A few things on a friday

Have I told you guys how awesome you are? Because it's so true. Thank you so much for all your kind words on yesterday's post. Y'all rock my world. Thank you.

Giada is having some kind of a 'teenage-symptom' growth spurt going on. Lately she has been really testing my boundaries and has huge meltdown tantrums when I won't give into her ways. She breaks down over the smallest, most insignificant things. I mean face full of tears, and gut wrenching sobs accompanied. Let me tell ya, disciplining a toddler is not an easy task. And still, I've been doing a lot of that around here lately. She obviously doesn't grasp the full extent of the hows and why's as far as discipline goes, which makes for some very challenging days. But that's a whole post in itself. Needless to say, I still love the girl to pieces. When she's not acting like a pmsing teen, she is a total sweetheart! It just melts my heart.

I've been on this odd, non-intended daily diet of big salads and fine chocolate this week. I may have gotten a little bit ahead of my self with the chocolate the other day. Ooops.

Every time I open my pantry door, I can practically hear it scream for some TLC. So yesterday was the day! I went to good 'ol Walmart and bought myself some helping tools. And as soon as I proceeded with my grand cleaning plan, my ever so helpful daughter came over to help... by stuffing her mouth full of every piece of candy she could get her munchkin hands on. Aaannd then I spent the next 10 minutes with my fingers in her mouth, making her spit it all out. Which of course brought out the waterfalls. So I was done. I gave up for the night. My kitchen may or may not have looked like this when I went to sleep.

For the last few weeks I've been daydreaming about decorating our bedroom. I keep on going back and forth on the wall color choices, if I want to buy my nightstands or repaint the old ones, rearranging furniture in my head. You know, the usual all dreaming and no action. BUT... I have finally taken the first step and purchased the fabric for my curtains. Isn't it purrty! I can't wait to see them come to life!

If nothing else, girl-fren sure knows how to entertain herself during nap time. That's a whole package of wipes on the floor, whom have come to know their death prematurely.

This girl's a diva. End of story.

I hope this weekend will treat you right.

Have fun!

The way I fell in love... with God

This has been another one of those thoughts that has been eating at me more recently. I don't talk much about religion over here. Partially because it's such a controversial topic, and partially because I don't want my words to be misinterpreted.

That being said, sharing the way I fell in love with my Savior was not an easy task for me. I have debated posting this for quite a few weeks now. Even as I'm typing this, I'm not sure if I should click 'publish.' As you read it, please try not to judge too much. Even though I may have. I was living in a different world when some of those things happened. It's almost like both I and some of the people taking part on this journey didn't know any better... even though they should have and did.

I won't go on any longer.

Here goes nothing...

Most of my life I grew up in a very conservative Christian environment. But before that, my very young years were spent in a remarkably religiously liberal, Greek/Russian Orthodox household. We went to church on Easter and Christmas, for tradition's sake, and sometimes not even then. We were good, happy people who would pray to God when heavy rains would fall or when times were hard. My grandparents were and are wonderful, hardworking, kind people who consider themselves christians. They are not aware that in actuality, they are some mixture of agnostic jews, since they choose to believe in God whenever it's convenient for them, and think that Jesus was just a good man.

Those were my views as I entered a real Christian faith at the young age of 7. And I think I would have been happy with that knowledge for the rest of my life. However that was not the case. Our new beliefs, left me in a total religious shock. An 180 degree transformation, from my life style to what I ate. Never being much the type to question authority, I embraced the new beliefs, and obeyed them, even though I didn't always understand them.

This new God I was serving was different. He was an almighty, powerful God, who loves me so much that He died for my sins...and who could strike me down dead if I stepped out of line. I wasn't just afraid of Him. I was terrified. Like a battered wife would be of her husband. She'll obey him because he may kill her. The story of Uzzah would play in my head over and over again every time I did something wrong.

I followed all the rules because I was supposed to and because I really believed that this is what God wanted me to do. There was no makeup, no jewelry, no dancing, no wearing clothes to church that were an inch above your shoulder, singing nothing but hymns in the sanctuary. The drums were a devil's instrument. No talking in church, no going anywhere but the park on the Holy day. Even though forgiveness was preached much, you were not left with a lot of room for error.

The church leaders made sure you were behaving according to 'protocol' or you would be excluded. Never mind that they were judgmental gossips, who treated people like dirt the moment they stepped foot outside the church. Modern day pharisees.

