Continued...

I wondered what our life together would look like when we had children after so many years of it being just the two of us. I wondered if we would feel overwhelmed and lose the “us” that we had worked so hard to create.

I realized very quickly that “us” is so much richer than it was before, because now it has a completely different meaning.

“Us” is tag teaming middle of the night cuddle sessions with a sick toddler, tracking down the last mini trampoline in town just in time for her birthday, eyes filled with joyful tears when we look at the heartbeat on the ultrasound machine- for the second time, “us” created a miniature miracle.

I’m not sure what “us” will look like in the future, as we navigate the ins and outs of potty training, soccer practice, math homework, first dances, drivers licenses and graduations- but, I know that through every trial, joy, and milestone, we will grow closer together, the way that we have since before that first Valentine’s Day.

Someday you will walk our little girl down the aisle, or straighten our son’s tie before he greets his bride- someday we will cradle our baby’s babies in our arms, and I will look back at this time, these days where I cannot imagine possibly loving you more, and realize that I had no idea how much room I held in my heart.

This Valentines Day, you will have a girl on (in) each arm and I will struggle to find something that fits my quickly expanding belly. We won’t eat sushi or drink champagne, and we will probably choose a restaurant based on the quality of their kid’s menu.

We will make time for just you and I later in the week, but the day that we celebrate love, we will choose to spend as a family, because “us” is so much more “us” with all of us.

Related Article: The Story of Home

Allie Garcia has worked for the last seven years in the field of special education as teacher, mentor and online instructor. She has a masters degree in special education and was awarded as Clark County School District's New Teacher of Year. In January 2014, her life was forever changed by the birth of her baby, Mila Skye. On most days, Allie can be found changing diapers, having kitchen dance parties, and laughing at toddler antics with her sweet husband and crazy puppy in Henderson, Nevada.