Feb. 17, 2026

Valentines Day Special

Valentines Day Special

This Valentine’s Day, Jeremy and Myia celebrate love the real way — in the middle of family life, busy schedules, and everyday chaos. In this special episode of We Are the Hansons, they share honest stories about marriage, commitment, raising kids, and keeping romance alive through every season. It’s about choosing love daily — not just on holidays.

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Hey, everybody, and welcome back to We are the Hansens.

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If you're listening today, chances are Valentine's Day is either

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right around the corner or maybe you're right.

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In the middle of it.

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Chocolate's on the counter, cards on the table, maybe a

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little extra love.

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Floating around the house.

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And today we wanted to talk about Valentine's Day and

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what it looks like in a big family like ours,

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because honestly, it's probably not what most people picture. For us,

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Valentine's Day isn't just about couples. It's about family. It's

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about making sure everyone in our house knows how deeply

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loved they are. And yes, that includes a whole lot

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of chocolate. When you've got a big crew like we do,

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holidays take on a life of their own. Valentine's Day especially.

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It's not some quiet dinner reservation or roses and candlelight,

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although we appreciate those moments too, But our biggest focus

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has always been the kids. Every year, I make it

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a point to get all the kids chocolates, every single

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one of them. It doesn't matter how old they are,

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whether they're grown, teens or still little, they all get something.

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Because here's the thing. Love doesn't stop when kids grow up,

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and sometimes older kids need that reminder just as much

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as the little ones. I remember the first year one

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of our older kids was away. January rolled into February

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and I kept thinking about whether to mail something or

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just skip it since they weren't home, and Jeremy looked

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at me one morning and said, you're still going to

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get them something. Right of course I was, but it

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made me realize distance doesn't change the tradition.

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If anything, it makes it more important.

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So we packed up a box, heart shaped box of chocolates,

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some of their favorite candies, a hand written card, nothing fancy,

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but when they called a few days later, you could

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hear it in their voice. They weren't expecting it. They

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thought maybe they'd aged out of the tradition. They hadn't,

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and they never will. One of my favorite traditions is

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getting all three younger kids something extra special. They each

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get a balloon, candies, chocolates, and those chocolate covered strawberries

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that everybody ends up fighting over, and honestly, half the

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fun is watching their faces when they see it all

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laid out. We usually set everything up the night before.

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Once they're asleep, we sneak around like we're on some

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kind of mission. I handle the strawberries, I blow up

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the balloons, and let me tell you, after thirteen kids,

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I've gotten pretty good at tying balloon knots in the dark.

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There's something almost magical about those late night prep sessions.

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The house is quiet, everyone's asleep, and we're just they're together,

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arranging little piles of love on the kitchen table. Sometimes

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we'll just look at each other and laugh because who

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knew that parenthood would include midnight balloon logistics. But those

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moments matter. It's not about the money, it's about the effort.

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It's about them waking up and realizing mom and Dad

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thought about me. That matters more than people realize. I've

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watched our youngest come out on Valentine's morning, eye's still sleepy,

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hair sticking up in every direction, and then they see it,

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the balloon, the chocolate, the strawberries, and their whole face

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lights up. That right there, that's why we do it,

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not for Instagram, not for appearances, For that split second

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when a kid realizes they're loved enough that someone stayed

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up late just to make their morning special. We live

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in a world where kids face a lot sure at school,

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social media, comparisons, stress, heartbreak, confusion. Sometimes they just need

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reassurance that they're important. Valentine's Day gives us an excuse

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to really emphasize that. We'll tell them you matter, you're loved,

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you're seen, you've belong here, and honestly, those reminders stick

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years later. Kids don't remember every gift, but they remember

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how they felt. I think back to my own childhood.

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Valentine's Day wasn't elaborate, but my parents always made sure

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we knew we were loved. Simple gestures, homemade cards, maybe

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a candy bar from the store. But I remember feeling valued.

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I remember feeling like I belonged. And that's the foundation

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I want to build for our kids, because here's the

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hard truth. The world won't always make them feel valued.

