Days Gone By...

This coming year, I want to start a new category/label here on Keeper of Her Home called “Now ya’ know”. I plan on putting in little tid bits of information that I find every now and then. So let’s start the first entry on the last day of the year:

Ever wonder what we sing every New Year's Eve? I do. As I was visiting a friend's blog, I saw this link on his side bar that lead me to a very interesting article titled, "What does Auld Lang Syne mean?" Being the curious type, I googled Auld Lang Syne and found some very interesting facts. First of all, I’ve always gotten the words wrong! I used to say, “Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot and old ang zine?” What in the world is old ang zine?!?!?! LOL!!! To save you (and me) from embarrassment here are the real lyrics (for the complete song just click on the Wikipedia link below):

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne?

So what does "Auld Lang Syne" mean? Well...click here to see what Wikipedia says. If you’re not in reading mood, it basically means “old long since” or “long long ago” or “days gone by”.

When that clock strikes 12 and that huge ball starts flashing its bright lights and you hear that sweet song in the background think about the days that have gone by and the many blessings we so undeservingly received. Then send out a prayer and thank God for another blessed year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Now ya’ know...

Lookin' for something sweet?

Visit my cupcake adventure blog http://littlesweetcakes.blogspot.com/. For those of you who are familiar with it, I just updated the link. Enjoy!

Mad?!

For Christmas (& belated birthday gift), my beloved received a G4 Powerbook from his "Kuya" Walter. He's been fiddling with it all weekend. Yesterday he was able to upload some Podcasts from our church's website, something he's been trying to do for months now. So this evening we're listening to some past sermons from our dear Pastor when out of the blue, ALW says, "Why is he ALWAYS so mad?!" ALB and I just looked at each other then started laughing! We had to explain to him that he's not mad at all, he's just very passionate about the Bible! Sometimes it sounds like he's mad but he's not. LOL!

Merry Christmas to All!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

From Our Home to Yours!

As we spend time with friends and family this Christmas, let's not forget the reason we celebrate in the first place. This past Sunday, our Pastor taught through Titus 3:3-8. Around Christmas time you'll hear messages about the birth of Jesus Christ, the baby in a manger, the miraculous virgin birth, etc. Now I'm not saying that I get tired of hearing this, because I don't. I don't think I ever will! But when I sat there Sunday morning listening to Titus 3, I couldn't help but think, what AMAZING love God has for us. If God never sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be born that cold miraculous night, we would still be enslaved to our sins! We would still be headed to Hell, seperated from Him eternally. But God (I love that statement!), made a Way for us to enter His presence. That Way was wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. His name, Jesus Christ.

May your hearts and souls be filled with joy in knowing that God became a man to set you free from your sins. Jesus Christ was born, knowing that He would die for you.

"At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone." - Titus 3: 3-8

PICKLES?!

This is just too cute.....

(Senario: The children wanted me to relax for a little bit after working so hard so they decided they wanted to massage me. Why not? I could use a little relaxin'. So I lay down and little MJ is rubbing my toes, CL is working on my right arm and ALW working out the kinks on my left arm. After a few seconds of that here's what happens next...)

Me: Wow kids, thanks! That was really nice.

MJ: You're welcome, Mama.

ALW: No problem!

CL: We love you Mommy. OK, enough massage. Now we need to get pickles for your eyes.

Me: Pickles?!

CL: Yeah, Mommy. I saw on TV that you have to put pickles on your eyes when your eyes are tired and your eyes look really tired Mom.


What show is she watchin'? The better question is...do I really look THAT tired? :) LOL!

I guess they do look like pickles. :)

Happy Anniversary!

On December 7th, my Beloved and I celebrated 12 years of marriage! It really does not even seem that long. That day is still a vivid picture in my mind.

Honey, I know you're a simple man so I'll make this a simple post....

Y I LOVE YOU! Y

(I'll be posting some pictures soon)

Sorry for the delay

I have so many things I want to share but so little time. I apologize for removing my latest post, for those of you who were wondering, I wanted to redo the post but ran out of time to redo it. So here we are a week and a half later and it's still not updated. But do not fear, I see more opportunities for me to sit and type coming really soon.

Until then, enjoy the new layout. Merry Christmas!

Our Wedding

On December 7, 1996 we became husband and wife. We had planned on having our ceremony at our home church and the reception at another church in Napa. But God had other plans. 1 month before our wedding date, I was notified that we couldn't have our reception at the church in Napa. With anxiety running through my head, my Beloved and I sat down, prayed and asked God to provide a new place for us. Since our wedding day was only 1 month away and it was in the middle of the Christmas season (which meant every reception hall within a 20 mile radius was all booked up for Holiday parties) we decided to change the location for the ceremony and have the reception at CBC. God worked it all out! 12 years later, God still works out every moment of our lives as we continue to trust him. Oh...and we're still deeply in love.

Our Engagement

Before ALB and I started dating, he mentioned to me that his next girlfriend would be his wife. So you can imagine my gittiness when we started dating. When he would take me out to different restaurants and parks I kept thinking was this it? After many dates, I finally stopped being anxious and just waited on the Lord. Then on August 28, 1996 he took me out for a "Walk in the Clouds", a hot air balloon ride over the Napa Valley. Unfortunately our ride was cancelled right before we were about to go due to weather conditions. With his plans foiled, he had to think quickly. We walked over to the Domaine Chandon Winery and walked around for a bit. It was early in the morning so the winery wasn't open yet. He found a perfect secluded area near the bridge, got down on his knee and sweetly asked for my hand in marriage. Guess what my answer was...

Our First Date

After our classes were done at Napa Valley College and we droped off all the carpoolers, ALB asked me if I'd like to get some ice cream at Baskin Robins. He bought me a Caramel Cappuccino Blast and a little foldable Baskin Robin spoon. I asked him what the spoon was for. He said, "So we'll have something to remember our first date." 'Til this day, I still have that spoon.

Our First Meeting

I can't remember the first time we met but I remember very clearly the first time I saw ALB. He was on Youth Staff at Campus Crossroads (our church's Youth Ministry) and I had just started coming out. I was told by a friend of mine, who will remain annonymous, that there was a really "fine" staff guy there. Just like a young teenage girl, I was anxious to see him. BTW, that wasn't the main reason why I was there nor the reason why I continued to go. So the night I saw him, the group was playing a game kind of like sit down soccer but with a beach ball. Well, ALB and our friend Eugene were gripping the ball so hard that it popped and ended the game. That was the first time I saw him. And YES! He was "fine"!! He is and will always be the "finest" man I ever met!