Be mine?

From my valentine!

How great is it that there is a day set aside to celebrate LOVE?

Valentine's day is not the most important holiday.  In fact, a lot of people hate it.  A lot of people think it's just another excuse to spend money on candy and cards and that type of junk.  And people think it's a slap in the face if they are single and don't have a special someone to spend it with.  But seriously...

I am in love with love.  Not just him + her love(or her + her, him + him, whatever you choose.), but all spectrums of love!

It made me so happy to write out 14 little valentine's cards for Ayla's preschool class.  How great is it that every child gets their own card telling them that they are awesome and that they are thought of?  And as I cut out heart shaped pieces of melon last night I couldn't help feeling giddy.

Watermelon and Honeydew Melon

I love seeing heart balloons floating around.  I love seeing vases of flowers and men carrying colorful bouquets.  I love chocolates and pastel colored hearts with sweet sayings on them.  I love construction paper hearts and hand-written "I love you" notes.  I love seeing affection between people.  I love love love seeing people in love.

In a perfect world we would tell people how much we love them on a daily basis.  We would treat people with kindness and appreciate our friends, colleagues, and strangers.  

This is not a perfect world and there is not a single perfect person among us so I LOVE that we have February 14th set aside for us to embrace LOVE!

Though it is pushed down "lovers" throats and the main focus on the holiday seems to be on couples, it certainly does not need to be that way.  This valentine's day take time to simply LOVE.  Love what you have, love what you do, love those around you.  If you take the time to feel the love that is out there you will surely reflect that and others will be able to feel it too.  Spread the love!

"It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. ...  If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion... love actually is all around."

Things that I love today {and always}:

• My beautiful little girl- the beat to my heart!
• Our home.
• My mom, she's my strength when I feel I have none.  And a life-long best friend!
• My dad.  Some of my qualities I love the most come from my dad.  He made me who I am.
• Brandon and Chad.  The coolest guys.  And not just because they are my brothers.  They are honestly great guys.  I would want to be friends with them even if I didn't have to be.
• My step parents, Kurtis and Syl.  They make my parents so happy and I love to see the love that my parents have for them.
• Step-siblings.  Aaron, Adam, Rachel, and Haleigh.  I don't know them that well.  They weren't chosen by me.  But I have sure grown to appreciate the role they play in my life and I genuinely look forward to seeing them when I get home.
• My job.  I have the best job.
• My boss Mark.  He's not just my boss.  He's my friend.  A great friend.
• My boss Tony.  Seriously, he takes such good care of us.  He's a much more caring guy than he leads us to believe.
• My coworkers.  Some more than others :)
• My car.  I'm glad that I have one.
• My boyfriends mom.  Debbie.  It's easy to look up to her for countless reasons.
• My boyfriends dad.  Movie Star aka Rick.  He is so warm and fun to be around.
• My boyfriends siblings.  Even if Brent is keeping a tally of strikes against me (reasons not to let me join the family) I still love him!  And especially Charity.  Someone else to look up to and someone who is so great to talk to!
• The littlest Lees.  Jaycee, Brynn, Sydnie, and Logan!  I love those sweet kids!
• My friends.  Though they seem sparse these days, I really do love them.  I love our conversations that are few and far between.  They always remind me of the pieces of myself that seem to get lost in motherhood and busy days.
• My extended family.  And Facebook!  I love the connection to my extended family that I have through Facebook.
• Ayla's teacher.  I love her emails where she refers to her as "Sweet Ayla, darling girl, cutest girl", etc.  She is so great with Ayla and her welcoming smile every morning makes me happy to leave my little girl with her.
• Kyle.  I am so in love with Kyle.  He makes me so happy.  I am so thankful that I found him.  He has taught me that the love I have always dreamed of is real.  He has taught me about trust.  When I thought that boys were mean, and dishonest, and unfaithful, and that they jump ship when you are drowning, he proved me wrong.  He makes me laugh.  The real belly laughs that make it so I can't breathe.  He makes me feel safe.  He makes me excited for the future.  He helps me better myself in so many small ways (and some really big ways) every day.  He loves my daughter.  The way that she looks at him and they way that she asks for him and shrieks when she sees him, those things confirm that I have made the right choice.  We are the luckiest girls.  Kyle is the biggest blessing and I am so grateful that we get to love him and that he loves us back.

Happy Valentine's Day!  Go spread some love!