Friday, June 29, 2012

The Language of LOVE

I hope this post finds you in the comfort of a nicely air-condioned space seeing as how we are currently experiencing this heat wave of temperatures 100+.  Ironically, I write this post from my 65 degree house while I use a hairdryer to thaw out my toes.  My husband likes to keep our house the temperature of a meat locker, yet he likes to sleep with the hair dryer on most of the night (a habit which I am ashamed to admit I have also picked up).  Seriously.  You wouldn't believe the number of hairdryers we have went through since we started dating.

On a different note, I attended a professional development meeting for teachers this past Tuesday.  I'll be the first teacher to tell you the meetings we are required to attend can be a bit of a snore but this one really revived me for the upcoming school year.  The speaker was Mr. Pat Quinn, the self-described  "RTI guy".  For those non-teachers out there, RTI is short for "Response to Intervention".  RTI was developed to help identify struggling students and provide interventions that are well-researched and monitored.  While I found his 3 hour presentation on the program to be very educational, easy to understand and beneficial, it wasn't RTI that I was most intrigued by; rather, it was his short 20 minute discussion on the Five Love Languages, a concept coined by Dr. Gary Chapman.  You might find it odd that Mr. Quinn would discuss this topic but it made a lot of sense to me.  Teachers have 20+ very different, very special people in their classes who feel loved in a variety of ways.  It's important for teachers to catch on early to the way each of these little people feel cared about in order for them to feel valued and safe to share and learn.

Dr. Chapman says that there are five different Love Languages that people speak:

1 - Words of Affirmation Language - People who speak this language enjoy being complimented, praised and encouraged.  If you like to hear "I love you so much" or "You are such a beautiful person", you may primarily speak this language.

2 - Quality Time Language - People who speak this language enjoy time spent with the ones they care about.  If you feel loved when your significant other or someone close to you spends time with you, this may be your language.

3 - Receiving Gifts Language - People who speak this language enjoy thoughtful gestures, notes and gifts. It's not about the amount spent, but the thought that makes people who speak this language feel loved.

4 - Acts of Service Language - People who speak this language feel loved when people help them and do nice things for them.  Think helping with chores, completing tasks and doing nice things for others.

5 - Physical Touch Language - People who speak this language like to be touched, hugged, kissed and in close physcial contact with the person they love.

Mr. Quinn told us that you should resignate with one language primarily, and just as I was thinking to myself that I might speak an ecclectic language of all 5 put together, he tells us that people who think such could also be called "needy".  Burn! 

So my reason for telling you all this is that I was shocked to hear that 80% of married couples speak different languages, and that whatever language you speak is the language you will return love in, even if it's not your partner's; hence, the reason so many married couples often feel neglected or not loved.

You may not find this as interesting as I did, but if so, I recommend logging onto the Five Love Languages website by clicking on the book above and then clicking on the Assessment tab.  There will be a short series of questions that will help you identify what language you primarily speak. As for me, I primarily speak the Words of Affirmation language.  A close second is the Quality of Time language.  I sure do love to receive gifts though so I might speak a little of the Receiving Gifts Language as well...just ask Colby :).   My husband was forced agreed to take the survey also and we found that his primary love language is Quality Time.  A close second was Physical Touch (just like a man).  I have to say my husband is pretty good at expressing his love for me in a variety of languages, as I hope he would say about me as well.

For all of my dear followers and readers, whatever love language you speak, I hope you know how much I appreciate you stopping by. 

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

The Birth of a Blog & the Celebration of Marriage

I have a blog! How cool is that?! I have been anticipating this day for many months now. I finally got up the courage to take the plunge into blogging world this summer. Just imagine me doing celebratory cartwheels (if only I could actually do a cartwheel)! I have been blog stalking for about a year now and am so thrilled to have my very own space to share any family or classroom news that I have. Thanks for taking the time to read my first ever post!  While you're here, don't forget to sign up to follow my blog! I would love to have you as a faithful reader :).

My first bit of exciting Newsome News: Colby and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary yesterday! We feel so blessed to have each other and are so excited to see what the future holds for our little family (please, Lord, let it be a baby :). Our marriage isn't perfect but we are perfect for each other.

One of our many compromises as husband and wife: we had an anniversary lunch at Smashburger (Colby's favorite) followed a little later that night by cheese, salads and chocolate at the Melting Pot (my favorite).

Colby reminds me often that he had to work really hard over several years to be able to call me his wife. Once he finally reeled me in, I was hooked. I am so thankful that God chose Colby to be my husband because I couldn't imagine life without him. For his gift, I went with the traditional first year wedding anniversary gift of paper and made him this pinterest inspired craft.  (Keep in mind that I don't have a fancy camera so these are taken (as is every picture I take) with my trusty iPhone which makes for semi-poor quality pictures.  I'm asking for a fancy schmancy camera for Christmas from this amazing husband that I speak of.)





I have to give myself snaps for the effort it took to create this heartftelt gift, and I have to admit that I enjoyed doing it.  It's fun to sit and think about all the things you love about your spouse...so many more reasons than just 52.  I once pinned a quote on Pinterest that stated "Home is where your husband is." So true!  Can you feel the love?