Category: Personal

I sat there and stared at the tree the whole time he was talking. As a whole it was gorgeous but when you looked from a certain angle, there was a spot that was dark and looked empty, and I couldn’t stand it. We had decorated the Christmas tree the day before and thought it looked perfect, until I saw this spot and couldn’t stop thinking about how changing one ornament would fix the whole thing. I waited until everyone’s attention was onto something else, and then I quickly ran over and switched the red snowflake for the gold ball.

Brandon and I firmly believe that a good marriage is stronger than romantic feelings. In fact, we think the best relationships are more about deep friendship and less about ooey-gooey emotions. Dating your partner is important even after you get married. When the emotions are less heightened, your marriage is strengthened by that bond of friendship. But we also know that money can be tight those first few years (or more) and that dating doesn’t have to cost you money. We’ve compiled a few of our favorite date ideas for those times when the budget just doesn’t allow for a

Brandon and I pride ourselves on being pretty healthy. We rarely get sick, so when we do, we are all about the home remedies. One thing we always do is when one of us gets sick, the other of us will make fresh squeezed orange juice. This dates back to my late mother who, upon hearing a sniffle, would quickly run over a jar of this liquid gold. There’s just something about that tangy, pulpy sweetness that makes you feel like you can kick a cold straight in the nasty green face. We can just imagine that vitamin C pulsing

If you’re married or have been together long, odds are you’ve experienced a disagreement with your significant other. It’s not always a bad thing – sometimes even when it hurts at the time it can bring you two closer by bringing things to the surface that you didn’t know were there. It’s never fun to be at odds with the person you love, and your heart can take a beating if you let it, but if disagreements are going to happen (and trust me, they are!), then you may as well use it to the advantage of you both. It’s

Our Sunday school class was talking recently about perspective. Isn’t it amazing how your perspective and someone else’s can be SO different, even if you appear to be looking from the very same spot? It’s a little mind-blowing just how you can see something through a certain filter just because of your past, your mindset and your experiences.  Add that on top of how differently men and women can process the world around them and you have a recipe for confusion in marriage! We truly have different styles of communicating, of processing and of operating through daily life. At times

You’ve heard the old saying “You can be right, or you can be happy.”  Although I would argue it’s much deeper than that, I do agree that there is a lot of truth in that statement. The other day while driving, I observed this in action. The light I was stopped at had turned green and the car in front of me just sat there. I was, as I usually am, in a hurry, and so I started to get annoyed. I huffed and puffed and placed my hand to the center of the wheel to start honking as I peeked around

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but this summer Brandon and I will celebrate ten years of marriage. We’ve been together as a couple for over 15 years and friends for an additional 2 before that. While I need to make a caveat that our marriage is absolutely NOT perfect, I do think we have a strong one and I’d love to share a few things we’ve learned along the way so that we can help our newlyweds and brides-to-be in their new journey. Here are 5 things we feel are important to building (and maintaining) a great marriage.  1. Go to bed