Day 104: Our Wedding Video

After we put the girls to bed last night, I popped some popcorn and threw our wedding video into the DVD player. When we were about to start watching it, we heard our girls talking upstairs in their beds. We agreed that, though it might be fun to snuggle up together alone while watching our wedding video, it might be just as fun (more fun?) to show the video to our girls. So we called them down and enjoyed it as a family.

While watching the video, you kept smiling at me while holding and rubbing my hand. Afterwards, when the girls were in bed, you hugged me and told me you’re glad you married me. For a while, you wouldn’t let go of me and kept repeating what you said. I’m so glad I married you too.

I said I would maybe talk more about Keller’s book, so here’s a great quote from it:

Our culture says that feelings of love are the basis for actions of love. And of course that can be true. But it is truer to say that actions of love can lead consistently to feelings of love. Love between two people must not, in the end, be identified simply with emotion or merely with dutiful action. Married love is a symbiotic, complex mixture of both. Having said this, it is important to observe that of the two—emotion and action—it is the latter that we have the most control over. It is the action of love that we can promise to maintain every day (103).

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Day 23: Friends and Flowers

Some men complain about their wives to each other. When I talk about you around other men, I want everything I say to be positive. Last night I went out with the groomsmen after the wedding rehearsal. I tried to find an opportunity to praise you in conversation with at least one of the guys. This ended up being difficult because none of our conversations were serious. However, on the way home, some of us began to talk about the women in our lives. One of the guys told me that I should count myself lucky to have you because you’re so incredible. Naturally, I took the opportunity to extol your virtues–that you’re stunningly beautiful, a godly woman of character, and super fun to be around–and I confessed that I don’t appreciate you like I should. The rest of the way home, we stopped at every place we could think of that might be open (it was 1 AM) to buy you some roses. Finally, we struck gold with a 7-Eleven. When you wake up tomorrow morning to a rose bouquet in a vase on the table, I hope you realize how beautiful you are to me and how much I love you.

Day 22: My Proposal

Yesterday we drove up the state for a wedding that’s taking place this weekend. I wanted to start by 6 AM, but didn’t wake up to the alarm. We left by 9 only to stop at your parents’ house to pick up some stuff. That took much longer than we hoped–it’s difficult to get our daughters to leave their grandma’s house. But we finally got on the road. Because of our slow start, you were surprised when I exited the freeway 30 minutes later: “What are you doing? We finally got on the road!” “It’s a surprise,” I replied. I drove us to the beach, stopped the car, and told our daughters that this is where I asked you to marry me. Then I said to you that “I love you. I would marry you again if we could do things over. I’m happy to be with you and our wonderful children.” As we drove off, we talked about the night I proposed. We talked about how you said no when I asked you to go to the beach with me–it was midnight, drizzly, and cold, after all. Your parents knew what I had planned so they insisted we go. You reluctantly agreed. When we arrived at the beach, I nervously walked with you by the surf, hoping to muster up some courage. Then, I got on one knee and proposed (but not before a bat flew between us and ruined the mood!).