Happy Valentines day to you all and welcome to Kook's Nook. Today, I have handed it over to a very lovely friend of mine from the USA.....KATIE CRABAPPLE.
Before I disappear, I would like to wish my daughter a very happy 6th birthday. Valentine's day is very special in our home because of that. I am very lucky in that I have a rather wonderful husband who is downright romantic. Anyway. I shall sit down with a mug of Lempsip and hand over to the very delicious KATIE!
Why dont you start by telling us all a bit about you Katie.......
I'm a Christian homeschooling mom of one little boy who is eight
years old. My husband was laid off eighteen months ago, and has just started
his own travel business from home. He shares the homeschooling with me to free
me up to write more.
We've been married for thirteen years and are still as much in love
as we were the day we married. I believe that marriage is as much of a job as
anything else is. You have to work to keep your love for one another alive. We
spend a lot more time together than your average couple, with both of us working
from home, and sometimes things get tense, but working at our relationship is
worth the effort it takes.
Valentine's Day has always been a fun holiday for me. We try to have
a date night, just the two of us, usually consisting of dinner and a movie
sometime during the weekend leading up to Valentine's Day. Neither of us enjoy
crowds, so we try to go when there are less people out. I am, unfortunately
allergic to flowers, perfume and jewelry. It's all down to chocolate. I'm not
allergic to chocolate, and get it every year!
My goal with my stories for my Parkside Community Church is to
portray churches as they actually are, but also to entertain people. I'm
careful in my stories to not having my couples do anything to offend even the
strictest Christian. I'd like my stories to be some that moms are happy to let
their teenage daughters read.
What I've written for this blog is simply a Epilogue to the first
story in my series "A Bride for Pastor Dan". In the story, Dan is a new pastor
at the church Anna has attended her entire life. She loves her church, but is
doing to much for it. Anna is not a pretty girl, and honestly never expects to
marry. When Dan meets her, he's instantly struck by the type of person she is,
not by her looks. Their love story is fast, but I've known many people who have
met and fallen in love in the space of a day or two which is the case with Anna
and Dan. This story takes place seven months after their wedding on their first
Valentine's Day together. Join us in getting a glimpse of their lives after the
wedding.Here for your delight is the Epilogue of A BRIDE FOR PASTOR DAN.
As soon as Anna hit the front door on Tuesday afternoon, she started running around the house like a crazy woman. She changed from her work clothes into sweats and a t-shirt so she could accomplish her goal quickly. She’d been detained at work by a parent, and wasn’t sure she’d be able to get everything ready before Dan got home. It was their first Valentine’s Day together, and she wanted everything to be perfect.
She set the flowers Dan had sent to the school in the middle of the table, and found the long white candles she’d purchased just for tonight, setting them on either side of the flowers. She started the steaks in the oven, and took out the au gratin potatoes she’d prepped last night sticking them in the oven as well.
She put some broccoli in the microwave to steam, and got out the ingredients for a salad. She cut the vegetables quickly and efficiently throwing them into a bowl.
By the time Dan walked in the door, she had the table set with their new china they’d received as a wedding gift seven months before. The food was ready.
He stopped into the kitchen to kiss her and wish her Happy Valentine’s Day. "Dinner smells delicious. Do I have time to change or do you need to serve it now?"
"You have about three minutes while I get everything on the table."
"Three minutes? Does that mean you’ll eat without me if I don’t hurry?"
She grinned mischievously. "You never know. I might."
He laughed and hurried off to change out of the suit he’d worn to his office at the church.
The card she’d gotten him was tucked under the edge of his plate. She poured out tea for them both and put the food on the table. She was just lighting the candles as he walked into the room.
"You went all out, Anna. Thank you!"
"I wanted it to be special for our first Valentine’s Day together."
"You know, I can’t believe it’s our first. It feels like I’ve known you forever. How did I ever get through twenty-seven years without my other half?"
She smiled. "I feel the same way."
They sat down, and after he’d said the blessing over the meal, they ate. She tried to hide the excitement she felt at giving him her surprise at the end of the meal, but she was glowing with it.
He noticed the card peeking out from under his plate as he cut his first bite of steak. He set down his knife and fork. "May I read this now?" he asked, pointing to the card.
She nodded her eyes twinkling.
The card was a simple one, expressing love. The quick poem she’d added to the end was what made the card special. "Every day with you is special. I have a smile on my face all the time. I wanted to say this in a poem, but pregnant just doesn’t rhyme."
She watched his face as he read the card, and then what she’d written at the bottom. He sat and stared at it for a minute, and then jerked his eyes to hers. "Really?"
She nodded with a smile.
He jumped up from his chair and jerked her into his arms hugging her tightly. "How long have you known?"
"I took a test Saturday, and the doctor confirmed it yesterday. I almost told you on Saturday, but I thought it would be a great Valentine’s gift."
"How are you feeling?" His hands stroked over her back as he brushed his lips over the top of her head.
"Well, the poem almost read, ‘Roses are red. Grass is green. I think I’m pregnant, because I threw up my spleen.’ But I didn’t think that had quite the same ring to it."
He chuckled. "I’m sorry you’re not feeling well, but I’m thrilled you have a sense of humor about it. Are you sick just in the mornings? Or all the time?"
She sighed. "Just in the mornings. I’ve got a box of crackers in my nightstand I’ve been eating first thing to calm the morning sickness."
"What did the doctor say? You’re healthy?"
She nodded. "Healthy as a horse. With all my mom’s miscarriages, they’re going to watch me a little more closely than most. I’ll go in for a sonogram in two weeks."
"Is there a danger you’ll have as many miscarriages as she did?"
She shook her head. "There’s a slight chance, but the doctor doesn’t think so. She’s just going to watch me to make sure."
"When is the baby due?"
"Middle of September."
He sighed. "I have to wait that long to hold my baby?"
She grinned. "You can stop complaining now right. I’m going to be as big as a house in the heat of the Texas summer." She kissed him quickly. "We need to eat before dinner gets cold."
They slipped back into their seats. "Are you going to stop working?"
She nodded. "I told the principal this morning this would be my last year. I want her to have time to find someone. I want to be able to home school this one and any others who come along."
"Sounds good to me. When will we be able to find out the sex?"
"At twenty weeks. I’m only eight weeks now."
"Three more months? How will I know what color to paint the nursery?" When they’d purchased the house six months before, they had designated a room for the future nursery.
"You’ll have five months to paint it after we know."
He sighed. "I really want to know now."
She grinned. "Maybe you need to pray for patience."
He made a face at her. "Yeah, I guess I should do that. I’ll never get through the next seven months otherwise." He gripped her hand tightly. "I’m so happy."
Her face lit up. "I am too. I wasn’t sure I wanted a baby right away, but now that I’m pregnant, I can’t think of anything I want more."
"Do you want a boy or girl?"
She shrugged. "I’d be happy either way, of course, as long as the baby is healthy, but I think I want a little girl first."
He shook his head. "I want a boy first. I want him to help me fight off all the boys who are sure to swarm around her if she’s as beautiful as her mother."
Anna smiled. "You’re the only man in the world who thinks I’m beautiful."
He shrugged. "I can’t help it that all other men are blind idiots."
She laughed. "Only you would see it that way." She squeezed his hand. "I love you, Pastor Dan."
"I love you, Anna."
"Happy Valentine’s Day."
He brought her hand to his lips. "Thank you for the most wonderful Valentine’s gift a man has ever received."
To everyone, have a lovely lovely day, and a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MISH!!!!
Above all...........KEEP IT KOOKY XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
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