Thursday Thirteen - Blessing Your Husband

I've been working hard this week to bless my husband in little ways. I am trying so hard to be a wife/woman of God to my husband. So here is a list of thirteen ways to bless your husband. Some of them I have done, others I will try to do. Not all will apply to everyone's relationship, but the point is for we, as wives, to think about how we can be a blessing to our husband.

1. Surprise him with a special night in - Dinner and a movie, table decorations and all for dinner.

2. Leave your husband cards to find at different times (Leaving for work, by the computer, by his dinner plate)

3. Bake him dessert in a heart-shaped pan (Brownies and Cake work well)

4. Keep a tight reign on your mouth and remember not to "nag".

5. Get dressed up just for your husband. We don't always need to dress "comfy and frumpy" just cause we can. Our husbands like to see us "cute and sexy" too!

6. Make a point to take interest in what they are doing, even if it is something you really may not enjoy.

7. Do something around the house that you would usually ask them to do (for me it is doing the dishes and taking out the trash)

8. Clean the house before they come home from work.

9. Go to bed with them even if you not tired and don't have to be up as early as them, and you know they will be out to dreamland in 2.5 seconds. Men like to know their wives are next to them.

10. Make your husband a lunch to take to work. (If you are not a morning person, pack it the night before and put it in the fridge).

11. Buy them something at the store just because you are thinking of them. (This does not have to be anything expensive. It's the thought that counts)

12. Send them a text message during their work day to say I Love You.

13. Remember to repeat your thirteen things you come up with to continually bless your husband.

Not Always a "Special Occasion"

Life's been crazy busy recently. Lot's of stuff going on and always running between work and other commitments. So today was my day off. My softball team was supposed to have a game tonight, but because of poor air quality due to fires, it was canceled. So I decided this gave me the perfect opportunity to get some groceries and make dinner, beings that I haven't cooked a decent meal in about two weeks now.

I decided I wasn't in the mood for one of my "normal" meals. You know those ones where you know the recipe inside out and could make it in your sleep? Yes, those ones. So I perused the aisles at Trader Joe's trying to come up with something new. I decided on Turkey Filets, wrapped with Bacon. My sides included corn on the cob and mashed potatoes. While I was cooking dinner, hubby was in the other room so I had the front of the house to myself. I decided to make a special evening out of it, and cleared off the dining room table, set out two votive candles, found a floating candle in the cupboard and decided to make a floating candle dish as well. So I found my small crystal candy dish, filled it with water, put the silver rose floaty candle in it and placed it in the center of the table. Then I went out front to my roses, picked some pink petals and put those petals around the floaty candle. Then I decided to write hubby a card with a cute little poem and have it by his plate at dinner.

Then I got our plates prepared, lit the candles and called hubby in to dinner. No "special occasion" needed to have a special, out of the norm, meal with an element of elegance. I'm tired so I will upload a picture of it off my camera in the morning.

For now,
Diane

Five Years

June 19, 2003 I embarked on what would be a journey of my lifetime. What would start as a friendship and blossom into a soulmate began with my Nathan. Nate and I officially decided we were "together" on this date five years ago. Our relationship was really ordained by the Lord. See, despite what others thought because of our age difference, we decided to journey through life together and see where God led. It was really the first time in my life that I stopped listening to the voice of man, and started being confident in the voice of my God.

I had prayed for awhile about my friendship with Nathan and if God thought I should pursue it beyond friendship. What God told me was that my Nathan was His gift to me, if I would choose to accept it. I nurtured this precious gift God gave me and pursued this relationship further. Our story of how we became engaged seems less romantic to some because I knew it was going to happen, but if you can understand how our whole relationship evolved, you would see that God was in each step.

Our relationship began as a friendship, and that friendship just continued to grow. It was evident to us very quickly that we were looking at our future spouse when we looked into each other's eyes. And so as our friendship developed we began talking about marriage and when we should marry. So we really had our wedding planned before he even asked me to be his wife. So our engagement wasn't exactly a "surprise" to me, but rather the confirmation of my precious gift from my Lord.

So though we got married August 5, 2006 I count today as a milestone in our relationship....our five year "anniversary" of our relationship which is our gift from God to each other. I am so blessed to have this man in my life and so blessed to have a God who would grant me such a gift.

