happy heart day

Daddy made us raspberry waffles and bacon for breakfast after a wake up from my Simon who gave me a huge hug and kiss and then whispered something about how the table was decorated for valentines day and it looked "awesome"…we surprised the kids with the soundtrack from Frozen because they have been listening to it constantly on YouTube and it was a huge hit! After the older boys headed to school Josie and I spent a good thirty minutes singing the songs at the top of our lungs and dancing around the house and although I don't think she saw the tears of joy streaming down my face it was such a fun memory with my little girl enjoying the magic of the Disney princesses together. Tonight we plan to eat heart shaped pizza and chocolate cupcakes and cupids kiss mocktails too. Hope you are having a wonderful valentines day friends! xoxo

dinner at eight :: sweetheart

{Dinner at Eight is a special project I am doing with my friend Andi this year - planning date nights at home for our husbands, putting the kids to bed early and being intentional about our marriages! Read more about the dinner at eight project HERE}

This past year I have been learning so much about Gods provision. Not always an easy thing to trust or count on I will confess but always, ALWAYS finds it way into our lives especially when we are looking for it. I love this dinner at eight feature it is very close to my heart but sometimes the thought of putting together a little more effort for a date night at home is hard. After we moved last Fall and I unexpectedly found myself pregnant again I was am tired. I don't always have the enthusiasm to try.

But this I know: God loves marriage and He loves to provide for us and last night I was so blessed by both of those things. A few weeks ago when I said I was bringing dinner at eight back I really was excited I promise but as it got closer pulling off a nice date started to feel so exhausting and on Sunday I still had so much to do.

I needed to go to the store. I had my Pinterest board going for inspiration and a loooong list of things that I wanted to make for the date. But we were out at Church until late afternoon and by the time we got home I just needed to sit my tired body down.

My step Mom, Julia hadn't seen the kids in several weeks and popped by for a little visit and she brought with her a bag of goodies to share. Guess what was in the bag? It was all the makings for the sweetest evening, oh how the Lord provided us such a gift through her!

First she brought me some red tulips to brighten up the place. She packed two rib eye steaks from their grass fed beef stash because she knows we aren't able to afford that kind of treat often and she thought Chris might like it especially. Some potatoes, mushrooms and a salad plus a little plate of veggies and dip for an appetizer. I think I almost cried when she pulled it all out of the bag and laid it on the counter.

That evening after she had gone home I told Chris it was such an unexpected blessing and we both agreed that we could not wait to enjoy the steaks. I then decided to forgo all the over the top decorations and gathered up what I had around the house for the next nights date.

As luck would have it Amanda from Festivities Party Supply had sent me some adorable red and white striped straws and flags (thanks Amanda!) to use for our date night and they provided a little more red to go with the tulips. I also laid out the vintage fifties red roses table cloth (also a gift from Julia long ago it was her Mom's I love it!) and hung up my little xoxo bunting from the talented Stacey Winters etsy shop!

Then I got out my trusty glass jar collection and filled each one with white feathers and a battery operated candle to add a festive glow. So easy and yet so special especially when I set the card table out by the fireplace.

And that was about it. I waited to start dinner until Chris came home last night. Instead I fed the kids and then we both took turns getting them ready for bed and working on our food. 

I will be honest Josie went down pretty easily but our boys were NOT even close to sleeping while we enjoyed our meal together. It was pretty comical listening to them rough housing and carrying on. At one point we heard a terrible loud crash and lots of crying and my heart stopped but all ended up fine. And they did eventually go to bed. But to be honest it wasn't even a big deal they knew we were having some alone time and  even though they kept interrupting us it still felt really really special to get some good adult conversation mixed in. And the food was super yummy too!

We enjoyed Chris' favorite milk shakes in these sprinkle rimmed jars and I also made a vegan chocolate torte. So I am happy to report that dinner at eight was a blessing to our relationship once again and the Lord truly provided for us in really tangible ways. I am looking forward to doing it again next month!

So now it's your turn, did you host a little date night at home for your sweetie or do you plan too this month? If so please consider heading over to the dinner at eight page HERE and adding your date night post to the linky so that we can all see it and be blessed. I think Andi is planning a date night to and I will let you know when her post is up!

 

Happy Valentine's Day!