Happy birthday to our 9 year old goob! We are so p Happy birthday to our 9 year old goob! We are so proud of this boy. We are constantly told by others how kind and sweet his is. I mean, we know it too, but it means even more when his character shines through even when mom and dad aren't watching. We love you so much "Puppy!"
More photos from this weekend 🍂🍏⚽ More photos from this weekend 🍂🍏⚽
The start of a new school year has always felt lik The start of a new school year has always felt like more of a “New Years” to me than January 1st ever did. The air starts getting more crisp (thank goodness), the leaves start to change, and the house is quieter (now that the kids are in school, and just during the day, ha). 

Every year around this time I can clearly look back and see how our family has changed. Last year, we had just said goodbye to the boys (our first foster placement) and our family was making sense of the whirlwind that had just happened over the summer. This year, David is way more into soccer, Evy is telling me about the conversations the girls at school are having (she’s a huge people-watcher), and of course Cleo is getting so big! Her first two teeth made their appearance this week and we’re also pretty sure she said “Dada” the other night. 

It really goes by so fast. But little memories like the ones in these photos will last. I remember going apple picking with sweet family friends as a kid and I love doing that for our kids now. 

What traditions have you tried to pass down to your kids?
Evy has always been very much a Mommy's girl. Sinc Evy has always been very much a Mommy's girl. Since she's been a baby, I've been learning that she needs love in a very different way than David does. After school and before bed, she especially needs all the love, attention, and cuddles. 

Today I had a pretty hard day with several hours of intensive Zoom calls. They ended right as the kids got home from school and when I was done, I just felt this deep exhaustion and wanted nothing more than to cuddle with my kids and never look at a computer again 🤪. 

I realized that's probably how Evy (and David, but mostly Evy) typically feels after a long day. I can tell that it's especially draining for her. So I was reminded to be extra gentle with her emotions, especially on school days when there's just so much going on and it can feel pretty intense, especially at that age. And especially to us introverts 🫠 Anyone else have highly emotional kiddos?
My phone rang this morning just as we were pulling My phone rang this morning just as we were pulling away from dropping the kids at school. A little baby needed a home until his adoptive family could come get him. 

At the time, we didn’t know his name, his gender, or anything about him. We were told he was healthy and we’d get more details later.

And we said yes! We thought it would be longer but his adoptive family is BOOKING it to get here and take him home forever. He will be so loved!!

I love that we get to share moments like these with our kids. I know they’ll remember them for a looong time to come.
Sometimes I just need to remind myself that not ev Sometimes I just need to remind myself that not every moment needs to be filled with productivity. And sometimes I don't need to multitask. Easier said than done for me anyway. But I'm trying to intentionally practice slowing down. How do you try to slow down?

Shoes @naot.northamerica
Dress @shopbohme
Butterfly hair! It's easier than it looks 🦋 Do Butterfly hair! It's easier than it looks 🦋

Doing fun hairstyles with Ev has been a new way for us to bond, especially since Cleo's joined us. Would you try this one??
I'm working to adjust my mindset from thinking I n I'm working to adjust my mindset from thinking I need to rush while the baby's asleep to get things done to rather bringing them along with me when I can. 

Cleo loves being worn and, for the time being, is super content just watching me unload the dishwasher, make dinner, or tag along to grab Evy and David from the bus. 

And I'm way more at peace when I don't feel like I need to rush or time is running out. We have time and most things we have to do in a day aren't urgent.
Baby's first taste of solids: banana edition 🍌 Baby's first taste of solids: banana edition 🍌 What was the first food you gave to your baby?
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Marriage, Relationships · April 22, 2017

3 Ways My Wife Encourages Me

 

"During our short, going-on-three-years marriage, I’ve realized that I’m blessed with a woman who encourages me well. I want to tell you about her—about how her consistent encouragement makes our marriage better."

I’m a novice when it comes to marriage or relationship advice. I hardly have any experience. So, I’m not going to give you any advice. Sure, I could tell you about a few things I’ve learned since Holly and I married in 2014, but I am primarily looking for advice, not giving it.

Holly and I like to spend time with older couples at our church who’ve been married 20, 30, or even 40 years. Those people can give advice. When you talk to those folks they’ve usually experienced each situation that we have a question about. So when Chelsea asked me about a guest post, my first thought was “what can I say with such limited experience? I’m a rookie.”

