There comes a day in the life of every blogger where they are incredibly, totally excited to share something with their readers so that they can hardly contain themselves. 🙂
Today is one of those days for me.
I have embarked on another new adventure,
and this one is tailored just for you.
and this one is tailored just for you.
But before I get there, I want to share a little story with you.
Many of you know that we are homeschoolers, and I think quite a few of you would be surprised to hear that a few years ago, we decided that due to family circumstances and income, that we would enroll our oldest daughter in  a private school just a few minutes away from home. It was challenging, but we wanted to see how she would fare in a more public environment since she had pretty much been in and out of hospitals since the day she was born, and had, at that time, not had a hospital stay in over a year.
She was adorable.
Second grade, backpack on and beaming ear to ear.
And I was a total mess when she couldn’t see me as she drove away with her dad to school. I was ready to embrace this new freedom, and ready to enjoy a few moments of quiet…ready to pray her through the year ahead, and hear her chatter about all the things that she was learning.
But do you know what she talked about when she came home that night?
A note I put into her lunch box.
A love note.
And it meant the world to her.
She kept it with her until it was a crumpled rag….
I would find it stuffed in her pillow,
alongside all the others that she cherished and saved
each time I would send one along.
It was like a secret spy communication….and now,
five years later,ÂÂ
she still has every single one of them.
It was tragic when we had to pull her out of that school in the following February because she had been on her back sick for six weeks.
She cried.
We cried.
Then we straightened our shoulders and asked the Lord for help to do the very best we could with what He had given us. She would not ever truly get better, as she could simply not filter out all the germs that schools and school children carried, or even deal with them on a normal basis.
But the love notes still come out, once in a while, and are quietly folded….then placed in safe keeping.
Where did I get the idea?
Well, some time before that I had read a story about a mother who was dying from cancer. She knew she most likely would not beat it, although she would give it her best…and she was leaving behind a daughter and a son, as well as a broken-hearted husband who was the strong and silent type.
So for the next nine months she hid love notes all over the house.
Everywhere.
Places where her kids would find them immediately.
And places that they would not.
It was years after her death that they were still finding them, and it meant the world to a couple of broken-hearted people to grasp this moment and tangible thing that belonged to her, or came from her hand.
The story totally broke my heart.
And planted a seed.
So it is a tradition in our familyÂÂ
to write love notes.
Someone is going to camp?
Love notes go into the pillowcase, and sleeping bag, and possibly even get wrapped around a toothbrush.
Someone is staying overnight?
Love Notes get tucked into the pillow and are looked for.
Someone is facing a tough test the next day in school?
A love note is tucked between the pages of their book right at the spot they have to open to, so they see words of encouragement and peace.
Don’t you all wish that you had a love note to face
some of life’s toughest moments with,
safely tucked into your pocket?
I know I do.
And that is why we do it.
And today, I have Love Note PrintablesÂÂ
JUST
FOR
YOU.
I did not add any words to these new sets, because each family, and each circumstance is so different. I want you to print them off, and write something from your heart for those precious family members in your life who are heading out the door today. I will be adding some encouragement cards, and inspirational printables later this week or weekend as I have the time, for when you need someone else’s inspiration.
You know, I know this is Back to School week and all, but not all these printables really need to be used even for school days, or lunch boxes.
They can be tucked into pillows, laid on dressers, taped on doors, etc etc etc.
Believe me, this is a wonderful traditionÂÂ
worth starting.
It means the world to our family,ÂÂ
and I am so happy to share this one with you.
On The Welcoming House Printables, there are also a few printables we talked about the other day. Cute daily tags if you want to help your kids sort out their clothes, or make up a chore calendar.
Checklists for your children, as well as labels they can cut out and use for school folders or whatever.
I created four different styles for both boys and girls,
and also added one for Moms.
Everything is free, and publicly shared, so you can do whatever you want with them.
I am just happy to help you start one of the most wonderful traditions we have around here, and hopefully bless your family in the same way.
Blessings to you and yours,
~Heather ~
PS—-you might want to share this entire post as many possible times as you can, because I have had a few friends look at these, checking them out, and they think I am crazy for making these and giving them away. Personally, I just love my readers, and want to bless you. 🙂
Want to head over there? Ready, set, GO!
The Welcoming House Printables Site
PPS—please remember this is the very first time I have ever done this, and it has been a major learning curve. Constructive criticism is welcome, and so are lots of thanks and good words! 🙂
Linked up with A Wise Woman Link Party.
Our Simple Farm,
and Walking Redeemed,
and
PPS—please remember this is the very first time I have ever done this, and it has been a major learning curve. Constructive criticism is welcome, and so are lots of thanks and good words! 🙂
Linked up with A Wise Woman Link Party.
Our Simple Farm,
and Walking Redeemed,
and
Thank you for sharing this with us 🙂 I appreciate it!
awww those are soo super cute!! Thanks for sharing all the printables! sending love notes to hubby is always fun 😀
A really great idea, very sweet. Thanks for sharing!
This is the first time I’ve had a chance to catch up in a few days. Heather, I wanted to give you a virtual hug for the love notes you and your family share together. I have a little story about how much these notes mean. I’ll try to be brief – but you know me – that’s not always easy.
I had a friend in high school who meant the world to me. Wendy and I were as opposite as two girls could possibly be. I was a prissy girly girl, and she was a rough and tumble tomboy. She couldn’t care less how she looked, unless it was to make herself look comical, and I cared very deeply that every hair was in place, my makeup was just right and I didn’t have stains on my clothes. She spend a lot of time at my house, spending days on end with my family. They loved her as much as I did. My parents even gave Wendy the only stuffed animal she owned. She loved it so much she had her senior pictures taken with it – a stuffed bunny that she dragged everywhere with her for the last 2 years of high school. Wendy died 6 weeks after we graduated – killed by a drunk driver while she was working a highway flagger job that her father had helped her get. She had just passed college entrance exams with a 4.0, and had a healthy scholarship. We cried like we lost our own family member at her service, my father crying nearly as hard as Wendy’s own Dad did. Flash forward about 17 years. I was cleaning out a box of old stuff and came across what appeared to be an empty spiral notebook. I flipped through the pages to see if it would be something one of the kids could use and there, in the middle were a few pages of writing. I got chills as I recognized the handwriting. It was a love note from Wendy. One late night when she was spending the night with me and I was already asleep, she got one of my notebooks, opened it to the middle and began to write. In that letter she shared all of her feelings about how much she loved my family, and how, in spite of our differences we were sisters of the heart. She thanked me for sharing Jesus with her, and even wrote a small will – as if she knew she would die soon – leaving me all of my prissy ways, and her approval since they worked for me. It was like a visit from beyond, and somewhere, still in a box of stuff, sits that letter from Wendy.
Please, leave notes for everyone you love. You have no idea how many years later they may resonate with you and speak to your heart.