14 Day Challenge- Lesson 5

December 2003

Lesson #5 - Squeeze his muscle & tell him he is strong. (stop laughing, I can hear you) Do not make a big deal about it. Just do it quickly & in passing. Remember, you are not a man & you won't get this. Commenting on his strength is commenting on his manhood. Maybe he has been working out & you can tell him that you are noticing his changes while you squeeze his muscles. If that isn't an option, maybe you could just tell him that you want to feel his strong muscles to see what they feel like. Then you could compliment him. Adam even suggested that you simply ask to see his hands. Tell him that you never realized how strong his hands looked. He says this is something that would mean a lot to him. (Plus it might feel more comfortable for you.) Don't forget, I am doing these challenges too. However, I am at a disadvantage because Adam knows what each day calls for. I have to be extra sly & sincere so he knows that it isn't just a task. See, you guys have it easy. Don't make excuses, just do it!

Maybe thinking about it this way will help you a bit. When we get dressed up or our daughters get dressed up we want our husbands to acknowledge how pretty we are. That is because we have a feminine need. Most of our husbands could throw on wrinkled clothes from the floor that smell & have dog hair on them. They won't care. Just as long as their muscles look good! LOL
So go ahead, squeeze it. I bet he will flex

14 Day Challenge- Lesson 4

Lesson #4 - When your husband is around, say something honorable about him in front of your children or his peers. Perhaps say, "When it comes to math, few are as smart as your dad. Why don't you ask him to help you with that question." Or, "Your dad works every day so that we can live in this home. He is a very hard worker." Or, "Do you know what I admired about your dad when we first met? It was....."


This kind of thing is not hard for us women. We are only talking about a few sentences. God has gifted us to communicate. If you are thinking that you can't do this, you are lying to yourself. The truth is that you don't WANT to say something honorable to a man that you don't feel is as nice as he should be to you. You are locked into the idea that he must earn your respect. I know that you might be upset with him & that he should also be honoring you. Remember, the most mature one moves first. The more respect you give, the more opportnity he has to (in return) show love. A mature wife looks beyond her husband & speaks these words because the Lord wants us to.
1 Peter 3:9 says, "not returning.....insult for insult, but give a blessing instead."
You can give a verbal blessing. No sweat!

Field Trip to Hodgini's

getting ready to go to Hodgini's!
went on the bars! he kept calling them the "monkey bars" lol

i'm not sure why this picture looks so weird?

balance beam!
then they went to noble roman's to eat pizza :)

evie, kennedy, and brycen

Thursday B had a field trip to Hodgini's in Jasper and then to Noble Roman's to eat pizza. I couldn't go along since it was in Jasper :( My mom went and took him though and he thought that was pretty cool! He had a blast on the field trip! He was also VERY worn out from it! He came home and fell asleep on the couch really early while sitting up! After the field trip instead of going back to school he went to my grandma's and hung out w/ her for the afternoon. What a fun day for him! I was jealous to miss out on the fun though!

I find pictures like this all the time on my camera now!

Last night I made Fetticini Alfredo and garlic bread and we hung out for the evening!

the boys got a new game and it came in the mail yesterday (Cabella's Big Game Hunter 2010).

I think they are a LITTLE addicted... :) They are cute though...

Then we watched Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs- I thought it was a cute movie.

Today we are just hanging around the house... I've been doing laundry and the boys have been playing their game and we just watched Kangaroo Jack. I'm trying to figure out what to make for supper tonight... I think Ryan and I are going to get our bags packed for the hospital this evening. We have been meaning to get it done, but haven't yet... I do have lists made b/c I know we won't be able to pack everything just yet (since I have like a total of 3 pairs of pants that fit!). Corbin's has been done for a couple weeks now. I can't believe I will be 36 weeks on Monday... 25 more days at the most!

14 Day Challenge- Lesson 3

Okay, going to have to admit that last night I didn't do so hot at the challenge... I came home and Ryan was already home and he was laying on the couch SICK! Hearing of his sick germs didn't exactly make me want to smooch him... actually made me want to run in the other room and get the lysol and then lock myself in my bedroom so I hopefully won't get sick! I did make it a point to tell him I WANTED to kiss him though, but sure didn't want to get sick (believe me, he doesn't want me to get sick either!) haha. We did spend that few extra minutes together talking before I started figuring out supper and the rest of the evening... so I guess I didn't totally fail!


Now, remember, I am just copying and pasting these lessons from Amy's blog, so the lesson part isn't written by me! I thought of that b/c I was rereading my post and it said something about "adam" (that is her husband) and I didn't want ya'll thinking I have TWO husbands, haha! Believe me, I do good to keep up with one :) If you have time I do encourage you to go visit her blog b/c she has more in-depth posts about all these.



Lesson #3 - Tonight make his favorite meal or dessert. (Or both!) Proverbs 31:15 says, "She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls".
You are making deposits into your marriage. During this two week period be prepared for your husband to do something unloving. You have greeted him, hugged him, & made his favorite meal, but later he yells at you for moving his keys. Ignore it. Don't throw your hands up saying, "Respecting you doesn't work. You are as unloving as ever." You are fasting from complaining for two weeks. Lower your expectations. You can't expect him to change in every area of his life because you did three nice things. Do this for God & not for your husband. God commands you to do this.

