loving all the love

(yeah, yeah, it's almost easter. i know!)


i thought it would be fun to make pink, heart-shaped pancakes for the kids on the morning of valentine's day. awww, so sweet, right? note to self: make these the night before and pop them in the microwave in the morning. 'cause with one pancake mold thingy, this took for. ev. er. the kids were super patient waiting on their surprise, and they totally appreciated the special-ness of it all! (though none of them noticed that they were pink!)


amelia was determined to cut those hearts all by herself.


my sweet valentines digging in!


my dad delivers flowers during the holidays, so he was super busy this week. he stopped by to show the kids alllll the flowers in the back of the van, and then at the end of his route, he came by again with one more delivery. :) it made my day! aren't they pretty?


after breakfast, we headed over to cousin karina's house to play a little valentine math bingo. gotta love when school involves m&m's!


that evening, we celebrated LOVE as a family. i had fun getting the table all ready. nana gets credit for the fun heart balloons. and brian gets credit for the beautiful roses. (they opened up so wonderfully and stayed gorgeous for a good two weeks!) so i guess all i can take credit for is throwing some candy on the table. ;)


i really did keep it simple... pencils and a notepad for the kids. pink lemonade in fancy cups. chocolate on the table. but i love their surprised reactions. for two pencils and a notepad. :) they are so easily pleased, and i am so glad.


love these kiddos


heart-shaped pizzas were a hit!


"honey, tilt the plate down just a little further..." (i love caroline's reactions here.)



ok let's try this again... aaaand amelia is leaking carrot juice. lovely. just keepin' it real, here.


this sweet girl thrills on the little details... and i thrill on her thrilling on the little things. :)


eat your heart out!


i love this man!


it was a special treat to have pink lemonade!


my most favorite 5 people!


and then it was my turn... oh, my cup runneth over!


daddy's little valentine!


nothing says "i love you" like waiting patiently while i snap 25 pictures of our wedding glasses and the roses. :)


it was finally time for dessert!! it was a long 48 hours waiting to eat the cookies they had made.





with all this cookie eating, you know i had to jump in there!



after dessert, we listened to brian and ethan read about The Source of All Love. (1 john 4)



praise God for His amazing love! (amazing love, how can it be? that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me!)

we concluded the festivities by playing valentine battleship. you're supposed to play with the little candy hearts, which would make this an actual valentine game. but those nasty chalky candy hearts are forbidden to be a part of our valentine's day, so we used m&ms instead. no complaints here!


caroline and i played against ethan and daddy. amelia just ate m&ms.


caroline was really concentrating!


she LOVED it when we got their ships!


i have no other pictures of the boys during the game because they did not want me spying on their side of the game!

it was a fun time celebrating the love that we have for each other and praising God for His Love for us!

sweet hearts

i am rewinding to valentine's day... how has it already been a month since i took these pictures? the kids and i made cookies with my mom earlier in the week. delicious, delicious fun! if i live to be 90, i don't think i'll ever use another sugar cookie recipe. these taste so. yummy.

i am so thankful that my mom wants to make and keep these traditions with my kids. and me. :)


having a 7 year old that loves to read is wonderful! ethan kept us on track with the recipe.


and amelia made sure no dough went to waste (atta' girl!)




these two little beater-lickers learned from the best!


rolling out the dough. love the looks of deep concentration.


they are still working on not just plopping down a cookie cutter in the middle of the dough.


my little cookie bakers! wow, i do not deserve these blessings.


one last set to cut out!


and what a fun mess! :)


after dinner, we quickly iced the cookies.


apparently, sprinkles were goin' out of style.


caroline loved watching gram get fancy with her icing skillz.


a picture-perfect finished result! the kids could not wait to eat these cookies at our valentine's dinner!


more valentine's day fun coming up next! before easter!

her turn

no more soccer sidelines for this baby girl.



no more chasing big brother's ball.



no more waiting until halftime to play on the field.



no more eternal snacks to keep her occupied during the games.



no more being at the mercy of her siblings for a taste of those after game treats.



now she has her own ball.



and today, she plays her first soccer game.

and today (probably most important to her)... she will get her own treat after the game.
as i snapped these pictures the other day before amelia's first soccer practice, i couldn't help but remember that chubby little blond toddler running around the soccer field barefoot in a onesie. she seems like she got really old all of a sudden.


we said this day would be here before we knew it... and it is. these sisters cannot wait to play together on the same team! and i cannot wait to cheer them on!!!!