In Honor of 13...

Monday is our 13th wedding anniversary, so I am resharing my Aunt Sandie's very favorite post from the 10th anniversary...

 

He's the jelly to my peanut butter.

The band-aid to my cut.

The warmth within my quilt.

The cheese topping on the pizza.

The Gilbert to my Anne.

At times he's the crust on that sandwich.

He can be a pill taken without enough water.

Or a hot sun when you want the shade.

The salt you thought was sugar.

The stinger on the bee

I am the wind behind his kite.

I'm his rose amidst the thorny, fruitless yard.

The ammo in his gun.

The chocolate milk in his coffee.

I get to be the salve on his painful wounds.

At times I'm the drippy faucet he can't turn off.

The sand stuck in your shorts after a day on the beach.

The itchy wool blanket, that keeps you warm in an annoying, scratchy way.

The crusty gunk on the plate that's supposed to be clean.

The chatter when he needs silence.

10 Years of Marriage.

It's been quite a journey.

I was 19 when we got married, he was 23.

We KNEW God had ordained this bond from nearly those first dating days.

I waited ( sometimes impatiently).

He asked in his shy way

(after making me hike 6 miles!)

I said yes.

6 months later we said "I do."

4 kids,

job changes,

leaps of faith,

in times of health and way too much sickness,

in plenty and in want,

in bills and diapers and 'no time for us',

in a world that says 'it won't last',

but a God who says "it can and it will."

We have made it here.

As much in love as we've ever been.

We still LIKE hanging out together.

His arms are my favorite place in the whole world.

And I know he feels the same.

Where we have sinned, God has given grace.

Where waves have crashed us down at times,

faith has given us wings to rise above.

There have been moments of pain.

And a ton of laughter.

There has been words said in anger,

and apologies and forgiveness offered and accepted.

A foundation was laid 10 years ago.

Walls have been built.

Sometimes overnight,

sometimes a brick here and there.

At times it gets chipped at.

Ever so often a storm comes and what we thought was firm gets shaken .

But it never falls.

It stands .

Our marriage is ordained.

Sanctified.

Set-apart.

We aren't ignorant.

We know that our kind of marriage is particularly just the kind the enemy wants to dissolve.

It won't work.

We are a cord of three not easily broken.

I know without a doubt that I am the center of Jerad's life

(apart from Christ).

And he is my world.

We are in love more today than ever before.

Alongside friends who have seen heartache, divorce and pain that won't cease this side of Heaven.

It pains me to watch.

And then I rejoice in what I have.

A good man. An honorable man.

A God-fearing man.

We walk by eachother's side, not because we have to but because we WANT to.

Thank You Jesus,

should you tarry could we have another 70 or so just like the last 10?

Amen,

Mandy



crushing...

there's this guy i know.

i have a slight crush on him.

okay, a big crush on him.

his name is jerad.

he doesn't like his name,

or his face,

or anything about him posted on here.

he'll get over it.

and this is what i get when i try to get his picture.

hmmmm, wonder where this one gets it:



that's oldest monkey dodging the camera while uncle {who is single by the way ladies;}) holds him up!

sorry aaron.you know i love you.

anyways, back to the man of the house.

he starts a new job on monday.

it will bring challenges and change.

and blessings.

i am so proud of what an amazing man he is.

  he truly has more integrity than anyone i have ever known.

he is hardworking,

loving, and for some crazy reason he really just adores me.

i am blessed to be his wife, and i just felt the need to yell that from the rooftops.

or the blog will do.

Jerad,

i know this new chapter will bring untold blessings to our already blessed life.

thank you for all you do for us.

for taking such good care of us.

and for being the man you are.

i love you so much,

your bride.

Marriage...

theamateurwriter via pinterest

i thought this was an absolutely beautiful way we should look at our marriages.

be blessed,

mandy

10 facts about my better half and i...

taking a cue from

betty beguiles

and

the little house that grew

i'm sharing 10 things about jerad and i...

