This Is The Stuff

A horrible, nasty stomach bug came to visit our house just in time for the weekend.  Late in the night Friday night, Prince got sick in bed.  Hubby slept through most of it, although he did wake up just in time for me to finish getting everything cleaned up.  (How convenient for him ~ he honestly did sleep through it though)  Poor Prince, I can't tell you when the last time he had a stomach bug was, but I'm pretty sure it's been a couple of years.  He just doesn't get that kind of sick very often.  Prince and I were up most of the night together.  I think the only hour on the clock I didn't see was 4 and believe me, I thanked God for that small blessing of getting at least an hour and a half of straight sleep.  Saturday night was uneventful and we thought we were out of the woods until Sunday morning early when Prince was again sick.  Princess got it Sunday night and Hubby got it Monday morning.  I've had a grand time spraying Lysol on everything, keeping up with dirty laundry and dishes, and doing it all myself.  Let's just say that this Mama is tired. 

This morning I may or may not have snapped back at Hubby when he grumped at me.  I also may or may not have started feeling a bit resentful that I've been single-handedly taking care of all of this sickness while everyone else was getting the rest they needed and being waited on hand and foot.  I may have gotten a bit agitated when Princess said she couldn't find socks this morning that were right in her drawer, matched up and ready to go.  Yes, it was one of those mornings.  Yet as I was rushing to get myself ready after making sure everyone had what they needed, the Holy Spirit spoke to me.  I'm not sure where it came from, except for His prompting, but I started to sing "Change my heart oh God, make it ever true.  Change my heart oh God, may I be like you."  As I sang, I started to calm down a little, but felt this small voice inside of me saying, "You aren't really feeling it, keep singing."  So I did, again and again.  I sang it as I drove the kids to school and on my way to work.  

I began to think about how this is the life I always wanted ~ the life I chose.  I always wanted to be a wife and a mommy and to take care of my family.  In sickness and in health isn't always easy.  In fact, I think that one is harder than for richer or poorer.  The point is, when you think and dream about having a family of your own, it seems wonderful and magical and everything will be like the Cleavers.  But life is messy and reality sets in and I realize that this is exactly what I signed up for.  I also realize that the change must come from my own heart.  I am grateful that my Hubby is involved and helps me with the kids when he gets home from work.  On these difficult days, it seems even more difficult because I am used to having help.  I am thankful for the help he does offer because doing this alone day in and day out would get really old.  I am thankful that Hubby comes home to me at night and that he likes being with us, thankful that I can create a home environment where he's comfortable.  I am thankful for those snuggles on the couch when the Prince and Princess are feeling bad, thankful that I am the one they want and that I can be their mommy.  That is what makes it worth it all.   

You've probably figured out by now that God uses music to speak to me ~ a lot.  When I hear a song I remember it and can usually retrieve its message in my brain for years to come.  Here's a good one that also came to mind this morning.

Good Morning

A few weeks ago as we were waking up Hubby rolled over and said, "Good Morning."  I of course returned the sentiment.  Hubby then explained that he heard about a study that had been done showing that couples that say "Good Morning" to each other every morning stay married longer.  I thought that was interesting and even more interesting, Hubby picked up on it and has decided to make the effort to tell me "Good Morning" each day before he leaves for work.  Many times just as the alarm is going off he says it to me.  Some mornings though, we are both tired and we don't immediately think of it.  On those mornings we may engage in other conversations and then he'll randomly say, "Good Morning."  Those mornings almost mean more than when one of us remembers right as we are waking up because when Hubby says it not out of habit, but remembers, he is saying to me, "I love you and I value our marriage.  I want to be married to you a long time."  I like how that makes me feel and now I've started trying to beat him to saying it. 

Good Morning ~ two little words that say a lot in our marriage.  I don't know what made those words so magical in the study, but I know why they are so magical to me. 

Remembering the Wedding ~ 9 Years Later

In honor of our 9th Wedding Anniversary, I wanted to share some wedding pictures of Hubby and I.  I love looking back at the old pictures and remember this special day.  But before I share the wedding pics, here are a couple of oldies but goodies.  Hubby and I have been friends since 7th grade.  Our first official date was to the homecoming dance our freshman year of highschool.

