By Nicole

I am blessed to have married a man who doesn't watch any televised sports.  Maybe a Superbowl at someone else's house.  We don't have cable or satellite. I am so blessed. But, our boys play Little League... so our life is all about football.  Practice, practice, practice.  Game, game.  Practice, practice, practice.  And so on. Tonight they brought the whole bundle of kids, football players and cheerleaders, out on the field during half time at the high school home game.  I must admit, I like a little Friday night Forks football. And tonight was a good night to be there.  We beat a team we haven't beat in a decade!  Our nemesis. The kids were pumped.  My husband was excited to watch a good football game.  And I did my own little bit of cheering tonight. Tomorrow is more football.  Little League all day long. But now....  Now, I'm researching how to dry and roast sunflower seeds. Maybe we'll eat them at next wee...

Last weekend was a particularly PMS-y weekend for me... and I think the one who ended up the worse for wear at the end of it all was poor Jason.  Not only did I unload a whole bunch of pent-up frustrations, I had a bad attitude and a "woe-is-me" complex to boot.  I still owe him a real apology.  Sometimes us women get away with a lot by blaming it on our hormones.  Every feeling and frustration I was having was very real, but the way I handled it all was pretty crappy (my kids tell me that is a bad word and I shouldn't say it, and they are probably right, but I can't think of a better adjective right now). Anyway, after I unloaded, I felt better. And I might as well just spill it all to you all too.  I had been a bit resentful and grumpy about the impromptu farm that was developing in my back yard and my living room.  The chickens were starting to get big and louder and stinking more quickly.  My morning routine was being mucked up (literally and fig...

"Mah-wage.... Mah-wage is what bwings us togevah today.  Wuv, twue wuv... that bwessed awangement, that dweam wiff-in a dweam."  You gotta love the priest from the Princess Bride.  (Hey, you've gotta love the Princess Bride!) A month or so back, I posted a teaser post .  I knew I wanted to write about the past couple of weeks that I had been going through, but it all just kept piling higher and I couldn't formulate the words.  I'm not sure that I have entirely found the words even at this point, but I wanted to remember that I needed to get this out.  And at this point it has been long enough that I can joke about it.  I haven't made it to the Scripture references yet, so bear with me there. During that time, I Googled "eight years of marriage" and "the seven year itch" and came up with a bunch of hits on wedding anniversary presents and divorce rates, which I guess only makes sense because you are either having an a...

I recently received a copy of the marriage book by Gary Chapman, entitled Happily Ever After: Six Secrets to a Successful Marriage .  I haven't read any of his other books, although The Five Love Languages has been highly recommended by more than one of my friends.  That concept intrigues me and I requested this book because I hoped that it was full of solid, Christian advice for my marriage. My first impression was that the cover was very pretty, and each chapter is divided by the same flowery fleur de lis (yes, I know what I just did) style decoration.  Almost like fancy wedding wallpaper.  Before I digress too far, I will continue.  The book consists of six sections, each divided into more detailed chapters, and some additional tools and resources found in the very back.  The sections cover how to solve conflicts, negotiating change, finances, marriage after children, love and sex, and in-law relationships.  Off to a good start and certainly...

One of my favorite nights of the week is Thursday.  Not because it is relaxing or there isn't anything going on.  In fact, it might be the most hectic and latest night of my week.  Thursday night is the night that Jason and I go to bible study.  He goes to men's group, and I go to women's group.  We smooch in the gym and head into our separate classes.  I look forward to the class because of the opportunity to fellowship and pray with women who love God and want to be closer to Him.  I have grown so much because of that time, even though I must admit that most weeks I have to say, 'Um, no...' when Lucy asks if we finished our chapter.  Even when we did the Beth Moore study on Esther ( phenomenal!) I didn't always keep up.  Some nights we pray and cry out to God longer than we spend in the book and other nights we dig straight into discussion of the chapter and the topic.  God has put some amazing women in my life, with such wonderful sto...