Just Go Fam: Valentine's Day is Not Just a Hallmark Holiday

Today I am re-writing a blog post I wrote 4 years ago, because it is still so true today. And my love has grown bigger for these peeps even more today than it was back then. I am sure back then I would have thought that would have never been possible. Here it goes...

Has anyone ever wondered how Valentine's Day began? According to wikipedia,

St. Valentine's Day began as a liturgical celebration of one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus. The most popular martyrology associated with Saint Valentine was that he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire; during his imprisonment, he is said to have healed the daughter of his jailer Asterius. Legend states that before his execution he wrote "from your Valentine" as a farewell to her.

This holiday has been around for a LONG time (literally, for over a thousand years)! I know there are a lot of folks that say it is just another "Hallmark Holiday." (Side note: I am totally okay with Hallmark taking over the holiday--I love the cheesy Hallmark movies about falling in love that the Hallmark Channel produces for Valentines Day. Drew doesn't love that we have the Hallmark channel). But in my opinion, it is just a great time to celebrate love. Even if you don't have a boyfriend/girlfriend, spouse or significant other, isn't it fun to show other folks in your life how much you love them by surprising them with little treats, cards, flowers or gifts? Even though "gifts" is totally not my love language (or Drew's) it's still fun to get surprises--especially cards with words (my love language) from your loved one! I love LOVE! I know that sounds so cheesy, but it is also so true!

I also love this guy right here:

He is my best friend. We enjoy the same activities--whether it be hiking, doing crazy wedding dances (that you can see in this video: https://youtu.be/fSKEE2vwSzY), exploring nature or the city, doing something active like playing sports, snowboarding or riding our bikes, or even just listening to music or shopping. I love that he is competitive, like me. We are literally soul mates. Any free time I have, I desire to spend with him. He is an amazing father and husband. I am truly blessed. I often feel that I truly don't deserve him.

a photo of us doing our "first dance at our wedding". Click here for a link to a video of the dance.

Drew is such a good daddy!

He provides a good listening ear to all of us. Especially Abbey and I--who are full of words that need to be heard!

Sometimes I wonder why it took as long as it did for us to find each other. There are so many years that I missed out on having him as my best friend and companion. But, I know God's timing is perfect. I think about how God has orchestrated each of our lives so that we would find each other back in 2006. We needed to be exactly who we were at that moment in time when we found each other. This meant that God intended a lot of experiences to happen in our individual lives, both good and bad, to shape us into what would be each others' soul mate. Also, if we wouldn't have come together exactly when we did, there probably wouldn't have been a Luke and Abbey. God had a plan and it was way better than I could have created myself.

Our dates are so extremely rare, but we are excited that we get to have a little dinner date this Friday night (thanks to a local church that makes this possible)! I have no idea what we will do yet, but I know it will include some delicious food, and that is always good! It really doesn't matter what we do though, because I will enjoy every single moment of it, cherishing the special time with the love of my life.

So, onto my other valentines--my children, Luke and Abbey. It excites me to think about how God has a special plan for Luke and Abbey. Someday, in a REALLY long time, I pray that they will meet their soul mates. In the meantime, I am fine with Abbey thinking that Luke is going to be her prince. And Drew and I will continue to smother them with love.