early valentine's day

I have decided to take a little break from blogging this week and soak up all the time I had with Brent before he leaves for Ethiopia. He leaves tomorrow afternoon, but won't arrive there until Wednesday at 2!!! Please keep him in all your prayers as he is traveling...and for my sanity!

Friday I took the day off, as Brent didn't have to work that day either. We decided it would be our valentine's day together (fun little fact, the only valentine's day we spent together was the very first one! So this is number 5 that we'll be apart!!!) It was a wonderful day. Brent had "planned" it all out, knowing that I would not want to think about how exactly we were going to spend time together and relax.

So we slept in, which is always wonderful, and then we took our time getting ready and eating breakfast. We did have to run a few errands, which is inevitable, but Brent made it worth it as we took a detour to Starbucks (I happened to have a little left on a gift card and got my favorite...a white chocolate mocha!)! Then it was back to the apartment where I made a nice salad complete with grilled chicken and bacon and eggs and everything! It was tasty and we always enjoy spending meal time together when we aren't rushed.

Then, as promised and planned, Brent gave me a wonderful back and foot rub! After that, as is our valentine tradition, he sang me all the songs he has written me over the years. I plan on posting some of those lyrics later. This always reaches me in my deepest places and makes me feel so loved, so deeply.

After that he told me we could go to the mall to finally spend an Ann Taylor gift card I got for Christmas! He helped me pick out some wonderful and needed items (which was a gift in itself, to have him there to help me!) Then it was a quick drive through one of our favorite "restaurants," Wendy's-- and off to the movies!! What a treat! We rarely do that. We saw the WWII movie Defiance which is a true story of a group of Jews who fled to the woods to escape capture and their story of survival! Incredible.

It was a fun, relaxing, great day together. We had so many great conversations and just enjoyed each other's company. We also received a huge gift from his boss...who somehow paid the rest of the money that he needed for the trip. We were wondering exactly how all that was going to fall into place, and Neal called us Friday and let us know it was taken care of. God is faithful.

Yesterday I made a big dinner for us and we lounged again. Today has been a little bit busier as we've had to get everything together for the big departure tomorrow. Thank you all for your support and prayers in this! I will keep you updated, and you can check out their teams blog:

www.eeethiopia.blogspot.com

They will try and update it occasionally while you are there, and if I get any more information I will keep you updated! Time to go keep Brent motivated in his packing!