How to get your husband to:

EAT PLAIN WHITE RICE

Step 1: Put the meat in the oven, on high temp, to cook. 

Step 2: Knowing that the meat can cook for possibly even as long as 1 1/2 hrs, go to pick up your husband at work. 

Step 3: Wait for a while before mentioning that there is food in the oven. 

Step 4: Finally suggest that perhaps you should get heading home because you left food in the oven. 

Step 5: Continue to wait patiently while your husband plays with a truck and tells stories. 

Step 6: Happily leave 2+ hours later. 

Step 7: Open door to let smoke escape.

Step 8: Remove pan from oven and set on porch. 

Step 9: Feed your husband white rice and the broccoli salad you made to go with said meat.

*To keep in mind* Next time, tell your husband immediately, when you arrive at work, that there is food in the oven.

And as a side note:

The next morning, you may not even have to dispose of said meat. 

It just may be that your neighbors cats and/or dogs enjoy charbroiled food.

Holly is:

Getting married

to Dwayne! 

So a couple of her friends (myself included-yay! :) ) got to put on a bridal shower for her. Great fun indeed!

First we sent out some invitations.

In case you can't read it, the note read:

Holly's decided to tie the knot,

            With a man named Dwayne whom she loves a lot.

Let's shower her with things she'll need

             To start their life and help them succeed.

Here's a party you won't want to miss

             As we join in sharing Holly's bliss.

Come all dressed in your western best,

            Let's see who will win the cowgirl test!

Bring a gift that has a reusuable wrap,

            To save on waste and have no scrap.

And one more thing, before we meet,

             To keep a surprise, please be discreet! 

The day finally came and we decorated for a while. I had the best fun doing several DIY projects for the party and everything turned out great! 

 The wood floors in the old town hall completely added to the whole rustic/cowgirl theme.

  I made trail mix and put it in small thank you bags for favors.

Our menu included: Pita bread w/ hummus dip

                              Black Bean and Corn Salad w/ Corn Chips

                              7 Layer Mexican Dip w/ Corn Chips

                              Cheese Slices

                              Cherry Tomatoes

                              Apple Slices, Watermelon, and Strawberries

                              Dill Pickles

                              Caramel Popcorn

Dessert was this lovely cake and ice cream- except I noticed that forty women eat less ice cream than my family does for one meal. I'm not sure what was wrong!

We waited. Holly's dad had called to tell her that he needed the jumper cables because he was broken down. He took his job very seriously,

  while those of us who were there already watched and waited. 

Once she finally did come along, there was a bunch of laughter about a small slip up her mom had made in front of her- which she completely missed, thankfully!

Holly's mom, sister, and Holly herself :)

We played some games and opened gifts and ate,

and then we ate some cake,

and talked,

and watched Holly open more gifts.

Now we wait for her to get married so she can use all the great gifts and advice that she got! 

Congrats Holly :)

A Picture Post

Nathan

Elijah

Ben

Kaylee

Lanna

My Man Managed

...But how well?

I found this stack of Subway receipts stuffed in a drawer today. And there was one more I found at home.

This accounts for eight days of the food he ate. Sunday I know his sisters fed him and then I got back on the 10th day so I guess that covers what he ate.

He did his own laundry too. Since we've been married, there have been a few things that are just set between us, with no discussion necessary. For examples, he always drives, runs the radio or any remote, and remembers when the rent needs to be paid. I always balance the checkbook, take out the trash, and... do the laundry. I was gone for ten days though and he doesn't even own ten days worth of jeans. So he did laundry. And his comment when I got home was "It's not even as hard as it looks!" From the clothes that I saw hung on the line, I could understand how he had come to that conclusion.

The one thing he felt really bad about was my flowers on the porch. They were the first thing I noticed when I got home, and he was bummed that he hadn't noticed them until then either! First he was pretty sure that they just needed some water to perk them up a bit, but since they were still brown a few days later, he suggested that maybe I could buy some more.

All this week I've had folks welcoming me back home. The old guys at the parts stores, customers, friends.... It has struck me slightly funny to hear all their comments.

The young guys ask me how my trip was and I tell them I'm thrilled to be home. They then proceed to tell me that Blake probably missed me but he would NEVER admit it!  

The older guys tell me that they know Blake missed me. "He acted lost and you could even hear it in his voice."

The elderly lady at the Ford dealership commented that Blake must be so happy to have me home finally.

He held the shop together quite well without me. And he functioned ok I think, but I am ever so happy to be back home and able to do Blake's laundry for him!

A Picnic for Lanna...

Picnics always have food, and of course, we did too!

 We played a game:

 Kaylee made the favors- a few recipes tied together with tootsie rolls on top. Of course, the little girls especially loved the candy! :) 

And while Lanna opened gifts,

 Everyone else ate pie and cheesecake.

Well I say everyone else. That's a little stretch. All the little girls were getting a close up view of everything Lanna was opening. They loved it! Holly and I kept trying to get them to step back or move over, but they all are Lanna's best friends and she was happy to have them help.

Oops, here I think is where the little girls found the pie- At least I don't know what else they would have found that would have been more exciting than all of Lanna's presents!

 

All of it was very lovely, but what about when a bad day hits in real life and your life really isn't a picnic? We thought about that and...

Mom, Kaylee, Stacey(who put on the shower with Kaylee and I), her girls, and I did a little skit. Lanna loved it!

 After Rebekah held up her sign, Kaylee got right to work pretending she was a wife and mother.  Holding a fussing baby, killing ants on the counter, and having to run when the children came in announcing that the toilet had overflowed, had her feeling frustrated. Finding a note from her husband asking her to do a few things for him that day and knowing that they were supposed to leave early in the morning on a trip made her want to be overwhelmed. Then a distressed lady (my mom! :) ) knocked on the door to inform her that she smashed Kaylee's mailbox and one of the kids came in to announce that the neighbor's dog had strewn the trash all over the yard again... yeah, you get the picture. That was when a friend came to the door with a bucket of tools and listened for a minute but then used the bucket to create a lesson of how we need to dig in and deal with the troubles and cultivate and pray so that in the end, we'll feel like we've had a scrubbing of the heart that is better than baking soda and tea tree oil! That was when I called her as a worried-for-her sister to remind her that she need not be anxious or stressed but to be thankful in every situation (Phil 4:6), and that Christ will keep us in perfect peace who's mind is focused on Him (Isaiah 26:3).

We ended by having Stacey's girls sing "Count Your Blessings".

Yes, it took a bit more coordination than some other shower activities might have, but definitely was worth the fun!

I'm excited that Lanna is getting married- it was a great opportunity to have a party! :)