Sneak Peek

I have the honor of throwing a baby shower for my sweet friend Melanie on Staurday. I thought it would be fun to post a sneak peek of a few things I have created. She loves birds so I had a great theme to run with.

For the invites I wanted to use damask somewhere in the design (I just love damask and so does she!) and since she is having a little boy the robin egg blue and brown colors were my top pick.

To create an atomsphere that would be inviting for conversation a sit down brunch is on the agenda. For each guest's place marker I really wanted to create something that was elegant with a little glitz (that's how I would describe Melanie!) Going along with her love of birds I thought mini birdhouses would do the trick.

And, along with a sit down brunch comes the fun of a special place setting. Napkin ring (or wraps) are a great place to add some detail. I went with a chocolate brown silk ribbon and one simple white feather to bring in the theme.

Lots more details and photos of the

shower coming soon ... stay tuned!

Love and Respect

Our Valentine's Day weekend at the marriage conference Love and Respect was amazing. I must admit that I had my doubts about going and thought it might be like some other marriage conferences we had attended in the past, but oh no it definitely was not! I thought I would share some of the highlights with you because it has made such an impact on our marriage and I wish we had this information at the start of our marriage.

The entire conference was based on Ephesians 5:33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. Have you ever thought about this passage? I have read this many times, but never stopped to really examine it and think about what that would really look like. I wondered why and as the conference went further I learned that God created a woman to have love as her deepest need and a man has respect as his deepest need. To make it simple, "without love she reacts without respect and without respect he reacts without love."

Eggerichs’ basic premise is that men and women were “wired” to have different basic (or deepest) needs. Women are wired to need love and men are wired to need respect. This is not to say that a woman doesn’t need respect nor that a man doesn’t need love, but we’re talking about the deepest or motivating need here. And, what one deeply believes will affect the way one interprets life. Take this example: What do you see when you read this phrase GODISNOWHERE ? A person which doesn't believe in God may see " God is nowhere" and a believer might see "God is now here." Men and women are not wrong to have these needs, just different and a wise person sees these differences. For me this was so freeing to better understand that the differences are not wrong and they are actually all part of God's plan. It made me think further about why I don't hear much about the issue of respect for a husband. "Our culture teaches that respect must be earned whereas love is to be unconditional." Emerson Eggerichs, Ph. D. When I stopped to think about it I can see so much truth in this statement.

This whole lack of understanding regarding the two different needs (neither wrong, just different) leads to what Eggerichs has labeled “The Crazy Cycle.” In a nutshell, when the wife feels unloved, she reacts in very disrespectful ways, and when the husband feels disrespected, he reacts in very unloving ways. Round and round it goes–crazy! Either side could break the cycle by simply choosing to exhibit unconditional love or unconditional respect. But since people don’t generally understand that there is a difference in deepest needs, it’s not as simple as making the right choice. After all, you cannot choose something that you don’t know about.

Now what about putting this info into action? I know it can be hard to make the first move towards the other person's need when we have our own need that so desperately needs to be met. But, I thought what the speaker said was great "The one who sees himself or herself as the most mature moves first" and "My response is my responsibility!"

During the conference I took a few notes that really made me stop and think:

*Love is a choice!
*Remember when you don't show respect for your husband that one day your son will be a husband and he may not receive respect (this was a great illustration because we mommies with sons can hardly stand the thought of that)
*God is asking "How are you changing to be more like me?"
*We ask for our men to have eyes only for us, but then we push them away
*Satan does everything he can to get us together before marriage and he does everything after marriage to keep us apart (this one really made me stop and think!)
*Is Hollywood or the Holy Word your guide?
*Leaving a Godly legacy for our children requires us to love and respect as God commands
*Marriage is a tool and test to deepen and demonstrate our reverence and love for Christ

If you have never attended a Love & Respect conference, I can’t urge you enough to make plans to attend. If you can’t find one going on near you, there is a book on the topic, and/or CDs and DVDs of the conference itself.

