In Honor Of Our 13th Anniversary - Quotes About Us

Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same. ~Emily Bronte

Here is the deepest secret nobody knows.
Here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
And the sky of the sky of a tree called life;
Which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide.
And this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart.
I carry your heart.
I carry it in my heart.”
~E. E. Cummings

Our wedding was many years ago. The celebration continues to this day. ~Gene Perret

It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life. ~Rita Rudner

Are we not like two volumes of one book? ~Marceline Desbordes-Valmore

A happy marriage is a long conversation that always seems too short. ~Andre Maurois

You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams. ~Dr. Seuss

The best love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes us reach for more; that plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds .... That's what you've given me and that's what I hope to give to you forever.
-- From the movie,"The Notebook"

I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine... ~Song of Solomon 6:3

If ever two were one, then surely we.If ever man were loved by wife, then thee. ~Anne Bradstreet

Now join your hands, and with your hands your hearts. ~ William Shakespeare, King Henry the Sixth

Love is when you look into someone's eyes and suddenly you go all the way inside their soul and you both know it. ~Unknown

His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend. ~Song of Solomon 5:16

Romancing your husband - Dates

Some people say that to have a healthy marriage you should have date nights. I wouldn't go that far. Many couples throughout history did just fine without "date nights." But they probably still carved time for each other. To take a walk, to talk, to plan, to dream.

How does this romance your husband? Well I can't speak for everyone, but my husband looks forward to our date nights even more than I do. When I'm away from the kids, I am more relaxed and carefree, and I can focus just on him. he can really relax and unwind too. We feel young again. We can do the things that we enjoy without interruption. And I don't have to tell you how date nights with your husband will usually end, especially if the kids aren't home.

Our date nights are easy. We're very blessed to live near Brian's parents, and they enjoy having our kids sleep over one night a week. Obviously this doesn't always happen due to illness and other factors, and sometimes we have work that must be done or a meeting to attend, but usually we have a date.

Now I am very cheap. Having a free babysitter has already eliminated a huge expense, but we still do cheap stuff. A typical date night will find us at Hardees with a buy one get one free thickburger coupon and a shared soda. Then we head home to a DVD rented from the $.99 vending machine in the grocery store or a missed season of a favorite TV show. That was about all that we could do most of the winter because of Brian's health. As his health continues to be in a much-improved state most of the time, we look forward to revisiting some of our older date ideas.

1. Free outdoor summer concerts, from downtown jazz, to university bands, to bluegrass at someone's home
2. Heading downtown for ice cream cones and a walk through the park
3. Many cities, including ours, have free Shakespeare plays in the park
4. Meeting up with friends for an iced coffee (you can get them for free on May 15 at Dunkin' Donuts)
5. Going to the lake for a picnic to watch the sun set
6. Completing a fun project at home
7. Shopping for a special item, such as patio furniture, or a new outfit.
8. Art museum concerts or lectures
9. Tandem biking
10. Roller blading (I really just put this on here for you, because Brian really doesn't care for it, but he used to do it with me. )
11. Reading a book or poetry to each other
12. World music or open mic night at the coffeehouse, another shows documentaries and indie movies

How do I find all of these things?

1. Many cities have free publications that list local events, newspapers do as well. Post any concert schedules you find inside a cupboard door for easy reference.
2. Go to your own visitors center and pick up materials - you'll find plenty of things in your area for dates, family nights, and day trips.
3. Order your own state's visitor guide
4. Bookmark all of your city's websites, as well as all local towns and other nearby cities, and write any events in your date book. We have a town that has weekly jazz concerts, a state park that has bluegrass concerts, a science center that has folk concerts, a city that has weekly concerts on three different nights within 30 minutes of us - and that's just the short list! Don't forget to bookmark recreation district websites, state park sites, and historical sites.
5. Keep tabs on your favorite stores. Whole Foods, for example, often has musicians, cooking demonstrations, and wine tastings. Ten Thousand Villages has cultural events.
   

No babysitter? Try working out a babysitting swap with another couple that you know well. Same night every week, one week you keep their kids, the next they keep yours. Or try working out a deal with a college student - free food and use of the washer and dryer might lower your overall cost. Or maybe a free art or music lesson.

Need some ideas? I love these books:

1. The little black book of Dating ideas
2. The Dating Handbook: 2002 Things To Do On a Date

One of our favorite weekend "getaways" ever was a conglomerate of ideas from lots of books. We were newlyweds and pretty broke (but gas was really cheap!). Friday night we covered all of the electronics in the house and turned all of the clocks around and put the watches away. We slept in with a plan to go to Denny's whenever we wanted to eat since they serve breakfast all day, then we went to see a movie because there were several good ones playing, so we knew that we could choose one regardless of the time of our arrival.

Later we played "spy" following a random car at a distance, and when we lost track of it, we just made random turns to see where we would end up. We ended up not far from another city, so we headed to their mall for a ride on the carousel. It was a crazy, very relaxing weekend.

