Celebrating Valentine's Day

Oh, it turned out to be a wonderful day!  So glad I decided to make the most of it.  =)

I told the girls I had a few Valentine's Day surprises for them, so they were so excited all morning (well mainly Miss Dainty.)  First, after breakfast I had them get ready while I prepared a pack lunch.  Miss Dainty kept trying to guess where we were going.  She never guessed right.

The first surprise was:  the park!  Now, I know this probably doesn't seem too special, but ever since winter started, we have not been able to go.  It has just been way too cold.  Today, however, was gorgeous!  It was 65ish degrees with beautiful sunny skies.  It was a bit windy, but awesome weather regardless.  They played and played and played.  We needed this today.  We needed the sun's warmth and brightness, we needed to just be out.  It was great.  Once the kids got hungry we sat down with friends of ours for a picnic.  My girls loved what I created for their lunch.  Absolutely loved it.  And their reaction made me so happy.

Some photo explanations:

Apparently, Baby D doesn't like wind.  She decided she wanted to wear her sweater and her sister's hat the entire time.  On the other hand, Miss Dainty didn't even seemed bothered by the slight chill the wind brought, which is obvious by her very summery attire.

In the top left photo, Baby D is sitting on her potty.  She decided last night, out of nowhere to begin potty training!!!  Flat out refused to put a diaper on.  Oh the things we moms have to do.... heh.

The "Love" photo is their lunch.  I used letter and little heart cookie cutters to cut the PB&J sandwiches.

The bottom right photo is Miss Dainty while we were crafting paper hearts to decorate the house with.  She loved the one on one time while Baby D napped.  We finished just as Baby D woke up, so they each got to place some hearts wherever they wanted.

After getting Baby D into a good mood (waking up is always a shock apparently,) we headed out for the next surprise:  Dinner at our favorite sushi place!

Miso soup, yakisoba noodles, sweet potato rolls, and avocado/cucumber rolls!  We haven't been in a while... since a few days before Mr Hubs left, so the girls were in heaven!  An older couple complimented me on the girls, and said how nice it was I was taking pictures to keep the family updated.  I told them it was for their dad who was deployed.  The husband answered, "That's what I figured.  Tell him to keep safe."  I thought that was really nice.

After dinner, we ran by a nearby grocery store and picked up some Tofutti ice cream sandwiches for dessert. It's the girls' favorite, but I rarely buy it because they're so expensive!  (But that keeps them extra special at the same time...)  Then, we picked up a movie at a redbox outside.  Miss Dainty picked out Alpha and Omega.  We came home, ate our ice cream, and watched the movie together.  It was a perfect way to end the day.  The only thing that would have made today better was if Mr Hubs had been right there with us, but he kind of was.  We talked about him the entire day. 

I kept noticing this on my fridge today:

Mr Hubs wrote that right before he left for bootcamp.  I was still in high school.  He hid it in a cd case in my bedroom.  I love that note, and I must have read it a million times today.  I really don't know why I was even slightly upset about Valentine's Day.  Even with him gone, I know he loves me every day.  I don't need a holiday to remind me of that. 

And then, this really put everything into perspective.  A friend of mine posted this on facebook:

"Remember that you are loved by a love that is deeper and richer than any other love, by the One who loved creating you exactly they way you are.  You are His prize, His favorite and His desire and He wants you to know that.  God loves you today, and forever."

I love that.
Happy Valentine's Day everyone.
=)