Weekend Festivities

So, I didn't get any posts up over the weekend, due to the fact the we didn't stop going the whole time we were there! Friday night we got to Justin's parents house about 8:30, and went to bed about 11:00. Saturday morning we got up and went to Tyler, Justin's brother's, basketball game. His team lost, but he had his best game of the season! He scored 15 points! He's really good.
After the game, we went to the toughman! Now, this is a first for me. I normally will watch the UFC fights with justin and enjoy them. I don't think I would enjoy them nearly as much if I didn't force myself to pick someone to win each match at the very beginning. I gives me something to do and someone to root for instead of just sitting and watching. Anyway, back to the toughman. I really enjoyed spending some time with Justin, his friend, Lyle, and Justin's sister, brother-in-law, and his friend, Tommy. The part I didn't like about the whole thing was the ring girls. Goodness gracious! Where are their mothers? haha Oh well, we won't get into that! :)
Sunday, we woke up and lounged around the house most of the day with Aubrey and Powers. My pictures won't upload right now, so I'll try to repost in a few hours and show you some pictures of our fun weekend! :)

Also- My word is discipline. Justin and I decided to have the same word and to try and encourage each other with that word. I am really wanting to lose weight and get better in shape. Justin wants to bulk up and lose a little weight too, so this will work out with the word discipline. We need to be disciplined to work out and to eat healther. We both are also wanting to be more disciplined in our walks with God. We need to constantly be reminded to strive to grow closer to God, which involves making a concsious decision daily to read God's word, pray, and strive to be more like him. This word encompasses all of that!
2 Timothy 1:7For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

I've been doing pretty okay with the Marriage challenge, I think! I've been really trying lately to be a better wife and to show Justin. I've kept the house way cleaner, which he mentioned makes him feel a lot better when he gets home from work, I've kept up with the laundry, and I've been trying to just do little things here and there to show him I love him. Last week after I got out of class, I drove into town and took Justin a milkshake! He really liked it and it was a simple way to show him I care and was thinking about him! :)

This week starts a new part of the marriage challenge.
This week's challenge is: be a little more creative with your praise. Surprise your husband with these 10 fun ways to praise your husband:
1. A love message on the mirror


2. A love message packed in his lunch


3. Use sidewalk chalk and write a love message on the driveway


4. Write a list of ten things you admire about him and then read them out loud to him.


5. Make a toast to him at dinner with friends. Or raise your glass at dinner and list the things you admire about your husband for your children to hear!


6. Buy or make your husband a trophy and engrave it with the words "The Best Husband in the World." (I found a cheap trophy at a party supplies store - the kids loved presenting it to daddy)


7. Write a poem - even if you can't write - it can be goofy. Include in it references to your favorite movies, restaurants, places to go and memories. He will enjoy the trip down memory lane and the laugh!


8- Blow up balloons and put a loving message in each one. Fill your bedroom with balloons as a surprise.


9- Take a roll of receipt tape and write a long message with the things you admire and respect about your husband - then roll it up and put it in a bottle for your husband to open and read. (I made many of these for my husband in college when we were dating long distance. I mailed them in packages.)


10. Get creative with your selflessness!

"When you touch your husband's deepest need something good almost always happens!"~ Dr. Emerson Eggerich

So I challenge you today to not just show your husband you love him but show him that you LIKE him!

I'll post more about how this works out later! :) Have a wonderful day guys & God bless!

The weekend

This weekend, Justin and I decided to go to his parents house in Clarksburg. Justin's little brother, Tyler, has a basketball game, and this will probably be the only one we can go watch! Last time we were in, he was supposed to have a game but got sick and couldn't play, so we are taking advantage of a free weekend and going to visit! I'm taking my camera, so I'll make sure to return with many pictures of my awesome neice and nephew! :) If you're lucky, I may even post before I get back! :)
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Dinner is Served!

Well, dinner tonight was also inspired by my friend, Molli. Yesterday during her snow day, she posted in her blog about potato soup she made for lunch! She posted the recipe, so I decided to try it for dinner tonight! It is super easy! I'll post the recipe after the pictures!

This is Justin cutting up the onions. He loved his job!

He's doing such a great job chopping these!

During the cooking process!

I love cooking with him! :)

Our cute boy, Tyson, being so good while we cook!

He's getting a little hyper! :) Or riding a roller coaster that we don't know about! haha

We were telling him to "speak", so this is him in action. 

The finished product! :) Yummmyy!

Thanks Molli!

Sooo, I will tell you the recipe now!
Potato soup:
6 cups of peeled and cubed potatoes
1 cup of chopped onion
2 cups of chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
3 chicken bouillon cubes
small block of velveeta cheese
Add all ingredients but cheese to kettle with enough water to cover veggies. Add salt, pepper and garlic salt to taste. Cook on med. heat until veggies are tender. Lower heat and add the block of velveeta cheese (cutting it into cubes and stirring it in the mix). Stir until well mixed and cheese has melted. For topping add bacon pieces, green onion, crackers, or sour cream. Enjoy!!

&&& -- About the being nice thing. I've been trying really hard. This morning on my way to Huntington, I prayed a lot about how to better meet the needs of Justin. I need to do a better job of keeping the house clean and keeping up with the laundry. Today when the house was clean when he got home, he told me it made him feel a lot better when he gets home and the house is really clean! This is a new goal for me! I'm going to write out a chart of different things i have to  do each day to make sure the house stays as spotless as possible!


