Well, before I start bawling again, here is a picture recap of February.
February 2 was our Stake RS Leadership meeting. We used the theme: "Come Unto Me. Serving in the Lord's Way; A Recipe for Our Day." I got to decorate again, and Carolyn helped me as well. I borrowed some of my mom's old kitchen utensils and linens. Carolyn had added some of her beautiful linens. I thought it was very cozy, I hope those attending did as well. We served muffins and water for a light snack afterwards.
As the meeting was just getting underway, Carolyn nudged me and told me that Barry was in the hallway. Of course I immediately thought something was wrong, so I ran out to see what was going on. Nothing at all was wrong - he was just there to surprise me with some beautiful tulips. My very favorite!
They were a beautiful addition to my Valentine's Day mantel. I have saved the bulbs, and hopefully next year I will have more beautiful pink tulips!
There was lots of candy in those glass containers on the left side of the mantel - at least for a few days. The boys {meaning all of the males in this house} made short work of emptying them. I made them go buy more, and that only lasted a couple of days as well.
Valentine's Day was kind of quiet. There were only 4 of us home for dinner - Josh had to work that night. I made manicotti for dinner and a red velvet trifle for dessert. I decorated the table with candy (M&M's, Sweet Tart Hearts, and chocolates) and candles for our traditional Love Day dinner. With all the candles lit, I grabbed my camera to take a few pictures while we were finishing up dinner. Kyle decided that he needed to try and ruin my pictures by throwing candy in front of my camera. He missed getting any in the shots, but he did manage to land one in a tea-light. That turned into a contest between him and his dad as to who could get candy into the other one's glass. Boys! The managed to get candy all over the floor, wax all over the table, and only two M&M's into one glass. I won't tell you which one won the contest, but someone was a bit of a sore loser, and made the winner clean up the mess on the floor.
My birthday was kind of hard this year, and that caught me off guard. I cried most of the day - not because I was turning another year older, but I just really missed mom. The boys were sweet and made me lunch and dinner, and Meg made me a birthday cake. Barry took me out to eat several times that weekend. I tried to be happy for them, and show them my appreciation, but I just couldn't stop crying. I also missed Kayti, and cried even more when I thought of Josh being gone soon. What a mess I am! Barry did give me a wonderful birthday present, though. Money to spend on stamping/craft supplies! I'm looking forward to playing soon!!
Mission preparations seemed to hit high gear this past month. Josh's suits came in (we ordered them from a company online). The fit was not quite right, so we had to send them back for another size. The new ones look great. He is so handsome in them! He went to the temple for the first time. That was a great night! It was a packed session. Another missionary was going through for her own endowments that night, and we both had pretty big groups with us. I made the appointment for him back in January, and when we got to the temple that night, they informed us that it was Spanish night - that meant that the entire session was done in Spanish! Wish they had told us that when I made the appointment! The other missionary was English speaking as well, so they gave them both headsets, and offered them to anyone else that wanted one. What an experience!
I guess that about sums up the month. The next week and a half will be busy and emotional. But, I am so proud of Josh and the choice he has made to go on a mission. He is going to be a wonderful missionary, and I'm excited for all the experiences he is about to have.
