20 Years of Dave & Ashley! | The Naked Marriage Podcast | Dave and Ashley Willis

Dave and Ashley Willis mark 20 years of marriage, reflecting on marrying young, waiting 3.5 years for kids, raising four sons, and their ministry work together. Their four sons join to ask questions and share family traditions.
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Hello and welcome to the Naked Marriage Podcast.
Welcome to the Naked Marriage Podcast.
Welcome to the Naked Marriage Podcast.
This is a special 20th anniversary episode for their wedding.
Hello, and welcome to the Naked Marriage Podcast. We are Dave and Ashley Willis, and on this podcast, we undress the truth about sex, intimacy, and lifelong love. And as you heard, we had some different voices in the studio today, and they are some of our very favorite voices, and that's our sons. Because today is. Is one of our biggest episodes and a big celebratory episode because we are celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary.
20 years. How's that possible? You still look 25 somehow, which just doesn't even make sense. But now we've had an amazing, amazing two decades in marriage, and we just feel so blessed and privileged. And this episode, I'm serious, we've done well over 100 episodes on the podcast. I'm most excited about this episod than anyone we've ever done because we're going to share some of the highlights of what we've learned in our own marriage for the last 20 years. We're going to have, like Ashley said, some of our favorite people joining us, our kids. It's going to be so much fun. In fact, if you're listening to the Naked Marriage podcast on itunes or wherever you listen, this would be a great episode to head over to YouTube. We put all of our podcast on YouTube. If you're not following the Dave and Ashley Willis channel on YouTube, just look up our names, look up the Naked Marriage podcast. Find this episode there, because they're going to be some things you're going to want to see in this episode. Especially when all of our kids get in here. Man, it's going to be fun. I'm so honored to be sweetie on this adventure with you. We're so honored listeners and viewers and part of our Naked Marriage family worldwide that we're on this adventure with you guys. So thank you so much. Just thank you for. For sharing and celebrating this milestone with us. But this isn't just going to be about. About us, like everything we share here. We hope that you get some nuggets in this episode that are going to make an immediate difference in your marriage.
Yes.
Whether you've been married for one day or you've been married for 50 years, hopefully there'll be something that you can. You can learn and apply. But, man, we're going to have a lot of fun today.
We are. So let's dive in. Well, this week is a milestone week for us, and we are so excited we're celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary. I can't even believe. Just has flown by, right?
It has. I. Like, how is that possible?
I don't even know.
Years.
Yeah.
So we got married young. I was 22. You had just turned 20. Yes, I've been 20amonth before or so a couple months before. So we were young. You were still in school. I had just graduated College.
Yes.
And 20 years, man, a lot has happened. So as you think back over the last two decades, like, what are just some of the things that stand out?
Oh, my goodness. Well, of course, you know, for us, we have the four boys. And so thinking about each of them and just how they've added to our family and changed our family dynamic in a great way, that definitely sticks out to me. I think those early years, you know, for a lot of people that may not know this, but we waited three and a half years before we started our family. And that time was so sweet, like, just having the time, just the two of us. And in that time before kids, you know, I remember learning a lot, too. Just learning just how to live together, you know, how to. With our different habits, because we both, like. I'm a little bit anal retentive about, like, the house being a certain way. And I remember.
And I'm very free.
And he's free. He's not like a dirty or messy person necessarily, but it just doesn't bother him as much if there is a mess. And I remember we had to kind of work through that, and finances were definitely hard. We had to work through a lot of that because we were so young and inexperienced and just had to learn some things the hard way. I think family dynamics with extended family was something that I think most couples can relate to, that we had to work through and the whole leaving and cleaving. And we've had several moves in our marriage, and every move we've learned something different. Those have definitely been big moments in our life where we've really grown together as a couple and as a family. And, you know, I think, honestly, more than anything, though, I just think about how much we are still laughing together. And that's probably my favorite thing because we love to laugh, like, until we, like, laugh until you pee, laugh until you cry, whatever you want to say like that you do that.
And I'm getting to the age where that can happen a lot easier.
