Fireproof YOUR marriage!

This evening, our church had a FREE MOVIE NIGHT! The recent release of FIREPROOF the movie was showed for anyone in our community that wanted a night away. The church offered free childcare for anyone who wanted to have us watch their children. The church offered free refreshments at the 'consession stand'. The church gave away copies of THE LOVE DARE book (along with some other fun raffle items). The evening went over very smoothly and we had a lot of people in attendance.

If you haven't heard about FIREPROOF the movie, you can link HERE to see their website. You can even watch a clip from the movie. Papa H and I saw this movie in the theater a few months ago when it first came out. The movie was very powerful in it's message as it pertains to marriage. We highly recommend you to see it, if you haven't already.

The movie will open your eyes to the true meaning of marriage. It will challenge you as a spouse and it will encourage you to become the person that God wants you to be.

In a few days, I will begin reading the book The Love Dare with my friend, Memory. We've decided to read the book together and discuss our successes and struggles on a weekly basis. The book will take us on a 40 day challenge to perform simple acts of love for our spouses. If you're interested in learning more about the book, click HERE.

I can't say it enough...please see this movie!

Dinner with the Sunshine Family

GUESS WHO CAME OVER FOR DINNER THIS EVENING????

The Sunshine Family!!!

Upon arrival, I began stalking Izzy Sunshine's hair.

I think PQ thought her hair was adorable too...picture anyone!!??

A boy, a girl, a deer, and a bunch of toys...what are they up to??

Isn't her 'bump' adorable?

Sunshine Baby # 2 is due May 22nd!

A little game of HIDE AND GO SEEK gets a little out of control when Papa H tries to help PQ find a hiding spot. Can you spy PQ?

Izzy Sunshine was a master chef this evening...she cooked everything from plastic lizzards to burgers to keychains. PQ and Izzy 'owned' a restuarant and served us free food all evening.




We're STUFFED from all the food!
(I think I wore the SAME dress on this post...)




We had such a great time with the Sunshine Family. Chit-chatting about home improvement projects...brainstorming baby names...kids enjoying one another...sharing our secret hide-and-seek spots in the house...'eating' tons of plastic play food...and just smiling because I was surrounded by our friends. Thanks again for coming over for dinner and fellowship, Sunshine Family! See you tomorrow night!

I Spy

I've been spying a ski jacket for several weeks now but the price has been way out of my desired league. The coat retails for $499.00 but has been at Marshall's for $199.00. I love to scour for deals but $199.00 just didn't seem like that much of a deal. (I know that it's $300 off the retail price but it's still a large sum of money for a jacket!)

I've also been searching for snowpants but the only NICE pair that I found at Marshall's were $129.00! Who knew ski pants were so dang expensive! (I'm not a skiier...or a snowboarder....but I do like to play in the snow with my 5 years old and I don't like to be cold.) Even though the retail price for the pants is listed as $200+ dollars, I still can't justify paying $129.00 for a pair of snowpants!

Is everyone familiar with Marshall's catch phrase? It's SHAMELESSLY SHOPPORTUNISTIC. Do you hear the word OPPORTUNISTIC in there? I DO! And you know what that means, right???

Oh yes...it means that I scored some clearance deals!!

(The picture doesn't do them justice.)

After several weeks of watching the jacket and ski pants sit alone on the shelves (knowing full blown that people in our town wouldn't pay that kind of money for snow gear), I went back today for the 3rd week in a row. Sure enough, they were there!!!!

**My jacket was marked down from $199.00 (Marshall's price)...to $149.00 (3 weeks ago)...to $99.00 (2 weeks ago)...down to $59.00 (today). I snagged it today before it could get away. I'm in love with the jacket!

**My snowpants were marked down from $129.00 (Marshall's price)....to $99.00 (3 weeks ago)...to $69.00 (2 weeks ago)...down to $39.00 (today). I also snagged this deal before they could get away. I'm in love with the pants as well!

Soooo....who wants to go sledding???!!!????

