Thankful

Lighting is poor ... quality is not the best ... but oh how I love these two pictures.  I was in the kitchen washing dishes and the rest of my family was snuggling in together on the couch. I had to stop what I was doing to capture the moment. Daddy had been gone all day long and the children just wanted to be with him. Nothing else mattered. 

I am so thankful for these 5 amazing people. What a joy it is to be in this family. I hope they grow up knowing that I love being the wife and Mommy of this family more than anything in the world. My heart is full.
My days are busy, full, and loud. I have moments that I want to run for the cover of silence. I don't want to paint an unrealistic picture of my life. I just want to pause and have a heart of thankfulness. I want to be thankful in all of my moments.  I want to live my faith in front of my children.
What are you thankful for today?

Rich's New Book

I am having a hard time finding exactly the right words to say about the image above. I am sitting in my bed right now, sipping coffee, and enjoying the quiet that will come to an end in about 51 minutes. I just finished making coffee, breakfast, and lunch for Rich and helped him get out the door for his Tuesday/Thursday classes that he teaches at  UNC School of the Arts. In keeping a family journal of all of our happenings, I absolutely must blog about his new book!
I'll just say this: I am proud of him. He works so hard for his family. I am so very thankful for him and all that he does for us. I am thrilled for him that his first book has been published and the joy that I've seen it bring to him. He has already begun work on his next book, and I can't wait for that to happen for him too!
His book, God, Time, And The Incarnation, will be available soon at BN, Amazon, etc. For now, you can purchase it directly from the publisher. 

Birthday week!

Rich and Rosalie celebrate their birthdays in the same week. So, we eat a lot of cake in the last week of January/first week of February. Rosalie got a card in the mail from Nanny and Pupup, and the picture above is of her opening it. Yes, it's already stared. There is great ... GREAT anticipation about her birthday that is coming up in only a few days.

She knows that her birthday comes after Daddy's, so every time we talked about his birthday, she shouts with glee ... that after Daddy's birthday it will be hers! On a side note, she was convinced that the princess on the front of her special birthday card was her!

I decided a few weeks ago that I would surprise Rich and get a babysitter, so that we could go out on a date for his birthday! We went out a couple of nights ago and enjoyed it so much! The children had a wonderful time at home with a special young lady, and we had a great time too. Today, the children each gave him a gift, we had a homemade birthday cake complete with candles, and Rich's favorite meal. It was a good day. We are blessed!
This weekend I will make another cake, there will be pink and purple candles, and presents for our little princess! It's so hard for me to believe that she is going to be 3.

Working on the school room

This is a picture of our school room ... before ...
There is a space between the two closets where I kept the bookshelf with all of our school books.  The school room also serves as a guest room, so I had a bed set up in there as well.  Against the back wall is a table for the children to do their school work.  (can't see it in this picture)

Now between the two closets is a desk, and a shelf that Rich is building.  We will use the desk for our school computer, and the shelf above it will be used for a television.  (to be used for anything educational that we may need ... and for the wii system)  This is truly becoming a multipurpose room!

I am so thankful for Rich ... this man can do anything!

It's not quite done yet ... but it will be done by the end of the week.  I will post pictures of the room in it's completed form next week.  I also bought a futon for this room and moved the twin bed out.  Getting our house the way we want it is a very slow process ... but it's coming along.  I am so thankful that my husband is so handy and can fix, build, or repair just about anything!

Ryan shot his first deer!

Last weekend our family came for a weekend visit!  Since they came during hunting season, Rich took Ryan, (nephew) hunting.  They had a fantastic time and it resulted in Ryan getting his first deer.  They were both so excited ... we all were!   We are all so happy that Ryan and Rich were able to go hunting together! 

All of the children were super excited to see the Ryan's deer when they came home that night!

Jonathan's Birthday Lunch!

Rich started a special tradition with our children.  Each year on their birthday he takes them out for a special birthday lunch.  (and they get to choose the restaurant!)  It is a much anticipated event ... I often hear conversations between the children about which restaurant they will choose when it's their turn!!
Jonathan was so excited to go out for his lunch he could hardly stand it!  He chose to eat at a mexican restaurant.  I took this picture of the two of them before they left for their special outing!
I still can't believe my boy is 5!

Building the playset

We are super excited about all of the building that has been going on in our garage over the last several days! Thanks to Nanny (Rich's Mom), we were able to purchase a fantastic play set for our backyard! We've never had a play set, so this is very exciting for the children!
We are not sure yet when it will all be done - but the boys are enjoying hanging out with Daddy as he builds it. Jonathan is especially interested in building, so he will hardly leave Rich's side!
I'll post updates as we get further along!

