“Little Steps is thrilled to announce our 2012 Regional Blog Partners! These in-the-know Moms and Dads have been handpicked by Little Steps as Top Mom & Dad Bloggers offering regional insight into parenting and playing with kids from Hong Kong to Australia and beyond. Meet them, read them, and welcome them to our ever-expanding community of go-to parents.”
- Little Steps Hong Kong

I’m mighty proud to be on this list of awesome blogging Moms and Dads! Click on the links to get to their blogs:

RAWTHENTIC FOODS: Hong Kong, China SAR

GLAMOMAMAS: The Philippines & Regional

BABY LOVES TO TRAVEL: Dubai, UAE and Global

LITTLE NOMADS: Australia (Daddy Blogger!)

BBBABYBUNDLES: Hong Kong, China SAR

A MATTER OF TASTE: Bangkok, Thailand

OUR EVERYDAY THINGS: Singapore

THE SAVVY MUMMY: Singapore

MUMMY IN A STRANGE LAND: Hong Kong, China SAR

MOTHERINC.ORG: Singapore

MAMAPUMPKIN: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

CHILDHOOD 101: Australia

PLANNING WITH KIDS: Melbourne, Australia

THE ROCK MOM: Hong Kong, China SAR

EDUNLOADED: Singapore (Daddy Blogger!)

THE J BABIES: Singapore

NUTRITIOUS N’ DELICIOUS: Hong Kong, China SAR

DADDY NIVLEK: Singapore (Daddy blogger!)

Little Steps is a free email newsletter and website that is devoted to delivering the inside scoop on what to do, buy, and discover in Hong Kong and beyond. I’m honored that they once again chose Wifely Steps to be part of their amazing list of bloggers. Thank you Little Steps!

Welcome to the third edition of It’s A Wife’s Life! Thank you to everyone who joined this carnival!

Ibyang presents Long Weekend Treats posted at A Wife’s Charmed Life, saying, “Long weekends are always a blessing! With the help of a balanced schedule, a wife and home manager like me can make the most of what a family can do with a 3-day weekend.”

Nesher presents What are chances your marriage survives your menopause? posted at All about Menopause saying “Over 60 percent of divorces are initiated by women in their 40s, 50s or 60s — the menopause years — according to a recent survey conducted by AARP Magazine. Kate Vetrano, chair of the ABA’s Elder Law Committee, commented this statistical data: ‘They’re shedding their marriages in the quest for happiness.’”

Heather Gauthier presents About Me posted at Creative Devolution saying “At the age of 21, I married the Dark Knight.”

Melanie Grant presents Do you love him like this? posted at Mel’s Mouthful on Mothering saying “Do you love him like this? Oh yes, he needs it and he definitely wants it! He wants to know that you love him, adore him and that your heart is overflowing. Yes even if you have been married for 40 years and “he should know it by now”.

Melanie Grant shares another entry entitled Never Quit saying, “I am married to an amazing man. He was God’s perfect choice for me. God spoke clearly and directly to me and said “This is the one.” But just because God says he’s the one doesn’t mean that marriage is any easier. We face the same trials as everyone else and then some. Knowing is not the same as being.”

Daniela presents How to Discourage Materialism in Children posted at Natural Papa sharing “Tips from a mom on how to discourage materialism, for dads (and wifes) everywhere.”

Zhu presents The United Nations At Home > posted at Correr Es Mi Destino, saying, “At times, at home, it feels like a United Nations Secu­rity Coun­cil. France and China. We are per­ma­nent mem­bers with the power to veto deci­sions made by another mem­ber. Like “no more Chi­nese food for a while, I can’t take any more white rice!” and “pasta with four cheese sauce with parme­san on top, really?” Good thing we are liv­ing in neu­tral territory—Canada.”

Beth Blair presents My Flight Attendant Career? Back after Seven Years posted at The Vacation Gals, sharing “Thoughts on returning to work part time once the kids are in school.”

