Valentines Day

I absolutely LOVE Valentine's Day. I have my mom to thank for that. My mom made Valentines Day magical. Every year, the week before Valentine's Day, each person in our family got a gift bag attached to their door. She would cut out a stack of construction paper cut-out hearts, and we would spend the week filling each other's bags with treats, homemade cards, and the paper hearts on which we would write down things we loved about each other. Then, on Valentines Day, she cooked a special dinner with a yummy dessert (chocolate, of course!!), and we would open our Valentine Bags. It was such a sweet time reading all the things that were written about us. "I love it when you help me around the house." "You run very fast." "You play the piano so well!" "You are kind to others and are fun to be around." These are things that should be said all year round, of corse, but there was something so special about being showered with love and appreciation on that particular day. Every once in a while, while sorting through a box of things I have saved, I come across one of those paper hearts, and it makes me smile, and feel very loved still.



This year some friends of ours threw a "kids only" V-day party that Abby went to from 3-8. That's right, 5 hours- FIVE- of completely free babysitting so that we can go out and have a nice adult date, and Abby can play with all her best friends! It was the best Valentines Day EVER. We had a special breakfast in the morning, spent some time playing on the drill field in the afternoon, and then had a great evening of Italian food and sugar cookies! It was a blast!