20 Years, 9 Children, and a Marriage That Only Gets More Joyful — Here's How

✨ Wish your home felt more peaceful and joyful, without having to hold every detail in your head? The Rooted Homemakers Collective is Lauren's membership where she walks you step by step through building the rhythms and habits that make it happen. → https://laurenmefford.com/rooted-home... Life is too short to be boring, and that includes your marriage. This week we're sitting down with our dear friends Nick and Lena Gavrilov. They've been married almost 20 years and have nine kids, ages 18 down to almost 1. If you've ever been around their family, you know joy is the first thing you notice. It shows in their marriage, in their parenting and all over their kids' faces. We talk about how they went from high school sweethearts to a long-distance season that taught them to communicate. We also get into how their view of children changed during their fourth pregnancy, and how they keep their marriage strong through first-trimester nausea and exhaustion. Lena and Nick share openly about the hardest season of their marriage, when Nick confessed a struggle with pornography, and how honesty, boundaries and ongoing check-ins rebuilt their trust. Plus we talk weekly date nights, raising joyful homeschooled kids, and the family worship times their kids still talk about (including a Bible study in the bathtub). This one's full of honesty and laughter, and lots of practical ideas for bringing more joy into your home. IN THIS EPISODE How Nick and Lena met at 14 and 15, and why five years of dating helped them grow up together instead of apart "Always Be Courting," the marriage advice Nick got from an 82-year-old mentor, and their family motto, #noaverage Why being part of a church that challenges you matters for your marriage and family Keeping your marriage strong through pregnancy nausea, cravings and exhaustion The hardest season of their marriage, and how confession, accountability and practical boundaries changed the way they communicate Why they've done weekly date nights since 2018, and the one question that opened up their conversations "Tell God the negatives, tell your husband the positives" Learning to understand each other instead of trying to win Raising joyful kids through prayer, humility, and parents who say sorry Keeping family worship fun: trampolines, a boat, a bathtub, and the two-minute "action" skits their kids love CHAPTERS 00:00 Why Life Is Too Short for a Boring Marriage 00:30 Teen Sweethearts to 20 Years Married 08:17 Where Real Joy in Marriage Comes From 11:20 Keeping Marriage Alive Through 9 Pregnancies 20:11 The Hardest Season of Our Marriage 26:58 The Date Night Question That Changed Everything 28:44 Tell God the Negatives, Tell Your Husband the Positives 32:28 What the Tower of Babel Teaches About Marriage 35:35 How to Raise Joyful Kids (Even During Discipline) 46:22 Making Family Worship Fun RESOURCES MENTIONED His Needs, Her Needs by Willard F. Harley Jr.: https://amzn.to/4rIB0Ph The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman: https://amzn.to/4AzIfwR Eight Errors Parents Make and How to Avoid Them: https://amzn.to/4xN3Gbi SCRIPTURE MENTIONED Psalm 127:3-5: Children are a blessing, and blessed is the man whose quiver is full Matthew 4:1-11: Jesus tempted in the wilderness Genesis 11:1-9: The Tower of Babel Galatians 5:22-23: The fruit of the Spirit James 4:6: God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble Lamentations 3:22-23: His mercies are new every morning The Book of Jonah Matthew 7:7: Ask, seek, knock —CONNECT WITH NICK & LENA— Podcast: The Full House Life @thefullhouselife Follow them on Instagram @nickygavrilov & @raising.our.arrows —CONNECT WITH THE HOSTS — Ask questions/contact us: https://laurenmefford.com/contact Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LaurenMeffor...