Valentine's Day Fun

I love Valentine's Day!!!
Since I'm a big sap, it just gives me an excuse to do cute, corny things for all my loved ones!

 

Seriously though, it is really important to me that my family knows how much I love them on a regular basis! I want our kids to grow up in a happy, loving home where they know they are accepted and have support from both Dan and I. I also want my husband to know how much I appreciate him and that he makes my life so much fun and enjoyable. I honestly enjoy spending time with my family and making memories with them!

 

I found some great ideas on Pinterest (isn't that the BEST site for ideas) so this year was really exciting. I planned it all out, went and bought all the goodies, and then got to surprise each person in my family everyday!

Warning - Picture overload!!!

The first thing I started with was leaving Valentine's on the door of each person in my family. I made a sign that said, "14 Things I Love About My Family" and each day I would write on a heart something I love about that person and put it on their door. By Valentine's Day, they all had 14 hearts!

 They each got a Valentine every morning, as well.  I started on February 1st and continued thru February 14th. We even did a few little activities as it got closer to Valentine's Day.
Here is an overview of the Valentine's my Sweethearts got each day and the "punny" sayings that went with them:

 

February 1st -
Gift: Soda
Saying: Just "So-da" know I love you

 
 

February 2nd -
Gift: Starburst
Saying: I'm "bursting" with love for you

 

February 3rd -
Gift: Sprees
Saying: Oh how I love you, let me count the ways...1,2, "Spree"

 

February 4th -
Gift: Mints
Saying: We're "mint" to be

 

February 5th -
Gift: Gummy Bears (my family likes SOUR stuff...yuck!)
Saying: You're "beary" special

 

February 6th -
Gift: Sour Candies
Saying: Life would be "sour" without you
Activity - Made homemade Valentine's cards

 

Nehemiah's cards...I tried to make them "boy" colors:

Trinity's cards:

 

The inside of the cards:

 

  February 7th -

Gift: Fruit Snacks and Fruit ropes
Saying: I'm "fruity" for you
Activity - Made thumbprint bookmarks

One for Mimi and one for Daddy!

 

February 8th -
Gift: Suckers
Saying: I'm a "sucker" for you
(The kids went to spend a couple nights at my Mom's on this day)

 

February 9th -
Gift: Beef Jerky
Saying: I didn't want to be "jerky" so I got you something manly

 

February 10th -
Gift: Combos
Saying: We make a great "combo"
(Got the kids back today)

 

February 11th -
Gift: Sour Gummy Worms
Saying: I'm "hooked" on you
Activity - Made heart window clings (with friends)

We had some friends over for a play-date so we made our window clings together!

 

 

 

 

February 12th -

Gift: Smarties
Saying: I love you "Smartie" pants
Activity - Made Strawberry Shortcake Muffins - for my "stud muffin"

 

Recipe here:  Clean Eating Strawberry Shortcake Muffins

 

February 13th -
Gift: Hersey's Kisses
Saying: "Kisses" for my Valentine
Note: the kids went to spend the night with Grandma and Grandpa tonight. So what did Dan and I do? We had a nice steak dinner...then had an "active" date night. I went with him to his Krav Maga class (Israeli self-defense.) It was WAY out of my comfort zone but so fun beating each other up! I wish I would have taken some pictures...

Dan turned his dinner into a terrible tator:

 

February 14th -
Gift: Sweettarts
Saying: For my "Sweettart"
Activity - Made pipe cleaner hearts with pony beads craft
We also surprised my Mom and brought flowers and her favorite candy bar to her work.

 

Surprising Mimi:

Nehemiah squished her candy bar...sorry, Mom!

 

Here are the kids opening their Valentine's gift from Mimi:

 

 

Here they are making our heart pony bead project:

 

 

 

They kids and I also got homemade Valentine's cards from Daddy just like the ones we made him! It was so sweet! I loved seeing his BIG hand on a pink piece of paper!!! What a guy!!!

 

 

What fun things did you do for/with your family for Valentine's Day?



A Lesson in Money...

At what age should children start doing "chores" around the house and start earning an allowance?

 

Since Trinity is 4 now and can follow directions, Dan suggested that we start giving her little jobs to do so she can earn her own money. I thought it was a great idea so this past week we started doing "chores" together. Her jobs are to make her bed, help me unload the dishwasher, put her dishes in the sink when she's done eating, throw her dirty clothes in the hamper, help clean up messes (toys) and put her own laundry away. Naturally I have to help her do some of these things, but I can already tell that she WANTS to do it on her own.

As we started this new "chore" activity, I noticed that Nehemiah (who is only 2) wanted to help just as much as Trinity. He is so helpful! He can't do as much as she does, but he will do whatever I ask him to do. He has helped unload the dishwasher (he just puts things on the counter for me to put away), taken clothes out of the dryer and put them in the laundry basket, puts his dishes on the counter when he's done eating (he can't reach inside the sink), throw his dirty clothes in the hamper, cleaned up messes (toys) and put clothes from the washer into the dryer (I just take out little handfuls and hand it to him.) It is so neat seeing both my children WANT to help me! Come to think of it, it will be really nice once they have their jobs down and I don't have to help anymore...less for me to do! LOL! They both love to sweep and vacuum too! Yay!!!