As I thought about my relationship with Holly, I kept coming back to times when I realized how thankful I am for her. In place of advice, I want to offer a part of our story from my point of view. During our short, going-on-three-years marriage, I’ve realized that I’m blessed with a woman who encourages me well. I want to tell you about her—about how her consistent encouragement makes our marriage better.

I’m aware of three things that my wife does well. She does more than these three I can assure you, but I feel the impact of these three more than others: she prays for me, she says, “I love you” every day, and she’s my biggest fan.

She Prays for Me

The most important thing my wife does is to pray for me. I know she does this not only because she tells me she prays for me, but because she stops me in my tracks and prays for me when she sees I need it.

I can get like those characters in a Snickers commercial when things are not going the way I want them. I recently had a frustrating week with a lot of tasks to finish and not enough time to finish them. You know how it goes. Those weeks wear me down. I end up giving in and getting irritable about unrelated things. Holly takes the brunt of those little frustration outbursts even though she plays no part in creating my problems.

One morning during that week, Holly saw I was in a mood, as every little thing seemed to irritate me that morning. “Should’ve packed that last night, I don’t have time to get that together this morn—.” She put her hand on my hand—in mid-complaint—while I was about to dip my spoon into my cereal and said she wanted to pray for me. I knew she was right, so I let her.

The frustration I harbored against my week melted away as I listened to my wife’s voice pray over me. I was embarrassed that I let those circumstances get the best of me. I’m thankful she had the courage to offer a simple prayer for her husband.

She Says, “I love you”

Another simple thing my wife does is tell me she loves me every day. I used to think saying, “I love you” was best saved for meaningful moments, or that actions showing love were more important than just saying the words. Growing up, I was conditioned by society to think that actions spoke louder than words, and that words didn’t have the same power compared to what a person did.

When I was single, I viewed young married couples saying, “I love you” as silly. The cynical side of me thought that repeating a phrase so often diluted its meaning. Who says I love you before running to the grocery store when a simple “bye” will suffice?

As a man, I rarely felt the need to state something that I thought was obvious. I assumed my wife knew that I loved her because we’re married and I showed affection for her, etc.

Marriage gave me a new perspective on the power of words and the phrase: “I love you.” Believing that words are less powerful than actions is not true of life; words affect us. Holly uses those words to remind me of her support for me. Whether it is leaving for work in the morning or right before we hang up a phone call, she professes her commitment to our marriage and me by saying, “I love you” whenever she can.  

Yes, my wife knows I love her, and I know she loves me. But reminding each other of this truth keeps us in continual contact with each other. Now, I make it a point to initiate this communication because I see how saying “I love you” fills Holly with the encouragement she needs each day. Her consistent encouragement with her words changed our relationship.

She’s My Biggest Fan

Whether it is in my job or a side project, Holly throws her support behind me no matter the challenges I face—we face. The real world can be a tough place. Jobs require effort and time, and those commitments can tax a marriage relationship.

At times in our marriage, we’ve had a lot on our plate—maybe you’ve been there. I’ve taken on extra work as we try to save money for our family goals, finding myself away from home longer than I like. Sometimes extra work involves quietly working on a side projects after work when we are at home together. I know those times aren’t easy for Holly.

I’m thankful that she supports me in those busier times; I’m thankful for her patience with me. It’s easy for me to get discouraged and lose sight of the bigger picture in those moments. Holly’s little reminders like, “it takes time,” “we’re doing the right thing,” or “we knew it wouldn’t be easy,” are timely words for me when I’m fatigued.

When those busy times pay off, Holly is the first to pour on the praise. She enjoys keeping our friends and family updated with our successes and accolades—even if it’s stuff that’s not a big deal. Like when she got ahold of pictures of me from work and sent them to all of the family with the message: “Isn’t he so handsome.”    

My wife’s prayers, loving words, and support are a sweet encouragement for me to reflect on in our third year of marriage. Her daily commitment to perform these simple tasks has slowly taught me that I can encourage her better by repeating her steps. The truth is Holly and I both married an imperfect person, so I don’t think we’ll ever grow out of needing reminders and a little support from one another.

"During our short, going-on-three-years marriage, I’ve realized that I’m blessed with a woman who encourages me well. I want to tell you about her—about how her consistent encouragement makes our marriage better."

