A Simple Win

After perusing Pinterest recently, something I hadn't done in a long time, I decided to try a new recipe someone posted for Crockpot Lasagna Soup. This is what it looked like right before serving it: 

As toppings, I added a dollop of cottage cheese and some shredded mozzarella cheese. Matt just went for the mozzarella. 

It was very good. I made a couple of simple adjustments to the recipe, so I've added those to my copy for next time.

One of the best parts was how easy it was to make!

Christmas Treasures, Part 4

In my haste to get caught up after a long absence from the blog, I overlooked that I hadn't told you about another of my newest Christmas treasures.

Our first Christmas after being married, was the first year in a long while that I missed spending a day with my friend Beth and her family at Christmastime. Even though we both lived "in Memphis" the years prior, she actually lives in North MS and I lived in the next county outside of Memphis towards the Northeast. The drive is about an hour without traffic delays, so with the nature of our lives we'd see one another a few times a year. Christmas was always one of them. 

Since we went to Louisiana to be with family for Christmas that first year of marriage, we didn't make it into Memphis. I learned later that we both had Christmas gifts for one another, as usual, but had no reasonable way to make the exchange.

Beth saved my gift and gave it to me this year, in 2012. It was so good to be in town again at Christmas so I could visit with them once again.

This was my gift: 

Beth saw an ornament on Pinterest that was filled with the strips of a wedding invitation. Then she made me one using our invitation. I LOVE it!

How thoughtful, creative and unique.

When I showed it to Matt, he looked at it for a second and then began shaking it. I looked at him petulantly wondering what he was doing. His comment? All I want to know is: where is my name?! Haha! The way the invitation was shredded my name was visible, but not his. He was shaking that baby like a crazy 8 ball, as if he was hoping to see his good fortune!

No worries, it survived. And now I have one more Christmas treasure to enjoy.

Good Sport

On our cruise, it seemed they had a new photo op ready every time we turned around. It was nice to have options and we enjoyed purchasing a few photos, but some things seemed a bit over the top for posing with adults for pictures.

This smile o' mine was hard to come by at dinner one evening...see the clinched teeth.

I must admit, Matt is a much better sport about some things than I am. 

Yes, I admit it. I do love this picture of Matt. It reveals his personality and that makes this a winner in my book.

So, thank you, Matey. Argh!

Date Night

For a couple of practical reasons, Matt and I didn't celebrate Valentine's Day until the weekend after. We'd talked about keeping it simple and going out for a nice meal. I reminded him we hadn't been to the hibachi restaurant near our house where he took me to celebrate my first married birthday. That was almost a year and a half ago.

My birthday in 2011.

He was all for it.

We ventured out only to discover the restaurant had moved. Fortunately, it hadn't moved far. They simply ran out of room and moved to a larger place a little farther down the road, but still near our home.

When we got there, the place was hopping. People were everywhere, but still, the wait was only about 20-30 minutes. That's nearly a miracle for a restaurant in these parts on a weekend night. We played a little while we waited.

Matt zapping me with the tazer. 

I recovered quickly.

The new place was really nice. The service wonderful. The food phenomenal. Matt and I both had steak, shrimp and scallops. YUM! 

I have to admit, I studied what the chef did hoping I might one day replicate it. It was good!

When we go out to eat, that's the kind of special place I'd like to go once in a while. A place where the food is so good it may not be reproducible. 

It was a fun Valentine's date night!

The Initiation

Over all of the years, in all of the times I've changed little boys' diapers, this was my first time to be squirted. According to his mom, who I spoke with later about the event, it wasn't even a normal time to be at risk for this. Hmm.

I was changing his diaper, probably moving a little too slowly as I cleaned his backside, and the next thing I knew something was spraying upward. Ha! Even though I was unfamiliar with this phenomena personally, I reacted quickly knowing instantly what was happening. :) I managed to block, but the moment passed quickly. For a second, I wondered what all of the hype was about...just a little spritz. I proceeded to finish wiping and he fired up again!

