January 15, 1994

By God's grace, the first and most important decision of my life and most precious eternal gift happened in July 1993 when I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. By God's grace, the second most important decision and the most precious earthly gift I have received happened 20 years ago yesterday. On January 15, 1994, before God, I married my dearest and best friend. He was 20 and I was 19 and God has grown us up together in Him. Some years were pressing, some extra sweet, but all of them have been precious to me. I love you Chad, more than my heart could ever express and I will thank God for you always, until my very last breath.

It's a little late but I was having trouble with Blogger ... better late than never! :-) 

We had the sweetest week ever off together in a condo on Solana Beach.  Lots of beach time, running, relaxing, dinner with Andrew & Abbie and a visit with Grandma Alden & Aunt Leah! 

We are thanking the Lord for His kindness to us in our time away.  

Sunset run :-)

The panoramic view from our condo. :-)

40

Not in pounds but in years...Yesterday we got to celebrate Chad's 40th! We actually celebrated twice for this special birthday, once with a SPAM party last week and then just with our little family last night. Thankfully he did not request SPAM again for last night's dinner. :-)

Chad LOVES SPAM…yikes! In fact did you know there is a SPAM Museum in Minnesota?  Unfortunately Chad has added it to our list of stops for our cross country trip next Fall! J Did you know there are lots of recipe’s and ways to use SPAM??  Last week I made SPAM “cupcakes” and SPAM buns.  The “cupcakes” were simply mini SPAM/hamburger meatloaves with mashed potato “frosting” and SPAM buns is a friend’s recipe and honestly I have to say I could eat the SPAM buns.  The SPAM buns are grated SPAM, Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce (the original recipe calls for ketchup but Chad doesn’t eat ketchup) and garlic salt all mixed together then you top a potato roll with the SPAM mixture and grated cheese then broil them for a couple minutes and WALA … you actually have edible SPAM... it tastes like pulled pork!  For dessert we had Lazy Daisy Cake that Isabelle made and I made a Beer and Bacon Ice Cream Sundae Toffee Sauce that is poured over vanilla ice cream and topped with bacon crumbles, toasted pecans and sea salt!  No worries… all the beer cooks out J It actually turned out quite good, better than I expected!

Last night his dinner of choice was chicken fried steak with country gravy, homemade biscuits and eggs. He finished off the evening with a Bourbon Cherry Rhubarb Pie.  Gee… I think I am starting to see a pattern here with alcohol J… JK... honestly it cooks out and it is just the flavor left! I guess he has no worries about clogging any arteries at this point!  

Hard to believe my precious husband is 40.  We sat around the dining room table last night as the children and myself spoke of all the things we love about Daddy.  His kindness and patience, how he takes the time to teach them, his wrestling and tickle fights, how he is a good example of being a Godly husband and father and much more. It was precious to hear the children speak and a gift all in itself.  I love this man God has given me more than I can rightly express.  I am blessed that he unconditionally loves me, he is patient with my impatience, he is tender, longsuffering, sacrificial and unassuming. He is a special man who gives his all for another and loves his Savior with his whole heart. These years have gone quickly as we have grown up together. I pray the Lord will bless me with the gift of many more years with Chad as I have much to learn from this man. 

 



 

 

 

 

 

Hell, Fire and Brimstone

In February, Chad and Mitchell attended our church men's retreat and it is a tradition with this retreat to hold a food contest. All the work on the recipe and presentation HAS to be completed by the MEN only. The boys were proud of thier accomplishment... Mitchell created the food and Chad created the presentation! Being that both the boys love hot stuff and Chad's an electrician, the combination of the food and presentation was just perfect for them!

 



Jalapeno Chicken Wraps

1 lb. bnls sknls chicken breasts

1T garlic powder

1T onion powder

1T pepper

2 tsp season salt

1 tsp paprika

1 small onion, cut in strips

15 jalapeno peppers halved and seeded

1 lb bacon, halved widthwise

Cut chicken into 2" x 1.5" strips. In large Ziploc bag combine garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, seasoned salt and paprika. Add chicken to bag and coat chicken. Place a strip of chicken and a strip of onion in each jalapeno half and wrap the jalapeno in 1 strip of the halved lengthwise bacon. Secure with toothpick. Grill uncovered, over indirect medium heat for 18-20 minutes or until chicken juices runs clear and bacon is crisp, turning once. Serve with ranch or blue chees dressing.

