11 Ways and Free Way to Say I LOVE YOU

To strengthen unions, marriage experts advise couples to "make weekly dates" or "go away on a couple's weekend." Those are great ideas, but let's be realistic: how often can busy couples expect to drop everything and get away? These 11 quick and simple ways to express love let busy couples rekindle romance among the chaos of everyday life.
1. Assemble a scrapbook together, pull out your wedding video, or write your own personal romance story. Reliving special memories together is a great way to strengthen your bond.

2. Be kids together. Have a pillow fight, challenge each other to a game of hopscotch, or cuddle on the couch and laugh as you watch cartoons.
3. Wrap your mate in love. While your sweetie showers, sneak his towel into the dryer, and as he steps out, wrap him in fluffy warmth. Or use the same idea to warm her feet when she snuggles in bed on a chilly autumn night.
4. Speak the languages of love. Surprise your "amante" (Italian for "lover") with some international sweet talk. Access an exhaustive list of ways to say "I love you" in different languages at www.electpress.com/loveandromance/iloveyou.htm.
5. Write love notes to each other. Spell it out in his oatmeal with raisins, on her dashboard with yarn, or use lipstick on your bathroom mirror. Compose your own poem, borrow a verse from Song of Songs, or just write "I love you."
6. Turn on the charm. Who says you have to stop flirting once you're married? At your next party, wink at him across a crowded room, or slip your arm around her as you make social small talk. That personal connection amid the crowd is like saying, "This is great, but I'd rather be with you!"
7. Connect online. E-mail your spouse throughout the day, just to say you're thinking of him.
8. Remember the little things. When you step in to help with the day-to-day "drudge" chores—making dinner, bathing the kids—your spouse knows she's appreciated and loved. And completing a chore for your sweetie frees more time and energy for the two of you to enjoy other activities together.
9. Send it snail mail. Take time to write an encouraging note, slap a stamp on it, and mail it. Your spouse will love the surprise—especially since it won't be a credit card bill or junk mail!
10. Celebrate everything. Most couples celebrate the anniversary of their marriage or first date, but how about the anniversary of your engagement, or first kiss? (If you don't remember, make it up!) There have been all kinds of milestones throughout your relationship, so mark each one with flowers, a card, or a romantic interlude.
11. Just say it. Your spouse needs to hear those three simple words daily. Whisper it, sing it, shout it. Say it.

5 Ways You Are Unknowingly Destroying Your Husband and Killing Your Marriage

I wanted to share this blog that I read from: http://www.bloomingpost.com/2015/02/5-ways-you-are-unknowingly-destroying.html

Instead of putting it as my bookmark, I rather copied it and save it as my reminder: 

Women, we need to be careful about how we are caring for our husbands and marriages. Don't let the small stuff ruin the things that will bring you the greatest happiness in life.

Here are just a few ways you might be unknowingly destroying your husband and killing your marriage (as a caveat, please understand that although this article is directed toward women, it applies to men as well):

1. Living outside of what you can afford

A wise old woman from my church congregation once advised: "The best thing you can do as a wife is to live within your husband's means."

Wives, show sincere appreciation and respect to your husband by carefully following a budget and making the most of what you have. Be wise about your finances.

Constantly complaining about not having enough to fulfill your lavish desires or racking up astronomical amounts of debt on your credit card is a poor way of saying "thank you" to a faithful spouse who works hard every day to provide for the family.

Yes, you may not have enough to buy that Kate Spade bag you've had your eyes on for months, but your husband will love and appreciate the fact that you honor him and are grateful for what he provides.

2. Constant negativity

You hate your hair, the messes around the house, the neighbor across the street, your dumb co-worker, the old dishwasher, and everything in between. As soon as your husband walks through the door, you launch into action and dump every negative and angry thought that's crossed your mind throughout the day.

Can you imagine having to carry that burden? Negativity is draining. Men like to fix things, and constantly being hounded with complaints makes it difficult for him to help solve your pains.

If there is one thing I've learned from marriage is that a good man wants you to be happy, and if he can't help you do that, it makes him unhappy. It's okay to have a bad day once in a while, that's totally understandable, but don't make it a way of life.

3. Putting everything else first

When your children, mom, best friends, talents, or career in front of your husband, you send a clear message to him that he is unimportant. Imagine having that message sent to you every day for many years. What would that do to your self esteem?

