Nineteen Years

Last week was our 19th Anniversary!

Most times I still feel like that young college student,

twitterpated with that handsome, tall dude.

(Although, my body is beginning to tell me I'm not quite

so young!)

We have come to the point in our lives that we

can leave the boys over night.

For many years, that wasn't the case.

It seemed we always had a baby or young boys that

we couldn't leave.

Those were the days of babysistters,

creative dates or bringing the baby

with us.

The year we moved to PA, we were looking

at homes to buy, job interviewing

and celebrating our Anniversary all in one day.

We also had Timothy with us as he was a baby.

Memories are some of the things that keep

our marriage fun.

Often we'll just sit and chat about our early days

of marriage and the memories we've made.

Life was so new and exciting together!

This past weekend we had to drive Brendan

back out to camp.  The camp director asked

if he could come work again on this week as they

were low on staff workers.

Knowing the camp was "near" Lake Erie

(or we drive by it on our way) and knowing how

much I love swimming in lakes, my fella planned

our Anniversary getaway on the lake.

What fun!  Camping on the lake!  We both enjoy

camping.  Friday morning we left here early.

My fella found the back roads to camp.  It seemed to be in the

middle of no where!  but still fun!

We dropped Brendan off at camp and headed

to our camp site.

We had a rather large site.  Perfect for a family of 10

but the family only had two this time.

The tent was set up, coffee perked on the camp stove

and bathing suits gathered.

After our coffee was gone, we walked to the lake.

The water was choppy like the waves of the ocean

but the water was clean and fresh.

We swam some and headed back to our site.

Yatzee and Rummy were the games of the night by

lantern light.

The next morning was cloudy but warm.

After breakfast we grabbed our towels, suits and the rafts.

On the way to the camp ground the day before, 

we stopped and picked

up a few supplies.

I wanted to find an inner tube.  The store was sold out.

I saw swimming rafts for a dollar and grabbed two.

Childhood memories of hours of fun on the lake

with some rafts quickly flooded my mind.

What fun to make some more memories.

We walked to the lake and blew up our rafts.

Soon we were floating on the water,

side by side talking and laughing

together.

I'd jump off my raft, swim around feeling

like a dolphin and

get back on.

Soon we realized we had drifted way out.

The tiny blue spot on shore that was our beach bag

vanished from sight.

Jet ski drivers began to get their skis

on the water and were zipping by us,  creating waves for us to

float over. 

Soon it was time to be over.

Oh, how I dreaded that.

This, to me, is TOTAL enjoyment!  So peaceful,

so refreshing, so many memories!

We headed our rafts to land,  I gathered some

pretty rocks from the shore and we

packed up our things.

What a fun camping trip!

We plan to go back next year for our twentieth

but for longer stay and with the site filled

with 10 rowdy Philbricks!

Motherhood Blessings

I was going to write about this topic weeks ago

but had computer problems on the very day I was going to post it.

Then life has gotten wicked busy.

I've barely written on here and knew this post would take much

thought and prayer to complete.

This morning, I really felt it was the day to write it.

I was reminded last evening of the topic.

Yesterday was Mother's Day.

My husband and boys have always made the day very special for me.

I'm truly blessed to have them in my life!

Last evening in church, one special song was sung by a mother

and her three young daughters. The song was all about 

how quickly time goes and the memories made during the years

our children are home.

While it was being sung, I could  sniffling.  I looked over and it 

was my husband!  Then he reached forward and rubbed my oldest son on his back.

He also was crying!

I think it's hitting both of them that our oldest is graduating next month and change

happens rather quickly.

When our oldest boys were younger, we studied and searched for child 

training information.  We truly feel God's Word is thorough in every 

area of life, including rearing our children.

Both my fella and I grew up in "church"  homes and in church.

Many  peers I grew up with and my fella grew up with either 

went through a time of rebellion or have totally rebelled away from the Lord and His Word.

We did NOT want this for our boys.  

Too much is at stake (eternity)!!

As our boys got a little older and we began to gather our convictions

on rearing our boys we heard many comments.

