In this post: All the details on our Age of Adaline date plus anniversary pictures, and chalkboard door art.
Hello dear ones! I know it’s been a good while since my last post. I promise I haven’t forgotten you. I have so much to share with you and a lot of catching up to do. I wanted to skip ahead and share this extra special date. I hope it inspires you. Here’s how we celebrated our 11th anniversary, our Age of Adaline date (based on the movie).
Lover’s silhouette chalkboard art~ I used the silhouette from a picture of Chris and I. You’ll see the picture on the collage poster board I made. It’s in the middle
Anniversary Collage Poster Board~ I printed out black and white pictures of us throughout the years. I glued pieces of old wall paper I found at Goodwill, onto poster board from The Dollar Tree. I put a poem I had written in the middle.
Here is the poem. You may link to this post, but don’t copy it. Thanks!
The Story of Us” by Amber Dover
“Let everyone see, the rhythm and rhyme of you and me. As we grow old, every storm we can weather. Let us never go cold, because we’re better together. Every kiss is a song, of the sweetest pain. The roses and the thorns; we two remain. I love you.”
My first set for our date.
The set after we went antique shopping.
My Vintage Look
I did as many finger curls on my head as I could. I used a peach lipstick. I added a peach belt to a dress I had to give me that 1940’s style. The big necklace Chris bought me the night before from a street vendor, a lady handmade it.
The Agenda
The night before our Adaline date we got in the vintage mood by listening to jazz live at The Loft in down town. I attempted to put victory curls in my hair but it didn’t turn out quite right.
Me reading to the kids when we got back.
Age of Adaline Date (what I got pictures of)
Antique shopping
The guys and I went antique “window” shopping (meaning we didn’t buy anything at this place).
Messing around…
We did pay to check out the lunchbox museum.
We finished with lunch at Steak n Shake because it always has a vintage feel. Then my parents got Michael so Chris and I could have some romance.
Here’s my anniversary present: a vintage type writer from either the 1930’s or 1940’s. It works too. We got it at a thrift store.
Read Braille
Gigi’s cupcakes~ Wedding Cake is an amazing flavor!
chili dogs and cream soda
Romantic photos
Star gazing
We used the star app on my tablet.
Speak Portuguese ~We looked up “I love you” and I wrote it on the type writer
Poetry and slow dancing I didn’t get pictures of
Random funny pic of Leeland partying with us.
God bless and remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover
In this post: A review of Dating Divas’ Inner Child date and Book store scavenger hunt.
Hello dear ones! Chris and I had our second date since the baby was born. We decided to be like kids and try Dating Diva’s Inner Child date and book store date. I am a member of the Dating Divas club. So I got the Inner Child date printables for free. Paying for membership is worth all the benefits. I highly recommend joining. I’m a big fan of the Dating Divas, and we have used their date ideas plenty of times in the past. Here’s how our date went down:
• Happy Meals: I invited Chris to be a kid with me. We both got kids meals. We compared our toys and shot them at each other.
• The Park: Then we headed to the park. We caught tadpoles, and talked about childhood.
• Coloring: I made coloring pages from our family pictures. Later, we bought a Grumpy Cat coloring book that is awesome!
We scoured the cook books for a recipe for our spouse.
Then we did a magazine survey. We found it in a little girls’ magazine. We sat at a table and whispered our answers. The survey was what kind of music star we’d be. Chris was a rock star. I was a rock and pop star. It’s funny because one of the questions asked if we liked wearing pink sparkly things. Chris was like “Heck no!”
Chris told me jokes in the joke section. He found a Grumpy Cat book.
I read Chris a children’s’ book in the children’s section.
Lastly, Chris found a poem and read it to me in the poetry section.
We didn’t get to the travel section to plan our dream vacation. We had to hurry home to the baby. This was a great date all around. It reminded me of when we were goofy teenagers. The Dating Divas always have the best ideas. I love mixing it up and making them my own. Have you ever tried on of their dates? If so, please let me know in the comments section.
God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover Our other date nights: Date ideas on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/doverette/date-ideas/
Hello dear ones! Once again I was inspired by the Dating Divas for a movie date night. Here it is with some extra ideas. PS: Great marriage & parenting links at the end!
Chris and I have been watching the Pirates of the Caribbean movies together. We watched the first one with our redneck drive in on the trampoline. This week we watched 2 & 3 inside but it was just as fun.
The Invitation
I got the message in a bottle stationary from Dating Diva’s here:
I rolled it up inside a bottle and put it in Chris’ lunchbox.
The Eats
Filet Mignon, baked potatoes, and bread with French cheese and butter.
Cream Soda Ice-cream Float ~It looks like beer but it’s not….just vanilla ice-cream and cream soda.
I used the mugs we got in Helen, Ga to make it look like Pirate grog.
We played this game inspired by the Dating Divas. Every time someone said “ship” or “pirate” in the movie, we clanged our mugs and said “Arrrrrr”. Then we took a swig and gave each other a kiss. It was funny because we usually didn’t remember until 30 seconds after it was said lol.
Since it was a date night, I wrote “Heart’s Desire” on it. I simply pasted construction paper to a jewelry box Michael had given me. This way I could easily switch back to something use-able afterwards.
I had Chris open it before I came in the room. I had planned on having it lead towards me when he got home. Maybe have arrows or something. But sadly he got home before me because I was doing our monthly grocery shopping. I was so tired he had to help me get supper going.
I put the compass and “Jack Sparrow’s Guide to Being a Pirate” in a treasure chest of Michael’s.
