We interrupt this fundraising blog...

to talk ST. VALENTINE'S DAY!

The hard part of fundraising is that it can be quite consuming..especially when it comes to posts. I want to be sure that if someone comes to our blog for the first time after people have shared about our fundraising, they can find our stuff easily, love it, and make an order! :)

That being said, I did want to do a post on the upcoming holiday. So if you are a first timer or are looking for "got love?" shirts, travel mugs, and/or totes scroll down to see the fun, bright colors that are now carrying the bold, simple "got love?" adopt. message.

If you would like to possibly learn a bit more about Feb. 14th and get encouraged to celebrate it..read on!

"You have put gladness in my heart more than when their grain and wine abound" Psalm 4:7

If you have followed my blog you know that I love family traditions. I did an earlier post on why I think they are so important--click HERE. In a nutshell, I think it is important to have things that you do only as a family. Go out of your way to come up with or copy ideas that can make your family times your own!

The true origin of Valentine's Day is not easy to find. Who was Valentine? One thing that is for sure is that this day commemorates a martyrdom. History records that a young priest, named Valentine, was beheaded on Feb 14, A.D. 269 because he refused to renounce his faith in Christ. I think it is interesting how the St. eventually was dropped from St. Nicolas Day and St. Valentine's Day. I also think it is time to take them back...teach our children the true origin and celebrate in a way that keeps Christ in our celebration days, year round.

There are lots of inexpensive ways to make the day special. Just because our children will be receiving IPADS doesn't mean that yours have to!! :) Our four Valentines will wake up to pink heart shaped pancakes and pink heart marshmallows in a cup of hot cocoa. Tim has always planned a scavenger hunt (clues on hearts, of course) for each child. They find a small surprise at each clue, usually 3 or 4. Last year, Tim even had the boys running around outside! We'll share homemade cards, make heart shaped sugar cookies to take to friends, read the story of St. Valentine, and we'll call it a day...that is unless someone out there can leave me a comment with another fun suggestion!!