To My Little Valentines

 To My Littlest Loves,

Well.... you are not so little anymore.... at five and seven years old, I truly cannot believe that you are in PreK and 2nd grade!  As I think back on the last year, I had no idea at this holiday a year ago, this would be the last holiday you would celebrate with your classmates for sometime.  By March 13th, you were with me full time until school started back in August for Maddox's Pre-K year.  Zander stayed with me full time until January of 2021, making ten months of remote learning for his first/second grade years.  Can you believe that we learned, played and mommy worked altogether for this long?  When I look back, I am impressed at how we juggled it all and am also hopeful you only remember the good.... the extra time to sleep or cuddle in the morning, the laidback attire, the bike rides to the school down the street to play at their track, field or courts to get some energy out between work sessions.  I pray that you always remember that mommy and daddy did everything in their power to give you great experiences while we were under a "stay at home" order.  Daddy went to work every day and both of your parents continued to provide for your needs and some of your wants.  We were still able to go to the beach, a mountain waterfall adventure and Great Wolf Lodge! We have made so many wonderful memories this year! I have enjoyed watching you grow, watching your love for sports get bigger and watching all that you are learning! Zander, it amazes me how you so quickly went from reading words and small picture books to whole chapter books this past year.  Maddox, it amazes me how you are able to confidently count to 100, read letters and numbers and how you can use your knowledge of letter sounds to put three letter words together through blending the sounds!  This all happened so fast and I am so proud of both of you! I love to hear you say your prayers at mealtime or before bed.  I love listening to you sing songs on the radio when K-Love is playing or to sing songs you learned at church in your sweet five and seven year old voices!  I cannot wait to see what this upcoming year has in store for my little valentines.  I hope you will always know how much you are loved and prayed for.  As Grammy mentioned on one of the hearts she put on your doors, you are the boys we prayed for..... prayers that started before mommy and daddy met, prayers that continued after mommy and daddy got married and prayers that are said daily since you have arrived.  You bring us all so much joy and we love being able to celebrate all the holidays with you!  You eagerly count down to the next one, giving us something to look forward to every month!  We love you!

Love,

Mommy (and Daddy) ;) 

**Grammy makes each holiday special.... she created calendars for each boy's bedroom with stickers to count down to this holiday of love.  She also wrote every single heart note that is on their doors (along with ones for us as well).  We pray we love like she does every day.  We are so lucky she is ours! ;) 

**Maddox had a Valentine party and got lots of goodies.  He even made his own valentine container at Grammy's!  Zander couldn't have a class party or exchange valentines due to Covid-19 restrictions.  He was able to pass out valentines to the other staff kids at our school which made him happy to give them out and also to receive a few in return! ;) 

On Valentine's Day, we went to church and then ate lunch at Arby's afterwards.....we enjoyed jamocha and mint chocolate chip shakes with lunch!  After lunch, the boys got fresh hair cuts for upcoming picture days this week and next!  We enjoyed a nap time and then watched the movie "Up" while the freezing rain continued from the day before!  After the boys went to bed, Zack and I watched "Psych 2: Lassie Come Home".  This movie was a spin off from a show we watched before the kids were born... it felt great to get some laughs in and enjoy some mindless entertainment just the two of us!  I truly enjoyed my relaxing day with my boys.... a perfect Valentine's Day with my forever valentine and my littlest loves!