Top Ten Things I learned from Marriage Workshop

My husband and I attended a marriage workshop last weekend and enjoyed the time away to reflect on our marriage and our parenting.  We told our kids we were going to a marriage class and when we came home they wanted to know what we had learned.  Good question, huh?

1. Avoid the Time Trap.
Don't fall into the habit of being so busy doing life that you lose focus on your life.  I know families that have their kids into so many activities that they never have time to just live. Discipline is inevitable - you either have the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. 

2. Out-love your spouse.
Focus not on what your marriage can do you for you but what you can do for your marriage.  Every day be sure to wake up thinking what you can do to show your love to your partner and your family. 

3.  Minimize every day. 
There are simple everyday actions that you can do every day that make a difference in your marriage.  For me the most important action was to minimize anything your spouse does that annoys you.  Really, is it THAT big a deal if they (or I) don't change out the toilet paper when the roll is empty?


4.  Live THE ONE HEART PRINCIPLE
If you and your partner are "one" then if you wound your spouses heart you are really wounding your own heart at the same time.  Your heart should intertwined with that of your spouse.  Conversly, if you enhance your spouse's heart then you are enhancing your own.

My husband and I talked to our kids about this and expanded it to our family being combined in one heart.  If our kids are disrespectful to us then they are really hurting our whole family.  My husband and I were also reminded how to build up our kids with words and enhance our family.


5.  Consider the AWE Factor.
Ensure that there is adequate Affection, Warmth and Encouragement in your marriage and your family.  Beware of the affection deficit by placing a daily deposit of warmth and affirmation in your spouse's and child's life.  Affection is a daily blessing you can give another person for free.


6.  Be a party-time parent.
One of the speaker's spoke about how his mother was known for being the "party-time" mom because she was always hospitable in her home.  As an adult he realized that her life was full of strife and conflict but that as a child he was never aware of it because his Mom utilized STRENGTH and DISCIPLINE to be warm and loving in her home.  I pray that I can do the same.

7.  Admit Anger.
Everyone gets angry.  Be sure to have a method of conflict resolution that works for your marriage and for our home.  When we arrived home from this conference we sat down with our kids and had a "lesson" on how to manage anger.  Count to 10.  Pray.  Ask yourself what you are mad about.  Beg

8.  Pray
Realize that you can not do all things on your own but with the spirit of God you can do the impossible.  So, pray daily for God to intervene in your marriage, your life and your parenting.


9.  Manage your own time. 
My favorite quote from the whole weekend:  Say no to a lot of things so that you can say "yes" to the most important things.

10.  Talk to your spouse. 
With a 6 and 8 year old girls who are chatty and social, my husband and I often find that we are not speaking to each other more than a few minutes a day.  Make sure that you make time for your spouse by listening without multi-tasking and/or having a weekly meeting with intentional conversation about your life, schedules and marriage.

For more information check out the Homeword website.

Fat Tuesday regrets

My husband announced today that it was the first day of Lent.

What?  If it is the first day of Lent then I totally missed Fat Tuesday?

Now I'm supposed to give up something without having over indulged yesterday?  JUST NOT FAIR.

I'm giving up sweets and sugar...  With the exception of one dark chocolate square a day.  OK, maybe two.

If I had known yesterday was Fat Tuesday I would have splurged on Krispy Kreme Brownies. 

Now I'll have to wait to Easter.

Let the waiting begin....  and may it go super fast. 

Blogging 201

So today I'm experimenting with blogging from my mobile device... I use an iPhone. Blogger has a handy
Dandy app that apparently you can use- I'm on that right now. Won't tell you what I'm doing while I blog but let's say I have a little time on my hands while I'm in a sitting position . I know, TMI.

I just attached a picture from my photo roll. It's not very relevant but as I said, I'm experimenting.

Looks like I can also take a picture during my posting which is helpful for....I'm not sure what but here is a pic of my wall...

And there is a current location button which I programmed for my current location... Will that say my city or give away my room location?

Ok- the only other button I can hit is publish so here goes nothing!!!

I'm in love....

Maybe I have been late to the game.  I thought I was spending a lot of time surfing the net in the past but now that I have become slightly obsessed with blogging I have come to realize just how much time you can spend reading on the online.  Boy,  I'm glad that the sites I am spending time on are so positively impacting my family and my quality of life.  As an example:

This site consolidates and shares printables from various blogs.

Loving this from Living Up

This site consolidates and shares crafts from various blogs.


So cool - sort of a clearinghouse for those looking for something crafty or printy!

hairstyle and blogging 102 - how to link

hairstyleI've been a bit stymied with my blogging lately because the research for blogging has been too much fun.  So many fun blogs to read and learn about.  So - my blogging is going to consist of linking to other sites that I have found and love.

One problem.  I don't know how to link to another site.  I'm practicing - you are my guinea pig.  No offense intended.

I really love this hairstyle.

wow - so apparently (after googling tutorial for linking to another blog site) that you can hit the link button on blogger and type in the url. 

So - that seemed to work only I need to figure out how to get the picture in....

 Well - third times, a charm. Again googling tutorial for how to link to another blog picture you can hit the image button in blogger and paste in the URL for the photo you want to link to.  Only it didn't work the first two times I tried it.

So, thanks for learning with me.  By the way, something tells me this might be my "starter" blog.  When I learn how to do this for real I can start an adult, serious, professional and oh, so perfect blog.  Or not. 

Signature Dishes #1 - A "go-to" salad

One of the things that most gives me comfort is the memory of my Mom's special meals.  When I was growing up we frequently ate the same things - spaghetti, fried chicken (don't judge - I AM from the south) and some yummy chicken casserole we affectionately called "yellow junk".

Now that my kids are older and willing to occasionally try things off the menu that aren't mac and cheese or chicken nuggets, I have begun to make some dishes they  love and even ask for.  I have visions of making a "Mommy's recipe Book" for them one day as they go off to college with recipes of all my (uh, I mean their) favorites.

First off - a go-to salad.  Called go-to because I most often go to it and  I take it often to-go - it is a staple to take to friends houses ...  It is always well received.   Below is how my salad looked as I was walking out the door for dinner last Friday (and please forgive the flash - I am a beginner photographer!)

Go-To Salad
Three cups Spring Mix
1/4 cup chopped candied pecans
1/4 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup dried cranberrries
1/4 cup Goat cheese, Feta Cheese or Bleu cheese

Use an easy balsamic dressing - 1/4 cup balsamic, 1/2 cup good olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic. 

Super yummy!