Mid-December PHFR.

Not to be confused with a PHFT, which is the sound you make when someone says something preposterous. 

{PRETTY}

Last weekend, Zeke and I went "home-" back to our teeny tiny hometown where both sets of our folks live. 

My mom threw me a surprise birthday party (not on my birthday, which was part of the surprise), complete with presents and cupcakes and streamers and my little nephew and his "Happy Birthday"-"Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" mash up. 

And the next day, my mother-in-law came over, got me in the car, and took me to a salon. 

I'm not really one for salons. I get my hair cut at the Walmart once every six months or so. But she decided it was time for me to get some pampering in, so I got an actual hair cut and then got my nails done. 

I'm a terrible nailbiter and I didn't know about the manicure thing, so I didn't have any nails to get done... so I got acrylics. They're kind of weird, but I actually like them, and they make my hands look so pretty! 

{HAPPY}

Despite all the birthday festivities that were planned unbeknownst to me, the purpose of the trip was to make a ton of Christmas cookies, which we did get around to eventually.

Molasses cookie dough. So, so happy. 

{FUNNY}

Zeke's been wanting to trade in one of our couches and put a recliner in its place for a couple of months now. 

I went to a ladies' group meeting on Monday, and came home to a changed living room. 

And, because he's tall and the recliner wasn't...

Cinderblocks. 

Hunky Husband Life Hack. 

{REAL}

Zeke's been battling a bit of a sore throat lately... 

... this was the little pile he made from dumping his pockets out last night. 

Linking up today with Like Mother, Like Daughter! 

Flowering Trees, Counselor Cars, And Maintenance Man Messes- {PHFR}

{Pretty}

Is there anything better than flowering trees? I think not.

This is my favorite time of year, simply for this very reason. 

{Happy}

The counselors are here! They started staff training last week, and at this point, they've completely overrun Camp with their excitement and joy. I love sneaking into their Bible study sessions and praying over them. These young adults will make a tremendous difference this summer- join me in praying for them, and for all the young adults working in outdoor ministry this summer!

{Funny}

You can usually tell when the counselors have gotten here- because of the high-energy laughter and "Oh-I've-Missed-You-ALL-YEAR!" greetings... and also because the parking lot is filled with ding-ed up, rusting vehicles. 

These aren't nearly the worst of them. 

{Real}

Zeke, in getting ready for summer (which is quickly, far too quickly, approaching! We've got counselors here already!), has been doing a lot of final landscaping and leaf clearing. 

Because in the middle of an oak forest with lots of large, large trees, leaf clearing never ends. Truly. 

He came home the other day and took a shower... and the above was what I found. Those little black-ish dots? Tiny mulched up leaves. And the sheer volume in such a small bathroom was amazing. 

The pictures don't do it justice. There were leaves everywhere.

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Time for some shameless plugs! 

Posts this Week: 

Don't Send Doves, or Planning a Marriage Rather than a Wedding- 

"Have you seen that show, “Four Weddings?” Don’t. Just don’t watch it. Take my word for it. I’ll give you a little synopsis so you don’t get curious and go watch it to see what it’s all about. Four lovely ladies attend one another’s weddings, rating each one. The wedding that receives the best score ‘wins,’ and that happy couple gets an All!Expense!Paid! trip to somewhere exotic. It’s pretty much a show about women bashing one another’s weddings because (gasp) she had a buffet or (gasp) her dress wasn’t the perfect color for her skin tone or (gasp) the invitations didn’t include seven live doves and a waterfall.

You don’t need that.

If you’re anything like me, you watch something like that and think That’s so silly. I’ll never be anything like that. And you won’t, because you’re too pure of heart and kind to say (or even think!) any of the snarky things those brides are saying. 

But it gets in your head. And you start to wonder- if our wedding doesn’t have a live band, will people hate it? Can people really enjoy a wedding where there isn’t any alcohol? Do I need to send live doves and do doves need to eat during the shipping process?? 

I’m here to tell you. No, yes, and don’t send doves."

Christian Conflicts: Truth and Anger

"Our faith changes us- not because we're trying to earn salvation, but because we're grateful for salvation, putting on a new self. We're now to live a distinctly different lifestyle than we see in the culture around us- but how difficult that is!

If we're to live differently, that means that we're to deal with issues differently."

From the Archives: 

I've definitely got Camp on the brain... so...