"You're sheltering too much!"

"Boys will be boys!"

"Just wait until those teen years!"

"Rebellion is normal for teen years!"

We even heard that we "worshiped" our family.

Man, this was "encouraging"!

Yet the Lord is so good!

He always sent a family or book or some bit of encouragement along as we needed it.

We continued to pray and plead with the Lord to help us.

We KNOW we're so far from perfect and do not have all the answers.

 (I once read sheltering is keeping our children away from

negative influences while directing them toward positive ones.   Sheltering

is a good thing!) 

Some things just seemed so simple to us and so basic yet why did 

we feel like we were the "only ones" doing it? 

(We know we aren't but at times it felt like it!)

My fella has been the one to sacrifice much!

Because we have all boys, he's been the one to do most things with them.

I'm so thankful for a focused husband.

At times, I've wanted to give in but he sees the long run picture of things.

These are just some of the things we've decided along the way

that helped keep our boy's hearts.

*Our boys always sit with us during church meetings.

*We do not allow the boys to go to peer aged parties without one of us 

or without an older sibling.  (We're finally to the point that our oldest

can go and supervise and drive the younger boys to a friend's party).

*NO sleep-overs, either here at home or at a friend's.

*We chose not to allow the boys to participate in league sports

(this one is very touchy so I won't go there!)  :)

*My fella trained the boys to work and to work hard!

*Once the boys became teenagers and were able to start attending our 

church's youth group, my fella sat in there each week to keep an eye on things.

Some say it's because we don't trust anyone else so we have to be there.

That is not true!  I know there are other adults that would do just as well as us and 

maybe even better.

But we feel our job is to keep our children's hearts.
We know our boys have sinful hearts and therefore need to be watched.

Who knows a child better than a parent?  We can see just by looking on our boy's faces

if there is rebellion.  We can see if there is a struggle to do right. We know 

our boys.  We want to be there for them each step along the way.

This is just something we decided right from the start!

It was a huge sacrifice for my fella. 

The youth group met at the same time as the church choir.  My fella

enjoys singing.  So this meant he had to quit choir to attend the youth 

group.  But he felt it was the best for our family.

At first he just began attending the youth group.

He was later asked to lead the group.

This meant planning activities, going to camp, etc.

This also meant lots of more time to sacrifice!

It's been such a blessing to be involved in every activity with our boys.

*We have chosen to home school our children.

*Our television is used only for approved movies.  We do not have cable

and only get a couple of channels.  These are highly supervised for special 

sport games and the commercials are turned off.

*Our boys do not have phones, computers or other communication

devices until we feel there is a NEED to have one.  

*We try to praise character over achievement!  Our culture

praises achievement in many areas-sports, good grades, talents, etc.

While we stress it's important to do our best, it's better to have 

godly character than an A.  It's God who has blessed us with our abilities, NOTHING

of our own merit.

*Our boys don't date.  We feel dating is meant to be done with the goal of

marriage.  Until our boys are ready to provide and lead a girl emotionally,

physically, financially and spiritually  there is no need to date around.

They can be friends with girls but it is very watched and cautious.

(I chose the word date.  For me, "date" means to form any kind of attachment

with the opposite sex.  Emotional dating can be just as damaging to young people).

These are just a few things that have helped us during our boy's teen 

years.  Of course, if the ground work is not done in the younger

years, these can't be done successfully!  

If the child is not taught to obey completely when young, they

won't all the sudden obey the rules given as a teen.

If a young child is not taught to fear and respect authority, they won't

all the sudden obey and respect authority as a teen or even as an adult!

I am not saying these are the "tricks" to guarantee your children "turn out as you've trained
them."  These are just some things we've done with the goal of keeping
our boy's hearts.  I'm sure there are many more that we could of done better
 but these are the ones I could think of that we've tried to stay focused on
doing when the "pressure" was not to do them.   Each family has to come
up with their own standards for their home as they see best fits their lifestyles.
But remember, as a Christian, you will give account for your home!
This is NO easy task!  It takes focus, wisdom,  constant attention and prayer!!

