(*Note: blogger is still being lame which = weird spacing. Sorry again. This will probably happen tomorrow too.)
Kassi of Bacwoods Fern is someone I’ve become fast friends with. She is the absolute total package. She is a thoughtful wife and a wonderfully fun mommy to three cute kids, creative crafter, and on top of it all pretty much “really, really, ridiculously good looking” I’ve been impressed with this lady and the creative efforts she puts into keeping her marriage fresh and fun (like this). I love it! If you plan on being married to your spouse “til death do you part” you’re going to have to do some work to keep things interesting, and Kassi’s on it. Check her out!
What’s your love story?
I met my husband, Daniel, on a blind date when I was 22. I was a single mom working at Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara (a church) and at the time and hadn’t really dated anyone for three years. I didn’t want to bring men into my son, Tyler’s, life if they weren’t going to stick around. an old friend of mine approached me and said there was a guy that she would hang around with who she felt would really get along well with me. She said she always thought of how much fun I would have with him whenever she was hanging out with him. She asked me if I would want to be set up on a blind date… for some reason I said yes. She gave him my phone number and he called me. We set up a date for Monday June 3rd 2002. We were to meet in Buelleton (which was half way from where each of us lived) at a restaurant called AJ Spurs. He got lost and called me and I met him at a gas station and had him follow me to the restaurant. As soon as he pulled up I got very nervous… but also very excited… he was gorgeous! Apparently he thought the same about me :-). We had dinner… I ordered the most expensive meal, haha… We went to the Chumash Casino and played the slot machines and then hung out in his car till 3:30am listening to music and talking. He took me back to my car, gave me a hug and told me that he took dating seriously and that if I said yes to a second date then we would probably end up married. I said yes to that second date. We saw each other every day from there on out. The only time we were away from each other was when he went on a surf trip to the Mentawais in Indonesia and he would call me from the boat (which cost a fortune!). He proposed six months after the day we met and we got married nine months after that. I couldn’t believe that a young man (we were both only 22) would want to take on a child as his own (Tyler was four) but, Dan did. And he has. He has since adopted Tyler and we have added two more kids to the mix. Tannyn who is five and Tayli who is two… Tyler is now 12. Dan and I have been married for a little over six years.
Fill in the blank:
“The best thing about marriage is_________.”
The best thing about marriage is having a best friend, a confidant, a lover, sharing your life with you day in and day out and building a family and life together.
I had Tannyn ask Dan what the best thing about marriage is and he said – “kissing mommy and having you three kids.”
Fill in the blank:
“The most challenging thing about marriage is_________.”
For me (Kassi), the most challenging thing about marriage is having someone tell me what to do or not do… for instance, I hate being told how to spend money, or that I can’t buy something. It has been hard not having my “own” money… it took me a whole year before I let Dan join my bank account! Also, sharing my husband with his “lover” has been difficult…. he’s a surfer and his lover is the ocean and all his surfboards…. competing with that is sometimes most difficult!
Tannyn asked Dan what the most challenging thing about marriage is and dan said – “spending every day with your best friend… it’s great a lot but you also get annoyed with each other a lot.” (and i have to say I agree with this very much!)
Fill in the blank:
“My favorite thing about my spouse is_________.”
My favorite thing about Dan is that he is such a great father. He makes time for the kids even when he is feeling like crap (which is often). He also encourages and supports me in the things I do and is very complimentary. Looks wise…. his beautiful brown eyes and wavy dark hair!
I asked Dan what his favorite thing about me is and he said – my personality, my creativity, my love for life and my love for Jesus. (awwwwww)
What’s your secret to a happy
marriage and making it work?
No marriage is perfect… we definitely have our ups and downs as all married couples do. One thing we do have is God in our marriage. We have made a choice to make Him the center of our marriage. We also try to pray together every night. At my wedding shower my mom had all the guests write down their secret to a happy marriage and my granny wrote “compromise, compromise, compromise” and to “not sweat the small stuff”, I believe those to be true. Also, communication is key. Dan and I are pretty good at communicating how we feel…. even if it is through an argument. I also am a firm believer that love is a choice that you have to make daily. It isn’t a feeling. It may start out as one but we don’t always have that warm fuzzy feeling in our marriage. And we know that even though we may not like one another’s actions at the moment that that doesn’t mean we dont love one another. we CHOOSE to love each other every day.
Thanks for sharing your story!
oh my goodness, i love their story! it is so romantic and they seem perfect for each other… what a beautiful couple!! i love that you are doing this, i will keep saying it because i look forward to each new post!!
So, I am loving your “making it work” series! hearing the stories of other married couples and how they make their marriage work is absolutley wonderfully encouraging! I can’t wait to hear more! Oh, and congrats on your 2 year anniversary! Me and my husbands is coming up in January! So excited! 🙂
lauren, thanks for letting me share… such an honor to be asked! you are the absolute bees knees! thanks for all the sweet things you said about me too… you made me blush. 😉 xox
Wow!! I love this story! Thanks for having this couple share their wonderful love story with us!! She is beautiful btw!!
Man Lauren, I really have loved this series you’ve put together!
try fixing the spacing from the HTML editing window, instead of the text one. if you remove a few of those dividers (i think div something) it works better than doing it through the regular window. hope that helps!
Well they are just adorable!
Also, I’m in love with your “making it work” series, just like everyone else seems to be!
i love kassi. she’s the cutest and one of the most genuine person i’ve ever met. sweet sweet couple <3
p.s. love this series!
oh my gosh what a sweet sweet story! I’m so happy they were able to find each other and how special for her son to have him as a dad. They seem so happy and lovely!
What an incredible guy. They are a gorgeous couple!
what a beautiful couple! 🙂
Thanks for sharing this wonderful couples love story. It really warms my heart to hear all of these wonderful love stories.Thia series has been awesome!