Thursday, February 22, 2007
Weekend To Remember
On March 2nd, Todd and I are going to attend a weekend marriage conference put on by Family Life. It is called a “Weekend To Remember”.
I first heard about the “Weekend To Remember” when reading a blog one day. I’ve been reading Jule's wonderful blog for quite some time and back in December she wrote about the many marriages that were falling apart around her. Someone who left a comment on her blog mentioned Family Life’s Weekend To Remember. I remember going to the website and checking it out. It looked like a really nice conference.
About a month ago the conference came up again. We were having a meeting in our home for all of the small group leaders from church. One of the guys mentioned that he and his wife were going to start up a small group just for couples. He said they were trying to get a group of couples to go to the Weekend To Remember.
After that meeting I mentioned to Todd that it might be neat to go to. He agreed so we contacted the couple who were organizing the group and we got signed up.
My only concern about signing up for the conference was Evan. This is sad but we have never left him with anyone else except for a few times when he was really young. When I talked to the lady who was organizing the trip she was making comments about some other people she knows of that never leave their kids and go out and do things. I was too embarrassed to tell her that we are very much that way.
Todd and I aren’t going to the conference because our marriage is falling apart. We have a pretty strong marriage. We do, however, have trouble finding time for one another. It seems like we are sometimes two ships that pass in the night. (Thank you Barry Manilow for that song.) My hope for this conference is first of all to just be with Todd and enjoy each other. I don’t care where we are. As long as we are together it is all good. I’m also hoping to refresh our marriage. Marriage isn’t over when you say “I Do!”. It is something you have to work on daily like any relationship you care about. And as Jules says – it has to be God centered. I’m looking forward to next weekend. Our friends that have been there before told me that it had taken their marriage to a whole new level. I’m anxious to see where God is taking us.
I first heard about the “Weekend To Remember” when reading a blog one day. I’ve been reading Jule's wonderful blog for quite some time and back in December she wrote about the many marriages that were falling apart around her. Someone who left a comment on her blog mentioned Family Life’s Weekend To Remember. I remember going to the website and checking it out. It looked like a really nice conference.
About a month ago the conference came up again. We were having a meeting in our home for all of the small group leaders from church. One of the guys mentioned that he and his wife were going to start up a small group just for couples. He said they were trying to get a group of couples to go to the Weekend To Remember.
After that meeting I mentioned to Todd that it might be neat to go to. He agreed so we contacted the couple who were organizing the group and we got signed up.
My only concern about signing up for the conference was Evan. This is sad but we have never left him with anyone else except for a few times when he was really young. When I talked to the lady who was organizing the trip she was making comments about some other people she knows of that never leave their kids and go out and do things. I was too embarrassed to tell her that we are very much that way.
Todd and I aren’t going to the conference because our marriage is falling apart. We have a pretty strong marriage. We do, however, have trouble finding time for one another. It seems like we are sometimes two ships that pass in the night. (Thank you Barry Manilow for that song.) My hope for this conference is first of all to just be with Todd and enjoy each other. I don’t care where we are. As long as we are together it is all good. I’m also hoping to refresh our marriage. Marriage isn’t over when you say “I Do!”. It is something you have to work on daily like any relationship you care about. And as Jules says – it has to be God centered. I’m looking forward to next weekend. Our friends that have been there before told me that it had taken their marriage to a whole new level. I’m anxious to see where God is taking us.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Am I Who I Say I Am?
I have to admit that I can get very frustrated with people when driving. This has always been an issue with me although I have been a lot better about it the last several years. I’ve always admired how Todd handles what is going on around him when driving. He seems to just drive without ever being bothered by the rude people that cut him off or tailgate him. How does he do that? I’ve always wondered. I think I’ll always be bothered by those people. It is just in my DNA. LOL!
Years ago I would respond by doing similar things back to them in order to “teach them a lesson”. That was not a very smart thing to do let alone a very Christian thing to do. I realized I had a problem with this and have made a very conscious effort to think first before reacting. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn’t. I often have a conversation with myself in which I tell myself that I know what the right thing to do is and to do that instead of what I really want to do. I ask God to help me to calm down and not react. I guess I take it personally when someone is driving erratic around me. I realize though that they do this to everyone not just me. Somehow that makes me feel better. I’m sure the other people don’t though. LOL! I am doing so much better with this. Yes – it still bothers me when people are rude on the road but I try to do the right thing which is just to let them around me and not let it bother me.
