Heavenly Ramblings

I ran across this blog the other day and have enjoyed reading it a great deal. It is called
Multi-tasking Moms. Yesterday I read about a wonderful contest Melissa is sponsoring to receive this wonderful necklace and ear rings from Susan over at bead-attitude.

The only requirement is that we post on our blog about a romantic tid bit and some advice from our marriage. Well anyone who knows me and my hubby knows that is not hard at all for me to do. Ima says we are “Cheesy”, Kelsey calls us “cute” and anyone who sees us holding hands in public “at our age” says “get a room”.

As for tips: The only tip I have that is worth while is this…

Keep God the at the head of your marriage. Don’t ever trust your spouse but trust the Jesus in them. If I expected Richard to trust me to not fail him I would disappoint him greatly. However he can depend on the Jesus in me to not disappoint him or to never fail him. The only other thing I can say is that if you are in the midst of turmoil in your marriage, instead of praying for your spouse to understand you more, pray for God to change you to help your spouse understand. Every time I have prayed for God to change Richard to make a situation more meaningful, it seems to me that God gives me the infamous “wait” or “no” answers. However when I pray that he change me to help my husband to understand, the answer is always “yes” and very rewarding.

Now for the romantic adventure: Not sure if this was supposed to be planned by me or him or both so here goes…

We have never NOT had kids. We were married with children. Him 5 boys and me 3 girls. We also always have kids from the neighborhood around and recently (7 months ago) became foster parents. So we didn’t have the opportunity for romance BEFORE the kids came, we have always had to steal moments here and there. In fact our first date we took 5 kids to see Finding Nemo. We do try to take a weekend trip about every other month to have time for each other. Sometimes it involves taking the kids to grandma’s and coming back to a quiet house, but even that is a treat!

When we were first married, I sent Richard to take the kids to Grandma’s for the night and upon his return he found a trail of lit candles leading from the front door through the house leading to the master bathroom where I was waiting with a bubble bath in the jacuzzi tub. We sat and listened to music (and yes our “cheesy” music from the 70’s and 80’s) and talked. It was one of the best “quiet” times we had since our 5 days we spent on the beach in Florida on our honeymoon.

On our first anniversary, I thought I was surprising Richard with an evening of dancing at the Walt Disney Barn in Marceline and Wine (sparkling grape juice) and cheese and crackers inside the barn. I had left his suit laying on the bed for when he got home and a note saying put this on and come to where dreams are made under a big tree. I was waiting in my wedding dress (yes it still fit!) and we danced and had dinner. Then to my surprise he had set up a night at the Uptown Bed and Breakfast. Complete with our anniversary cake on the table in the dining room, candles, and a special little stuffed Eeyore and Piglet on the bed with a single rose. I was shocked! It was a great ending to the first year and a wonderful beginning to a second.

I could go on and on about things that Richard has done for me in the romance department. The most important and greatest thing he has done is being the spiritual leader of this house. I have never had anyone in my life take care of me the way he does, spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally. Sorry ladies he is taken and and he is mine forever.

Head on over to Multi Tasking Moms and check out the other great romance tips. Enter to win the contest if you are so inclined.

I have a great WFMW tip. I don’t know how many of you all are seamstresses out there, but I have a corner of my dining-room that is my sewing corner. It is always a mess…..

I make doll clothes and sell them on Ebay. Actually it is a very lucrative business. It is the means that I can pay for homeschooling my 10 year old. Notice the little basket on the left side of the table? Well here lies my problem. That is where I kept all my patterns. And no matter how organized I tried to make it the patterns still got mixed up. I tried a filing cabinet for a while and that was too much work. Took too long to look to find the pattern I needed. So I cam up with this really neat idea. You see in almost ever subject that Kelsey has for school……she has to do a notebook for that subject. One day I was sitting watching her work on her time-line book for history and I thought…….wouldn’t that be great if I could notebook all my patterns. But somehow gluing them to paper didn’t seem quite practical. So I cam up with this idea.

I already had them cut out so I just bought page protectors and put each separate pattern into a sleeve and put the pattern envelope inside the front or cut the pictures out and taped them to the outside. Now my basket holds only projects waiting to be done.

This has motivated me to clean up the sewing corner….and the back porch which is where I store all my excess sewing stuff. So don’t be surprised if you see this on Tackle it Tuesday. It may be a whole new transformation!For more great WFMW tips visit Shannon over at Rocks In My Dryer.

Shalee over at Shalee’s Diner tagged all who read her blog with this cute little meme about our man friends. Thanks Shalee. I am always looking for an excuse to write about my DH.

Here goes:

His age: 44

How tall is he: 5′8″

How long have you been together (married): Will be 3 years on April 10th of this year.
How long did you know each other before you got together?: I met him when I was a Freshman in High school, 28 years ago. We were best friends clear through school until he left in ‘81 for the Navy. Then we lost track of each other and when he moved back to our hometown in 2003, I was still there. We rekindled our friendship, which led us to both admit we had been in love with each other all those years ago.

What physical features attracted you to him first?: His eyes. Also his kind and gentle spirit. He always took care of me even back then.

Eye color: Brown

Hair color: Black….ok with a FEW gray hairs in it.

Hair style: short and spiky
Normal Outfit: Usually in a pair of jeans and a nice shirt. He looks great in a suit however.