Apparently he was trying not to go on me, but I tested his limits and he couldn't hold back any longer. In my attempt to react, I lowered his legs and redirected the stream unaware. As I looked down, I saw I was in the cross hairs and dodged just in time to avoid a direct hit to the face. Down my left side, on the floor and though I can't remember how, off to my right too. A quick move of a wipe deflected the rest to soak the changing pad. What range and force. The kind of thing that would impress any man :)

In the end, I came out relatively unscathed. The next day, however, I learned from his mom that in the few hours after the incident he managed to hit both his mom and his dad by surprise attack. 

Apparently he has a new pass time. 

I fear the initiation has only begun.

Home, Part 3

On President's Day, Matt was free to spend his day however he pleased. I can't tell you how much it felt like a typical Saturday when I was growing up. Matt doing his thing, while I did mine. You know what they say, you become your mother. Well, Mom, I think you'd be proud today.

From the moment I got out of bed, I was on the move. Completing chores, cooking meals and enjoying a hug on the run as Matt and I crossed paths. The original plan was to make a big breakfast of pancakes and bacon. That is what we had, but it wasn't as "big" of a breakfast as I expected. I thought we'd eat breakfast, skip lunch and have roast, potatoes and carrots from the crock pot that night. Instead, for breakfast, we had smaller pancakes (I didn't want leftover batter, so I didn't prepare as much) and a couple strips of bacon. 

By the time breakfast was eaten and dishes were cleaned, it was time to prepare dinner for the crock pot. I came up one ingredient short, ran to the store and by noon, had the crock pot going. After doing some laundry, gathering trash, cleaning the kitchen, sewing on a button, sorting a few papers, and a couple other things, I asked Matt what he wanted to do about lunch.

I didn't want to assume he'd rather wait for dinner (or assume he'd just want a snack). He suggested soup...whatever we had on hand would be fine. Quick, simple, easy. No problem.

I almost always have a can of tomato soup on hand. That day, I did not. Since I'd already made a marathon run for an ingredient to finish the roast, I wasn't going back out again. I finally summoned up the courage to make homemade soup.

My mom has made about a million variations of soup over the years and they've always turned out great. She never knows how to recreate it because she uses leftovers from the frig and supplements with whatever else she has on hand until it all comes out tasting delectable.

At one time in my single days, I thought this skill might have been inherited. After all, my paternal granddad had the same skill. I tried on a couple of occasions to use my leftovers to make soup. Out of three times I remember, only one pot turned out well.

Intimidated from previous failures, when Matt mentioned homemade soup a couple of times before, it fell on deaf ears. :) That day, I decided to go for it.

Homemade Chicken Noodle and Vegetable Soup...

Yes, that's right...it's not super soupy, but there's more broth than it appears. 

It was a winner! YUM! 

As soon as I finished cleaning up the dishes and kitchen again, I typed up the recipe. My hope is that I can make this again one day and it will turn out equally well. Since I had to approximate measurements, it may not be reproducible. Nevertheless, it was a success! It may be just enough to convince me to try again with another combination.

Dining In

All along, Matt and I have discussed how we anticipate our "jet setter" lives will require adjustment when God blesses us with children. We are both prepared to live life at home rather than running around taking in the latest movie or taking off for a day trip of exploring. In fact, Matt has nearly vowed that we will not see the inside of a restaurant until our children reach elementary school. HA! 

Even after talking about it once or twice, I've wondered how likely it is that it will actually go down that way. I realize how difficult it is to get out of the house with a baby. Adding to that older siblings in their preschool years and it hardly seems worth it, but that's coming from a mom's perspective. Someone who expects to be breastfeeding and changing diapers and dealing with fits and not being able to engage with other adults at dinner, etc. The reason I wondered if it would actually happen, if we would put a moratorium on eating out for the duration, is how much Matt seems to enjoy it.

Recently, after eating out with friends at a favorite restaurant of ours, I asked Matt how he enjoyed his bacon cheeseburger. His answer was sort of ho hum, so I prodded further. I was amazed to hear him say, I've noticed I don't enjoy eating out as much as I used to and I think it's because your cooking is better. Oh my.

