Things I learned while painting...

I've spent the past two weeks working on my first "professional" painting job at a church in the area. The pastor saw a verse that I painted at a friends house several years ago, and he also happens to spend some time during the school day at the school where Mark teaches, so he asked Mark if I'd be interested in doing one at their church. Without really being sure what I was getting myself into, I said I'd do it. Let's just say, nothing is as easy as it sounds over the phone...

Walls are bigger and higher than you remember them to be from your first visit. I went back in the Fall to check out the church and talk about what they wanted done. I showed them a few of the verses I had done here at the house. It didn't look too overwhelming at the time. By January, I had forgotten the sheer size of the space they wanted me to fill. This also made it a bit difficult to think about the layout of the verse ahead of time. Next time I will take a camera to capture my "blank canvas".

I'm still afraid of heights. I was totally stressed out up there. It took a good hour before I felt like I could breathe easily up on that scaffold. My feet were sore the rest of the day and into the next from bracing myself the first day I worked on it.

Climbing scaffolding is a great workout. It will also leave your shins and knees very bruised if you do it the "wimpy" way {did I mention I'm afraid of heights?}. My dad has worked construction all of his adult life. He's climbed a scaffold or 10,000 over his career, I'm sure. I now know how he could kick my butt in a race without "training". He trained all day long. I've decided I will not be doing any job like this over the summer...during shorts (and Ellie's wedding) season...my legs are a mess!

Proofread twice, paint once.  My dad {the construction worker} has a saying he uses quite often..."Measure twice. Cut once." I found myself adapting {stealing} it after this experience. The church administration decided on Galatians 5:22-23...Fruits of the Spirit....in the NLT version. This is a verse I'm very familiar with, BUT...I don't have it memorized {Such is not the case anymore}. I can usually list off five or six of the fruits, then draw a blank on the others. Anyway, as we were making plans for when I would come out to the church to get started I told them I had an idea for a layout and I'd type up the verse in a couple fonts and let them choose which one they liked. Of course, I typed it up while distracted by multiple things {because that is the story of my life} and then sent it off in an email. She texted back to say I left out the word "of"...easy fix...on we go. I spent about 7 hours over two days chalking in the verse and then painting. I finished on Saturday afternoon and was, overall, really happy with how it turned out. The lady that had helped with setting things up came and checked it out before I left...loved it...was excited for everyone to see it the next morning. I told her I'd come back on Tuesday to touch up a couple letters and wash off the chalk lines. Then...on Sunday evening...I got a phone call from her. Seems that a couple people had pointed out that I left out the word "goodness". Goodness. I left out a whole stinkin' fruit of the spirit!! I. Was. Mortified. This leads into my next two lessons, though...      

My husband rocks. From the moment I got the call, he assured me it would be fine. I didn't believe him at first. I was a mess that night...could not take my mind off of that mistake....and how in the world I was going to fix it. {Think: dark charcoal paint on a white wall and everything already centered just right.} Mark was sure he could cover it up. So he gathered some supplies and tools and went over after school on Monday since it's just a few minutes away. He tried sanding. It didn't work so well. He primed. He waited {bored out of his mind}. He primed again. He waited. He found a fan. He waited. He painted. He waited a bit and finally left, after feeling sure he had covered it up well enough that I could fix it. After a full day of teaching, he put in another 4+ hours. Because he loves me. Because he supports me. Because he defends me. Man. I. Love. Him. 

My God's got me covered. I spent Sunday evening and much of Monday morning consumed by the thought that Mark was not going to be able to cover it up. That the people at the church {especially the ones who I was told were not even supportive of the verse going up in the first place}were probably just laughing at how I could have possibly left out an entire significant word....why in the world would I have not double checked before painting? I was able to finally just give it up {after much prayer} and let the Lord do his thing. It turned out that a couple of kids from the youth group were the ones who noticed it first....and there were some in the church who didn't even notice {or hear others noticing} at all. Mark's paint job covered everything up really well. There was only one spot that I could even tell that he had done anything. I only had to re-do one line...everything lined up beautifully....to cover up the one spot I just mentioned. There were probably people in the service this past Sunday who didn't even notice that it was any different than the previous week. He took care of every detail as usual. Even though this was not a world changing/life impacting disaster, He still had me covered. 

Did you know?

Did you know it's National Marriage Week?  

