3 Sweet Memories

Valentine's Day has always been special to me.  Not because I look forward to getting flowers or because I'm excited to see what special cards come in the mail.  I'm not a very romantic thinking girl or one who shows my affection in public so when I have the excuse to let it all out I do and I try to make it worth it. 

I find it thrilling to decorate a table extra pretty for that special morning with treasures on it for the people I love.  I love hiding tiny surprises around the house so that that day seems extra exciting.  I like to dress in pink and now I like to dress my little girl up in pink to commemorate the blushing that takes place on this day.  I try to create these lasting memories because when my mom did the same for me I felt like she loved me more then anything else.  I want to be a mom who makes extra efforts for her family...just so they know for sure how much I really do adore them.

For three years now my little Payton and his sweet Sophie have been special friends.  They have always gravitated towards each other, they seem to almost always get along and we, the parents, have only encouraged it.  They hold hands, they dance (which to Sophie is getting married), they play house and to them, right now, they will always be together. So, on Valentine's Day we make a plan, they go on a date and we sit and watch and soak it all in.  There is always a valentine exchange and a kiss or two.  They love it.  We love it. 

Here is a tiny glimpse, thanks to Cortney's talented husband Jason, of the last 3 years for these two.

2010

 A candle lit dinner for two: heart shaped grilled cheese sandwithes, grapes, chocolate covered strawberries, sparkling apple cider and special personalized heart cupcakes made with loads of love by Sophie and her mom Cortney (who also writes for this blog).

2009

 A picnic lunch on Alki Beach: transportation - a wagon pulled by daddy and a fun stop at the ice cream parlor where cones and kisses across the table were shared.

2008

 A First Date:  He picked her up with gifts for his favorite in hand (lollipop bouquet, a puppy with a heart in its mouth, and handmade valentine and a box of chocolates) and whisked her away to their favorite spot: McDonalds.  They each had a happy meal and were dressed up so fancy.  After their romantic meal and a quick change into play clothes: a night out at the family fun center.  Oh...they were so little.

Some ask us when we'll stop...I can't seem to have an answer.  I guess as long as they are small and happy...which will always be the case (wink, wink).

Some Like It Hot

Ever since sometime in college, I have hung an empty picture frame somewhere in my house. Usually, as now, it's in the dining room. How it started is a long story, but I'm not entirely sure why I keep doing it. The original empty frame is long gone, and I haven't yet found one as fabulous. Still, I like to think of it metaphorically. It reminds me of possibility. We can put anything we want to in it ... and we often do. At Christmas it's our advent calendar, on birthdays it's a paper birthday cake with the appropriate number of candles, and this week it's this:



Remember those paper hearts hung all over the kids' wreaths? I had extra. We also did this with their friends' names for valentines. It was a nice family project, and it was educational, too: we incorporated letter recognition, spelling, and math (how many letters are in so-and-so's name?).

By the way, are you cold? I am. I've been cold for the last few months. Don't get me wrong, I love the cold. I love it because there are so many glorious ways to get warm again when one is cold. Here's one of my favorites:


Black Bean Soup

1 can chopped tomatoes (or 1 lb. chopped plum tomatoes)
2 1/4 cups (or 2 cans) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 1/2 oz) vegetable broth (or 2 cups if you make your own)
1/2 cup cilantro
3 Tbsp lime juice
1 canned chipotle chile
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 cup corn (fresh or frozen)
1/4 cup diced red onion
diced avocado
sour cream

In blender, puree tomatoes, half the beans, broth, cilantro, lime juice, chipotle, and cumin. Transfer to a cooking pot and add the rest of the beans, corn, and onion. Heat through. Serve with avocado and sour cream for garnish.

This recipe originally came to me as a cold soup, which you can totally do. Just make sure the corn is either fresh or thawed, and don't do the heating part. I've never done it that way, though, because some, as they say, like it hot!



Which brings me to my recommendation for a great Valentine's Day movie for people - like us - who like to stay in. Two musicians in an all-girl band (so they have to dress in drag, because they're Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon) witness the 1929 St. Valentine's Day Massacre and try to skip town before the Mob catches up with them. And because they're Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, hilarity ensues. Oh yeah, and Marilyn Monroe is in it, too. There's history! Romance! Comedy! Adventure! Grab this movie, your sweetie, a big cozy quilt, a big bowl of popcorn (which is just for me, because *he* doesn't like popcorn! :) and you've got yourself one hot date!

5 Fun Love Day Ideas

Last week I had these plans for posting about this upcoming Valentine's Day and after some preparation and thought I went to take a few pictures for the post and NO BATTERY JUICE was left.  I went to grab the charger and it was MISSING!  It took me an entire week of cleaning and searching to find the silly thing and you wanna know where I found it...after a very sincere prayer of course...in the first place I looked an entire week ago.  I think Heavenly Father might have been hinting to me that my home wasn't quite a home of order yet.  Needless to say I was an extremely happy bug when I realised that today I would get to finally post and maybe help you with your dreaded V-day gift idea needs.  So here is what I have done in the past and what I have planned for this year. 

1* If you are a scrapper or a lover of journals or you just need to get your story down for your future family then this one is for you.  Make your cute hubby his own "Love Story" with you as the star of course.

