We were a little late this year for our traditional “heart attack.”
It was fun to have a few extra guests with us to whip out our hearts.
They got in the spirit of it all right along with the rest of us.
Love them!
Sure love these girls too:
After we hung up all the hearts these girls decided their grandpa better see them too so they FaceTimed him over in China to include him in the heart-making-hoopla:
I think I say this every year, but I adore this tradition.
Lucy always includes a few friends…
…and she made a heart that Bo gave our family too, not sure where that one is though.
It’s the best to be surrounded by all that love this time of year!
I know minimalist white is the "thing" now. But I swear, that kitchen and the surrounding rooms look very commercial. Looks like my office break room. Not homey or cozy at ALL.
I think décor is a very personal thing. I wouldn't want white in my house for the 'keeping it clean' factor but I love the look. I think it can be warm and welcoming.
I love your white kitchen and all of the surrounding rooms. Very timeless and beautiful. Your home looks warm, cozy and lovely. It is very inviting and your style is just perfect for you and your family.
Maria, my momma always taught me that if you can't say something nice, you don't say anything at all. Very good advice,don't ya think? 😬
I guess I adore the white because it's the best color to dress up or down. Splashes of color look amazing with it…like hearts!! ❤😘
I love Grace's handwriting!
Beautiful tradition! Gorgeous home!
Love your house and all the traditions. Thanks for sharing!
Your heart tradition is Great! I absolutely love your home, so Beautiful! Would you share where you got your 2 kitchen office chairs from and what they are called? thanks!
What a lovely tradition, I think I'll have to borrow it. I have a 5 month old little girl and we have no family near us so I'm trying to build little family traditions of our own.
What a beautiful house! How rude and mean spirited of Maria to comment. Perhaps she should remember the old saying of if you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything
Why do people have to be mean. If you have nothing nice to say, then keep it to yourself.
I love her new home, and I love what's on her walls ( I know there will be a post soon 😉😉.
Be kind or be quiet it's that simple
Love your family, and its traditions.
Down, fan girls! I merely made a personal observation, a COMMENT (in the comments section of a public blog, imagine that!) – it's not a personal slam on Shawni as a human being. Jeez.
It absolutely is a personal slam. This is Her home. Her space, her place for refuge. Just because it has a comment section doesn't mean you get to be mean.
Not liking someone's choice of décor is not being mean. Is something wrong with you?
You're right Maria, we all have different tastes and it's ok not to like someone else's. I think it seems mean spirited though. You're right that this is a public blog and public comments space, but it just seems rude. I wouldn't walk into someone's home and say something like that. Even if they asked me opinion, I would probably phrase it nicer than you did here.
Would you tell someone their house is ugly at the public park? Sigh…. I know I know don't feed the trolls.
Love that MQ! Such cute hearts! We forgot it was Valentine's Day half way across the world so thanks for the heads up!
I wish you would do some posts about what is happening in the world. Hatred, ban of muslims, racism, grabbing women by their genitals because a man has fame and power. international destabilization. How do you discuss this as a family? What do you talk about in your community/ward of friends? Families everywhere are frightened and you have a lot of international travel under your belts. I loved Charity's recent post and would love to have you weigh in on something with a lot of depth right now.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh, I'm sorry, you were serious! Not gonna happen.
LISSA,
She already did in a prior post bringing up the election without being polarizing. I find it curious that we now are seeking to find out if a person likes or dislikes the President as some sort of test as to weather or not we can view their blog or Facebook anymore. Irredeemable? Don't worry, she is safe for you.
KMS–you're making a very unfair assumption. I like having the bloggers I enjoy the most go a bit deeper on topics of substance these days. It's certainly her option but I've always been appreciative that this blog discusses difficult topics along with the more cheerful parts of family life. My comment was not meant to be provocative, but your response (simply as a reader/participant) seemed a bit on the snarky side.
Which assumption is unfair? Let's be honest. Since the word irredeemable had been uttered it's been acceptable not only have an opinion about a candidate and or policy it's been fine to judge all their supporters, on both sides. It's like middle school. You wanted her to be more clear than she has already been about her feelings about the election so you can figure out how to spend your time. I think she has been rather classy. She managed to suggest how she felt about election night without using words about private parts. Coulld you not have said how did you vote, do you know anyone effected by the cancelled VISAs, etc..? It's a post about paper hearts with nice things written on them. I wonder how her guests feel about these comments on a post that includes their minor children? Locker room talk also exists on a mommy blog.
Goodness, you are condescending, Maria. How embarrassing for you. When did it become out of style to be kind or say nothing?
I love the heart attack thing that you do, I think it's lovely.
Here in the UK Valentine's Day is all about having someone special & for singles like me it's really hard, in fact we call it "Singles Awareness Day."
I told one of my friends the other day how people in the US do special things for people during February & she was so negative.
Then a couple of days later I read all this & it really cheered me up.
By the way, if you already don't, you should keep all the notes that everyone has written & put them in memory books etc. They're too precious to lose.
Thank you for your lovely blog. x
KMS–this is an awfully angry comeback to someone you don't know. And obviously it never occurred to you that perhaps I didn't see whatever post to which you are referring. There's no need to go looking for drama because I truly wasn't . I am a nurse and a psychologist and am spending a great deal time working in the clinic and the school working with kids who are struggling a lot. All my patients are underserved/minorities. Families, churches, mosques, temples (and yes, I have close ties to all of them), schools, physicians are all seeing kids (and adults) struggle these days. The kids and families I work with are highly aware of the atmosphere right now and I was curious how other families were processing. Perhaps I did make an assumption that Shawni's kids were more protected from the ugliness of it all, but I don't think that calls for your call to arms. Our kids were in 5th and 7th grades when 911 occurred and I remember trying to explain it to them. One of their best friend's father explained Monica Lewinsky by saying that President was caught kissing someone who wasn't their wife. My SIL describes how his parents, gradually over time, explained the holocaust. I think Shawn's blog is terrific and she's certainly able to monitor comments without assistance.
Kiss? I'm glad the crudeness was dialed down a bit for President Clinton's Oval Office interactions with an intern young enough to be his daughter and the lie that followed and the pattern that turned out to be true thanks to the blue dress. I was Monica's age at the time and I wish I had not voted for Clinton. The world is not being similarly kind with language and perhaps that is what is scaring kids? What impression of the US will her guests have when the language the candidate used before his attempt at public had apologized for is used on a mommy blog in a post with their kids pictures? It is making that sound like acceptable language used by people in all walks of life. Don't we want the world to consider the language wrong? Would you still follow her if she hadn't been totally shocked and confused on election night when she posted about a month after it happened? I have seen a lot of people commenting that they will stop following a blogger if they post something other than how they feel. or even the blogger saying they won't allow commenters who disagreed with post anymore to their blog. Have you not seen the same things happening lately?
My child is adopted and was born in China and is a US citizen having gone through the immigration process. We are not afraid.
There is a lot more to life than bickering on either side of a blog post. LIVE YOUR LIFE PEOPLE.
Oof. People really have at it in your comments section, Shawni. Thank you for ignoring the (random, uncalled for) negativity and continuing to share and post here!
Love this sweet Valentine's Day tradition. I do something similar in my classroom with my students and look forward to doing it with my own children when they're a bit older!
We are doing our heart attack tonight for family home evening. Thanks for sharing your fun family traditions so it can influence the rest of us.
I love this tradition I picked up from you about 6 years ago! We are doing ours for FHE tonight. Thank you for sharing the good you do! XOXO
We have out first child, 10 months, and I can't wait to start a tradition like this one. It is so sweet! Thanks for sharing this great idea.