30 Reasons I LOVE My Husband

Today Jeremy is turning 30. We have a special "surprise" getaway weekend planned later this month so there isn't any exciting gift for him to open today. So, in honor of this special birthday I made a list of 30 things I love about him (in no particular order). I think my "words of affirmation" husband will enjoy this free gift.

1. He is funny.

2. He is a man of integrity.

3. He can talk to anyone from a teenager to a person in a nursing home.

4. He is a family man.

5. He spoils us with "daddy breakfast" each Saturday.

6. He is the one person on this earth who can help me relax.

7. He is the best husband I've ever had. (pay no attention to the fact I've only had 1- he is still the best!)

8. He is my best friend.

9. He can fix things.

10. He is a great story teller.

11. He is thoughtful.

12. He cares about my opinion.

13. He is a hard worker.

14. He gives me back rubs.

15. He is an amazing dad to our 3 children.

16. He is a great friend, very loyal.

17. He loves Jesus.

18. He is a life-long learner & reader.

19. He keeps me up to date with the sports world, but doesn't let Fantasy football control our life. Yahoo!

20. He surprises me.

21. He is great at doing the "man" jobs even though they aren't all fun (taking trash out, shoveling driveway, etc.)

22. He is understanding.

23. He has the gift of hospitality.

24. He is a great teacher.

25. He drives. (I seriously hate to drive.)

26. He is directionally challenged, but has humbly allowed the GPS to save our marriage.

27. He knows me best.

28. He loves to snuggle with our kids & me.

29. He loves God with all his heart, soul, mind, & strength.

30. He truly is my better half, our marriage (with God's help) is the best team I've ever been a part of.

Why do you love your dad?

"Because he is so sweet and he has curly hair like me (kind-of). He gives the best snuggles and he makes the best pancakes. " -Grace

"Yeah!"- Faith (After several attempts I could only get her to repeat what her sister said and say Yeah!!! w/ enthusiasm)

"Because he saves me from my girly sisters when they are trying to use me as

their baby doll." -Titus (via Mama)

Jeremy, you are my very own prince charming. I have been married to you long enough to know you aren't perfect and I still feel blessed every day that I'm married to you!

(except when you try and help with the laundry then I just feel irritated ;)

Couldn't get too mushy! Happy Birthday!!!!!!

Creative Cooking

One of our family's new favorite activities is cooking & watching the food network together. Yes, the girls love cooking shows! Grace is really getting into wanting to try and make things she sees on tv.

Since this is the year of SNOW we have made snow ice cream a few times. We tried a Paula Dean recipe that uses sweetened condensed milk that is very smooth, but kind of has a twang. Its much better with a bit of chocolate sauce. We also made chocolate milk shakes using chocolate pudding and snow. Yummy!

Even though it was before Titus' birthday I caved and let him have some. He loved it!

We have also gotten very creative with our pancakes. Jeremy recently saw this idea on Diners, Drive Ins & Dives. Then we found the clip here on YouTube. For Christmas he got his own bottle and we have been "drawing" pancakes ever since. Here are some of our favorites


Another new tradition we have started is having a "dinner question" each night at dinner. This was part of one of my 2011 goals to improve the craziness we experience at mealtime. The girls are really loving it. Some of our favorites so far:

-If you could go on any trip where would you go?

I love the girls' answers of the zoo & a museum. Much simpler than Jeremy and I's trip to Disney World and Mexico!

-What would your dream house be like?

The girls were very creative but it still involved them sharing a room and very much resembled our own house with a few bonus features.

-What do you want to be when you grow up?

This one was all over the board. Grace recently told me she is excited to go to the hospital and be a mom someday, but she is too afraid to get a shot.

Grace always reminds us if we forget, she even wanted us to do a question on Wednesday night when we are at church for dinner! I am hoping this is a tradition that will stick. We might have to invest in a set of cards though as sometimes I have a hard time coming up with new questions off the top of my head.

Titus-11 Months

Titus turned eleven months on Christmas Day. I can remember last year thinking I cannot wait for this baby to be here. I however had no idea it would only be 1 month later when I would actually meet my sweet baby boy. (I was thinking it would be more like 2 months)

I hate that I didn't write this when he actually turned 11 months old because its hard to remember the subtle differences between months.

Titus was working on teeth and kept me up most of the two nights we stayed with my parents. His sleep has definitely been more affected by teething than the girls. Although I also figured out I don't think he sleeps near as well when we are not at home.

Christmas Crafts

So, usually around Christmas time I become super crafty. We like to give lots of handmade gifts. This year however, was not my most "crafty" Christmas. We always make something for the "grandmas." Kristina usually does an ornament with her kids. So, when we got together to freezer cook we also took on the "grandma" craft project/ornament. This is what we came up with...

We didn't actually finish this project due to the craziness of 6 kids and cooking so we each finished up on our own.

I have a set of 3 frames in my hallway that are a work in progress. My goal is to display a piece of seasonal artwork for each child. My mom had previously helped the girls make a fall tree and snowmen for winter. This year I decided to tackle making a piece of Christmas artwork. I actually did this with all 3 kids so Titus made his own tree too. Here is the finished product. I thought they turned out great. I am hoping to "catch" Titus up so that his frame will have other seasons as well. My next project is to decide what we want to do for Spring. So far all of the art has involved painting the kids hand/fingers in order to make it. The tree is made of their handprints and the ornaments are their fingerprint.

