Valentines ● by Jess

I'm lucky to be married to man that loves to show love. Valentine's day is definitely his holiday to shine... However, this year, for various reasons, we decided to keep it simple. We both agreed that we would only give one another a simple, handwritten card. 

Of course, this meant it was my chance to do something epic (and-- admittedly-- *finally* beat him at the game of romance). So, I've been working double time for the last two months so that I could get us a weekend in Paris, which we'll likely use for our anniversary. It has been a surprising amount of work-- mostly in trying to hide it from Jon. Why have I never noticed how diligent he is about checking our cash flow until now??!

When Valentine's came around, we both gave each other our cards:

Jon's was very sweet and I loved it.

Then he handed me a box. Inside that  box were letters by lots of our friends and family, that Jon had compiled, each saying why they appreciate or love me. They were together, the kindest and most beautiful set of letters anyone has ever given to me. If any of you are reading this, thank you thank you THANK YOU. It was so touching and beautiful and made me feel like a princess.

It was already one of the best Valentine's days ever, when Jon tells me that on Thursday, he'll be taking me to go see Turandot, which I've wanted to see since I was about 10 years old, at the Royal Opera House.

OHMYGOSH!!!!!

Anyway, I think it's Jon for the win on this one... but, if losing still means opera tickets and trips to Paris, I'll take it!

We also got to go to the temple on Saturday, which was fantastic. For my non-mormon friends, the temple is where we go to perform service on behalf of our ancestors. Mormons believe that families can be together even after we die, so its really important to us to makes sure we are all linked together.

In front of the London temple, plus a happy little British family in the background.

Look how amazing this house is! It is so close to the temple (look at the shadow on the ground and you can see the temple spire, which will show you how close it really is!).

All in all, it was a pretty wonderful Valentine's weekend and thanks again to all you wonderful friend and family that helped make this holiday extra special.