Happy Birthday....

To the man who is my best friend.

To the man who loves me no matter what.

To the man I'm blessed to spend the rest of my life with.

To the man I love with all of my heart.

And secondly!


Happy Birthday to the best Mom in the world.

The one who showed me what it is to be a godly wife and mother.

The one who I know loves me unconditionally.

The one who I can always call and talk to when I need to.

Mom, you're an amazing woman and I thank God for you. Thank you for setting such a wonderful example for me and my sisters to follow! I love you.

Prayer Request For My Niece

Hello everyone! I am very happy to tell you (a little late) that my sister-in-law had her baby Thursday a week ago! My adorable niece weighed 6 lbs 9 oz and was 21 inches long. Her name is Ashlynn Liberty.

My prayer request is: Ashlynn has Down Syndrome, and today we learned that she has a hole in her heart which will require surgery. She is a precious, beautiful baby and has already stolen our hearts. Please remember her in your prayers! ♥

About: Going to the Gym!

Josh and I just started going to the gym. We are going to try and do it everyday for the foreseeable future. I'm happy and excited about it! I really am. I am SO out of shape compared to how I was when I was working on my family's farm every day.


HOWEVER. 


After two days of going to the gym, I feel like this:

And I want to do this:

I know things will get easier as we go along, I just hope it gets easier fast! 

Just a note to say..........

I am MADLY in love with this man!

I'm still here!!

Were you starting to wonder?? I've fallen behind badly in my blogging!

I hope you had a WONDERFUL Christmas and New Years. I sure did! Josh surprised me with a trip to Florida to be with my family down there for the two weeks surrounding Christmas and New Years, and we had a great time. We spent precious time with family and good friends, did some fishing, enjoyed the warmer weather, and spent more wonderful time with family and friends. :-)

(My very excited little sister on Christmas morning) 

I have some great news!!! My brother Brandon ( the one who has been in Afghanistan) is supposed to be home in 34 days! :-D They are letting him come home for the birth of his first baby. ♥ His wife Amanda is Very thankful, as are Mom and Dad and everyone else. :-) The pregnancy is going well for Amanda. The baby is a girl, and her name will be Ashlynn Madison. Pretty, isn't it? ;-) Please pray for safekeeping for my brother this last month that he will be in Afghanistan, and a healthy end of the pregnancy and birth! It's an exciting time!             

                                     

(Amanda and her daughter, Keylan)

Are you ready for a LOT of pictures?? :-)

 (The Christmas tree on Christmas morning)

 (My brother Brason just a few days out of a body cast that he had to wear for TWO MONTHS after he broke his leg in October!)

 (My brother Boaz)

 (My handsome brother Ben)

 (My sister Bethany passing out presents :-)

 (My sister Brianna)

 (Dad opening his airsoft rifle from Ben)

 (My two littlest sisters, Beri and Providence) 

 (My cutie-pie niece Keylan with her teddy bear from my brother Brandon, which says " Someone in Afghanistan loves me!" ♥

 (My sister-in-law Amanda, and Keylan again :-)

 (My handsome fisherman husband!)

 (Me. Aaaaannd a BEAUTIFUL sunset!)

 (My handsome man ;-)

 (My handsome brother Benny ;-)

 (My beautiful/handsome wonderful amazing parents) ♥

(Us. Not the BEST picture, but it's the only one of both of us from the trip. ;-)

I have TONS more pictures, but I don't feel like uploading anymore. ;-) It's almost 2:00 am and I SHOULD be in bed. 

 We have been getting some snow for the last two days. It's pretty outside! :-D I'll try and get some pictures tomorrow to share with you. :-) Tomorrow I'm also planning on making some soap. Kelp and Lime with a loofah sponge in the bars. I'm hoping it turnes out good! I noticed this evening that my fans have big dust balls on them. :-/ I'll be cleaning those tomorrow too. Fans collect a LOT of dust! 

 Anyway, I will REALLY try to be more consistent with my blogging, so you should be seeing more of me. :-) Bye for now! ♥

I got to talk to Brandon!!

Update on Brandon ♥

(This is his Amish look ;-)

(Playing with our sister Beri)

Prayers For My Brother In The Military

I Heart Faces ~ Yellow

Well I haven't entered an I Heart Faces photography contest in a while, but the theme this week was "Yellow", and I had this REALLY CUTE picture of one of Josh's cousins, so I thought I'd share. :-)

I love the colors- and especially her red hair!!!!! :-) There are lots of lovely pictures this week at I Heart Faces ~ Check it out!!

