7 Days to Praise: Day 7

I've decided to spend the week leading up to Valentine's Day in praise. Praising my husband, & praising God for the things I love about my husband. God is the author of true love - God is love - so what better way to celebrate the day of love than by praising love itself?

"God is love, and anyone who doesn't love others has never known him." 
~1 John 4:8~

{  7 Days to Praise - Day 6: I love his love for the Lord}

As you might expect, my husband's love for the Lord is what truly brought us together. His heart for ministry and his desire for others to know Jesus has taken him on a path in life that led him to me. I love his passion for Jesus, and how much he wants others to share that passion. I praise God continually that He put that desire in Baron's heart, to love Him and to strive to be like Jesus every day. 

God has truly blessed me with this man!
I love you, Baron. 
Happy Valentine's Day!

 

 

7 Days to Praise: Day 6

I've decided to spend the week leading up to Valentine's Day in praise. Praising my husband, & praising God for the things I love about my husband. God is the author of true love - God is love - so what better way to celebrate the day of love than by praising love itself?

"God is love, and anyone who doesn't love others has never known him." 
~1 John 4:8~

{  7 Days to Praise - Day 6: I love his heart for adoption}

When we had trouble getting pregnant years ago, it was actually Baron who first brought up the idea of adoption. I had never before considered adoption, because I always just assumed I would birth my own children. When we got to that time in our journey though, where infertility became a reality (although there was no medical explanation), Baron was the one who approached the subject. I remember the specific moment when God spoke to me, and He used Baron to do it when Baron said "Maybe we're not getting pregnant because God wants us to adopt?" Wow. What a moment that was, and look how far we've come! We have loved our adoption experiences so much that I completely lost my desire to ever get pregnant. And Baron is right alongside me in that passion. I love that he shares this love for adoption with me!

Today, he posted this on facebook, and yeah...I cried a little:

7 Days to Praise: Day 5

I've decided to spend the week leading up to Valentine's Day in praise. Praising my husband, & praising God for the things I love about my husband. God is the author of true love - God is love - so what better way to celebrate the day of love than by praising love itself?

"God is love, and anyone who doesn't love others has never known him." 
~1 John 4:8~

{  7 Days to Praise - Day 5: I love his artistic talent}

Have you seen Baron's hobby?

This is a football figure that he customized for one of the PCA football players. See the detail?

Yeah, he's pretty awesome.

He has also done baseball, basketball, and hockey. High school, college, & pro sports. He also designs the packaging, which is super impressive but I don't have a picture to prove it.
(To see more of his work, visit his website. You'll be impressed, I promise!)


He also designs stuff like this, just for fun:

It's not his profession or anything, but it is a talent God has given him that he uses well. He uses his abilities to bless the lives of the kids at his school too; whether it is through football figures as senior gifts, t-shirt designs, or posters for the spiritual theme for the year. It may not seem like a big deal, but to have this ability is truly a blessing to others.

Oh, and one more thing...he did my nail art for Independence Day last year:

:-)

7 Days to Praise : Day 4

I've decided to spend the week leading up to Valentine's Day in praise. Praising my husband, & praising God for the things I love about my husband. God is the author of true love - God is love - so what better way to celebrate the day of love than by praising love itself?

"God is love, and anyone who doesn't love others has never known him." 
~1 John 4:8~

{  7 Days to Praise - Day 4: I love him as a daddy}

Since the day he became a father, Baron has been an awesome one. I knew he would be, but to see him in action stole my heart. He told me when both Natalie & Tyson were tiny babies that it didn't "come natural" to him to nurture a little bitty one, but he still did it. And the bigger Natalie got, the more awesome he got as a dad. I love to see him with our babies, and I cannot wait to see how much he will continue to grow as a father. I am so thankful to God that he gave me such a wonderful man to help me parent my children!

7 Days to Praise: Day 3

I've decided to spend the week leading up to Valentine's Day in praise. Praising my husband, & praising God for the things I love about my husband. God is the author of true love - God is love - so what better way to celebrate the day of love than by praising love itself?

"God is love, and anyone who doesn’t love others has never known him." 
~1 John 4:8~

{  7 Days to Praise - Day 3 : I love his ministry}

My husband is the Spiritual Director at a Christian school here in town, and he is also an assistant football coach. Those are two of his biggest passions - ministering to young people, and football. And he merges the two beautifully. He absolutely loves his job; although that's part of why he loves it - it's not just a job; it's a ministry. He loves the kids at the school, and he truly wants to see them love Jesus. Having him share his next chapel speech, or details about the next mission trip, or the conversation he had with a football player - those things delight me so much, and I know they make our Father proud. I am so encouraged by the things he does for the Lord, and I pray his enthusiasm never fades!

