Be My Valentine Marriage Challenge Week 4

Wow! It's nearing Valentines Day in just a few days! Every year I am a bit caught off gaurd by it, maybe more then other holidays too only because Valentines Day is our anniversary, as well!

Yes, we got married on Valentines Day...along with thousands of others who chose Valentines day to tie the knot. At first I was reluctant to say I do on such a popular day among other couples but the two things that settled it for me were it was the exact day we had our first date and my husband absolutely loves V-Day. He has always been the one in our relationship to look forward to celebrating ....When dating, he would celebrate (and remember!!) the months and little milestones. He was (and is) a sucker for buying a dozen roses, candy, stuffed animals, and well you get the picture!!

Now that we are going on 8 years of marriage and after whole lot of Valentines Day themed presents and novelty we have both toned it down a notch, haha. That is a good thing believe me! :0) This year, my mother in law has offered to come over and watch the children while we go out for a nice dinner. I am so excited. The last time time we went out alone...well...um...hmmm....let's see......*cricketts* Do you get the picture? It has been a long time now!

Linking up with Courtney at Women Living Well I have learned a lot of new ways to celebrate Valentines Day and honor and uplift my hubby. As the years go on there is not so much a need to buy something to tell him I love him but to show him...in the way I speak to him, the way I look at him, the way I touch him, in all the things I do for him! We don't need to go buy gifts (they are nice sometimes!) or honestly, even go outside the home (it is great sometimes!) to prove anything to eachother. Valentines Day and our anniversarys are so special but the special behaviors should be going on all the time! The challenge helps us find new ways and reminders on how to mix it up but our marriages and our husbands should be priority all the time!

Here are some special ways to celebrate Valentines Day without buying anything or going out! And of course they don't have to be done on Valentines Day...a date night can be anytime!

~Stay up late! Rent your favorite movie together and pop some popcorn! Be sure to get out a lot of blankets and pillows! Make a "bed" even!
~Cook together! Make cake or make something you both enjoy but don't get to eat often.
~Get out the old fashioned games! My hubby and I love playing games a lot, we love playing checkers and Battleship right in our bed! We laugh and talk a lot. It's so much fun.
~Watch your wedding video or look at wedding or dating pictures...take a trip down memory lane!
~Plan something together. Think about where you would like to take your next family vacation at or plan the next project for your home.


Courtney from Women Living Well suggests making a red themed dinner. If we were not going out, we would totally do this.

Here is a super easy recipe for cherry (red) cobbler. This is like I said, super easy and is great if your pinched for time or just looking to make something yummy, fast. It's also pretty for Valentines Day. :-)

Easy Cherry Cobbler

1 package Jell-O sugar-free vanilla cook-and-serve pudding mix -- (4 serving size)

1 package Jell-O sugar-free cherry gelatin -- (4 serving size)

2 cups tart red cherries, packed in water -- (one 16-ounce can), undrained

1/2 cup water

1 can Pillsbury refrigerated buttermilk biscuits -- (7.5-ounce)

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon Sugar Twin or Sprinkle Sweet



1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray an 8-by-8-inch baking dish with butter-flavored cooking spray. In a medium saucepan, combine dry pudding mix, dry gelatin, undrained cherries, and water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and starts to boil, being careful not to crush cherries. Remove from heat. Spoon mixture into prepared baking dish. Separate biscuits and cut each biscuit into 4 pieces. Evenly sprinkle biscuit pieces over cherry mixture. Lightly spray top with butter-flavored cooking spray. In a small bowl, combine cinnamon and Sugar Twin. Evenly sprinkle cinnamon mixture over top. Bake for 13 to 16 minutes or until top is golden brown. Place baking dish on a wire rack and let set for 5 minutes. Cut into 6 servings. Good warm or cold. This recipe can be frozen.

Have a Happy Valentines Day!

Be My Valentine Marriage Challenge Week 3

Week 3 is here...

Taken from Women Living Well Week 3 is described as this:

Pursue intimacy and place the intimate needs of your spouse above your own.

This can be done in countless ways. 

Physically: With little ones running around the act of just touching your spouse can get forgottten about. Don't forget to give your husband a cheerful kiss when he walks in the door, wakes up in the morning, and when you go to bed!! This is a sign that is over our bed: gives me a little reminder, although my hubby doesn't usually forget ;-)

Also, don't forget to hug! I guess that can sound a little silly but hugging our husbands can actually convey a message to him without even saying the words. A longing embrace can say I love you, I miss you, I want you, and I need you.

Don't forget to hold hands too, it's not just for cheesy in love teenagers. It is always refreshing when out to see an older aged couple holding hands, gazing at eachother fondly or maybe in our case pushing the stroller along in a store, his hand over mine. <3

Try holding eye contact with your husband. Over a good home cooked meal hold his gaze and smile sincerely. Sounds goofy but when our hearts are really filled with earnest love our eyes will shine and radiate affection, too.

Of course, intimacy in other areas is something else we must strive to do with a willing heart and also with a joyful heart and spirit. Take time to make the bed, clean clutter on the night stands and dressers, and create a atmosphere where you both can unwind and enjoy eachother! :-)

I know there are loads of other ideas out there. I hope to run across more and try them out!

Check out Be My Valentine Marriage Challenge at http://www.womenlivingwell.org/



Be My Valentine Marriage Challenge Week 2

Yay! Week One for Be My Valentine Marriage Challenge has come and ended already! Of course, I am not giving up on the things I resolved to do for my sweetheart but am still excited to move ahead with Week Two!

Here is what Courtney is challenging we do--be a little more creative with your praise. I am all on board with that. Courtney suggested some great ways to praise our husbands in a unique and fun way...

They made me start thinking how I could customize these suggestions, if you will, for my very own special hubby.

First, let me pause to say I am so proud of my hubby. He has such a passion and zeal for the Lord. He is always busy and moving for God. He really never stops. He has a heart for children and has a bus route that he picks up children and teens that have no ride to church. He dedicates a lot of time to this ministry but loves every single minute of it. To show him how much I admire him in this particular area of his life I am going to frame his picture with our boys in a wooden bus frame I have and present it to him...for being such a stellar bus driving, soul winning, awesome man. He can put it on the dash of his bus! :-)

I am also going to leave some little notes around the house to surpise him, make his favorite meal, give him a massage without him having to ask (LOL) and dedicate special time to help him study for his classes, like he has been asking me to do.

I love my hubby~

You can find more out about this Valentines Day Challenge at: Women Living Well

Be My Valentine Marriage Challenge

I am so excited to be participating in Courtney from Women Living Well's Be My Valentine Marriage Challenge.

It is a privilage to be a wife. To be his help meet, to be his cheerleader, and ever loving companion. Life does get busy and in the way, though, and even the best intentions get sweeped away along with the chores, children, and other day to day tasks.

I hope to make the most from this challenge and really lift my husband up. He is a very hardworking and wonderful man. God knew just what He was doing when He put us together. I know I do not tell me enough how much i appreciate all he does.



Week One's Challenge Goes Like This: (Taken From Women Living Well Blog)

Week 1 starts TODAY! Look for ways to praise your husband verbally. Praise him in front of the kids, friends, family, co-workers, on facebook, tweet it - get praise out anyway you can! Try to mention something noteworthy he has done - in his role as provider, father, husband, lover, or friend. If the thought of trying to come up with one terrifies you, then pray right now that God will give you new eyes to see your husband as God does. Then open your mouth and say something kind and uplifting to your husband today and tomorrow and the next day until Valentine's Day arrives!

Can't wait to begin! <3