My prayer:

Thank you God for allowing me the opportunity to see what your will is for our marriage. I pray that with your help I can give Reggie the respect that he needs and see him in a whole new light. I will appreciate him for being different not wrong. Prepare my heart for moments of conflict and put respect in my heart even when I may feel unloved. I believe that everything I do towards my spouse matters to You and I do this out of love and reverence for you God.

Amen

Update on Kristi Walker

I asked for your prayers a few days ago for the Walker family as Kristi Walker battled Stage IV breast cancer with metastasis in the liver, spine and pelvis. Kristi went home to be with the Lord a little after 8am this morning.

Please continue to pray as her husband, Chuck, and their three little boys will be walking through the funeral process and dealing with the all the emotions that come along with the death of someone who will be greatly missed.

Praise God that today Kristi no longer has pain or sickness. And, pray that the words of Jeremiah 31:13 will comfort Kristi's family when they may feel the situation is too hard to handle.

Jeremiah 31:13

I will turn their mourning into gladness.

I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.

I DID IT, I REALLY DID IT!

I finally decided it was time for a hair change and I went short. I have had my hair long since I was a little girl so this was a big change for me. I know some of you thought I would never do it, but as nervous as I was I went for it. In total I had about 11 inches cut off and had every intention of donating my hair but found that since it had been highlighted it could not be used.

The ride home to let Reggie see I was almost as nervous as when the cutting began. He would love me even if I had no hair, but I would really like for him to still find me attractive. He was so sweet in his reaction and continues to tell me that he really likes it, so I hope he means it!

Since my 3 year old was asleep when I got home I wondered if he would notice when he got up this morning. He did. The first thing he asked me was "Did you sit in the silver car to get your hair cut?" Where he gets his hair cut there are all kinds of fun chairs for the kids to sit in and his favorite is a silver car like the one in the monopoly game pieces. I asked him if he liked it and he said, "I was just right!" How sweet, both my guys still love me and think I'm just right.

So here's the result:

A Little Valentine's Day Fun

Rhett had his Valentine's Day preschool party this week and we were in the spirit.

I found this adorable t-shirt for him to wear ( I pray he really doesn't ever break a girl's heart!)

This year I thought it would be fun to use edible food coloring markers to decorate cookies as the valentines he gave to his little friends. Of course, he put in his order for a train cookie and in the spirit of love I tried to deliver.

The preschool party was full of sugar and after this cookie he was literally bouncing all around.

My valentine and I will celebrate this year by attending a Love and Respect Conference where there are already people from 22 other states signed up to come to our NC conference site. Wow! This marriage conference is based on the Biblical scripture from Ephesians 5:33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. I know it will be a special weekend where we can gain real insight into what God truly desires for a marriage. I'll let you know soon.

Please Pray for this Family

Please read below to know how to pray or to get involved with ministering to this family.

_________________________________________________________________

Chuck and Kristi Walker are the proud parents of 3 young boys, Cade (4 1/2), Mason (2), and Zane (newborn).

During Kristi's third trimester of pregnancy with Zane she started experiencing extreme back and hip pain, requiring her to be put on bedrest. On Friday, October 17th, Kristi was admitted for an emergency C-section due to what was believed to be 'Hellp Syndrome'.
Kristi was transported to UNC Hospital following the birth, and after several days of extensive testing, the doctors diagnosed Kristi with Stage IV breast cancer with metastasis in the liver, spine and pelvis.

Chuck and Kristi are believers in the Truth of the Bible and in salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. They believe in the power of prayer and that this is truly the greatest help to them.

