Welcome to Charity's Lists!

Hi and thanks for stopping by my blog! 

Feel free to check out the most recent post below or start at the About tab and then peruse through any topic that interests you. 

I'll be posting something new every Monday! If you would like to be apart of the Guest List where you can contribute one of your own lists to the blog, email me at deckerswife11@gmail.com to get on board. 

Blessings!
~Charity~

9 Months in Review: Letters to Emmaline

19 Weeks

I was sitting on the couch feeling slight little movements and told Jared that you were awake- so he came and placed his hand on my stomach and started talking to you. Within seconds you gave the most powerful kick you had ever done. Your daddy jumped back in shock and sheer delight. We laughed and kissed and thanked God for this moment. 

21 Weeks

Today we found out that you were a little girl! We went to the dr for our ultrasound and asked her to keep your gender a secret. We enjoyed watching you wiggle in front of the camera. Then we took the piece of paper with your gender on it to Harris Teeter and had them fill up a box of balloons for us. We had a party over at Da and Honey’s house to announce your gender. Everyone was so happy and excited and we were especialy surprised because we had thought quite certain we were having a boy. We couldn’t be happier that you are a little girl- our precious Emmaline Joy.

25 Weeks

You have always been a wiggle worm, but this past week has been your most ACTIVE week so far! Your kicks and punches have gotten stronger too and sometimes startle me. Daddy puts your hand on my belly during church and smiles. He tells you how much he loves you and asks you to come out and play with him. I have been staying active in the gym and working out an hour each day.  My belly is growing a lot now!

29 Weeks

I have not had many strong cravings although my new favorite food is applesauce! I love anything apple-y.  I have been reading a ton of books on natural childbirth- my favorite so far has been Natural Childbirth in a Hospital. I pray to God that I can give you the best birth possible and that you will be cooperative ;0) Most of all, I pray that you are healthy and for you to love Jesus with all your heart. 

30 Weeks

You got the hiccups for the first time at 31 weeks! Aunt B and I enjoyed listening to how cute you soundedJ Daddy still has to hear you! I had my first Lamaze class today! Daddy couldn’t make it to this class but he’ll come next week

32 Weeks

Over Christmas, your Grandmommy and I went shopping for all of your first year clothes. We got you so many cute outfits for such a good deal. Daddy also read the Christmas story to you on Christmas Eve. He put his hand on my belly and you wiggled and squirmed when he read Glory to God in the Highest!

33.5 Weeks

36 Weeks

 I can’t believe you are almost here! I dream about that first little kiss I get to plant on your cheek. Daddy and I can’t wait to cuddle you and tell you how much we love you.  You are moving very consistently and that helps keep me from getting worried about you- so keep it up! 

37 Weeks

38 Weeks

I have really been feeling great lately. Yesterday  I took Honey’s cycle class and today I walked at the stadium with Daddy. I’ve been eating lots of pineapple, spicey food, red raspberry leaf tea, and figs. I’ve been going to a chirorpracter every week which I think has been a HUGE help in keeping things comfortable during this last trimester.  What more does a mama have to do to get her little girl to come out?!

39.5 Weeks


Emmaline! You can come out now, my little Spring Chicken! It’s yours and mama’s birthday month. March is a great time to be born. I’m sitting here on my bouncy ball with the back door wide open and Daddy is out reading and listening to a sermon on the porch. The birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and we are SO ready to hold and kiss you! 

1 Week!

My precious little girl, your daddy and I love you more than you could ever know. You have overwhelmed our hearts with joy and thankfulness. "Shout with joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious! Say to God, "How awesome are Your deeds!" Come and see what God has done, how awesome His works in man's behalf!" Psalm 66 

Four Memories of Christmas 2013

This past week I became extremely sick with a dreadful infection that wreaked havoc on my sinuses . What started out as a common cold led to a ruptured ear drum, conjunctivitis, a throat full of knives, and you guessed it, lots of congestion. I felt like a giant piece of bacteria with red eyes living underwater (due to the hearing loss). My inlaws were gracious enough to let me stay holed away in their home and served me many cups of hot tea and breakfast's-in bed :)

Furthermore, I hit the belly-button poppin' phase of pregnancy where the most basic tasks, such as sleeping, breathing, and tying your shoes, suddenly became downright uncomfortable (or according to my more dramatic side, nearly impossible). Even my trusty snoogle is no longer coming to my aid!

