A Weekend to Remember

Have you ever heard of Family Life Today? They are a non-profit, Christian organization dedicated to strengthening marriages. They have weekend events called “A Weekend to Remember.” These are all over the country, and they happen throughout the year. David has become friends with a man in our community who was a pastor and is now the chaplain of our local police and fire departments. He also works for Family Life Today. He mentioned to David that FLT gives scholarships to pastors to attend the weekend for free (except cost of hotel, but the event has a discount set up with the hotel). And so, we went over the weekend! The hotel it was being held was literally 15 minutes from our house, but because they want you to stay at the hotel to be away from life’s distractions (and kids!) we stayed at the hotel and my MIL stayed here with our kids.

It was a great weekend. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to stay for the Sunday morning sessions, but we did got to the rest. It was also a very hard weekend. The intent, I believe, is to get you and your spouse talking. There are people there on the brink of divorce. There are newly weds and one couple there had been married for 53 years! They also had pre-married folks and everyone in the middle. I don’t care who you are, how long you’ve been married, there is always something you can work on in your marriage.

You are forced (and it might be a true “forcing” for some couples) to be with your spouse and pretty much only your spouse. They don’t provide any meals, you have to go out and feed yourself. At first I thought this strange, but then figured it’s so you have all the time you can to talk with your spouse. They do not encourage buddying up with other couples. They really encourage you to stay a couple and do everything together. It’s only for 2 days, after all!

The speakers were really good and added a lot of humor, seriousness, honesty about their own marriages and Scripture to what they were saying. I appreciated that. They also had a very good set up of books and resources for your family–from stuff for kids of all ages to you as a couple. Would I recommend this to people? Absolutely!!!! Will we go back? Probably at some point! Who knows? It was the right time and place for us to go this past weekend. We went in to it asking the Lord to open our hearts to the things he would have us hear from him. I truly believe that happened and for that I’m thankful!

Almost There…

Last week David turned in his thesis, again, and hopefully for the last time, to his advisor. We spent many hours making corrections, adding and subtracting things according to his advisor’s direction fighting with Word, crying, and screaming at the computer. It was long, tedious, frustrating, but it’s done. SIGH!!!! We’ve been sitting at night reminding ourselves it’s OK to relax because it’s DONE!!! What’s next? Well, now we wait…the advisor will read it, then he’ll pass it to a 2nd reader. If they both sign off on it (meaning there are no more corrections to be made) then it’ll be sent to the oral defense people. If all goes according to plan (and we REALLY pray it does!!!!) then David will give his oral defense of his thesis sometime in April. If THAT goes well, (and we REALLY pray that it does!) then he will graduate in JUNE!!!!! And, the past 3 years of hard work will be over, and we can breathe a little better. We’re not through the tunnel yet, but we see the light, and see the end, and we’re just praying we make it through! It’s hard not to start fretting about it all and wondering if the past 3 years will be for not, but we are reminded we firmly believe this was God’s timing, David has done his best, and we just have to trust the Lord will see us through to the end. But, man oh man, we pray it all falls into place!

Snow Day!!!!!

Well, this winter has been a doozy, huh? I mean, really, it seems no matter where you live in the U.S. you are getting abnormally cold weather and way more snow than you’re accustomed too! The same is true for us. Even though we live in a the snow belt of our state we have had so much more snow than usual, and the temperatures are just so darn cold!!! The school kids have had more snow days then I think ever before, and Cora has not been happy with all the preschool she’s missing. I’m only able to appease her by saying the big kids also don’t have school. Now when I tell her she won’t have school she says, very forlornly, “even the big kids don’t?” She has also been wanting to go out and play in the snow, but with it being so cold it’s just not been safe. And, the snow we’ve had has been that powdery, non-packing snow and not overly fun to play in. However! The other day everything came together, and it was the perfect day to play in the snow! The night before, and morning of, we got dumped on–my husband figures about a foot. And the day itself was in the mid-30s, so the snow was perfect for packing (making a snowman!), and since it wasn’t bitter cold, and the sun was shining it was just the best time to bundle them up and send them out! David took them outside, and they all 3 had a blast! I took pictures from the porch as I had to keep an eye on Bekah…As they played outside I made hot cocoa inside to be ready to warm them up. I’m so thankful the Lord provided such a gorgeous day, and we were able to have them go outside! It did us all good!!