I had four kids, you guys. It happens a lot.
But we laugh and laugh, and it's. That is a gift. I'm so thankful.
It is a gift. Yes.
Your laughter is my favorite sound. So if I can do something to make you laugh, it just. It makes my day. And I hope that when we're 90, I'm still doing that and you're still laughing and we're laughing together. I just love sharing life's moments with you. I love that we get to serve together. I mean, the work we're doing right now, getting to work together to encourage other people in their marriage, that's one of the great joys of my life. And we encourage every couple. If you're listening right now, you and your spouse are your partners in all things, you know, and God wants you to be a missionary duo out in the world, making the world a better place. And so find a way to serve together, to work together, and it can really do wonders for your marriage. And this didn't start with us, just even with marriage ministry.
No.
From the very beginning, we started volunteering in youth ministry at our church together.
Yes.
And those early years of serving together and working together for a greater good, it really did something not only to increase our faith, but really to bring us closer together. It made us realize we're on the same team. You know, we're sharing some big goals, and it's a dynamic that every marriage needs. And so I'm so thankful for that as well.
I am. He's taught. You know, we've mentioned this in past episodes, but I do remember we were part of Lighthouse, the Lighthouse at Northeast Christian Church in Lexington, Kentucky. Those of you I know, some of our friends who are there are still listening to the podcast, and so give big shout out to them because that was such a sweet time. We didn't have kids yet, and so I really consider our first children those. The youth in that youth group. Yeah, they were great, and they were the sweetest kids. I actually. Dave was. You know, eventually we were volunteers for a while, but then Dave eventually became a youth pastor as part of that ministry. And I actually, as a volunteer, started a youth choir called Witness, and we toured around the United States kind of singing at different churches and ministering in that way. And it was just such a sweet time. And it really, for our marriage, it gave us focus like a. Like you said, like a common. A common goal and a common focus. And at that time, I mean, that was our goal, was just to minister to youth because we both had such a passion for it. I actually was also a middle school teacher, and so a lot of people are really scared of middle schoolers. And I remember thinking, why? I feel like I get these kids, and maybe it's because there's still that awkward middle schooler in me. And I just wanna ease the pain of the awkwardness of all middle schoolers.
Well, you just think of that age group. You really do. And watching you shine from those early years of finding a sweet spot that, like, you know, I've got a gift with connecting with these kids in this age group.
Yeah, and you did, too. I mean, we both loved that age group.
Yeah. It was such a sweet time.
And still do.
We still do.
I said loved, but we still do.
Yeah, we have. We have middle school now.
Yeah.
We've got kids of all different ages.
Exactly.
I still look at our kids and I'm like, how do we have kids these ages?
I know.
We've got two teenagers, two younger ones.
Yes.
Man, life. Life happens fast. I mean, I think about our first dog, Maggie Mae.
Maggie Mae. I was thinking about Maggerton. We had Maggles, Maggleton, you guys like this basset hound. She actually came to, like, we didn't even go seeking her out. Do you remember? One of our neighbors knew that we wanted a dog, and we actually. We adopted one, but it ended up, like, I think, like, almost. Almost biting the child next door. And so we had to go ahead and essentially give it back to the humane Society. And hopefully it had a home where there weren't kids, because we were like, oh, my goodness, this is like a risk to our next door neighbors. And so we were so sad, though, because we really wanted a dog. And so our neighbor heard through the grapevine that this single lady who was living in an apartment complex who wouldn't allow dogs, loved this basset hound that she had, but had to re home the basset hound. And so he was like, would you want to meet this basset hound? And this lady? And so random. Well, we ended up loving Maggie Mae. And she was already named Maggie Mae after the Rod Stewart song.
Rod Stewart song. Yeah. This lady loved Rod Stewart. Here's this song, Maggie May.
I know.
And it fit her.
And so, like, we would sing to her. She was so full of personality, and she loved her. She had this deep basset hound bark. And then she'd also do this kind of mumble bark where she'd be like. But she ended up having to give her away. After our first son was born.
I think the term is re home. And people listening. You guys, we are dog lovers. Please don't judge us.
