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blog friends, ken and leeann, are getting married saturday, june 13th!
cute couple don’t you think? we adore ken and leeann here and since they would absolutely die if we all showed up for the reception, i thought instead i would give you an opportunity to share ideas and tips from your own experiences here, as a gift of sorts, on how they can keep their marriage happy throughout the years. you know how newlyweds keep this kind of stuff for ever!
so in the comments, please be thoughtful, be constructive, and yes – be fun!
Jared says: Ken the key to a happy marriage is to keep mama (Leeann) happy. That’s only accomplished by 2 things: One is to let her think she is having her own way; the other is to let her have her own way. It works for me.
Jared says: Oh, and never yell at each other unless the house is on fire.
Marsha says: Oh how wonderful! You both are so cute! Well I wish you both all the happiness I would hope and want for my own marriage and home. G-d’s blessings on your new family.
pe says: Have a good party occasionally. Don’t invite anyone you really don’t want to have around – bad karma. Give each other at least 1 compliment every day even if you are upset. Don’t forget important dates. Appreciate effort even if it’s not what you had wanted.
lisab says: always tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth — but once is enough, do not nag.
always remember that it really does not matter who washed the dishes last … it is not a competition and little things like that are not important.
wear stockings a lot (trust me 🙂 ) … but act like you have no idea how they make your legs look … you wear them “because they support your legs”
Marnia says: Congratulations! You both look very happy.
Say “Thank You” to each other a lot. It works.
Micky says: Congrats guys.
After years of marriage couples tend to stray from the whole they reason they got married in the first place.
Try to stay fresh.
Best wishs and may the man above always watch over you both.
Congrats! And here’s hoping for many good years ahead.
I hope you’re as happy as I thought I was going to be.
(Yes, that was a joke)
Rope says: Congrats Ken and Leeann!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just remember there is nothing so bad you can’t work it out. Be happy, live life to its fullest, and for the love of ROPE let me send you a Texas Ranger cap. 🙂
Congrats again.
moonlvr says: I haven’t been married yet but based on my parents and grandparents, I suppose I would say act like you only have eyes for each other.
Congratulations and hope tomorrow is your happiest day yet.
PenniePan says: Well as I’m sure you all can imagine, I have had 3 divorces so I am not comfortable in giving ANYONE advice about marriage. However…
No cheating. No lying. Don’t pick up bad habits like that. Start out with 3 checking accounts: Leeann’s spending $, Ken’s spending $, and Household $. Leeann try to dress sexy occasionally. Ken no dirty ass socks and underwear on the floor because ALL women hate that. Ken bring home flowers unexpected on occasion. Leeann work at NOT nagging which unfortunately is in the female DNA and don’t pout because ALL men hate that.
Laugh together. If you stop laughing, you know you have a very serious marital problem so work on doing that.
I may not do marriage well but I do know men. So use this information at your own risk and have a wonderful day tomorrow.
Greatest happiness to you both for years to come!
My husband and I have been married for nearly 26 years. We try to live by 3 simple rules:
1. Act as if you are still on your honeymoon.
2. Make each other laugh before you get out of bed in the morning.
3. Remember – we’re not here for a long time, we’re here for a good time.
They’ve stood us in good stead thru some pretty rough times – both within our marriage and around us. People always tell us we are the happiest couple they know and that we always look like we are in love.
That’s good – because we are. Marriage is hard work, don’t let anyone fool you about that. But it’s rewarding if the 2 of you are determined to work hard, together.
Ken and Leann,
Congratulations and all my best for many happy years together! What a dashing couple!
Ken says: “Ken the key to a happy marriage is to keep mama (Leeann) happy”
Amen, brother!!
Thank you all very much!! I appreciate the kind words, everyone, and the advice. It’s good advice and I will abide my all of it!!
I shall report in on the service in a few days.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Rope says: Wait are we all invited to the honeymoon????????????????
Paul says: Ken and Leann
I have been married now for 16 years and 4 kids later I can say I still really love my wife and she loves me. I think it’s hard work though. We try very hard to be respectful and to not ever fight in front of our children. We also think it’s important to have fun together. I do think I give in a lot of the time (HA!) but I don’t really mind because I like making her happy. She makes me happy as well. She calls me a dreamboat which I know to all you conservatives is hard to imagine. It’s actually hard for me to imagine too seeing as how I’ve gained 25 lbs and have lost some hair since we first married. I think when we had kids, are family changed a lot and I loved my wife more because I saw how hard she worked to keep us all organized. So I would say appreciate each other everyday. Make sure that you laugh everyday. No namecalling during arguments either. That was a shameful lesson I learned early on in my marriage. Congratulations on your marriage. Don’t think of us on your honeymoon.
Ken and Leean, I pray God’s rich blessing on your marriage, and that He shows Himself strong on your behalf, to bring you ever closer as you truly become one in marriage.
