Valentine's Dinner

We celebrated Valentine's Day at our house today!  I was in the kitchen all day preparing a special meal for all of us (4 of us) to eat.  Did you get that... ALL DAY!!  I don't know how people cook like that all the time.  I made Libby's mashed potatoes (with cream cheese, sour cream, etc...) and her recipe for Beef Brisket.  I made Lulu's broccoli casserole.  Then for something sweet, I made Kelly Partlow's Strawberry Pretzel Delight.  It was all sooo yummy!!  I got out my fine china and crystal and set it on the dinning room table.  We never eat in the dinning room unless it is something special.  I had gormet desserts that my mom had someone make for us in the center of the table along with a candle.  We really had a special meal.  Everyone was very complimentary. 
My favorite gift I gave John and the girls were their own journals.  In the journal, I wrote that it was meant for us to write notes to each other about anything and everything that was one their minds.  They don't have to write everyday or every week, just when they have something to say.  Then once they have written something, they are to put it on my pillow and that lets me know they wrote something to me.  I will then write them back.   I bought these a week ago, because I thought that sometimes you can write something better than you can say it.  I also expect that I will grow to cherrish and look back on the many entries for the years to come.