Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day y'all! I love this day! It is just another opportunity for you to tell the most important people in your life that you love them! I mean, I think you should tell them EVERY day, but Valentine's Day is a good reminder!

So, a lot of people in the blogging world have been doing this questionnaire, so I thought I'd try it out!

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?

We started dating in July/August of 2005, but broke up about a month later, then got back together December 20th of that yera and have been together ever since.

2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?}

Johnny boy grew up with my cousin, Clay. They went to school together, played baseball together, etc. I would come visit my dad during the summers and would follow them around hang out with them (ha!) and watch them play baseball. One year when my family and Clay's family were at the beach, John John called Clay and asked us to come hang out at his beach condo. That night we walked on the beach, talked forEVER and just really hit it off! Unfortunately, I went back to Texas the next day so we didn't really have time to get acquainted. We tried the whole "long distance dating" thing for about a month, but it was my senior year of high school and his freshman year of college, so needless to say, we broke up. I came back to visit that Christmas and we rekindled things and manged to stay together for the last semester of my senior year. I surprised everyone when I announced I was moving to Georgia to attend college and give this long distance relationship a real shot! Over 6 years later, we are still together and now married! Who would'a thunk it?!

3. If married, how long have you been married?

We got married on October 22, 2011 - so almost 4 months!

4. If you are married, where did you get married? Big or small wedding?

We got married at Vienna First Baptist Church in the small town of Vienna. It was a medium sized wedding, I guess, with about 200 guests? It was the best, most FUN day of my life! Just exactly how we planned!

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share!

He calls me Buckwheat..ugh I honestly don't remember where that came from, but for some reason that's his "endearing" term for me! And I call him Johnny, JJ, Jonivan, etc. But mostly Johnny!

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.

I love how he makes me laugh! Laughter is so important to me in any relationship and he definitely take sthe cake on that one! I love watching his relationship with God grow and flourish. I love that he loves me unconditionally.

7. Tell us how he proposed?

Oh Lord. Okay, so every year at Thanksgiving, we go over to one of our friends' (basically family)'s house for the "Annual Football Game". All the boys get out in the yard and run around like NFL players, while the dogs chase after them and bark, and the ladies sit on the porch watching and talking. I was turned talking to one of my friends, when suddenly I turned back to watch the game and there he was down on one knee. He asked me to marry him and all I could say was "are you for real right now?! Is this serious?!" We had been talking about getting engaged for almost a year at that point, but when it happened I was so shocked/surprised that it just didn't seem real to me! Definitely not the romantic mushy gushy story some people tell, but it was very "John John" and very "us"!

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?

He's usually not either type. Now, the first year we dated, he sent me a dozen roses for my birthday and then again for Valentine's Day, but since then it's kind of died off, which is okay with me. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE flowers, but I juts think they are so overpriced, especially on special occasions...when they're going to die anyways. But, he did shock me last year and sent me flowers at work on Valentine's Day. I would rather it be like that... a surprise that you don't see coming, rather than something you expect every year and don't really appreciate.

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?

Although I love the beach, let's be real... who wants to sit in sand while they eat? Not me.. I am all about watching a movie at home while enjoying one of Johnny's grilled steaks.

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant other one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?

We have both always wanted to go to Italy. I really want to see the Vatican and eat authentic Italian food. Not really sure how we will make this happen though. He doesn't like to fly and I REFUSE to go by boat (it "only" takes a month to get there, according to some research he did! H to the no!)

11. Tell us what you plan on doing this Valentine's Day.

Usually, we cook a nice dinner at home and just hang out, so that we can skip out on all the hussle and bussle of the V-day dinner crowds.. However, this year we are hoping this is our last V-day as "just us". it might not be, but we're hoping like heck it is! And because of that, we want to go out to a nice dinner and enjoy eachother's company. So, we're going to eat at the Olde Inn, a local steak and seafood place that is De-Lish! I'm SO excited!

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's Day?

Nah, we are keeping this V-day simple and low budget. Probably a couple sweet cards! :)

13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.

Number one, keep God first and foremost in your relationship! I'll be honest and tell you that Johnny and I don't do a great job of that, but I know that I continuously pray that we will get better at it and that our relationship as a couple with God will grow stronger everyday!

