Today I have a super great secret for a strong marriage…

Are you ready??

GET AWAY TOGETHER WITHOUT YOUR KIDS.

At least once a year. Twice if you score a rad Groupon or Hotwire deal.

Seriously. Mr. B. and I have been going away for 2 nights on our anniversary week for the last 3 years and it has strengthened our relationship on so many different levels.

Life with kids is wonderful and blessed and full and fun.

But occasionally – dare I say it – our kids (and life in general) can take center stage while our marriage quietly suffers.

You don’t get as much alone time, you don’t get to finish conversations without a hundred little interruptions, and sometimes you can even forget how to laugh and have fun together.

Getting away with your man for a few nights is a wonderful way to help you both remember about the awesome power team couple you are.

Go see a funny movie. Eat meals at a reasonable pace. Look each other in the eye. SLEEP IN.

Obviously there are a hundred other things we can and should be doing daily for our marriages and a short vacation clearly won’t fix everything, but it just might be the thing you both need to keep on keeping on.

As a team.

Now I know some of you might be sighing and saying wistfully, “I would, Julie, if we had the money!”

First, let me make something clear – Mr. B. and I are not wealthy people by any means. We work for a church and school – need I say more? 🙂

So we have had to get creative when it comes to our little getaways.

Here are some ways we have made a vacation possible on a small budget…

Ask around your church if someone has a vacation home. See if they might be willing to let you and your hubby enjoy it for a few days.
Do you know anyone who has a timeshare? Both of our parents have invested in timeshares and every once in awhile they will call us and say they have a bunch of points to spend at a participating resort and do we want them before they expire? It’s awesome.
Speaking of timeshares, when Ryan and I were newly weds and REALLY poor, we used to sign up for the super cheap 3-night getaways at really fancy hotels – the reason they were so cheap was because you had to spend one morning ~~enduring~~ enjoying a 90-minute presentation about timeshares. You just need to make sure that you 2 are in agreement about saying NO to the timeshare in the end. We did this several times and often joked that the timeshare people had pictures of us in their coffee break rooms admonishing employees to watch out for our unbreakable resolve.
Look on Groupon, Hotwire, Travelocity, or Expedia for amazing deals. I mean you could get an incredible, 4 or 5 star hotel for less than $99 a night! Just turn your air conditioning or heat off for a week and BAM – there’s your getaway cash.
Find a grandparent or friend who could host your kids for the night so you can stay home together alone.

Once you have accommodations figured out, babysitting is the next task to tackle.

We always turn to the grandparents for help first (thank you Grammie and Mom-Mom for EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO FOR US!).

But if they are not free, or in the picture, call a friend.

Reach out to your church.

The Lord has brought so many wonderful, fun, trustworthy (and sometimes even FREE) babysitters into our life because of our generous, loving, and supportive church community.