LoVe those MoMenTs

This is my first year of understanding what Valentine's Day was all about and why it is in such a dismal part of the year.  Around here we really gear up for holidays.  I tell the kids stories, we do projects together and we count down the days.

Valentine's Day has never been a favorite.  I thought it was a day to torture single people and to point out their single-ness.  As I lived in that realm for so long I tried to skip over this holiday with grace and without a blink or thought of my state.  But being a mom and celebrating Valentine's day is magical.  We focused on love, on who we love, on what we love to do together, what foods we love to eat, and what we love about each other. 

The real magic started with a story about two kids that wanted Spring to come, and during February and March there is nothing I want more then for the sun to start coming out consistently and bring back color to our lives.  But the children had to care for a sick neighbor that was unapproachable and to clean part of nature that had become neglected.

Then I taught my oldest, the one that loves learning new things and then obsessively does them over and over, how to cut out hearts.  There were hearts everywhere.  Then we glued them to cards and I let my children choose who they would deliver to.  Of course Aunts and Uncles and cousins in town made the list, and the one family we play with consistently.

But then my son included an older woman that was earlier written about, cause as he stated, "She's one of my good friends." 

We knocked on her door and she was literally surprised to have two little boys there wishing her a Happy Valentine's Day.  She said she hadn't received a Valentine's Day greeting in years and they had made her day.  She thanked them a ton and hugged and kissed them.  That was what Valentine's Day is really about.

And since I've never really celebrated this holiday I did take my husband out dancing.  It was a blast!!!  We've never been dancing before.  And don't I look hot?

But this season is about moments and realizing how awesome those moments are.  I was delighted to capture this picture of my boys all on my bed with my sweet husband reading to them.  Is there anything more beautiful then this?

So I write this, and am oddly grateful for a season that makes me look a little harder and notice the simpler things in life that make me smile
a card with a heart,
a hot date,
or reading books in bed....