Also, communication is KEY! The biggest problems we have stem from communication, or lack there of. Either because we don't understand what eachother is saying, or because one of us *eh em, JJ* doesn't "feel like" talking about it... just keep the lines of communication open! And don't dwell on things.. Once you've discussed the issue, move past it!

14. Show us a picture of what love means to you.

I hope he ALWAYS looks at me this way! This was our "first look" on our wedding day, and it was definitely the outcome I was hoping for. Everyone gets all caught up in trying to look "pretty" and "classic" or "modern chic"...whatever look that bride is working towards.. but my goal when planning what I would wear, how I would do my hair, etc. was not to impress anyone else, but this sweet boy right here. The man who stole my heart. And I think I accomplished that. I was so happy in this moment and it makes me so happy even just looking back on this memory. :)

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope your day is wonderful! 

xoxo



Weekend Rundown..

• This weekend has been the BEST! It's been 50% lazy..50% fun stuff!!

• My weekend started at 5:01 pm on Friday.. I went to pick up the new puppy Baxter & he is the cutest thing ever! We are working hard on the house training thing. He's had a couple of accidents inside, but when I take him outside, he knows what we're out there to do, and usually gets "his business" done ASAP, which is a dern good thing b/c it has been COLD this weekend! Like 20 degrees last night..brrrr!! Here are a few pics of Baxter's weekend...(taken with my phone, so they're not great quality.

Oh yes, we did. As soon as we got him home, he was just SOO tiny that we knew he would fit in a hot dog bun! We had to tear the two sides apart, but it was still funny :) 

And this right here... is what he does most of the time! But when he's not sleeping, he does play and run/tumble around a little bit. So. Cute.

And this little beast has actually done reeeally well! I thought she was going to be jealous of the new addition, but we've really tried to make an effort to still pay her attention. She is cracking us up though. She's seriously like a mother hen to sweet Baxter. She's constantly checking on him. (i.e. next photo)

What can I say? She loves her brother! :) 

• So that's been Baxter's weekend. Lots of sleeping and LOTS of taking him outside to go potty! Livin' the life!

• After getting him home and settled on Friday, Cromer & I trekked on up to Warner Robins to eat sushi and see The Vow! Such a fun night, including getting lost on the way to the movie.. wow!

• Saturday morning/afternoon, we mostly hung around the house in our pj's. Johnny subjected us to many many episodes of Justified...hate that show... and we were worthless. We did muster up enough motivation to go get a pizza from the gas station for lunch, and it was Yummy! 

• Saturday night was a B-L-A-S-T! We went to my favorite for supper...Pat's Camp and had some yummy grilled shrimp! Then we all headed out to Booger Bottom to see Cole Taylor play! For those of you who don't know, that's the band that played at our wedding reception, and we are obsessed! So of course we all had to bust out in the cold to support our guy! Thankfully when we got to Booger Bottom, we discovered that he was playing inside. I would never admit this to JJ (who tried to warn us throughout the how cold it would be and we really shouldn't go), but pretty sure we would have frozen if we had to stand outside! :) Honey knows best I guess! 

• Looks like Sunday is gonna be a lazy day, and I have NO problem with that whatsoever! A little nervous about the weigh in tomorrow for our "Biggest Loser" challenge, but I think I've done really good this week on my "lifestyle change" so maybe I'll get some good results! 

***UPDATE: I weighed in this morning and have lost 3.2 pounds since last Monday! Can I get a Hallelujah!!!***

• I hope you all had a great weekend and that you're refreshed and ready for the week to come. Oh, AND, most importantly, my mom and dad are coming in on Thursday for a long weekend and I am BEYOND excited!! I'm sure I'll have lots to write about after that!!

• Happy Sunday Funday everyone!!

xoxo

 

End of the Week Tid Bits

• Okay, so I couldn't think of one specific topic to talk about today, so I'm just going to let y'all in on what's running through my head these days... here goes!