A New Adventure

Well, our family is beginning a new adventure. This week I officially became an independent consultant for Inspiranza Designs. For over a year I have been trying to find a part-time/work at home "something" to make a bit of extra income for our family. I have looked at a whole array of options! But I found myself drawn to jewelry. For awhile I was looking into making my own jewelry to sell on Etsy. I purchased a $10 downloadable e-book and watched some online tutorials, but just couldn't take the plunge.....

I have always said I will NEVER do the party business, I'm just not a sales person. While I've enjoyed hosting parties I just didn't think I'd ever sale anything. But, this fall I was invited to several home parties with other ladies in our church. I realized how much I looked forward to these "Girls Night Out" events. And then God just surprised me by getting me thinking about jewelry again.

I love jewelry. Over the past six years I have been pregnant or nursing most of the time. And I have learned the benefit of accessorizing! My jewelry always fits & is flattering no matter what my current size. But, I was still a bit uncertain about the sales thing.

This month Jeremy and I are going to a Discover Adoption Seminar. I am literally counting down the days! We actually attended this same seminar six years ago when I was pregnant with Grace. So this dream has been a long time in the making! The Lord has really blessed me with the ability to trust in His provision for our adoption. But, I also knew we would need to do our part. I was itching to do something that could begin our official adoption fund.

With my draw towards jewelry and my new openness to the home party business I decided to do some research on the Internet and see what I came up with. The very first company I found was a Christian company, Inspiranza Designs that sold sterling silver (my favorite) jewelry. And then I saw a tab "Show Hope." I was currently reading Mary Beth Chapman's book and new this was their foundation that helps set waiting orphans into loving homes by giving financial grants to families who are in the process of adoption. Inspiranza Designs donates $2 to Show Hope for every charm sold from their charm bracelet line.

I was interested in possibly selling jewelry to start an adoption fund and discovered a Christian company thats mission is to be "the helper of the orphan" (Psalms 10:14) Wow!

I requested more information and excitedly waited to hear more. I also began researching other companies. Right away someone from Inspiranza Designs called me back and answered all my questions. Leslie was SO helpful and is an adoptive mom herself, who started as a stay at home mom when her kids were young. We hit it off right away. But, i was still feeling a bit indecisive...

So I sent an e-mail to some of my closest girlfriends. Their feedback was split right down the middle between two companies. I had been hoping the responses would be unanimous making for a clear decision. But, God had a better plan. Through a conversation with my close friend Lindsay I realized that Inspiranza was the right choice. She said, "This company really seems to be a good match for you - in mission, especially. You can't put a price tag on that." It helped me to realize this venture wasn't going to be about just selling jewelry. I might have "Come for the jewelry." But I was going to, "Stay for the MISSION & join in shining for Him!" (Inspiranza's tag line!)

Its so exciting to see how God was working in my life when it wasn't even really on my radar. I'm still a little nervous about sales. But, God has given me an intense passion for adoption. Not just for my family, but to also encourage others to be "the helper of the orphan." I know I can share that. And I am stepping out in faith that God will show me with Him all things are possible (including turning me into a sales girl!)

You can check out my new website here. I am currently hosting an online party to launch my new business! Or if a girl's night out sounds like fun to you and you want to join me on this new adventure I am currently booking parties! ;)

Christmas With Nana

This year Nana came on New Year's Eve for us to celebrate Christmas. The kids had a great time opening TONS of presents. Well, maybe I should say the girls had a great time, Titus was pretty disinterested in unwrapping.

Grace got a kid's cookbook. She loves it and we have already tried a recipe out for a family night.
Titus' big truck.

Faith's favorite gift a PlayDoh kitchen.


The kids got lots of new costumes for their dress up box.
Grace's favorite gift her TAG reading system. She loves reading all by herself.
Nana got a clapper for her bedroom light, her request.
Then we got to go out for a fun New Year's Eve with our friends while Nana babysat. I think everyone had fun!

Tangled

The week after Christmas I took the girls to our local theater to see Tangled. They really love the story of Rapunzel and Grace often refers to herself as Rapunzel since her hair is so long. We hadn't taken them to the theater since Faith was a newborn so neither of them remembered what it was like. We had two coupons so I only had to pay for one child's ticket, and we took the girls each a ring pop from their stocking so it was a very cheap outing. The movie was super cute and they are excited to see it again with daddy when it comes out on DVD.

We got there early so I was able to snap a few pictures.

Grace made me take a picture of the screen, "So dad could see how big it was!"
The girls were disappointed daddy couldn't come too. But, were excited when they realized it was a "girl" thing since he stayed with TItus. They are all about "girls only."

Christmas Snow Adventure

On Christmas day we took advantage of all that snow. Uncle Cody brought his Arctic Cat and we enjoyed playing in the pasture behind my grandma's house. It felt like going back in time as Me and all 3 of my siblings (plus Jake) played with the girls in the snow. We have played in the pasture & woods at many a family gathering growing up.

Grace gets Cody with a snowball.
Making snow angels.
The girls both loved learning to throw snow balls.
Headed to see the cows, Faith gets a "lift."
Checking out Uncle Cody's cows.
My mom & dad opted to drive instead. Here my mom is taking some pictures of Cody's cows.
Roxie catching snowballs.
Grandma Holst's house.
Josie, Jake, & the Girls
Grace being pulled behind the Arctic cat- she loved it!
Faith was afraid, so Uncle Kit pulled her instead.Grace thought we really needed to sled down a hill and set off to find one. Her and Uncle Kit finally found a little hill in the woods.

Jeremy stayed back at the house and took care of Titus. Even though I was totally not dressed for playing in the snow I was really thankful I was able to enjoy these moments that I usually miss out on.