A pic of my bacon cheeseburger :)

Here is what I love about that comment. Whenever friends wanted to go out to eat when I was younger, I had such a difficult time finding anything on the menu of restaurants that I enjoyed...because I liked my mom's cooking better! :D

The other thing I love about his comment is that it seems he won't feel cheated when we stop eating out as much once children come. There will be plenty of other sacrifices we'll make as parents, but it will be a blessing for both of us if I'm able to cook things he enjoys. As my sister said long ago, it's so much easier to cook daily when you know your family will enjoy it.

I can't speak to the tastes of our future children, but like my momma, I will cook to please my husband and our children will have the privilege to eat at our table. Easier said than done, I know, but still, that's how we'll roll.

Little Buddy

This is my new little buddy:

This picture was taken by his mommy.

Friends of ours were planning to have children, eventually. Due to medical issues and incorrect predictions about fertility, they were expecting a little earlier than planned. Once their swimming minds caught up, they were (and are) ecstatic.

Their precious baby boy was born near Thanksgiving last year. He was born with a cleft palette, so there was a learning curve when it came to feeding him. Now, he is thriving and she is back to work. Did I mention we live in Maryland? Uh, yeah, it's expensive to live here.

They are managing wonderfully well. She only needs to work a couple of days a week as opposed to full time like before. One of those days, due to the nature of the work, must be in the office. That's where I come into the picture. I have the privilege of taking care of this little guy once a week while she goes in to work.

I've gotta say, he loves to sleep, but sometimes he just fusses at me letting me know I need to help. The hard rhythmic pat to the diaper does the trick in 2 seconds flat. We're bonding already :)

Home, Part 2

As I mentioned in Home, Part 1, I love days when Matt is off work and he can choose how to use his time. Since he works Monday through Saturday most weeks, it's a rare treat for him to have a day he doesn't have to leave the house unless he wants to leave.

Often though, I've had trouble figuring out how to map out my day when he's home. It's as if I'm waiting for him to let me know how I fit into his day. Oddly, these rare days that I love so much for him, have ended up unsatisfying for me.

It's as if I'm trying too hard to be available if he wants to include me in some aspect of his day. Since he's not typically one to plan, I try to go with the flow, but really I find I'm suspending any plans I may make on my own so I don't have to adjust on the fly when he wants me to do something.

I've finally learned that I need to make my own plan for the day and do what I see fit to do. Still, I asked him his plan so I'd know how he envisioned me fitting into it. He mentioned a few things: exercise, review the budget, family prayer time and gather tax documents. It worked out pretty well today, but when he wanted me to go to the gym with him, I had just gotten into something requiring my focused attention and I had a load of laundry to fold while it was still warm. It was hard to break away!

Fortunately, he knows me so well, he just gave me the time he planned to leave and asked if I'd be ready. I had to hustle to fit everything in before leaving and I made us about 5 minutes late, but he's laid back enough that it worked out fine for us both. I was winded from running to get it all done (but it was finished) and he left a little later than planned (but had me with him). :)

I must admit this was the first time I've felt really good about one of these days in every respect. If only it lasted longer!

My Valentine

Even though I talked with Matt about no longer buying one another gifts for Valentine's Day, but rather, writing one another love letters, he still bought me flowers. He knows I love them, that they make me happy and that any pretty mix with that fabulous scent makes my day. This is what he came up with this time: 

I love them! Thank you, Sweetheart!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I love you!!

Home, Part 1

A rare, but favorite thing of mine, are days Matt has off work that he can choose however he wants to spend them. More often than not, he decides for us to go on an adventure somewhere new to explore. Occasionally he decides to stay home.

Leading up to President's Day, Matt suggested we might go on a day trip. He offered two or three possibilities. Then, he mentioned that the weather wasn't supposed to be that good and maybe we would spend the day at home.

Usually when he says things like that, it is the last thing mentioned that he most wants to do, but he's trying to feel me out. It seems he's trying to be sure he won't disappoint me. I thought staying home would be the best plan for this holiday. We've been very busy lately and I haven't been home much either. 

