Valentines Day Morning

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!! Growing up I always remember loving Valentine's Day! Not because I had boys sending me flowers or because I had a boyfriend but because my Mom always made it special. I always had either a flower or balloons delivered to me at school, and when I got home there was always something waiting. Even now....my Mom still sends us something on Valentine's Day, and not just for me but for Austin and the kids. My Grandma Nead was the same way, still with all of her grandchildren and great grandchildren she sends a dollar in everyone's card. It is just a reminder to all of us that she is thinking of us. Same thing with my mom! So.... for as much as I loved Valentine's Day as a child I wanted my kids to be able to look forward to it as well. As a kid and especially at school it is hard seeing so many people receiving gifts of love and not being on the receiving end of things. I want my kids to always know how much Austin and I love them. I want them to always feel special. So.... Valentine's Day Morning our kids awoke with a wonderful surprise. They each had a Valentine Bucket!!! It is so much fun having kids and anticipating holidays and birthdays! I would much rather watch them open gifts than to have any myself. I love shopping for them and trying to make their life fun and exciting. Now the story behind these buckets was a bit of a hassel if you ask me, but all the same I wanted to do it. Last Friday night we had a girls night out. We went to see a movie and then ended up sitting and drinking Hot Chocolate in McDonalds until 11:30pm. (I know... of all places, but thats all we have in our neck of the woods.) We had a great time chatting and catchingi up. I still needed to go to Wal-Mart because this would be my only chance to go with no kids. So I made my way over to Wal-Mart, I had just made it to the cards and had hung up the phone with Austin when all of the power went off in the store. Well long story short, a transformer went out and all of the power for half the town was out. It was going to take over 2 hours to get things going again. So my friend Tamsyn showed up at Wal-Mart during the whole ordeal and we decided that we would head to a different Wal-Mart which is 45 minutes away. So around 12:30 am we made our way over to Jonesville, VA. After all of our shopping was done and we returned home it was 4 am. The things we do for our kids. :) It was worth every lost hour of sleep!!! When Payton asked why she got a "Balentine" Bucket we told her it is a special day that Mommy and Daddy can show her and her brothers that we love them, she said "Well thats a great idea!"