I am Loving...

...teaching Ava to cook. For our 4th of July family cook-out, Ava made the baked beans 100% by herself. I watched from the other end of the counter top. I'm so proud of her!

...alone time with Eric. We had a date for our anniversary last Friday. We went to Raven's Glenn Winery. There was live piano music, and the pianist played Gershwin's "Someone to Watch Over Me" and Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Music of the Night for us. We had the best table in the house overlooking the river, and it was an unforgettable evening. 

...watching Lukas become more and more independent and more and more capable. He does so much around the house to help, and he almost never complains about it. He mows the grass here and just started mowing for his grandparents as well, and his latest task is helping Nana with her grocery shopping. He actually shopped more than she did yesterday!

...time spent talking with Dad as we travel to doctor's appointments. I haven't spent this much time with Dad since I was in high school, and I am grateful for it.

...perusing Mom's favorite recipes which she offered to me (temporarily so I can make copies). It is a hobby that she and I love to share with each other.

...rediscovering Coshocton County. Everyone is nice. I think I took that for granted as a child. I have entire conversations with people like the woman who works at the deli at Baker's IGA who has a nephew who recently began working as an assistant coach at Ohio Dominican, and with the librarian who truly wants to take the time to help me! I get to share favorite places like Mohawk Dam, Roscoe Village and Warsaw Park with my family.

...evenings spent at Lake Park walking, playing and worshiping by the water.

...becoming a more regular part of the lives of people I have cared about for so long and reconnecting and discovering new friendships with people with whom we have so much more in common as adults than we ever did as kids.

...family nights spent in various places like the drive-in theater or the fountain at Easton or our own living room.

...reminders that the perks of the city are not really worth the traffic jams, excessive noise, crowds and anxiety. I am designed to be a small town girl.

...Our 24 Family Ways, an amazing family devotional that our family is enjoying so much. I highly recommend it! Eric is doing a fantastic job leading our family in this!

To Have and To Hold, A Marriage Bundle

I am learning to be more candid in my blog posts. I tend to be somewhat private when it comes to my personal life, but I believe that, when we go through something hard, the Lord intends for us to use that experience in some way for the good of others. That is what brings me to this post.

I almost lost my marriage. That's right. We're a Christian, homeschooling, ministry-focused family, and we almost lost one of God's most precious gifts. It was several years ago, so those of you who know me well know the time period I'm talking about.  It was my fault as much as it was my husband's fault, and I won't burden you with all the gory details. I'll just say that we dug a very deep trench for ourselves and digging out of that trench took a lot of hard work and dedication to the institution of marriage and to each other.

During that time, we attended marriage retreats (which we would do again in a heartbeat because whether or not your marriage is in jeopardy, marriage retreats ROCK!), we saw four different counselors in three different states, I read books (my husband isn't much of a reader), we prayed, we cried, we talked, we yelled, we searched and begged God for an answer to our problems. It was the most challenging season of our life. I'm glad to say that we've come out on the other side of it stronger, more secure in our marriage and ready to tackle several more decades of life together. I can't imagine my life without Eric.

I think that if Eric and I had used all the right tools from the beginning of our marriage, our situation would have been much different. If we had attended retreats, read books, prayed and read the Word together and worked to connect each day, we wouldn't have headed down that almost fatal road for our marriage. Don't you agree? Marriage is worth the time it takes to make it work.

Eternal Encouragement's Marriage Bundle, To Have and to Hold, is a fantastic tool to help you and your spouse put that time into your marriage whether you are in a season of trouble like we once were or a season of joy. It is phenomenal. When I began opening the many files that come with this bundle, I was flabbergasted at the amount of information included in this packet. I can't even imagine the amount of time that went into creating this. As I read through the material, I found myself laughing, crying and, more than anything, challenged to do things better in my own marriage.

Included in this downloadable bundle is the following:

• Audios
  • 5R's Session 2 - Rekindle
  • One Life to Live, One Man to Love

• E-Books
  • Loving Your Knight in Shining Armor Even When He Doesn't Shine
  • Roadmap to a Marvelous Marriage
  • Marriage Tidbits to Treasure
  • Quotes Not Quibbles
  • Marriage Report

• E-Booklets
  • 31 Daily Biblical Prayers for Wives to Pray for Their Husbands
  • Encouragement Report
  • Don't Settle 
  • What God Says about Marriage
  • 75 Inexpensive Romantic Rut Cures
  • It Happened One Afternoon

• Magazine Back Issues
  • 2001 Summer Issue TEACH Magazine "Loving Your Husband"
  • 2009 Spring Issue TEACH Magazine "Marriages Made Marvelous"
   

All of this delivered to your inbox for only $39.97!!! Want it delivered to your mailbox instead? You can get it shipped to you for only $49.97. There is so much material here. You couldn't possibly find this much great advice on marriage anywhere else for such an affordable price.  While the contents are listed above, even that doesn't give you the full idea of what you're getting.

