Monday, February 2, 2009

month o' love

Happy February! As I see the store displays of Valentine's Day decorations, cards, and candy (of course, the candy!), I can't help but think back to my sweet wedding day! I don't know that I have had another day in my life that was so absolutely peaceful and so gloriously perfect...even in the imperfections!

Yet I also think of how much marriage takes a beating when a baby comes into the picture. Romantic coastal escapes? Gone with the wind. Dynamic dinner conversation at a cozy table in your favorite restaurant? Flew the coop. Indeed the addition of a child brings a new look to the marital relationship.

And so...I'm asking for YOUR ideas/tips/tried & trues of how to celebrate the month o' love all year round. If your husband is as fantastic as mine, you sincerely want to make an effort to give your marriage the attention it deserves.

So share a comment, and share the love!

Not sure why my scanned photos always show up so small, but this is from our wedding day in Kona, HI:
edited2add: Funny! I have had more comments about the photo than tips on loooove. We were married on the beach in Kona by a super fun pastor who is connected with our church. His kids were the flower girls/ring bearer, his wife did the video taping, and a lady from the church VOLUNTEERED to take our photos. She said she was an "amateur" and just enjoyed shooting, so she wouldn't even accept the money we gave her...she donated it directly to the church. I think she did a wonderful job and will share more photos next month for our anniversary post!

12 comments:

rachel said...

for us, we find that:
1. weekly/bi-weekly date nights are a MUST
2. 8 o'clock bedtime for the kids is equally important. it gives us a couple of hours uninterrupted to re-connect at the end of the day.

Andrea said...

GORGEOUS PICTURE!

You officially have the coolest wedding picture I've seen.

xoxo,
A

kitchu said...

that is ONE gorgeous wedding photo!!!

Anonymous said...

You got married in Hawaii? How romantic! :o)

Lisa said...

Stunning photo! What a location too!

One small thing I do all year long is to leave the occasional note tucked into Scott's bag, lunch, etc. Sometimes its mushy, sometimes goofy, but always a thought to remind him I'm thinking of him.

For his part he brings me flowers from time to time....just cuz...no special occasion, but because he knows how I love 'em!

:) Lisa

Tracy said...

I'm hoping doing the Love Dares (Fireproof) gives Darren and I the time to reconnect. You are right, it is hard to focus on the romance side of your marriage when children are involved. This is something we are really trying to focus on, so I am looking forward to your responses.

rachel said...

oh, tish, that IS an awesome wedding photo, thus all of the comments! :)

Staci said...

Your dress was beautiful!! Great picture. N goes to bed at 8pm so we get to spend the evening together. Now that she's in Kindergarten we try to go out to breakfast a few mornings a month, which we loved to do when we were dating. :)

Jenna said...

Hmmmm....maybe I should come back and comment later- Scot woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, and I'm not feeling all that love-y.

I'm sure I have an idea on this, right?

Shannon said...

We also like the after-kids bedtime hours. Having the chance to get away for 3 nights without the kids late last year was PERFECT for us and something I hope we can continue to do at least once a year. Being able to have adult conversations even at the dinner table is something we try to do - not always easy - but to teach the kids about saying "excuse me" when we're talking, etc. On the rare occasions we do go out for a date (we don't have family nearby otherwise I think we'd go much more often) it is always such a breath of fresh air. Connecting with simple things like email throughout the day, reading the same articles, watching lots of movies together, etc.

By the way, when you scan your photos in, do you go in and crop them then? Mine typically turn out like yours b/c it is scanning the whole flat copier screen...but if you then go in and crop it to the size of the photo, it should work.

Sherry said...

Your picture is awesome! What we do to keep the "Love Alive" (Hehe!) is:

1. 8 o'clock bedtime every night to keep sane.
2. Talk all throughout the day.
3. Hubby makes the dinner & I always bring home the wine:)
4. Have a wonderful town center not far from us that we can take walks or paddle boat around a beautiful pond, eat, see movie, whatever (we usually take Kobi) because I think its good for him to see mama & daddy holding hands and laughing.
5. Surprise dates as often as possible.

Don and Lisa Osborn said...

Hi~I'm new to your blog (which is beautiful, btw) and you have a lovely family.

I see someone already posted about this but I've been trying to do the 40 day love dares. http://www.familylife.com/site/c.dnJHKLNnFoG/b.4845189/k.658B/Your_Daily_Love_Dare/apps/nl/newsletter2.asp?utm_campaign=MKTG-40-Day-Love-Dare&utm_source=MKTG&utm_medium=email

I haven't been successful at every one of them on the day I've been "assigned" but it has made me more mindful of being kinder and more loving and to be more of a servant than self-serving.

Great idea, asking for ideas...It is hard as a first time mommy to keep the spark going and focus on your mate.

All the best,
Lisa (who JUST started the process to adopt from Taiwan)

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