For Valentines Day, we took Isabel and Grace out to a fancy lunch (Julia is at college so she got a card and chocolate).

Steve spoke today. “I want you girls to know, that any good man who wants to date you needs to pursue you, and value you like a treasure. You are a precious gift.”

“If you are pursuing a boy more than he is pursuing you, then something is wrong,” Steve said.

Yes, my husband has set the expectations high, but my girls cannot deny that their father loves them.

And while parents of boys might feel like this is one sided, read on.

My husband expects a lot from our daughters. Even if they can be goofy at times.

He expects respect, trust, and honesty. He wants our girls to be true to their word. He expects them to listen, and he calls them out when they talk too much.

He cares about their character.

He encourages them in their spiritual lives.

He encourages their purity, and their pursuit for true beauty.

He encourages strength, and boldness and he expects them to do great things with their lives.

Finally, he pursues time with them. He has been there for them through all the years.

My husband has not only pursued my daughters, but he pursues me too.

He seeks time with me, and complains if I am not available. He is tenacious! I like this about him.

He also protects me. He corrects my daughters if they say the slightest disrespectful comment to me. My husband is the first to correct them. He is happy to confront anyone who comes against his family. This makes me feel valuable.

Girls want to be pursued and valued; this is no secret. And a good man knows how to make a woman feel valuable, protected and cherished.

Yep, my Steve set a good example, and I hope my girls will some day marry a man who loves them as much as their daddy, and we are perfectly ok if they wait until they are 40.

This is my Valentine Wish.