Being intentional...

I am so thankful for a hubby who enjoys B&B's...and looking forward to our weekend at The House on Harmar Hill in Marietta, OH! When we got married, we wanted to start an 'us' tradition for Christmas. We thought and thought and what we landed on is this. No presents. 

'Where is the holiday fun in that?' you may ask. You have nothing to open on Christmas day! Well, technically, we do get to open whatever is in our stocking....that is the only formal gift-giving we do between each other. And we get to enjoy watching our 9-year-old excitedly tear through paper...as any child does on Christmas Day.

What do we do instead to make it special?  We try to get away for at least one night together! Sometime around the holiday season we plan a night away (or 2 if schedules permit) at a somewhat-local Bed & Breakfast. We have gone to a handful by now...to some we have been repeat visitors. Instead of purchasing random articles of clothing or electronic that aren't too meaningful, we prefer to take some time to invest in US. Away from distractions. 

Some years we have just gone without a plan. Other years we have had specific things to talk about or focus on. Always, it's just about reconnecting (something we learned well at a Weekend to Remember many years back.) Today, I stumbled upon the below video, which made me think...maybe we can brainstorm how to put our spouse first - together. Come up with ideas, ways to stay on the defense and keep that thought a constant prayer focus together.

Do you ever have 'intentional' times with your spouse? What do you do, talk about, plan, etc. for those times, I would love to hear!

I Won!

Ok, you know how you always see blog contests where they use a Random Number Generator to pick a commenter to win a big prize? There always seems to be hundreds of comments, and I never, ever feel like my little number could ever be chosen.

Until now.

I won a Silhouette cutting machine! Just because I posted HERE, and followed something on Twitter. Thanks to BlogFrog for making it all possible...I can't wait to try out my new crafty machine!!!

If you have a Silhouette...I would LOVE to hear about your amazing projects.....

Ghost n' Goblin....

As a kickoff to the Fall holidays..I signed up to WALK my first 5K! My sister has been a huge influence in my long-distance walking, and she urged me to do this. I did. I loved it! 

Now...I think we may sign up for the Erie, PA Turkey Trot when we go home for Thanksgiving. 

We are slightly addicted =o)

Do YOU participate in 5K's? Run or walk? Surprisingly, there were quite a few walkers, so I didn't feel too much like a poser...

My family also dressed up as the Mystery Machine gang....Phil (Shaggy), Me (Velma), and then there is always the ghost the Scooby Doo gang is chasing around the neighborhood.....

And here we are giving candy to the beggars...

She is kind of a cuddly ghost ;)