Once upon a Valentine's Day -- readers' sweet stories

We asked readers to tell us about events in their lives that happened on Valentine's Day -- something a bit different from the usual romantic dinner-and-flowers version found in greeting cards. Here are some of the interesting stories they shared.

 When Mary came home
In January 1988, my wife, Alice, and I already had three boys. Anthony, our first born, was 6, Gary was 12 (we had adopted him two years earlier), and David had just turned 2.

When Gary came to us, it was through St. Christopher-Ottilie. He was placed in foster care with us first, while we worked on his adoption. That is how we came to know the agency.

On Valentine's Day, our phone rang and it was St. Christopher's. They said they had an emergency situation.

A little girl named Mary had been placed in a home out east and wasn't doing well. She was crying constantly, wasn't sleeping at night, and the people caring for her couldn't do it any longer. They had just been given an infant to care for and adding a 2-year-old was too much of an adjustment.

A few hours later, a car pulled into the driveway. Out jumped the most adorable little girl I had ever seen. There she stood with a round, happy, dimpled face, knotted strawberry blond hair, the clothes on her back and a shopping bag with one other outfit. Everything was dirty and reeked of cigarette smoke.

She ran up the stairs to our house, right into my arms and into my heart. I said, "I love you," and she said, "I love you too!" (Did I mention I believe in love at first sight?) She did the same with my wife, and then the boys took her into the kitchen for her first bowl of ice cream!

Anticipating that Mary might have a rough time sleeping in a new house, Alice and I were prepared for the worst and braced for a long night. But Mary slept like a log.

Of course, the story doesn't end there. In fact, it was just beginning.

Mary was a rescued child who had been removed from a horrific situation and placed in foster care. Suffice to say that when I brought her to visit her relative, Mary took one look at the woman and recoiled. Her face crumbled and she looked at me with fear in her eyes.

I wasn't allowed to stay for the visit, but I hid behind some partitions so I could listen and watch. It was at that moment when I realized Mary was given to us for a reason: to see that she was kept safe from harm.

It was difficult working through the foster care and court system to have Mary freed for adoption, but we prevailed. The adoption was the fulfillment of a quiet promise made by me and Alice to God that we would fight for and protect Mary so she would never return to the dreadful life she once had.

On Dec. 11, 1990, a very gray, overcast day, we left the courthouse with our legally adopted daughter joyously in hand. I looked up and saw something amazing.

Directly overhead was a rainbow -- not the kind that streaks across the sky, but a small ring-like rainbow circling a cloud where the sun poked through a small break in the cover. To us it was a symbol. We had kept our promise to God and He kept His promise to us. (After Mary, we also adopted twins, so we now have six grown children.)

There are so many stories to tell about our experience with Mary, but this one by far is our favorite. From Day One, she fit right into our family. On Valentine's Day 1988, our little girl had come home . . . where she belonged.  Victor L. LaPoma, Valley Stream