As I was trying to reach the status of a perfect Christian, and going through the routine of obeying all the rules, I was broken on the inside, never fully happy. I alway felt that no matter how hard I tried, how much I pushed myself in this walk with God, I would never achieve satisfaction. I would always fall short of the cross, and beat myself over and over again because of it. That's a lot to take for a young woman.

Somewhere in my teens something happened. We moved to the States, I was older, and I started to question things more. While in church one day, the pastor told us that it's ok to question God. After all, Job did. That's the only ok I need to gain some courage. I just took it and ran with it, never looking back.

For the first time in my life I was looking at God with different, questioning eyes. I was tired of living a life of fear. I was not happy in that relationship, so why was I still in it? I wanted more. I needed more. My heart was hungry for knowledge, and understanding, and most of all for peace and love. I read the Bible for myself and for the first time I realized that I was really believing what I was seeing. Not because my parents, or the church leaders were saying so, but because I believed it. Me. And because what I was reading MADE SENSE. And even though I was still obeying all the rules, my fear had lessened significantly at that point, and I was really starting to fall in love with this God for the first time in my life.

Things only got better from there on. I went to college at a christian university, and my eyes became wide open as I discovered God in a whole different way. My first couple of years there I found the true meaning of the fact that He is not only the God of the Old Testament, but also the New. He is not only just and all powerful, He is also a great listener, kind and loving, and someone who wants to be my confidant and best friend. He accepts me exactly the way I am: broken, with tons of baggage, and stained by sin, with His blood on my hands. He is forgiving, and creative, and brilliant, and funny. I was no longer intimidated by my relationship with Him. I was falling deeper and deeper in love with Him. My soul was happy, my heart was full, my relationship was stronger than ever. The huge rock that has been hanging around my heart for years, was now gone. I was free at last. And while I was at it, I discovered that dancing, wearing makeup and jewelry will NOT give me an automatic ticket to the gates of hell. I can not express how liberating that little piece of information was.

Every year that passes by, my relationship with God takes new dimensions. It's almost like being married: every day you learn something different, and (hopefully) you love that person more and more because of it. In the last couple of years, I've been learning so much more about my God, and how truly wonderful He is.

He wants us to serve Him not because we're scared, but because we love Him. He wants a real and pure relationship with us that would put a fire in our heart and butterflies in our stomachs at the very thought of it.

As I'm concluding my never ending Love Story, I will leave you with the song that describes my journey so perfectly.

Read it's words. Feel it's lyrics. Take it in deeply.

And let yourselves be loved.

"He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us so " ~ David Crowder Band

I never want to forget

Go ahead and call me a melancholic sap, but I LOVE living those days with my girl.

I want to breathe them in, forever tattoo them on my heart and mind.

With every single milestone she reaches, there is a new tinkle in my eyes, a new smile on my face, a new worry line on my forehead, a new kind of skip to my heart.

So this post is about remembering her the way she is right now.

At this very age where she's 14months going on 15years.

Because I'll never get them back, and because I already miss every single yesterday.

I never want to forget:

The deep conversations that we share:

"Ma-ma?"

'Yes, Giada'

"Ma-ma!"

'Yes Giada'

"Maaaa-mmaaa"

'Yes Giada'

"Ha-eeeeee. Hi."

Can we just say, dramatic much? I think so.

Or how she has mastered pinching anyone she's comfortable with...

And while doing it over and over, and OVER again, she'll say "OW" (said like Ouch without the 'ch'), as if it really hurts her.

I have lost many of arm hairs over this game of hers.

On a second thought, I would like to forget that.

Or how she's got perfect timing for calling her kitty while we're in the garage and our next door neighbor AND all of her young kids are conveniently watching...

"Titty! Titty! Titty!"

"Ma-ma!"

"CAT!"

Ummm.... "She's calling her cat. I swear!"

Oh, if only that were the first and last time she embarrasses me.

But it won't. This is just practice for the next 18+ years.

Good thing I love her.

Good, bad, and ugly, that girl has all my heart for all my life.

Friday Faves

'Member when I told you that the husband had a surprise present for me for Valentine's day? Well this is it. My new baby. Since my old one bit the dust, I was in desperate need for a new one. So needless to say, my jaw almost touched my knees, and I just about soaked my undergarments when he gave it to me. Love at first snap FO SHO! Her and I are getting to know each other a lot better these days.

