A Valentine's Day Story

 Oh Valentine's Day. We all have our opinions. Some say it's purely commercial while others scramble for a dozen of the most magical roses on the planet for that one special person. There is a huge emphasis on the romance side of it and your special someone. Even as a young child, I remember making my tiny fold up Valentine cards for my classmates. I would read each

card to ensure the "right" ones went to the right people. In other words, I really hoped, "You rock!" translated to, "I have a huge crush on you!" Even now, it's easy to forget that we don't have to be single and hate the day away or in a relationship and pray we got the most memorable gift to show our utmost love. What could you be doing instead? Using the day as a

special opportunity to show someone they are loved and cared for. As you can see, the kids had their school party and a get together with close friends. Addison and I worked hard on her homemade "Cute as a button" cards, full on with a sewn button! But we had something more meaningful to come ...

I should begin by pointing out that my sweet girl isn't always so sweet. For whatever reason, (I blame 4 years of life) I have recently been witness to tantrums, hitting (my Addison!??!), throwing large objects and teasing and it is what it is. We handle it accordingly with constructive time outs that demand explanations and apologies and so on. We pray for guidance from God and patience for mommy and daddy and I feel these are answered as maintaining sanity seems to be the result. But back to the point - with all that said, I wanted the girls to be reminded of what else Valentine's Day can be used for. To do good things for others. We enlisted our local bakery to assist us in surprising the residents at the local nursing home. Sweet Arts Bakery has been mentioned throughout this blog as we frequent the kid friendly coffee and dessert haven. We made an order for their fantastic cake pops and were surprised to find they had donated half of the order. This was so sweet and humbling and the perfect start to the day. Kelly and I had her daughter Alyssa, my daughter Addison and the two lovely girls I care for, Juliette and Kinley, in tow. We were informed that the residents (and we later found out much of the staff) had never had a cake pop nor had they been to Sweet Arts. Many of the staff and residents were apprehensive about trying the cakepops but one bite is enough for anyone!! There was a flood of inquiries about them as well as a great deal of praise over how yummy they are. A local postal worker happened to be in while we were there and was kind enough to urge the staff to try them  as he is a big fan - of course, we couldn't help but offer him one! Aside from the Cake Pop joy, it was the girls who really blew us away. I've seen all the girls in shy mode so I wasn't sure what to expect. Each one of them took cakepops and handed them out. Not only that but they so kindly followed up each hand off with hugs and kisses to the residents. The girls were so happy to do this and the residents were equally, if not more, grateful for the kind gesture. To see all the smiles was enough to make anyone's day. Kelly and I were so proud of the girls and explained, again, how nice they were to share cakepops with everyone and how loved they made everyone feel. If you ask me, it's a great way to add some serious meaning to Valentine's Day and a perfect way to explain the good God wants us to give EACH day.