In honor of a month filled with flowers, chocolates, lovey-dovey words, and kisses, I want to share some sweet pieces of our story-- that is, some loving memories of how my husband and I, and our handsome little family, came to be.

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Related posts:

• 10 Simple and Fun Ways to Spend Time with your Family
• Dear Husband,
• A Letter To My Husband On Father's Day

Preface

Life is silly, ya know?

In 3rd grade, I started Providence Christian School. It was a year-old school and super small. When I was in 7th grade, Jeremiah was new to the school and starting 6th grade. We were friends and often sat at the same table at lunch. I can still close my eyes and see his frosted tips and braces. Two years later, he was gone.

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Introduction

I was 20 years old. It was a late night in June 2009. Standing in line at the gas station, a guy turned around...

"Mallory???"

We hadn't spoken since 8th grade! He looked so much different, but I knew exactly who it was. Oh, man... I was so embarrassed as I stood there in a tie-dye t-shirt, jean skirt, crazy hair, and no makeup. But, he asked for my phone number anyway.

I saved my gas receipt from that night. Yeeeees--I'm that girl.

He texted me as soon as we left. The space bar on my iPhone (probably) 1 was broken, soallmytextsrantogetherlikethis. Good thing he likes a challenge.

And that my friends is our meet-cute. One of the many sweet pieces of our story.

Body

I used to tell people we did things a little backwards. We had a baby, bought a house, bought a dog, had another baby, then got married. But to be honest, now that I'm older and care a little less about what people think of me,

I realize we did things in a way that was perfect for us. Our way.

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Some sweet pieces of our story...

Before the boys, we did a lot of things just because. We've shopped the Mall of America, gambled in Vegas, and eaten at the first fine dining restaurant in the country (1837)-- Delmonico's in NYC.

Jeremiah proposed to me on February 22, 2015. I had just put the boys down for a nap, and the Daytona 500 was about to start. My ring-- a black diamond, with white diamonds and rubies surrounding it, which are the boy's birthstones.

We had a destination wedding in Cape San Blas, FL on April 30, 2016. Tookie, our English Bulldog, was his best man, and the boys were there splashing in the water. It was finally official... he was stuck with me forever! Just kidding... no, but really, he's mine forever.

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We do birthdays pretty big in our house. There's been surprise parties, casino nights, and even a murder mystery dinner-- who knew some of our family could perform so well! My 32nd birthday was the biggest yet and full of happy tears. Read and watch my quest here. This day is one I will hold dear to my heart forever.

We've been to NASCAR races, aquariums, zoos, and 5-star restaurants. We've even caught an alligator off the side of a fan boat in the swamps of New Orleans. Exploring and trying new things is something we love to do together, and we have been thrilled to include our boys in our fun.

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Even though we are so good at going, we are just as good at being-- just being together at home as a family.

Conclusion

I absolutely knew the moment I saw Jeremiah in that gas station 11 years ago that there was something special about him-- about us. It was just a feeling that loomed within my soul. We had a lot of growing to do still, but regardless of whether I was pushing or pulling, I couldn't stay away from him.

I felt something was special about him then, but I couldn't have told you what that special thing was. Now I know all of the 1000s of things that are special about him, and the biggest of all-- he is my person.

I love this man of mine so freaking big. All the clichés, all the words, cannot possibly describe the gravity of my love for him.

I wake up excited every morning to keep adding sweet pieces to our story.

... A story that is far from over.

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Like my black dress? Here it is: off the shoulder lace dress.

Are you spilling over with something lovey-dovey to share?! Share a sweet piece of your story in the comments!

Here's the post I wrote to my three guys last year on Valentine's Day.