Girlfriend here has a bit of a tv addiction. Which is my fault. She is a total zombie when I turn it on. But on my defense, it's the only way to get her to drink her milk. When we're out and about with no tv, she'll only drink about 3oz and be done, compared to 5 when she has a distraction. And for you tv Nazis out there who are judging my mothering skills, at least I'm not making her watch Jerry Springer. She does watch educative, age appropriate shows. So see, it could be worse.

Tiramisu is going to put me in the grave. That stuff is the death of me. By far, my fave dessert ever. Coffee and sweet rum mascarpone in one desert? It's a no brainer in my book. I'm not much of a baker but man do I make a killer tiramisu. And when it does happen, I make a huge pan and then proceed on eating at least half of it by myself. Because you can't stop after having just one slice. Trust me on that.

And while we're talking about yummy desserts. I made those sopapillas last week, and they were one mouthful of deep fried, finger licking, sugar-cinamony sprinkled goodness. The husband and the in-laws agreed.

I love watching those two cuddled up and enjoying time together. The bond that they share? It's heart melting you guys.

And with that, I'm going to enjoy my weekend with my favorite peeps.

I hope you do the same.

Linking up here.

And here's the scoop

So it happened.

And it has to be documented because it occurs as often as you see an albino monkey.

Our date night, that is.

But of course it wouldn't be a real date unless I had a little wardrobe malfunction 30 min before we left.

It wasn't so much a malfunction as it was that almost none of my pre-Giada dresses were willing to let me zip them over my back fat.

No matter how much I pleaded, bargained or sucked my fat in, this one particular little red dress I had set my mind on, would not budge.

So I settled for the next best thing.

A blue one, with plenty of room to let me eat.

And oh.my.gosh! Did I ever eat!

I may or may not have loosened my belt or completely taken it off half way through the meal.

Bam! Just like that! Belly hanging out.

I'm not kidding when I say I looked anywhere between 3 and 5 months pregnant.

Thank God for dim lighting.

And the husband over here?

After a few minutes of seriously considering the 'slim' menu...

He went ahead and got himself a deep fried mac and cheese burger.

With fries.

Which in case you didn't know, are also deep fried.

But the man enjoyed every single calorie.

I say good for him.

'Cause then he went home and ran 2miles. He may have worked out about 2 fries.

And of course I could not end the meal without getting some tiramisu cheesecake.

I think I hear angels sing with every bite.

But don't worry. I went home and did my 15min of P90X abdominal workout.

And I actually did it this time.

It's not like that one day last week when I was doing crunches and eating Oreos.

At the same time.

Needless to say...

The date was a success.

A much, much needed success.

Not having to share our meal with a hyperactive toddler also helped our case.

But as soon as I got home, I was missing the mess out of that child!

Because at the end of the day or a hot date, we're still parents.

I hope you guys had a beautiful Valentine's day with your loved ones or at the very least with some good chocolate.

It's a Galentine's Date

Happy Valentine's day lovely peeps!

Hopefully, later on today I'll be wearing some skimpy dress, getting my hurr did, and enjoying some good food with my own version of Mr. Darcy.

With no kid.

Say WHAAAAT!

I'm sure it will take some kind of supernatural, divine intervention for all those things to actually happen in one night.

But I haven't had a one-on-one date in months, and I'm determined to make this happen, dang it!

Never you mind that the plans to my fave restaurant in town got canceled thanks to the other 300 couples trying to get in.

I may have stomped my feet a couple of times when I found out.

But I'm sure you'll hear all about my date with the man and all the mushy details (hopefully) later on in the week.

The rest of this post is reserved to a ladies' date.

My friend Sarah came up with this genius idea of having a 'galantine's' date.

Girls time AND a good meal?

You know you can count me in!

So a bunch of us ladies got together on Sunday and had a great ol' time chatting and laughing our ears off.

It was just superficial stuff that we discussed.

Work, kids, future kids, which boys we loved, which boys we hated, which boys we should totally forget about 'cause they is just bad news.

I almost felt like I was back in my college days.

It was a nice mixture of women.

We had everything from married with kids (ok, just one kid. I was the only mother there; those girls need to hurry it up!), just married, engaged, dating, and single ladies.

That diversity, gave us a wide range of men-topic to discuss.

Some of it may have been silly and superficial.

But that's exactly what I needed.

I can't even tell you how good that felt.

My insides were screaming for some relaxing time alone with girlfriends.

