Valentine’s Day . . . a teacher’s favorite day of the year . . . OK not really.  It’s definitely much more fun as a parent than a teacher!!

As with every holiday, it’s a great day for some and a hard day for others.  I spent time thinking and praying for my Dad as I know he misses my Mom today (and every day).  I cried and prayed for a friend as I typed a note to her. I glanced through Facebook posts and saw lots of flowers, happy couples, but also lonliness and and sadness of those not able to be with the ones they love for various reasons.

Throughout these posts was one by the youth pastor of our church –  “But God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Rom 5:8.  What a great reminder that was!!

While many holiday are hard for me being married to a chef, Valentine’s Day is not one of them.  If Tom was off, we still would not choose to go out and celebrate this night because of the crowds.  So while today was very busy, it was so much fun (at least for the girls and I.  Probably not so much for Tom at the restaurant!)

Our day started off early as Tom and I woke up to this note in the hallway:

Sage had stayed awake later than us last night (which happens quite often), and put hearts up all around the house.  What a fun surprise!  The “whoo” was our favorite.  🙂

Tom was home with us for a few minutes this morning.  I managed to get a few pictures of him kissing the girls goodbye before he left.  I LOVE these!!  My heart just melts when I see him with our girls!!

Flowers and kisses from Daddy first thing in the morning . . .

We enjoyed heart shaped toast and strawberries for breakfast and spent a little time talking about God’s love for us.  We have been going through a book called The ABC’s for Godly Girls during our morning devotions.  Today was “L” for Love.  The key verses were John 13:34-35.   “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”   We spent some time talking about this and shared some practical ways we could show God’s love to others during our day today.

Then it was off to school for Molly and Sage.  Ashley and I headed up to the school a short while later and were able to help at Molly’s Valentine’s Day party in her classroom.

After school, the girls looked at all their valentines and then we headed off to swim lessons.

Before dinner we spent time video chatting with Grandma, Grandpa and the kids and enjoyed talking to Papa on the phone.  🙂  We need to do this more (and Dad, you need to get the camera set up on the computer so you can see the girls and they can see you!!)

For dinner, we enjoyed cheese fondue and then a special surprise – a chocolate fountain!  I was a bit nervous that it would be a flop, but it was so easy and was SO MUCH FUN!!  The girls were very happy to hear that it was reusable and that we could do this again!

Someone please tell me what to adjust on the camera so pictures turn out better in our house!! (Dad, Sara, Amie, anyone!!)

Sigh of relief . . . it works!! Best $16.16 ever spent on Amazon!

Fun!!

Not sure how the 9 year old ended up the messiest, but at least she enjoyed it!

We watched the Muppet Movie during dinner for our regular Friday night dinner and a movie tradition.

Now all is quiet and the kids are in bed.  I wish Tom was here,  but then again if he was, it would probably mean he was unemployed, since he’s a chef and it’s Valentine’s Day.  🙂 So I’ll be thankful for his job and look forward to our date next Saturday night!