I "What" You? JFF

Like.

I tell my kids, I love them, but I also... "like" them as a person.
I find that saying that to them, is very important.

My son will ask me, when he is naughty and knows it "Mommy do you still like me???" And I always say "yes, I like you no matter what.. .and I love you always. No matter what. "

I find, that is also important to say to my Husband.
Even if he is irritating at times. LOL
Knowing that a person is liked... is important.

Depends on who I am saying it to.
Husband: Te adoro (I adore you)
kids - I love you oodles and boodles and noodles. :)
L.

Well, it doesn't fit your format, but I tell my kids very often, 'man I am SO lucky to be your Mom!'

:)

I will tell him I heart his guts.

LIKE.

When I tell my kids I LIKE them, they just beam. They know I love them. They are my daughters, of course I love them. But I also like them. Very much.

ADORE.

ADMIRE.

RESPECT.

my b'friend and I say

I heart you.

It's sort of our way that we mock 'text' language, except we say the word 'heart' instead of the icon.

I have to agree with the others, my hubby often tells me that he "likes" me and it's usually with an adoring smile on his face. It makes me feel wonderful :)

Just wanna squeeze 'you' to pieces!

My husband and I have a little joke between us and sometimes say "I RUB You"

Adore.
Cherish.
Appreciate.

Here is what I hear from my 5 year old at times. Sometime is it as you stated "I love you very much", other times it is "you are the best mom ever" or "mom you are awesome". He can be such a sweetie ~ especially seconds before he is going to get into trouble : )

appreciate

although we say I purrciate you...

would do anything for

I tell my kids that I Love you all the time just not all the things you do. So when they get in trouble, especially my son he now repeats it " I know you love me all the time just not all the things I do." and he usually follows it with Sorry mom.

"amo" (spanish for love)
"trust" (like when you fall backwards and now he/she is right there to cash you)
"believe"
"admire"

EDIT: "live for" to my kids!!!

I say:
You're the best sweetie!
What would I do without you?
Isn't Daddy the best?
It's you and me babe!

My daughter will joke around and say "I ruff you" ... I respond back with "I meow you" .. LOL that always makes her laugh. Then we got back and forth with different animal sounds filling in the blank. lol

There are many words which work grammatically in that sentence, but there is no emotional substitute for love.

adore - respect - cherish - want -

HI Mama- Here are a couple that I use and then some I found on google:

I adore You
I desire you
I cherish you
I admire you
I dream of you
I live for our love

If it's in regards to your spouse, Instead of calling your husband by his name, you can call him "my lover, my love," etc.
I also like to call him things that I LOVE, like chocolate covered tasty goodness, or the filling in my apple pie.....food references are always good as long as they are sensual.
For joking around, I sent my hubby a text that says "I love you like a stalker." Not only did he laugh so hard he had to sit down, but he thought it was great. You need the right sense of humor for certain "funny" ways of saying how important your spouse is to you, but a little humor mixed in with the sexiness is always fun.