Happy Heart Day!

Valentine's Day means a lot more to me than just candy hearts, valentines, chocolate, the love you have for someone, and taking time to show your love to others.

On this day each year, ever since Gavin came into my life, I think about our actual heart.....the wonderful organ that God created so AMAZINGLY!

On the day that Gavin was born, and we found out that he had a life-threatening heart defect, my heart had never hurt as badly as it did that day. I was so worried for my tiny, sweet newborn. My first words to our physician and cardiologist were, "What is his life expectancy?" I remember one of the doctors taking a deep breath in, and then holding it for awhile.....and that was one of the longest 2-3 seconds of my life!

Thankfully Gavin was born at a time where there is great success in treating many heart defects! And, thankfully, I have had the pleasure of having Gavin in my life for almost 4 1/2 years! Some days I forget how blessed we are, and some days I forget to thank God for this precious gift.....but on Valentine's day, it's at the forefront of my mind.

So today, as you fill out valentines, or indulge in a heart shaped chocolate.....remember that babies are being born today, who have a long road ahead of them. Remember that there are many families helping to fight for their child's life right now. And, remember how blessed you are to have a healthy, beating heart!

No matter how you think of hearts on this day:









.....remember to say a prayer for all those who have heart defects.....and remember to thank God for your heart! What a beautiful and magnificent thing!

Also, remember that you hold someone's heart in your hands.....and someone out there, also holds your heart in their's.




Here are the hearts that I hold in mine:



I just pray that I am given enough strength and wisdom to hold these hearts gently.....and to give these hearts enough care and love.....and to be able to form their hearts in a godly way.....until I have to set their hearts free again someday.

Because I know how much my heart is filled because of them!.....And, because of God!

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Here are a few heart facts and excerpts that I read this morning:

(They were taken from a freelance writer named Beverley Golden.)

-This organ, to which we ascribe all things relating to the most powerful of human emotions, itself has no feeling. The human heart has no feeling!

-If asked to put their hand on their heart, most people would place it on the left side of their chest, but in actuality, it sits closer to the center. The left lung is slightly smaller than the right one, to accommodate the heart.

-The heart weighs in at less than one pound, with the average woman's heart weighing only eight ounces and the man's only 10. And yes, it's true that women's hearts beat faster than men's.

-The heart is almost entirely muscle, the myocardium, and is strong enough to lift approximately 3,000 pounds, close to the weight of a compact car.

-Your heart beats about 35 million times a year ... 100,000 beats per day, 70 beats per minute, with enough strength to shoot blood a distance of 30 feet! Even at rest, your heart muscle works twice as hard as your leg muscles when sprinting. By the time we turn 70, the heart will have beat 2.5 billion times.

-The heart is the first organ to show at 19 days and scientists believe that by eight weeks, when the embryo is only an inch long, the heart is fully developed. The heart starts beating in the unborn fetus before the brain is even formed.

-The origin of the traditional heart shape remains somewhat controversial, as the human heart only vaguely resembles the stylized images we see. If you clench your fists and put them side by side, that's roughly the size and shape of the adult human heart.

HAPPY HEART DAY!!! With Love and Hugs!!


"As in water face reflects face, so a man's heart reveals the man." Proverbs 27:19