Saturday, October 29, 2011

Shutterfly Christmas Cards

I'm fresh off of our photo session for our 2011 Christmas card, and I am really grateful that we got some good shots this year. So I thought, I'd take a look at the new designs for Shutterfly cards this year. I used them last year, and they were FANTABULOUS!

Some of the designs I'm loving are:


















I haven't decided 100% on which design I'll use, but when I get our photo CD back - I'm all set to get them ordered. Which will also mean that it's time to get the official 2011 version of the Hawkins Family Newsletter written to be inserted with the cards. It's funny how many times I've been hassled if I don't get that thing written!

We are huge fans of Shutterfly in our house - we used them for both of the boys' birth announcements, we've made photo books, and also made calendars last year for the grandparents. This year, we'll likely turn to Shutterfly for some of our gifts again - because with us living so far away - we want our kiddos to always be front and center for their grandparents.

The cool thing this year is that Shutterfly is allowing me to give away THREE credits for 25 free Christmas cards of your own! Of course you can use them on any cards - so if you happen to celebrate something other than Christmas... you're all set.

You've got until November 4th at midnight to enter... and here is how you can earn entries - each entry needs to be submitted in a separate comment:

1) Be a follower of this blog
2) Be a follower of my recipe blog - which got a new facelift this week. (Momma Hawk Cooks)
3) Follow me on Twitter (KBHawkins00)
4) Tell me how many Christmas Cards you send each year...
5) What is your favorite type of Christmas Card to receive? (photo? newsletter? handwritten?)

Monday, October 24, 2011

Lions and Monkeys

We aren't trick-or-treaters in this house, and even if we were... the boys are really too young to try it. So our only option for this year's Halloween dress up fun was to take the kids to one of the Fall Festivals at a local church. We're sort of in between churches right now, but our wonderful neighbors invited us to theirs.

The boys are really still too young for most of the activities that they had at the festival, but it was great to get outside and look at all the costumes... and well chance James around for an hour. He burned off some serious energy that he stored up while being sick!

Want to see what their costumes looked like?




The boys started hugging in the middle of us getting their photo... and it was just about then that my heart burst into a bazillion pieces. Is that not the cutest thing you've ever seen?!







We had such a good time, and the boys didn't make a single peep tonight when we put them to bed. HAHA! Love that!

Friday, October 21, 2011

What a Day

Our day yesterday started out fairly normally. We got up and had our breakfast, bottles... and headed out to run an errand. I saw on Twitter from a friend the day before that Sonic was having 2 happy hour time slots - so I was excited to go check our early one out... only to find out that it's not happening here. BOO!

We went on to Kroger to get the milk we needed. Can I just tell you that we now go through 3 gallons a week of whole milk?! It's insanity - but cheaper than formula... so I'll take it. I just look like I'm feeding an army when I go to the store. Maybe I should just buy a cow for the backyard?

Here are the boys while on our trip in Kroger...






We were home by a little after 9 - so they had their bottles, and were super fussy - so instead of trying our new nap time from earlier in the week... I put them down at 10 for our old morning nap time. They slept better! We had been trying to stay busy until lunch around 11 and nap by 12... but James was only sleeping for an hour and at 18 months - that's just not enough nap to get us through the day. When he does the 10AM nap - he will sleep for 3+ hours! We'll keep that! I just need to get Tyler to only do 1 nap at 10 and we'd be set.

Our afternoon and lunch time were incredibly fussy yet again, and I even tried a new activity with them that I got off of Pinterest. That will be another post for next week, but when Momma starts losing her cool... it's time for a break. So I took the little stinkers back up for afternoon naps. I knew James likely wouldn't sleep, but typically he goes up and quietly plays while Tyler naps. I settled in the kitchen to bake up some more of my Candy Corn Cookies - because John loved them.

Everything was going smoothly, and I got the cookies baked. I looked at the monitor when they were finished to check on James, and all was well. I brought the monitor into the living room to sit down for a minute... and noticed that it looked like the back of our crib was coming apart... so I literally darted/sprinted/ran up the stairs to his room... and found him dangling in the back... and this was what the crib looked like.





