I was going to try and
count the ways that I love this day of red hearts and sugary delights, but I'll just relate some thoughts.
Thought: I love hearts and the color red; I think I inherited this from my mother. Almost half of my cookie cutters are heart-shaped. This may be influenced by my mother as well, because to me, Valentine's Day is inseparably connected with heart-shaped sugar cookies - particularly those I helped my mother decorate when I was a child. I would frost a cookie, center a smaller cookie on top, and repeat through tiers of cookies and candy hearts. Delicious. My mom has also drawn hearts on many of the notes she has given me through the years - on napkins in a lunch sack, on sticky notes, on the address line of an envelope. My dad has continued the mantra he started while I was in utero: "Sammy, this is your daddy. We love you". I feel blessed to know that I have parents who love me. I am also blessed with a mother-in-law who is quick to say "you are loved".
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| Me and Momma Jones - April 2011 |
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| Momma Allred and one day old Henry - July 14, 2012 |
Thought: I have a valentine. He is more wonderful than any valentine I could have imagined. Handsome, kind, intelligent, fun, supportive, hard-working... this guy is the best.
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| Whiskeytown Lake - June 2011 |
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| Point Reyes - December 2012 |
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| San Francisco - January 2013 |
Thought: I love boys (though I don't have
a crush on every boy like I used to). And good news: I have three awesome boys in my home! What a lucky girl I am.
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| January 2013 |
Thought: I was dancing with Joel to "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" this morning, and I thought about his heart. I thought about the paper hearts on the bulletin board outside of UCSF's Children's Cardiac ICU. I thought about the hearts seen by
Dr. Azakie and the many other doctors, nurses, physician assistants, and specialists that worked so hard on our little boy. I thought about the hearts of family, friends, co-workers, ward members, temple-goers, and others turned to our Heavenly Father in prayer for Joel's heart. I am grateful that Joel is with us this Valentine's Day.
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| Post-surgery - July 25, 2012 |
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| 7 months + 1 day - Valentine's Day 2013 |
Final thought: Valentine's Day reminds me of my BYU days: hanging out with roommates and friends at the Glenwood, watching
Teen Girls Squad, and having a bonfire of paper hearts. Those days, just as these current ones, had their ups and downs, and I am grateful to all those who helped me to make it through and have fun along the way.
Happy Valentine's Day!
