Jen Russum

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Date morning?

On our first anniversary, Micah and I decided we should get more intentional about carving out date nights. During our first year of marriage, we had plenty of date nights, but they were really just us hanging out together by default because we didn’t have any friends in Arizona yet! Ha.

But as we wrapped up our first year of marriage, we realized that since we were making friends in our new desert town and had a busier calendar than when we first moved, we should start getting more intentional about date nights. We also figured we should form good habits now, so that we can maintain a strong marriage when we throw kids into the mix who demand a lot of our time.
Enter our date night plan. We each plan one date a month. Micah plans something for the 1st-15th and then I plan something for 16th-31st. We felt like trying to do a weekly date night would be a little overwhelming and forced for us… plus there are often random nights where we hang out just the two of us and other nights when we do double dates with friends. So there is plenty of dating going around here. We just try to set aside two special nights a month.
And if I’m honest, we aren’t always great about it. Especially since we have so many visitors, there are months that go by where we don’t make a big, official deal out of date night.
And if I’m really honest, that’s hard for me at times, because I am a girl who loves a plan. When Micah plans out a thoughtful date in advance, I feel so cherished and honored. I still love the last minute, “hey, let’s grab dinner or see a movie” too, but when he plans out something just for me, my heart thrives. I don’t know what love language includes “I feel most loved when people plan out thoughtful events for me” but that one’s mine. Maybe quality time… but planned quality time.
Because no date is complete unless you take photos of your husband doing wheelies.
So I was particularly happy when Micah and I went on a little morning date a few weeks ago. Micah even rescheduled hiking with a friend so we could have breakfast together on a Saturday morning. Love him. Ever since we moved to our new house last fall, I have been wanting to go to this little place down the road called The Farm at South Mountain. Basically, it’s this big property that includes gardens, a venue for hosting parties, an art cottage and three restaurants: an outdoor breakfast place called Morning Glory Cafe, a lunch place for grab and go salads and sandwiches and a fancy, schmancy dinner place. Well, you know that the Morning Glory Cafe has been calling my name…
I first thought that Micah and I could jog to breakfast {it’s about 1.5 miles away}and then walk back. But when Micah bought us beautiful beach cruisers last month, it seemed like the perfect idea to ride them to the farm for our date. Who wants to jog to breakfast anyway? Not me.
So that is exactly what we did. On one of the last mildly cool mornings before the full heat of Phoenix summer hit us, we rode our bikes to the farm, took lots of pictures, and ate the most amazing food on a tree covered patio.
Love language spoken.

*Linking up with Gussy Sews and The Hollie Rouge*

Comments

  4. I am in love with that orange bike. What a way to get around town! So sweet.

    Ali
    Storiesofagirlblog.blogspot.com

  5. You are so smart to make this a habit now. It's so great for your relationship to do routine date nights! Looks like you two are having a great time….cute couple!

  6. Taking turns planning two dates a month is the best idea! If I can get my hubs to actually plan his half this would be a win! 🙂 LOVE your bike by the way! So fun!!!

  8. 2 dates per month is a great approach. I always feel like a failure when we don't meet the 1/week rule. And I'm just like you, I feel so special when my husband plans a date for us 🙂

  9. Hi Jen! Thanks for stopping by my blog! I loved reading your date post and am super jealous of your cute orange bike 🙂