Tonight is Date Night!
Yippee!
If ever there had been good timing for a date night, tonight is it!
Showing posts with label marriage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marriage. Show all posts
Friday, April 3, 2009
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
The story of us
Oh, how I lie! I promised vacay pics today, but I can't do that today. It's my 14th wedding anniversary and in honor of this day, I'm going to write the story of how we met.
Lance and I met in the fall of 1990 at Columbus Avenue Baptist Church in Waco. I was but a mere freshman girl and he a senior at Baylor University. We were involved in a college handbell choir together and neither of us really paid the other much attention. I was dating a boy from high school and I don't know what his reason was. :)
The director of our group would drop hints about each of us to the other occasionally and we'd both laugh (separately of course. She never did this in front of the other one)
By the spring semester, things weren't going well with the boy from home. I wasn't interested anymore. Fast forward to Easter Weekend...our college group went on a mission trip thru various prisons in Texas. We sat by each other on the bus a few times and began to talk. We had lots in common and some things not. I liked him, he was older and seemed to have things more "together" than the guys my age.
One of his friends, Brian, wanted to date one of my friends, Julie and convinced Lance to ask me to double with them. We did and Lance and I are still together. That was Brian and Julie's first and only date. They took us to various locations around town and campus for different courses of dinner. It was fun!
Lance and I spent the last month of his time at Baylor together everyday. We went dancing, walking, whatever, we just spent every evening together. I will never forget the first night he kissed me - we had been dating several weeks at this point. When I got back to my dorm that evening, I told my roommate that I would marry him. She laughed, but took my picture and it's wonderful to remember that moment that I "knew"!
Before he graduated, he asked me if I'd be interested in dating long distance. See, he was going to spend the summer travelling thru the Panhandle and then he was starting Seminary at Ft. Worth in the fall. I said yes and then began our 3 year 3 month long distance courtship. That summer of 1991 we saw each other only 3 times - once for a wedding, once for a funeral, and once for him to meet my family for the first time (which did not go well at all). I had a few doubts about the future of our relationship in August and early September of 1991, but then things changed. His paternal grandfather was tragically killed in a farming accident that fall and it deepened our relationshipo. He began driving to Waco every Saturday from about 8am to 10pm and we would spend the entire day together. It was great, but hard to see each other only once a week!
We did this until he graduated from seminary in May 1994 and moved to Odessa Texas. I had completed my classes in Waco by this point and was doing an internship in Dallas to complete my degree and graduate in August. I graduated on the 13th and on the 27th, we were married! My dad told me I had to finish college before I married and I did! I'm very thankful for this now!
Oh, how things have changed since this day 14 years ago. We've gone thru many hard days together and many joyous ones. We've served in 3 different churches and lived in 5 different homes. We've welcomed 2 beautiful children into our family. We've matured in many ways, but we still have our struggles. It's a continous journey. It's not a sprint, it's a marathon. There are days we don't like each other much, but in the end, we are one another's best friend. There is no one else I would have chosen to go on this journey with. I know long after the kids are gone, we will still enjoy being together!
I love you, Lance!
Lance and I met in the fall of 1990 at Columbus Avenue Baptist Church in Waco. I was but a mere freshman girl and he a senior at Baylor University. We were involved in a college handbell choir together and neither of us really paid the other much attention. I was dating a boy from high school and I don't know what his reason was. :)
The director of our group would drop hints about each of us to the other occasionally and we'd both laugh (separately of course. She never did this in front of the other one)
By the spring semester, things weren't going well with the boy from home. I wasn't interested anymore. Fast forward to Easter Weekend...our college group went on a mission trip thru various prisons in Texas. We sat by each other on the bus a few times and began to talk. We had lots in common and some things not. I liked him, he was older and seemed to have things more "together" than the guys my age.
One of his friends, Brian, wanted to date one of my friends, Julie and convinced Lance to ask me to double with them. We did and Lance and I are still together. That was Brian and Julie's first and only date. They took us to various locations around town and campus for different courses of dinner. It was fun!
Lance and I spent the last month of his time at Baylor together everyday. We went dancing, walking, whatever, we just spent every evening together. I will never forget the first night he kissed me - we had been dating several weeks at this point. When I got back to my dorm that evening, I told my roommate that I would marry him. She laughed, but took my picture and it's wonderful to remember that moment that I "knew"!
Before he graduated, he asked me if I'd be interested in dating long distance. See, he was going to spend the summer travelling thru the Panhandle and then he was starting Seminary at Ft. Worth in the fall. I said yes and then began our 3 year 3 month long distance courtship. That summer of 1991 we saw each other only 3 times - once for a wedding, once for a funeral, and once for him to meet my family for the first time (which did not go well at all). I had a few doubts about the future of our relationship in August and early September of 1991, but then things changed. His paternal grandfather was tragically killed in a farming accident that fall and it deepened our relationshipo. He began driving to Waco every Saturday from about 8am to 10pm and we would spend the entire day together. It was great, but hard to see each other only once a week!