She just couldn't get along with the baby.
She started getting aggressive towards Cooper, which was really? I'm not really sure why, but.
Well, she'd been treated like the baby for so long. I guess we cried when we had to find her a new home, but it was devastating. But we, you know, we had her for years, though.
Like, she was awesome.
And now we've got Chi Chi, the little chiweenie, half Chihuahua, half dachshund wiener dog, and she's kind of become our family mascot. But, man, there's just been so many great, great moments along the 20 years. And in this episode, you know, stick around for the whole thing, guys, because we have got some really fun things planned. In the next segment, our co worker Josie's gonna interview us for just asking us some questions that are gonna lead to us telling some stories we've never shared on air. And then at the very end, our kids. All of our kids are gonna be here live in the studio, and it is gonna be so, so fun. So I'm so excited about everything we're doing today.
I am too. And, you know, there's always that term, like, the days are long, but the years are short. Especially when you're in, like, the child rearing years or maybe even just even if you don't have kids, just a hard season. I think in life, it can feel like that. But I will tell you guys, I'm 40 years old now. I feel like I have a little bit more wisdom. I need a lot more wisdom than I have now. But it really is true. The days are long, but the years are short because I look at Dave, and I can't believe. I literally can't believe we've been married 20 years. But I wouldn't change a thing. I feel like even in the hard times, we've learned so much, and God has been so good to us and so gracious to us, and I'm just. I'm still tickled to be married to you.
I'm tickled too. You're the greatest gift in my life, and I still pinch myself that I get to. I get to be your husband. It's my greatest privilege, and I love you.
Love you, sweetie.
All right, let's dive in. It's gonna be a fun day on the Naked Marriage podcast. We're having so much fun on this episode, and the most fun stuff is still yet to come, so stay tuned. And so right now in the studio with us, we've got Josie, who is part of the incredible team here at xo, and she just does an outstanding job. She basically runs this place. You know, Josie just does a great Great job. And she's gonna sit in and kind of interview us and play a Newlywed Game with us to see kind of how much. How much do we know? How much have we learned about each other in 20 years?
Exactly.
So I'm excited. I'm nervous that I hope I pass.
The not so Newlywed game because 20 years.
Yes. Yeah, exactly. Exactly.
Well, are you guys ready?
We're ready.
Let's do it.
All right, let's dive right in. Your spouse has the day off in an empty house. How does your spouse spend the day?
All right, so Ashley is, like, a meticulous cleaner. And so if there's any cleaning to do, she would probably do that if she had the house to herself without the boys there messing it up. But then pretty quickly, she would try to get on a crime podcast. True crime podcast. She needs at least three or four murders a day. And she would kind of snuggle up in bed if you had the day to herself. Even though she's, like, the hardest working person I know. If it's chill time, she'll chill. She'll get the true crime on either Law and Order on TV or, like, listening to a podcast and just chill with our dog, Chi Chi in bed for a bit.
Yes, that's pretty true.
Okay.
And so for Dave. Dave, he is such a hard worker. He honestly has a hard time relaxing, and so he would just get a ton of work done. Like, you would plug away at some blogs, maybe start a new book, maybe finish writing that book. I mean, honestly, like, that's how you're just prolific in that way. And then he would go for a run, and then, you know, he might look at sports and stuff. Like, when there's time on his hands, I always find him, like, at espn, you know, like, kind of looking up different sports things. And I don't see you taking a nap. So. Yeah, you'd probably just enjoy the quiet.
Yeah, yeah. The older I get and the less often quiet happens, the more I appreciate it. So I would just savor that. Yeah, yeah, very accurate.
Okay, Question two. Your spouse takes your hand and pulls you to the dance floor. They say the DJ is playing your song. What song is it?
You wanna say it?
You go ahead.
R Song. What is it?
Well, like, from way back, it's kind of evolved, but I think the first R song we had was in youn.
Eyes by Peter Gabriel.
Yes. Which is kind of hard to dance to, but it's still, like. Still. You know, we love, like, 80s music, so.
We do.
Yeah. Anything from the 80s.
