simply lovely series {part 5}

Here we are on {part 5} of my simply lovely blog series.  As promised, I've got another fun Q&A for you about marriage.  

How long have you been married?

34 years

What is an activity that you and your spouse enjoy doing together?

We enjoy traveling together, Lake LBJ, Pandale ranch, working out at the health club, Saturday morning breakfast, playing with our poodle Emmie

What is one thing your spouse does that makes you smile or laugh?

Laurie: Looking for something that is right in front of him.

Dennis: Laurie's pronunciation of words.

What is one thing your spouse does that makes you roll your eyes?

Laurie: Dennis starting a question with “have you seen?” 

Dennis: When Laurie says “we need to look at the calendar.”

Describe your spouse in a few words.

Laurie: Dennis is Faithful to God, wife, kids, friends & work.

Dennis: Laurie is agreeable and happy.

What advice do you have for newlyweds?

Don’t take stuff too seriously:  Laugh

Is there anything from your first year of marriage that really stands out that you'll never forget?

Laurie: Our first anniversary was spent with his parents at the ranch, small house one room and an outhouse.

Dennis: Bringing home my first turkey from a hunt and not being able to clean it at the kitchen sink. 

What is one thing you wish you would have been told before you got married?

 Change yourself not the other person, Being committed does not mean you cannot pursue your own gifts and interest;  encourage one another; marriage would become very dull & boring if each committed partner never allowed the other to soar, I believe time spent apart on is healthy, this can be through work or other interest.  For Dennis his passion is hunting; mine is needlepoint, MahJongg, being with family and friends.

Thanks so much Laurie and Dennis for your awesome answers!  Mr. H and I are so blessed to have a wonderful example of a godly husband and wife.  Coming from a divorced family, I don't have a good example of how a godly marriage works.  I am thankful that we have you to look to for advice when it comes to marriage.  You have set a great example for you kids and spouses.  I am also so grateful for the example Dennis has give to Mr. H on how to be a godly husband and father.  He has made an awesome husband and I know someday he will make the best dad to our kids.  

I hope you enjoyed this fun Q&A.  I'm going to be sharing pictures from our special day, 9.10.11.  I am so excited to share my favorite pictures from our wedding.  It's hard to believe we'll be coming up on a year in a few weeks!  Wow!!

simply lovely series {part 4}

Here we are on {part 4} of my simply lovely blog series.  I took last week off because I was pretty busy so I'm excited to continue the series today!

I've almost been married for ONE YEAR.  Wow, that's crazy.  Anyways, there are three things I've learned during this time that I think are key in any marriage (or relationship for that matter).

communication

I think it's a given that communication is important; however, the challenging part can be putting it into action.  Communication with your spouse is essential for a great marriage.  Being able to communicate well can take time.  It's important to share what is going on with each other.  It can be as simple as sharing how your day was or as complex as how you will raise your children.  

It's also important to share how you are feeling with your spouse.  I think lot of girls assume their spouse will know what's wrong, but husbands are not mind readers (as much as we would like them to be sometimes!).  

From the start of our relationship, Mr. H and I communicated was very well together.  We both care about each other and want to know how each are doing in all aspects of life: emotionally, work, family, friends, events, etc.    

friendship

Having a true friendship with your spouse is so important.  I mean once the puppy love wears off, you'll need to be able to still be friends and want to be around your spouse.  Friends have similar interests, they encourage each other, they are loyal, they listen, they offer advice, they laugh with you, they cry with you, they support your passions, and so much more.  And the best thing about being more than friends with your spouse is that you can shower your spouse with kisses!  

The best thing about being friends with your spouse is that you always have a friend with you.  That has been something Mr. H and I have loved so much about being married!  An outsider looking in might think we live a very boring life...our favorite thing to do is stay at home and watch TV or a movie together.  It's not much, but the best part is that we are together.   

laughter

This is something Mr. H and I love to do together...laugh.  We laugh with each other and a lot of times, we laugh at each other (in a loving way though!).  Being able to have fun with each other is so important.  Life can get overwhelming and it's nice to have someone who will make you laugh on days that are rough.  

