Karissa Tunis

I Love My Husband, But…

My husband and I got married in 2007, which by now is long enough ago that I have to think for a minute before remembering what our anniversary date actually is. I love my husband dearly and feel privileged to get to go through so many stages of life with him! From the very beginning of our relationship, there was a level of comfort, strength, and security that I had never experienced before. And now I feel truly lucky to be able to say that the foundation in our relationship is just as solid as it has ever been.

As anyone who has been in a long-term relationship knows, there are stages to your relationship. Focuses shift, responsibilities change, and people grow. I love my husband, but our relationship continues to take different shapes depending on which stage of life we happen to be in!…

Free Printable Valentine’s Day Cards for Kids

Grab some card stock from the store and enjoy these free printable Valentine’s Day Cards for kids. Perfect for children to pass out to their friends!

Set your print settings to print multiple cards per page, and then cut them out easily.

{Check out Teaching Kids About Friendship and What Makes a Good Friend? for fun kid-friendly lessons on friendship}

Free printable Valentine’s Day cards for kids created by Karissa Tunis
For more on this topic, check out the full Be My Valentine collection

Co-Owner: Karissa Tunis

Karissa Tunis is the co-owner of both the parenting website Adore Them and the family event company Milestone Family Expos. Through these ventures she is able to share inspiring, heartfelt insight with large audiences within local communities and across the country! Her knack for all-things-organization allows her to balance content creation, brand partnerships, and event planning without losing sight of what she wants for her own family. Despite her busy schedule, Karissa also makes it a priority to spend quality time with her husband and three children. You will often find her volunteering at her children’s schools, cheering them on from the soccer sidelines, or enjoying the great sites of Charleston, SC with her family.

Contact: Karissa@AdoreThem.com

For more on this topic, check out the full Be My Valentine collection

Date Your Spouse – The Easiest DIY I Didn’t Do

When I came across the saying below after scrolling through Instagram, I thought – this is so true! After 13 years of marriage I had the greatest gift of being able to spend my life with my best friend, but we weren’t spending as much time together as we had hoped. Reality was a little less exciting that what he had imagined marriage to look like. He would often be playing with the kids as I was making dinner. I’d be helping with homework as he would be fixing a leaky faucet. At the end of the day we’d get ready for bed and realize that we hadn’t really spent any quality time together. This was totally different than when we were dating! But then I thought, why can’t you date your spouse?

This article is written by Pamela Rineer
For more on this topic, check out the full Be My Valentine collection

The quote I had found

Date Your Spouse – The Easiest DIY

This past year my husband gave me the greatest gift. It’s the easiest DIY that I didn’t even think to do. In that little glass bowl are names of different restaurants in the area. Nothing fancy, he just printed names of restaurants we had never tried in the area from the computer. At the beginning of each month I get to reach in and pull one out. He sets the day, makes a reservation if needed, and gets the sitter lined up for our date. Because, after 13 years of marriage we realized that we in fact needed to date each other again.

The restaurants range from burger joints to fancy sit down meals. Sometimes life gets busy and we decide to date night with friends, or skip going out and opt for a movie night at home. We especially love to put the kids to bed and watch our movies on the deck.

Date nights can be almost anywhere or anything. Game nights, movie nights, fancy dinners, or a walk in the park during your lunch break. You can’t give your marriage a greater gift than the quality time spent together reconnecting with your spouse.

For more on this topic, check out the full Be My Valentine collection

Featured Contributor: Pamela Rineer

Pamela Rineer lives in Lititz, PA with her husband, two boys, and very large goldendoodle. With a love of real estate, design, and money management she began renovating their homes on a budget. Now, settling into their fifth house, she shares simple DIY’s for all things home.

- Instagram: @pamelarineerinteriors
- Facebook: @pamelarineerinteriors
- Pinterest: @pamelarineerinteriors
- Website: pamelarineerinteriors.weebly.com

Alternative Ways to Spend Valentine’s Day

February 14th, or as we all know it – Valentine’s Day, is just around the corner! So how will you spend this special day? With a loved one, or a friend? With your family, or at home giving yourself some much needed R&R time? Will you do something traditional, or are you searching for something different than the norm? Whatever you end up choosing, I have compiled a few ideas below to hopefully inspire you to plan something fun! Below are some alternative ways to spend your Valentine’s Day….

DIY Valentine Wreath

I don’t spend a lot of time decorating for each holiday, but I do like to have a few seasonal decor items sprinkled around my home. These items don’t shout Valentines but do suggest a holiday is approaching. To freshen up my mantel and hint at the holiday of love, I created an easy Valentine wreath that took no time to make. Scroll down for an easy step-by-step guide and photo examples.

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What Makes A Good Friend?

What makes a good friend? Try this fun, simple, kid-friendly activity to teach your children the 5 finger friendship challenge. Remind them what it means to be a good friend, how to choose good friends, and why it is important to get along with everyone.

{Check out Teaching Kids About Friendship}

What Makes a Good Friend?

