Day 28: Perfect Morning

It had really been a long time since I’d written anything that looked at all like poetry. But something about the perfect morning prompt inspired me to think about the romantic lazy mornings I have shared with my husband.

Our favorite place to be together is the beach. We are both from a coastal state and have lived in middle of landlocked America for almost ten years now. When we have a chance to get to the beach, we RUN! So for me, for us, a perfect morning would start in bed in a beautiful beach house I think. One close enough to the shore to hear the waves and smell the salt. I love the natural, forest scent of where we live now, but there’s nothing like that first hint of beach air.

I think the business of life can push out room to dream and remember, so I loved this hubby journal challenge and the creativity it inspired. I need to spend some more time in my journal, and I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next.

What does your perfect morning with your spouse look like? Leave some ideas in the comments or on social media via #WriteLoveChallenge.

Bonus Love: Write your honey a poem!!

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Day 27: Favorite Things

Hard to believe it has been two months since the #WriteLoveChallenge! I finished my 30 days of hubby-journaling and am really excited to do it again soon, but clearly I burned out on the blog. Next time, I won’t commit to blogging every day; lesson learned.

Before I move on to some new projects that will incorporate the blog again, I want to be faithful to finish these challenge posts. So if you don’t mind, I’m going to go back in time to February and reflect on where I left off….

Day 27 challenged me to think about my husband’s favorite things. And I gotta say, I took the easy way out on this list. He loves ties and sports. He also gets a great deal of joy when I cook breakfast for me. The list of “easy to put a smile on his face” items comes quickly. But I want to continue to grow in knowing ALL of my husband’s favorite things. Like why he prefers a certain suit in his closet over another when to me they both look the same. It is the little details that he has told me before that I let slip away that I want to remember. So I started this page as a list and didn’t get too fancy with it so I could jot down ideas. I tend to remember the things I write more, so here is room to be more intentional in this area.

“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Phil. 2:4). I could quote this verse on every post, but it comes to mind here again as I recognize that in order to have a thriving marriage, this must be my attitude. And this can easily be expressed by remembering his favorite things, big, and small.

From his/her ice cream flavor to their favorite place to visit from their childhood–it can seem like a lot of info to keep up with. But the joy of remembering them is sweet. How do you remember your spouse’s favorites? 

Bonus Love: Spend the day studying and observing your spouse. Can you spot a favorite that you had not paid attention to before? Write it down!

Day 26: I Like the Way

I like the way;
You keep me looking forward to another day, baby.
–Hi-Five

There are moments in marriage, at least in our marriage, when we look at each other and say to ourselves, “Is that really how you would do that?” Take me for example, I do not like to feel like I’m going back and forth when I drive. So I will drive to the farthest location first and then work my way back. Sometimes I make decisions about where to go based on what side of the street the business is located on! I also tend to never use navigation after my first time going somewhere new; I feel like it prevents me from knowing where I’m going.

Now my husband is completely different when he drives. The map is always on, and the priorities on his route have little to do with how the places are located in relation to each other. He’s chatty while driving; I tend to zone out and there is just white noise in my head.

At times these things could have frustrated us, but we’ve learned to love and appreciate our differences–the things that make us different from each other.

So for Day 26, I focused on the quirky, cute, unique, sexy, and funny things that he does that I love, or have grown to love. I posted just a peek of my list. I’ve already added a few more, but I’m trying to leave room for those things that come to mind in our upcoming interactions.

What are the things that you, and maybe only you, like about your spouse? Share in the comments or via #WriteLoveChallenge!

Bonus Love: Everybody likes ice cream. Bring home a flavor for your spouse that reminds you of them! 

Day 25: What’s Cooking

I’m just someone who likes cooking and for whom sharing food is a form of expression.
–Maya Angelou

Confession: I am not someone who likes cooking. Of all the household tasks, it feels the most chore-like to me. I will cook; I can cook. But I have to pray my way through it every time! (Baking is a different story for a different post).

So I don’t think it is by accident that the Lord united me with a husband who loves to throw down in the kitchen. He gets excited trying new things and taking charge of big meals for parties and holidays. His specialty of course is smoked meats, and I am counting my pennies to one day be able to get him a professional grillmaster pit (and maybe even a truck to haul it around on tour with).

