See Ya Later 2008!

We're having a New Year's Party over at the Roost. Head on over to check out other people's walk through the past year.

We started off 2008 by impulsively painting our living room green. Not the green I had planned on it, but hey, it works!

Next up was my birthday. Hubby planned a day of surprised that included my sister and our friend from Texas. My gift was a heart shaped locket with my married monogram on it.

The highlight of the year was our wedding! Here are Hubby and I both grinning like maniacs because we just couldn't keep the joy inside.

We got tickets to a Detroit Tiger's game as a wedding present, so Hubby had to make an orange and blue sombraro to wear the game. We had a blast!

In July I got first place and set a course record in the Athena division of a local 5k run. I was so excited!

Here we are at Hubby's State Championship Bump n Race. He literally raced the wheels right off the car!

Top Row: Sister Emily, Me, Sister Hannah. Bottom Row: Great Grandma and Grandma. This picture sums up the amount of time and energy I put into creating better bonds in our family.

Wine tasting with friends. This was a big deal for me because I'm not super social around people I don't know well and these are Hubby's friends. But I got along with them very well (maybe it was the wine) and now we consider ourselves close friends.

We adopted a new cat into our family. Here is Red peeking in the window, watching me cook.

Jon, Me and Hubby around the Christmas Tree. Jon is Hubby's BFF and lived with us for 2 months until he moved to Canada.

Frugal Ways Spread

Hubby LOVES Arby's so to celebrate our last night of Dodge Ball, we decided to use some coupons that came in our paper and have Arby's for dinner. In bed last night, I reminded him that it was his responsibility to bring the coupons and if he didn't bring them we weren't going (half joking).

Well he forgot the coupons this morning but being the awesome wife I am, I said we could still go there for dinner, no biggie. He was pretty bummed that he forgot and said he felt bad that we'd spend more money then we would have if he had remember the coupons.

About an hour ago he called from work, he found some Arby's coupons on-line and printed them off, wasn't I really proud of him? Awww....of course I am and I'm also thrilled my money saving ways are rubbing off on him!

Things I love!

Sarah is again hosting My Favorite Things which is doubly appropriate as this is Thanksgiving week and what better time to think about the "stuff" God has blessed us with to simplify and beautify our lives?

One of my favorite things is the book Marriage on the Rock by Jimmy Evans. I can't even begin to tell you how AWESOME this book is! Hubby and I took this class at church as part of our pre-marital counseling. We watched the DVD as a group, answered a few questions from the workbook in class and then would read the chapter and finish the workbook at home. I was skeptical of this class. I thought it would be cheesey, lame and unpractical. I figured the advice would be like "Love God and nothing bad will ever happen in your marriage". But it is WAY different than that! It is practical, funny and so applicable! It addresses everything from in-laws, money, kids, sex, chores and the list goes on and on! I highly recommend this book to anybody who is married, it can only help improve your relationship. And he never condemns, he admits to being a horrible husband and having a terrible marriage until he sought God's wisdom for his marriage.

Jimmy Evans and his wife, Karen, have other books. Hubby and I recieved Moutain Top of Marriage for a wedding gift but haven't cracked into it. We are asking for the One devotional for Christmas.

I can't encourage you enough about these books, especially Marriage on the Rock. Because who doesn't want a strong, solid marriage built on the Rock of God?