With my hairdo and all, I was actually taller than him!

We were kind of on again, off again in school.  We went to homecoming again our junior year.

He grew!

OK, so here are the pictures from 9 years ago today.  It was a magical day! 

My handsome Hubby!

Me and my girls!

My beautiful sister was my matron of honor.

The wedding day was perfect.  I can still see the sanctuary full of smiling faces and my daddy walked me down the aisle, the smile on Hubby's face as he waited for me to get to him.  I can hear the pastor's voice as he spoke.  He was the pastor from my childhood, and he came back to marry me off.  The organist was our organist when I was in high school and she and I were so close.  People joked that I brought back the "All-stars" to come do my wedding.  I guess I did.  My friends and family were there as Hubby and I were served communion, our first official act as husband and wife.  I can still see the candle lit church at the end of the ceremony as everyone in the sanctuary held up lit candles and sang "Blest Be the Tie That Binds."  The reception was great fun as we ate and danced and visited with the 300 guests that came to celebrate with us.  It really was a grand day.  I wanted the Princess, Fairy Tale wedding and I got it.  I also realize though, that the wedding is one day out of a lifetime together. I knew that being married would be great, I just never knew how much fun we'd have together.  The last 9 years have been the best of my life and I couldn't imagine spending them with anyone else. 

The scriptures and theme for our wedding was from Ecclesiastes 4:9-12:

 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!  Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?  Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

This marriage takes 3 ~ Hubby, God, and me.  God is at the center of everything in our lives.  I can't imagine it any other way.  We've had some bumpy times with my health, the issues we had when the babies arrived, and just other life happenings.  Had we not had that strong cord of three strands, I'm not sure how we would have survived. 

Next year we will celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary and our 25th anniversary of being friends.  Time really flies when you are having fun! 

And they lived happily ever after...

The Anniversary Trip

Yesterday I promised you the story of our anniversary weekend.  Let me first remind you of how awesome my Hubby is.  We know he is awesome because he has a shirt that tells us so.

He is also awesome for other reasons too, and I am about to tell you one of the reasons I think he is so awesome. 

Around the end of January Hubby asked me if I thought my parents would watch the kiddos for a weekend around our anniversary.  My parents agreed that it would be fine, and Hubby began making secret plans.  So I have been in suspense for several weeks.  Around the beginning of last week Hubby asked if I wanted him to tell me where we were going.  After waiting all of this long, I decided that being surprised would be a great thing.  It wasn't easy for me, being such a planner and all, but I knew Hubby had plans and he had it all under control.  Throughout the week he threw me a few hints, telling me we were not going far and that I would need dress-up clothes for Saturday.  On Wedensday he really threw me for a loop when he told me he needed to know what shoes I was going to wear.  Huh?!  So I tried on a couple of dresses and we decided what dress and shoes I would wear to wherever it was we were going.  I couldn't figure out why it mattered what shoes I was going to wear.

Friday evening we left the kids with my parents and off we went.  On our way in the car, Hubby told me that we were going to Orlando for the weekend.  Friday night's dinner was up to me, as he wanted me to have some choice about what we did.  After dinner we went back to the hotel and exchanged gifts.  Hubby bought me a beautiful pearl and jade necklace and earrings and a new dress.  This was why he wanted to know what shoes I was wearing!  He wanted my shoes to match my new dress.  He picked out a beautiful dress, the problem was that it didn't fit like I wanted it to.  It was too short for my taste and well, I have too much junk in the trunk to pull it off.  But it was such a thoughtful thing to do!  He might have also bought me a pretty nightie that is also comfortable.  He also brought me a rose in a little bud vase, champagne and champagne glasses, and his i-pod and speakers.

Saturday morning Hubby decided it was time to tell me of the plans he had made.  We had the morning free to take my new dress back to the store and I tried on lots of other clothes he picked out for me and I got two toher dresses for the same price of the original dress.  What a deal! 
The big surprise was...wait for it...

tickets to see Wicked!  I was so excited! 

