Why wouldn't HE love me that much?

I've really had something on my heart and mind this week. I've been married for almost 16 years now. Longer then most of the people I know. That in it's self is a wonderful accomplishment that my husband and I are very proud of. These have not all been easy years. We've had our ups and downs as in every marriage. We've also made very poor choices that could have ended our marriage had we not been willing to look at the bigger picture and fight for our relationship.

So I've been thinking about all the poor choices I've made in the past years that could have easily ended my marriage. But I am so blessed to have a husband who loves me and values our marriage enough to say "I love you and I'm not going anywhere and we're going to work this out."

So I'm left to ask if my husband. An average man. Who is human and full of his own flaws can love me that much then why wouldn't God love me that much. Even with all my poor choices and all the times I've walked away and turned my back on Him, how wonderful is it to know that HE loves me enough to say "I'm not going anywhere". And how wonderful to know that when I finally get my act together again and return to Him, HE is there waiting with open arms to welcome me home again.

Menu Planning

In an effort to get the amount of money we are spending at the grocery store under control I've taken a page from my friend over at Blessed Frugalness Times Two With Twins and made a menu plan for the next month. I think it's ridiculous that I have been stopping at the store on my way home daily to get what we're having for dinner and it's frightening to see the total that is going out to the grocery store.

So here it is....

24 Pizza Night
25 Parmesan Chicken, Salad
26 BBQ Ribs, Baked Beans
27 Hot Dogs, Sour Kraut, Mashed Potatoes
28 Ham and Eggs
29 Soup and Sandwiches
30 ***TAKE OUT***
31 Sloppy Joes
1 Pot Roast
2 Steaks, vegies
3 Stroganoff and egg noodles
4 Pork Chops, Cheesy Brocolli, Apple Sauce
5 Pancakes, Bacon, Eggs
6 Pizza Night
7 Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes
8 Burritos
9 Split Pea Soup (crock pot)
10 Nachos
11 Sweet and Sour Chicken and Rice
12
13 ***TAKE OUT***
14 Mac & Cheese
15 Steak and Salad
16 Tacos
17 Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches
18 Ham and Eggs
19 Parmesean Chicken and Vegies
20 Pizza Night
21 Tostados
22 Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Vegie
23 Steak and Salad
24 Pork Chops, Cheesy Brocolli, Apple Sauce
25
26 Soup and Sandwichs
27 ***TAKE OUT***
28 Ham and Beans

Every other Friday is pizza night. Kim and I make homemade little individual pizzas and we have family movie night. I even made room for take out nights to give myself a break. I went shopping last weekend and bought nearly everything that we will need for the month. I will have to go back to get fresh produce, milk and bread as needed. But I am no longer stopping at the store daily. What an absolute waste of time and money.

This past week has gone so smooth. I am loving having a plan again. It's been a long time since I was organized for dinner like this. Thanks for the inspiration Marva.

An Official Member of the ONE FOOT CLUB

Today was my weigh and measure day at Curves. As of today I have lost 12.50 inches over all and 9.25 pounds. It's not coming off nearly as quickly as I would like it to but I suppose a loss is a loss so I can't complain.

Prophetic Assembly

Today is the last day of our Daniel Fast at church for most of the congregation. I will be continuing until Saturday though. Starting Thursday night we will be having Prophetic Assembly at church. I am on the list for prophecy for Saturday morning. I'm really excited about it. I thought I would be nervous about it but I'm really excited. I am looking forward to hearing what God has to say for me. And to see where he is leading me to go with my Christian walk.

A Day in History

What a day we have had in our country today!!! How wonderful that we have the privilege of living in a country where we have a say in who's leading our nation. How wonderful that we have the privilege to witness another great day in history for our country.

Wither you voted for Obama or not and wither you agree with his stands on the issues or not you have to agree that this was a wonderful day in history. On the radio today they were talking about how the White House has now come full circle. It was African American slaves that built the White House and now there is an African American moving into the White House.