7 Days To Praise : Day 2

I've decided to spend the week leading up to Valentine's Day in praise. Praising my husband, & praising God for the things I love about my husband. God is the author of true love - God is love - so what better way to celebrate the day of love than by praising love itself?

"God is love, and anyone who doesn’t love others has never known him." 
~1 John 4:8~

{  7 Days to Praise - Day 2 : I love his self-discipline}

My husband has WAY more self-discipline than I do. He loves to work out, and he even does it on days when he doesn't feel like it. He talked me into changing our eating habits (which have been thrown off since the holidays, but I digress...). He is a lot more determined than I am, and I truly admire him for that. I love how active he is, how healthy he is, and how he tries to encourage me to do the same (even though I don't listen well!). God has blessed this man with a desire to better himself physically, and for that I am thankful!

7 Days To Praise

I've decided to spend the week leading up to Valentine's Day in praise. Praising my husband, & praising God for the things I love about my husband. God is the author of true love - God is love - so what better way to celebrate the day of love than by praising love itself?

"God is love, and anyone who doesn’t love others has never known him." 
~1 John 4:8~

{  7 Days to Praise - Day 1 : I love his voice }

My husband has an awesome voice. I love to hear him sing, and I love to hear him speak. When he speaks in public, he gets into this commanding tone, that almost forces you to listen to him. It's intriguing, and is definitely a gift from God that he uses to glorify Him. And we all know his singing voice is what got him his start in the Christian rap group he was in back in the day. :-)

[ Check out the stud on the far right. ]

8:28

{ 8:28 / a marriage montage }

{8/28/04}

{August -September 2004 / honeymoon at Disney World, with Hurricane Frances}

{September 2004 / Hurricane Ivan busts right through our neighborhood}

{ August 2005 / 1-year anniversary in Destin...with Hurricane Katrina }



{ August 2006 / we dared vacation at the beach & luck was on our side this time! }



{ August 2007 / 3-year anniversary / decided not to chance the beach & went to Callaway Gardens }



{ February 2008 / tornado ransacks our house / Happy Valentine's Day! ;) }



{ August 2008 / 4-year anniversary / played it safe in Atlanta }



{ February 2009 / 1 month after finding out we're pregnant after trying for 2.5 years / 1 month before losing "Zippy" to miscarriage }

{ March 2010 / trip to South Carolina for the birth & adoption of our daughter / the most beautiful rainbow after all the storms!!!}

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. ~Romans 8:28

Happy 6th anniversary to the most wonderful husband I could have prayed for, the best friend I have ever had, and the most awesome daddy in the world. There is no one on earth I'd rather weather the storms with! {har har.}

I love you, Baron!

the best husband in the WORLD is mine.

WARNING: MUSHY BLOG POST.

Baron is in Colorado on Wilderness Trek with some of the teens from Vaughn Park. They left last Friday at 4:30 a.m. and won't be back until Sunday the 19th. I miss him terribly. The worst part is that since Sunday, and until Friday, I can't talk to him on the phone. I hate being away from him for so long. I now have a newfound admiration for wives who do this all the time! Anyway, today I was so extremely pleasantly surprised when I got flowers at work...from Baron! He is so smart. Kudos, Baron; kudos. :-) And since I can't thank you in person today, I shall do so by blogging in hopes that you will see it when you get back. Thank you for loving me so much! I love you!!! {And yes, I cried at work when I got them. I'm a sap.}

{yes, there are lemon slices in the water! love it.}

pause for props

I've gotta brag on my husband for a bit.

The past few weeks, I have been, a lot of the time, exhausted. This first trimester deal is for the birds. Typically when I get home from work, I change into my PJ's and head for the couch, where I lie uselessly until time to go to bed. {Which, nowadays, is somewhere between 9:00 & 9:30.} Baron has been the BEST husband/housewife. He has prepared dinner most evenings. {In our house, "prepared" usually consists of thawing a frozen skillet meal or re-heating leftovers, but I digress.} He has gone to Wal-Mart for the groceries. {Ok, so maybe he did that even before I got pregnant, as a result of my effort to avoid Wal-Mart at all costs.} He has done the dishes, and the laundry. Don't get me wrong - he has always been more than willing to perform these tasks, and quite often does so without me even asking. But he has gone above & beyond the call of duty these past few weeks. He has truly been a Godsend for me!

