ManWifeDog invited me to a great new link up she has created: The Love Homework Linky Party. I am excited to join in. I have been having such a crazy week, okay month, that I know my poor little hubby is starting to feel a little neglected. I thought that this would be a great way to get a reminder to give him a little more love and would be a great way to get some new ideas.

This week’s challenge was easy:

Write a little message on a post it for your husband and leave it somewhere you know he’ll find it. What did you write? What was his reaction? Did it spark any interesting conversation?

What did I write?

It took me a little bit to figure out what I wanted to write on my note and I wasn’t super creative, but that’s okay I can’t be miss creative all the time!

TJ was going to stop on his way home to grab dinner for us, because I was hosting #commenthour yesterday evening. I really appreciate how much he does these evening that I host the chat. He gets the boys away and gives them their bath and puts them to bed on these evenings. Which a lot of wives talk about how their husbands just don’t understand this online world and he is so understanding about it. My online presence is a lot about my business and helping me grow it.

This made me want to let him know how much I appreciate his support with my business. He is my constant cheerleader as I try to grow my business!

So I quickly jot down on the note, “Thank you for supporting me in my business! <3 you so much!” and I placed the post it on our door where he would find it as he brought in the dinner.

What was his reaction? What was the conversation?

He right away asked me why I left the note. I let him know how much I appreciate him and his support. I let him know that even little things like picking up dinner mean a lot to me and really help me out. He had a goofy smile like I was silly to thank him for something he thought was so small.

He asked me if I really did feel like he was supporting me and this surprised me. I had always thought he had known how much I rely on him for support and that he was a huge support. But I must not say it enough or maybe I haven’t said it before. I suddenly was so happy I had left the post it note because it had told him something that I thought he had already known. Now he knows that he really is a support and that I even see the small things as so helpful.

So, thank you, ManWifeDog, I really appreciate your invite because even this little small thing really did help my husband and helped us communicate something that I thought had already been said!

As far as my other readers I hope you will join in! You might be surprised at what you find out in your marriage. You might have an aha moment just as I did! What is something you think you take advantage for in your relationship with your husband that he may need to hear from you?

photo by blmurch

You can tell that I’m an old married lady because my idea of a perfect date is a date where my husband makes all the plans and I don’t have to make any decisions.

I would love to be brought flowers and make the date a surprise because that is always the best. But then let me have time to get all nice and dressed up too.

I would want to go out and eat, but somewhere we have never been or that we rarely go. I’m tired of going to the same place over and over.

And please no movie, because it seems that date nights for the last year and half have all been going to a movie. But I’m too old to go mini golfing. Maybe a nice walk in a moonlit garden. I once tried to arrange a date like this but it rained and ended up being expensive. But if this is a perfect date money does not matter.

I would hope that talk of little ones would be missing this night and that we could just enjoy each other’s company and learn a little more about each other and how things are going for each other since we don’t see each other as often as I would like.

And maybe we would end the night with a kiss and 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Ah, I miss sleep.

Part of the 30 day challenge

We had a wonderful Labor Day weekend and one of the greatest parts was just hanging out in our small backyard.

As I was playing with the boys in the back I noticed a very large grasshopper on our fence and I pointed it out to the boys. I tried to capture it, having flashbacks of chasing grasshoppers in the summer as a child.

I called TJ outside and showed him and we found even another one just as big. He quickly captured it cupping his hands around it he should it to Zane. Zarek is so little I didn’t even think he thought more of it than it being one of the many new things of the day.

I went back inside as the boys played and as I glanced outside I saw Zarek running to the door with his hand cupped and all I could think was, “Oh no he found dog poop!”

As I ran out to him he flung his hands open to have some green squiggly thing come flying out. I quickly investigated thinking how impressive it would have been if he had caught a grasshopper. But it was just a green weed that looked a lot like a grasshopper.

I had to laugh at his sweetness. He wanted to catch a grasshopper just like daddy and he was so proud and joyful over his lil’ grasshopper he had caught.

This summer I’m participating in a great project over at Mommy’s Piggy Tales. It is all about recording your youth in 15 posts or like me 15 vlogs. My senior year was a great year!

I had a new baby boy and who can describe the joys of a new child in your life. It is amazing, he is amazing.

2. What was the single most challenging thing that happened?

We had a family crisis this year and that’s all I will say on it. But the second most challenging thing was my mother’s illness.

I have never been separated from my family before. We have always lived close by. And then as my mother got to her new home across the country she became gravely ill. It was such a struggle for me, I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t just fly across the country with my two little ones during the flu season. So I made the choice to stay home and correspond with my aunt. This was such a hard choice.

3. What was an unexpected joy this past year?

Finding a new church home has been a great blessing this year. We have become members of the church. I have started making close friendships at the church. And I have even gotten to enjoy helping out in the children’s area.

4. What was an unexpected obstacle?

Being demoted at work to part-time has been a true obstacle but it turned into a blessing. The lack of money has been hard but having the extra time with my boys has been wonderful. And on top of that because I’m part-time my schedule has become more steady which is so much easier on both me and the boys.

5. Pick three words to describe 2009.

Faith, Love, Joy

6. Pick three words your spouse would use to describe your 2009 (don’t ask them; guess based on how you think your spouse sees you).

