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Sometimes people say “I Love You” so often and mean it so lightly, that it loses its impact. Here are a few of the ways our family says and shows love to each other.

When our son was very young, probably 2-3 years old, we did a lot of hand holding in order to get where we wanted without losing him. My sister taught him that if she squeezed his hand three times it meant “I Love You.” Whenever she did it, he always squeezed her hand back three times. Every once in a while (now that he’s a teenager) we’ll be out and about. I reach over for his hand and give it three quick squeezes. He always turns and smiles at me and squeezes my hand back.

Every so often, my husband will be out driving in my car instead of his. Whenever he does, I can almost always count on my gas tank being filled up the next time I get in to drive. He’s so thoughtful and it shows me he loves me!

When Andrew was about nine or ten, I discovered the time-honored tradition of family scrap-booking in photo albums. I decided to start with one for my son. I worked on it whenever he was playing outside, putting it away as a surprise. One day I forgot and left it out. When he came home, he spied it, grabbed it up and started reading through his book. When he was done, he looked up at me and said, “Wow! Thanks for making this book. I don’t remember seeing these pictures before. What you wrote makes me feel really loved.” I just sat that there with tears in my eyes. I have to keep his book up-to-date, it shows him I care.

My husband, Greg, and Andrew have a habit of finding just the right thing for my Christmas present. It’s usually not the one that they thought. We have a magnetic poetry set and one of the boxes is full of holiday phrases, words and pictures. Andrew wrote a wonderful poem about holiday spirit one Christmas. I was obsessing over how I’d keep this lovely sentiment. In my Christmas stocking that year, I found a rolled up scroll on which he had carefully lettered his poem. That meant more to me than all the other gifts combined.

Another year, they bought an inexpensive picture frame that has a microchip on which you can record a message. Andrew practiced for hours until he could say his message in the allotted time. I carry that little picture with me everywhere I go.

Take time to let your family know how much you love them by word and deed.