Despite these 'light and momentary' bahumbugs, many fun memories were successfully made and it is these things that I want to remember when I think back to Christmas 2013...

1. Watching the Hobbit Part 2-During the week that we were in Summerville, one of the main topics of discussion was what day and time we should go to the theater to watch the Hobbit. Day after day went by and for one reason or another we would have to change plans.Finally we were able to make it a reality (much to my sister-in-law Abigail's delight).  We all thought it was much better than Part I and I was really quite proud of myself for staying awake the entire movie. Well, almost. I fell asleep the last five minutes:)

2. Game-Playin' and Story Tellin'-We had a lot of fun one night playing the game Whoonu around the kitchen table. Have you ever played that game? It's super fun and opens the floor for all sorts of stories to be remembered and shared. The Decker Family loves to tell stories. I've been in the family long enough now that I am familiar with the classics and can begin laughing at the opening line :).

3. Drugstore Dancing-On Christmas Eve night, Jared took me up to the drugstore to get some remedies for all my ailments. As I stood staring groggily at the array of pills and sprays, donned in the color gray from head to toe, with bloodshot eyes and a messy-bun-with-a-rat-tail hairdo, a Christmas song came over the CVS radio, sung from the time of my grandparent's generation.  I saw a sparkle in my man's eyes as he reached for my hand and slipped his other hand around my waist pulling my round pregnant belly in as close as it could be. And there we were in the Nasal Decongestant aisle swaying back and forth to the faint sound of the Big Band;  big cheesy grins on our faces and twinkles in our eyes. And the whole world stood still in that moment. My man gives me a glimpse..a small taste..of how my Father in heaven must love me. 

4.  Reading the Christmas Story-Every year on Christmas Eve night, my father-in-law reads the Christmas story to his family. As we gathered around to fulfill this special tradition, Jared asked if he could do the honor of reading the story since this was the first Christmas that his own child was present.  Danny passed the Bible to Jared and Jared placed his hand on my big round belly. When he got to the part where the angels sang "Glory to God in the highest!" baby girl jumped and kicked excitedly inside of me. It was a fun moment to share:)

Jared and I are so blessed to have families who love the Lord and each other deeply.  We are eager to bring our little girl into the world and surround her with people who can tell her all about Jesus and the great truths in the Bible. We can't wait to read the Christmas story next year with our little Munchkin all snuggled up in between us!

 May you cling to the sweet memories you made this Christmas season!
~Charity~

Seven Steps to Making a Gender Reveal Box

(Not interested in this post? Skip to the bottom and click on the link to watch a four minute film of life in the womb. It is the best one I've seen so far!)

For those of you who have asked how I made the balloon box for our surprise gender reveal, here are the directions! There are many ideas out there that involve spray painting the box, wrapping the box in paper, or using markers to draw the letters, but I like the method we went with the best. All credit goes to my better-half...I am just not very creative! 

1. You will need packing tape, glue, and scissors. 

2. I purchased some colorful card stock from Target, but you can also use construction paper. 

3. There are all different sizes of boxes that people use for this project, but I went with an Extra-Large cardboard box from Home Depot (labeled X-Large). This size fits a regular piece of poster board almost perfectly. Speaking of which, you will need to purchase four black poster boards. Don't tape them to the box until step 6.

4. To make the circles, I used three different sized objects- a bowl, a candle holder, and a mug. I cut these circles out of the cardstock and glued them on the poster. 