Dip your child’s hand in paint, and then mark their handprint on a canvas or piece of paper. Write in these 5 tips, and hang somewhere to remind them daily the importance of picking good friends, and how to be a good friend by:

Take Turns & Share
Be Kind
Show Gratitude
Keep Promises
and Tell the Truth

Created by Karissa Tunis
For more on this topic, check out the full Friendships or Be My Valentine collection

For more on this topic, check out the full Friendships or Be My Valentine collection

Co-Owner: Karissa Tunis

Contact: Karissa@AdoreThem.com

5 Simple Phrases that Express Love

The most powerful advice given to my husband and I as newlyweds was about our words. And now, ten years and five kids later, I reflect on that advice which has been an important key to a long and fulfilling relationship… I would definitely argue that language is the most powerful tool we have. It plants ideas, nurtures dreams, and communicates information. And depending on how we use it, it can greatly affect our lives! Below are the most important words that my husband and I use to strengthen our relationship. These 5 simple phrases help us express our love and appreciation for one another.

To me, our love story is from a fairy tale complete with roses, kisses, and a whirlwind romance. But happiness doesn’t just happen. It takes work. And by choosing the right words, it has helped us and our relationship continue to grow even deeper over the past decade.

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Imperfectly Perfect – How We Make Our Relationship Work

I often find myself asking “What does a perfect marriage look like?” Or “What does a perfect marriage look like with three small children and sleepless nights?” Or how about, “What does a perfect marriage look like with three small children, sleepless nights, 4 dogs, busy schedules, an upcoming move, and juggling all of this while trying to run a new business?” Sometimes all of the chaos of everyday life has me thinking about where my marriage and relationship is at. Prior to kids our life was so different! We traveled, went to fancy dinners, hosted parties, and enjoyed much more alone time. But with each child that seemed to change… So how do we make our relationship work now?

This article is written by Karissa Tunis
For more on this topic, check out the full Be My Valentine collection

So How Do We Make Our Relationship Work?

We Fall In Love Again and Again

Now, 12 years later, traveling to exotic places has been replaced with exploring anywhere a packed SUV can take us. Instead of going out to fancy dinners, we pick up sushi to go and enjoy it on our patio. And the noise and laughter in our home has also changed. There are no longer quiet days looking for something to do. There are no more last-minute movie dates, because we are now surrounded by kids, dogs, popcorn, and Disney characters.

Life has changed. The feelings and love has changed. But for us, it’s gotten even better!

I once read that a

Successful marriage is falling in love with the same person over and over again.

– and I could not agree more!!

It is so easy, especially in this phase of life, to fall out of love or to not always like each other. In fact, there are days that we sometimes cannot stand one another!

And yet…. some-how and some-way we do make it work. We look for that common ground, and we appreciate the small gestures and the big choices such as…

We Acknowledge the Challenges, and Work Together Towards the Same Goals

The day-to-day can be hard and challenging with so many demands and three little kids that need us for everything. But we are building a life, expanding our careers, raising our children, creating memories, and deepening our relationship. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves, and even each other, that we really are partners in this journey. At the end of the day we both want the same things for our family.

Together we find a compromise. Sometimes we need to watch our words, perhaps apologize, put aside our stubborn ways, and agree to reconnect. Together we make it work, and together we take care of our home – our family. I don’t like to cook, but my husband does. He sometimes make a mess, but I clean it up. He claims the basement and garage, I get final say in the house. I clean inside, he does all the yard work. I love to laugh, and he can be very funny. He stays up late with the kids, and I get up early with them. Together we can accomplish a lot!

I have realized that the butterflies definitely do not last forever. But they were replaced with 3 precious little human beings. And those feelings of infatuation were replaced over time with something much deeper – LOVE….. a true friendship and partnership. We respect one another, appreciate the value that we each bring to this relationship, and together we share the same dreams and goals.

We Share the Same Priorities

For us, the key to making our relationship work through this phase of life is that we don’t put as much pressure on “us”. Instead, we both agree that our family is our priority. We love each other, and do occasionally try to sneak away for a special date night. But by sharing the same priorities, and working towards the same goals, that brings us close together. It’s in a different way than when we were dating or newly weds, but it’s also deeper.

Marriages go through phases. As we have children and raise our families our relationship changes. There are definitely challenges, but also really special moments. And just as your children grow, your partnership will as well. Just try to appreciate the good, and when it gets hard – appreciate your partner who is right beside you through it all.

Our marriage is imperfect, but together we will continue to fall in love again and again.

For more on this topic, check out the full Be My Valentine collection

Co-Owner: Karissa Tunis

Contact: Karissa@AdoreThem.com

Small Ways to Reconnect with Your Spouse this Week

As parents, life can feel very busy! But that doesn’t mean that we can’t do small things to help reconnect with our spouse, or find that spark again with our partner in all of this family chaos…

Be sure to check out the free printable below!…

Kid-Friendly Winter Activities (that get you out of the house)

Leaving the house isn’t always an option if you are sick or snowed in. BUT when you can leave the house, you need a few affordable options! Here are some of my go-to kid-friendly winter activities when we are going stir-crazy and need to spend a few hours outside of the house. They are options that take less effort than a full day trip, and many of them are free (or at least pretty affordable!)….