Babymoon

Last week, Jon and I spent 4 glorious days babymooning in Cancun, Mexico. I can't tell you how relaxing and rejuvenating it was for us, it was much needed! It was actually quite healing for us too... I was coming off of a 2 week stint of severe sciatica (thank God it ended before we left) and we were both battling sinus/allergy/cold junk. It wasn't ideal to be blowing my nose 100 times while lounging on the beach and feeling like I was yelling anytime I talked to Jon because my ears were stopped up but hey, we were AT THE BEACH! If we were home, the craziness of life would have commenced, leaving little time for rest and healing. We slept 10 hours at night, napped during the day, and of course ate our little hearts out (let's just say I pretended I did not have gestational diabetes for those 4 days). Jon qualified for a Companion Pass on Southwest this year so I can fly anywhere with him for free so we knew we wanted to go somewhere SW flew and preferably a short and direct flight. As much as we want to "see the world", we just loveeee Mexico. A short 2 hour flight from Austin and we were in paradise. Since I flew free and Jon booked his ticket with points, we splurged a little on our hotel and stayed at the #2 rated hotel in Cancun, Live Aqua. It was absolutely heavenly. We are huge fans of all inclusive resorts but are picky when it comes to food because that is always the highlight of our trip. Jon definitely did his due diligence in choosing this resort! It was an adults only resort with the whitest sand and most turquoise water I have ever seen. We were treated like kings and thoroughly enjoyed our time there. We definitely missed our little munchkin (who stayed with Mimi and Papa) but it was so nice to be away. I am a better mama when my marriage is solid and I am connected to my hubby... this was the ultimate date night. I read two books (Where'd ya go Bernadette and Me Before You...Wild is up next), we swam in the ocean (so unlike me), napped on outdoor beds, played tons of Memory on the iPad, and even restarted Breaking Bad on Netflix. Ford is such an easy and sweet little guy but you often forget how little time you get for yourself as a mom. This trip was about me, about us. I loved every moment of being away with Jon and feel so blessed that we are able to get away. Not sure when our next trip sans kids will be but we are excited for the next adventure of life!

View from our room

Date night

As you can imagine, our little Ford takes up quite a lot of our time. Sunday night I ate leftovers with one hand while bouncing a fussy baby and Jon came in from hanging Halloween lights and asked me what was for dinner. Yeah... things have changed since having a baby! Before Ford was born, Jon and I talked about the importance of our marriage and continuing to place it above our baby. Physically Ford comes first because I can't exactly leave a screaming, hungry baby to fend for himself, but emotionally, there is no way I can be a good parent unless I am connecting with my husband. Jon and I are still good at connecting now that we are parents but I can't lie to you and say it is easy. We still eat dinner together without TV but one of us has their foot on the bouncer to entertain Ford and we still love playing games but I am usually nursing Ford simultaneously...I've learned how to do a lot one handed ha! 

We know this season of life is temporary and soon we'll be able to put Ford down at a reasonable hour and have dinner alone rather than racing to bed the second we put him down to get a full nights sleep. And it will get easier to leave him with a sitter as he gets older. Jon is absolutely, hands down my best friend in the entire world. I think a lot of people say that about their spouse because it just sounds good but Jon is everything I could ever ask for not only in a husband but a friend too. I need long late night conversations with him and laugh attacks to the point of tears. That's why we knew how important getting away on our own would be.
Last Friday we left Ford for the first time with my parents to go see The Book of Mormon downtown. It's funny because that weekend my grandparents, sisters, and aunt happened to be in town so Ford was WELL taken care of! I had been looking forward to this night for months... we had the tickets even before Ford was born and I had pumped milk ready to go within a week of his birth. It was so fun to get dressed up and wear a non nursing friendly dress (no one tells you you won't be able to wear basically your entire wardrobe while nursing). 

Leading up to the night out I was feeling really great! I kissed my baby boy goodbye and didn't look back. It wasn't until we got to the theater and the show was about to start that I looked down and saw a video text from my sister. Gulp. I got a huge frog in my throat and tapped Jon. I held back tears and told Jon I missed Ford. It was weird. I was SO fine with it until I realized he was awake and making other people happy... away from me. I shut my phone and didn't watch the video until intermission.

My sweet boy!

I called for an update at intermission and felt so much better talking to my mom about how cute he was being.... he is quite the late night entertainer! We enjoyed the rest of the show and I was excited to get back to my little man...

