Book Review Night

Last night I went to a book review for our relief society. It was on the book by John Bytheway titled I Hope You Know How Much I Love You. I had read the book, and even bought copies for my mom and all my married kids for Valentine's Day. It is a short book, but so worth reading. Cherie Munns gave the review. She is an amazing lady with tons of great insight. I loved listening to all of the comments the different ladies in my ward made about the parts that really touched them. One of the chapters talks about marriage. He tells how when we are first married we are so grateful for all of the things our spouse does for us. Then later on, we begin to expect those things and forget to be grateful, and sometimes we then begin to demand those things. He talked about waking up one morning grouchy about an upcoming trip he had to make. He had to get up at a really early hour and was mumbling to himself about why he was doing the trip. As he got into his bathroom to shower, he found a note from his wife taped to the mirror. The note expressed her appreciation for the heroic effort he put into providing for his family. He talked about how his day dramatically changed after that. He told how he then wanted to go out and be an even better person because she loved him for who he was at that moment and how he wanted to be even better for her and his family. Last night as we discussed that chapter, I loved the comments that were made. A sister in our ward who I normally wouldn't have maybe paid as much attention as I should because she is maybe not as outgoing as some, and is an older lady, made some awesome comments. She told about how when she and her husband had served a mission one of the trainers had talked to them about the importance of having an eternal relationship with your companion. The trainer told them that some couples divorce after serving a mission together because they have grown to have such separate lives and are suddenly with each other 24/7. She got tears in her eyes as she talked about how much she loves her companion. She has been a widow for many years now, and misses him terribly. She told us how hard of a time she has when she hears ladies bashing their husbands and wants to ask them, "Why in the world did you marry this man in the first place?" just to remind them that they love that companion and to not take them for granted. Wow! This really got my mind racing. I am such a lucky woman to have my husband. He works so hard to provide for our family. He is a great example and priesthood holder. He loves spending time with our family. He loves to make us laugh and smile. I know I take him too much for granted. On Valentine's Day, we had already had our date over the weekend. We got up that morning, and I gave him a card I had made for him and a couple of little treats. He was gracious about it and told me he loved me. I got to school and low and behold....roses appeared that he had ordered the week before. The card was really sweet and made my heart skip a couple of beats. Sometimes I don't think Greg is the most romantic of souls...and then he will surprise me with how romantic he can truly be. I am so incredibly lucky to have him in my life. If you ever hear me complaining about stupid, trivial things about him.....please remind me.....I am very blessed to have him!