• It Happened One Afternoon is a beautiful story of a married couple in post World War II America. I was captivated by the short story and in tears by the end. 
• 75 Inexpensive Romantic Rut Cures offers simple, everyday ideas to spice things up in your marriage, and most of them cost nothing at all!  
• I'm working through 31 Biblical Prayers for Wives to Pray for their Husbands with fervor. We all need to be reminded to pray for our men from time to time, and this is a great tool to remind us how our husbands need to be prayed for. It offers a different focus for each day of the month.
• Don't Settle was another short story that I enjoyed so much, and it was filled with so much wisdom and truth.
• Quotes not Quibbles contains 72 pages of material to encourage you in your marriage! 
• What God Says About Marriage is filled with several pages of Bible verses all about marriage. What a great way to begin doing a Bible study with your spouse!

I'm still just giving you a snippet of what you'll get when you purchase this bundle. As I said, I'm flabbergasted at the amount of material that is included for this price. It is so very worth it. Your husband is worth it. Your kids are worth it. Your marriage is worth. YOU are worth it!

To purchase this product go to www.eternalencouragement.com. Check out all the products available in their store. Peruse their site to find so much more while you're there. I have to say that Eternal Encouragment is my favorite new website of the year so far. I think you'll be encouraged by what you find there as well!

Disclaimer: I received this product for honest review as part of the Gabby Moms program. I was not compensated for this post.

The Nutcracker

Last night Eric treated me with a very special evening.  We went to see The Nutcracker at The Ohio Theater, which is a breathtakingly gorgeous theater in downtown Columbus.  The ballet was fantastic, and we had such a great time together.  The Ohio Theater is a little nostalgic for us.  The last time we went there together was the night that Eric proposed to me, so it was very special to get the opportunity to go again.

I definitely want you to understand that we had a great time before I say this...my children did not interrupt or disturb other audience members even once.  Why?  BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT THERE.  That's right folks.  2 and 5 year olds do not belong at a ballet.

I can understand the desire to want to expose your children to the arts.  We are all for that and often look for child-friendly ways to do exactly that.  We are musicians ourselves, so of course we want our children to experience culture through music and the arts.  However, I am also wise enough to know that my children will not sit through an entire ballet.

I will say that there were some very well-behaved children watching intently through the first half and then squirming quietly through the second half, but those were not the children sitting in front of us.  There was a couple with a little girl who they put on mom's lap during the first dance.  This was delightful for her and incredibly annoying for Eric and the person sitting next to him who then could not see.  Eric politely  mentioned that he couldn't see, and they just looked at him like he was an idiot.  The woman next to Eric found another seat at the end of our row, but Eric was stuck looking at the back of this little girl's head.

To make matters worse, the child was LOUD.  She through several very loud temper tantrums during the second half of the ballet.  The mean spiteful part of me wanted to lean down to her and say, "If you were my little girl, Santa would be getting a phone call tonight and you'd be getting a lump of coal for Christmas"   BUT, of course I said nothing of the sort.  I did shush her very loudly once , and that was met by a wide-eyed look of horror and followed by a very poorly administered public spanking in the middle of the theater.  After seeing that, it wasn't too much of a mystery as to why this child was so poorly behaved.

BUT...we truly did enjoy the ballet.  I had decided before going that I wasn't going to let anything ruin my evening, and I didn't.  Eric and I both had a great time.  The ballet was phenomenal, and we had great seats in the center of the lower balcony (better than some of the floor seats actually).  Plus, The Nutcracker was written by Tchaikovsky.  Really, it doesn't get much better than that.

I am so grateful to be blessed by my husband in this way.  He knew how badly I wanted to see The Nutcracker, and he surprised me with these tickets this week.  Last night reminded me that there is still a part of me that is not only Mommy, but a part of me that enjoys music, art, and culture (and secretly imagines Ava in the role of Clara...he he).  I'm glad that I can take opportunities like this to enjoy both sides of me.