Let me count the ways....

Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote it ...

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Tonight I'm counting the ways (or reasons) I love my sweet hubby. Sometimes I stop and think, I realize...I'm a very blessed gal to be married to Anthony. Why?
  1. He loves me and he shows it every day
  2. He's a Christian, no matter where he is or who he's around
  3. He's cute
  4. He's sweet and genuinely kind
  5. He's talented


















  6. He's funny (and FUN)













  7. Sometimes if I haven't texted him, he'll ask me how my day is and check in with me
  8. He makes our grocery list, takes out the trash without being asked and makes sure
      Tinsley has all her feline needs met. He picks up after himself & is generally a neat freak
      (well almost).
  9. He's there for ya, when ya need him, no matter what
10. He's such a good guy that he makes me better in a lot of ways

There's more, but I won't list 'em all. I know you ladies out there would all be jealous, try to steal him from me and then I'd hafta fight ya. And that just wouldn't be pretty.

Maybe next week I'll post "our story" on this here blog. Just cuz ya might wanna know how God brought us together.  <3

Another person adopting...

Today I read a blog (it was a friend of a friend of mine who's adopting, too)...it was just heart wrenching. This couple has felt led of God to adopt a little girl from Ethiopia. Last week they went to Ethiopia for part of "the process" and you just have to read it for yourself to fully appreciate what they went through, just last week... I'd have probably ended up in the mental hospital after this ordeal.
http://www.totallycrazy4him.blogspot.com/

Of course with international adoption becoming a reality in my fam (my oldest bro & his wife are adopting 2 kids from Haiti) this is all just kinda wild, spinnin' around in my head. I'm absolutely amazed at the kindness, generosity and faith these folks obviously possess to welcome a stranger into their homes and love and accept them as their own. What a blessing to the children who would otherwise have no telling what kind of upbringing.

The closest I've been to an adoption was when Lisa & Alan went through the process. So many prayers... and when Riley came, it was pure joy & happiness. And every moment we've spent with Riley is such a blessing to us.

It's wonderful and miraculous that so many are able to conceive and have beautiful, healthy children - no doubt about that! But isn't there just a little somethin' extra special about adoptions? After all, aren't we all kinda "adopted" into the family of God when we're saved and ask Him to be our Saviour?  :-)

Pic-uh-nic recap

Maybe it annoys you that I call it a pic-uh-nic, but it's my blog and I'll be goofy if I wanna. I see a pic-uh-nic basket Boo Boo! Yes, Yogi Bear was a part of my childhood. And I turned out okay!

Anyway, I told ya Saturday was gonna be a busy day. After we finished at the carnival fundraiser Anthony and I headed to my company picnic. It was on campus, so that was pretty cool since we have a hundred acres of nice land and ponds and what not. I knew from all the emails they kept sendin' us that it promised to be a pretty big "to do." And it was.

There was a ton of stuff to do...I'll do my best to 'member most of it. Food, of course, was the first thing we scoped out. Loved the brisket. Then there was the Bingo tent. I don't know how many folks were piled into that tent, but we passed on Bingo...maybe in another decade or so we'll be checkin' that out. he he There was live entertainment. The acts were all "up and comers" and they had the same band for each act, right? Well, I'll be darn if Teddy Gentry from Alabama wasn't up there on stage an arm's distance from me playing that bass...and uh sangin'....

After that we walked around a bit to see all the sights. Found some of my coworker friends. My friend Brandi has the cutest 2 year old! Is she a Hollywood diva or what?

I forgot to mention we enjoyed a mini funnel cake-can't forget that! Mmm . . . Oh, I threw softballs at barrel targets, but I only hit one out of three. Guess I'll keep my day job. :-P Meanwhile Anthony found the corn...

We tried our hand at pitching baseballs into a target. I did WAY better than Anthony. hehe Then we shot water balloons at barrels. We didn't hit any nor did we win nary a prize. We bypassed the golf chipping game. And we didn't stop at the corn hole game. The boards were nice though - they had a Cracker Barrel logo on 'em. There was a hula hoop contest at one point, but Lord knows I wasn't about to partake in that. Um, no. On the other side there was a casino tent, bull ride, rock wall to climb, and tons of kiddie things (including pony rides). We passed on all that and hung out a little while in the tent that was full of tvs showing the football games of the day (sigh). We did one more thing though - I just couldn't resist, so we rode it....

I was being silly to my friend Kelly's little boy down below. His reaction to me was this -

We're just kids stuck in adult bodies I reckon. Kids at heart!

It was a really fun picnic, even if I came home with no prizes. I guess my prize is the memories....good times, good times.

* Adoption fundraiser success *

Yesterday I was on picture duty for the fundraiser, but I'll spare ya the whole montage of pics. First, let me tell ya it was a BEE YOU tiful day. Picture perfect! (wink, wink)

There were lots of things to do. Throw a football through a tire, golf putt, Plinko, toss the toilet paper into the toilet, cornhole bag toss, throw a dart and pop a balloon, ride a train (pulled by a John Deere lawnmower no less), go on a hay ride, spin the wheel for a prize, jump in the jumper inflatable thingy, pick a duck, toss a Mason jar lid ring onto Coke bottles, ride a horse (a real horse), throw baseballs at the milk cans and knock 'em over, get your face painted....plenty of stuff to do! 

I think Riley played every game, but this was my favorite pic of him. He's pretty special, and not just because he's so darn cute, but see, he's adopted, too. God blessed Lisa & Alan with this little sweetie in 2008! And we're thankful to get to be a part of his life, too. We like to have him come to our house and play. :-)

This little gal is Marle (pronounced Mar-lee) and our good friends Jason & Angela are in the process of adopting her. We pray for everything to move quickly, but God's time is always perfect. Marle will be 2 years old in December and is a great big blessing to her family. Isn't she a doll?!

I know Jonathan and Michelle will be thrilled when their two little ones are finally at home with them. The event raised about $2,200 so I think we can classify it as a big success.

Before I go, I hafta show ya a couple of clowns...my niece, Sasha, and her hubby Phil