Helping Your Child Get the Most Out of Camp

Ministry is Worth the Sacrifice

A Prayer Request: Next week is the official start of Summer Camp season. And oh, boy, there's a lot to do. Please pray for my little family as both Zeke and I have a lot on our plates this week... specifically pray for safety and rest for Zeke, and peace and focus for me! Thank you, friends! 

This post is linked to Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real over at Like Mother, Like Daughter.

Sprouts, What's in My Entryway, and Lost Socks

-1-

I came home this evening and found the above in my entryway. Wanna know what it is?

It took me a minute.

Zeke bought a hitch and towing system for our car! So we can cart our little camper around without the use of the pickup (which Zeke is planning to sell). 

The original thought was that we'd go camping nearby someplace this weekend. {Happy!} Of course, that was before the temperature dropped to 33 degrees F last night- and it doesn't look like it'll warm up anytime soon. We'll see.

-2-

And, due to the cold weather, we brought our container garden inside. My patience (ha, patience) is paying off... we've got sprouts! {Blurry, but pretty!}

-3-

Our unmatched sock collection is growing. How does that even happen? Where are all the orphaned socks? {Funny}

-4-

 

After another cycle that ended in another assurance that I'm still not ovulating, I went ahead last week and scheduled a doctor's appointment to see if we can't figure out what's going on with me. Of course, the doctor's office simply doesn't have any new patient openings until the middle of June.

(Yes, we've lived here for a year and haven't yet gotten a doctor. Despite my complaints any and every time either Zeke or I get a head cold, we're actually pretty healthy.)

In the meantime, I've done some research, and the more information I get, the more I think I may have PCOS. I still need to get testing and everything to confirm that suspicion, but I've also found some information about how dietary changes can make a difference. So, I've been trying to eat better- limiting sugar and eating fewer carbs (but oh, how I love carbs and sugar!)

Of course, it {really} doesn't help that I came home to find a bag full of Camp cookies on the trunk...

-5-

All right, lovelies, I need some advice.

Despite the cold snap, I do believe that it will someday be summer and will someday be uncomfortably warm. And when it's uncomfortably warm (or even just warm), I like to wear skirts. I don't know, I feel more professional in skirts than in shorts. 

Anyway! I need to get myself some new ballet flats. I've been wearing these babies for the past... four? five? years...

(Won't you please excuse the very {real} dirt on the entryway floor? I knew you would. After all, I have a maintenance man for a husband. That's an excuse, right?) 

... and I think it's time for some new ones. These are getting pretty well stretched out and scuffed up. 

Any suggestions? I'd like to go with something non-rubbery-Croc-material, but still very comfortable. Arch support preferred. 

-6-

Zeke just came home and announced that we will be camping this weekend. Good thing our little camper has a heater. 

-7-

 

Most random quick-takes ever? Perhaps. 

I've been slowly going through The Power of a Praying Wife for the past month or so (thank you, understanding church library lady!) and I've really enjoyed it. I used to pray for Zeke pretty regularly, but I always seemed to be asking for the same things, praying about the same things. This book has really helped me to expand my prayers- not only does the author have an awesome first name, but she's very thorough. I've really enjoyed it thus far. 

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(And now, for some shameless plugs) 

Posts this week and from the archives:

Smooth as a River Rock: Having an Intentional Engagement : The first post in my new Intentional Engagement series. There are so many tips and tricks for wedding planning, but how many engaged couples plan for their marriage with that same intensity and focus? And why not? It is a lifetime, after all! 

Camp Fosters Faith : I may be a little bias (I mean, I do live and work at a Bible Camp...) but I've seen summer camp make a huge difference in the faith life of children.

Why My Long Distance Relationship Was Super Awesome : Four years and 500 miles, and we're so much better for it.

Maintenance Man Monday: In the Rough : In which my husband is tough on his clothes. He still is. Consider this post Exhibit A.

Exhibit B?

Compression shorts with the elastic waistband pulled away from the fabric. In several places. But they're $10 a piece, and if I didn't mend all the ripped ones, we'd be buying five pairs a month!



Have a lovely weekend!

Linked up with Jen at Conversion Diary for Seven Quick Takes, and the ladies at Like Mother, Like Daughter for Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real.

Maintenance Man Monday: His Hands

This is my husband's hand. His hands embody so much of him, symbolize so much of what he holds in his spirit.