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Teachers get overwhelmed, coaches play favorites. Social media is brutal,

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but home. Home should be the place where love is guaranteed,

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where worth isn't conditional, where they don't have to earn

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affection they already have it. Valentine's Day often gets boxed

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into romance only couples dating marriage, but love is.

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So much bigger than that.

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Family love, parental love, sibling love, friendship love. We want

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our kids to grow up understanding that Valentine's Day isn't

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just about finding someone, It's about appreciating everyone who loves you.

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The mindset builds confidence, it builds security, and it helps

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them develop healthier relationships later in life. One of our

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teenagers asked us a few years ago, why do you

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guys make such a big deal about Valentine's Day for

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the family. Isn't it supposed to be for couples? And

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we sat down and talked about it. We explained that

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when you grow up, a leaving love only counts if

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it's romantic. You miss out on recognizing all the other

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incredible forms of love surrounding you. The friend who shows

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up when you're struggling, the sibling who defends you when

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you're not there, the parent who sacrifices sleep to make

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your morning special, the grandparent who remembers your favorite candy.

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That's all love, real, meaningful, life changing love.

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And if we only.

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Celebrate the romantic version, we're teaching our kids that they're

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somehow incomplete without a romantic partner. That's not the message

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we want to send. We want them to know you

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are whole, valuable, and deeply loved right now, exactly as

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you are, whether you're single, dating, married somebody, or anything

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in between. Love isn't something you wait to receive from

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a romantic partner. It's something you already have, recognize and share.

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Let's talk about those strawberries for a second, because every year,

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without fail, they're the highlight. Chocolate covered strawberries just feel special.

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They're not everyday food. They're a treat and when the

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kids see them, it instantly makes the day feel a

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little more magical. Sometimes we make them together, sometimes we

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buy them. Either way, it becomes a moment, and those

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little moments they add up. Last year, we decided to

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make them for the younger kids. The day before Valentine's Day.

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We spread out all the ingredients on the counter, fresh strawberries,

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melting chocolate, sprinkles, drizzle options, complete chaos, chocolate everywhere, sprinkles

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on the floor, someone dropping a strawberry and the dog

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immediately claiming it.

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You know what, the kids loved it.

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They weren't just receiving a treat, they were creating it.

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And there's something powerful about that when kids participate in

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creating the celebration. They take ownership of the tradition. It

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becomes theirs, not just something done for them. One of

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the younger ones asked, can we do that every year? Absolutely,

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because that's how traditions are born, not through grand proclamations,

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but through simple moments, repeated with love. And before we

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move on, we thought we'd share a little sweet Valentine

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treat that fits perfectly with this tradition. Something easy, fun,

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and honestly great to make with kids. This is our

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chocolate strawberry Valentine Bark. Super simple. Start with about two

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cups of chocolate chips, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or white chocolate,

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whatever your family loves. Sometimes we even mix them. Actually,

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we've found that doing half milk chocolate and half white

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chocolate creates the beautiful marble of fact that looks way

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fancier than the effort required. Wash some fresh strawberries, dry

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them really well, and chop them into small pieces. The

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drying part is actually important. Wet strawberries and chocolate don't

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play nice together. The chocolate won't stick properly, and you

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end up with a weird texture. So take an extra

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minute with the paper tolls. Your future self will thank you.

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Then melt the chocolate slowly in the microwave, about twenty

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to thirty seconds at a time, stirring between each round

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so it stays smooth.

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Don't rush this part. I learned the hard.

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Way that impatience leads to seized chocolate, and nobody wants

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grainy ark thirty second intervals, stir, check, repeat. It takes

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maybe two or three rounds, and then you've got perfectly

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melted chocolate. Line a baking sheet with perchment paper, Pour

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the melted chocolate out and spread it into a thin layer.

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We usually aim for about a quarter inch thickness, thin

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enough to snap nicely, thick enough to hold all the toppings.

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Sprinkle those chopped strawberries all over the top. If you

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want to make it extra festive, add heart sprinkles, crushed

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pretzels for a sweet and salty twist, or mini marshmallows.

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We've also done crushed gram crackers, which adds this amazing texture,

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and freeze dried strawberries game changer. They add concentrated strawberry

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flavor without the moisture issue. Lightly press everything into the

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chocolate so it sticks. Just use your hand or the

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back of a spoon and gently push the topping down.

