I Love You Daddy!

When Juliet was born Father's Day was right around the corner. I wanted to make something special for Jon. Something that he could keep through the years, but also something that demonstrated the gravity and responsibility of being a Father. Roaming through a newspaper one day I found this poem.

DADDY WILL YOU

by:Betty Boyd

Well here I am, your little girl, ll cute and cuddly and full of life. I don't know how

 I'm supposed to act, and what I am to believe. God gave us each other, so there must be

 things He wants us to learn together.

As I grow into a lady, I want you to be proud of me even though you won't be pleased

 with some of the things I'll do.

So Daddy , will you...

~ Hold me when I'm afraid and need to feel your security, and also for no reason other

 than you just want to?

~ Listen to me when I'm just being silly, needing to talk things out, and then guide

me with truths?

~ Encourage me with hope when I get depressed and down

on myself and life?

~ Teach me what is right and what is wrong, and when needed, the whys that

will make it easier to make my decisions with wisdom?

~ Tell me how me think so I can better understand their viewpoints, so I can

easier set boundaries where needed, to make relationships respectable and richer?

~ Help me discover my gifts, talents and treasure in me, and encourage me to

dream about walking in them  with God with confidence and humility?

~ Bless me with approval, and acceptance of me, and the much needed life

giving fruit of the Spirit, as well as blessing me with your correction?

~ So as you hold me ~ comfort me ~ listen to me ~ encourage me ~ teach me ~

tell me ~ help me ~ and bless me, you will be showing me who God is, and then

 I will be able to trust and love Him, and will want to follow Him and a life in

 obedience and surrender.

 

And finally daddy, when I grow up and am ready to marry, I will already know who

 I am looking for, because I saw him first in you. 

 

 

 

I took a picture frame that I had purchase at a garage sale which had two mat board. On one I wrote this poem ( and also attached the newspaper cutout on the back for easier reading). On the other board I painted Miss Juliet's foot and pressed it to the board. He loved it!

 

 

LOVE THIS GIRL!!!

 

 



Til Death Do We Part.

Marriage is challenging. People change and adapt.

I remember when my husband and I first got married I wanted to do everything in my power to maintain a strong and healthy relationship between us. I read books prior to marriage about marriage. We read books together after marriage about marriage.

I once heard a sermon about tracking your history with God. This pastor said that it was important to keep track of where God has taken you in life, the prayers he's answered and the miracles he's worked in your life. He personally wrote all this down in his Bible. He had a page where he wrote prayer requests. When they were answered he would make note of it. Also, when God spoke to him through a verse he would also make not of it next to the verse. Thus, you could flip through this mans Bible and tangibly see how God had worked in his life.

There are moments or experiences in life that you think you will never forget, but as a wise proverb goes "The palest ink is better than the sharpest memory".

I wanted this type of "history" with my husband. So we created a notebook that houses our memories together. We started on the 4 hour drive to our honeymoon destination. We wrote about our wedding, who was there, what we enjoyed most. Then we wrote about each day on our honeymoon, what we did, where we went etc. We still write in it to this day (2 years and a baby later) about special trips we go on or huge markers in our life.

 

One day when times are rough and we have a hard time loving or understand in one another we can flip through those pages and maybe fall in love again. OR if things maintain their status qua we can read them together for fun and share (some of them) with our kids.

Although this book is stashed away in a drawer and taken our for special occasion we also try to do a visible reminder of how we appreciate one another. In our bathroom on the medicine cabinet we each have a little pocket (labeled "10 Things I Love About My Life w/ You") with pieces of paper in them. Ten total. When Jon does something that blows me away, makes my heart feel warm and my spirit grateful I write it down and put the date. It's a way he can feel affirmed. It's also a good way I can remember what a blessing he is in my life.

 

 

Here's an example for why I LOVE THIS MAN......

Purchase at Micheal's or you can make your own :)

Momma Mia...

Motherhood? It's fabulous, thrilling, monotonous, exhausting, confusing, open-ended and freeing. There are so many mixed emotions about being a stay-at-home mom. In college I would never imagined living the life I have now. As a business student I imagined myself the young money monger of some fortune 500 company living the fabulously single, fashionably rich and frantically busy life blazing the untrodden path for both women and youth. Here I am 26 years old, married, staying at home with a 3 month old. My daily routines are hardly what I imagined 4 years ago (they definitely don't make Time magazine) and yet I feel more meaning in my routines than any non-profit or sales gig I had in L.A. or here in Redding. But, I do crave more.

As a new student to motherhood I want to achieve so many things. I want to be the wise, caring and encouraging wife. I want to be an available friend. I want a clean house. I want to be a fantastic cook. I want to be a good mother. I want to pursue a rewarding career. I want to be involved in my community. I want to look fabulous (and not smell of Perfume de leche). I want free-time. I want to travel overseas and across the U.S.  I want to create with my mind and hands. Stereotypical to my generation I want ALL these things NOW! The best lesson I have learned is I don't have to have the perfect house, be flawlessly dresses, make immaculate meals, have a career that makes headlines. Baby steps. I take each day, measure each option. It's morning Miss Juliet (my precious baby) wakes up in a fabulous mood I need to clean the house because company is coming. I can...

a. Spend some time with Miss Juliet singing songs and making faces.

b. Or, put the kid in the swing, vacuum and do a quick dusting.

I opt now for the first option. It's rewarding to both of us. I've learned some things can wait (like the dust mites). Relationships are of NOW importance. House chores will always be there, but the option to spend special windows of time with people come and go.

Today, I choose to be intentional and make time to share special moments with people I love.