Put your husband first.

Although it sometimes seems counter-intuitive and counterproductive, I think you'd be amazed to find that it's often the key to the greatest happiness in marriage. So many couples get divorced these days, because they neglect to care and love one another and put each other first.

If you choose to put each other first, you will find a lot of joy.

4. Withholding physical affection

Men crave and need physical affection with their wives. When you constantly decline intimacy, it wears on them.

Sex should not be used as a tool to control your spouse; it should be viewed as a sacred tool to draw you closer to one another and to God.

It is a great blessing to be wanted and needed by a loving, romantic husband who wants to share something so beautiful and important with you -- and you only. Even though you might not always be in the mood, it's worth it to give in (when you can) and spend that time bonding.

5. Not speaking his language

Women love to drop hints. (I think it's part of our DNA.) But men just don't get them. (I think that is a part of their DNA.)

Don't waste your time giving subtle hints that he won't understand: Speak plainly to him. Be honest about your feelings, and don't bottle things up until you burst. If he asks you what's wrong, don't respond with "nothing" and then expect him to read your mind and emotions. Be open about how you really feel. 

Wedding Anniversary Meanings

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[Below you will find the wedding anniversary meanings for the gifts traditionally associated with each year of marriage.

No one knows precisely when wedding anniversaries were first celebrated.  But the tradition is believed to go back at least to the Middle Ages.  At that time in the Germanic regions of Europe, a husband crowned his wife with a silver wreath on the 25th anniversary of their wedding day.  If the couple was fortunate to live long enough, the husband presented his wife a gold wreath on their 50th wedding anniversary. 

By the beginning of the 20th century, an additional 6 anniversaries were celebrated - the 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, and 75th year for a total of 8.  

In 1922 Emily Post published Etiquette in which she identified symbolic gifts associated with each of these 8 milestone anniversaries: paper, wood, tin, crystal, china, silver, gold, and diamond.
 

15 years later, the Jewelers of America expanded her list to include materials for every one of the first 20 years of marriage and every 5 years thereafter.  Thus was born the traditional list of gifts and wedding anniversary meanings we have today.

But why were the various materials chosen as gifts to symbolize specific anniversaries?

To a certain extent, the reasons are clouded in mystery.  However, it is generally believed that increasingly durable gifts were chosen for successive years to represent the progressive strengthening of the marriage relationship.  As the years go by, the gifts increase in strength and worth from paper to diamond.

Would you like to know the wedding anniversary meanings behind the gifts for each anniversary year?

Look no further.  The meaning, symbolism, and lore for each are described below.

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Paper

The first year of marriage is like a clean sheet of paper, a new beginning upon which to write your passage through the years together.  Also like paper, it is fragile and can easily rip, not having yet been tried by the fires of adversity and the storms of life.

Cotton

Like the interwoven fibers of cotton, the second year of marriage brings a couple closer together as their lives become increasingly intertwined. And as cotton is at the same time both strong and soft, the couple is learning how to be flexible and adapt to each other's needs.

Leather

Leather has traditionally symbolized protection and covering; our ancestors covered and protected themselves from the elements with the leather hides of animals.  The bonds of marriage offer security and shelter as each partner takes care of the other.  Now in its third year, the growing relationship is becoming a source of stability for the married couple.

Fruit & Flowers

During the fourth year of marriage, the budding relationship is beginning to blossom like a flower and ripen like fruit.  Just as fruit nourishes the body and flowers the soul, so the deepening commitment and nurturing love of the couple brings refreshment and renewal to the marriage.  

Wood

In ancient times, trees symbolized strength and wisdom.  By the fifth year of marriage, the married couple is developing strong, deep roots like a venerable oak tree and is gaining insight and understanding from the mistakes and stumblings of the first five years. The pair has learned the most important lesson of all and the secret to a successful marriage: forgiveness.  

Candy

As candy is to the taste, so romance is to marriage: sugary sweet.  Celebrating the sixth year of marriage offers a time to rekindle the flames of love and passion that brought the two of you together.  In older times, iron also symbolized the sixth anniversary.  A strong and sturdy metal that brings good luck, may good fortune shine on your marriage all the days of your life.

