"Mom, When Can I Get Married?" Part One

Lynzie has just turned 11 and has begun asking questions about marriage.  She wants to know how old she has to be before she can get married.  I keep answering, "It's not an age, it's a level of readiness."  I've told her she must be done with her basic schooling (through high school level), she must be prepared to manage a home and a budget, she must have basic knowledge of childcare.  I've also talked to her about the readiness of her husband-to-be:  he needs to have a job that will support their basic needs, must be able to provide a reliable means of getting them where they need to go, etc.  

Today I became aware that she's already got a man in mind!  From what I've seen, this young man shows promise---he reminds me of my husband, for starters!  It occurred to me today that I've not really talked to her about spiritual readiness---the most important part of being married!  So, we went on to discuss how important it is that she pray for her future husband---in a general sense.  I encouraged her not to pray for this specific boy in a way that indicated she was set on him, but instead to pray for "whomever God has planned" for her.   I encouraged her to focus on having a good friendship with the boy but not to think of him as her future spouse---at least not yet!  Wow, I totally can't believe I'm having this conversation with her already!

So, with all that in mind, I realized I really need to get into the Word and see what all God has to say about a wife.   I've only been one for 13 years so I've got a lot to learn myself---and here I am already needing to train my daughter.  Whew!

Genesis 2:24:  "Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."

A wife needs to be prepared to become one with her husband.  This requires coming out from under the protection and discipline of her parents and coming under the protection of her husband, standing beside him as his helper, comforter, lover and support, and taking the lead role in homemaking and mothering responsibilities.  A wife should be prepared to make decisions alongside her husband and to consider his desires, preferences and feelings when making choices regarding areas in which he has given her responsibility.  

Part of being one with one's husband is working as a team and making compromises and concessions where needed.  One thing I always try to practice in my marriage is the truth that if my priority is always my husband and his priority is always me, then both of us are taken care of and neither finds themselves being selfish.

While it's always ideal that the new couple's parents agree and support this "leaving and cleaving", that is, unfortunately, not always the case.  The new wife, as well as her husband, should be prepared and mature enough to respectfully remind the offending parents of this verse and be in agreement that their parents won't be allowed to become stumbling blocks in the early days of marriage.

While a loving parent is almost always full of valuable wisdom that a newlywed can surely learn from, it's important that the new husband and wife make final decisions on their own, based on what they have heard from God and what they believe is right for their own situation.

Someone remind my controlling self of this in another 7 or 8 years, please?  Ha!

I'm Stylish!!

Thank you SO much to Rachel from Bubbly Nature Creations!  She honored me with the Stylish Blogger Award!  (Which I actually find hilarious since SHE is the one who designed my blog!)  Thank you, Rachel~~without you, I wouldn't have had a stylish blog for you to award! Ha!

                     7 Things About Me

1.  My husband's boss recently figured out that I've been pregnant a total of 6.7 years...so far. 

2.  I love to play the board game Clue with my husband...I will ask to play "just one more game" over and over until he finally loses patience.  This takes a VERY long time!

3.  I was a member of a swing choir and a jazz choir in high school.  We were really good.

4.  My oldest piece of furniture dates to 1860.  My oldest possession dates to 1776.

5.  Two names that I have always wanted to but will never name my kids are Basil and Heaven Leigh.

6.  If all my kids take after me, I'll have 64 grandchildren by the time I'm 50.

7.  Two pregnancy "meals" I crave are:  *double fiber English muffin with peanut butter and a pear and banana on the side and *steak, baked potato with ranch, herb salad and sourdough bread.

Now it's time for me to pass on the award!  I am sending it off to the following STYLISH bloggers:

Audra @ My Meandering Mind 
Heather @ Random Reflections
Dena @ Dream Doodlers 
Kristen @ June Cleaver Would Be Shocked
Dana @ The Stone Rabbit
Kristin @ Life In Shangri-La
Amy @ Blah Blah Blog
Sarah @ Cozy.Cottage.Cute
Nina @ Momma Go Round
Jacqueline @ Purple Chocolat Home


 

An Eighteenth Century Tea Party with Buttery Creme Wafers

Lynzie and I have been busy all week preparing for her Revolutionary War era tea party!  Last night was the big event and it went so well!

 

Lynzie has been planning this party for the past 6 or 7 months.  Her little sister Selah was super excited to be invited to her first tea party!

One of the fun parts of our preparation was making all the treats!

Here's my Aunt Donna's "family famous" recipe for Creme Wafers.

Creme Wafers

1 c. real butter

1/3 c. heavy whipping cream

2 c. flour

**Mix with a spoon and chill slightly.  Roll dough out, 1/3 at a time, and cut into 1/8 in. thick circles.  The lid from salt shaker or small spice jar works good as a cookie cutter.  You want these 1-1/2 in. around or so.  Dredge both sides in sugar and lay on a cookie sheet.  Prick with a fork to make a design on top if desired and bake 7-9 minutes at 375.  You want to take them out when they're set but not browned.  Cool completely and then fill with frosting to make sandwiches.  I like to use a quartered version of this recipe.  Aunt Donna uses a cream cheese frosting recipe.

Lynzie received several nice gifts from her friends including a porcelain doll, vintage and new books, a tea cup and saucer set, knick-knacks, and crafting supplies.  Here she is opening a Barbie doll from Selah.

 The girls enjoyed lots of period-authentic treats, as well as Raspberry Tea and punch.

 Back in "those days", they would hide a bean in the cake and whomever got the piece with the bean in it was named King or Queen of the party.  We hid a pink jelly bean in this white cake and Gabriella (below, closest to the camera) was named Queen for the day!

 

After treats, the girls played many, many (MANY) rounds of Hide the Thimble.

Then the little brothers and sisters did some "entertaining"...

 

It's all fun and games until Daddy sits on the machine gun...

 

 

The tea treats menu consisted of Queen Cakes, Almond Tarts, Creme Wafers, Spiced Nuts, Raspberry Tea, and Raspberry Punch. (Click on links for similar recipes.  We used the American Girl Felicity Cookbook)