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You want them embedded, not just sitting on top. Pop

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it into the fridge for about thirty minutes until it hardens,

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then just break it into pieces.

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That's it.

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It looks fancy, tastes amazing, and the best part is

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making it together. Those kitchen moments, laughter messes, sneaking bites,

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those become memories, just like the chocolates and balloons, And honestly,

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that's what we love most about Valentine's Day. The recipe

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itself might be simple, but the experience of making it

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together that's where the magic lives. I'll never forget the

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year our middle child decided to get creative and add

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rainbow sprinkles to the batch. It looked absolutely chaotic, hearts, strawberries,

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rainbows all mixed together, but they were so proud of it.

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And you know what, it tasted just as good as

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the pinterest perfect version, maybe better because it was made

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with freedom and joy instead of perfectionism and stress. You

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wouldn't think a balloon would be a big deal, but

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for kids it is helium balloon, favorite color, maybe heart shaped.

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Suddenly the house feels festive. It changes the mood. It

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signals celebration. Kids thrive on those visual cues. It tells

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them today is special, and honestly, even adults like balloons,

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we just don't always admit it. I've noticed over the

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years that each kid gravitates towards specific balloon colors. Our

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oldest always love blue balloons. One of the middle kids

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insist on purple every year. The youngest currently has a

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thing for pink and sparkles. We pay attention to those

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details because when an eight year old comes out and

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sees their favorite color balloon tied to their chair, it

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tells them WE know.

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You, we see you. We pay attention.

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Those small acts of personalization matter more than grand gestures.

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It's the difference between generic love and specific love. Generic

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love says I love you. Specific love says I love you,

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and I know pink is your favorite color. And I

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remembered that second version. That's the one that.

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Builds deep security.

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We've also learned that balloons have a surprisingly long lifespan.

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In our house some years, those Valentine balloons are still

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floating around in March. They may become this lingering reminder

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of celebration, and honestly, we don't mind. Let the joy Linger.

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Let the celebration extend. There's no rule that says love

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has to be confined to one day. Another reason we

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do this is modeling behavior. Kids learn how to love

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by watching us. If they see parents making effort, showing appreciation,

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expressing affection, they carry that into their own lives. They

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learn love takes effort, love is intentional, Love is expressed,

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not assumed. That's a powerful lesson. Think about it. How

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many relationships suffer because people assume love without expressing it.

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You should know I love you. I shouldn't have to

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say it. My actions speak for themselves. But here's the thing.

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People need to hear it, they need to see it.

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They need tangible expression of affection. And if we model

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that for our kids, they grow up understanding that love

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is both felt and demonstrated. A couple of our older

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kids are now in a relationship, and it's been incredible

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watching them navigate it. They plan dates, they write notes,

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they remember important details. And I know exactly where they

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learn that, not from a class, not from a book,

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from watching love model that home, from seeing parents who

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after decades of marriage, still make effort. From growing up

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in a house where love was celebrated, expressed, and demonstrated.

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That's the legacy we're building, not through lectures, through living examples,

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creating memories that last. We found that traditions matter more

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than perfection. It doesn't have to be fancy, it doesn't

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have to look instagram ready. What matters is consistency. Every year, chocolates, balloons, strawberries,

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and time together, and over time that becomes part of

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their childhood's story. One day they'll probably do something similar

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for their own families. That's legacy right there. I think

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about the traditions I inherited from my parents.

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Most of them weren't.

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Elaborate, but they were consistent, and now years later, I

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find myself replicating them with my own kids. That's how

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culture gets passed down, not through grand gestures, but through repeated,

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small acts of love. We've started seeing this with our

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own kids already. Some of them have called asking for

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the chocolate bark recipe. Others have mentioned planning Valentine's celebrations

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for their own kids someday. And that moment when you

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realize your kids are carrying forward the values you try

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to instill. That's one of the greatest joys of parenting.

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It means something stuck. It means the effort mattered. It

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means love is multiplying. Just because some of our kids

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are older doesn't mean they're off the Valentine's list.

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They still get chocolates.