Building shelves

It's been awhile since I've blogged about house updates. We haven't been doing much around the house lately. It comes in spurts, I suppose. In the last week, Rich has cleared the brush at our tree line on our property, (With the help of a good friend and his teenage son) and started building shelves in our garage. Our garage has been a disaster area since we moved in - so this is a huge improvement!

I only wish that I had gotten some before pictures. Oh, what an amazing difference it is.

I am so thankful that my husband is so handy!

More house updates to come!

Here we go ...

Rosalie's most requested song this week ...

The Small Things

Have you ever thought about the small things? You know ... all of the pesky details of life ... the ones that aren't particularly fun, but still have to be done. Have you ever counted them? I haven't actually put a number on all of our small details ... but I have decided that they count!
I've said a lot of things about my husband in the past ... his incredible integrity, his unending loyalty, his amazing work ethic, it just occurred to me, though, that I've never talked about the small details.
My husband takes care of me in ways that are hard to describe. The ways that he takes care of me may not even appeal to other women. However, those ways are perfect for me. He takes care of our family in ways that require great forethought. He is always thinking ahead, planning, and figuring things out. (all of that may sound vague - but it applies to all aspects of our life - especially the details)
We've been married for 13 1/2 years and I've never spent a single second worrying about finances (including the 9 months that we had absolutely no income and lived on our savings account). He takes care of all of those financial details in such a way that it's downright admirable.
He does thousands of small things on a daily basis that make my life easier. I spend a lot of time thinking of ways that I can serve him as sacrificially as he serves me. I think that at the end of a day ... we can both say that we work hard at serving one another.
Sometimes those small details are easily overlooked. The reason that "small details" may seem vague is because they are so small that they probably would bore my readers to death. However, thousands of small details equals a great deal of stress free time for me. I don't ever want to overlook the small things!
It's worth taking a few moments to think about all the small things your spouse does for you. You might be surprised when you start to count them.
I've spent a lot of time missing, forgetting, and overlooking the small details. The lesson that I've learned is that it's worth it not to miss, forget, or overlook those details. I am certain that if you really start to count them ... your admiration for your spouse will grow exponentially.

My question for you today ... are you counting the small details?
If you have a moment to comment - I'd love to hear about some of your small things!

7 Pointer

Can you tell he's excited?
I am excited too because my freezer is about to be full!

We are officially ...

under contract for this house:

We are so excited! We have been looking at houses since June, and have experienced some roadblocks along the way ... but are thankful that it led us to this house! We didn't intend or expect to buy a new construction home, but are very excited to be the first ones to live in this house.

This is the dining room with a back door that leads to a large partially covered deck.

This is the Living Room.

I am very excited to say that we are going to have a gas line run to the kitchen so that we can have a gas range. Now that I've had a gas range for the past year and a half - I can't imagine having anything else!

This is a view of the kitchen from the stairs.

This is the master bedroom - which has a door that also leads to the back deck!

The house also has 4 large rooms upstairs. Rosalie will have her own room. The boys will share the large bonus room. Rich will use one of the rooms for an office, and the extra room will be used as our school room.

When we moved here 7 1/2 years ago, we thought that we were just passing through and that we would soon move on to another area. I guess we were wrong. Perhaps buying a house means that we are putting down roots.

I am so thankful to have a husband who works so hard to provide for us. He and I never dreamed that we would be a position to buy a house so soon after he completed his PhD. I am thankful that he is a saver and not a spender. I am thankful that he always has the best interest of our family as his #1 priority.

All glory to God for His abundant blessings!

I feel like a teenager!

Today is our 13th anniversary! Earlier this month we were able to celebrate our anniversary with a night away from the children. We went out to eat, walked around an outdoor mall, listened to some outdoor live music, and spent the night at a hotel. It was a great way to spend our anniversary.

I'm so thankful for my husband in so many ways. I am thankful to be on this journey by his side. I can't believe that it's already been 13 years!

May we continue to serve the Lord together and bring honor and Glory to Him in this journey of marriage and raising our children.

Thankful for my husband

My facebook status yesterday said:

"My husband is my hero. I am blessed beyond measure to be married to him, and I am so thankful that my boys have a man of such character to call their daddy. Just had to say that."

A little sappy? Maybe. True, though.