I still have no words, and no clue how it actually happened... but I was so angry about it - I brought him downstairs and had one of the worst ugly cries I've ever had. Literally sobbing and wailing. It was one of those days that I was questioning what in the world I prayed for all of those 8 years... but as with most bad days - it seemed worse in the minute than it really was. He was safe... we are all fine. The crib was fixed before bed, and all ended up just fine.

I'm grateful to my ladies on Twitter for talking me off the crazy cakes ledge yesterday... because I was teetering for a few minutes. Today though, we're having a good day...and the boys are making each other giggle a lot - which in turn makes my heart almost burst with love. Tomorrow, I'm having some "me" time with a haircut and some time to just walk around the mall alone. Maybe some preview Christmas shopping... I don't know - but it's absolutely needed so I can regroup a little bit. I'm still holding out hope that John will suggest a pedicure too :-)

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Things We Love

I thought that I'd share a few things that we're loving in our house these days... I need to get better about buying cheaper options, but I'm desperately trying to get them to eat anything that they will actually ingest. So that makes food a challenge. 

At least as far as James goes... he really won't eat much in terms of meat... so I'm improvising as much as possible. He will literally only eat all beef Bologna, and sometimes all beef hotdogs... I'm trying to get him to eat other things, but it's a slow process.

Tyler pretty much will eat anything.

We have been using these as their dessert, but Tyler has been throwing up every time I've given them to him lately... so I'm laying off. I'd give them 1 a piece, and James will gnaw on the whole cookie - for Tyler I'd break it into pieces. As I said though, lately he's been having some coughing issues while eating them which then leads to him losing his whole dinner... and quite frankly... I'm tired of cleaning up vomit for the time being. So they'll just be for James... and Ty can have applesauce or something else.


I bought these for James to try for breakfast sometime - haven't given them to him just yet because right now he has to eat a lot of starchy food so that he can take his medicine and it not make him sick... so once we're done with his meds - I'll give him these to try.


James absolutely loves these - they're like baby cheetos... he loves the cheese and the veggie dip flavor. I there is another tomato flavor and a maple flavor. We've given him the maple ones before, and then he smells like a waffle all day - for some reason that smell just stays on his hands all day long - so I prefer these and the veggie dip ones. 

We go through Puffs like they're going out of style around here. Tyler LOVES them - and truly, it's about the only way I can focus on feeding one of them at a time... I throw some of these on their tray and let them snack while watching Sprout. It exposes them to some shows beyond Baby Einstein, and keeps their attention... but we go through lots of Puffs... we like the Apple Cinnamon, Strawberry, Cherry, and Banana best... but they also will eat the Sweet Potato ones.

I bought these when I got the cereal bars, and about the same time Tyler started not being able to handle cookies anymore... so they haven't had too many of them, but they are Cinnamon Graham crackers - and they look GREAT. Once we get through these though, I'll likely just start buying regular graham crackers or the Goldfish version. They do really well with Goldfish because they're small and they love picking things up - so I'll probably start with those until Tyler is ready to have things like this again.

I got these for James too - to go along with the cereal bars, he hasn't had them yet... but I'm going to cut one up for him to eat with his lunch today. I could probably give him the whole thing, but at least until he gets used to it - it's easier for me to cut them up for him.


Tyler has been giving these a whirl... he loves them. James did too when he was younger. We've done the Beef & Tomato ones a couple of times. He's also had the Chicken & Carrot ones, and I got him the Turkey Vegetable ones today. We've also got the Spinach & Cheese version as well.
I bought these, they're new... they've got the Blueberry and they've got Apple Cinnamon as well. I got these because it's one way to mix James' medicine in and get him to take it without fighting us... but I like to give them yogurt, and the little bit of extra grain is always good too. My main reason though initially was because of James' medicine and the need for him to take it with starchy foods - this seemed like a great option. They really enjoy these two flavors as well though.








I bought a couple of these to keep in our diaper bag - for emergency snacking purposes - this is Apple Cinnamon & Sweet Potato, but I also got Banana & Blueberry as well. I've been caught a few times with nothing to give them while we were out and about - so I'm hoping that this can be an option to get a little something into them if we are running late to a meal.




