How to have a happy marriage...

Hi all. Happy day 8 of 31 Days of Blogging. Today's subject comes from friend Robin who asks: "What happy marriage secrets are you practicing to make your marriage as long and happy as possible?"

I have only been married about six months so I really feel like a rookie at this but we have survived half of what many people have told me is the hardest part of marriage: year one.

Here is what I do. Reuben probably could tell you many more things because I actually think he is better at marriage than I am. I am often cranky and crazy and he still just loves me anyway!

Here are five tips from the marriage rookie:

First, virtual duct tape on my mouth in the morning. I am not a morning lover and it takes me about thirty minutes to get going and not be mean. So, I say good morning and then am quiet for a while.

Second, I try not to compare Reuben to my Dad. Sometimes I think he will react or act like my dad would in a situation and this is just not true. I guess my biggest male influence was my dad.

Third, we pray together daily and try to eat dinner together as often as possible. It makes a difference to have a spiritual connection and have time together.

Forth, one day a week is reserved for "Me Time, Free Time". Having 35 years of independent living makes me sometimes feel a bit claustrophobic in marriage. Don't get me wrong, I love being married, but I think everybody needs occasional alone time!

Five, forget easily and don't rush to get offended. I am very lucky and have a horrible memory. This makes me forget things that make me mad very quickly. I am also learning that men communicate very differently than us women and often the way I interpret something Reuben says is not even close to what he was actually saying. I often just have to let things go. Having the attitude that we are in this for the long haul helps me to not put him in the wrong. We are a team and good teams don't give up, they keep going to practice and playing. They may have different game plans but they are always striving to become better and work as a team!

Marriage isn't easy, but I have learned so much about communication and myself through the challenges that it has definitely been worth it and it has been the best decision I have made!

Cheers!

Ah. The weekend

We had fun at a birthday party tonight.
Ezra turned two this week.
Happy weekend to all!




He was pretty serious about the cake!




Miri was ready to party!




Henry ate a very long fry.




Oliver wore fries as accessories.




Babies with backpacks rock!








Reno is ready for Christmas!

Traditions Thursday

Happy Saint Nick's Day. If you are a cool kid, then you put out your shoes last night and St. Nick left some goodies in them for you this morning. Reuben and I were visited by St Nick last night.

This is kind of similar to the Ficklin tradition of Twinkle. Twinkle comes every day in December and brings gifts to the kiddos before Christmas. It is like a twelve days of Christmas extreme!

These are traditions from both of our families that we are going to keep.

Not sure if we will make up any new ones. We may have to have a gratitude white board and a few other new things. We will see where time takes us on our own family traditions. We are so new at this family thing!

Sleep is my tradition that I am going to partake of now. Keep the questions/ prompts coming.

Cheers!



Sunrise this morning over the school!



Guess what faculty meeting snacks/lunch will be tomorrow? :)

And They Saw The Lights

Reuben and I drove to Salt Lake City to partake of the amazing Christmas lights that decorate Temple Square every year.

It was fun to get out of Dodge and explore the new mall up there, eat at Cheesecake Factory and shop at Trader Joes.

Good times!

Random Tuesday

Ten things that just come into my head as I write this minutes before going to bed:

1. I need to talk to Reuben about family traditions so that I can do a blog post about it!

2. Why does Reuben think 10:30 is a good time to put dishes away seeing I am already in bed?

3. Why am I so tired?

4. It was fun to teach my health classes today and weird because it was like I was my own sub seeing I took over for my student teacher!

5. I wish it were Friday.

6. I used to go to sleep to music, now I don't as much.

7. I like the color purple. Oh and all colors because without them, the world would be boring.

8. Phase ten is a fun game and there is an app for that. I am currently addicted to playing it. That and Hay Day(a silly farm game app)

9. It is fun how it is December and it totally rained today. Not so Christmasy but it was fun to look at lights tonight.

10. I really like Amazon. It's fun to shop online.

Good night. I am tired!