We've just come through a tough season. Rich worked dilligently on the Huffman campaign. He spent every spare moment, and some not so spare moments working toward the goal of getting Huffman elected. He has sacrificed time with his family, sleep, and leisure time working toward gaining our country back. I believe in this cause too, and because of that, I was willing to do whatever it took to sacrifice on my end, so that he was free to help where he was needed.

Tuesday was an enormously difficult day for us. Dan Huffman did not get elected. He was close. The top 3 candidates were within 800 votes of each other. He ran an upright and God-honoring campaign. We can't say that about all the candidates involved. When Danny spoke to us as the election results came in . . . he said, "God told me that I needed to run, but He didn't tell me that I would win."

So, Danny was faithful to do what God was leading him to do. Rich did what God was leading him to do by helping Danny. I have to tell you, though. It's hard to suffer a loss like this when you have put your heart and soul into something you believe to be the right thing.

Would I rather be married to a man who will say anything to get a vote, whether it is the truth or not? Or, would I rather be married to a man who will tell the truth no matter what the cost?

Integrity. It's worth more than a billion votes. I am thankful for what my husband has been doing the past few months.

I am thankful that our children have a father with integrity.

While many disappointments come our way, and many uncertainties follow, we are certain of a few things.

We will keep serving the Lord.

We will continue to be faithful to Him.

We will keep loving Him.

We will do our best to teach our children to do the same thing.

Happy Birthday to Rich and my TOP TEN

Happy Birthday to my husband!!!

The Top Ten reasons I am thankful for Rich:

10. He is extremely cautious in all areas of life. Decisions, and plans for the future are weighed carefully. The safety of his family is always on his mind. In fact, if he errs - it is always on the side of caution.

9. He is a tightwad - he always has our future in mind - he does not like to part with money. He is all about saving.

8. He is generous. He is very likely to put what he wants on the back burner so that he can help someone in need.

7. He is loyal in all aspects of his life - home, family, friends, and work.

6. He is a great cook. He taught me how to cook without recipes!

5. He is a diverse person. He can fix anything that needs fixing, remodel a home, he is a philospher, an engineer, a VA Tech and Pittsburgh Steelers football fan, and a Pittsburgh Penguins hockey fan. And even better. . . he'd be the first one in line to take me to a performance of the Mozart Requiem should such an opportunity present itself.

4. He has many, many skills. He can and does fix anything that needs repairing. He is a computer wizard. So, I never have to worry about how I am going to get anything fixed around the house, nor do I ever have to worry about what to do about computer issues. We never have to call a repair man for anything!

3. He is incredibly responsible with our finances and is committed to providing not only for our present, but also our future. I have never spent a single second worrying about money since we've been married. He always takes care of everything for me. When he wants to buy something out of the ordinary, he spends several weeks talking it through with me, and even calling a friend with great knowledge in the area of finances(Tony) for advice and wisdom.

2. He models strong leadership for our children. He expects immediate obedience from our children and has challenged me continually to train our children to be obedient. He is consistent with them and that consistency never leaves them wondering what is expected of them.

1. He is my best friend. He is a take charge kind of a guy, he is a leader, and he doesn't hesitate to let me know how he wants things to be. However, he is just as interested in how I want things to be. We are in this life together and he always wants to know what I think. I am thankful that we are a team and get to spend our lives serving God together.

Fishing with Daddy

Rich took Martin on his very first fishing trip this past Saturday! Rich's good friend, Eric, invited them to go fishing on his canoe out at Falls Lake. Martin was beyond excited to be able to go on a boat. . . and to fish with a real fishing pole!!I stayed at home with the rest of our little ones, so I didn't get to see him experience his first fishing trip. . . but I heard. . . that he didn't want much to do with putting the cricket on the hook for bait!

He was one proud 7 year old. . . when he came home with some GREAT catches!

Martin caught 2 catfish! Rich caught a bass. Eric caught a catfish.

Eric taught Rich how to filet the fish. . . not something I cared to watch. . . but Jonathan quite enjoyed watching them dig the guts out of the fish! (that's my boy!)

Rich breaded the fish using the breading method that I posted about on an earlier blog. (breaded chicken) And it works for fish too!!

He fried the fish in coconut oil.

Then he placed the fried catfish in front of the boy who caught the fish.

And he takes his first bite . . .

Rich joined him at the table to eat their catches. . . and they enjoyed that yummy fried fish! (it occured to us that our children had never had fried fish before!)

Jonathan had to get in on eating some of that fried fish. . . and he LOVED it!

But the greatest surprise. . . was that Aaron wanted in on the action. . . and even he liked it . . .and asked for more!!!