Snow Day Memories

PQ's school was cancelled today due to a snow storm that is currently dumping approximately 10 inches of snow on our town. I remember snow days when I was a kid and they always involved lots of snow-angels, snow-football, & hot cocoa. My Mom was always at home with us (because she worked in the middle of the night at Shaw's so she could be home with us during the day). I remember my Dad being a traveling salesman so he was often at home on snowy days as well. Having family close by during a snow storm was always so reassuring.

At 1 o'clock this afternoon, Papa H called to let us know that he was on his way home from work. NBL had shut down early for the day due to the storm. Once he got home, we were able to sit down at the kitchen table and have family conversation...

...over a nice cup of hot tea.

This picture of PQ reminds me of snow stories from my parents childhood.

It seems like every parent has a story about 'walking 2+ miles to school in a snowstorm'. (Papa H also has some stories like this...if you ever get a chance, ask him about his bus stop.)

After snow removal, PQ had to have a snack...so he opted for pudding.

ROSY RED CHEEKS!

I LOVE IT!

Very serious man meets a very silly Mama.

Papa H LOVES snow duty...when he doesn't have to do it.

HAHAHAHA!

(Thanks for all your hard work, Papa H.)

Hanging out of the floor....still not sure why we opted for the floor!!!???!!!






The WHOLE family was around for the snow day.
Mooch even decided to wake up from his 28th nap of the day to play.

Memories from my own childhood. Memories that I hope to create with my own child. Snow days are an opportunity for memories to be made, that's for sure. I can't wait to sit down and talk to PQ when he's older to see what he remembers about these days at home. I hope his memories are as warm as mine are.

The 5 Love Languages

My number one Love Language is WORDS OF AFFIRMATION. Coming in at a dead last on my list of love languages is RECEIVING GIFTS. But I must say that I was JUMPING FOR JOY when Papa H came home with a brand new digital camera for me yesterday!!!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH, PAPA H!!!

I LOVE IT!

Mooch even sat still for a photo opp.

My boys were THRILLED to give me my present!

Okay, bloggers....I'M BACK!!!!!

Thanks again, Papa H!

YOU ROCK!

*The 5 Love Languages are as follows: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, & Physical Touch*

What's YOUR love language???

Happy 40th Birthday, Bubba!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BIG BROTHER!!

It's hard to believe that you turned 40 years old today! I can remember when you and I were growing up. I remember calling you 'Bubba'. I remember looking up to you. I remember wanting to hang out with you. I remember you teaching me how to play baseball. I remember you hiding in the basement and scaring the daylights out of me. I remember boxing with you (using tube socks as boxing mitts). I remember singing with you. I remember crying with you (movie: MY GIRL). I remember playing snow football with you. I remember listening to Mom & Dad cheer for you. I remember being proud that you were my brother (for the record, I still am).

4 Generations (you're the little guy).

Great Grammy P, YOU, and Mom.

YOU.

(PQ swore that this was a picture of Beaner.)

YOU & Me.

Our Family.




Happy Birthday, Bubba!
I love you!
XOXOXO

Broken Camera...boo hoooooo!!!

In a nutshell, this weekend was BUSY!!!

Amongst the craziness, I dropped my digital camera and it BROKE! I'm so sad! It's gone...I can only hope Papa H surprises me with another one. (HINT! HINT!)

In the meantime, I'm pretty lucky to report that my family's weekend was pretty much parallel to the Country Mouse clan. So please check out HER blog by clicking HERE.

In a nutshell, here's what happened over the weekend:

*I spent 4 hours with Country Mouse on Saturday morning making TONS of freezer meals! So fun. I highly recommend it!

*We had Beaner at our house for a sleep over on Saturday night.

*We celebrated my brother, L's 40th birthday today after church. I still can't believe he's 40!! (I'm going to post some old school pictures tomorrow for his actual birthday-please stay tuned.)

*Went to see my Dad to check in on him. He made a trip to the ER last night and found out that he has gallstones and needs his gallbladder removed. EEK! PQ and Grampa have something else in common..they're both having surgery in the upcoming weeks.

Great weekend....sorry no pictures of my own to post. BOO HOO!!!!