Now as we plan our oldest son's graduation and party,

it's a time of rejoicing and gladness.

Jordan has been a total blessing and joy in our home.

He's become a friend to my husband and me.  I constantly ask him for advice and help

and am always pleased with the response.  

He's becoming more and more independent and becoming a help

to others around us.  What a joy to see others begin to be blessed by our son!

Of course, we are not done as we have 7 other boys that are still under our care.

Each day I pray our home will be pleasing to the Lord and our boys will

always live 100 percent for God and by His Word!  What a HUGE task we

have as parents! 

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will 

not depart from it.    Proverbs 22:6 

http://www.carissagraham.com/search/label/miscellany%20monday

Remembering the Day After Valentine's Day

I went to Bible college with my sister.

It was great being together.

I met my fella the first month we were there.

Our first date off campus was on my Birthday.

My sister was also with us as well as another friend.

The college had very strict rules for dating.

We couldn't go off campus as a dating couple without an

approved chaperone. 

By the time Valentine's Day rolled around,

my fella and I were pretty serious.

I had gone to his home during Christmas break and he

also came to my house.  Both parents approved of us dating.

That year, Valentine's Day fell on a Friday.

My fella  told me he was going to chaperone his brother Matt

and his girlfriend on their date.  They had
arranged to go out on Valentine's Day.  I was kind-of bummed.

BUT my fella told me he had arranged for us to go to a

fancy restaurant the next day.  It eased some of the sadness.

Valentine's evening, as I was in the rec hall, I heard lots of comments

about my fella. 

"Where's Philbrick?  He didn't take you out on Valentine's Day?"

"Why are you here without Philbrick?" was asked again and again.

I tried to play it off and say we were going out the next night,
but it was kind of sad.

My fella was so excited about this date.  I should

of known something was up.

He had made reservations in Escanaba, MI.  It was

a bit of a drive.  We didn't care.  We were on a date,

off campus with our two chaperones (one was my room mate

and the other was my RA). 

The evening was so romantic. 

Candle light dinner,  cozy room, yummy food

and a sweet man!

 Dessert was brought out on a silver platter.

I was so shocked.  The lid was lifted and all the

sudden my fella was on his knee. On the platter
was a diamond engagement ring.
 He was asking me to spend the

rest of my life with him and marry him!  I was sooo surprised!

It seemed everyone in the restaurant was watching us.

My fella shouted,
"She said YES!"
Everyone cheered for us.

It was such a memorable night for both of us!

I tend to reminisce more about the day after Valentines

than on the actual day.  Such a sweet, romantic night that was.



An Amish Birthday

Yesterday was my fella's Birthday.

We've started a tradition for his Birthday.

Since my fella's "love language" is quality time, he chose to spend his

Birthday on a little get-away.

He'd rather have a quiet 2 days together than a gift.

This is great for me because I get to spend it with him! :)

The first year we went away, we stayed at hotel in Cortland, NY.

It wasn't an area with a huge amount to do.  This was fine as I

was feeling rather morning-sicknessish with Titus.  That wasn't

the best get-away but it was still enjoyable just to be together.

Last year we went to Niagra Falls.  Neither of us had been there

so it was fun seeing it for the first time together.

This year, Mark chose to go to Amish Country in the Lancaster, PA

area.  He found an Amish farm that allows people

to stay right on their farm. 

Mark took off from school on Thursday.  After giving lists and lists

of instructions to the boys, we headed out. 

I have to admit, I love going away but part of me always worries about the boys.

We've trained them enough that the older ones know what to do for

all the "what if's" that could happen.  They're very smart boys but

I still worry.  Guess it's the Mom in me.    Things are so nice now though,

we could call them regularly to keep in touch.  Communication is great!

We enjoyed a peaceful ride down.  This is almost the same ride I take to my

parent's.  What a difference traveling down without the rowdies!

Lunch was calmly eaten,  we stopped and shopped some and I knitted

most of the ride.  It was very relaxing!

The Amish farm was very cozy!  You had to cross a little stream across

the driveway.  There were geese in the stream and willow trees all along it.

