Mother-Daughter Valentine Tea

This afternoon I hosted my second annual Mother-Daughter Valentine Tea. This year my guests were my third grade girls and their moms. What a special time we had!

Mom and Peter helped me rearrange our seldom-used sun porch
into a delightful tea room.

Dad had the bright idea to give me a lovely centerpiece for the dining room table, as my Valentine's flowers this year. Flowers are all the more fun to receive when they can be enjoyed with others!

All ready for the party to begin!

Yep, I had a relaxed smile minutes before the party began--
thanks to my fantastic crew.
This party was truly a family effort.
I could not have pulled it off without all the cheerful assistance
my mom and dad and brother gave me. =)

As the guests arrived, we had a little photo booth set up to take pictures
of the moms and daughters--and a cousin-butler too!

Our super butlers, Peter and Jason!

Peter, the Furniture-mover, Streamer-hanger,
DJ, Photographer, Butler Extraordinaire.

After the tea time, we gathered in the living room for a devotional.

For the devotional, I had little surprises wrapped up in packages,
for the guests to open.
Each object reminded us about God's love.

 Here Kate holds a bottle of Powerade, which reminds us that "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind" (2Timothy 1:7).

Elaiyna reads the card that explains her gift.

Our group picture =)

Thankful Thursday

Today is Thankful Thursday #17! I hope everyone had as happy a Valentine's Day on Tuesday as I did. In fact, that's what I'm especially thankful for this week.

1. I'm thankful that I can choose happiness. It's all too natural as a single to bemoan singleness anytime of the year, and all the more during the Valentine season. But choosing to embrace where God has me in life right now--choosing to live fully where He has me--I find so much to enjoy in this holiday.
2. I'm thankful to celebrate the festive occasion with my third graders. What fun! Our class party was an exuberant, time celebrating friendship and God's love. How could I help but chuckle receiving all the cheesy, cartoon-y valentines from the kiddos?!
3. I'm thankful to be part of a loving nuclear family. How special that together we can celebrate God's love and faithfulness--everyday.
4. I'm thankful for the lovely candlelight Valentine's Dinner we enjoyed as a family. Originally, we were looking forward to going out to eat, but at the last minute Peter found out he had to work late. So, we decided to get Chinese take-out instead. The parents of one of Mom's piano students who own a Chinese restaurant, graciously treated us to our dinner. Their spontaneous gift made our holiday meal all that more special.
5. I'm thankful that this evening after dinner I had a chance to work on preparations for my upcoming Mother-Daughter Valentine tea party. Over the years I've found that directing my focus off my single self, by preparing something special for others is one of the best defenses against depression on a day that many grumble as "Single Awareness Day."

Wow, so many blessings and so many happy memories from my 2012 Valentine's Day. I've always loved celebrating Valentine's Day, but I think this year's was one of my all-time favorites!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I always enjoy Valentine's Day--yes, even though I'm still single. [sigh: someday . . . ]. I like to think of it as a day to celebrate God's love.

Here are the little Valentine goodies I've made for my third grade class. At the top of the picture is one of the little packages all wrapped up and ready to give. The rest of the picture displays the contents. These little valentines were easy but time-consuming to assemble. I had fun watching a movie with my family last night as I worked on this project.

The pink scroll has the following message:

Happy Valentine's Day!

Enjoy these little Valentine goodies! On this festive occasion, I hope they help you celebrate the sweet love of God. “We love because He first loved us.” (I John 4:19)

A Hershey's Hug to remind you that God's love for you is everlasting.“I have loved you with an everlasting love, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” (Jer. 31:3 and Deut. 33:27)

Cinnamon Red Hots to remind you that Jesus’ love took the heat for your sins. “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins.” (I John 4:10)

A heart-shaped chocolate to remind you to love the Lord your God with your whole heart. “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” (Deut. 6:5)

A Hershey's Silver Nugget to remind you to love God's Word supremely. “The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of coins of gold and silver.” (Psalm 119:72)

Conversation Hearts to remind you to share God’s love with others.“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works.” (Heb. 10:24)

I assembled the gifts using mini paper baking cups, wrapped with cellophane. Those mini baking cups made such cute yet inexpensive packaging! The size of the packages worked perfectly to cut squares of cellophane that were 1/3 the width of the cellophane roll. I used generous pieces of curling ribbon to tie the cellophane around the paper cups, so that I had plenty of left over ribbon to secure the pink scrolls. Voila!