Happy Valentine's Day!

Some of the most beautiful words to describe love:

Sonnet 116
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O no, it is an ever-fixèd mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand'ring bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

- William Shakespeare

Happy Valentine's Day!

Goals for the New Year

So my post is two weeks late.  I was out of town for Christmas/New Year's and am just now getting back into the swing of life at home.  Don't judge. ;)

Last year, my only resolution was a reading list.  I read most of the books on it, so I'm quite proud of myself.  I think the only one I haven't finished is Jane Eyre... mostly because we moved when I was half-way through and I just kept forgetting to pick it back up. :/ It will get finished eventually...

But Drew and I made a couples' resolution apart from any personal resolution that we might make on our own.  Stop arguing.  And I like to think we did a pretty good job with it.

We still have fights and, yes, even the occasional argument.  However, I like to think we've banished the argumentative spirit from our home.  It's been a process that hasn't been perfected yet, but we're still working on it.

We still disagree.  A lot.  But we have learned that there are better, more productive ways of resolving our conflicts.  We talk.  We try not to get upset or angry when we do.

I won't lie.  It's still hard.  We are argumentative people.  I know that I still get in moods where I disagree with everything that Drew says.  (Drew calls them "contrary moods.")  But we are working, striving.

And we are succeeding, slowly but surely. :)

This year, I've decided to set some goals for myself.  Not resolutions, mind you.  Goals. The difference?  Resolutions are vague and usually too lofty to achieve.  Goals... well, they're:

SO.  Here are a few of my 2012 Goals:
- Go 'poo free... for so many reasons.
- Read a daily devotional book for moms.
- Fully decorate my house.
- Blog more, starting with once a week!- Craft (with my new sewing machine and Silhouette Cameo)!  This is broken down into more specific goals in my head... like make clothes for my kids, make gifts for my family, make custom decor for my house, et cetera.

I probably have more, but I'm running out of time.  There is lunch to be made for my hungry boy!  More details on these goals and more to follow soon! :)

Happy 25

On this day, twenty-five years ago, my parents were married.  Their marriage has impacted me more than any other relationship I know.  As their daughter, I have observed their marriage from a very close vantage point.

They have faced many things together:
- welcoming nine little mischief-makers into your home as gifts from God (I was an angel, of course!)
- facing unemployment with five little mouths to feed
- moving from Texas to Canada and then back again
- starting over in Virginia with no family around
- following God’s call to plant a church
- building a house together
- successfully pastoring a quickly-growing church while maintaining time for each other and their children
- embracing my husband as a sixth son
- becoming grandparents
- and many more that I am probably not aware of

I have watched how God multiplied their love for each other with each new addition; how He strengthened their commitment to each other through every trial they faced; how He knit their hearts closer together with every blessing He bestowed.

Although I’m sure that both of them would say that the last twenty-five years have been far from easy, they have made it look so (even to their children, who are typically witnesses to any flaws and shortcomings).  I know their marriage is far from perfect, but it is certainly one I want to emulate.

Mom and Dad, I thank you for demonstrating such a life of commitment and love, leaving a legacy for your children.  I hope and pray that my marriage will be as strong as yours.  Your marriage truly is the reflection of God.  I love you.

Continued...

Last night, I asked Drew about our first Valentine's Day.  Turns out, he has a better memory than I do!  Who'd have thought?!

He reminded me that he sent me roses.  And not boring old red ones, either!  He sent me a dozen mini Israeli roses.  They were the most beautiful color--pink/peach.  I loved them!

Five Years

In some ways, it's hard for me to comprehend that this is my fifth Valentine's Day with Drew.  Yet in other ways, it feels like it's been forever.  In a good way, of course! ;)

Our first Valentine's Day was spent apart.  We'd been dating for almost a year and Drew sent me a package in the mail.  It's sad; I don't remember what it was!  I do remember the most important part, though:  the beautiful card that was included. <3

Our second Valentine's Day was a month before we got married.  I was living with my aunt and uncle in Southlake, Texas.  We had made reservations to go out, but at the last minute, we decided to give the reservations to my aunt and uncle.  Drew grilled some steaks while I made some mashed potatoes and we had a nice romantic dinner while we babysat my five cousins!

Our third Valentine's Day was our first as a married couple.  Drew went all out on the presents!  Then, I made a special dinner for just the two of us.  It was amazing, and I don't mind saying so!