I'm sounding off for now to go watch AFV with my family. I hope you all had a GREAT weekend!

Date Night

Did someone say DATE NIGHT!!!???

This evening, we met up with my friend SL (her new screen name is MEMORY-I'll tell you why a little later) and her husband (his screen name is ESQUIRE). If you recall from THIS post, I've been getting geeked up for Date Night with MEMORY and her husband! During our teen years, MEMORY and I were mischevous. We didn't get into 'real trouble' but we did get silly when we were together.

Throughout dinner, we all conversed about how we met. ESQUIRE and Papa H talked about everything from sports to real estate to children. MEMORY and I engaged in a meaningful dialog about how we never imagined being back in our home town. The boys apparently loved us so much that they 'followed us' from their 'big cities' to our 'big-little-city' called home. Aaaawww....we love that, boys!! Thank you for loving us as much as you do!

MEMORY kept me guessing all night. You see, I don't have a very good memory at all. I will be the first one to admit it. After chatting with MEMORY this evening, I'm convinced that I'm going to have Alzheimers when I grow old. Seriously. I can laugh about it right now but after having scenerio after scenerio thrown at me from our school days, I found my brain stripped of all that happened in those younger years. Sure, I remember bits and pieces but not the stories that MEMORY was bringing up. (Sorry to disappoint you, MEMORY.)

What I do remember was having a BLAST with this girl. Even though I might not recall every last detail of our playful lives, I do remember having a friend that was always there for me. She was someone that I could get silly with and I never had to worry about what she was going to think of me. She liked me for who I was (and hopefully she still likes me after failing to recall the details of our childhood this evening). *WINK*

Thanks again for a nice evening, MEMORY& ESQUIRE!

We need to do it again soon!

In the mean time, I will try and brush up on my high school trivia! *WINK*

NEED vs. WANT

We live in a society where 'more is better'. I've been feeling quite convicted about some things lately and tonight, I thought I would share. I'm working on a devotional book that someone from our church had given me. It has really opened my eyes to some areas of my life that I had not realized needed opening. Today's reflection was about contentment. Just the word sends chills up my spine.

All too often, we seek out more than what we have. More than what we need. We live in an age where we are constantly searching for something else to fulfill our needs. Rather than being thankful for what we do have, we tend to covet what we don't.

Today I sat on my couch thinking about EVERYTHING that I am thankful for. Often times I think my thanks are known when in reality they aren't. I need to remember to give thanks for everything even if it doesn't seem like much at all. Someone ALWAYS has it worse than I do and I need to remember that. I need to remember that God has given me everything that I need.

Plans For A Date Night

It's official....We have another DATE NIGHT scheduled for this Friday evening! Papa H and I are firm believers that couples NEED date nights. They're an important part of a healthy relationship and they should not stop (even if children come into the equation).

I'm thrilled to be connecting with an old high school friend of mine over dinner with our spouses. We're staying local and we don't anticipate being out for longer than a few hours but I'm really excited to be reconnecting with her. (For those of you who also went to high school with us, her maiden-name intials are SL...her Dad was a dentist intown. I'm sure that should be enough to figure it out.)

SL (apparently that's going to be her screen name) moved back to town after living in Boston with her husband and 2 children. Her husband is a lawyer and he recently signed on with her uncle at a law firm back in town. Her children are adorable and she is doing a fantastic job as a mom!

I will definitely post pictures after the Friday Night Date Night! So please stay tuned!

Before I go for this evening, when was the last time YOU had a date night with your significant other? Perhaps it's time to surprise them with a little time out for the two of you...*WINK*

WARNING: RICE RANT AHEAD!!!

I know, I know....you expected to see tons of OBAMA stuff on my site today. Afterall, today is a monumental day in history. The first African American president was sworn in today. As much as I would love to reflect on the emotions that were experienced from the big event, I have something else on my mind right now.

Do you remember THIS post? After I posted that blog entry, we received a package in the mail from Success. Included in the package was a self addressed/stamped envelope for us to send the GLASS and the ORIGINAL BOX back to the company for further investigation. In addition to the postage paid envelope, they sent me a coupon for a FREE SUCCESS RICE PRODUCT. (Please note that the maximum value of the coupon is $2.49-which isn't even enough to cover the replacement costs.)

