Facebook freeeee!

My husband and I had never observed Lent before. Blame it on growing up Baptist, I guess. Last year, though, I heard a few of my friends from church talking about observing Lent and how meaningful it was to them. Let's get this straight: I am NOT a fan of observing if a person just does it for tradition and has no idea what it means. Instead, it should be a meaning-filled time of reflection.

So I decided to give up Facebook. For six weeks, people! Now I hardly ever get on the computer for FB, but I had it on my phone. So I would check it first thing in the morning (baaad idea). I would check it at stoplights. I would check it while bathing the kids. All in all, I guess it had become an addiction of sorts. So time to break that habit and spend more time with God!

Here are some things I have learned in my journey: (which is about 1/2 way over today, I just realized.)

I am not the most important person on FB! I'm sure you already knew that. But since I did leave my e-mail settings on for messages (just in case someone didn't get the memo I was off and NEEDED to get in touch with me!) I have received ONE message notification in three weeks! ha!

It is okay to not know what is going on EVERY single second of EVERY single day with EVERY single of my 450ish friends. (I would check the exact number, but ya know...)
It is actually quite peacful to be away for a while.

And last but not least, anything I need before my relationship with God is NOT good. Now I am certainly not saying FB is bad. I have been able to keep in touch with family and friends that I never would keep in contact with otherwise. But do I really need to know what that random person I met at youth camp 15 years ago is doing?

So all in all, my fast has been productive and eye-opening. Will I go back and check it after Easter? Probably so, but it will definitely be a different priority in my life. Like a very low one.

So what did my husband give up for Lent, you ask? Coffee!!! Who said the whole house had to suffer for one person's sacrifice? Just kidding, it hasn't been all that bad.

Do you celebrate Lent? If so, what did you give up?

sweet

Today I was telling Landon I would be sad because daddy would be gone to Guatemala. He said, "Well, I'll take care of you!" I asked him in what ways he would take care of me and he answered, "I'll rub your back!" He knows what's important!

Happy 7th Anniversary!

Today is our 7th anniversary, and I could not be happier with the man God blessed me with.
He is, among many things:
...patient with me. And believe me, I need a patient man!
...loving to me and our kids. I love watching him take care of them!
...an awesome friend. I've had bouts of loneliness since we've moved to Houston, and he always listens to me when I need him!
...a great pastor! If I had to pick anyone to listen to preach every Sunday for the rest of my life, it would be him.

He wrote a song for our wedding called "Hand in Hand." The chorus says:
"Hand in hand, together, in triumph or in pain;
Hand in hand together, 'cause this is our God's plan;
No matter what the journey holds, today we both begin.
Hand in Hand together, faithful to the end."

As a young, naieve 21 year old, I couldn't imagine the triumphs, and especially not the pain we would encounter in just 7 years. But I am thankful to say, that we have come out stronger, and still Hand in Hand.

Just for fun, here is a picture of our wedding day. I love you, babe!

Ben and Landon's Deer

Ben and Landon went hunting this past weekend- a Hays family tradition- with his dad and brother.
His brother Steven shot a deer in the morning hunt:



Then, Ben and Landon got one in the evening hunt:



(That's Pepaw, Ben's dad, in the photo above. Landon just adores him! As a matter of fact, so do I!)

It was a great weekend of "male bonding" for the men and Allie and I had a girls' weekend with Steven's wife Phyllis and their daughters Lauren and Cayla.
For $30 (the cost of a hunting license), we have our meat for the year! Yay Ben and Landon!

She Said Yes!

Seven years ago, almost to the hour, Ben proposed to me. It was one of the most fun, surreal nights of my life. I kinda suspected something was up and bought a new outfit for the occasion.
He took me to dinner at Olive Garden (my favorite at the time), and we ordered a meal to split. Well, when he didn't even eat half of his half, I knew that he has nervous about something! Those of you who know Ben know that he eats all of his food, then licks the plate clean!
Anyway, then we drove back to the church where we were serving at the time and he sent me on an errand so he could set up. When I came back into the sanctuary, he led me to the altar and had roses sitting there, and a card. He told me to open the card, which said, "Congratulations, You're Engaged!" (guess he was pretty sure of the answer!)
Then he got down and one knee and asked me to be his wife. It was the most beautiful proposal. I'm so glad I said yes!