What was the new song you were gonna say?
Well, I don't know. I just think, like, it kind of. You'll find a song. Oh, I know. And you'll say, oh, I like this. Let's get into the. And it changes. Like, it's a.
It does.
So we have, like, in your eyes and a couple classics. But then about once a month, you'll say, oh, I love this song. And it'll kind of be on the top of the playlist for a while.
Like, right now. What do you think that song is right now? Oh, I know.
Like, she just found this song by.
It's so good.
You guys.
Sting and Shirazi. Yeah.
Like an African singer, rapper.
Yeah, it's called.
By Sting.
By Sting, Shirazi. It's called, like, Englishman slash African in New York.
And it's got this, like, little cool beat. And she's like, oh, I love this.
To dance to.
Yeah.
Yeah. Because Ashley's a dancer.
Like, it's really, really good.
So I have to check that out.
Yeah.
Okay. So when did you realize that your spouse was the one?
Right away. I mean, it didn't take long. We actually had talked about marriage. This is gonna scare some people, but we actually talked about marriage within two weeks of starting dating. Do you remember that?
Yeah, pretty seriously.
Which is, I know, kind of crazy for a lot of people. They're like, what? I mean, we didn't set the wedding date or anything, but we both felt like we were.
I knew she was way out of my league, and I had to seal the deal quickly before she recognized that she could have better options. And so I'm like, whatever.
Whatever.
Yeah, we talked about it fast.
We did. That's awesome. All right. Where did your first kiss happen?
On the lips. Well, okay, here's the funny story about the first kiss.
This is really funny.
So when we first started dating, she had just had this oral surgery.
Gum surgery, a gum graft.
Graft thing, which was pretty, like, you know, intense. And so we're dating, and she had this, like, mouth guard. And she had, for a long period of time, like, she couldn't have any pressure at all, like, on her mouth. And so all this time built up where we hadn't kissed because we couldn't. Right.
Can I tell him what happened in the cafeteria? Cause we got engaged while I was still in college, and. Well, this is probably before our engagement. No. Cause this is first kiss. So we're both in college at this time. You're a senior or. No. No. You're a junior. And I'm a freshman, and we're in the cafeteria. I don't think I had told you about my gum graft. And basically, when you get this done, you have kind of this thing on the roof of your mouth where they've taken the gum out to replace the part of the gum that you need replaced. And you're not supposed to eat anything that could be crunchy. And I think I had bitten into some cinnamon toast crunch. And you guys just started dating. This is so gross, but I'm just gonna say it. Okay. We say we're very honest on this podcast. But I started having blood.
Blood started.
Yeah, but I didn't know that you guys. And I'm holding this. So this is what he witnessed.
We're like, no, we're mid conversation and.
I'm bleeding from the mouth.
But she doesn't. I don't know that.
Like a zombie or something.
But she just gets up and leaves. And I thought, like, she just ran off. And I'm like, what did I do? What did I do? Like, I thought the relationship was going so well. And she literally, just mid sentence, got up and left. I mean, it's gushing, but I didn't know. Of course, she's, like, bleeding from the mouth. And so, like, that's going on. And so, like, we literally couldn't kiss for the longest time, for, like, two weeks. So by the time that, like, we could. And we. I was so nervous that I was gonna, like, hurt her. And it had been, like, built up so much that it was, on my part, the most awkward first kiss ever. You know, it's. You know, you picture all these. You know, there were plenty of sparks and everything else just from being. Being with her. And I knew that she was the one long before we'd ever kissed. But I didn't want to hurt her. And I was so awkward that she just laughed about it now. It was like. It was. Yeah, it was the least smooth on my part. First kiss. Cause I was like, kind of. I was like, going in, and I didn't know how much pressure to apply. And it was. We just laugh about it then and now.
It was nice and awkward. It was.
It's gotten better.
Of course, she asked actually where it was. So it was outside of my dorm building Night hall in Georgetown, Kentucky. Georgetown College. And it was like a starry night. It was beautiful. But, yes, I think when you find out your girlfriend's gushing from the mouth, you're going to be nervous on the first kiss. So there's blood you know, involved.
