I know Valentine’s Day has come and gone and I am a little late getting a lovey dovey post up…  but do I really need that day to express my love for a man that will always have all of my heart? I met my hubby when I was a senior in high school and have loved him ever since. Life has brought us on an incredible journey and I am forever thankful for all we have been through together… even those unexpected curve balls that has been thrown our way.

To the love of my life,

As I reflect upon the past nine years, I can’t help but feel a sense of pride.

The bumps in the road, the obstacles we have overcome, the scars we wear on the inside… all of which have made us a stronger and better team.

There were days I felt our love wouldn’t last the night, there were days I just didn’t care. There were days I could have just given up because it hurt too much to care. There were days I didn’t listen and days I was downright cruel. And when I look upon my mistakes I am thankful that you never left my side.

There were days you were ungrateful and days you forgot how hard I tried. There were days your words hurt more than knives and days I would just run and cry. And when I look upon your mistakes I am thankful I never left your side.

Because nine years is a long time together, there is bound to be some trouble along the way. No one in this world is perfect and I know this more each day. But when I remember that the good days undoubtedly outshine the bad… I can’t help but smile as tears swell up in my eyes. We never gave up on each other and we never left each others side. Love is unconditional and we have proven that in so many ways.

Let’s go back to the beginning and see what we have overcome, because the people we are today were molded by those days.

I met you when I was just seventeen… immature, reckless and full of dreams. Every day was an adventure, we were living in our old little world. Then the curve balls that life is so anxious to throw had a fast pitch coming our way. Not even a year into our relationship and we discovered we would forever have a bond… because a small miracle was growing within me. Our live’s quickly turned upside down and it was as if the world was against me. Every statistic would tell us, it was not meant to be and the likelihood of us being forever was a very slim chance indeed. How quickly people rooted against us and lowered our self esteem. Nonetheless we brushed it aside and were forced to grow up faster than most teens. And as I look back at those troubling months, I realize how much pressure was actually on you to succeed. For the world assumes the teen father’s first instinct is to eliminate himself from the daddy scene. It was the day you became the father to our daughter that I realized I really had met the man of my dreams. There were a million different decisions you could have made but stepping up outnumbered them all. And though the next few years brought unbearable obstacles, we overcame them all. People continued to doubt us and I could feel our relationship unraveling at the seems. It took an act of courage and growing up to realize we had much to eliminate from our lives. Soon we were forced to face a mean, cruel world and do it all on our own. As scary as it was to take that leap, I am grateful for those days, because from it came determination and a self sufficient life. Before we knew it we were making ends meet and giving our child all that she deserved. Sacrifices were a plenty, but worth it in the end.

Once again I look back at the young, scared and hopeless me… thankful you never left my side.

And here we are over nine years later, stronger than we could ever be.

You have given me two beautiful children and another blessing is on its way. The gorgeous home we share together, is thanks to your hard working ways. Because when the world assumed you’d walk away, you instead chose for us to build a life together.

You showed me what it means to have a best friend…

Unconditional love is all you give and it’s exactly what I need.

Our children have an amazing role model, one that shows them what hard work and determination really means. The sparkle in their eyes when you walk through the door is more than I can stand. You turned out to be a pretty great guy, our children are lucky to call you dad.

I could never express how thankful I am for who you are and what you’ve done. I get to spend forever with my best friend, someone who knows me far to well. I consider myself extremely lucky to have you for myself. Never would I have predicted how I would meet my one true love… but I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

So thank you for my love story… one that I am proud to share today.