Mr. H and I have the best time together be silly and laughing together.  One of the things that makes me laugh is when Mr. H makes up songs about things.  He made one up recently about me.  I think he was trying to finish it though.  I'd love to record him singing it so you all can enjoy it like I do.  I'm sure it will bring a smile to your face like it does mine. 

My life is so wonderful and I am so lucky to have an amazing husband.  I couldn't have asked for a more perfect spouse.  The Lord has blessed us both!!!

Stay tuned for {part 5} coming up next week.  I'll also be counting down the days until our one year anniversary on 9.10.12 with our beautiful wedding pictures!  I can't wait!!

*All photos done by Catherine Clay Photography

simply lovely series {part 3}

Here we are on {part 3} of my simply lovely blog series.  As promised, I've got a fun Q&A for you about marriage.  I'll be doing a few of these over the course of the series.  I'll be asking the same questions to each person so it will be interesting to see how the answers differ.  Each couple will also have been married for a different period of time so it will also be interesting to see the difference.  

How long have you been married?

17 years

What is an activity that you and your spouse enjoy doing together?

Activity?!  Hmmm….Oh yes, those fun things that we get to do when we are not playing taxi drivers for our children.  NAP!  Ha, just kidding.  We enjoy watching movies, working in the yard, cooking and playing games.  Our favorite games to play are Mexican train and yahtzee.  

What is one thing your spouse does that makes you smile or laugh?

He has a great sense of humor…most of what he does makes me laugh or just shake my head.  We joke and say that he is one very large middle school boy.   He makes up funny voices for our 3 dogs.  He pretends like they are talking to each other or us…they have accents and everything.  Too funny! 

What is one thing your spouse does that makes you roll your eyes?

Along with making up voices for the dogs, he occasionally wants to make up songs that he also proceeds to sing.  They usually have the basic same tune of “O Christmas tree” but they are terrible!!  He enjoys embarrassing me in public by singing them or walking in a weird way.  I tend to get “lost” when we are in stores.  

Describe your spouse in 5 words.

Christ-seeking, discerning, funny, social and a leader

What advice do you have for newlyweds?

Keep Christ at the center of your marriage covenant.  Pray and worship together.  Don’t “shelve” your single friends, but monitor their feelings about marriage. When there are tough times and you get upset with your spouse (yes, it will happen!), you need a friend who will listen that has the same ideas of a marriage covenant as you do.  Godly couple friends and a mentor are wonderful to have.  Also, be careful not to criticize your spouse to others—it can create a huge wedge of distrust.  

Is there anything from your first year of marriage that really stands out that you'll never forget?

We were both very selfish and often thought of only our own families and traditions.  This was and still can be difficult around the holidays.  We wanted to hang on to the way things were growing up and didn’t really follow the scripture about clinging to each other as one instead of our parents.  We had to come to the realization that we are our own family with new traditions and figured out a way to blend them.  We needed to consider each other’s histories and not just our own. 

Money is another big one, we thought it was a good idea to have separate accounts and split bills.  Wrong!  It may work for some but I found that it only divided us.  It is God’s money that He has entrusted to us and we work together on how to spend it and to tithe.  It doesn’t matter who makes more, we are a team.  

What is one thing you wish you would have been told before you got married?

I wish that I had been told that men smell bad and mess up the covers on the bed.  No, seriously….I wish that I would have known that just because he is grumbling and mad does not mean that he is mad at me.  I took so many things personally when he was just mad and that it had nothing to do with me. 

Thanks so much Christy for your awesome answers!  I totally agree with you about your advice for newlyweds.  You and Dennis are truly a couple Mr. H and I look up to in so many ways; however, the one thing we see in both of you is your love for the Lord.  Elisabeth and Garret are so lucky to have parents who's foundation is in Christ and who set a great example.  Love y'all!  p.s. I'm excited you'll be coming to town tomorrow and looking forward to seeing you this weekend!!!


I hope you enjoyed this fun Q&A.   On a another note....tomorrow's my BIRTHDAY!!  I'm so excited because I took the day off of work and I'll be spending the afternoon with my mom.  Then Mr. H will be taking me out to dinner at a fancy restaurant.  I've got several gifts waiting for me, but I'm going to open them tomorrow.  It's like Christmas!!  :)


Happy WEDNESDAY!