A Year of Dates (The Gift)

This past Christmas, I gave a special gift to my husband, a gift that will last the whole year. I came up with 15 dates that I thought would be fun. Some of the dates are couple dates, some family dates, and others can be done with other couples. I then went shopping for items to represent these dates. I came up with 15 because what if I couldn't find anything neat or interesting to represent one of the dates? I wanted to be prepared for the "what if"s", but once I found 12 items, I composed my list. I picked 1 date and assigned it to a month until all 12 months were covered. I then wrapped each gift individually and labeled it with the month in which it would be opened. I packed all the gifts into a picnic basket, and wrapped it.

On Christmas Day, Matthew unwrapped the basket, and opened it. On the inside, I had a note explaining my idea. I then had him open January's date. All other items will be opened on the 1st of the corresponding month.

I will blog about each date through out the year, but as you can already see, I'm behind in posting because it is now March, and we have had January and February dates. Matthew has been excited about opening these gifts each month. I have forgotten which date falls in each month, but I have my list in case I feel like I need to look to see what is coming up.

Traveling Husband; I need new ideas!

I have mentioned more than once that my husband travels a lot! I try to do something special for him when he is away. I want him to know that the girls and I still pray for him, miss him, and love him, even when he isn't here. Here are a few things that I have done. I hope this helps other women or men who have a traveling spouse.

1. This one took lots of before he left planning and secretivity. I had each girl draw him a picture for some of the days he was to be gone. I took photos of the girls and myself. I wrote cards of encouragement for him. I had envelops with the date to be opened on the front. I put the drawings, pictures, and notes in each envelop, and put them in his luggage. This was for mission trip to Nicaragua, and many of those who went with him told me how much he looked forward to opening the envelop each day.

2. When Matthew was gone for 18 days - the longest he had every been away, the girls needed something to help them cope. I was able to talk to him almost daily, but the girls were usually already at school or asleep. For the girls, I had strips of paper for them to write something they missed about daddy, and I did it too. We rolled the strips up, and placed them in a large mason jar. When Matthew returned, he opened the jar and read each one.

Here is one of Bethany's strips: 

And one of Alice's:

And one of mine:

This is the jar filled:

3. Matthew more recently went to the Philippines. The area he went to has problems with the Taliban. So to encourage Matthew, I wrote scripture and a prayer on an index card for each day of ministry. 

So, what to do now? Matthew has some more trips coming up. I haven't been able to think of more creative ideas. I have a little time. Ideas may come. If you have any ideas, please comment. I'd love to hear them and try them out. If I use your idea, I will give you credit for the idea on my blog.

Why I am Writing this Blog

I decided to start this blog because I was looking for creative ideas for a date night with my husband, and I couldn't find anything!!!  I couldn't believe that women weren't writing about what they do with their husbands.  I know several women who plan special events for their husbands, and I thought maybe I should ask some of them to help me come up with a blog of ideas for dates with our husbands, and we may add in some family dates as well (Actually my first post is a family date.).

I believe as a Christian, I should be helping my marriage and family by planning dates for us that helps us to put the rest of the world aside and to focus on each other.  Before marriage, men are usually the ones that plan the dates and take us women on them, but after marriage, something happens.  The dates stop.  That is when I think that it is important for us as women to pick up the dating.  We need to sit down with our husband and decide how often we need to have a date, and then sit aside the days.  Some couples can have a date a week, others once or twice a month.  It will vary depending on your family.  Then as the wife, plan the date: plan a babysitter, the place, the time, etc.

I hope that some of the dates that my friends and I provide will help women to plan dates for their husbands and their families.