• I'm getting the new puppy today! His name is Baxter and I'm SO excited to finally bring him home! I will definitely be posting pictures of him very soon! I'm kind of nervous about going through the whole house training situation again, but hopefully now that I'm experienced in that department, it won't be so bad! I'm also nervous about what Riley is going to think about another canine in the house full time, but hey, we've got to get her used to sharing the attention before a baby comes along! :) 

• AH! A friend and I are going to eat sushi tonight and to see The Vow, and I am beyond excited!! I had originally asked JJ to take me for our V-day date, but quickly realized that I'll enjoy it much more with a girlfriend than him (love you Johnny, but you're not a good movie partner at a chick flic! :) )

• Body by Vi shakes are going great! My ultimate favorite shakes right now are the Cafe Latte' and Peanut Butter Banana (pretty much I have these two shakes everyday.. if it ain't broke don't fix it, right?!) I'm not gonna lie and say that I don't long to eat a "normal" lunch and actually chew on something sometimes, but for the most part, the shakes keep me full and I do feel a lot better! I'm not losing the weight like ultra-fast, but it is coming off little by little.. which is the "best way to do it" according to most people! I'm taking the advice of some of my friends and calling this a "lifestyle change" instead of a diet. I mean, I really do need to change my lifestyle for the long term and not just temporarily, so we'll see how permanent this becomes! We weigh in officially for "Biggest Loser - Akin Insurance Edition" on Monday, but as far as I can tell from weighing at home, I've lost about 3 pounds! :) yeeee I love it!

• Oh. My. Goodness! Biggest news of the week...... Wedding pictures are done!!! YAY! I mean seriously, it was so much fun looking through them all. It was like re-living the whole day! I woke up this morning feeling giddy about my love for John John and just really remembering what it's all about. People have told me in the past, when you're mad as fire at your spouse, look through your wedding photos and it will make you feel better and most of that anger will dissolve. Now, I wasn't mad at JJ when I looked through them, but I'm just saying it kind of put more of a spark in my feelings for him :) I will be posting some of the wedding photos on the blog soon! LOVE them!

• I made my first pound cake from scratch this week and it looked/smelled delicious! I was so surprised that I didn't just slice off a chunk and eat it! #willpower! I won't be posting that recipe, b/c there wasn't really much to it. I will say that if I didn't have my Kitchenaid stand mixer, it would have been a heck of a hassle!! I just let it keep mixing by itself and added ingredients as needed... I swear cooking with that thing is bliss!

• As far as the "baby situation", we are taking the approach of - if it happens, it happens - Especially with me trying to lose weight right now, I'm trying to stay focused on that, and really it's working. With all the planning you have to do to eat healthy, it takes a LOT of focus! I really would like to get to my goal weight before we get pregnant, but if I don't, believe me you will not hear this Mama complaining!! I'm sure now that I'm focused on something else, we will probably get preggers immediately HA! #iaintmadatcha!

• Anyways, that's enough rambling for now... Hope you all enjoyed a look inside my head. Maybe next time I'll have more of an interesting topic to discuss! Happy Friday everyone!! Oh, and I'll leave you with a teaser wedding photo! This is a funny one to me.. all the guys that were in the wedding gave JJ little "surprises" when they each walked down the aisle and shook his hand. This pic was taken after the ceremony and he was showing me all of his "goodies". Love it!

xoxo

BEST meal I've ever cooked!

**let me start this off by saying I took like 20 beautiful pictures while cooking this fabulous meal... however, stupid Blogger is messing up the pictures every time I try to upload them.. blah!**

So, towards the end of my first real week of trying trying TRYING to eat healthy, I was craving something GOOD! I didn't want a dang salad or another Subway turkey sandwich! So.. I went browsing on http://www.allrecipes.com/. I love that place! You can narrow down what you're in the mood for and it will give you a list of recipes in that category! Perfecto!

I knew I wanted chicken, and I knew I needed to eat something healthy..so I browsed through baked/grilled chicken dishes..and came across this piece of Heaven..

Honey Mustard Baked Chicken

(the recipe on the website is for 6 servings, but I made 4 servings, so my measurements are a little different than the webiste's)

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

salt and pepper to taste

1/3 cup prepared mustard (I had to google what the heck "prepared" meant.. apparently it's just regular old yellow mustard, not the powdered kind)
1/3 cup honey

3/4 teaspoon dried basil
3/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).


• Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper to taste, and place in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish.


• In a small bowl, combine the honey, mustard, basil, paprika, and parsley. Mix well. Pour 1/2 of this mixture over the chicken, and brush to cover.


• Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Turn chicken pieces over and brush with the remaining 1/2 of the honey mustard mixture. Bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. Let cool 10 minutes before serving

Next, the part that really MADE the meal for me.. for some people, green beans aren't that fantastic, but when you throw a little feta cheese in....W-O-W! This will knock your socks off!!

Fresh Green Beans, Fennel & Feta Cheese

(I didn't use the Fennel, because frankly, I don't know what the heck it is..and I tried my best looking for it in the produce section of the grocery store, but after about 10 minutes I got fed up and said I would just wing it without the dang Fennel!)

1 pound fresh green beans

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

salt and pepper & minced garlic to taste

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

• Fill a saucepan half full with water and bring to a boil. Add the green beans; cook until just beginning to become tender, about 4 minutes. Pour into a colander to drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking process.


• Return the empty pan to the stove and set heat to medium. Pour in the olive oil and let it heat for a minute. Return the green beans to the pan. Season with basil, salt, pepper and minced garlic; cook and stir until coated and warm. Transfer to a serving dish and toss with feta cheese.

I'm telling you... it looks like a simple little recipe with a few ingredients, but it will CHANGE YOUR LIFE! haha okay so not really, but this chick is hungry this week, so these green beans DID change my life! I hope they change yours too :)

Next up, is the epic fail of my night.. They tasted okay, but not the best thing I've ever eaten.. It might have something to do with putting the wrong spice in (story to come), but here's the recipe anyway.

Cajun Style Baked Sweet Potato

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika (I realized after I put the potatoes in the oven that I used chili powder instead of paprika..big fat fail!!)
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 large sweet potatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).



• In a small bowl, stir together paprika, brown sugar, black pepper, onion powder, thyme, rosemary, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper.



• Slice the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise. Brush each half with olive oil. Rub the seasoning mix over the cut surface of each half. Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet, or in a shallow pan.



• Bake in preheated oven until tender, or about 1 hour.

After I got them out of the oven, I cut them into little squares.. so they would look like the picture on All Recipes :)

So, that was my healthy meal last night. Like I said, I didn't love the sweet potatoes, but that was probably a plus, because I definitely ate 3 servings of green beans!! So that made up for it! But seriously, this was probably the best meal I've made in a long time and the good thing is, I didn't have to feel guilty about it afterwards! So if you need a pick-me-up during a week of dieting, this should be your go-to meal!

Another note on the dieting front..I'm starting the Body by Vi shakes this weekend and I'm SO excited!! I haven't been excited about getting back in shape and healthy in a very long time, but after putting forth some effort, I'm proud to report that I've lost 1.2 pounds this week! It doesn't sound like much, but it's enough progress to make me keep pushing through the hunger! I'm really hoping that the Vi shakes will give me a boost to start losing even more weight, and have no fear! I will keep you posted! :)


xoxo

No Name Recipe & Being Real!!

So, not much has been going on 'round these parts lately. I mean, I did celebrate a birthday! But other than that, it's been pretty quiet! So, I decided to share another recipe that I think is going to be delicious! It smells that way anyway..

As you can tell by the title of this post, there wasn't a name attached to the recipe, so I'm going to name it..

Crockpot Chicken Stuffing Goodness

4-6 chicken breasts

2 cans cream of chicken

1/4 cup of water

1 box chicken stove top stuffing

1/2 stick butter

1 package provolone cheese

Put 2-3 chicken breasts on bottom of crock pot. Mix together both cans of cream of chicken and 1/4 cup of water. Pour half of this mixture on top of the chicken breasts on the bottom of the crockpot. Then, put other 2-3 chicken breasts on top of that and cover with rest of cream/water mixture. Next, pour whole box of unprepared Chicken flavored Stove Top and 1/2 stick of melted butter. Cook this on low for about 6 hours (I went home during lunch and put it on..was perfect by about 6:30 or 7:00) and put slices of provolone in for the last 20-30 minutes.