Our fourth Valentine's Day is when Drew surprised me with tickets to go see Phantom of the Opera.  I wrote a blog about it here.

This year, Drew and I celebrated yesterday, as it was more convenient for our wonderful babysitter, Abbey.  We dropped him off at 2 and went put-putting, which is one of our favorite "couple" activities. :) Afterwards, we went to Texas de Brazil.  It's Drew's favorite restaurant, and it's pretty spanky!  We were planning on going to the Melting Pot, which is my favorite restaurant, but when we called to make reservations, we discovered that they didn't have their traditional menu this weekend.  Lame.  Needless to say, we're planning on going there for our anniversary.  The evening was finished off with a movie.

All in all, it was a great way to celebrate our fifth Valentine's Day together.  Sorry, no pictures because I failed hardcore at taking them. :p

New Year

I am not usually one for New Year's resolutions, the reason being that my resolutions are always things that are completely out of reach:  spend an hour with God every day; erase soda from my diet; spend less time online; et cetera.  But this year, Drew and I decided to make our resolution together.

Now, before I say what it is, I would like to clarify something.  Drew and I rarely fight.  If we do fight, it's usually about our different understandings of the word "clean" in relation to our house. ;) However, we do argue somewhat frequently; both of us are argumentative people.  It's unfortunate, but true.

(Drew seems to think that I like to argue because my favorite book is Pride and Prejudice and because Darcy and Elizabeth argue a lot.  I argue that this reason is silly.  Haha.)

In any case, Drew and I have decided that our New Year's resolution is not to argue with each other anymore.  It's going to be difficult, but totally worth it.  With both of us having the same resolution, I'm hoping we'll be able to make it last the whole year.

We will probably fail at least a few times.  But the point of this resolution is not to attain a perfect marriage.  We simply want to create a lifestyle of harmony and an atmosphere of peace in our home.  We have made this resolution with the understanding that both of us are going to come up short.

It's the awareness of how much we argue and how detrimental it could potentially be to our relationship that we want to address.  It's the recognition that arguing is unnecessary to our marriage that we want to acknowledge.

In addition to having a "couple's resolution," I also have a personal one.  It's actually more of a reading list.  But I don't think I'll have a problem with that one. ;)

Valentine's

I realize that this is almost one week late, however, there is good reason. :) Because of Drew's crazy studying schedule, we were unable to celebrate on Sunday (although he was a great husband and still got me candy and a card).  Instead, we planned to celebrate on Thursday, our weekly "date night."

He woke me up yesterday morning by cuddling close (my favorite way to wake) and whispering "Happy Louis Valentine's Day" in my ear before kissing me.  It was very sweet.  On his way out the door to work, I asked him what we were doing that evening and he said, quite cryptically, "I don't know... or maybe I do, and I'm surprising you."  This statement was accompanied by a wink before he left, leaving me to curiously wonder what he had up his sleeve.

At about two, he called me and told me to be ready by five-thirty and to have our puppy fed and taken out because we'd be out late.  No more details were given and I didn't ask.  Surprises aren't my favorite things in the world, but I like them four days out of the year:  Valentine's, birthday, anniversary, and Christmas. :)

As soon as I hopped (figuratively, I am six months pregnant, after all) into the car, Drew handed me an envelope and wished me a happy Valentine's day again.  Upon opening the envelope, I found two tickets to go see Phantom of the Opera the National Tour.  It had just come to Dallas the previous night and we had talked about maybe going to see it.  I was SO excited.  One of my life's dreams is to see that musical on a London stage... but seeing it in Dallas with my husband (and Gabriel wiggling throughout the whole performance) was so very, very special.

We had just enough time to go eat at Cheesecake Factory before the musical started!  I didn't get cheesecake, because I have issues with acid reflux (and I still have leftover chocolate from Sunday), but it was still a wonderful dinner.

We upgraded our seats after we got there to the twelfth row.  We weren't center stage, but they were still amazing seats.  I could not believe that I was sitting there, so close to the stage, about to see Broadway's longest running musical.  When the music started, I nearly cried (I blame the hormones).

In any case, it was seriously the best Valentine's day and the best date night that I have ever experienced.  If anyone doubts that my husband is the best husband in the world, those doubts should be laid to rest. :)

♥ TL