Josanne Anthony presents Is Submission In Marriage Slavery? Part 1 posted at Just Josanne, sharing “Part 1 of the false idea that Christian wives are inferior and slaves.”

A. Fine Gal presents My Household Binder: The Basics posted at A. Fine Gal… Schoolteacher, Wife, and Daughter of Christ, saying, “The basic idea of a household notebook, if you haven’t heard of this before, is simply a place to keep the key information and lists you need for your home.”

Newlywed Survival presents Saving Money as Newlyweds – Creating a Budget posted at Newlywed Survival, saying, “Money is an ongoing issue in most marriages. Creating a budget can help cool this hot topic.”

Wifely Steps Guest Bloggers

Tintin a.k.a. Pinayhekmi presents her own wifely steps saying, ” Love is also an action verb that requires work. At one point in your marriage, you may need to re-learn to love your partner. That’s just part of being in a relationship.”

Cess presents Reading Glasses saying, “I just couldn’t believe that the term “old age” would be used to describe what’s happening to us right now. I don’t feel old. He doesn’t feel old.”

That concludes this edition. Share the love by visiting the beautiful and insightful reflections of our blog carnival participants!

Submit your blog article to the next edition of It’s A Wife’s Life using our carnival submission form, or leave a link to your post in the comments section. The next issue of It’s A Wife’s Life will be out on November 15th, so submit your entry by the 12th!

See you next round!

When Toni asked me to write about my wifely steps, I wasn’t sure if I was the best person to ask. I’m not really the traditional kind of wife. I don’t cook, I hate doing the laundry and leave piles of washed laundry unfolded for weeks on end…okay one time, as long as a month.

Anyway, I pick up after myself, and I expected my husband to pick up after himself. I don’t do any of the cutesy stuff that I would often hear other wives do. Cook their husband’s favorite dishes, lay out their clothes, make their lunch, and put together a plate for them at parties before putting together their own. Heck, what did I do? I asked myself, contemplating Toni’s request. I couldn’t even bring myself to change my last name. Yes, despite going by Kristene Hekmi all this time, I have never officially changed my name. Legal documents still bear the last name I was born with. I definitely have feminist leanings.

Did I do anything special? I wondered. While I do think I take my mothering duties seriously and with joy, how did my husband feel about my non-traditional “wifely steps”, to borrow Toni’s phrase? So I asked him.

He says that I am a trustworthy, loyal, loving wife. He says whenever he feels pressure at work, all he has to think about is that he made one good decision in marrying me, and that is enough for him to be in peace.

My husband’s work is to be a soldier in Iraq for the time being, so those words…I can’t even tell you how much they mean to me.

I’ve looked over our emails back and forth, our Skype messages, and reflected on our chats. There is no hour so tempting of reflection as the hour when I want him most to be near me, and he isn’t. I’ve thought long and hard about what makes us tick, why we get along so well, and how the distance have made all our previous little fights so utterly silly. And below are the key things I have learned on making a relationship work.

First, be friends. When people ask me who my best friend is, I don’t list a girl friend. I list my husband. He is the one whose company, and humor, I enjoy the most. Once the flames of love’s first passion dies down, the friendship is there to stoke the fire and keep the hearth warm. You don’t have to be best friends, but at least good friends. Someone you enjoy being with, because guess who you’re supposed to be spending the rest of your life with?

Laugh together. When I was younger, my aunt gave me advice on what to look for in a husband. She was a matter-of-fact woman, and her advice was for me to look for the 3 M’s: Mayaman, Matangkad, Magwapo! Translated from Tagalog, it means rich, tall, and handsome.

