"My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest." - Isaiah 32:18

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Our Valentine's Day

Whew! 

I am one tired mama!

I aimed to treat my family to a special Valentine's Day yesterday...



And as any mother knows, when you add in something extra or something special to your day- laundry, baby care, and housework all must still go on!

I think I may have crammed too much into one day...

We did a full day of homeschool lessons as well, so as I sit here to type, I'm definitely feeling it! 

I am pooped!

I brought my phone around with me, snapping pictures as I went, with the hopes that I could share it all with you!

Speaking of YOU... How was your Valentine's Day? 

I think about all of you often, and pray that your time spent here on my blog is uplifting and beneficial to your life.

When I first became a wife and mother blogs were new, but I leaned heavily on some favorite blogs of mine to encourage me as I learned how to be a homemaker. Now I'm ten years into it, and still learning... still practicing... still messing up sometimes... But the tiny bit I DO know, I love to pass along to you!

Would you like to see how we spent our Valentine's Day?

It began with my eight-year old Roman asking if he could bake a cake as his Valentine's gift to us.

He really wanted to do it with no help!

He found a recipe that he wanted to try...


Then he got out the ingredients and measured everything!


I had to resist the urge to help him and do things for him.

I really tried my best to monitor from a distance and back-off enough so that he could figure it out on his own.


Basically, he did it by himself but I was nearby if he had any questions.

One question that came up was what is baking powder and where do we keep it?

You know, for several years now I've been hearing Homeschool mama's talk about "Self-led, Interest-based" homeschooling, and I feel like this was the moment that it finally clicked with me. He wasn't sitting still in a desk doing worksheets or getting lectured at... But I realized he was still learning! He was reading... He was measuring using fractions... He was asking questions...


He was asking me questions like, "Why do I have to sift the flour first? Why can't I just dump it in?" And as we talked and he baked, I realized this was School!

(I come from a traditional public school background, so forgive me if this sounds really silly! It's just that I'm finding throughout our homeschool journey that I'm having to deprogram myself! Sitting quietly while someone "teaches" you, isn't the only way to learn something.)

I put it in the oven for him, and he watched it with pride...


He even frosted it... (Thank goodness I had a can of frosting on hand!)


And decorated it, all by himself!


Ta da!

A Roman creation!



It's been our family tradition for several years now to have a "Pink and Red" dinner at home on Valentine's night. 

I think about the food and the table setting, and I try to make everything either pink or red or heart-shaped.

For example, everyone had a heart-shaped napkin at their place...


The napkins were the result of just a few minutes spent on You-Tube after typing in How to fold a paper heart... Lest you think I'm some sort of fancy or crafty person... I'm NOT! Anyone can give their families special treats if they're just willing to put forth a touch of effort.

The littlest things can make a person feel special!

Heart-shaped cranberries went on the table, too...


You're probably looking at this picture and thinking, Wow, Courtney, that is really lame... Haha... But my kids thought it was really fun! Remember, anything that is different or new, is exciting for kids!

They helped me set the table. We used candles, flowers, and antique Valentine cards...


We hung up balloons and heart-shaped banners...


We had a few presents sent to us from both Grandma's...


So, I set them all out in plain sight to heighten the excitement for us when we came to dinner.



Meanwhile, there was a meatloaf simmering away in the crockpot, and potatoes boiling on the stove...

(I added a few drops of red food coloring to the mashed potatoes to make them pink!)

Our menu for the night would be- Meatloaf (with a red sauce), Pink potatoes, Cranberries, Strawberries, Pink lemonade, and Roman's Valentine cake for dessert.


We even made heart-shaped ice for our lemonade...


I tried to get a good picture of it...


It wasn't real noticeable in the glasses, but we still thought it was special! 


We enjoyed our Valentine's dinner and laughed and talked... 


Once we were stuffed it was time to open cards and presents!


What a fun night! 

The kids each got new pajamas from their grandma.



They immediately ran off to try them on...

As a funny side note, the three minutes that they were in the next room changing into their new pajamas, was literally the only alone time Micah and I had all night! Haha... Oh,
 how things change once kids are in the mix!!!


Micah and I don't mind, though. We know that in a flash they'll all be in high school and college. I'll be begging them to come home for Valentine's dinner but they'll all have better things to do! (*Sad face.)


When they got back to the table I had a present for all of them...


I had bought them the game of Twister. They were very excited! We've never had that game!


The rest of the night included tons of pain and laughter trying to play this game on the living room floor! Haha...

The evening went by too fast! But it was a really fun night and I hope my children will carry memories like these in their hearts forever!


~ "We didn't realize we were making memories... We just knew we were having fun!" ~

Well friends, that's all I have time for today! 

As always, please feel free to leave a comment. I love hearing from you!

Thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to read about our Valentine's Day!

I plan to write a decorating post next. I've been getting the pictures ready for it, so check back with me soon!


Love to you all!

xo,

~ Courtney ~





















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