Surprise Notes, Again!

Ross is so good about leaving me surprise flowers, or notes in my car or on our bed with my teddy bear.  He left me several notes before we were married on my kitchen doorstep, and I love that he still does this now that we're married!

A few days before our first Valentine's Day together in 2009, I came home from work to find that he had left a white teddy bear setting on my doorstep with a card inviting me on a Valentine's Day date. This was the best! I love surprises, especially surprises from Ross! I have slept with that teddy bear (who we named Steve - Ross and his dad both had a best friend named Steve when they were growing up, so we decided Steve would be my bear's name) ever since the first day I received it, and still do today, even though we're married!

Over the past 9 1/2 months that we've been married, Ross has placed notes, flowers, cereal, candy bars, and other miscellaneous items that he knows I will enjoy, right next to Steve for me to find when I got home from work. I love walking into our room each night and looking over at our bed, wondering if I'll find a surprise or not.

This past Wednesday we were both home all day due to the snow and I didn't find my surprise until around 10pm when we went to bed. Ross left a Valentine card setting on Steve's lap. The card said "Best Friends" on the front. I LOVE this card! It is so sweet and just warmed my heart. Ross certainly does know what makes me happy! Thank you, Ross!

Welcome Home

A few weeks ago we had the entryway, stairway, and hallway to the kitchen painted. Our house is a two-story house, and the entry way is open, all the way to the ceiling. Given the height of our walls, we decided it would be best for us to just hire this job out. A friend recommended a painter who was able to get everything painted and back in place in one day! 

The pictures below are taken from the front door and looking into the kitchen and the upstairs. The lighting is bad, making it hard to tell exactly what color the walls are, but they are an off-white, very light cream in the pictures below.

The two pictures below show the area right as you come in from the porch and from the upstairs landing area. The color we used is called Bagel, and it is just a nice, neutral, warm color. I love it! I also love the table and lamp in the picture below. We did a lot of searching for a table to fit this small area, and finally found one online. It arrived the day the entryway was painted, so Ross put it together and had it all set up when I came home from work that day. I found the lamp and HOME sign (which I love and think it goes perfectly there) at Gordman's, and received the picture frame as a wedding gift. I love this little area and think it is the perfect way to welcome people into our home.

Back To Work

I'm back at work today. I so would have loved another snow day, but I am thankful for the two I received. Here are some pictures and a video from our view of Blizzard 2011.

Snow Day #2

Today is my second "snow day" this week! Monday around 4:15pm, we received an email saying our offices would be closed on Tuesday, February 1, due to the blizzard that was heading our way. This was such exciting news! It did seem kind of odd, though, to call off work so early, especially considering it was only about 40 degrees outside and no winter precipitation was falling.

But I am so glad they did call off work! I woke up Tuesday morning around 4am to the sound of sleet hitting our windows. I was in and out of sleep for another three hours, and then Ross and I finally woke up at 7am to see a covering of sleet on the ground. The sleet quickly turned over to snow, and I enjoyed looking out our front door all day long to see how deep the snow was. It sure was pretty to watch, and lasted all day long!

Since about 9$0% of Ross' job involves traveling around the city and surrounding areas, he was stuck at home yesterday. He did a little bit of paperwork, and then turned his computer off for the day around 11am. We were quite productive with our day and painted our guest bedroom. We also shoveled half of our driveway (which was covered with snow just as soon as we were inside and had our snow clothes hanging to dry), and caught up on some of our recorded shows.

My work is closed again today and Ross is doing more paperwork at home. This morning we shoveled the rest of our driveway and took a walk up our street to see what the road conditions were like. As of 11am this morning, the main thoroughfare by our neighborhood had not been cleared off. I sure hope they get to it, and our neighborhood (the city said they would be plowing the neighborhoods due to the large amount of snow we recevived). But, I hope more that I will have another snow day tomorrow!

The Intentional Bible

One of my goals this year, like every year, is to read my Bible on a daily basis. I often let too much time go by between my readings and I'm determined to change that this year.

I shared this with a very good friend and she gave me The Intentional Bible to aid in my reading. It's the Bible sectioned out into a 365-day reading plan, so at the end of the year I will have read the entire Bible. I've thought about doing this a lot, and have heard others talk about it. It always seemed like such a daunting task to me, especially when I think of reading some of the Old Testament books that are less than exciting! But it is now February 1, one month into the new year, and I am happy to say I am completely caught up on my reading. I have done very good at reading each day. I have missed a day or two here and there, but instead of quitting, I just double up the next day and am caught up again.

It really doesn't take long at all, maybe 10-15 minutes to read. I read two OT chapters, a few verses from the Psalms, a few verses from Proverbs and one-two NT chapters a day. I'll admit, though, some days I feel like I read just to get it checked off my list. But other days when I read, I don't want to stop. I get so engrossed in the story, that I want to continue on.

I can't remember everything I've read, but I can tell a difference in myself and I chalk it all up to the reading. How could one not feel changed, feel happier, feel more joyous when they are reading GOD's word every day?!