Celebrating 18 years of Marriage!

Monday was my 18th wedding anniversary! I decided to dig out my wedding dress to see if had any chance of fitting... It ALMOST did! I got it zipped halfway up the back! After two kids and that many years I was happy with that!

My husband and I have found ourselves in the midst of life with kids the past few years. It seems the adolescent years have us running them here and there, therefore preventing us from celebrating that evening. So we will celebrate at another time! Our feelings aren't based on the day, but on our vows to one another. We try to celebrate our love/marriage any chance we get!

Take the time to spend time with your spouse and reaffirming your love for one another. Even if it is to watch a movie together one evening, go for coffee or a walk, or even do the grocery shopping together ( minus the kids). Make sure to share a "sweet nothing" with your spouse about why you are still in love and how your love has grown.

Happy Day!

"Sarah" the Grouch

I am so thankful for the unconditional love of my husband! The day before yesterday my day started with not feeling well and then to top it off my two teenage girls were arguing and the youngest was being stubborn. Now there is more to it than just that, but you get the idea. Then things throughout the day just continued to add to my grouchiness. That evening my hubby came over to me at the couch, held my hands and looked me in the eyes. I asked what? He said something of me being a grouch... In a sweet, non-confrontational way. He wasn't angry or mad, he was supportive when I told him the reasons why. He didn't say words of love but his actions spoke for him. I love him beyond words and after that night I am no longer a grouch... But a happy gal! Thanks to my man for loving me through good times and bad! Love you sweetie!

A Year of Dates!

For Christmas, my hubby is getting a year of dates as one of his gifts. There will be 12 different dates or activities that he will be able to choose from during the year. That way he can pick what he is in the mood for and be even more excited. There are a few dates with specific dayes due to holidays or weather, but most will work anytime. I made a card for each date with a general description of what the date was about... My guy isn't into total surprises so I used this approach. If your husband likes total surprises, you might just label by the month. Moat dates I planned are very low cost, due to the fact I lost my job. I want us to be able to do these dates no matter what is happening, because life isn't ideal all the time.

The three pictures posted are of the date night cards, the his/her date and the taste the flavor date. Almost all these date night ideas are from www.thedatingdivas.com . There are so many great ideas for dates on their website. Go check it out for full descriptions. The his/her date is taken from them and focuses on why tou love your spouse. Take two light colored pillowcases ( new or used, mine are new ones I found at Goodwill) and use fabric markers or Sharpies to write reasons you love your spouse or things you are thankful for about them. On the DD site they show you how to draw a guy and write his on the mans pillowcase and then a girl and hers on the ladies pillowcase. Put them on the pillows and hand him his marker to write on yours and you can add more to his. The intentional part is to share aloud the things you write while listening to the other person. Make the connections and show your appreciation! I also plan to have The Game of Love ready that night.

The Taste the Flavor date is also feom The Dating Divas site. Get various flavors of chapstick or lip balms and have your spouse guess the flavor as you share lots of kisses! You might be able to find some deals on a set of flvored lipbalms with holiday gift sets for sale. I chose Chapstick because my hubby uses that brand and we will use them after our date!

If you don't think you can pull off twelve dates for next year, do a few and put them in his stocking or wrap a few up for under the tree. My twelve dates include:
James Bond date (will be highlighted at dating divas site sometime)
Build a Fort date*
Firepit date
True Colors date*
Car date
Bookstore date*
His and Her date*
Picnic date
Post-it Note date*
Spouse sleepover date*
Couple's Cafe date*
Taste the Flavor date*
* indicates idea from The Dating Divas

Many Marriage Blessings,
Sarah

Merry Christmas to you all!

Take time this holiday season to spend some alone time with your spouse! We often get wrapped up in helping others or with holiday tasks, so take a night out for one another! I am in the process of creating dates for the coming year. These planned dates will be my hubby's gift. It has been a blast to work on... I will post more later! The ideas I get from The Dating Divas website are all winners! Visit them at www.thedatingdivas.com

Date Night Photos: How To the "Price is Right"

Couples came together to spend the evening playing The Price is Right! Couples competed for a chance to be the contestants on stage to play the fun games. Almost all of our prizes were virtual, but a few were the genuine article. We had hoots, hollars and running down the eisle!

One of the games we played was Money Game! A piece of posterboard was used to create the board with pairs of numbers covering either a $ or the front/back of a car. Contestants chose a pair of numbers for the first two numbers in the price and the last two numbers; the middle number in the price is given to the contestants. If a $ is revealed then it went in the cash stash. The goal was to uncover the front and back ends of the car. If they reveal the correct pairs BEFORE getting four $ then they win the car (a Hot Wheels car).

It's in the Bag! was the next game up to play! Contestants needed to match the five items to the correct price on each bag (brown bags were labeled with item prices). The first price is checked and if correct they win "$1000" (play money). They can risk the chance to earn $2000 if the next item and price are a match or they can walk away with the money they earned. Each time they risk a chance the money doubles up to $16,000! In addition to the play money our couple also took home the five grocery items from the game.

Our next couple played Punch A Bunch! A board was made with holes for the couple to punch "out" to reveal a possible prize. We used foamboard and cut out the circles with an x-acto knife. We taped squares of tissue paper from the back and then taped a plastic solo cup to the board. Just make sure you put a prize in the cup BEFORE you tape it on! We used certificates for a free drink or free sandwich as prizes. You could also put coins or a dollar bill in each cup. The contestants earn punches by guessing if the price of certain products are higher or lower than the actual price. We projected photos of these prizes via power point on a large overhead screen.

That's Too Much was our sixth and final game of the night. A car (hot wheel) was up for grabs. The couple had to determine which price was just over the actual retail price of the car! Prices were already written on posterboard pieces and taped to our partition. I would have the prices already up and covered with another piece of paper to "tear away" if we were to do this again. Price is Right Date Night was so much fun! These are only a few photos from the couple's event. Details on how the event was planned will follow soon! Click here to download the Power Point we used for the event. https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B44KylRfq1pUc09TVUp6NnltcWs

The Price is Right Date Night

The importance of the marriage relationship is something that can often take a back seat to everyday life. As I was watching FIREPROOF (my daughter's choice of movie) I was reminded of our lesson from this morning. Caleb, Kirk Cameron's role, was apologizing to his wife and admitted he was selfish. This was also a key part of what was discussed during our Art of Marriage class. We are selfish beings and need to learn to put our spouse before ourselves. One way to accomplish this is to plan a "date night" for your spouse. You may think you don't have time or that you don't have any ideas... well your solution is just a click away. Visit www.thedatingdivas.com for tons of date ideas and printables. It makes the planning effortless and fun! Guys-- this is your way to score some "points" by doing something she might never expect! To help couple's plan a date night we took into consideration that many have young children, work outside the home, have kids' schedules to keep up with and so much more! One of those being... no extra money to spend on a night out. So I headed to www.thedatingdivas.com to plan a group date. I came across their idea for The Price is Right and immediately started thinking of how I could adapt for a large scale event. We are in the midst of planning our October 6 "airdate". This is an exciting time for our church and the many couple's who are participating in the marriage emphasis. To God be the Glory... it is Him who accomplishes good things. My prayer is that He can use me to further His kingdom and help others.

Couple's Almanac Directions

Do you want to start your own Couple's Almanac? Click here to go to the FREE directions. I plan to upload more directions and photo examples to this site in the future. Look for the tag line: My Marriage Matters in the title. Feel free to follow me on this site so you get notices when I do upload new things. http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Couples-Almanac-Directions-My-Marriage-Matters-FREE