A Birthday for Him

 We had fun celebrating Jon's Birthday on Monday. I ordered some of his gifts online so they were a little late in arriving which has given us the pleasure of  celebrating his Birthday all week.

He ordered his favorite carrot cake from me and we were eating off of it all week. We were sad when it was all gone. Maybe he can make it for me for my Mother's Day present :) 

Happy Birthday my Honey Man!

I love you.

~Marie

Mom

Today is the 10th of February and a very special day. 

My mom's 50th Birthday and boy I wish so bad I could be with her celebrating.

Mom you are such a best friend to me. Words can't describe how much I love you.

Happy 50th Mom

~ Marie

Pumpkin Fun

Getting ready for Thanksgiving :)

We have shopped and planned our menu and now just getting ready to cook it for the wonderful day of Thanksgiving. 

It will be just the three of us + the bump this year so we are trying to keep down the amount of food we make which is kinda hard Especially for pregnant me. It is so fun having these cravings in the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons. All my cravings have been given wonderful care and attention to by the way :) 

I have been having fun getting inspired for decorating the table and place settings. I found a really neat china set that I got for almost nothing and it will be just perfect for our Thanksgiving dinner.

Jon got this prego picture of me a couple of days ago. I am now 34 weeks along which amazes me. It sure goes by so much faster when your chasing another little one around. 

This little man is getting so big and so smart. He has been teething his big boy teeth now so his gums are getting full. 

He is really excited about mommy having a baby bump. He lifts my shirt up and kisses my tummy and says "baby' and sometimes he says "boy"

Were are having such a blast being parents of this little man and even now feeling the reality of having another baby so soon. 

We have so much to be thankful for. Jon and I were just talking today how good the Lord is to us. We see his love in so many ways throughout our daily lives. Today Jon came home with three bags of really nice cloth diapers. He was going to buy from a lady off of craigslist. When he got home from picking them up he had tears in his eyes because the lady told him that the Lord was telling her to give them to us and also that He loves us so much. These diapers are $10 a piece and there were three huge bags full. The true knowledge of God's grace and love is more then we can handle at times.

I'm wishing everyone a very blessed and joyful Thanksgiving. 

We are so thankful :)
Much Love

In Christ

 ~ Marie 

Happy Mother's Day Mom

I wanted to share a little about my mom on this special day.

Looking back as a child I have such a fond memory of my mom capturing everything that she saw as beautiful in her everyday life and creating a way to teach it to us kids. Words can't describe what my my mom means to me. Everything she puts her hands to, turns out lovely. She decided to teach us four kids at home all by herself without having a college education. She schooled us from kindergarten to seniors in high school. She was not only my mom but also my devoted teacher. She always felt the burden of not giving us the best education and trying to make sure we were above what we should be at each grade, but she never realized that she gave us even more than what most parents are able to give for their children. I so appreciate all that she has done for me. I so admire and esteem her. Her patience, her love, her wisdom and courage is something that is so beautiful and priceless. I wish some day that I will be 10 %  of what my mom is in this world.

Thank you Lord for my Mom.

Spring Tea Set

Tuesday I was able to go out antique shopping for my dear friend Jodi's birthday present.

 Boy what fun did I have! 

I was able to find this sweet tea set of 4 cups and saucers with four dissert plates and also a matching sugar bowl and creamer. 

I also found a silver tea pot to finish the set.

Of course I couldn't give it to her without testing it out myself to be sure that it was good quality :)

It was a set that I wish to own myself.

 I am hoping she will be inviting me over for tea real soon! 

Happy Late Birthday Jodi!!

The Lamb on the Cross

Remembering Our precious Lord's Sacrifice He made for me this week. 

This season always humbles me as I think of Christ shedding His blood and giving his life so I might have freedom from my sins and share in His inheritance.

⁶You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

 ⁹Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! ¹⁰For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! ¹¹Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Romans 5:6-11

Exciting Early Birthday Present

Early Birthday Present, like four months early. Jon surprised me with a brand new camera. He knew I had been wanting a new camera for awhile now and he completely splurged and surprised me!

I still am in shock. I am having so much fun thinking and planning new ways to use my gift. I think a Baby Zane shoot will be so much fun. 

Thank you so much my sweet Jonathan. Words can't express my gratitude for this amazing gift. I don't know how I can tell you how blessed I am to be your wife.

The image above is my new camera in action.

Thought you lost me?

Oh my goodness, it has taken me forever to get on the computer these last 3 weeks. I have been without a camera because I have misplaced it somewhere. Thanks to Elizabeth I was able to borrow some pics off of her.

I hope everyone had a beautiful Christmas and New Year. It was a cozy one for us. The 10 days Benjamin was here felt like half a week. We had so much fun playing games, cooking and eating! Christmas Eve was delightful. We had Jodi and BJ over as well as our next door neighbor Pamela. Jon made delicious Chicken Farfalle copied from the Cheese Cake Factory. It was superb.

Christmas morning Benjamin and Jon woke up at 6 and wanted to open presents. So we had fun enjoying Christmas while it was still dark. The baby woke up for about 45 minutes but wanted to go back to bed. He gets his morning sleepies from mommy.

These last few days Jon and I have been rearranging the living room. We bought a new book case and we are also attempting to make new curtains for the windows. More pics to come on that project. I have also been trying to organize the basement and the closets. That is going rather slowly I'm afraid.

I have been loving the Christmas clearance all over town. I have bought a lot of candles that are 75 percent off as well as CHOCOLATE!!! Elizabeth and I are enjoying our very well stocked chocolate larder right now.

