when everything derails

This weekend, absolutely nothing went according to plan.

Claire and I spent a full day and a half in the airport, waiting for our long-anticipated flight to Utah. The terrible inversion in Provo caused our flight to have delay after delay after delay. Waiting in the airport with a sick toddler for so long was anything but fun. I kept getting my hopes up when there would be a little increase in visibility in the Provo airport and we would all board the plane - only to be told the visibility went back down, so we all needed to get off the plane again.

Finally, the flight was cancelled altogether, and I resigned myself that I wasn't going on my own vacation. There were a few really big family events I was so excited to attend this weekend, and not being there to see my sister sealed to her darling adopted baby, or to send off my other sister on her mission has been such a bummer. I was also planning to see a few dear friends, and surprise Jason with a visit. It's really hard to be so far away from family and friends, and this weekend our Arizona life felt farther away than ever.

Needless to say, I've been pretty heartbroken these past few days.

But honestly, Valentine's Day was just what I needed. None of us had any extra church meetings, so we spent the entire afternoon napping, playing, and eating together. It was glorious. I pulled out my camera to capture a few details, and I'm so glad I did, because the memory of this happy little Valentine's Day reminds me that there's always a silver lining, even when it's nowhere close to the weekend I envisioned.

^^Claire has a terrible head cold, so she's been spending lots of time snuggling blankie on the couch and watching nursery rhymes on my phone. (I don't normally decorate my sick children with hair bows, but Claire happened to find this one on the floor and insisted on wearing it.)

 ^^I can't get over her painted little toes. Or piggies, as she calls them when she wants me to sing the piggy rhyme and tickle her.

^^Sam snuck out to buy Valentine flowers yesterday, and couldn't resist picking up this second bright bouquet just for Claire. Sometimes I think I know the man I married, and then he goes and buys flowers for his daughter and I realize I get to spend an eternity being happily surprised by this wonderful man.

^^ We also made some chocolate-covered strawberries. I don't know why I always thought making this dessert would be a huge, involved undertaking, and not a twenty-minute fun and easy recipe, but now I'm thinking we need to make them every Valentine's Day.

Thank you Sam for making this Valentine's Day just what it should be: simple and beautiful and surrounded by the people I love the very most.