Marriage Monday: "That," he said, "is the key to our marriage."

I've been reading through a marriage enrichment book and when I came across this cute little story and I just fell in love with the couple and the message. The passage begins by discussing three major ways we can help our spouse and mentions encouragement as one of the key components.

"A couple who were being interviewed on the occasion of their fiftieth wedding anniversary were asked, "To what do you attribute the success of your long marriage?" The husband responded, "Sarah was the first young lady I ever dated. When I proposed her, I was scared stiff. But after the wedding, her dad took me aside and handed me a little package and said, 'Here is all you really need to know.'"

The obvious question was, "And what was in that package?"

Reaching into his pocket, the man pulled out a gold watch and said, 'This is it.' There across the face of the watch, where he could see it a dozen times a day, was written, Say something nice to Sarah. "That," he said, "is the key to our marriage."

Life can sometimes be difficult, but when we receive positive words, we are encouraged to continue pursuing our dreams."

--Excerpt from The Four Seasons of Marriage by Gary Chapman

Great right? I love the wisdom of his new father-in-law. I love that this sweet little old man carried this watch around with him even so many years later. I love that even though it was the same message he was seeing everyday he took it to heart and did it. Everyday. I love that he recognized the importance of encouraging his wife. I love that he realized the huge effect positive interaction had on their marriage.

What did you like about this story?

You can find my other Marriage Monday's here.

*Image found with google images.

Eight Years Ago (I Became A Mom)

Eight years ago, it was Easter on April 20th and my first little baby was born.

She's always been curious about the world around her. And kind-hearted.

She loves science, reading and art (she draws like her dad!).

She takes good care of her younger siblings and is a huge help to her mom!

She's very social and friendly. She loves to dance, sing, and play the piano.

Happy 8th Birthday kiddo. I'm sure lucky to be your mom!

*Thanks to Susan Monson Photography for the beautiful photography.

W-i-n-n-e-r

Thanks to everyone who entered to win Don Carey's Bumpy Landings.

Congrats to

Nancy!

Marriage Monday: Don't Get Stuck in a Rut

Date Night...Don’t Get Stuck in a Rut!!

by Shannan Hardy, M.S.

Sometimes the ruts, or routines of our lives, are good things! If I was a pioneer straggling across the country in the wagon trains, I would have been grateful for the clearly marked path of the wagon wheels that had trudged the way before me! I would load up the wagon, set my course, and be on my way! But getting STUCK in the rut is another thing altogether. Sometimes those grooves would run so deep, it would be almost impossible to change course with a correction, or even get off the trail for a break! Likewise with our Date Nights...

We all look forward to the reprieve of Date Night with great anticipation when we’re battling the often mind-numbing routine that comes along with the joys of parenthood. However, we often we get stuck in a rut with Date Night and suddenly it’s a bit lackluster or maybe even NOT really the enjoyable event it could be! So...if you find yourself going to the same old place for dinner and yet another generic movie for your regular Date Night...here’s a way to ‘get out of the rut!’

Try ADS...the Alphabet Dating System...Not as easy as ABC, but close! Start with A, and do something for date night that begins with A; eat Abalone, go to an Art exhibit, ride an Arabian horse! Who knows!! Be creative and come up with something fun to do! Move on to B; go play Basketball, Baseball, or Batting Cages...You get the idea!! Take turns picking the event and on some letters you will have to be VERY creative and maybe even stretch it a bit to fit the category. Really - the idea here is to do something different. And the only rule is...if your spouse chooses it, you gotta do it! So think carefully if you pick manicures, he may pick a WWF or Mixed Martial Arts event!!

Take some time to keep the Date Night fresh, fun, and enjoyable and it will serve it’s intended purpose...to keep you both connected, enjoying each other, learning new things and engaged in each other’s lives!

Enjoy!

A huge thanks to my guest blogger today, Shannan Blum Hardy.


Shannan Blum Hardy received her Master's Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Brigham Young University in 1992 and worked full-time as a drug and alcohol counselor before becoming a full-time stay-at-home mom to her children. She is currently divorced and living with her four children in Chino Hills, California. She has re-entered the workplace as a therapist working with children in the public school system and earning hours towards private licensure. Additionally, she is a co-author with her sister-in-law of "ManagerMom: Managing Your Home for Better Parenting" which you can view at www.managermom.net. She is passionate about parenting, relationships, learning new things, growing and enjoying every moment with delight!

