Two Years of Wedded Bliss

Happy second anniversary to my oldest son and his wife.  Today marks two years of marriage for Ben and Deirdra.

Two years have sped by, haven't they?   These lovebirds have settled into a new nest of their own and are so happy.  Their marriage reflects the love of Christ to people around them.  They are active in their church as small group leaders, and are involved in a ministry to raise awareness of--in faith for stopping--sex trafficking in our city. They are also on a hospitality team to set up coffee and donuts on Sunday mornings at church,  and they often have people in their home sharing a meal. I just love that about them.


With keys to their first house, their faces exude happiness, don't they?  I think I can read her expression:
"Can't wait to decorate this place!"

And his? "I'm dreading the mortgage payments."


So many wonderful memories will be made in this charming little home.

The house that ushered in loads of snow all winter long. Snow fell on moving day, bless their hearts!  That's something they won't forget.

Dates to Home Depot.
The romantic purchase of a snow shovel.

Yeah, baby, that's life as homeowners.  And of course, being the gentlemanly husband that he is, Ben always scrapes off Dee's car windows before they go to work.


Big Ben carried Little One (as he calls her) over the threshold at the end of January when they moved in.

The gigantic obstructing wall you see in this photo is now gone. Ben is the kind of guy who just likes to get things done, so the second weekend they lived there, the wall came down, a pretty new handrail went up around the basement staircase,  and now there's a clear view from the front door  to the lovely back yard.

The front door where I expect to be greeted by smiling babies and loud toddler grandcuties someday. The yard where their grandpa will be building a swingset with their Daddy.

Woops, there I go again.  I just cain't help m'self sometimes.

Happy anniversary to my wonderful, precious "kids."  They'll always be kids to us, even when they're my age.  And they'll always be wonderful and precious to me.

The Simple Woman's Daybook, 3.6.14

Linking today over at The Simple Woman's Daybook, wherein I show a shred of life in my little corner of the globe.

FOR TODAY

Outside my window...

snow is melting, chickadees and finches and grackles and cardinals gather for eats and chit-chat among themselves about which seeds are the tastiest.  Sunflowers take the top vote.

I am thinking... of how I'd much rather be at the quilt expo with my friend Kathleen instead of having a child home from school with a migraine.  

I am thankful...that I can be home with him, not missing work or feeling guilty. 

In the kitchen...are some cabinets that may just be getting removed and replaced this spring!

I am wearing... a long-sleeved. black V-neck shirt with a zip-up navy blue fleece, blue cotton stretch pants, grey socks, and red slippers.  Oh, and lovely plum nail color that would've gone oh-so-nicely with the top I was going to wear to the quilt show. 

I am creating...several little messes   projects in my sewing room. 

An Ohio Star Block

 A four-patch doll quilt

A baby car seat  quilt

A Pinwheel block

I am going...to be tutoring a pre-K girl, starting next week. Lord willing. 

I am wondering...by way of a poem I feel coming on as I type...

"Spring, O, Spring, wherefore art thou. o fairest of seasons? 
Let us dance, shall we? Don thy dancing heels--the daffodils--
and a petticoat of pretty crocus.
Thou tarrieth long,
 Thy breath teaseth on the breeze 
by the singing of sparrows,
by the rhythm of blues in the sky of  late afternoon,
by the hip-hop of March hares from marsh lairs, 
by the swing of boughs bowed low from ice and snow.
Come, O Spring.  Shall we dance?"
 ----------------------
( 

I am reading...Corrie ten Boom with my son.   There was a line in it about her father's clock shop not suffering for customers, but rather doing a booming business when the Nazis started patrolling  their Dutch town.  My son piped up, "Aha. Good one. Booming? tenBoom? Get it?" 

I'm sure the author didn't intend the pun.  

I am hoping...to start demolishing the master bathroom soon  so we can remodel it just ahead of the kitchen job. 

I am looking forward to...holding this little girl again this weekend. Here's my six-month old  niece trying to choose which of her new shoes to try on first  It's a tough choice...

I am learning...to recite The Declaration of Independence with my sixth grader.   

 "When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Law of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them..."

Around the house...is evidence that our dog, who is 28 years old in human years, is only 28 months old in dog years.  Oy. 

I am pondering...what I found out last night I went to hear a missionary talk about his work as a Bible translator in Indonesia. Once upon a time, I thought I was called to do that. Now, 38 years later, I think God wants me involved somehow, some way. There are 7000 languages in the world, and 700 of them alone are on on the island of Indonesia! 

A favorite quote for today...  I was giving my son a history lesson about the phrase "separate but equal" while helping him memorize the very first  part of the Declaration of Independence .  I said, "It's like horses and cows. Separate but equal." He cocked his head in that "are you kidding me, Mom?" way a middle school child does and said, "Can we just get back to Thomas Jefferson instead of talking about horses and cows?" 

