Seven.

We were married long enough ago that we didn't get digital copies of our photos.

Now we are all married, and we all look a lot different older.

It's been seven years of Hubs and Feath. Seven seems monumental. It feels like it hasn't been that long, but it also feels like it has been just that long when I think of all we have done in that time. I think that Seven moves us out of the "young marrieds" category. Although we are not yet in the "old marrieds," we definitely have moved past those things that we struggled with in the earlier years. Life would not be the same without Hubs, and I would not trade him for anything.

For our anniversary this year, we celebrated 3 days early. Hubs took me to Rasoi, an Indian restaurant, and then to an outdoor movie at my favorite spot in St. Louis, Forest Park. During dinner, we went through all of our anniversaries, remembering what we did for each one. We've had some great ones:

One year: Took a "staycation" at a nice hotel in Lincoln, painted pottery, went to a movie, had a picnic.
Two years: It was the last day of our 2 week vacation in Hawai'i. A trip to remember.
Three years: Low-key dinner at a local restaurant. But, we had been in Hawai'i 2 months earlier and just moved to Kansas.
Four years: Spent two days in Chicago and had pizza with great friends.
Five years: Went to the City Museum in St. Louis, but took an anniversary trip to Israel in March.
Six years: Had breakfast out together before church. And then, a month later, we hiked Long's Peak.

This year has been a busy one with the end of school and making plans for the next stage. So, there are no vacations, but it was so nice for the two of us to get out for a nice dinner. And to add to it, our waiter's reaction to our years of marriage made us laugh.

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Towards the end of our meal, the waiter came by and took my hand, admiring my wedding ring. He said it was beautiful, to which I responded, "I know," because it still is one of the most beautiful rings I have ever seen. Hubs mentioned that we were celebrating our 7th anniversary. The waiter was surprised because we look younger than we are, and then he said, "Any kids?"

"No, no kids," we replied.

"Too long. You need to start," he told us. "Tonight."

"Haha. Okay, we'll keep that in mind," as we think this is the strangest conversation we have ever had with a waiter.

As we were leaving, he tells us, "Good luck tonight."

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We laughed over such a forward conversation from our waiter and then headed out to the park to watch "The Princess Bride." Keeping with my norm when we start a movie after 9:00 pm, I fell asleep during the movie. Hubs enjoyed it though, with his lame, can't-stay-awake wife of Seven years. In another seven, he will be putting me to bed at 7 pm.

Saddest thing I read today

Today I read an article entitled, "Vatican offers 'time off' purgatory to followers of Pope Francis' tweets." As much as this article sickened me due to the deception offered in making people believe they can do a simple act to earn favor with God, the grief was that the Savior's death on the cross means so little to those claiming His name.

It reminded me of what one of my favorite teachers said this weekend regarding Christ's death: "When we contemplate this scene [the cross] and that statement, 'It is finished,' I always think, what could break the heart of a loving, giving, holy God more than for you or for me to think we could add something to it. That there is something I have to do to supplement that. It. Is. Finished."

God can fix physical death easily. He said, "Lazarus, come out," and he did. But to fix spiritual death, it required Him pouring out His wrath on his perfect son. So that I could be made right before Him. Surely nothing could be done or need be done. It was finished on the cross.

The past two months

Blogging has been the least of my concerns as of late, however, if you still like to know what goes on in our life, here is the update.

In May, Hubs and I only had one weekend where we were in the same town together. So, life was a bit crazy. He traveled for school and presented at the AAO convention. Then I traveled for fun and went to my youngest brother's graduation. Then he traveled for fun to the Grand Canyon. And also, HE PASSED HIS BOARDS!

In June, Hubs and I visited two orthodontic practices, celebrated my brother's wedding to my fantastic new sister-in-law and were able to see lots of family, including my adorable niece, who I just can't get enough of. All, of this going on while Hubs works on his thesis, I helped get a summer camp organized and we both try to determine what we should do when graduation comes in December. And of course, other little things pop up throughout all of this to keep life exciting.