1.

he took me on a 6 mile hike to propose.

i whined the whole time because i was in keds and had blisters on my feet.

he proposed in an old cabin and was so incredibly nervous.

did i mention it was 6 miles?!

2.

he was a drummer in the youth group band as a staff member.

i was an annoying jr. higher that was slightly obsessed with him.

he, rightly so , didn't know i existed.

once at camp i fell on the ice and got knocked out.

jerad was the staff they has stay with me and pray with me while they went for help.

it was worth the scare.

3.

i didn't see him for the next 3.5 years.

but for some reason,

every time his name would come up

(as things do in smallish towns),

i would say a prayer for him,

like i had some crazy connection i didn't quite understand.

then, at the end of my senior year of high school, we saw each other at a party, he remembered me ;)

and for the next few months we randomly saw each other running errands, etc.

4.

the weekend i graduated from high school, the night before in fact,

we saw each other at a wedding, the everyone hung out at a restaurant after the reception.

i had to use the restroom when everyone was being seated.

low and behold,

when i came back the big table was full,

there was one more with just jerad and his 2 pals.

they talked about going to a church on sunday,

i said i wanted to go to, and threw my # out on the table and said one of them better call me and take me.

wouldn't you know who snatched that # right up;)?

5.

a few weeks before that wedding,

my BF and i sat down to talk about her upcoming wedding.

she told me i needed to find my guy, and literally asked me to make a list of random things this dream guy would have.

after the basics,

she asked me silly details,

"what kind of car would he drive?"

i said" a grey toyota pick-up".

imagine my surprise the night of the wedding walking out to the vehicles.

i was speechless for a few seconds and felt like i'd been punched in the gut.

6.

our first date was that church service following my graduation

(I was now acceptable in his mind since i was no longer a high schooler;)).

somehow, nobody else came along.

the next day he asked me to go to a park with him,

brought me chicken fried rice,

and , well, he knew within a couple weeks he would marry me one day.

i knew it too, but i still couldn't wrap my brain around the idea that this guy i'd admired my whole teenage life actually loved me.

7.

we started dating June of 99.

that proposal came in march of 2000.

we married in aug. 2000.

8.

we share a passion for antiquing.

hiking.

the beach.

home design.

and movies

it is SO important to have something you love to do together.

9.

our song is cross my heart by george strait.

10.

we're in for the long haul.

and SO excited to spend this life with him...

God Bless,

Mandy

Why I Hate V-Day...

I tried folks.

Look at the last post.

but seriously.

I just ran to safeway at 4 pm. 

Craziness!

um, 60 guys ,ages15-83 , rushing around like a bunch of morons

and spending $65.00 on an ugly floral arrangement they could get for 10 bucks any other day.

They are there, at the last minute, attempting to buy something for someone because someone else made them feel like they should.

???!!!

That's romance people.

  Now yes, I'm a romantic at heart.

I love it like all girly girls do.

but i am not a fan of hearts.

tacky little things that remind me of being 7 years old coloring a Lisa Frank sticker.

they're tacky, 'nough said.

also red.

now we're getting picky here.

Neither Jerad or I are fans of the color red.

he's more passionate about despising it than i am,

but we both kinda sorta hate it.

you'll rarely catch glimpses of red around our home or on  me.

so put together cheesy hearts,

the color red,

guys who feel like their male parts may be rearranged if they don't do something nice,

or only remember to do it a couple times a year  and generally some other tackiness thrown in,

and you get some negative vibes at the V-day Crap.

sorry.

i made my hubby an album of his hunting photos.

he got me a bouquet of white pickets in the yard.

2 days ago.

not today no sir.

of course i do something very little for the kiddos.

just a little.

they each got a special card about why we love them, a candy heart box, and a jar to pick from throughout the day, and pancakes (a treat on a school day)

because the year my friend got her kids scooters as a v-day gift i almost puked.

really?

sheesh,

like we need another reason to go broke buying our kids more junk they don't need.

so that is why.

i hate V-Day.