One of my favorite things...is a day like today.

A few plans for the rest of the week:  volunteer in first grade, maybe take in the quilt show on Saturday, deliver a little quilt.

A peek into my day...

Hodgepodge, Soapbox Edition

The Hodgepodge lives on, no matter what my opinions are. Thanks, Joyce. 
Link up with our hostess, won't  you?  
 
1. The expression 'mad as a March hare' originated with a fictional character who is distracted and frantic. When were you last 'mad as a March hare' and what was it that made you that way?

I rarely get this way any more, glory to God! I had to think long and hard. Distracted is a daily adjective to describe me, but frantic?  Oh, I remember now. It was a few weeks ago, on a Wednesday morning, when my sixth grade son couldn't find his tie. They have to wear their "chapel uniform" on Wednesdays ( white oxford,  blue plaid tie, blue pants or shorts) and his tie had gone AWOL.  Since it is his responsibility to get his school uniform ready every night, I was "mad as a March hare" when it was five minutes from "go time" and he was asking, "Is it in Dad's car?"  Well if it is, it's 40 miles away, so you'd better hope not, son!

 I found it for him, in the basement near the gaming system (wonder of wonders) where he had shed it the week before, no doubt!  Yes, I  the Mom found it, in plain sight, because as mothers know, we have built-in GPS for  ATMCFTART (All Things Menfolk Can't Find That Are Right There!).  I shouldn't have gotten mad about the tie, but uniform issues take me back to my own school days when I would get "distressed" at the thought of being "misdressed".

2. Mardi Gras this year falls on Tuesday, March 4th. Have you ever been to Mardi Gras, and if so what did you think? If not, do you have any interest in going?  Purple, green, and gold are the colors of Mardi Gras. Which one is most prevalent in your wardrobe? How about in your home?

Never been to Mardi Gras, have no desire. It sounds like something that would make Jesus angry and cry about, to be honest: drunkenness, deviant sexual practice,   and the symbolic clutching of worldly things as the "last hoorah" before a manmade "holy day." It reminds me of when I  went to a Catholic college (I didn't grow up Catholic so this was new), when the students would go to 5:00 mass on Saturday and act all holy, then go out and get drunk Saturday night , and sleep off their hangover Sunday morning.  It was a calculated way of "doing church" to relieve their guilt, knowing full well they were going to choose things counter to Christ right after Mass.   The worst part? I found myself learning their ways instead of going against the tide. I was just like them and my conscience became seared.  

Anyway, that's a soapbox issue for me. 

Let's lighten up.  The color purple is most prevalent in my wardrobe, while green is a dominant color in my home. I crave more of a buttery gold now that I've lived with it for 15 years and because this has been a very bleak winter and I need sunny colors.

3. Are you old fashioned?

In some ways, yes . I notice it most on Sunday mornings when I dislike that people (including my husband, son, pastor and worship leader) read scripture from their iphone or iPad.  I wish people would bring book-like (leatherbound , paperback, hardback) Bibles to church but that again is my inner legalist trying to gain a foothold.

4. Do you carefully plan your vacations, or do you prefer the days to be more spontaneous?

Vacations are strange things here. All year long my hubby is the planner and he wants to do nothing planned on vacation. I am more spontaneous  yet want to plan a few things so that it's not totally a do-nothing, see-nothing getaway for a week.   We compromise and do about 3 planned things and the rest is laid back .

5.  March is National Sauce Month...what's your favorite sauce, and what do you most often top with this sauce?

Gravy is my favorite on mashed potatoes.

6.  What's something that easily brings a tear to your eye?

Onions. 

7. If you could own any sports team, which one would it be and why?

How about the Baltimore Ravens? Although, with the shame that Ray Rice has brought our team, I want nothing to do with the Ravens right now.  Can you believe it? He was a school campaigner against bullying and yet he has been indicted for beating his fiancee'.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

Will you join my Pinterest Party March 18th? Read yesterday's post for details. 

A Pinterest Party coming March 18

I'm going to host a Pinterest party right here on my blog on March 18th.

Want to join the fun?

Simply make something you've seen on Pinterest. You know your boards are full of ideas and you have good intentions of actually reproducing something of your own like them.

"Someday I'm gonna try to make that."   And you have 295 pins still waiting there.

Well, pick one.  Or  more. But at least one for this party on March 18th.   I figure some people will wait till St. Patty's day to get to theirs, but that's okay.

Make a recipe.
Make a pillow.
Repurpose something.
Organize something.
Spiffy up something in a clever way.
Get those creative juices flowing!

It doesn't matter what you bring to the party.

Just be sure to take pictures and blog about it. Stop back here March 18th and leave a comment with your link.

Who's in?