Love is in the air

I had an incredible revelation yesterday.
Yesterday was by far the best Valentine's day I've EVER had! And I've had some good ones! I remember the first Valentine's that Chris and I were dating, the year that we were engaged, our first one as a married couple (which, was probably one of the hardest ones), the year that we were expecting Benton, last year (rather uneventful with a baby, we MAYBE went out to eat). And of course there were many Valentine's days before Chris came into my world, but honestly, how good can that day be when you aren't with the love of your life??
Maybe it's because our love has grown so much over the last year, or maybe its because we are such different people than we have been in years past, but something about this year was extra special. I can't say it was the gifts or the cards, we didn't really exchange gifts. I can't say it was the fancy dinner: we had a combination of home cooked and take out Chinese. I think it was just having a whole entire day to spend as a family with no goal other than loving on each other.
The night before V-day I was asking all my co-workers if they were excited, and most of them rolled their eyes at me. One even made a comment along the lines of "How can I be excited about a holiday that requires me to give diamonds as a gift just to keep my girl happy."
So here it is, the revelation: Valentines is an amazing holiday, sans gifts, sans fancy restaurants, even (dun dun dun) sans chocolate (large gasp). Its a holiday to just be reminded and remind those around you that you are already giving (and getting) the greatest gift you have: LOVE. Don't say to me "Andrea you are being cliche". This is the first year I haven't gotten roses or chocolates or some sort of jewelry and it was, still, the best Valentines ever. EVER!
Thank you, God for reminding me what's real this year. And thank you even more for the amazing blessing you have given my, a heart full of love and a family to share it with.

So, since I took them, I guess I might as well go ahead and share a few photos from the day yesterday

Cookies I made for Benton's party at daycare

My little show-off, so proud of the crown he made at daycare!

Benton's classmates. How cute are they?

Dinner...yum! Crab rangoons, wonton egg drop soup, lo mein and general tsaos chicken. I made some of it, but have yet to master crab rangoons and lo mein, so we picked some of it up from our favorite takeout place too.

Chowin down on his crab rangoons...I think he likes them as much as Chris and I do!