In all honesty, I knew I required some time to myself, but I didn't know how badly I really needed it until I got in my car and went home.

It was like a breath of fresh air.

I felt relaxed, and stress free.

After that, I told myself that I have to do this more than just once every six months.

It really is good for this momma's brain.

I'm not gonna cry you a river, but I have a hard time justifying not having my girl with me at all times.

I have even a harder time justifying the fact that Brandon has to babysit while I'm going out and having fun.

It's that motherly guilt. It gets me every time.

And that's how I end up coming out of hibernation every six months.

But for now, I'm taking one day at a time and counting all my busy blessings along the way.

On this month of love

I was going to write another one of those serious posts that has been skipping around my brain for a long time now, but I decided that maybe I should chill a while with all the seriousness. You can thank me in the comment section. I may bring it on next week though.

But for now I'll be answering a few questions that have been going around the blogosphere lately. Enjoy, yes?

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?

We've been together for 6 years. Married for almost 5.

2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?}

We met through a common friend who was living with Brandon at the time. I went to help him move out. Later on I found out that, as soon as I proceeded to pick up our friend's dirty clothes off the floor, Brandon was sold. I guess that's what gets him. Laundry. Mmmk...

3. If married, how long have you been married? If not, is this the guy you hope to marry? {do tell}

This year we'll be celebrating 5 years. Most days it feels like it just happened a few months ago. Other days? Well, I won't tell you about other days.

4. If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding? If not, where would you like to get married? And will it be big or small?

We were married at this cute little golf course in a Metro Detroit suburb and we had about 150 of our friends and family joining us in our celebration.

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share!

Umm... yes. Let's see. There's sweetie, babe, lov-ah, honey, and once in a while he get's a 'cra-ka please.' Don't you judge me now.

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.

The man works hard for his family, he is loyal, and he would do anything for his two main girls. Oh, and he knows a move or two that makes my heart skip a few beats. Just had to throw that out there.

7. Tell us how he proposed?

He picked me up from my dorm in a limo, and proposed on a beach, in April, in 30 degree weather while I was wearing a little black dress. The rest is history.

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?

Ummm....I don't really think he's any of the above. We're still working on his romantic side. BUT. I would have to say he is more of a roses and dinner kinda man.

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?

Idealy? Most definitely a sunset dinner on the beach girl. I mean, who isn't? In actuality however, 90% of the time we end up on the couch watching a movie. And that's totally fine too. Really.

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?

I would love for us to travel more. We've been to Europe a few years ago, but the time was spent mostly visiting my family rather then exploring. I would love to go back and actually take it all in. And eat my way through every country. Yes please!

11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.

We almost never do anything special for V-day. But this year I made sure to get a babysitter in time, and we're going to my fave restaurant in town. AND... You ready for this? I'm planing on getting out of my sweats and dressing up for a chance.

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?

Once again, we usually don't give each other anything special for Vday. I usually get flowers, and I find that very sweet. HOWEVER, Brandon just told me the other day that he ordered my present, which was quickly followed by me saying "Oh, crap. How much did you spend?" Because you see, now I gotta get him something, and I would need to know if we're talking the price range of a card or an exotic vacation.... I guess he still insists it's a surprise.

13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.

Just ONE advice? That's all you want? I would say be honest with one another, and communicate often during the good and bad days. And once in a while bring out the eatable massage oils. Wait, did I just say that?

14. Show us a picture of what love means to you.

It's no secret that those two mean the world to me. The love and happiness that they bring into my life is out of this world. Of course, I had to end it on a sappy note...

Linking up with Becky over here.

Her Story: Kerri

Hey there peeps.

Welcome to a new 'Her Story' series.

Today, I've got the lovely Kerri here, sharing a little bit of her past with you and I.

I've only known Kerri for a a little while now, but not only is this girl gorgeous, she is a total sweetheart, as well.

I hope you get to know her, too.

{Click above to read the rest of the 'Her Story' series.}

................................................................................................

I’m so honored and excited to be a part of Tatiana’s series! The stories here are amazing and beautiful, and really show the vast array of struggles and triumphs that we all go through. With that said, here is my story…

It was 2 AM. I was a senior in a very rigorous Bachelors of Science in Dental Hygiene program. I had one more final left before Christmas break, but something was wrong. Pain seared through every nerve in my body and I jolted awake. My mind tried to catch up with what was happening to my body. For hours that night I lay on the bathroom floor, alternating between vomiting from the pain and rocking back in forth in agony, unable to be still. My father (an ER physician assistant), visiting for Christmas break, showed a face full of concern as he told me I should go to the emergency room. Being the stubborn, “I’m okay, let’s just get through this thing”- kind of person that I am, I waved aside the concerns. Hours passed, and despite my dad’s advice, I somehow managed to drive to the school where I took my final. In twenty minutes, I finished, and by this time, I knew that something was really wrong. At eleven that morning, I finally went to the ER.

