We don't celebrate Valentine's Day

Or do we???  I call myself not celebrating it...really, it's a Hallmark holiday. I don't need a date on the calendar to tell those I love how much I care for them.  But to a little girl, that date on the calendar means everything.  It had nothing at all to do with getting a gift....oh, I always get her a small gift. The last few years, it has been a V-day themed Webkinz. I don't think she has made that connection just yet though.  Todd doesn't get me anything and I don't get him anything.

This year....making a gift for me has meant the world to Raelee.  It was as if her whole life depended on making me something. It meant a lot to me that she cared that much.  She drove everybody crazy trying to get help with making me something...including her art teacher (who I think dropped the ball on the whole thing quite honestly, but oh well), her Granny and her Daddy.  They all kept trying to tell her that Vday was days away and that it didn't need to be done RIGHT THIS SECOND. Poor girl kept melting down over and over because nobody (in her mind) cared enough about it to help her out.  That was NOT the case, but to her, it felt like it.

So....she took it upon herself to get herself to Granny's house the next day. It required a little bit of white lying to do it...but she has her daddy wrapped around her pinky finger so he took her over there...

They spent the next 2 days making me a gift (and daddy one too).  Thank you Granny for helping her out. That meant everything to her that you did that.  The 'secret' part of it was great. "Mom, you go out back and see if you can find the Eagles Granny and I saw.  Stay out there and look for them ok?"  It was great.

Anyway...I ended up with this FABULOUS bouquet of flowers in a painted vase. LOVE it!!!

Daddy got this really neat picture holder. He put it on his 'desk' at work offshore. It's always neat seeing his space at work!!

Of course we got the box from Grandma earlier this week. It's always SO much fun getting these boxes from her. Nobody in the house is forgotten..not even the dogs.  Of course there is the famed package of napkins in it.  Thank you Grandma!!

Raelee spent her V-day evening playing with her worms. She counted them, measured them, named them and talked to them. Then she put them in a jar and put them in the compost pile the next day.  Doesn't every kid do that??

And lastly, I leave you with the current state of her bed.  The array of animals on it, dolls or books, or magazines on it is ever-changing. Right now, it houses 13 stuffed animals. 13 of her current favorite friends.  What's funny is that 2 of them were mine when I was a kid. See the bunny in middle? My  mom made me that when I was her age.  So fun!!