Valentine's Day 2012

I don't know what it is, but I love Valentine's Day. Every year I have this desire to make all our food in heart shapes and put paper hearts all over the house. I know some people think it's just a big marketing scam or whatever, but I personally like having a day that's all about love! My husband and I went out on a date a couple weeks ago. We don't put a lot of pressure or expectation on each other on Valentine's Day, but try to do something different and creative that maybe we don't normally do (like those cute "52 things I love about you" deck of cards that we've all seen on Pinterest).

I love making this day extra special for my kids. We talk about Christ's love and our love for them even more than we usually do. My daughter woke up and was sooooo excited to see hearts hanging from her doorway. I wrote that we loved them and were proud of them and things I love about them, like what a sweet and gentle spirit E has, and how caring and what a good helper she is. And how much I love M's giant smile and easy giggles, and how energetic and curious he is.

For breakfast E had heart shaped toast and blueberries in the shape of a heart in her yogurt. We went to my husband's work for lunch and E had turkey dogs in the shape of hearts. We also had (healthier) heart shaped brownies (side note...I don't bake much, but I do more than I used to after finding THIS great website). Then we went to the bank where my mom works and gave Valentine's to the tellers (the chapstick ones pictured below). This is also another good day to talk about giving to others. We headed home for naps. After naps we went to a friends (where my younger sister is a nanny) and gave crayon Valentine's we made (also pictured below). We have more of those to give tomorrow at gymnastics. E also gave hearts she made to family we saw throughout the day. Dinner was pancakes...yes, heart shapes. :) I'm exhausted from all that, but it was a lot of fun and LOVE! :)

The greatest love story.... "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16