The Pirate guidebook was funny to read. It had a name generator in the front. Chris was “Captain Christopher. the Rum Runner” and I was “One-eyed Amber, the Adventurer”.
Well, I had hoped to have this posted before midnight but surprise surprise here it is technically Monday. Thank you for your patience friends :). Last night (errr Saturday night), my hubby and I had a wonderful date night. Dates are becoming rarer. I have only one babysitter (my mom) and dates can be expensive too. But I’m realizing it is very important to keep “dating” my husband. Sometimes life knocks us down and it seems alright to settle for a mediocre relationship……to just go with the flow…..even if it is taking us further from our spouse. In those times we should shake ourselves and get up and fight for our beautiful marriage. It is never good to settle. Women need romance…..we need to feel loved. Men need respect. And both spouses need to be physically intimate. Marriage is tough and it takes alot of work but it is SO worth it. If we don’t deposit into the love bank daily we’re going to become bankrupt quick. If we neglect our Love fern…it’ll die 😉
(Pic removed in case of copyright issues)
So I’ve been trying to find creative ways to make our dates count and also to make things cheaper. Going to the movies gets old after awhile. And eating out is boring if all you do is talk about the kid and finances……or your hubby stares at the TV the whole time 😉 (why do they have to have tvs in restaurants? Do we have to take the tube everywhere? Geesh). Well, we did go to a restaurant and a movie Saturday but we didn’t stare into space (after almost 8 years you run out of things to talk about…I think Chris has heard ALL my stories). I got on Pinterest before we left & checked out some date ideas. This time we discussed about a dozen questions from this list:
It was WONDERFUL….or S’wonderful if you’re Fred Astaire. The questions range from light (like your fav foods) to heavy (like what are your fears or how can I support you as a leader). I was surprised by a few things even on the light list. I thought I knew most everything about Chris’ likes & dislikes. I think he was surprised a few times too. We spent our whole meal focused on each other. I barely noticed the waiter coming and going. As cheezy as the idea may seem it really worked. We were like love struck teenagers when we left the restaurant.
(Our 7th Anniversary @ a garden)
We had some time before our movie so we window shopped in the mall. Then we took photo booth pictures. I can’t remember the last time we did that as a couple.
I had a romantic cd in Chris’ jeep so we could stay in the mood as we drove too. We enjoyed a movie at the dollar theater. The theater shows movies that are usually already on DVD. The price is great ($2.50 a ticket). I so hope you have a dollar theater near you. It’s perfect for those on a budget.
That loving feeling lasted all night so we were very happy with our date even if it was different than usual. It took a small amount of planning but it was worth it. Why settle for sparks when you can have fireworks? So I’m pumped for our next date. We hope to have a date night once a week. Obviously, we can’t afford to go out all the time & we do have a lil munchkin. So I found this post:
I really like the theme night idea and picnicking in the living room. I remember when I had a blue dodge journey. I loved that car. It had a dvd player built in the dash. We traded it in for something not as expensive ( a minivan). Anywho, when we still had Sapphire (ok I named her too) we would watch movies in the car & pretend we were at a Drive in. Sigh……. Okay back to reality. The list has great ideas for when the kiddos are asleep.
If you want to keep the home fires burning then date your spouse :). Don’t get into a rut. It IS possible to fall in love over and over again if you are willing to put in the work. Oh and the relationship is always more important than being right. If you’ve lost the love, please please seek counseling. There is NO shame in marriage counseling. Everyone has problems & there is NO perfect spouse. If you invest in your relationship then you may find the grass has always been greener in your own yard. I know for a fact that God wrote my love story. That tale is for another time but basically we saved ourselves for each other. We are each other’s one and only. So I know that if I can’t make my marriage work with Chris then it will never work with anyone. I’ve seen what affairs and porn etc can do to people. Often people find that the grass is fake on the other side & they regret leaving what God gave them.
(Pic removed in case of copyright issues)
God truly writes the best love stories & he has kept my marriage from falling apart many times. Marriage is being attacked every day. I challenge you to be strong soldiers. I challenge you to fight for your marriage. Men be REAL men & love your woman enough to lay down your life for her. You’re not 12 yrs old anymore…so don’t act like it. Women humble yourselves so you will be exalted. Respect your man & trust him. God commands it & your man has a huge responsibility on his shoulders. He needs your support so he can become the Hero he is mean’t to be.
(Pic removed in case of copyright issues)
I’m preaching to myself as well. I know relationships are hard. From the very beginning of our marriage the odds were against us. We’ve dealt with deployments, financial strain, infertility, illness, taking care of a sick parent, deaths in the family, major moves, several job changes, going through school, and I homeschool while he works. The first half of our marriage and relationship was mainly long distance because of the military. Now my hubby is a disabled vet going to school. We know stress and we know how it can eat at a marriage. Honestly, it is only Jesus Christ who has held us together through our hardships. I think we both would’ve jumped ship a few times if we didn’t have God convicting us & drawing us to unconditional love & respect. Now, I can truly say that I love my husband more now than when we first fell in love (as teens). I thought my hubby was awesome before but he’s truly my hero now.
(Pic removed in case of copyright issues)
Well, God bless & Remember the High King Lives! Hold tight to your family. They are precious. ~Amber Dover
PS: Enjoy the video 🙂 Ladies this is how NOT to treat your guy lol
Welcome! My name is Amber Dover. I am a homeschooling mom, happy wife, and a devout follower of Jesus Christ. I am also a writer. I am currently working on "The Truth Seeker's Chronicles" (an inspirational fantasy/allegory). You will find everything from craft ideas to writing tips on my blog. So please pull up a chair and hang out :)
amberdover 