Ellen Chauvin | Soaked & Sprouting

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Milestones and Memories

May 25, 2021 by Ellen 5 Comments

Today marks a milestone! John and I are celebrating twenty-five years of marriage! YAY! One quarter of a century! And, if we make it to the half century mark, we’ll be extremely blessed – and very, very old!!

A few things have changed over the years. Some things have stayed the same. We still enjoy date nights – usually dinner out with friends. But with age comes the necessity of flexibility. Turns out, one date night became a date event.

Recently, we just happened to schedule our colonoscopies on the SAME DAY! What are the odds? Instead of a nice dinner out, we drank chicken broth and a nasty concoction in preparation. Our date night turned into several days of togetherness. It takes a lot of love to support one another through the irritability caused by near starvation. Oh, the joys of purging together, hee hee! And it’s true what they say: Misery really does love company!

“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other…” Colossians 3:12-13a NASB

In addition to flexibility, we’ve learned not to get our feelings hurt. You know how it is: someone says something (or texts something) and you take it the wrong way. We’ve learned that we can’t always gauge the meaning of someone’s words from their text or tone. We don’t know what they are going through. 

However, there is an exception to this rule. It’s grandkids. They are the exception. 

John had taken several family pictures of us and our grands on Easter Sunday. We were all looking at them on the computer, oohing and ahhhing at how nice they turned out.  John air dropped one of the best pictures to our grands. Do you know what happened?

“DECLINED”

Our oldest grandson, sitting right next to John, refused to accept the pictures of us!! Ouch! That one hurt! Rejection from the grandson!

“I don’t need those pictures!”

“Well just pretend you want them and delete them later! Make us feel loved!”

We’ve made our share of mistakes over the years, but have learned so much, too. One thing that we’ve found is most important: follow the leading of God’s Holy Spirit. Even if you don’t know why He’s asking you to do something difficult, even if it doesn’t make sense, follow His lead and His promptings. When you do, blessings will abound. 

You know, kinda like that time I was prompted to say “Yes” to John Chauvin when he asked me to marry him!

Then our mouths were filled with laughter; our tongues sang for joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord had done great things for them.” Psalms 126:2

Grace be with you,

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Love Bugs

May 25, 2017 by Ellen 6 Comments

This year John and I celebrate twenty-one years of married life! What an accomplishment!

And, yes, we still mark the milestone years. We began doing this the first day of our marriage – counting up until we broke records.

Let me explain:

We were each married previously, John for eighteen years, and me for eleven. While I wouldn’t wish divorce on anyone, John and I found a way to make beauty out of the ashes of those early marriages. When we had been married 11 years and one day, it was a celebration of accomplishment! I had been married longer than ever before. We did the same on the day we had been married 18 years and one day. John broke his marriage record, too!

Last year, on our 20th anniversary, we marveled at the fact that TWENTY YEARS had gone by since the day we said “I do.” TWENTY YEARS. And today, we celebrate 21 years! Amazing! Those years have flown by. Which, by the way, is better than the alternative! If we celebrated this anniversary by saying “It’s been twenty-one LONG years…” we would be in bad shape.

How have we done it? How have we managed such longevity? Only by the grace of God! We are so thankful that He sustains us! Oh, and a dose or two or twenty-one of laughter through the years helps also.

For instance, there was the anniversary that we spent at a bed and breakfast tucked away in the woods north of St. Francisville, LA. Looking at their website, it seemed like a popular BNB for weddings. Should be perfect for an anniversary celebration. I booked a room.

It took us a while to find the home – it was WAY out in the boonies. Actually, it was not very far from Angola prison. We happened to be the only guests for the night. Romantic, huh?

Maybe. Almost. Except for a few things…

There was a nice swing out in the shade of a huge oak tree. We sat there relaxing after our drive, just a swingin’. And then, BAM! The swing broke, and we were rolling on the ground! Shaken and bruised, but we roll with the punches, right?

Late that night, John woke me with the bright lamp light. He felt something on him, and he was itching. It was a TICK! On my husband…in our bed! After taking care of that, we tossed and turned and couldn’t get back to sleep. You know, creepy crawly things and all. Not to mention, the prison only a few miles away. And did I tell you we were the only ones in the house? And had nothing to defend ourselves with, when the criminals – who were most assuredly outside – would break in on us?? Sheesh! We were so very ready to leave and head to Natchez the next morning. It would surely be a more genteel, southern bed and breakfast – no bugs or insects of any type, right? WRONG!

The Natchez BnB was a small one, but seemed very nice. Until I got in the shower. Caterpillars! Green, creepy, crawly caterpillars were everywhere in the bathroom. Ok, maybe not everywhere. But there were a few. We decided to suffer through, and not complain, since we were only there one night. The next morning, John woke before me. Gazing at his lovely wife sleeping, he noticed a green, slimy caterpillar crawling on her pillow. Toward her open mouth (I sleep with my mouth open, don’t you?). Superman, my hero, my hubby, knocked the critter off my pillow and let me sleep.

Then our mouths were filled with laughter; our tongues sang for joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord had done great things for them.” Psalms 126:2

Yes indeed, the Lord has done great things for us through the years…

Happy anniversary, John Chauvin!

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Torrential rains had been pelting us for weeks. With the rains came weeds growing tall in the flower beds. But I noticed other new growth, too. It wasn’t colorful flowers. It was teeny, tiny little oak trees! Squirrels had been working hard, burying food for later. The rains had soaked and softened … Read More...

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