End of Year, Sprained Ankle and Mother's Day!

Wow! This school year has finished up with a BANG! It has been B-U-S-Y! I finish up tomorrow with half a day and our girls go until Friday! I am still waiting to hear back about the job interview I had, but am assuming the worst. I have hope I will find something eventually, but God just keeps shutting doors to opportunities. That means He can decide what is best for me and I don't have to make any tough decisions! I am still working on the book review for "Sheet Music" by Dr. Kevin Leman. Life has just put that on hold briefly! I have to brag B-I-G time on my hubby and my gift on Mother's Day-- he has begun a journal for me. He wrote in it almost everyday since May 1. Except for the days he was in extreme pain due to an ankle injury. He recalled how we met, his feelings and other things he noticed about me. I am glad I wasn't in a sappy mood when I received it or there would have been more tears than a box of kleenex. Instead it put a HUGE smile on my face and had me adding things to his recollection (verbally). We enjoyed that few minutes spent reliving the first few weeks of our relationship! What an amazing gift... it was all of the words I would love to hear but in written form. Which means I get to keep it forever and ever to read again and again. No better gift than that exists! He spoke to my heart and I realized things he had never verbalized about me... in an amazing way! Thank you sweetie! Now to his injured ankle-- this has been a week of struggle with his "high grade" sprain of his right ankle. It all happened while he was playing basketball last Monday. He couldn't run like he intended, so got talked into playing ball at lunchtime. Well, he came down on his right ankle and collapsed to the floor. So this is were the phrase in sickness and in health comes into play. I was so glad to be able to "serve" my husband and help him through the first few days. I told him I was sorry he was having to go through this, but was glad I was able to help him. He is usually on the end of helping me feel better and taking care of me. Well I FINALLY was able to do the same for him. It was a blessing for me to experience that. I went to the doctor with him, helped him ice his foot, made appointments and more! He is still sore and will be healing for several months, but he is walking again and not using the crutches any longer. His foot and toes are a beautiful shade of black, purple and redish tones. But he is in good spirits and is handling it all so well. I love this guy beyond belief! Thanks for listening... keep supporting your spouse during their trials (health, job, family, finances, etc) and see how the Lord will bless you in return!

Making Goals and Journaling

After posting about the change in our lives, my job loss, I had a reader contact me about goals and how it helps cancer patients. She is involved with the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance as a contributor to their blog. While her article focuses on cancer patients and how they can benefit from keeping a journal and recording their goals, something like this is also beneficial for couples. My husband and I have started a "Couple's Almanac" that we record events from our lives, lists of things (places to travel, restaurants we like, our short term and long term goals, how we met, what we want our future to look like and more). This is therapeutic and gives us something to work on together-- another benefit. Enjoy Melanie Bowen's article and begin a journal soon! Connect to her article by clicking on this link: Journaling and Goal Setting for Cancer Patients

Your Spouse's Passions

I can't believe it has been almost a month since I last posted!  It has been a busy start to the summer and I don't think it will slow down.  Our family of four just returned from a brief day at Branson Landing and lunch at Joe's Crab Shack (YUM)!

One of the reasons we went down there was to buy some books for Ronnie; he has his Annual Training trip soon.  There is a Christian book store there at Branson Landing where most books are $5.  Among my husnband's passions are playing the trumpet, golfing, growing pineapple and reading Christian mystery thrillers.  On our way down to Branson I began thinking of his other passions, specifically growing pineapples!

Sounds like an odd choice of hobbies for someone who lives in the southwest part of Missouri!  We get odd looks when we share this information with others, but it provides for interesting conversation.  It all began when we visited Maui, Hawaii in 1998.  While there we went on a boat excursion called "The Trilogy".  What a fantastic day on the water!  Part of the day included a lunch buffet prepared by the crew of the catamaran.  During this time they discussed pineapples and how they grew. . . that sparked the interest of my husband.  We brought back a few fresh pineapples from the island and the challenge began!

 

Over the past 13 years he has learned about pineapple plants, how they grow, how to "force" them to bloom, how to plant/pot them, and so much more!  On a trip to Ohau, Hawaii in 2002 we even visited the DOLE plantation to see how pineapples grow there.  I certainly didn't know how many varieties of pineapple there were; big and small.  This is something I know my husband thouroughly enjoys and so I support him in these adventures! 



The beginning of a new pineapple plant!  It begins growing up from
the center of the spiky leaves.  (2005)

When you plant a pineapple, you cut the top leafy part off the rest of the pineapple... which is what you cut to eat!  Then the spiky leaf top is propogated until roots begin to form and then you plant it!  Now with our climate it takes much longer to grow!  We keep the pot with the plant inside during the cold months and outside during the hot months.  This is something that takes A LOT of patience since it is not a plant that is grown in Missouri.  If I remember correctly it took at least two years before our first plant produced a fruit!  I'll have to find those photos and scan/post them.  

I could have been a non-supportive wife and told him it would never work, or that he was foolish to try to grow a pineapple.  But I didn't!  Why?  It was his heart's desire to try this and see if it would work; I love my husband and wanted to show him that by encouraging his efforts.  This wasn't an adventure I would have done on my own, but that doesn't mean I can't/shouldn't support him.

This is 3 months after the May 2005 photos where you see it beginning to form a new plant.  He has cut it from the stalk (where he is holding it).

Here Ronnie is holding his latest conquest: Pineapple #2!  This one is smaller than the first one he grew which he had to "force" it to bloom.  It was sweet and had a fairly concentrated pineapple taste.  YUMMY!

I will add more photos later... but think about what your husband likes to do and try your best to support him in every way possible!  It shows him your love, but more importantly your respect!  And respect is VERY important to a man in his marriage relationship!

 
This group of four pics is from July 3, 2007... Ronnie's third pineapple!  All pics are from it still on the stalk that grows up from the middle of the spiky leaves.  After this one is removed the plant in the pot is no longer good for producing another fruit.  Each plant only produces one pineapple in it's lifetime.  So we throw out the old plant and repot the top of the newest pineapple once we cut it off.  Then the cycle begins all over again!