It's with these hands that he fixes pipes under cabins, shovels pea gravel into playgrounds, and writes plans for construction projects. It's these hands that roll toy trucks in the sand with our nephews and hold our nieces. They're tough and calloused and often pretty broken- sometimes so much so that touch screens don't recognize them. They're no-nonsense in board meetings and honest when holding a Bible for devotions.

It's these hands I held at our wedding, these hands that carry a ring symbolizing our unity (even though I put it on the wrong hand during the ceremony!), and it's these hands that I'll hold when our lives here on earth have come to a close.

It may seem a little silly, but I kind of picture the hands of God a lot like these quite human hands- strong, calloused, definitely tough from the business of Creation- but also gentle, full of grace, ready to stroke the cheek of a little one or hold someone who is hurting.

These are my husband's hands, and they point me to the character of God.



How does your spouse point you to God, even unintentionally?

Maintenance Man Monday: Stick Shift Solutions

My husband and I recently purchased a car. It's a 2004, it's silver, it's super cute, and it's got a 6-speed manual transmission.

Oh yeah.

Now, I understand the reasoning behind having this vehicle. I drive about 20 minutes to get to school when I'm subbing, and hopefully I'll have full-time job somewhere in the future, and that hopefully-full-time job will mean that I have to commute at least a little. Better fuel mileage, especially considering the gas prices, is a very good thing. Our other vehicles include a big huge truck (which is a major gas guzzler), and a motorcycle (great for fuel mileage, but it weighs 600 pounds so I can't lift it, and I have no idea how to drive it).

Hunky Husband does not commute. We live on site at the Bible Camp (such an incredible blessing), so he goes to work by walking across the parking lot. Which means... I get to drive the new stick shift car.

I don't know how to drive a stick shift.

Zeke is teaching me.

Keep in mind, here, that Zeke has been driving since he was five. I'm not kidding. He grew up on a farm, so he was messing around with his dad, driving tractors and farm equipment since he was really little. He was a big kid (5'3" at the age of eight....), so by the time he was ten, he was driving tractors by himself, taking meals out to the field in trucks... and at 13, he drove a semi full of cattle to Montana. He's been driving forever.

Cut to me. I grew up in the suburbs of Milwaukee. My mom was a very nervous driver, so by the time I learned to drive at the "ripe old age" of 16, I didn't have a very high opinion of being out on the road. I never even rode along in a stick-shift vehicle until I met Zeke (I was 19).

To say the least, my stick-shift education has been a rocky one.

Everything will start out just fine... Zeke is his typical calm self, waiting patiently while I adjust the seat and mirrors multiple times. We'll get started out on the road, doing fine, and then I'll get to a stop sign. I'll stop. And then, as I start up again, I kill it.

Zeke says, "It's okay, just... wait, you're rolling backwards! We're moving!" I slam on the brakes, restart the car, and as I'm switching from brake to gas.... I kill it.

And now I'm getting flustered. Zeke says, "It's okay, just start it again. It happens." Somehow, miraculously, I'll get the car to move (eventually), and as I pick up speed...

"Shift." Okay, I shift.

"Shift. See, you're going 20, you've got to be in at least third." Shift again.

"Shift." Okay, I knew that one. I was just about to shift and then he told me to... I will get the hang of this...

"Now you're speeding." Sigh.

"Just pull into that gas station and we'll wash the windows." Gas station? What gas station!? What? Where? Oh, wait. My hands are shaking. Okay. I'll slow down.... Is that an entrance, or...

"Okay, now you're stopped completely." Okay, give it some gas to turn... Gosh I'm still pretty shaky...

"NO! You can't start in fourth gear! You're stopped! You've got to start in first!"


Yep, it hasn't always been the most pleasant experience, for either of us.

Instead of getting frustrated, angry with each other, or just giving up, after a less-than-lovely drive around town, we talked about it. He asked me what I needed, what would help me learn better. He told me I wasn't doing a bad job, that it's just when I get nervous that I make silly mistakes.  I told him that maybe it would help if he only made suggestions if I asked first, that I had to learn by doing it, not by being told exactly what to do. I thanked him for being so patient, that I appreciated him for teaching me.

He listened to me, and he encouraged me.
I suggested a solution, and I expressed gratitude.

Since that talk, the driving lessons have greatly improved. Yeah, I still kill the engine sometimes, and yes, I do still get nervous. I'm sure that he gets frustrated sometimes. But by keeping the lines of communication open, we're going to keep our marriage running.