Our daughter is only four, but once the time comes to give her advice, one of the qualities I would ask her to look for in a future partner is a sense of humor. IT IS A MARRIAGE-SAVER. For those who never have any issues in their life, with no money problems, health problems, unwanted surprises or curveballs thrown their way. Whose life with their partner is a never-ending parade of tra la las and amazing sex, good for you, you lucky ducks, good for you. For the rest, who will have issues, pack some humor to get through most of them. From the small things like the energy-sapping, sleep-sucking first few months of parenthood with a newborn: a good poop joke can infuse some much needed life back into you. To the big things like worrying about ability to pay the bills: a well-timed crack about stripping as a backup plan can pull you from the depths of despair.

The humor keeps you laughing in solidarity. Somehow, when you laugh together, everything snaps back into something manageable. The challenges can’t beat you as a couple, because you have your reliable ammo to smash it into pieces. And when the challenge is each other? The humor is the instant tension-breaker. Plus, you’ve laughed just too damn much with the other person to really believe any problem is bigger than the two of you. It’s an ammo you can pull out for multiple scenarios, and you’re gonna need it.

Remember that love is an action verb. Oh romantic-comedies. How I love you. My first one was Pretty Woman, and I’ve enjoyed many more since. They always have a formula. Boy Meets Girl. There are issues. They seem to get past it, but a breaking point occurs that seems to irreparably damage the love -birds’ chances of being together forever. But somehow, in some magical way, they do finally realize just how much they love/can’t live without each other, and they’re shown living happily ever after. And it ends there.

This is what girls grow up watching and pining for. And what the movies never show, and what they may never realize is that a bunch of other s*it happens after that. A whole lifetime of s*it! And what they may never learn, maybe because there was never anyone to model it for them, no one to tell them, is that love is not just a romantic-comedy. Love is also an action verb that requires work. At one point in your marriage, you may need to re-learn to love your partner. That’s just part of being in a relationship.

You will have to work through finding time to be together when the kids come. Work through communicating. Work through disagreements. You will have to compromise and sacrifice. Work on complimenting each other more, work on yourself to be a better partner. It sounds like mind-numbing work, but it’s not. It just takes a little effort most of the time, and a lot of effort sometimes.

A lot of people feel that they work so hard at everything else, their marriage/relationship should be their sanctuary, and that it should be easy. In the beginning, it should totally be easy to fall in love with each other. But a long-term committed relationship doesn’t coast along on smooth, placid waters. There will be waves, and sometimes a storm will come and try to knock that sanctuary upside-down. You’ve got to work to navigate those waves, and to right yourself again after a storm.

So what do we have so far? We’ve got a sanctuary riding rough waters, with hopefully a warm fire going, and a couple with or without kids laughing inside.

There are other things of course, and they are Love (the noun this time), Respect and Trust. This is a given. This is a must. This is what everyone starts with. But to get from point A. the beginning of your relationship to point B. (cheese alert) eternity, the three tenets I described above is what has kept my husband and I going.

Now excuse me while I ignore a few piles of laundry.

Together for 11 years and married for almost 8 years with a 4 year old daughter. You can find more of Tintin at What Mommy Likes and pinayhekmi.

Reading glasses

It happened a few months ago but I still remember every detail as if it happened only yesterday. Our eldest son asked daddy for help in assembling a toy, the instructions for which were written on the box. My husband read, and read, and read. He squinted his eyes, held the box at one hand, two hands away, and read. Held it up at arm’s length, and read. Went over to the window, and read. Finally, he said, “Mommy, wala akong mabasa.”

“What do you mean?!,” I asked, fighting hysteria. I grabbed the box from him. What did he mean he couldn’t read this?! I could read every word! It was a nerve-wracking, hair-raising, this-must-be-a-disaster-movie moment as I grabbed the nearest book and shoved it in his face. “How about this?,” I asked, trying to control the mounting panic.

He said all he could see was a blurry mess. I watched him nervously as he held the book up, turned the page to the left, then a bit to the right. Finally, he could make out the words.

And we knew. “Kailangan ko na yata ng reading glasses,” he said.