This was a picture I took of us before we left the hotel.  I think we cleaned up pretty good.

The play was fantastical, I absolutely loved it!  At intermission Hubby bought me a CD of it.

This is Hubby waiting in line to buy my CD.

After the show, Hubby had made reservations for us to eat at Texas de Brazil, a Brazilian steakhouse that is oh so delicious.  When you go there, you don't eat all day before going because you want to save all the room you can.  They have a huge salad bar with lots of exotic salads and cheeses on it.  Then they have these gauchos that walk around with different cuts of meat on long skewers and they keep putting different kinds of meat on your plate.  It's all you can eat and they serve it with mashed potatoes and bananas that have been baked in brown sugar and cinnamon but they aren't soggy...oh, it is just all too delicious.  It's also quite costly, so you go for really special ocassions.  We have only been one other time. 

Yesterday morning we checked out and shopped a little before going home.  Hubby indulged me by watching me try on more clothes and he might have bought me a few more outfits.  It was such a nice and relaxing weekend away.  We spent time praying together that God would direct our paths and continue to be the center of our family, that we would parent according to His will. We told each other all of the things we love about the other.  I felt totally pampered and I love my amazing Hubby so much!  It was a treat for the two of us to be able to talk without interruptions and to enjoy being alone together.   And coming back home was a joy because I felt refreshed and renewed.  I wonder what we'll do next year for our 10th anniversary?!  We'll have a hard time topping this one!



Recent Happenings

We have had quite an eventful past several days, which is why I haven't been on to write lately.

1.  Princess lost 3 teeth last week!  She is really keeping the tooth fairy busy.  For the first two teeth, she paid her brother to pull them out for her.  She conned my sister into pulling her third tooth out on Friday afternoon.  This meant that the tooth fairy had to come to the Grandparents' house, which I was trying to avoid, but that's the way it happened.

2.  On Thursday night we went to see Space Shuttle Endeavour roll out from the VAB to the launch pad.  She was quite beautiful under the spotlights.  I will miss these times.

I also met up with some cute little future astronauts.  They were so cute that I decided to bring them home with me.

3.  Hubby took me away for a surprise anniversary trip this weekend.  I was busy getting children packed and ready to spend the weekend at Grandma and Grandaddy's, as well as getting myself packed without knowing exactly where we were going or what we'd be doing.  Hubby did a fantastic job planning our weekend away and I can't wait to tell you all about it...tomorrow!  Today I have to get through some laundry and get us organized and ready to start the week.

A Relaxing Evening

What nice weather we have been having!  Yesterday Hubby and I cleaned our back porch.  I bleached the kids' toys while he vacuummed and the kids, well the kids were mostly playing and staying out of the way.  Anyway, Hubby bought me a new chaise lounge and little table and he hung cafe' lights around the ceiling.  He has made a nice little place for us to sit out there and relax.  We have to take advantage of it now before it gets too hot to stand it.  So last night we ate dinner out there and after the kids went to bed, we sat in our chairs and relaxed.  He brought his i-pod out there and we listened to Enya for a while and then some ocean surf, as we dreamed about our summer beach vacation.  (Even though we live just minutes from the Atlantic, we spend a week on the Gulf every summer)  It was a very nice way to end the long weekend and ease us into the start of the work week.

I also caught up with a dear friend on the phone last night.  I miss her so much and we haven't talked in quite a while, but we were able to just pick up where we last left off.  She told me about her crazy cousins, I told her about my crazy kids.  We talked about everything and nothing all in the same conversation.  Boy do I wish she didn't live so far away!

Well, that's all I've got for tonight.  It's been quite the day today and I have no brain power left.

Date Night

Tonight was a Father Daughter Valentine's Dance at Princess' school.  She and her Daddy were quite excited about going.  Hubby decided he would wear his tux and he ordered Princess a sweet little wrist corsage. 

Princess and her Daddy practiced dancing before the dance.  It was so sweet and she was so excited.