I remember early in the campaign (while Hillary was still in the running) wondering if our country was ready to put either a woman or a black man in the White House. Even with all the accomplishments we have made over the past 100 years and more in particularly over the past 50 years towards equal rights and anti-racism, I still had to wonder if it was enough. And while I'm excited to see that our country was able to put race aside I still see that it's an issue. And it's an issue because the media makes it an issue. Wouldn't it be wonderful to see the day come when the color of a person's skin isn't even brought into the discussion.

Martin Luther King said "I dream of the day when my children are judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of the character" and I pray that I get to see that day. I pray that I get to see the day when the content of ones character far out ways sex, creed or race. To see a day when an NFL team wins the Super Bowl and the media doesn't make an issue out of the coach being a black man. The day when a woman makes it to the White House (it could happen) and the issue of her being a woman isn't really a big deal but her stand on the issues and what she can do for our country is.

I hope that I am doing a good job of raising my daughter in that manner. To look at a man like Obama and see A MAN not a black man. To look at a person with a disability and see the person not their disability.

So wither you voted for Obama or not and wither you agree with him or not, please join me in praying for him. Praying that God gives him the wisdom he will need to lead our country and to work to turn our economical turmoil around.

I've been tagged

I was tagged the other day by Blessed Frugalness Times Two With Twins
and finally got a chance to post my pic. So here it is.



My silly girl playing with her panties on her head.

So here are the rules:

1. Go to the fourth folder where you keep your photos.

2. Post the fourth picture in that folder.

3. Explain the picture.

4. Tag four fellow bloggers to join in the fun.



So I'm going to have to tag

1. MCA Designs

2. Silver Valley Girl

3. Connie's Corner

4. I'll have to come back to this one.

Nothing is Impossible

This morning at church Pastor Carey was talking about our destiny that God has instore for each of us and how on HE knows what that destiny is. She was talking about how excited she is to see God's work in each of our lives and in our Valley in 2009. I am too. She then asked us each to right down a few things on a peice of paper.

1. Possible - Something that I think is possible in 2009. To be our of debt. I truly believe that that is Gods plan for us this year and I trust that He will provide for us to achieve that goal.

2. Highly Improbably - Something that I think is highly improbable and will really need God's help in making it happen. For Larry to find God and join Kim and I in our walk with HIM.

3. Impossible - Something that I think is impossible. Nothing is impossible for God.

So now we'll wait to see God's work in our lives this year.

What a great day...

Today was a day for ME. I dropped Kim off at school and headed to Curves. Weighed it and got the great news that I had lost 2 pounds this past week. Just 1 away from my first 10 pound goal. Then I came home and finished up my laundry and cleaned up the rest of the house. Then I got to sit in the quiet and eat my lunch while I read some more in my Bible. I took a nice long shower and really enjoyed the hot water. Picked Kim up from school and took her to the doctor. Now I'm sitting her enjoying Biggest Loser and relaxing by myself since Kim and Larry are both in bed. I just love days like this.

Fatherhood

I saw this commercial over on another great blog that I love Absolutely True. I thought this was hilarious and had to share it with you. And if you've never been over to Absolutely True you should go check it out she always has the greatest stuff there.

Board Games from the 70's and 80's

When we were kids we had a ton of board games. My brother and I would spend hours playing on days that the weather was horrible so we didn't go out to play. I was thinking about it the other day and remembered one of my favorites, Match II. Funny that it came to mind for me because I hadn't thought about it in years.

It was a great memory game that I'm sure I never thought about how educational it actually was at the time. But I would imagine that's one of the reasons my mom bought it for us. Matching up all the flags of the world. It's funny that now you get a memory game for your kids and they are filled with Disney characters or some other cartoon and we thought that flags of the world was fun.





So tell me about a game from your childhood.

4 Year Old Shoots Babysitter

I saw this article on MSN yesterday and have been thinking a lot about it since.