We went to a doctor, who made sure that there were no other medical problems. I heaved a sigh of relief when the doc said that everything else was peachy keen. Then he checked my husband’s eyesight. He used to have a 20/20 vision, but tests showed he has become near-sighted with a grade of 100. Doc confirmed that he has difficulty reading in fine print and would need corrective lenses. As he made a prescription, he commented that it was too early for my husband, who was several months away from his 40th birthday, to get reading glasses. But that wasn’t unusual. Signs of old age do come earlier for some people, doc said.

I gasped. Old age.

Don’t get me wrong – I was not suddenly swept by midlife anguish.

I just couldn’t believe that the term “old age” would be used to describe what’s happening to us right now. I don’t feel old. He doesn’t feel old.

And then I realized we’ve been married for over 11 years. We have 3 children. We can say “Been there, done that” in more than half of what counselors call the Stages of Marriage.

We’ve been through so many ups and downs, more than I can count. We have laughed together perhaps a million times. We have celebrated countless birthdays, anniversaries, big and small victories. We have cried together and held each other tight during raging storms, and we have basked in the light of great many sunny days.

It only feels like yesterday when we began the journey of married life, but now I realized we’ve actually been on the road for more than a decade. That’s over 4,000 days and counting! And it shows. I now remember the little signs here and there. The strands of white hair on his head. The crow’s feet that are framing my eyes. The growing number of fine lines on our foreheads.

And now, his reading glasses.

Ah yes. We are indeed getting old. And I believe, I know, the reason why we don’t feel the years passing by is because we are facing every day of every year together. That promise we made years ago about growing old together – we are doing it now. And we don’t feel weary in the journey of life because we have each other as a reliable, steady and, of course, super-de-duper fun companion.

I know, I know, old age is just taking a peek on the door. It has yet to fully settle in our bodies and in our lives. We have yet to make our first purchase of Bengay and Flanax. We have not yet drunk our first glass of Sustagen Prime. No bouts yet of hypertension or rheumatism. We are years away from the day we’ll apply for senior citizen ID!

I’m afraid I’ll still feel shocked as each sign of old age comes a-knockin.’ But we will definitely greet each one with a happy hello. A few tears perhaps. But with a whole lot of love and laughter, that’s for sure. Because we’ll know, with our wrinkly hands intertwined, all these mean we are growing old together.

Cessna has been blogging since 2004. She and her husband have been married for over 11 years and are blessed with 3 children.

Welcome to the second edition of It’s A Wife’s Life! Thank you to everyone who joined this carnival!

Nancy Reinke presents Joyful Altitude: Honey, Have You Seen My Duct Tape? posted at Joyful Altitude, saying, “I’m a writer, living in a small cabin in the Colorado Rockies with my artist husband. Married on Valentine’s Day in 2010, we are committed to a life of joy, as reflected in my blog Joyful Altitude.”

Ma. Teresa Grech Q. Racal presents Francis Vargas Racal… The Love of My Life posted at This is My Life, saying “I used to pray for someone who is tall and good looking but I guess God has His own way of answering my prayers. Instead He blessed me with someone who is intelligent, very funny person, not that tall (average I would say), cutie-cute-cute (as what my kids and I would call him) and most of all LOVES and ACCEPTS me for who and what I am.”

Cham Cuartero presents The 10 Not-So-Right-But-Not-Entirely-Wrong Reasons for Having a Baby posted at eat ur banana, saying, “Not a single day passes without at least one person asking me, my husband, or both of us, if a baby is already on its way. It was cute at first. But believe me, when it’s a daily staple, it can get irritating.”

Joii Cooper presents 10 Reasons I Love My Husband posted at A Full Day, saying “This post is in honor of my 2nd wedding anniversary. My husband and I tied the knot on August 22, 2009. What a great day. I am in love with him more now than I was two years ago. I am so grateful to God for giving Mr. Cooper to me!”

