Happy Valentine's Day!

My Valentine's Day actually got to start a day early as John presented both Mikayla and I with a beautiful bouquet of flowers on Wednesday night.  Knowing we'd be leaving bright and early on Friday morning, he wanted us to be able to enjoy them a little bit longer.  LOVE MY HUSBAND!!

I might have made a mistake last year when I made a Pinterest effort to make a cutsie Valentine's breakfast for the kids, as now they expect it.  So, this year, I opted to make "Churro Waffles" in the shape of hearts.  They were delicious, and you can find the recipe on my Pinterest board, however, I'm not convinced the actual waffle recipe is really a winner in comparison to other waffles I've tasted.

Of course, some treats in Valentine's bags and sandwiches cut in heart shapes helped to delight the kids even more and make up for the fact that they had to go to school on such a fun day.

Mikayla was able to spend the afternoon with BFF, Kenady.  I am so thankful for their friendship.  Even though they are in different classes and participate in different activities (Kenady is the ultimate athlete) - they still maintain a closeness and confidence that the other is always there for them.  It also makes for their time together in after school hang-outs that much more priceless.  Neither one of them are fans of Valentine's Day because they both cringe at the idea of getting unwanted attention from boys and both of them have been recipients of candy left on doorsteps in year's past.  So, they've made a tradition to hang out on this holiday together.  In what I felt like was a great prank, Mikayla had me leave a box of chocolates on Kenady's doorstep so that when they walked home together Kenady would think that it was from a boy.  She totally got her....too cute.

The weather in Eugene turned out to be the best day we've had so far in 2013.  It felt like spring.  While that only means for us hitting 60 degrees...it's still a really big deal.  And, what better way to take advantage of such a rarity but to take a walk with Christi and Kaela (and of course, Whitley).  I warned Christi right away that if she were to take Whitley out of her carseat/stroller, we might never get her to happily return to it.  She took the risk (which I would have done in her shoes too), so Whitley was carried for about 80% of the walk.  She was one very happy little girl as a result.

Pushing an empty stroller....but the river view is pretty.

I didn't expect my face to be in the picture - we were aiming for a smile from Whitley.  I can't tell you how much joy I have in knowing I can usually make that happen.  =)

Our happy quartet at the point we turned around...

It really was one of those serendipitous days that leave you smiling as you reconsider it.  I meant to do a whole separate blog post about a recent Thursday Night Ladies topic discussion we had in regards to the "Transformation in Christ".  Watching Heather, Christi, Kaela, and so many of the other gals grow in their maturity and walk with the Lord is absolutely inspiring.  I value them so much as friends that encourage me daily - and delight in the life-changing experiences they are in the midst of - whether that's new jobs, new loves, new babies (Whitley), or wanting to have a new baby... 

We spent the first part of our walk getting the "411" on all that Drew had done and planned for Kaela in regards to the "holiday of love".  That guy is a winner - he had letters for her to open at certain times, flowers, coffee waiting for her at work, a lunch date, a dinner date, a surprise movie - and presents.  He sure set the bar high for every other guy out there (not to mention really messing himself up for every future Valentine's Day he'll share with Kaela...).  It is so fun watching Kaela through this journey - going from all of the doubts to now such a confidence.  So sweet!

The walk ended with a gift from Christi - a bag of Hershey's kisses and a very sweet card emphasizing her appreciation of our friendship.  I certainly ended the day feeling very, very blessed - and loved in so many different ways.