The Power of a Praying Wife

Lately I have been thinking about how important it is to pray for my husband constantly. He has so much pressure on him with work in a slow economy, a painful knee, being the spiritual leader of our home, worrying about the future of our country and the effect of that on our lives, and so many other things. I think it is very important for me as his wife to remember to pray for him every day. Prayer seems like such a small thing to do, but when I am diligent about it, I am always amazed at the results. If my focus is on the Lord, and I am constantly talking to Him about everything, amazing things happen! I am happier, life seems easier, I feel closer to my husband, he seems happier, we treat each other better, he seems more tender and loving- and I don't even have to tell him I've been praying! The benefits of walking with the Lord are amazing. :-) I just thought I'd share my thoughts with you and encourage you all to be praying for your husbands or fathers too! Have a blessed day! ♥

"This is my beloved and this is my friend,

O daughters of Jerusalem."

Song of Solomon 5:16b~

Back Home Again & Other Thoughts

We are back in Ohio! Actually, we've been here for about two weeks now, but I haven't had time to post anything on here. :-)

It was so nice to be able to spend so much time with my family in Florida! I can't wait for the day when we are all neighbors! Hopefully that will be soon. It was hard leaving them.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our trip:

Brianna :)

Brason :)

Beri- Isn't she cute!!!??

Mom at a neat little shop we visited one afternoon. :-)

Ben after rescuing Pat. C. from a tree :)

Amanda :)

Another cute one of Beri! :)

Josh ( in the white t-shirt), Dad ( in the yellow t-shirt) and Ben ( in the black t-shirt) walking towards the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C during the Healthcare Bill Opposition Rally that we took part in.

Josh and I in Front of the Capitol Building.

Mom, Dad, and a few of the kids at Alexander Springs :)

Mom looked so pretty in her dress and hat! :)

Josh and I at the beach! It was REALLY windy that day! :)

We went to a part where you can drive right down to the water. It was fun!

I really miss everybody down there. Hopefully It won't be too long before we see them again!

For the last few days I've been thinking about just how blessed I really am. Yesterday Josh came home a little early, which I always love! :) The windows were all open because it was absolutely beautiful outside, the birds were singing, there was bread baking in the oven, my husband was here with me, and I thought to myself, 'This is what fairytales are made of!!'

Life isn't always perfect. We have our share of hard times and bad days, but some days I just have to step back and think, ' It doesn't get any better than this!' I am so thankful for all of the blessings that God has given me. It is certainly more than I deserve.

A few days ago I was on Facebook reading comments on a post a friend made about submitting to our husbands. She simply quoted Ephesians 5:22-24 and said she was praying for the strength and humility to obey that command. What followed was over 50 comments on wether or not God actually does want wives to submit to their husbands. It amazed me what some people will go through to justify their decision not to submit to their husbands! What saddened me even more though, was something one of her "anti-submission" friends said at the end of a very long comment. She said "I'm soooo much more than just a wife and mother and am quite frankly sick of people seeing me as just those two things." This strikes me as very sad, and I could not disagree with her more!

What a blessing she is missing! It was obvious from her whole comment that she is a career minded woman with an "I'll do my thing and he can do his, and he better not try and tell me what to do" mentality. I guess a lot of women think that way.

There is no "just" in being a wife! Being a wife is to be your husbands best friend, closest advisor, encourager, comforter, lover, and helpmeet. Marriage done right is one of the most powerful institutions in the world. A husband and wife who are doing God's will and working together as one can save lives and accomplish great things for the Lord! Look at the woman in Proverbs 31. It is obvious that her and her husband are in compete agreement, and through her actions and help her husband becomes a well respected and well known man, she is happy ( she smiles at the future), and loved and respected by her children and husband.

Just because we are submitting to our husbands, doesn't mean that we are any less important than he is. We are just embracing our God-given role as helpmeet, and allowing him to embrace his God-given role as leader so that our family can receive the blessings that God has for us. Marriage is supposed to be an illustration of God's relationship with the church.

To be a wife is the most holy and beautiful thing God can ask us ladies to be, and to be a mother is a close second in my mind. What an honor to be given a new little life to nourish and protect and teach! How can you belittle such and honor? You are raising up the next generation of men and women. How you raise them will affect thousands, maybe millions of people. This cannot be taken lightly, or brushed off as a mere distraction from your agenda.

I am partly talking to myself here, because there are many areas in my life that are not as they should be. I'm not anywhere close to a perfect wife, and I suppose I never will be, but I pray that I am getting CLOSER to perfect as time goes on. It takes a lot of effort, I'm finding. ;-)

I welcome any comments and opinions you may have!