Police say a 4-year-old boy in southern Ohio shot his baby sitter because the sitter accidentally stepped on his foot.
Four-Year-Old Boy Shoots His Baby SitterPolice in Jackson, Ohio, say an angry 4-year-old Ohio boy grabbed a gun from a closet and shot his baby sitter. (Jan. 6)
Police said 18-year-old Nathan Beavers and several other teenagers were baby-sitting several young children in a mobile home in Jackson on Sunday when the shooting occurred.
Witnesses told police the 4-year-old retrieved the shotgun from a bedroom closet and shot Beavers. Police said the child was angry because Beavers accidentally stepped on his foot.
Beavers was hospitalized with minor pellet wounds to his arm and side.
Police say another teen was also injured with shotgun pellets.
Jackson County Sheriff John Shashteen said authorities are investigating the shooting. The child has not been charged.

After reading this I was left thinking that there is a serious anger issue in this little boy. For a 4 year old to get that violently angry is very scarey. Then I have to wonder why on earth a 4 year old would have access to a shot gun and why in the world he would have the knowledge of how to use it. It makes me really wonder what goes on in that household. I do hope that for his sake someone seriously looks into it.

So now we have rain

We've gotten quite a bit of snow the past few days and now this evening it has started raining. That should surely make for a nice drive to work tomorrow. And if it wasn't for my favorite Chief of Police plowing my driveway again today it would be interesting getting out of the driveway in the morning. All part of enduring winter in the Northwest.

I'm looking forward to having the day off on Thursday. I know you're thinking "but you just had 12 days off". But this is finally another day all to myself. Well that is of course if Larry's work gets the part he needs so he can go back to work. I could really use a day alone to get my house organized again. It's amazing how out of sorts it gets when everyone is home for so many days.

Oh the vacation is over

Well it's been a nice 12 days. We've gotten through the holidays and set our goals for the new year. But it's over and tomorrow we are back to the grind stone. The alarm is set for 6:00AM and the lunches are planned for packing in the morning. Kimmie will be back to school at 8:00 and then I'm off to Curves. I've missed my workout and am so looking forward to getting back on track again. But it's late so I'm off to bed.

Living in a small town

I love living in a small town. One of the perks is knowing most everyone. We got a bit of snow last night so this afternoon I got all dressed up in my snow gear and headed out to the driveway to shovel. I really hate shoveling but I suppose I hate having my car stuck in my driveway more. One of our Chief of Police (whom I've known since I was a kid) was plowing our street with the big loader. He stopped in front of my house and chatted with me. He asked me if I had had enough of this winter stuff yet. I said "well I haven't gotten stuck in my driveway yet so it's not to bad". He joked that he had the equipment to fix that for me. I then joked back "well I was thinking I could just move my car and you could clear it out for me" He said "sure no problem". So I moved my car and he quickly plowed my driveway for me. Then he continued clearing the rest of our street. One of those wonderful perks to living in a small town. You would never see the Chief of Police plowing the streets and they certainly wouldn't stop to plow a private driveway in the city.

Happy New Year

Well we've begun another new year. Last night I took Kim and my niece to a little party at church. We ate great finger foods and played games. Had great laughs and enjoyed the time together. We were home by 10:30. The girls were wore out and fell asleep in no time.

Today has been a lazy day. Still in our jammies. I started my fast with dry whole grain toast for breakfast and apple cider. Then for lunch I had a raspberry/banana soy smoothie that I have to say was very yummy and I'll be looking forward to another one tomorrow. We snacked on popcorn and then I made some yummy vegetable barley soup for dinner. It's just loaded with vegies and very filling with the barley. This will definately be on my menu again.

I also read 7 chapters in my Bible. The One Year Bible is set up so that you can read Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs. If you read what is set aside for each day you will read the entire Bible in one year. I can break it up like that though I feel like I'm reading 4 books and trying to keep the story straight is tough. So I thought I would read all of one book and then move to the next and go from there. This morning I started with Genesis, where better to start then "In the beginning...." If I can get some quiet time to myself tonight before I'm to tired I'll read some more.