I love that, nine and a half years into our marriage, God has put us both on our own little journeys towards making our marriage a better one. I'm working through the book Feminine Appeal by Caroline Mahaney right now in my ladies' Bible study. Mark is working through Loving and Leading by Bruce Wilkinson in the guys' Bible study at church.  I'm learning to be a better wife and mother...I'm being challenged to cherish Mark and our kids in ways that I've been too tired or comfortable to do in recent years, to have more self control in the way I manage my time, and to honor the call to homemaking in the way Scripture commands, among other things. Mark is being challenged to love, invest {two things he's already great at}, and lead us.    

We've always had a good marriage, and I'd be foolish not give God the glory for that, because there have been times that it's been on the back burner and could have easily gone downhill. When you start out buying a "fixer-upper" house, have your first two kids in the first 2 years of your marriage, and deal with near crippling back problems that lead to surgery by the end of year #3, survival is about the only thing on your mind.  

We've always been good to each other. We've compromised when needed. He's been way more patient with me than I've ever had to be with him. We've laughed at each other and with each other. I could probably count the number of fights {if you could even call them that} we've had on two hands...and 98% of them were my fault. We've held each others hands through the worst pain of our lives. 

It seems cliche, but we're perfect for each other. Yet, I know, in no way, does this make our marriage immune to falling apart. Too many of them are today because we're all so darn self-centered, busy {perfectionsts and workaholics}, and materialistic, and this whole marriage and parenting game gets in the way so much more than we expected. Unless you've been living in a cave, I'm sure you've seen the statistics on the failures. As teachers and parents of kids with friends, Mark and I are all too familiar with the results of all the dysfunction. 

We're feeling a new call to work at this, alongside the Lord, like we haven't done in a while. Not only do we refuse to become one of the statistics, we refuse to be one of those marriages where we go through the motions. For us, this doesn't mean fancy dates every couple of weeks {just not possible in our financial situation}, or chocolates and flowers. "Quality time" is no good if it only happens once a week, and "quantity time" is no good if it's not quality time, too, in my book. For us, this means being present to help each other {quality + quantity everyday, if at all possible}. Asking each other how we can best serve each other. Sitting on the couch together when the kids go to bed and actually talking to each other. Setting a lot of less important things aside make sure our kids know they are loved every day by both of us. Taking the focus off of what Valerie wants to do or what Mark wants to do, and asking God what He wants us to do for Him. I pray that our next ten years are even better than our first ten because of it.      

Happy Birthday, Babe...

On this day, 32 years ago, before you even took a breath, God had numbered and designed every single one of your days...placed everything inside you that would make you who you are today...an amazing husband, daddy, teacher, coach...I am amazed and so thankful that, in those moments of creating you, He had me {us, these kids, this life} in mind. He's given me more than I could have asked for or imagined. Love you, babe, and so do they!

{Well, I couldn't not post for Mark's birthday after doing Ethan and Karis'. It'd be too much work for me to pull out and scan his baby pictures this morning, though, even though I'd love to show this one we have...so you could see that, at one point in his life, my husband was chunky.}

The one my heart loves...

There is no question that Mark is the man that God created me for. I wish the journey to him had had a few fewer distractions, nevertheless, I thank God for each day that brought me to the moment that I knew he was the one.

It seems crazy that it was 12 years ago {when I hardly knew who he was} that I was invited to tag along on a weekend trip to his house by some mutual friends {who I'm quite sure knew what was potentially brewing}. Twenty four hours later {thanks to those same friends} I was riding in the cab of a truck with him back to Malone. That hour and a half was all it took for me to know that he was the man I was going to marry.

It seems crazy that it was 10 years ago that he sat {shivering} next to me on a couch at my parents' house at the end of July. I couldn't figure out why he would be cold on the hot evening until a few minutes later when he got down on one knee in front of me.

It seems crazy that it was 9 years ago that {with butterflies in our stomachs and tears in our eyes} we pledged faithfulness to one another. We had no idea what the future held, we just knew we wanted to find out together.

Nine years {4 babies, 756 sleepless nights, 2 houses, 1 back surgery, and 8 football/cross-country and track seasons} later, I have never once felt the need to look back and wonder. While I do cling to many memories we've made through the last nine years, I know they are only the beginning of our story.

