. However, we didn’t know God was actually preparing our hearts to be his forever family.

When the other family came to us and said they were having a lot of doubts and reservations about adopting, I was utterly heartbroken at first. They seemed like the perfect home and family for him and it was everything we had hoped for him and his future. I was so scared for David’s future…

It was then that I realized just how deeply attached and madly in love I was with this boy. When the other family told us, “We see how you interact with David and we really feel like you are supposed to adopt him” I couldn’t even imagine that reality — but I also couldn’t imagine a world where we weren’t in his life.

We prayed that every single member of our immediate family would be on board if we were supposed to say yes (and God moved some mountains for that to happen!) and then…

We thought and talked about what this would look like realistically in 10, 20, 30, and 40 years from now.

I wanted everyone to understand what we were saying yes to and to really think about what that meant longterm.

There was a short grieving of what we thought our lives would look like and a receiving of the gift of the story God was writing. We have zero doubts today but we definitely had to wrestle through things to get to that place.

I think that God rarely calls us to things that are easy. If life was easy, we wouldn’t need Him.

Saying yes to David radically upended my neat little world and forced me to rely upon Jesus in a whole new way.

I am a completely different person with a completely different faith in God’s goodness because of our sweet unexpected gift of a son.

Stepping out in faith and saying yes to scary and overwhelming things gives us the opportunity to get to experience His faithfulness in really profound ways.

It changes us when we start to understand that we don’t have to step into the unknown in our own strength. That God is immensely faithful – even in the hard – and that He is still in the business of working miracles and He delights in doing the impossible.

I don’t know what God is calling you to do today that might feel super scary and overwhelming, but I can say with all the fervency in the world: don’t let fear hold you back from stepping out in faith.

It won’t be easy, but it just might be the hardest best thing you ever do in your life!

Jesse and I took Micah and Kierstyn to see the new Mario movie on Friday. They had a BLAST and it was a cute movie!

By the way, if movie tickets are super expensive where you live (like they are here!) check out this deal!

Q&A’s From This Week

Question: What did you prayerfully consider when you adopted David? In a similar-ish situation

Answer: We prayed that every single member of our immediate family would be on board if we were supposed to say yes (and God moved some mountains for that to happen!) and then we thought and talked about what this would look like realistically in 10, 20, 30, and 40 years from now.

I wanted everyone to understand what we were saying yes to and to really think about what that would mean longterm.

There was a short grieving of what we thought our lives would look like and a receiving of the gift of the story God was writing. We have zero doubts today but we definitely had to wrestle through things to get to that place.

Question: How did you know it is time to change your kids’ school situations? My kids are doing ok

Answer: We re-evaluate schooling for each of our kids every year. (Praying. Talking with our kids. Evaluating whether they are in a situation that is helping them thrive.) This means that each child has taken a different path. We are in the process of making big schooling decisions for David (he’s starting Kindergarten in the fall!!) and Silas (he will be changing schools in the fall but we’re still waiting and praying for clear direction as to what that looks like!)

We pray. We have really honest conversations with our kids. We your schools. We talk to teachers and administration. We ask friends who have experience with the schools. We think outside the box (is homeschool or a hybrid a better option? Etc.) and we keep praying.

Books I Finished This Past Week

I had really hoped to finish The Nightingale this past week, but I ended up not having a lot of time to read fiction. I’m holding out hope I’ll have a lot of fiction updates for this coming week!

I finished How to Love Your Morning by Jennifer Dukes Lee and loved the book. It’s packed with so much deep heartfelt encouragement + practical insight. I’m just sad the book is finished because I didn’t want it to end! with the book!

What I’m Watching

I’m continuing to watch When Calls the Heart — hoping to finish Season 11 this week! And Jesse and I are hoping to start a new show to watch together. We have some ideas, but we’ll see what we land on!

What I’m Listening To

I’ve been listening to a lot of worship music on my runs — and that’s about it! You can find my favorite worship playlist here.

Podcast Episode This Week: How to Love Your Morning Even If You’re Not a Morning Person with Jennifer Dukes Lee

I am so thrilled to have today’s guest on the show because not only does she have brilliant insights to share, she is also a very dear friend as well as my acquisitions editor! Jennifer Dukes Lee is the author of the book How to Love Your Morning: Faith-Filled Habits to Build a Life of Joy and Purpose One Day at a Time, and she joins me for this episode to talk about just that – how to love your morning!

Jennifer offers a refreshing perspective that mornings aren’t about the time on the clock but are rather about the mindset that you bring into the day. You don’t have to wake up at 5 a.m. or have two hours of quiet to start well. It’s about the little intentional choices that you make such as greeting God in prayer, practicing gratitude, or reflecting on Scripture. She reframes mornings as sacred opportunities even on the hardest days and gives practical ways to create rhythms that fit your life, whether you’re caring for kids, grieving, exhausted from night shifts, or just overwhelmed.

We talk about how small, realistic habits such as setting out clothes the night before, keeping a prayer list by the espresso maker, or even just stepping outside for a moment of sunlight can truly change your day by setting it on the right track. Listen in as Jennifer shares stories from women across different life stages, as well as historical and everyday figures, showing that there’s no one “perfect” morning routine. I especially love how her book makes it so accessible; it’s permission-giving, practical, and so encouraging!

We also discuss the accompanying six-session Bible study that helps you explore mornings in scripture, offering a chance to go deeper, alone or with friends. Jennifer’s insights reminded me why approaching the day with intention, hope, and God at the center can reshape not just your mornings but your overall life! If you have ever wished that mornings felt less stressful, more meaningful, or simply more joyful, then this episode is definitely for you!

Listen to this episode here.

In Case You Missed It – Links From This Week

My episode on The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast— I was honored to get to return to The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast this week for a conversation about what it takes to move from constantly behind and worn out to a life marked by peace, purpose, and intention. In this episode, Ginny and I talk about motherhood, margin, money, home rhythms, digital distraction, raising capable kids, learning from failure, and the long view that changes everything when your days feel full and frayed. My hopes is that this episode will leave listeners believing that small shifts really can change the atmosphere of a home.

Easiest Homemade Easter Candy Recipe (Easter Basket Idea!) — This homemade Easter candy is such a simple and delicious option for a fun treat to add to Easter baskets this year. It only takes a few ingredients, comes together quickly, and makes a festive Easter bark that kids and adults both love!

Cheesy Potato Soup and Bread Machine Dinner Rolls ($10 Family Dinner Idea) — This post is part of our $10 Dinner Ideas series, brought to you by Brigette on our team! Each week, she shares easy, delicious, and affordable family-friendly dinner ideas that cost less than $10 to make, use everyday ingredients, and are super quick meals.

Want to build a stronger relationship with your teen daughter? Here are 10 more ideas to add to the 10 other ideas I shared a few weeks ago.

Easy Rice Pudding Recipe You’ll Love — This traditional rice pudding is such a yummy, comforting, inexpensive dessert! You can eat it year-round and some of prefer it warm, while others of us eat it cold — but we can all agree that this recipe is a winner!