One small, fun thing Hubs and I have been doing is going outside for 10 minutes or so and throwing the frisbee. It is a fun after-work/school activity to take a break before dinner and have some fun together.

Now it is July. My parents came to visit [for a whole 4 days!!!], and we had so much fun. Our SEVENTH anniversary is in two weeks, Hubs is still working on his thesis in every spare moment and in the extra moments we are deciding our future plans, and Hubs' family is coming for a visit, too!

Since our time in St. Louis may be coming to an end, we have been taking opportunities to do and see everything that we I had on my list when we first moved here:

We went to the Whitaker Music Festival at the Botanical Gardens. This was fun because we went with friends and had a picnic with a live band. We, and what seemed to be at least half of the population of St. Louis [note: get there early]! We enjoyed it more for the experience, the time with our friends, and the free admittance to the Botanical Gardens.

We toured the Anheuser-Busch brewery, which is their largest brewery. It was a very interesting tour and FREE!

And in a few weeks, we are going to the St. Louis Art Museum's Film Series. They are showing classic movies outside with live music and food trucks beforehand. I am really excited about this event!

We went to some fun restaurants, too.  Fitz's is a fun experience. Tropical Moose is our favorite shave ice and the closest to the shave ice in Hawai'i that we can find. The Cup is a fun cupcake place in the Central West End [if only I liked cupcakes more]. Crushed Red might be my favorite place to eat right now, and Ted Drewes is a St. Louis icon for custard. And I finally went to Union Station to see what that was all about.

So, we are still around and we are doing lots of things.

Some recent faves

Every once in a while, you run across some things that you just can't help but share. Today is one of those days.

Hospitality Series:
I enjoyed these quick reads about hospitality. Includes tips for people with children, with small houses, with a budget and for those who hate to cook. I was pleasantly surprised to find that already I implement a few of her ideas, and was also encouraged by her list of ideas for hospitality.

The Socially Acceptable Sin:
This article is amazingly well written and I really want to boast about the fact that I kind of know the author. But I won't. "What we need is a relentless appetite for the divine. We need a holy ravenousness. Our craving souls can turn and become enthralled by a goodness that is found in the presence of an all-glorious God. There is only one infinite source of satisfaction that can satisfy our bottomless cravings." It was a convicting read that caused me to stop and think on what I am finding satisfaction in, and it is never enough. I have been pondering these thoughts for the last week. "If only we would feast on an infinite God who offers fullness of life, rather than these lesser tables with the far milder flavors of money, sex, food and power."

Busyness is not a Virtue
Months ago, Hubs and I began making a conscious effort when asked how our week went, etc, to not reply with "We've been so busy." We came to the conclusion that we are always busy, so actually, busy was just the norm. And everyone is busy, so why do I need to point that out to others? And why am I actually pointing out how busy I am? Anyway, I came across this article that reiterated our thoughts. "Going on about how busy you are isn't conversation and doesn't lead anywhere - except making your conversation partner bored, or worse, peeved. People who act super busy send the same message, making time spent with them never feel quite whole."

A Musing Maralee
I really enjoy this blog. Which may be surprising because I don't have children and she blogs about motherhood, adoption, raising children and even some of those make-your-insides-boil issues like vaccinations and nursing. [I actually originally linked and talked about her recent series on vaccinations because I loved it, but then I chickened out. I have observed from the outside how some of these issues can, if allowed, define friendships, burn bridges and hurt feelings. So, it was a great series of facts and personal choice that I would recommend anyone reading, no matter what stance you take. Here is the link.] Maralee is humorous, honest and down to earth and I really enjoy her biblical perspective when she writes.

Screaming or Whispering

I was sound asleep when I had the feeling that someone was very close to my face. Then I started realizing there was a noise that was getting louder and louder. It was a voice. And that voice was shouting at me. It kept going and I knew I should pay attention to it. It was someone trying to get me to answer.