Ben wasn’t too sure he wanted to go in the snow. But, David carried him down and in like 2 seconds he was having fun!

Snowball fight!!!!

I sure do love these 3!!

Is it good Ben?

Cora making a snow angel

Building the greatly anticipated snow man!

Oooo! Who’s that handsome man in my yard???

I LOVE the pride shining on Cora’s face over her snowman, which she named Frosty, naturally!

I threw a hat on Bekah’s head and took her outside with me so I could get a good photo of the snowman and his creators. It really was so warm (or felt that way!). No worries, she wasn’t even out 5 minutes!

She’s so beautful…

This is how Molly and Bekah spent the time…looking sadly out the door wishing to be out with everyone!

Warming up with hot cocoa!

Happy Anniversary Dear!

Today David and I celebrate 8 years of marriage! Wow! I honestly don’t know where those 8 years have gone, and as I say every year I can’t imagine life without this man! We celebrated yesterday doing all sorts of fun things!  My mom came up to watch the kids and then my dad joined her after he was done work. They told us to go have fun, relax and just take our time! It was great!!!

Us then, January 28, 2006–our wedding day was in the 50s and so nice outside!! Today? Well, we’ll be happy to break ONE degree today and we’re buried under snow!

Us now! I think we’re still cute!

One Collllllllld Birthday!

My 36th birthday was on Monday! Yes, I was born 4 years and 1 day after my parent’s anniversary! Makes it easy to remember how long they’ve been married…anyway! We didn’t have a whole lot planned, and I suppose it’s a good thing because we had to cancel what little we did have planned due to the extremely cold temperatures we experienced! Nonetheless, we managed to have a good day, and my husband and kids made me feel loved and special. I started my day by rolling over in bed to see Cora running at me, arms opened wide saying, “Happy Birthday Mommy!!!!!” And then we cuddled while David was in the shower. So. Sweet. I love this child so much. She has a heart of gold, and I love how excited she gets to celebrate birthdays even when they’re not hers. We decided to brave the cold and went out for lunch as a family. We figured it was only going to get colder, and David wanted to do something! We had a nice lunch, and in the hour we were in the restaurant the temps fell dramatically. Cora and I made brownies and hot chocolate and well, it was just a great day. I knew things wouldn’t go exactly how I had thought they would, and so I asked the Lord to help me have joy, no matter what. And, I did! I took great joy in the simple pleasure of making brownies with Cora, having lunch with David and the kids and then sharing the brownies after supper with everyone. The Lord has blessed me greatly and I want to live in such a way that others see that! Here are a few pix I took to document the day!

Makin’ brownies in pink camo! Recipe to come tomorrow…

The tea light candle is the only candle we could find! 🙂

T-R-O-U-B-L-E!

Traditions

We all have traditions, especially during the holidays. Christmas has always been a much-celebrated and much-anticipated holiday in my family. My mom has always loved Christmas and passed that love on to my sister and I. A tradition my parents did with us was every Christmas Eve was we got to open 1 gift. I don’t know how old we were when we realized that the gift we got to open every year was a new ornament! My mom has always given us a new ornament every year and continues to do so, now including our husbands and kids. When David and I got married we came from 2 different families with 2 different sets of traditions. However, over the years I think we’ve settled into some traditions of our own, and are maybe making variations of the things we did growing up.

One thing we started our first year of marriage was to have an open house for the people in the church we were serving. We didn’t have family around us, and we thought it would be a good way to get to know the church people better. It’s something we have done almost every year since. We have opened it up to inviting not just our congregation but also friends within the community. We enjoy it and love opening our home up to our friends and family. The open house also forces me to get all of the Christmas cookie baking done in a timely manner! This year I made 336 cookies, which breaks down to 30 1/2 doz. I had good helpers this year with Cora and Ben, especially Cora.

