A Weekend to Remember

Today ended a 3 day marriage conference Jamie and I attended and for a change I'm almost at a loss for words...I know, shocking!  Maybe it's more that I just don't know where to begin.  We were challenged, stretched, and encouraged through the words of couples who, like us, have a less than perfect marriage.  But through their struggles and mistakes and through God's grace they stood in front of us and encouraged and provided us with tools to, "make it work" (that's for all my Project Runway peeps).  We have been given a beautiful opportunity through this conference...the opportunity to connect once again, to remember the love our marriage began on, and to move forward toward a God-centered oneness that before this weekend was headed in the opposite direction.  Sometimes you don't know what you're lacking until you see what you could have.  When wanting and coveting what others have involves a move towards God, it's never a sin, but our Father above changing your heart and moving within your life.

So many couples throw in the towel because they lose sight of the love and commitment that brought them together.  I've harbored so much bitterness, anger, and frustration towards my husband, selfishly forgetting that he is NOT the enemy...yet he is a gift from God!  After God, Jamie is to be #1 in my life.  He is a gift to be respected, cherished, and loved...he deserves my love whether or not he takes out the trash or does the dishes.  Respect is a CHOICE to receive your husband in spite of his weaknesses.  And communicating this respect involves my attitude, my words, and my actions.  Most importantly I am called to pursue a relationship with God; to trust Him and follow His plan, even though a positive response from my husband is not guaranteed.  I'm called to be his helper out of love, not because it's something I have to do.

"Success in marriage does not come merely through finding the right mate but through being the right mate." ~ Barnett R. Brickner

"What we do for ourselves dies with us.  What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal." ~ Albert Pine

Before starting our very last session today, Jamie stole my book and I was ready to stop him from "marking up" the pages in my book and he looked at me and said, "I just wanted to write you a note."  And this is what I got.  My heart soared!  God truly blessed me with the gift of my husband 7 years ago and sadly I'll admit that lately I've felt marriage has been more of a burden than a blessing.  I felt isolated, frustrated, and bored with my marriage.  But my husband wasn't the one who brought about these feelings, I was.  I created the wedge between us by denying God the opportunity to work in and through my life.  I selfishly pushed God and Jamie aside, thinking that I could handle life and it's troubles on my own.  But I can't!  Life is too big to do without God...without Him, the darkness and pain only make you bitter and angry!  If we allow ourselves to believe in His plan, to have the faith and courage to follow His direction and leading, He promises that no matter what He will always be there and He will ALWAYS provide.  And 7 years ago he provided me with the greatest gift...Jamie...my earthly example of God's heavenly love.

Our last session ended today around noon and we had already planned to stay an extra day  and we are both thankful for the mini vacation.  We decided since we don't travel to Connecticut that often we'd check out the local sights.  We aren't far from the city of Hartford, so we thought we'd check it out.  Not much was open for business, but it was a beautiful fall day and we both just enjoyed walking around the city, taking in the beautiful old buildings and sights.

With no real direction in mind, we found ourselves walking around a huge park, past fountains, unique trees, and full of history.  I'm not sure what this fountain represented, but it was a neat fountain regardless.  There were several Native American statues situated around the fountain and at the top.

This is NOT a statue...but he sure was the best looking thing in the park today!

The colors of the leaves changing against the blue, slightly overcast sky is one of my favorite parts of fall.  The architecture of many of the buildings around Hartford is simply amazing.  Jamie put it well when he said it's quite amazing to think of what was built so many years ago with the limited resources they had at that time.  The picture below isn't anything special but I was really excited to stand in the middle of the street to take that picture...it wasn't nearly as exciting as it could be if it was a busy street in NYC.

The picture below is by far my favorite...it reminds me of the beauty of creation and the change in seasons.  And that like this leaf dancing in the wind, my marriage is also a dance, my partner a gift, and I am only called to one task, trust the Choreographer.  In completely giving our lives to the Him we are given the incredible opportunity to share in the oneness and joy of the dance, designed specifically for Me and Him and created to provide a lasting legacy for His glory. 

"There is an appointed time for everything.  

And there is a time for every event under heaven - 

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; 

A time to mourn, and a time to dance."

~Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4~

Trust in God...and dance your heart out!

Tomatoes, Sunsets, and Tiny Escape Artists

Wow, the weather lately has been absolutely fabulous!  I love the colors, smells, and dropping temperatures of fall.  Last week found us once again soaking up the gorgeous weather as a family.  Our 4-legged kids seem to be really enjoying the grand weather too...along with the leftover tomatoes from our garden.  Apparently all 3 of our dogs enjoy tomatoes...crazy mutts!  And like with all things, if one has a tomato and you offer one to another, they immediately loose interest in the tomato they've currently got and NEED to have the "new" tomato...they spend quite a bit of time rotating from one tomato to the next.  I love the eyes Bruiser is giving in the above photo...he's always on the alert for any tomato snatchers.

Jamie gave Bella a little work for hers...AND because it was a "new" tomato, the other 2 felt a need to leave their "old" tomatoes and jump in the running for the "new" tomato.

While they enjoyed their tomatoes, I enjoyed the sunset once again.

My beautiful family...I just love 'em!  Of course, Bryn decided to be antisocial..."I'm just not having a good hair day!"

Sometimes Bruiser forgets that he isn't a little puppy any more.  He's always soaking up the lovin'.