Maintenance Man Monday: The Rough

My husband is hard on his clothes.

 

This was, at one time, a coat. Believe it or not.

Notice how you can see the fluffy stuff coming through the inside lining.

And this is the sleeve of said coat. If we can call it that anymore.

Like I said, my husband is hard on his clothes.

But you know what? That's okay. Sure, I do have quite the pile in my mending basket most weeks, and yes, there are times that I really wish that we spent more money on shoes for me than we do boots for him (he typically needs a new pair of boots every 3 months or so).

All those torn, stained, caulk splattered clothes should make me think about is how hard my husband works. When he's changing the oil in the camp vehicles, he doesn't stop to make sure that he doesn't spill oil on his pant leg, he just gets the job done. Those tears in the elbow of his coat are from working cattle on his family's farm. The worn sections in the knees of almost every pair of jeans are from crawling under buildings to check water lines, kneeling to fix plumbing, and weeks of bending to repair electrical sockets.

Sure, sometimes I wish I could just toss out old jeans or coats instead of repairing them, but the fact that my husband is hard on his clothes is a chance for me to practice being frugal, to practice my stitching, to practice patience, to practice gratitude for all we have and to work on being good stewards of our resources.

My husband is rough with his clothing- my challenge is to find the diamonds in the rough.

Maintenance Man Monday: Communication

Recently, a friend of Zeke's died. Very unexpectedly. Joe was on a snowmobiling trip with a couple of buddies. On Friday, he called his wife and told her that he was feeling like he was coming down with a cold. On Saturday, he stayed back from snowmobiling to rest. When his friends got back, they couldn't wake him up and he wasn't breathing normally. They rushed him to the hospital, where they put him on a ventilator. His wife flew out that day, along with his parents, and the doctors told them that Joe wasn't going to wake up. They took him off the ventilator yesterday morning and said goodbye.

Joe and his wife got married a month after Zeke and I. They just bought a house. Joe was the same age as Zeke, and his wife was even younger than I am (actually, she's only 21.) She's widowed, after only six months of marriage, at the age of 21.

Even though I didn't know Joe or his wife very well, his death shook me up. It was just so sudden, without any warning, and he was so young. It made me think about how incredibly fortunate Zeke and I are, to be healthy, happy, and together. I told him so.

Now, Zeke isn't really one to express his feelings verbally, and often he gets uncomfortable when I'm "mushy." He didn't really respond, and was kind of goofy for the rest of the evening, actually.

Another person could have seen him as callous or unemotional, but just because he doesn't express himself well with words in times like this doesn't mean that he wasn't feeling the same things I was. He just shows it differently. He may not have said anything, but he did hold me all night. He knows just as well as I do that we're blessed, that we cherish our time together, and that we shouldn't take the time we have together for granted.

He just didn't say it. He told me another way- his way.

Maintenance Man Monday

Welcome to the first installation of my new weekly series!

When did it become socially acceptable for women to whine about their husbands? I have several married friends and work with many married women at schools, and the one thing that most married women have in common is that we complain. About our men. It almost becomes a contest sometimes- who's husband is the most disgusting/most inconsiderate/dumbest/laziest. Why do we do that? We should be raising our husbands up, being grateful for them and praising them in private and in public. Instead, how many times do we complain to our friends about his latest failing?

I, for one, am going to start bragging about my hunky maintenance man husband!

The other day, I heard someone say, "Women go into marriage hoping they can change the man, and men go into marriage hoping the woman will never change." Is this true of you? Do you sometimes wish you could change some things about your husband? I know I do sometimes.

One of those things is that my husband tends to empty his pockets all around the house, leaving little piles of stuff wherever. Yeah, it drove me crazy for a little while, and yes, it would be nice if he would just empty his pockets into a basket by the front door.

And then I started looking at those little piles. No one but a maintenance man, or maybe a mechanic, comes home with such a variety of things. I started taking pictures of his little piles of junk (before putting them away!). I've come to appreciate all the things he does for me and all the work he does around camp, and those little piles are just part of his work ethic and commitment to his job.

HH always takes a personal interest in whatever he's doing. He takes ownership, and whatever he does, he does well. It's one of the things I love most about him. And those little piles remind me of that.

Mostly Wordless Wednesday

Pet shaming

 I thought Tucker Turtle could use a little shaming...

Maintenance Man Noir...

I'm working on a quilt! Isn't it pretty?!