As Trevor and I navigate our new world with our oldest daughter, Shayela having her first serious boyfriend we find ourselves contemplating what makes our marriage not just work but what makes it thrive and grow.

We have talked for many years about the desire to never allow our marriage to become stagnant. We never wanted to be the couple that got married young, had a bunch of babies, and when they all grew up didn’t know who the other person was.

Let me tell you, it takes a lot of effort. It takes intentionality. It takes late night date nights. It takes trust. It takes honesty. It takes a lot of understanding.

I will probably talk about this a lot in the coming weeks and months as we continue to walk through this with Shayela. However, the first word that comes to mind when I think about what we do that might be different than a lot of people is that we simply adore each other. We have a very deep love AND respect for each other. We make sure to nurture this part of our lives, never take it for granted, and never get complacent.