Sweetness...

I have a really sweet husband. Most people don't really get to see all the sweetness that I see because he's a little reserved and he looks a little like a serial killer right now.

But he's really a big softie and has been extra helpful during my pregnancy. Last night, he fed the dog, had a warm towel waiting for me when I got out of the shower and did laundry at midnight (when I realized I had no clean work clothes). He even gave me some snuggle time... my favorite of all the sweet things he does :)

Compliment

My sweet husband said the sweetest thing this morning when he got home from work.

"I think I enjoy spending time with you now more than I ever have."

That is probably the best compliment I've ever gotten... especially from him. It's so true though. I completely agree. We've always spent a lot of time together but very little of it was quality. With his new work schedule and our busy lives, I think we appreciate our time together a lot more. I've also noticed that we both go out of our way to do things for each other... more so than in the past. We've come a long way!

Sent from my iPhone

Sweetest husband...

When I got out of the shower, there was a sweet card on the bathroom counter.

When I came out of the bathroom, he was coming in the door with a ham and cheese biscuit from Arby's AND made me some chocolate milk.

Prayer Answered...

Peace was the topic tonight.  One thing (of many!) that struck a cord with me was to ask God for hidden faults to be revealed so that I do not block or hinder the Holy Spirit's power over my life and the peace that I can experience only through God.

This was my prayer tonight...

and boy was it answered! When I got home, I told D about what I had learned about peace.  If you've read my blog for the last couple of days, you know that we have been a little rocky lately.  Don't worry about us...  we've been in much worse places than this time in our lives together.  Without knowing what I had prayed, D was able to reveal to me that I frequently (ok, he said always) "withhold reconciliation" and make it difficult to resolve conflict.  I honestly didn't realize it.  I think I took it very well and apologized, which he quickly forgave :)  

I'm excited about what else God has to show me!!

Not much...

Not much going on right now.  We're still praying and waiting on a job for D.  Please pray for us to remember that God will provide and to not turn on each other.  One income + High stress/frustration = stupid arguments.

We have never really celebrated Valentine's Day but this year I kinda wanted to.  We spent all day Saturday and Sunday together.  It was nice just to slow down and spend quality time with D.  Maybe next year we'll do something big.

My bible study is focusing on PEACE this week.  Please, Lord!  I need some peace!!

why do men make everything so difficult??

here's a for instance...

Me - almost finished cooking supper (orange chicken and rice)
D - watching football.
D - we should've gotten some egg rolls
Me - yea that would've been good
D - I'll run get some.
Me - ok, tell them you want some extra duck, mustard, and soy sauce
D - (puzzled look) - i'm not going to new china... i'm going to food world
Me - but new china would be easier and cheaper
D - but they don't take a card
Me - fine... go ahead...
20 minutes later...
D - these egg rolls aren't that good.
Me - hmmm

Change is good!

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 

2 Corinthians 5:17

Dustin and I have been together for a little over 10 years now.  Of course we have had our ups and downs and sometimes I tend to remember the downs more than the ups.  This is one of my many faults.  Sometimes when I look at D I expect to see the same person I knew 10 years ago.  Only through the grace of God does he continue to surprise me.  We have changed soooooooo much since then.  I'm sure you are thinking that everyone changes in 10 years and they do but, I am confident that the changes we have experienced are God's transformations in us and our marriage.  

I am constantly surprised by D's increasing reliability and sense of responsibility. Recently, he has had several opportunities to show his true colors to some people that may not always get to see them and my how he has shined.  I feel like a proud mama sometimes!  Every day he is more agreeable without being a doormat. Every day he is more loving in ways that I didn't even realize I could feel love. Every day I fall more and more in love with my husband.  I am so grateful for that!  There were definitely some low points in the not so distant past that I feared I would never feel this way.  ONLY God can change people like this.

Marriage....

My precious parents are celebrating their 29th anniversary today.  I am so blessed to have parents who are:

• Still together
• In love
• Christians
• Great examples of what a marriage is supposed to be

This date also represents a particularly low point in my own marriage 3 years ago.  I won't go into details but it was also a turning point for us.  I am so proud of how far we've come.  We owe everything to God.  He sustains us.  He provides everything we need.

Thanksgiving...

Well Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Today I am thankful for.......

• God
• Family
• Friends
• My job
• My church
• My home
• My marriage

Tomorrow is our 5th anniversary! We are leaving for Tuscaloosa as soon as I can get away from work in the morning. We will be staying at the Hotel Capstone and I am soooo excited. We plan on shopping and eating a lot! We'll also drive by our old homes and see how/if they've changed. I can't believe that it's been 2 1/2 years since we lived there. We have some great memories from there and sometimes think about moving back (even though we know we won't). Now, I just hope our future children will want to go to UA and we can stay with them whenever we want :) They'll love that!

Dustin and I have been together for 10 years now. It doesn't even seem real to me. I know that God has a plan for us. We have been through so much together and have put each other through some stuff too :) It hasn't always been easy, but what is? Marriage is work. It takes effort to make a good marriage. We are still working on it. As our pastor says, "if your not working on your marriage, your marriage is dying." or something like that :).

Call the humane society...

So this morning started off pretty normal. Sleep in, get ready for church leisurely, arrive about 25 minutes late but there in time for a couple of songs and the sermon which was great! We are in week 3 of a marriage series. Eric did (as always) a great job of reminding us that we must "choose to love each other". "Happy" should fall into place when everything else is done within God's will. Take divorce off the table. Reassure each other that you will never divorce and it is not an option. Will trouble come? surely as I breathe. Does God want you to do everything in your (and His) power to stay together? absolutely!

Small group was good too. 3 out of the 4 families were there. We've been talking about Acts . (Click on "Acts" for the lesson). I feel like we need more people in our home group. I would really love to see us grow. It seems like everyone I've invited is excited and then never shows up :(. If you are reading this and want to try it out send me an email.

After home group it was time for some grocery shopping while D watched football. I was talking to my friend Allen on my way to walmart and he said he would come shopping with me since he needed to as well. D, Allen, and I spend a lot of time together and have a good friendship. We ran into about 10 friends from church and neighbors who looked at him like "i don't think you're her husband". It was pretty funny.

As D and I were putting groceries away, the doorbell rang. It was our older neighbor. Her eyes and nose were red and teary. She asked if she could come in and talk to us. Weird. So she starts in with.... "you know, Donald and I really love Bronco and Donald just loves to play with her." I'm thinking.... she's about to tell us something crazy that Bronco does while we're at work that is driving them crazy and we should get rid of him. So she tears up again and says "she's just been laying out there under that tree staring into our kitchen window all day with those puppy dog eyes in the cold, rainy weather". HEY LADY.... He's a DOG! and he's a MOUNTAIN dog. He LOVES this weather. Oh and PS... Bronco is a boy!

Then she says, "We want to buy 'her' from you. Our starting offer is $200. I'm sure she's getting pretty expensive now to feed." blah blah blah... She went on and on even with me telling her "we don't want to sell him. we love him" over and over again.

So after she left, we felt guilty and let the poor baby in for awhile.

Sunday Mornings...

One of my favorite traditions right now is waking up Sunday mornings and reading PostSecret with Dustin. I often wonder what my secret would be and what his would be.

Right now we have started working through My Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. I love it so far. Our money is no longer in control of us!