MY MAN

My HH and I celebrated 12 years of marriage this weekend. I wanted to come up with some terribly romantic post about how blissful those 12 years have been.
But they haven't.
He has been hard to live with at times.
So have I.
I would say I have been a lot harder than he. HH is pretty laid back, nothing really upsets him too much. I can be a bit high strung and of late high drama. I mull over things for MONTHS, HH lets them go. He has had his share of stuff though.
I will share with you a conversation we had a few weeks ago. We were all in the car on the way to the store. I really don't remember how it came up but the question was raised have you ever though you could do this (life, kid raising, house maintaining, etc) better by yourself? Honestly, there have been times when that thought has crossed my mind, especially weeks when he is gone a lot, and we will leave it at that.
HH's response:
"Oh I know I couldn't do this by myself. I know I need you."
Yes, I could take it that he needs me to do his stuff, you know what, so what if he does. I also know it took great humility to admit he couldn't do it with out me, because it ain't nothing but pride that makes me think I can do it alone.
Honestly, I couldn't do it without him. He is my physical rock. Sometimes a rock that stubs my toes, sometimes a rock that blocks a path, but many times a rock I can fall safely upon and rest.
So have they been 12 blissful, just like in the movies, romance filled years?
No.
Have they been 12 good years with a man who loves God, loves me, and loves our men children?
Have they been 12 years with a man who always strives to provide for his family, who desires to give us all the very best he can?
Have they been 12 years of turning off the hot water while he showers and awaiting the retaliation?
Years of sneaking ice cubes into bed to slip into his PJ's as payback for some prank he started?
Years of watching UFC and Beth Moore, listening to him comment on which way he likes her hair better (less blonde is his recommendation)?
Yes - they have and I would not have wanted anyone else to go through them with.
Happy Anniversary HH - I love you!
(Now ya'll be sure to tell him I said so because he never reads this).

IT'S MY PARTY...

Not really. Really it was our friend Niki's party, Nikita to be exact. When I grow up I want a party like she had. That does not officially happen until I turn 40. We had prayer, we had praise dancing, we had dinner, and they had cake. The evening started with Niki sharing how the party came about. She then went around and introduced the guests, sharing why each of us were important to her and her family. Her parents led us in a welcome and a prayer. Her sisters did a beautiful and moving praise dance. Then HH's favorite part began... the FOOD. I quote,
"That pasta stuff was really good and I don't even like that kind of stuff".
Big compliment Ms. Anna's mom, H-U-G-E. After dinner, we moved to the time when we as the guests were allowed to say what Niki and her family meant to us. Niki has battled cancer for seven years. Her daughter was 18 months when she was diagnosed. Her husband has been her rock. This party was not only a celebration of the life she has lived, but of the life she has yet to live. The life she and her husband are about to live.
We had a fabulous time. We were able to fellowship with friends we had not seen in nearly a year. We were joined with a portion of the body of Christ we had never met. We had us some church at this birthday party.
I, we , were honored to be included on this night. We both sat there with great humility and in awe of Niki and Narvis. We were challenged and encouraged. We were bathed in the love of Christ.
Maybe it was my (our) party after all.

IT IS WHAT IT IS...

I have been reading a book by Elizabeth George called Loving God With All Your Mind. Much like A Call to Grace, I have had this book for a while and have started reading it several times. Now I am on the fast track. My mind is my greatest area of battle. As my friend Vivian said, my addictions and habits are mental rather than physical. So learning how to allow God to have all my mind, to surrender it all to Him is a top priority for me, and a top target my flesh.

I have spent the nearly a year lamenting about how things "were not supposed to be like this".

People were not supposed to be like this, circumstances were not supposed to be like this, my life was not supposed to go like this. Nearly a year. That is too long. While reading the section about trusting God with your past, present and future, Mrs. George took a 2x4 and hit me square upside the head with her own testimony. She, too, had been a "it's not supposed to be like this" kinda gal. That is until the Lord responded by informing her that this is the way it was and what was she going to do with it. As long as she avoided the reality of the situation, she avoided making any progress. Any solutions eluded her, any forward progress had been halted.