James LOVES raisins... so I got him these berry raisins - it's raspberries, cherries, and blueberries mixed together. He seems to be enjoying them. But they were like $5.25 for the bag. Now, he's been eating on them for over a week... but that's still fairly pricey. I'm not sure if I'll get them again - or go back to the little boxes of raisins, but it was a way for him to try something a little different. I might get a different version and just keep mixing them with regular raisins - a little expensive to go with our reasonable. He loves fruit, so I want to encourage him to eat things that are good for him.



I mentioned earlier that James is in a little bit of an anti-meat phase... I'm not sure what the deal is, but he LOVES these. I was having them one day for a snack and of course the little beggar wanted some - so I let him try them. Right now he will gobble them off his tray faster than anything else. At 8 grams of protein per 1/4 cup - I'm running with it. We bought him three more bags of them today. I also saw on this company's website that they have little individual packs of them branded with Dora and Spongebob... I haven't seen those in our store, but what a great idea. Not the cartoon thing, but the little individual bags would be great!





I was looking around the web for the berry raisins, and couldn't remember the brand - and was too lazy at the time to get up and go look... so I was looking around the Dole website, and found a few products that look like they'll be making their way into our house soon. I saw these, they've got three different flavors - apple, strawberry, and a mixed berry... if these are cheaper than the Gerber ones - I'll be getting these instead. I think they'd be great for adults too... as a snack that is quick and ready to throw in your bag for the car or whatever.




I'm going to have to look in our freezer section for these - there are a few different flavors of these as well, but I think these would make a great breakfast for me... so I'm going to pick up one or two to try when I go to the store on Monday.





Lastly, I saw these on their website... they've got strawberries, blueberries, and pineapple. Supposedly you can eat these like real fruit use in smoothies, or whatever. If it's like having real fruit though, that's a great option for us to have so that the boys can have blueberries, strawberries, and pineapple when they are out of season. Also, though we don't go through them that fast - so it might be a good way to always have them on hand and not waste so much fruit. I'm going to look around and see about getting some to try.

I'm in the process of getting a membership to Costco, and trying to overhaul how I shop for groceries... so any good budgeting tips you might have would be greatly welcome. I want to keep our meals changing so that we don't get bored, but also want to cut our spending too. So I'd love to hear your tips!

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

L is for Labels

I know, it was time for me to get back to normal... and I was having so much fun with my ABC posts. I hope that you guys are enjoying them as well, and getting to know me in a little different way than normal.

Some ladies around the interwebs have been talking about blogging as a community and as a craft. It is something that I have grown to love - it's an outlet for my writing, and a way to keep in touch with family & friends. Along the way, it's become so much more to me.

There is a community in it that is amazing - some of the women that I've met through blogging and now Twitter are every bit as special to me as women that I've met in real life. They are real to me, in every sense. I go to them for parenting advice, to share my triumphs, to share my weak moments, to share just about everything life has going for it. I enjoy communicating with them... and I hope in turn that they feel the same for me.

My ability to do some of the things that I used to love like commenting and reading have changed a bit with these boys that I've got... but I still make every effort to fit it into my routine as much as possible. I know that most of us don't blog for comments, but it is nice to know that people are out there reading...and that they care - so I like to show that I'm one of those folks to the ladies that I read.

I'd like to take this to a different level though, one that I've covered before... but haven't talked about in a long time. I dare to think that things have changed since the last time I've talked about it, but ultimately that doesn't really matter. The point remains the same. I am so much more than just a blogger....

I am a Christian, first and foremost... a child of God who struggles daily to try to live a life that would bring glory and honor to Him. Trying to love people without judgement - and to love the sinner but when needed, dislike the sin. To be a light to the world and share my faith with those that can benefit from my beliefs.

I am a wife, second... above all else in this world - doing my best to be the helper that God intended for John. Doing my best to lift up my best friend, and be the partner in life that he deserves. Loving the man that he has been since I've met him, and all that he has grown to be through the last 12 years of living life together.

