Even it if it is believed to be a "Hallmark Holiday", Valentine's Day is one of my absolute favorites.

When I was younger, it was all about making heart shaped sugar cookies and boxes of chocolates. As I got older, it turned into being all about having a boy to celebrate it with.

My senior year of high school I made cookies for all my closest friends. We have cookies made out like the classic heart candies, with sayings like "Be Mine" and "Luv U" on them. So cute. However, Clark and I were on a "break". So, the box of chocolates my dad gave me were eaten in front of the TV as I watched "John Tucker Must Die". Not my proudest moment. And when I say I ate the box of chocolates, I mean I ate half of every piece of chocolate in the box. Classic break-up style. It was priceless.

One year when I was little my mom, older sister and I made shirts for the holiday. We bought white tees and sponged different colored hearts onto them. My mom used fabric paint to write in the sayings and I'm pretty sure she even hot glued some bows onto it. I iloved that shirt. I wore it until I outgrew it.

As my sisters and I got older, my dad started to buy us each a rose. The color would change every year, and he'd always have an explanation as to why we got that color. My first year I got yellow, because it was my favorite color. The next year I got red, because I was getting into the dramatics. My dad always found a way to make all the women in his life feel like his one and only Valentine.

Last year, Clark and I celebrated Valentine's Day with dinner and a movie. We had just found out we were going to have our beautiful baby (who, even when it was too early to tell, I knew was going to be a boy). We were still shocked and scared senseless, but we were focusing on the positives and love.

Valentine's Day has always been about love to me, but all kinds of love. For years I have tried to not simply focus on the love between a boy and me, which grew into the love between my husband and me. Instead I try to focus on letting all the important people in my life just how much they mean to me. It's not easy to do now, since most of my best friends and family live more miles away than I like to remember... but I always try.

So, tomorrow, try not to make the day just about your significant other. Call your parents, or siblings, or relatives, or best friends and remind them just how much you love them. While this is important every day, Valentine's Day gives you an excuse to really take it to the max and spread the L-O-V-E.

What are you Valentine's Day traditions?