it's our eight year anniversary. here is a list of 8 things we do to make (and keep) our marriage gooooooood. and we have a pretty good marriage. we mostly like each other a lot... and we made it past the 7 year itch (which i just learned about) easily. we're in it to win it... fo sho. and by "win it" i mean be super in love for all of our days.
{entering our wedding reception 10.04}
1. be your spouse's cheerleader
when matt and i hung out together in a social setting for the first time, we went bowling with a group of people. i am not a bowler. matt isn't really either. every time it was matt's turn to bowl, i would stand up and cheer for him because... i was crushin'. at one point he even stated, "you are like my personal cheerleader or something!" matt bowled the best game of his life that night. whenever your spouse is doing something... you should be their biggest fan. it's your job and it will make a difference. 
{the actual bowling night! our first picture 02.01}
2. bite your tongue!
don't correct your spouse in front of other people. your husband is telling some hilarious story to your friends at dinner about a trip you took to italy. he makes a mistake in the story. he says the wrong city... you were clearly in siena, not florence when this event happened. before you open your trap to correct him, think about it. does it make a difference to the story? will your friends ever know the difference? does it matter at all? is the only outcome going to be that you look like an interrupting critical jerk? yeah, probably. so, it's hard, but just let it go...
{italy... siena. our engagement trip! 07.03}
3. play to your strengths
matt is a better cook than me. it's more than that, though. he is a really good, natural cook and i'm not. i need recipes to follow and even then things turn out poorly sometimes. this used to annoy me. i wanted to be a good cook too. i wanted people to talk about my great cooking. that was dumb. matt is good at cooking and he enjoys it. so he cooks a majority of the meals in our house. and i enjoy eating them. i don't need to compete with him... i just need to appreciate this area where he excels. after all, there are households with no good cooks and how sad for those people. plus, i'm a good baker. better than matt, even. 
{thanksgiving. i made rolls. matt made everything else. 11.08}
4. get some financial peace
money causes problems people... in almost all relationships, but especially in marriage. matt and i took the dave ramsey financial peace course and it really makes a huge difference to feel like you are on the same money team. and really, you are on the same money team... that's how it should be. so take some kind of financial management class or read a book or go to a seminar. make a budget together (together being the key word) so you both know and agree on where the money goes each month. 
{how debt free feels! tulip festival 04.09}
5. keep inside jokes on the inside
matt and i are both funny people. people think i'm funny right when they meet me because i am loud and more in your face than matt. matt takes more time to get comfortable in groups of people. at a dinner party... everyone hears the hilariousness spewing from my mouth, but only the person sitting right next to matt gets to hear his. i have a point here. matt says and does very funny things all the time. he makes me cry laugh a lot. he says and does those things for me because he is comfortable with me. he is not comfortable with everybody and does not like it when i ask him to do a crazy impression in front of 10 people that he did at home for me last night. it took me awhile to learn that. sometimes his most funny stuff is just for me and that makes it even better, really. 
{maternity shoot by nick dunne 11.10}
6. say cheese
take a lot of pictures together. when you are out... ask people to take your picture. when you are alone... take toaster pictures (as my mil calls them)!one day you will look back at all your pictures and it will remind you of lots of happy times and memories. and you will see in the pictures how much you loved each other. and it will make you love that person even more right then. i can look at a picture of our wedding day and remember that exact moment and how i felt and it's like i feel that emotion all over again... magical. plus photographs are my hands down favorite form of wall art. have you been to my house? you know it's true. 
{i know just why we look like this! christmas eve 12.08}
7. i chchchooooose you
if there is ever a disagreement between your spouse and a family member or a friend or a stranger even, take your spouses side. you are on an exclusive team and you've always got to have their back. i know you're thinking... but what if they did something really terrible or they're just really wrong. uh, well... i'm thinking don't marry someone who is going to do something you find really terrible. if there is a fight and i am forced to pick a side, i pick matt's. always. and i know he picks mine. always. we are a force to be reckoned with. mwahahaha.
{dominican republic trip 06.06}
8. pillow talk
at night, go to bed a few minutes earlier than you need to and take some time to talk. matt and i usually take that time to rant about things that are annoying or to gossip. eep... it's true. don't you wish you could be a fly on our bedroom wall? ha. creepy. matt and i don't keep secrets. if you tell me something in confidence, i'm going to tell matt... at night, before bed. BUT what is said during that time, stays between us. sneaky, sneaky. 
{hunger games midnight movie 03.12}
what's your marriage advice? not that we need it. ;)
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