Exactly five years ago I prepared the first family Valentine's Day dinner. Spencer was fifteen and would be hitting the dating scene in a few short months from then and I decided he, along with the rest of the crew, needed to learn a few manners. So. I planned a fancy, candlelit dinner complete with folded cloth napkins. We enjoyed our time together and I told everyone not to expect the same every year--I didn't want to commit myself. However, next year rolled around and I decided we would celebrate again in a similar way.
I invited Estelle to help me choose a theme and a menu. She chose a 50's diner theme. This time we all dressed up fifties style and she even made a jute box with an iPod. It was super cute and again we had a fun night. Emma was a bit ruffled that I had asked Estelle to help me so I was committed to another year.
Emma chose a country/cowboy theme and we invited my mom to come. After dinner we sang karaoke using Spencer's newly purchased DJ equipment. My mom sang "Home on the Range." My children are still talking about it. Last year Spencer was 18 and a senior in high school. Not knowing exactly how much longer we would have him for our celebrations, I asked him to help plan the party.
Sarah, now ten, felt it was high time for her to have a turn. She has been talking about it for six months. She has a fascination with Paris so we tried to have a Parisian theme, but the decorations were mostly traditional Valentine's and fondue was on the menu. This year we invited Erika. Again, a good time was had by all. The food and the company were great. Taylor was informed that he had a year to come up with a theme and a menu.
Last week when I was walking up to the Mt. Timpanogos Temple, I felt my mom's key chain that had come off of her keys. It resembles a mini Alaskan license plate and says #1 Grandma on it. I knew what it was, but had forgotten it was in there. I smiled and decided that I wanted to give something to my family on Valentine's Day for them to remind them of their heavenly grandparents. I went to the dollar store and purchased a bag of light blue glass blobs. I shared with them how I had found the key chain and that I wanted them to have a remembrance of their own.
I told them that they were lucky to have three grandparents in heaven cheering for them. And while we may miss their hugs and treats they were still with us and could maybe even do more for us where they are at then if they were still here. I handed them two glass stones and told them to put them in places where they would run into them every so often to be reminded that they are loved and that they are never alone. It was a special moment and Erika appreciated it as well and even asked for two to pass on to someone she feels could use them.
My newly ordained to an Elder son, Spencer, gave Erika a blessing. It was his first and one of the sweetest, most sincere, and most inspiring blessing I had heard. Erika cried. She has a lot of health problems and I know she feels especially alone. She has a doctor appointment on Friday that she is worried about and she is going to let me go with her.
After she left, most of us played a game of "Cover Your Assets," a new favorite. We all went to bed happy. The Valentine's Day dinner that I thought may not become a tradition has become one and I couldn't be more happy about it!
I invited Estelle to help me choose a theme and a menu. She chose a 50's diner theme. This time we all dressed up fifties style and she even made a jute box with an iPod. It was super cute and again we had a fun night. Emma was a bit ruffled that I had asked Estelle to help me so I was committed to another year.
Emma chose a country/cowboy theme and we invited my mom to come. After dinner we sang karaoke using Spencer's newly purchased DJ equipment. My mom sang "Home on the Range." My children are still talking about it. Last year Spencer was 18 and a senior in high school. Not knowing exactly how much longer we would have him for our celebrations, I asked him to help plan the party.
Sarah, now ten, felt it was high time for her to have a turn. She has been talking about it for six months. She has a fascination with Paris so we tried to have a Parisian theme, but the decorations were mostly traditional Valentine's and fondue was on the menu. This year we invited Erika. Again, a good time was had by all. The food and the company were great. Taylor was informed that he had a year to come up with a theme and a menu.
Last week when I was walking up to the Mt. Timpanogos Temple, I felt my mom's key chain that had come off of her keys. It resembles a mini Alaskan license plate and says #1 Grandma on it. I knew what it was, but had forgotten it was in there. I smiled and decided that I wanted to give something to my family on Valentine's Day for them to remind them of their heavenly grandparents. I went to the dollar store and purchased a bag of light blue glass blobs. I shared with them how I had found the key chain and that I wanted them to have a remembrance of their own.
I told them that they were lucky to have three grandparents in heaven cheering for them. And while we may miss their hugs and treats they were still with us and could maybe even do more for us where they are at then if they were still here. I handed them two glass stones and told them to put them in places where they would run into them every so often to be reminded that they are loved and that they are never alone. It was a special moment and Erika appreciated it as well and even asked for two to pass on to someone she feels could use them.
My newly ordained to an Elder son, Spencer, gave Erika a blessing. It was his first and one of the sweetest, most sincere, and most inspiring blessing I had heard. Erika cried. She has a lot of health problems and I know she feels especially alone. She has a doctor appointment on Friday that she is worried about and she is going to let me go with her.
After she left, most of us played a game of "Cover Your Assets," a new favorite. We all went to bed happy. The Valentine's Day dinner that I thought may not become a tradition has become one and I couldn't be more happy about it!
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