The beauty of friends.

Last night was a difficult night. Steve and I tried to squeeze in some Valentine cheer for the kids, in between two practices on opposite ends of town. Hannah got home at 6:45pm, and we had to leave by 7:15pm to take Isaiah to basketball. Dinner was rushed, but the milkshakes were a hit. All this to say Steve and I didn't eat. Steve had to rent a car, for an emergency meeting in Grand Rapids, MI. this morining. He was going to wait until the kids hit their beds to leave. We were feeling like we had no time to even say hello to one another, let alone I love you. Emily volunteered to stay home with the boys and Hannah, so Steve and I could both take Isaiah to his short practice. (She always knows how to be a help). We dropped Isaiah off, and had about 45 minutes before we had to be back to pick him up, so we decided to hit Las Lomas for a quick dinner with just the two of us. It was packed, of course. And when we walked in, we saw some friends right away, and went and said hi. Back to our table for chips and salsa. We were finally beginning to relax, and it was so nice to sit for a few minutes with each other. The waiter brought our food just as our friends left. About two minutes later, he came back holding the paid bill, that said, "Happy Valentine's Day!" inside a heart. We were shocked, and humbled, and honored and grateful. What a beautiful and unexpected gift. Thank you Joe and Deb, you made our night. :)
AND, because we were so blessed, and relaxed, and feeling less rushed, Steve didn't end up leaving until about 4am, whoops. Had to make some quick phone calls on the six hour drive to push the meeting back. How exactly do you explain that one... uh, well, you see, it was Valentine's Day, and uh, well, ...