WW: We Love STARS

I know this is wordless wednesday, but I just wanted to say that we support STARS, mostly because if anything serious happened to my husband at work, they would be the ones responding. In my books, that is a good enough reason to support an organization such as this!

God Knew...

He must have known that this week would be one where we needed to focus on prayer! I can't really get specific on here, but there is something big going on in our life right now and if you pray, we could use your prayers! That we would unite as a couple, that I can be the rock my family needs, and that God's will be done whether it seems good or bad at the time, that we can continue to trust Him as He knows the bigger picture. (It has nothing to do with our baby if there is anyone concerned about that, as far as I know baby is healthy and doing well). Thanks to all and when I can share more I will :)

Praying for My Man

I really like this weeks challenge for the Summer Marriage Challenge. Not because it's going to be easy, but because I know that I need to do this more often and more consistantly - and that is praying for my husband. So my goal for this week is to pray through this list once a day - I think I may split half in the morning and half in the evening because with little kids I may not have the time to get through it all at once. Here's the list: pray for

1. His wife
2. His work
3. His finances
4. His sexuality
5. His affections
6. His temptations
7. His mind
8. His fears
9. His purpose
10. His choices
11. His health
12. His protection
13. His trials
14. His integrity
15. His reputation
16. His priorities
17. His relationships
18. His fatherhood
19. His past
20. His attitude
21. His marriage
22. His emotions
23. His walk
24. His talk
25. His repentance
26. His deliverance
27. His obediance
28. His self image
29. His faith
30. His future

By the end of the week I would also like to post how our week went. Have a great week!!

Great Read!

Lately I've started reading a new blog and I am really enjoying it!! The author isn't afraid to be real, and she writes about real life issues! I really like how she is down to earth, funny, and yet can get the point across powerfully. Today she had a really good post, although I'm not sure if I have any single, dating or engaged readers, if I do, I would highly recommend stopping by and reading her blog entry for June 23/10. Either way, if you browse blogs make sure to put this blog at the top of your 'to read' list!

We're Goin' to the Chapel...

**This post is part of the Summer Marriage Challenge**

March 26, 2005

Finally it is our wedding day(although we had a short engagement 3 months, after dating a year), lots to do on this long yet exciting day!! Up early and coordinating everything, I found my mind to be full, although I was determind to make sure that I would enjoy every aspect, wether or not things went well (right, not sure if the perfectionist in me would allow that); that was my goal. To be expected, not everything went exactly to plan, but the ceremony was lovely (or at least that was my thought!), names were not mixed up (like I've heard of happening), we said our vows and pledged our life to each other before God, family and friends!

Our vows:

I, ___ take you, ___ to be my wife/husband, my partner in life and my one true love. I will cherish our union and love you more each day than I did the day before. I will trust you and respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, loving you faithfully through the good times and bad, regardless of the obstacles we may face together. I give you my hand, my heart and my love, from this day forward as long as we both shall live.

Someday I would like to take our vows and frame them or put them on a plaque so that we can hang them up in our home as a daily remind of our promise before God and each other. This way, on the days when it's hard to 'like' your spouse because you want to do something and he doesn't, or his little quirks are driving you batty, when you drive too slow and he drives too fast, or when you have to ask him if he heard anything you said and he answers with a 'huh', on those days you can look past the humanity of everything and see the bigger picture.

I know that in this day and age, so often the emphasis is on the wedding day, not the marriage, on what type of flowers, colors or wedding cake - not on who is going to be in charge of paying the bills, division of labor and how you plan to raise your children! As the summer tends to be wedding season, if you are close to someone who is getting married, ask them if they are ready for marriage, not just the wedding!

We walked out to this song :) (it has a weird video, not offensive just weird) but really fun :)

Father's Day with My Dad

I am thankful for my husband and what a wonderful father he is, but today I want to show my gratitude for my father. Me and my dad have always had what I considered a close relationship. I have always looked up to my dad and was thankful for him. Somehow when you have your own kids many things are magnified, for me one of those things is how much I admire my father.

I know that for some my son can seem a handful, but mostly he is just inquisitive and NEEDS to know how things work (it just does, or because are not answers that he is happy with!). He is very hands on and involved with things that he is interested in - for many adults, especially those that are 'past' the preschool aged children stage, this can be a nusance and annoying. So many times I have witnessed my dad taking the time (and patience) needed to completely explain and discuss things with my son (explaining things fully that most 4yr olds would not care to hear about, but for my son, nothing else will satisfy). Showing him how things work and encouraging him in his learning journey, my dad has been involved in many special moments in my son's life because of the time he has invested in my son. To me, I see a huge outpouring of love, not just for my son, but for me as well, as my son is a part of me. Thank you Dad for being the father I need and the Grandfather that my kids need!

One of my favorite photos, TJ 'driving' Grandpa's tractor :)

So Precious

I loved seeing my kids with their new baby cousin!! It was very sweet to see. My son was a bit cautious, but eager to hold the baby - but not for too long. He was so gentle and careful and loved looking into baby Z's face. K on the other hand was ALL about the baby!! She wanted to hold him all the time and all by herself :) It's a great preview of how things may be when it's their new sibling!

Back in the Day

As part of challenge, every Monday I will be blogging about different things relating to my marriage. This week the challenge includes remembering when me and my husband were dating. It seems like such a long time ago, but really it hasn't been that many years(almost 7), it's just that so many things have changed in the mean time (mostly having kids!).

