A Date With My Valentine

Today is Valentine's Day ... but Hubby and I celebrated with a little "us" time yesterday!

The day started off at church, where we learned a little more about our ULTIMATE love - our Father - and His unrelenting pursuit of us. Pastor Andy gave an AMAZING message about the Lost and Found. He spoke of the sin that we get lost in and how we have a Father who continuously chases after us - not to condemn, but so we may be FOUND again ... in HIM! Oh, His mercy is good!

And, because He first loved us, we are able to love one another.

And there is NO ONE I love more than this guy!!
Here is a look at the day we spent together, celebrating our love ... and the top ten reasons that I LOVE being His date...

#1 - OK, I admit it, I just like the way he LOOKS!!!

Hubba Hubba!

#2 - He makes me laugh! My Funny Valentine!

(he is gonna HATE that I posted this, but it makes me smile!!!)

#3 - He knows my favorite places and he takes me there!

#4 - He ALWAYS orders iced tea - sometimes sweet tea, sometimes flavored, sometimes plain, but ALWAYS tea!

#5 - He holds my hand.

#6 - He has strong, caring hands that love me well!

#7 - He lets me appreciate simple things (like silly decorations) without making me FEEL simple!!

#8 - I love the way he looks at me ... like he KNOWS me, understands me and, yes, even likes me!

#9 - I love that he will relive our past with me! (we spent our first valentine's together here and he took me out walking on this frozen lake!!)

#10 - and I love that he is ALWAYS willing to take me on new adventures too ... even if it involves dollar stores (he loathes them, I love them!!).

But most of all, I just love HIM! I love to look at him, talk to him, be with him and spend my life with him.

I am ever more thankful that he chose me and that the One who chose us FIRST, saw fit to make a way to bring us together.

Happy Valentine's Farmboy!

I love you!
Buttercup

Project 365 - Week 6 and 7

Once again, I have two weeks worth of pictures saved up for you. Cause it has been NUTS here and I have had no time to blog ... which I HATE! Sorry!

Anyway, here is a look at the last two weeks...

Sunday: The girls wanted to play in the snow out back, so hubby took the opportunity to light up the chiminea!! Our shredder broke a few months ago, so he took all the papers he had been saving up and set 'em ablaze!

I must say, junk mail, credit card applications and old bills make some nice kindling!

Monday: Alexis, a Boppy and a blow up ball ... pretty sweet combo!

Tuesday: Time for a new memory verse!!!

Wednesday: Lots and lots of snow.

Thursday: Buddies! Sophie can make Eli smile like no one else!

Friday: Yep ... that is my girl eating a turkey sandwich! And, if ya look close enough you can see her black eye. Poor baby!

Saturday: We had a date with Sophie's Mama Kim at McD's - Hattie loved the slide I loved what it did for her hair.

Static anyone?!

Sunday: Sophie - seriously, that face? Who could resist that?

Monday: I LOVE sweet friends who love my children well! These were notes and goodies sent to my girls to encourage them on some big steps that they have taken recently. LOVE that!

Tuesday: A package ready to go out for Joanne!

She is doing amazing things, by the way. SOOOO proud of her!

Wednesday: Icesicles ... they fascinate me!

Thursday: Alexis is NOT a fan of the rice cereal ... this is her giving me a dirty look. Think it's time to try something a little more fun!

Friday: Sophie is trying so hard to be a big girl like her sister ... even trying to write her name.

Saturday: A little lap top in the windowsill. Love this!

Sunday - a Valentine date with my love! One of our fave places to eat (with leftovers for later too!) ...

... and a little bit of reliving our past. For our first valentine's together, he brought me here to meet his family. We took a drive and ended up at the lake where we were able to walk out on the ice. So, today, we went back to that spot and remembered.

I do love that man!!!

So, there ya have it. A look at our lives! Thank you Sara for hosting us again! I LOVE this project!

So ... how was YOUR week?

Project 365 - Weeks 4 and 5

OK, I missed last week, so I have two weeks worth of fun for ya today! But, before I get started, I just wanted to thank all of you who have been praying for my friend Joanne. She is doing great - more and more alert each day! As of yesterday, she has moved to a center where she will recieve intensive therapies to regain motion and motor skills. Please continue to pray for this, as well as for her family. Thanks so much!!!

So, now let's get started ...

Monday: My poor Hattie came down with the flu that Sophie had had the week before. Sophie had it for about 36 hours and vomited once. Hattie was a little worse off. She missed the entire week of school and did not keep ANYTHING down from Monday to Thursday.

Tuesday: If we have apples in the house, this is what I find in random locations through the kitchen & family areas. Sophie LOVES apples!

Wednesday: Three houses ago, we had a game room. It was decorated in Americana motif and this pillow sat on a small couch. When we moved from that house it was packed away and I had not seen it since. For some reason, it suddenly showed up about the same time as Joanne's stroke. Since that day I have found myself kneeling and/or face down on the floor in prayer more than I ever have before. And this pillow has become my official prayer pillow. Thankfully, I have also had many reasons to use it for PRAISE too.

He is FAITHFUL!

