Happy Valentine's Day

We had a nice day. We spent the morning cleaning the house and playing with Becky Castillo's cute kids while they went to a memorial service. Abe is a little younger than Joseph and they had fun playing trains. Sol is a little over a year old now and is so cute! I was cleaning the kitchen floor and he started crying so Jake went over, picked him up and played with him for a while. Jake does not babysit, except for the occasional 15 minute stretch, but he has a definite natural ability with little ones. It was sweet to watch.

Weeks ago I signed up to have the missionaries over for dinner tonight. What could be more special than sharing valentine's dinner with two great guys in suits?? The little ones have been so excited about this. We made a special dinner, pan kabobs with rice and even splurged on ice cream, hot fudge, bananas and brownies for dessert. Yum! They didn't come at 5:30 as is the usual time. So Richard called and they did not answer. By 6 we went ahead and ate without them. Annalina was crushed, she was so looking forward to dinner with them! They called shortly before 7 and apparently they had called the night before and left a message, but did not hear back from us. So they ate at their apartment! We never got their message, I can only guess they had the wrong number! So sad. We will take them a big dish of dinner tomorrow, so they can eat it for lunch next week. We will try again soon. There is something very special about having them over for dinner. They bring a wonderful spirit into our home and its so fun to get to know them!

After dinner we played some games, I was trying to cheer Annalina up. First was the I Love You game. We each had to go around and tell everyone one thing we love about them. It was actually very fun for a last minute thought up game. It was fun to hear what the little kids had to say. Annalina loves Dadddy because he makes the best Sushi, Annalina loves me because I am the best mom ever(really, that is what she said, I didn't make that up!!). Annalina loves Joseph because he is funny, and Jake loves Joseph and Annalina because they are crazy. Joseph was last and he said, "I love mommy, because...because...just because!" Adrienne missed out on this fun tonite, she spent the evening at Tim's house. They have been best friends for a while now, but last week they decided it was more serious than that. Tim is a very nice guy, I liked him from the start when Adrienne first told me about him. But don't tell her that, I understand it never lasts once the mom approves!! Check out my previous post for Winter Formal if you want to see a photo of them together.

Since it is Valentine's Day I just want to say how much I love and adore my husband. He is such a good, strong, loving man. He is a wonderful father to our children. He sees their needs and he is always there to offer his love and support to them as well as me. Thursday was a rough day and that night I was so so so very tired. He had Friday off, so he told me to sleep in and that he would get the kids off to school. I wasn't sure there were even clean clothes for them to wear, but he said he would take care of it. What a rare treat for me to get to sleep in!! I woke up shortly before Joseph left and I could hear Richard playing trains with him in the front room. Shortly after that Joseph's ride to preschool arrived and I heard my sweet husband tell my son that he loved him and to have a great time at preschool. When my little ones got home from school, much to my surprise, not only were they in clean clothes, but both were dressed in red for their valentine's parties! Isn't that awesome?? My husband is such a support to me. We have had some very difficult trials lately but I have never felt alone. I know we are in this together and I am so grateful to be loved by this wonderful man! Richard, you are the love of my life and I know we will be together forever!! I adore you!

Joseph gave me a wonderful Valentine's gift tonight. After the games we watched an episode of Firefly on Hulu and Joseph fell asleep on me. He rarely goes to sleep unless he is in bed, so I got the rare pleasure of snuggling my sweet little guy for a while, while he sucked his bottom lip in his sleep. I cannot believe he is almost 4! My baby! He is getting so big, but when he laid there asleep in my arms, he seemed so tiny. I am grateful for times such as these, they truly are priceless to me. Richard took some photos, and I will get them added tomorrow.