It was so pretty!

One of the daughters greeted us when we arrived.

She was the 3rd to youngest of 8 children.

She showed us our "cabin" and gave us the instructions on how to do things.

It was a cozy place with plenty of room.

The bedroom we stayed in.  There was another one with 2 double beds in it.

We unloaded our stuff and went to the bulk food store right down the road.

It's funny,  when I go visit my parent's and I want to stock up, I

go to Centerville Bulk Foods.  This bulk food is about

5 houses up from the farm we stayed at.

The bulk food place is great!  I got a 50 lb bag of wheat berries for $22!

I normally pay $50 at the store in town here.  I got lots of yummies!

Then we headed out to eat at Shady Maple Restaurant.

My fella's brother and his wife were meeting us there.  Matt and Kathy

were at college when me and my fella were.  We're not only "related" but good friends.

Meeting them was a fun treat.  Although, my fella and his brother NEVER

behave when they're together!    Lots of great laughter and filling foods!!

The next morning, the Amish couple brought breakfast down to our room.

It was fun meeting them and chatting.  Having the common factor of the same amount

of children made instant conversation (although, I don't think it would of been necessary

 they were both very friendly and chatty)!

The Amish lady asked me a question I was never asked before.  We were talking

about having eight children (she has three girls, the oldest just getting married two

months ago and five boys).  She asked me if I cook all our food and sew all our clothes.

This stumped me.  Yes, of course, I cook all our food but sew ALL

our clothes too!  She proceded to tell me her second daughter enjoys sewing

so she does all the sewing for them!  Man, if I was Amish, I'd have to

be sewing all our clothes too!  The lady said her other daughter does

the laundry.  Then she said, "Wow! You home-school too!"  They both

began asking us questions about it.  They seemed just curious about our

lives as we were their's. 

The man started asking about our home and land.  My fella commented about us

burning wood for heat and how much help our boys were with that process.

He commented about our wood splitter.  My fella said, "They are our

woodsplitter!"  The Amish man commented about them using the machine for him.

"No,"  my fella said,, "THEY are the woodsplitter, with an ax!"  The Amish

man was impressed and said he didn't hear of too many people burning wood who

didn't own a "real" woodsplitter!  I think we may have been a novelty to them.

After breakfast, we walked around their farm.  The boys were

hard at work.  They were spreading manure and man, it reaked!

After looking at their happy animals eating their breakfast foods,

we packed up from our cozy "cabin" and headed out.

What a difference visiting the shops in February compared to May!

The shops were quiet and calm.

Kitchen Kettle was just a quiet little village.  During the warmer months,

the same shops are hopping with tourists.

My fella went with me to a yarn shop, the Candle Barn and other fun shops!

It almost seemed like it was my Birthday!

Then we headed for lunch and then our journey home.

What a fun trip together!

When we got home, there were some excited boys waiting for us!

They had all colored different letters and the "sign" hung all around

 the kitchen. 

The house was neat as a pin too!

Today I'm putting all our bulk foods into containers.
What a fun trip!
Mark's already looking forward to going back to Amish country next year.
I don't think I'll complain too much about it either :)

Happy Birthday, my sweet fella!!

Yippee, Almost a Sock!

I've joined the Yarn Along again with Ginny. 

It's so motivating to show my progress each week.

I'm to the "scary" part!  I've completed the leg,

now I must start the heel and foot part of the sock.

Yikes, I'm kind of nervous about this.  What if I get going, do it all wrong

and all my work is lost?!?

Lord, help me figure this one out! Please!

If you hear loud yelling and crying, it's me messing up :)

A friend lent me the book
Passionate Housewives Desperate for God by Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald.

I've only started the book.  I've flipped through,

looking at the chapter titles.

I'm very excited to read and glean from it.

I've always felt it was my Bibical duty to stay home with my family.

This is a very rare and often times looked down at position.

I can see Bibically no other option.

My husband has always been in full time Christian work and money

has always been tight. I'm so thankful

he is a hard-worker and sees the role as provider his Bibical responsibility.