I like these days because Matt can sleep in, exercise, relax, read, watch tv or do whatever else he's in the mood to do. If I was in his shoes, I'd sleep late, stay in my pjs all day and be a lazy, tv-watching bum. :) 

Matt's plan included some of what was on my list, but he was much more productive than I'd likely be if the table was turned. He slept late, ate a big breakfast, fixed a few things around the house that were in need of repair, cleaned off his desk, got a little work done and the day isn't over yet!  

I can't tell you how good it makes me feel when Matt makes it a priority to work on things around the house. When we married, I made a commitment to myself as much as to him, that I wouldn't be a nag or mother him. We agreed I'd ask him once to do what needs to be done and after that, he's responsible. When he does things that need to be done (like today) when I haven't even asked, I LOVE it! 
  

I love being married to Matt for many reasons, only one of which is his sense of responsibility. It is a blessing being married to this man.

Snowy Days

When we moved farther north, I expected many snow days and thought some days I'd even find myself effectively home bound. We'd heard of snows more than a foot deep and for this Southern girl, that's a state of emergency. It's far from anything I'd ever experienced.

Our first winter, to our great surprise, produced nothing but a rare dusting of snow. Somehow we managed to weather our way through a mild winter.

Leading into this second winter up north, we heard great warnings week to week of what a bad winter we'd have in store. Yet again, all we've experienced is a few dustings of snow. Even still, I LOVE seeing those huge flakes fall. I LOVE seeing everything covered with snow. I'm also glad to miss ice storms typical of our former home in the South. 

Here is a picture of our latest snow: 

It was a beautiful site to see it fall. 

Rollin' Down the River

Recently, Matt and I took a cruise out of New Orleans to Mexico. It was a marriage retreat with some friends from Memphis. 

We boarded the ship and remained in port a few hours before pushing off. This was taken on the deck before embarking:

Since New Orleans is 90 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, it took a few hours before we reached full speed. Matt and I stood out on the deck for quite a while looking at all the other ships and what lined the shore along the way. It was neat to hear him explain everything he saw. He recognized almost everything and I enjoyed him telling me about it, including a natural gas transfer station and a sand dredger. It was a bit cold out, so we didn't linger too long outside.
  
Here are some more pictures and highlights from our trip: 

We played ping pong on the Lido deck with our friends. I need more practice :)

A good shot a friend took of the pool area of our ship. We laid out by the pool one day, but never got in it. Oh how I missed my chance to go down the slide!

 One evening at dinner toward the end of our trip. 

One of my favorite areas of the ship was the Serenity deck. No one under 21 allowed :) We wandered out there a few times, but didn't stay long except when we soaked in the hot tub. If we weren't scheduled to be in sessions for the marriage retreat, I could see us spending more time out on the serenity deck reading and enjoying the outdoors. I LOVE being on the water. 

Here's a picture they took right before boarding: 

This was our first cruise so I wasn't sure what to expect. We'd be up for going again one day. An Alaskan cruise. A Mediterranean cruise. Hmm...we'll see what's next. :)

Missing a Boy

Sometimes it's harder than others to live so far away. This little guy just turned three earlier this month...

And we missed it. We miss him. He's at that fun age too where he lights up with every gift. 

 His brother telling him about his new toy. 

Taking a look at his new Mickey. 

Since we couldn't be there with them, it would have been fun to ship something so he'd get a gift from us in the mail. This time it just wasn't practical. So, my brother-in-law picked up the gift and gave it to him for us. This, by recommendation of his mom, is what we got him: 

 

The word is he loves it! My sister says he keeps the cars with him all of the time and if she'd let him, he'd take the garage to bed and when they leave the house too!

It makes me sad to know he's growing up without us around. We love that little guy as much as we love the other four, but he's had less of my time than the others. It's hard to show little ones you care from so far away.

Even though my sister's oldest is 17 now and a couple more are close behind (almost grown up), I always dreamed we'd have our children at the same time. That we'd be living near one another and our kids would be friends as they grew up.

