Wall of Love

It's Valentine's Day.

The day where love is in the air.

But I don't have to think back long to recall a bunch of happy memories with my honey.

I only need to wake up and look at our bedroom wall.

To our wall of love.

It started as a Christmas present to him a few years back and just has sort of grown to this.  I have two new frames already purchased.  Every photo holds a memory.  The picture in the top left is when I first found out I was pregnant with S2, the latest picture of us is in the not full frame closest to you on the right.

My husband does not believe in Valentine's Day.  He informs me it is a made up day by Hallmark.

I know it's not, he knows it's not, but he refuses to celebrate it much.

Today I will be surprising the boys with a special dinner and a cake FROM THE BAKERY.  That was  an interesting call. "Yes, I would like to order a Valentine's day cake."

"Would you like flowers and hearts on that?"

"I have all boys.  Don't make it girly or they won't eat it."

Yup, that's how I ordered it.

A friend made the all the four boys a duct tape wallet. Pictures will be coming of those, I can guarantee you.  I can't wait to see how excited they will be! 

It's day to celebrate those we love.

And I've got a bunch of boys here I love whole bunches.

I'm thankful for a day I have to tell them - again - just how much I love them.

And hubby, thanks for so many happy memories.

I can't wait to make a million more happy memories more with you!

I love you from the top of my blonde head to my (frozen) bare toes!

Valentine's Day

As a whole, I do not much care for Valentine's Day.

There, I said it.

This is why....

If you need to show how much you love someone on just one day of the year

you have serious problems.

I did not realize just how passionately people either hate or love Valentine's Day till I was browsing Twitter and Facebook today. Wow.

But don't get me wrong, I may not be overly crazy about Valentine's Day but far be it from me to neglect a day set aside just to remind everyone in my family that I love them dearly! I made - okay, I attempted to make - heart shaped pancakes for the boys this morning. Completely loaded in chocolate chips.

Isaac informed me that they were good but not great but he liked them because he knew I made them with joy in my heart. Seriously, that is what he said.

And all the boys in my family get a little heart filled with chocolates because they get such a thrill over that.

That's it.

The day has a special feel to it, I won't deny it, but it's not my favorite day of the year. And I always feel bad for my husband if he tries to stress over it at all. Cuz he should know by now, he is my gift

every

single

day.

Along with all my boys' hugs and kisses and cuddles.

A friend of mine, who has known me since before I was even a thought and has been married longer than I have been alive, wrote this today...

Since today is Valentine's Day, what is your best marriage advice? here's mine~ just be friends, Quit worrying about the roles, rules, and expectations and work on friendship.

I find that perfectly said. (thanks Nancy Hopkins!)

I was talking to Jake last night and told him when I think of Valentine's Day there are two memories that make me love the holiday....

One is my mom. Every year (I guarantee if I show up at my parents house today, it will be there for me) my mom bakes these huge valentine cookies for us. She frosts them in white frosting and writes our names in cursive in red.

The cursive always made them more special. Because before I knew how to write in cursive, I knew that it was fancy writing on a fancy cookie that was just for me.

And that said love to me.

I make those same cookies for my boys now. I let them frost them and decorate them. But I do not ever write their names in cursive on them. I save that for my mom, it's her special gift to all of us.

My other most prominent, brings me to tears every single time I recall it, memory of Valentine's Day involves my Dad.

I am the firstborn, the guinea pig (I know, S1 is OUR guinea pig!) of the family. My Dad, in a regular stroke of genius, seen the writing on the wall and realized I was growing up way to fast and stepped in to fully make me feel special before some man came along and stole his daughter away for forever.

Highschool was not pleasant for me. I transported there from a teeny tiny Christian school and never did I feel I belonged. I hated Sweetest Day and Valentine's Day where everyone bought carnations for their special someone and had them delivered during class. I think it's why I still hate carnations - though I should get over that now.

They would wheel the squeaky cart into the class and call out names of all these popular girls and guys who would get oodles of carnations. And I never got one.

Not that I thought I would, but I would still listen just in case.

And my sophomore year, my name was called on Valentine's Day. And it wasn't any awful carnations. It was roses.

Real, live, beautiful, intoxicating roses.

The card read "From the guy who loved you".