As the boys begin to leave the home, and I have more time to do other things,

I want my life to continue to bless others.

I want to be a true reflection of a Titus 2:4 woman.  I have only met a few

of these types of women in my life.

One instantly stands out in my mind.  She is old enough to be my Mom.

Her children were all out of her home, married and beginning their own families when I

met her.

This woman is a very talented woman in many ways but she

found joy in encouraging other women.   A career outside 

her home could of easily been attained.

Instead,  she found joy meeting with young women and teaching them

to sew, can, bake and doing Bible studies with them. 

She also went to the nursing home regularly and met with older women, leading

many to the Lord. 

She is such a strong godly example to me!  What a great role model to have!

I pray my life will count to the very end and I will stay

focused on what I should be doing Bibically, dispite what culture around me

says is right.

Titus 2:4&5

That they (the aged women) may teach the young women to be sober,

to love their husbands, to love their children,

To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient, to their

own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

http://www.gsheller.com/



The Biddies Share

A friend loveth at all times. Prov 17:17

Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. Prov 27:17

The 2008-2009 school  year, I felt burdened to have a Bible study in our home. 

I wanted to especially encourage Mom's with young children, so I invited the ladies who had young school age children in our church to join.  I invited about 12 ladies.  Inside, I was scared spitless to do this.  I have never lead a study and get so nervous speaking in front of people.  Mark kept encouraging me to do it though as he saw and felt my burden.

I was so glad, five ladies committed to coming.  It was a fun group.

*One lady has children our children's ages- from teenagers to toddlers. 

*Another had two young children (she's had another since then).

*One lady moved to our area, leaving all her family behind.  Her husband's job brought them to the area.  What a perfect way for her to meet some ladies, I thought.  She's extremely quiet (that's just the first impression!!!!) so thought this would be perfect for her!

*And another lady had a very scary, touch and go healthy child.  This lady has gone through immense struggles with her daughter's health.  She was pregnant with her second during the year of the study.

*Another lady joined us half way through, so our group grew :)

We studied the book,  God's Pricelss Woman by Wanda Sanseri.

It was a great study to do together.  We all learned so much.

We also formed a friendship that would of never happened if the study hadn't brought us together.

We prayed together, shared our burdens together, challenged eachother, cried together, saw prayers answered together and encouraged eachother through some HUGE struggles in our lives!

God is so good! 

Last night, one of the dear friends had us all over.  Her husband is away on business, so she took advantage of the time. 

I quickly fed the boys and left with games, knitting and snacks in tow. 

We sat at her kitchen table, snacked and snacked while chatting, laughing lots and crying together!

It was commented by us all how that year so needed in our lives!  

God's timing is always perfect, He gives us just what we need, just when we need it!

 

I stayed out WAY past my bedtime but cherished the time we shared together!

This morning, Luke asked me, "What games did you play?"  I answered, "Oh, we never got to the games, we just talked!"

"Guys, did you here that?  They didn't do ANYTHING!!!" was his shocked reply!

Oh, how we all enjoyed that time not doing anything!!

God's Priceless Woman: A Bible Course for All Ages

Swing Sets and Honey

I've learned over time and much stubborness, that listening to my husband is best!

When we lived in Virginia, I did daycare in our home.  I was able to help our income and stay at home with my young boys.  Our first two homes, were rented.  Rent was so high, we decided to buy a home and the mortgage was less than our rent.  The only problem was, the price of house we could afford was usually a HUGE fixer-upper.  My husband is semi-handy but these were major projects!

The Lord provided us a home and we totally gutted it out and hired someone to fix it up for us.  One HUGE plus for me was that the house had a big yard.  It was very big for that area and it was totally fenced in.  I loved it! 

Once spring came, I got the urge to get a swingset for our yard.  I was determined to get one.  The only problem, Mark didn't want us to get one.  I tried and tried to talk him into it, "I'll use "my money" from daycare" ,  "It's a write off for my business",  "The boys NEED a swingset", etc.  We had a tree with two swings and he felt that was enough.  I couldn't get it out of my mind.  I wanted a REAL swingset!

