A Valentine's Day to Remember

Once again more time has passed then I would like between blog entries, but I guess that is what happens when you work part time and take care of two little boys (and a husband :).  I also want to go back and add pictures to some of my blog posts sometime.  And I want to learn more about blogging and I want to.... I could go on and on, but I won't because as I said in a previous post I am trying to be better about just living in the moment.  When I think back over what we have done in the past couple weeks one of the things that stands out the most in my memory is Valentine's Day.  Now traditionally Terry and I don't do a lot for Valentine's Day.  We usually get each a card and some candy, but it is not a big deal for either of us.  We see it more as a commercial holiday.   However, this year a couple who are mentors in our Bible class invited couples to their home for Valentine's Day and let us know that they wanted to serve us dinner.  Cynthia and Geoff's children are grown, but they remember how hectic life can be with little ones.  Knowing how thoughtful and giving they are I knew that it would be a nice evening, but it was much more than that.    As we all arrived (5 couples) they took our coats and brought us a drink.  We immediately felt relaxed and pampered.  Although we were there with our friends whom we enjoyed spending time with they asked each couple to pick their own table.  They had 5 tables set up around their home decorated beautifully.  Terry and I chose the table in the family room by the fireplace.  They brought us shrimp cocktail and bread followed by salad and then steak and asparagus.  Then we had cake, chocolate covered strawberries, and coffee.  The food was wonderful!  It was so nice to sit back and relax, have a nice meal, and more importantly quiet time with Terry.  We actually got to have an uninterrupted conversation!  It felt a little uncomfortable to have our friends whom we look up to wait on us, but I knew that it was something they really wanted to do.  I kept thinking, this is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for us!  I told Geoff and Cynthia this and Cynthia told us that when their kids were very young and they were waiting for their house to be built they stayed with another couple for awhile.  Geoff and Cynthia were both working and taking care of their kids not to mention under the stress of having a house built.  One evening they came home to find that their friends had put the kids to bed and had prepared a nice meal for Geoff and Cynthia out on their back deck.  They expressed how much that meant to them and how they wanted to do the same for other couples.  I pray that Terry and I will do the same.  I pray that we will remember how special this night was to us and do the same for other couples someday.