Jon has a new schedual this year. He works four 10 hour days and gets three days off. So we see him little through out the week but get a whole extra day with him on Wednesday. We just started watching Bleak House by BBC which is very good so far. That will keep us company these cold winter evenings while Jon is still at work.

My parents are planing on visiting us when Elizabeth has the baby. I am getting very excited about this. My dad has never been out here so I hope he can make it :)

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Years!

God Bless

Black and White Christmas

Jon and I attended a Black and White Christmas party last week. It was a most delightful event. Everyone dressed up very formal in black and white and there was delicious food and dancing. Daisy and Josh go to our church and they have thrown these Black and White parties for four years now. All of her dishes were black and white paisleys and her house had white lights all over it.

Liz is a very dear friend of mine that I have gotten to know these last several months. She is the one who has organized our little ladies prayer group every other Tuesday.

I just LOVE chocolate fountains. If I could I would watch the fountain drip all night

Those little black and white popsicle sticks are cheesecake and they were delicious, I had 3 of them and still wanted more.

I didn't get a cookie but I imagined they were delicious :) Elizabeth stayed home with the little munchkin. It is nice having a babysitter who lives so close lol!!

Lights Shining Bright

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? ... You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid... Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:13-16

I hung some lights in the kitchen and it sure makes cooking cozy :)

I can't wait for the snow. I love watching the snow coming down. It hasn't snowed yet but I will especially love seeing the snow fall while I am in the kitchen cooking something yummy for this Christmas season.

We decorated our Christmas tree the night before Thanksgiving. It is our first real Christmas tree. I just love the smell of Christmas trees. I have been trying keep it watered so it doesn't die on me. I have been adding a half a cup of sugar to keep it healthy, I'm not sure if that works or not but it hasn't died yet :P

The puppy just loves the wood burning stove. He sleeps in front of it all day. He is such a lazy dog! :)

As you can see he's getting big :) We are enjoying him so much. His friend Patriot has been staying with us, he is a Weimaraner. And they just love to play together.

Two Years Standing!

Today is our two year anniversary. I can't believe how fast time flies. Its funny because I have only been married to Jonathan for just two years now but I feel like I have been his girl all my life. It is hard to imagine life without him!
Tonight we celebrated and went out on the town. Jon took me to the Cheese Cake Factory. I had the fish and chips, Jon had the Chicken Farfalle which was amazing. Later we walked around all the shops which were lit up nicely for Christmas. Elizabeth stayed home and baby sat for us. It was the most delightful date.

Visiting With Mom

I have been away so long because of our two week trip in North Carolina, Virginia and Florida When we got back My sister Elizabeth flew out to OH. Then we found out that my mom was flying in as well! She and my dad had been unavoidably detained when little Zane arrived, so this was the first time she got to meet her grandson. I think they both liked each other :)

It was so nice having her here for the first time. She brought so much joy in our home, she spoiled us rotten, she bought us food, cooked, cleaned and helped with the baby! All us girls talked our heads off the whole week. Jon did pretty well having three females talking day and night.

The day after my mom arrived Jon and I got to go to Sean Hannity's Freedom Concert in Cincinnati for our Anniversary! We have two anniversaries, one is August and one in November so its fun to celebrate twice a year!! Sean's Freedom concert was so amazing. Michael W. Smith was there ( He was my favorite) Billy Ray Cirus, Lee Greenwood and a bunch more! We had so much fun riding all the rides at Kings Island and then getting to watch Sean Hannity's radio show live! It was the first time we left the baby with some one but who better than Aunty and Grammy!

Later in the week we went to visit Patty because Elizabeth wanted to meet her and possibly do a home birth also. Patty gave her a check up and said she was healthy and her vitamin intake looked really good. We also got to hear the baby's heart beat for the first time! Later Patty drove us to one of her amish friends and we got to visit with the wife and her small boys. She was so sweet and friendly. We then went to a local amish store where we got fresh eggs and bread and fresh maple syrup for really good prices!

On Thursday I fly down to phoenix to help Elizabeth drive back to OH. Benjamin her husband is in the navy now so she is going to stay awhile with us. My dad is currently visiting Phoenix and will also get to meet the baby along with my brother Nathan and Himilce! I can't wait to meet their little new arrival also!

I still want to post pictures of our new little house, and also of our trip in florida. So maybe when I get back next week some time, until then Cheerio!!

Memorial Day

Great Memorial Day!

Jon and I just did some chores around the house on Monday morning, I finished my long time over due thank you cards for my baby shower. Jon painted the crib and the changing table. We had hot dogs and corn on the cob for lunch. After lunch I got a nice nap in. Later on Jon and I had fun playing Hangman together on the computer. We lazed around the whole afternoon playing that silly game, it was so much fun! Later we went to a mexican restaurant and I we ordered fried cheese cake with ice cream for desert. It was so yummy! We were still hooked at hangman, we played during dinner. It was a very relaxing Memorial Day!

Jodi's Bridal Shower

Jodi (What a wonderful Wold)is my dear friend who was stationed in Dayton just a little while after Jon and I moved. She was my roommate a couple of years ago. And she is someone who is like a sister to me. She joined the Air Force and was stationed in Germany for two years. She met her man there and is getting married June 20! Jodi and I have Thursday girls night! Every Thursday we meet and do projects together. One week we painted all her center pieces for her reception, another week I did her hair. Last Thursday we shopped at Joan's for material and wedding supplies. I have been so blessed to have her here with me. It feels like having family out here after all! 

This last Saturday was Jodi's Bridal Shower. I had so much fun, I got to meet her family and friends. 

It was a tea party!! Everyone got hats and dressed up!

Jodi's little nieces had to help her open all of her presents. They thought it was her Birthday! 

Jodi's Sister Jayna, who put the shower on.