19

Celebrating 19 precious years married to my dearest and best friend. Thank you Lord.  

A fun side note.... I have officially been married as many years as I was not married!
Married at 19, married 19 years!

 

 

 

 

Thirty - Nine

This week we celebrated the 39^th birthday

of my dearest and best friend. 

I love this man with all that is in me. 

He serves and loves his God and our

family with ardent and intense loyalty. 

He is a man of few words, but he speaks from the heart.  

He is a tender, kind and gentle leader,

a precious husband, father and friend.

His silly goose humor and off the wall comments

are just enough to keep us on our toes!  

He is our family’s greatest earthly treasure. 

Happy Birthday Honey

"God Bless Our Home"

We have looked at those four words on this little clock for 18 years now.  Our dear friends Carl & Laurie Smith from Alaska gave us that little clock on our wedding day 18 years ago, January 15, 1994.  This past Sunday Chad and I celebrated 18 sweet and salty years! I love thinking of the years in these terms because you often need the salty to enhance the sweetness!  God has truly blessed our home.  He has given us new life both physically and spiritually, multiple joys and sorrows, countless tender and severe mercies and He has lathered us with His grace over the years.  He gave us the privilege of walking many years alongside Papa and Gigi as their earthly lives ended and their eternal lives began, all under His tender loving care.  God has truly blessed our home.  This little clock died a few weeks ago, a new battery isn’t doing the trick anymore.  It is one of the few remaining gifts from our wedding day and still hangs indefinitely in our bathroom as I don’t have the heart to take it down yet … maybe someday! Until then, may it be a sweet reminder of the precious time God has already granted us and to anticipate what He will do through our family in the many years ahead.

Hunka, Hunka, burnin' love…..

My New Year’s Eve “date”…. How did I get so lucky!

(no, that is NOT his real chest hair)

The “Top 4” ugly sweaters of the night…..

It was quite an evening.... :-)

Time Away

A few weekends ago Chad and I had the opportunity to get away for a few days and what a sweet time it was!  I “surprised” him (it started as a surprise plan but he found out about it before we left) with a trip to Boise to watch a BSU football game on the Boise State “smurf turf”.  We flew out early on a Friday and came home on a Monday.   We really love the Boise area and it was fun to revisit some special places from our dating era. What an experience we had at the game!  We loved walking around and taking in all the tailgating parties, these are some very loyal BSU fans!  The children had a blast at their respective homes for the weekend.  Mitchell and JD enjoyed some time at the E’s, the middle three had a blast at the Beld’s for a couple nights, then sweet Maddie girl took care of them all here at home for the last night.  What a treasure trove of dear friends we have! It was a very special and much needed time away together. It was so good just to relax, refresh and regroup alone as a couple as we start this new season of family life without Papa and Gigi.  Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

On the plane

The sea of tailgaters

WOW...the back of one of the tailgaters vans!

Mitchell's future truck... :-)

Now that is a BBQ!

A new friend.... yikes!

Chad's new friends....big YIKES!

The view from our seats....they were great!

Sitting on our favorite bench....actually where we shared our first kiss....shhhhh!

The view from the bench, a beautiful valley.

Standing just about where we met 19 years ago :-)

Sunday, June 12

Happy 38^th Birthday…..to my precious husband.  We have almost spent more birthday’s together than apart. You are amazing. Thank you for your tender love and daily sacrifices for each one of us, especially Papa. 
I love you, I love you, I love you!

Birthdays are so fun for spoiling the birthday person, eating really nummy food and having a little fun with the cake (or in this case…cheesecake) decorations!

This banner greeted Chad at the end of our bed on his birthday morning!

~Click on it to see the cute notes up close~

Olive Garden's Chicken Carbonara

~ I originally got this recipe from the Olive Garden website
 but it is not on there now, so I included the same
recipe but from another source in the link above.
On a side note...the recipe listed above makes a very large amount
I halved the recipe, filled this serving tray and fed 10... with a little leftover ~

~ Mitchell's Jalapeno Chicken Wraps ~

~ Chad's favorite photo ~

~ Having a little fun with Daddy ~



Seventeen Years.....

and happily counting more! This past Saturday marked 17 years married for Chad and I!  On January 15, 1994 at the tender ages of 19 & 20 we vowed to love, honor and cherish each other till death doth part us. Seventeen years and five children later is a good start but truly just a drop in the bucket compared to the 64 years my grandparents spent together, but none the less a joy for us. We truly had no comprehension of the depths to the vows we were making that cold winter day in Alaska, but by the grace of God, He has intertwined our two individual lives with Himself and in Him we are one…. a three cord strand not easily broken.

