Drumroll Please....

And the choice is......







Medical College of Wisconsin!

We have selected the Medical College of Wisconsin as Ryan's avenue to earning his medical degree. We are growing increasingly excited about this with each new day, and there hasn't been any doubt since we made our decision!

I know a few posts back, my Chicago post, I think, I stated that we were taking our time with our decision, and we probably wouldn't know much until May. BUT, God revealed Himself to us in a powerful way, and we are ENTIRELY CERTAIN that this is the way we should take. I had said all along, to pretty much anyone who asked me, that while we didn't have to make a decision until May, I wanted the decision made by March. Then, as time passed, I realized that the decision was harder than I thought it would be, and I surrendered that desire and just trusted the Lord to show us in His own time, assuming that it would be later rather than earlier. And then, when I least expected it, God showed up, and we had our decision on March 4th. It's kind of ironic, but then not, when I consider the good character of our God.

Looking back, there have been a number of things that have pointed that way, but the big thing was confirmation the Lord placed in our hearts. Last Friday night, we went to the Garage, a powerful prayer and worship ministry in East Peoria. We met a doctor there, Jon (Who we later found out is going to MCW too! He plans to pursue a Fellowship there). We were sharing with him where we were at and how difficult the decision was. Toward the end of the evening, he came up and asked if he could pray for us. We said, "Absolutely", and he prayed. He prayed for everything we would face over the next four years: for endurance, for God's nearness, for success for Ryan throughout school, for our marriage to remain strong, for the devil to flee from us, for the godly influence Ryan would have over his future patients, and for direction as to where we should go for Ryan's medical training. As he prayed, my hearts was moving toward MCW; Ryan's was too, though I didn't know it yet.

Then, the kicker: he prayed that God would make it abundantly clear to us, that the answer would just shine out to us like a bright light in the darkness. He had no idea, but this very thing had happened to us! It sounds a little silly, but let me explain: when we went up to MCW for Ryan's interview last fall, we stopped in Chillicothe to fill up with gas. It was very early in the morning, still dark outside. As Ryan was pumping the gas, he looked over to the gas station window and saw a bright neon beer sign, "Milwaukee's Best". He tapped on the window to get my attention, I saw it, and we both laughed. It had kind of been an on-going joke since that time, that the beer sign was our divine sign!

Still, whenever I prayed for direction, I would often hear a still small voice saying, "Milwaukee's Best, Alyssa. Milwaukee is the best." I was skeptical, thinking I just had that silly neon sign stuck in my head. But, when Jon prayed that last Friday night, it hit home, took my breath away. It was true. Though we had another excellent option, "Milwaukee is Best."

He concluded the prayer, hugged us, and went on to another group of people. Ryan looked at me and said, “Do you know where we’re going?” And I said, “Yeah, do you?” He said, “Yeah, are we going to the same place?” :) I said “I hope so!" And he said “Milwaukee?” And I said, “Yes.”

It was an incredible moment, and I can't really explain the peace we feel about it. But isn't that the way it should be? Peace that passes all understanding? We had been praying so fervently for direction, I know many others were too, and God answered that prayer. It renewed my faith, that He isn't limited in any way. He can even work through a gas station sign if He chooses. Nothing is too big or too small for our God.

February Grocery Re-Cap

March 10th! I'm finally feeling like we're on our way to spring! Sorry I've been slow in posting...for some reason, I just haven't had the gumption to sit down and write.

Since February is over, I decided I should give an update on how my all-cash grocery project turned out. Sorry to those of you who find this to be rather boring...perhaps I'm a little strange, but I think it's fun :)

I'm excited to tell you that the cash project was a HUGE SUCCESS!! I ended the month $14.50 UNDER budget! It helped that my first month doing this was February, a few days shorter than other months. Ryan has encouraged me to continue with it and see how each month pans out.

It must be a psychological thing, but there is something about using the cash that keeps you in check--I didn't succomb to ANY impulse buys. The only time I vered from my list was if there was a really good sale on an item I could swap out for one on my list. The last week was the hardest...I went into the store with a $20 bill--that's it! I went around the store with a little calculator to make sure I didn't get to the check-out line and not have enough money! People probably thought I was weird, but I didn't really care :) It's a whole lot of fun when your bill rings up to $14.58, and then after scanning coupons, it drops down to $1.14. The cashier looked at me and said, "Whoa, how did that happen?" Pretty fun!! That sort of savings is definitely not the norm, but it does happen from time to time!

By carefully planning and watching the sales, we were able to eat well (you're probably wondering what "well" means, when I spent under $20 for one week!). With a pretty good stockpile of food in the freezer and cabinets, I only had to get some basics that last week. I'll give a quick run-down of the types of foods we ate:

Breakfast: cold cereal; fresh fruit; muffins (homemade); oatmeal with almonds and craisins; smoothies, toast; scrambled eggs

Lunch: peanut butter and jelly; grilled cheese; turkey and provolone sandwiches; chips; carrots; applesauce; clementines

Dinner: We usually have a "breakfast for dinner" night each week, soup one a week or once every other week, and we make good use of leftovers. I also rarely make a meal that has an actual meat serving, i.e. a whole chicken breast, pork chop, steak, etc. I serve this on occasion, but when I do, Ryan will eat 2-3 chicken breasts. If I make a meal such as chicken tacos, for example, I can cook just 2-3 chicken breasts total and shred it up to use in the tacos. This allows the meat to stretch much further. Beef is often used in stew, kabobs, etc., yielding the same result. Here is a sample of a week from February:

2/14: Pink Heart-Shaped Pancakes with Strawberries and Whipped Cream, Bacon (for Valentine's Day-corny, I know!)

2/15: Chicken Tacos, Corn & Black Beans

2/16: Hamburger Vegetable Soup, Bread

2/17: Bulgar and Orzo Salad with Chicken and Spinach

2/18: Spaghetti, Salad, Bread

2/19: Dinner Out with Friends (Panera)

2/20: U of I Reunion--took Cookie Dough Brownies


Snacks: animal crackers; pretzels; granola bars; fruit snacks; fruit

Sweets: I never buy pre-made sweets; even ice cream is quite a treat! This month I made: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, Lemon Bars, Chocolate Caramel Brownies, Caramel Corn


Anyway, I think that covers everything! I'm sure some of you found that to be quite a silly post, but I enjoy it immensely. I've always loved looking through cook books, menu-planning, grocery shopping, and baking/cooking; this cash-only thing just puts a whole new angle on it. I've also discovered that being frugal does not have to mean being a miser; it means being a good steward and making the most out of your money.

Check back tomorrow as I reveal where we'll be headed for medical school--yes, we made a decision!!