We live chaotic lives. We raise five boys, manage a household, run two businesses, and somehow manage to end each day with a smile on our face. There are a lot of sacrifices that have came with our lifestyle- we drive old cars, we postponed our dream to build a house, we don’t go to concerts or take lavish vacations. We instead found comfort in our couch dates and sharing a few hours together at the end of the day. But as we started 2016, we knew our marriage needed more. We are being pulled in a million directions and although we are REALLY good at working together and supporting each other, sometimes you just need more. If there is one piece of advice I can give to any married couple it would be this- Communication is key. And not just quick discussions, but real deep heartfelt communication about life, each other and your marriage. We live so much of our lives in the quick, instant here and now. Status updates, quick texts, short to-do lists- so much in fact that it becomes hard to break beyond that. When was the last time you sent a love letter? When did you last stay up talking into the wee hours of the night about what was on your heart? Those things matter so much but if we aren’t careful, we don’t find the time for them.

So this year, we decided that we had a gift of time together that we needed to spend focusing on marriage. Our kids are ALL in school on Monday and Thursday mornings. Typically we both were working hard on our business or life those days seperately but this year we changed that. We knew mondays were notorious for being busy, so we decided that Thursday mornings were ours. We get up, dress up, and go out to breakfast together. We eat a good meal, share a conversation free of kids. It has been so wonderful for us. It gave us time to stop living in the chaos and choose to live for each other. To talk about our goals and dreams for life and our marriage. To be a couple, not just parents. And it has been the best thing ever.

These are a few snaps from my iPhone of our breakfast dates at our favorite spot- The Table farmhouse bakery!

If you are married, I urge you to make time for our spouse. Never stop dating. Never stop building your marriage.

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