After the Vows, it's The Little Things

Photos by Gabri

In honor of Valentines Day this week we thought it would be fun to share some of The Little Things from our marriage that seem to help keep us on track. 

Although our Love Story is one only the Lord could have written, it doen't mean that life is a fairy tale all the time. Even though we are crazy about each other that doesn't mean that our relationship is perfect & that we get it right all the time. Because thats not true. Marriage is hard. It isn't always pretty and life can complicate the mess out of a relationship (if we let it). We knew that going in. So we continually make the commitment to pursue each other even after we said, Our Vows. This sounds so romantic but it is hard work sometimes, takes effort, and personal sacrifice. 

Here are a few of The Little Things {In Our Marriage} that help us to pursue one another, keep our commitments in mind, work on our relationship, and help us to keep falling even more in love with the other. 

The Little Things {for Her}

I love flowers. All kinds. However, I'm not a big fan of the traditional roses or having them delivered to me. One of the little things Johnny does for me is picks out a bouquet of flowers each month from a local grocery market. These are beautiful & fellas doesn't break the bank, like $5-$15. 

He arranges them in a vase in the kitchen & surprises me when I kinda forget they are coming. And for an entire day, they stay like this. By the next morning the flowers are out of the big vase, dispersed throughout our house. This use to drive Johnny nuts bc he thought I should just leave them all together. But he realized it brings me happy to see flowers all over our home.

Alone time. One of The Little Things my hubby does for my me is he makes sure that I get alone time.I need time to myself to write, create, get coffee or get lost in a book all by alone. When we first got married, Johnny wasn't a big fan of this. He's the opposite. He does not like alone time & prefers to spend all of our time together. It has been really wonderful to see how Johnny has grown to value that this is one way he can show me that he loves me. By making sure he I get this time to myself. (thank God)

Men do dishes. Now, he doesn't always get this right (ha) but often he does. If I start cleaning up the kitchen he usually tells me, "baby just go sit down, let me do this." Its great. 

Love Gift. At least once a week I get surprised with my favorite coffee from Starbucks. Or a diet vanilla dr. pepper from sonic. It is something small, I rarely ask for it, and I love when he brings me a drink without me asking. Most of the time he does this when I'm having a long or bad day.

The Little Things {for Him}

Notes. I leave them here & there for him. It is something fun that I've enjoyed doing since we first got together. They are not everyday, but often Johnny will find little messages from me. Letting him know he's on my mind.

Spontaneous Affection. If you are not familiar with the 5 Love Languages (get familiar people). One of the essential ways that keeps the spark always going in our love life is knowing one another's love languages. There is always lots of making out in our marriage. At times when he least expects it. Just saying. Ladies, its good to be spontaneous in this aspect. Thats all I will say, so try it out ;) Promise your hubby will appreciate it!

Affirm him. In the beginning of our marriage I didn't realize how important this was. However, once I started regularly (daily) communicating to Johnny positive words of affirmation - the way he showed me love - intensified. Seriously y'all! A few ways to speak positive affirmation to your husband is simply telling me how much you love him, appreciate everything he does for you (your family), let him know how handsome you think he looks, or maybe tell him how awesome he is. Mainly, respect him. Let him know that you respect & honor him. 

Get Creative. We live away from our family & rarely do we get dates away from the house. So with that said, I get creative ladies. I also like to keep date nights a secret. Not letting Johnny know about them until we are kinda bored, sitting on the couch at night, and then all the sudden start a date. 

Our Date Nights at Home look like this... 

- one of my favorites is coffee & dancing on the back porch - after Noah is in bed

- make a pallet in the living room, hang out, talk, make out, and play a game. 

- we often drag our papasan chairs outside, snuggle, and Johnny serenades me

- lately we've been watching our wedding video together. sweet memories. 

- date night in Johnnys office. while Noahs at MDO I'll plan a spontaneous date in his office.

These are just a few of the ways that we show each other love. Thanks for letting us share. Happy Monday. 

~Brit