I am a mother, third... the mother uniquely chosen for James and Tyler. Even if, for the life of me, I can't figure out what God was thinking giving them both to us so close together. I'm here to guide them and love them through all of the ups and downs of childhood... to teach them how to be a little bit of me and a little bit of their Dad... all while growing into the wonderful Godly men that they are destined to become.

I am a daughter, sister, and friend. Doing my best to keep these relationships going with the attention they deserve. Sadly, right now... some of my attention on these is lacking because I am spending so much energy on some of the things that come above that right now.

I am a blogger... which as you can see - is an ever changing thing based on where my life is at the moment. When I started this blog in 2007... I had no idea what my life would be like in 2011. At that time, I was focused on having weight loss surgery. In 2009, I was focused on my infertility struggle. 2010, brought our adoption journey... and the birth of two baby boys. I don't know where I will go next... but the way that I am labeled will continue to change as life does... it's an exciting journey, and I hope you'll stick with us and see where we will go next.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Handmade Jewels Giveaway

I thought it might be time for a giveaway to get some of you guys to come back around this little corner of the web. I know my posting has been inconsistent since moving and having the boys... but I'm working really hard to get back into a regular posting routine.

It's time for me to get back to the ABC's of me posts... and I've got a few other ones that I want to write... I'm keeping a list, so the inspiration doesn't leave the building when I sleep.

In the meantime, I thought it would be fun to bless one of you readers with a handmade jewelry item from my Etsy shop. You will get your choice, if chosen to be the winner of: 1 handmade necklace. It is a double strand piece with a lobster clasp in the back. The shorter strand is about 18-19 inches in length, and the longer is 20-21 inches.


Rose Quartz

Citrine

Amethyst

How can you win? Here are the details... 

Winner chosen on Monday morning - so entries must be complete by Sunday 10/24 at midnight. Each entry must be in a separate comment!

1 entry for following this blog via GFC
1 entry for following me on twitter (KBHawkins00)
1 entry for joining in my Fall Recipe Blog Swap
1 entry for posting about this giveaway (leave me a link to the post)
1 entry for posting about the Fall Recipe Blog Swap (leave me a link to the post)
1 entry for tweeting about the giveaway (leave me a link to the tweet)
1 entry for tweeting about the Fall Recipe Blog Swap (leave me a link to the tweet)

Monday, October 17, 2011

Pint-Sized Bosses






In honor of today being Bosses Day, I thought I'd tell you a little bit about my two bosses that I am currently working for. If you've been around here for a while, you'll know that I've worked for some really BAD bosses... my past is checkered with a lot of horrible work experiences. Today though, I've got some great supervisors... although they are extremely interesting!

I thought I'd give you some insight into my day:

** Has your boss ever decided to start the day by screaming at the top of their lungs into the office intercom system?

** Have you ever been sharing a meal with your boss, and they sneeze food all over you?

** Has your boss requested something from you, but when you get up to go get it... they scream and cry?

** Does your boss throw themselves on the floor and have a fit upon you showing them that they were wrong?

** Has your boss ever spit food back at you to show displeasure in what you are serving them?

** If you happen to have two bosses, do they move in opposite directions while you're supposed to be following them both?

** Do your bosses throw things across the room while having free time?

** After cleaning your office, does your boss come in and make a complete mess within 2 minutes of coming back from break?

** Has your boss ever embarrassed you by yelling on a lunch date?

** Does your boss need you to be constantly present so that they don't break the office equipment? 

** Do your bosses speak English?

** Have you ever needed to rescue your boss from having their head stuck in a storage container?

** Ever had your boss throw up on you after a meal or snack?

** Ever felt the need to wipe your boss' nose?

** Has your boss ever needed you to clean them up after pooping during a meeting?

** Does your boss ever get caught chewing on the user manuals that you have in the office?

** If your boss doesn't feel well, do they ever call you in the middle of the night to make them feel better?

My bosses do all of these things, and so much more... but I wouldn't trade one minute to be anywhere else. I love my bosses unconditionally, and while they might drive me completely nuts from time to time... they also give me the most reward for my work out of all the people I've ever worked for.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Not As Planned

Sorry for the unexpected day without a post... but we ended up here with a very unexpected day yesterday. We've all been sort of feeling weak and under the weather a bit around our house... but when the kids got up yesterday, I thought Tyler seemed to be getting worse. During breakfast for the boys, I decided that I needed to call the pediatrician and get them checked out.

