How Much Does My Husband Love Me? Let Me Count the Lights

In case anyone was wondering, my husband adores me!  I adore him!  We are very much in love!  My husband's love language is gift giving.  He derives extreme pleasure in picking out just the right gift for a person and watching them open it.  He remembers gifts and who gave them to him or us or our children.  This is a quality I love about him.  I get great gifts so why wouldn't I?
The hubs knows that I love some Christmas lights.  I mean love love love!  This is what I came home to find in my yard.  Now, lights are normal for us but this year he stepped up his game.  Take a look:

Posts and tree and yard lamp

Notice the lights are red, white, and green?  They don't come that way!

He made the pattern himself!  Taking out and replacing each light until it was just right!

Did I tell you he loves me or what?  This took him the better part of a day!  To quote TLC, "what a man, what a man, what a mighty good man.  Yes, he is!"

Happy Valentines Day

Valentine's Day...a truly made up, commercial holiday.  But it is a day we can take and reflect on those people who love us and care for us and vice versa.  This day should not be the only day out of the year that we show that love but it is a great day to make someone feel special.  That being said, I think 1 person always gets over looked....yourself, myself.
Most women dislike themselves for a myriad of different reasons.  Many women lack self-confidence and love for themselves.  This Valentine's day, I want you to focus on you.  I am gonna give you a home work assignment.  I want you to go into the bathroom and lock the door.  I want you to get undressed(yes, even the underpants and bra).  Then, I want you to stand in front of the mirror.  Now, if you have made it this far, you are ahead of the game.  Most women don't want to see themselves naked in the daylight.  But, do it!  Trust me!
What do you see?  Wrinkles? Cellulite?  Fat?  Scars?  Blotchy skin?  Limp hair? Hair that is too curly?  Gray hair?  Eyes that are the wrong color?  What do YOU see?

Now, look again but change the filter through which you look.  Those wrinkles mark the smiles and laughter you have shared with others over the years.  For most people, age brings wisdom.  Wear them with a badge of honor.   The fat and cellulite show how blessed you have been to have good food and for many that fat came when we were blessed to have a child growing inside of us.  Rub your hand over your belly and thank God that you could carry a child when so many cannot.  You are so blessed!  Those scars are life's reminders that we don't always succeed at first but we keep getting back out there and trying until we get it right.  Run you finger over the bumpy scar and remember what you learned from that particular incident.  How were you changed?  Did you mature?  If you have a C-section scar or like me a scar from the belly-button to the pubis bone, thank God that doctors have the wisdom and knowledge to do what they must to save ours and our children's lives.
Do you have freckles or skin that doesn't look like the model on the cover of the magazine?  Well, she looks like you in the mirror.  We don't have someone to air brush us in real life.  I got the freckles and discoloration from the sun.  I can feel its warmth on my skin and the sand between my toes.  I am thankful for the Vitamin D that it gave me.  Every freckle/mole has a story.  Hair....there is not a woman out there who wouldn't change their hair.  Too curly?  Too straight?  Too thick?  Too thin?  Gray?  Do a search on women who are battling cancer and they have none.  I think that they learn to appreciate it over the years.  Your hair keeps your head warm and protected from the sun.  Gray hairs?  Well, that marks the passage of time kind of like a time line.  Mine are there but they are covered up by Miss Clairol.  I use to complain about the thickness(or lack thereof) of my hair.  Until I had a child born with hair just like mine.  It is beautiful and if it is on her, then so it must be on me.  Do you like your eyes?  Maybe they are the wrong color or don't have enough eyelashes.  The depth of love that can be viewed by looking into your eyes is immeasurable.  They are the windows to our hearts.  We have a hard time hiding how we feel because of our eyes.  Why do you think poker players wear sunglasses?  Think of the tears that have flowed down from your eyes.  Know that God has seen everyone and has kept a record of it in a book!
Let's change the way we love ourselves.  Be thankful for those things about which you are so critical.  Try to look at the flaws through a different lens so that you can truly see how beautiful you are and you can love yourself.  When we love ourselves, then we are able to love others more completely!
Now, that is a great Valentine's present!

OOOOO....I Love a Love Story

"Mrs. Edgerton, I have to wait only 9 years and 5 months."

"For what, T?"

"To date your daughter!"

Smiling, I turned to his mom, a dear friend, with a question in my eyes. She then explained that he is literally counting down the days until he can officially date my Bela. My heart melted into a gooey puddle of mushiness that led me to pinch his cheeks and exclaim, "Oh how sweet!"

This sweet boy has already begun courting my oldest girl. He gave her a Valentines card and waves at her across the parking lot. How romantic!

Romance! I love romance! Lifetime and Hallmark channels get frequent visits from me. I also love old black and white movies. They just seem so romantic. But not as romantic as this 8 year old already courting my 8 year old. This got my hubby and me talking. He mentioned that Jacob had to wait for Rachel. It is a very romantic story, told in black and white, in the pages of the Bible.

This is the Sarita version:
Jacob wanted Rachel. He met her and fell in love instantly! He asked Laban , her father, for permission. Laban said yes but you have to work for me for 7 years. Jacob agreed. For 7 years, he worked as basically a slave just to marry a woman. Men, now days, can barely wait 7 minutes for a woman. At the end of those 7 years, Jacob went for payment and Laban consented. However, at the wedding, Jacob was tricked into marrying Leah. Imagine the surprise and anger that he felt when he lifted her veil on their honeymoon night only to discover the "ugly" one. I bet his face was red and his heart was broken in betrayal. But, Jacob accepted his fate.

He made his frustration known to Laban who brushed him off and told him that he couldn't give the younger one 1st. Isn't that little tidbit something that should have been discussed in the original agreement? Then, he told Jacob that he could have Rachel if he worked another 7 years in slave labor for him. Again, Jacob agreed. His love and desire for Rachel were great! So, he worked 14 total years and married(by accident) a woman who was not the love of his life just for her. With every love story comes heartache and it must have been heart breaking for them to eat together and live under the same roof and not be able to be together. Leah must have been heart broken at playing 2nd fiddle to her gorgeous sister. She had to know his intentions and I am sure that there was no hiding the loving looks between the 2 of them. She had to know that he would never love her as much as he did Rachel!

So if Jacob could wait for 14 years for the love of his life, then Little T can wait 9 years and 5 months for his! What a story we would have to tell at their wedding!

5 Reasons Why I Love Walmart

So my hubby told me that I was too negative in my last post despite the fact that he agrees with me. So today in honor of Valentines Day, I am posting about the reasons why, in fact, I love Walmart. It is a love/hate relationship between us! I could in fact only come up with 5 so what does that tell you? So here they are........

5. People watching! There are some great characters in there to entertain you all day.

4. Walmart greeters are very friendly where I live.

3. Our Walmart is green instead of blue. I like that!! We are different!

2. They still support the Salvation Army bell ringers, Girl Scouts, Veterans, etc....

1. Walmart Bingo! This can provide endless hours of fun and it is a cheap date!

I am done with my rant about WalMart at least for now! I hope that you have a Happy Valentines Day!