my loves

i love my Savior.
i love my family.  i have a great one.
i love my two boys.  i always wanted to be a mom of boys.
i love my church, the hands and feet of Christ.
i love my neighbors.
i love my friends.
i love to love all these people EVERY day of the year, but appreciate this day to remind me to be thankful for them.

and i LOVE my husband.

we laugh because we never shared a valentine's day as a courting couple.  we started courting february 18, 2002 and were married january 11, 2003.  i tease john that he purposefully waited to court me until AFTER valentine's day!

at the risk of being way too mushy, i have been saving these words for many weeks in anticipation of this day.  my husband is amazing, and i knew this when i said yes to his proposal.  if you don't know our story, you can read all about it here.  these past few weeks of being sick and having surgery and then recovering, my husband has shown his love for me in ways that i would never have imagined. 

he held my hand while i laid in the emergency room and as the ER doctor told me that i would lose an ovary.  he made phone calls on my behalf to work out the details of the surgery.  he woke up with me in the middle of the night to give me medication and food so the meds would not make me sick.  he ran around the obgyn office looking for a trash can for me to puke into when i was sick from the pain meds.  he comforted me the night before surgery.  he shared his ipod with me as i waited in the pre-op area of the hospital waiting to be taken back for surgery.  he coordinated help and meals from all our sweet friends who wanted to help.  he kept everyone updated with my condition.  after a long day at the hospital he came home to two sick boys and didn't complain once about the demands that were placed on him that day.  he made breakfast, lunch and dinner for all of us and served me in bed.  he stayed close by when i showered or got dressed to offer help when it was needed.  he took burrito to school every morning and then would come back home to get noodle and i set for the day by making our lunch.  he had tons of patience with our boys, being both mom and dad to them for days.  he tucked me into bed each night, making sure i was comfortable and warm.

in many ways i feel closer to him now more than ever.  this is in some ways what i imagine old age to be like....one of us caring for the other in such a tender way.  and for me this was our wedding vows coming to life...in sickness or in health, for better or for worse.  i am thankful to my Lord who gave me such a gift.

happy valentine's day!