Wordless Wednesday

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Tuesday's Top Two

TheUndomesticMomma has created a reoccurring theme called Top 2 Tuesday. I've recently started following her blog and decided that this week I'd link up and enjoy the fun! Today is about the two things I can't live without. After thinking for a bit, I narrowed my list down to a top two :-) It was a little tough! Of course, we're not talking about the usual list of what you can't live without. It's more or less, tangible items...materialistic things. Because, we all know that in everyone's top list there would be- family, friends, God, children, water, food, and air! This way is much more exciting and involves more thought. My top two things I can't live without:#1 My camera!!!It is always on me, whether it's in the diaper bag or just hanging out in my car. It is readily available. I take it around knowing that there might be something happening or a once in a lifetime moment that needs to be captured! Unfortunately, my poor Kodak camera is on it's last days. I've had it for two and a half years, and the other day when I pulled it out...my poor screen has a crack and no longer is visible to view and take pictures. This means I'm back to looking through the little hole to focus and set up the shots. So, yes honey, I'm definitely hoping we can get the nice SLR camera when we get our taxes back :)I have a tie for #2 hehe#2 @ 50%, My BlackberryI can't leave home without it, of course. It's my lifeline! It sure doesn't help that I've got facebook, twitter, emails, and music all there at my fingertips. Then of course, I can catch up on blogs, too! It's nice to be able to see what everyone's doing by checking FB on Tweets throughout the day. (I know, I know...I'm a bit of a nerd) Then, like I said before..it's my lifeline. It's what I have to help me keep in touch with everyone. I don't know who has home phones anymore, because who does when you have a cell phone!#2 @ 50% My D&G sunglassesOr as my husband would call them, the most expensive headband. :) Again, can't leave the house without them. It's sad to say that I rarely, and I mean rarely, ever use them for their intended purpose. I leave with them on my head everyday, rain or shine. To me (and apparently my husband) they are my headband. I swear that my hair looks so much better when they are up on my head. I guess you can call me a nerd here, too! I should probably just go out and buy some headbands, but I don't want to look like a little kid....because I love all those chunky & flower ornate ones! Either way though, I can't live without them :)

So there ya have it! My top 2 and half items I can't live without. Head on over to The Undomestic Momma and see what everyone else can't live without.

I sure am curious now that I've shared with everyone!

Five Love Languages

As I mentioned in the previous post, my marriage faced a a huge speed bump. While I had time away from my husband, I decided to make good use of my time. I knew that some things needed to change in order for us to get back on the right track. I needed to know what I should do to help make my marriage better, to make my husband happy. I looked for help and found it by reading a book, The Five Love Languages-The Secret to Love that Lasts by Gary Chapman.
It's kind of ironic that at the same time I'm going through these changes, a fellow blogger (MckMama), has posted about a book called Love & War and shared with her readers about the ups and downs of her marriage and what's helped hers. It's nice to know that I'm not alone, and that there are resources out there to help every couple and their unique needs!As I read through and learned the five love languages, I recognized the ones that belong to both me and my husband. Below are the languages and what they entail. (*taken from 5lovelanguages)

• Words of Affirmation~ Actions don’t always speak louder than words. If this is your love language, unsolicited compliments mean the world to you. Hearing the words, “I love you,” are important—hearing the reasons behind that love sends your spirits skyward. Insults can leave you shattered and are not easily forgotten.
• Quality Time~ In the vernacular of Quality Time, nothing says, “I love you,” like full, undivided attention. Being there for this type of person is critical, but really being there—with the TV off, fork and knife down, and all chores and tasks on standby—makes your significant other feel truly special and loved. Distractions, postponed dates, or the failure to listen can be especially hurtful.
• Receiving Gifts~ Don’t mistake this love language for materialism; the receiver of gifts thrives on the love, thoughtfulness, and effort behind the gift. If you speak this language, the perfect gift or gesture shows that you are known, you are cared for, and you are prized above whatever was sacrificed to bring the gift to you. A missed birthday, anniversary, or a hasty, thoughtless gift would be disastrous—so would the absence of everyday gestures.
• Acts of Service~ Can vacuuming the floors really be an expression of love? Absolutely! Anything you do to ease the burden of responsibilities weighing on an “Acts of Service” person will speak volumes. The words he or she most want to hear: “Let me do that for you.” Laziness, broken commitments, and making more work for them tell speakers of this language their feelings don’t matter.
• Physical Touch~ This language isn’t all about the bedroom. A person whose primary language is Physical Touch is, not surprisingly, very touchy. Hugs, pats on the back, holding hands, and thoughtful touches on the arm, shoulder, or face—they can all be ways to show excitement, concern, care, and love. Physical presence and accessibility are crucial, while neglect or abuse can be unforgivable and destructive

