On Tuesday, the kids came home excited to open their valentines.  They stockpiled their loot: candy, pencils and tattoos.  Their stash was almost as big as it was on Halloween!  They quickly cast aside the actual valentine’s.  Knowing how long it took my guys to write out cards for each of their classmates, it made me sad to see them so quickly forgotten.

That night at dinner, when it was time to pray, one of the boys remembered to pull out our book of friends and family.  I’m glad they are good at remembering because I’m not!  Anyway our book is the scrapbook that I filled with all our Christmas cards.  Every night that we eat dinner at home, we open it up to the next card and talk about the person or family that sent it to us.  We then pray for them as we pray for our meal.  I love this because I absolutely love hearing my boys praying for their friends and family and also praying for people they never met.  Usually the prayer is something short like “Help the _____s to have a good night.”  But occasionally the prayer is more specific.

Later, I realized that I could do the same with the boys’ valentines.  Instead of putting them in a scrapbook, I decided to punch holes in them and secure them together with a binder clip.  (I saw that idea for Christmas cards on Pinterest after I already did the scrapbook.)  I kept them separated so they each had their own “book” of classmates.

Here it is hanging on his bulletin board…

I just made these today, so I haven’t started “using” them yet.  But my plan is to start alternating at dinner between these and our Christmas cards.  My thought is that when we use the Valentine’s, I’ll have the son whom (or should it be who???  I’m so bad at proper English) it was for read a card and then tell us one nice thing about the classmate who gave it.  Even if it’s someone they don’t really like, I want them to say one nice thing.  I figure that will help my boys see the good in people.  And then he’ll pray for that classmate as he prays for our dinner.

And hopefully, my boys will remember every night.  Because after I figure out what we’re having for dinner and actually make it and get everyone to the table, opening the Christmas card book or valentine books is the last thing on my mind!

Hope you’re inspired to do more with your cards than just throw them in the trash and, more importantly, inspired to spend time thinking and talking and praying about all of the amazing people who you are blessed to know!

♥Becki