6 Years of Dating

This past weekend marked since years since the night my handsome man and I met! WOW!

I'll never forget the night we met, mostly because Joe had hair an inch past his shoulders and a goatee that was long enough to put in two braids. He was so shy but had such kind eyes (thank goodness, it was rather hard to see what he looked like behind all his hair!). I didn't know that he called his dad, that night, telling him that he had just met the woman he was going to marry. 

When I look back on our six years the one thing that has been such a gift for our relationship has been that we date each other, regularly. As a matter of fact, it is probably one of the biggest priorities of our week is to make sure date night happens. Our dates have taken many forms. When I lived in Dallas Joe would drive to visit and we walked to the Italian cafe every Friday for a greek salad and to share a carafe of wine. Despite the fact that Italian cafe is sub-par food and cheap wine, it will forever be one of my all time favourite restaurants. It was there I learned Joe's heart as we lingered over our cheap wine and walked home in the warm Texas air.

Walking home from Italian Cafe in good ol' Las Colinas, Tx

In Australia we were beyond poor. We had two types of regular date nights. The first was to Costco for a 99 cent hot dog and to share a frozen yogurt. We loved driving our tiny little car through downtown Melbourne for our cheap date and sitting there relishing in the unhealthy deliciousness. The second was date night in. We would play beer pong, eat salami and cheese, and cuddle together under the tiny little space heater keeping our freezing apartment warm. We would talk for hours dreaming of our life together. Even though we were home we chose to make that time a date and it was amazing. I will never forget those dates and I continued to learn his heart.

Beer pong, just the two of us, and I was pregnant at this point so I played with Apple Juice :) 

Well, much has happened since Oz but we still date, almost weekly, (thanks Mom and Dad for babysitting!!!). It seems like almost always we have to squeeze a little bit in other areas of our budget to make sure it happens, but on the weeks we miss date night the disconnection between us is very evident. So, we make it happen! Most often these days date night is wing night. Wings at 25 cents a piece and a nice cold beer are a perfect and budget friendly opportunity to unwind and reconnect. We've had special dates too....formal events, concerts, surprise hotel stays. Some of our most cherished dates, even now, are date night in when kids go to my parent's or we put them to bed and we make European style feasts of bread, cheese, olives, and wine. We cherish these feasts sitting cross legged on the carpet and breathing deeply, and we make sure we are still in tune with each other's hearts. 

A whale watching dinner cruise in Hawaii. We were engaged that year!

Date nights are the only times we take selfies because it is just.the.two of us. YAY!!!

We love getting dressed up together. Those are special date nights too! I was pregnant with Judah here :)

Nothing like a patio together!

Even though date nights are casual I really like getting dressed up for my man.
Who cares if we are waaaay over dressed for a neighborhood pub on wing night!

Two months or so before we met our baby boy. Joe's first stadium concert.

I think that our dates are one of the biggest gifts we have given our marriage and our children. Date night shows them that we are in love with each other, that we prioritize one another, that we cherish the gift of carefree timelessness with our spouse. Liliana has just started complaining when we leave her to go on a date, but I always tell her that Mommy and Daddy need time together so we can be better mommies and daddies. She gets it and, more importantly, she gets to see that we walk the talk. My primary vocation is to my Joe and when I carve out time to make sure I still know his heart we can face whatever challenges greet us every day and we truly are better parents!

I am so beyond grateful for six years of dates with my Love, and I am excited that he is mine and I get to spend the rest of my life dating him!

Do you date your spouse? Do you have fun and budget friendly ideas for date night? I'd love to hear some of them!

Love and prayers for you this beautiful, sunny, winter day!

xoxo