According to the book and the assessment on the website, my main love language is Word of Affirmation and my secondary language is Quality time. An insert from the website says it all on how to put your language to work in your marriage---"You may have scored certain ones of the love languages more highly than others, but do not dismiss those other languages as insignificant. Your husband may express love in those ways, and it will be helpful to you to understand this about him.In the same way, it will benefit your husband to know your love language and express his affection for you in ways that you interpret as love. Every time you or your husband speak each other’s language, you score emotional points with one another. Of course, this isn’t a game with a scorecard! The payoff of speaking each other’s love language is a greater sense of connection. This translates into better communication, increased understanding, and, ultimately, improved romance."
I'm currently doing my best at talking and doing the language of my husband and I'm asking the same in him. With our new journey coming ahead, I'm hoping our marriage will improve and stay on the right track. I can't wait to see what our future holds!

**I highly encourage anyone and everyone, whether you're married or not, to sit back and read this book. You learn things about yourself you may not already know and learn on how to improve on the things you're already working on. If you're married, it helps you to understand what it takes to make your partner happy...if you're single, you learn what it takes to make yourself happy and where to put the importance of "the languages" in your next relationship.**

And an important reminder to myself and others, a marriage takes three! God, your husband/wife, and yourself. You've made a vow to yourself and your spouse and a covenant to God. Let no man break this! Just pray and HE will lead you in the right direction.

Craziness

It seems like I've fallen off the blog wagon again. It's been a crazy past two months. Maybe crazy is not the right word, or the only word I should use. I think I may add these: stressful, testing, disappointing, prayer-filled...the list could go on and on! After I wrote my last blog on Compassion, I had no idea that I would experience compassion from a group of strangers later that night. As I headed home from my new favorite store (Hobby Lobby), I got into a car accident. This wasn't just a slight fender bender, my poor Durango was totalled....by a Prius!! Luckily, my little man was still at his grandparents visiting....and God must have known and spared him, because he was due back the day before :) *Got snowed in* I never thought I would ever be in a car accident, I especially didn't think that if and when it happened, it wouldn't be so bad. The Prius hit me from behind and flipped twice, landing back on her four wheels....God was on her side too, she didn't get hit by the 18-wheeler that was behind her. We had tons of help from complete strangers and were met by 5 cops, 2 ambulances, and 2 firetrucks. It was all surreal!! I was lucky enough to be able to get another Durango, newer and much nicer to be exact...and only suffer from a shoulder/neck sprain. I always witness such bad accidents, as a drive by, and pray for the people involved....I wondered, as all the cars and trucks drove by slowly, if they'd have the same compassion for me. I was truly blessed to have a witness who stood by my side the whole time, calming me down and making sure everything was ok. She was even nice enough to take me to my husband's work place after I was cleared to leave the crash site. I walked away with a totalled Durango and a body full of aches, but I'm thankful to be alive.
More craziness followed in the coming weeks. My marriage was put to test, some grown up decisions were made (forced), and I matured in a sense. I learned new things and came to realize that some things need to change. We've made a new commitment to each other and are taking a huge step in the next couple weeks. We've decided to move to Ohio...and I'm a little nervous and excited all at the same time. We're going to have his family around, a lot of them, instead of mine....we're both going to be employed, and we're hoping to take our first shot at being a renter of a home. Wish us luck!

**More or less now, my blog will be updated more frequently to get my family caught up on the happenings of our lives as we embark on a new journey**

Compassion

The Compassion I'm talking about it not just LOVE, I'm talking about Love for Jesus, Love for helping the lives of children. I'm an avid follower and reader of two Moms, bloggers, who have taken or will be taking a trip with Compassion.... Jennifer and Kelly

I've been thinking a lot lately about how I've been living my life. The ups and downs in my marriage, the stress of finances, and the hope of a second child....it's all something I have to be thankful for!

