Remembering Our Day

I always seem to get a week behind on this challenge!  Courtney has already made her post for tomorrow and here I am just doing mine for last week.  I vow to be more timely. ;o)  Again, I am participating in the Completing Him Challenge for Women Living Well.  Feel free to jump in with us, even if you are just now finding us.

Here was our task for last week:  June 21 - Remember Your Vows - post pictures of your wedding day. We will review the sacredness of this day.

This is actually pretty appropriate for me since June is me and Joel's wedding month.  10 years ago on June the 3rd to be exact.  It was a beautiful day, and we had decided to have an evening wedding.  I remember the sun was starting to set and was shining through the beautiful stained glass windows just as the ceremony was starting.  It was very romantic for me and hopefully for him!  We said the traditional vows because I always felt there was something so sacred about them.  Just thinking about all of the couples that had came before us, who had said those same vows.

Our wedding was small, just close family and friends.  My brother walked me down the isle, and that was so special to me.  I'll never forget his face when he saw me in my gown. ;o)  After the ceremony we took pictures and then joined everyone in the church basement for our little reception.  We cut the cake, opened our gifts, visited with our guests and danced.

I wouldn't have wanted it any other way, to us it was perfect! 

Flashback Friday!

Here is my Bubba, he was about 10  months old. ;o)

Happy Father's Day!

This is a picture of my husband with our kids, taken on Easter in 2009.  It's definitely one of my favorite pictures of all of them.  The kids have made daddy some cards and mommy is letting daddy sleep in today - for a little while anyway. ;o)

I'm also a bit behind for this weeks challenge over on Women Living Well and the Completing Him Challenge. 

 June 14 – Post Pictures from your dating days (or tell us all about it!). Think about one thing you used to do or have as a couple that you have lost in the shuffle of life. How can you regain it?

Well, I don't have any pictures on the computer of our dating days, so I'll just have to talk about it.  Joel and I didn't date long before we were married, around 8 months.  We enjoyed going to the movies, eating out, going to the creek, and just taking drives out in the country.  Which leads me to our favorite thing to do which was muddin'!  My husband used to have a big green 4x4 Dodge pickup truck.  It was so much fun and we never even got stuck!  After we learned that we were expecting our first child, we decided to trade his truck in for something with more than two doors.  While we BOTH miss that truck, I know my dear husband misses it more than either of us. ;o)  We haven't done any muddin' since and that is a little sad for me since we used to have so much fun doing it.  Maybe one day again we'll be able to afford another 4x4.  We do still go for a drive - with kids in tow.  But, we all enjoy it. Maybe that could be something we could do when we have some alone time as well. (Although we don't get much of that.)

I also wanted to say that another BIG milestone passed this week in our family.  Our youngest son, Grayson, turned TWO on the 15th!  I can still remember being up all night with contractions, and waiting to go to the hospital til after this big thunderstorm passed around 8:30 am.  It was so loud, thunder and lightening all the way.  Strangely it's one of the first things I think about when remembering that day. 

Grayson was born at 1:08 pm, at first they weighed him in at 6.12 and I just knew that couldn't be right. I had gestational diabetes and while I did a very good job managing it, I didn't think it could be possible.  Later that afternoon they weighed him again and he was 7.12.  I guess the scale was malfunctioning. ;o) I couldn't get enough of my new boy and made sure he was with me as much as possible.  We didn't get much sleep those first couple of days in the hospital, but they are very special to me.  And now he's two and I just can't believe it!

Happy Birthday to my sweet little Bittle!

Completing Him Challenge

I am participating in the Completing Him Challenge along with Courtney from Women Living Well and other women who follow her blog.  It starts today and ends Aug. 9th.  I'm  hoping this will help me find my path to be a better wife and encourage a closer relationship with my dear husband. ;o)  Feel free to join us!

Flashback Friday

Brayden Kole

Wordless Wednesday - Hat Day

Following Him

I don't usually post much about myself here, it's mostly about my children.  My beautiful, smart, hilarious, reason why I breathe, children.  ;o)  And today's post is about them as well in a round about way.  I know that my faith affects their faith.
When the Lenten season came around this year, I felt the tug from the Lord become stronger.  I used to go to church when I was younger, not steadily I might add.  But, from time to time I would go.  My parents nor my grandparents were active church goers, but they supported me in going.  I also attended a Christian school from Kindergarten to 8th grade so He was no stranger to me.  But, as I grew older and especially after I moved to Oklahoma, I seemed to have lost my way to church.  The past year or two I had been wanting to get involved again, but didn't know where to start.  I kept saying how much I wanted to go and get the kids going, but I never followed through.  Not sure what I was waiting for!?  Maybe someone to come drag me in? lol 
Anyway, the night before Ash Wednesday, it just hit me.  I HAD to go to church.  So the next night, my 9 year old and I went to the Methodist Church's Ash Wednesday service and were greeted with much excitement and friendly church goers. ;o)  They were so warm and welcoming, I knew that I wanted to see what Sunday would be like.  This was it!  This was what I would be doing for Lent.  Instead of giving up something, I would be adding the Lord along with this new church and church family.  What better way to become closer to God?  Sunday morning came and I loaded up my two older kids and we headed to Sunday school.  As soon as we walked in the door, we ran into a lady from Wednesday night who gladly showed us around and gave us a mini-tour.  On our rounds we dropped Brayden off in his Sunday school class, went upstairs and dropped Raylee at her 1st and 2nd grade Sunday school classroom, and finally ended up where I would be attending my Bible study.  I met so many wonderful, Christian people that day.  I felt so close with the Lord, closer than I had felt in a long time.  It felt just awesome.  The following Sunday, my husband and youngest son joined us.  They have a nursery for him, he loves to go there.  And Brayden has cried every Sunday when we have to leave.  lol
I have found several great blogs written by extraordinary Christian ladies.  Almost daily they inspire me!  Today, one of them wrote a wonderful post, that really made me think.  I am so thankful for her and her blog.  She is so relatable and has been through a lot in her own life and seems to just be all the more stronger in her person and her faith for it.  This is her button, I hope this works!

Anyway, thank you to Aimee.  You have helped me in my journey back to the Lord, in more ways than you know!