Wife on Fire Challenge {Week 3}: Halfway There!

August 21, 2017August 12, 2018 - The Country Wife 4 Comments

Woot! Woot! If you started with the Wife on Fire Challenge two weeks ago, you have officially made it to the halfway point!

If you are just reading this post and you’re new to Country Wife Chronicles or you have just missed a few weeks of updates, please check out the first two posts of this series here:

In Week 1, I took some time to explain this idea that I hatched about bonding together to be better wives and encouraging one another in the process. It’s all about choosing intentional marriage and making the effort.

Wife on Fire Challenge {Week 2}: Be a Wife on Fire

August 14, 2017August 12, 2018 - The Country Wife 3 Comments

What does it mean to be a Wife on Fire?

At face value, directly from Google, here’s what you get:

A “wife” is defined as a married woman considered in relation to her husband.
“On” is defined as physically in contact with or supported by.
And “fire” is defined as combustion or burning; a chemical combination with oxygen from the air, typically giving off bright light, heat and smoke.

Ok, that’s good, there’s our English lesson for the day.

But what does that mean in the context of marriage?

Wife on Fire Challenge {Week 1}: Introducing the Wife on Fire Challenge

August 7, 2017August 12, 2018 - The Country Wife 4 Comments

Do me a favor. Stop for a moment and think about the vows you said on your wedding day. Were they traditional vows? Did you write your own vows? Do you remember them?

What did you promise?

Do you still mean it? Do you still practice it? Do you live out these promises in your marriage today?

Let me take it a step further…

…hold up, I know what you are thinking.

“Well, it’s not like my husband lives them out either.”

“This is just how marriage looks after awhile.”

Strengthening Your Marriage: DIY Marriage Retreat

June 26, 2017July 13, 2017 - The Country Wife Leave a comment

These past few weeks here at Country Wife Chronicles have been all about marriage. Strengthening Your Marriage, specifically.

Strengthening Your Marriage Series: Five Ways to Reconnect

Strengthening Your Marriage Series: Five More Ways to Reconnect

Today, I’m super excited to be able to share a little resource with you that I’ve created. I’m sharing a template for a DIY Marriage Retreat designed to allow you to get away for a weekend and strengthen your marriage with intentionality.

But first, let me give you an idea as to what exactly a Marriage Retreat is.

Strengthening Your Marriage: 5 More Ways to Reconnect

June 19, 2017July 14, 2018 - The Country Wife Leave a comment

One thing I know for sure. Our marriage is nothing, if not intentional. Day in and day out, we choose to make it a priority.

Even on the days I really don’t want to.

Even on the days I’d rather just be lazy about it.

Wildland Man and I decided early on in our relationship that marriage would take work and that it would require effort to keep the flame burning bright.

A great marriage is my passion and a blessing beyond measure.

I’m a believer that a marriage in a not-so-great place can be turned around with a single act of kindness by one person. It has to start somewhere, somehow. What is there to lose by trying?

Strengthening Your Marriage: 5 Ways to Reconnect

June 12, 2017June 19, 2017 - The Country Wife Leave a comment

The next few weeks here at Country Wife Chronicles are all about marriage. I decided to write a whole series on “Strengthening Your Marriage.”

Not because I’m an expert or anything. Not because I know all there is to know about marriage. Not because Wildland Man and I have endured the deepest of depths in a lifelong marriage.

No, I’m not an expert. Or a counselor. I certainly don’t know it all, because I’m constantly trying to figure it out. Over and over again. Day after day. It is an intentional effort on my part to make this marriage not only work, but be great.

Lessons Learned After 5 Years as a Wildland Firefighter’s Wife {Part 2}

April 17, 2017July 4, 2018 - The Country Wife 4 Comments

So last week on Country Wife Chronicles, I shared Part 1 of this post, “Lessons Learned After 5 Years as a Wildland Firefighter’s Wife.” You may want to check it out to get a little bit of insight as to how I ended up 5 years into this Fire Life.

Over the years I’ve learned a few things to help me cope with the absence of Wildland Man while he is away fighting wildfires during fire season. It is always an adjustment and takes some intentional preparation, but I sort of feel like I’m getting it figured out.

Lessons Learned After 5 Years as a Wildland Firefighter’s Wife {Part 1}

April 10, 2017July 4, 2018 - The Country Wife 8 Comments

It was the spring of 2012 when Wildland Man got his first taste of fire. He was hooked immediately and ultimately began to pursue his passion in the field of wildland firefighting and prescribed burning.

You can read more about how we found ourselves in this reality by checking out the post, “Living the Fire Life.”

Not long after that initial experience, I found myself spending my first summer alone while Wildland Man fought wildfires out west. It was an adjustment I wasn’t quite prepared for. And, now, after five years in fire, I can say that while I am certainly more prepared for each fire season, that first fire call still stings just the same.

A Day in the Life of a Fire Wife {Part 2}

April 3, 2017February 10, 2017 - The Country Wife Leave a comment

I shared the following in, “A Day in the Life of a Fire Wife {Part 1},” but felt it was worth re-sharing in order to set up this post.

As I’ve mentioned before, there are two seasons when living the Wildland Fire Life—fire season and not fire season, or the off-season.
These two times of year aren’t necessarily written in stone, they are a general guideline, but each year is different and the length of each fully depends on your geographic location.
For Wildland Man and I, at least currently, the fire season seems to out-length the off-season. Something I’m still getting used to. For us, the trade-off is more experience for my husband during the longer fire season. Then, eventually, hopefully, we can afford to move somewhere with a shorter fire season.
But for the purposes of illustrating how a day in the life of a wildland fire wife looks, we’ll examine my day-to-day in both seasons over the next two posts: “A Day in the Life of a Fire Wife {Part 1}” and “A Day in the Life of a Fire Wife {Part 2}.”

A Day in the Life of a Fire Wife {Part 1}

March 27, 2017April 3, 2017 - The Country Wife Leave a comment

As I’ve mentioned before, there are two seasons when living the Wildland Fire Life—fire season and not fire season, or the off-season.

These two times of year aren’t necessarily written in stone, they are a general guideline, but each year is different and the length of each fully depends on your geographic location.

For Wildland Man and I, at least currently, the fire season seems to out-length the off-season. Something I’m still getting used to. For us, the trade-off is more experience for my husband during the longer fire season. Then, eventually, hopefully, we can afford to move somewhere with a shorter fire season.