Wordless Wednesday... very late... with words

Okay, this week has been very long, very busy, very trying... I'm so thankful tomorrow is Friday! No big plans, no appointments, nothing to rush for, the house is pretty much clean minus a few baskets of laundry to be folded, but isn't there always something! The Lord got me through some very trying situations this week, nothing big deal if you knew them, but to me, they were monstrous! He knows just what I need to get 'back on track' and 'let not my heart be troubled'.

For example, at times this week, He used my children, two genuine friends, a rainy day, and a mound of bills all to bring back my joy when it was lost. I know your wondering how a mound of bills made my joy return, but knowing that God provided for each one of those bills gave me such an overwhelming feeling of thankfulness that they can be paid! There is something to be thankful for in every little detail of life... Like YOU for instance, you're reading my blog right now. That to me is so neat! That you would even care to read what I have to say!

Here is my "picture of the week". Did you know that my son is Dennis the Menace? In more ways than one! :)

A Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Evening

I like surprises. No. I love surprises. For other people, that is! I love planning and stressing over making every detail just right. However, I don't do well when they are for me! Saturday, Aug. 8th was a Saturday like no other. We've been so busy this summer that there hasn't been a 'nothing to do' Saturday in a while. I was doing dishes and cleaning the kitchen, the boys were napping, it was nice, quiet and I even had time to relax.

While I was relaxing, Sonny had a wonderful idea and asked me to go out to dinner with him. He had the idea to go early to beat the rush and that sounded good to me. He even called my mom to check about watching the boys so we could go alone. I was excited! He said "Why don't you get all dolled up?! It'll be fun!". I was game.

We dropped the kids off at my parents and were off to dinner. We decided on The Cheesecake Factory, since that is one of my favorite restaurants. We had a nice quiet table, delicious food and it was fun talking, just the two of us. We were stuffed, but decided on dessert. I suggest a McD's cone since they are pretty good and cheap! He said that sounded good but didn't want to get it right away. We'd get it closer to my parents house. So, we got on the highway and started driving. We were talking, and as we were, I noticed we passed my parents exit. I just kept talking and figured he had another McD's in mind. I noticed we were then getting close to downtown Cleveland. I started getting a nervous feeling and wondered what was going on. I asked and he said he had a surprise but not to ask any more questions. I kept guessing at what it was but I was wrong until we pulled down Euclid Ave. The State Theatre! Through family members, I knew that weekend was the Mary Poppins musical at the State Theatre. He was taking ME!

We got there with time to walk around and find our seats and relax a bit and talk. I was shocked! We had great seats! I don't know why but I didn't think to take pictures until we left. It was such a fun night and I'm so thankful he was so thoughtful and took me. Just thinking of me and planning such a wonderful surprise was so special and an evening I will never forget!

Me & my wonderful hubby

We were literally running out of the building to beat the rush of traffic so as we were running, I snapped this pic. Obviously, I was looking good enough to get her head in it!

This was our little greeter when we got to my parents house!

The Fabulous Four

Love & Fireworks

Here is my very late post from my July 4th! I was in one of my best friend's weddings on this day! Melanie and I have been friends since around the age of 2, growing up together in church and all of school, kindergarten through graduation. She has been a true friend all along the way! I have never heard an unkind word from her and she has been such an encouragement and Christian example for me and for so many others.

Mel was patiently waiting on the Lord until one day, there was Josh! I remember the email I received from her saying how she met/talked to this really great guy! That really great guy turned out to be her really great fiance and is now her really great husband!

Mel, I was so honored to be one of your bridesmaids and loved

sharing in your very special day! I love you!

Mr. & Mrs. Vickerman

The Bridal Party

Really fun fortune cookie placecards

Love how this picture came out - the cupcakes were delicious and oh so cute!

And they will live happily ever after!

Happy Friday!

Just want to wish my readers a happy Friday! I hope you have a great day and a wonderful weekend! No wordless Wednesday or posts this week. I have to get my chores done first! Be back with you on Monday! God bless!

4 years to 4 ever

Today marks our 4 year anniversary! It doesn't seem like 4 years has gone by. The Lord has been more than good to us and I just want to praise Him for getting us this far! He has blessed us abundantly and we are so thankful to Him!

I went perusing through tons of folders of pics on my computer last night and found some to share. I went all the way back to 2003 when we first started dating, which seems ages ago. I was laughing and crying, looking at pictures that reminded me of so many events in our lives. We have had good times, bad times, trying times, very happy times but no matter what "times" we were going through, we went through them together. I am so thankful for Sonny and the husband and leader he has been for me and our family!

Dear Sonny,

Can you believe it? Four years?!!

Happy Anniversary, Honey!

I want to remind you how thankful I am for you, what a wonderful husband you are, what a fun daddy you are to our boys and a good leader and example for us! You are the best book reader I've seen in a long time (you gotta hear him read "Thomas the Train" books!), you can just about fix anything and you are a good centipede and spider killer! You are very special to me and I love you with all of my heart!

I also want to remind you how good God has been to us and all that He's gotten us through! We're 4 down and forever to go!

I love you,

Mary

I Thessalonians 3:12

"The Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another..."

Wordless Wednesday and more

Hello - notice anything new? I am still working on my header. I needed a change but am still working on adding pics to it. Do you like it?

Here is my non-wordless Wednesday pics. The boys were enjoying some time on the trampoline, which in our house is called the "jump-o-line"! I love the air Luke gets - he is very good at jumping! Zach, well, Zach is good at sitting on it right now! :)

Sigh...

Ugh... TGIF! This week was a whirlwind for me and I'm so thankful to be relaxing right now, checking emails and reading blogs, even though it's 10:30pm at night! Sometimes I wonder how some of these blogging moms can blog every single day! Well, I am far too tired to post much tonight and this weekend is already planned so it is my goal next week to catch up on some old news such as events, encouragement and some special birthdays! I just wanted to say hello to my readers and thank you for checking in! I love you, gals! Gotta get to bed... there are some garage sales to be visited early in the mornin'! Good night!

Wordless Wednesday

Bad Heart Day?

Instead of a "Bad Hair Day", have you ever had a Bad Heart Day? A day where your heart just isn't in it, whatever you may be doing?

This past week was a trying week for me, as most seem to be with two little ones, but this was a week I could feel the devil trying to attack. Tuesday was the worst day for me, a very hard, long day. I was up until 3am the night before, I had to work the next day and it was a double day for me (for those who don't know, I clean houses once a week), my eye was bothering so much with watering and burning and I had to wear glasses instead of my contacts, which means no sunglasses, which means instant headache from sun-squinting... and so on. Life was rough by 8am and I still had the whole day to go! On cleaning days, I have time to "think" while I'm working, so this day, I was thinking about changes I'd been making in my life, good ones, and also some that are still being attempted, but whatever they were, my thoughts were weighing me down.

Do you ever just feel the devil present? Ever feel him trying many ways to get you down? Do you often let him?

Isaiah 26:3 "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."

This verse came to mind and was such an encouragement to me throughout the day! The struggles and trials of the day didn't magically disappear, but they were put at ease with this reminder that only He can give me peace. I can't myself figure out what to do or how things may work out, or whatever situation is weighing on my heart, but He is there - I just have to keep that "in mind"! :) Just wanted to encourage you to check your heart when getting ready for your day, just as you would do your hair. Let Jesus help you fix it just right so you can go about confidently and not have a Bad Heart Day!

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