I have been married for 23 years – well, in July, anyway. We were engaged for just over three years before that, so in a sense, I’ve been married for 26 years! My husband and I have had our ups and downs, gone through hardship and sorrow, rejoiced in our lovely daughter, and been wonderfully blessed by God’s watchcare and provision. We are each other’s best friend, confidant, counselor, supporter, encourager, balance, and accountability partner – and we love being married to each other more with every passing year.
My wedding advice to you would be: Do not treat marriage as a contract. Contracts can be broken – if you don’t fulfill my expectations, then I have a right to nullify the contract. Rather, treat marriage as the sacred covenant it should be: what God has joined, let no man (and that includes you two) put asunder.
*BE* “one flesh”! Do not lead separate lives – look for ways to work together for the same goals, look for things to do together, look for a church to attend together! Join bank accounts, share the mortgage, make decisions together. The more intertwined your lives are, the more you share your innermost self, the more you share your joys and fears and laughter and success and sorrow and tears and worries and triumphs… Well, then the more you will truly become one – and no one, not even yourselves, will then be able to tear you apart.
Again, may God bless you and keep you, may He make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. May He strengthen your marriage and bless you. May He give you the humility to apologize when in the wrong and to serve each other with love and joy.
And as you draw nearer to one another, I pray that He draws you even closer to Himself, for He is your Father, and He stands ready to guide you and counsel you so you may live a marriage of holy beauty.
Best blessings tomorrow, and I pray it is the first day of a long and glorious marriage!
In Him,
— Kat
lisab says: regarding what PenniePan said, i do agree … do not nag.
always keep in mind most men do not talk much.
however i do not agree with her on keeping separate finances. finances are a very important part of marriage in that if you do not generally agree on money there will be problems, so i hope you have discussed saving vs. spending …
that said, hubby and i have one checking, one savings and a few investment accounts … but all jointly owned.
ones his is mine and what is mine is his 🙂
Congratulations to the happy couple! The best advice I have to share is: listen to each other, communication is key. Admit when you’re wrong, and be quick to forgive.
BikerDan says: Well Ken and Leeann let me first give you both a big bear hug and say congratulations!! My bride and I have been married 42 years. We met when we were in Junior High. We have 5 kids and 12 grandchildren. My advice would be what most have already said ahead of me except I would add that it is important that you are committed to your mate. Committed in that you want them to be happy. You hate when they’re not and you feel like a bum when you are the reason.
Don’t be selfish and be willing to lay down your life if necessary for them. God bless you both. With good genes like yours,
I assume you’ll be adding to the next generation of conservatives. I’ve done my part in that now you do yours!
Jane says: A very happy life ahead for you both!
Remember to use the same manners with each other that you would with others. Forgive each other quickly when something goes wrong. Surprise each other with small tokens of affection often as an example, I still write my husband notes and leave them around the house and we’ve been married for 32 years! Believe the other is your very best friend.
Micky says: Make sure you have lots of republicans ! 🙂
Congratulations Ken and Leeann! A new marriage is so exciting!
Advice? What works for one couple doesn’t necessarily work for another. Once you get past the ‘oh he/she is just perfect’ stage, you will have to find what works for you on any number of areas – between which side of the bed you like to sleep on, to finances, to which one wants the dark meat and which likes the white meat, to how to discipline children.
The best advice I ever got was to treat your spouse like a friend. You will be best friends hopefully, but its good to remember that we treat our friends differently than we often do our spouses. For instance, we don’t expect our friends to meet our every need. We accept our friends for who they are, quirks and all. We can laugh off their peculiarities and not necessarily take them personally. We generally treat our friends with consideration and respect.
People who have the longest lasting marriages in which the couple is still fond of one another almost invariably say that they look at our spouse as a separate human being with their own life and treat them as they do their friends. Primarily, not expecting the spouse to meet their every need/want and accepting them for who they are, flaws and all.
The feeling of love will come and go throughout a long relationship. As long as you have trust, respect and a commitment, you can get through the rough times and those times when you aren’t particularly feeling ‘in love’ with each other. Hopefully, those times will be few and far between.
Best wishes to both of you!!!
John says: This is my first visit to this blog but what the heck! The secret to staying married is wanting to stay married.
Marriage is sometimes a long hard slog as Rummy would say. But everyday is worth it. Everyday should be lived as if it were the last day. Didn’t 9/11 teach us that? Who can remember those telephone goodbye calls? I have gotten more mushy in my older years but I think about those people who thought they would live their lives out with the ones they married to a ripe old age. That didn’t happen. So I made a personal vow to myself that I was gonna love my wife everyday like it was my last day. It has made the times when I was annoyed or mad less intense and made the makeup times sweeter. Now in the practical world, Ken make sure you do nice things for your new wife. Frequently. She will love you for it. Leann make sure you take care of Ken. Us guys need a lot of help. Best wishes to you both on your marriage and I agree with others: populate the earth with conservatives!
Thanks for the nice reading Kate. I will definately be back often.
LeeAnn says: Wow.. Thank you for all of the GREAT ADVICE!!!!!
All of your comments will be tucked safe within my heart, as I take the vow this afternoon with Ken.
I dont know if Ken told anyone really about us so Im going to do so. If this is a rerun Im sorry just skip to the end.