Who's voice is that? Hubs. Hubs is trying to talk to me. But, why is he yelling so loud? I started focusing on the words. Closet. Where. Stuff. Feather. I was finally able to put together that he wanted to know where I had put the stuff that was in the closet when I cleaned it out. Table. Book. Anywhere else? He needs to find a textbook, Feather. Answer him.

But why does he need it in the middle of the night? What is happening right now? The shouting continues. Where did you put the stuff that was in the closet? Did you put it anywhere else beside the table in the storage room? I am missing a textbook. Answer him and maybe he will stop yelling at you.

I know my answer in my head, but my mouth isn't working right. Only one small portion of my brain woke up to handle this situation. My head said, "I put everything on that table and some other stuff in the pantry." But what came out was, "Yes table. Or furnace." What? "The furnace room. P-pan-pan-what is it-try. Pantry. Or on the table. Probably on the table." I should get up and help him look. Why does he need a book right now. "I'll get up." No. I'll go look.

The voice was quiet and the body that was very near me, moved away. My mind was telling me that I should get up and explain myself better, but my body was still asleep. I hadn't moved and my eyes never opened.

I hear noise again. Found it. It was right where I had already looked and missed it. I turned over and it was quiet again.


***I asked Hubs this morning why he was yelling at me for a textbook in the middle of the night. He said he was whispering and it was only 11:00 pm.

It's come to this

Well folks, when you begin blogging on you adventures in cleaning, your life is officially...well...uneventful. And that is what it has come to.

Actually, I could tell you about our fun trip to St. Charles this weekend, but I didn't take photos and it just isn't worthwhile to tell you about a place without photos.

What I did photograph, was my cleaning escapades. Strange.

I am not one of those people who enjoys cleaning, nor do I feel like I am very good at it. I never have and a I have high hopes of hiring a person in the future to help me in this area, because although I don't enjoy cleaning, I do LOVE having a clean house. If I could pay someone to do it for me and concentrate my efforts on areas that I do enjoy, while having a clean house in the process, that would be a dream come true.

Living with a dog makes your house dirtier. It is just a fact. But I love my dog enough that I deal with the drool marks, the endless fur on the floor, and the fact that he thinks licking the entire kitchen floor keeps it clean when in actuality, it just makes it dirtier.

For weeks months, I have wanted to clean the grout in our kitchen floor. I could tell it was dirty and it was just getting dirtier. Yesterday I reached my limit and decided that it was going to be cleaned, especially since it was a nice day and the dog could spend time outside while I did it.

Side note - don't you love it when you find something on Pinterest that you actually use and love or use and it works?

I needed something strong to clean our grout because it was black and super dirty. I am against any cleaning product that requires I step outside to breath in between scrubs. A few weeks ago, I had tried Mrs. Meyers version of comet and it didn't do much. So this time, I found a recipe for a cleaning solution using baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice and water. One person said to put it in a spray bottle, the other person said to put it in a bucket. A spray bottle sounded easier, so that was my plan. I also bought a heavy duty scrub brush with the stiffest bristles I could find and a grout cleaning sponge.

The science person inside of me loved mixing the ingredients together because it caused a great reaction with bubbles and fizz. Of course my mind started to try and put together the chemical equation and failed. It's been about 10 years since I've taken an inorganic chemistry class people. At least I remember the formula for baking soda.

The spray bottle was a bad idea. It didn't work, probably because the baking soda didn't dissolve into the liquid and clogger the sprayer. So, I just poured the solution onto the tile and let it sit for about 1 minute before scrubbing. The dirt came out immediately and I would wipe it up right away so that it didn't soak back into the grout.

This was some of the grout before:

And this was the same grout after one scrub:

I was pretty happy with the ease of the results. I had expected a long day of cleaning since our kitchen floor is large, but this was a relatively easy process. 

You can definitely see the difference that the cleaning was doing to the floor. I don't know that we had ever seen the grout as white as it became.

