My Husband Rocks! Friday

What a couple of days we've had! Willow Grace has had a fever since she woke up from her nap on Wednesday.

Doesn't she look so tired? And yet, she still has that little hint of a smile playing around her lips. Yeah, she knows what the camera is for!

I have to tell you that my husband has shined through this experience. A couple of times her fever spiked to 104.8! It's been hard on both of us since this really is the first time she's been sick other than a cold. She's needed constant attention and monitoring. At times she been so fussy which she almost never does, and then the fever declines allowing a little of that chipperness we usually experience to bubble back to the top. There's the bubbly side. Can you believe that she had a temp of 102.8 at this point? That's my cell she's holding. She kept saying, "Hello? Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh."

Chris has rocked this entire time! On Wednesday night neither of us got more than 1 1/2 hours of sleep! Still, he has been supportive, helpful, patient, and loving. Among other things, here's some of the sweet things he's done--

• prayed constantly for Willow Grace
• read her lots of books and watched tons of Disney shows with her
• gone to pick up medicine and Pedialite from the pharmacy
• built fires to help keep us warmer
• endlessly cuddled her and let her sleep on his chest
• stayed up all night with us when she just couldn't sleep Wednesday night
• remained at home with her all day yesterday, missing Thanksgiving lunch at his parents' house and dinner with my parents (I had cooked 5 dishes for my parents' dinner, so I delivered them and got to have dinner.)
• made sure I got some rest
• did whatever he could to take care of me in order to help me to better take care of her

Aren't they sweet together? It's enough to melt a wife's heart!

What a great husband! What a great daddy!

Willow Grace Wednesday

Here I finally am at the end of the day. No pictures. I've just been too busy preparing for Thanksgiving and taking care of the baby. Willow Grace has not been feeling well today. Her temp got up to 102.9! Man, was her skin hot! She is usually so happy, bouncy, and overflowing with energy. Today, she was fussy and was content to lounge on my bed and watch most of White Christmas! After Chris came home, while I busied myself in the kitchen with preparing holiday dishes and our dinner, she spent most of the evening resting against his chest and watching TV -- so not like her. She's sleeping soundly now, and her temp is getting closer to normal. Whew! We're praying for a full recovery while she sleeps. I want to see that bright sparkle back in her eyes tomorrow. It was so sad to watch her today.

I hope everyone has a wonderful time with your family and your turkey tomorrow!
Happy Thanksgiving!

A Bit of Nostalgia

I think I always start to get a bit nostalgic around the holidays, not just for sweet Thanksgiving and Christmas memories but also just ones from my childhood. I’m going to take a couple of posts to share a few of these with you. I thought I’d do one this week and one next week. Hmmm, maybe I’ll even make it a weekly thing. We’ll see.

ONE: My first memory comes from when I was two years old… yes, two. We lived in some apartments in north Nashville, and I was walking with my mom to the pool where a party was going on. I remember people being on the roof of the clubhouse when we arrived at the pool, and they were diving off into the pool. It seemed so exciting and dangerous, and I thought that adults must always have fun like that.

TWO: I am perhaps four years old. It’s such a lovely family picture of us --- Mom, Dad, my older brother Wayne --- having a picnic in a pavilion in the park. I remember my mom was wearing light colored jeans, and her dark hair hung loose down her back. Wayne and I went to hunt four leaf clovers in the grass. I looked up to see Mom and Dad close together in conversation and wondered what they were talking about. They would soon join Wayne and me in our search for four leaf clovers. Being only four, I didn’t understand then that this was no “normal” family picnic; I was just happy that we were all together. What was not “normal” about it? We were visiting my dad in prison, and that “park” was the prison yard of the Tennessee State Prison, incidentally the same prison from The Green Mile and The Last Castle.

(FYI for those of you not in the know: Daddy had become a Christian and a “man on fire” for God while in prison and did get out of prison. A year after getting out of prison, he started a ministry, Hope and Life Ministry, which includes jail/prison ministry and free counseling for marriage, drug/alcohol abuse, etc.)