I haven't tasted this concoction, but let me tell you.. it smells GOOOOOD!! I'm debating on whether or not I can wait for Johnny boy to get his arse home! I guess I probably will..being the good wife that I am! :) haha

Anyways.. I've been reading this blog called "Mama Needs Sushi" and it's all about this couple's journey through trying to get pregnant..getting pregnant..having a miscarriage (so SO sad), and now getting pregnant again! I can SO relate to this girl because she has everything charted down to a tee and is all technical about getting pregnant. It's funny to me that that's the kind of person I can relate to!! However, I find myself thinking... 'wow! did she really just post that out in cyberspace?! I would be mortified!' But I also find myself thinking how brave she is to be REAL with all that she's going through and feeling!

So, this has prompted me to attempt to be more "real" on my blog. Where I am right now.. I reeeeally want to get pregnant! Not sure that we are financially "ready", but really, who is?! I am trying to tell myself that "if it happens, it happens and if it doesn't, it's okay" but every month when it doesn't happen.. it's not okay.. so why even pretend?

I'm trying to keep myself busy and distracted with other things such as new puppy!! (yayy! new post to come soon!! -- can't get him until Feb. 11) and losing weight! I know most of you are thinking 'she's nuts! how can you want to lose weight and get pregnant at the same time?!' HA! I know I'm crazy! I'm trying to mostly focus on being healthy and hopefully losing weight before I am actually blessed with becoming pregnant.. totally nuts, I know!

Anyways, I guess that's why I haven't had much to talk/blog about lately... because I'm not being real about what's running through my mind. And what better place to do it than my own personal blog, right? :) I promise this will NOT be a blog all about trying to get pregnant... but just wanted to be real about what I'm going through right now.

I am trying SO HARD to be thankful for what God has going on in my life right now, and to not dwell on what I WANT to be going on in my life.. I was reading my Bible chapters today (which incidentally I'm waayy behind on, but catching up!) and one of the verses that stuck out to me was "On the mountain of the Lord, it will be provided."

Hope you're all having a FABULOUS Tuesday!

xoxo

 

 

Feeding the Hungry Herd...

Okay, so I don't really have a herd to feed.. it's just me & Johnny. I just liked the way that sounded :).

Let me start by saying sorry, I was so focused on the hurricane-like disaster I was making in our kitchen that I forgot to take any pictures.. but let's just say even if I had taken any, I would have been too embarrassed to post them because of above mentioned disaster! However, I thought I would share a couple of the recipes that I made last night. Also, this menu is totally not on the "Eating Healthy.. or Whatever" wagon, but hey, give a girl a break! :)

So, last night we had Grilled Pineapple Pork Chops, Ruby Nell's Potato Salad, baked beans & corn on the cob. De-LISH! We'll start with the recipe for the pork chops...

Grilled Pineapple Pork Chops

3-4 bone-in pork chops (To me, the thicker cut, the better..but I could only find like 1/2 inch thick at our store yesterday)

1 can sliced pineapples

When I got home from work, first thing I did after taking the beast..eh em.. I mean Riley.. out, was to take the pork chops out of the package, put them in a tupperware container ( I think mine was like 9x13 or close to it) and poured the pineapple juice from the can in the container with the chops. I poked holes in the chops so they could really soak up some flavor from the juice. I also poured all the pineapple slices on top of the chops. I left the pork chops in this container until I was ready to put them on the grill. You can do this for however long, but the longer they "marinate" in the juice, the more flavor they soak up. I try to at least leave them there for an hour or two.

Okay, as for the grilling part, I am totally not the expert on this, but I can tell you that it is better to cook them on a low temp for a longer time...rather than turning the grill on high and burning one side.. not sure who would be dumb enough to do that... Anyways. I had to call Johnny to my rescue and he salvaged the other side :) The finished product is Yummy!! and actually not too bad for you either!

Next on the menu is potato salad.. Do you ever wonder why they call this concoction a "salad"? I mean really, it is SO not good for me.. but let me tell you, it is good TO me! Anyways, moving on..this recipe is my Grandma's, and I swear everytime I make it, it doesn't taste as good as hers, but I've found that each time I get closer and closer to..well not perfection, but closer to edibleness <-- is that a word? Whatever. So here's the recipe...maybe you'll be more successful than me. Ruby Nell is the queen of potato salad and dominates this recipe everytime. Good luck!

