Love Dare Day 9- Love Makes Good Impressions

Today's Dare: Love Makes Good Impressions
Think of a specific way you'd like to greet your spouse today. Do it with a smile and with enthusiasm. Then determine to change your greeting to reflect your love for them.
Today's dare seems simple enough but the reading in the book was wonderful. I am a smiler I always have been and i hope I always continue to be. I have laugh lines at the tender age of 27 but I have earned them and enjoy knowing they are there because I have laughed and laughed hard pretty much daily. Even when I am down I can usually hide it while in public and I keep that smile on my face, but the person who can see right through me is of course Joshua. He is the one person who sees me at my worst and continues to love me. When reflecting on today's challenge I thought of a hundred different ways I should be greeting that man of my dreams. When we first got married and I would hear his car pull into the driveway I would jump up along with our huge white furry dog and we would both run out to meet our guy on the porch. Now I don't think I even get up to unlock the door at times. But this will all be changing as of right now! I love when he calls me to just say I love you or those unexpected visits at work. Think back to when you and your spouse were just dating and the little things you did and lets start doing them again, place a card on their car window while their working or my personal favorite, show up with a nice hot beverage from starbucks. You know what they like so take 5 minutes to make them smile.

On your Mark, get Set, Lets Run!

Please hold me accountable! I WILL be running the Decker's Creek half marathon June 5th. If you are interested in joining in let me know. I am starting the 10 week traning in 50 minutes :0. I have a 10 week training program that I think looks pretty good so I am going to give it a try. I will keep everyone posted on how I am doing (good or bad). Time to get my run on!

Love Dare Day 8- Love is not Jealous

I am pretty much over a month behind and each night I would lay in bed thinking how I would restart my love dare journey but then the next day it would once again be pushed aside. So here we go again and I apologize to all of you who have been doing the dares with me but hold me accountable and we will finish all 40 days together!
Today's Dare:
Determine to become your spouse's biggest fan and to reject any thoughts of jealousy. To help you set your heart on your spouse and focus on their achievements, take yesterday's list of negative attributes and discreetly burn it. Then share with your spouse how glad you are about a success he or she recently enjoyed.

This is an area I struggle with, Last summer Josh joined a country club and played golf frequently. He loves golf and I knew that when we got married, golfing is actually how we met. But for some reason each time he wanted to go I would pout or throw myself a pity party and just wanted him to stay home with me. This chapter made me realize that at times I just need to put my big girl pants on and stop thinking about myself.

Always Remembered

Yesterday made 3 years since my poppaw went home to be with his Heavenly Father. I find it hard sometimes to focus on the life he lived while not being overwhelmed by how he left. He was truly the first person that I had loved that left this world and I just wasn't ready. Many of you know my Grandpa was the only Father I ever had an he was a GREAT one! We never really said many words but we just had an unspoken bond. My poppaw walked me down the aisle the day I married Josh and I remember right before the ceremony everyone else had already walked out and we were standing on the steps. I was so nervous and excited that I don't remember half the things he said but he just wrapped his arm around me and told me to calm down, don't be nervous everything is going to be fine. I just wish Noah would have been able to have those same wonderful arms around his shoulders and experience my poppaw teaching him how to trout fish. I know we will see each other again and that provides comfort during the pain. Here is a slideshow of images my mommaw had and I thought I would share the life of the most amazing man I know.

Free to be ME!

I love how God allows me to "mess" up over and over again before he finally gets bored with watching me make the same mistakes and steps in to show me the way. I have heard our preacher talk on how people will associate their faith with their good deeds but I never thought I was one of those people that fell into this category. Each morning I wake up get ready for work, drink my coffee and I am just so full of life and energy and I think today is THE day it is going to be great but then 830 rolls around and I loose all my pep and excitement and even begin to grumble about silly things at work. 330 can't come quick enough and I am dying to punch out and just head home but I feel like I have failed for the day. I wasn't that happy girl that I told myself I would be today and I said that curse word when I shouldn't have. These acts are what I have been measuring myself with and worse it is how I thought God was measuring me. Each evening I have literally beat myself up over the areas where I feel like I have failed during the day and make promises that tomorrow I am going to be a better person. With expectations like this it is only natural to fail. I am just thankful God doesn't measure his love for me based on good deeds and it is ok to just be ME. I love this song and it just makes me happy that God loves me for who I am. Yes I am a perfectionist and wish I weren't but God sees past this and no matter if I grumble or become negative he loves me for me.

Introducing Baby Mayla

We have anticipated that arrival of baby Mayla for 9 months!! She finally blessed us with her arrival on January 30! Ashley is already transitioning into the motherhood role and she is a natural! Congratulations to you guys!

Bedtime Prayers

I will admit that as a little girl I slept in my moms bed way longer than I probably should have. Even the nights when I would attempt to be a big girl, I would start out in my bed but always ended up with mom by morning. I loved how at night once we hopped in bed she would snuggle me tight and instead of saying our nightime prayers we would sing them. Noah is finially at the point where he doesn't scream when we put him down for the night so I have been so blessed to begin this same tradition with my little guy. So for the past few weeks each night when I lay him down I sing his bedtime prayers to him and top it off with a kiss. Tonight Josh laid him down while I was cleaning up the kitchen and at first I thought he was just talking to Noah but I walked over to the steps and my heart melted as I heard Josh singing Noah his bedtime prayers. These are the little moments that make me stop and just thank God for his blessings.