THREE: I was about 11 years old, and we had a magnificent snow that winter. (Oh, why can’t it snow like that in Nashville once again?) Dad took Wayne and me and our best friends, Bonnie and Luke, out for some fun in the snow. His brand of fun was so different from most parents. He tied the sled to the back of the car and pulled us all over our neighborhood. Once all four of us were on the sled when Dad turned sharply around a corner sliding us all off of the back of the sled and landing us in exactly the same positions as on the sled. Later Bonnie and I were on the sled when it flipped over and somehow caught her food between the blade and the board causing her to be dragged behind the car. She was reaching out towards me and yelling, “Kay-Kay, help!” I tried running towards her but of course could not catch up to the slow moving car on the slippery snow. Finally freeing her foot, she laid there panting when I caught up to her and we set out to walk the mile back to our house. It was a short trip however, because Luke noticed the empty sled, and Dad turned around to retrieve us.

My Husband Rocks! (a different approach)

Please visit Katy Lin's blog the great adventure to learn more about My Husband Rocks! Fridays and to join us in encouraging our spouses. Now more than ever it's so important to lift up our spouses and to protect our marriages!

I cant’ help but gush about my husband and our marriage. I can’t help but to seek out his hand while we walk into church, stroll around the mall, or ride in the car. I have no problem snuggling up to him while we’re sitting on the couch in our parents’ homes or giving him a quick kiss when he stops by my work to deliver some item I’ve forgotten at home or to bring me lunch. It all started with a slow building friendship, and so even after all this time he is still my best friend, the one I prefer above all others with whom to spend my time.

My husband rocks!

Most days I would say that I have a dream marriage. I honestly never believed that I would find the kind of love that I now experience. I never dreamed that someone could love me so much and treat me so well. I never had any guy treat me as good as my Chris, unless you count Dad. To be loved for myself, just as I am, because I am the way I am, is such an unexpected delight. It all serves to remind me how much my Heavenly Father loves me.

Of course, it’s not always sunny days and ice cream. Some days are hard. Really hard. Some moments are downright unbearably painful. We can both be terribly stubborn and blinded by our own emotions and opinions. Tempers will flare, and feelings get hurt. What’s so wonderful is that this is always followed the heartfelt apologies and the readily given forgiveness and the reminder of how much we loved each other.

Our marriage rocks!

Despite all of the trials and obstacles that we face in this marriage, this life we share, I am intensely grateful to God for putting me on this journey with Chris, for blessing us with our sweet Willow Grace so we can build a family together, and for the spiritual encouragement that Chris has been giving me. I’m not only in love with my husband, but I am also in love with my Savior and overwhelmed by the unfathomable love He has for me, for all of us.

Our God rocks!

Willow Grace Wednesday

We went shopping at Opry Mills Mall on Saturday with Nana and Aunt Eva Joy, and Willow Grace got to take her first ride on a carousel. She started cracking up as soon as the ride began! She really loved it; I can't wait to take her again. Chris and Willow Grace were just playing it cool at Carrabba's after Eva Joy's birthday lunch on Sunday. (Happy Birthday, Eva Joy. We love you!)

My Husband Rocks!

To learn more about my husband rocks Fridays check out sweet Katy Lin's blog at the great adventure.

Yesterday I came down with a miserable cold and felt absolutely terrible by the time I arrived home. Chris took care of everything. He stopped by the Walgreens to get some medicine for me, made me a soothing cup of hot tea, built a fire for me, fed Willow Grace her dinner, played with her, and put her to bed. He even went out after I went to bed to fill up the Rover with gas and pick up a gallon of milk for the baby! What a guy!

(These pics were taken on our mini-vaca to Gatlinburg this last weekend.) I feel so safe and loved in his arms. He hugs me all the time. I came from a very affectionate family, and I am so happy that I have a husband who is the same way.

Have a great weekend!

