The best kind of love comes from a strong friendship.  It starts as a tiny bud and then blossoms more beautifully than ever imagined.  Tony and Kelly met in college, at Elon University in North Carolina.  They immediately became friends and stayed friends all four years.  It wasn’t until a few months before graduation that Tony and Kelly realized they both wanted more.  Their relationship began to bloom, right before Tony moved 2,776 miles away to attend UC Berkley in California.

It has been almost two years, and Tony and Kelly are closer than ever!  Even though Tony is physically in California and Kelly in North Carolina, they are still thinking about each other this Valentine’s Day.  In a sweet act to show how much he cares, Tony has written Kelly a surprise love note and has been so kind to allow me to share it on the blog!  Kelly, you are one lucky girl.  Happy Valentine’s Day.

From Tony:

Kelly,

I could say all the usual things like “I love the way you smile” and “I love how you are always there for me,” and those things would all be true. But what sets you apart and truly makes me love you more than anything are these unique things:

I love how hard you work in order to be the very best in all that you do.
I love how much you care about others.
I love waking up to your texts in the morning.
I love that you refuse to let me brush my teeth in peace.
I love that you and I can laugh about stupid little jokes until our whole bodies hurt.
I love our nightly phone calls.
I love how you make me a better person.
But most of all, I love that you are my best friend.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Tony is actually my brother in law! (Can you tell the resemblance to my husband Matt in the post below?)  Matt and I had the pleasure of spending a week with Tony and Kelly over Christmas.  Here are a few of my favorite photographs we captured on our day in New York City.

I love this one of Tony and Kelly laughing together in Bryant Park.  They look so happy together and their love truly shines out of the photograph.

Thank you Tony for sharing such a beautiful surprise on the blog today.  I hope you and Kelly both have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!