HAPPY 15TH ANNIVERSARY!

It's been a wonderful 15 years...you are the perfect man for me! Happy Anniversary, Hubbie! I love being your wife and look forward to at least 100 more years together!

Simple Joys~

Happy Wednesday! Or "Hump Day" as we used
to call it when I was in college.

This may seem a little silly, but the other day,
Hubbie and I were at Chick-Fil-A.

We went through the drive-through, and then
parked the car so we could enjoy our food.

In our bag, we found a
chicken sandwich, waffle fries, and this!

How clever is that design?

And, yes, Hubbie graciously took a picture of it before he used it.   ;)

In sync

On Valentine's Day, Hubbie and I had the privilege to spend some time together...just the two of us. We drove to a nearby harbor. It was a very pretty area and is still under a lot of construction. After we finished there, we drove through the city to a nearby Cheesecake Factory. After our yummy meal, we strolled through The Container Store. (Have you ever been in one of those?!?!) We didn't purchase one item, but had lots of fun talking to each other and looking at all the gadgets for organization.

On our way back to the parking garage, we were holding hands, just walking along, but I felt out of sync. And that felt odd! I looked down and realized that my feet were travelling at a different pace than Hubbie's. Upon this realization, I quickly changed my pace, my left foot moved when his did, and my right foot moved forward when his did. Oh~so much better!

Then, you know the Lord brought to my mind the fact that so often, I'm travelling through this life and I know He is right beside me. But how many times do I feel "out of sync" or unbalanced? It's not because Jesus has gotten "out of sync" with me, but it is me who is letting the cares of this world distract me.

I'm memorizing this verse today to help me remember to keep my focus on Him!

I Corinthians 15:58~Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the word of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Valentine's Day and a few other days

Happy Wednesday to you! I cannot believe it has been two weeks since I last blogged! Life is certainly busy enough, but I need to do better at recording my family's memories every day! Here's a quick recap so I don't forget...

On Friday, 2/4, we met my parents at a fun country market and did some shopping, and then went out to dinner together.

Saturday, 2/5, we had several activities at church so we stayed busy. We had our visitation program and basketball league for "R".

On Monday, 2/7, I spent getting our house ready for guests the next day. That evening, I attended my Ladies' Group meeting...and had Mexican food...we all brought something to the meal to share. We had chicken enchiladas and beef enchiladas, spanish rice, a delicious soup, 7 layer dip, and Pioneer Woman's tres leches cake.

Tuesday, 2/8, we were busy with our homeschool Valentine party! What fun we had and there were 32 of us in the house! Some of the kids participated in a valentine exchange and that was a lot of fun for them. There was lots of food. I am a planner, so we had party food--bbq meatballs, two different types of chips and dip, fruit with dip, cupcakes, brownies, fudge cake, cookies, candy, and drinks. Everyone seemed to have a good time! The kids all did really well with their "literary" presentations. Moms and kids alike had lots of good fellowship!

Wednesday, 2/9, my sister-in-law came over for lunch and brought her two little ones with her. We had a good time of talking and the kids played well together. My youngest cut her fingernail about halfway down into her nail, so she and I spent an hour or so at the doctor's office while Hubbie took "R" and "D" to church that night...

Thursday, 2/10, my youngest niece came over for a few hours while her parents ran an errand. What fun to watch my oldest learning how to take care of others...she does well with the little ones!

Then, Friday, 2/11, Hubbie had off and we worked on our bedroom some, went out to eat, and "S" went to Grandma's for the night.

Saturday, 2/12, was another basketball league day...the red and blue teams were tied until the very last seconds of the game...and the blue team came away with the win. The girls (and their parents) were so very excited! Go BLUE!

On Sunday, 2/13, our church celebrated "Sweetheart Sunday" and the messages in the AM and PM service were both on "The Invisible Part of Marriage", based on Psalm 1:1-3. I came away from those messages encouraged and challenged to not listen to the world about how my marriage should be...not to listen to ungodly counsel...it was good! After the PM service, we had a dessert fellowship and all the men were supposed to make the desserts! There were some really yummy things! Hubbie made brownies, then covered them with a layer of cream cheese (mixed with crushed Mint Oreo cookies), then chocolate pudding on top of that, followed by a layer of whipped topping...it was delicious!

Then our Valentine's Day~I'll show you in pictures.  :) I think we would all agree~we had a very lovely day!

~breakfast~

pancakes with valentine sprinkles

sausage cut in the shape of hearts

pink milk

 ~pink milk was a definite "hit"~

 ~for a more grown-up palette~  ;)

 ~Valentine's table~

~a dozen roses from my sweetheart~

 ~enjoying breakfast~

~excited about his meal~

~she loved her pink milk~

~one of the valentine decorations and kid's cards~

 ~new Valentine's apron~

~bag full of my favorite scent from Bath & Body~

japanese cherry blossom  :)

~huge rose from Hubbie~

over three feet tall!

 ~Grandma came over after breakfast,

Hubbie and I went out for some shopping,

talking, and fun together! We ate an early Valentine's dinner

at The Cheesecake Factory~

cajun chicken littles

~orange chicken~

 ~we ended our day with a slice of

Reese's chocolate peanut butter cheesecake~

delicious!

But, most of all, I thoroughly enjoyed spending the day with my sweetheart! I hope you enjoyed your day!



Fourteen Years Ago~

Fourteen years ago today, I became a Mrs.
I became a wife...

and as they say, the rest is history. 

Hubbie and I have had 14 great years together, and I look forward to at least a hundred more!

Happy Anniversary, Honey!!! I love you!