It was a great first night away... we were gone for 4 hours and Ford did great. My birthday is on Monday and we plan on leaving him for dinner out. Although I know we will probably talk about Ford the whole time, I am really looking forward to getting out without him :). 

Little moments

I had been hinting to Jon for a few weeks of gift ideas for Mother's Day and never did I think I'd get treated so special on my first Mother's-To-Be-Day. My late sleeper was up before 7am making breakfast, picking out flowers, and letting this tired mama sleep. 
I don't think I have eaten a donut in about 10 years yet have been thinking about them non stop during this pregnancy. Jon is hypogylcemic and is really good about sugar so he just laughs when I ask for them. Well he brought home these on Sunday morning and I can honestly say I can go another 10 years without another one. They were good but I'd much rather indulge in other things :). 

In the past, Jon would wish me happy Mother's Day from Ernie or tell me what a great mother I would be someday but yesterday was different. Feeling my son kick all day was just one little reminder of the wonderful privilege  blessing, and job I will soon have as his mother. Yesterday I thought a lot about little moments. Jon talking to my tummy saying, "Little man, wake up!", having the song "no woman no cry" stuck in our heads for about an hour so making up our own rendition, and getting Ernie all fired up with belly rubs and kisses. This life, which is nothing extraordinary, is more than I could have ever dreamed of. Going to sleep at 8pm on a Saturday night is not desirable to most mid twenties but it is the perfect night for me. I remember meeting Jon when I was 20, he was 26 and thinking okay I need to be really fun for him. Yes we've had crazy nights, late nights, and nights we will never forget...but nothing tops the nights we choose now. 
Last night we played an intense game of marbles (I told you how game obsessed we are...we play at least once a day haha) and pulled up live Louis Armstrong performances on the iPad to pretend like we were at a concert. I thought to myself, this is exactly where my life is supposed to be right now. I am to the point in my pregnancy where I am not uncomfortable (yet) but I am so anxious to meet this baby boy. I think of my sweet niece or see moms at church with newborns swaddled in their arms and my heart yearns for that right now. But it's the little moments that makes the wait worth while. 
I really do think life will become so much sweeter when our baby is born but I know it will be a lot different. Last night there was a point where we were in bed and had tears coming down our cheeks and barely could catch our breath laughing about something I can't even remember. And I remember thinking... can we do this when we are parents? Will we still have our dumb inside jokes and laugh like kids together? I pray the answer is yes... that we will continue that bond with each other and our children.

Scenes from Mother's Day
We spent the beautiful morning at church with my parents and then an outdoor brunch at Blackfinn. So many cute kiddos running around the Domain (outdoor shopping center) and all dressed alike. 

Mom and 3 of her 6 kids

And 2 of my 3 boys! 

Thank you all for your sweet comments on IG about my belly... hard to believe he has 12 more weeks of growing to do, I think we have a big boy on our hands!

Jon surprised me with a weekend away just to San Antonio before the baby comes. Our trip to Mexico in a few weeks is acting as our baby moon but this will be a great way for us to purely relax and not too far from home. He even made me a powerpoint of the hotel amenities, activities we will do, restaurants, etc (if you remember one of our trips last year, he is good at power points!). 

How do you connect with your spouse?

Lately I feel like we've been juggling a circus over here. Between work, blog, church, friends, baby prep, house stuff.. it's been busier than normal yet I feel so much more at peace. I've gone through stages in this pregnancy of falling asleep at 8pm to having much more energy and staying awake, I swear it changes by the week. But the past week has been full yet at ease and I can pinpoint exactly why.... Jon and I have not watched TV. Last weekend we watched a few movies on Netflix during the day but in the evenings got the urge to just hang out. We've been taking Ernie on longer (and much slower walks for this waddling mama) walks, staying at our dining room table even after we finish eating, and playing lots of games. If you know us in real life, you'd know we are game people. We love outdoor games, board games, pretty much all games with the exception of video games (except for the Wii). In the past week we've played multiple rounds of cards, marbles (a hand made Sorry type game that usually requires 4 people but we improvised), every single game on Wii sports resort, Family Feud, the Price is Right. It has been seriously the most fun we've had on weeknights in a while. I am so behind on all my shows and we haven't watched a Breaking Bad episode in about a month but we are having a blast. Last year I talked about how we didn't get a TV in our room until we moved into this house so the first year of marriage we remained TV-less in our bedroom which was good for us, yet we would sometimes fall asleep watching movies on the couch so that defeats the purpose. We definitely go through seasons where we are really into a show and get excited to cuddle up in bed and watch it until we doze off but I love the sans-TV season we are in now. It could and most likely will change next week but I have just been thinking a lot this week about what a distraction TV can have on a relationship. 
We've always had a rule that we eat dinner at the table without the TV on and we switch off choosing a Pandora station to listen to. I hate calling it a rule because it's not something we dread. We will continue this when we have children too. I think about the last week and instantly recognize a deeper connection between me and my husband, the more fun the conversation, longer the laughs, and sweeter the physical touch. All because we turned off the TV!
Some of these moments are bittersweet knowing that in just a few months, the physical demands of our son will get in the way of nights focusing on each other...but I know those times will be just as sweet. I savor the long walks we've been taking knowing that the weather is about to become unbearable, but I get so excited thinking of the walks we will take with our baby boy. 
The seasons of marriage are ever changing and I'd love to know how you and your spouse connect during those sweet seasons. Or how you 'get back on track' after a distracting season of marriage.
And just for fun...I saw this on Facebook...I'm not a mama yet but can see myself saying this!

