Christmas time is here again...

Christmas is seriously my FAVORITE part of the year. Unfortunately this year the Christmas season seems to have come a little late to our house. For the first part of December we didn't really feel very in the Christmas spirit, but the past few days both me and Josh have really gotten into it. I am so stoked to spend my first birthday with him and our first Christmas together :) This guy is seriously awesome. He is truly selfless and thoughtful. I had to think long and hard about what awesome Christmas gift I could get him, and he already had mine thought out and done. What I really love about my Josh is that he has made this Christmas more about Christ. He has done so amazing at helping me feel the spirit of Christmas and feel more of the importance than the presents.
Because of this this has been one of my favorite Christmas' so far :)

Red solo cup...I fill you up....

Fill you up with Dr. Pepper and then my baby goes wild. Yup. That's right. The other day I was having the worst day and I just needed some caffeine to pull me through. Since I have been pregnant i've tried extremely hard to not drink my Dr. Pepper. But....I just couldn't hold off this time. I drank an XL size from Maverick in about an hour (don't judge me). For the next 15 hours straight Maddox was bouncing off the walls and going wild. I was concerned, but Josh convinced me he was fine. The fun part is Josh has been able to feel little Maddox for the past week :) So it's been really awesome.

A Picture Says A Thousand Words

I was scrolling through my phone and realized I just have way to many awesome pictures that I have yet to share with the world. Enjoy...

So this my friends..... This is what happens at my family reunions when my mom offers to buy beer for all the family members. It's a long story. Short... Uncle Brian was demonstrating the amazing Rebman Weenus. I hope I don't get in trouble putting this up....Uncle Brian...tell me if i'll lose my title as "Favorite Niece" for having this up here. I just love this picture so much!

                                               
 The Jesus snow globe? What is this? And who wants to shake up some dude? Seriously Target?....Seriously?....
                                                 
 "Ooooops....I licked the cupcake.....Do you still want it?....." Isn't he the cutest thing you've ever seen?

Come One, Come All!

I need someone to come visit my house every 3 days. I LOVE how fast I can get my house clean when I know someone is going to be there in 20 minutes. I do everything that would normally take me a few hours. So i'm inviting you all to come up here to Idaho and visit me.

So. I know that I was so set on the husband project but life apparently thought I wasn't busy enough and threw a little bit more on my load. First Thanksgiving came up, then work got super duper busy, then I got this nasty little cold that has completely weighed me down. BUT I have not given up. After the holidays it is the first thing on my list. And no....I don't procrastinate. I'll show you....Just you wait!

As for the Christmas season. I feel very accomplished. I got the hubby some awesome presents that I am pretty convinced he has no clue about, and i'm excited to see his face on Christmas morning! I'm also really excited that I will be making our first Christmas Eve dinner and waking up with my best friend on Christmas morning! This is going to be the best Christmas of my life....So far :)

I am a little homesick however...I do miss how amazing my mom makes the house look at Christmas time, and I miss the music, and her yummy cooking...and not being responsible of the household.......and she did my laundry........... and I always liked coming home from school to a happy mom asking how my day was........... there was so much food there......and good snacks!
Anyway.... Long story short...I'm homesick! I love our home now :) But life was so much simpler as a kid, right?

The Husband Project

Ok. So here is the layout of the 21 day husband project. I will write a post after each project I do and let ya'll know how it goes :)

Day 1- 30 Minutes of relaxing when Josh gets home from work. Let him have 30 minutes to relax after work. Let him play video games, or take a nap. Just stay out of his hair and let him wind down.

Day 2- Go on a drive/hike. There is a gorgeous canyon up here in Rexburg. I figure we can go drive up through there and walk around.

Day 3- Take as many opportunities to brag about my Josh :) Slip into conversations with him that i've bragged about him today.

Day 4- A food JUST for him. I'm going to make him lemon butter salmon (ick) and I will have something else for dinner :)

Day 5- Text him all day telling him how awesome he is and how much I love him.

Day 6- Hold his hand or snuggle him close when I have the chance.

Day 7- Get gorgeous JUST for him. Even if we're staying in for the night. Be pretty.

Day 8- Cook dinner and take it somewhere fun to eat. Maybe a chinese night sitting on pillows in our living room? I'm still a little uncertain on the details of what to eat and where. But it WILL be fun!

Day 9- Help him get ready for work. Wake up early and iron his shirt and pants for him and lay out an outfit fresh and clean. Make him breakfast and help him get out the door to work.

Day 10- Get a new cute outfit that he will LOVE. This day benefits both of us :)

Day 11- Let him come home to a very clean and peaceful house. Have pretty music playing and yummy candles burning.

Day 12- Write him a note on the bathroom mirror with some of the many things I love about him on it. Let him see it when he goes to take a shower in the morning.

Day 13- Keep Josh on my mind all day long. Pray for him throughout the day. let him know he's been on my mind all day long.