We did this until he graduated from seminary in May 1994 and moved to Odessa Texas. I had completed my classes in Waco by this point and was doing an internship in Dallas to complete my degree and graduate in August. I graduated on the 13th and on the 27th, we were married! My dad told me I had to finish college before I married and I did! I'm very thankful for this now!
Oh, how things have changed since this day 14 years ago. We've gone thru many hard days together and many joyous ones. We've served in 3 different churches and lived in 5 different homes. We've welcomed 2 beautiful children into our family. We've matured in many ways, but we still have our struggles. It's a continous journey. It's not a sprint, it's a marathon. There are days we don't like each other much, but in the end, we are one another's best friend. There is no one else I would have chosen to go on this journey with. I know long after the kids are gone, we will still enjoy being together!
I love you, Lance!
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Four Decades
The year was 1968 and the wedding had already been postponed several times, so the young couple decided to elope. They got married by a sweaty preacher who had just finished mowing the lawn and was about to take the youth to a "hobo" party. They spent the first year of their marriage on opposite sides of the world.
Today is my parents 40th wedding anniversary! As any couple who have been married this long, they have celebrated many joyous occasions together! Two kids, a son-in-law and daughter-in-law, six grandkids, new jobs, new houses, vacations and more!
They've also buried all four of their parents, lost a brother, and dealt with cancer, heart disease, and epilepsy and probably countless other things they never shared with my brother or me.
For better and for worse - they've seen their share of both. They will tell you the good far outweighs the bad.
For richer or for poorer - although they are probably wealthier now than they've ever been, no one will ever accuse them of being rich! And there were many, many, poor days.
In sickness and in health - Mom has taken care of Dad thru lots of health crises and he's helped her thru the illness of 2006. Mostly, they've been healthy.
Mom and Dad taught me alot about a good marriage and none of that teaching actually involved any words. They taught thru example. They taught thru loving during the hard times and celebrating the good times.
Happy 40th Anniversary Mom and Dad!
I love you!
Today is my parents 40th wedding anniversary! As any couple who have been married this long, they have celebrated many joyous occasions together! Two kids, a son-in-law and daughter-in-law, six grandkids, new jobs, new houses, vacations and more!
They've also buried all four of their parents, lost a brother, and dealt with cancer, heart disease, and epilepsy and probably countless other things they never shared with my brother or me.
For better and for worse - they've seen their share of both. They will tell you the good far outweighs the bad.
For richer or for poorer - although they are probably wealthier now than they've ever been, no one will ever accuse them of being rich! And there were many, many, poor days.
In sickness and in health - Mom has taken care of Dad thru lots of health crises and he's helped her thru the illness of 2006. Mostly, they've been healthy.
Mom and Dad taught me alot about a good marriage and none of that teaching actually involved any words. They taught thru example. They taught thru loving during the hard times and celebrating the good times.
Happy 40th Anniversary Mom and Dad!
I love you!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Chores - Who does them?
When Lance and I married (almost 14 years ago!) I was definitely the more clean freak than he. So, I did most of the cleaning. At first I didn't mind, but then when we moved to Brownfield, I was commuting 2 hours a day to work and I just didn't have as much time or energy to keep up with everything. And then the chore wars began. Since my standards are so much higher, Lance didn't understand why I expected him to clean since it didn't bother him to have clutter around. And looking back, I can see his point. But....it was really a simple thing and it would have made me so much happier, and so I wanted him to do it.
We tried chore lists, we tried other things, but bottom line, he didn't do the chores when I wanted him to. He likes to come home at the end of the day and rest, then spend the rest of the evening slowly doing his chores. Me, I like to come home, rush thru my chores, and then have the rest of the evening to PLAY! We're different like that. And for many years, it was not a happy co-existence in the area of chores.
But, then came kiddos, and my standards, well, they were lowered. They had to be - I could not keep up with the same level of tidiness when I had one and then two little people coming behind me and undoing my cleaning. So...now we divide and conquer. We each have our own chores and I know Lance will eventually do the ones on his list. If we are having company or if things are getting especially out of control, I will ask him to go ahead and do it and I don't think he minds so much, because I've let it slide for awhile.
This is one of my main jobs. It's funny when it was just Lance and I, I did laundry once a week. No big deal. When we added N to the family, I did laundry twice a week - no big deal. When we added L to the family and I mean from day 1, I now do laundry almost every day. How did one little girl change our laundry situation so drastically?!?
I also am the dishwasher loader/unloader; sheet changer, tidier-upper, duster, carpet vacummer, sink cleaner-outer, kid lunch fixer, clothes picker-outer. Basically, I'm the everyday cleaner that keeps us from living with "junk" piled everywhere.