We were very thankful for the opportunity to go away for one night! This only happened because of the many sweet people who took our responsibilities for a time so we could have this special night away. Mitchell offered to stay with Papa and so with sweet R’s help for the overnight, he took care of Papa for us….we love that boy and are so grateful for who he is and his kind heart. The younger four had an absolutely wonderful time with Kelsey and Aaron Tolsma for the night! We have heard all about what fun they had….the Library, Dairy Queen, Edaleen for ice cream, movies, dress up….the list goes on…thank you Kels and Aaron! Sweet Mrs. E came out when the children were brought home to spend some time with them and help Mitchell as he needed it. The kiddos so enjoyed their time with Mrs. E also…thank you Barb!

Earlier in the week we took some time to watch our wedding video with the children… what a hoot that was! We had a little shocker when we realized that Mitchell now, at 14 ½, and being 5’10’’ and 185 lbs. is the same height but weighs 40 lbs. more than Chad did when we got married!!! Not to mention his current shoe size …between a 12 and 13 totally dwarfs his Daddy….even now! We often lamented how over quick our service went, almost a drive thru wedding! This time while watching the video we timed it and after the processional and all the wedding party was up front, from the Pastor’s first words until he pronounced us man and wife was 6 min. and 40 seconds!!!! There was still a song and a couple small happenings after that but the total service time from the first lighting of the candles to the last person walking off the stage was something like 22 minutes….YIKES…how many things we would change about that day if we could! We love how different the weddings are now and how there is much more than just the “I DO’s”. Special vows and a charge by the pastor are just a couple of the sweet things we get to enjoy now. It is fun to look back and enjoy memory of the day but in reality it is not the “wedding day” that matters but the marriage itself. To God’s glory we are best friends who are so grateful to be married to one another!

Ecclesiastes 9:9

Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun.

Then and Now.....quite a difference!





Handy AND Handsome

Saturday marked 37 years for my dear hubby….what a treasure he is to me, our family and those around him. We had a delicious birthday dinner of his choice….homemade chili, corn fritters and not one... but TWO pans of monkey bread. Those who know him well will quickly notice the lack of anything green on the table! Chad likes to joke of himself…”if a man is not handsome, then he better be handy”!  Well….he is both and so, so much more!! How can I take only a few words to describe my sweet husband, best friend, and beloved father to our children...Godly, faithful, leader, generous, humble, longsuffering, kind, hardworking, self sacrificing, tender, wise counselor, encourager, loyal, funny…and so much more. What he has taught me, and continues to teach, through his example; over our 16 years of marriage is unmatched. In the day to day mundane, the sweet and special moments, the difficult seasons…Eph. 4:32 rings true of him….”Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has also forgiven you.”
I want to share with you one moment, in one day of many, which will hopefully give you a tiny glimpse into the heart of my husband. The night before his birthday I was able to spend a few hours away with some dear friends.  Chad as always, was gracious to let me go and so faithful in caring for Papa and Gigi. After the two of them were in bed he slipped back into their room to check that all was well and somehow Gigi had placed herself kneeling on the floor over her side of the bed. She was crying, possibly trying to pray, we are not sure. After picking her up and sitting her on the bed, he knelt down beside her to make sure everything was ok….but she was not. She was weeping and not understanding what was happening, why was she like this, she so desperately wanted her Mother and wondering why the Lord just won’t take her home. As tenderly as possible Chad comforted her, assuring her that she will see her Mother again and that the Lord greatly loves and cares for her and knows her days. He was able to calm her with his words and again tuck her into bed with assurances of his love and ours. In moments like these, I can hardly believe the tender and faithful love with which he cares for my grandparents and how he has led me in learning to serve and love them faithfully. The added beauty is that in so many ways he mirrors my Papa. Every word I used to describe Chad are the same ones I would use to describe Papa. I have long told Papa that I wanted to marry a man like him. I praise the Lord that in Chad, He has given me my hearts desire.