Valentines.

We have been valentines for nearly 10 years now. During those 10 years we have done some really neat things for each other to show our love in unique and special ways. I can remember one year Brandon (knowing my favorite candy was skittles and that my favorite skittle was the red one) bought a box of chocolates, threw away the chocolates and filled it with red (yes only red) skittles! If you can get past the fact that he threw away perfectly good chocolate (it took me a while) then you can see how sweet this was!

I once picked seeds off of strawberries because he didn't like the seeds to get in his teeth. Now I don't know if you've ever counted how many seeds there are on strawberries but I was thinking this would be no big deal. I mean, how hard could it be? Right? Oh so wrong. I think I mutilated two or three because they wouldn't give up their seeds and over the course of a movie only successfully de-seeded 3 strawberries. I covered them and the rest of the berries, that I left unharmed by my tweezers, in chocolate. When I gave them to him I told him to eat the three to the side very slowly and enjoy every bite!

See what I mean. These are only a few of the many things we have conjured up over the years.

This year for Valentines Day I decided I was going to do something simple and sweet for hubby. Like... peanut butter cookies (one of his favorites) iced with peanut butter cream cheese icing (who wouldn't love that?!). This was my plan. Simple and sweet.

Little did I know my husband had a plan of his own... not so simple but so very sweet.

He surprised me with a date night last night! I had no intentions of doing much else but to lounge around in comfy clothes the rest of the day and make his peanut butter cookies. But he told me to get dressed because he was taking me out! We haven't gotten to go out much lately what with a new little one in the picture (not to mention the other two crazies that occupy our house!) so it was such a treat! He arranged for two of our high school students (they are such sweet girls) to watch the big boys and we took the littlest man with us. He took me to Tokyo, one of our favorites in town! We ate sushi and fried rice... sooo yummy! Then on to a movie, The Blind Side... which was great! And then (yes there's more) we went to a coffee shop and drank coffee, ate dessert and enjoyed each others company. We laughed, cried and prayed together throughout the evening. It was such a blessing to get to enjoy each other like that.

Something so simple as a date night to some, was so special to me. I am a mom of three little ones that demand a lot from me. Don't get me wrong, I love my job as a mom and wouldn't trade it for the world. But it is exhausting. And when I get to get out and enjoy time alone with the man that makes me smile bigger than anyone I know, it means a lot. It is a special and cherished time. He gave me "face time" and loved on me.

This might have been the best Valentines Day we've had yet. And I look forward to many more.

Baby, Thank you for loving me in such sweet ways. I pray as we continue to grow together in Christ, in our love and in years he would continue to bless us with great talks, arguments and make ups, inside jokes, nicknames, and lots of laughs. I love you more every day and I still melt in your big strong arms when you hold me. Thanks for doing life with me, I so love doing life with you.

P.S. Now we can enjoy your peanut butter cookies... a day late.