Thursday, November 19, 2009

My Sweet Oldest Son

I've had arthitis on and off since I was about 17. A few years ago I discovered that if I drink large amounts of lemon juice when I am having an episode of arthritis, the pain will usually be gone by the next day. For the past month or so, when I've been busy doing something, my oldest son Austin sneaks in the kitchen and makes lemon juice water for me. If I walk in the kitchen when he is making it, he gets so dissapointed because he loves giving it to me as a surprise. It's one of those things that is so precious to me.

If I had a personal chef, I would have them lightly grill me asparagus every night and bring me lemon water all day. I feel so blessed and spoiled every time he brings me the drink. Sometimes he'll juice limes or oranges and bring me the juice in cold water. So I just want to let the world know what a sweet son I have!

Friday, November 6, 2009

A Gold Nugget on Marriage

A person panning for gold often works for hours or days or months to find that one valuable gold nugget. Life can be like that. I try to learn all I can, and sometimes I get blessed with a gold nugget—something I learn or remember that significantly helps my life. I want to add the gold nuggets I learn to this blog.

Today I want to start with a marriage gold nugget. This came courtesy of my husband’s instruction. He said to me, “Why don’t you ever make me a favorite meal to show me how much you appreciate my hard work?” Which is funny, because I only cook the foods he likes. And I try to regularly tell him thanks for working and to encourage him. But a lightbulb went on in my head: I can tie those things together for a double whammy. I can actually give more meaning to what I am already doing just by attaching a greater verbal reason to it. When I clean the house a little better than usual, I can say, “I cleaned the house extra good for you because you’ve been working so hard to provide for us.” Or, if I add candy to his lunch, I can say, “I added peanut butter cups to your lunch today as a treat for you because you are such a great father and you spend time with the kids everyday. So this is a reward.” Now, I was already putting the peanut butter cups in anyway, but this makes it more special for him. And I am doing it as a way to show love and appreciation, I just need to remember to tell him that.