Dating your spouse

Yesterday I linked up with a blog to do a "Happy Homemaker Monday". On those I just fill out some questions about my day. Sounds very bland, I know. But, it's a fun little thing I look forward to - and, I enjoy reading the other ladies days, as well.

Anyway, one of the "topics" was "something fun" and mine was a quick blurb of how my husband and I are having an at home date night every Thursday. This struck a note with some of you and I'm honored to have been a help :) I always feel like I'm the one sucking ideas away from other blogs... feels good to give back. If you missed what I'm talking about here's a recap.

Every Thursday night after our children are in bed we sit down on the couch and watch our two favorite shows on tv. Pretty casual. Once the shows are over we brew a pot of coffee and bust out our book, "The meaning of marriage" by Timothy and Kathy Keller. After a few minutes of prep and review we dive into some good discussion. We go over things we underlined and highlighted, challenging thoughts, provoking insights, etc. Brad had this book idea a few months ago and we just started up... it takes us time. :) I love it. And, it's free!

My goal now is to SPICE up those evenings. Some of ideas are: saving for a new special blanket for our special tv time together, new and interesting snacks or drinks, maybe even saving our meal for that time and doing some fun, etc. It's a small thing and an easy goal. I really hope we can keep doing this as a tradition for a long, long, time. I love getting to know my husband in this new way.

To reach my goal {and take the pressure off of Brad} I have put out a "date night" jar on my counter. Each time I come across spare change or whatnot... it gets put in the jar. My own little love fund :) It's not much, or, anything fancy - but, I'm hoping to use it to bless my husband and our time together.

What do you do to bless and encourage your spouse? How do you go about Date Nights?

Happy Homemaker Monday!

It's Monday. Time to sit down {during nap time} and unwind... with some Homemaker Monday business :) If you haven't linked up and been a part of it - it really is a neat learning opportunity to look into the lives of other like-minded women. Check it out by clicking on the picture above.

And now - on to today...

The weather::: 48ish is what I'm pretty sure the radio told me this a.m. They said we should be getting a ton of rain - and, were it snow, we'd be buried. Thankful for rain here in DRY Iowa!

On my reading pile::: Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott. I am SO into these old books lately. Also, hubs and I are reading, "The Meaning of Marriage" right now by Timothy Keller. Phenom!

On my TV::: None. Girls and I were out and about all morning - wonderful time. Planning to leave it off all day to get some real house work done. Feeling the need for clean!

On the menu for this week:::

Monday - Chicken tortilla casserole

Tuesday - Frozen JACKS pizza :)

Wednesday -

Thursday - Ham balls, salad, apricot jello salad

Friday - Baked chicken fingers and fries

Saturday - Curried beef stir fry

Sunday - Calico eggs and smoked sausage breadsticks. Breakfast for dinner!

On my to do list::: Laundry, finish taxes {yeee-uck}, vacuum, make a dessert for a funeral

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating::: Still working on my FIRST crocheted blanket. So simple. So time consuming...but, it's coming along :)

Looking around the house::: My room is so messy. Thinking I'd love to redecorate this BEAST some week this summer when hubby was traveling. Would really like to make it a beautiful oasis of a space. {dreaming}

From the camera:::

My biggest girl and I. Playing barbies last week and just enjoying time together :)

Something fun to share::: My husband and I are by no means wealthy. We love going on dates, but, after you pay for a sitter, a meal, a fun thing after the meal... it adds up and usually leaves us feeling like "ugh, we spent so much money". A few weeks ago we decided on the idea of having "date night at home" every week. On Thursday nights after the girls are in bed - we watch 2 of our fave tv shows together. When they are done we brew some coffee and go through the book we are reading together - what a great time. We talk about what we've learned, what was challenging and how we can better our marriage. And, it's FREE! I'm trying to think of new and creative ways to spice up our evenings... special treats, candles, maybe even a special "cuddle" blanket for the tv show time.

On my prayer list::: Pastors family as the grieve the loss of his nephew, friends with difficult pregnancies, unsaved family members, wisdom in leading teenagers at church, those with cancer.

Bible verse, Devotional::: One of our pastors spoke on the "Epistle of Joy" yesterday - Philipians. What a great reminder and challenge. Paul's life was horrendous at some points, yet, he chose to serve others, meditate on the person of Christ, pray for people, and focus on truth.

7"These things that I once considered valuable, I now consider worthless for Christ. 8It’s far more than that! I consider everything else worthless because I’m much better off knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. It’s because of him that I think of everything as worthless. I threw it all away in order to gain Christ 9and to have a relationship with him. This means that I didn’t receive God’s approval by obeying his laws. The opposite is true! I have God’s approval through faith in Christ. This is the approval that comes from God and is based on faith 10that knows Christ. Faith knows the power that his coming back to life gives and what it means to share his suffering. In this way I’m becoming like him in his death, 11with the confidence that I’ll come back to life from the dead." Philipians 3:7-11

Thank You, Lord...

The Lord has provided. He is our Jehovah Jireh... and as my husband reminded me yesterday - the one who LONGS TO HEAR US ASK HIM.

After several days of using the church 15 passenger van, we are now owners of a Dodge Caravan. It's what we needed, at a GREAT price and has tons of extras we never would have even thought we could afford. {ie: heated seats, DVD, stow n' go} I found this pic online of what we bought. Ours is gently used and just exactly what we need.

Today we are thankful for the AMAZING way that our God has once again met our every need. Rejoice with us!