Thoughts for Thursday: Marriage Goals for 2017!

Hi friends! Happy Thursday!!

Sooo...with the start of the new year comes new goals, aspirations and resolutions. I know some people don't enjoy making New Year's resolutions...but I happen to love it :)
I really enjoy identifying areas of my life that need improvement...I mean, we can always be doing better, right??

I have several different "sets" (spiritual, personal health and wellness, etc) of goals for 2017- but today I thought I would share some goals that Aaron and I are going to be working on this year to help strengthen our marriage and give it a little "boost!"

2016 was an amazing year- our precious Marshall John was born

It was also a very FULL year for Aaron and me.
This past summer, Aaron unexpectedly tore his ACL 2 weeks before we went on a 2 week vacation and had to have surgery at the end of July. I had a (VERY) unexpected c-section with Marshall (at the end of April), then had abdominal surgery in November and just in the last two weeks have had 3 procedures for my varicose veins.  While all of these "health events" have gone very smoothly and thankfully, we are both extremely healthy and therefore have had uncomplicated recoveries, it still has been A LOT. 

You know how it is- just regular life with kids and work takes a lot of energy and effort...so when you aren't feeling your best- it can make things more challenging!
  Basically- where I am going with all of this- is that Aaron and I have definitely put "US" on the back burner over the last 6 months- totally out of sheer necessity! 

Now that we are both "back to normal" and no longer have a newborn (squishy little Marshall is 8 months old now!!!)...we are ready to put some more effort into our marriage and give it a little extra TLC :)

Us on New Year's Eve...we were wild and crazy and passed out in bed, watching an episode of House Hunters well before midnight! HA!
Here's what we plan on focusing on this year:

- Check in weekly and ask how we can be praying for each other. 
- Go OUT on a date every 6 weeks.
- Have 1-2 AT HOME date nights per month (watch a movie together, share a yummy dessert, doing some conversation cards together, etc)
- Have an early morning coffee "dates" (at home) at least 2 times a week 
- Do an act of love for each other at least once a month- this could mean: Aaron surprising me with flowers, me writing Aaron a note and surprising him with a gift card to grab lunch out somewhere, writing the other person a love note....you get the picture :)
Our goals aren't really anything earth shattering....but it sure does feel good to be on the same page with one another and have a "plan" in place to make sure we don't forget about "US." We are in a season of life where the focus is on our 5 precious, young kiddos (and we would NOT have it any other way)- but we still want to make sure we are honoring our marriage and giving each other our BEST!
I would love to know- do you have any marriage/relationship goals this year?
If you don't mind sharing...tell me about them in the comments!! :) I love hearing about how other couples work on strengthening their marriages/relationships with each other!!

Hope you have the BEST day!

Linking up with Annie and Natalie today!


Comments

  1. What awesome marriage goals! I remember it being so hard when the kids were younger making time for Ben and I! But we made sure we did it....even if it was just going to bed at the same time and watching a movie! Now that the kids are older, of course it's much easier!!

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    1. Thanks friend!! Yes- even just simply going to bed at the same time makes a big difference!!! :) we are focusing on quality versus quantity in this beautiful (and exhausting-ha!) season of young
      kiddos:)

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  2. I love how you'll be taking the time specifically for your marriage. This season of life is just so busy with young kids that it is so important to carve out time with your spouse.

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  3. When you write out all your health challenges from this year in one place, it is A LOT! You all have been through so much, and thankfully all was successfully. But that is still so much to go through while still maintaining a household with 5 little kiddo's! I know you must be greeting 2017 with a sigh of relief and just feeling ready for some normal!

    Anyway, your goals are great because they are realistic. And Heather is right, it all gets easier as the kids get older. For our marriage, we have two goals this year. First, Michael lost his every other Friday off, so there go our date days. We will need to make an effort to go on a date NIGHT. We don't have a set frequency, but we need to make them happen! Second, we plan to go on a little vacation just the two of us this year. We haven't done this since the kids were little!
    Have a wonderful day!

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  4. I love that you have such obtainable goals to breathe excitement and love into your marriage. My husband and I are working on more "us" moments this year too!

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  5. I am in your same season, with young kids it is really important to make sure to focus on your marriage. I like how great your goals are because they are attainable and yet take some thought and intent to be fulfilled. Great goals. Once the kids go to bed is our time together, but I like the stay at home date nights to and feel I need to be a little bit more intentional. It is so easy to just sit across the room and zone out to TV :) Have a great day!

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    1. Yes Jenna! We are usually so tired once we have gotten the kids to bed that we end up just vegging out in front of the TV and/or staring at our phones😬i am really looking forward to putting away our phones and connecting more with each other!
      Hope you have a great day friend!

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  6. We are celebrating 15 years of marriage (and 20 years of being together) this May - makes us sound super old, whoa! We are 36. Anyway, we have had a lot thrown at us over the past few years, throw in 4 kids and we are definitely needing some good 'us' time. We are making a commitment to go out on one date per month this year, just the two of us. I love your ideas and think we'll try to incorporate some of those, too. And we were just like you on NYE, snuggled in bed falling asleep watching TV. Party animals! :)

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  7. Now that our oldest is 14 and the youngest is almost 3, we are finally at a point in our marriage where we don't have to hire a babysitter because the oldest one can do it! This has been HUGE! Starting a few months ago we made it a priority to get out for a date night at least once a month.

    Jen
    jpabstfitness.com

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  8. Great goals!! 2016 was definitely a busy year for your family. So thankful you're all recovered and have a great plan for the new year. I'd love to make date nights a priority this year, pick a show to watch together in the evenings and we look forward to watching football together every year. I like what you said about putting away your phones after the kids go to bed because we are definitely guilty of sitting down and scrolling through our phones instead of talking at the end of the day.

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