You can find my other Marriage Mondays here.

Clubbing at The Depot (The Lost Saint Party with Bree Desapin)

A few of you may know that I was on Bree Despain's street team for The Dark Divine so I got the opportunity to meet with Bree a few times and even had her come out to my book club last year.

Well I couldn't pass up the chance again when The Lost Saint came out.

My cute friends Shauna and Emily helped me out in planning this fun party! Here's a little taste of what we did.

(If you've read the book hopefully you'll get more of the details we threw in there.)

A group shot of us girls clubbing at The Depot.

You may notice a few extra folks. Nancy kindly brought a version of the Markham Street Monster (plus they fit in nicely with our Halloween theme in the other room) and the other boys in the picture were there volunteering in one of the booths you'll see later.

First things first. In order to get into The Depot we needed our card key to gain access. Nancy was up to her tricky ways again and brought us each one of these snazzy necklace key cards to wear!

We had the party divided into The Depot and the Halloween Carnival. Dinner included Halloween themed food and decorations. Complete with a Caramel Apples dipping station and an assortment of toppings. (I forgot to grab a photo of that.)

We had a few booths for our street fair carnival party. :) This one was palm reading.

Another booth. Trunk or Treat as mentioned in the book. A fun variation of Trick Or Treating.

I think this was my favorite. The Kissing Booth. We had a few Hollywood actor cutouts we had dressed to play Daniel and Talbot as guests in our kissing booth. And the treats were cool minty and hot cinnamon. :)

Our make and take booth was bedazzled stake bookmarks.

Here's our finished projects.

Did I mention that my name appears in the book?

Awesomesauce!

Lets Eat Cake (Winners Announced)

With almost 100 votes we had some pretty close races folks! I had so much fun hosting this cake contest! Thanks again to Camiba, Jessica L, Jana, Jessica G., and Tonya for sending in your amazing cakes!

You can see all the cake entries here.

If you were interested in participating check back next week when I announce my next cake contest (so you'll have time to prepare) that I'll be hosting in May!

But now on to the winners!

Just a reminder what was up for grabs.

Chocolate Never Faileth by Annette Lyon

Just Breathe by Susan Wiggs

Defensive Tactics by Steve Westover

Bumpy Landings by Donald Carey

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

The Sapphire Flute by Karen Hoover

Summer In Paris by Michele Ashman Bell

The Hourglass Door by Lisa Mangum

The Diamonds by Ted Michael

Airhead by Meg Cabot

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Swoon at Your Own Risk by Sydney Salter

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

(Those titles that are bolded are SIGNED by the author.)

**A note to the winners. In the original post I said I'd give away a book to the winner and a small prize box to the runners up. I've decided to give you all your choice. So just email me (or leave a comment) with your choice of book or my 'favorite thing box' (I hope that made sense).

Here we go!

Are you ready?

Voted best overall was

Harry Potters The Monster Book of Monsters

created by Jessica G. from the blog Duck Duck Cow

Voted best in the book category was

Dr. Suess Green Eggs and Ham

created by Jana from the blog Hobbies Make Me Happy

Voted best in the 'other' category was

Yoshi

created by Jessica L.

Congratulations!

Giveaway Time (Who Needs a New Book?)

Anyone in the mood for a giveaway? Cause I sure am! Donald Carey has kindly offered one of my lucky readers to win a copy of Bumpy Landings. You can check out my review here.

To enter: Leave a comment.

Extra entries: (Each worth 1 entry. Please leave a separate comment for each entry.)

+ Watch the book trailer below and tell me something fun about it or just give props to Don for all his mad lego man skills.

+ Tweet about this contest "I entered to win Bumpy Landings by @writerdc over on @cranberryfries blog http://bit.ly/gQHHnG " (You can do this once every day. Please copy/paste link(s).)

+ Add this book to your Goodreads 'to-read' list

+ Be a follower of my blog

Contest ends April 18th. Winner announce April 19, 2011.

Buy it: Amazon | Deseret Book | The Book Depository | Cedar Fort

Add it your: Goodreads | Shelfari

*Just a reminder: Last day to vote in the cake contest! :)