valentine's day, 2010

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite days for family traditions. I'm not even sure when our traditions began, they just seemed to happen organically. One year, the kids said, "We always...(fill in the blank)...on Valentine's Day." And, thus, the traditions were set.

One of the things we "always" do is our special family breakfast. I wait until the kids are in bed the night before, then set to work on decorating the table. As the kids have gotten older (and stay up LATER), this has gotten more challenging. And, actually, I'm not sure I'd do it anymore, but Maddie LOVES coming down to the excitement of the decorated table, I love it, too, so the tradition continues. Can I just say, I am sooooooo thankful for Maddie? The boys don't get into our traditions like they used to (unless, of course, food is involved!). I believe at some point they will care again (wishful thinking???), but for now, Maddie and I enjoy it together, and the boys appease us.

I should make a side note here and let you know that Valentine's Day this year came on February 13th for our family. With working at the church, Sundays are early mornings around here, so I decided to not even try to do all of this on Sunday. I think we all enjoyed our lazy morning much more than trying to rush it all before church.

So, along with the decorated table, the kids each get a Valentine from God (a verse about how much God loves us, personalized to each of the kids, signed, "I love you, God." From Mom and Dad, they get a small box of chocolates. And I make heart-shaped oatmeal pancakes with strawberries on top. Every year. Always.

Yummy breakfast

hot chocolate, too!

(Notice that Nate's chocolates are disappearing quickly, we hadn't even started breakfast, yet)

Our festivities continued with talking through 1 Corinthians 13, and discussing how well we are doing with loving each other. We all agreed that we are far from perfect, and so very thankful that God is PERFECT love. We went to Starbucks that night and laughed a lot while talking about our "love languages." With a family of 6 people, it can get to be a challenge trying to love others in the way they most need it. We will continue to try, though, and mess up, and occasionally, get it right.

^{How thankful I am that we are a family that loves each other! We are not always patient or kind. We have been known to envy and boast, and are often full of pride. We each take our turns being rude and self-seeking. And, let me tell you, we all struggle with getting angry way to easily and keeping long lists of how we have been wronged. Sometimes, I'm sorry to admit, we delight in things going wrong for someone else, and don't celebrate their joys. We don't always protect each other, trust each other, hope together, and we sometimes give up when it gets hard. We fail each other from time to time.}

But, we love each other. As best we can. And I will continue to do everything I can to build that love. That's why I love traditions.