5. I am HORRIBLE at drawing bubble letters so I went to this website and printed off the letters I needed for my box. I used plain white paper for "it's a..." and traced letters out of the cardstock for "GIRL" and "BOY".  Once you have your letters cut out you can paste them onto your posters!

6. After your posters are decorated, tape one poster to the front, and one to each side. Cut the last poster in two pieces and tape them to the flaps. Don't worry about the back of the box as it will not be visible in the pictures :)

7. Okay, so now that the box is finished, you just need to fill it up with pink or blue balloons! My husband and I wanted to be surprised along with our family, so we had the doctor write down the gender of our munchkin onto a piece of paper after our ultrasound. We took the sealed envelope (it was hard not to peek!) to a local grocery store and purchased 12 pink or blue balloons. While we waited outside, they blew up the balloons for us and put them in the box--making sure to tape the lid tight!

It was a lot of fun to make a big deal over this milestone, since we had to be cautious with our emotions at first. However you may decide to announce the gender of your little one, never forget what an awesome privilege it is to carry a tiny life inside of you. If you have four minutes of time, check out this amazing video of life in the womb- 9 months in 4 minutes. ..."admire the perfect creation of God"...

Life is precious!
~Charity~

25 Gifts from My Gratitude List

(Warning: This list has a long intro!)I was first introduced to the book, "One Thousand Gifts" at a bible study hosted by my dear friend, Kathleen. During the weeks of the study, I was in the middle of meeting and falling in love with my husband, so as you can imagine, I was slightly distracted .  I picked up the book for a second time when I was going through my first miscarriage. This time the book deeply impacted my life and gave me a fresh perspective on the importance of living a life of thankfulness. 

"...gratitude truly is the foremost quality of a believing disciple precisely because gratitude is what births trust...the true belief." a.v.

Voskamp challenges her readers to start keeping a journal of all the gifts in their lives, as a way to slow down the busyness and acknowledge the Giver. You've most likely been asked at one point in your life to name ten things you're thankful for, right? If you would have asked me that question a year ago, my list would have consisted of general subjects (Parents, Husband, God, Food, Clothes, House) and I would have probably struggled to think of any more over ten. While a broad list like this is obviously not wrong, it didn't inquire me to "stop and smell the roses" so to speak. I needed to train my eyes to see the beauty hidden in the mundane; the little moments that rushed by in a full day.

"Gratitude for the seemingly insignificant--a seed--this plants the giant miracle. Do not disdain the small." -a.v.


Anne's challenge to record 1000 gifts encouraged me to become more detailed and descriptive in my thanksgiving.  I had to focus my attention on the seemingly "small"; things that before I would have thought of as insignificant. It seemed a bit child-like at first..you know, thanking God for blue hydrangeas, a spider weaving it's web and a sweet crunchy apple, but I began to realize that these were things that brought me delight when I paused long enough in my day to notice them. Beyond that, I began to recognize them as ways my Father was lavishing his love on me. 

"I pay tribute to God by paying attention."-a.v.

Furthermore, my natural inclination is to worry and fret over things, but it's pretty hard to complain and give thanks simultaneously...

"Every breath's a battle between grudgery and gratitude and we must keep thanks on the lips so we can sip from the holy grail of joy."-a.v.

Voskamp speaks to the suffering heart through words that are poetically and sincerely scripted. She encourages her readers to accept whatever God gives them with open hands and breathe out 'thanks' not only for the beautiful things, but the ugly, as well. 

"God is in the details; God is in the moment. God is in all that blurs by in a life---even hurts in a life." -a.v.

It's not that we need to adopt a Pollyanna attitude when calamity comes our way. It's not that we need to put on a fake smile, pretending all is well during the times that all is not right in our world. Rather, in the valley's and storms of life we are to focus our blurry-eyed vision on the Rock--the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  He is sovereign...He is a Comforter....He has a rich inheritance stored up for those who trust in Him...He won't leave us or forsake us...He is our refuge and strength. It is for these things that we can and should utter thanks. Let me show you a real-life example. 

