Valentine's Day!!!!

A picture of the ones I love most in the whole, wide world! They are the best! (My husband is so cute, he let me put this pic up, even though he is in mid-blink because it was the only one that both kids were looking!)


Valentine's day was a welcome change to our weekend of sick fun! my husband had to work some holidays like New Year's Eve, Martin Luther King Day (or are they calling it civil rights day?), and some other ones this past year so it was nice to have him be around for Valentine's Day. We had no school and I don't teach on Tuesdays so it was a more laid back day.

We were going to have family portraits done this day, so I figured it would be nice to have an extra day to make sure we were in the best shape possible, considering what we all had just been through. And I almost got to help a friend by watching her youngest daughter, but it didn't happen. So, I lazed around, slept in, and just enjoyed my family. My husband is a fabulous chef and made his famous crepes! They were soooo yummy! My kids can not get enough of crepes either. They loved it. Daddy was everyone's favorite person on Valentine's Day! We love you, sweetheart!

Around 1pm or so, I decided it was time to stop playing with everyone and get ready for my gig. The big day had arrived--my little high school flute playing friend had his big performance at 4:30pm and I was committed to start practicing at 2:30pm. So I got ready using my new spa sonic my sweet husband got for me! Now, my face is super smooth and it is fun to wash it! I love it! My love also got me the first season of Psych!!! I have seen a few episodes and I got really interested and I want to start at the beginning because I feel a little confused. So, we will be starting that as soon as our DVR is a little more clear! Wahoo!

Back to the music, so I got ready(performance dress) and my sweet husband was tired so he feels asleep while holding my baby girl because she refused to take a nap without being held. They were so cute sleeping all snuggled up together. And my son was in the bed next to them playing ipod. So, I said goodbye to my son and hurried to practice. I had asked my fabulous friend (the one we had enchiladas with) to come if she had a few moments because she was a flute performance major in college to help this kid with some flute pointers. He is a phenomenal pianist and plays the flute extremely well for someone who has never had any instruction whatsoever outside of middle school and high school band. But, we needed some help, so I called in a favor. It was amazing! I learned so much about the flute and that woman changed more in his flute playing in 20 minutes than I had heard the last few days of practice with this kid. It was incredible! So, we were both helping and this boy's mother came in the room and thanked us and was crying--it was so tender that it took me by surprise. she just felt overwhelmed and humbled that my friend and I would take the time and energy to help her son. We all attend the same ward so I didn't think it was such a big deal, but at the moment, I realized what a big deal it was to her. It also made me think about my own kids. I guess I hope that when my kids are older and need help in whatever they do that they feel they can ask for help from those they associate at church or from family or friends. I was proud to be able to have helped and be a part of this kid's journey, even if it was for such a small, trivial moment. it felt good, and I had fun too.

Now, I was prepared to do this gig pro bono, the kid had asked me himself and his grandmother is also a member of my ward and she is a sweet lady and I was happy to help her out too (she would have had to try to do it herself and I knew she was not comfortable with the piece at all). I had fun, but I did put in a lot of time into this. At least 10 hours or so. But I was not prepared for what this sweet, generous mother offered to do. She had heard from her son that my baby grand piano was not tuned and she called up her piano tuner and arranged for him to come, tune it and give me a consultation on whether it was a good investment or if we were going to run into any problems with it! Now it was my turn to be absolutely stunned! I have been wanting to tune this piano ever since we got it (for free! minus the cost of transporting it to Utah from California and moving it to a new house!) but I haven't been able to justify getting it tuned yet! I guess I have had a few very recent experiences that have taught me that when you are generous with others, others will be generous to you. It may not be everyone or everything, but it will come back to you, some how, some way. Just thinking about it, I feel incredibly blessed and humbled. I almost turned this opportunity down because it was going to be on Valentine's day. How crazy is this?!

So we went and played and it went fantastically. I am proud of the hard work we put in, and it definitely paid off! After the gig I came home and hung out with my family. We decided to go to Target and grab some much needed medicine for my baby (our baby motrin was out) and juice to make sure she didn't get dehydrated. And then we got Costco cheese pizza. Costco cheese pizza is my favorite cheesy pizza! It was so delightfully delicious! I LOVE CHEESE!! And so does everyone in our family. We also got those yummy Berry smoothies. It was a great Valentine's meal with the family! And there were some free codes for redbox, so we grabbed some movies--Jane Eyre, Contagion, and Rio!

After dinner we put the kids to bed and watched Jane Eyre! I liked it! I actually haven't read the book, which might be a surprise to many of you since I love to read. And I love Jane Austen and English literature in general, but I have never gotten into the Bronte sisters. Maybe I should give it a try now that I am an adult. But I enjoyed the movie, even though the ending made me feel like, "What?!" The END. It was abrupt for my tastes, but oh well. It wasn't bad. My husband fell asleep during it. Maybe that says something!

It was a day full of love. I loved getting my Valentine hugs and kisses all day from those I love best! But, I am really lucky. I have kids and a nice snuggly husband who gives me hugs, kisses, and love whenever I want and need them! I LOVE YOU, MY WONDERFUL FAMILY!