Project 366: Day 22 [March 9th]

I love Fridays.

Alright, alright... I know probably EVERY ONE in the world likes Fridays, but I really do. There's something freeing about them. Wouldn't you agree? I don't even work outside of the home and I feel that way, so I am sure those of you with a Monday to Friday work week feel the exact same way. But seriously-- there's just something 'relaxing' about Friday. It's a beautiful word, honestly. Probably one of my favorites in the English language. Some might say Saturday is far more precious, but just give me Friday :) 

Another reason I love Fridays is because it is my cleaning day. I grew up in a home where cleaning was habitual. I remember laying in bed on a Saturday morning and hearing the vacuum cleaner being ran. I can honestly say my mom cleaned our house EVERY Saturday. She was dedicated to it. She loved a clean house and I grew to appreciate the same thing. She loved being able to sit down Saturday afternoon and know that every thing had been dusted, swept, and cleaned. I've taken that and ran with it since becoming a married woman! :) I don't do this work on Saturday mornings.... Friday mornings are the chosen day! I LOVE it. I deep clean everything. The office desk gets scrubbed, the shoes get picked up and vacuumed under, the tables in the living room get dusted, Tayler's play room gets picked up, the dining room gets swept and mopped along with the mudroom, downstairs bathroom, and kitchen. Left overs get cleaned out of the fridge, dishes are all washed, laundry gets completely caught up, bedding gets washed, the bath tub and sink get scrubbed along with the toilet, and even the washer and dryer get a little cleaning love :) It's MY day. I crank up some music (or Yo Gabba Gabba per Tayler's request) and have it! I LOVE a clean house and I LOVE when my husband walks through the door Friday afternoon and says, "Baby, the house looks amazing!" It makes me feel good. I enjoy not worrying about individuals coming over and seeing a mess (although my house doesn't look perfect all of the time, I will admit that, haha! We do still have a toddler running around!) But it just makes me appreciate my home more when I clean it. Do any of you feel the same way?

That's our lovely kitchen! I even opened up the windows to let some natural light in. I LOVE it and I'm very thankful that we have it!

After that, Tayler and I just hung out. She took a rather long nap and I messed around with the new camera. I'm still getting used to it, but once I take some pictures with it, I will share those with you all! I'm still learning and I don't want to get made fun of, haha! :)

Ethan finally came home from work and we ate dinner (sorry guys, we just had some chicken he picked up on the way home! I was lazy today!) And then Natalie, Tayler, and I headed to the grocery store! We were meeting my momma there (I'm not brave enough to go with both of them alone, haha!) I lost my mom through part of the store and then I saw her turning a corner.. and what does she have??

Two bath ducks. Easter ones at that! She said, "I bought Tayler one, but I couldn't buy Tayler one and not buy Natalie one!" (For those of you that do not know, Natalie is the little girl I baby sit. She is so precious!) So, here's a snap shot of the girls with their new toys:

As soon as she handed the girls the toys, they immediately went to their mouths. Hilarious! Thank you Tayler's Gigi! :)

And I took a picture of a few groceries on our stair case just to symbolize our trip:

It was a 'rough' trip budget-wise this week because we were pretty much out of everything, haha! Don't you love those weeks? We needed laundry detergent, fabric softener, toilet paper... all of that happy stuff! But, I will say that I found some nail polish that I LOVE for 97 cents! I am going to try and paint my nails today so I will take a snap shot of that for you guys once it's done! :)

After dinner, I got Tayler some spaghetti o's and garlic bread again (her favorite) and I turned on some cartoons for the girls so I could get some presents taken care of. Let me tell you-- March is a busy month in the birthday department for our family and friends. I'll break it down for you:

March 1st- my cousin Brady and Tayler's friend Bentley's birthday, March 6th- My birthday, March 12th- My dad's birthday, March 15th- Tayler's friend Jaylee's birthday, March 16th- my cousin Chloe's birthday, March 18th or 19th (eek, I can't remember and my calendar isn't in front of me!) E's grandma's birthday, March 21st- My sister's birthday and E's Aunt Nancy's birthday, March 27th- my sister in law Marie's birthday, March 29th- my brother in law Jon's birthday, and March 31st- our sweet Tayler's birthday along with my Aunt Kelly's birthday and Tayler's friend Isaac's birthday!