They had a fantastic time.  Hubby said that Princess was out in the middle of the dance floor shakin' what her mama gave her.  I think we are gonna have our hands full with this little girlie if she's this much of a party girl at age 6.  She's got the moves!

Prince and I had a date tonight too.  We ate dinner at his favorite pizza place and then took a trip to the store to buy him a treat.  It was great quality time.  As we were sitting at the table waiting for our food to come, Prince told me that he loved me and that I'm beautiful, giving me all of these compliments.  He then launched into a poem of his very own that went something like this:
"Mom, you are as beautiful as a flower."  So far this was good.  Then it got kind of strange.
"Your eyes are like pizzas.  Your lips are like hearts.  Your legs are like pickles."  I can't even remember the rest of what he said.  It was quite cute though, that he thought he was being sweet and reciting an original poem especially for me.  It was original alright! 

Over all, Date Night with the kiddos was a huge success and we are thinking of doing this once a month, trading off kids every other time. 

And now, I must get my "pickle legs" to bed as my "pizza eyes" are about to close.
Good Night!

What a Dorky Thing to Do!

Two posts in one day...Shocking I know.  But I had to share this story, I'm sure somebody needs a laugh today.

Last week Hubby came home from work with a surprise for me.  He had been to the mall and bought me a new leather jacket.  It was on a major sale so he gets extra, extra bonus points for that.  This morning when I walked outside and realized how chilly it was, I rushed back into the house and grabbed my new jacket.  I really like it and think it looks good on me.  I never understood why people took pictures of themselves in the car until I realized that you can hold the phone up to the rear view mirror and see what you look like before taking it.  (I know, I'm a little slow.) 
Anyway, this morning when I was sitting at a red light I thought I would take a picture of myself and email it to Hubby to show him that I was wearing the jacket.  I had also straightened my hair this morning with the new straightening iron my sis had given me.  I wanted Hubby's feedback.

He liked it.  After feeling so blah yesterday and feeling better today and then trying out the new look, I was feeling pretty good about things.  I wore my jacket proudly all day and into the kids' school this afternoon.  I stopped in the bathroom and took off my jacket to hang it on the back of the door and guess what I found hanging from the back of the armpit...yep....the price tag.  Here I thought I looked good and I looked like Minnie Pearl. 

What a dork! 

Oh well, it's a good thing Hubby didn't marry me for my coolness factor!  What embarrassing things have happened to you lately?



The Privilege of Prayer

With Valentine's Day approaching, there are hearts everywhere.  The stores have been decorated since just after Christmas and I'm now decorating at the preschool.  This has me thinking a lot about love, and of course thinking about what to do for Hubby for Valentine's Day.  It has also reminded me of things I have done for him on Valentine's Day in the past.

When Hubby and I were dating, a friend suggested that I read the book "The Power of a Praying Wife," by Stormie Omartian.  She said that although we weren't married, it would be a great thing to read through this book and pray for him in these specific ways.  So I bought the book and began to look through it.  If you aren't familiar with the book, it has 30 chapters, each with a different prayer focus.  Conveniently, most months have at or around 30 days in them.  It just so happened that I got the book about a month before Valentine's and decided that as I prayed for him, I would keep a journal of those prayers.  For Valentine's Day I gave him the journal with all of the prayers in it.  It was a wonderful surprise for him as he realized that my prayers weren't a general "please be with him" every day, but that I had been praying for specific things for him in all areas of his life.  It changed our relationship in a very good way because it opened up conversation about how we could pray for each other, but also we started praying together more.  We were long distance dating, living 4 hours away from each other at the time and it brought us closer together. 
A week after we were married, my mother-in-law gave me another copy of this book.  She didn't know I already had one, nor did she know of the impact this book had had on our relationship.  It was such a sweet gesture and I still use the book she gave me.  We've been married almost 9 years now and I have prayed through this book many times.  I still pull it out and go through it and it's always fresh because life circumstances change and you never know how God will work through it. 

So here I begin again with the Power of a Praying Wife.  It is such a privilege to come before the throne of God and ask these things for my Hubby, who works so hard to provide for our family and is the head of our household.  Won't you join me in praying for your Hubby too?