Last thing for the night... I was also listening to K-Love this morning on my way to campus. They have been talking all month about picking "a word" for the year. I am in the process of praying about "my word". This word is something that I am going to strive for all of 2011. That is why I am praying so hard about this. It needs to be something that pushes me and also helps me grow closer to God. Some words that I heard on K-Love today were: Discipline, Follow, Depth. These are just a few examples, so when I figure out my word. (which will be by February 1st.) I will post it! :)
Have a great night everyone!

Inspired by Molli! :)

Well, today, I went to class and instead of coming home (and cleaning), I decided to go waste some time at the SW in huntington! I stayed there and talked to them for about an hour. After that, I decided to waste some more time and take Justin a milkshake at work! :) When I finally decided to come home, I was going to just take a nap! Still sounds like a wonderful idea, BUT yesterday I was reading my friend Molly Markham's blog and she posts a lot of pictures. Her house looked so clean and cute and she seems like such a perfect wife! I know, I know, nobody is the perfect wife, but you know what I mean. Everything just looks so put-together in her pictures! So, this made me decide when I got home to clean the house! I mean really really clean. I reorganized some shelves, cloroxed, swept, cleaned the kitchen and rearranged some things in one of the guest rooms! :) I feel super accomplished and now it's time to make some dinner for Justin before he gets home! :)
Thanks Molli!
P.S. I'll post later about how the nice thing went last night! Better than the night before for sure!

Tyson with cabin fever!

This is what happens when Tyson is stuck inside all day long!

The snow!

This is not so normal for ashland in two hours!

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Not such a good start to my challenge!

Well, in the past 2 days, I have realized how terrible I am a being nice. :) I know, I know... I am not normally rude, but when I'm sick, I have a hard time trying to meet other people's needs, especially Justin's. I realize this, and I know it is definately something I need to work on! I am feeling much better today, and I am determind to be nice this evening and work on my Marriage Challenge.

So, Sunday evening at our house church, I was talking to Sarah Hastings and she told me that she always readsChris Bailey's Weather Blog . I started reading it on Sunday night. He was predicting a lot of snow for the tri-state area. The weather channel said that here would be no snow, only rain, for the whole week. Apparently Chris Bailey with WSAZ is the real stuff. He was completely accurate in everything! I'll post a picture in a minute of what it is looking like out my front door! I am just glad that I don't have to go anywhere today! I get to sit in my nice cozy house with Tyson! :) He enjoys not being put in the kennel for at least 1 day a week!

P.S.- I'll let you know how the being nice thing goes this evening! :)

Starting a little late. :)

Today I am going to try something new. I was encouraged by my cousin, Chad, who took a 365 day challenge to take at least 1 picture every day throughout this year. I am not going that extreme, becasue Chad has a deep passion for photography, but I am going to blog at least 3 times a week. I will try to do more, but it's hard to say what my life will throw at me with school, babysitting, and being married! :)

First off, I am taking a challenge that I saw on a blog I read occasionally. This challenge is called "The 25 Day Praise Plan. - Marriage Challenge". Here is what it is:
There are 25 days until Valentine's Day so it's time to implement the 25 Day Praise Plan.

Each week the challenge will be the same - to praise, encourage, inspire, admire, build up, thank and appreciate your husband. But each week I will give you different ways to express your praise. Feel free to tweak it for what you think is best for your husband.

JR Miller writes "So it is in the dark hours of a man's life, when burdens press, when sorrows weigh like mountains upon his soul, when adversities have left him crushed and broken, or when he is in the midst of fierce struggles which try the strength of every fibre of his manhood, that all the radiance and glory of a true wife's strengthful love shine out before his eyes. Only then does he recognize in her God's angel of mercy."

Let's be angels of mercy to our husbands. We may think they are filled with confidence and strength but they are only human. They have insecurities, fears, failures, burdens and cares that we do not always slow down to recognize. We lose our tenderness in the hustle and bustle of life and this month let's slow down and really see our husband's with fresh eyes.

It's tempting to make Valentine's Day all about ourselves - but let's pursue being selfless and living according to Philippians 2:3-4 "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."(NIV)

Week 1 starts TODAY! Look for ways to praise your husband verbally. Praise him in front of the kids, friends, family, co-workers, on facebook, tweet it - get praise out anyway you can! Try to mention something noteworthy he has done - in his role as provider, father, husband, lover, or friend. If the thought of trying to come up with one terrifies you, then pray right now that God will give you new eyes to see your husband as God does. Then open your mouth and say something kind and uplifting to your husband today and tomorrow and the next day until Valentine's Day arrives!

I am going to take this challenge to help encourage Justin. I know that there are days where both of us just feel like complaining, so I'm taking this month especially to try and avoid those times by saying something encouraging. I'll let you know how this goes!

So, starting February 2nd, My friend Alicia Zornes and I are starting a ladies bible study from the book of Galations. We are having the weekly meetings at our friend Sarah Hastings home in Catlettesburg, KY. We will be meeting every Wednesday from 6:30-7:30 or 8:00. I am very excited to see God work in the lives of all the girls who join us. I am also super excited to see what God teaches me through leading this small group. If you guys could pray for me through this, I would appreciate it so much! There is more info at .

I think that might be it for today. If I think of anything else later, I'll post! I'm determined to follow through with blogging this time!

-Kristyn