And it's a good story that you can tell on your 20th anniversary.
So never been shared. You're hearing it here.
First exclusive.
21. That was like 21 years ago.
Yeah. We are so excited about this amazing new resource from Jimmy and Karen Evans. It's the Vision Retreat Guidebook and it is finally here. It's available. You have to get your hands on this.
Yeah. The Vision Retreat has been helping couples for years, but this guidebook is a brand new way to experience a vision retreat in your marriage. To get away for a weekend, just you and your spouse, and have guided conversations that are going to help you reconnect, grow closer to one another and chart out your vision for the coming year. Get your hands on this@vision retreat.com.
Who was the photographer at your own. Oh. For your engagement photos.
Oh, guys, this is such a crazy story. It's my fault.
Oh, my gosh.
Do you want me to tell them or you tell better stories?
You go there. No, I don't.
No.
Okay. So Ashley's ex boyfriend took our engagement photos. Oh, okay.
It wasn't a serious relationship.
Let me just say.
Oh, my gosh.
It was not serious in my eyes. It was not.
It was to him and I'm not gonna.
Well, what we found out later, it was to him.
He's a good guy and I'm not gonna. But. But he put him in a terrible, awkward position because I was trying to tell Ashley just how guys work, and she said, no, you know, he.
I mean, we're more friends.
We're just friends. I'm like, no, he doesn't want to be your friend. He has friends. They're other guys and he wants to marry you. And she's like, no, it's not like that.
Like, I would say I just see him more as like my brother.
And she told me the whole story of, like, the relationship. I'm like, this dude is in love with you. And then she's like, no, you know, we're just really good friends. And he takes pictures. And I want. So. So we're talking about awkward for me. Like, we're making these, like, love pictures and the guy taking them wants to literally stab me. You know, like, he was very good sport, super nice.
Do you want to. Do you want to give the rest of the story or do you want me to tell it?
Well, I don't. It just, you know, came out later clearly that, that he, you know, because. Oh, yeah, because he let me continue.
So I.
So he comes.
No, he didn't come I put him in the wedding, you guys. I had him as a reader in our wedding because I truly did see him as my brother and did not realize the strong feelings he had for me because I thought he felt the same way about me being like a sister. So I said, why don't you read a verse at our wedding? Cause he was a family friend of ours. Like, my family loved this guy, too. So he reads in our wedding. Well, at the rehearsal dinner.
And I'm like, am I the only one that sees that? This is crazy, you guys.
At the rehearsal dinner, we had a moment where people stand up and say something about the couple, and he starts crying and saying, like, these.
Yeah, crowded room.
I hope you're happy and just crying. And Dave's grandmother, who has no filter.
And a loud voice, she's this country woman, God rest her soul. She just starts loudly saying, he loves her. That boy still loves her.
Like, loud. Like, loud. And then he runs out of the room. He left. He just left. And then I think we did our meeting.
I just slowly looked at Ashley with this look that said, like, I told.
You, it was so. You guys, I feel terrible. It was my fault.
That was a lot of information on just the engagement photographer thing.
Well, now I know why this question's in here. I was wondering, why is this question in here? But now I know. Oh, God.
Good guy. Hey, if you're listening, Very good guy. All the best.
I am so sorry. I'm so sorry that it was my fault. I did not read the room.
Read the room, sweetie. Read the room.
Okay, who spends more money?
Me. Yeah, we're both spenders, though. Like, neither one of us loves saving, but we do it. But Dave's better at it.
Yeah, we do have to save. But it's like, she doesn't buy frivolous stuff. I mean, we just have four kids, and she's the one that's typically. Typically buying stuff, but she'll replace stuff a lot faster than I would like, you know? I'm like, oh, that couch. We can get another 10 years out of that couch. She's like, I ordered a new couch.
Like, phone chargers.
I buy phone chargers. That's what I buy. Because they're always missing. That is true. But if you had to choose actors.
To play each of you in a movie, who would you choose?
Oh, my gosh. We choose our own act or present yourself. Well, Dave gets told all the time.
