Becoming Analise

Happy Valentine’s Day Eve! I love L.O.V.E.! Dark chocolate, gifts, hugs, smooches, romantic stuff, cuddles, sweet nothings, $5 cards, Hallmark movies, all of it! I love thinking about memories with my husband as we approach Valentine’s Day – how we met, how we were too shy to speak to each other, how we planned “the talk,” how we knew that we didn’t want to be apart, how we endured six months of long-distance dating, how we began wedding plans, how we told our families, how we planned our honeymoon, etc. But those are not my only thoughts of Valentine’s Day. I have lots of other Valentine’s memories, too - the ones that consist of me being alone on the dreaded holiday. I didn’t date until I met Patrick, which means that 25 of the 29 Valentine’s Days that I’ve been alive were spent without a significant other … I have not at all forgotten about what it was like to be single, and I remember the heartache I experienced as I longed for the Lord to allow me to be romanced by a m

  Riley Grace is 2.5, and she needs her mama. She lets me know everyday that she needs me and wants me. She lets me know each day that I pick her up from school that she needs me. She lets me know each evening when I help her onto the potty for the 40 th time to avoid accidents. She lets me know during bath time when she’s anxious to sit in the tub because she’s fearful of pottying in the tub now that she’s aware of it! She lets me know each night as we cuddle in her chair together to read her two favorite “Bible Book” stories, as she calls it. And she let’s me know as I tuck her in and she’s saying her nighttime prayers, which generally go something like this: “Pray for Daddy. Pray for Mama. Pray for Mama’s shirt. Pray for bed. Pray for Mimi and Pop. Nana and Papa. Grams and Pops. In Jesus’ name, Amen.” She is precious! She loves me and needs me. She remembers me throughout the day, loves when I pick her up from school, calls to me when she’s scared, needs help, or wants a playmate,