“Let all that you do be done in Love”

1 Corinthians 16:14

As Valentine’s Day is approaching and we see the aisles of our favorite stores filled with flowers, chocolates, bears and mushy love cards what is our immediate reaction?  Married or single, it can be a day we either love or loathe.  No matter what is our status; this day allows such a great opportunity to shower those around us with love and affection.  Ideally we would show extravagant love to our family and friends every day; but the reality of work, bills, laundry, and life sometimes gets the best of us.  It truly takes being intentional and these holidays give us the push we need to put in the extra effort.

This Valentine’s I encourage you to pray and ask God who you can bless with a little extra love. It could be our spouse or our children, our mom or dad, maybe a co-worker or possibly even a stranger.  We may want to show love to all of the above and that is ok! Love is not limited and it sure does not cost a thing.

How can we be intentional and show some love to those around us?  It could be as simple as a card to a sibling, a coffee for that tired single momma, a thank you card to a co-worker, or a smile to a stranger.  Expensive gifts are not the keys to everyone’s hearts and we need to remember that the best things in life are not things at all.  Who knows, maybe these simple acts of love will pour out into our everyday life and we will begin to look for ways to love others on a regular basis!

This past weekend we had fun celebrating Valentines early with our toddlers. It was a day filled with crafts, sweets, love and laughs.  The kids felt truly special and as parents it was an awesome feeling to let them know how loved they are, not only by us, but by God.  Celebrating early with them will also leave us this weekend to have one on one time with our spouses. That is truly a luxury!

Below are a few of the crafts we did with the kids. This includes what supplies are needed and input on crafting with kids in general. There are also a few ideas on how we can share in special moments with our spouse as we learn a little more about their personality / love language.  All of these require little or no budget and will definitely leave a mark of love on those around us.

Spouse:

All of our spouses are different in expressing and receiving love.  Have you ever felt that you were hitting a wall when coming up with thoughtful gifts of affection?  We may spend a lot of time and money picking out a gift for them when in reality they would have been just as happy with a simple date night (quality time) or an act of service (such as a home DIY project).  If you have not yet taken the 5 Love Languages quiz we highly recommend it.  This really helped Sean and I discover our love language and helped in building a stronger relationship. Once we were on the same page, planning became a breeze and time together became much more enjoyable.  You will find that gifts are not the key to everyone’s heart so save some money this holiday and speak your spouse’s love language in a new way.

You can take the quiz here http://www.5lovelanguages.com/)

Click link below for some simple but awesome ideas on showing love based on their love language: http://www.engagedmarriage.com/romantic-ideas-love-languages/

Children:

We love crafting. We’ve always enjoyed the process of using our mind and hands to build something. We’ve never really been great at it but we enjoy it all the same and Pinterest makes it so much easier. It is easier to want to try everything and easier to measure your “success” and “failures”.  Have you ever had a Pinterest fail?  We’ve have them often but we don’t let that discourage us from trying more projects.  We’ve learned to laugh at the fails and imperfections of a project.  This is important to remember when working on crafts with children.   The most important part of the activity is not the activity itself but the memories we make while creating it.  So Have Fun!!!

When deciding on a project we always consider a few things before taking on a task:

–      It is age appropriate

–      Will my child enjoy it

–      Does my child have the motor skills / attention span to accomplish the task

–      Is it affordable

If the answer is yes, then we try it. We do not select any projects that are costly or too time consuming for our sanity and our children alike.  So we took to Pinterest to find some fun projects for our toddlers. There are so many fun ideas to choose from.  We ultimately chose 2 crafts.  Both crafts require very few items and very little skills and we were beyond happy with the results.  The kids enjoyed them and we have some beautiful artwork from our babies.  Side Note: Toddlers love stickers, so I add them to every project.

“I love you to Pieces”

Items: Paper, Glue, Tissue Paper, Pen / Marker

Link to pin: http://pin.it/yiEBeCI

“Love” painting

Items: Paper / Canvas, painters tape, paint supplies

Link to pin: http://pin.it/yiEBeCI

(Most) of our children really enjoyed these projects.  Not all kids will enjoy crafts.  As a parent we want to understand and learn the interest of our children.  We do not force any of our children to participate in any activity, because at the end of day, it is all about the fun.  Each child will experience fun in a different way and we are not here to conform them into one mold but instead to discover the unique characteristics God gave each child and help them flourish in those areas.  The same can be said about any spouse or loved one.

So enjoy the month of love by giving a little more of yourself to those around you. 

“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.”
Romans 12: 9-10 NLT

Tisha and Misty