valentines tea

i really do love valentines day!

 if you can manage to block out all of the world's negativity & self-centeredness and avoid the commercialism, it's a really fun excuse to do all things pink & heart shaped for one day each year! (singles awareness day? please. you are SURROUNDED by people that love you even if you don't have a special someone). obviously we're supposed to show love all throughout the year, but i do like having one day to be especially positive about it & remember the Creator of this beautiful thing we call love. "this is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters." (1 John 3:16)

 we never did a whole lot for the holiday growing up… some years we would make valentines for each other & some years we forgot to. other years mama & daddy would surprise us with special treats & such. but then 7 years ago we got snowed in and mama threw a little impromptu valentine's tea for us girls and the neighbor girls. we had so much fun that we remembered to do it the next year and it's been a tradition ever since! we host other teas throughout the year but this is the one that we really have fun with and do more than your typical afternoon scone & treat. i love that mama always did little tea parties for us girls growing up and cultivated that aspect of etiquette & femininity in us… and now it's really fun to help do that for my little sisters and their friends! 

the boys always complain about getting kicked out for a while but they honestly love it just as much as we do, if not more, because they get their share of the treats:) and if noah could have had his say, he would have been sitting right there at the table with us this time! such a ladies man! haha

in true throwback style to our first year, the snow DUMPED on us as we were preparing the tea and a few of our friends weren't able to make it. but i'm so thankful for those who braved the yucky roads & celebrated with us! 

the sun rise is beautiful this morning (it always is after a big snow) and after i finish my giant mug of tea (that's the only downfall to tea parties > only getting little amounts of tea at a time! haha) i'm going to bundle up and go shovel some snow! stay cozy my friends!! (why did i just get a flashback of a liquor commercial?! hahaha)