Valentine's Day

Chris the kids and I had a wonderful Valentine's I never really cared to much for the day until I met Chris. This year we celebrated by going out to dinner (thanks SO much Wendy and Blair for watching the kids!) and then just spending the rest of the evening in with our kids. Chris surprised me by giving me a necklace, what made it so special is that it was almost exactly the same necklace that he had given to me for my birthday (remember the necklace from my previous post :-)) but it was stolen from me about a year ago and I've been bummed out since! I had NO idea that was going to be my Valentine surprise, my husband is SO SO thoughtful, I love him and I love when we get a whole day dedicated to celebrating our love for each other. Grandma Gail brought Sienna, Christian, Chris and I some Valentine's goodies and got the kids some helium balloons, Chris and I had a BLAST rubbing the balloon on Christian's head and watching it stick to his head as he turned from left to right trying to figure it out. He is so much fun to pick on! Today I showed Sienna and she got a good 30 minutes of laughing out of it. I love her little laugh, it's so contagious! I hope everyone else had a fantastic LOVE day as well!

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This little girl right here

means everything to me! I married her daddy when she was 3 years old, to her I am Blythe or momma depending on the day :-) and I have always left the decision of what she wants to call me up to her. The way I see it "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet" I don't need a label to know how much she loves me, I feel it in her tender hugs or her thoughtful gestures and in every good night kiss. She has 2 little brothers and 1 little sister that she loves dearly, I could never put into words the way she interacts, loves and takes care of them, seriously it's something I feel privileged to be able to watch. She has been getting so stressed out lately when she has to try and explain her situation to people she looks at me almost heart broken and asks "what are they, my step brothers and sister?" "no" I reply "they're your brothers and sister that's all anyone needs to know". I hate how society has to put such labels on everything, I mean I understand people get curious but really what does it matter? She has 2 moms, 2 dads, 2 brothers, 1 sister, and so much family that love her it's incredible. She is just surrounded by so much love and I hope/pray that it will be enough to get her through the times when she's questioned and looked at differently because she has such a big family. I know when she's older she will realize how lucky she is to be able to have twice as much love than most people. But how can I help her now when she's so young she doesn't really understand? I just love her so much, I hate to see her sad and confused, I am willing to do whatever it takes to keep her happy and make her life as easy as possible!

February

  
There are so many reasons that February is my favorite month. I don't know why but I love Groundhog Day (even though Phil NEVER EVER sees his shadow :-(. Valentine's Day has always been a favorite because I'm a sucker for love, romance and fat babies in underwear with bows and arrows. Then of course there's my birthday, who doesn't love a day where the entire day is all about you and how special you are! But 5 years ago in February (on Valentine's Day to be specific) I met the one person who was put on this earth to be my better half. The day I met Chris gave me a whole new reason to love February! When I met Chris I had just moved to Alaska to live with my older brother Jers he was stationed at Elmendorf and it just so happened that Chris was as well. We met through a mutual friend on Valentines Day and there was an instant connection. Chris and I became the best of friends, he had a girlfriend at the time but I still new his feelings for me ran a little deeper than friends, this was proven to me when he bought me a 150 dollar necklace for my birthday when I had only known him for 10 days and he bought his girlfriend (who's birthday was a couple days after mine) a cheap bottle of perfume. We spent almost every day together while we were in Alaska but I was always so scared to give my heart away I was a firm believer that true love did not exist and if it did it couldn't possibly last (I blame that on the divorce of my parents). Chris was always there for me when I needed him and boy were there times when I really needed him! My dad died April 2nd 2006 just 1 month and 19 days into our friendship and Chris was there for me every step of the way, I remember he was in an exercise at the time, he wasn't allowed to use the phone but he snuck away to call me almost every hour to make sure I was holding up. Looking back on that time in my life only makes my love for him deeper! After we became the best of friends my brother got orders out of Alaska to Nellis Air Force base in Las Vegas, I was excited yet sad at the same time because I was saying goodbye to such a good friend but getting ready for a new adventure. Chris and I had a tearful goodbye after knowing each other for only 4 months, I loved him so much but little did I know that love was more than just friendly. As I was heading off to the airport Chris told me that him and his family were planning a trip to Vegas in July and he promised to come visit, I never really thought he would, I mean we had only been friends for 4 months and although he had made his feelings clear to me I always made sure he knew we were just friends so I just didn't think visiting me in Vegas was a high priority. The month I spent in Vegas before Chris came he was always on my mind but I shrugged it off never taking the time to fully understand why. Chris came to Vegas for 4 days and we spent everyday together, I met his family and his beautiful little girl and I fell in love with them and I began to understand my love for him. We went out one night to Freemont street and Chris ended up kissing me, our relationship changed IMMEDIATELY after that kiss but I was still so weary of where it was heading (again the whole not believing in an everlasting love). Chris was only in Vegas because he was passing through on is way to California to take his daughter to Disneyland. The day he left for Disneyland it hit me like a ton of bricks I was in LOVE with this boy, I kind of panicked, he was my best friend and in my life I've rarely seen relationships last so I was terrified that if we became more than friends it would end disastrously and I would lose my friend. He left and I spent every day thinking about him, was he having fun, was he missing me like I was missing him, did he still love me, it was then that I knew I NEVER wanted to be apart from him again. Luckily for me he spent his time in California feeling the same way. On his way back home to Utah he asked me if I would go with him and spend some time with him and his family before he had to leave (he was going to Korea for a year so he could move to Utah to be closer to his daughter) I said yes because I couldn't imagine being away from him and I remember I just kept thinking how am I going to survive when he leaves for Korea for a whole year! I came to Utah and after just a few days of being here Chris surprised me by taking me to The Roof restaurant in Salt Lake City and popping the question. The restaurant was packed and everyone was watching he was on one knee and everything so I of course had to say yes! And the rest as they say is history. I love February I love Valentine's Day, the day I met the man who changed my life for the better. I love you Chris thanks for our beautiful perfect children, thanks for putting up with me for 5 years and for always being by my side especially when I need you most. I know that I can always depend on you and you love, cherish and adore me more than anyone ever would or could. I'm so happy I found my sole mate at such an early age and although our marriage hasn't been perfect we're in it together forever and that's all I could ever ask for. Here's to 5 years of knowing each other and the many more to come.