Here are a few memories~

~our engagement picture~

~my dad and I right before we walked down the aisle~

~Mr. & Mrs.~

~and DIP~

Thank you for still "dipping me" for a kiss! :)

Plus, the kids enjoy watching us, too!

~Boy, was it cold that day!~

~But, we were happy and excited to be married...and we're still

excited and happy to be married to each other!

I LOVE YOU, HUBBIE!

Weekend Fun

~For today, Tuesday, June 8, 2010~

Outside my window~

the sun is shining brightly and it is only 57 degrees right now!

I am hearing~

the box fan

I am thinking~

about my sweet "Hubbie"

I am thankful~

that I have a great relationship with "Hubbie"

I am remembering~

our first vacation together after we were married. We lived in Pensacola, Florida, and we drove to Texas to visit my brother and his family. After our visit was finished, we drove to Houston and had fun at 

Six Flags. We purchased some sunglasses at the park and used them for the next 13 years! (We just bought new sunglasses this past weekend!)

I am reading~

a new Simple & Delicious magazine that arrived yesterday :)

I am hoping~

that Oldest Daughter's standardized testing goes well today

On my mind~

is my Pastor and his wife who are in Tennessee. He will be preaching tonight.

From the learning rooms~

the school rooms don't close for the summer, so we have some summer work to accomplish (just some reviewing and "keeping up" on arithmetic and grammar facts

Noticing that~

we have eaten out a lot in the last few days

(part of that was b/c "Hubbie" and I were out of town)

I am creating~

the grocery list so that we don't eat out any more this week! :)

From the kitchen~

Hubbie is glad to see this! :)

Tuesday~bacon cheeseburgers, salad

Wednesday~lasagna, salad

Thursday~BBQ pork sandwiches, coleslaw

Friday~homemade chicken tenders, mac/cheese, lima beans

Saturday~lunch~ burgers

supper~grilled steak (YUM!), twice baked potatoes

Sunday~pot roast with veggies, green bean casserole, rotini

Around the house~

are some chores that I have been putting off...

One of my favorite things~

is being able to stay home!

A few plans for the rest of the week~

today is our primary election so I will be voting, swim lessons, church,

giving standardized testing to Oldest Daughter, kids activity at church on Saturday,

cleaning, yard work, and probably some other things that I have forgotten...

From my picture journal~

Have you ever been here before?

"Hubbie" and I saw the new musical this past weekend...

~Outside the theatre~

~Another picture outside the theatre~

~Front lobby~

~Decoration hanging from the ceiling~

~I like this one!~

I'll be linking up to The Simple Woman's Daybook if you want to join in the fun!

I hope you have a great day!

Valentine's Weekend

What a precious, memorable weekend our family had! Even though the majority of the family was sick, we still had a good time together.

After the kids went to bed on Saturday night, the kitchen table was changed! A Valentine tablecloth, new placemats~flower ones for the girls and a dump truck for the young man~Valentine glasses, plates, and napkins. What a surprise for them when they came downstairs on Sunday morning! We made them a heart cake with their first initial on it. You can see the R, D, and S. They loved it!

Hubbie cooked dinner~was it ever delicious!?! (I LOVE when he cooks!)

Here was the menu:

NY strip (marinated two ways)

Chicken lump cakes (similar to a crabcake)~delicious!

Succotash

Twice-baked potatoes

Yeast rolls

Iced Tea

Me and my Sweetheart!


These beautiful tulips were my gift on Friday night...


When I went downstairs on Saturday morning, a dozen "Fire & Ice" roses were sitting on the coffee table in the living room...aren't they beautiful? We then had breakfast out~one of my favorite things to do~at Bob Evans.

We're not done yet!!!

When I was finished getting ready for church on Sunday morning, this beautiful, long-stemmed red rose was laying on my side of the bed, along with a huge bag of Bath & Body lotions, spray, bubble bath, and shower gel! Let me tell you~

I. was. spoiled. (And I loved every minute of it!)

I have had a lot of fun looking at these pictures. I just love the last one~you can actually "see" the velvety-ness of the petals...I hope you've enjoyed your visit here today.

A Night Away

On Monday, I posted some pictures at the end of my Daybook. Here is the story that goes with those pictures~and some more pictures, too!

Last Thursday, Hubbie and I stole away for the evening! We dropped off our children at Poppy and Nanny's house, and then headed for Harrisonburg. We had never been to a B&B, and we found this one online.

As you can see from the pictures, we went to By the Side of the Road. The owners had four rooms in the main house and then three cottages. We decided to go for Quill Cottage. What a wonderful, romantic, relaxing time we had! If the decision were up to me, I would go again tonight! :) However, our forecasters are calling for a major snow storm starting tomorrow morning and going through Saturday night. So, I think we better stay home. ;)

We had such a nice time away. Just spending time alone with each other was such a treat! Now, please, don't get me wrong. I love being able to take care of my children, but it is nice to have a little break every now and then. Mom had offered to keep the children for us, so we started making plans.

Our little cottage was very private, tastefully decorated, and oh, so cozy! Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy.

Did you see the "Circa 1790"?

Quill Cottage at dusk

Hubbie scattered rose petals on our bed...

and on the sink...


and on the 110 gallon Jacuzzi tub...

He even had champagne glasses filled with Diet Cherry 7-Up!

Warm and cozy bed

View from the front door

A little of this...

a little of this...


and a little of this...

makes for a memorable evening!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hot breakfast was delivered to our door Friday morning~
Herb souffle (delicious)
Sausage patty
Bread
Fresh fruit (orange slices and kiwi)
Orange Juice


By the Side of the Road Friday morning~absolutely beautiful!

Quill Cottage on Friday morning

Shenandoah Valley of Virginia

I hope you've enjoyed our pictures. Have a great Thursday!