Younger Denzel, and, oh, my gosh.
Oh, Denzel.
Yeah, I know who I want you to like. Can we both Say who we want to play us and then who we think.
Yes, we go first.
So I want Amy Adams to play me.
Yes.
But I think that Sylvester Stallone in Over the Top specifically because that was his. That was his prime, you know, I.
Mean, over the time, like.
No, this is pre. Is this pre Rocky or mid Rocky?
Well, mid Rocky over the Top was probably around the same era as Rocky. Ivy.
So Rocky iv.
Sylvester Stallone timeline movies or a more.
Recent person for you young people listening, Milo Ventimiglia. This is us. But not Milo, who actually played rock stars. Gilmore Girls. Gilmore Girls. Milo. Like, as a man, I felt like when Rory was dating.
Very specific.
Like Jess Milo, victim. Minty Miglia. Okay. Spoiler alert. If you're watching Gilmore Girls, that was you. Like, I was like, that is my husband as a young man. So, yeah. All right.
There you go.
What about you?
I would. I could totally see Amy Adams with you. Yeah, I'll go there.
There's one more you. You've told me, though, before, and I'm trying to think if it was. It's. It's in that movie I love, where you're like, what do you want?
What's that?
The movie we love Rachel McAdams.
Oh, McAdams. He always is.
I could see. I could see.
I don't think I look a thing like her or Amy Adams. I think they're amazing. But there was something about Rachel.
That's the only difference.
He would say that. I don't know why.
Yeah, I think either of those could come close to trying to capture your awesome Ashley Ness for me. I don't know. Ben Stiller, you, I adore.
Because he's so funny like you. I love it. I love it.
Oh, my gosh. Yes. The Ferret. Have you guys seen that movie?
Yes.
Okay. What story does your spouse's family tell about them over and over again? I'm excited to hear this one.
Oh, my gosh. Well, okay. Dave's family. I think this is so telling of his personality and how he's just got a strong sense of who he is and he knows what he wants and, like, God's calling on his life. So at 5 years old, like, his actual first name is not Dave, and actually my first name is not Ashley, so. Which is really fun, but. So his first name is.
We're in witness protection.
Yeah, I know we're in witness protection, but you have a podcast.
Yeah, right, Exactly.
We're really bad at it.
We're just terrible. But his first name is Aaron. Aaron. And, like, back in the 80s when he was in kindergarten, the girl named Erin E R I n was very popular. And you know, when you're a little five year old boy, kids make fun of stuff like that. And so one day he came home and he told his parents, he's like, my name is not Aaron anymore, it's David. And they were like, oh, but you know, Dave's mom is the sweetest lady. She's like, oh, I can hear her saying like, dude. But Aaron, like, don't let kids do this. And he's like, no, no, I am David. And so out of respect for his desire, his parents from then on out called him David. He only has like one aunt that sometimes calls you Aaron. So out of all your family. And I just, they love telling that story because it just shows his, I mean, decisiveness and strength of mind. I mean, to be that old and to be like, no, no, I want to be called David. And so I just thought that was so sweet. What about my family? I'm trying to think what story they tell.
Gosh, they tell a lot. Well, she was actually a child star.
What?
I think star is a far fetched star.
No, she was a child star. People don't know this about Ashley, but she was on Broadway in New York City as a little girl singing. She was a finalist for the revival of Annie. When they brought that back on Broadway as a sequel to be Annie. She was a little redheaded, what girl, full, huge voice, huge personality. She's been the star of a Super bowl commercial when she was a little kid. KFC Go Bucket, Kentucky Fried Chicken commercial. So yeah, she has done like a bunch of cool stuff way back in the day and she's doing amazing cool stuff now, but she never draws attention to.
But my family loves talking about, but.
They love telling those stories.
They bring out the VHS tapes and find a VCR somewhere and play it for day. That was a very early thing they played for you. So, yeah, it's funny.
