You may recall the Pumpkin Ball that we had back in October. Hard to believe that four months have already passed, but this week we’ve been gearing up for the one that started it all…our annual Valentine’s Ball.
The preparations turned out to be quite exciting when I decided to let my girls use my sewing machine for the very first time!
First, they stamped out the words for our signature phrase on paper doilies…you know, the one that they get out of bed for the hundredth time just to tell us…the one they use when they need to divert our attention away from any less than desirable act that’s about to get them into trouble: “I love you the mostest in the whole wide world.”
Then finally, it was time for the moment they’d been so desperately waiting for: sewing all their hearts together to make a banner! Oh, their squeals of delight when they first pushed down on the pedal and made the needle begin to move! Even my little guy could hardly contain himself, though all he was doing was sitting next to them and taking it all in!
And when I look at our banner now, I treasure every crooked letter, backwards ‘E’, and tiny little fingerprint that I see! Perfect in every way.
Our ball isn’t going to be until Friday evening, so we’ve still got a few little preparations in store. I always let the kids take the lead in deciding how they want to decorate, what music we should play, what they will wear, etc. But since we enjoyed our menu so much last year, and they excitedly helped prepare every step of the way, we decided to make it part of our annual tradition:
- Strawberry Spinach Salad
- Garlic-Rosemary Pork Tenderloin
- Garlic-Rosemary Roasted Baby Potatoes
- World’s Best Dinner Rolls
- Molten Lava Cakes
- And for fun little party favors: Chocolate Covered Cinnamon Bears
After all, some of the best and longest lasting-traditions turn out to be those special dishes that are part of family celebrations. The ones that when you’re grown and gone, always make you feel like you’ve come home again!
Though we enjoy making a little event out of this family affair, don’t feel like you have to in order to make it meaningful. Just take the opportunity to grab your babies and dance with them while you can!
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[...] Hope You Dance… We had a marvelous time at our Valentine’s Ball on Friday. The girls took charge and told me how they wanted to decorate and prepare [...]
Love love love your heart garland!