Valentine's Day Craziness!!!

The night before Valentine's day, I went to the local grocery store with my mom and kids. It was Valentine day headquarters!!! You could get balloons with stuffed animals, flowers, etc.. chocolate dipped strawberries for a ridicilous price, monkeys that would whistle, huge ugly stuffed animals, you name it. And the store was filled to the brim with people buying.

I can't name one time KC and I went out on a Valentine date. But our Valentine's days haven't gone without love, especially the last two years. Let me recap.

2006 was a crazy year. KC's mom passed not long before Valentine's day and the same week KC got this huge hernia out of nowhere. So he had surgery I believe less than a week before Valentine's day. He did not have much work time so he opted for the "speedy recovery." I really wanted the movie Just like Heaven. KC went back to work the night before Valentines day and was exhausted and could barely walk. So he went to Wal-Mart at 11 at night (he was on swing shift) got into one of those old people courtesy powered wheelchairs and "wheeled" himself back to the movie section. Now that is love! I felt so bad that he did it, but man would I love to have some footage of that! Can you imagine what everyone thought of him! We went to IHOP on Valentine's day for a Valentine breakfast with Preston (Carter was in school and Kate wasn't even a twinkle in our eye yet)

2007- Valentine's day is the date the Dr.'s at PCMC predicted we would get to take Kate home. So I was really glad when we took her home on February 6th. She was my early Valentine's day present. We got this really cute Winnie the Pooh dress hand me down and put her in it. Seriously, what a sweet picture of Kate!!!!!

Ironically, Valentine's day is also National Congenital Heart Defect awareness day. I believe in 2005 govener John Huntsman signed this into Proclamation. Last year in the process of having my daughter's heart repaired, my heart was broken. I have never felt a love this deep before. I remember walking into a Target one day while Kate was still in the hospital and there was Valentine day heart stuff everywhere! I felt like breaking down right there in the store over it all. I can't believe I diddn't. Someone in the IHH support group posted that their child is having open heart surgery on Valentine's day. What better day to have your heart repaired?

I'm almost afraid to say how relieved I am that we have gone past V- day without any trama for fear I will jinx myself. We had a relatively calm Valentine's day at home. We made a steak dinner and I made a cheesecake. KC is the sweetest hubby I know! He got me some cute balloons, cards from him and the kids, and lo and behold when I opened the van to take Carter to school..... The love van!!!! Little streamers with Nick Jr. cutouts streamed all over the van! Carter felt like a rock star when I dropped him off!!!

What a creative hubby I have!

Then Carter came home with his little loot of candy and valentines

So when I think of Valentine's day it isnt filled with memories of dining out or jewlery. It's my husband's sweetness and all his patience and the fact that he never forgets me on any holiday. It's my cute kids and all the cute Valentine holiday stuff. And now it's CHD kids, their surgeries that they have conqured, the angels we have among us, and the Dr.'s and nurses who care for them.

Happy Valentines Day/Congenital Heart Defect awareness day!!!