...and I'm the lady.

 

 

I think I better put a disclaimer on this post right now--in hopes that no one takes me as a braggert. There. Done.

Now, let me say that absolutely every thing in the previous post is 100% true and correct and I am one extrememly blessed gal. However; it's very important that the blessing be returned. I have had some friends say they wished their husband was like mine....that he is the problem....that he doesn't care....ect, ect, ect. I've even heard divorce mentioned. While I know that in some cases, it is necessary--even the RIGHT thing to do, please be sure of that before breaking up your home.

I've blogged about the Proverbs 31 woman here and that is all well and good, but you don't even have to own a Bible to know some things. If your man treats you right, don't take advantage of it. If he doesn't....try amping things up on your end for a month or two and see what happens.

Here are a few basic things I do--and these will vary from couple to couple and based on your differing personalities.

 

1.  Primp.

Don't look frumpy and frowsy for your guy. Take a shower, wash your hair, and get out of those sweats! My motto is to keep "messy" so rare that it's still cute. =) Clean up your kids while you're at it. No one wants to come home from a long day of work and be greeted by snot noses and peanut butter faces. Try freshening everyone up a bit a few minutes before you expect daddy home. Not only will you look better for him, you'll all feel better about yourself! Stay fit physically. You don't have to be skinny, but being fit and healthy will benefit you both more than you might think.

 

2. Pots and Pans.



Those are more than just a wedding gift. Put them to use! I try very hard to always have a meal on the table when my husband gets home in the evenings. It's both healthier and cheaper to eat in your own kitchen. Busy? Yep, me too, but it doesn't have to be fancy.....look for simple crock pot recipes for those extra hectic days. He'll appreciate the effort you put forth even if something flops now and then and sometimes you can put forth a little extra effort and make his favorites.

 

3. Polish.

Keep your house clean! Remember, this is his castle. Even if it's humble, he's worked hard and provided it for you. We have lived in everything from nice 5 bedroom homes to 2 bedroom trailers. We even spent a year in one bedroom of my parents house and yes, I even tried to make that special. I've heard some ladies say that they can't keep a clean and tidy house because of this or that fault of the house. Not true....and it casts off on your provider. Work with what you have, you'll suprise yourself! Make a cleaning schedule that works for you and keep it close by. Follow it like it's a job that you're getting paid for, because in reality you are getting paid!

 

4. Pick up after him.

Maybe your guy is Mr. Neatandtidy, but mine is not. Not usually. He usually drops his unders in the laundry basket, and that's about as far as it goes. I put away the towel, wash cloth, toothpaste, contact case and solution, the pants, shirt, belt, jacket, and on and on. So what!???! I think it's a pretty small thing compared to all the things he does right, so to speak.

 

5. Pinch Pennies.

Have a budget, make a menu, keep a shopping list. Cut coupons. Don't be afraid of thrifting. (A word of caution here, just because it's second hand stuff, doesn't mean it's cheap or that you need it.) That's a trap in and of itself and I've seen some thrift stores who are totally onto it.

 

6. Party!

Party with your man! Be best friends! Make time for him!

 

7. Pray.

I think this might be the most important one of all. Throughout your day, pray for his day. This is something that can be done while you are doing something else. Pray while you tidy the room or while you fold his clothes. If there is something in his life that concerns you--don't nag him, pray, and let God do the nagging. =)



 

You the man, baby!

 

Get ready--this is going to be a public thank-you to "the man."

 My man.

He's seriously pretty awesome and you really out to know it. Smile.

 

When I found out I was expecting Kade, I wasn't very happy. I'd been pretty sick the fall prior and just wasn't feeling up to it. Also, I knew that I was facing 2-3 months of terrible "morning sickness," and a major surgery followed by months of sleepless nights.

 

So, when I told him, I cried. Instead of saying something like, "How could you have let this happen??" He comforted me and told me everything would be okay. That somehow we would make it, that he would help me every step of the way.

 

When I started getting sick, he would go absolutely anywhere and at any hour of the day (or night) to get anything that I thought I might be able to keep down. For several weeks, he made scrambled eggs at breakfast, went to work all day, then came home and either helped with supper or did it all.

