DAY 1617... Spouse Appreciation

Having Spencer home for the past 4 days was AMAZING!

Amazing is probably an understatement.

I was happy,

my kids were happy,

Spencer was happy.

It was heaven!

It was perfection!

I realized, 

during this insanely short visit,

that I probably don't appreciate Spencer enough.

For the past 5 weeks I have acclimated myself to being a single parent.

But having my husband home for 4 days,

4 days too short,

really made me realize that he does a lot more than I give him credit for.

He is kind of amazing!

I have realized that I need to express appreciation for him,

to him,

more often.

While Spencer was in town we definitely went to the new Walmart like 5 times,

in 4 days.

Don't judge.

It's a really big deal!

And it was amazing how much easier it is to go shopping when there are 2 parents present.

My kids are great kids,

but they are both full of so much drama.

Shopping,

any kind of shopping,

happens to be terrifying and exhausting with my children.

But having my husband home with me and tackling shopping together was so good!

We were finally able to take Aniston sledding.

She has been begging to go, 

but I just couldn't do it by myself with her and Beni.

She had the time of her life!

We were able to have a date night.

5 weeks overdue!

But it was so nice to have adult conversation,

to be held and hugged,

and to just feel loved.

We were able to eat out as a family.

This may not seem like such a big deal,

but it is an impossible task with my family as a single mom.

I haven't eaten out in 5 weeks because the thought alone terrifies me.

It was nice to not cook and to relax a little at a restaurant.

The connection that Spencer has with Benson is AMAZING!

I loved how often  Benson laughed this weekend!

His ability to make his son laugh is such an amazing gift!

Church was so much easier with two parents!!!

SO

MUCH

EASIER!!!

Spencer helped the kids make me the cutest little card this morning.

I am so obsessed with it!

The Taco Bell part has been pretty rough!

How great is Aniston's "A"?

It looks more like a hashtag...

I am making it my goal,

that when we are back together as a family in 9 weeks,

I am going to try to show more appreciation for Spencer,

and to focus on the things that make him the amazing father and husband that he is.

Not to dwell on things that I think that he could to better,

but to praise him for the time he dedicates to our family,

and for the love that he demonstrates every day.

It's also important that I show him the appreciation I have for him
 in the way that he wants to receive it.
That's the hard part for me.
Spencer and I,
we're different.
We like to receive appreciation in different ways.
I tend to show it in the way I would like to receive it,
and that doesn't work so well for him.

I am vowing to do better.
He deserves better,
and I can do something that simple for him.

The only good thing about him going back,
is that we only have 9 weeks left,
and 5 more weeks until the kids and I head to Vegas for another visit.

We got this.