Day 14- Cook something that the both of us will enjoy. Something gourmet. Will decide what at a later date :)

Day 15- Throw away one item of clothing he really just doesn't like on me that much. If it's something I love throw it away and replace it with something we both love.

Day 16- Tell Josh all day long how dang good looking he is :) This one won't be hard at all! Luckily I got a good lookin man!

Day 17- Do all the chores (Garbage, Laundry, Dishes). In the book the lady says "A man that does dishes and laundry and cleaned the house is a dime in a dozen and really only existed on romantic movies". I guess I am one of the extremely lucky people. He works AND goes to school plus does everything around our house so I don't have to. I know this isn't a temporary thing either. This is just how amazing this man is. Gosh dang I love him! So give him one day off and do everything for HIM.

Day 18- Take him out to his favorite restaurant for date night.

Day 19- Make him some breakfast in bed. "If I call you darling....will you make me pancakes?"

Day 20- Leave post it notes everywhere. This will be very cute and sentimental, because when we first started dating I would leave him post it notes with cute messages on them :)

Day 21- Let him pick ANY movie of his choice. Yes. This includes Discovery Channel or Blue Planet.

I love my man a ton. The goal here is to show that to him and let him know i'm striving to be a good wife :)

Scratch That Last Post!

SO I had the 30 days planned out. But then my awesome sister told me about this book called "The Husband Project". I really liked the first few chapters and decided to switch my plan over to this book. I am going to finish reading it this weekend. Sunday I will set out my plan, and Monday it will go into action. I will be posting about each project. 21 to be exact. I hope this works as good as every claims!

30 Days to Becoming a Better Wife

Well...I feel like it's finally happened. I feel like the honeymoon phase is a little bit over, yet Josh still turns out to be so amazing and surprise me every day. Maybe it's just the pregnancy, but I feel like I haven't been the awesome wife I had hoped to be. Our house isn't always the cleanest, I don't get pretty every day, when I feel sick I just lay down for the night. Yup. I feel like one good for nothing wife, even though Josh tells me every day that's not true. So I have decided to take a challenge. I'm posting about it because I feel like if I throw it out there in public, I will be more inclined to stick with it so I don't look like a quitter as well.
My project is called "30 Days to Becoming a Better Wife". A family member of mine had done "30 Days to Becoming a Better Man" and I loved seeing his posts every day. Unfortunately on the internet I couldn't find a day by day challenge to become a better wife, just tips on how to be better. So I'm taking some of the tips I've found and adding in my own here and there. Then hopefully by then end of 30 days I will feel like a more accomplished wife. Here's the list ( I stole it from a website that gave a list of tips to be a better wife, then took out some, and added my own)

Here's the goal. One per day. However, each day i'm going to try and implement the days before into my day still. So on day 5, I will still try to do tasks from day 1,2,3,&4. I will just mainly focus on 5 while throwing in things from previous days as well. Each day I will blog about what I have done for that day and how it has made it better. My hope is that I will become a better wife and gain the habits I need to stay a good wife.

If any of you have any other suggestions on what I should add into here, please feel free to leave comments. I would be more than happy to get other comments and thoughts on how this project is going. I can take constructive criticism :)

1. Be Pretty. Get pretty for him every day. Not just on special occasions or when you have to go out of the house. Get pretty for HIM. 

2. Play More. Men like to play with their wives. Make efforts to do things your husband enjoys. Deep down, they want us with them as a playmate. If your husband has a hobby, learn to do it with him and have fun. Or, learn something together and do it regularly. Play cards or games together. The point is to have fun doing things with him that he enjoys. No nagging allowed in these moments. Only good, clean FUN!

3. Make Him a Priority. He should KNOW that he is important to you and that he comes above all others.

4. Pray for Him. Praying for your husband is one of the most powerful and important things you can do for him! Do it daily–especially when he ticks you off! THAT is the BEST time to pray for him! ;)

5. Feed Him. It has been said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach…

6. Clean the House. If you are a homemaker or have a husband that just does not do what you feel is “his share” around the house…move on from your “feelings” on the matter and clean the house. God is sure to bless you for your sacrifice and honoring of your hubbie.

7. All About Him Day. One day just serving your husband. Make his favorite meal, give him a shoulder rub, clean his car. Make his day!

8. I love you day! See how many times you can tell him you love him (for reals) in one day. Cute notes. A text or phone call during work. 

9. Honor Him in Front of Others. Be very careful how you speak to others about your husband. You should never ever ever bash him to friends in or out of his presence. Speak LIFE–always.