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Sometimes they laugh about it, sometimes they act like they're

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too grown for it, but they always appreciate it, And

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I think deep down they love knowing that no matter

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how old they get, there's still are kids. That reassurance

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never expires. We had one of our adult kids come

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home for a visit last February. They've been living independently

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for a couple of years, building their own life, navigating

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all the chancelenges of young adulthood, and when Valentine's Day

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rolled around, we handed them their chocolates. They looked at

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it for a second and their eyes got a little misty.

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You still got me chocolate, of course we did. Age

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doesn't change the relationship. You don't stop being someone's parent

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just because they move out. You don't stop caring just

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because they're grown. And sometimes, especially in those early years

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of independence, when everything feels overwhelming and uncertain, that small

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reminder of home and love means everything. Another one of

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our older kids text us last Valentine's Day, Thanks for

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the chocolates. Honestly needed the reminder that I'm still somebody's kid.

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That hit hard because.

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Even grown adults still need to know they belong somewhere.

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They need to know that there's a place where they're

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loved unconditionally, where they don't have to perform or achieve

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or approve anything. They're just loved because they're ares. That's home,

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and we'll keep providing that as long as we're breathing.

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Beyond gifts, we focus on time. Maybe we watch a

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movie together, maybe we cook together. Maybe it's just sitting

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around talking and laughing. Connection matters more than presents, and honestly,

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those conversations often become the best part of the day.

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We've started a tradition over the last few years where

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after the chocolates and balloons, we gather in the living

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room and everyone shares one person they're grateful for. It

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could be someone in the family, could be a friend,

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could be a teacher or coach, but everyone shares and

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you hear the most beautiful things. One year, one of

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our younger kids said they were grateful for their older

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siblings who always help them with math homework. The older

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siblings got teary eyed. They had no idea it mattered

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that much. Another year, one of the middle kids said

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they were grateful for them grandparent who always remember to

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call on hard days. Those moments of recognition create bonds,

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They make love visible, They turn assumptions into acknowledgments, and

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for us as parents, it's a chance to see how

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our kids are learning to notice and appreciate love around them.

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That's emotional intelligence and action. That's gratitude becoming a lifestyle,

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not just a word. We usually let the conversation flow naturally.

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Sometimes it goes twenty minutes, sometimes an hour. We've had

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years where someone shared something that led to deeper conversations

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about friendship, loss, change, growth. Those unplanned, organic moments often

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become the most meaningful, because that's where real connection happens,

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not in the scheduled, structured parts, in the spontaneous, authentic

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spaces between. We also use Valentine's Day as a chance

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to talk about gratitude more broadly. Who do you appreciate,

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Who helped you this year? Who makes your life better?

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Teaching kids to recognize love around them builds emotional intelligence.

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It helps them become kinder, more grounded adults.

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One of the.

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Biggest shifts I've noticed in our family culture is how

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naturally gratitude shows up. Now it's not forced, it's not performative.

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It's just woven into how we communicate. Kids thanking each

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other for small kindnesses, spouse's acknowledging effort, everyone recognizing that

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life is better because the people in it. And I

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truly believe that started with small, intentional practices like our

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Valentine's Gratitude tradition. When you create space to acknowledge love regularly,

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it changes your lens. You start noticing more, you appreciate more,

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You become less entitled and more grateful, and that shift

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that changes everything. Grateful people are happier, They're more resilient,

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they build stronger relationships, They handle disappointment better, not because

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life is easier, but because they've trained themselves to see

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the good, even aimed the hard. That's a gift we

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can give our kids, not through lecture, but through practice.

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And let's be real, not every Valentine's Day goes smoothly.

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Kids argue, schedules get crazy, someone forgets something, life happens.

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But perfection isn't the goal. Presence is showing up consistently

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means more than flawless execution. I remember one year where

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everything went wrong. The balloons we ordered got delayed, the

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chocolate bark burned because I got distracted. One of the

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kids was sick and miserable. It was a mess, but

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we adapted. We drew hearts on notebook paper and taped

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them to the bedroom doors. We made a quick store run.

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For backup chalk.

