Valentine's Day Came Early This Year

We have decided to celebrate Valentine's Day today instead of Saturday because our first visitors, Jordan's sister, Johanna, and her husband, Josh, are coming tomorrow. We are so excited for them to get here and spend a week with them!

I am about to say something that everyone will probably hate me for, and gasp in horror as they read it... well, here goes: I think Valentine's Day is dumb. This is one of those moments where the music screeches to a stop, everyone gets instantly quiet, and stares at me in an awkward silence and disgust. It's true. I'm sorry. I realize it is way more justified to not like Valentine's Day if you're single, but even throughout my married life I just think it's a consumer-driven holiday that puts unnecessary pressure on everyone to buy each other gifts. Okay, but here is the point at which I might redeem myself. I do think this day is a great reminder to sit down and reflect on why you love the person you love! It should be more about that rather than heart-shaped balloons and candy, so Jordan and I have decided to celebrate this "holiday" in light of each other. Although, I must say, those candy hearts are scrumptious!

This picture was taken a couple months ago when we celebrated our 2nd Anniversary at The Melting Pot, which was AMAZING and so much fun!

With all that said, I'm going to go out on a limb for me (since I'm not usually very sentimental) and tell you 10 things I love about Jordan. So here it is, in no particular order.

1. I love that he'll never let me go to bed angry, even if my anger has nothing to do with him. He always wants to know what is bothering me and will always help me try to fix it. 

2. I love how patient Jordan is with everyone, especially me. I tend to want everything NOW, and he balances me out so well with his calm, undying patience. 

3. I love that Jordan is real and down-to-earth. More and more I realize how invaluable this quality is in the world, and no one fits the profile better than he does.

4. I love Jordan's confidence. If he puts his mind to something, he is going to do it and be good at it. He is driven, which in turn makes me more driven too.

5. I love that Jordan knows how to RELAX. You will not find anyone in this world who enjoys kicking back, curling up on the couch, and watching a movie with me as much as Jordan does. And this usually involves snacks - he goes all out! :)

6. I love how family-oriented Jordan is. We see eye-to-eye on the idea that family comes first, and even though I'm not ready to have kids anytime soon, I know he will be an amazing dad someday. He's already a great "dad" to our dog, Maggie. :)

7. I love that Jordan is not wrapped up with money. Of course everyone wants money, and we do our best to save and be responsible, but he believes that sometimes it's more important to go out to dinner together or take a weekend getaway if we haven't spent a lot of time together lately than it is to save a few bucks.

8. I love Jordan's smile. Honestly, after two years of marriage, that smile still gets me.

9. I love how hard Jordan works on our house. From day one, he has taken so much pride in making our house a home and turning it into a place we truly love. I have a feeling this will be a trend with any place we end up living down the road!

10. I love how I can truly call Jordan my best friend. I don't think either of us could have honestly said this two years ago when we got married, but I think it's true when people say the kind of love you have for each other changes in a marriage and becomes much deeper. 

I love you, Jord. Thanks for being my "forever Valentine." :)

I just had to add that Valentine's Day came early in another way this year. We got a package in the mail yesterday from my Mom that had specific directions "not to open until Valentine's Day!" Yeah, right. I sensed there was something sweet in the box, and that was that. 

Let me preface it by telling you that Jordan and I had JUST been talking about how much we missed fresh rice-krispie treats, and how for Valentine's Day we actually considered buying all the ingredients and making them together. Yeah, we're cheap dates! :) Anyway, so I rip open the box and inside are four HUGE, like brick-size huge, rice-krispie treats!!! You can only imagine my excitement. My mom always seems to know just what we need. :)

Okay, okay... there WERE four of them... by the time I thought about taking the picture I had already eaten one. But I had to take a picture for Darcy, since pretty much all we did on the bench this year when we coached volleyball at Whitworth was eat rice-krispie treats. And coach, of course! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!