Friday, February 27, 2009

All Fired Up!

Last night I got together with several of my homeschooling friends for a mom's night out. We met at a local ceramics shop called "All Fired Up." On the last Thursday of the month they have a ladies night and all the pottery is 10% off. We had so much fun.

At first it was a bit overwhelming trying to decide which piece of pottery to choose. I didn't want something knick-knacky to sit around and collect dust (it sounds like I've been spending lots of time with Neal, doesn't it?), so I ended up choosing a small pitcher that I want to use as a vase in my kitchen. I'm planning on painting my kitchen soon in shades of red and mustard. I bought some cool salt and pepper shakers last summer...one is shaped like a red pepper and the other like a yellow pepper. I loved the color combination and decided I wanted to redo the kitchen in those colors.

With the pitcher I painted the inside yellow and the outside red. I painted some yellow flowers and dots on the outside (not too many, just enough to make a pretty design), and on the inside lip of the pitcher (where it is yellow) I painted some red dots to tie it together. I can't wait to see it glazed and fired! I hope I covered it well!

Yesterday was a beautiful day here, and I actually wore short sleeves last night and didn't even need my jacket when I left at 9:30. Today and the days ahead will be a different story!

Longer

I have my music (at the bottom of this page) set on random, so I never know what song will pop up when I get on here. I have a mix of mostly Christian, but also an electic mix of different music I've enjoyed as an adult. Today when I got on my blog the song "Longer" by Dan Fogelberg came on. When Neal and I were dating he had a cassette tape by Dan Fogelberg that we listened to some in his car, and he loved the song "Longer." That is the song we chose for our wedding. Our friend, Jay and Neal's aunt Wanda sang it...it was beautiful!

If you want to hear it, go down to the bottom of this page to the player. Scroll down to #27 and click on it. :o)

Another song I loved at that time was "Groovy Kind of Love." We didn't have anyone sing it, but Janet did play it on the keyboard before the ceremony...along with a lot of different songs. It was fun!

31 Days of Prayer

Day 8

Pray that your husband will work hard to provide for your family, to the best of his ability. Pray that the character qualities necessary for a successful career and ministry will be a growing part of his character -- persistence, decisiveness, strength, an analytical mind, organizational skills, positive relationships with people, determination, etc.

Romans 12:11; 1 Corinthians 15:58

Thursday, February 26, 2009

31 Days of Prayer for my Husband

Day 7

Pray that your husband will safeguard his heart against inappropriate relationships with the opposite sex. Pray that his heart will be pure and undivided in his commitment to you.

Prov. 6:23-24; Romans 13:14

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

31 Days of Prayer

Day 6

Pray that your husband will love righteousness and hate wickedness, especially the evils of the culture. Pray that he will recognize and avoid wickedness in his own life, and if necessary, take a clear, strong stand against evil.

(Prov. 27:12; John 17:15; 1 Cor. 10:12-13)

Family Picture 2009


Elizabeth Jayne (14), Neal, Teresa, Benjamin Ward (11)
***As a side note, everyone had on flat shoes except me, and I wore my highest heels. I wish I had thought about it before we took the picture and I would have removed them. I am actually an inch shorter than Beth!***

Anniversary Celebration

Well, Neal did a great job of planning our day on Saturday. He arranged for his parents to take the kids after Ben's basketball game (which they won!).

Neal had told me he had four things planned for the day. The only thing I knew was that he told me to wear my sweats to Ben's game. I figured out that we were going walking, but I didn't know where. He took me to a local walking trail called Blackwater Creek. It's really nice and the day was cold, but sunny. After we'd walked a half-mile or so, we started warming up. We walked a total of 3 miles. Then we went home, ate some leftovers for lunch, and then changed clothes. We headed out and he took me to a play at a high school in the next town over. They were performing "Beauty and the Beast." It was so good! The high school had borrowed the sets and some of the costumes, etc, from an off-broadway production in NYC. They were awesome! After the play Neal took me to a new restaurant in town. It is always busy and they do not take reservations, so we had about a 30 minute wait. It wasn't bad, and the food was definitely worth the wait. We had Greek Pizza and Crunchy Thai Salad (can't remember if that's the correct name or not). The food was really, really good. Finally he took me to Olive Garden for dessert. We had Tiramisu which is one of my new favorite desserts. Olive Garden was busy, so we found two seats at the bar and the bartender told us we could order our dessert and coffee there. The line was about an hour long, so I'm glad Neal did that!

Anyway, we had a fabulous day, and it meant so much to me that Neal took the time to plan such an awesome day. Don't I have a wonderful husband?!!!

I love you, Neal!

Saturday, February 21, 2009

31 Days of Prayer for my Husband

Day 5

Pray that your husband will be faithful to his wedding vows. Pray that he will have a desire to cultivate your relationship as a sign of his loyalty and commitment to you, and as a picture of Christ's love for the Church.