Trust me...she's done her part...with children ages 17, 15, 12, 6 and 3 she spread them out plenty well for me to have a chance. :) You'd think somewhere along the way I'd have caught up and had at least one when she was having one of hers. Haha!

Who knew one day we'd live over a thousand miles apart or that it would take 18 hours of driving to be at the other's door?!

A Day for Love

In the States, Valentine's Day is a big deal, but it's not a real holiday. It's an opportunity in our capitalistic society for businesses to sell a lot of goods and boost their sales and revenue. That is one reason I didn't get emotional most years as a single person on Valentine's Day. I made little of its significance. 

I admit, it bothers me how a day like any other day can lead young women to struggle and doubt God's timing and provision of a mate. It seems to be a stumbling block. Depression is a sin and this kind of holiday naturally lends itself to discourage a large group of people: some good, godly people who want a good thing. 

From what I've said, you may think I hate Valentine's Day, but that's not entirely accurate either. I like having special days to celebrate, so we don't get lazy, so we remember to be intentional on the other days. I guess you could say I wish Valentine's Day wasn't reserved only for romantic love. I wish it was a day to celebrate brotherly love as well. That we might respond to the day with an effort to show love to any and all of the ones we love...like we did as children in elementary school.

I remember the cheap little valentine's cards we'd put in other children's envelopes at school with a little candy. We'd write little messages to our friends and let them know we cared. It was a sweet thing and I looked forward to those days.

This year, I've been thinking about starting a new tradition with Matt. I haven't mentioned it to him yet :), but I'd like for us to begin writing love letters for Valentine's Day each year: One to the Lord and one to each other. The idea is that we would seal and save the ones to the Lord and open the ones to each other. When our children are old enough one day, I'd like them to begin the practice so that on days in adulthood while they are waiting for their spouses they will be dwelling on their love for the Lord (and His for them) rather than being overtaken with sadness. At least, that's my hope.

As we have children, I'd like us both to begin writing love letters to them each year. I see it as a wonderful opportunity to encourage them at a time when they may doubt whether or not they are loved.

What do you think of Valentine's Day?

Pick Me Up

Right after Christmas, I came down with a cold...that lasted forever. Sad to say, I wasn't much fun on New Year's Eve. There was no discussion about a date night out or a nice home cooked dinner for a date night in. Poor Matt :( 

He was sweet and thoughtful nonetheless. To celebrate he bought me these: 

  
He knows I love flowers and they make me happy. Thank you, Sweetheart, for being so good to me.

Sashay Shantay

Here I am modeling my new coat: 

A Christmas present from Matt's mom. I love the color and it's nice and warm. :)

And then there's the not so flattering pose showing off the new cowboy boots Matt gave me:

Can you get past my silly pose to see my cute boots? Here's a better shot: 

We had fun celebrating Christmas Day at home, just the two of us.

Giddy Girl

Matt and I have been married now for a year and a half. Some days I find myself simply giddy with excitement over him. For some of you who married in your early to mid-twenties, you may think that's normal for the newlywed stage of marriage. Uh...we're not that young :)

Since we've been married, I've been grateful for Matt. I've been warmly affectionate towards him. I've been excited about him, but I didn't enter marriage giddy with excitement. Eagerness, yes. Overjoyed, yes. Stars in the eyes giddy, not so much. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just how it was for us. In fact, I think it was a very good thing. It wasn't an emotions without reason kind of joining. We knew one another, were comfortable together, enjoyed each other, looked forward to beginning our lives together, but it wasn't replete with giddy excitement.

I suppose that's part of what makes me laugh at myself sometimes now. It's been fun growing together in the last year and a half. I can't even describe to you the difference in such a short time. We're very good together. 

What I've noticed lately, is that sometimes I get SO excited about him that I behave like a teenager. I find the excitement just bursts forth in silly non-verbals (like bumping my shoulder to his as we stand side-by-side or dancing a silly jig) and I can even feel the gleam in my eyes as I look at him and flash a broad smile (and do things like whisper something in his ear and giggle). The scary part: I don't care who sees me. :-D 

It reminds me of a silly teen excited over her new boyfriend. (Note to self: That can be awkward for your husband if that happens in the church service during the greeting time. Act your age. Don't embarrass him.) There are probably several other typically youthful things I do that I don't even realize, but it's come to me gradually over time as we've grown ever closer.

