On this day to celebrate love, my family was full of surprises. Normally, this is simply a day when we make a special dessert - always a cake or cupcakes, and all the kids decorate them. Each of the children gets one of those little hearts full of chocolate, and typically they will also get a couple of balloons.
We changed things a bit this year and made cake pops instead of cake or cupcakes and bought decorated sugar cookies instead of the candy hearts. The kids themselves had some surprises in store
for us.
I am not normally a big fan of sugar cookies and chose these because we rarely have them, but they have always been Zach's favorite. When I picked them up, I thought they looked so amazing that I had a bit of regret over not getting one to share with Andy.
Zach
When Zach texted me to say that he was stuck in traffic and would be pretty late getting home, I should have known something was up. For one thing, he usually does not text me and certainly not when he is supposedly driving. Secondly and more importantly, his love language is gifts. He arrived at home bearing gifts for everyone: DVDs for Wyatt and Julia, CDs for Andy and Savannah, and a big box of Turtles (yum) for me. While we are talking about Zach, I should add that he started squatting 545 lbs this week. His favorite Valentine's Day gift was learning that he is the first junior (possibly in the history of the school) to make the 1000 lb. club which means that his hang clean, bench press, and squat combined total 1000 lbs. So there you go moms. Looking for a protective spouse for that someday for your daughter? Zach's a pretty strong guy.
Wyatt
Wyatt provided a super sweet moment today. He left a very carefully constructed Valentine's Day card along with a candy bar from his school party on Savannah's bed for her. Seeing Wyatt and Savannah today is a huge blessing because they are crazy about each other. When he first landed in our family, Wyatt rejected Savannah outright and carried that for a loong time. I had finally resigned myself to the idea that they would likely learn to tolerate each other but would never be close when God did some heart work. Seeing that card today was sweet joy.
He clearly took his time on this.
Julia
In typical Julia style, she brought some levity to the day. Wyatt and Julia each received cards in the mail today that contained some money. Unbeknownst to me, they have been putting their money together to try and save for a Wii U, and they were very excited to have a little more to put toward the goal. Julia always makes cards for Andy and me, and she had one prepared. She handed it to me while I was texting Andy about the afternoon. Julia was very anxious for me to open the card even though Andy wasn't home so that she could "take something back." In her impatience, she asked, "What are you doing on your phone? Where's your love for your daughter?" Hello, a conversation with your dad trumps getting your card back to reclaim something you had intended to give away. I finally opened the card and was not surprised to find $2 which Julia promptly took back. Julia normally has a big and generous heart, so I did not correct her as this was just plain funny.
What about Savannah?
When I was running around trying to get sugar cookies only to find out that my first choice location was sold out and stressed about errands in general, Savannah was showing the love by working on the cake pops.
and these were oh so yummy!
What a blessed day!
P.M. update:
We received a call from my brother tonight. Danielle cut her finger, needed stitches, and he could not leave work. Therefore, we got to spend the evening with Regan and Ira. Wyatt, Julia and I raced to their house and were greeted by my exuberant niece and perfectly content Ira. Julia was a great help and told Danielle that she is Regan's "fave" cousin when we left. That was fun, and fortunately, Danielle only needed three stitches.
P.M. update:
We received a call from my brother tonight. Danielle cut her finger, needed stitches, and he could not leave work. Therefore, we got to spend the evening with Regan and Ira. Wyatt, Julia and I raced to their house and were greeted by my exuberant niece and perfectly content Ira. Julia was a great help and told Danielle that she is Regan's "fave" cousin when we left. That was fun, and fortunately, Danielle only needed three stitches.
 |
| Ira is blurry because he is bouncing. What I learned about Ira is that there is probably not a happier baby in the world. However, if you lose his favorite pacifier (which Playtex no longer makes), he is not going to be happy. So even if this old lady has to crawl under a crib to retrieve said pacifier, then she will. |
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| Reagan is a good little helper and obedient to clean up her toys when told to do so. Julia worked on teaching her to say "Happy Valentine's Day," and while she called Julia "Julie" when we arrived, she had Julia down by the time we left as they were inseparable. |
For God so loVed the world
the world thAt He
gave His onLy Son
that whoEver
believes iN Him
should noT
perIsh but
have everlastiNg
lifE.
John 3:16
Happy Valentine's Day!
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