"During our short, going-on-three-years marriage, I’ve realized that I’m blessed with a woman who encourages me well. I want to tell you about her—about how her consistent encouragement makes our marriage better."

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Adam Dupere
Adam Dupere
Adam Dupere is a high school teacher in Lynchburg, Virginia. He married Holly in 2014. When he's not teaching the future leaders of tomorrow, he's reading or practicing his Spanish by watching soccer games en español. You can find his latest ramblings and musings on twitter @doop_air.
Adam Dupere
Latest posts by Adam Dupere (see all)
  • 3 Ways My Wife Encourages Me - April 22, 2017

In: Marriage, Relationships · Tagged: advice, Christian, compare, encourage, encouraging, engaged, family, fan, husband, love, man, marriage, married, men, pray, Relationships, Respect, wife

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Comments

  1. Ayanna @ 21FlavorsofSplendor says

    May 1, 2017 at 10:27 am

    Love this! Congrats on 3 years of marriage. All of these tips are so on point. After being married for 10 years, making sure I am my husband’s biggest cheerleader and supporter is so important.

    • Adam Dupere says

      May 12, 2017 at 8:50 pm

      Thank you. It’s really encouraging to hear that other couples have similar experiences. Sometimes it’s hard to keep it all in perspective.

  2. Jerry Stumpf says

    May 3, 2017 at 6:39 pm

    Adam,

    You are very wise to seek counsel from couples married a long time.

    It is good for you to give praise to your bride about these three items.

    Hopefully your marriage always reflects Romans 15:5 -6 (not about marriage but a great outline to live by!)

    4-27-17 we celebrated 43 years together!

    • Adam Dupere says

      May 12, 2017 at 9:02 pm

      Congratulations on 43 years of marriage! That is a great legacy to share with others. Both my wife and I have learned a lot from more experienced couples just like you and your wife. We’ve been fortunate to have good examples to learn from in our family and church. Thanks for the comment.

  3. Thomas Pate says

    May 28, 2017 at 1:02 am

    OK…wow! Adam thank you for sharing! Had me in tears with the first thing talking about praying for you. I had this movie going on in my head, as I tend to get the same way. How powerful a thing is a spouse who has the awareness to do such a thing to head off her husband from spiraling down, down, down.
    Thank you Chelsea for inviting Adam to write this post! Would love to interview you and your husband on my podcast, Relationship Fitness Podcast, to help spread your message and wisdom. 🙂

  4. Fiona says

    January 4, 2022 at 9:58 am

    So men do read, write and comment on this blog. I’d love to see a post aimed at how husband’s can encourage their wives. I get so discouaged by the amount of advice for women about how to make their husbands happy, but next to none for husbands. I also get tired of being told that marriage advice blogs are almost never read by men when this article has proven otherwise.

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Hi! I'm Chelsea and we're the Damon's. We spent the last two years in WA state paying off student loans and just bought our first house in SC! I love a smooth black coffee, Josh's first love is the Seattle Sounders. Our kids are huge dorks and constantly make us laugh and we all love spending as much time outside as possible.

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Happy birthday to our 9 year old goob! We are so p Happy birthday to our 9 year old goob! We are so proud of this boy. We are constantly told by others how kind and sweet his is. I mean, we know it too, but it means even more when his character shines through even when mom and dad aren't watching. We love you so much "Puppy!"
More photos from this weekend 🍂🍏⚽ More photos from this weekend 🍂🍏⚽
The start of a new school year has always felt lik The start of a new school year has always felt like more of a “New Years” to me than January 1st ever did. The air starts getting more crisp (thank goodness), the leaves start to change, and the house is quieter (now that the kids are in school, and just during the day, ha). 

Every year around this time I can clearly look back and see how our family has changed. Last year, we had just said goodbye to the boys (our first foster placement) and our family was making sense of the whirlwind that had just happened over the summer. This year, David is way more into soccer, Evy is telling me about the conversations the girls at school are having (she’s a huge people-watcher), and of course Cleo is getting so big! Her first two teeth made their appearance this week and we’re also pretty sure she said “Dada” the other night. 

It really goes by so fast. But little memories like the ones in these photos will last. I remember going apple picking with sweet family friends as a kid and I love doing that for our kids now. 

What traditions have you tried to pass down to your kids?
Evy has always been very much a Mommy's girl. Sinc Evy has always been very much a Mommy's girl. Since she's been a baby, I've been learning that she needs love in a very different way than David does. After school and before bed, she especially needs all the love, attention, and cuddles. 