This giddiness is something I've just begun to notice and often it springs up right after we've talked and connected emotionally. Sometimes it happens after an especially fun trip, having enjoyed a lot more time together than usual. Sometimes it just seems to happen suddenly for no apparent reason, except that I've been dwelling on the wonderful things about him and our relationship.

One morning last week, I woke up feeling edgy. Something that NEVER happens; it was weird. It took me a while to get up and in the swing of things. After finishing my normal routine, I waited for Matt to come down to go to work. Matt gave me a big hug right before walking out of the door, but that was only his first trip to the truck. (Normally I get my hug before the second and final trip out.) When he came back for the rest of his things, I got another big, long hug. Then, I found myself giddy-happy. Gleam in the eye. Smile from ear to ear. Already ready for him to come home. At that moment, I didn't know why or where that came from. Now I do. I'm an affection person (love languages) and my husband had just given me a huge dose of affection compared to the norm. My "love tank" overflowed and giddy poured out. haha

So, for those of you past the youthful giddiness of marriage, beware: I may not be through it for a while. And since I really don't care, you might be embarrassed (for me?) to see it ;)

Superbowl Sunday

Matt and I had a great day back at church after being on vacation through two Sundays. In Sunday school we talked about marriage and learned more ways of how to strengthen our marriage. In the service, we continued our study on Revelation and learned about the first four trumpets during the tribulation. We went to lunch with friends and had a couple of hours to rest before the Superbowl.

I must admit, I may have been more excited about the game than Matt. Nevertheless, we both had a lot of fun on our game day date! Since I wanted to make him some good game day food, I asked in advance what he'd prefer. He asked for Chili. Yum! 

While kicked back in our living room, donning our Ravens t-shirts, comfortable and cozy, we took in the game with a nice bowl of chili. Had you been nearby, you'd have heard a lot of hoots and hollers for great plays in the first half. During the second, it became such a nail-biter of a game, we were transfixed and much quieter. In the end, we were cheering loudly because the RAVENS WON!!!!

Sometimes it amazes me the difference three years can make. I still remember how desperately I wanted Matt's attention at the Singles Superbowl party three years ago. Toward the beginning, he was so interested in seeing some good football and some funny new commercials, that after mixing and mingling with other friends for an hour, I became bored...wondering if I'd ever make any headway with him ;) Toward the end, we were like...game? what game? 

Superbowl 2010

I'm so grateful we have a lifetime to enjoy days like these together.

Christmas Glitz

You're still hearing about Christmas because I had plenty of things to say in December, but not enough time to write about it. One of these days I'll get caught up on all our goings on and this chapter will be closed. Until then, let me tell you about helping decorate our church. 

My friend Micah has a talent for decorating. She developed a plan for the church using last year's Christmas decorations, but sought permission to add two more trees and all the trimmings. One day before the official decoration day, I went to Micah's house and we pulled price tags off of everything. That way, everyone would be able to jump in to decorate right from the start. 

On the day of, about a dozen ladies decorated the church from about 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. It was a huge task. Micah had purchased exactly the right amount of ornaments, mesh ribbon, floral accents, etc. to decorate the two new trees and add light touches to what they already had. 

Let me just say, I wrapped A LOT of mesh ribbon around the trees, strung a few lights, hung some garland and added a few finishing touches here and there. In the end, it looked fabulous. The pictures hardly do it justice. 

This was the end result: 

 The gold mesh you see here is what my friend Sandra and I put on the trees.

 We strung this garland, but it looks better without the ladders and lit up. :)

Here is a pic of Matt and me in front of the huge tree we put up in the main entryway of the church:

This was taken the night of the Christmas Eve service. 

We had a great time decorating together, but it was a lot of work. I have a new appreciation for what is involved in pulling off something like this. Kudos to Micah for all she did to make this happen!