Awesome. Well, thank you guys so much. This has been so Fun Celebrating your 20th anniversary. And you guys, you really want to stay tuned because the next segment we have the entire Willis family in the studio. So stay tuned. I am so excited for this segment because we have a naked marriage podcast first and we have all four Willis boys here in the studio with us. Yay. We're going to be asking them questions about mom and dad and it's going to be a lot of fun. Are you guys ready?
Yes.
I'm excited.
Awesome. Well, we're gonna have a lot of Fun. But before we dive into the questions, we're gonna do introductions.
I'm Cooper and I'm 16.
I'm Connor and I'm 14.
This is Chatham, and he's six.
I'm Timur and I'm nine. And I like pizza.
Okay. There you go.
So I'm gonna ask these questions. This is about mom and dad. What have you learned from your parents about what it means to be married?
You treat your Faust like your best friend.
Whenever you get married and you got kids, you're gonna want a little free time. Gosh.
What do you mean by free time?
Like, just go on a date every day so you can get free time for free.
Okay, let's go to question two.
I wanted to say something. When you get married, every day, you get your life.
Oh, that's great.
You do?
What do your mom and dad do for fun?
They go on walks. With each other?
No.
They go to restaurants and stuff.
Hang out with us.
Yeah. We love hanging out with you guys. Of course.
How does your dad show your mom that he loves her? What about your mom? Okay. And they have, like, the leg of love thing.
The leg of love mom allows dad.
Okay.
What is the leg of love? The leg of love sounds really naughty. It's really not. It's. The leg of love is when I wrap my leg around her and, like, hold her in a cuddle position.
It's more of a cuddle finding position.
Right. So I just like to squeeze her and I wrap my leg all the way around her with, like, spooning. And she hates being confined, and so I can only do it for about five seconds, but.
Yeah, but it's love.
Yeah.
She kisses dad. Really?
Yes. And I love that.
Okay, what is the most embarrassing thing your parents have done? You have one.
My mom being naked in the bath.
That's just a bath.
That's just a bath.
Well, of course, in the bath, you better be naked or you wouldn't be naked.
Okay, so this one's fun. What are your family traditions?
So one of the traditions is every single Christmas, our mom buys us new pajamas, and then we all take a family Christmas picture.
That's right.
We did. Yeah.
Yeah.
The dinosaur belt thing on top of the pajamas.
It was a dinosaur with a Santa hat on. Yeah.
Yeah.
And, Cooper, you had something.
Okay. Happy 20th anniversary. Well, I want to add that I love these guys so much, and I really appreciate just all they do and even coming on here. I know this is kind of out of everybody's comfort zone, but you guys are just amazing. And you being your mom and dad is the greatest joy of our lives. And we love you all so much.
Thank you to the editors.
Thank you all so much for watching and listening to this episode. We need to do this more often when we don't always get to. But we have a long list of people to thank who make this episode and the podcast possible.
Yes. Yeah. This is not just the two of us by any means. We are part of a much bigger and greater team here at Xomarriage. In fact, if you go to the website xomarriage.com, you can find the full list of everything this amazing ministry is doing, from the live events to the blogs and resources and videos and the streaming service, which is called Xonow, which is a great 247 on demand streaming service of the best marriage content out there. But we want to specifically thank just some of the amazing folks who make this podcast possible. Josie, you heard earlier that did the interview with us. You know, she helps with project management. Want to thank our producer, Marcus. We want to thank our editor, Andrew. We want to thank Chris and Jonathan and the whole incredible tech team that really makes all of this come together. It really is a joy to serve alongside such an amazing team here at ExoMarriage. It's a joy to do the work that we get to do to just hopefully bring encouragement to you through your AirPods and your car stereo and wherever you happen to be listening. We are honored for the feedback you've given us, for the prayers you've prayed for us. It really, really is a joy. And sweetie, I just want to say it is a privilege to be on this adventure with you. Happy anniversary. I thank God for you every single day. Next to the grace that Jesus gives to us, you are by far the greatest gift in my life. And I can't wait for the next 20 years.
I can't wait to. Sweetie, you're my very favorite person in the whole world. I love you. Here's to the next 80 years, right?
I'm in. I'm in. I love you.
Love you too.
We'll see you guys next time.
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