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Today I'm going to continue my little series on a few lessons I've learned through life.
Since tomorrow is Valentine's Day, I decided today I would blog about lessons I've learned about marriage. For a little backstory, Mr. Farmhouse and I were high school sweethearts. We've been married now for almost 17 years. We've owned three homes together, we are raising three daughters, and we are still head over heels in love with each other. I'm not claiming to be an expert, but I do know that it takes hard work to maintain a healthy marriage and I do feel like we've learned some important lessons through the years. So here are five pieces of advice for keeping a strong marriage.
1. Communicate, communicate, communicate
This might seem obvious, but trust me...it's not. Listen first to understand what your spouse is saying and then talk. Brené Brown talks about how our brains really crave "a closed loop" in situations, so we sometimes make up stories in our heads to fill in the gaps when we don't know all the details. You know that moment when someone doesn't acknowledge you in the grocery store and you think, "Oh no...did I do something to offend that person?" or "I wonder why she doesn't like me."? This is what Brown is talking about. We don't like unresolved loops in our brain, so we make up stories to fill them in. And it happens in marriages ALL THE TIME. So when something is bothering you...talk about it. When you are unsure of the motive for your spouse's actions...talk about it. Sit down and have real life conversation. 2. Be Present This one goes hand-in-hand with number 1. Put the phone away and be with your spouse. Turn the television off and be with your spouse. Carve out time in your day to be together. When you are with your spouse, be fully there...not distracted by outside influences. 3. Find Out Your Spouse's Love Language Here is a quiz you can take to find out your love language and the love language of your spouse. TAKE QUIZ HERE
When Mr. Farmhouse and I found out that his love language is quality time and mine is acts of service, this was a game-changer for us.
I learned that I needed to stop multi-tasking and trying to "get stuff done" and just sit down and BE with him. He learned that doing the dishes or filling my car up with gas before I realize it's empty really fills my cup. With that said -- I would encourage everybody to take the love language quiz because it is great for ALL relationships -- friendships, parent/child relationships, work relationships, and others! 4. Focus on intimacy I'll make this short and sweet because I'm pretty sure my parents read my blog. Ladies, even if your husband's primary love language is not "physical touch", he still craves physical touch. Wives, commit to initiating an intimate encounter with your husband twice this week and see what happens. I promise, you'll be pleasantly surprised at what it does for your relationship OUTside of the bedroom. Okay, moving on... This next piece of advice might step on a few toes and I don't mean to do that, but I think it's a very important point to discuss. 5. Do not elevate your relationship with your children "above" your relationship with your spouse. I know this is difficult to consider because, my goodness, those sweet babies are just our WORLD! But there will come a time in 18-20 years, when those babies will grow up and move out. During this season of the "empty nest", I've known so many couples who feel as if they don't know their spouses without the kids in the house. Serve your spouse in front of your kids. Put his or her needs in front of your own needs. Schedule monthly date nights...just the two of you! Take trips (after COVID)! Sit on the porch together after the kids are in bed. Love your kids well WITH your spouse. Back each other up! Our kids have known from a very young age that if one of us says "no", the other parent will say "no". There's no reason to even ask. This is not to say they haven't tried! Your relationship with your spouse will serve as a model for them as they build relationships when they get older. Give them a healthy marriage to watch & model in their formative years.
I hope these five pieces of advice were helpful for you.
What would you add to my list? Spending this cold, cold day inside with the family here at the farmhouse, Hannah ❤️?❤️
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So we did. Now -- I can't complain. My brother and then his wife contracted the virus. While they did feel kind of crummy for a few days, they experienced mostly mild symptoms as they stayed at home. However, because of the dates of exposure and symptoms and all the rules & recommendations from the CDC, my niece and nephew have to quarantine until August 15th. So -- please be in prayer for them! Full disclosure here -- as a school administrator, the last six months have been a blur. I have said several times that I feel like we are living in a movie. This doesn't seem like real life, as we make decisions about how to deliver instruction to children in the safest way over the next school year. While my 10 1/2 month school-year contract officially ends on June 15th and begins again on August 1st each year, this summer there have been too many decisions to make to really take much of a break. And then...quarantine happened. Sure, I continued to work on giving input for school reopening plans and I did continue focusing on some of my school duties over the last few weeks. But I also spent many hours every single day over the last two weeks working alongside Mr. Farmhouse and the girls to complete projects that we have been planning to get to "someday".
Not being able to leave the house for two weeks isn't ideal. If we weren't in quarantine, I wouldn't have had to cancel our annual well-child checkups for the girls, piano lessons, & tutoring. Mr. Farmhouse could have been working and I wouldn't have had to miss a few in-person meetings at school. We could have allowed being stuck at home for two weeks with no symptoms to be irritating and a reason to complain. However, last night, as Mr. Farmhouse and I rode the Ranger through the field moving hot-wire for the cows, I looked around and smiled. Thank you, Lord, for this time we have had together. Thanks for slowing us down and giving us the opportunity to connect deeply before we all head off into the unknown of this school year. Thank you that my brother's family has had mild symptoms and that they have the opportunity to work from home. Just thank you, Lord. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Amen  Back to the real world today, friends.
Sending gratitude to God from the farmhouse, Hannah ♥️🏡♥️
Especially in the winter. And this winter has been a rough one. From sub-zero temperatures to snow & ice, keeping animals fed and alive has NOT been easy. To be honest, we have lost a few calves this winter... We have spent money trying to keep other calves alive... We even had our bottle calf "Patty" spend four days and three nights in the farmhouse basement (with the two older girls).
And yet...all over the Midwest, farmers have been out in this junk all day.
Mr. Farmhouse will work until 4:30 and then get in the truck and go feed cows and make sure they're all safe and sound before coming home at dark. Ice will be need to be chopped. Hay bales will need to be unwound. New babies might need to be taken inside and warmed up. Some farm days are enjoyable. Some farm days are miserable. All farm days are hard work. Saying a prayer from the farmhouse for those out working in this weather and thinking about our farmers, Hannah ❤️🏡❤️ |
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