Topic to talk about: 10 tips for marriage advice!

I can not believe I’m writing this!

This December marks 10 years of marriage for Harry and I.

We just got back from a 10 year anniversary trip! For today’s “Topic to talk about” post, I’m sharing 10 tips for marriage advice + recapping our trip!

In our ten years of marriage thus far, here are our top 10 tips for what we find is most important:

Jesus is our foundation– This is the single most important piece of advice! Jesus is at the center and has been since day 1. All of our decision making flows from the same foundation- Jesus!
Remember your spouse can’t read your mind– This is something I continuously remind myself. We can’t read each other’s mind so if I want Harry to know something, I need to tell him and vice versa.
Prioritize– Next to our relationships with Jesus, our marriage is the next important thing, as the Bible so clearly states this. Prioritizing our marriage by planning date nights is important. This can be difficult having young children. Sometimes a date night may be a movie night at home after kids are in bed. Make sure you are prioritizing time with your spouse no matter what! “Date your spouse!”
Do for each other– We’re both tired parents at times, so doing for each other and splitting the work loads is important. Also, going out of your way to do for each other like: making coffee for one another, remembering to buy something your spouse likes to keep stocked, making a favorite meal. It’s a blessing to have a spouse who just knows you!
Remember the little things that bother each other– If there’s something that drives your spouse crazy, try not to do those things. Harry and I have pet peeves, in fact I blogged about it one time and made light of it! But if there’s something that really upsets your spouse like wearing shoes in the house, spending habits, etc.. try not to do those things!
Remember you’re on the same team– When arguments do happen, remind yourself, you’re on the same team, not opposing teams. Work together to figure out the issue!
Laugh often– Laughter is so good for the soul! Find humor each and every day. Sometimes when everything feels chaotic at home, we just look at each other and laugh. It certainly makes things feel less stressful.
Respect– Show respect for one another! Be kind, give compliments, say thank you, etc.
Forgiveness– Forgive each other. Every single day. We’re human and we lose our tempers, we etc. forgive!
Grace– Show each other grace! When living under the same roof, there are things that are bound to bother you, just show grace the way Jesus does for us!

Now let’s recap our 10 year anniversary trip:

We went to the beautiful islands of Turks & Caicos

It was absolutely stunning!

Grace Bay beach looks like a painting!

The day we landed, we headed straight for the beach and there was a beautiful rainbow!

Each day, we were starring at the blue water, reading, going for beach strolls, and taking beach naps!

Paradise

We enjoyed happy hour each day too!

The weather was high 70’s our entire trip, perfection!

One day, we took a sailboat out! This was fun!

We enjoyed getting dressed up for dinner each night.

We had amazing seafood on this trip!

Some nights we took a cab to dinner and some nights, we were able to walk down the beach!

Yum!

10 years 🤍

Haha, I had to take my festive pajamas on this trip. Tis a Christmas anniversary!

We had cheesecake delivered to the room one night, delish!

Our boutique hotel was so charming!

My color pallet! I loved it!

Each morning, we had breakfast at the hotel, beached it during the day, and went to dinner at night! Other than that, we did walk to a nearby shopping center one morning and one afternoon, we checked out a local brewery! We had a super charming and relaxing trip.

Paradise.. literally!

Cheers to 10 years my love!

Home to the babies!

I’ll leave you with some wedding pictures in honor of 10 years:

12.19.15 ✨ // Memory lane.. 10 years ago today we were at the alter saying, “I do.” I’ll always cherish marrying you during the magic & wonder of the Christmas season!

We were 24, just beginning our careers, we moved into an empty apartment having little to no furniture, just us and a dog named Ace, but… we also had a foundation, built on our Savior!

Before we got married, you told me “I have a relationship with Jesus and the way I treat you will always be a reflection of that.” You have always stayed true to that!

We’ve rode some of life’s highest highs and experienced some of life’s lowest lows over the last decade. I’m grateful for every bit of it. I’m proud of the youngins’ in these photos, thankful for everyone who stood around us that day (& still today!), how far we’ve come, and for the life we share!