I invite you to take this one step further. As I sit here & type this I realize that I am guilty of something that I could do a little better. I am sitting in sweatpants, a tee shirt, no makeup, & messy hair. We would never have been seen this when we were dating. Thank God our husbands still think that we are beautiful when we are a mess. However, from time to time we should put a little extra effort into looking our best for him. I am going to be doing this challenge & all of the others along with you because I need to work on my marriage at the same time. I need to continue to strive to be the very best wife that I can be. I invite you to not only make his favorite meal or dessert but to also take a shower, put on a little makeup, set the table nice, & show him that you have gone out of your way to make him feel special.

I have to admit- I'm not too thrilled about tonight's lesson- I'm excited to do something for my husband, but I made his favorite meal on Wednesday and it was a big one! I was so worn out the rest of the night... it's been a long week and I'm ready to go home and go to sleep, but I know if I do take the time to do it, he will appreciate it, so instead of a frozen pizza tonight like I was planning before I saw the lesson for today, I'm def. going to cook for him!

14 Day Challenge- Lesson 2

Lesson #2 - Greet your husband & give him a hug. Let him know again that you missed him or were thinking about him today. Again, this is secondary to what you are really feeling. Just do it. If he says something like, "Wow, two days in a row. Do you want money or something"? Ignore it. He is saying this to you because he is noticing your actions & they feel good to him. What may feel like sarcasm to you is playful bantering to him. After you hug him, leave the room. Don't allow for a conversation about your new behavior. This isn't a game, we are just trying to avoid getting into a discussion of unresolved issues that you are not equipped to handle just yet.

May 2003

~Well, I did the challenge yesterday, it was easier for me b/c it was my day off. I realize some days Ryan gets home before I do. I think the point is just to take an extra minute to greet him (no matter if it is at the door or wherever). A lot of the time I come in put my stuff done and go about what I need to be doing instead of taking the time to say, "hey babe I missed ya!". We do always ask each other about our days, but it's not until later in the evening usually. I greeted him at the door w/ a big smooch yesterday and he asked me, "What was that for?"... yikes! Then proceeded to say I must of had a good day or something b/c I seemed to be in an awfully good mood! Lol, I really did have a good day yesterday (hello, I was home all day w/ my baby boy and got lots of stuff done!) so I just went along w/ it... def. didn't tell him about the challenge. I don't want him to think I'm loving on him as a "game". I could def. tell he appreciated my small effort!

14 Day Love Challenge- Day 1

Amy Freeman (did you all read Kayleigh's story?? it is her momma) has a women's marriage ministry blog. Maybe some of you have even saw it or visit it.... anyway. She is doing a 14 Day Love Challenge in the days leading up to Valentines Day.

Ryan and I have a great relationship. I am so thankful for the man he is and what that means for our little family. BUT I do recognize that I fail a lot of the time at showing him just how much I love and appreciate him. I am jumping on board this 14 day challenge. Lately, I've especially been thinking about how I need to show him more just how much I love and appreciate him b/c he is doing so much around here! He has been doing a lot of the cooking and giving B baths and other stuff that are really "my" duties... He has been MAKING me take it easy. By going to Walmart, running errands, and basically doing all he can to make this pregnancy easier on me. He worries about me... He worries about C... and he loves us and wants us to both be healthy. That, my friends, is love.

Ryan and I-- September 2001!

I will post the challenge on here daily just in case ya'll want to follow along, w/out having to go to another blog, but if you do want to check on Amy's blog go for it! They have a pretty big story and lots of good ideas... After Valentines Day she is starting The Love Dare.






Lesson #1 - Tonight or tomorrow when your spouse comes home, greet them at the door. Don't yell from another room. Physically meet them at the door. Let them know that you missed them today. (even if you didn't) I have started doing this with Adam & he absolutely loves it. Honestly, so do I. I feel much more special when I feel that everyone is happy to see me. If this is not possible to do it this way due to your schedules, then be sure to make him feel like you missed him & you are happy to see him when you are face to face.

Let me know if you are following along (only if you want-- hopefully we can all be encouraging to one another).

35 Week Appt.

Yesterday evening I had my 35 week check up appt. Besides getting forgotten about in the room, or I guess you could say, "misplaced", everything went great ;) My poor dr. felt so bad, but it was pretty funny! I hadn't gained any weight, my BP was 120/80, C's heartrate was good, but she didn't tell me the number (too busy laughing about "losing" me) :), and I am measuring right on track still. She also checked me and I'm not dialated. It was sort of surprising to me given all the contractions I have been having, but she said it is a good thing :) I go back next Tues. three more appts. w/ her at the most and one w/ the specialist in 2 weeks! I really am hoping to make it 'til the 24th b/c that would work out best w/ my maternity leave and my mom being off for the summer the week I go back to work... but I guess we will see if Mr. C decides to come out before then or not... if he does, I'm sure I'll be ready then too :)


28 more days!