Bringing Good Home

My husband is far from perfect.

That may seem a bit harsh of a statement considering this is Father’s Day and all! Today you’ll find all sort of tributes to amazing husbands everywhere. But humor me for a moment..

It is true that my husband isn’t much for romantic gestures. He doesn’t really care for going out on dates and doesn’t get why giving flowers is appealing.

It is also true that he’s not big on long conversations and he’s really picky about his personal space - sometimes even with me.

My husband is not a morning person. He doesn’t wake up with sweet words or anything remotely resembling a smile. In fact, you’re better off keeping your distance for, oh, a good twenty to thirty minutes at least.

My husband is a picky eater, a picky clothes wearer, and sometimes he’s just downright picky. At times it can make him a bit difficult to live with. Other times it’s a bit humorous.

So, yes, I don’t have the perfect husband who makes me breakfast in bed or takes me out dancing and dining.

But you know, when he does do something romantic - it’s usually something big and it’s always very special. One time when I was pregnant with our second daughter, he came home from work and told me to get dressed up because we were going out. He wouldn’t tell me where we were going, but he had already arranged childcare and all I had to do was come along for the date. It was very special.

And even though my husband doesn’t care much for long conversations, he’s usually willing to listen. Quite often I’ll keep him up late by talking instead of falling asleep while he listens and contributes and asks questions from time to time.

Plus, even if he’s super protective of his personal space at times throughout the day, he always cuddles up to me before he can go to sleep. Always. When I’m gone, he has to hold my pillow - how sweet is that?

And yeah, he’s not a morning person. Shucks, neither am I. The fact that he needs a few minutes to really wake up means that I get a few minutes to really wake up, too. Can you imagine if I married someone who woke up insanely early whistling a tune while I peeled one I open and begged my eyes to focus on the numbers on the clock and pleaded with my brain to interpret them? Um… yeah.

And as far as being picky goes… he IS extremely picky. There’s no denying that. And sometimes it makes things more difficult. But at least I know what to expect. Most of the time I’m not caught off guard and I’m able to anticipate his reactions in advance. Which is good because I don’t like being caught off guard. I mean, who does? But think about this too… This man who is quite possibly THE pickiest person I have ever met… picked me more than ten years ago and asked me to marry him. How about that.

So there you go. My imperfect husband. MY imperfect husband. I love him so, imperfections and all. And, I’m not so perfect either. I have my own issues. My hubby could write his own version of this post, to be sure.

By the way, I believe that God led me to my husband and brought us together. Through thick and thin, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer,… “what God has joined together let no man separate.”

My imperfect husband.

My perfect match.

Happy Father’s Day, James. I love you.

1. Mother’s Day - hehe!
2. The days start feeling longer.
3. It’s the last month with really nice weather. (Where I am. June starts getting too hot.)
4. Barbecues
5. Picnics
6. Gardening
7. It’s the best month for field trips.
8. The school year ends. (Not for us, but for some of our friends - more play dates.)
9. Usually the first month we fire up the grill for all our (my) summer cooking.
10. Finally get to pack up the last of the cool weather clothes. (We hope.)

What about you?

Today has been a really good day! Aside from the fact that my little Princess is now 8, we got a lot of things accomplished today.

We finished cleaning up after our crazy bday weekend; the only room in the house that’s not clean is the kitchen.

We tackled school like crazy; got a TON completed. Drama Queen continued learning how to add and, among other things, Princess practiced money math (a weak spot) and did very well. For a science experiment, we also set some white flowers in water and food coloring. For art we drew pictures of the flowers as a still life.

We also made a birthday cherry cheesecake (complete with candles) for dessert this evening. 8 years ago today God blessed us with our beautiful, sweet little girl. I’ll always be thankul for her.

So it’s been a good day. A really good day.

Not only that, but we tackled a whole slew of things in preparation for Saturday’s party. And later this week I’ll be tackling a few interesting things, such as making homemade yogurt and organizing a few spots in my master bedroom.

