February Fun

I wanted to follow up on my Share a Blog post. We spent the first half of the day doing a Valentine's Day craft.

They really enjoyed this one.


Here is their finished work.

Happy Anniversary Leon

Today is my anniversary! Leon and I have been married for ELEVEN years. I can't believe so much time has passed!


Leon,

We have had so to many happy years together!

I'm sorry for all the times:

I asked, "When is Superbowl Saturday?"
I drank the last of your soda.
"Borrowed" one of your pens.
Threw away something important.
Asked for one of your chicken nuggets but took two.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for understanding my need to:

Squeeze my eyes shut AND plug up my ears when we watch a scary movie
Obsess over teeny tiny details until my project is "perfect"
rearrange our home 3, sometimes 4, times a year
to wrap up tightly in the covers even on hot summer nights

I love the way you:

Smell in the morning before work.
Tell me no, you won't stop at the store for chocolate on your way home...but do it anyway
Read my mind and just know when I've had a bad day.
Have compassion on small children and helpless animals but won't let anyone see you.

I love you! You are my best friend. The love of my life. Here's to the rest of our life, Babe!

Friday Night = Date Night

Leon and I still date. I love that about us.
On Date Night I get all dressed up. I settle the kids upstairs with a movie or some video games. I make sure they have everything they need because the rules are clear. No interrupting. They almost never do. When they were little I used to put them to bed early.

Date Night reminds us to play...together. It would be much easier for one of us to slip off for a night out with friends. We wouldn't have to worry about what to do with the kids, since one of us would stay home.

It can get very expensive if you go out every week. So we save our evenings out for special occasions.

So like I said, I get all dressed up. I take my hair out of the clip and put on make-up. He likes to cook as much as I do, so we incorporated it into our evenings. Usually we cook a fancy cut of steak and potatoes. Sometimes we'll have dessert.

After we cook, eat, and clean up together, we'll play games. Sometimes we'll play cards or dominoes. We both love games and have several favorites. We are always excited to find a new game to enjoy together.

Once in a great while we'll watch a movie. Only if it's one we've both been waiting for. Some nights we just end up sitting on the couch spending the whole evening talking. We'll talk about the kids, school, work, whatever.

The time has become so important to both of us. There are plenty of weeks where Friday Night Date Night just doesn't work out. Sometimes we just have too much going on. Sometimes we get sick. We always resolve to renew our efforts and make the next week that much more meaningful. It's our way of keeping the "dating phase" of our marriage alive.

Today has been a rough workday for Leon. He'll be getting home really late tonight. I don't know if Date Night will happen. Usually on nights like this, we'll still have a quiet dinner together and spend some time talking.

What Leon Loves About His Wife

Leon was so sweet, he wrote down the things he loves about me. (He doesn't mind if I post)

The way she makes me feel.

Her smile.

Her green eyes.

Our friendship.

The way she supports me.

That she is the mother of our children.

The way she loves me.

The way she loves our family.

14 Things I Love About My Husband

1. He loves our Lord and Savior and is devoted to Him.

2. He is passionate about his beliefs.

3. He is, hands down, THE BEST father in the world.

4. He is always quick to apologize when he is wrong or makes mistakes.

5. He is strong in body.

6. He is strong in spirit.

7. He is a man of prayer.

8. He knows when and where to seek wise council.

9. He is a hard worker.

10. He is tender and loving.

11. He is thoughtful and will pick up little gifts for the people in his life. Not just me, the kids, friends, whoever he thinks about when he's out and about.

12. He has a wonderful sense of humor.

13. He backs me up, even if it means telling me that I was wrong later.

14. He is steady, faithful, and true to his word.

We aren't really stuffed animal people, but every few years Leon will bring me a cute cuddly stuffed animal. I love it when he does!

Blog Challenge

Name one thing you would change about your wedding and why. There is a restriction though. You can't change the groom.

One thing I would change about my wedding would be to have my wedding and my reception on the same day. I was preggars with Ishmael when Leon and I were engaged. I decided getting married before he was born was very important to me. I also decided I didn't want to be pregnant at my reception. I also wanted family who were going to come from across the country to be able to meet my new baby. So I was married on February 4 at the JOP, Ishmael was born February 25, and we had my reception on April 17.

