Miscellany Monday: March 3, 2014 - NaiNai's visit...and what Jas and I Did

As I type, NaiNai is on her way back to Colorado.  We couldn't talk her into staying...and we're all very sad.

NaiNai, on the other hand, may be very glad to get back home...to rest.  We kept her busy, and she was right in the thick of it playing with the kiddos.


We introduced her to Four Square...

....and she did really good!

And NaiNai brought puzzles for the children (puzzles also happen to be one of Jason's favorite activities, but don't ask the last time he was able to do one)....

 ...and they all had fun spending time in the school room, where we devoted that table to puzzles.

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While we always love NaiNai to come visit, Jas and I actually had an ulterior motive for having her come out this time:  We got to sneak away to a marriage conference.  It was a great conference put on by FamilyLife.  When I realized there would be one relatively close to us ("relatively close" meaning 5 hours away), I mentioned to Jas that I would love for us to be able to go.

Talk about Mr. Git 'R Done: Within 24 hours of mentioning it to him a couple months ago, Jas had it all arranged and tickets purchased for his mom!

We were gone for two nights....almost exactly 48 hours.  We had a wonderful time!  Wow, it sure is nice to go to a marriage conference not in a crisis...but just because we know there is always room to learn and improve.

While we were at the conference, I bought The Language of Love & Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs, a book on applying God's wisdom in Ephesians 5:33, which simply says, "Each one of you also must love his wife...and the wife must respect her husband."

I've only just begun reading it...and I can't wait to dig in more.

BTW - I have absolutely no pictures of us alone together, because - of course - I forgot the camera.

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I'm getting close to being halfway done with the mini lessons I've been getting in my inbox every day from this free e-course.  (Just click on that link if you'd like to get your own lessons in your inbox...and trust me, you do!)

My favorite topics that Robin hit on during this past week were this post about 3 "Health" Foods to Avoid (I've gone on rants about one of these before)...and this post about "Margarine vs. Butter."  (Guess which is better for you?  AND tastes better too?  I love the way God works!)

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While Jas and I were out of town we darted into a Hobby Lobby that we spotted.

I want to pause for a moment of silence here...to dwell on how lovely, and wonderful is Hobby Lobby.   
We do not have a Hobby Lobby anywhere near us.  This is one of the saddest parts of my life.

I had a very specific item I needed to go with our plan for Lent...and - of course - Hobby Lobby had precisely what I was looking for:

And now?  I'm ready for Lent to start on Wednesday.  

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Our next-door neighbor brought these beautiful flowers over a few days ago....

...and every time I see them...I smile.


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While NaiNai was here alone with the children, as they were outside playing one time, she spotted some (LOTS!) of smoke coming over the pine trees to the west of our house.  Lots!

I've mentioned that NaiNai lives in Colorado, and - as we've likely all seen on the national news - she is used to this protocol:  If you see lots of smoke, you start evacuating.

Her first thought:  "If I need to evacuate with these five children...I need to get started now!"


We had discussed who she could call in case of emergency, and thankfully she reached (ultimately) not just one (who didn't answer at first) but two helpful people.

It ended up being some controlled burning...and normally I would say "all's well that ends well"...but I'm afraid the whole episode took about 10 years off NaiNai's life!

Sorry about that, NaiNai...but thank you for taking such conscientious care of our precious babies!