{ Valentine's Day Party - 2015 }

Ooh, we had such a fun time at our party this year!  We were all worried that we might not be able to even have our party this year because of all the make up classwork we had been assigned due to so many snow days off from school last week.  I mean, as much as we all like school.....none of us like it when we have to make up tons of missed work!  So we all worked really hard to get it done by Friday night at bedtime so we could focus on the party on Saturday at noon.

Saturday morning was spent decorating the kitchen.   I helped hang the heart garland that Hope made for last year's party.....it's just so perfect, isn't it?  Lanie helped Cindy bake cookies and got them all put out on the punch table while I straightened the main table.  

We were all excited to meet Hope's friend, Ester, from southern Virginia.  They have been friends for many years and we had heard all about her but never actually met her.  We couldn't wait for Hope and Ester to arrive!  Then, knock, knock, knock....she was here!

We could see how happy Hope was that Ester was here and so she took great joy in finally getting to introduce her to us;  "Everybody, this is Ester, my bestest friend in the whole wide world!"

There was a chorus of 'Hellos' and 'Welcomes' from the rest of the girls and me.  It reminded me of when I arrived at the Valentine's Party last year!  Back then, everyone was so warm and welcoming that I wanted to Ester to feel the same, even though she was only visiting for the party.

Here is Hope and Ester....they tried unsuccessfully to take a selfie so I offered to do it for them.  I think it turned out great!  Of course, my silly little Oreo jumped in holding a Valentine that he swiped out of the basket!

I thought Oreo was so cute with that Valentine in his mouth that I put him back over next to the chair with all the goodies to get his photo.  He looked so cute and it turned out that he had actually picked out the one we made for Ester!  Hmmmm, do you think he knew that he got the right one???  If so, that's really creepy!

All us girls had such a good time hanging out and eating sweets.....we talked about school and friends and youth group.  Ester is home-schooled and she is very involved in her youth group.  It was so interesting to hear about all the different kinds of things she does with her youth group.  She has helped at the elder care home in her hometown and she helps serve food at her local soup kitchen that her church runs.  She told Cindy about the hundreds of biscuits the church makes every week and Cindy said she was tired just thinking about it!!  Ester sure was super interesting and so sweet too!

I was glad to have a few minutes to talk to Ester on my own cause I was really interested in what Ester's youth group does at the elder care home.  She said sometimes they sit and play cards with the residents and sometimes they just sit and talk with them.  Ester said there are these two really old ladies that are, like, in their 90's and they are twins.  They share a bedroom at the home together.  She says that these two ladies just love to have her sit on the end of their beds and and tell them about what she did at school or what errands she ran with her mom that week.....just the little stuff in life.  Ester says they tell her that her visit is the highlight of their week.  OMGosh, isn't that just the sweetest thing you have ever heard?  Ester shared that sometimes they even get tears in their eyes when it's time to leave.  That really broke my heart!  I decided right then that I want to talk to my youth group leader about our group going to our local elder care home.

After we finished talking about the elder care thing, we started talking about Ester's home schooling but Oreo would simply not leave Ester alone and kept carrying her Valentine around and around and around the kitchen.....and especially around and around Ester's feet!  Finally, I begged Ester to open it so Oreo would go and lay down.  

"Awwww, how sweet is this?" Ester cooed to Oreo.  This made Oreo's tail wiggle back and forth wildly with excitement!  Oreo's tail can actually hurt your legs when it gets going that crazy.  Trust me, I've been whipped by his wild tail more than once! 

After she opened the envelope and saw the handmade Valentine, Ester looked right at me; "Oh Izzy, you guys made me such a pretty card!  You have really made me feel like I have known you girls forever!  Thank you so much!"  I could tell she really loved the card but even more so, she loved being with us all.  The two hours passed way to quickly and even though we only spent a couple hours with Ester, we loved her so much!  We are totally looking forward to the next time that she can come and visit with Hope.....and the rest of us too!  Here we all are right before Ester had to leave.  Her mom came in and took this photo for us so we could all be in it.   

How about you?  Do you have a friend that you only see every once in a while?  What do you do when you get together?  ~ Izzy ღ

  18 Inch Doll Outfits & 18 Inch Doll Accessories by:

Ester's outfit by Forever18Inches ~ Etsy®

Hope's boot toppers by SewUrbanDesigns ~ Etsy®

Hope's flannel shirt by LoriLizGirlsandDolls ~ Etsy®