They never all hold still at one time, especially Bella...but she's actually the one in focus on these last two.  Speaking of being on the move, that little turkey of ours is quite the escape artist we've found out.  For the past month she has randomly been getting out of the dog pen and we could not figure out how she was doing it.  All of the holes they had dug were covered, the gate was closed and we didn't think she was able to climb out...so how in the sam hill was she getting out?!?  One Saturday as we were finally getting around to building a larger pen for them, we found her bee-bopping down the drive towards us...that little stinker did it again!!  So we put her back in her pen and went about our business...pretending we weren't watching...and to our amazement found her crawling thru the "hog paneling" around their pen.  We couldn't believe she actually fit thru the holes!  She had somehow figured out that if she put her head and one leg thru the panel and wiggled a little she could eventually fit her other leg thru and from there it didn't take much to fit the rest of herself thru.  What made her attempt it in the first place, who knows, but I think she soon learned that getting out earned her a few nights in the house since we had no idea how she was doing it.  Smart, crazy, little puppy!!  Despite her bad side, you just gotta love her.

Thankful Sunsets

Last week brought about some absolutely beautiful fall weather and with it some evening sunsets that were breathtaking.  I still find that I have to pinch myself sometimes when I look out my kitchen window, living room window, bedroom window...ok well just about any window in our home...and see buffalo roaming the pastures.  I would have never imagined that our journey would ever bring us here but almost a year since we've last moved to the farm, I find myself appreciating it even more.  I'm so grateful God has blessed us with sunsets like this to enjoy.  2 years ago both Jamie and I were struggling with where God had us and had no idea the many ways in which our faithful Father would provide.  So in my true form my fingers were itching to capture my backyard friends against the spectacular show of color God painted across the sky this evening...I was once again reminded of the creativity God has used throughout my life and thankful that each brushstroke He has painted has added color and richness to my life...even when at the time I can't always see His big picture.

These last 2 I took one early morning when I had returned home from work.  It was a crisp, very clear morning and the moon was almost full.  I just had to run in to grab my camera and tripod to attempt to capture what I saw.  Unfortunately I'm still working on that and I didn't have much time as the moon was quickly disappearing behind the hill.  But a few of my backyard friends were either still up or early risers and they offered a great subject against that brilliant moon.

Last but not least I have to say...while I'm on the grateful trail...how grateful I am that fall has finally arrived!  I don't so much enjoy the hot, sticky weather that comes around every summer.  I much prefer the colors, smells, and temperature of fall.  My wonderful Mom provided me with 2 beautiful mums and we were able to go out one afternoon and collect a few pumpkins to create the perfect little fall feeling to our homes.  To continue with the fall theme, this past weekend we had the fabulous Tate's over again and we found an orchard near our home where we could pick our own apples and what a grand time we had.  I should have taken some pictures but I was too busy enjoying the Tates company.  We picked about 60 lbs of apples between the 4 1/2 of us and then headed to the store to get some pie dough so we could make our own homemade apple dumplings.  What a delicious feast we had that evening!!  The Tate's are another grand reason I'm thankful that God has brought us here.  As we head into fall 2011, I've found that my list of blessings well outweighs the struggles this year and I can only credit that to the One who makes all things possible.

Has it really been 7 years??

Yep, that's right, Jamie and I recently celebrated our 7th...where has the time gone??... anniversary and we really went all out this year.  We planned and planned for weeks before to create the perfect weekend to celebrate...and then we woke up that morning, threw the plans out the window and decided to go with simple.  Ok, so no plans were ever really made.  Not that I wouldn't have preferred otherwise but you know at the end of the day I was grateful for the laid back time together and for the love that has grown over the last 7 years.  And speaking of love, that great looking chap above just happens to be that hunky love of my life.  He's smiling because we decided to eat at the Cheesecake Factory in Inner Harbor and cheesecake is one of his favorites.  (I have to admit, they have gooey, chocolatey, that-has-HOW-MANY-calories, outta-this-world, delicious cakes that can make any bad day float into blissful oblivion...so the smile is completely appropriate, Jamie.)

 We needed an outlet for walking off all those incredible calories from the cheesecake so we walked around Inner Harbor enjoying the finally cooler and slightly less wet weather we had that day.  Our walk happened to take us by the Baltimore Aquarium and we decided that since neither of us has been inside since we were kids it would be fun to well, "be kids" again.

As my camera follows me everywhere I go, I thought it would be fun to see how she performed in the aquarium.  (Yep, I lifted the tail...it's a she)  Although I appreciate that there are several inches of glass between me and...this guy below...it sure does make getting the right shot a little difficult.  (Hello reflections of annoying people trying to push past me, welcome to my blog)

Sting rays are cool on the top...AND the bottom.  Kinda looks like they have 2 faces.

Again...grateful for that super-duper thick, heavy duty glass between me and him!

I love Jamie, but there were more Jamie's down the escalator than I ever cared to see.  One Jamie is quite enough for me!  Kinda interesting how he seems to be looking at himself too.

The jellies are really cool!  Full of bright colors and light, it's just a fascinating creature.

(Yeah thank goodness for the glass around his watery hole too!)

They recently added a 911 memorial at the Baltimore World Trade Center to remember those from Maryland who lost their lives that fateful day.  This piece of steel was from the actual World Trade Center.  Around the marble slab the events that happened on 911 are etched like a timeline.  To the left of this memorial are 2 other memorials to remember those from the Pentagon and Flight 93.

I really had no intention of ending on a sad note, but maybe this is a good reminder on a happy occasion for us...to hold close the times we have together, to remember the love our relationship was founded on and continue to nurture it, and most importantly to never take our time together for granted, for in heartbeat it can be taken away.  We owe much to those who sacrificed their lives and for those who continue to sacrifice their lives for our freedom and privileges...so don't waste the time you've been given.  There are many who would give anything for the moments we daily take for granted...and remember to thank those who give up moments together to provide you those freedoms and privileges.

And Baby, Happy Anniversary!  Our wedding day was one of the happiest and most memorable of my life and I'm thankful that no matter what you continue to stick by my side.  You're the bread to my butter, the fuel to my fire, and the light of my life.  I love you, Jamie!