Valentine's Day 2015

so this was definitely not the Valentine's Day we had planned for today. Of course, my first choice would be to be with my Valentine on Valentine Day but 7230 miles or so kept that from being an option this year. So kids and I were all looking forward to another option- Valentines fun with friends. Earlier in the week KG got sick so we thought we might not be able to go but by Thursday everyone was well and no signs of sickness. We thought our plans were back on. But Saturday morning we woke up to not one but two sick little girls. :( We'd made the best of it all week- some school, some movies, some warming up with blankets since the heat was out.

We were so thankful Thursday for friends who brought dinner, groceries, and space heaters. And thankful for sunny days so we could warm up and enjoy the outside. Thankful Friday that we could enjoy our only outing of the week- big trip to the grocery store! Today I think we were all looking forward to being thankful for getting to do what we had planned but as it often happens that wasn't The Plan.

Instead we were thankful for

• friends who came over with more space heaters to fix our gas fireplace and brought boys who could play for a bit
• friends who offered to let us stay over at their house
• good talk with a friend- it wasn't long but definitely helped
• that the gas fireplace really works well. 
• for jello
• disposable diapers 
• electricity working
• movies
• slow cookers that made a yummy beef stew so I could cuddle sweet girls most of the day
• a friend who took the boys to church so the girls could snuggle with me on the couch 
• valentine traditions even on days that didn't fit out plan

Sweet KG spent a lot of this week in bed/ on the couch with jello and pedialyte

Glad we made our heart calzones on our healthy day!

Pretty and really works!

BG enjoying opening her first valentine box

 I can't remember now how many years we've been making valentine boxes- the kids love it. They each decorate a box and then fill each others' boxes with gifts and valentines. They are really sweet. I love watching them open their boxes. Each one gets a turn to their box while everyone watches and admires the handmade cards and gifts. This year besides cards they gave each other jokes, legos, pencil boxes, ... so fun! The boys were really excited to give me their Super Duper Surprise Gift- they made valentines for me the day Heather watched the kids for KG's eye exam. So sweet! The kids also liked my card to them- a coupon for 1 hug (reusable), 1 day to skip math and dishwasher (use once), and one gift hidden under their pillow. No pics but KG loved her new shirt and pants (pink and purple), BG loved her new-to-her PJs, T was excited about new orange shirt, and K and C liked their new books- Christian Heroes of the Faith!

K made chocolate suckers- sports balls for boys and flowers for girls. The boys' suckers were much bigger which worked out great bc sick little girls didn't need much chocolate. 

Thankfully almost all of BG's ended up on her face.

We ended night with hot chocolate for boys and adventures in odyssey for all. I can't find my sweet pic of C with his hot chocolate in front of fire. but today was a good reminder that things can go  well even when they don't go like we plan!