P.S. not joking, I am writing this blog post from our gameroom upstairs and Jon just IM'ed me and said "Come to my office, I want to play you in marbles" haha

Teamwork

I have had this post in mind for a while and it kept evolving into more ideas and I am finally making myself sit down and write it.

So before I got married, I heard people say that marriage was work and I quietly thought to myself "WHAT!? Mine won't. My relationship with Jon comes easy". Wrong! We have been married almost 2 years and I can tell you with an honest, humble heart that we have a great marriage but it has taken work. I love Jon more than I did on our wedding day and the love continues to grow as we continue to work and grow as a couple. Our relationship still comes easy but marriage brings a million other elements of life. Money, faith, your home, your free time. Marriage is a compromise and unfortunately I know many marriages who do not view it that way. How many people do you know that admit "so and so wears the pants" or "yep my wife is the boss". Okay I admit that I am the COO of the house, I know what we are doing next Friday and in 3 Fridays but that doesn't mean I am the boss. The work I am talking about is more like teamwork. 

Using the word "work" may give the situation bad connotation but it's not the work you dread on a Monday morning when your alarm goes off at 6:30am. It is the work that only improves your love, communication, trust, etc. Now you better believe this work was more like tough love for me at the beginning of our marriage. Being a grown woman on your own then getting married and making joint decisions is kind of a whirlwind, especially for someone like me who is independent in my decisions and forthcoming with the way I make things work in my life. It hit me hard when I realized life wasn't all about me anymore. My husband and my marriage trump everything else in my life and my decision making needed to reflect that. Again, I will stress that Jon and I don't ask each other for permission to do things but we actually enjoy making decisions together. I've learned to compromise, which again, was hard but there is so much beauty in it. I choose to do something Jon wants to do and I get to see his face light up with happiness and joy.

So unmarried friends, marriage is work. Teamwork. Fun-for-the-most-part work. 

I actually thought of this post when we were playing tennis a few weeks ago. We've taken up the sport recreationally and are really enjoying it. And once again, teamwork comes into play. Jon has learned he can't spike and spin the crap out of the ball because I can never get them and it's not fun for me. I am a better server than him, he is better at volleying. A hard thing for me at times is to take advice/direction from someone and I had to get over that in this case. I was hurting my wrist hitting backhand and Jon gave me pointers. Even though it is a competitive game, it's team work.

Other examples of where Jon and I are constantly working/teamworking on our marriage: faith, dedication to discipleship/scripture reading, money management/finances, housework/chores, choosing what to watch on TV, disciplining Ernie, family relationships, friendships, and most importantly, our love for one another and how we choose to show it. Yes there are times I get cranky and don't want to compromise and I love my husband for not letting that slide (I am the stubborn one of the pair if you didn't guess). Our marriage isn't perfect but the imperfections are what allow us to grow and thrive. And we will continue to work for the rest of our lives. 

Marriage is work, but it is fun work that pays off. Being married is the second best thing I've ever done in my life, first is choosing to follow Christ (which I am lucky to share that with my husband too). 

I love us.

I have to say, I love my perfectly imperfect marriage. I think you can love your spouse, but not necessarily love your marriage or more commonly, love the thought of marriage, but not your spouse. I am lucky to love both. I say perfectly imperfect because we don't have it together. We argue, I cry, we pout (okay that is only me), we disagree, we don't see eye to eye...but MAN is it fun! More good/happy times than bad/mad times, and I hope most relationships are structured like that too.  