While I understand that things happen, I'm insulted by their gesture. My son could have easily swallowed the piece of glass (thank God he didn't). After doing a little research on what glass might do to your body if it is swallowed, I found the following blurp: SWALLOWING A SMALL PIECE OF GLASS CAN PERFORATE THE LINING OF THE STOMACH. Enough said...you get the picture, right??

After hemming and hawing over whether I was justified in sending the company a letter of disgust, I decided that IT.WAS.INDEED.WARRANTED! Below you will see the short note that I sent over via their website. (Unfortunately, space was limited so I had to keep it short and well, not so sweet.)

I contacted your customer service line a few weeks ago after finding GLASS in our bag of rice. Luckily, nobody swallowed the piece of glass! The rep that I spoke with advised that she would send us a package so that we could send the glass and it's box back to your company. As a consolation, your company also sent me a coupon for 1 free rice product. I'm insulted by the gesture because the coupon doesn't even have enough value for us to replace the cost of the original box of rice! The maximum value on the coupon is $2.49. I'm embarassed for your company as it would give this type of consolation to families after receiving an unexpected piece of glass in their bagged rice. If anyone in my family had ingested the piece of glass, the consolation (ie:medical costs) would have been much higher...but yet your company tries to win-back the support of your customers by providing a coupon that won't even cover the replacement costs. Unbelievable. I'm disappointed in your company and I just wanted to share our dissatisfaction with the entire situation.

Thanks for listening...I just needed to vent.

So, tell me...Do you have any CUSTOMER SERVICE stories to share? I would love to hear them!

What does YOUR husband do for work?

As you may know, Papa H and I headed out of town for the weekend...alone. We headed to Providence RI for a hardware show while PQ went to Titi and Uncle L's house. I must say, I embarked on quite the adventure! I learned a lot from the trip and I got to spend some quality time with my husband. What a great combination!

SAD PARENTS...Why, you ask??

*Our little guy lost his first tooth while we were out of town!!!!*

On Saturday morning, we got up bright and early and headed to the show.

I saw SO MANY products that I never knew existed.

I saw SO MANY products that I never knew I needed.

I saw SO MANY products that made me wonder what they were.

*Still not sure about this one below!!???*

Seeing Papa H in action was interesting. I really enjoyed spending time with him and I also had an opportunity to learn more about his profession.

THIS my friends was MY little friend...

a skybridge from our hotel to the actual mall.

*Have I mentioned how much I LOVE to shop???*

*WINK*

Papa H and DT (the owner of NBL) were busy at work...




...while I was getting to know AT (the owners daughter).
I really enjoyed AT. She's the most interesting 'boring girl' that I've ever met!!
*WINK*




Can someone please tell my WHY they make so many different types of shovels!!??
A shovel is a shovel, right!!??
WRONG!!!!




On Sunday, we headed back home (in a winter storm). WHOA!
It took us 4.5 hours to get back home.
*It's usually 2.5 on a normal day.*






Mama Bear (as DT calls her) sat in the back with Papa H.
As you know, I'm not much fun in the car. Better yet, my tummy isn't fun-carsick.

Cool as a cucumber...DT was not phased by the snow at all.

Count them...18 snowplows in a row!!!!

Once we got back home, we were THRILLED to see our little man. We didn't recognize him at first (he looks so much older without a front tooth)...but it didn't take us long to realize that he WAS our little guy!

WE MISSED YOU, PQ!!!

Looking back on the entire weekend, I can't help but smile. It was nice having a little getaway with Papa H. It gave us time to reflect on our roles as parents and it also gave us time to recharge for more. It was nice learning more about what Papa H does on a daily basis for our family. Often times, I think I understand what he's doing each day at work. After this weekend, I realize that his job is more complex than I ever imagined. I'm really proud of who you are, Papa H and I'm honored to be your wife. Thank you for working so hard for our family. We love you!