On another note...Baron was in Dallas this weekend for a football coaches' conference. Of course it would be MEN who planned such a conference on Valentine's Day weekend. I miss Baron while he is gone, but I also enjoy some of the time alone. {Toby keeps good company. :-)} Before Baron left town, he sent me my favorite flowers - tulips - at work, and we went out for dinner. If you haven't been to MarChelle's in Prattville, GO AS SOON AS YOU CAN. They have the second best beef brisket in the WORLD. {Second only to my brother's...YUM.} Anyway, thank you, Baron for a wonderful pre-Valentine's celebration, and thank you for being such a wonderfully supportive husband!! I love you!

{the tulips in my cubicle at work}

{P.S. As I was finishing this post, I was reminded of a poem my dad once wrote for my mom when he bought her some tulips: "Yes, roses are red, and expensive too. That's why I'm giving my two-lips to you!" AWWWWWWW. Yes, my parents are cheesy.}

the ultimate trophy husband!

50 things I love about my husband:

1. The way he makes me laugh.
2. He ALWAYS opens the car door for me. (I don’t think he’ll ever know how much this means to me!)
3. He doesn’t pick fights.
4. How incredibly cute he is when he smiles.
5. He doesn’t talk bad about me to other people.
6. I don’t have a reason to talk bad about him to other people.
7. He is a spiritual leader at his job, to our friends, at our church, and in our home.
8. How disciplined he is about exercising. (Fortunately my blatant laziness doesn’t rub off on him!)
9. He tells me when I look nice.
10. Sometimes he makes the bed for me.
11. He doesn’t get mad when I pick on him for leaving his shoes out.
12. He does laundry & dishes without me asking him to.
13. We have the MOST fun doing our Celine Dion impersonations.
14. He handles our finances very responsibly.
15. He is an awesome example for me by the way he has lived his life.
16. He makes me want to be a better wife.
17. Teenagers look up to him. (And not just literally!)
18. Adults look up to him.
19. I am proud of the man he is because of what he has been through in his life, and I am VERY proud of the work he is doing at PCA.
20. He goes to Wal-Mart for me when I don’t feel like going. (Which turns out to be quite often…)
21. We get to have ice cream a lot because he loves it so much.
22. He cherishes his mother.
23. He has rediscovered a relationship with his father.
24. How he plays with children – he will make an amazing father!
25. When he goes out of town, he leaves me little notes to remind me that he loves me.
26. He respects me.
27. He is SUPER talented with his sports figures. Seriously – I am constantly impressed by his work! (And I get offended when customers don't show their appreciation - not naming any names!)
28. I am truly happy to be married to him.
29. His height. (that’s hottt)
30. He is super attractive.
31. How much fun we have when we go on trips together.
32. He cuts the grass.
33. If I ask him (nicely, of course) to do something for me, he is always willing to do it.
34. He is patient with me, even when I am moody.
35. He cares about other people.
36. He is a really good teacher, whether it’s at church or at school.
37. He lets me give him fashion advice.
38. When I told him I wanted to start trying to have a baby, he reluctantly agreed, but now he wants a baby just as much as I do. And even though he gets frustrated that we are struggling to get pregnant, he is WAY more patient than I am.
39. He makes really good tuna salad.
40. We have survived 3 hurricanes and a tornado together.
41. It makes me happy that I talked him into us getting a dog, and now Toby is Baron’s best friend.
42. He is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.
43. My family loves him.
44. I love his family.
45. He is the most dependable person I know.
46. His “man room” at the house is finally presentable.
47. He helps me clean the house when I ask him to.
48. Steamroller!
49. He is physically strong.
50. He considers me a blessing after a really tough previous relationship, and he is open about telling other people what a blessing I am. I have done nothing to deserve him but we are absolutely perfect together!

{this list could go on & on, but I cut it short so as not to take too much of your time :-)}

I love my husband :-)

Obviously, there are SO many things I could say about why I love my husband. But I just wanted to share this one thing because it's fresh on my mind. Yesterday was my birthday. Baron asked me awhile back what I wanted from him. I haven't been "allowed" to go shopping for awhile, so I told him I wanted either money or a gift card so I could finally buy some clothes. So yesterday, when I got home from my 10:00 a.m. lingerie shower (BOOOOO), I opened my birthday card from Baron to find my gift. Take a look:

Of course, he couldn't just give me money for my birthday. He had to make it special. And that is just one reason why I love him. He does his very best to please me in everything he does. But what I love about him even more is that he does that for everyone. He doesn't just go the extra mile, he goes two. So having said all that...here's to my hubby, who treats me like a princess every day!! I love you!!