I even went to the store and picked one how, but HOW was I going to sneak it past him?  I am REAL stubborn!

Then a few months later, due to church/school changes (Mark worked at a Christian school that was also part of the church we attended), we had to move.  We put our "brand" new house on the market!  It was so bittersweet.  We lived in it for a few months with EVERYTHING in it brand new and how we liked!  But we knew we needed to move on.

It hit me, we could never have brought a swingset with us.  We were moving to Michigan, living in a tiny two bedroom apartment on the second floor.  It would of been money spent on something we would of left behind!  God is so good!  Why was I being so stubborn?!?

I've seen it happen again and again in the years we've been married.  My stubborness to get my way and the Lord using Mark to protect me.

Since we've started eating better, I've always had the "itch" to keep bees.  When we lived in Maine, I wanted to get them.  God spared me from getting into it, we moved from there too. 

I've thought about it some while we've lived here.  There are many obstacles here.  One being bears, but I've seen people put electric fence up for that.

This past week, while at Shiloh in upstate NY, we stopped at a stand to buy some honey.  I went inside and the beekeeper was giving a tour of his bee business. Perfect timing!  I asked and asked tons of questions.  It seemed totally overwhelming to me!!  Yet I also had the urge to learn and get into it. 

Later that night,  I brought it up again to Mark.  He kindly said to me,  "You lack one thing"  (Great, I thought, now what?!),,, "time."    He just really reminded me how limited my time is right now to learn another hobby and keep up with another project.  I felt so relieved inside.  I WANT to keepbees and maybe make some extra money from it, but reality is that I'd probably spend alot more than I'd make right now.    The beekeeper we visited sold a 5 gallon bucket of honey for $100.  That is alot less than what I'd have to spend to get started and not near as time consuming!

I'm so thankful for a husband who looks out for us!  Now I need to just learn not to be so stubborn! :)

Seasons of Change

Gone are the days of afternoon coffee with Mark.  He's now gone all morning at school and then windows until supper.  How those times were sweet together.

The cooler weather brings change to our home. 

Evenings, you can hear the buzz of a chain saw off in the distance.  If you get closer to the buzz,  you will hear chopping and boy's voices.

It's wood time at the Philbricks!  This is our heat for the winter.

All must work together to keep us warm for the next 5-6 months!  What a time of closeness as we work together.

 All the seasons bring change.  Change is a part of life.  It's how we cherish the change and time together that counts.    What a joyful time together,, sweating, working and bonding!  I love fall!

Safe Guard of Husbands

I'm so thankful to have a husband who takes his leadership seriously (although at times it "rubs me the wrong way").   I know,, bad girl!!!  There are so many things in life that I can just hand over to his role and let him handle it.
An example came to mind again this week.  A person called from a  pro-life organization  asking for a pledge donation.  Of course, they asked if I was for pro-life.  I couldn't help but  say, "I sure think so, we have 8 children!"  After listening to the long speech, they wanted to know if I'd commit to a money donation.  My answer to all these kinds of questions,, "Send the info and I'll let my husband decide, he's in charge of the finances."  Man, they don't like that!  They want an answer..... I finally just tell them to put whatever amount they want but I can't commit to it until my husband sees it.  Some times they don't send it, some times they do.  But this has saved so much headache with decisions.  

I know women can be emotional and want to help others out,, especially other Moms in need!  I'm so thankful to have a husband who makes these decisions for me.  Whether  it is babysitting, giving time or money, he guards me with these decisions.  At times, it can be real hard for me.  I love to serve and help others but he kindly reminds me my first place I need to serve is at home!  At times I know it's hard for him to say this to me because he knows I ENJOY serving but just can't do everything right now.  He always says,,, someday you'll have more time! 

He also guards how we give.  When Mark was a pastor, he saw how some times the Lord did things to people to teach them through the "school of hard knocks".  It didn't help the person at all when they were "bailed out" from the lessons needed to be learned (alot with rebellious children, as hard as it is!).  You'll notice most prayer requests are for physical healing instead of the spiritual lesson to be learned through the physical difficulty.    

