Everyday Fairytales- Pour Into Your Spouse

Today, Addisyn turns 7 months old. Time is passing at an alarming rate! Over the last month we have had several new accomplishments! Addisyn now has two teeth, she is able to sit up on her own, and just this past week she began army crawling for the very first time. It’s amazing to watch her change and grow, she’s so inquisitive right now but moreover, she is so happy. She is a happy baby, and she makes us so happy!

This past weekend, we took Addisyn to her very first wedding. We had such a fabulous time celebrating Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Fiori! (Congrats guys!) It was an amazing day for a wedding and the bride was stunning! The groom cleaned up nicely also. Having the pleasure to watch the Mayes-Fiori love story play out, it was even more amazing to see them stand before their family and friends and commit to themselves and The Lord that they would spend their lives together, honoring each other and God. Watching these two together is so much fun; they truly have their very own fairytale. Wishing you many blessings for a lifetime of happiness Fioris!

As I sat and watched our lovely friends take their vows to each other, I contemplated how each day in a marriage you can forget what those vows actually say. How many of us can recall exactly what we said to our spouse on our wedding day? Each day in a marriage, especially with children, it’s easy to slip into a routine where the goal is to simply make it through the day. Far too many days, your spouse or significant other only gets what’s left after you crawl into bed, later than you would like, more than likely defeated from the day. Yet, if we could easily recall the feeling of actually becoming man and wife, we might treat each other far differently.

When I took my vows to Justin, I did not vow to love him for the rest of my life…but only give him attention on days that I wasn’t exhausted from caring for our daughter. I vowed to love and make him happy each and every day. Recently things have been very hectic. It seems it is all I can do to not immediately collapse into my pillow as soon as those tiny little blue eyes that stare at me all day close. Justin and I have no family nearby, and whenever we gather with friends, we enjoy the household of children that comes along with those gatherings. There is little time for us away from the princess, and neither of us would change that right now. However, it means we have to work extra hard to carve out time for each other. It means we have to work extra hard to make each other still feel loved, appreciated, valued, and cared for.

I am not lying when I say, I love my husband now more than I ever thought I could. He has stood by my side, he has loved me, he has made me laugh, he has comforted me, he has held me up so many times. I look at him and my heart still jumps. There’s no better feeling than watching him with our daughter, and how much he loves her. Plus, as I tell him often, there’s something hot about a man carrying diaper bag! Even still, there are days we don’t make enough time for each other. There are mornings that we are too attentive to what each of us must do to the start the day and he slips out the door with a short and sweet peck on the cheek. There are days that he comes in the house and I am too occupied to greet him immediately. There are days where the attention is just on the little one. There are days where the attention is on everything that doesn’t get done as easily as it used to before the little one. And then there are days that have been too tough and we take that rough day out on the other one; whether it be in too many or too few words that are spoken.

I have resolved that there will always be a to do list, and that as a parent…you won’t ever get enough sleep. If you can steal away for a date night, DO IT! If you can’t… be creative. How much do you love your spouse? Tell them. Tell them every chance you get. Tell them thank you, tell them you appreciate them, tell them you missed them. What vows did you actually say to them the day that you solidified your marriage union? Live that out. Far too often we forget to nurture our marriage when there’s too much packed into our day. Sometimes, it takes a simple reminder to greatly impress upon us how important it is to pour into our spouse. That’s the stuff that real life fairytales are made of.