Romancing Your Husband

I was out with my girlfriends tonight and we covered every topic imaginable. Romance was a brief topic, but it got me thinking because I used to be the world's greatest romantic, and now I'm not too sure that I am. The feelings are there, but the distractions are great.

Don't get me wrong. My husband is beyond compare. I have not heard of anyone that can hold a candle to him. He is my lover, my confidante, and my best friend. We talk about everything and love to debate stuff. We finish each other's sentences. And we love our date nights.

But I used to leave lipstick messages on his truck windows, fill his pockets with love notes, buy him special gifts. Now I try to have freshly made iced tea at dinner, make phone calls for him, pick up his favorite chips, and leave a candy bar in his pocket. It's good, but just doesn't sound quite as romantic. I think that I could do better. It certainly couldn't hurt to try. I've never heard anyone complain that their spouse is "just too romantic." Besides, my collection of dogeared romantic idea books are a bit dusty.

So girls, buy a new nightgown and a copy of 1001 Ways to Be Romantic , my old favorite. (This is not a Christian book, and I don't recommend it for the marriage advice. But it is a large list of romantic ideas, so you can afford to skip any objectionable ones and still have lots to choose from.) These lists from that book should get your wheels turning:


223a Daily Romantic Checklist:

1. Compliment your partner.
2. Spend twenty minutes of uninterrupted time together.
3. Check in with each other during the day.
4. Perform one small and unexpected gesture.
5. Say "I love you" at least three times.
6. Thank your partner for something.
7. Look for romantic concepts in the newspaper.
8. Take an extra minute when kissing good-bye.
   

223b A Weekly Romantic Checklist:

1. Bring home one small, unexpected gift or present.
2. Share some form of physical intimacy.
3. Share an entire afternoon or evening together.
4. Share two insights you gained this week.
5. Write at least one little love note.
6. Mail something to your partner.
7. Make love!
8. Plan something special for the upcoming weekend.

223c A Monthly Romantic Checklist

1. Plan one romantic surprise for this month.
2. Re-stock your stash of greeting cards.
3. Go out to dinner once or twice.
4. Rent at least two romantic movies.
5. Make love several times!
6. Make plans for a three-day romantic weekend sometime in the next three months.
7. Plan one romantic event with a seasonal theme.

223d A Yearly Romantic Checklist

1. Make a New Year's resolution to be a more creative romantic.
2. Make plans for your next anniversary.
3. Think of an unusual way to celebrate your partner's birthday.
4. Review your plans for your next vacation.
5. Create a special "Romance" category in your household budget.
6. Make plans for Valentine's Day well in advance!

Date Night and Best Buy Rewards

Thursdays are our date night. I have an angelic mother in law that not only watches my kids that night, but also keeps them overnight and even does schoolwork with them ( and loves it all).

With Brian feeling better lately, we've been doing more again instead of just renting a DVD and crashing at home. Last night was great! We had a $25 gift card to Chili's from my mother, so after ordering two drinks (splurge), two salads, and splitting an entree consisting of two half racks of baby back ribs (yum) and two sides of mashed potatoes, we came out paying only about $2 for our food and a $6 tip. Then...I had a Best Buy rewards coupon good for $5-5000. We were nearby, so we figured it could be fun finding out what we could get with just $5 (which is, of course, what it turned out to be worth). Now I know. Magnetic photo frames. Or maybe a couple of batteries. But then genius struck and we headed for the candy at the front. And with our reward cash we scored a bag of Ghirardelli assorted chocolate squares and a Cherry Coke. Free chocolate. I love Best Buy!

We ended our date wwith a 20 minute stroll around the mall to see the decorations (Brian's idea). Neither of us could remember the last time we'd been to the mall. I remember being there a year ago... Anyway, it's really beautiful - they've remodeled. And....we got his mom's Christmas present. Splurged a bit from our eensy weensy budget, but she's gonna love it.



And I'm still lovin' the chocolate.

Thirteen Things I Love About My Husband

1. His passion for God.
2. His insistence that I'm beautiful, even at moments when I'm obviously not.
3. His ability to fix anything that's wrong with the computer.
4. His love of nature.
5. He is the sweetest and nicest person I know.
6. He can't keep a secret from me (it at least drives him nuts to try).
7. His willingness, yea even eagerness, to take me to all of the living history and cultural stuff I enjoy.
8. His excellence in the field of "daddying." There's nothing he won't do.
9. His desire to rear our children to be the kind of men and women that will be pleasing to God, and the energy he expends to back up that desire with action.
10. How well his genes mix with mine (as in, I think our children are beautiful - I know, I'm shameless. I can't help it.)
11. He puts up with me. I'm telling you, he ought to get an award for that, especially when I'm pregnant (no, I'm not right now).
12. His faithfulness to provide for our family even when he's feeling terrible. I appreciate it so much.
13. He improves with age. Not that he's old. He just gets better and better all the time at all of the wonderful things he does.

This is my beloved and this is my friend.

And anyone that is married and reading this can now consider themselves tagged.