Saturday, January 26, 2008

Big Answer to Prayer

A couple of weeks ago Hubby received a summons for jury duty for a trial that would last at least six weeks. Now, we are all for doing our civic duty and all (read my funny jury duty story here), but we just didn't see any way how it would be possible to go without any income for all that time (where we live, jurors only receive a token amount of pay per day--a few dollars to cover transportation and lunch), plus, Hubby can't just abandon his job duties for that long.

I have been earnestly seeking the Lord about this matter and asking Him to work something out, and I've asked several other people to pray about it, too. Today Hubby got a postcard in the mail that the jury summons has been canceled! He doesn't have to go at all!

Thank you, God, for answering our prayers.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Just a Little Sniffle-y

I have a bit of a sore throat and the sniffles today, so I am taking it easy. I did manage to keep the house tidy and the dishes caught up, so that is a plus. One-year-old was very sweet and well-behaved today, and it wasn't actually very hard to stay on top of things, so I think the Lord was gracious to me in my time of weakness by giving me strength and by helping me have a cheerful attitude.

I also made a 1/2 batch of yummy chocolate chip oatmeal cookies (I know, what business do I have consuming sugar when I'm sick? But I was in a baking mood...when am I not? And, I got rid of most of the cookies--Hubby took some to his accountability group tonight). Then I made quiche for dinner, with hamburger, cheese, mushrooms, broccoli, and green bell pepper, and a big green salad. I always try to eat extra vegetables when I am sick.

We do not have a laundry room, just a laundry closet in the living room, and one of the folding doors keeps coming all the way off. A professional repairman came and fixed it today, so hopefully that will be the end of our closet woes. It is nice now not to have to stare at the dryer whenever I sit down on the couch. :-)

I have been re-reading Created to Be His Helpmeet, by Debi Pearl, and receiving so much motivation and encouragement from it. I think every wife should have it on her bookshelf and flip through its pages once in a while.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

$100 Vision Forum Giveaway

Crystal is hosting a $100 Vision Forum giveaway on her blog. Click here for more details!

If I were to win the giveaway, I would like to get these products:

Passionate Housewives: Desperate for God
Home-Making
The Wise Woman’s Guide to Blessing Her Husband’s Vision
Be Fruitful and Multiply
Teach Them to Your Children
The Influence of Older Children on Younger Children
Rebuilding a Culture of Virtuous Boyhood
Why Satan Wants Your Firstborn and What to Do About It

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

3 Years Ago Today

To Have and to Hold



To Love and to Cherish



As Long as We Both Shall Live

Monday, January 21, 2008

26 Weeks Pregnant!

 

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Day Off

Hubby is off from work today for the holiday. He spent a couple hours this morning repairing a jammed mechanism on the passenger-side seatbelt in our car (yes, I rode around in the backseat all weekend on our anniversary trip! Hubby was my chauffeur). He got it working perfectly again. I am so grateful for my Mr. Fix-It husband.

I don't have big plans for today, just unpacking and doing laundry after our trip and spending time with Hubby and 1-year-old. I may head out to Rite Aid...looks like there are some good deals this week. Lots of things are free after rebate.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Our Anniversary Get-Away

Hubby’s and my anniversary get-away was very special. My parents came over mid-afternoon on Friday. Hubby and I left one-year-old in their care and went to see National Treasure (the second one) in a theater. Then we went to a casual restaurant for dinner and checked into our hotel. We were both pretty tired, so we just talked for a while and then went to bed. I couldn’t stop thinking and talking about one-year-old. I hoped he wasn’t missing us too much or worrying that we would never come back.

Saturday morning, Hubby and I both had delicious omelets and pancakes for breakfast at the hotel restaurant. After that, we stopped back home to visit with my parents a little and see how one-year-old was doing. He was doing great with his grandparents! They said he had been very good and content and hadn’t cried at all the whole time we were gone. That set my heart at ease, and I was able to relax and enjoy the rest of our trip even more. We were so full from breakfast that we didn’t want lunch, but we did a couple of errands and then went to a coffee shop and got mochas. We had to an hour to kill until we could check in to the hotel (we stayed at a different hotel each night), so we browsed a Christian discount bookstore. Hubby bought a CD of some Rich Mullins songs. We drove downtown to the hotel and checked in, then hung out in the room and talked and read until dinner time. We had dinner at the hotel restaurant. It was one of those fancy-schmancy restaurants where you order your entrĂ©e, but it doesn’t come with anything, so if you want a salad or anything else, you have to order that separately. We wouldn’t have ended up at such a restaurant if my grandmother had not generously given us some money for a nice dinner. And, oh, it was good. Hubby had an amazingly-flavored pork chop, and I had bacon-encrusted salmon. We shared a Caesar salad. The menu boasted of the restaurant’s French cuisine made by a master chef, and we were not disappointed. My only qualm was that the delicious flavors were so unfamiliar I could not place them! I’m sure the meats were cooked in various wines and sauces I know nothing about.

After dinner, we went back to our room for a while, and then it was time to go to the symphony! It was the first time Hubby and I had ever been to a symphony together. We enjoyed it very much. The evening was divided into two parts: the first half was the work of a modern Scottish composer, and the second half was a musical interpretation of one of Shakespeare’s plays.

Sunday morning, we ordered room service and had breakfast in bed while we watched an old Western movie on TV. Then we packed up and came home!