I'm so thankful for wisdom of the ones over my life!  I pray I'd just be more receptive to it at times and not be so stubborn to receive it :)

Small Steps

My Pastor's wife gave me this book to read.  Her husband just went away to a pastor's conference and brought it home to her and she read it and passed it on to me to read.  (A plug here for Pastor's wives-- Thank the Lord daily and pray daily for your Pastor's wife.  She has the burden of home and church and her husband's ministry.  Alot of times, she's the one behind the scenes doing SO much!  I think it's one of the busiest positions there is!  I absolutely LOVE our Pastor's wife!  She's got a heart to help, loves our boys like her own, would do anything for people and is a tough bird-- she's a hard worker and not afraid to get a "little dirty".  I see our Pastor's wife talking and loving the unlovely and the ones I know have hurt her in the past-- or sometimes harder, the one's who have hurt her husband and children!)  She is always giving books out to read to try and encourage people in their walks with the Lord.  This book is called How to Speak Husband.  It's been real interesting so far.  This morning I read about how men think and their God given roles.  Men have been given the desire to have dominion over things.  The author said how teen boys begin to feel that as they get older.  Ugh, today I started to experience that!  Jordan went for his driver's permit.(He passed and even drove a bit of the way home!!!!)   It won't be long before he's off driving himself to work each day, developing his own domain over the area the Lord gives him.  It's hard to see them growing up but oh so,  exciting too!  Jordan is becoming a strong man and I pray daily, a man  that will be a leader and live TOTALLY for the Lord!  What a joy to be a Mom!
I highly recommend this book,, it's been a fun read so far!

The Day After

The House of Ludington, Escanaba, MI

I always remember the day after Valentine's Day,,, it was a very special day back in 1992.  Mark and I started dating the first month at college.  We started to talk about marriage in January; Mark didn't want to talk marriage til he met my family and he came over during Christmas break.    Valentine's Day fell on a Friday while we were there.  I remember as the day came closer, Mark planning to take me out to eat.  He ended up planning it on Saturday, the day after Valentine's Day.  That Friday night while on campus, I had many people ask me where Philbrick was and why I wasn't out with him!  Mark had gone off campus with his brother and his girlfriend!  What a bummer but I felt consoled by the fact that he had a planned date the next day.  I remember Mark being so excited about it and all the details of it.  I didn't really get why he was so "into" this date.    It was in Escanaba, MI,, we were in Dunbar, WI so we had to travel a bit to get there.  My RA, Shelty (Melissa) and roommate Rebecca were our chaperones.  We got to the restaurant and ordered our meals.  Mark was so trying to make this just perfect for me.  He ordered duck and I had chicken.  I remember when dessert time came around, Rebecca and Shelty came back.  I thought they were watching us to make sure we "behaved!"  I was actually alittle annoyed they were there,,, man, no privacy!!!  Our waiter brought my dessert on a silver platter and Mark got on his knee and there was a diamond ring under the platter!  I was SOOO surprised!  I never expected this!  It's probably one of the only times Mark's pulled a huge surprise like that.  It was so romantic and so special.  I felt like we road back to campus on clouds.  I think we went to a hockey game after that and I was proudly showing off my ring!  What a special day I'll never forget and the feelings I had that night!  I'm so spoiled to be loved and cared for by my Mark!

Learning my man

I have learned over the years what Mark's "love language" is.  He enjoys quality time.  At times, I have to "force" myself as it may interfere with MY time.  I may be in the middle of making supper or some other project  when Mark wants to sit for 10 minutes and share coffee.  It helps me to remember that this is his love language and feels valued when I spend that time with him.  Many times I have failed in this area (I can multitask but he wants my full attention) and am regretful of that!  So for this Birthday I suggested we go away for the night.  We were given a gift card for Christmas and what perfect way to spend it than go away for the night!?!?  So we tried to figure out where to go, and decided on Niagra Falls.  Neither of us have been there and it's not too far to be away.  I must get packing and making the many lists for the boys to do while we're gone.  I'll have to share how it goes when we get back :)