XOXOXO

Reflecting At The Beach

After getting PQ on the bus, I headed to the local beach town for a meeting. I typically arrive earlier than usual for these meetings just so I can enjoy some time down at the beach. I find it very humbling to sit at the beach reflecting on the goodness of my life. I found myself sitting in the car, singing THIS song at the top of my lungs, and smiling because of everything around me.

If you haven't taken a moment recently to be thankful for everything that you have, I'm urging you to do so. We all have so much to be thankful for.

XOXOXO

Mark The Date- February 11th

Please be in prayer for my little man. He's heading in for day surgery on February 11th to have tubes placed in his ears and he will be having his adnoids removed. He has been having issues with recurrent ear infections since he was a baby but they finally pinpointed the cause. His doctor is well recommended and has a very nice bedside manner (which is great).

My little guy is most excited about the theory that Country Mouse reminded me about... A DIET COMPRISED OF ICE CREAM & OTHER FROZEN TREATS!!!!

Thanks for your prayers. :)

Be Careful Not To Step In Dog Poop!

After school, PQ and I headed over to Auntie & Uncle's house to go sledding. While we were walking around, I noticed a small pile of dog poop. Princess (their 12 pound dog) apparently dropped a little surprise in the snow...and this my friends is what transpired afterwards:

Mama H: "PQ, be careful..."

PQ: "Of what, Mama?"

Mama H: "Be careful not to step in dog poop."

PQ: "Who's is it?"

Mama H: "What do you mean, who's is it? It's Princess'."

PQ: (Giggle) "It's not Princess', Mama!"

Mama H: "Why do you say that!!??"

PQ: "Because girls don't poop!"

Mama H: (holding back the laughter) "Uuuh, yes they do."

PQ: (blank stare) "They do??!!??"

Mama H: "Yup, I hate to break it to you...but they do."

PQ: (completely shocked) "I HAD NO IDEA!!!!"

*This post is a formal apology to PQ's future wife. It's because of this day that he officially knows that you do indeed poop.*

SNOW DAY-Tea Party vs. Hot Cocoa

Okay, I'll admit it...It takes a little nudge to get me to go outside in the winter. I do NOT like the cold weather! I like staying inside to bake yummy cookies when it's cold. I would prefer to sip on a nice hot cup of tea rather than head outside in the brisk cold air. I do, however, find that I enjoy the cold weather once I get bundled up and go outside. I guess I'm a baby at first...but I can come around (as long as I have snowpants, jacket, warm gloves, and a hat). *WINK*

My boys LOVE being outside in the snow!

They also love being wild and crazy...typical boy stuff...WRESTLING.

***Does anyone want to go inside and have a tea party??***

(CRICKETS...All I hear are crickets.)

Papa H got double teamed by PQ and Mooch!

I think it might be time for my tea party...??...

NO SUCH LUCK...

We settled on HOT COCOA instead.

Being the only girl in the house, I often have to make deals with the boys (without them knowing). Apparently Hot Cocoa is more MANLY than a 'tea' party. So we had some hot cocoa (AKA: TEA PARTY for me) and we were all happy. *WINK*

Candy Rush

Happy Saturday!

Quick....think of your favorite candy (of all time).

Tell me...What were your favorites?

(Mine were MARS bars, NERDS, or Laffy Taffy.)

Spontaneous Dates

A spontaneous lunch date with my husband???!!??

ABSOLUTELY!!!!

Take a look at the happy little couple...aren't they cute?

Can you guess who drinks what kind of soda?

Speaking of spontaneous...here is Mr. Spontaneous.

On my way home from our lunch date, I glanced down and looked at my ring. I have to be honest, it's an amazing feeling to know that I am going to share the rest of my life with such a good man. I love you, Papa H!

After PQ got home from school, we headed out for a Family Date Night!

*Keepin' the spontaneous dates going...*

Another reminder that LIFE IS GOOD!

Wheeeeeeeee!!!!

This one made us think of Country Mouse...OUCH!!!!

LIFE IS GOOD, MY FRIENDS...LIFE IS GOOD!

XOXOXO