Love is in the Air

Friday is Valentine's Day and something you must know about me is that I am one of those that LOVES this holiday… I could care less about the gifts, or the romantic dinners and surprises (Jes- I mean I love them… but.) For me it's much more than that- it's about the LOVE! I love the little things and I feel like there are so many little things that go hand in hand with Valentine's Day.  Now, I know there are many critics out there that say, "Oh it's just a commercialized holiday and a good way to make the card and candy companies even more wealthy." Well, so be it! What wrong with buying a card for someone to show them or remind them that you love them? What is wrong with indulging in a little chocolate… Or 2 bags of it for that matter? I know people think, "You should show those you love them every day, not just 1 day a year." Come on, really? Do you really think everyone just saves all their love and surprises for 1 day a year? Well, I sure hope not, and if they do, well then… They have issues to begin with.

Anyways, here are the little things I think of and smile at when I think about Valentine's Day..

Do you remember when you were in elementary school and made a Valentines box or envelope to take to school to collect all those little cards and heart shaped sour suckers? You might have even made a special trip to the craft store to stock up on heart stickers, glitter, and red and pink construction paper too! I loved spending hours decorating my special box just to be able to put it on my desk for 1 day! And as dorky as it was, I loved reading every single little cheap card inside from each of my classmates.. I even remember thinking that sometimes the wording on certain Valentines "meant something." Oh brother.. As a first grade teacher, this was always one of my very favorite things to do with my little sweeties! I loved when they brought in their bag of Valentine's Day crafts to decorate their special boxes! They LOVED it too! Their little tiny hands, working so hard to create something that would be filled with LOVE! Nothing wrong with that!

Because I taught first grade, first grade teachers tend to think in terms of thematic units.. That meant, when a holiday rolled around all things were themed around that specific day! The decorations in my room, the bulletin boards, the projects, vocabulary, read alouds, newsletters, stickers, etc… So, maybe that is why I have the problem I do.. I feel it quite necessary to bring all the heart shaped plates out, the sweet and yummy smelling Valentine's Day candles out, the desserts, and on and on and on.  I LOVE SO MUCH going to pick out a special card for my sweetie! If you know me, you know I love cards and write them all the time.  I love finding the perfect words to describe my feelings.. It's like Hallmark can read my mind or something.. It's like a treasure hunt for me, a needle in the haystack, ok… you know what I mean.. I just love it.. Well this year, I got to pick out 2 special cards for the guys in my life.. Yes, Oliver can't read, he'll never remember it and he probably will NEVER care about it.. But, you bet your bottoms it's going in his little baby book on the "My First Valentine's Day" page… Oh yes! And you also better believe that I painted his little foot red to always remember how little it was.  Remember, I was a teacher once? I loved painting little hands and little feet to make into projects and give to their parents! Those are precious little keepsakes!

I LOVE the candy- well, when do I not.. But, pink and red candy? Somehow always tastes better so I need about 5 bags of it to declare that it is officially Valentine's Day.. I love the little conversation hearts, the cherry sugared hearts, and on and on.  I love the beautiful flowers I always see stocked in the grocery stores… Yes, people I am one of those people.  I love all the pink and red and hearts and glitter… Don't hate, but I do.  I love doing and making the little things that show those I love, that I love them, even if it's a card in the mail with cute pictures on it! Shouldn't there be more holiday's like Valentine's Day? Shouldn't we be happy that people actually want to do sweet things for each other? Believe me, life isn't always full of rainbows, unicorns, hearts and glitter over here.. No one's is.  But, thinking about those we love and cherish the most, what is wrong with making them smile or like Catherine said on the good ol' Bachelor wedding, "It's like filling her heart with love sprinkles." heheh, sorry I just had to. Ok, here's how we are spending Valentine's Day week. Hope yours is full of love and sparkle too!   :)

Love to all our family and friends, from the bottom of our hearts! XOXO

yes, yes i did. i added rhinestones and jesse made sure
that i knew it didn't look like a boy's foot anymore. oops. my bad.
BTW… try getting a perfect little 6 month old foot print with paint.
it's almost the hardest thing ever! 

red velvet brownies are going down. yes. you heard me.
i saw this recipe and made it a MUST to try! 

speaking of LOVE… Oliver.. AND SUCKING HIS BOTTOM LIP..
They love each other all day long. 

a little bragging is about to happen..
It's winter and our geraniums are still gorgeous, and the grass is still green.
And it's in the 70s and 80s… THAT IS LOVE for my heart and soul! 

you know me and my candles. I LOVE THEM.
Found this new Tyler gem a couple weeks ago and it's
called Family Traditions… It's a new LOVE and what a perfect name! 

I came across a recommendation to read these on a blog, so I hopped on Amazon pronto.
Sparkly Green Earrings is about motherhood and The Antelope in the Living Room
is about marriage. Melanie Shankle is the author of these and also authors The Big Momma Blog.
 I LOVE a new good book that CRACKS my bootie up! :) 

a newly found favorite. Abbey can vouch for this too- it's yummy,
pretty and Heavenly on your lips! 

Jesse will laugh. This is my "office" people and I conduct some serious business
right here.  All kinds of business. Mommy business, planning a 10 year reunion business,
Daily Devotional Business, Blogging Business, Oliver's Baby Book Business, and many more kinds too..
This is where it all goes down and I LOVE my little spot… Even though we have a nice
desk upstairs… I know I'm weird, but I love doing my "business.." (Gross, I know what you're thinking..)

I LOVE my daily devotional time.. It sets up every single day for a win,  I'm telling you.
I look forward to my time with God every morning! He does amazing things.
He is THE TRUE LOVE!

Just a little love for the boy! :)