Heart Attack

I originally found this idea on Pintrest (of course!), although several blogs had variations of the same idea, some fancier than other.  I went fairly simple, because, well, doing something consistently over a long period of time is not my specialty!

Starting on February 1, I woke up early, cut out a heart for each of the two big kids, and wrote something I loved about him/ her on it.  (When the waking up early part didn't work, I did it while they were at school.)

Ruby discovered the hearts right away and bounced out of bed each morning to read what I had left on her door.  Eli was a lot more low key about the whole thing.  It was about a week before I ever even caught him looking at the hearts.  Each one, though, in his or her own way, conveyed thankfulness for me having done it.

I will definitely do this again.  Next year I hope to have all the hearts made in advance so that all I have to do is write something and tape them up each morning.  That certainly would have simplified things!

Although this was great for Valentine's day, I think the idea could be incorporated at other times as well.  The first thing that comes to mind is a heart with what you love about your spouse, one for each year you are married, during the month of your anniversary.  I think this activity was even better for me than it was for the kids; it helped me put the focus on the fantastic children they are, rather than focusing with the slight irritations they might cause occasionally.

Sample "I love"s:

1.  I love what a hard worker you are.

2.  I love how freely you give hugs and kisses.

3.  I love how original you are.

4.  I love how flexible you can be.

5.  I love how energetic you are.

6.  I love how you stand up to bullies.

7.  I love how appreciative you are.

8.  I love what a good goal-setter you are.

9.  I love how forgiving you are.

10.  I love how cooperative you are.