Ruby Nell's Potato Salad

8-10 red potatoes (gma says that apparently red potatoes stay together better than others)
3-4 spoonfuls (like a slotted serving spoon) of sweet relish
dash or two celery seed (what the heck is a "dash"?! this is what messes me up!!)
dash or two prepared/ground mustard
dash or two black pepper
4-6 boiled eggs
3-4 spoonfuls mayonnaise (add more until moistened enough)
paprika

Peel and cut up potatoes. Boil until potatoes are softened, but not falling apart. Also, while you're doing this, go ahead and put your eggs on to boil. I completely forgot about my eggs last night and so that set me back about 20 minutes when I realized it. When your potatoes are the right consistency, drain them and pour into a BIG bowl. Add all the other ingredients, except for eggs and mayo. Add mayo and stir all together. If you need to, add more mayo so that it's moist enough. When you have the right combination, go ahead and add the boiled eggs and mix all together again. Sprinkle the paprika on top for decorative purposes. Yummy Yummy! Enjoy!

As for the baked beans, there's really not a recipe. I get Bush's Original baked beans and pour them in a casserole dish. I add ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, and some of JJ's homemade BBQ sauce, mix it all together and bake for about 30 or so minutes?

And corn on the cob.. we either grill it (like last night) or boil it on the stove. When we grill it, I butter the cobs and then wrap them individually in foil. turns out yummy, but again with the grilling...DON'T turn the grill on high... :S

So that's what we had for supper last night. It's funny how some women, like me, spend ALL day thinking about what we're going to cook for supper. I honestly should be thankful that I have a husband who would be just as content eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a bowl of cereal, but I just love the challenge of a new recipe or even perfecting an old recipe. I love displaying it all and getting out dishes and silverware and sitting together to eat. I really think I should have gone to culinary school, because I honestly would rather be in the kitchen cooking and trying new things than many things on my to do list.

OH, and I almost forgot... for dessert, I made my Grandma's famous Brown Sugar Pecan Bars! I'm telling y'all, that woman knows how to COOK! I get most of my recipes from her! I don't have that recipe handy right now, but in the next few days, I'll do a post on that!

Hope y'all are having a good Wednesday! And don't forget, try to be Christ's light for all people you come in contact with! All the other things we have going on mean NOTHING without Jesus! He doesn't care about all the difficult recipes I try, or how many religious movies I watch.. it's all about how I live and how many people I bring to know Him!

And since I didn't have any pictures of the food I cooked, I figured I'd show y'all one of my random favorites from our Engagement Session with Jenny Evelyn Photography.

xoxo

"I Will! I Will!"

Wow! I don't even have words to describe this movie and how powerful it is! I borrowed it from a friend last night because I had heard it was a very good movie, and what else is there to do on a random Monday night? So, after supper I begggeeeddd Johnny to watch it with me, and surprisingly, I won the battle! :)

Within the first 3 minutes, yes I said THREE, I was boo-hooing! And it was downhill from there... I'm going to estimate that there were at least 5-10 isolated times that I was wiping away tears during this movie.

I'm not going to be one of those people who ruins the story line and outcome for you, but I just have to say, if you haven't seen it, you MUST! The general message of the movie was SO touching and definitely got through to me and to John John. When the credits started rolling, I wanted to get up and DO something... get up and BE something. I wanted to stop wallering in my own self pity and be grateful for what God has given me. I don't want to just be grateful for those things, but I want to use those things/talents the way God meant me to use them. I'm supposed to be living my life so that Christ shines out of me.. in the way I talk, act, love, etc. I'm supposed to lead others to Christ. My God is so amazing, so why wouldn't I be doing this?

One of the lines in the movie, one of my favorites, says:

"Where are you men of courage? Where are you fathers who fear the Lord? It's time to rise up and answer the call that God has given to you, and say 'I will! I will!' "

This is SO true.. I want nothing more for my children than to have a Christian father who will lead them in what's right and wrong, and teach them to follow Christ. Men are supposed to be the spiritual head of the household and so many men fall short of this calling. Also, what I hope for my children, is that I can be the supportive wife of their father so that he can fulfill his calling more effectively. I hope to set a spiritual example for them day to day, and to help John John mold them into the people that God wants them to be.

I know I'm rambling, but I just can't say it enough how important I think it is that you all see this movie! So touching and moving! So anyways, have a happy Tuesday, and just DO it! Rent it, buy it, borrow it. Just watch it!


xoxo