The one downside was that, even with wiping up the excess liquid and dirt after each section, a film stayed on the floor. I did a quick wet swiffer run over the floor, but that didn't help. I should have gone ahead and re-washed the floor with my normal floor cleaner, but by that time I had lost interest in the project and I will do it another night. Plus, Ransom probably enjoys the taste of lemon juice and vinegar and I know it won't hurt him.

Overall, I am very happy to have an easy cleaning solution for my grout. Unfortunately, as with all cleaning jobs, this won't last for very long. I can only hope that I will stay on top of it before it gets as bad as it was.

Hubs noticed the clean floor, which made my day. And that, was my adventure in house cleaning!

Great plans gone wrong....or not

Hubs and I had great plans this weekend. His parents were coming to town and we were going to finally build a shelf in our basement closet. The shelf that was there, broke the week we moved into the house and since then, the closet has been a wasted space. I've been looking forward to utilizing this closet since closets are pretty non-existent in our 1955 house.

On Thursday, however, we found out that our niece was going to be born early and so his parents were staying home to welcome the arrival of their first grandchild. When I got home from work, Hubs said, "What do you think about going to Nebraska instead." I quickly thought about our plans for the weekend - we were planning to hang out with his parents on Friday & Saturday and then had responsibilities and plans for Sunday. Going to Nebraska would accomplish our original plans - hanging out with his parents, plus we would get to see our niece and be back to St. Louis for Sunday. It  seemed clear to me that this was God's providence at work. We had two free days in our schedule which never happens and we would get to see our niece, and we had no idea when we would be able to make a trip to see her otherwise.

Within an hour, we were out the door, which is great time for us. We were on track to get to KC before midnight! We had a few stops to make before we left town and at one of those spots I realized I was missing my wallet. I had used it at work that day, so I thought I must have put it back into my work bag instead of my purse. We went home. It wasn't there. I hoped it was sitting on my desk at work, but we didn't want to leave town not knowing where it was. So, we drove all the way out to church [35 minutes away, not necessarily in the right direction]. It was a silent trip because I was quite put out with myself that I did this. I walked into my office and my wallet wasn't on my desk. Before I freaked, I looked under my desk where I keep my purse and my wallet was there. This annoying side trip was not in our plans and it made us late. We got into KC right at midnight, Pups in tow.

The next day, we set off for the rest of our trip and met our newest niece when she was only 7 hours old. Hubs and I both held her and marveled over her tiny fingernails. We hung out with Richard's dad and went to a worship-filled Good Friday service. Then, we live-streamed my brother's baptism while eating dinner from our favorite Chinese place.

It was a great day. These plans were going just as expected.

Then, we woke up this morning [Saturday} and Hubs is sick. Not just sick, really sick. Food poisoning perhaps? He is still not doing well. My selfish mind immediately goes to our plans - are they ruined? Will we still get home in time to fulfill my responsibilities on Sunday? Will we still get to have Easter lunch with our bestest friends? Yesterday, God's providence seemed so perfect. Today, I struggle to understand why my plans are being ruined.

I'm like that in so many areas - the big and the small. I love God's providence when it works out how I planned, but I fail to see it when my plans gets changed. It just so happens that I have been reading through "Trusting God" by Jerry Bridges. As I was reading this morning, I was reminding myself that even when my plans get thwarted, God's are not. Even in the seemingly smallest decisions, God is working out all things to His glory and the good of His people. So, even though I might not get home today, I can trust in God and his sovereign rule.

So, instead of bugging my sick husband about what is going to happen to our plans, I am going to work on taking care of him and making him comfortable. And instead of constantly fretting over what is going to happen, I am going to rest in my Sovereign Lord's plan.

UPDATE:

Hubs is feeling much better, but not 100% yet. We stayed another night in Nebraska, but we got up early and drove to Kansas City to go to Easter service at Mission Road Bible Church. It was a great morning filled with praise and worship for our RISEN Savior. We left right after church to get home at a decent time. There is much to do at my house to get ready for another week of living, but while I am thinking about cleaning, I am thinking on our sermon this morning and praising God that Jesus is alive.