Mark balances out my emotionalness (is that a word?). He stands consistent in the face of my mood swings and has never once lost his temper with me, even though I have with him. He has amazing eyes. He makes every effort to understand my insecurities. He tells me on a regular basis {with all sincerity} that I'm beautiful. He gave me four of the most beautiful kids on the face of the planet. He doesn't need a special day of the year to show me or tell me how much he loves me...he does it all the time by being present and investing in me and our kids. He has sexy legs. He has to be the most selfless husband and father I have ever met. He probably is also one of the most capable fathers I know {I still recall, with awe, that he was the first one to take care of our one year old and one week old alone...while I went to the ER with some mysterious internal infection}. He understands why our house is almost always a mess or why he sometimes has to dig through a laundry basket to find a clean t-shirt {and has never once made me feel bad about it}. He loves the Lord with all his heart.

I could go on and on. I am blessed with more than I could have asked for. "...when I found the one my heart loves. I held him and would not let him go..." Song of Solomon 3:4

He thinks I'm Beautiful

Okay...well...I stink at blogging everyday. It turned out to be a busy week, but I will say that I love that when I come home from shopping at Kohl's (for two hours with no kids, when I went just to get new bras...which are totally necessary after you're done breastfeeding 4 kids), Mark thinks I'm crazy for complaining about trying on bras and bathing suits. I'm not totally depressed about my figure, but finding a flattering bathing suit when you're shaped like a rectangle is not easy! So, when I express this to my wonderful hubby...he thinks I'm crazy...and tells me I'm beautiful. And I know he means it.

What I love about my Love...

I love his eyes...the color and shape. I didn't really realize I loved the shape of them until Ethan came along and I realized they had the exact same eyes...and something about the shape of them is comforting and makes me want to smile.I love that we are his world and he lives his life to show that. He spends as little time as possible away from home. He has been asked to coach more sports, take better paying positions, or considered getting a summer job, but when he takes into consideration the fact it means more time away from us, he's always decided the money and/or recognition wasn't worth it. He's often invited to go out with some of the other guys from school on the weekends, but (even if I encourage him to once in a while) he never goes because it means another/longer day without help for me and too many hours away from the kids.

I love that he is patient with me. He is patient with me when I am forgetful and lose birth certificates or titles to vehicles. He is patient with me when I am a brat and get snippy with him. He is patient with me when his laundry doesn't get put away as quickly as it should.

I love that he helps me. He spends 8 hours a day with a hundred whiny, complaining, smart-mouthed teenagers, so I know he is just as exhausted as I am when he comes home. Yet, he will still help with dishes, laundry, baths, and bedtime. I think he might even vacuum more often than I do!

I love that I can leave him with four kids (even overnight) and have complete confidence that he can handle it...and that he won't complain about doing it or require anything in return.

My Love...

I'm taking this week to give some lovin' to my hubby. I'm not really sure I'll find the time to post everyday, but I'm hoping I'll find a couple minutes to at least do something quick...even if I start in the morning and it takes me all day to finish! (Ummm...Is that weird after I just posted yesterday that people who blog everyday are crazy!?!)

Doing marriage has been much harder than I ever expected it would be since we've added baby #4. I don't think it's because we've added the fourth child, but more because of everything that has been on our plate since we've added our fourth. I've also had some serious attitude (probaby some horomonal, but mostly not!) issues that have gotten in the way of me being the wife I should be. So, I guess, I'm kind of renewing my efforts....examining my heart and my motives each day, rebuking Satan from targeting our marriage, and reminding myself of all the things I love about my man...

A couple memories that still make my heart beat a little faster:

Spending the weekend at his house with a couple other friends at the end of our freshman year. It was the first time I had ever really spent any time with him, and on the hour plus drive back to school we talked the whole way. I knew that day I was going to marry him, even though we didn't start dating until months later.

Our first kiss after homecoming our sophomore year of college. Ummm...I'm pretty sure when I got back to my floor in the dorm I was a few inches off the ground and I couldn't stop smiling.

Any track meet where I got to watch him compete. I loved watching him high jump, especially. Of course I enjoyed watching him do just about anything. I think sharing those events with each other, and supporting each after good and bad performances was seriously a huge intimacy builder!

Homecoming 1998 (sophomore year)

Baldwin Wallace Track Meet 2001 (Senior Year)