Dating Isn't Just for Before Marriage!

I love when we have a date night on the calendar!

I look forward to going out with my man and spending time just as his girl - titles of "mom", "teacher","house cleaner", "dinner maker", "laundry washer", etc. are put on the shelf and it's time for the boy and girl who fell in love with each over 11 years ago to enjoy some one-on-one time! With date nights out not being too frequent, and wanting to cultivate thinking about hubby more, I thought it was a good time to start thinking about date nights in! A while back I would try to plan regular date nights in. I have really been slacking over the past, say, couple of years!

So, here's what I'm doing for the year...

For Valentine's Day, two of my friends and I planned a fun scavenger hunt for our husbands. We had such a good time planning the hunt and dinner! One of my creative friends made our guys shirts that they had to wear (and the writing had to be visible!) in order to get all of their clues at the different stops along the way to finding us. Oh, what did the shirts say? "I Love My Hot Wife"! They went to QT for their favorite treats. (We had already paid for everything and their snacks were with their next clue!) Next they went to Dick's Sporting Goods and they had to go all the way to the back of the store to the fishing department where they found their next clue with a jar of gummy worms and a note saying "hooked on you"! From there, they went to La Parilla where they picked up chips and salsa (well, that's what it was supposed to be - it was actually someone else's meal!). Next they had to find their next clue "Where Shopping is a Pleasure" and then to Longhorn where my friend found out they carried her husband's favorite dessert! Their last clue led them back to one of our houses where we had a fiesta awaiting our guys - starting with a pinata, lots of yummy Mexican food, and we ended the night watching 3 Amigos. It was a blast - both the planning and actual date!

(I don't have the pictures from that evening, but he happens to be wearing the shirt right now!)

The next morning, for Steve's Valentine's gift, I made him a passport and let him know we were going to go around the world this year from the comfort of our own home. Each month I'm planning a date night in with a theme from a different country. I knew giving him this gift would help keep me from getting too distracted and actually follow through with planning a fun night in for us.

So, the beginning of the month we spent an evening in China!

He brought his passport...

He came to the restaurant "Love"...

Our meal began with egg rolls and spicy shrimp bao...

Next came our main dish of Mandarin Orange Chicken, Vegetable Fried Rice and Szechuan Style Green Beans...

With our main dish, we also had Sake for the first (and probably last) time! I used my grandmother's tea set from Okinawa. (I am aware, too, that Okinawa is in Japan, but it looked good with our set-up!)

Next came the Wonton soup...

And for dessert we enjoyed coconut ice cream and fortune cookies...

Another fun part about the meal was that it really took me no time at all to prepare. Trader Joe's did most of the work for me. The girls went shopping with me and helped me pick out everything for their daddy's and mine special evening. It was inexpensive and I was able to put it all together while he was putting the girls to bed...

I had borrowed a Mahjong game from a friend, but after spending way too long trying to figure out the rules, I had to come up with a Plan B. So, I went to The Dating Diva's website and found another idea. We played a silly game called "Wok Tok" (like Mad Gab). It was so fun just being goofy together and laughing! I already have April's date night idea and can't wait to make it happen - and I really love that Steve's already asked me what we are doing next!

It's Been a Decade...

and there is no other place that I would rather be than in his arms!

A little over 10 years ago I said "I do" to my man. At the time we had no idea what was in store for us on this adventure called marriage. We had no idea the joys and trials we would experience. We had no clue we would move so many times, have so many different jobs, have three beautiful girls, move out of state, buy a fixer-upper home, and so much more. We didn't know we would miscarry our first child or be apart for weeks at a time because of the way God chose to bring provision into our home for a season. We didn't know we would have different people live with us for seasons or that we would save money for a big 10 year get away by selling records! We didn't know that 10 years later we would actually love each other more than the day we were married. I didn't think it was possible. But it is. I love Steve. I regularly stand amazed, that God, in His great grace and providence, has allowed me to be this man's helper. I'm amazed that he would have even wanted to marry me, and not only that, but has stayed with me and loved me and continues to learn to pursue me and most of all that He loves the Lord. He is a man I respect and admire. He is the one who sees me at my best and my worst and loves me even at my unloveliest! He challenges me to do hard things and he makes me laugh everyday.

We are so grateful that we were able to get away for the longest amount of time we've ever been away to celebrate the goodness of God in our lives last month. We enjoyed each other and made memories in one of the most beautiful places we've ever been too. (I already put pictures under May of our trip to Hawaii!)

I can't wait to see what the next 10 years, and the next, and the next hold. I'm sure there will be much joy, many trials, many blessings, much laughter and tears. More memories and Lord willing, a lot of change and growth for our family. Hopefully we will set an example for our girls that makes marriage appealing, but most of all that our relationship will point them to the Gospel and goodness of our Savior, for without Him, we would not be able to have this testimony thus far!

Dinner for My Honey!

I love doing special things for my special man! And a way to a man's heart is through his stomach, right? Steve has been working so hard (he always does), but this month, he has been kicking tail! He's one of the hardest working people I've ever met. He doesn't look for any recognition, but he does everything he does with excellence. The grace at work in his life has been so encouraging! Last week he was gone every night, except one, so Friday night I was able to make him a special dinner! We ate by candlelight by our Christmas tree with Jim Brickman and Celine Dion for entertainment! It was a wonderful night and I loved including the girls! They went shopping with me and were excited when it was time to go to bed, because they knew their Mommy was planning something special for their Daddy! (Steve played the part of "Prince Edward" while I prepared dinner! He went to the girls' "Royal Feast" they had made out of Legos and danced with his little princesses!)