Nov 2005 I wished for Ken. I had a terrible break up and was at home on a LeeAnn pity party for the weekend, and a movie came on which is so girly I had to watch it. It was Practical Magic. Well, in that movie, there was a little girl who made a spell so that she would never fall in love. She didnt want to have a broken heart. She wished for all these crazy characteristics in this man that didnt exist.
So, I got the bright idea to do that because of the huge amount of hurt I was going through at that time. I made a list of crazy things….
1. He had to have no feet
2. Blue eyes with love
3. Had to have the same values, up bringing and belief in one self
4. had to have a JOB
5. made me laugh
6. had to remember to play
There were a tonnnnnnnnnn of things on that list. I put it away and went on with my life. I never looked back never once.
I met Ken in Novemeber 2006. I year later. We were at church and as we did the sign of Peace I really really saw him for the first time. He smiled at me and of course I was like SHAAAAA Im picking up men at church, during church what am I doing??? .. 🙂
He saw me, asked about me to another couple that he saw I was talking to, and the other couple called me the next day to ask me if I noticed the man sitting next to her. I was like OMG do you know him, He had the best smile I have ever seen and I cant get him out of my mind. She said really… he noticed you and wants your number. I was spitting out my number to her before she could get a piece of paper. Then she said well let me tell you about Ken…. I though oh god here we go again… he has kids and a crazy exwife… He just got out of jail…. WHAT could I possibly attract now…. hahahahahhahahha
Then she proceeded to tell me Kens story. I was like ok… again my number is bla bla bla.. He called me 1 week later we went out on our first date the Friday after Thanksgiving.
It wasnt until 5 months later when we were watching Tv, and Practical Magic was on TBS. I turned it on at that very part where the little girl was making her wish, I then realized what had happened.
Ken got blown up in December of 2005. He is my man with no feet. His eyes are the color of a tropical ocean. The job he has, he wears a uniform… Hubba hubba..
His morals and mine are in sync 95% of the time! I wished for him and it came true. I really didnt think a man with no feet could exist. Its wild how things come into play.
Kate you are so nice to put this up here. Thank you!
I also think that Love can only take you so far. You have to LIKE the person. YOu can love anyone. Liking them is the hard part sometimes. I love Ken, but I really really like him!!!!!!!!! I cant wait to be married to him!!
Funny story.. someone asked me was it difficult to date a man with such a huge handicapp… I was like heck no…. I get front row parking, I get the WHOLE bottom half of the bed to myself, Awesome seats at concerts, 100% star treatment at amusement parks. Once I go handicapped I never go back!!
See you guys next time as a married LeeAnn!!!!!
LeeAnn says: Oh and btw…..
We will get right on that kiddie making.. Im not a spring chicken!!
Rope says: Leeann thanks, I for one had not heard the story. Ive known for a while what a lucky girl Leeann must be but WOW Ken what a lucky guy! All the best on this special day.
Oh and you could name your first little republican, ROPE. 🙂
lisab says: congratulations leeann!
feet are not the most important part of a man anyway 🙂
leeann lmao! i knew parts of the story but definately not all of it!
what advice would i give you and ken? well, definately have patience with each other. vow to take care of each other each and every day and really do it. laugh a lot and make sure you always make time each day to talk.
there’s an adjustment when you merge two lives/households/habits together. there are a lot of ups and downs and give and take. but embrace the changes with great gusto! and also remember you’re both responsible for contributing to a successful leonard marriage so don’t forget to tell each other how proud you are of the other.
the scriptures say to ‘remember your first love’ and in context its talking about the believer remembering their love for christ. but in the context of marriage, use this when there are difficulties between you — sit down and remember why you love each other in the first place and it helps a lot to get things back on track. neither of you are fey or mind readers so practice talking stuff out. no silent treatments and no tantrums. (not that i am speaking from personal experience or anything)
when things are strained or even at an impasse, ask yourself ‘how much fun am i to live with?’ because oy, nagging, negativism, criticizing, crabbiness begets that. whereas selflessness, cheerfulness, kindness, encouragement, a friendly word begets that. asking yourself that simple question can be like a knock upside the head to get things back to ‘good’. it’s something i learned early in my marriage and it is my good fortune to have a family who loves me and are committed to me in spite of all my foilbles. 🙂
and finally, when all those little conservative babies come, work on parenting them together. enjoy them and treasure them and teach them the important things in life everyday because you really only have them a short while. babies are a gift from god and it is your solemn responsibilty to raise them well.
all the very best things in life to you both and happy, happy day!
Janette says: You’ve already been given some phenomenal advice, I can’t pretend to think that i can top any of it. I think that as long as you approach any relationship with empathy and affection it’s bound to be a success.
I wish you both a long and happy life together filled with many moments of joy. And if those moments aren’t filled with joy may they at least be filled with love and understanding. Best wishes!
Well, dadgummit. I go away for the weekend, and you crazy kids go running amok. Heartfelt wishes for health and prosperity, and lots of Republican younguns. Congratulations and the best of luck to you both!
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