A New Valentine's Tradition

i found the perfect idea on pinterest, which is where i find all of my inspirations! i used a heart punch and valentine's scrapbook paper to create enough hearts to get us to valentine's day. on a small mason jar i used some mod podge to glue a heart printable on the lid, i also wrapped some bakers twine around the top to make it pop and then added our empty hearts to the jar.

next to the jar i placed a valentine's basket that i got at hobby lobby a few years ago. each day we all take a heart out of the jar and we think of: someone we're thankful for and why, someone we love and why, someone that we need to say thank you to, or something that we've been blessed with. after we're done we toss our completed hearts in the basket so that we can read them.

we started this because i saw a need in our family to really think about all that we've been blessed with. we have so many things, opportunities, and people in our lives that we should be thankful for. i want to make sure that our children realize just how fortunate they are... and quite honestly, i need to remind myself how thankful i should be for all that God has given to me.

as a mom of 3 small children i often find myself wishing for bedtime or longing for an afternoon alone. it's tough having 3 little people who always need you! i tell myself that this is natural and that surely i'm not the only mom who longs for solitude. but, sadly i don't often find myself looking at my 3 beautifully healthy babies and thanking God that he chose me to be their mom. me, out of all the mom's in the world... he chose me for these 3 special people. why is that?  i do love them with every ounce of my being and i put their well-being ahead of my own on a daily basis... but, i have to start thanking God for them just as often. which is why, as a family, we're taking time daily to be thankful for one another.