Every week, A and I try to have a date night. Last night we went to the Japan Inn, off Falls of the Neuse Rd. It was A-MAZING.

He was pooped and I thought some sushi might perk him up (it did, momentarily :) so we tried Japan Inn because I had coupons for it. Every day, they have a $17 all you can eat sushi dinner menu, which is killer. I definitely overstuffed myself but it was SO GOOD! I tried the tempura mushrooms and zucchini, yellowtail nigiri and smoked salmon nigiri (both melt-in-your-mouth good), the Tuna and Scallion Roll, an Alaska Roll, and my hands-down favorite: The Crispy Spicy Salmon Roll. It was delicious. I didn't see one of the fun little train-cars of sushi, but when you can get so much for $17, it's an okay thing to skip. Try this place. It's seriously good.

Anyways, the reason we do date nights, now even, is because we want to make our marriage a priority in our lives and because we want to make sure this tradition is in place long before we have children, so skipping it isn't an option.

Speaking of children, have you guys seen My Sister's Keeper? It's based on the book I love by Jodi Picoult (who I plugged before). I rented it last week and watched it, and aside from being sad, my impressions afterwards were this: Holy crap, I pray to God I'm not a terrible mother. Cameron Diaz, the mother of the movie, is shown as being very smart, and bold, and tenacious - especially in fighting for her older daughter's life. But at what expense?

In the movie, her other children are neglected, some would even say forgotton about, in the pursuit of being a great mother to one. How far can you go before crossing the line of being a great mom and being a horrible mom? Where is the cut-off between caring for the needy child of the family, and not caring for the other children as much?

I understand the movie is a) fiction and b) an extreme case, but I admit - it still scares me. I see some of those qualities in myself, and I don't want to. I want to not fight for my desires at the expense of others, but fight for God's desires at the expense of myself. Children will be one of the greatest blessings of our lives, and I don't want to have to give account when I die of all the things I did wrong in raising them. Thank the Lord it's not an imminent thing (parenting), and thank the Lord His grace is sufficient to cover ALL my sins - even horrible parenting - if it comes to that.

In lighter news - something else I have learned from Hollywood this week: I am SO thankful for my husband and to be married to him. I have been watching The Bachelor (trashy, I know. A won't watch it with me!). Each week, it has struck me how incredibly THANKFUL I am to not be in the position of those women - fighting tooth and nail, acting undignified and unladylike, and struggling so desperately for what they think they need - Jake as a husband.

I praise God he has given me a husband, and even more than that, that he has given me MY husband - an amazing, Godly man who seeks the Lord fervently and urges me to do the same. I love him, and I am so blessed.