A friend of mine sent me this story that really hit home with me. It makes me think – if I say I’m a Christian – am I truly what I say I am?
A man is being tailgated by a stressed-out woman on a busy Boulevard. Suddenly, the light turns yellow, just in front of him. He does the honest thing, and stops at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.
The tailgating woman hits the roof, and the horn, screaming in frustration as she misses her chance to get through the intersection with him. As she is still in mid-rant, she hears a tap on her window and looks up into the face of a very serious police officer.
The officer orders her to exit her car with her hands up. He takes her to the police station where she is searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a cell.
After a couple of hours, a policeman approaches the cell and opens the door. She is escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer is waiting with her personal effects.
He says, "I'm very sorry for this mistake."
"You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping the guy off in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him."
"I noticed the "Choose Life" license plate holder, the "What Would Jesus Do" bumper sticker, the "Follow Me to Sunday School" bumper sticker, and the chrome plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk."
"Naturally I assumed you had stolen the car."
Years ago I would respond by doing similar things back to them in order to “teach them a lesson”. That was not a very smart thing to do let alone a very Christian thing to do. I realized I had a problem with this and have made a very conscious effort to think first before reacting. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn’t. I often have a conversation with myself in which I tell myself that I know what the right thing to do is and to do that instead of what I really want to do. I ask God to help me to calm down and not react. I guess I take it personally when someone is driving erratic around me. I realize though that they do this to everyone not just me. Somehow that makes me feel better. I’m sure the other people don’t though. LOL! I am doing so much better with this. Yes – it still bothers me when people are rude on the road but I try to do the right thing which is just to let them around me and not let it bother me.
A friend of mine sent me this story that really hit home with me. It makes me think – if I say I’m a Christian – am I truly what I say I am?
A man is being tailgated by a stressed-out woman on a busy Boulevard. Suddenly, the light turns yellow, just in front of him. He does the honest thing, and stops at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.
The tailgating woman hits the roof, and the horn, screaming in frustration as she misses her chance to get through the intersection with him. As she is still in mid-rant, she hears a tap on her window and looks up into the face of a very serious police officer.
The officer orders her to exit her car with her hands up. He takes her to the police station where she is searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a cell.
After a couple of hours, a policeman approaches the cell and opens the door. She is escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer is waiting with her personal effects.
He says, "I'm very sorry for this mistake."
"You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping the guy off in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him."
"I noticed the "Choose Life" license plate holder, the "What Would Jesus Do" bumper sticker, the "Follow Me to Sunday School" bumper sticker, and the chrome plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk."
"Naturally I assumed you had stolen the car."
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
My treadmill no longer treads!
Since the beginning of the year I have been walking on my treadmill and a few times outside. I was inspired by a new blog friend who had posted about walking across America. That intrigued me so I read on and realized that anyone could sign up and at the end of each week she would add up all of the miles that people had walked and that is how far we walked as a group together. I liked the idea of walking with other bloggers. One blogger even said that while she walked she would be praying for all of the other walkers that signed up. I thought that was pretty neat. Each week there is a posting with a picture of how far we had gone on the map along with a picture of that area and what kind of places are around there. If you want to check it out click here.
I have only missed 3 days of walking since then. My goal has been to walk 7 miles a week. However, last week I made it 10 miles and I’m shooting for that again this week. I’m sure to a lot of you that doesn’t sound like a lot. But to me it has been about 80% more than I was doing before so that is good. It takes me 20 minutes to do a mile on the treadmill.
Today I was all prepared to get on and get my 2 miles in. However, about 4 minutes into my walk my treadmill starting to make this terrible noise and started to slow down. I looked down and the belt was way over to the left and starting to get cut by the sides. This happened last week and my wonderful husband somehow fixed it for me. He had to adjust the belt and then all was well.
We’ve had our treadmill for about 12 yrs and I think we maybe used it 10 times before I started using it this January. Before I could have cared less if it was working but now it is a matter of life and death. LOL!
Since Todd is out of town until tomorrow I decided to walk around my house instead. With the extremely cold temperatures and the 4” of snow we got yesterday evening walking outside was not an option. Evan just kind of stared at me when I told him I was going to walk around the house since the treadmill wasn’t working. My poor dog, Abby, started to follow me around like she always does and finally just stopped and looked at me like I was crazy. Well, she is a poodle and yes they are smart. LOL!
