Love and Valentines

“Remember the heart marshmallows, Mommy?” her hazel eyes glisten.

I wonder at the mind of a child.

For I remember.

I remember tossing those little squishy hearts into a muffin tin thingy as we talked about love.

And I remember sharing our secrets with one another as the marshmallow hearts slowly melted in two steamy mugs of hot-chocolate nearby.

Such tiny acts of love, but large enough to be etched in both of our hearts.

I marvel at the giving and receiving of love.

Me pouring it out by finding the heart-shaped marshmallows and delighting in the messes that bring smiles. And by seeking, seeking, seeking the One who first loved me, so that I can give my all to loving Him and the lives around me.

And them giving back love by forgiving… always forgiving. The “no you may not’s”. The harsh words that slip out. The “in a minutes” that never come. The times when the whole bag of heart marshmallows gets kept to myself.

Together we laugh and we cry and we stumble and we get back up again. We learn what it really means to love.

To love Him with everything and to love others as ourselves.

That’s what I long for, and that’s how I want my children to love.

And so I want to share some simple, fun ways that we’ve used to try and etch little lessons of our Father’s great big love into the hearts of our children…

Talking About LOVE with our Kids… with Snow Cream

LOVE in My Heart (Valentine’s Day Craft)

Shining Hearts of LOVE

Overflowing LOVE… “Bubble Experiment”

Bubbles of Overflowing Love

Shhhh… It’s a Secret {Secret Valentines}

Super Easy Valentine’s Day Fudge {With a Lesson to Walk in LOVE}
 

How can you show love to your children today? Maybe it’s buying a bag of heart-shaped marshmallows… or taking a few minutes to sit down and look into their precious eyes as they talk… maybe it’s picking up the My Little Ponies to have some fun… or donning the baker’s hat…