Do everything you can to express your love

Lennie & Victoria Shane

Married January 29, 1938

A man of few words, Lennie's silence is beautifully balanced by his wife Victoria's shining sense of humor.

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True love- everyone's searching for it. Singers sing about it. Poets write about it. Novelists weave stories about it. Artists immortalize it in a drawing, a painting, a sculpture. Filmmakers portray it in images larger than life.

But how do you know if you have it?

There are many ways for you and your spouse to express your love, many ways to show each other how deeply you care. You can say it with words, candy and flowers, with diamonds and gold. All these ways are wonderful, all should be used, but none proves your hearts to be true. Not one guarantees the veracity of your love.

The only way to know if you have true love is to see whether it stands the test of time. Has it endured hardship, boredom, and pain? Has it weathered life's busyness? Has it withstood the pressures of job, family, and home, the stresses of midlife and old age? Time alone will tell.

If you're just embarking on the marriage path, you'll know the level of your commitment to each other by the way you live out your lives together day by day, expressing your love in every possible way through respecting each other, encouraging each other, and serving each other minute by minute, hour by hour.

You determint whether the love you have is true over time. But you being now.

Let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love.

This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality.

1 John 3:18-19 msg

Never get too old to hold hands

Arnold & Hazel Morelan

Married February 17, 1920

Arnold and Hazel were high school sweethearts. Known for their busy, loving hands, they "retired" by opening up a gift shop where Arnold cast concrete yard ornaments and Hazel stitched handmade quilts and dolls.

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It starts with a tiny fist wrapped around a mother's finger. It continues with a young hand held gently in one much larger. It endures through puppy love, adolescent relationships, and courtship. And if we are wise, it extends into marriage, through middle age, beyond the golden years, to the very end of life.

Holding hands is one of the most intimate expressions of love between two human beings.

Don't ever let this beautiful act slip away from you. It's so much more than a gesture of affection, so much greater than a mere symbol of connection. It's an incredibly meaningful communication, a deep connection in and of itself. It requires no words; in fact, no words can convey such a profound message.

Why would two people ever stop holding hands? Perhaps it seems silly, somehow undignified, when we're older and have been married a long time. We may begin to think such things were meant only for young lovers and newlyweds. That's far from true! Besides its many other purposes, holding hands helps satisfy the basic human need for physical touch, a need we never outgrow.

Hold your spouse's hand throughout your life together; don't ever let it go until the day when you've fulfilled every marriage vow and finally release it from your grasp, placing it lovingly, trustingly, into the hand of God.

I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will take me into glory.

Psalm 73:23-24

Weekend Rewind

Let's see, Friday seems so long ago now that it's Monday, lol. Friday we just stayed home. I cooked some dinner and we played with Brendan. Saturday we had Brendan's friend, Blake's first birthday party to go to. I can't believe our babies are turning one! Get teary eyed just thinking of it. Had a lot of fun celebrating Blakes birthday and playing with friends. Afterwards we ran a couple errands picking up a few Halloween decorations and then it was off to home so B could take a nap. While he napped Q and I decorated the house (I handled the inside, while Q handled the outside) for Halloween. Looks awesome! After Brendan woke up we went to Mi Cocinia for dinner (surprise, surprise). Brendan will now eat beans soup and tortillas with queso on them. It's better than nothing right! Sunday we skipped church to be lazy bums. Went to my parents for lunch, where my dad had made mashed potatoes that he just knew Brendan would eat. It barely touched his lips before he started gagging!! We'll ate least my parents have seen first hand how dramatic he is about solid food. I just really wish he'd get there. The boy needs cake on his birthday and he's getting a super cute one!! After my parents we came home and took a family nap, well, B slept in his crib because now when I try to nap with him he just wants to play, so he's gotten to the point where he "needs" his crib to sleep. Miss snuggling up and taking naps :(. After he woke up we went to the Owen's Spring Creek Farm. Our mommy group went on Friday, but we couldn't go because of nap time. Was so sad to not be able to go with our friends, but I know Quinton appreciated getting to go with him. Brendan picked out a fabulous pumpkin, as you can see! Hope you all had a great weekend, we sure did!!

Have fun just being together

Arthur & Mabel Johnson

Married October 22, 1920

Arthur and Mabel met when he came to pick up his brother's engagement ring, which she was returning! "Six months later we were married," Mabel says, laughing. During their seventy-three years of marriage, they took lots of little day trips and numerous vacations.

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A good, lasting marriage requires effort- but it takes fun too! King Solomon said, "I commend the enjoyment of life (Ecclesiastes 8:15). Have a good time with your spouse. Enjoy other's company. It doesn't take a lot of money to have fun if you think of creative ways to be lighthearted and playful together.

When was the last time you flew a kite? Grab a couple of inexpensive ones and head for the beach, where there always seems to be a steady breeze. Kick off your shoes and walk together along the shoreline until you find a good spot, then let the wind take your kites as high as they can go, while you and your spouse sit on the sand, relax, and watch them soar. Before you know it, the sun will be seting over the water, putting on a free light show to add to the fun.