Lance is the keeper of the yard. I have NO interest whatsoever in the yard other than pulling weeds. Lance is also our resident mopper, toilet scrubber, and bathtub cleaner. Even though I have way more chores to do on a daily basis, I'm okay with it, because quite frankly, I have the better jobs. He has the jobs I really don't like to do and so it works for us!
How about in your house? Do you have a system? Do you fight about it? What works for you?
We tried chore lists, we tried other things, but bottom line, he didn't do the chores when I wanted him to. He likes to come home at the end of the day and rest, then spend the rest of the evening slowly doing his chores. Me, I like to come home, rush thru my chores, and then have the rest of the evening to PLAY! We're different like that. And for many years, it was not a happy co-existence in the area of chores.
But, then came kiddos, and my standards, well, they were lowered. They had to be - I could not keep up with the same level of tidiness when I had one and then two little people coming behind me and undoing my cleaning. So...now we divide and conquer. We each have our own chores and I know Lance will eventually do the ones on his list. If we are having company or if things are getting especially out of control, I will ask him to go ahead and do it and I don't think he minds so much, because I've let it slide for awhile.
This is one of my main jobs. It's funny when it was just Lance and I, I did laundry once a week. No big deal. When we added N to the family, I did laundry twice a week - no big deal. When we added L to the family and I mean from day 1, I now do laundry almost every day. How did one little girl change our laundry situation so drastically?!?
I also am the dishwasher loader/unloader; sheet changer, tidier-upper, duster, carpet vacummer, sink cleaner-outer, kid lunch fixer, clothes picker-outer. Basically, I'm the everyday cleaner that keeps us from living with "junk" piled everywhere.
Lance is the keeper of the yard. I have NO interest whatsoever in the yard other than pulling weeds. Lance is also our resident mopper, toilet scrubber, and bathtub cleaner. Even though I have way more chores to do on a daily basis, I'm okay with it, because quite frankly, I have the better jobs. He has the jobs I really don't like to do and so it works for us!
How about in your house? Do you have a system? Do you fight about it? What works for you?
Friday, February 8, 2008
Date Night!
So....once you have kids, even going to dinner and a movie with your spouse becomes tricky! Not only do you have to have TIME to go out, but then you also have to have $$$$ for the dinner, movie and babysitter. We are 4 hours away from our family, so no free babysitters for us! And when we had 1 child, we didn't mind having friends watch him occasionally, but once you have multiple children, that doesn't seem so great! Fortunately, for us, we have a plethora of babysitters to select from College students and high school students are always willing and excited to come to our house! (We don't yet use middle school babysitters!) Maybe, once L is potty-trained.
But anyway...tonight is date night for Lance and I. This will be our valentine celebration. We don't dare go anywhere near a restaurant or movie on the real valentine's day as we live in a college town - everything will be PACKED. So, we will enjoy a nice quiet dinner with a real conversation and no one throwing food, hanging all over us, or throwing a temper tantrum - it will be great!
Then, we will go catch a show at our local theater, who believe it or not, actually lowered their prices this year - only $5 for a night-time movie!
We will enjoy our time together and then we will be just as excited to go home and see what our kiddos were up to this evening! Ain't life grand?
Enjoy some time with your spouse - budget $ for date nights out - it will do you good and it will be good for your kids to see that your mate is a priority. Plus, it will give you renewed energy for your children also!
Happy early V-day!
But anyway...tonight is date night for Lance and I. This will be our valentine celebration. We don't dare go anywhere near a restaurant or movie on the real valentine's day as we live in a college town - everything will be PACKED. So, we will enjoy a nice quiet dinner with a real conversation and no one throwing food, hanging all over us, or throwing a temper tantrum - it will be great!
Then, we will go catch a show at our local theater, who believe it or not, actually lowered their prices this year - only $5 for a night-time movie!
We will enjoy our time together and then we will be just as excited to go home and see what our kiddos were up to this evening! Ain't life grand?
Enjoy some time with your spouse - budget $ for date nights out - it will do you good and it will be good for your kids to see that your mate is a priority. Plus, it will give you renewed energy for your children also!
Happy early V-day!
Sunday, August 26, 2007
MommaJen
This is my initial post. We are on the eve of a great adventure. Nicholas, my oldest child, begins kindergarten tomorrow. He is excited and ready - I think I am as well! Life will surely never be the same again!
Lance and I are also celebrating our 13th anniversary tomorrow! Hard to believe how much life has changed in the past 13 years! 3 cities, 1 apt, 1 duplex, and 3 houses later....2 kids...2 jobs....joys and disappointments and yet here we are on life's great adventure together!
More later....
Lance and I are also celebrating our 13th anniversary tomorrow! Hard to believe how much life has changed in the past 13 years! 3 cities, 1 apt, 1 duplex, and 3 houses later....2 kids...2 jobs....joys and disappointments and yet here we are on life's great adventure together!
More later....
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