This, of course, stumped me. Someone loved me and didn't? Someone loved me and I messed that up? Who would love me?

I called my mom on the pay phone in the hallway at school and rattled the story off, still drinking in the scent of the roses, the pure beauty of them in the dark, cold brick hallway. She was stumped too.

My Dad hadn't told her that he had sent them to me.

And when I got home from school, he told me that the card was supposed to read "From the guy who loved you FIRST".

That I would have gotten.

To this day, I cannot recall this story without tears forming in my eyes. My Dad made me feel like the most precious girl in that whole school - heck, in the whole county.

I adore my Dad. It's my mom I talk to all the time and see for coffee and text back and forth too. It's my Dad I hardly ever get a chance to talk to...but I love him. And I am reminded how much he loves me every single Valentine's Day when I think back to this story.

And I thought I'd just share it all with you.

Because it's the little things - the little EVERY DAY things - that show someone you love them. Every day you can find something to make the day special...365 days of love.

It's what made these moments so special to me.

Try it on your family, rain love on them. It makes every day Valentine's Day......

The Song I am Singing Today...

Ever since this song was released, I have loved it.

I love the lyrics, the video, the song...pretty much everything.

I sing this to Jake regularly. Because he DOES make me fall in love with him over and over and over and over and over and over again.

It's wonderful.

I can have days when I am furious (I act very grown up then and stomp my foot. Really). I have bad days and bad mom days and wife fail days. But Jake can come in, make me giggle, hug me close, sing me a silly song and make me fall in love with him all over again.

We aren't perfect. (I am nearly perfect in every way, nearly...I like to remind him of that :) ) But there is honestly no one else that I want to watch the rest of life with than with him at my side.

He still gives me butterflies.

Really.

And that is such a grand feeling.

I wrote a whole blog post about him and I on our anniversary. I wish it were warm enough for me to be barefoot on our porch eating ice cream like it was when I wrote that post, but it's good to read again and recall that day...

And KNOW I don't feel that way anymore about him.

I feel it even more now.

I love you handsome hubby!

From my head to the tip of my barefoot toes.

Valentine's Day with Four Boys

Taking a short break from Flo and Joanie to talk about Valentine's Day. Valentines' Day with four boys is....an unromantic adventure.

They have to have valentine's day cards. They each have their own school party and three boys in elementary school is a lot of valentine's day cards. I have a hard time purchasing something for them that they don't care to fill out, that will just end up in the garbage at the end of the day and did I mention they just don't care?

I admire mom's who go all out for Valentine's Day. I really do. But it's one more area I fall short in the “cool mom” category. Or do I?

I do try to make the best of it. For instance, I ask them what kind of valentine's they would like...

S1 “Well, you know...anything hunting would be great.”

S2 “Red Wings. You HAVE to get Red Wings!”

S3 “Do they have blue? I want blue ones.”

S4 “You know, Moma.....LIGHTENING MCQUEEN!”

Great, the only one I have a chance of finding is for my four year old who doesn't go to school but has to have the valentine's like his big brothers.

So I headed off to the store. Obviously, they have no hunting valentines. But I found dinosaurs...which is no where close to hunting but at least it's totally boyish. I did find sports themed ones. There are no blue ones. I did find Scooby do ones though. And of course, CARS. At least one of my boys will be happy.

I looked at getting the candy ones. At least they would have candy to make up for the lack in cards but all the candy ones are soooooo expensive. They would be great if I had ONE child in school, but not three.

Why I mind buying Valentine's is because I would like the day to be special for the boys, but it's just not a boy kind of holiday. And I don't know how to make it special. Why can't we have a celebrate hunting day? THAT I could make special for my boys...then we would find hunting cards. Or, hockey appreciation day? But little boys aren't too interested in sending lovey dovey cards out. And if they were, I would be worried about them.

So I make the boys cookies. In the shape of hearts. Because the one way to make sure that my boys feel loved is a full tummy. So cookies I will make them. And why can I spend hours making special cookies for my boys? Because I LOVE my boys, but I don't' love all the kids in their classes. So, forgive me all 4th, 2nd and kindergarten classes....you just get flimsy cards my boys didn't want to fill out anyhow. But my boys will know beyond a doubt their Moma loves them, and that is more important to me by far.