Willow Grace Wednesday

The Reed's in the Great Smokey Mountains! This was part of the view off of our balcony. I wish that we had taken more pictures. In some of the areas we went the fall leaves were simply glorious. OK, so anyway, I know that I'm posting really late in the day, and I haven't been a very good blogger for a few days. However, since I was out of town for a long weekend, I keep getting all of my days confused. Most of the day today I couldn't figure out if it was Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday!

Anyway, here's a few pics to celebrate sweet Willow Grace!

She was hanging out with her Papa (my dad) in front of the big fireplace at Cracker Barrel. What a cute couple!Her Gran Gran bought her this cozy little coat. She started out so happy and was gradually lulled to sleep in the car! She's a great little traveler!

~My Husband Rocks!~ Friday

If you want to know more about My Husband Rocks! Fridays, go visit Katy Lin at the great adventure. We'd love for you to join us in encouagin our spouses!

My husband rocks because he makes me laugh. Every day. Most days he makes me laugh so hard that I snort, which he strangely thinks is cute. And then we laugh more because of the snort. He is so playful and silly and embraces those same qualities in me.

Just last night we were on our way to a play, and he made me laugh so hard that I could hardly get my breath, and then, of course, I snorted...twice! He asked me if I was going to blog about it, but it really was one of those "you had to be there" kind of things.

So, anyway, that's why he rocks-- for giving me the amazing gift of laughter. Hmmm, I was just thinking about that ride to the play, and I have to say that he also rocks because he always holds my hand in the car. I love that!

Have a great weekend!

Choosing What is Right Over What is Easy

"Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.... But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15

Over the last week or two, this theme keeps recurring in my life… in conversations, in the blogs I peruse, in my devotionals, and in the books I read. Of course you Harry Potter fans will recognize this as one of the big themes from the series. Harry is constantly faced with serious decisions where he must choose either the good or the easy. Just as Dumbledore tells Harry in chapter 18 of Chamber of Secrets, “It’s our choices, Harry, that show who we really are, far more than our abilities.” Over and over this truth is prominently displayed in the books. (There’s a whole chapter about this in Looking for God in Harry Potter by John Granger, a book highly recommend.)

One of my bloggy friends shared a story of when her husband stood for the right, lost his job, but was given an even better job less than 24 hours later. God rewarded his faithfulness. Another lady commented that the same thing had happened to her husband.

It’s amazing to me how often I’m encouraged to “just say that you’re ___________, ” and that blank is always filled with something that many would consider a “little white lie.” Where did that even come from? A lie is a lie. Lying to make a situation a bit easier for yourself is still lying; it’s still sin. Why do people encourage each other to do this all the time?

Here’s an example: I was planning on leaving work a little early the other day, but the two people I usually report to had already left early to attend a volleyball game which I was not planning on attending. When I told another lady that I was planning on leaving early, she said, “Just say that you went to the game.” I suppose it seemed harmless enough to her, but it would be a lie. Just a little bit of untruth, a little bit of sin, is the same thing as adding just a little bit of iocane powder* to your drink. You may not be able to see it, but it will definitely affect you!

It really is all about the choices we make.

*Fictional poison from The Princess Bride. The poison was colorless and odorless but deadly.

Willow Grace Wednesday

I'm totally making up for the shortage of pics last week. Here she is Halloween day - happy, dancing baby!

She was a bumble bee for Halloween. She can say "pumpkin." She actually knows about 30 words!

While she is, of course, too young to go trick-or-treating, she did watch for others who might come to her Gran-Gran's door.
I just thought she looked so cute in this little layered look. I had to post it.

Mmm...

What a morning!
-- a hot cup of English Breakfast tea (always takes me back to Ireland)
-- a gentle chill in the air
-- the lingering aroma of last night's fire still hanging in the air of our living room
-- gorgeous flashes of burnt orange, vibrant red, and cheerful yellow leaves
-- the cathartic crunching feeling and sound of the leaves beneath my feet

Yes, autumn is here in all its glory, and I love it!

Happy Fall everyone!

(For those of you who are wondering, I'm waiting until Wednesday to post pics of Willow Grace in her Halloween costume. Stay tuned!)