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We brought soup and ginger all to the sick kid

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and sat with them while they rested. And at the

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end of the day, nobody remembered the burnt bark or

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missing balloons. They remembered that we showed up, that we

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made it work. That love doesn't require perfection, just presence.

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Some of our best family memories come from the imperfect moments,

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the years things didn't go as planned, the time we

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had to improvise, the moments we left at our own

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chaos instead of stressing over it, because that's real life,

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real families, real love, messy, imperfect, beautiful. Those traditions do

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something deeper than we realize. They build emotional security. Kids

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who feel loved at home often carry that confidence into friendships,

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dating relationships, careers parenting. Someday, love at home becomes their foundation.

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Watch this play out in real time with our older kids,

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the ones who grew up with consistent affection, intentional traditions,

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and verbal affirmation. They navigate the world differently. They don't

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settle for relationships where they're disrespected. They don't chase validation

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from unhealthy sources. They don't base their worth on external

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achievements because they already know they're valuable. They learned it

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at home, and that internal security is priceless. It's the

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difference between someone who enters adulthood desperately seeking approval and

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someone who enters adulthood already grounded in their worth. Multiple

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face challenges, bolt will experience hardships, but the second person

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has a foundation. The first person is still trying to build,

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and that foundation it's built through a thousand small moments,

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balloons and chocolates and family time, gratitude circles, and imperfor traditions,

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consistent love expressed year after year. It adds up to

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something greater than the sum of its parts. It becomes

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the bedrock of a confident, secure, emotionally healthy human. If

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you're listening and thinking, we don't do anything special. Here's

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the good news. You don't have to spend a lot.

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Handwritten notes, favorite candy, bar, movie night, extra hugs. Small

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gestures make big impact. Start where you are. Some of

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the most meaningful Valentine's Days we've had cost almost nothing.

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The year we were really tight financially. We couldn't afford

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fancy chocolates or decorations, so we wrote letters. Each kid

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got a handwritten note from both parents. We told them

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specific things we loved about them, qualities we noticed, moments

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we were proud of. We left them on pillows the

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night before, and those letters some of the kids still

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have them years later. Because words matter. Affirmation matters, Being

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seen and know one and celebrated matters. And that doesn't

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require money. It requires attention and effort. So if you're

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feeling like you can't do enough, let me release you

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from the pressure right now. You can with what you

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have where you are. Start small, Start simple, Just start,

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write a note, share a favorite candy, say I love

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you and mean it. That's enough, more than enough. Love

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is spelled tim. One of the biggest things we've learned

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over the years. Kids spell love, tim, not money, not perfection,

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not big social media moments. Time undivided attention is one

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of the greatest gifts you can give. We live in

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an age of distraction. Phone's buzzing, notifications, pinging screens everywhere,

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and kids notice when you're physically present but mentally elsewhere.

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So one of our.

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Valentine's rules is this, phones down for the evening.

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We're all in.

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No scrolling, no checking emails, no half listening while doing

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something else, just family, just connection, just presence. And you'd

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be surprised how much that matters. Kids will literally say

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thanks for not being on your phone. That's how rare

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undivided attention has become. That's heartbreaking and motivating at the

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same time. It tells us we're doing something right, but

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it also reveals how starved kids are for genuine presence.

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So if you take one thing from this episode, let

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it be this, be present, not just physically, mentally emotionally.

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Your kids will remember that more than any gift.

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You could buy.

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We also try to carve out time for each other

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as a couple too, because strong marriages create stable homes,

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but including the kids in Valentine's Day tradition shows them

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love isn't exclusive.

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It expands.

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Family love and romantic love can coexist beautifully. Jeremy and

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I have learned that we don't have to choose between

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being good parents and being good partners.

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We can be both.

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Sometimes that means getting a babysitter and going out. Sometimes

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that means staying in after the kids are asleep and

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having our own little celebration. The form doesn't matter as

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much as the intention. We want our kids to see

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that marriage matters, that we still choose each other, that

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romance doesn't die when you have kids, it just evolves.