__________________________________________________________________

Please pray: for healing for Kristi – both from the cancer (effectiveness of the chemo) and recovery from delivery procedure-

for recovery from headaches due to the spinal tap-

for strength and comfort for Kristi- for endurance through chemo treatment procedures / meds

for minimal side effects.-

for wisdom for the doctors-

for energy for both Kristi and Chuck- for comfort / energy for parents with the kids / baby-

for wisdom in what / how to communicate to the kids more about Mommy's sickness.-

for contentment for the kids- for healthy / smooth development of baby Zane- to be able to have joy and time to savor the miracle of Zane, a precious new life from God-

for encouragement for Chuck and not to become overwhelmed-

for faith to know our God is the Great Physician, the Maker and Sustainer of Life-

for grace to find peace in resting in God’s sovereign will-

for comfortableness and vulnerability of Chuck and Kristi with their brothers / sisters in Christ to minister to one another – rather than awkwardness and fear- for a God given sensitivity from their immediate family and brothers / sisters in Christ-

for the church family of faith to pray without ceasing
__________________________________________________________________

Want to help?

Financial Help:

In response to the requests to help the Walkers financially, their church has set up an account for them. If you are interested in helping financially, please make checks payable to "Colonial Baptist Church" and write in the memo line, "Non-Deductable gift for Walker family". Mail checks to:Chuck and Kristi Walkerc/o Colonial Baptist Church6051 Tryon RdCary, NC 27518
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Josh at [jmenoldnc@hotmail.com] or 910-658-8762.

Other ways to help:

Please contact anyone on this list and they will be happy to get you involved:

House Cleaning: Jen Magee [jmagee@nc.rr.com] 919-303-8371

Food: Betsy Watkins [bcwatkins@nc.rr.com]

Yard work: Andy Harbaugh [joy8401@netzero.com]

Child care: Jackie Coats [bodooley@nc.rr.com]

Finances: Josh Menold [jmenoldnc@hotmail.com]

Website and anything else: Kurt Mosley [kurt@mosleys.org]

To stay updated on Kristi's progress you can visit her CarePage at: http://www.carepages.com/carepages/160899/invitations/355717/0e53e802418430a9c4e57c23ef3e4a34c5f5d050?client_code=unchealthcare&ipc=miv

Event and Party Planning

I am excited to announce that I am adding event and party planning as a new service to my business portfolio. I just love new ways to be creative!

Here's a peek at my latest party plan. This weekend I was given the fun opportunity to plan a 1st birthday party for a friend's son. Her son's name is Peter so what better theme than The Tale of Peter Rabbit. When I read through the pages of this classic I wanted to recreate Mr. McGregor's garden and pull in a few fun games that would help bring the story alive for the guests.

Invitation and Inspiration

When creating the invitation I used soft colors to give the event a sweet but classic feel.

Party Decor

Decorating the space is always my favorite part and to see the room transform into Mr. McGregor's garden was so much fun!

Details

It's all in the details! To bring a little more interest to ordinary plates I scalloped the edges and placed adorable mini carrots as embellishments.

Activities and Games

When the guests arrived they each painted their own garden pot. Then, we shared the book The Tale of Peter Rabbit before they each got a chance to become the Peter Rabbit character in a veggie hunt game.

Favors

Each guest took home a favor to remember the special day. The girls received straw purses and the boys straw hats. All filled with a mini Peter Rabbit Collection book, garden seeds and handmade candy carrots (see directions below).

Since Easter is on it's way I thought you might enjoy knowing how I created these candy filled carrots. I took cellophane wrap and cut it into a 24" square. Then I cut the square in half on the diagonal, so you will end up with 2 triangle shaped pieces. Lay the wrap with one triangle point at the top and bring the other two points together to form a cone shape. Make sure the end is closed off (you can use tape if needed). Tape down the seam and begin filling with any of your favorite orange colored candy. Tie off the top with a piece of green raffia. Finally, cut some straight pieces of raffia for the carrot top and then wrap a long piece around the entire top to hold the raffia pieces in place. Now you have a fun way to make a candy filled carrot!

Food

No party is complete without a cake and some yummy food. The menu was full of fresh fruits and veggies, potato soup, cheeses and assorted sandwiches.

The party was so much fun to plan and the
sweet birthday boy had a happy birthday!

Wordless Wednesday: Our Second Snow of the Year