Our Valentine's Day

If you listened very carefully between the sounds of coughing, wheezing, and moaning you could barely hear the words "Happy Valentine's Day!" All 9 of us have had the flu over the past 2+ weeks, but Valentine's Day is no respecter of ill health so we went ahead and tried to celebrate anyway.

As usual, the kids each received a small gift from us and some chocolates. The girls all received new sleepwear, Alex received two new books, and Luke received his Cincinnati Reds shirt, purchased when I went to Cinci last month.

Unlike Emma, who honestly could care less about candy and sweets, Ella loves it and her big sister is showing her M & Ms.

Vera and Emma decided to model their new sleepwear...

...as did Anna, while Ella holds hers and Song steadfastly refuses to remove the clothes she wore ALL WEEK LONG! Every time I would send her to shower, she came back out wearing the same thing. Apparently, having the flu means remaining in the same clothes until it is gone.
Each of the girls received a rose from Daddy, and Mommy received a lovely arrangement. It's hard to tell, but there are quite a few lilies mixed in with the roses, but none have bloomed so far. It's still very pretty. Thank you, honey!!

John and I were supposed to go out to dinner with two other couples at a nice Dallas restaurant. Due to the flu, I didn't feel much like going, and we really didn't feel like we could ask a babysitter to watch the sick kids. Well, that's not entirely true...we did ask our niece, but they have gone through the same flu at their house!

So, to prove my love in the midst of illness, I made a cake. As I mentioned in my last post, I am cake-impaired--they usually taste perfectly fine but look awful. It's a trait that I somehow managed to inherit from my dear mother-in-law! And yes, I have said that to her face, and she agrees! One of my dear husband's favorite cakes is the banana cake his mother makes. It is from an old recipe...so old that the icing directions call for adding butter equal to two eggs. Huh? I always guess, therefore I always end up with very different icing from time to time. This time, it was very thick and heavy and wouldn't adhere to the side of the cake, so I didn't force the issue. Instead, I camoflaged! I had purchased some flowers from the grocery store and they were perfect for adding a little interest to my unlovely cake.
My mom, the gift-giving queen in our life, brought us all presents. John and I got some new movies, and each of the kids received new swimsuits! And I do mean, EACH of the kids. She bought one for Dean, too! Isn't that the sweetest thing?? Ella is holding his swimsuit, below.
Alex is looking far too much like a teenager for my taste, but isn't he cute?
Ella elected to try Dean's swimsuit, too, but put both legs into the same side.
Here is the silly Ella bella doing a move she has perfected over the last few months with us...shaking her booty! Yes, we could have taught her many, many worthwhile things, but instead we did this...it's good for hours of fun and she's clearly proud of herself! She's so much fun!! Oh, and before I forget, she very clearly said, "Mommy" this week!!! After months of absolutely no speech, she is really starting to try to say lots of new words, many of which are pretty clear. Three cheers for my little beauty!

How can you tell Song is feeling better? She's out of the blue warm ups and back into the yellow vest!