Monday, February 14, 2011

valentines day night.

tonight we celebrated with dinner on the porch. we turned on the big heater to make it nice and toasty. roses. gift cards. and daddy's first valentines day card from ava. she made it herself. it was a great night. we are more in love than ever. cancer will do that. life will do that. we knew we were meant for one another from day one. but this past six months simply confirmed it. its nice to eat dinner and talk about the future and how i literally feel different. like that dark greyish cloud we had over us is lifting. and that constant titch of anxiety that regardless of how good i felt there was always another chemo treatment right around the corner. and life looks and feels different now that its gone. i thought a lot about what it would be like after chemo. what life would be like i mean. and i still do not really know. but i do know that today was a gift. maybe just for me. it was warm. the river was stunning. the sun was so so bright. and to be honest i needed today. something felt different about today. and i can not explain it. but i will never forget it. my husband and i sat down for dinner with our daughter and things felt right. for the first time in months and months life felt a little easier. funny how in the matter of a few hours i will take back what i wrote earlier today about vday not being a big deal in our family. starting now valentines day will always be a big deal for this family. maybe the biggest. not because of flowers or cards or having real high expectations for justin that he may or may not meet. but today i felt more alive than i have ever felt in my life. we have always tried to have a good attitude with this whole cancer thing. but today i experienced one more reason why i was given cancer. to feel more free than i knew was possible. and cancer did this? God does really move in crazy ways. we just have to trust Him. and there is something magical about living on the water and the peace that it brings to my soul and to justin's. he sat across from me tonight and said..let's be best friends. i agreed and then we proceed to each read our cards and smile because we basically each wrote the exact same thing to one another. its nice knowing that i picked the right guy to marry. even when its hard. i still would only want to do the hard stuff with him. 

ava's first time using markers. and her first of many homemade cards.


p.s. then shortly after i wrote this justin and i got in a disagreement. that is a relationship for you. its great one second and then not so great the next. we worked it out. but just thought i would add that. 

12 comments:

  1. Wow, little brother is Casanova with that best friends line. He totally got that from Tommy. LoveAva's card. So sweet. Glad you all had a good night. No one deserves it more.
    Love you.

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  2. Hey, I hope you all didn't stay out there too long. For one thing, it's too cold for a baby. For another thing, it's a bit of a waste of propane to run the "big heater" all night. As a young couple, you need to alwaysbstrive to save your money instead of wasting it.
    I'm glad you had a good night.

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  3. glad porch nights are back! even if it took the big heater to make it happen. warm days are ahead and i can't wait for our little people to be able to run around together while we mommies catch up.

    homemade valentines are the best.

    praying for tomorrow.

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  4. you are loved. you are so loved. by so many. i am so glad yesterday was a gift and you celebrated. i am going to keep the prayers rolling in for you and your family. : )

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  5. So happy for you friend! God is so good!!
    I love you all!
    Han :)

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  6. I've heard that one way you can tell you are passed a crisis is when you start to argue over little things again. Welcome back to normal married life. I am a nurse and so often I have seen marriages fall apart when a major illness happens to one of the spouses or to a child. Never stop counting the blessing of your Christ filled marriage and of Justin.

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  7. So glad you were able to celebrate in a very special way! love the homemade card! nothing better!

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  8. So glad that you are feeling so much better. You will truly remember last night. Love the card!

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  9. I can not think of a better place to spend the evening than your back porch. So glad you had a nice celebration. I love Ava's card. Look forward to spending an evening on the porch with you soon...so peaceful on the water..prayers

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  10. i'm sad that i'm just now visiting your blog. i've been missing out on so much! and i see you like John Piper like me. : )

    your story is amazing. God's mercy is laced throughout all of the hardship and you paint the canvas of your life just beautifully.

    my dad died of a rare genetic thyroid cancer that i have to be checked for every year. my greatest fear in life is cancer. your testimony through cancer makes me realize that i shouldn't be so afraid.

    i'm so happy your Valentine's day was monumental. since Abraham used to build monuments to God to remember what He had done, i think it's good that we do the same. Valentine's day will be your monument of feeling alive. God is good!

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