Love del Rosario presents 30-Day Blog Challenge: Day 22 posted at The Things I Love, saying “Everyone’s love is a beautiful story. Believe me when I say that ours is not one for the books. It is ordinary. It is everyday. It will not launch a thousand ships. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Ibyang presents Celebrating Marriage Everyday posted at A Wife’s Charmed Life, saying “Our wedding happened four years ago…but my Husband and I celebrate our MARRIAGE everyday.”

Wifely Steps Guest Bloggers

Mom-Friday presents her own wifely steps saying, “My wife-life can get too serious and emotional at times and I am still a work in progress. Hence, let me take you along on some lighter and fun (embarrassing) moments of my wifely steps. Don’t shoot me!”

Sheng presents her own wifely steps saying, “I was very young when I got pregnant with my eldest and only son, that is if you consider 22 as young. It was a whirlwind, life-changing phase in my life.”

That concludes this edition. Share the love by visiting the beautiful and insightful reflections of our blog carnival participants!

Submit your blog article to the next edition of It’s A Wife’s Life using our carnival submission form, or leave a link to your post in the comments section. The next issue of It’s A Wife’s Life will be out on October 10th, so submit your entries by the 8th!

See you next round!

What is “It’s A Wife’s Life Blog Carnival”?
This blog carnival is open to all those who’d like to share their wifely stories. Whether frustrations or hopes, recipes or humorous situations, love stories or epiphanies, if you’ve got your own wifely story please do share! Let’s learn from one another. Husbands are also welcome to write about their wives. Keep it clean everyone!

How do I join?
Step 1: Publish your article in your blog, then note its Permalink URL. (What’s a permalink?)
Step 2: Submit your article to the carnival via this form.

When is the deadline?
For this second round, articles will be accepted till September 9th, and the carnival will be published on the 10th.

Can I submit previously published posts?
Sure you can! For as long as it’s not over 1 month old and it has not been submitted to previous It’s a Wife’s Life blog carnivals, you can send it in.

Check out the blog carnival FAQ here.

Looking forward to your submissions!

Raising Kids

I was very young when I got pregnant with my eldest and only son, that is if you consider 22 as young. It was a whirlwind, life-changing phase in my life. I was a very hard-working individual who suddenly fell in love with my co-worker, got married and had a child after 2 years out of college. I never thought I could do it, raising kids, that is. For one, my husband and I are both impatient with kids, but we learned to love the baby that was growing in my tummy, until such time I was able to hold the baby in my arms and heard him cry.

The weeks and months that followed were a series of sleepless nights. Only these crying babies love change, and they sleep soundly after a change of their diapers. That meant some horror to me and the hubby — the sleepless nights, the expenditure for milk, diapers and vaccinations and visits to the pedia bore holes to our pockets. But I never heard my husband complain. It was also an eye-opener for me, the adjustment as a couple and the baby crying almost shut me down. We both were first time parents and with less supervision from both out parents. True, we live in my MIL’s house, but she was never there all the time as she is teaching secondary education to a school very far from us. She goes home only on weekends to visit her grandson.

Being hands-on with the baby entails so many things to learn, and unlearn, and we didn’t get house help because what use will I be if I depend on someone? That went on, until 2 years after, I was given an opportunity to work at a publishing company, went to law school while he was 4, and stopped because I got pregnant again when he was 5.

Luckily for me, MIL retired from teaching just in time for the daughter to arrive. Again, back to sleepless night and back to work when the daughter was almost 2 years old. I never left my kids while they were young. I believed that if I leave them to somebody else, they will have to yearn for my presence yet they get it from a different person, and sooner they will not need me anymore. So we were back to diaper changes, bottle-feeding and visits to the pedia. I read to my kids, every night. I make sure they get to value education through reading. I play with them, and we go out every now and then to bring the kids to places.

My kids are very silent in school, but they are also the active type when at home. Their teachers say if they could only have students like my kids, it will be a very happy school. But we all know students have their tantrums too, my daughter is more mischievous than the kuya, but both of them excel well in school, topping classes every end of the school year. I am just so proud of the two of them.

