For Women Only

I had to write a quick recommendation of this book I'm reading, For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahn. Written from a Christian perspective, it shares her findings from a professional survey done of hundreds of men on their opinions and feelings on a variety of topics.

I especially loved the chapter about respect, because this is such a HUGE issue for men that I didn't realize up until a few years ago. If a man feels disrespected, it feels the same as feeling unloved. For women, this is hard to understand because we are not wired that way. But men need to be shown respect the way women need to be shown love.

One section talks about how men don't want to ask for directions because they love figuring things out! If they can maneuver their way through an unknown territory with just a tattered map and their own instinct, what a victory! What a rush! And a woman saying, "Honey, could we please just stop and ask directions?" is like saying, "You can't do this! You don't have it in you!"

I'll never forget one day years ago before we had children. I had just bought beautiful new tennis shoes. I loved those things. They were clean, stylish. We decided to go for a walk and of course, I put my pretty new shoes on. We came to a place in our walk where we could go through a grassy part of a ball field, or stay on the paved sidewalk. Of course, Aaron being more adventurous than me when it came to the outdoors, he wanted to take the grass.

I pleaded, "Aaron - my shoes. The grass is soft and they're bound to get muddy." He replied, "No, you'll be fine. The grass is just a little wet, that's all." After much debate, I followed him into the grass and slowly began to feel my pretty little shoes sinking into the muck.

I flipped. I was so angry that he led me into this SWAMP, for crying out loud. I really turned into a brat at this point. I wouldn't even walk next to him; I walked ahead of him, snorting and huffing like a raging heifer. I'm so embarrassed by this episode, but it was something I'll never forget.

How different would this scenario have been if I had just laughed and realized, "Hey, these are SHOES, it's not a big deal." I would've saved us a huge conflict and helped him see that I trusted him NO MATTER WHAT because God gave him to me as my husband, my leader. I will follow Aaron to any swamp, jungle, forest, or ocean because I know he loves God and is seeking His will for our family.

Okay, I just read this story to Aaron and he replied, "And by the way, Aaron used a toothbrush to clean Jeannie's pretty little shoes when we got home!!" I said, "Your toothbrush??" "YES!" he says.

I love my husband.

A Beautiful Moving Target

Here are some long overdue pictures of Jonathan who turns one on July 1st. Getting these shots are hard to come by - we have to strap him into a car seat or somewhere else where he can't crawl like a wild man.

Aaron has a rule: no haircuts until after the first birthday. Gotta love that soft baby hair.
Now, how can I get that camera out of Mom's hands?

Somebody Buy This House

After months of NOTHING NADA ZILCH, we had an offer made on our house yesterday. We countered today, so hopefully we'll hear good news soon. Thank you, Lord! Here's Brett and Daniel last year sitting by the front door in Texas.

I Am Speed

Cable Internet...a beautiful thing. Just installed today.

Happy early Father's Day to my wonderful Papa. You are a great man and I love you. Here's a little message Hallmark just can't compare with:

Sorry for all the times I caused you stress (ages 1-19 approximately).
Thanks for taking me to Reds ballgames.
Sorry for making you cringe when you looked at my report cards.
Thanks for teaching me to ride a bike.
Sorry for crashing two cars in one week.
Thanks for not killing me that week.

Remember Kings Island and laughing at me on roller coasters? (I really thought I was going to die.)
Remember sitting by me in church and letting me snuggle into your arm?
Remember throwing me off a snowmobile? (Okay, that wasn't really your fault)
Remember meeting Aaron and knowing he would be my husband?
Remember holding your grandsons for the first time?

Thanks for telling me you are proud of me and for being a man I can be proud of, too.
Love you, Dad.

Just an Update

This is Manitou Falls at Pattison Park in Superior, Wisconsin. Aaron grew up within walking distance to the park, so this is a favorite place for him. It's about 3 or 4 stories high.
Greg had his 5th birthday party at the YMCA. We played in the waterpark, and had a Spiderman party.


Greg started T-Ball last night. I've never seen so many 4/5 year olds in my whole life. God bless those coaches. He hits well off the T, but he'd prefer to be pitched to. He didn't want to do the short throw/catch drill. Kept backing up to try to show how far he could throw it...snicker.

Jonathan has had a fever since Sunday afternoon - hoping it breaks today...hard to get anything done with a baby clinging to you all day.

Pet Peeve of the Month - Grocery shopping. Last night I got stuck at Cub Foods too late for any lanes to be open that included the bagging. Is it too much to ask for someone to bag my million bags of groceries??? Good grief. I only had the baby, who was lethargic in his car seat, but it was still a very exhausting experience. Thank goodness for sweet men who carry groceries into a house.

Sorry for the complainin'. Life is good. God is good. Much love to all you secret blog readers. I know who you are!!

Brothers and Sisters

When we were all together for Grandpa Jule's funeral, we were reminded how blessed we are to be not only family, but good friends. Aaron and his brothers are so different in personality, but their hearts are the same - pure gold.