Valentine's Day

Michael and I usually don't go crazy for Valentine's Day, but any upcoming holiday gives me the itch to create and make memories with my boys.  Personalized mailboxes coupled with a Valentine's Countdown are a Johnson tradition which was even more fun this year since Cade was old enough to participate.  There are loads of fun sayings floating around Pinterest to couple with treats...here's a list of what we did this year.
FYI: The Dollar Tree is perfect for finding treats.  I spent $10 on 14 days for BOTH boys.  Can't beat it!

* You're the apple of my eye (apple juice)

* You are the write one for me.  I'm so glad God gave me you! (fun pencils)
* You are Marvelous and Magnificent just the way you are! (M&Ms)
* Your love makes me SOAR! (Foam airplanes)
* I'm madly in love with you! (Valentine Mad Libs - Cole's favorite!)

* You make my heart glow (glow sticks)
* I have a ball when I'm with you.  You make my heart bounce! (Bouncy ball)
* It's o-fish-al.  I love you very much! (Whale crackers - and Cole let me know that he was thankful for the treat, BUT whales were in fact mammals.  Busted.)

* I love your silly faces.  They crack me up! (Silly Putty)
* You make my heart POP! (Bubble bath)
* You light up my life! (Light up spinning tops)
* There's no monkeying around when it comes to loving you! (Monkey PEZ dispensers)
* You make me feel squishy inside! (Play-Doh)

Cole wanted us to make Valentines for his classmates again this year instead of going with store bought themes and chose this free printables from a favorite blog.  They were hilarious!

I also used another printable tag to make treat for my iMom gals...packs of gum with bubbles for their kiddos.

Valentine's morning, I decorated the table in our usual Love Day fashion and the boys helped me prepare our traditional breakfast of heart shaped pancakes and strawberries.  Michael had to leave early for an appointment, but called to join in on our morning fun.

Planes!

He's officially hooked

The closest thing to candy that he enjoys

Classic Cade face

Cole's card that captured my heart...

That evening, we invited my mom over for dinner (dad was in FL gearing up for a race) and prepared a meal of bacon wrapped chicken with honey mustard glaze, roasted asparagus, baked potatoes, garden salad, and individual cheesecakes with a chocolate chip cookie crust.  Going out is always a treat, but I love an at-home candlelit dinner...kiddos and all :)  After dinner, we played a few conversation heart games and simply enjoyed being together.

My Valentine :)

First game - transfer hearts from one napkin to another using a straw

Dude did awesome!  

Daddy beat us all

Second game - dropping hearts into a vase (from nose level)

Michael surprised me with such a heartfelt gift (as always).  He gave me a journal with the sweetest letter written inside along with pictures of each room in our home pasted on the following pages.  May not seem like much, but he knows how I've been itching to paint, decorate, and simply make this house feel like home.  The pages are for me to write home projects I'd like to complete in the coming months and years and we'll take pictures along the way to document our hard work :)  Made my heart so happy!
I also had no idea that he had been putting money aside the past few months to whisk me away to our favorite B&B, Butterfly Meadows.  Finances have been tight, dates have been few, and we desperately need some alone time together.  We're heading there this coming weekend and I can hardly wait!

Happy Love Day!

Northern Delights

We just love our northern friends Mr. Alan and Mrs. Dawn. They sure do spoil us rotten. . .

Large packages in the mail full of belated Christmas and Valentine goodies to be opened. . .

loads of fun to be had. . .

and new pajamas to be worn.

There were also a few bookshelves from IKEA for Mommy that she just hearts :) Jeffreys, thanks so much! We hope to see you this summer!

Better Than Roses

I mentioned in a previous post that my sweet hubby had planned an overnight trip for the two of us to an unknown destination for my Valentine gift. Seeing as we hadn't been away sans kiddos since December 2010, we were definitely due some time together.

Michael knows how I love surprises and Thursday afternoon couldn't come fast enough! I was somewhat nervous leaving Cade for the first time, but both he and Cole were champs and enjoyed all the attention from Kyle, Laura, Papa, and Gigi. A HUGE THANKS to all four of you for watching the littles - we are truly thankful!

After instructions were given and a back packed, we rolled out Thursday around noon. As we traveled up through Portland and Bowling Green, I thought I knew where we were headed. Sweet friends of ours live in Louisville and we've talked recently about coming up for a visit. Sure that was where we were going, I settled in for a little drive.

All that changed when we took an earlier exit towards Lexington. Where in the world was he taking me? He just smiled and gave no hints. . . I was definitely confused. All that bumped up a few notches when we entered the TINY town of Lawrenceburg, KY around 4 p.m. I thought we might be stopping for gas, but quickly found out differently when we pulled up to the only hotel in town. I knew my man had something great planned, but seriously - what could this little town have to offer?

Michael did say that we had to be somewhere by 6:30, so we checked in, grabbed a snack from Sonic, and found a cute toy store to visit while passing the time. . .

Lego mania inside!

6:15 arrived and we began driving down a quaint road full of historic homes. As we topped a hill, I spotted a church sign and couldn't believe what my eyes saw. . .

One of my all time favorite Christian artists were in this small town for a free concert at a local Baptist church. . . seriously!?! Shane and Shane do not tour and hardly leave the Dallas, TX area where they live. I've told Michael for years that if they are ever in concert nearby, I'd LOVE to go. Turns out they were to be a guest for the large conference that weekend at Southern Seminary in Louisville (about an hour away) and were happy to stop by for a night of worship. I was one happy gal!

We were one of the first ticket holders to arrive and had ample time to chat with members of the church before the sanctuary doors opened to the public. What a lovely, genuine group of believers. They welcomed us with open arms and asked where we were from. Many were shocked that we drove from Nashville and before we knew it, word of our 'story' and what Michael had done for me had spread across the lobby. Random people were coming up to us saying, "I heard your story and just had to come say hello!" Ha! One sweet gentleman even made it a point to go backstage and tell Shane & Shane how far we had traveled and to make sure to speak with us after the concert had ended. Wow...

Needless to say it was an incredible night of worship. Two men, two guitars, beautiful voices, and God's Word. Doesn't get much better!

The next day (after sleeping in until 8:30 - oh yes!), we ate breakfast at the hotel, checked out, and headed to Lexington for a bit. The farms we passed along the way were gorgeous. No denying we were in horse country!

I'm thinking we'll stay here on our next visit

it's seriously a hotel and event center - crazy!

We parked downtown and enjoyed lunch at Giacomo's - a New York style deli with meat delivered directly from the Big Apple itself. My chicken caprese panini was delish and the company was even better :)

Babe, you outdid yourself and truly shocked my socks off :) Way to go! I love you more than you know and thank God for the way YOU love us!

Happy Heart Day!

With Valentine's Day being on a Tuesday this year, I knew the morning would be hectic heading out the door to MDO and Bible Study. So. . . we had our traditional heart shaped pancakes a day early. No complaints here!

Valentine's Day has arrived! I had planned on a simple meal of heart shaped strawberries, cereal, and pink milk, but Daddy surprised us with heart shaped doughnuts and other goodies from Dunkin' Donuts. YUM!

Checking out a treat from Mommy and Daddy.

I also found out that Michael had planned an OVERNIGHT trip for the two of us to an unknown destination. That beats roses and chocolates anyday! All I had to do was pack and leave instructions for the kiddos. Oh the suspense!

So thankful for a family that shows love each and every day of the year. May I never forget how truly blessed we are! Happy Love Day everyone!