"To know how we can count on God, we count graces, but ultimately there is really only One."-a.v.

Around this time of year, most people try to be more intentional about having a grateful attitude. Some give thanks in order to generate a happy demeanor and optimistic outlook on life. Others strive to think positive thoughts in order to attain an inner calm. As Christians, our thanksgiving should magnify our Creator--the Sustainer of life itself! May we not simply vocalize our gratitude for the sake of the holiday, but may we purposefully direct our thanks to the One from whom all blessings flow. 

"Every time you feel in God's creatures something pleasing and attractive, do not let your attention be arrested by them alone, but, passing them by, transfer your thought to God and say: 'O my God, if Thy creations are so full of beauty, delight, and joy, how infinitely more full of beauty, delight, and joy art Though Thyself, Creator of all! -Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain 

As we focus on all of our many blessings this Thanksgiving, I pray that they would direct our attention to the great and mighty Gift-Giver and cause us to glorify and praise His name. "Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things He has done for you." (1 Samuel 12:24, ESV)

25 Gifts from My Gratitude List:

1. Looking through old photo albums with my mom

2. Surprise reservations to a bed and breakfast 

3. Staying calm during bloodwork

4. Sprinting up a hill and feeling good at the top

5. Scripture, framed and hung on walls

6. Dancing in the kitchen with socks on

7. A Savior who endured the cross

8. Jack & Oakley's smiling faces peering from the window 

9. Hot coffee and cozy bathrobe on chilly mornings

10. Reading the Bible with Jared

11. Music that magnifies the Lord and His promises

12. Fresh cucumber from the Calvary Baptist garden

13. Flirting with my husband at the gym

14. The sound of birds chirping in the morning

15. Date night to Sweet Frog

16. The ability to be transformed by God

17. Running stadium bleachers

18. The opportunity to carry a life

19. Hymns turned up loud in the kitchen

20. Waking up beside my best friend

21. Overcoming public speaking fear

22. Prince of Peace to rest in

23. Masculine husband

24. Reminders of Truth

25. New mercies in the morning

Happy Thanksgiving!

~Charity~

**Special Anniversary Edition**Three Reasons I Am Thankful for Facebook

Last weekend my husband surprised me by taking me to Boone, NC to celebrate our second year of marital bliss.  We had a fabulous time strolling the old streets and reliving memories of being in Boone for our honeymoon. (This time, pleasantly accompanied by our little Munchkin, of course). If you ever pass through the Boone area, you absolutely must eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner (or all three) at the Dan'l Boone Inn.  They serve a family-style meal that is simply scrumptious. Oh, and save room at the end for the peach cobbler--it's divine! 

Jared's Post-Dinner Picture

I Definitely Ate for Two!

And now on to the topic of today's post: Why I am thankful for Facebook. (I promise you, it is not as random as it seems). 

3. Facebook keeps me up-to-date on the lives of old friends and those that live miles away. I'm sure this is the top reason why most people have facebook...

2. Facebook keeps me informed on weather conditions and current events.
How would I know when the first snowflake hits the ground or when it's extremely hot outside without seeing someone's status update? Also, since we do not have tv, I rely solely on Facebook to keep me updated on Miley Cyrus escapades and college football scores. Ok, I really could care less about these things to be honest :-)

And the #1 reason why I am thankful for Facebook?:

1. Facebook connected me to Jared Decker.

On March 10, 2011, I received my first letter from my future husband. His buddies had set up a facebook account for him while he was deployed to Afghanistan. One day, Facebook decided it would be appropriate to suggest me as a potential friend to Jared. He saw my picture and remembered me from our college days (I was a junior and he was a freshman during college...we barely knew each other) and he decided he would casually "check in" and see how I was doing. No big deal, right? I now know that it took him several days to write and send this "simple" little message :) I knew enough of his reputation to eagerly respond to his friendly greeting and the rest is history...