Yes, you read that right folks! INSANE. So, at the store last night, I just went ahead and went all out. I bought 10 cards and 7 gift bags. We already purchased *most* of the gifts we are going to purchase for the month, but I wanted to get the ones taken care of that we are celebrating Saturday. We have Chloe's birthday party, a birthday luncheon for my immediate family's birthdays, and Jaylee's birthday party! Whooo! Busy day! So here are all the gifts we are taking with us tomorrow:

So, if I forget to say it later, I'll say it now:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO EVERYONE THAT HAS A BIRTHDAY IN MARCH!

A little impersonal, but that covers it, right? :)

After that, it was bath time and sleeper time for the girls. Tayler was an absolute mess as you could probably guess and well, Natalie was still in her clothes! So, we got them all ready for bed and then Natalie seemed hungry so I got her a bed time snack-- Strawberry Banana baby food. She ate the whooooooooole thing in like 10 minutes, haha! Must have been starving!

So precious.

And wouldn't you know it... Tayler had already eaten but was extremely jealous that I was feeding Natalie, haha! She kept coming over and butting me with her head, so I got some of her snacks and kept feeding those to her, haha! She would wander over, put one in her mouth, walk around, and then come right back. Having another child one day should be interesting.....

How was y'alls day today?? As you can see, mine was pretty adventurous, but I wouldn't have it any other way! I have a pretty blessed life! I was on the way home from the grocery store last night and the song 'Find You on My Knees' came on my I-Pod by Kari Jobe. If you haven't listened to this, I would check it out. I've listened to it over and over again, but let me tell you-- I was singing it aloud and the words 'I trust You' were being said and something hit me like a bolt of lightning. Do you ever have those moments? I was completely overwhelmed by goosebumps and it just seriously settled me. I found such peace. Why do I worry so much about life? I TRUST YOU. It should be as simple as that right? Trust me-- I have a thick head. It isn't that simple, but boy.. it was simple for me last night! Thank You Lord for being able to trust YOU.

And now, for our lesson and prayer. Almost done!

Lesson #12


Ask him how you can pray for him. We are assuming that he is a believer. If he is not, try it anyway, unless he has told you not to bring up spiritual things. For instance, if he is burdened about something at work, ask, "How can I pray for you that God will honor your good efforts?" Or, "I know that your boss has not been showing you the respect that he should, how should I pray for you?" Think of something that has been troubling him.
(Source)

 And the prayer that goes along with this is:

Pray that your husband will yield his sexual drive to the Lord and practice self control. Pray that your sexual intimacy together will be fresh, positive, and a reflection of selfless love. (Prov. 5:15, 18; 1 Cor. 7:3; Song of Solomon 7:10)
(Source)

The Bible verses that go along with this particular prayer are as follows:

Proverbs 5:15-16 (The Message) Do you know the saying, "Drink from your own rain barrel,
   draw water from your own spring-fed well"?
It's true. Otherwise, you may one day come home
   and find your barrel empty and your well polluted.

1 Corinthians 7:12-14 (The Message) For the rest of you who are in mixed marriages—Christian married to non-Christian—we have no explicit command from the Master. So this is what you must do. If you are a man with a wife who is not a believer but who still wants to live with you, hold on to her. If you are a woman with a husband who is not a believer but he wants to live with you, hold on to him. The unbelieving husband shares to an extent in the holiness of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is likewise touched by the holiness of her husband. Otherwise, your children would be left out; as it is, they also are included in the spiritual purposes of God.

Song of Solomon 7:9-12 (The Message) Yes, and yours are, too—my love's kisses
   flow from his lips to mine. I am my lover's.  I'm all he wants. I'm all the world to him!
Come, dear lover— let's tramp through the countryside.
Let's sleep at some wayside inn,  then rise early and listen to bird-song.
Let's look for wildflowers in bloom, blackberry bushes blossoming white,
Fruit trees festooned with cascading flowers, And there I'll give myself to you,
   my love to your love! 

Dear Jesus, Thank You for the gift of my husband. He is a gem in this world. I pray that You will guard him against the temptations of this world. Let Him yield the drive that is within each of us to You. You created these feelings and emotions and we know that it is a spiritual act as well as a physical one. This act connects two souls. Keep both of our souls clean and pure from the temptations of this world. We love You, Lord!! Amen!

God bless you all

and cheers to Project 366!