Raising kids is a tough phase for parents, but remember they are our trophies when we get old. In order to maintain the shine of the trophies we have, we must inculcate into our kids the rights values, so they won’t get misplaced and will get to the right path.

I am no expert when it comes to parenting, and raising kids is a training ground for me to be patient, humble and to control my temper. But the husband and I have one thing we share with each other that helps our being parents to be effective and to blossom. We RESPECT each other, and respect begets love, and love begets goodness and goodness begets happiness. To raise a child is an achievement; make sure you are a proud achiever when you are and when you get to be one.

Sheng is a working mom during weekdays, juggles 2 kids, a home and a husband 24/7, and has a home-based online job during evenings. She tries to relax by reading books with coffee on the side, and blogging about Mother Instincts in between all these.

First, I just have to say it is such a thrill to be a guest blogger at Toni’s top home and parenting blog. And this is my first guest post ever!

As you can see from the title, this will be all about my being a wife, not my usual mommy post. I have to thank Toni for this because it made me realize that I rarely talked or wrote about being one. It made me look back at my ‘wifely steps’ and how I had been to hubby J over the last 8 years, 8 months, 9* days and counting.

My wife-life can get too serious and emotional at times and I am still a work in progress. Hence, let me take you along on some lighter and fun (embarrassing) moments of my wifely steps. Don’t shoot me! =)

• I am NOT a morning person: Hubby wakes up waaay too early for me =). Therefore… make your own breakfast J! (Although I do have my moments a few times in a month…that would count right?)
• I screen his office attire. I don’t screen his calls.
• I respect his time at work so I don’t call nor text unless it’s urgent. (Or when I badly need his techie solutions for my tech-related emergencies)
• TV and movie time is hubby’s “me-time” = I learned that “resistance is futile”.
• I badly need to master cooking hubby’s favorite dishes…even when I can count them in just 5 fingers. (I admit,I’m too lazy to learn.)
• Kids like his corned beef guisado better than mine.
• I forget to buy his vitamins, his snacksand chips (intentional at times), and his dental floss.
• I drag myself to play Xbox, Playstation, PSP, and iPad games with him (did I mention I’m not a gadgets type of gal?)
• I tug his pillow and elbow him when his snores get too loud already
• I am not a syrupy-sweet kinda wife (I’d like to believe hubby doesn’t mind since we’re not a mushy couple to begin with)
• PDA is not in our marriage vocabulary, save for the usual holding-hands-while-walking
• I’d like to think that I’m a cool and supportive wife, but very, very far from being ideal
• I’m completely dependent on J (good and bad)
• I’m a good listener (unless he gets too techie again… zzzzzz….)
• Date nights? I wish! Reserved for special occasions only. Brunch dates are preferred (he’s a morning person remember?)

Becoming a wife completely changed me, and I have to confess that I lost a part of who I am. It’s a sacrifice I have made to embrace this fulfilling path as a life partner. And I truly believe everything turned out for the better. My wifely steps have enriched me. I am blessed to be married to a very responsible, loving, generous, and principled man whom I love and trust completely.

About Mom-Friday: Advertising, public relations and events were my world then. I’m now a stay-at-home mom to a very active boy and girl. Aside from nurturing our small brood, helping in our family businesses and engaging in social media projects are what’s keeping me these days. I will celebrate my 9th year of being a wife on November 30. Here are 8 random things I learned in 8 years of marriage: http://www.mymomfriday.com/2010/11/8-years-after-i-do.html. Take a peek into my world at My Mom-Friday.

Welcome to the very first edition of It’s A Wife’s Life! Thank you to everyone who joined this carnival. This blog carnival is open to all those who’d like to share wifely stories — whether their own, or others’. Husbands can write about their wives, you can write about someone you know who’s a wife… This carnival is a celebration of those who take those wifely steps. Be it frustrations or hopes, recipes or humorous situations, love stories or epiphanies, let’s learn from one another. Here we go!