Another thing we have started in the last few years is having a nice, “fancy” dinner in our home with whatever family is around on Christmas Eve before the service. Since we’re close to where my parents they have started joining us, and now we have my grandma, and if one of David’s sets of parents is up for Christmas then they’re with us. We try to do something a little different–a nicer cut of meat, some kind of special side dish (like red wine marinated mushrooms–YUM!!!!) and a fancy dessert. We just want it to be extra special. We’re all dressed up in our Christmas duds for the service, and so we take some nice photos too. I really look forward to this dinner and then going to the Christmas Eve service afterward.

Our kids are young so we haven’t established too many things with them yet. We’re still having to go with the flow when it comes to decorating the tree and such. However, one thing we have been consistent with is lighting our Advent candle. We light the new  candle on it’s corresponding Sunday, and then light it again during supper or at breakfast. We go over the names of the different candles (hope, peace, joy, love, Christ) and talk about said candle briefly. Again, something we really enjoy doing, and something we hope will help keep our family focused on Christ during Christmas.

Going along with that, we’re trying hard to keep Christmas simple and as untainted by commercialism as possible. We don’t make a big deal about Santa (in fact, Cora knows he’s make believe), and we try to keep wish lists and such to a minimum. Yes, we get the kids gifts, and yes they get gifts from other family and friends, but we try very hard in our home to keep it to a minimum. We want them to know the real reason and meaning of Christmas–that Christ coming as a baby is so much more significant then a one day celebration. We want them to start realizing and learning that Christmas is setting up for the climax of Easter!

What are things you do in your family? What are traditions you’ve started with your kids? I’d love to hear them! I think we can always learn a lot from what other people do!

Life

Well, I had high hopes for this week. I had planned to get all of my Christmas cookie baking and fudge making done. I had planned to get the house clean, go south to the big city my sister lives in so David could have a day to write…and then life happened. Tuesday I woke up with a cough. Wednesday I felt like a truck had run me over. Thursday I felt like that same truck backed up and just parked on me. Yep. The flu. The last time I think I had the flu was 20 years ago around my 15th birthday. I don’t remember feeling this sick since then (other than pregnancy…). Thankfully, my MIL was able to come up TH and help out while David went to work because I literally couldn’t move. I stayed in bed all morning and some of the afternoon. Curled in a tight ball of pain, muscles sore and absolutely freezing! Yep. Gotta “love” the flu. I was able to uncurl at some point in the afternoon when my fever broke and suddenly I was roasting! I got up, ate something, showered and was able to remain vertical the rest of the day. Then Ben got sick…then Cora…then David…and this afternoon Bekah is down too. Sigh. Yep, we all have the flu, in various stages. I’m praying we’re all better come Monday. And the silver lining is that hopefully this means we’ll all be well for Christmas!

Just Because

My husband came home the other day with these…just because he loves me…one of the reasons I love him–the little surprises like this he’ll do!

My Loves

My children…

…and the man who gave them to me!

Blondies

Here’s a recipe for those of you who don’t have to stay clear of wheat and gluten! These are a favorite of my husband’s, and when we got married I knew I needed to get the recipe from his mom. They are always a crowd pleaser when I make them! I wanted to share the recipe with you today. I hope you make these, they’re very easy to make, and I know you’ll enjoy them!

BLONDIES

1 1/2 c flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c butter (softened)

1 c sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 (6 oz) bag Bits o’ Brickle (I have to say, I have never seen this, until I made these over the weekend. You can also use the Heath Bits. Find both in baking aisle)

1. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together; set aside.

2. Cream butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla. Beat until fluffy.

3. Blend in dry ingredients; stir in Bits o’ Brickle.

4. Spread in 9 x 13 pan; Bake 30 min at 350 degrees.

5. ENJOY!!!