For about a month we corresponded through letters alone. Since then, I have compiled all of our messages and emails during that first month into a book--it was such a special and exciting time learning all about each other.  It didn't take long for me to see that this man loved the Lord and was striving to walk in a an honorable and upright manner. People talk about the things they love... Jared loved (loves) Jesus. He didn't just have head knowledge about God and know all the right Sunday school answers to impress me; he had a living and active relationship with his Savior. And from 5000 miles away, he began to steal my heart...  

In April, I called him for the first time while running a half marathon (I was actually returning his call;-) I had waited until then because I thought it would be a good opportunity to try to impress him, haha. It did. Jared thought he would clean his guns to impress me. Even though the background noise was extremely loud from his gun-cleaning, he still managed to impress me too. 

After completing several successful phone conversations, we decided to move forward in our relationship and talk via Skype--it was getting pretty serious now!!! Seriously though, it was love at first Skype ;-). He was even more good-looking than in his pictures, which I had browsed through several times (ok, more like millions of times). Thankfully, the fact that we were in different countries and confined to a twelve-inch screen kept us from getting too physically distracted and our dates consisted purely of face-to-face conversation- no movies, no board games, no dinner- just talking. The ten hour time difference made it tricky, but we still managed to talk for 2-5 hours each day (unless he was out on mission) and continue our letter-writing. We kept our families very involved in our budding relationship and were thankful to find support from each side. We both had a feeling that this was something worth investing in. And it was... 

On July 27, 2011, I met Jared's family at Fort Bragg to welcome home their son and my soulmate from the battlefield. A new chapter began that day as we experienced life together in 3D. It was clear that God had designed us for each other. We told each other 'I love you' for the first time not long after his return and thirty-six days later he put a ring on my finger...

The First Day We Officially "Met"

On November 12, 2011, I married the man of my dreams. Well, actually, that's not true. He is more than I could have dreamed up. The Lord knew what type of man I needed, though, and I am humbled at how He wove our lives together in His perfect timing and by His awesome sovereignty. I am blessed beyond measure to have the privilege of doing life along side this man. 

So you see my friends, this is the story of how I became Decker's wife. And it all began with a Facebook message... :).

To God be the glory great things He has done!
~Charity~

90/60/30 Second Drills!

This is a workout designed for you to use indoors or outdoors-- no gym or equipment needed!

Photo from Penrith City Council 

These drills are in an A/B format which means you would do Exercise A for 90 seconds, then Exercise B for 90 seconds. Exercise A for 60 seconds, then Exercise B for 60 seconds. You get the point:) Try not to take a complete rest until after you have finished the 30 second round!

So grab a watch, your shoes, and some water and get ready to sweat!
Are you ready?
GO!

90/60/30
A. 8 Jumping Jacks/8 Pushups
B. 8 Traveling High Knees (count every other knee)/ Back pedal to start

Bridge:
1 min R Leg Walking Lunge
1 min L Leg Walking Lunge
30 sec Sit ups
30 sec Crunches
30 sec Bikes

90/60/30
A. 4 Skater Lunges (L leg goes to 4:00 & L hand touches ground-vice versa)/ 2 Burpees
B. 8 Squat Pulses/ 8 Shuffles (3 quick steps to one side is 1 rep)

Bridge:
1 min R Leg Knee Lift (bend the left knee as you lift the right knee)
1 min L Leg Knee Lift
30 sec Sit ups
30 sec Crunches
30 sec Bikes

90/60/30
A. 8 Plank Jacks/ 8 Lunge Taps Side-2-Side (count every leg)
B. 8 Tricep Dips (use a chair or step)/ 16 Plia Pulses (wide squat with toes turned East and West)

Bridge:
1 min Squat Kick R
1 min Squat Kick L
30 sec Sit ups
30 sec Crunches
30 sec Bikes

FINISH LINE!

Cooldown/Stretch