Boys, struggle, Faith

7. Pick three words your spouse would use to describe their 2009 (again, without asking).

Struggle, Faith, Boys

8. What were the best books you read this year?

The Bone Series, Wheel of Time: Knife of Dreams, The Ordinary Princess, The Jesus Storybook Bible

9. With whom were your most valuable relationships?

TJ, Wendi (my SIL), Andrea (my BF)

10. What was your biggest personal change from January to December of this past year?

I’m not pregnant anymore, that’s pretty big. But on a serious note I’ve been working on my relationship with the Lord and have been growing closer to Him.

11. In what way(s) did you grow emotionally?

I have made a point to take better care of myself. To not rely so much on others for my happiness.

12. In what way(s) did you grow spiritually?

We have become members of a church, I have been going to Bible study regularly, and have been volunteering at church. I have also been trying to take time each day to read my Bible and pray, to have a quiet time with the Lord.

13. In what way(s) did you grow physically?

Just last month I have started a new diet and have scheduled exercise into my week.

14. In what way(s) did you grow in your relationships with others?

I have made some great new friendships at church. Which was one of my goals this year. I have been wanting to gain some new christian friends.

15. What was the most enjoyable area of managing your home?

Lesson time with Zane this year was one of my absolute favorite things this year. Though I don’t if you would count that as home management.

16. What was your most challenging area of home management?

All of home management but most of all housekeeping and laundry.

17. What was your single biggest time waster in your life this past year?

Probably surfing online and Facebook.

18. What was the best way you used your time this past year?

Spending time with my boys and TJ. We made a point this year to spend more time together and to have more family time. This was one of the greatest things about this year.

19. What was the biggest thing you learned this past year?

To put God first in your life and all things after.

20. Create a phrase or statement that describes 2009 for you.

God is faithful.

Survey found a (In)Courage.

It’s that time of year when you go out in search of the perfect pumpkins. Well I am lucky I have three perfect little pumpkins at home. But we were a little unlucky with our bills this last month and were very tight on money. It’s amazing the meals you can figure pull out of a bare pantry when you are worrying about it 24/7.

We had an offer to go and get pumpkins free this years from a family friend, but trying to find the time between work, TJ’s work and Zane’s two year old crankiness was going to be near impossible. And since money was short I was sure that we would not get pumpkins this year. Which I know Zane and Zarek would not remember not getting pumpkins and they wouldn’t feel like they were missing out, but I wanted to do it for them.

One huge blessing this week was from one of our patients and a friend of my co-workers. She came by with her truck with the back filled with the most perfect pumpkins I’d had ever seen. She let me have as many as I wanted. I was so excited. I was able to have pumpkins for the boys. God is so good, he knew my hearts desire and He found a way.

We got four pumpkins. Zane painted his, Zarek got to footprint his, Zane designed mine (with directions), and TJ carved his. Here are some fun pictures of the evening…

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“Why am I the only one who says no to our child in this house?” That was the last question I had for my hubby as we hung up this evening (he calls every break from work).

TJ was worried when I told him how Zane ate his whole dinner including the blueberries this evening. TJ was worried how that may effect Zane’s diapers. It was only a few he will be fine.

Then TJ confessed Zane had gotten raisin bran again this morning. (We have experienced just recently that you should not give your two year old bran.) TJ said that Zane really wanted the purple cereal and wasn’t going to drop it. So TJ added a little to his cheerios.

How about saying no? Can’t we say “No, you cannot have raisin bran it makes your tummy not feel good”. Nope, only Mommy says no. Sigh.

We went out to my grandparents’ the other evening. Which usually I dread and so does TJ. It’s not totally because of my crazy grandmother that we don’t enjoy it. It is boring too. I am the oldest cousin by 15 years and my youngest uncle is 9 years older than me. There is no one there our age.

But this time I really wanted to go. My grandfather is getting older and I don’t know how many times I will see him again. And we really won’t go back out there once he is gone. So I really had a desire to see him and where I grew up.

Of course a lot has changed because there was a few years ago and the house and old porch and big garage is gone. But I still remember stomping on the old flagstone walk, playing in the trees, eating the fresh fruits and pretending the old roof peak saved from the old barn was my castle.

Zane and I went around to all my favorite places that I used to love to play and he loved it.

I showed him the apple trees that my grandfather got all his apples from. We saw the growing corn that was just barely taller than him.  I had him climb into the hazelnut trees even though he didn’t like it, even when Daddy was holding him up in the tree.

We found the last plum from the plum tree in the front. My favorite evergreen was gone, cut down long ago, the one I wound sneak into the boughs and pretend was my house. We found pine cones from the tree that had the long pine needles I would braid together and weave into baskets.

I was excited to take a picture of Zane with the trees that I had planted when I was little. But they had not survived the winter and they had cut them down. So I got a picture of Zane in front of all the wood. I had gotten those trees on arbor day when I was in grade school.

I did get a picture of him in front of the roof of an old barn my grandfather had helped tear down. I used to pretend it was my castle when I was little.

He loved playing on my grandfather’s old farming equipment that he has collected over the years. “I drive it,” he said and he pretended it was a car.

And we got to get a great family picture while we were out there too.

It was a wonderful evening and we are so happy we made it!!!