unexpected unexpected
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • BLOG
    • All Posts
    • Relationships
      • Coffee+Crumbs: Middle-Aged Sexy Time
      • Lighten Up #77: Coffee Date with Alex and Melanie
      • The Lighten Up Guidelines for Laughing at Life
      • Lighten Up #67: Marriage Crossover with Sarah Bragg
      • Coffee+Crumbs: Getting Up the Energy for a Fancy Date Night
    • Parenting
      • Coffee+Crumbs: The Most Isolating Thing I’ve Ever Experienced
      • Coffee+Crumbs: Moms Should Get a Pass for Public Peeing
      • Coffee+Crumbs: I See You, Teenage Daughter
      • Coffee+Crumbs: Restaurant People
      • Coffee+Crumbs: The Coconuts Stayed On
    • Orphan Care
      • The Mudroom: When Compassion Is Exhausting
      • When Your Two Friends Hit It Off
      • I Love You to Africa and Back
      • This is not about Syrian refugees
      • Words Are Powerful
    • Faith
      • Jesus Blew Up Mary’s Birth Plan
      • 10 Ways to Help Refugees
      • How to Be a Good Neighbor in the Wake of the Election
      • Unexpected Baptism
      • The Reluctant Gratituder
    • Infertility
      • Coffee+Crumbs: When Getting Pregnant Gets Hard
      • Lighten Up #96: Infreakinfertility with Alex Dale
      • I Want a Box to Check When We’ve Finished Hurting
      • When Mother’s Day Is the Worst Day of the Year
      • Does Infertility Make You Less of a Woman?
    • Ethical Shopping
      • Lighten Up #74: Amber Runyon
      • Lighten Up #52: Slave-Free Christmas Edition
      • Lighten Up #17: Jamie Laslo
      • 25 Days of Slave-Free Christmas
      • Poverty Cure: The Gift of Work
    • 10 Things
  • BOOKS
    • Infreakinfertility Book
    • It’s Not Fair Book
    • Women Are Scary Book
  • SPEAKING
  • PODCAST
    • View Podcasts
    • Subscribe on iTunes
    • Subscribe on Stitcher
  • FREE E-GUIDES
    • So You’ve Always Wanted to Write a Book
    • 7-Day Guide to Loving Your Life
  • CONNECT
    • Contact
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Pinterest
    • Instagram
  •            
unexpected unexpected

Marriage

Relationships

Coffee+Crumbs: Middle-Aged Sexy Time

“Agghh! My back! Why did you do that?!” I gasped. “I was trying to be sexy,” Alex admitted sheepishly. “I …

Melanie DaleFebruary 8, 2019, 10:49 amFebruary 8, 2019 0
Podcast, Relationships

Lighten Up #77: Coffee Date with Alex and Melanie

Well, I just celebrated 18 years of marriage with Alex, which is ridiculous since we’re both only 25. If you …

Melanie DaleJune 5, 2018, 6:30 amJune 2, 2018 0
Podcast, Relationships

Lighten Up #67: Marriage Crossover with Sarah Bragg

It’s time for our monthly crossover with Sarah Bragg, where we take a topic and talk about how to lighten …

Melanie DaleMarch 27, 2018, 7:00 amMarch 26, 2018 1
Parenting, Relationships

Coffee+Crumbs: Getting Up the Energy for a Fancy Date Night

(This photo is *not* from a fancy date night, but it is from our most recent date night, our annual …

Melanie DaleFebruary 12, 2018, 5:34 pmFebruary 12, 2018 0
Relationships

Coffee+Crumbs: Daddy Is My Favorite

“Mom, who’s your favorite person in this family?” she asked, batting her long lashes at me. After her siblings devolved …

Melanie DaleJune 14, 2017, 12:43 pmJune 14, 2017 0
Relationships

Coffee+Crumbs: Sometimes You Can Have Both

Have you ever unexpectedly ugly-cried after a movie? I watched a movie recently where the stars had to lay aside …

Melanie DaleFebruary 2, 2017, 11:29 amFebruary 2, 2017 1
Relationships

The Mudroom: Your Marriage Doesn’t Have to Look Like Anyone Else’s

When my friend Tammy, editor of The Mudroom blog, asked me to write about my marriage, I had to track …

