Marriage and then some. . .

Cover of The Proper Care and Feeding of Marriage

I have never been an avid watcher of the TV show "Jon
and Kate plus 8", but this morning I heard their very sad news on the radio announcing their divorce. As a mama, I have a profound new sympathy for sacred family ties, and I become very sad when I hear of the dissolution of such an essential unit. Family means so much more to me now than ever before (or more than I ever realized), and I pray for the Gosselin and other families who are going through that same awful ordeal. I could not imagine. Although Kris and I have been married just shy of three years, I have learned sooo much about what it means to be married, and what it takes to stay married. One of our favorite books that has helped us through the tough times is "The Proper Care and Feeding of Marriage", by Dr. Laura Shlessinger.

Although she is not LDS, she provides a christian, and very candid perspective on what your responsibilities are as a husband and as a wife. No fluffy stuff in THAT book, for sure! She is downright blunt! Another resource that has given us a great perspective is the CD (or book), "Men are form Mars, Women are from Venus", suprisingly enough. I had not really considered it would be a reliable book (I thought it was just a big man bashing book, and I am NOT into that). It, however, provides a wonderful explanation for male and female behaviors, so you can understand better, and respond better. So, if you are looking for some suggestions, there you go! Anyway, a few things I have learned in my short travels:

1) Marriage always comes first, no matter how many kids you have.

2) You need to change yourself before you even THINK about what the other person needs to change.

3) Men are never, and will never be mind readers, no matter how long you are married. If you have a problem, you need to tell them intead of angrily skulking around expecting them to figure it out.

4) Women are NOT always right. (Still working on that one!)

5) If you want a happy husband, feed him, love him and tell him how great he is. Simple as that.

6) If you want a happy wife, listen to her, love her, and tell her how great she is. Simple as that.

7) Believe it or not, criticizing and sarcasm do NOT result in a happy marriage. Look what happened to the Gosselins, and countless other families on TV (and not).

8) A kiss and a smile take you further than eye rolling and jaw clenching.

Ahhhh, ok! I do have a few pictures for you today, I don't think the video loaded though.

Mommy checking Marins gums on Sunday. . .


As you can tell, she does not like it very much!


A candid of Marin on daddy's shoulders. Silly girl!

TOTAL spaghetti face, she is so sweet!