Brrrrrrr. It has been a cold week here in the Inland Northwest. Temperatures have plummeted below zero a few times, making me feel very blessed to have a warm house but also sad for those I drive by each day that don’t. Let’s begin tonight’s rundown…
Spider-Man Cake – This was Beau’s birthday cake. Actually, it is Beau’s birthday cake because we still have quite a bit stored in our freezer. But it should come as no surprise that our little guy requested a Spider-Man cake. This white cake with strawberry filling was baked at Walmart and the coolest part was by far the eyes on the Spider-Man decorative emblem that lit up.

This was Beau’s Spider-Man birthday cake from Walmart.
Valentine Prep – I thought this picture perfectly captures what second graders across the country can be found doing the night before their Valentine’s Day party. Sloan used our kitchen table to sprawl out her supplies and then got to work preparing Valentine’s for each of her classmates. Since St. Mary doesn’t have school on Friday, Valentine celebrations were held today.

If you have young children, you might have a similar scene at your kitchen table tonight.
A Disappointed Quartet – Let me introduce you to four very disappointed Kansas City Chiefs fans. Both my kids and their cousins, Mik and John, had high hopes that the Chiefs would beat the Eagles in Super Bowl LIX. Unfortunately, they didn’t have much to cheer about. And when you are that age, you don’t always understand the complexities and realities of sports, thus making it hard for the kids to understand why Kansas City played so poorly. Sloan took the loss the hardest as she was 100% sure that Travis Kelce was going to propose to Taylor Swift if his team won.

This quarter was not pleased with the outcome of the Super Bowl.
NICU Reminder – This photo was taken five years ago on this date. Every February, I take time to reflect on Beau’s journey in the NICU and to thank God for his grace and for the superb medical care that Beau received. I mention a lot about how Sid and I present at retreats for engaged couples, and we always describe how this experience increased our faith and drew us closer together. My blog post about the saga was ranked as my #1 entry of all time during the 10th anniversary of Don’t Blink.

Sidney holds Beau in the McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence, South Carolina.
Valentine’s Eve – For the first time in many years, Sid and I have Valentine’s Day plans tomorrow evening! Although we haven’t done much on the holiday in recent memory, we don’t hold the “trendy” contempt against Valentine’s Day like many others do. Whether you celebrate it or not, I think we can all be enlightened by learning about the holiday’s namesake. Sloan will tell you that St. Valentine is the patron saint of love and that he married couples at a time when a war general prohibited it because he thought marriage made soldiers weak. St. Valentine was jailed and challenged to heal the jailer’s blind daughter—which he did! Despite his incredible feats, like so many other saints, Valentine was martyred.

Sloan learned a lot about St. Valentine at school. She colored a picture of him in kindergarten. St. Valentine, pray for us!
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Try to stay warm, friends. Happy Valentine’s Day to you all, I hope you can find something redeeming about the holiday and enjoy it. Don’t Blink.