What do you think of when you think of the perfect marriage? Spending every single night together? Sorry that isn't realistic because Jon and I both travel for work. Sex everyday? Hate to burst your bubble non married friend, but that doesn't happen. Home cooked meal every single night served on a beautiful table scape with fresh flowers? Um no. There are times I feed my husband cereal, eggs, and canned beans for dinner. Wife of the year! We have heated discussions about money and we're not always good at speaking each others love language.

But we love it.

I love that we don't have a standard dinner time or after work schedule. Sometimes its 5:30, sometimes it's 9:30. I love that we have been playing tennis with our $5 Goodwill rackets next to insanely talented 10 year olds who could kick our butts. I love that Jon and I usually sing to each other, original pieces of course, and always use different accents. I love that we shower together every night in a non sexual manner, we just like to be close. I love our house can be a tornado of a mess and together, we can make it spotless and pristine, 10 minutes before someone shows up. I love that we don't watch TV during dinner.  I love that we can tell each other straight up if the other is rude, smells, has something between their teeth, a comment was out of line, etc. I love that neither of us is embarrassed around the other. 

  

New gallery wall in our bathroom

 prints via Olive & Birch and eighteen25

Each one of our relationships and marriages is unique and has its quirks. Things we love, things we don't love, things we are good at, things we need to work on. Something that you may take for granted like nightly foot rubs or your hubby so graciously allowing you to watch Real Housewives reunions during MNF, may be something that other people are yearning for in their relationship. The beauty of marriage is that there is no standard. Jon and I are making it up as we go and despite the bumps and curves, we are enjoying the ride.

Turning off the TV

When Jon and I met, we used to spent hours and hours just talking. I think most people can say that about the beginning of their relationship. You want to spend every minute soaking up the newness and getting to know someone's inner being. But for most people that eventually wears off. Call me an optimist but for me and Jon, it has not. We still spend hours talking about everything and nothing. Getting to know each other despite being married for a year and a half. Laughing fits and tickle fights. No we are not still in the honeymoon phase, we genuinely enjoy each others company. Now I am not saying there aren't argument and struggle and disconnect at times because we are human.

Jon and I chose not to have a TV in our bedroom when we moved into our little home after we got married. We wanted our bedroom to be a sacred place where we didn't have distractions. Don't get me wrong, there were times we fell asleep on the couch in front of the TV, just not in our bedroom. Moving into our new house I requested to have a TV in our room because when Jon travels, I like to catch up on the latest trashy episode of Real Housewives and doze off to reruns of Sex and the City. It's new for me and quite fun.

But Jon and I still make it a point to try not to go to bed with the TV on. Lately we haven't watched much TV at all, with the exception of the Olympics and 30 Rock on Netflix. Being so busy, throwing multiple parties and hosting overnight guests, we have begun to really savor the free nights we have together. And why would we want to spend those moments (that come few and far between) glued to the TV. Lately we've been laying on the family room floor, throwing the ball with Ernie, laughing our little hearts out, making up songs, and planning our next vacations. It's always been a rule that we eat at the dinner table without the TV on and it will be a rule for the rest of our lives. We talk about the rose and thorn of our day. We listen to Louis Armstrong on Pandora. We take time to read the bible and pray for our friends. Spending uninterrupted time with Jon is like medicine for my soul and my sanity. 

Jon is also loving my new camera lens...

and loving his feet photo bombing

We've kinda gotten into a routine of making sure we are in our bedroom around 10pm. We talk, cuddle, do what married people do...without TV.

It's sad to think how social media has taken over our lives. I will be the first to admit I usually check Twitter and Instagram when I take Ernie out first thing in the morning. So even though we are good about turning the TV off, I'd like to work on unplugging more often. I see a tweet light up on my phone and want to answer right away. And I hate not texting people back. Does anyone else feel the same??

Now before I share more of my husband's photography, I do want to say that there are nights Jon and I spend with our butts parked on the couch catching up on our DVR (in which I am usually multitasking with crafting or blogging and Jon is catching up on work). But we have made it a big priority to spend distraction-less time together. Being married to someone you enjoy spending time with is fun :-)

& yes, most days I come home from work and put on Jon's clothes...I'm sexy and I know it

YOLO

3 years ago today I met my hubby. You heard that right, we didn't start dating 3 years ago. We met. (and have now been happily married for almost 16 months)

It was a Friday and I had started interning at his company that previous Monday. He said I had walked by his office few times (unbeknownst to me) and knew he wanted to meet me. He came into my office towards the end of the day and asked a silly question about printing powerpoints. Here I am, over-achieving, honor student, pulled up powerpoint and tried to help solve his problem. I look back and think about how dumb it must have looked haha.

