2012 Goals- Marriage

Second to God the most important people in my life are my husband and children which is why make goals to improve my relationship with them.

My husband and I are very close.  He is my best friend.  But like any other relationship, it could stand to make some improvements.  Many times we get caught up in our daily lives and in the duties of parenting and we leave little time to focus on being an actual couple.  This year, I am hoping that if I set some specific goals and therefore making achieving my goals a priority, we will have more time together and further strengthen our relationship. 

The last time Mike and I have gotten away for a vacation was August 2006.  We went to a marriage conference for adoptive parents.  We were in classes all day but we still had a relaxing time at a hotel.  The time before that was may 2004.  We went to a bed and breakfast for the weekend and it was amazing.  To say that we need a break is an understatement. 

Marriage Goals:

1) Have regular dates with Mike
- plan out a date each month with ideas i come up with on my own or ideas from www.datingdivas.com or even pinterest
- have at least one date per month that cost us nothing but time.

2) get away for the weekend with Mike
-this is going to take some strategic planning but I know it will be worth it.
-we really love going to B&Bs so it will probably be something to that effect- find a location by 2/13/2012 and give this to him as his gift for Valentines Day
-plan childcare for our two youngest children and find friends for our oldest two to hang out with for the weekend.   
- pick out a new game for us to take with us for the weekend.  We love to play games.  The last time we went to a B&B we played Upwords all weekend long and loved it.  Well and other things too- we are married after all.

3) leave Mike love notes each week
-a friend gave me a cute little hinged box that says "love notes" on the outside so each week I am going to leave Mike a love note.  I am going to place the box on his pillow so he will know he has a new note.  If he decides to reciprocate then great, but if not I am perfectly ok with that too.  That is not my love language so no biggy : )  (Mine is acts of service)
-I am going to focus on things to praise him for because I openly admit I am not very good at praises. Fault pointing, no problem, praises...  Since I know I'm the one with the biggest fault in this scenario it is something that I want to work on diligently with my Husband and my children. 

4) I will continue in my non-fiction reading selection for 2012. I focus on marriage on Tuesday and right now I am reading Created to Be His Helpmeet by Debi Pearl and The Power of a Praying wife by Stormie Ormatian. 

I am just tweaking here and spicing things up a bit.  My marriage doesn't need an overhaul, just a bit of a boost.  I know if I work hard at these three goals we will be beaming at each other at the end of 2012.