♥

As I was driving Sena to the doctor's office this morning, I discovered a CD in the glove box that I had burned several years ago.  I must have been going through a period of nostalgia for love songs from the late 80's and early 90's judging from the contents of the CD.  It brought me back to my early dating days with John and I realized that today marks our 19th Valentine's Day.  It then occurred to me that I have been with him for almost half my life.  It seems like just yesterday that we were college students who started talking on the phone because we were co-leaders of a small group.  One thing led to another (including a period where John joined a step aerobics class with me - we were just "friends" at the time.  I should have known then that he had "ideas") and now we are parents of five children!  FIVE!  That is a lot of kids.  Our life together has taken some twists and turns that I never would have predicted, but I am thankful that all these years later, John remains my best friend.  I knew way back then that he would be a good husband and father and he has proven that to be true.  It has been sweet to watch his relationship with each of our children grow.  He has been a hands on Daddy since the day Jack entered our world almost 13 years ago.  Even though I know sometimes he gets tired of pitching a baseball or shooting hoops or whatever, he invests the time in our children because he wants them to know how much they matter.  There is something special about daddies and their daughters, too, and for the past year, I have had a front row seat for the Daddy and Sena show.  There is such love and tenderness between those two and it melts my heart.  It was pretty clear in Ethiopia that we have another Daddy's girl in the making and I can't wait to watch their relationship unfold.  This Valentine's Day, I am thankful for all the loves in my life. 

I am missing this little one like crazy.  It has only been two weeks since I was snuggling her, but it feels like much longer than that!

I love these peeps!

Sweet!