Making a House a Home

This is going to be my last post for about a month. Why? Because we are leaving TODAY to go bring our daughter home!!!! We are BEYOND excited and oh-so-ready to end this almost 2 year wait we've had.

She's coming home!!! She's coming home!!!!

If y'all happen to think of us, please pray for our safety, Elizabeth's adjustment to our family, that none of us will get sick (my sister gets massive migraines- especially pray for her as she's going with us.) and most of all that we will be an example to all we meet of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the meantime, take some time to look at the wonderful websites and blogs that I have listed on the right side of this blog. There are plenty of really great blogs to be reading!!!

His,
Mrs. U

Mr. U always chuckles when he sees me fussing over a room- straighten a little here, move this pillow there, stack those books, fold this afghan, etc. But fuss I will because I want to make our house a home.

I consider our home to be clean, but clean doesn't always mean tidy. These two pictures are just a small example of the difference between tidy and untidy. I've discovered over the years that it's the small things that really do make a difference.

Yes, I am quite aware that YESTERDAY was Valentine's Day and that I should have posted this then. Sigh. I may be a day late, but I am still in love with Mr. U so I do want to share about how we met and a little about our wedding.

We met December 9, 1997, online. Yup, you read that correctly. We met online. :) While we did email back and forth a bit, it still seemed kind of creepy to me to be conversing with a man that I hadn't met face to face. Then one day, lo and behold, he happened to mention the name of his aunt and uncle and I knew them personally!! I was very well acquainted with them and, in fact, LOVED this family!!!! I knew that I just had to meet Mr. U at that point!!!

We met face to face on December 23, 1997. There he was- so handsome, so kind and caring, so SMART!!! And I was a nervous wreck!!! For him, he said he fell in love on our 2nd date. I asked him how in the world he "does" a funeral (I couldn't think of a better word- HA!!). He's a pastor, so I was curious. Just how does one "do" a funeral. He smiled and told me later that at that moment, he knew I was "the one".

It took me a while to know he was "the one". After almost 2 months of knowing him and after MUCH prayer and fasting, God gave me complete peace that Mr. U was the man for me. I knew that I loved him, but I wanted the Lord to confirm that he was the man God had chosen.

Mr. U asked me to marry him on July 20, 1998. I may share the details of how he asked me one day, but not now. :) We planned our wedding day to be December 12, 1998, and boy was I ready!!

The day was overcast and COLD!!!! I had always had dreams of a very sunshiny wedding day, but this was not to be. However, I think we had MORE than enough sunshine beaming from the smiles of Mr. U and myself!!! I walked down the isle on the arm of my dad and walked out of the church, 30 minutes later, very proud to be Mrs. U. What a dream come true!!

Since the Lord saved me in 1989, I had been praying about being married one day. I prayed about my husband- for him and his possible needs, for his character, for his walk with the Lord. I also prayed that the Lord would teach me what it means to be a loving, godly wife. I am so blessed that the Lord gave me such an incredibly husband in Mr. U. He is a man of great conviction and character and I truly admire his walk with the Lord and the wisdom he has from studying God's Word so much. I have far to go in becoming a loving, godly wife, but with Mr. U by my side, leading the way, and with the Lord as my Strength and Shield, it will happen. Slowly but surely, it will happen.

To God be the Glory.

(This picture was the last shot taken before Mr. U and I drove away from the church after our wedding reception. We were in Mr. U's Jeep and it was WAY too small for my dress!! LOL!! My dress was smooshed in the Jeep and it was so poofy that it came up to my armpits when sitting in that car!!! I was holding a container of food that the caterer had prepared for Mr. U and myself and it was sitting on top of my dress almost up to my chin!! LOL!!!)

For more encouraging posts on "Celebrating Marriage", please visit The Homespun Heart.

Cute, huh? Well, it's MUCH more than just cute. It's TRUE!! I DO love Mr. U!! He's the most wonderful man I've ever met!! I'll tell y'all just a smidge more about him tomorrow on Valentine's Day!!

Oh, and I found the heart here.

The Homespun Heart (another neat blog I recently discovered) is hosting a Blog Tea Party!!! All of us are invited to participate!!!