10. Date Night In. Rent a movie he's wanted to see. Order in food. 

11. Forgive Him. I strongly believe that forgiveness is the ONLY way anyone can have a long lasting marriage. One cannot expect to spend a lifetime with someone and never experience betrayal, disappointments and pain. When we come to a place where we CHOOSE to not allow divorce to be an option and FORGIVE as we are forgiven, we may just find ourselves in an awesome marriage! (I feel like I get frustrated about dumb things lately. Try to not get upset about stuff)

12. Affirm Him. Men like words of affirmation. Speak positive over him and words of truth. TELL him that he is sexy, compliment him, tell him… good job, thank you, I appreciate you, etc. Point out the good regularly. I also looked up affirm in the dictionary and found words like;  declare the truth of something , certify, cinch, confirm, declare, guarantee, profess, pronounce, repeat, vouch, witness. On the flip side I found the following antonyms in the thesaurus:  deny, negate, nullify, veto. Affirm him!

13. Help Him. We were created to be their helpers. Help him when he needs it and help him by keeping your own conduct in check.

14. Let go of Anger. Anger leads to sin and does not accomplish anything other than pain. I have learned over the years that the only way to ever get results with any issue is when I have looked beyond my emotions and let go of anger.

15. Be Ready for Him. If you are a woman blessed enough to stay home, make sure you are ready for your husband when he gets  home. Have the dishes done, the house cleaned, and dinner cooked. That way you don't spend time away from him still doing stuff when he get's home. If you work later than him, make sure you still make a point to greet him and let him know you missed him and he is your priority.

16. Get Sporty. AS, I mentioned above, men like playmates. It would behoove you to play something sporty with him…perhaps tennis, basketball, golf, etc. If playing is out of the question for you, watch sports with him. Learn the game and get involved with him. It has been said that the couple that plays together stays together. I find this to be very true.

17. Do Not Nag Him. There is nothing quite as sad as a nagging wife. Do not open the door for your poor husband to dread you. Now, on the other hand, men need to be reminded more than once. However, this is a delicate balance and must be handled as such. It really is HOW you “remind” your husband. Tone is everything…Remember: honey goes down a lot easier than an acid tongue. 

18. Work Out. Whether it's together or just you. Try to stay fit and toned. Make sure you still try and be gorgeous for him. 

19. Make Breakfast In Bed. Get up and make him something yummy. Take it to him in bed and make sure you tell him you love him. 

20. Random Acts of Kindness. The little things really do matter in a marriage. Put forth effort to do kind things for your husband. Little or big–they all matter.

21. Go for a drive. Go for a drive with your husband. Get away from the cellphones, TV's and Electronics. Go stargazing and talk about your day. 

22. LET Him Lead. This is a tough one for “today’s woman”. Unfortunately, God already made the decision of who is the head in a marriage. As women, when we are not allowing our husbands to be in their God-given roll, we are sinning. We are disobeying God. There is no other way to say it. Allowing our husbands to lead is a good thing, and when we do, God is sure to bless us! I believe He will also protect us when our husbands make the wrong choice–because we were obedient to the Lord. 

23. Encourage Him. Men…and women really need encouragement. Encourage him to do good by speaking it over him. Encourage means: to make (someone) more determined, hopeful, or confident–assist, help. I also looked in the thesaurus and found words like; cheer up, brighten, boost, praise, prop up, gladden , strengthen and inspire. On the flip side, I found the following antonyms; dampen, deject, depress, deter, discourage, dispirit, dissuade, uninspire, counter, deter, frustrate, hinder, hurt, impede, obstruct and resist. Wow!

24. Ask God to Change YOU. Asking God to change your husband is never going to lead to anything other than your own frustration. What we need to be asking is for God to change US into the wives HE wants us to be. When we do this, the rest will fall into place because we are seeking God about our own actions. We will not be accountable for what our husbands did…only what WE did…

25. Say Thank You. I have gotten into the habit of saying (and teaching my daughters to do the same) thank you when we go out to eat as a family. Yes, I bring money into the home and it may be what I earned that afforded us to go to dinner, but it is a respectful thing to do that really makes him smile. I mean just saying “thank you for dinner honey (or daddy as the girls say)” makes him feel good and like he is providing pleasure for us. Look for ways to say thank you to your husband–if you have children, teach them the same. An attitude of gratitude works wonders!

26. Make sure you pray and study Scriptures together. Don't let this slip away. A couple that prays together stays together. 

27. Dress Good. Make sure even if you get ready for the day you don't just stay in jeans and a tshirt. Put a dress on for date's every once in a while. Put on a cute outfit and he will notice the difference. 

28. Smile. It takes less facial muscles to smile than to frown. Smiling lines look better than frown lines. Smiling makes you and others feel good! Smiles beget smiles. Smile!! :D

29. Stop Complaining to him. We are supposed to confide in our husbands, but do we pull them down with us if we complain too often? Try to keep complaining about headaches, work, or kids to yourself and notice the difference in his attitude. 

30. Trust Him. I remember awhile back when my husband was driving us somewhere new and I kept trying to tell him which way to go. I even got quite ticked when I thought he went the wrong way. He finally looked at me and said; “Can you please just trust me and let me do this. Even if I get lost, I just need you to be supportive and stop telling me what to do!” Um…wow. Yeah, they actually want our support and to trust them–even when they may get it wrong. *sigh*