My entry for Day 25 reflected on how grateful I am that we have an abundance of food, that he has an abundance of generosity in cooking a lot of our meals, and that we have an abundance of memories we have shared over meals.

What’s cooking at your house? Did you even write about food for this one or were you cooking in other areas?! Tell me all about it in the comments or via #WriteLoveChallenge!

Bonus Love: Recreate a favorite meal from your dating days in your kitchen!

Day 24: Wedding Day

As we are coming up on our 8th wedding anniversary, this was a wonderful time for me to reflect on the good memories of our wedding day. Our wedding was indeed a dream wedding–one that I had never dreamed of. We knew from the outset that we wanted a big party to get our families together. And that was about. We brought in a wedding planner to figure out the rest (primarily since neither of us was living in the city we were getting married in)! For us, the day was about showing love to the people who had cared for us than about us, connecting our families, and having fun.

But as He does, God truly blessed us with a magical day. Many of the touches to our wedding were gifted to us and completely unexpected. One of my favorite items that has somehow gotten misplaced was our floral broom that we jumped. It is a wedding moment we rarely talk about but one of my favorites, so I spent the page after this picture reflecting on what it meant to me/to us.

There was an ease to the planning of our wedding–and much help in the process–that reflected the ease of our entire courtship. I love looking back on this day because what I remember most was that irreplaceable feeling of happiness knowing I was about to leap into the future with the man I was meant to be with.

What are your wedding day memories? How do you cherish and remember them? Feel free to share in the comments or via #WriteLoveChallenge!

Bonus Love: Have you ever stopped in the middle of your home and danced to your wedding song? You should try it this week!

Day 23: Special Lines

Who would I be if I didn’t know you?
Where would I be if I didn’t know you?
What would I be if I didn’t know you?
–Kindred the Family Soul

I do not think I have ever noted an album release date in my mind, until In This Life Together by Kindred the Family Soul. The album came out in September of 2005, less than two months after my husband and I met. He had already introduced me to the group’s first album and the week this second album became available, he bought it and played it for me as we took a quick trip to his home city, where I was headed for a sorority meeting.

Everything about the album spoke to where we were (down to a line that said “that sunny fall day at the end of September” as we drove down the highway on a brilliantly sunny fall day) as well as to where we wanted to be. The album, and much of their music, became the soundtrack for our relationship.

For this entry, I recorded just a few lines from their first album, Surrender to Love. The song, “Stars” set the theme for our wedding and was the music for our first dance.

We love Kindred’s music because it is soulful and romantic but also because it is created by a wonderful, down-to-earth married couple committed to supporting marriage. In their music and interviews they talk about their priorities for their family first and the challenges of being in the industry. They are role models for supporting each others dreams, making sacrifices, and real love.

While I kept up my journal entries, I can’t believe I got so behind on the blog!  How did you do this past week? Did you get some special lines down in your journal? I’d love to hear at #WriteLoveChallenge or in the comments!

Bonus Love: Go ahead, serenade your spouse!

Day 21: Play Time

Do you want to build a snowman?
Come on, let’s go and play!
–Disney’s Frozen

When I think of our marriage and play, I think about snow. We live in the South and there is rarely snow, but whenever it happens, it brings out my husband’s playful side for sure. You can guarantee that at some point there will be a family trek outside and a snowman building contest or a snowball fight will ensue.

Men, especially when they become fathers, are often natural players. They love to tickle and wrestle and invent games. I am so grateful that my husband brings this to our marriage! It keeps things fun and light and helps to provide joy at the end of a long work day.

So tonight I’m filling my journal with memories from early in our marriage (pre-kiddo) when we could meet up at the community center and have basketball shooting contests or stop in somewhere to play a round of pool. Although the nature of our play has changed (just last night we all did the Kinect together), it makes my heart smile that we have consistently found ways to weave play into our time together.

What does play time look like in your marriage? How do you have fun?! Share via #WriteLoveChallenge!

Bonus Love: When was the last time you played a card game with our spouse? Find some time for a round before spring arrives!