Thursday: This was the day that the bug hit me. Hubby stayed home from work and helped with the kids and I spent the day in bed. Sophie broke one of my favorite necklaces and, lucky for her, I was to sick to care.

Friday: Hubby had tried to do some cleaning while I was sick and found some scent beads. He thought he was replenishing what was already in this warmer, but A: he put in too many and it over flowed. And, B: he ended up mixing two different kinds of beads.

And, I LOVE him soooo much for trying, but pumpkin spice and pink lemon aide are NOT a good combo...

Saturday - I woke up to this BEAUTIFUL sunrise and just knew that God was up to something big.

A few hours later, as I walked the aisles of Target, looking for a laundry basket, I got the call that Joanne was opening her eyes. And, right there in the home goods section, I fell on my knees in praise and cried.

PRAISE HIM!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday: Behold ... the laundry basket! I will never look at laundry the same way!

Monday: This is where Alexis has the most fun when she is here. She can get that ball FLYING too!

Tuesday: This is a TERRIBLE picture, she had just woke up and did NOT want her picture taken. But I had to, because this was the morning of the Epic Battle Of The Bedheads!!! It was between Sophie ...
... and Eli.

And, believe me when I say, NEITHER of these pictures do either bedhead justice.

Wednesday: Hattie lost another tooth!! And, I am sorry, but is this not the CUTEST toothless face you have ever seen? Oh, my heart...

Thursday: More and more was happening with Joanne and I was REALLY missing all of my Siestas. So, I pulled out the water bottle that I bought last April when we all went to Atlanta for So Long Insecurity. Somehow, it made me feel a bit closer to them all.

Friday: Eli took about 5 steps right before I took this picture. I wanted to capture him walking, but he was NOT in the mood to perform.

I HEART this boy!!!

Saturday: We got a few inches of snow overnight - FINALLY enough to make a good snowman ... or, in this case, a snowchick! Is she not adorable?!

Thank you Sara for hosting us!

Have a GREAT week!!

Project 365 - Week 3

I am just gonna come right out and tell ya from the beginning that this has been a VERY hard week. In fact, the only reason I even have pictures to post - or am even bothering to post them at all - is for the sheer distraction. I am sorry to be a debbie downer, but as we go through the week, you will see why...

Monday: Sayin goodbye to the Christmas Dishes. I am a huge fan of these pretty plates and HATE puttin em away every year. But, I do love my every day dishes too ... and I get to look forward to next year, right?

Tuesday: This is where it all began to unravel... My sweet friend Joanne (The Simple Wife) was running her 38 year old, EXTREMELY healthy body on the treadmill on Tuesday morning when a blood clot caused her to have a massive stroke. She is a BEAUTIFUL mama of two sweet girls and the rest of the week was spent at the foot of the cross on her behalf.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE pray for my sweet friend, who, even now, fights for her life. This picture was taken as a visual reminder that she sits firmly in the palm of God's hand.

Wednesday: Joanne had told us on Monday that she had tried to do her quiet time & homeschooling by the fireplace ... but she had forgotten to open the flue. We all had a great laugh and she, of course, laughed the hardest of all. So, in her honor, on Wed. morning we all decided to do OUR quiet times - and fall on our knees at the Throne of Grace - in front of a nice fire.

I do not have a fire place, so this was the best that I could do...

Thursday: OK, I didn't take a picture on Thursday, so I decided to give you a picture of Sweet Joanne. (taken by her sweet sister Kristen at KHPhotography)

Please, PLEASE, PLEASE pray for my friend.

Friday: Joanne was supposed to host a luncheon for some fellow bloggers on Friday ... so, again, we had quiet/prayer time in her honor. We were supposed to have tea, but I cheated and had coffee. Her family had asked us to pray Psalm 46 over her. So that is what I have been doing. And I wrote her name in my Bible so I would never forget. Ever.

As if I ever could...

Saturday: Homemade chicken noodle soup ... even homemade noodles. It was good to have my whole family at my side. I spent the day watching my sweet girls play and could not help but think about and pray over Jo's sweet girls. Audrey is 12 and Emma is 9. Please pray for them, as well as her husband Toben, her daddy Chuck and mama Kay, her sister Kristen and their whole family. I cannot imagine.

Sunday - This morning my wonderful man was prayed over and ordained as a Deacon. I have never been so humbled and so proud all at the same time. I do so love my man. (mine is the one on the far right ... the one with no hair)

As we stand now, Joanne is still in a very desperate fight for her life. Her sweet, beautiful brain is still swelling. They have had to do a skullectomy on the right side (the stroke side) already, but as the swelling has continued, there is now pressure on the left side. If it does not cease swelling, more invasive measures will have to be taken.

I cannot even begin to tell you what a brilliant, beautiful woman of God Joanne is. I am BEGGING you to PLEASE pray for the swelling to go down and for her healing. I KNOW that my God is HUGE and miracles are His specialty, so I am BOLDLY asking for the BIG - the whole she-bang- the MIRACLE. I am asking that my friend be made well. And yet, I trust His will and His alone. He is not only huge, He is good. And I believe. I will ever believe.

Thank you Sara for hosting us. Have a great week - hug the ones you love, tell em that you do and count every Blessing. Because you just never know.