Tackle It Tuesday hosted by 5 Minutes For Mom.

Mom, you fought for crown
“Meanest Mom in all of town.”
So thanks. I love you.

When I was little and we cried, “NO FAIR!” My mom replied, “I know, meanest mom in the whole town, now get to it.” I’m a better person for all the things she didn’t let me do, and all the things she made me do, and of course now I’m saying the same things with my little girls. I doubt it’s winning material, but it’ll mean a lot to my mom.

For more information and to enter the Mother’s Day contest for $1,000, sponsored by Egg Beaters, check out Rocks In My Dryer! The contest is only open till 8pm CST tonight!!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Aahhh!! What a crazy, crazy busy week this is. My to do list is about as long as the Nile - and growing. Everything is leading up to a joint birthday party for the girls on Saturday. It’s crazy - but it’s exciting, too!!

So here’s a speed round low down of all my weekly posts. Ready, Set, Go!!

Monday Meanderings and MPM - Um, yeah. Cleaning plan: Clean like crazy! Menu Plan: Eat food!! I confess, I bought ingredients for specific dinners, we’ll probably have sandwiches for lunch most days,…but which day we eat what is really not at the top of my list!

Tackle It Tuesday: LOTS of tackles, like you would not believe. I have a lot of clean laundry to fold, some regular housework to do, and several outside tasks to accomplish before Saturday. I have some things that need to go to the dump, some things that need to go to the burn pile, some things that need to go to the thrift store, and also my uncle is going to come over at some point to help me put up a 100 ft. fenceline to keep the kids out of the poison ivy. Because you know how I feel about poison ivy.

Works For Me Wednesday: Making lists. MAKING LISTS, BABY. It’s the only way I make it through crazy weeks like this in any kind of orderly fashion. Otherwise my scatterbrained self would, well, it wouldn’t be pretty…

Come Shoot The Breeze With Me Thursday: Woo-hoo! Thursday I’ll be taking the girls to my mom (meeting her half way) so they can stay the weekend with her. She’ll bring them back on Saturday just a couple hours before the party. They’re REALLY looking forward to it! On the other hand, I’ll be driving half the day. In the meantime, enjoy these links that I would have shared on Thursday:

• Make a Farm
• Home Made Cleaners
• Catechism for Young Children
• Live Science

I don’t have regular posts on Friday’s but if I had the time I’d probably tell y’all about my fabulous sister-in-law coming over to help me make the best birthday cake ever. Because y’all know what my cakes look like. Friday’s also the day we’re putting together “the gift” - yeah, a bit of secrecy… I’ll let you in on that one later.

And then Saturday is the big day! Drama Queen turned 5 a few weeks ago, Princess turns 8 in about a week, and we’re having one big bash for the both of them that afternoon. Guaranteed to be bucket loads of fun.

So that’s it, y’all have a great week. I’ll catch back up with you in a few days or five. God’ll get me through it all!! I’ll try to come back with all my hair and no additional gray!

I sang this song to my husband at our reception:

Big Daddy, I still love you very, very much. Ten wedded Valentine’s Days together. Happy Valentine’s Day, Sweetie!

Rewind two weeks and pretend it’s the end of 2007 and that 2008 is just around the corner. Now grab a glass of bubbly (white grape juice) and help me count down the New Year.

Again.

2007 brought a lot of change for me. God taught me a lot of about myself, a lot about Him. A year ago I dubbed 2007 “The Year of Clean.” After de-cluttering and reorganizing the kids rooms at the end of 2006 (has it really been that long??) I worked vigorously over the span of the entire year (did it seriously take that much time?) to de-clutter and reorganize our master bedroom and bathroom, our kitchen, our hall closet, our movie shelf, and our living room bookcase, our wardrobes, the kids’ rooms again, as well as working on new habits and daily routines to keep it under control. Of course the whole time I have been working on this, God has been leading me through many personal changes as well. While revamping my home, I’ve been revamping my attitude and my heart as well.

