Marriage

I asked you to indulge me yesterday as I posted the findings of a very scientific poll asking elementary aged children the question "What is Love?" Well, this is still Valentines Day Week (I have a habit of stretching all special days out as long as possible — Ask my husband about "Mother's Day Weekend" or "Birthday Week"), so I decided to post another similar poll, this time on the subject of marriage. I thought it was just too cute to pass up, and far more entertaining than my own thoughts on the subject.

‎1. HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHOM TO MARRY?

You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming.
— Alan, age 10

No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with.
— Kristen, age 10


2. WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?

Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then.
— Camille, age 10


3. HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?

You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.
— Derrick, age 8


4. WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?

Both don't want any more kids.
— Lori, age 8


5. WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?

Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough.
— Lynnette, age 8 (isn't she a treasure)

On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date.
—Martin, age 10


6. WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?

When they're rich.
—Pam, age 7

The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that.
—Curt, age 7

The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them. It's the right thing to do.
— Howard, age 8


7. IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?

It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them.
—Anita, age 9 (bless you child)


8. HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T GET MARRIED?

There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there?
—Kelvin, age 8


And the #1 Favorite is ........

9. HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?

Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a dump truck. —Ricki, age 10

Something to think about! Saturday night our community group put on a dinner at our church and showed the Date Night Challenge from Focus on the Family. It stressed the importance of dating your spouse, and challenged married couples to go on two more dates over the next two weeks. Yesterday Chris took me out to lunch to celebrate Valentine's Day at a great restaurant in downtown London I'd never tried before. It was nice to spend some alone time together, and Saturday night we have a date planned for dinner and a movie, so I guess if all goes well we've met the challenge. I think it is important to make the time to share special time alone with each other. Often our dates consist of take-out Chinese food and a movie at home. That's not bad — sometimes it's just what I need! But getting out together is important, too, and we both enjoy those times, however rare they may be. At lunch Chris suggested that we go out for lunch together once a month, and I wholeheartedly agreed. I'm so glad my husband is the one I chose to journey through life with. They don't come any better than him! Marriage isn't so hard when you're doing it with your best friend.

As a postscript, I want to wish a very happy birthday to my friend and fellow blogger Denise! May you be spoiled rotten today, my friend!

What Does Love Mean?

My friend Denise recently composed a very amusing post about all those chain letters we get, primarily on Facebook these days, that really detract from the great experience that Facebook really is. I also love Facebook. It saved me our first year in London. For a while my only friends were Facebook friends. But I have to say, I'm not a big fan of all those chain letters.

However, I have to admit, this one got to me. Perhaps it is the teacher in me. I just love the hilarious and often adorable things that come out of the mouths of kids! I actually used to take polls like this one in my preschool and kindergarten classes, for special occasions like Mothers Day and Fathers Day. The answers were always precious, and so when this email turned up in my inbox, in honour of Valentine's Day, I just had to "share the love".

But don't worry, you don't have to forward it to five people in order for all your Valentine's Day wishes to come true!

A group of professionals posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds ,

'What does love mean?'

The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined

See what you think:

'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis, too. That's love.'
— Rebecca- age 8

'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'
— Billy - age 4

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.'
 — Karl - age 5

'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.'
 — Chrissy - age 6

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.'
 — Terri - age 4

'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.'
 — Danny - age 7

'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss.'
 — Emily - age 8

'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents. And listen.'
 — Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate , '
 — Nikka - age 6
(we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it every day.'
 — Noelle - age 7

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.'
 — Tommy - age 6

'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.'
 — Cindy - age 8

'My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.'
 — Clare - age 6

'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'
 — Elaine - age 5

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford .'
 — Chris - age 7

'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.'
 — Mary Ann - age 4

'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.'
 — Lauren - age 4

'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (What an image!)
 — Karen - age 7

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross.'
 — Mark - age 6

'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.'
 — Jessica - age 8

 And the final one:

The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard , climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said , 'Nothing, I just helped him cry'.
See? Precious.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I am a self-proclaimed, non-apologetic, loving-every-minute-of-it sap! I'm a sucker for a love story. I love sad movies. Nothing squeezes my heart more than a Hallmark commercial. I'm a sap, and proud of it! And it is for this very reason that I LOVE Valentine's Day. I decorate my windows with hearts. I dress myself (and my children) in pink and red. I help Connor and Janelle get valentines ready for their classmates and I send treats for the classroom party. I have a stack of Valentine's Day children's books that I never get tired of reading. This afternoon I'm planning to bake heart-shaped cupcakes for my family, and I'm trying to decide which family favourite dinner to make to celebrate the day. I love Valentine's Day.

Luckily, my husband understands how much I love this day. I have always told him that my favourite gift from him is not having to plan our Valentine's Day celebration. He knows that I love to be surprised. Last Thursday he called and told me to book a babysitter because we were going to have an early Valentines dinner. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a sitter, but he brought Chinese food home after the kids were in bed instead. Saturday afternoon I went down to the kitchen and found a heart-shaped box of chocolates and a box of Turtles, along with a very sappy card. He knows how much I will treasure that sappy card! I'll probably keep it displayed on my dresser until next February! But what I really love about my husband is that this morning I sat down in my favourite reading chair and found another Valentine card, this one absolutely hilarious! He knew I needed the sappy card, but he couldn't help but buy me the funny one, too. That's one of the reasons I love him.

Chris and I have celebrated 17 Valentine's Days together. But it is the one before we started celebrating together that I always think about when February 14th rolls around. Valentine's Day 1994. We had gone on one date the previous summer, and I had made it pretty clear that I wasn't very interested in another one (I know — I am a very lucky girl to have gotten him back after the way I treated him that year!) He steered clear of me through the fall, but after a chance meeting in an airport at Christmas time he was on my mind again. He started showing up in my neck of the woods more often again, and we rebuilt a bit of a friendship through the winter. He knew I was a little timid, and I'm sure he didn't want to risk rejection again, so he didn't ask me out. But on February 14th he surprised me. My friend and I travelled to and from work together, and when we arrived back at my house that evening, there was a flower delivery person there to greet us. But he didn't just have a rose for me. He had one for my friend, too. From Chris. That melted my heart and hers. Chris knew that sending a rose to both of us would be less scary for me (and buttering up my friend didn't hurt either), and I realized how very sweet of him it was to think of doing that. I called him and thanked him, and I think that was the real beginning of "us". He has been every bit as sweet on every Valentine's Day since, but that is the one I always think of on this day. That is my Valentine's Day love story.

If you have a Valentine's Day love story, I'd love to hear it! The more sickenly romantic the better! Remember, I'm a sap — I'll eat it up!

Bike Day!

Yesterday was bike day at the Haines household.

Janelle learned to ride her bike without training wheels.

She did a great job, learning in just about half an hour.

Afterward, she biked all the way home from the ball park by herself. What an accomplishment! She was so proud of herself — and we were pretty proud of her, too.

Afterward, we all piled into the van (Grandma, Papa, Connor, Janelle, Chris and me) and went to Zellers to buy Connor a new bike. He has grown so much that his knees hit the handlebars of his old one, so it was time. We knew the kind of bike that we wanted was on sale, so we decided to go and see if they had a 24" bicycle that would be perfect for Connor. It was clearly destiny — the only 24" bike they had was green! He was sold right away!

It was a special day. One that we will always remember.

And we're especially glad that Grandma and Papa got to be here for it, too!