Melanie DaleJuly 28, 2016, 7:34 amJuly 28, 2016 1
Parenting

Coffee+Crumbs: IKEA is Swedish for Hot Date

I’m over at Coffee+Crumbs talking about my most recent trip to IKEA and marriage after 16 years and three kids. …

Melanie DaleFebruary 9, 2016, 8:22 amMarch 29, 2016 0
Parenting

5 Ways to Connect with Your Spouse When You’re Drained of Your Life Force

I don’t know about you, but parenting is wearing me out.  When you first bring a child home, you feel …

Melanie DaleJanuary 12, 2016, 10:37 amMarch 29, 2016 8
10 Things, Parenting

10 Unexpected Things I’ve Discovered About Marriage

Alex and I are celebrating 15 years of marriage today.  We were tiny baby people when we started out and …

Melanie DaleMay 26, 2015, 8:57 pmSeptember 11, 2018 12
10 Things, Faith, Parenting

10 Things I Learned in 2014

Lists.  This is that time of the year, when we take stock of our lives and list the old and …

Melanie DaleDecember 30, 2014, 9:59 amMarch 29, 2016 13
Parenting

My Marriage: It’s Always Been Poo

It’s Valentine’s Day, and people all over are at their romantic best, scrambling for flowers, chocolate, and dinner reservations.  I’ve …

Melanie DaleFebruary 14, 2014, 7:29 amFebruary 14, 2014 6
Parenting

How to Knock Out a Date If It Kills You

Yeah, there we are on a beach with champagne.  Cuz that’s normal and happens all the time.  Except not ever …

Melanie DaleOctober 2, 2013, 12:52 pmOctober 3, 2013 3
10 Things, Parenting

10 Things I’ve Learned About Marriage

That’s me and my man thirteen years ago, all happy and sparkly. This week my precious sister-in-law is walking down …

Melanie DaleSeptember 23, 2013, 9:54 pmMarch 29, 2016 19
Parenting

13 Things I Love About My Husband

The Hubs and I celebrate thirteen years of marriage today.  We started dating in college and got married right after. …

Melanie DaleMay 27, 2013, 7:27 amMarch 28, 2016 16

Connect Online

Lighten Up with Melanie Dale Podcast

Words to Live By

“Go that way, really fast. If something gets in your way, turn.”

— Better Off Dead

What’s Trending

Dating for Moms

161 357801

10 Things You Need to Know Before Going on a Mission Trip

98 285250

Oils Can Save Us from the Zombie Apocalypse

69 92533

We’re Ruining Our Kids for Life

44 78512

The 8 Rules for Re-Wearing Clothes: What’s Okay and What’s Just Gross?

20 65059

TOP POSTS + PAGES

  • 10 Things You Need to Know Before Going on a Mission Trip
    10 Things You Need to Know Before Going on a Mission Trip
  • The 8 Rules for Re-Wearing Clothes: What's Okay and What's Just Gross?
    The 8 Rules for Re-Wearing Clothes: What's Okay and What's Just Gross?
  • 13 Things I Love About My Husband
    13 Things I Love About My Husband
  • 10 Questions to Ask When Talking About the Election With Friends
    10 Questions to Ask When Talking About the Election With Friends
  • 10 Things You Need to Know Before Adopting Internationally
    10 Things You Need to Know Before Adopting Internationally

Subscribe

Sign up to receive email updates directly to your inbox

INSTAGRAM

Load More...
Follow on Instagram
Copyright ©2016 Unexpected. Design by Loudmark
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • BLOG
    • All Posts
    • Relationships
    • Parenting
    • Orphan Care
    • Faith
    • Infertility
    • Ethical Shopping
    • 10 Things
  • BOOKS
    • Infreakinfertility Book
    • It’s Not Fair Book
    • Women Are Scary Book
  • SPEAKING
  • PODCAST
    • View Podcasts
    • Subscribe on iTunes
    • Subscribe on Stitcher
  • FREE E-GUIDES
    • So You’ve Always Wanted to Write a Book
    • 7-Day Guide to Loving Your Life
  • CONNECT
    • Contact
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Pinterest
    • Instagram