I love romance.

real romance.

that's when your husband reaches for your hand unexpectedly,

picks you up your favorite flowers on a random saturday afternoon,

does something special, that only he  would know to do for you.

that's romance.

you can keep the red roses and russell stover hearts.

i'll keep my white pickets.

God Bless,
mandy

and a p.s. for my mom in law that includes t.m.i :

we don't need a special valentines night... trust me ;)



A Little Love...

Not too much.

i mean,

just a tad of romance...

 

                                                 a little monkey's work above, all by himself!

(is that crusty, rusty tray not the coolest thing ever? 

I got it at an antique store, the little old lady gave it to me for $2 because she didn't want to polish it!

polish it?

and loose that beautiful patina? 

No way!)

anyways,

how are you spending V-Day?

my husband will be working a 16 hr shift :(.

And being romantic as I am,

I put together an album of his hunting photos as a gift   :  D!

God Bless,

Mandy



Dear Honey...

thank you for your hard work.

thank you for working 16 hour days,

for taking your son out for donuts and one on one time,

for cutting your mama wood all day on your day off,

for building me my white picket fence when what you want to be doing is resting your aching back.

thank you for being you.

for being the man i love and my best friend.

i think you're pretty amazing.

you're my knight in flannel and baseball hat.

10 Years

He's the jelly to my peanut butter.

The band-aid to my cut.

The warmth within my quilt.

The cheese topping on the pizza.

  The Gilbert to my Anne.

At times he's the crust on that sandwich.

He can be a pill taken without enough water.

Or a hot sun when you want the shade.

 The salt you thought was sugar.

The stinger on the bee

I am the wind behind his kite.

I'm his rose amidst the thorny, fruitless yard.

The ammo in his gun.

The chocolate milk in his coffee.

I get to be the salve on his painful wounds.

At times I'm the drippy faucet he can't turn off.

The sand stuck in your shorts after a day on the beach.

The itchy wool blanket, that keeps you warm in an annoying, scratchy way.

The crusty gunk on the plate that's supposed to be clean.

The chatter when he needs silence.

10 Years of Marriage.

It's been quite a journey.

I was 19 when we got married, he was 23.

We KNEW God had ordained this bond from nearly those first dating days.

I waited ( sometimes impatiently).

He asked in his shy way

(after making me hike 6 miles!)

I said yes.

6 months later we said "I do."

4 kids,

job changes,

leaps of faith,

in times of health and way too much sickness,

in plenty and in want,

in bills and diapers and 'no time for us',

in a world that says 'it won't last',

but a God who says "it can and it will."

We have made it here.

As much in love as we've ever been.

We still LIKE hanging out together.

His arms are my favorite place in the whole world.

And I know he feels the same.

Where we have sinned, God has given grace.

Where waves have crashed us down at times,

faith has given us wings to rise above.

There have been moments of pain.

And a ton of laughter.

There has been words said in anger,

and apologies and forgiveness offered and accepted.

A foundation was laid 10 years ago.

Walls have been built.

Sometimes overnight,

sometimes a brick here and there.

At times it gets chipped at.

Ever so often a storm comes and what we thought was firm gets shaken .

But it never falls.

It stands .

Our marriage is ordained.

Sanctified.

Set-apart.

We aren't ignorant.

We know that our kind of marriage is particularly just the kind the enemy wants to dissolve.

It won't work.

We are a cord of three not easily broken.

I know without a doubt that I am the center of Jerad's life

(apart from Christ).

And he is my world.

We are in love more today than ever before.

Alongside friends who have seen heartache, divorce and pain that won't cease this side of Heaven.

It pains me to watch.

And then I rejoice in what I have.

A good man. An honorable man.

A God-fearing man.

  We walk by eachother's side, not because we have to but because we WANT to.

Thank You Jesus,

should you tarry could we have another 70 or so just like the last 10?

Amen, 

Mandy