I felt extremely blessed this weekend to be married to my husband. I appreciate the time and thoughtfulness he put into planning everything for us and keeping everything a surprise from me (I like good surprises!). It was marvelous to have time alone with him, but it was also great to get home to one-year-old. I missed him so much! I love the comfort and familiarity of home and the peacefulness of having my whole family together.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Very Busy!

Hubby has planned an anniversary (our 3rd!) get-away for us this weekend. My parents will be taking care of 1-year-old. It will be a very special time for Hubby and me, as we haven't even been on a date since before 1-year-old was born!

There is much to do before we leave tomorrow. I still need to prepare meals for 1-year-old and my parents, do lots of laundry, clean the bathrooms, vacuum the whole house, and pack! Oh, and finish the "instruction" lists I've been making for my parents to tell them what 1-year-old can and can't eat, what he is and is not allowed to do around the house, what his usual daily routine is, etc.

I will write about our weekend when we return.

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Problems with Wheat

I am beginning to suspect that wheat is the culprit of various digestive difficulties that my family is experiencing. I have already switched from using whole wheat pastas to brown rice pastas, which seem to be easier to digest, and now I am searching for a good, everyday wheat-free bread recipe. Please leave a comment if you know of one! Thanks!

Sunday, January 06, 2008

A Glimpse of Family Life

Yesterday we went to a discount store because Hubby wanted to look for some tools. He didn’t find what he was looking for, but on the way out, we were passing through an aisle and I commented, “Oh, look, they have my very favorite kind of candle…” (which, for the record, happens to be Carolina sensual sandalwood) “…but…it seems kind of expensive.” Hubby asked, “Do you want it?” I hesitated because of the price, but didn’t say no, because I could tell that Hubby wanted to bless me. Still, because of my frugal nature, I couldn’t quite bring myself to flat-out say, “Yes, let’s buy it.” Finally, Hubby just picked it up, brought it to a register, and bought it for me. I felt loved and spoiled. I am very grateful that my husband looks out for little things to do for me to make me happy, and I want to make more of an effort to do the same for him. He also installed some shelves in the kitchen today for my cookbooks. The cookbooks resided previously on the bottom shelf of our very small pantry. They were always inconvenient to get to, plus they took up space that could have been better used for food, so it is wonderful now to have them right at eye-level. I am motivated to re-organize (okay, initially organize, since it’s never really been organized since we moved in!) the pantry, now that I have an extra shelf in there for food.

1-year-old (now 16 months) was extremely cranky today. He is teething, plus he is adjusting to being fully weaned (just in the past week; I think he still misses nursing at times), plus he is transitioning from two naps a day to one, and is having trouble falling and staying asleep during the day. Fortunately, he is still sleeping well at night. He usually goes to bed between 6:30-7:00 P.M. and sleeps until around 6:00 A.M. Anyhow, we didn’t feel up to taking him to our house church tonight, so Hubby stayed home with him, fed him dinner, and put him to bed, while I went to church. It was the first time in a couple of months that I have actually been able to not only fellowship with people uninterrupted and undistracted, but also to pay attention during the teaching time (usually I am chasing after 1-year-old and trying to keep him quiet and entertained). It was very refreshing. Caring for an active toddler in a house church where there is no nursery is quite challenging, and it was nice to have a break from that this week. Then I came home (the house where we met tonight was only a couple-minute drive from our house) and Hubby went over for a leadership meeting, so he is getting to be with the church body tonight, too.

Hubby (I feel weird calling him that, but I don’t want to use his real name online, and I haven’t yet thought of a more creative way to refer to him) and I are learning what it means to be “in ministry.” Not necessarily pastoral ministry, but for now, just reaching out to others in our church body and our neighbors. We have a lot to learn, and we have very little experience, but we are both trying to make more of an effort to be intentionally involved in other people’s lives. It doesn’t come especially naturally for either of us, since we are both introverts, plus, we are finding out that the more you invest in people, the more chance you have of getting hurt, but our example is Jesus. We want to imitate His love and compassion, even if we, like He, end up getting hurt. I think Hubby and I are, individually and as a couple, coming to a point in our lives where we are finding it necessary to evaluate what is truly important. Do we serve God or money? Are we living for our own pleasure or to please God?

In all of this, I am learning more of what it means to be my husband’s helper. Wherever God calls him, whatever God calls him to do, that’s my calling, too. I am learning the joy and peace of surrender.

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

The Holidays Are Over

As much as I enjoy the holidays, I am glad now that things are settling down. We visited my parents, grandma, and brother on Christmas Eve and ended up staying one more night than we intended because we actually had a white Christmas (pretty rare in these parts) and didn't want to drive back late at night on icy roads. We visited some of Hubby's family yesterday (New Year's Eve day).

The Christmas decorations are all put away, and our living room furniture is back to its old arrangement (it's so much more spacious without a big Christmas tree in there!).

I cleaned the house today and got together with a friend this afternoon at a cafe. We had a good chat, and plan to do it again sometime soon.

Hubby and I are trying to make some big decisions about plans for the future. I have a lot of dreams, but I need to hear from the Lord to know if I should go ahead with pursuing them, or if I need to lay them down. Either way, I want my heart to be completely surrendered to Him. I want to humbly accept whatever He has for me, knowing that He loves me deeply and knows what is best for me.