30 years ago today my precious parents said, “I do!” My family has always been extremely close and there are so many things I admire in both my mom and my dad. I thought it would be special to dedicate a post celebrating them and their wonderful marriage.

Caroline and I got together and came up with 30 things we love, have learned, and respect about these two cuties…

1. Any successful relationship has Jesus at the center – daily time in the Word individually creates a solid foundation.
2. Never go to bed angry.
3. Ask questions. You never know until you ask. We love how open our family is and that simply comes from being intentional with the things that we talk about. We hardly ever leave a conversation without getting to the bottom of whatever may be going on. There is great peace that comes from being truly known by your loved ones.
4. Forgive quickly and often.
5. Laughter is a wonderful cure – “a merry heart does good like medicine but a broken spirit dries the bones”
6. We love how willing they are to create space for others to feel welcomed.
7. Know your strengths and use them well to serve one another – celebrate the other persons strengths while you’re at it!
8. We love that our mom always said she needed to find a “man in the middle” after dating two guys when she was younger. Little did she know she would fall in love with Mittel Man himself!
9. Show affection. A hug isn’t a hug unless it’s “big and squeeeezy!” says Miss Melly!
10. Their love story began in Lubbock at Texas Tech where both of us spent our college years, too.
11. Acknowledge one another every chance you get – make one another feel special simply by greeting them when they get home.
12. They’re always down for a facetime date.
13. Make traditions, but also enjoy the spontaneous sides of life!
14. Pray together. It’s powerful. Don’t just say “I’ll pray for you” pray right then and there. We love that they taught us this at a young age.
15. Marriage should come FIRST (besides a relationship with the Lord of course). We didn’t understand this as kids but we are thankful our parents put their relationship with one another before meeting what we thought were our needs. They make the strongest team and we knew if one of them said no there was no use in trying to sway the other!
16. Expectations ruin relationships. Express them upfront or get rid of them altogether.
17. Encourage one another daily. Even if you think the other already knows how you feel, keep saying it. Being kind is never wrong.
18. Assume the best in each other and remember you’re on the same team.
19. Marry your best friend. We always asked our mom who her best friend was when we were little and she repeatedly said “your dad.” No matter how many times we asked it was always dad. What a blessing.
20. We admire and respect their hard work and integrity in all aspects of life.
21. Our parents never hid their disagreements. That’s just a part of life and relationships. We are glad they showed us what it looks like to approach conflict healthily. Not once did we see them go to bed in separate rooms.
22. There is a card where a couple is sitting on a bench and they are mad at each other and it’s raining. They only had one umbrella and even though they are obviously in an argument, the husband chooses to hold the umbrella over his wife while he gets drenched. That’s our mom and dad.
23. No matter how long you’ve been married, It’s never too late to date your spouse! Study them, their likes, and their dislikes.
24. Show up for each other. When you know something is important to the other be there for them whatever it is. Our parents were constantly skipping get-togethers with friends, turning down tickets for exciting games/events if it meant being there for the other one or for one of us girls. They choose each other and our family before everything else.
25. We admire our mom’s dedication to learning and growing young minds to know truth.
26. Do your best to out serve one another. Our dad is the ultimate example of selflessly serving the ladies in his life.
27. Sometimes you just need to sing and dance a little. Turn up the jam, pump it up! Haha
28. Quality time is such a gift and they taught us the importance of that.
29. Memorize scripture. Keep it on your heart and mind because what goes in is sure to come out. If you know Mama Mittel you know she can quote just about any bible verse.
30. Always say I love you.

Happy Anniversary, Mom + Dad! We love you!!!

keep blooming + growing,

M + C