Words of Affection

Ever heard of the Five Love Languages?
I'm pretty sure my love language is words of affection.... of course I love to be spoiled with gifts, acts of kindness, and everything else - but simple, genuine, thoughtful words mean a whole lot to me.  Always have, always will.

My sweet husband knows me well, and my kids are learning too.  For my birthday this year, words were my gifts.

I woke up this morning to this cute little box from Emma.

Inside was a book, made by her, full of reasons why I am a "grate" mom and how much she loves me which apparently is more than chocolate.  She even admitted that she would rather have me than a dog.  If you know Emma at all, that's a really big compliment.

I got home from my morning run at 6:50 a.m. to this.  

 ...and this.  It was delicious!  Pretty impressive for so early in the morning.

Jared and the kids hid little notes all around the house.  I found most of them this morning, but I stumbled upon a few others throughout the day.  So fun.

Most of them were really nice, some of them were just plain hilarious.  All of them made me smile.

Even Austin wrote me this sweet little note.

Jared secretly asked a bunch of my friends and family on Facebook to describe me in two words.  He put together a slide show and it was pretty much the sweetest thing he's ever done for me.  I loved it.  I got a little teary as I saw the kind words that my friends and family used to describe me, it really made me feel wonderful... made my whole day.  Here are just a couple of the many slides, just to give you an idea the creative way he shared these sweet words.

Most people wrote two words, some wrote more, some were extra creative.  Jared added pictures and music and the whole thing made me feel so incredibly special and so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful people in my life.

The Young Women I work with at church each wrote me a little note on a birthday card and the words they said meant more to me than they could ever imagine.  

I had a wonderful day.  The preschool kids I work with showered me with hugs and kind words this morning, I had a delightful lunch with my girlfriends, and my children served Jared and I a romantic dinner this evening.

My family sent me upstairs while they cleaned up dinner.  I'm feeling pretty spoiled.  I told my kids that I wished everyday were my birthday, but then Emma pointed out that if everyday were my birthday I'd be really old.  I guess I'll just stick with once a year.

Best. Birthday. Ever!

(I think I pretty much say that every year.)