Women are like lionesses at the gate of the home. . . . She guards that gate, and things matter to that family if they matter to her. . . . Sisters, you are each like the lioness at the gate. This means that there has to be some prioritizing. I was taught years ago that when our priorities are out of order, we lose power. If we need power and influence to carry out our mission, then our priorities have to be straight.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Valentine's Day Wrapup

Yesterday was a very busy day, so we're getting out our Valentine's pictures today. Shaelyn was wearing this adorable outfit, so I had to show it off. In case you can't tell what you're seeing, there is a bunny on the front and it says "I love you". The last picture also shows you that the feet have little bunnies on them, making it look like she's wearing slippers. Appropriate for Love Day, don't you think?

Shaelyn was the best Valentine either Michael or I could have received. We can't help but fall in love with her even more every day. And don't you love that she's hamming it up for the pictures? She's just learned how to make eye contact with you and smile. It's the best thing she's learned so far. So of course we love to make her smile! Her favorite thing right now is just to stare at you and make conversation. We talk about really interesting things, like how her hands taste or what I'm having for lunch. Last night we read "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish", and she had fun telling me all about the pictures.

For Valentine's Day, our friends, Greg and Nicolle, offered to watch Shaelyn for a few hours so Michael and I could have some alone time. I had this ambitious thought that I was going to cook Michael a special Valentine's dinner. Then reality hit and I had him pick up an order I placed on the way home. We had food from Village Tavern - YUM! Crab dip, flank steak, garlic mashed potatoes, asparagus, and cheesecake for dessert. Much better than anything I would have cooked anyway. We ate dinner by candlelight while listening to some Harry Connick, Jr. Michael asked me to dance after dinner. It was fun to sway to the music and just be the two of us. Well, I should say that Maggie was still here. Once Michael got back from dropping Shaelyn off at our friends' house, we sat down to eat and Maggie immediately jumped up on the table. We looked at each other and realized we should have gotten a babysitter for both our kids!

As great as it was to be alone, I found myself missing Shaelyn after about an hour. It was weird to have both Michael and I in our house without our baby. I was the first one who said anything out loud about it, but the minute I said something, Michael agreed that it was strange to not have the little buggy around. We enjoyed our alone time, but were very happy to venture back over to Greg and Nicolle's to pick up Shaelyn. I'm sure as time goes on we will be able to go longer periods of time before we start missing our kids - say two hours instead of one! But we are grateful to Greg and Nicolle for watching her and promised to return the favor.

Michael got me a beautiful necklace for Valentine's Day. Last week I met up with my best girlfriend, Kelly, for lunch. Michael was able to get away from work for a little bit to meet us halfway through our meal. Kelly had on a really fun chunky necklace and I mentioned how much I loved it. Michael is very good at paying attention to these kinds of things and ran out to get me one. How thoughtful! Mine has red blown glass beads that have hand painted roses and flowers on them. Very classy.

As I mentioned before, Shaelyn is getting so good at going to sleep at night and sleeping for most, if not all, of the night. Last night we put Shaelyn to bed at 1:00 am (she usually goes to bed any time between midnight and 1:30) and she was asleep by 1:15. She did not wake up until 7:45 this morning! Way to go buggy! When she got up she was just so cute and happy, I had to make a short video for you. Enjoy!

Cleverly written by shelley