I debated taking James to school because he seemed fine, and it's always easier to take one kid to the doctor as opposed to two of them. I in the end, thought better of that and went ahead with the plan to get them both checked.

They had their breakfast by about 8:30 and both wanted to go back up for a nap already... so I let them. Our appointment was at 10:30 - so I needed to get them up by 9:45 or so to load the car and head to the doctor's office.

Both boys' ears, throats, and noses checked out alright - but James' white blood cell count was 21 (normal is below 10) so the doctor seemed concerned. We did a chest x-ray, and found that James has the beginning stage of pneumonia. We came home with some antibiotics and made an appointment to get rechecked on Saturday morning.

James didn't nap all afternoon yesterday - in fact he sort of acted like a crazed kiddo in some sort of hyper active state... he wasn't bad, but did a lot of pacing around the living room and around the coffee table. Other than him being a little bit extra clingy - he really seems like he's fine.

John came home a bit early, and made plans to stay home with us all day today. We got the boys to bed around normal time, and we all slept well last night. The boys just woke up sounding a bit worse. James sounds all crackly and has a yucky cough. Tyler still has the stuffy/runny nose/cough thing going on... and we're all just laying low for the most part.

This certainly isn't how we planned things, but it could be so much worse. I feel like it was absolutely divine intervention yesterday that caused me to go ahead and get James checked out, and I'm so grateful for that. I can't imagine what could have happened if we hadn't gotten him checked out then... we could be spending the weekend in the hospital or something.

I've been beating myself up for the "almost" and the things that could have been... but I'm trying not to. Instead I'm focusing on taking care of my boys... I'm heading into the kitchen right now to make them meatloaf, mashed potatoes, a Red Lobster Cheddar Bay biscuit recipe, and candy corn cookies. We'll get back to regular posting next week, I promise.

Please check out my Fall/Recipe Blog Swap and get entered!!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Fall Blog/Recipe Swap

Hi Everyone! As promised, I want to do a fun swap with those of you that want to participate... and PLEASE pass the word on so that we can get as many participants as possible. My goal would be to pair people up based on location - it would be fun to get recipes from someone in a completely different part of the country and see how different it is from what you're used to.

So what I'm thinking is that we'll start with recipes - focusing on Fall and the holidays...

You'll send your partner:

1 (or more) recipe for a breakfast item
1 (or more) recipe for a main dish
1 (or more) recipe for a snack or appetizer
1 (or more) recipe for a side dish
1 (or more) recipe for a dessert
1 (or more) recipe for a beverage
1 (or more) recipe with your favorite item on your holiday table

Now, get creative - don't just type up the recipe... get crafty ladies. You can totally do something digital - if you're not a scrapbook person... but make it something fun and special. Add stickers, or whatever you want to jazz up what you're going to send. You could even include a story about why you love the recipe. 

Then I thought it would be fun to take it a little further... and send a little something special. I'll leave that up to you - please don't spend more than $20 at the very most. I was thinking you could send a scarf, some hot tea, cocoa, Starbucks card... something that brings a warm smile to your face and a virtual hug to the person that will receive it.

I hope that this will bless each of you as we start the Thanksgiving holidays and round into Christmas.

To join in on the fun, please leave a comment with your Name, a Link to your Blog, the State you live in, and your email address. Sign up for the swap by October 23rd. You don't have to have a blog to be part of this - it just helps people get to know each other a little bit.

We'll put our things in the mail by October 29th, and do a post about it by November 4th.

Pumpkin Patch Trip

This past weekend, my MOPS group took over a local pumpkin patch for the morning... and it was a great time. My kiddos didn't last long - it was hot, and right at nap time... but we got some good photos just the same.


This is my favorite photo from the day, all four of us together - everyone looking at the camera... amazing! Even if the boys don't look very happy about it. HAHA!


For reference, this is our pumpkin patch photo from last year... Tyler was just barely out of the hospital, and James just barely sitting up... what a difference a year makes, right? I remember this day so vividly - I think John was still off work from having Ty, and we went during the week - so we were the only ones there. 