 

He never complained about the financial aspect of things even when we started making huge monthly payments--money that some men would have begrudged. He sacrificed a new gun, elk hunting and lasic surgery for yet another year--all for what we were sure was another little girl.

 

When we went to have the ultrasound, he didn't complain and whine because he had 4 girls and was confident that #5 was on the way. I cried tears of joy upon finding out we were having a boy--he was happy of course, but I knew that he would have loved another little pink bundle just as well.

 

He didn't mind shopping with me for baby's layette. Some guys would have hated it. Instead, he saw it as time to be together--even if we were just shopping.

 

When we had complications, he promised me that he would love and care for our little one no matter the outcome. When I would panic (often in the night hours) he would hold me close and pray me back to sleep.

 

He always did his best to arrange his work schedule so that he could be with me at the MANY doctor's appointments. He knew that I was worried and his presence was a great comfort to me.

 

He knows that I am a little OCD about having a clean and tidy house. Many times by the end of the day, I would lay half alseep on the couch (either just plain miserable, or those weeks on limited bedrest) and he would tidy the house at bedtime, put Kaite in her pajamas and ready the midnight snacks, milk/juice cups, ect. Some of the things he did were not really necessary--not even important in his mind--but he did them for me.

 

He got excited about helping me prepare the nursery and added his ideas to mine to make it cute and fun.....on a budget!

 

When it got hard to bend and reach, he washed my hair for me. Twice a week, for many weeks!

 

At Christmas-time, he did his best to help decorate the way I would have done it. If there was something I mentioned would be nice, he executed it. He makes me feel special by acting as if my ideas are the greatest. He always jumps right on them.

 

When Kaderick was born, he never left my side unless it was to be with baby in the nursery. Even when time stretched on and he missed lunch and had a headache, he was still there.

 

When Kaderick and I were learning the whole breastfeeding routine and the pain meds were making me and baby both sleepy, he fed me ice chips and tickled Kaderick's feet to keep us awake. When I couldn't remember times, he found an ap on his iphone to track Kaderick's feeding times.

 

He's not "too good" to change a diaper. In fact, if he is home, 9 times out of 10, he does this for me. The only time he doesn't change is during the night when his contacts are out. He tried a few times, and we usually ended up having a lot more laundry that way. Smile.

 

When I had baby blues, he stayed awake with me in the night and talked me through them. He located a free blackberry and activated it for me so that I could more easily access fb during feedings. Doing something helped keep me awake and alert when I was so sleepy.

 

Even now, when the baby cries in the night, he will get him for me while I use the restroom and get ready to nurse him.

 

I haven't quite lost all the "baby-fat" yet, but he still thinks I'm beautiful! (See, I told you--he's the man!)

 

He seems to know that at the end of a long day of school, housework and tending the baby, I need a little break. He is not impatient if I sit on the couch in the evening and fb a little or if I want to shower or have some "me time." If I have cabin fever from being in the house all day/week, he will gladly warm up the truck and take us ALL out for a while.

 

Personally, I think he's the best.

We have so much fun together and as a family.

We are so blessed!

 

I am so blessed!

 

I'm aware, that all these things may seem small, but it's the little things that add up. In a world that seems uncertain, I am thankful to have a Saviour, a companion, a family and a home, filled with love. If life as we know it were to end tomorrow, we would still have been given more than we deserve. I pray that God will give to us, and we will enstill in our children the grace and strength of heart necessary to overcome to the end.

 

Thank you, baby, for being the man you are! Whatever tomorrow brings, I am blessed to share my life with you!

 

 

 

Smile!

 

Smiles for his (she says) favorite big sister.

 

We are enjoying this happy little guy so much! He still gets me up every 3-4 hours around the clock to eat, but he has cried less in his 6 week life than....well....maybe we better not name names.

 



 

He loves to talk with daddy and I love to see them together. They don't look anything alike do they???

 

He is happiest in the mornings...a little ball of sunshine.

 

The frame below is one my hubby made from some old barnwood. Then we printed it here at home using Blockposters.com. You can enter the size you want and it divides it up in seperate sheets for you. It came out on 12 seperate sheets of regular size printer paper and we just modpodged it onto a thin piece of plywood. Total cost $8.00 and that was for the board. Sorry for the picture quality, it was taken with a camera phone--as were all of these. It seems so much easier than getting the camera out.