How we met and dated may not have been that of a typical relationship, but then again if you know us, how typical are we :) I met my husband where I worked. That may not seem so unusual, but I worked at the front desk at a hotel. My husband, (I'll call him Skinny since that's his nickname at work) worked 3 weeks out of 4 - this included living 3 weeks out of 4 at 'my' hotel. Not only did he stay 3 weeks of 4, but this cycled for about 10 months of the year. So even though he was not 'from' my town he 'lived' there at the time.

Once Skinny got over his 'fear' of me (you know how boys ignore girls that they like), we got to know each other on a casual basis. He would stop by after work and we would spend a lot of time talking (when I wasn't busy with other customers) about everything. The first time he asked me on a date was for his birthday. I was really unsure if it was a wise thing to do (I mean how well did I REALLY know this guy), and it took almost 2 weeks of him trying to convince me before I said yes. (*note: we met at the restaurant because if he turned out to be a creep or not a guy I would be interested in dating, I didn't really want him knowing where I was living)

(sorry no digital pictures, this is a picture of a photo of when we were dating. We were going to a Christmas party)

Things worked out well and our dating included working around two very crazy work schedules, spending time together whenever and wherever we could (I was renting a room at my aunt and uncle's so spending time together after 11pm, when my shift ended wasn't very feasible - so we would usually go out for a bite to eat since we both hadn't really had any supper). Besides the typical activities that couples tend to do, like going for supper, movies, etc, there was one favorite thing I liked to do. I loved the spontaneous fun we could have just going to the pet store, or visiting the mall, or going to get our haircut at the same time. Just enjoying being together, with a carefree and silly spirit.

So, thinking of one thing that I would like to regain that we may have lost in the shuffle of life, is just really enjoying BEING together and having fun together. This may be difficult to calculate, but added together with the fact that my husband is working away right now - I would like to be prayerful of this all week, particularly in changing my attitude at times - relax a little and have fun. (sometimes I have a difficult time being too much of the responsible adult, and need to remember to just have fun sometimes.) When my husband does come home, I would like us to go on a date night (no kids!) with him and do something other than go for a movie (you really don't get bonding time when you watch a movie).

Closed: Will be back in 5 days

I am heading out of town for a 'long weekend' (I know it's not a holiday, but I am taking the time off). Hope you all have a wonderful week and weekend.

Complete Him Challenge

I saw this challenge three times today while visiting my blogger friends - Ok God, I hear You. Besides how can it hurt to work on your marriage?Check it out. I dare you.

JUST a mom

Have you heard that before? Have you been guilty of saying that before? I have. I catch myself saying it every once in a while. "What do you do?" "Oh, I'm just a mom."

Why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we reduce our multi-faceted, multi-talented, multi-tasking skills to 'just' one thing, said as though it were something less than what everyone else does? I'm sure you've heard this definition of a mom before: I am a cook, a cleaner, a baker, a nurse, a referee, a teacher, a nutritionist, a manager, a bookkeeper, a chauffeur, a financier, a hair-stylist, a wardrobe consultant, a gardener, an event planner & coordinator... the list goes on :)

Being a full-time Mom, I think we really need to appreciate our own worth, because when you say full-time, that doesn't mean 40hrs a week, like other job descriptions. Full-time, in motherhood terms means 24hrs a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE! Not to make it sound like a life sentence, because the physical responsibilities of a mother change and become less as time moves forward, so that you can also take on other roles in society if you wish. A mother never stops being a mother! How many times has the thought crossed my mind that I wish I worked out of the home, because that would be so much easier! Easier to 'do your job' and leave your job at work when you are done. As a mother, the job is never done.

In the everyday life of a mom with young kids, situations can overwhelm - time seems to stand still (when the kids are whining and it's not bedtime yet!). I want to remind all you mothers out there that you are doing the hardest, most rewarding, least acknowledged, most important job there is to do - and not everyone chooses to, but you did. Do you want to impact this world? Do something that will impact people's lives forever? You are, and it starts with how you raise you children. On those days when I feel like I'm not 'doing anything important' with my life, I wonder about the plans that God has for my children, where He will lead them, what kind of impact they will have on others. This helps me realize that the here and now may not reward my efforts, but the future is full of endless possibilities! For we, mothers, are raising the future generations! I found some great quotes to leave you with today:

"Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs in my field, since the payment is pure love." -Mildred B. Vermont

"The phrase 'working mother' is redundant." -Jane Sellman

"I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life." -Abraham Lincoln

"Women's Liberation is just a lot of foolishness. It's the men who are discriminated against. They can't bear children. And no one's likely to do anything about that." -Golda Meir

"The formative period for building character for eternity is in the nursery. The mother is queen of that realm and sways a scepter more potent than that of kings or priests." -Author Unknown

"Any mother could preform the jobs of several air traffic controllers with ease." -Lisa Alther

This post was meant to encourage you Mom's out there! So next time someone asks you what you do, or you fill in the blank for occupation, proudly write: Domestic Engineer!

Things That Make My Day

You know those small things in your day that just make you smile? I live for those small moments :) I wish I could put them in a box and draw them out as needed - but I will definately settle for the spontaneous moments that I am given!

K (at 2.5yrs): Thank you for the supper Mom. It was delicous. (this is not prompted, or said after someone else and also not something that has been actively taught)

T: Supper was really yummy today.

Me: I wish someone would help me with the dishes today...
Kids in unison: I will. I will.

K: Mommy you're so pretty.

and of course..

K or T: I love you mom!

Wordless Wed.: 20 weeks

My daughter wanted to be in the shot :) I really don't do well at belly 'self portraits' but this will have to do. I am now 20.5 weeks. (yay for halfway there!)