Today I had a pretty hard day with several hours of intensive Zoom calls. They ended right as the kids got home from school and when I was done, I just felt this deep exhaustion and wanted nothing more than to cuddle with my kids and never look at a computer again 🤪. 

I realized that's probably how Evy (and David, but mostly Evy) typically feels after a long day. I can tell that it's especially draining for her. So I was reminded to be extra gentle with her emotions, especially on school days when there's just so much going on and it can feel pretty intense, especially at that age. And especially to us introverts 🫠 Anyone else have highly emotional kiddos?

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Happy birthday to our 9 year old goob! We are so p Happy birthday to our 9 year old goob! We are so proud of this boy. We are constantly told by others how kind and sweet his is. I mean, we know it too, but it means even more when his character shines through even when mom and dad aren't watching. We love you so much "Puppy!"
More photos from this weekend 🍂🍏⚽ More photos from this weekend 🍂🍏⚽
The start of a new school year has always felt lik The start of a new school year has always felt like more of a “New Years” to me than January 1st ever did. The air starts getting more crisp (thank goodness), the leaves start to change, and the house is quieter (now that the kids are in school, and just during the day, ha). 

Every year around this time I can clearly look back and see how our family has changed. Last year, we had just said goodbye to the boys (our first foster placement) and our family was making sense of the whirlwind that had just happened over the summer. This year, David is way more into soccer, Evy is telling me about the conversations the girls at school are having (she’s a huge people-watcher), and of course Cleo is getting so big! Her first two teeth made their appearance this week and we’re also pretty sure she said “Dada” the other night. 

It really goes by so fast. But little memories like the ones in these photos will last. I remember going apple picking with sweet family friends as a kid and I love doing that for our kids now. 

What traditions have you tried to pass down to your kids?
Evy has always been very much a Mommy's girl. Sinc Evy has always been very much a Mommy's girl. Since she's been a baby, I've been learning that she needs love in a very different way than David does. After school and before bed, she especially needs all the love, attention, and cuddles. 

Today I had a pretty hard day with several hours of intensive Zoom calls. They ended right as the kids got home from school and when I was done, I just felt this deep exhaustion and wanted nothing more than to cuddle with my kids and never look at a computer again 🤪. 

I realized that's probably how Evy (and David, but mostly Evy) typically feels after a long day. I can tell that it's especially draining for her. So I was reminded to be extra gentle with her emotions, especially on school days when there's just so much going on and it can feel pretty intense, especially at that age. And especially to us introverts 🫠 Anyone else have highly emotional kiddos?
My phone rang this morning just as we were pulling My phone rang this morning just as we were pulling away from dropping the kids at school. A little baby needed a home until his adoptive family could come get him. 

At the time, we didn’t know his name, his gender, or anything about him. We were told he was healthy and we’d get more details later.

And we said yes! We thought it would be longer but his adoptive family is BOOKING it to get here and take him home forever. He will be so loved!!

I love that we get to share moments like these with our kids. I know they’ll remember them for a looong time to come.
Sometimes I just need to remind myself that not ev Sometimes I just need to remind myself that not every moment needs to be filled with productivity. And sometimes I don't need to multitask. Easier said than done for me anyway. But I'm trying to intentionally practice slowing down. How do you try to slow down?

Shoes @naot.northamerica
Dress @shopbohme
Butterfly hair! It's easier than it looks 🦋 Do Butterfly hair! It's easier than it looks 🦋

Doing fun hairstyles with Ev has been a new way for us to bond, especially since Cleo's joined us. Would you try this one??
I'm working to adjust my mindset from thinking I n I'm working to adjust my mindset from thinking I need to rush while the baby's asleep to get things done to rather bringing them along with me when I can. 

Cleo loves being worn and, for the time being, is super content just watching me unload the dishwasher, make dinner, or tag along to grab Evy and David from the bus. 

And I'm way more at peace when I don't feel like I need to rush or time is running out. We have time and most things we have to do in a day aren't urgent.
Baby's first taste of solids: banana edition 🍌 Baby's first taste of solids: banana edition 🍌 What was the first food you gave to your baby?
Just a Wednesday afternoon and a book 📖 👀 th Just a Wednesday afternoon and a book 📖
👀 the comfiest heels I own by @naot.northamerica 
#naotic

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