As you reel in your kites, admiring the colors on the horizon, take a moment to reflect on the One who provides you with so many blessings. After all, who made the sand on the beach? Who created the air and the wind? Who made the water, sky, the glorious sunset? Most of all, who fashioned and breathed to life the wonderful person with whom you delight to share it all?

Go ahead- have some fun.

God....gives us richly all things to enjoy

1 Timothy 6:17 NKJV

While I'm all about having fun, this one is hard to relate to with no beach nearby, but I get the point. Just wish one was just a hop skip and a jump away.

You only get out of marriage what you put into it.

Eldon & Ginny Phillips

Married: October 30, 1946

Eldon and Ginny went to high school together. His first move: he stole her shoes during a play rehearsal! "It took him eight years to convince me to marry him," laughs Ginny.

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A young entrepreneur starts with an idea for a unique, new product. He carefully lays plans for a start-up business, calculating revenues and expenses. He meets with consultants, accountants, and attorneys. He works hard to sell the concept to banks and investors to raise capital. In time he leases space, purchases equipment, and hires employees. Finally he is ready to begin. He works hard, pouring himself into the business, determined to make it succeed. And it thrives.

But does he now merely sit back, relax and enjoy the fruit of his labor? No! He works harder than ever, while conjuring up ideas for improving efficiency, bettering customer relations, bolstering profits.

If a marriage is to last a lifetime, it requires the same level of devotion and energy. Both partners must give 100 percent. Each must be available to the other when needed, fully present, ready to listen, to talk, to act. Both spouses must pur their heart and soul into this enterprise, making whatever sacrifice necessary to ensure success.

Yet what an investment! The payoff is rich, healthy, loving relationship that lasts. And everyone involved reaps countless rewards.

Sound good? Devote time and energy to your marriage.

Whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

2 Corinthians 9:6

We did it!!

Well, we did it. Brendan and I survived 4 days, 3 nights without dad. It surprisenly wasn't as hard as I feared it was going to be. I think we just bonded even more, which was so great! We stayed busy and had lots of fun. So happy the weather is cooler now, although it makes Brendan sad because some days its too cold for me to fill his water table up. He is such a water baby! Saturday we went to Randall's (Quinton's dad) house and he saw the pool and just flipped out and kept trying to get to it until finally Q got in the water with him. It had been raining all day so we didn't think it would stop and even if it did that the water would be warm enough so I didn't bring swimming gear, but luckily I had a swim diaper so put him in it and Q got in in just his boxers!! Oh that kid is spoiled!

Met with the baker yesterday and designed his cake, it's going to be so incredibily awesome!! Got the invites out this morning too, so those should start hitting some people tomorrow. I can't believe my little man is turning one! Get a little teary eyed just thinking of how fast time flys. And with that I'm going to start sharing (hopefully, daily) some readings from this book I got when Q and I got married. "It's called Married for Life: Inspirations from those married 50 years or more." I think since having Brendan my focus is more on him than on our marriage and feel it's the same for Q. It's something we've talked about and know we need lunches, nights some little time away for ourselves. So I started reading this book and it's very inspirational. Will put in the following post. Hope you enjoy the readings as much as I have.

The Work Out Dilemma

So I need to get back to working out. I've done it EXTREMELY sporadically for a while now. I'm so mad at myself because I was on the fast track to losing weight right after Brendan was born, but then let it all go. Now my poor dear husband has to listen to me cry, complain every day about not liking the way I am. I know what I have to do, it's just finding the time. I've thought about it long and hard and the only time for me to do it is 5:30 in the morning, but it's so hard for me to get up that early to go run. I hate running in the dark and with daylight savings time around the corner, it's not going to be getting any lighter outside! I could go after Quinton gets home from work, but that's the only time we have to spend as a family on the week days. He comes home I make dinner and we play with Brendan. I could go once Brendan goes down, but then that's the only time Q and I have for ourselves to talk and just relax. Plus, I just think down the line Brendan is going to be involved in activities that are going to be after school or in the evenings and need prepare myself for that so it's best if I just start now getting up and going at 5:30. I don't believe in gym memberships anymore. I've had them numerous times but never get my money's worth because I hate running on a treadmill or elliptical, I get bored. I'll do the classes, but usually the classes I want to do are at odd times. I like to run outside and get the fresh air and see the nature. Of course, now that I've come to this decision, I will have to put it off for another week because my husband is leaving to go out of town Sunday-Wednesday. I don't have to put it off the whole week, but just bummed that I won't have those days to at least attempted to get my butt out of bed. Speaking of him going out of town, PRAY for us!! Us being me and Brendan. This is the longest we will have gone without dad. And next month he will be gone for FIVE days!!!

So I'm hopeful to stay encouraged and motivated and am completely freaked out and nervous about being a "single parent"!!

Now that I'm done complaining...thanks for listening ;)