Which leads us to 2008. A year for self-discipline. As for my home, I’ve now de-cluttered down to a manageable amount to keep my home clean on a regular basis.  I’ve got the knowledge, I’ve got the tools, I’ve got perspective… now I just gotta do it. (Think Nike!) The same motto applies to my attitude and heart changes as well - I know what to do. So just do it.

Looking forward to the new year ahead, I see many things to really focus on and strive for. Well, there are several things I can see right now. Who knows what else God will bring along the way? (I mean, except for God himself of course.)

So, I’ve got a list. I thought about sharing it, but why bore with the details? The point isn’t in the details. The point is to look at the next year as an opportunity to grow and change, to grow closer to God, your family, to train your children and love them, to be a better spouse, parent, friend, neighbor,… whatever. Wherever God has you. For me, the change of the year is a reminder that “the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor. 5:17) It’s a reminder that God is slowly erasing the old me and replacing it with the new me. I am a new creation in Christ. And every change that comes with the new year is Christ working in me. Not myself,…but Christ in me.

Have a very blessed 2008.

Tis the season and you can tell, we’ve decked the halls, decked them well. We’ve set the tree, donned the lights, hung the garland from the heights. Our Advent Candle Wreath does glow, the nativity scene Christ’s birth does show. And as the day draws close and near, our hearts are filled with Christmas cheer. So come on in, both young and old, and have a seat — for BooMama’s Christmas Tour of Homes.

Hi! Come in, can I take your coat? We really get into Christmas here. You didn’t notice the door? Oh, well, check it out. (Click on the thumbnails.) Read the rest of this entry »

Usually Advent sneaks up on me. I’m just trucking along, stuffing my face with turkey and dressing when suddenly look up and realize the calendar just flipped over to December 1st. Okay, that may be a little bit of an exaggeration but it sure feels that way!

So this year I determined to be on the ball. My plan this year was to try to do something, even something little, on every single day. So this year we have come up with this:

Overplan much? Not me.

I’ve found some cool craft ideas and instructions online. Here are a few of the things we’ll be doing this month: Paper Plate Angel, Shooting Star Craft, Paper Snowflakes and more Paper Snowflakes, Sheep Ornaments, Homemade Playdough Ornaments, and a Wassail recipe similar to this one that I got out of the book, The ADVENTure of Christmas.

The girls and I are really looking forward to Saturday, we’re VERY excited.

Tackle It Tuesday is hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom!

Our Thanksgiving vacation was a very quiet and peaceful one, here at home. Since we did our main Thanksgiving Supper the Saturday before, it was just us and a simple little turkey dinner. Big Daddy didn’t work from Wednesday to Monday and there was no Good News Club or ballet, so we just hung out and had family time and well, okay we mostly watched tv and played on the computer. We did also make a Thankful Tree:

And we also got some Thanksgiving snow! Which a rare thing for our area and according to the news report hasn’t happened since 1993.

Yeah, it was pretty late and they were supposed to be getting in bed. But, hey, who knows when it will snow again? Sometimes you gotta just stop and smell the roses. Or taste the snowflakes. Or whatever. So we enjoyed our time off. Even me.

Me? Oh, I didn’t do a darn thing.

Okay, I washed enough dishes to cook with - just barely! And I had the kids pick up their toys off the living room floor. But I really did very little. By some rare happening, Momma got to have some time off, too. Imagine that.

So now as a result, (as I’m sure is no surprise) this week is “back to work.” We’ve got some dishes to catch up on, some laundry to catch up on, and a lot of sweeping and vacuuming and that sort of thing.

So yesterday and today that’s what we’ve been working on. Back to work. Back to school. Back to routine (it’s amazing how long it takes to build good habits and how quickly you can abandon them!)

So the moral of the story is.. Oh, I don’t have a clue. I suppose it is just that vacation is okay but if you don’t get back on the work horse right away the horse is likely to run away!!