So, I think I would like to have had a more traditional type of wedding. Though, in the circumstance we were in, getting married quick was a necessity.

I wouldn't change the groom for anything in the world ;-) .

I am Legend

Leon took me to the movies today. He took me to see "I am Legend." The problem is, he already went to see the movie with Mr. Dale. It's really irritating when someone has already seen the movie and you ask, "Does he die?" but you don't really want to know. Only you know that he is the type of person who would want to know and would therefor tell you if you ask.

Anyway, he kept building up this move. Telling me how the movie "got him" and how often he jumped. He just had to take me. I think he wanted to be beside me so I would jump into his arms. Even knowing the truth, I went anyway. What can I say? I'm a sucker for anything Will Smith. I also like end of the world type movies. I'm fascinated by them. Drawn to them like a moth to a flame. He also bribed me with popcorn and coke. I was sold.
It turned out to be a fabulous movie. Absolutely fabulous. I don't recommend it for the squeamish or faint of heart. I certainly spent the hour and a half squeezing the life out of Leon's arm. I was shaking from the strain of trying not to scream in the theater. Sometimes it's fun to live in suspense. Especially when your big hunka burnin' love is sitting beside you and you KNOW he's not afraid of anything.
The drama part of the movie was very touching. And Smith's daughter (I heard it was his real daughter) was adorable. I cried a river.
I did walk away with some questions...
1. Why didn't the "darkseekers" eat all the lions and deer? I'm sure they stink. It's an island, for cryin' out loud. Where could the animals possibly hide?
2. Why on earth was he moving at such a snail's pace when he was trying to get back to the car. Hoping someone would come along and help??? Adrenaline much? Move FASTER!!!
3. I have plenty more but don't want to give away too much of the movie...just in case anyone is also weak for Will Smith.
So now...I'm sitting here and can't stop thinking about the movie and what I would have done...and I'm totally screwed...I'm at work...3rd shift...all alone...and it's dark outside...what was that?...who's watching me?...darkseekers anyone?...YIKES!!!

Happy Valentines Day

Today we are going to relax and enjoy eachother. I plan to bake cookies with the kids, cook a good man lovin' meal, and make valentines.

My youngest is so excited about today. He snuck into my bed and played with my hair and whispered "Happy Balemtime's Day Mama! You are the bestest Mama."

The kids have their math, writing, and reading done for the day. We will probably snuggle up in the living room to read Tom Sawyer and enjoy cookies and hot cocoa.

Anniversary and Superbowl Sunday

I'm bummed about tonights game. My favorite team didn't go forward this year (Panthers). I had fun watching though. We always have a chili contest before the Super Bowl. My husband won the contest the first 2 years and lost last year. This year I'm pleased to announce HE HAS MADE A COME BACK!!! Yes he won first place again. The prize for 1st is a $30 gift card to...none other than...Chili's Restaurant! So dh and I will have another date night! Always cool.

Also today is the 8th anniversary of my wedding day. It doesn't feel like 8 years but then at the same time it doesn't feel like we've ever been apart. I love this man, my best friend. We come a long way and are completely different people than we were ~PRAISE GOD! My husband is an amazing man. he still knows how to melt my heart. Sometimes I look at him and still get butterflies.

To celebrate our big day (we were pressed for time because of the SUPER BOWL) we went to see Stomp the Yard. That was a great movie. I really enjoyed it. It brought back so many memories of skipping school to go see the step shows at Winston Salem State. Man those shows were amazing! My friends and I had so much fun!

Today has been an exciting day, so much to share. We had a guest at church today who has the gift of "words of knowlege". There were a couple who stood as a witness who apparently knew this gentleman from years and years ago. Anyway, after church dh and I went to this man and our pastor for prayer. The gentleman spoke some truths to Leon and I that, while hard to hear, were absolute TRUTH! It was such a blessing. This man didn't know us from Adam. But he knew things no one else in our church even knew. I'm looking forward to complete healing and a big change in season. GOD IS GOOD!

Well, I started this blog a year and a half ago but soon after I switched to Verizon Online who gives you a free website. So I blogged there for a while. Now I'm using a different ip and need a new home. Rather than start a new blog...I'll just pick Xanga back up.

Blessing upon you today,

Mandy