I've certainly become lazy the last year or two with blogging. I ditched social media for a good 4 months and strived to become much closer with Trevor and God. Once we hit 5 years in February, I mentally wrote down 5 things that have strengthened our marriage and allowed us to become closer than ever!
1. Forgiveness
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| Boating in Bear Lake |
Trevor really needed to forgive me for dying my hair pink. Ha! In all seriousness, our marriage has been smooth sailing for the most part. We've had a few happenings that set us back, as any couple will. If you haven't experienced that, it's coming. :)
Mr. Schroeder has taught me so much about forgiveness. I've been completely blown away at things he'll shrug off because it's not worth dwelling on. I also used to be a bit of a drama queen before I got married, and he's calmed me down quiiiite a bit. It's allowed me to sit back and be more chill about things that come my way. I'm grateful for his example on forgiveness.
I love that quote, "A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers."
No human is perfect. Forgiveness is mandatory.
2. Adventure
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| Chiang Mai, Thailand |
Traveling together and getting out of our comfort zones strengthens us in ways I didn't see coming! A few weeks ago, we went to Las Vegas with some friends and did a zipeline through Fremont Street. It got my adrenaline running for sure! Thailand was also a huge comfort challenger. From riding on elephants, driving scooters in the crazy traffic, and trying to speak to Thai people, it was a blast and brought us so much closer!
Though adventure typically involves travel for us, it doesn't have to. Go paintballing! Go camping! Do something out of both of your comfort zones and watch it strengthen your relationship. It's pretty amazing!
3. Laughter
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| He'd literally pose himself in any odd way he could while in Vegas. |
Mr. Schroeder makes me laugh all of the time. Whether he's dancing in his underwear or singing like a crazy person, he makes me laugh every single day. I can't even imaging what our lives would be like without laughter.
4. Service & Worshiping
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| Draper, UT LDS Temple |
We talk a lot about who we would like to serve and how we should go about doing it. It allows us to become closer together but also to our Savior. I always tell people that by serving each other and serving others (together), it does insanely good things to your relationship.
5. Date Night
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| Date Night @ Mulligans |
Almost all marriage advice I've ever heard had something to do with embracing date night and making sure to go on a date once per week. People say it for a reason. DO IT. We get
so caught up in the ridiculously mundane tasks of our daily lives, that it's so easy to forget. By going on dates, or even making a date night at home, it has allowed us to make sure we are getting that one on one time. There have been periods in our marriage where it seriously feels like room mate style. And I hate that! So making the effort to go on date night once per week has allowed us to not only flirt more and continue to be passionate in our marriage, but really focus on our priorities.
