“All you need is love” – The Beatles

I love Valentine’s Day.  Maybe a little too much.  Not for the gifts, the chocolates, or the fine wines (although all of those are just fine with me)…I love it for the message it sends.  Even though it shouldn’t take a special day to tell your loved ones that they are loved, it certainly is nice to slow down and celebrate love for a day.  It’s nice to send a card, bake some cookies, and talk about the importance of love.

Because love is so very important.  Love really is all you need.

This year I wanted to do something different for the kids.  Yes, their cards are ready and some little gifts are wrapped.  But I wanted another little surprise for them.  Something that they will wake up to and appreciate for a moment before they find the red presents awaiting them at the kitchen table.

Something simple that conveys a big message.  Something that tells them exactly why they are loved so very much.  Something that shows them that we love them just for being them.

And so I started cutting hearts.  One for each color of the rainbow.  A rainbow of love, I thought, would show them that we love them for the individuals that they are.

I filled in the red first….

And then I filled in the rest of the hearts, one by one.  I thought about the little things we love:  Riley’s infectious smile, the sound of Liam’s laughter, Riley’s incredible imagination, Liam’s creativity…the list goes on.  It warmed my heart to write down each of these traits.  In fact I could have created many, many rainbows.

On Valentine’s Day they my kids wake up to rainbows of love taped to their bedroom doors.  Although they are loved every single second of every single day, on this day they will see that love written all over their doors.

I just can’t wait.

What Valentine’s Day surprises do you have planned for your little ones?