February Pictures

Matthew playing in the snow for the first time!

mini vacations

What things did you and your spouse like to do while you were dating? Do you still have a regular date night, or occasional get-away?

My hubby and I like to go on mini-vacations. When we were dating, we went to Buffalo a couple times to visit some friends of his and we went up to Niagara to go sight seeing (and gambling). After we got married we went to Niagara, just the 2 of us, and 6 months after we had Matthew we went to Vegas with his parents. We've also been to Pittsburgh just for a weekend (to watch the Indians play there), and we've been to Columbus a few times (although most of those were to visit friends). We are planning a trip to Windsor in March. I told him that I would like to visit a bed and breakfast, or tour spot in each state, starting with the states around us. We are going to Windsor first because his parents got 2 free nights there, and they are giving us one of them. Im always sad to leave Matthew, but I enjoy time away too. Maybe we'll have to take one more get-away later in the year before we have another baby. We do have 2 local weddings this year, and 2 in Florida (one of them in which i am a bridesmaid for my cousin Brittany). Brittany's sister is getting married in September, so Ive heard . . . but I dont think we'll be able to go. I was thinking a good time to go down there before Britt's wedding would be May, or August. No other months work! Anytime before May would be not enough time to prepare, but maybe April would be possible...June and July we have a wedding here, and July is Matthew's birthday. August might be good because it would be before Shaun starts whatever full-time teaching job he will have. Im thinking it would be either just me, or all 3 of us. I dont think I would want to go by myself with Matthew (considering hes never been on a plane before). September wouldn't be good because of Shaun's future job, and Octobers not good due to certain reasons. November is Thanksgiving and December is Christmas. Britt's wedding is January 23rd. Well, so in conclusion, May or August would be good months. I guess I should figure all this out soon! Im looking forward to all the mini-vacations we will take this year!

(" Dear Lord, show me ways to nurture friendship with my spouse, so we can continue to enjoy each other through the passing years.
Is there anything you can take out of your life to allow space for your friendship with your spouse to grow?")

Music

Just curious:
Who did you look up to in your youth? Was in a celebrity, or musician? Or someone you knew? Why did you look up to them or want to be like them?

For me, I really wanted to be in a rock band which was pretty uncommon for girls. I don't remember too many girls in rock bands when I was growing up. Especially not in the Christian music industry. Sure, there was Jackie Valesquez, and Amy Grant etc...but they definitely dont count! It wasn't until around my senior year of high school that the band 'Flyleaf started to become big, then Fireflight, and now Im really into Lights (not Christian...more of an electric style). I was really into music when I was in high school. I was always looking for new bands to discover, making mix Cds and going to concerts a lot. But when I started dating/ got engaged to Shaun I lost my love for music. I think maybe its because we dont listen to a lot of the same bands, or maybe it wouldve happened regardless of my surroundings. But anyways, Im starting to get back into it a little bit. My mom took me, my sister and her boyfriend to see Owl City (touring with the band Lights) in Columbus a few weeks ago, then my friend Andy talked me into going to hear his band Dolson (which Ive heard in the past but it had been years), and now I just purchased tickets to go see Copeland for their last tour (very bittersweet) :( . . . When we went to my friends show, my mom bought the other bands CD's too which she let me put on my ipod. They are really awesome! (Green River Ordinance and Sleeperstar)

Well, off to probably take a nap!!
Have a great day everyone!

talking the talk, and walking the walk

"Dear Lord, give me the strength and faith to keep praying for my child. Help me understand, though it might take years, You are a God who hears and answers the prayers of a praying parent. In Jesus' Name, Amen." (taken from http://proverbs31devotions.blogspot.com/2010/02/wandering-children.html)

I made a commitment to start praying for my future children when I first got married and when I got pregnant and had Matthew it was so cool to pray specifically for him (and the future kids too still). I know this doesn't mean that all with go perfectly with parenthood, or that my kids will only make the best decisions. But I pray specifically that they will make friends with people who are also Christ-followers. People who strive to serve Christ better, that can be an encouragement to my kids. I pray the same for any one else I'm praying for, because I think that the friends you make are an important factor in who you are. I also pray for their future spouse to be not only a Christ-follower, but to be COMMITTED, and PASSIONATE about their faith in Jesus. I also realize that no matter how much I pray for them, the more important thing is that I am a good example of what a Christian looks like. An everyday Christian, not just a Sunday Christian. Therefore, I do make sure I pray for myself as much as I can!

I want this kitty =D

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Domestic Short Hair-orange, Tabby - Orange

Medium Adult Female Cat

Click to see
full size

More About Baby Cakes

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One down, 39 to go

Well today, it was a little hard not to go on Facebook this morning. Luckily I wasn't home all day, and wont be home all day until Monday. I work/worked Tue, Wed, Thur, Fri, Sat, Sun...Off again Monday (hopefully). Its just rough because usually I'm just watching my friends baby, Kellen on Thursdays, but she needed to switch to Wednesday. I was excited to get the day off on Thursday but a lady from work called me and was in desperate need of me covering her shift..Which actually worked out, but now I don't get any time off till Monday. I'm going to try not to let Blogging be my new Facebook for now, because if I did that, then what's the point? Shaun (my husband) has stepped up to the plate, and recommended we read and pray together every evening when Matthew goes to bed. This has been something both of us have wanted to do regularly together, but it never became a habit. If we can do it for 40 days, we should be able to do it longer, right?!

Okay, well off to the banks website to finish writing everything down that we've spent so far this month. Dave Ramsey would be very disappointed we haven't been keeping track!

Lent / Cleaning

Well, I've decided to give up Facebook for Lent once again. I did it last year without even peeking once! Shaun was so shocked, haha! Im hoping this will not only allow for more time in prayer and in God's Word, but also more time for cleaning! I made a cleaning list for myself a while back, but its been hard to follow because the way I set it up was to clean a different room every day. We have 6 rooms in our apartment and I chose Monday through Saturday to clean (resting on the sabbath). I think its a pretty good plan, but if Im not following it, and the apartment is getting messy, it would look pretty silly to only have one clean room. So I normally just clean a little bit in each room which tends to get frustrating because after an hour, it doesnt look like I did very much. Anyways...Im going to be off on Thursday so I think I will do a little bit in each room, then work on Matthew's room. Its actually not as bad as it's been in the past, but I'd really like to clean out the closet, clear off the futon, organize his dresser, and dust/vacuum.

Anyone have any tips on keeping a clean house?! :)

P.S. I have decided to give up TV/Computer time for the first hour after getting up and the last hour before bed.