Valentines Day

LOVE. 

 What does it mean to you?  It's intense. It's exhilarating. It's magical.  And It will occupy your every thought.  It's the definition of charity.  I'm not sure what the origin of Valentines Day is.  Some think it's just a Hallmark Card Scam.  Some think it's Single Awareness Day.  Some might think it's just another day on the calender, nothing special.  Well, while all this may be true, it could be a holiday to give us the opportunity to simply remember to say "I love you." I love writing love notes and thank you cards.  This day is a good excuse to do that.  I don't go out and buy $5 Hallmark cards for everyone that I love.  I do it on the computer on just on some cardstock with left-over decorations.  This year a made some cards for my parents, in-laws, and therapist.  I painted Whitney's hands with sparkly red paint and pressed them onto the paper to sort of make the shape of a heart.  It was adorable.  Of course Whitney was very unwilling.  I just wrote a simle note and my parents and in laws will cherish it.  I hope her therapist will too. 

I think you should always say "I love you" every day.  Falling in love is a powerful thing.  Love between husband and wife. Love between parents and childen.  I believe that love is also a choice.  Once you fall in love and get married,  you must choose to love that person.  You must show that person that you love them.  Maybe they like acts of service, gifts, quality time, physical touch, or words of affirmation.  For us, we love to show each other our love daily.  It may not be as spicy as it was our first couple of years, but it is still wonderful. 

"In Matthew, the Lord said, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” In His mortal life, He demonstrated a perfect kind of love, then said, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (John 13:34; emphasis added). Loving as He loved is a higher form of love than loving “as thyself.” It is a pure love that puts another higher than self. This pure love is the same love that should exist between husbands and wives. In Ephesians 5:25 [Eph. 5:25], the Apostle Paul exhorts, “Husbands, love your wives, [How?] even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.” How, then, did Christ love the Church? We have a marvelous definition of this love in 1 Corinthians 13:1–8 [1 Cor. 13:1–8] and Moroni 7:44–47 [Moro. 7:44–47]."Agency and Love in Marriage by Elder Lynn Robbins

We also love spending time with our family.  Growing up it was always fun hanging out with our family and extended family.  Although most activities were expensive, a lot of fun can be had for free!  Thomas and I love being parents!  Whitney is just so much fun and we love her so much! 

"We build deep and loving family relationships by doing simple things together, like family dinner and family home evening and by just having fun together. In family relationships love is really spelled t-i-m-e, time. Taking time for each other is the key for harmony at home. We talk with, rather than about, each other. We learn from each other, and we appreciate our differences as well as our commonalities. We establish a divine bond with each other as we approach God together through family prayer, gospel study, and Sunday worship.”

Of Things That Matter MostDieter F. Uchtdorf

Whitney's hair is getting so long! It's practically down to her diaper!

I love this quote by our prophet!  It's so true and I really hope that our marriage will continue to be amazing!  I absoultely love my husband!  We pray for our marriage and work together as a team!

“The Lord has ordained that we should marry,” said President Gordon B. Hinckley, “that we shall live together in love and peace and harmony. … The time will come when you will fall in love. It will occupy all of your thoughts and be the stuff of which your dreams are made. … You will know no greater happiness than that found in your home. … The truest mark of your success in life will be the quality of your marriage. … This choice [of a companion] will be the most important of all the choices you make in your life.”

 Was running back and forth back and forth!

 And would stop with a smile for a picture

I also really love this quote from "Agency and Love in Marriage" by Lynn Robbins.  (Sorry it's so long but it's really true.)

Many popular songs and films make reference to loving forever or to an everlasting love. For the world, these lyrics are simply poetic; for us, they are genuine expressions of our divine potential. We believe that eternal love, eternal marriage, and eternal families are “central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.” However, every couple will encounter some struggles on their journey toward this glorious destiny. There are no perfect marriages in the world because there are no perfect people. But our doctrine teaches us how to nurture our marriages toward perfection and how to keep the romance in them along the way. No one need ever “fall out of love.” Falling out of love is a cunning myth which causes many broken hearts and homes.

“The family is falling apart all over the world,” President Hinckley said. “The old ties that bound together father and mother and children are breaking everywhere. We must face this in our own midst. There are too many broken homes among our own. … Can we not do better? Of course we can.”

 Really, out of all those toys, she just wants the Ipod touch (playing hymns by the way)

 Whitney is signing "help", wanting me to get her the Ipod!

 So I'm not really sure what kinda things to do on Valentines Day with kids.  So I didn't get her anything, it's not like she eats candy.  Any ideas for the future for me?  I'm thinking just love notes and heart shaped foods!?  Luckily Gramma got Whitney a really cool drum set! She wasn't sure if she should give it her on her birthday or today!  It had lots of hearts on it so today it was! Whitney loved it!

"Where's Whitney!?"

"There she is!" 

So, I know that once we're on our own in Dental School, I'm going to have to step it up! Big time.  Thomas willing be studing all day long and I'll take care of Whitney by myself.  Of course we also want more children!  So I'll have to be extra "on top of things" when I'm pregnant.  Thomas is amazing and helps me out so much as do my parents.  But I know that love will get us through, and lots of communication!  I hope that I will have lots of good friends like I do here!  It's so important to show your friends that they are loved too!  We are really excited though to start this new journey!

"“Love one another; as I have loved you” (John 13:34). On this simple phrase hangs the success of every marriage and family. In the light of Christ’s love we see our family’s divine potential. We love them with all our heart, soul, and mind. And as we do, our ordinary family is transformed into an extraordinary one."

 XOXOXO