Copper & Wool

Both copper and wool are known for producing heat.  Therefore they represent warmth, comfort, safety, and security - necessary ingredients for a healthy and stable marriage.  Reflect on these traits as you celebrate seven years together.

Bronze

The gifts for wedding anniversaries tend to increase in substance and value over time as marriage itself should grow and strengthen over time. Bronze is stronger than both iron and copper, symbols of earlier years of marriage, because it is a blend of two metals (copper and tin).  This mixture represents the union of two lives and the strength resulting from combining time with perseverance.   

Pottery & Willow

A potter molds a lump of clay, shaping it on the potter's wheel, and then fires it in the oven, creating something both rich and beautiful. So too, the marriage of two people is molded and shaped by choices and experiences, fired in the oven of adversity, and over time, something beautiful emerges.

Tin

Tin symbolizes preservation and longevity.  At one time, food was stored in tin-plated iron cans.  The tin protected the iron from rust and corrosion, preserving the food inside, potentially forever.  A couple at the milestone anniversary of ten years has the ability to go the distance.  Therefore, the tenth anniversary should be celebrated with special honor.

Steel

Steel is one of the strongest, most durable metals in the world, and therefore a fitting symbol for the eleventh anniversary.  The cord binding the marriage together can no longer be easily broken, if it ever could.  Strength and permanence define this milestone anniversary. 

Silk

A couple that reaches twelve years of marriage has, undoubtedly, sailed through many rough waters and overcome a great many obstacles in their relationship. Having been strengthened by enduring difficulties, they now eagerly anticipate that the road ahead will be smooth as silk. It is time to enjoy the finer things in life.  Celebrate this anniversary by taking  time to indulge in luxury and pleasure.

Lace

As lace signifies refined beauty and elegance, so a marriage of thirteen years exemplifies polished and perfected love.  The passage of time has created a delicate but strong object of beauty.

Ivory

Ivory symbolizes purity and innocence. Rare and beautiful, this precious commodity signifies the integrity and fidelity of the marriage relationship and the extraordinary sense of commitment two people must have to make a marriage last fourteen years.  Loyalty and devotion are qualities worthy of commemoration.   

Crystal

Crystal is the first truly expensive gift in the traditional anniversary list.  The costliness of crystal is representative of the sacrifice and investment the couple has made to the marriage over the past fifteen years.  Crystal also symbolizes clarity and transparency, reflecting the state of the couple's relationship.  They now know each other better than they know themselves.  

China

China symbolizes the beautiful, elegant, and fragile nature of love.  It is a reminder not to take your marriage for granted, but to continue to care for it so your love will flourish. In addition, just as China, although fragile, is also durable and long-lasting, so a twenty-year marriage has withstood the test of time.

Silver

Silver is one of the most precious metals known to man. It has always been prized the world over and considered very valuable. It is therefore an appropriate symbol for the twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. Like silver, may your marriage continue to shine in splendor and radiance all of your days as you grow old together.  

Pearl

Lying hidden deep inside the shell of an oyster is one of the most exquisite and treasured gems imaginable: the pearl.  Symbolizing hidden beauty, the pearl reminds the maturing couple that true beauty comes from within and that what is most valuable is the shared experience of life with another. 

Coral

Coral has often been called the "garden of the sea" because it covers the ocean floor.  In ancient times it was considered sacred and believed to contain magical properties of protection from sickness and harm.  It was also thought to represent the life-force due to its blood-red appearance.  Like coral, loyalty and commitment are the lifeblood of a good marriage and love the shield that protects the union. 

Ruby

Symbolizing love and passion, the ruby is one of the most coveted gemstones of all.  Within the heart of this stone is thought to lie a flame of fire that grows brighter with each passing year, just like the flame of a forty-year marriage.

Sapphire

For long ages the stone of royalty, the sapphire is the perfect gem to honor a forty-five year marriage.  Two people together for this length of time are a shining example to all married couples.  Theirs is a union worthy of admiration and respect.

Gold

Only one gift can rightly capture the crowning achievement of lifelong love: gold.  Symbolizing prosperity, strength, and wisdom, it represents the essence of what a fifty-year marriage should be.  Congratulations.  Here's to many more years of health and wedded bliss. Cheers! 

*credits to: http://www.anniversary-ideas-step-by-step.com/