So, here's what we had!
Crab Cakes with Lemon Dill Sauce (Paula Deen)
Steak wrapped with Garlic Herb Butter and Spinach
Cheese and Wine Risotto
Roasted Asparagus
Shiraz

And of course, Chocolate Chip Cookies and Milk!

(Will add pictures soon!)

Happy Anniversary, Honey!

Happy 8 years, Steve!

8 years ago I was so excited that I was about to become your bride. I could not have been prepared for what life would be like over these past 8 years. I would never have imagined all the places we would have lived, jobs you would have, children we would be raising, trials and joys we would walk through, adventures we would take, the lessons we would learn together. Today I am even more excited that I have been your bride over these last eight years.

Here are eight areas I've seen you grow in this year. Thank you for pursuing the Lord and pursuing change. And thank the Lord for changing us even when we aren't even pursuing change in certain areas. How grateful I am for His faithfulness! Thank you for loving me, putting up with me and making me laugh.

1. Patience with me!
2. Consistency with the girls!
3. Encouraging the girls and me!
4. Personal discipline - with pursuing the Lord, exercise, reading!
5. Spending "quality time" with me - talking, praying together, reading, playing games!
6. Being generous with others!
7. Putting thought into date nights!
8. Personal and Family Worship!

Celebrating 8 Years With My Love!

This weekend Mama came up to watch the girls so Steve and I could get away and celebrate our 8 year anniversary! We had so much fun! We went hiking and camping on the Appalachian Trail. It was a total stretch from me, but I loved it! We left our house at 6 AM on Saturday morning and started hiking about 8:30. The views of the mountains were gorgeous, the weather was beautiful and it was wonderful to have no distractions. We hiked and talked and hiked and hiked! We were so blessed by some friends of ours with great hiking and camping equipment! About 4:30 we found a great little creek on the Trail and pitched our tent. We ate our fun dinners (I had vegetable lasagna!) which were actually really good and Steve built a campfire and we had hot chocolate (well, mine was pink!). We were whipped, so we went to bed pretty much as soon as it got dark! I hardly slept at all. I heard at least 4 animals by our tent throughout the night. I was too scared to open the tent and look out, but I didn't want to wimp out and wake up Steve!! But we could see straight out of the top of our tent and I could see what seemed like thousands of stars. It was breathtaking! We got up about 6:30 the next morning and oh-my-goodness were we sore! I can't believe how many muscles I could feel! We started hiking again and I didn't know if I'd make it! But I did! I'm so grateful we got to get away and try something new together! I love adventures and I love going on them with my hubby! I'd definitely do it again...sometime down the road! For now I think I'll be popping Advil for the next few days!!

Weekend Getaway!

Last Thursday night the Hartliefs, Walleys and Steve and I got away for the evening! We went to City Walk and had dinner outside at Pat O'Briens, went to a movie and then had a fun little scavenger hunt! Our guys even applied some of our Dave Ramsey teaching and got reimbursed for all of our parking. (Really nice since parking is $12. per car!) Then Derek found a great condo were we crashed for the evening. I tell you what, I haven't stayed up that late in a long time! The next morning we all got up and went and had a big breakfast at Cracker Barrel then we spent the entire afternoon down at Crane's Roost Park. It was a great time to hang out with adults (plus little Jett!)! We had so much fun - there was much biblical fellowship and many laughs, too!

Double Date!

One thing I tell Reagan over and over again is that it is so important for Mommys and Daddys to go out and have fun with each other without the kiddos sometimes! So, that's just what we try to do. We try to have regular date nights and enjoy each others company and make memories! So, one night recently Steve surprised me with a double date with our great friends Keith and Amanda. We went to a 50s diner and had burgers and fries and or course, we couldn't leave until we overly stuffed ourselves with a milkshake! It was so much fun!

What Do Daisies Say?To me they say:

"I love you."
"I was thinking about you on my way home."
"I know they will brighten your day."
"I appreciate you."

My sweet hubby brought me two beautiful bouquets of my favorite flowers yesterday! I loved waking up this morning with fresh lavender daisies by my bed and walking into the kitchen and seeing my cheery white daisies in front of my window!

Thanks, honey! =)

It's Been 6 Years!

Last Saturday Steve and I celebrated 6 wonderful, blissful, grace-filled, beautiful years together! It's hard for me to grasp that we've been married for 6 years already; but when I reminisce about all that has happened since we were married, I believe it! Steve has worked at 4 (?) different jobs. (the Lord so graciously provides all we need!) I was able to stop working right before Reagan was born. We've been blessed with two beautiful, healthy, fun baby girls! We have been able to go on fun get-aways (like California!) and family vacations (mountains, beach, etc.). We've been able to experience so many changes together! We've worked through many conflicts and have shared countless laughs together!

So, Saturday Steve took me to my favorite restaurant - Samba Room - for a wonderful dinner! Even though he was sick all day, he was so sweet! We had great conversation and have a beautiful view of the lake. Sunday we skipped church which is something we very rarely do, but thought it would be a rare opportunity for us to spend some more quality time together! So we biked to Baldwin Park, had smoothies and laughed at this silly little dog and then headed home. Steve still wasn't feeling well, so we just relaxed until late in the afternoon! I just love spending time with him!

I am so amazed that I get to spend my life with this man! 6 years down, many more to come!