In our church, we commonly refer to the everyday, important gospel things we do as "Primary Answers" because our Primary kids (3-11 yrs) know that they are the answers to most questions on staying close to the Lord. Examples: Scripture study, prayer, going to church, etc.
I feel strongly that there are certain things that are AS essential to keeping our marriages and families strong as these "Primary Answers" are to our daily lives. One of those things is date nights.
And before you say that this is just me looking through my newlywed-colored glasses, I'd like to mention that many people who are more experienced and studied in these matters than I am stress the importance of continued courtship. :)
I always think of this counsel from one of my favorite professors.
He and his wife have 10 kids. They've been married 30+ years. Date nights for them are not always grand, long-winded, or easy. Most of the time they don't go out for date nights. But they always try to set it apart somehow. Sometimes they send the kids to bed a little early so they can watch a movie or play a game. Sometimes they eat steak while the kids have mac and cheese and hot dogs. They find creative ways to still make date nights work, even if they aren't typical. They said that their kids always knew the importance of date night. It sends a message to them of how important their parents are to each other.
That being said, I'm sure they weren't able to make it work every week. Sometimes the kids go on date nights with you. Sometimes date nights include some extra pillow talk before drifting off. The important thing is that we do what we can in our stage of life and we don't beat up on ourselves for days that don't go as planned.
Also. This post is not written in any way to be offensive, condescending, or judgmental. It is merely an expression of my belief and the goal I am shooting for. :) Blame it on my minor in marriage and family studies.
Sometimes date night feels kind of pointless as a newlywed because every night is just the two of us anyways... But the point is that we are setting an important pattern. I am sure it will be a blessing to our marriage later in life.
Ok. Soapbox over.
Our Friday date night last week needed to be a quick one because we had family coming into town. We decided on geocaching and ice cream cones. We found two caches and got two ice cream cones.
We love geocaching! And two dollar dates!
Quote of the night: Man! When you sing with Celine, you just sound better, ya know!?
We may or may not have had a few rousing sing-alongs in the car.
I also believe FHE is essential.
For FHE on Monday, we watched a Mormon Message and went on a "Pocanut" Hunt! (My youngest sister used to call pinecones, pocanuts.)
I wanted them for crafts. (Which I will post pictures of soon, hopefully.)
Logan saw this perfect pinecone. The only problem is that it was still attached. So he started throwing our keys at it. ... Flip flops are really good at getting keys AND pinecones out of trees. ;)
We found the mother load of [unattached] pinecones after much searching.
Fact: Pinecones smell REALLY good if you bake them in the oven for a few minutes to get them to open up. 200 degrees for 10 to 20 minutes on a foil-lined baking sheet. Mmmm!
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