In sickness and in health...

Valentine's Day is always a much anticipated holiday in our house.  Of course we love each other very much regardless of the day of the week but I think it is not a bad idea to set aside one day specifically to make sure those you love, know you love them.  

The concepts of "for better or for worse" and "in sickness and in health" are givens.  We love each other no matter what, that's no doubt.  However, little did I know that the "in sickness and in health" portion of the equation was going to come so very much into play.  Over the past few weeks Influenza A, strep throat and the good old stomach flu have all reared their very, very ugly heads and no one has been spared.  I believe Grace kicked the influenza party off .  As Jason and I then struggled through influenza and strep, but we had our fingers crossed that it would not hit the other two girls.  Fortunately it didn't.  Unfortunately, they were blessed with the stomach flu instead.

Prior to the flu hitting Lily, she was able to attend her very first Valentine's Day party and she had a fantastic time.  She loved playing with play-doh...

 She loved spending some time with her buddy, Joshua...

 She loved singing about love...

 She loved her self-decorated cupcake...

 And she really loved playing "Sweetie, Sweetie, Tart"~a Valentine's spin on "Duck, Duck, Goose".

 Sadly, the love ended shortly after the party and poor Lily went down hard.  Throwing up for almost 20 hours took the wind out of her sails and our annual Valentine's Day hotel visit was in jeopardy.  Fearful of dehydration, Lily visited Urgent Care and was given medicine to stop the madness.  After a dose of her medicine and a good night's sleep, our sweet little Moocher was back in action and off to the Ramada Inn we went for an afternoon, evening and morning of swimming, relaxation and uninterrupted time together....

Healthy, well-rested and thoroughly relaxed, we decided to take advantage of the glorious weather with our first 2011 trip to the zoo...

We were amazed at how much the baby giraffe had grown since we last visited...

And adored the adorable meerkats...

Ella and Lily even tried to mimic the way the meerkats snuggle...


For better or for worse.  In sickness and in health.  At the hotel or at the zoo.  On Valentine's Day or on Thursday.  The one thing I can always count on, the one constant is the love.  It's always there, no matter what and for that I am so very thankful.