{ Valentine's Party ~ 2014 }

Hiya! Lanie here. I cannot believe it's been over a week since we had our Valentine's Day party!  We had such a blast! I so totally loved doing all the decorating.....it seemed to take FOREVER to get all the decorations out and up, but it was SO worth it!!

Look at these super cool garlands that Hope made! We hung them up just before the party started and it was a complete surprise to all of us!  Hope told us that she sewed them all by herself on her sewing machine and that Cindy was a big help holding them cause they got reeeeeally long! They just look SOOO cute hanging up, don't they?  They really made it extra festive!

And look at this super, super cute felt heart centerpiece!  Hope hand made this too!  The little hearts are puffy and Hope says the edges are done in a "blanket stitch".  Hope is super talented isn't she?

In preparation for the party; Cindy, Christina, and I went out to our local grocery store a few days before Valentine's Day and got little boxes of chocolates for everyone. I picked out a soccer ball chocolate box for Trey- when I saw it I knew it was perfect for him! Cindy picked pink rose chocolate boxes for the girls, and Christina made the flower decorations to stick on the candy boxes when we got home.  She used some really pretty Valentine's ribbon and silk flowers she bought at Michael's. Aren't they cute?? I'm not sure where that big chocolate Hershey's Kiss came from or who it's for but I sure wish is was mine!!

 

I even decorated the top of our fridge so that our noisy but awfully pretty parrot could enjoy the party too.  I had to make sure that he couldn't get to the stuff though cause he has a way of shredding everything that comes in contact with his beak!

 

After decorating, I helped with getting the foods prepared and set out. Yum!  I love cookies!  Cindy made us put out the "healthy" foods and says we have to eat some of the veggies before having sweets.  At least I like carrots & cheese cubes.  But celery?  Nope.  Not so much.....I do not like the stringy part at all.  Now, I will confess, I don't mind those pig-in-blankets one bit!  Those are one of my favorite party foods!!  I like them dipped in honey mustard....yummilicious!

Christina put all our handmade valentines into a big basket to pass out.  McKenna was so excited to find out which one was hers, that she immediately offered to help with the task! I cannot wait to see our special little felt Valentine envelopes; Hope has been working on these for months in and around school, homework and youth group.  She made them very similar to the puffy hearts centerpiece; with hand-embroidery and special applique's and buttons - one for each of us!  Golly, I have to admit that I wished I had offered to help cause I really wanted to see mine too!

Christina set the basket of our special Valentine's under the table and told Coconut to guard them with her life!  Coconut happily agreed and stayed right next to the basket, guarding it as if it was full of bones!

Just as I was getting my first cookie, Harper arrived!  She kept apologizing for not dressing up for the party but I assured her that it was fine!  The most important part was that she made it.....and that there was still food left for her! 

After about 4 cookies, I heard Christina call to get everyone's attention so she could start passing out the valentines. Needless to say, she gave McKenna hers first - since she was just DYING to see it - AND she was standing right there next to Christina! 

"Next is Harper's!!" Christina called out.  Harper nearly knocked me over to get next in line behind McKenna, but you can bet that I was right behind her!! 

"Patience, Lanie-bug." Christina smiled, as she handed me my Valentine. Ooh! Oh my golly! It's mine! I cant wait to open it and see who its from!! Maybe I have a secret admirer!!

I couldn't bring myself to open it right away.  I just wanted to sit and admire just how adorable these are! All the work and love that went into each stitch.....what a true gift these were.  Okay, so that moment passed in like, two seconds and I had to open it!   I pulled out my card and it had pretty glitter dots and a heart made of the same glitter.  Inside it read;  

"Roses are Red, Violets are Blue ~ You're Such A Good Friend and I Miss You!"  

Love, Isabelle XOXO

Awwww, that was sooooo sweet!  My Valentine was from Isabelle!  For a few seconds, it like totally made me sad cause it reminded me of how much I really do miss her ~ even though I have had such fun with my special Izzy doll that she sent. 

Right about then, Hope arrived and we all cheered when she walked into the kitchen!  "We love your special garlands!" everybody shouted. 

Since McKenna helped with the Valentines, I wanted to be the helper for handing out the boxes of chocolates.  I grabbed Hope's and handed it to her and told her that I admired her terribly.  "You are so talented, Hope. I wish I could be more like you!" I exclaimed.  "Oh Lanie, you are still young and learning but you already have a wonderful talent - you make us all smile each and every day and not everybody can do that!"  Hope replied.

"Thank you Hope.  I hope you'll always know that I love you like a sister!"  ♥  Then we hugged and posed for this photo. 

Just then, we heard a semi-familiar voice......"Hellooooo!  Hellooooo!  Is anybody home???"  I turned to Hope and asked her who that could be?  It sounded familiar but I couldn't quite figure it out.  Hope agreed, "Maybe it's Cindy's bff, Lily?"

Then we heard the voice again and this time, I was pretty sure I knew who it was!!!!!  We turned towards the direction that the voice was coming from to see if we could figure it out.....the voice was getting louder and louder......closer and closer!  By this time, everybody at the party had stopped talking because they were curious too.  We were all looking towards the door......

OH. GOOD. GOLLY.  I could NOT believe my eyes!!!!  It was Isabelle!  My little heart felt like it would just burst out of my chest and fly away!  I squealed with glee SO loudly that I startled poor Hope so badly, I think she might have peed her pants!

Can you believe it?!?!?  Isabelle was right there in front of us!  We all cheered cause we were all so happy to see her.....and then we all rushed towards her like a flash HUG!

This was the best Valentine's Day party we have ever, ever, ever had!!!!  Good golly, I am still walking on sunshine and it's been ten days. ☺