Christmas Excitement

While everyone has been blogging about their Christmas and doing the recap, we have continued to have more Christmas.  We left after church on Sunday to go to my in-laws' house, about 4 hours away to do Christmas Part 2.  It has been a fun-filled exciting Christmas week, let me tell you!  So I'll hit the highlights.

Christmas Eve we worshipped together as a family.  We made it through the service, although with five little ones sitting all together, there was more noise and chaos than I would have liked.  I found it quite ironic as we lit our candles and sang "Silent Night" at the end of the service that it had been anything but a silent night for us, and the hectic hustle and bustle to get us all there and trying to make the children behave in church had the parents anything but calm and peaceful.  That's just the way it goes with little ones who are so excited about Christmas they can't stand it. 



Just the 4 of us after Christmas Eve service



Hubby reads "The Night Before Christmas"

Our children were so excited that they literally could not sleep.  Hubby and I finally got to sleep after 11:00 and our precious angels got us up at 5:30. It was a short night, but Santa came! 

Princess was very excited that Santa brought her the walking dog she wanted.

It was a Toy Story Christmas for Prince.  He loves his new Buzz Lightyear.

After opening presents at home, we went to my parents' house to eat breakfast and open more presents. 

This was pretty much our morning.  Happy kiddos opening, opening, opening...  Grandma and Grandaddy may have gone a little overboard.  Eating, visitng, and more eating commenced. 

Sunday after church, we packed up the car and headed to the in-laws'.  While we were there we...

had Christmas Part 2.  More opening and more eating.

Visited with Great-Granny.  This is Hubby's Granny.

Picked Cotton

Found a deer skull

I was thrilled with this find ~ NOT!  Prince carried this thing all the way home with us.  It is still in the back of the car, as I'm not so sure I want it in the house.  Prince asked his Great Aunt and Uncle, who were with him when he found it if they were paleontologists.  He has added that to his list of "What I want to be when I grow up."  It's right up there with astronaut, President of the United States, and Vice President of a University (like Daddy)

We also watched old home movies that belong to Hubby's Uncle and Aunt.  This is Uncle G getting it all set up.  This was great fun.  Also not pictured, we gathered around the piano and sang Christmas carols.  I'm not sure that we are ready to take it on the road yet, but we didn't sound too bad with our four part harmony. 

Hubby celebrated his birthday a couple of days early with his side of the family.

Last night we finally arrived home and unpacked the car.  We had a great Christmas.  As I end the Christmas portion of this blog, allow me to say that we are truly blessed to have the love and support of our family.  Hubby and I have been blessed to grow up in Christian homes with traditions that have been passed on, as well as new traditions that are made each year.

One would think that you couldn't pack any more fun and excitement into a week, right?  Well you would be wrong, for today is Hubby's birthday! 

Happy Birthday Hubby!

This is what Hubby looked like when I first met him in 7th grade:

Wasn't he a cutie?

 

Anywho, today was a day to celebrate my Awesome Hubby.  See how awesome he is?  I even got him a shirt to remind everyone!

 

His birthday was complete with a Doctor Who TARDIS birthday cake.  If you don't know what that is, it's British Sci-Fi and I didn't know what it was until I married this Awesome man.  My amazing parents cooked Hubby's birthday dinner and hosted his party at their house.  They then entertained all 5 of their grandchildren so we could play Rock Band on the Wii.  My sister, bro-in-law, Hubby and I rocked out.

I am an amazing drummer ~ NOT!

I really got into it though.  Maybe I should borrow Hubby's Awesomeness shirt and then I can be as awesome as he is!  Just a thought.

Hubby really got into it too.  He knows a lot more of the songs than I do.

And now as I sit here and type this, Hubby is watching his new Star Trek DVD's with special effects and I am realizing that it is past midnight already so it isn't even his birthday anymore.  That being said, I will continue to celebrate this wonderful man, his birth, and the role he plays in my life.  God sent me a help meet and a soul mate and I love him dearly.  Happy birthday Hubby!