Prov 20:6; Gen. 2:24

Friday, February 20, 2009

Wedding Anniversary

Monday is our 18th wedding anniversary! I can't believe it's been 18 years already! We are going to celebrate tomorrow. Neal is planning our day. Ben has a basketball game at 10:00 in the morning, so we will go to that, and then Neal's parents are going to take the kids home with them for the day.

He says he has four things planned. All I know is that for the first part of the day I'm supposed to wear workout clothes. (weather permitting) I already guessed that we're going walking, but I don't know where. I hope the weather's nice, because a good, long walk sounds wonderful right now!

I assume one of the things is dinner, but I don't have a clue as to the other two.

I'm so excited to spend an entire day alone with my husband! I'll let you all know later what we did.

Have a wonderful weekend!

31 Days of Prayer (Day 4)

Pray that your husband will grow in leadership skills in your relationship -- protecting and providing for you. Pray that he will lead you wisely and love you sacrificially, so that God will be glorified in your marriage.



Ephesians 5:25-29 and Col. 3:19

Thursday, February 19, 2009

31 Days of Prayer (Day 3)

Day 3

Pray that your husband will be humble and quick to agree with God about his sin. Pray that his heart will be tender toward the voice of the Lord. (Ps. 51:2-4; Micah 6:8)

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

31 Days of Prayer (Day 2)


Day 2
Pray that your husband’s relationship with God and His Word will bear fruit in his life. Pray that he will be a man of wisdom and understanding, fearing the Lord.
(Prov. 3:7, 9:10; Ps. 112:1)

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

31 Days of Prayer for my Husband

I saw this on someone else's blog (they are on day 16), and I decided to do it for Neal. What better way to show him love than by praying for him on a daily basis!

If you read this, I hope you join along with me by praying for your husband (or boyfriend).


The Apostle Paul instructed all Christians to pray for one another (Ephesians 6:18). This includes wives’ responsibility and privilege to pray for their husbands. Earnest prayer for your husband is good for him, for you and the spiritual health of your home (Proverbs 31:11-12). Satan desires to destroy your husband, especially his character and his leadership in your relationship. Trust God through prayer as you daily surrender your husband and marriage to the Lord’s wise, loving care.

31 Days of Prayer

Day 1

Pray that your husband will grow spiritually and consider his accountability before the Lord. Pray that he will guard his heart by developing spiritual disciplines—Bible reading and study, prayer, meditation, scripture memorization, etc.
(2 Peter 3:18; Prov. 4:23)

Catching Up

Wow, I sure haven't posted much lately, have I? I should never have joined Facebook...it's addicting. I'm trying to break that though, and actually spend less time on the computer.

So, what's going on around here? Today we're doing school and staying at home. I have some laundry to catch up on and some housework to do, and that's about it. Nice!

This past weekend we had planned on going to visit some friends in SC. We made these plans several months ago, and were going with another family that lives near us. We were to leave at noon on Friday and return Sunday. Neal was in Georgia on business, so he was going to meet us there. Friday morning my mom called me and I could tell she was upset. She said her sister (who is 89 and had been in the hospital for a week and had had surgery earlier in the week on Tuesday) was going to have to have surgery again and she was going to drive to Kentucky to be with her. I hung up the phone with her, but didn't feel comfortable with her driving there by herself. She's done it before, but it was well thought out and she drove early on Sunday morning when the traffic wouldn't be bad...and she wasn't upset at that time. I called Neal and told him I felt like I should go with her. So we worked it out where the kids rode to SC with our friends, and Neal met them there. I drove Mom to KY and we spent the weekend at the hospital and at another aunt's house. My aunt is recovering well from her surgery. We ended up having a really nice visit with family, and I always enjoy that!

Neal and the kids had fun in SC visiting with our friends. They did fun stuff like eating tons of ice cream late at night, playing follow the leader ... outside ... after dark ... jumping over bushes and walking around fountains ... you know -- stuff they don't do with Mommy. :o) On Saturday they all went to Charlotte, NC to visit the Billy Graham museum. They enjoyed it, and Ben took lots of pictures for me.

We all returned home within an hour of each other on Sunday night. Everything turned out fine! :o)

Last night we watched the movie "The Ultimate Gift." The kids and I actually watched it last week while Daddy was out of town, but we wanted him to see it last night. I cried harder last night than I did last time we watched it!

We've recovered from our trip and illnesses. Beth does have a fever this morning, and I don't know what that's about. Hopefully it will not amount to anything!

I guess that's it for now. Nothing much going on right now...which is just fine with me!

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Perri's Dad

Perri left such a beautiful tribute to her dad on her blog that I wanted to share it here. If you can, take a moment and check it out.

I pray that some day my kids will have such wonderful memories of their Daddy and I.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Perri

My friend Perri just called and told me her dad died this afternoon. My heart aches for her. I lost my dad 6 1/2 years ago...I know how she feels. Perri was extremely close to her Dad and had to watch him go through Alzheimers this past year. He's much better off now since he knew Jesus as his Savior and he's in Heaven, but Perri (and her family) are hurting. Please pray for her.
Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."