Five on Friday

A good friend often writes on her blog about five things on Fridays. As I celebrate my Mom's birthday from afar today, I want to mention five memories I have that make me so thankful for my mom. Here is the fabulous five, though it's only a drop in the bucket :)

1. I love the way she jumps in on the fun to play with the grandkids. 

Riding a Razor Scooter with them.

Riding a swing on the swing set with Stephen. 

The pictures don't come close to capturing the playful spirit I love seeing in her in these moments. 

 

2. I love the way she shows her love through cooking us home cooked meals every night, both while we were growing up and now when Matt and I visit home. Just ask him and he'll tell you he looks forward to what Mom will put together to feed us when we're there ;) I wish I had a picture of the latest spread.

Even with the vastness of our eating potential, she out does us with food offerings. We never have enough time to partake of it all. When we were there for two weekends (with our cruise in between), we enjoyed banana pudding (weekend 1) and chocolate cake (weekend 2). Spoiled? Um, yeah.

3. I love her spunk. As I recall, we were not permitted to say "shut up" to anyone while we were growing up, but apparently she's mellowed in her young age. Occasionally, you'll hear her defend herself when picked on, by telling Dad, "Oh, shuuut up!" She says it playfully, of course :)

4. I love it when she zings people. My Dad is the sarcastic one. He's also the talker. My quiet little mama is usually listening to one of us or doing something for us, but every so often someone leaves an opening and she zings them good. The beauty of it is that none of us sees it coming and we end up bent over laughing, with our stomachs in stitches. 

 

My niece took this pic, but I had to borrow it so you could see the mischievous look ;)

Recently, a new development in her sense of humor is subtle, but evident sarcasm. She's used it on me and on Tracey at least once. If you're not paying attention, you almost miss it. My response when she zinged me? I told Matt in shock, "I think my mom just duh-ed me!" It takes a special person to zing you by text. We all laughed with that one. 

5. I love the way she shows her love by helping. 

Mom feeding Zach.

On the latest trip to Memphis I told my mom of my new discovery about myself and my love language. I'm primarily a quality time person and a big affection person, but I was surprised to find that acts of service was almost equal to affection.

As I thought about it, reflecting on my past, I realized how encouraged I am when someone works alongside of me. I hate the isolation of chores and cleaning alone, but I love working for a good purpose alongside someone else. In fact, I think that's why I liked being a boss in ministry. I always tried to get my secretary involved in working on things with me. Even if we were in different rooms in the process, if we were working toward the same goals together, I felt good about it. Teamwork. A team effort.

After all of this time, I was able to explain why I was so terrible at doing chores she'd given growing up. I hated the isolation of it. At the same time, I was able to share one of my favorite and oft told memories of something my mom did that meant a great deal to me. 

During my doctoral studies, weighed down with work, deadlines and more pressure than anyone should have pressing in, I stalled out. I had so much to do but had no idea where to start. My brain was muddled; I was overwhelmed. Mom offered to help, but I wasn't sure what she could do. She offered to come to my house and cook meals for me in advance..."to make life easier"...while I studied. I took her up on it. 

Truth be told, I would have probably just bought something out rather than cook that week. Not much actual time was saved, though her food tasted much better and was healthier. What made the difference that I'll never forget?

My mom bought groceries, drove 45 minutes to my house, cooked in my kitchen on a Saturday for a few hours (quietly, I might add), in an attempt to help me, to lift a burden. She was there. When I needed her, she was there. She was such an encouragement that day. I was able to focus and work and meet my deadlines, because she came and worked alongside me. I didn't have much discretionary time in those days. I was always working or studying. She made a difference in a huge way and I'll never forget it.

This was only one time of many, but it is an occasion that spoke volumes. I was about 28 years old then and on my last leg after 3 long years of pouring all of my energy into work and school. That is the kind of mom I hope to be one day. A mom who helps, who supports, who's there. 

Mom and I at my Bridesmaids' Brunch.

Thank you, Mom, for being you. I love you more than words can say.

Happy Birthday, Mom!!!!! 

You're the Best!