It’s hard to describe the nightmare of that day. Everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong. My blood pressure dropped to 60/40 (normal is 120/80), they couldn’t find anything on the ultrasound, they mixed up my CT scan with another patient, and then, when they found it, the ER doc didn’t read it thoroughly. My pain couldn’t be controlled by morphine this point, and I settled into a semi-conscious haze. My body was done. Finally, at around 2AM the next day, I was wheeled into emergency surgery….my CT scan had finally been sent to the radiologist to read, and he told the doctors I had advanced appendicitis and to get me into surgery right away.

To this day, I have a hard time thinking back to that experience and what may well have happened if they had sent me home, like they originally planned. I’ve been told by many medical people that I probably wouldn’t have survived, as my appendix had already started rupturing when they got me to surgery.

Life went on, although not as easily as before. I went right back to school after Christmas break, just hoping to get back into the normal groove of life. But I didn’t feel good at all. By March I finally started to feel like a person again. By April, I was getting excited about the long-awaited prospect of graduation, I was dating someone, and life was good. And then the pain and nausea came.

Because of everything I went through on that scary night with the appendicitis, three years of my own personal nightmare ensued. I went undiagnosed with tremendous pain and nausea for many months. I took a short leave of absence from school to fly cross country to my dad’s hospital to have every test possible done. I was told by many physicians that nothing was wrong, and one even told me straight out that I was “nuts.” Being the farthest thing from a hypochondriac, this really stung. Finally, the summer after graduation (I did somehow manage to graduate on time, much to the surprise of my faculty and family!), I went in for exploratory surgery. They found exactly what I had researched and thought I had: abdominal adhesions. Adhesions are bands of scar tissue that result from trauma and infection (my appendectomy), and can basically bind with nerve endings and “glue” organs together causing tremendous pain. In my case, the adhesions were cementing my colon to my abdominal wall. The doctors who had told me I was nuts and couldn’t possibly have adhesions were now silent.

To make a very long story short, I went through two surgeries to remove the adhesions… my last being a little over a year ago in which they placed a barrier to keep them from coming back. It seems to have worked, so I praise God everyday for that!

My life changed a lot in the last three years. In the midst of so many pain-filled days, I gave up dating relationships, my job, my independence, and my life as I knew it. I couldn’t exercise or move a lot, because this brought on the pain and nausea more easily. Orange medication bottles took over my sink. I moved across country to live with my parents when the adhesions came back for a second time. My days were filled with trying to control the incessant nausea, and wondering if I would end up in the ER again that night. In the last years, I have made more visits to the ER than I can count, been hospitalized several times, and ended up getting a very serious infection after the last surgery. But with much prayer and the love of my fantastic family, today I can tell you that despite having some residual problems from the infection and feeling more fragile, I’m back to living life!

God changed me a lot during this time as well. I went through periods of doubt. I wondered if he had forgotten me. I lamented that all of my friends were getting married, having babies, getting jobs, and living normally. And in the countless days and nights where I was in uncontrollable pain, I whispered to him to help me get through it. But even with those periods of darkness, I can now look back and see that he was changing me into the person he needed me to be for the next stage of life. And that he had also protected me from greater harm.

After wanting to do so for three years, I was finally able to apply and was accepted to my top Physician Assistant school choice, and I start in a couple of months! I hope to do a residency in Emergency Medicine and go on to be the best emergency/trauma PA that I can! I have an interesting perspective from being a patient. I have gained empathy and understanding, and I am so excited for this next phase of life. Thank you for listening, and if any of you have questions about adhesions, please visit www.adhesions.org. I hope to someday finish my story and write a book so that other people can learn about the life-changing problems caused by this. Here’s to life, and finally being able to live it!

Kerri (buttercupsandbluescrubs.blogspot.com)

...................................................................

PS: If YOU would like to share your story that would inspire, move and help other women, shoot me an email at myblog.tatiana@gmail.com. I would love to have you.

