Brian and I met in college. He saw me in a yellow dress from afar and his first thought was that I was hot. At least this is what he tells me.

(Jen, Jackie, and me all in yellow!)

We didn’t meet until after that and my first impression of him was that he was in the way. I had a major crush on one of his friends, Josh and Brian was sitting right in front of my viewing pleasure.  Somehow we ended up hanging out one night. Watching Ricki Lake and talking into the wee hours of the morning. I was hooked on Brian. He became my best friend and fast. I refered to him as “My Brian Quinn”. We were off and on, but I was so very in love with him. I just could not stay away.

Our Junior year we learned that WE would soon become THREE. I was pregnant and it was quite the shock to us. We decided that we were in it for the long haul. I was no longer in school, and just working. Brian was finishing up school and working. It was crazy. I was so incredibly sick, a lot of which I believe had to do with stress. My sweet Brian Quinn gave me a fantastic Valentine that year and I wanted to share it with you. It’s a glimpse into a very hard, but blessed time in our lives. I say blessed because a child is always a blessing and that child is what I believe ultimately brought Brian and I to the Lord. Christ used our situation to His ultimate glory.

I’m beyond thankful.

Dear Veronica,

Life is so very precious. Day in and day out, babies are born across the world. But not until it happens to you, do you realize how very special life is. About three months ago, we were blessed with the news that you were pregnant. While we were not always sure of where life was going to lead us, we always stuck by each other’s side. At times, controlling our emotions was tough. But love carried us through. And love will continue to carry us through. Veronica, I look at life so different than I ever did before. I look at life as so precious and so meaningful. And I look at you differently than I ever did before. Looking at your belly, I see so much love and so much amazement. Knowing that you are carrying our child makes you even more beautiful than ever before. We are bringing a child into the world. I don’t think I could ever imagine anything more amazing. But what makes me happiest is that we are sharing this amazing occurrence. Veronica, from the day I met you, I looked at you as a beautiful person, both on the outside and the inside. You are so very special. You mean the world to me. And you are my angel always and forever. Veronica, I love you so very much. I have no doubt that our love will carry us through the future. There is no doubt in my mind that this baby will only make us grow even closer than ever before. We are a family now, the three of us, and that will never change. Looking into our future, I see a world of happiness, a world of growth, and I see the best times of our lives to come. I can’t even begin to imagine how amazing it is going to be to hold our baby. Just hearing the heatbeat made me smile uncontrollably. That was one of the most amazing days of my life. Veronica, I am not sure exactly where life will lead us. But I do know a few things. I know that I love you with all of my heart and always will. I know that we will both love our child unconditionally. And I know that you and this baby are the best thing to ever happen to me. Veronica, I wish you a happy valentine’s day, our first as a family. I love you with all my heart.

Love, Your Brian Quinn

p.s. happy valentine’s day “little one”

We got engaged during spring break. I moved back to Ohio, it was one of the hardest decisions we made. Brian drove out to see me as much as he could.  He was there for Brianna’s birth and spent about the next 2 weeks with us.

He went back to school, for his last year. He came out to visit us every other weekend. He worked so hard for our family and he would cry on his way back to school every time he had to leave us. Once he graduated he came out to Ohio and we were finally together again as a family.

Here we are years later and we’re married with 3 beautiful children. It’s hard to believe that our journey started with a yellow dress and an attitude of annoyance. Our family had a rocky start, but we had a foundation of love and our marriage now has a foundation of Christ.

I can’t imagine my life without this man.

I am so in love with him.

I thank God for him every day.

The verse on our invitation from when we renewed our vows:

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 100:5

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