Go find those old pictures or journal entries. Use little love notes you have saved or cards you gave each other back then.   Have fun telling it the way you remember it or how somebody looking on might have remembered it.  You can be silly or gushy or romantic...whatever fits you best.  Talk about your first dates, the first time you held hands or kissed.    I started our book from the day we met until the day we got engaged but I hope to expand this...I still need to finish it all the way.  Mark loved it and your most special friend will too I'm sure!

Remember the mistletoe story of mine?  This is it and that is the actual mistletoe we kissed under 7 years ago. 

This book is now one of my favorite treasures, even though I made it for my Mark it feels like it's mine.

 2* When Payton was a baby, he's my 4 year old now, I dressed him up all cute and I did a little photoshot with him and took 3 seperate pictures of him holding 3 large paper hearts that read "I" "LOVE" "YOU." We framed it and gave it to him for his desk at work. It was pretty cute.

3* Last year I gave Mark a book; two books actually.  One was a neat little children's story called "The Gift of Nothing" by Patrick McDonnell (which you should all read) and a red journal with a small heart embossed on it.  Basically this journal became a place for me to write down things I loved about him or events that made me love him even more.  I have done this throughout the year and this heart day it'll be fun to pull it out when we are out to dinner or sitting together alone on the couch and read about the things that make me blush or the reasons I want to make his life easier.  Hopefully this will be something I keep up and will be a fun tradition for the two of us each year.

 This year I jumped onto the idea wagon early and I'm really excited about the results.

4*On the first Day of February the kids and I spent the day making a kabillion sugar cookies for daddy.  We made a huge delicious mess and even got into a few good flour and water fights in the process.  We cut out paper hearts and we wrote little notes on them and the plan began to evolve.  I had enough there for him to have two or three cookies a day for the next 14 days plus enough to make us a fun FHE treat for that night. 

(I just made these into sugar cookie icecream sandwitches and rolled the edges in sprinkles.  Really easy and super yummy!)

 I took a chance after decorating them and froze the cuties hoping theye would still taste good for two weeks.  Each day now we bag a few of them, attach a note with a pretty ribbon and we hide it somewhere Daddy will find it during the day.  I think he's caught on by now that it'll happen every day so the surprise is now in the note.  I love seeing him feel loved.  That's what this season is all about!  Sorry...I'm getting totally cheesy now!

5* One more thing...a quilt for each of my kids made out of their old baby clothes.

I have wanted to do this for a while now and I am only done with the top for Sadie's but I am so excited about this.  The entire process has been really neat and has only made me love her more.  I took each of her things (the one's that were stained or worn) and I cut them into squares being sure to save as much as possible, especially the little ruffles or the pretty trims.  I smelled every one of them and remembered back to when she had worn each one.

I then began to piece some of them together to create unique fun frilly blocks.  This was the best part. I wish I had had enough to do this for the entire quilt but maybe having only a handful is what makes these ones special.

 This is my very favorite square. The ruffle came from her 1st birthday outfit and the other was a favorite shirt of hers. I love the colors and the memories it stirs.  Makes me think of the word watermellon and how much she loves that stuff!

 I also used a pocket and some buttons. 

I hope she loves this one day and takes it with her to college.  If not then I know it has also become another favorite treasure of mine. Maybe by the end of the week I'll have the finished product to show you.  Maybe even one for Payton...but I doubt it.  That would be crazy!

Anyway...I hope this helps you think of ways you can show love this year.  It doesn't have to be much and it doesn't have to be fancy.  Sometimes simple things are the most beautiful.  What are some of the fun things you have done in the past?  What are you hoping to do this year?

Home Is Where You Hang Your Heart(s)

I have a Christmas tradition, like many of you I'm sure, of giving each of my children a special ornament every year - either hand-picked or handmade by mama. This year, we started hanging their ornaments on their own special wreaths in their bedroom windows. They loved having their own little bit of Christmas right there in their rooms.

After Christmas, though, I forgot to take their wreaths down until after I'd had everything else all packed away. So I figured: this is the northwest, evergreen branches are a year-round thing here! And I left them there. And then I realized they're a perfect way to add some holiday cheer to the kids' rooms no matter what holiday it is! These particular hearts are cutouts from magazine pages with big spots of pink or red or purple, hole-punched at the top and hung with bits of string and ribbon - super easy! (We also hung the kids' paper snowflakes in the center, since we don't appear to be getting any other snow this winter.)

Also, do you notice the tiny hand-print smudge in the lower left-hand part of the window there? I didn't until I was about to upload. And I must say, it makes me love this photo all the more.

Baby, Break the Chains of Love

I love paper chains. Oh, how I love paper chains! So when I saw this tutorial on how to make them from fabric, of course I had to make some. And we've made this thankful jar/paper chain idea a holiday tradition.

Our Family Home Evening lesson tonight is based on a mashup of what my kids learned in their Primary and Nursery lessons yesterday: Because I Chose to Follow Jesus Christ, I Will Love Others. As I was putting it together, I came across this:

Image from lds.org

And I could feel little explosions going off in my brain and I thought: What a perfect excuse for a paper chain! So I cut out some strips of colored paper, and put them in a jar ...


and every night from now until Valentine's Day, we'll each take a strip of paper and write something we love about someone else in our family. We'll make the chain as we go, so we can see how much it grows every day!