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Hello, Reader.

For as long as he was alive, my father gave my mother a 2-lb sampler box of Whitman's assorted chocolates every Valentine's Day. He'd also bring me and my sister our very own heart-shaped boxes of chocolates.

Mine would be empty in about 36 hours. My sister's box would still contain uneaten chocolates the following February. Unless, of course, I found her hiding place before then and polished off the remainder of her stash. (#sugaraddict 🐷)

I recently confessed and apologized for stealing her candy that way as a kid. She forgave me and explained that if I'd examined her leftovers more closely, I would've seen a finger hole in the bottom of each piece, where she'd poked at it to determine the flavor. As it turns out, the candies I pilfered were the creme-filled varieties she didn't like anyway.

Since Valentine's Day is upon us again, I'm dedicating this week's link list to some of my favorite resources for the occasion. Unlike fancy chocolates, however, there's no guesswork (nor calories) with these free printables. What you see 👀 is what you get. Enjoy!

Free resources for you this week:

• ​Free Printable Valentine Cards - 8 designs to choose from: retro, Victorian, color-your-own, etc.
• ​True Love Word Find Puzzle: How fast can you find all these attributes of love?
• ​Ultimate List of Valentine Resources - free games, coloring pages, treat boxes, banners & more
• ​Heart-Shaped Cookies - this no-crumble cookie recipe is perfect for Valentine’s Day nibbles
• ​Love One Another Bookmarks - for all my fellow bibliophiles ❤️
• ​A Plea for Perseverance - the days following Feb. 14 are vital to the health of your marriage

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What I'm reading this week:

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I'm about halfway through Love is a Verb by Gary Chapman, but plan to finish it by week's end. It isn't at all what I was expecting, which was another marriage book along the lines of 5 Love Languages, also by Chapman. Instead, this is a collection of letters the author has received from his readers detailing life lessons they have learned about love in a format reminiscent of Chicken Soup for the Soul. I've thoroughly enjoyed reading their stories, which are interspersed with generalizing comments from the author. While many of the stories do deal with marital love, others address love for children, parents, siblings, neighbors, coworkers, and even strangers.

This week's reader request:

An email arrived this week from a sweet reader alerting me to the fact I had a broken link on my website: "I've gone through your 30-Day Respect Challenge two times over several years," she writes, "Now my friend wants to do it, and I want to do it again, but the link is no longer working. It gives a 404 message."

Well, I have no idea how long the link was misdirecting, but am so grateful this sister for bringing it to my attention. It is fixed now (as is the link to my husband's new 30-Day Love Your Wife Challenge, which had also stopped working), so if you've tried to sign up for either before and were thwarted, you should be able to join in if you try again now.

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On the podcast this week:

The Loving Life at Home Podcast I didn't post a new episode this week, but here's a link to an oldie-but-goodie, in case you missed it the first time around. In it, I discuss learning to speak you spouse's love language -- and what to do if he's not fluent in yours. Listen Now

Progress on last week's goals:

An extra week to work on that lengthy to-do list was just what the doctor ordered! I was able to mark off almost every one of those goals: I ✅ cleared off my closet desk, ✅ walked three miles, ✅ wrote three personal letters, ✅ mended my son's blue jeans, ✅ repaired one broken necklace and ✅ two bracelets, ✅ reduced my inbox to 60 (❌ not 40 ) messages, ✅ attended a friend's 70th birthday party, and ✅ sent this month's scripture memory challenge to my kids and grandkids.

Personal goals for next week:

• repair towel rack in boys' bathroom
• fix broken lamp
• paint more legible lines on measuring cup
• make 4 new pillow cases
• catch up on grading math
• write 3 more days of new challenge
• walk 5 miles
• write 6 thank you notes