More Than "I Love You" (Becca Smith)

If you asked our girls about our family's favorite holiday or tradition, they would probably say Valentine's Day. They do love Christmas, don't get me wrong, with all of the gifts, movies, and decorations (and time off from school), but Valentine's has become a special time for us.

I can't remember what year our tradition started.  And like most traditions, we didn't plan to start a family tradition.  I think it was about 5 years ago, we didn't have a babysitter for Valentine's night, so, we were staying home with the girls.  Deron and I decided that neither one of us should cook since it was a special holiday for both of us.  We bought a frozen Alfredo dish, a bag salad, and Little Debbie valentine cakes.  We set the table with heart placemats (we only have 4 so someone didn't get a heart) and made homemade Valentines for the girls.  At dinner, we read the cards to our girls and said Happy Valentine's Day and that was that.

The next year the girls began asking if we were going to have our "traditional" Valentine's dinner again. (It is amazing how quickly something can become a tradition!) They wanted to get in on the action. We said sure and realized that this could be something good.  They began making Valentines for each other, and we decided to add a small gift to the evening. Each year the dinner has grown a bit in its yumminess (no more frozen pasta and Little Debbie cakes) and the anticipation has heightened.  The kids start talking about it at the beginning of February.

I believe the thing that makes Valentine's day dinner stand out for the Smiths is not the good food or the small -very small- gifts that we give the girls (the after-Christmas sales at Bath and Body Works are put to good use).  It is all about the  Valentines.  They are home made and ugly.  The cut-out pink hearts glued to red construction paper will not ever appear in a Martha Stewart magazine.  But inside the cards, we remind our kids how much we love and enjoy them, we tell them things that we see God doing in their lives and ways that we see them growing in their spirits.  We use this holiday as a reminder for us to stop and tell our kids in very specific terms how much we love and appreciate them.  The girls have begun to do the same.  So now at our Valentine's dinner, we take turns reading out loud our valentines to each other.  It is a time like none other in our calendar year.

I have no idea how long we will be able to continue this tradition with our girls or how it will look in the future.  Sometime we might have to go back to frozen pasta,  and I know there will be a time when they are not able to be around our table.  However,  the idea of taking time to speak words of love and blessing over our kids will not end.  I believe that Valentine's Day will always be a reminder for Deron and I to stop and give our kids a little more than just an "I love you."  I have seen the looks of happiness on their faces when they are told specific ways that we love being with them, ways that we see God working in them.  And those are things that make the tradition worth it.