Cookies with ♥

We've taken Valentine's Day to a new level 'round here. As you can see to the left, tonight's big event was the creation of "Cookies with ♥."

Anyway, Madison, Mommy and Daddy had an awesome time making some of these cookies for tomorrow at church, which should be a pleasant surprise for many. But wait! There's more! Madison has also recently decorated and signed quite a few of her own Valentine's Day cards, so plenty of people are going to get a nice surprise there too. But that's not all! We've also made a special craft, which about twelve people are going to get - you might be one of them. We're not going to show it on this blog until Valentine's Day, otherwise it'll ruin the surprise.

Anyway, as you can see, we're looking forward to Valentine's Day quite a lot more than usual around here. In the past, Mommy and Daddy have made a big deal out of the day: it's fun. Daddy's favorite gifts from Mommy include a "I go Ape Over You" theme, which included a stuffed gorilla holding a heart and the entire "Planet of the Apes" series on DVD. Oh yeah! Also, one year, Mommy got Daddy hermit crabs for Valentine's Day. Meanwhile, one year, Daddy got a bunch of dry ice and set up a fake little lab on the kitchen table for a theme: "We've got Chemistry!" Daddy remembers writing a really tiny message "I ♥ U," and having a microscope there for Mommy to look through and see it. Also, there were test tubes with candy in them. One year, Daddy had an "Alice in Wonderland" theme, with white roses painted red - and playing cards on step ladders trying to finish the job of painting them red before Mommy got there.

Elvis has always been a theme, of course. For years, they made an heart-shaped Elvis tin that one of us would inevitably get for the other. We still have the collection of tins downstairs, actually. ONE year, Daddy got a LOT of balloons and had them all over the kitchen and living room. Anyway, you can see we sort of go crazy on Valentine's Day.

This year, it will be no different. Daddy has something for Mommy this year, but I'm not going to post it yet: don't want to ruin the surprise!

Meanwhile, today was another work day. Big, long day. It was great to come home and make cookies with everyone. It's so nice to come home to a happy family. We really enjoyed our time together this evening.

Tonight before bedtime, Daddy was holding on to Madison's hand as she was falling asleep. Or so he thought... you see, Daddy started doing a whispered count: "One.... two... three..." It seemed as if she was drifting off to sleep when I got to around forty or so. Yet right when I got to forty-two, all of the sudden she jerked her head towards me and said, "boo!" That little stinker!