Here's what she says...

So, here's what we are going to do...our tea will be themed on celebrating marriage. You can tell us all about your wedding - show a photo of your invitation, program, dress, flowers, etc... Tell us about the ceremony or reception - just whatever you want to share about it. We'll do this on Valentine's Day ~ come back here and I'll try to figure out the Mr. Linky thing, grab your favorite cup of tea and enjoy visiting with each other!

Here is my hope for this, that we will encourage one another in the gift of marriage and celebrate what God has given us in our spouse. You will see more about this in my posts on our tea party that is taking place at my home.

Here are the rules:

1. Come back here on February 14th to enter the link to your post. You may use the above button to advertise this on your blog.

2. Share photos and details about your wedding.

3. Only share positive qualities that you enjoy and appreciate about your husband. I am not interested in hosting a gripe session. Include something you love about your husband, so that he is encouraged as well.

So don't forget, y'all! It's tomorrow!! What a neat way to show your love for your husband- declare it to the world!!!!

The Lord is good!!!!!

We're not "rich" by worldly standards. We ARE rich in the Lord, but sometimes needing "stuff" to function in this life is a necessity and we need "stuff" for Elizabeth when she finally gets to come home.

This past Saturday, our church family gave us a baby shower and BOY did they shower on the gifts!!!! I was in awe as I saw the the mountain of presents for our baby!!!! I feel like the Lord has spoiled us to pieces- He gives us salvation, He gives us Elizabeth, and now He makes sure she has things she needs. How GREAT of the Lord to provide like this!!!!


I have to tell you, though, of all the gifts that we have received, my FAVORITE gift was the sweet bunny slippers in the photo!!! Aren't they just BEYOND adorable!!!!!

Also, a lady in the church made us this incredible diaper "cake"!!!! Can you get over it!?? I counted and there are 90, yes NINETY diapers all rolled up and stacked on top of each other. Plus she "decorated" the cake with lots of sweet baby things all around the cake- hair bands and bows, socks, bath scrunchies, bunny rabbit on top (complete with bunny slippers to match!!!). It was lovely!!!

Now... I'm off to try to straighten up Elizabeth's room. It's amazing to me how a little bitty girl who is on the other side of the world can have such a messy bedroom already!! Haha!!!

EDIT- For another EXCELLENT example of a diaper "cake", please visit Susan's blog, A Place Called Home.

Diet Coke.

Since the fall, I've been on a big sweet potato kick. My FAVORITE way to eat them is to bake them in the oven like french fries! YUMMMM!!!! Here's the way I make them...

Sweet Potato Fries
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut up like french fries
1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (or whatever oil you use)
salt
pepper

Once all the sweet potaotes have been cup up, place them on a cookie sheet and drizzle the oil on the fries. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste and mix the sweet potatoes around to make sure they are all coated with the oil. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. About 1/2 way through, you may want to flip them over on the pan for more even cooking. When they are done, sprinkle with a smidge more salt and enjoy!!!

These are really good, in my opinion, and I've eaten this VERY often for breakfast!

Not only are sweet potatoes mighty tasty, but they pack a great big healthy punch of good nutrition! Check it out here.

Yesterday I made tastiest drop biscuits to go with our lunch. I'm pretty sure that I could have eaten every single one of them!! Oh my!!!

I got the recipe from a cookbook from The Bread Beckers. I buy wheatberries from them and grind them into flour. While this recipe does call for freshly ground wheat, I don't see any reason why you couldn't use regular whole wheat flour from the grocery store instead. I haven't tried it, but I certainly would try it if I didn't have fresh wheat.

Okay... enough talk... here's the recipe and, oh my stars, are they delicious!!!!

Cheese and Herb Drop Biscuits
(from The Bread Beckers)

2 cups freshly milled flour (hard white)
1 T baking powder
1 tsp.salt
¼ cup oil
1 cup milk
2 cups extra sharp cheddar cheese
1 T Italian seasoning
1 T parsley
1 tsp garlic powder

Mix dry ingredients together. Make a “well” in the middle and then stir in milk and oil. Drop by big spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Makes 12 biscuits.