And the rest is history.

Jon and I became fast friends. We found ourselves opening up to each other in ways neither of us had ever done before. His childhood, relationship problems, our inner most fears and desires...I kept thinking "wow I am telling him things no one knows about me and he could be a total nut job."

YOLO= You Only Live Once

I was dating someone else when I first met Jon. Gasp. Remember I said when I met Jon. Our friendship was blossoming and I just needed to know. What I loved about Jon was his love for the Lord and little did we know, we each started praying for clarity about our friendship. I saw something in him. Something I never had in a friend or boyfriend. I can't put my finger on what it was but in all honesty, I thought about Jon being my husband after knowing him for a week. I feel so lucky that the Lord answered my prayers. He led me to Jon.

It  broke my heart to break someone else's but this is my life we are talking about. My forever! At one point I found myself asking God to take Jon away from me so I didn't have to hurt someone else. I thought I could be OK in this life. Maybe I could make myself stay happy? And I don't know where this strength came from but I left all I ever knew and took a chance with Jon. And he took a chance with me. 

Do you ever start thinking about your past and a decision you made and think 'wow I am so glad I followed my heart?' or 'what if I hadn't?'. I get a frog in my throat thinking about if I hadn't taken a leap of faith and trusted the Lord's signs, it makes me sick to my stomach. 

Jon and I are huge believers in things happening for a reason and that's because our marriage is based on our trust and devotion to the Lord's plan. It's funny because I really try to preach following your heart and asking for guidance to friends and family and when I first heard the song YOLO, I thought it was brilliant. Okay minus all the N words, curse words and the demeaning of women, you are left with the chorus- You Only Live Once. 


My life is so much greater and more fulfilling than I could have ever imagined it could be. Jon is more than I ever though I deserved in a husband. And my marriage is something I treasure and thank the Lord for everyday.

I love this picture of us. I feel like it symbolizes our relationship from day 1. Walking into a new life together. With grace shining down on us.

Talking Marriage

Morning y'all. I was at a loss for blog ideas today...between packing, moving, working, living...I didn't have a solid idea. But I did want to share with you a guest post I wrote for Jane @ In The Pink and Green a couple weeks ago. She asked me to talk about my marriage so here we go...

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I am Ruthie Hart and I blog over here.

I am a Christian wife, puppy mommy, marketer by day, and blogger/crafter/dreamer by night. We live in the greatest city in the US of A...Austin, TX!

One thing that I know Jane and I have in common is our goal of a Christ centered marriage. Hey no one's marriage is perfect but mine rocks because we are committed to a solid foundation based on the bible. Jon and I just celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary last month and continue to thank the Lord for sending us to each other. I never thought I would say this but....

my wedding day was NOT the best day of my life.

Crickets.....

Don't get me wrong! Our wedding was perfect. It was so beautiful and more than anything I could have ever imagined in my life.  Jon and I became one in the eyes of the Lord and celebrated with a huge party with our family and friends. Oh and getting your hair and makeup done...hard to top that! So back to the best day of my life. I can't say that because everyday, life gets better. I fall in love with my husband even more. Marriage is so much greater than any flower arrangement, fondant cake, or 5 piece band. 

What makes life and marriage so great?

I strive to be a Proverbs 31 woman, and Jon respects that

via

We strive for a Christ centered marriage, with the Lord being our #1 focus

via

We tithe

We look to the bible for help, advice, and tools to improve our relationship 

We bring the Lord into every aspect of our relationship...even sex!!! (insert gasp and giggle)

I am fully committed in being a Christian wife.

We pray together.  

Oh and not to mention...we have SO MUCH FUN together! Like the time we threw a wig party for Jon's birthday, or the time we went to the wax museum in LA. Or maybe last summer when we were fed up with the Texas heat so we celebrated Christmas in August?

(yes my husband was dressed like a girl, and no it wasn't the first time haha!)

Marriage is a gift from God. Yes it is work, but it is fun work! I look up to my husband in so many ways. I love who he is as a Christian, friend, son-in-law, sales dude at work...I couldn't ask for anything more in a mate and head of our household. So the moral of the story is, faith does wonders on a marriage. Our marriage is solid, fulfilling and will be everlasting because we honor the Lord, who created this wonderful covenant for man and wife!

Cheers and blessings!

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I'd love for you to tell me what makes your marriage/relationships/friendships strong.