Be Mine

Another Valentine's Day has come and gone. Matthew and I laughed as we tried to remember the other 4 Valentine's we've spent together. We can vividly recall our first one - we'd only been dating for about 4 months at the time. I created a valentine on a poster and surprised him with it at his apartment. Probably one of the only times I've successfully been able to show up somewhere and genuinely surprise him. I'm not as great as my husband - he's the Master of Surprises :) although I try and he loves my attempts. We then headed to Sonic's and had this amazing cherry brownie bite ice cream of some sort. Yum!

Our second Valentine's day is kind of a mystery... we thought that was the year my roommate and I cooked a special dinner for our boyfriends, but no. According to photos, I just discovered that the dinner happened to be the same year as the poster valentine. Hmm... maybe the pictures recalling the event are on Matt's computer. I know there are photos somewhere because we rarely go without our camera. Sadly, our 3rd Valentine's is a mystery as well. I guess we've had so many great times together that Valentine's Day just sort of blends in :) Does that happen to anyone else?

Last year's was significant because it was our first one together as a married couple. We celebrated by sharing a romantic dinner by candlelight on the floor of our new apartment. Sweet memories. Thankfully, I can recall this year's because it was only 2 days ago! My husband's gift to me was his time and money. He knew I was wanting some new dress clothes for school (guess me grumbling every time I pick out something to wear finally paid off.. jk), and he devoted his Saturday to... yes... shopping with me! I can wear my own self out shopping for clothes and now that I'm married, I'm aware of how much I can wear someone else out. After lunch with an old friend, we hit the ground running.

I checked my watch and checked my husband: approximately 3 hours until he'd expire according to my calculations. Time to get moving!

Several hours later we left the mall with clothes - always means success - and my dear husband suggested we go grocery shopping since we were out. I was amused at how 3 hours had passed and he hadn't once said anything about his feet hurting :) Ok, he's really not all that bad when it comes to shopping... he enjoyed himself and even came out with a nice looking black button down shirt. He prefers shopping for me and with me as opposed to finding clothes for himself. Let me tell you, finding decent clothes for a 6 foot 5 1/2 inch thin man is no easy task.

Sunday after church we relaxed at our apartment and headed to our 5:30 reservations at a Turkish restaurant, Bosphorous, in Winter Park. Matthew made the arrangements and the food was wonderful! That is where we found ourselves reminiscing on past Valentine's. Love is a wonderful thing and should be celebrated and recognized more than one designated day a year. Isn't it amazing that we have an unconditional love exemplified by the Heavenly Father that we can rely on? I take comfort in knowing that no matter what happens, His love abounds. It is God's love that is an example we can follow in our daily lives. Love is certainly worth celebrating. Praise Him for giving His love, and surrounding us with people to practice on ;)