I decided it was best to do this during the day when the neighbors couldn’t see into the house real well. I’m sure I looked like a crazed person hurrying around and going in circles. I did walk for 20 minutes 2 different times so I got it done. I’m not sure what Todd will think when he comes home and sees the paths in the carpet from where I walked. Maybe I’ll have to get the vacuum out!
I have only missed 3 days of walking since then. My goal has been to walk 7 miles a week. However, last week I made it 10 miles and I’m shooting for that again this week. I’m sure to a lot of you that doesn’t sound like a lot. But to me it has been about 80% more than I was doing before so that is good. It takes me 20 minutes to do a mile on the treadmill.
Today I was all prepared to get on and get my 2 miles in. However, about 4 minutes into my walk my treadmill starting to make this terrible noise and started to slow down. I looked down and the belt was way over to the left and starting to get cut by the sides. This happened last week and my wonderful husband somehow fixed it for me. He had to adjust the belt and then all was well.
We’ve had our treadmill for about 12 yrs and I think we maybe used it 10 times before I started using it this January. Before I could have cared less if it was working but now it is a matter of life and death. LOL!
Since Todd is out of town until tomorrow I decided to walk around my house instead. With the extremely cold temperatures and the 4” of snow we got yesterday evening walking outside was not an option. Evan just kind of stared at me when I told him I was going to walk around the house since the treadmill wasn’t working. My poor dog, Abby, started to follow me around like she always does and finally just stopped and looked at me like I was crazy. Well, she is a poodle and yes they are smart. LOL!
I decided it was best to do this during the day when the neighbors couldn’t see into the house real well. I’m sure I looked like a crazed person hurrying around and going in circles. I did walk for 20 minutes 2 different times so I got it done. I’m not sure what Todd will think when he comes home and sees the paths in the carpet from where I walked. Maybe I’ll have to get the vacuum out!
Saturday, February 03, 2007
He’s getting married!
I posted before about my Dad “Moving Forward” after my Mom’s death in September 2004. Well yesterday I got a call from him and he and Fran are engaged and getting married on March 30th in Florida.
I am not surprised by this but I guess the whole enormity of it is starting to sink in. I am very happy for him and anxious to meet Fran. However, there are a lot of painful feelings going through me as well. I know that Fran will never replace my Mom and I’m sure she isn’t wanting to do that anyway. But the fact that my Dad is moving on makes me miss my Mom even more.
They are still planning on living in Ohio in the summer and in Florida in the winter. He said they would stay in his Ohio home which will be nice. When he started to talk about moving into her house in Florida and eventually selling his Florida home it made me sad. There are so many memories there for me. We have probably been down there 10 out of the last 12 years. Todd, Evan and I would go down in the winter for a week and have the best time. Mom would always have things planned out for us to do and even schedule a dinner and a play for Todd and I to go see while they watched Evan. We took him since he was a baby and I’m sure he has memories there as well. We have only been down there once since Mom passed away. It was very hard being there without her. I had to take Mom’s place in the kitchen and we were on our own to make plans. I’m sure it was hard for Dad as well.
I know this is just another step in dealing with Mom being gone. I think there will always be steps. Hopefully they will be less steep as time goes on.
I am not surprised by this but I guess the whole enormity of it is starting to sink in. I am very happy for him and anxious to meet Fran. However, there are a lot of painful feelings going through me as well. I know that Fran will never replace my Mom and I’m sure she isn’t wanting to do that anyway. But the fact that my Dad is moving on makes me miss my Mom even more.
They are still planning on living in Ohio in the summer and in Florida in the winter. He said they would stay in his Ohio home which will be nice. When he started to talk about moving into her house in Florida and eventually selling his Florida home it made me sad. There are so many memories there for me. We have probably been down there 10 out of the last 12 years. Todd, Evan and I would go down in the winter for a week and have the best time. Mom would always have things planned out for us to do and even schedule a dinner and a play for Todd and I to go see while they watched Evan. We took him since he was a baby and I’m sure he has memories there as well. We have only been down there once since Mom passed away. It was very hard being there without her. I had to take Mom’s place in the kitchen and we were on our own to make plans. I’m sure it was hard for Dad as well.
I know this is just another step in dealing with Mom being gone. I think there will always be steps. Hopefully they will be less steep as time goes on.
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