 Here is Mr. Tyler this year - his facial expressions crack me up... he's just so animated! HAHA! I'm sure he was laughing, but the face doesn't quite show that.






James just walking everywhere - he kept getting down and crawling though... I guess to get his hands into everything. Check out those dirty knees!


Swinging... he loved it. He wasn't thrilled when we made him let Ty have a turn. Oh, sibling rivalry... it's alive and well in our house. 







Ty's turn... he hated swinging last time we took them to the park - but this time went much better. I'm not sure that he totally loved it, but he didn't look like we were beating him this time either - so it's progress.



Those eyes... he's just such a sweet little guy. Easy going, happy to be around anyone & everyone. Funny thing, I just realized that those eyes... they are 100% mine. I never realized it, but they are exactly like mine. Finally a little piece of him looks like me! 


My little silly man, he hasn't ever really gotten too excited about taking pictures before - but this night... he just kept hamming it up. He is our more demanding little fellow... if he doesn't like something, he'll let you know - quickly and loudly. Every once in a while though, he slows down enough to cuddle - and is just one of the sweetest little guys I've ever known.


They're starting to play together these days, which is both a blessing and a curse. There is lots of toy stealing, but Tyler is just so easy going - he doesn't really much care. Mom is usually there to give him something else to play with - which then gets stolen too... rinse, lather, repeat. 


Within the last couple of days, Tyler has started standing and walking on his own. He's not 100% there yet, but he's getting better and stronger every day. Right now we're at about 2-3 steps before he falls, but it's already getting interesting. Kids into everything. Tyler also has instantly started climbing too - which James didn't do right away... he's just getting into that right now - I guess bad behavior deserves company... so I'm constantly trying to pluck them from whatever they are on top of - so that no one falls down.

I'm guest posting over on Between the Lines today - Laura is on vacation, and allowed me to write something for her so that she could take a much needed break from all things blog related. Please go over and read, you'll love Laura - she's super duper sweet, funny, a great cook, a super photographer, and has one of the cutest baby boys I've seen - next to mine of course. :-)You should go check out what I wrote, but also stick around and get to know Laura too.

I'm working on the details of the Fall Recipe Swap with a Twist... so look for news of it to come tomorrow or Friday.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Sacred Marriage - Chapter 2 & 3

My apologies - I couldn't get my act together last time and when I finally did... our internet went out! GAH! So, I'm going to double up today and write about both chapters 2 and 3.

Chapter 2:

The beginning of this chapter talks about how scripture is constantly comparing our relationship with God to that of a marriage. This imagery is incredibly powerful, because we can explore our relationship with God through our marriages. The ideas of reconciliation, connection, love, joy, trust, peace, faithfulness, and self control all come up when I think of the different aspects of marriage. Basically, you should be able to find all of the fruits of the spirit within a healthy Christ centered marriage, but a marriage that focuses on the negatives of their spouse - is doomed. Just as one seeking to follow themselves instead of obeying and following the will of God in our lives will leave you out of the eternal kingdom of Heaven.

In my personal opinion, there are ebbs and flows within any relationship. There are days that you will wake up and not be able to get enough of your spouse... romantic days when it feels like you are back dating again. There are also days that you will wake up and wonder who the person is next to you... and during tough times (which we all have... it's called life) these days will seem more often than the romantic ones. Just as with God, you've got to cling to your relationship with your spouse and know that they will stand with you... just as your God won't forsake you - my belief is that your spouse shouldn't either. I know that isn't the case with everyone's marriage... but I feel that it is with mine. There is absolutely one thing that is certain - we are a team. It is John and I... navigating through life and if something doesn't seem right for the two of us - or our boys - we will stand against it together.

The author talks about marriage being a place for: offspring, faith and sacrament. He goes so far as to tell you that you can live without faith and offspring... but you can't live without the indissolubility. You have to know that your marriage is going to withstand the test of time and all that life throws at it. Our church back in TX, did a demonstration once a few years ago that was so powerful - it has stuck with me. They gave each member of the congregation a tiny container of play-dough. Each spouse had a different color. The pastor told us that our container represented ourselves... and the other our spouse. He then asked the married couples to mix their two colors together.





