I wrote this Valentine's message for MOPS today and I thought I would share it with you.



I read this saying the other day….“A good marriage is like a casserole, only those responsible for it really know what it’s comprised of.” (Leave it to me to come up with a saying related to cooking) Anyway, after much thought ( because I don’t always understand everything I read right away…and because three kids leave my brain not cooperating as well as it used to) I have decided that this is a quote worth remembering. We all know what goes into our casseroles. No one else does, but as long as it tastes good, no one needs to, right? Unless of course it is SO fabulous that we all need the recipe. (that would be the day….) There are many different ingredients that make a good a marriage. One of these ingredients in my marriage is hefty dose of humor. The things that endear my husband to me never cease to drive me crazy. For instance….I have totally given up on being surprised by a gift. Actually, let’s make that surprised by anything! My husband has this innate ability (that means it has been there since birth…don’t worry I checked with his mom, it’s true) to give away everything and anything he has planned. He doesn’t believe me but I even knew exactly when he was going to propose. I would say though, as much I have resigned myself to never being surprised, I would not trade this for anything. Do you have any idea how cute a 30 year old guy can look when he’s trying his best not to give away a secret….and it’s not working? Absolutely ADORABLE! (let’s not tell him I told a room full of ladies that) Another healthy ingredient(depending on the day) that accompanies our marriage is thankfulness. Who couldn’t love or appreciate a man that brings you hot chocolate in bed, cleans the house quite regularly, says romantic things and loves his kids like crazy? Or how about when he says you look beautiful even when the mirror wonders who the freak with pimples, smeared mascara and dry, frizzy hair is…… Okay, back to the point of this little story thing. Marriage is wonderful. I am not saying that it is always easy and that you will never get frustrated….but I believe we have been given an amazing gift when we are blessed with marriage. And like the quote above, none of us really knows what goes into anyone else’s marriage. I have been blessed with good friends, great family and many encouraging comments over the years. (The not so helpful ones I tend to forget) To sum this all up and to say what I was trying to say this whole time is… marriage takes all different kinds of compromise, patience, trust and most importantly LOVE. ( a little peace and quiet and some time alone, mixed with some chocolate….also helps make a good casserole…oops, I mean marriage! LOL