Thank you Jesus for knowing just what I need and blessing me so. Thank you Nathan for being such a loving husband. I LOVE YOU!

Marriage in California

Somehow I must have missed the news last month, which is probably because of my grandpa's death. Tonight I just read in our local newspaper that on May 15, 2008 the California Supreme Court legalized same sex marriage. Are you kidding me?! I am sick to my stomach right now, and feel moved to get on my knees and pray for my country. What made me even more sick is that California will be changing the wording on the Marriage licenses on June 17, 2008 to read "Party A" and "Party B" instead of "Bride" and "Groom."

If I were not married already I do believe I would get married out of this crazy state. I don't know how much longer I can stand to live in California. People we need to pray for the morality of our country. We must get to what our founding fathers founded this country on, and to be.

In God I trust.

Time to Catch Up - June 10, 2008

It's been a few weeks since my last post and so much has happened, which is why I've been distant from the blogging world. After Nate's Birthday, we still had my birthday to come, the funeral for my beloved grandfather, graduation for a dear friend of ours and of course life as we know it day by day.

I've included pics from some of these events. Our friend Nick Hightower graduated from Chico State on May 25th and we went to his party that afternoon. Nick and his beautiful wife Molly are in the picture above at his party with Nate and myself. We are so happy and proud for Nick. Great job friend!

My birthday was the next day and I had a good day despite the circumstances with Grandpa's passing. I got my nails and hair done that day, and then my mom-in-law through me a party that night with all the family. You can see pics of my new hair above. One of me with Nate, and one of me at dinner. The party was very nice and I felt so loved to have all the family gather for me. I do believe that was my first "family" party just for me. It was nice and made me feel wonderful. That evening after the party I got to hang out with my sis-in-law for a couple of hours too, just the two of us. She is an amazing person who I feel blessed to call my sis. It was wonderful to spend some time with her. Late on my birthday night, my mom and I headed to Sacramento to pick up my brother as he was flying in for grandpa's funeral. He is proud of the fact that he got here for my birthday too. So it was a nice day.

May 29 we burried grandpa. The funeral was amazing. That may sound weird to some, but I am just blown away at the love I felt for my grandpa and at how wonderful the service turned out. I played the piano at the funeral, which was the first time in ten years I have played in front of people. That was a huge thing for me, for one because I was paying tribute to my grandpa, and for other reasons that I will share in another blog another time. Anyway, then my brother and I sang "In the Garden" which we had sang at grandma's funeral seven years ago. Family even remembered we sang it at grandma's which blew me away. So that was special. Then I read a poem I wrote for grandpa. The pastor who did the service is a former pastor of mine, and very dear friend. He did an amazing job in the service and really honored my mom for her caretaking of my grandfather, and honored us as a family for how close we are. It was incredible and I feel very blessed. Then, when we got to the graveside service, the verterans were there when we pulled up. This was a surprise to us, as we had tried to arrange for that, but were told it was not going to happen. So, to pull up and see them there was incredible. The presented my mom with a flag and did their tribute to my grandfather for his service to our country. It was an amazing sight. Finally we came to Chico for a reception which friends had put together for us. It was very nice to have a place to gather after services and not have had to worry about the details. Thanks to all who helped with that, if any of you read this.
Finally I want to say thank you to Molly for her support through the passing of my grandfather. Molly went to corning with mom and I to make funeral arrangements, and then she came to the funeral, sat with me and my family and held me as I cried into her arms. She walked me to the casket after the service ended and helped me say goodbye to my grandpa. Her words and support were incredible and I am so blessed. Thank you Molly, you are a gift from God.

So, the picture of me and Nate with the ride in the background, and the picture of the butterfly were taken at Six Flags, Discovery Kingdom. The weekend after the funeral, Mom, my brother, myself and my hubby decided to get out of town and spend some family time alone, away from the stress of the week. So, we went to the amusement park and just relaxed. I must say it was just what we needed and we had a great time.

Well friends, if you are still reading this, you are truly devoted. I will try to keep up with postings again so you all don't have to read something so long again!

Thank you to all who have gotten me through the passed 3-4 weeks. I love you.