Food:

Maqui presents Meatballs and Marinara for the Carnivorous Husband posted at Familia Kiki, saying, “What does a wife do when a meat loving husband rejects her homemade sweet treats from the oven? Make marinara pasta with GIANT meatballs!”

Love Stories:

JMom presents Love Gives Me Hope posted at AMoores, saying, “Today, my husband made me go “AWW” with something as simple as a comment on Facebook.”

Faye Paras presents On The Road To Being The Wife I Never Dreamt To Be posted at Turning Dreams to Reality, saying, “Remember that cliche which goes like: “Don’t look too far, what you’re looking for might just be right in front of you”? Well, that sort of applied to me and my husband. You see, we were workstations buddies long before we became a couple. Well, I never thought it was a love story worth telling but come to think of it not a lot of women end up as a wife to their workstation buddy, don’t they?”

manilamommy presents Blog Carnival: It’s a Wife’s Life | manilamommy.com posted at manilamommy.com, saying, “The theme of the carnival is a wife’s life which made me realize that I identify myself more as a mom now than a wife. I guess it’s strange that I’ve embraced motherhood and have submitted myself to the role but I haven’t really studied that part of my life where I’m the wife. I tell a little tale of this journey, where I am now and the trip me and BDW took to be man and wife I hope you enjoy my story! See you online!”

Reflections

Rochelle del Callar presents The (ex) FHM Publisher’s Wife posted at Women’s Central, saying, “Most wives worry about the possibility of their husbands going astray. A little glance here, a flirting smile there, doubts of infidelity…these are things that most wives worry about. But what if your husband works in a workplace that is bastion for women’s butt, legs, and boobs?”

Martine De Luna presents Six Bare Legs in a Bed posted at Dainty Mom, saying, “No, that wasn’t the latest title to some Mills and Boon novel. But the image is a familiar scenario in our bed every morning.”

Cathee Roden presents promdilayf in twentyten and beyond…: Day 259: God’s Perfect Gift posted at promdilayf in twentyten and beyond…, saying, “I’m Cathee. The year 2011 is my decade marker as a wife…It’s been an amazing ride so far – filled with twists and turns, ups and downs…I thought of sharing a blog post highlighting my preconceived notion of what a wifely life should be and realizing (in hindsight) that God has a unique way of presenting you with a “Wife’s Manual for a Happy Marriage”. Join me in my journey as a wife, a mom and a returner at promdilayf in twentyten and beyond.”

Julieanne presents IlOvEbEiNGaWiFE888 posted at Starting at Twenty-Five, saying, “Want to know what work I’ve been through as of now? It doesn’t fit into my finished college degree neither related to my previous work accomplishments. But it did build a lot of what’s in store for me – to become a REAL WOMAN – to be a full-time WIFE.”

Toni (that’s me!) presents What my grandparents taught me about marriage posted right here at Wifely Steps, saying, “My grandparents loved each other so much. You can only love each other that intensely when you take care of one another genuinely. That’s what they did. It was clear to me as a kid. It resonates with me now as a married woman. Take care of each other as much as you can, everyday and always.”

Tips

Ibyang presents Let Him Have His “Me” Time, Too posted at A Wife’s Charmed Life, saying, “Sharing how my Husband spends his “Me” times.”

Wifely Steps Guest Blogger

Rachel presents her own wifely steps saying, “Even though the kitchen is clearly not my domain, I still have a favorite recipe that I regularly make… but it has nothing to do with food.”

That concludes this edition. Share the love by visiting the beautiful and insightful reflections of our blog carnival participants!

Submit your blog article to the next edition of It’s A Wife’s Life using our carnival submission form, or leave a link to your post in the comments section. The next issue of It’s A Wife’s Life will be out on September 10th, so submit your entries by the 8th!

See you next round!