He said that marriage is to be considered much like this new lump of play-dough... where you are now 1 and you will never be able to completely separate the two. You become 1 new unit out of the 2 that you used to be. There is a reason that at the end of marriage ceremonies - they say "what God has joined together, let no man tear apart."

If you are living for God and for your spouse - you are truly living your faith. When divorce comes into the picture - especially with children - their spirituality suffers. (I know it can't be helped in some instances) Children often use their parents' relationship to help them to understand spiritual concepts - and when that relationship is lacking... it is hard for them to fully understand some of the concepts in their own literal ways. When their parents stop acting as a team - and heaven forbid, start cutting each other down in front of the children... it is almost impossible for them to learn about Christ-like love.

I'm sure I'm going to get hate mail over that... but keep in mind that I am a child from a divorce... and have formed opinions based on that.

Chapter 3:

This chapter talks about learning to love. It makes the connection that loving God and loving your spouse are not different - but aspects of the same thing... that by loving your spouse well, you are showing your love for God at the same time. Love is not a natural response that pours out of us - but we have to choose to love. Hate comes naturally, but we have to force it down and act in a Christian manner to combat that which comes naturally.

How amazing to think that God feels the most love when we love others in spite of the things they can do to us. Think about it - loving your spouse can sometimes be the hardest... that might sound strange, but consider the one person that knows you the best. They know your flaws, your weaknesses, your buttons, and you are the most vulnerable when you are known on that level. Loving inspite of all of that - without fail... is the definition of Christ-like love.

Did you know that in Deuteronomy God even spells out for us that we should concentrate on making our spouses happy? That shows love to Him, but us showing love to the person we chose to be our mate. So spend time thinking of ways to make your husband or wife happy. What are things that would bring a smile to their face today? What small ways or large ways can you think of today to show that you love them and are there for them - no matter what? I'm going to think about that, and try to do one thing today and everyday I can to show John and I love him. It is important for him to know that his happiness is important to me.

Step out there, and do something today to show your spouse that you love them... and I guarantee that you will be rewarded. You will feel rewarded by their happiness... and you will be inspiring them to potentially show you a new level of love and commitment as well.

Our God deserves the best of what we have to offer, and he gave us our marriages to help us show him that. In this world, your spouse is the person that deserves the best of what you can give them... in spite of your faults and theirs. You are to show them unconditional love anyway - and if you aren't doing that - you aren't showing that you love God either. We've got to get outside of the conventional worldly views of today - serving ourselves, instant gratification, and the like - and get back to treating those we love with the time and effort that they are worthy of.

There is nothing more worthy of your time than your marriage, and your children. In that order.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Favorite Things Giveaway

A few weeks ago Kodi, came up with the idea to do a blog swap where we partner up with another blogger and send each other a few favorite things. How fun is that?! I jumped at the chance for some friendly happy mail to arrive for me, and to send a little smile to someone else as well.

I got paired up with KM, and had the best time shopping for her. I am just getting started reading her blog, but you should check it out. She is such a sweet person, and is currently pregnant - so I had to find her some great stuff for relaxing! I set out to do just that and couldn't be more pleased with the things I found. I hope that getting the box blessed her and made her smile.

When I got my box, I was beyond excited... and couldn't wait to open it. Of course the boys wanted their lunch... so I had to wait, but was greeted with some great things that were worth the wait.


How fun to open the box and find pretty paper... I was giddy with excitement to see what she had found for me... we had a $20 limit, and that was just perfect.


I was initially greeted with a sweet card. I loved it, it's always fun to get something handwritten these days... it's getting more and more rare - so it feels extra special.



She did perfect - a wonderful candle that is going straight in by my bathtub for those relaxing bubble bath evenings... some note cards and note paper... and ya'll - as if she knew exactly how to get right to my heart, new pens!! I LOVE pens!

I had the best time with this, and am actually thinking of hosting a swap of sorts here. I'm thinking of doing a "Fall Festival" swap... who is interested? Leave me a comment telling me if you'd like to participate. If I get enough interest - I'm going to get it started later this week.