Completing Him Challenge - Week 4

This weeks Marriage challenge is:
Admire Your Husband

If you are a blogger write a post all about your husband and what you admire in him and then show it to him! He will smile! If you are not a blogger, list the things you admire about your husband in the comment section and show it to him! You may THINK he already knows the things you admire about him - but I'm afraid we don't tell our husbands often enough how much we do. So here's your chance to selflessly gush about your man! And don't forget to link up over at The Women Living Well Blog




Here is what I admire about the man I love:

- Allen has such a gentle calming presence. His voice, his touch ... no matter what the circumstance he can put me at easy.

- He reassures me and our kids often of his love and delight for us. We know he loves us, but it is so so nice to hear it regularly.

- Gotta say I those muscles ... and not just because they are so attractive. He can carry my over packed suitcase with easy. He can open any jar or container I hand him. He can lift a four year old in one arm and two year old in the other and still master several flights of stairs!

- He is such a hard worker and cares very much about doing a good job at whatever he is working on. He is a wonderful leader and provider for our family.

- He has the amazing ability to fix things! I've only called a plumber once in our 17 years of marriage. Stoves, washmachines, toilets, electrical wiring, cars, trucks and old lawn mowers ... he understands it all.

- He cares very much about treating others with kindness and respect. And I adore that he is teaching that to our kids.

- He cares deeply for our extended families and goes to great lengths to make sure we spend time with them. Family is very important to him and close to his heart.

- He is an amazing listener ... I knew this long before I married him, even before I dated him. He is a great friend, cares greatly about what his friends think and feel.

- He has the most amazing eyes!!! And when he smiles there have always been these tiny lines in the corner of his eyes ... not sure how to explain it except that I am so drawn to those eyes! And two of our boys have almost exactly the same eyes.

- He has studied me and knows me like no one else. He sees my feelings, he cares and he listens. He has always let me be just me. I am completely comfortable to be just me with him. He knows when I need encouragement, and when I need silence. He knows when I need his tender embrace but also knows when I need my own space.

- He makes me feel safe, protected and cared for.

Completing Him Challenge - Week 2

I love the idea that Courtney came up with for this summer. Please join us over at The Women Living Well Blog to share in this challenge with us.
This weeks challenge is simply to Remember. Remember the day you entered your sacred vows. If you are a blogger, please post pictures from that day and share your story. Then link up over at Women Living Well


Hard to believe its been 17 years! Did we really ever look that young? Our kids laugh when they see our wedding pictures. We were just talking last night about what if someone would have told us when we got married that 17 years from now you will have been pregnant 7 times and have 5 children, or that you will homeschool your children, or any number of other things ... our life is so different than what we imagined and we are ever so grateful that God is in control!!! I'm so blessed to know and love this man! so proud to be his wife! And as much as I enjoy thinking about our future together, I can't help but wonder how different it will really turn out from we are imagining today.

Completing Him Challenge - Week 1

It's Week #1 of the Completing Him Challenge, hosted by Courtney over at Women Living Well.

Proverbs 5:18b&19 tells husbands "May you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer - may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love."

The challenge this week is to remember those dating days ... those days of courtship before you were man and wife, back when he first captivated your heart and you captivated his. Share pictures or stories from your dating days. So here are a few of our dating memories:


As you can see (by the prom attire) we were indeed highschool sweethearts. Its hard for me to believe that this picture was taken over 20 years ago. There are a lot more photos from those days ... but I just have to find time to scan them in. We have 5 kids now, so time is something I'm a bit short on.




This picture was taken at his graduation party. He graduated 2 years before me ... this was such a bittersweet day for me. Happy and proud for him, yet I knew it meant having to say goodbye soon as he was joining the NAVY. Long distance relationships are tough, but God knew what He was doing. We grew closer through letters and occasional phone calls. Those were most certainly not easy years, my heart ached for him every day. I remember wondering if something that hard was really "worth it" ... was it worth the loneliness till we could be together again? We were engaged just after I graduated and married the following summer. If I could go back in time I would tell my then teenage self to hang in there because it is so much more than "worth it". I could not have even imagined the life and blessings that God would bring our way. I still thank my hubby for making me his wife, for waiting through those lonely times till we could be together.

Completing Him Challenge Begins

This summer I am joining in with Courtney from Women Living Well in her Completing Him Challenge. Here's a short video describing the challenge:



I want to be the woman my husband needs. Do you? I know we love our men and sometimes in the mundane routine of life we forget to nurture and care for them.

Would you like to join me? Click here to visit Courtny's blog