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And honestly, one of the best gifts we can give

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our kids is a healthy merit. Kids who grow up

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watching parents who respect, appreciate, and genuinely enjoy each other

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learn what healthy relationships look like. They learn that conflict

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can be resolved respectfully. They learn that love is both

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feeling and choice. They learn that marriages work, but it's

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worth it. Those lessons shape their future relationships profoundly. So yes,

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we prioritize the kids on Valentine's Day, but we also

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prioritize each other because both matter, and both contribute to

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a healthy, thriving family looking back over the years. When

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we look back, some of our favorite memories revolve around

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simple holidays like this, kids running around with balloons, chocolate

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smudges on faces, laughing over dessert. Those snapshots become family history.

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I can still picture Valentine's Day from ten years ago,

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fifteen years ago, different house, different season of life, but

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the same heart behind it, the same intention to make

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sure our kids felt loved. And now, watching some of

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those same kids parent their own children, I see the

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tradition continuing. Different expressions, different details, but the same core

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value love your people.

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Well.

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That's legacy and motion, and it all started with something

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as simple as chocolates and balloons. We didn't know back

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then what we were building. We were just showing up,

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just trying to love our kids well. But those small,

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consistent acts accumulated into something beautiful, something lasting, something our

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kids will carry forward long after we're gone. If our

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kids remember one thing, we hope it's this.

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They were deeply loved, not just on Valentine's Day. Every day.

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A Valentine's Day gave us an excuse to say it louder,

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to show it bigger, to make sure there was absolutely

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no question. We want them to remember feeling valued, seen, celebrated,

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We want them to remember the balloons and chocolates, sure,

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but more than that, we want them to remember that feeling,

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the warmth, the security, Because that feeling, that deep, unshakable

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knowledge that you are loved, that changes everything. It changes

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how you see yourself, how you treat others, how you

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navigate hardships, how you build your own family. Someday, love

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at home becomes the lens through which you see the

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entire world. And if we can give our kids that lens,

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we've given them something priceless. Here's a message to our kids.

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If any of you kids are listening, yes, even you

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grown one, just know you are loved beyond measure. You

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matter more than you know, and nothing changes that, not age,

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not distance, not time. You're ours, always have been, always

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will be. And we'll keep showing up with chocolates and

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balloons and ridiculous amounts of love for as long as

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we're able, because we have to, because we get to,

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because loving you is one of the greatest privileges of

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our lives. Valentine's Day in our house is messy, sweet, loud,

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chocolate covered and full of heart, and honestly, we wouldn't

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have it any other way because At the end of

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the day, love isn't about grand gestures. It's about showing

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up year after year, making sure that people in your

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life know they matter. It's about balloons and favorite chocolate

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covered strawberries shared around the table, late night prep sessions

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because you want morning to feel magical. Imperfect traditions repeated

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with perfect intention. It's about building a home where love

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is guaranteed, expressed and celebrated, where kids, no matter their age,

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know they belong. That's what Valentine's Day means to us.

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Not romance alone, though that's beautiful too, but family love,

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intentional love, consistent love, the kind of love that becomes foundation.

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Thanks for hanging out with us today on We Are

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the Hansens. If this episode reminded you to hug your

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kids a little tighter, appreciate your family a little more,

469
00:32:50.200 --> 00:32:53.279
and start a new tradition, than it was worth it.

470
00:32:54.039 --> 00:32:57.039
You don't need to copy what we do. You just

471
00:32:57.119 --> 00:32:59.960
need to find what works for your family, your people,

472
00:33:00.519 --> 00:33:04.759
your home. But whatever you do, do it with intention,

473
00:33:05.400 --> 00:33:09.359
do it with presence, do it with love, because years

474
00:33:09.359 --> 00:33:12.599
from now, when your kids look back on their childhood,

475
00:33:13.079 --> 00:33:17.720
they won't remember the perfect Instagram moments They'll remember how

476
00:33:17.759 --> 00:33:21.880
you made them feel. They'll remember the effort, the consistency,

477
00:33:22.480 --> 00:33:28.200
the love, and that that right there, that's everything from

478
00:33:28.240 --> 00:33:34.079
our family to yours. Happy Valentine's Day, love, big, laugh often,

479
00:33:34.640 --> 00:33:37.039
and don't forget the chocolate covered strawberries.

480
00:33:37.400 --> 00:33:38.480
We'll see you next time.