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| B instructing me on proper form w/the rifle |
I can't imagine my life without this man of mine. He is an amazing father, a faithful provider, an amazing advice giver, a willing-to-give-his-own-life protector, and a custom-made for me support system. He is my best friend. I long for the weekends that we get to spend together and take advantage of every minute I can get with him. Looking at him now (on the couch reading about Lord knows what) its hard to imagine a time that I couldn't wait to get away from him, but I know that there was such a time.
When we were planning our wedding I couldn't foresee that there could ever be anything that would get between us. Maybe I was distracted by wedding details, or maybe it was because I felt that in our 4yr relationship, or our 10yr friendship, we had been through the worst that we could go through.. and had successfully made it out! Either way, I was wrong.
Before the wedding, we did a session of pre-wedding counseling with the Pastor of our church. He went over the basics about sex, communication, finances, and what the Word says about divorce. He ended with telling us that marriage is covenant and that there is nothing the enemy wants more than to disrupt, divide, and destroy it. I have to tell you that there have never been truer words spoken about marriage.
I could tell this story in true story form, but there is really not much fun in that, plus it would take forever to type out and I want to get some cuddle time in with my Honey tonight, so here's an outline/timeline of what the enemy meant for destruction:
- Six days after our wedding, I gave up my bartending position at a sports bar to stay at home with our son, my twin nephews, and a friend's kids. (ouch.. there's goes an income)
- Bryan came home from work the following Friday to tell me that he was laid off work. Ahh, yes we were both unemployed.
- Seemingly, to me, out of no where Bryan didn't want me to be as active in church as I was
- Fight, after fight about our spiritual beliefs began to erupt
- Bryan dropped out of our Discovery 1 class (a bible class about Gods plan for the family)
- I struggled with being submissive to where Bryan was leading our family... mm.. struggled/ straight out defiant.. same thing right?
Mine: "All he talks about is how he wants me to start bringing in money, and yet we obviously have plenty if he can afford to go have a beer after work and keep buying ammo for that ridiculous gun that I told him not to buy in the first place!" (remember I was anti-guns in the beginning)
His: "Maybe if she could get away from church and all her church friends for a few minutes she could get a job and start helping me out with these bills! I don't know why she has to be all high and mighty now. Its not sin to work at a bar!"
-That's kind of what the arguments sounded like, everyday.
As God would have it, a friend of ours from church, Shannon(Now his lifegroup leader) told Bryan about an opening at his job. The job was a huge pay cut from what we were use to, but at this point Bryan had been unemployed for long enough that he was willing to take anything to get away from me during the day! He got the job and Shannon got to share some Jesus with him.
Now, getting this job did solve some problems, but in the long run it ended up creating some HUGE problems.. that'll just have to be a whole other post... on a different blog.. since it has nothing to do with guns, the great outdoors, or food ;) One awesome thing that came from Bryan working closely with Shan was that he agreed to come to the Marriage Encounter- it's a marriage retreat that our church puts on. That was big news because at this point in January, Bryan was hit and miss on even coming to church! At the retreat we learned to listen to each other and at the very minimum to respect and honor each other. So I let up on the things he wanted to spend/blow money on, and he gave me more freedom in my church activities.. even began joining me there more often.
The following months were a more steady rollercoaster with a general up direction. And then it was MAY!
May is a crazy month for us, and really I think it might be for the whole world, but we look forward to it every year. Its the beginning of the summer season for us, freedom from the indoors! Bryan's birthday, memorial day weekend, and encounters all take place in the month of May and we practically never see our own home in that month.
We were getting along better already, for all of those reasons, but on one special day, mothers day, Bryan was being particularly sweet. He took me to a jewelry store and let me choose a set that I had my eyes on for a while. When we were all finished, we decided to swing by his favorite gun store.. "since we were out". Now, I probably wouldn't have agreed to ever join him there, but I had just gotten new bling, how could I say no?
So we were wandering around a gun store. B was playing with every other gun Big Haus handed him and trying to engage me in conversation about them. It probably sounded something like this
"Hey babe, what do you think of this one?"
"Is this one different than the one you were just holding? oh wait, yes I see, this one is from a different shelf!"
"Yes, making it a different brand, caliber, color.."
"Rrriiggghhhtttt."
Until we made it to the "pretty" gun section. I don't really know what happened. One minute I was bored, contemplating running out into traffic, and the next I was the one picking up and fondling guns. Big Haus and Bryan were trying to educate me on the different guns I was picking out, that's about when the conversation turned into "Well this one would be better for her to carry, and this one would be a good starter for her.. she might be more comfortable with the recoil on this one.." and then we were talking about price range.
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| My first time shooting(top) Bryan's Stoeger Cougar .40 S&W(left) and my Taurus TCP .380(right) |
About an hour after walking in to do a little window shopping for Bryan, we were leaving with a Taurus TCP .380 and a big box of bullets for me! We headed to the shooting range next and I fell in love, with the gun and my husband. That day marked a pivotal day in our relationship- the day we found "our thing".
After that day the guns in our house began to multiply. I have my own wishlist of weapons that trumps my wishlist of jewelry.Now going to the lake means saving up money and stocking up ammo to enjoy a weekend of target practice to our make shift outdoor range. Couldn't ask for a better life, God does know us better than we know ourselves, true story.
Looking for a recipe to sweet talk your honey into another gun? You know I've included a recipe just for that!
Sweet&Sticky-Honey-I-Need-a-New-Gun-Venison Tenderloin
Difficulty level: Easy
Prep Time: Marinate over night
Cook Time: 30 minutes
2 lbs Venison Tenderloin (Cut into 1in medallions)
1 medium red onion(sliced into think rings)
1 1/2 cups cooking sherry
2 cups brown sugar
2 Tbs butter or margerine
Salt and Pepper to taste
In a Gallon sized ziplock bag; place venison tenderloin, sliced onion, 1 cup of sherry and about 1/2 brown sugar. shake or sqish until all of the sugar is dissolved and the ingredients have been tossed together. Let rest overnight in the fridge, or long enough for the flavors to be harmoniously married ;)
In a deep frying pan;
1)melt butter over medium heat
2)slowly stir in the contents of your Bag-o-Greatness
3)cover and cook over medium heat for about 7 mins (stir often)
4)reduce heat to med-low and add remaining sherry and begin to sprinkle in remaining brown sugar, stirring frequently
5) let simmer uncovered for another 5 minutes or until sauce is reduced to a thick sticky consistency and tenderloins are cooked through.
Salt and pepper to taste, enjoy!
Serve it up with some steamed and buttered baby carrots.. MMMM!!