I can relate. I can also have hope. For once she faced the reality of the situation, acknowledged that God had been there in the past when it happened and would be there in the future to deal with what is next, she could focus on the present and dealing with it.

I think may of us face this issue in our lives. Our jobs weren't supposed to be like this. Our marriages weren't supposed to be like this. Our kids. Our families. Our churches. Our friends. The reality is, they are. They are all just like this, whatever "this" is. The question we have to answer is what are we going to do with it. Maybe you "this" is huge. Maybe it is only huge to you (like mine). Either way, our God is bigger. His love is bigger. His mercy is bigger. His grace is bigger. His truth is bigger.
So today I will pray for you and you can pray for me. That we would focus on what is true and what is real in our lives and more importantly what is true and real about our Christ (Philippians 4:8).

SPLITTING HAIRS

This post will probably cross too many lines.
You may never come back.
You may wonder how in the world HH stays married to me, but it was just too stinkin' funny not to share.
As many of you know, as we women age we start to get hair in places we don't want.
I have fallen prey to the wayward hairs myself on my face (See you are starting to run aren't you. Stick with me).
Usually the tweezers are able to remedy my issues, but there are some rebellious ones striking out on their own in a covert operation. They can only be seen in a certain light at a certain angle, but when you can see them, YOU CAN SEE THEM.
Lucky for me HH mama sells AVON, which just happens to carry some facial hair removal wax get up that should work. However I am a chicken. A blind chicken at that because I can't see them, the guerrilla hairs that is. I am most definitely not fired up about going to get a professional to do it after reading about Keri's experience.
So as I was feeling like Foo Man Choo (and I have no idea how to really spell that - you get phonics at it's best) the other night I actually said to HH,

get ready

here it comes

catch your jaw

I think you are going to have to help me wax my chin.

You should have seen his face. He was looking down at the time. He slowly looked at me in disbelief. Like I had just asked him to be my OBGYN. Complete and utter disbelief and I think a bit of horror.
IT WAS STINKIN' HILARIUS!
He declined naturally. Told me to call my friend Casey and get her to help.
I am thinking I want to keep this bit of drama "in house" and not call in reinforcements, but that is shot now.
I know there are those of you completely shocked that I would even say that to HH. I know many of you don't let your hubs see you without some form of make-up and some hair fixing. To you I apologize if you are completely mortified. Pray for me.
I am not that girl. HH sees me daily without make-up, and this is nothing new. He would be more shocked if I had make-up on.
I realize this was not the best way to keep the romance alive, and after some hindsight, I promise not to ask him to do it again.
Nope.
Never.
Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin.

YES THERE ARE TWO...

MC 1 may not get as much press time right now, but please know he has his own drama. This morning is case in point.

I walked into the bathroom to find a post-shower, birthday suit only clad MC 1 up on the sink riffling through the medicine cabinet.

What are you doing?

Getting all the stuff I need?

And what exactly is that? Did you brush your hair?

Yes, I did my hair, and I put that stuff on my chest.

What stuff? The Vicks? Why?

Because I can't breathe.

Oh, ok. Did you get your deodorant?

Yes. All I need know is my Wings for Men.

Uhmm. okay. Got get dressed.

Can I just say I don't do that much to get myself ready in the morning. That would be one of HH's apples. I did, however, provide a tutorial on HOW to put on cologne WITHOUT making the rest of the family wish they did not have any olfactory sensors at ALL! I thought I escaped some of that by having boys. Guess not.

STRIPPED CLEAN

For all the stuff MC 2 puts me through....

all the shutting oneself in the fridge

with a flashlight...

all the "fixing" the electricity

by messing with the main circuit

breaker to the house

resulting in a condescending talk

from my electric company man about

how unsafe it was to let my kid do that...

for all the peeing in the trash can because

HH was in the bathroom...

all the having very bad aim while doing so...

for all of that...

these give me hope...

painted by MC 2...

landscaped by MC 2...

because birds need flowers too.

Causing me to have a blind eye to the naked Jonquil plants in my yard.

PLEASE...

NO PICTURES