We have not done a good job of raising Kainen up in a Christian household, nor have we made much of an effort. Recently, more or less, I've been singing hymns to K so he knows about God and the blessed life he has given us. I believe songs are the only way I can get through to K, he's not much of a book person..he won't let me read to him for more than a minute or to. However, he loves music. I remember taking him to the African Children's Choir performance at the church I was raised in, this past summer. Kainen loved the beat of the music and enjoyed watching the children dance around the stage. He was a little too excited, to a point where my grandmother had to take him out to the lobby so he can enjoy it, sing and dance all he wanted...without bothering the people around him. It was a great experience, for me and him.

I've made a new year's resolution, that I need to have a better relationship with God. Not only for my sake, but for my family's too. We are currently in search of a church in our area, one that has an excellent child program..because God knows Kainen does not do well in big church :-) He's all boy! I'm hoping that we will find the right church and get back on the right track!

Now, back to Compassion. I remember when I was growing up, when I thought of having children of my own, the only thing that came to mind was this "I'd like to save a life, then give life". I wish that our finances were good enough to where we could sponsor a child or "save a child" and adopt. Unfortunately, it's not working out that way, but I believe God has other plans for us. Compassion, however, gives you the opportunity to give a one time donation...and I think that's what I'll do! I encourage you to check out their website, sponsor a child if you can..maybe think about taking a trip with the group, or if you're unable financially..just make that one time donation, a little bit can go a long way!

Here's there website, http://www.compassion.com, where you can learn about their ministry and how to sponsor a child. Or even check out http://compassionbloggers.com/ to learn more about how you can become involved as a blogger!

Hilarious Outtakes @ i<3Faces

Have you ever tried taking a picture of your child, your family, or a friend and something just not come out right? Maybe your friend was picking something out of their teeth or a family member had their hairpiece a little offcenter & was in the middle of adjusting....or maybe your child was caught picking their nose.
Well, none of those examples I have yet to experience firsthand. :-)
I do have some other, rather hilarious (in my opinion) outtakes of my son that I can share!

We love to take visits to the zoo, and here K got a little startled by the howling monkies. I was aiming for a cute little smile & this is what I got!

K is always a big cheeser and in this picture I was trying to take advantage of him being a ham. Well, if you haven't noticed...that would be a toilet in the background :-) and my niece decided she wanted to flush it. So, in return I got this from K when he heard the flushing sound!

This is my all time favorite outtake of K. My sister let me borrow her new camera & once again I was aiming for a smile. Well, her camera has this fancy flash & he was totally not expecting such a bright light in his face. I laughed for a good five minutes after I saw the shot I got!

Make sure you head over to iHeartFaces & get yourself a good dose of laughter from all the other Hilarious Outtakes!

December?? Lookout!!

As fast as December approached, it feels like it's going by quickly already. There's lots of exciting plans that lie ahead. These should get me out of my weak state and in the mood for the holidays. I'm hoping to check out the Christmas parade this weekend. It's a tradition that I hope to continue, no matter where we live. I would like to take K to see the dinos at the State Museum on Sunday, mostly because it's the cheapest day to go. They have dollar days every first sunday of the month, so it's definitely worth it when you throw in the extra four dollars for the dinos. I'm hoping that K doesn't freak out, but even if he does it's not too much money wasted.
Then, next weekend is Christmas Keno with the girls..which I miss too much! I've already bought both the gifts, from Hobby Lobby :-) I love that place and I'm sure the girls who get the gifts will love them too. My niece's 6th birthday party is the next day and she's got a them this year... "Under the Big Top". Let me just mention something real quick...my niece has decided that instead of getting gifts this year, she's asked that each child bring an unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots. Her birthday actually falls on Christmas Eve, so she gets a ton of presents. Since she's not in need of many new things, she figured this would be a better solution. I am very proud of O and can't wait to celebrate her big day next weekend!
As soon as you know it..Christmas will be here and then New Year's day. I believe we're almost done shopping for K, we just need to get him his big ticket item and some stuff for his stocking. This year was so much easier than last. K has one thing he's interested in, and that's the Disney movie "Cars". It's been fun to shop because we know exactly what to get him. Plus I think it'll make opening presents even more fun, knowing that he'll be gasping with joy over all the Lightning McQueen items...I can't wait!
This year has gone by way too fast for me, but it's been a great year! I'm looking forward to starting a new year with my family and hoping 2009 goes out with a bang (a good one) and that 2010 will be just as great as this year.