Divorce

Kind of an ironic topic. Talking about divorce in the month of love. But it's something that has been hunting me more recently. Everywhere I turn, TV, blog friends, family members, people everywhere are leaving their "for better or worse, till death do us part" promises to vanish in the wind. At the very least it's heart breaking.

Even though we may not realize it on our wedding day, more often than not, we want our wedding vows to be 'for better or worse' closely followed by '...as long as the odds are in my advantage.' We're a selfish bunch of creatures. And that my friends, is one of the main reasons marriages fail.

Because everything is peachy until it's not.

The mistake that we most often make in our marriages is that our commitment is to ourselves and not to God or our spouses. When you see your marriage as a sacred bond between you and your spouse, and you make a true and selfless commitment to serve one another, that's the time you achieve a real 'marital bliss.' Once you lose sight of your partner's needs and start concentrating on your own self-fulfillment, that's the starting point of a marriage falling apart.

Am I saying that I have the answers to a happy and healthy marriage? No. Am I saying I have achieved the true 'marital bliss.' Not at all. We've been married for 4 and a half years. On the anniversary of our first year, as our feet were tickled by the sand of a warm Italian beach, I wanted a divorce. I was very convinced of it too. That's something I have never shared before over here. It was a totally selfish decision on my part, even though in my mind at the time it was very well based. Thank God that decision lasted less than 24 hours.

Fast-forward four years. Are we happy? Yes. Do we struggle like most people? Yes. Can I think of a better husband or daddy for my little girl? No. But it's because both our relationship and my understanding of what marriage is all about has come to new heights. I have come to know that I won't feel all hot and sweaty for him every single day of my life. That somedays I'll have to actually make the choice to love him despite his actions. Thankfully those days are very few. And I know that he feels the same way about me, because regardless of all appearances, I'm not always a peach to live with.

I can't say divorce is never the answer since I've seen and been part of the severe damage violence and abuse, be it physical or emotional, can cause. In that case, I would encourage anyone to get out. Not before serving him a hot pot of grits of course (where my "Madea's family reunion?" girls be at?). But today I'm not talking about that kind of an 'emergency exit', because let's face it, most divorces are not that extreme. Mostly when people look for a way out is because 'they have fallen out of love,' 'irreconcilable differences,' or that one's needs are not being met. Is it annoying, hard, and hurtful to live with someone who you have placed in the above mentioned categories? Most likely. But this comes full circle to the fact that marriage is not an everyday vacation. He's not going to be Prince Charming everyday of his life, and you're not a 24/7 hired Cinderella.

Marriage is more than just that eros, toe curling, headboard banging, fogging your car's windows (you get the point) kinda love. Marriage is work and commitment. Marriage is a two way street. Marriage is the choice to be by your spouse's side through thick and thin, thought the gates of hell and high waters, just like you promised to do that one day when you took your sweetheart's hand and swore in front of God and your family to never leave his or her side until the last breath leaves their body.

However, for that to happen you can't just rely on the eros type of love. You also need the philia love which makes you his best friend, and especially the agape love, which is the selfless kind, the glue to your marriage. A successful marriage understands and knows how to balance all three of those love languages.

If you're a newlywed, someone who's been married for years, or someone who hasn't started that journey yet, this message applies to you all. Here are my two cents of advice. If you're single and haven't made this important decision, make sure that the one you chose is someone who you don't only see yourself spending the rest of your life with, but someone who from the very beginning is committed to God and the sanctity of marriage. Someone who never sees divorce as an option. If you're already married, regardless if you're struggling or not in your relationship, take the time and get to know your spouse because our needs and wants change everyday. Love deeply and selflessly. Forgive much. Put his or her needs before your own, and always place God at the center of your marriage. But most importantly never forget or stop fighting for the words in Mark 10.

"Therefore what God has joined together, men must never separate." Mark 10:9

Disclaimer: The message of this post is in no way meant to judge or look down upon those who are struggling in their marriage or going through a divorce. I also realize not everyone will agree with the content of this post, however those are my personal thoughts and feelings, and I only ask that you be respectful if you chose to disagree.

Life's about the little things...and tutus

Today I'm enjoying the little things...

Like time spent with a blue-eyed baby girl in a pink tutu skirt...

And I thank God everyday that he has chosen me to be the woman she calls her momma.

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things."

~ Robert Brault

Linking up with Jenni from the blog, Live and Love out loud, and Seven Clown Circus.