How did you meet: The first day of my freshman year in HS he was leaning with his hand on my locker waiting for my boyfriend to introduce me to his new girlfriend. He was his best friend. My boyfriend used to *leave* me in Richards hands when he wanted to go out with his buds. We always went to the Disco Dances at the Cedar Cinema on Friday nights. Oh the memories of the Disco days.

How serious is it: Well, I promised to love him forever in the presence of God. I Thank God every day that he was given to me as a gift from God to cherish.

Are you “in love”: But of course. He is my soul-mate, my best friend, my one true love.
Do your parents like him: Yes. My mom is finally glad I have someone that I can worship the Lord with.

Do his parents like you: I hope so.

Do you trust him: I trust the Jesus in him first. Then I trust him with my life.

Would you share a toothbrush with him?: Um……well I know where his mouth has been and I would but I am not sure he would share one with me. He is a clean freak.

Would he let you wear his pants?: I wear his sweat pants and his jeans that he can’t fit into anymore. WooHoo for button flies.

Do you have a shirt of his that you sleep in?: Which ever one I grab out of the closet! Every night!

Do you like the way he smells?: He has a cologne called Jovan’ Gen Sing.  Oh MY is all I can say about it.  When he puts it on ……….well you can finish the rest.

Can you picture having kids with him?: I wish I could have children with him. We have 8 between us and consider them all OURS.

What bothers you the most about him?: The way he blows his nose. We have had several ships port in the front yard….LOL JK honey.

Does he have a temper?: Only when I push him into one. After I have had very little sleep, I tend to pick fights with him. I am working on that.

Are you happy to be with him?: I want to be with him every minute of every day. But then there is that thing called work.

Does he embarrass you in public?: NO. I consider it an honor and a privilege to stand by his side.

Does he smoke or do drugs?: NO.

Does he have any piercings?: Left ear. He no longer wears an ear ring unless I ask him too. He remembers it as a symbol and reminder of his days before he knew the Lord as his personal savior.

Any tattoos?: Nope. He doesn’t need any additional decorating. He’s a masterpiece all on his own.

Does he have any scars that you know of?: His ankle. He has a fused ankle from an accident 17 years ago when he was almost killed.

Is he a Party dude or Stay at home?: Stay at home.

Is he Outgoing or Shy?: SHY? Richard? He claims to be but after about 3 seconds upon meeting him you can see that he is very outgoing.

Does he love his mama?: He loves him mother with a great deal of passion. He has always talked of her with the utmost respect.

Would he hang out with you and YOUR friends?: Yes. He would just to make me happy.

Sing?: He sings beautifully. He doesn’t think so but everyone else says he does. We sing all over the place bringing our testimony to others about the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

So there you have it. Now if you are reading this ( Kimmie this is meant for you especially) consider yourself tagged. Happy writing.

Shalee over at Shalee’s Diner is hosting a 50 first dates carnival. I thought this was a pretty cool thing because Richard and I are among the working class and the poor when it comes to doing stuff for us so we are always looking for “cheap dates”, so here is my selection.

Three years ago when we had only been married just a month shy of a year, I was just coming off of a very hard stint of back surgery and pain management for that, when we decided to attend a marriage conference. Weekend to Remember sponsored by Family Life was the absolute best thing we could have ever done for our marriage. Everyone was shocked that after being married for only a year we were going to a marriage conference. Let me tell you this conference is not “marriage counseling”. The speakers tell you and more importantly show you, through God’s word, how to have a Godly marriage. I was overwhelmed with the things I learned about submission, faithfulness, love. Those three words have such a different meaning to the world than they do to God. It was a very enlightening weekend for both of us. We have gone every year since.

So at this conference they have tons of books you can buy and there was a sorta *game* for sale called simply romantic nights. It is a box of sealed envelopes 15 for the wife and 15 for the husband that has inexpensive things you can do as a couple. I have chosen one of these to share with you. We usually do some variation of these to fit our lives.

COME AWAY TO THE CAYMANS

Do you dream of escaping to an exotic place like the Cayman Islands? Since you can’t participate in the “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” bring the Cayman Islands to your bedroom (or living room).

Build Anticipation: Four days before you Cayman Island retreat, give you husband a homemade “passport” using a folded piece of paper and one of his old photographs. Give him a fake plane ticket, too, to the Cayman Islands. When he gives you a strange look, tell him, “Friday evening I’m whisking you away to the Caymen Islands. Meet me at the ticket counter in (designated room) at 7p.m. dressed in tropical attire.

Set The Stage: create the feel of the tropics. place two beach towels on the floor. Obtain tropical posters from a travel agent for the walls. WEar a bathing suit and cover-up or even a grass skirt! Play steel drum music or Caribbean music or ocean sounds on your stereo. Serve fresh pineapple or a flavored fruit drink (Raspberry shake reipe below). Put a bottle of coconut scented message oil by the towel.

The Main Event: After collecting his ticket, invite him to lay on the floor with you and listen to the sounds while you give him a massage using the lotion. Well use your emagination for the rest! Then tell him if he’s extra nice to you, maybe someday you will take him to Africa! LOL

Of course if you have children you will have to get them out of the house for the night…that is a given.

Thanks to Shalee for hosting! Go on over to her blog, Shalee’s Diner, and see some more great cheap date ideas.