 

So here we are with 2 kids earning money each week. They only make $1 per week but it brought up a new idea for me. I need to start teaching them how to manage money NOW! I want them to wise with their money and learn the proper way to spend and save!

 

 

Before Dan and I had kids, I was working full time. We weren't rich, but we lived very comfortably. If we wanted something, we would just go and buy it. Thankfully Dan knew enough to not charge things on the credit card! I had never had a credit card before and at one point early in our marriage, I suggested that we just start charging things. He told me we could charge things, but we would be paying if off in full each month. Smart guy!!! However, looking back...I wish that we would have SAVED money back then! We knew that I would stop working to become a stay-at-home Mom once we had children, why didn't we prepare for that better? (Well, we at least paid off our vehicles and bought our first house before they came so I can't say that we didn't prepare, but there was no "savings plan.")

  

Anyway, I want to teach my kids how money works. You work and EARN what you have. You buy only what you can afford. You help others when you can help. You honor God and give Him a portion of what He's blessed you with.

This lead to an interesting conversation with Trinity! I asked her if she knew what tithing was. She said no. I explained that God blesses us with money so it is our duty as a follower of His to give back to Him. I told her that 10% is what the Bible tells us to give and then asked if she would be willing to give .10c for the offering on Sunday. She said, "I guess so!"
I was so happy she didn't yell out "NO!" :)

As I "paid" the kids, I explained that on Sunday they were going to tithe their .10c. They seemed excited about it.

As the opportunity presents itself, I want to go into detail a little more about how we can give to God in numerous different ways. Financially is the main one people think of, but we can give of our gifts, talents, time, service, friendships, encouragement,  etc. God just wants us to be a cheerful giver! (2 Corinthians 9:6-8)

The rest of their money is going in a piggy-bank so they can save up for something they want. This is their "fun" money. They LOVE going down the toy aisles at the store and show us everything they want. Once they get enough saved up, it may be fun to go on a little shopping trip just for them!

We also started a savings account for both of them when they were born. They get $10 a month deposited in it and then any additional money they get (from birthdays, Christmas, or other special occasions) also goes in there. There are days that they both have more money than Daddy and I do! LOL! We decided to save this for them now so we could bless them with it later. I'm not sure if it'll be a down payment for a house, or to pay for college, or what we'll do with it exactly, but my family helped me growing up and I want to do the same for my kids. They deserve the best start they can get and the proper  knowledge of how to provide for themselves.

What do you do to teach your kids about money and how to save?

The Choice...

Before Dan and I got married, we talked about our desire to have children. The choice I'll be discussing today wasn't if we should have them or not, it was about how we were going to bring them up. Would I continue to work full-time or become a stay-at-home Mom?

Most of the time, especially for big decisions, we look to Scripture to instruct us on how to live. I know many choices we make probably seem really "extreme" to people, but as Christians, we're striving to follow God's word and that's not always the normal way to do it in today's society. To be honest, before I started researching and looking into things myself, I would have looked at the choices we now make and thought, "wow, they are way out there!"

So, how did we decide that I would become a stay-at-home Mom and what was our reasoning behind it? To put it simply, OUR CHILDREN are the reason! What's more important to me...making more money to buy more things or investing my time and energy into my kids?

It wasn't a hard decision, but it was difficult to get where we are now. We waited five years after getting married to have Trinity. During that time, we bought a lot of things we wanted for our future. My husband has a full gym in our basement (which I try to use a couple times a week also) and all of our equiptment was purchased within our first few years of marriage.

We tried to get as out of debt as possible. (However, if I had it to do over again, I would have saved a lot more money and tried to live below our means then.) We did make some good decisions back then though. We bought our first house and paid off both of our vehicles. The only thing we are still paying on is our house. We also rarely use our credit card, maybe a couple times a month, and then we pay it off each month. Our ultimate goal is financial freedom, although it will take another 27 years to pay off our house!

I understand that not everyone has the option to quit their job, but it was a choice that was very important to us. We had planned for this years ago. I will admit that it is hard to live off one salary and it is a sacrifice. However, it's well worth it! I'm okay with not having a huge house, flashy vehicles, expensive clothes, and the newest technology gadgets. We live a very simple life and it works!

There are many places in the Bible that talk about training up your children and how they are treasures. (Just to name a few in case you would want to look them up for yourself: Deut. 6:6-9, Prov. 22:6, Psalm 127:3-4, 3 John 4) It was our conviction to take our role as parents seriously and to pour ourselves into our kids so they can grow up and make a difference for God! I know everyone will not agree with us on this topic, but we feel there is no greater joy than investing in our children's lives!

There is a common misconception that being a stay-at-home Mom means that I can sleep in and just watch TV all day. Oh, if only that was the way it worked! :) I do try to squeeze in Dr. Phil and maybe Oprah if it's around naptime, but there are many days that I have to get up earlier than I had set the alarm for because our two year old is up and wants breakfast already. I spend a huge chunk of my day changing diapers, feeding the baby, doing laundry, dishes, playing with blocks, reading books, dancing to the Wiggles, and watching VeggieTales AGAIN and AGAIN! I could go on and on, but I wouldn't choose to do any other job in the world!

What are some choices that you have made to better your family?